The Allied Army's advance was delayed by the orcs' sporadic attacks.
Ragna summoned the commanders. They had to pick up the pace somehow.
"It's not good if we fall further behind."
He looked back at the emblem of his country hanging inside his tent.
Thirteen crests had gathered.
Some of them were duchies or mere city-states.
Aside from the Empire, the only countries that could be said to hold real power were Briol, the Holy Kingdom, Bursen, and Liberda.
Ragna made a decision.
"There is something I must inform you. We've received intelligence suggesting that Okua may be connected to black magic."
Everyone except Yuri made a strange expression.
Black magic was a forsaken secret art.
It did exist, but unlike the common rumors, it didn't wield overwhelming power. Just like dragons and komodo dragons were different, black magic was considered nothing more than a lower branch of magic.
That was the general understanding.
"Are you serious, Your Highness?"
"I am."
"Even if they've dabbled in black magic, as long as we maintain Dispel—"
"Do you think I called you here not knowing that?"
When Ragna replied firmly, Jonathan of Bursen asked,
"Then, would Your Highness care to share what exactly you're concerned about?"
Ragna looked at Jonathan and smiled.
He liked that the man cut to the point without wasting words.
Ragna placed his hand on the blackboard set up behind him and began writing.
「Black Magic」
These characters.
But the handwriting was wobbly.
Yuri lowered his head, trying to suppress a laugh. Ragna's penmanship was atrocious—like that of a child.
The other commanders puffed out their cheeks, biting their tongues.
Unbothered, Ragna spoke with a dignified expression.
"Black magic exists. But we need to redefine it. What you all know as black magic, and what I'm concerned about, are not the same. To make classification easier, I call it True Black Magic."
"True · Black Magic…!"
It came with an oddly childish name.
Yuri lowered his head again, and the others bit their tongues once more.
Ragna then wrote another name on the board.
"Gert"
The atmosphere quickly turned heavy. The name Gert carried that kind of weight.
"You all know the name, right? That bastard is the product of black magic."
Yuri narrowed his eyes.
Even he, who had returned from the past, had not known this fact.
Gert of Adelvine.
The Death Knight who returned from death.
And,
One of the Ten Strongest.
"It's not widely known, but it's true."
He circled Gert's name.
"I'm not a mage, so I don't know the full details of black magic. But I've heard that it doesn't use mana—it sacrifices something else instead. Just take a look at that Gert, and you'll get a sense of what that something might be."
"Who the hell brought Gert back to life?"
"No idea."
The inside of the command tent fell into silence.
That was how terrifying the name Gert was.
A knight who returned from death had destroyed a nation.
Adelvine was left in ruins.
And it was still the same. Gert now roamed the lands of Adelvine alone, attacking the living. The once-prosperous kingdom had become a forsaken, lifeless land.
"And the most precious offering in this black magic is human life."
Ragna conveyed the information he had received from Moyong Chan.
The orcs were gathering humans for sacrifices, and Okua had likely already claimed countless lives.
Anger spread across the faces of the commanders.
But Yuri, in contrast, felt relief.
The Allied Army of his past life had not possessed such information.
That Okua was using black magic, and that Moyong Chan had targeted Okua for that reason—those facts had never come to light.
The tangled threads were finally being tied the right way.
This Allied Army was different.
"If Okua is truly wielding black magic, its power will only grow stronger with time. That's why they're stalling us. I know the fatigue is great. But please endure it."
"Yes, sir."
"This time, we'll wipe out the orcs. If we fail, their next target will be our own homelands."
Ragna slammed his fist onto the blackboard.
The wooden board supporting it shattered, leaving a hole.
Blood trickled from the back of his hand.
"You've all seen what the orcs are like."
Ragna met the eyes of each commander around him one by one.
"We're not going to end things ambiguously like the previous Allied Army. We will completely annihilate those pieces of trash."
Ragna possessed the dignity of royalty. And the indomitable fighting spirit of a warrior.
These two traits stirred the fighting will of his subordinates.
"Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"From now on, we pick up the pace. Yuri, as before, I'll have you organize the scouting party. Will you take the role?"
"Of course."
"The orcs keep lurking near our supply lines. Burn down every cluster nearby to eliminate their rally points, and then we head straight for Okua."
Ragna continued,
"As you all know, an Outsider, one of the Ten Strongest, has joined us. The Allied Army will not lose. Let's each have a drink atop Okua's corpse."
Ragna grinned as he spoke.
Everyone applauded.
There was no other noble who cared less about appearances.
From what Yuri knew, even someone merely an eighth cousin to the Emperor would put on airs as if they were of a different species.
But Ragna was a warrior, like them.
That was why people liked him. And that was exactly why the Emperor disliked Ragna.
Yuri sincerely hoped that he would never have to face him in battle.
Ragna smiled at Yuri and asked,
"How's the Outsider doing?"
"He seems to like Briol's food."
"I see…"
He already knew that Yuri ate the same food as the regular soldiers.
When Ragna first heard that, he had laughed so loudly it shook the entire tent.
"I should try it sometime. I've heard much about Briol's famed meals."
"You're welcome anytime."
Thus, the meeting concluded.
As always, it ended the same way.
They all wanted the orcs annihilated.
***
Cory had been learning magic under Ernando.
He was hardly what one would call a kind teacher.
If Cory had been a normal human, he might've suspected Ernando of using the guise of training as a pretext to torment him.
"Cory. Today, look at the grasslands."
The Allied Army had just repelled an orc ambush, and had sent cavalry to pursue and wipe out the fleeing main force.
Because of that, the entire field of view was littered with human and orc corpses.
It was by no means a pleasant sight.
"Do you want to change it?"
"Change…?"
"For example, erasing those corpses. Or, say, planting a beautiful tree on the grassland."
"Uh…"
Cory imagined the scene he wished for.
He wanted to get rid of the unsightly corpses, and plant a tree covered in blooming flowers atop them. That would turn the corpse-covered plain into something beautiful.
And if white birds flew in flocks through the sky above…
In that moment, the scene materialized.
But it lasted only a moment.
The picturesque landscape that flickered across his vision was soon pushed away by reality.
"Was that your doing, Master?"
"Yes. That's magic."
"Magic…"
"You make what you wish for come true."
While knights transform themselves through the mana method, mages project their mana outward to transform reality.
Because of this difference, magic was more easily dispelled and often less efficient. However, properly wielded magic could shift the course of the world.
"Though theory has piled up and made it harder to grasp, the essence hasn't changed."
"So, I just need to wish for it really hard?"
"No. But it's similar. It can't be too weak, but it also can't be too strong."
"That's hard…"
Magic was full of ambiguity. Each person had their own feel for it, and thus their own tricks.
"There's no rush. Take it slow."
Ernando stirred mana.
Cory followed, raising the small amount of mana he had. A tiny, invisible orb-like mass rose into view.
"Just like I did earlier, try changing the grassland."
With those words, Ernando stood up.
Cory remained alone on the grassland, continuing to practice handling mana.
But it wasn't easy.
He tried visualizing the mana to cover the corpses. But that wasn't what Ernando had meant.
"This is hard…"
Cory slumped down.
He wondered if someone like him—a half-orc—could really learn magic.
He had doubts about his potential, but the small bundle of moving energy at his fingertips was undeniably mana.
Prince Yuri had told him to wring everything out of Ernando. To drain him dry like a wicked disciple aiming at his master's back.
It was probably half a joke, but Cory still wanted to meet Yuri's expectations.
"My heart…"
Even ordinary people possess a small amount of mana. Knights had more.
But that didn't mean they could use magic.
Having mana didn't mean every wish from the heart would be answered with magic.
Then what kind of wish did the world accept?
"I don't know…"
Cory flopped onto his back.
The sky came into view.
"Ugh…"
He simply wished for the war to end safely.
For the Allied Army to win, for all the orcs to die, and for himself to go to Briol and live among people.
It was too vague a goal to achieve with magic, but Cory still made his wish to the blue sky.
"Please, O world…"
And so, when someone tripped over him, he was startled.
Someone had run into him and fallen flat over.
Pushing aside the pain in his side, Cory sprang up in fear, wondering if it was a scout sent by the orcs.
But it was a person.
"Uh…"
It was a woman dressed in tight, black leather. Lying sprawled out, her long hair had come undone.
"Um…"
She sprang up in an instant, like a wary cat, and glared at Cory.
"You are…"
Her eyes looked as if she knew him.
Cory, simply relieved she wasn't an orc, asked her,
"Are you alright?"
"I'm…"
She looked at her ankle mid-sentence.
"Did you twist it?"
"..."
She wasn't very talkative.
She looked wary.
Cory was well aware that his appearance didn't win humans' favor. So he softened his tone to calm her.
"Sorry. I was lying down and you tripped. If you don't mind, I could try healing it for you."
"It's fine."
"No, really. It looks like it hurts to even walk…"
"I'll ask you one thing."
"Yes, go ahead."
"How did you hide your presence…"
She trailed off and scanned him up and down.
"That can't be right."
She seemed to reach her own conclusion.
Then she tried to turn but sat back down again. It seemed her ankle was worse than expected.
"Grr…"
"I-I'll go get someone. This place is dangerous."
As Cory was speaking, he suddenly tilted his head.
Now that he thought about it, how had a woman come alone this far out onto the grassland?
But Cory didn't get to think any further—because she extended her hand and said:
"Tell Prince Yuri."
***
Asana closed her eyes under Yuri's incredulous gaze—because she herself couldn't believe it either.
"You tripped over Cory's foot?"
"Yes."
"Seriously…"
Yuri shrugged.
"I didn't know he had that kind of talent."
"I think I let my guard down for a moment."
Asana was an exceptional assassin and tracker. Her senses never missed the presence of anything nearby.
And yet, she'd missed Cory.
Perhaps, after wandering the grasslands for so long, she'd grown unknowingly fatigued.
"More importantly, why were you headed in that direction?"
At Yuri's question, Asana hesitated.
After the Allied Army took down the Kurui settlement, Asana had scouted the area and sent Yuri a letter with her findings.
She hadn't met him in person—because of what she planned to do next.
She was going to infiltrate Okua's territory. And she knew Yuri wouldn't want that.
"You were heading for Okua?"
Her employer was sharp.
He had already figured it out and was now looking at her with a reproachful gaze.
"Yes."
"It's dangerous."
"I'll be fine."
"That bastard uses black magic. There's no need to take the risk."
It was because of the black magic that she felt infiltration was necessary—but Asana didn't explain that.
He would only shake his head anyway.
"Is your ankle badly hurt?"
"No."
"Looks like it is."
"It hurts, honestly."
"Ernando will be here soon. Just hang tight."
Because Asana's presence was a secret, they waited for Ernando, someone they could trust.
"This it?"
Yuri lifted the hem of her pants and gently touched the swollen ankle.
"Prince, um…"
"Just stay still."
The prince himself was massaging her ankle.
Asana's face flushed.
"Um…"
"Don't tell me you're getting embarrassed?"
"It's not that…"
"Then what?"
"Massaging a sprain only worsens the injury…"
"Oh, really?"
"It really hurts."
"Sorry."
Embarrassed, Yuri gave her ankle a light smack.
"Ow!"