In a pitch-black room with no light, Yuri realized something was binding her as she opened her eyes. She immediately spread her magic power.
Even though it was a place where she couldn’t see an inch ahead, her magic power instead of her eyes assessed the surrounding environment. And at the same time, her magic detected a man.
The man must have realized that Yuri had woken up because he immediately spoke to her.
“Awake?”
“……Who are you?”
“You’re asking who I am first? How proactive.”
Saying that, the man snapped his fingers. An aura-like flame blossomed, and blue flames began flickering over the candles around the room.
Now able to see the man’s face, Yuri furrowed her brow slightly and scanned his face. Sure enough, a man she had never seen before stood in front of her.
“My name is Ashura.”
After introducing himself, Ashura lightly touched Yuri’s cheek with the back of his hand and grinned.
“You, be my bride.”
Not worth listening to. Without a word, Yuri glared at Ashura. Seeing this, Ashura let out a disappointed groan.
“I never said you could refuse. Did you not learn what ‘be my bride’ means?”
“…Like I’d ever be the bride of someone like you.”
“What? Don’t I look pretty handsome? Plus, I’m quite capable.”
“What makes you think kidnapping me changes anything?”
“I’m not just some kidnapper.”
As Ashura said this and leaned his face closer to hers, Yuri activated the spell she had memorized in her heart.
It was close to silent casting, so its power was a bit weaker, but still—a 5-star magician’s magic. It wasn’t something an ordinary person could endure.
But Ashura, as if it were nothing, swung his spear that had appeared in his hand and cleanly sliced through the magic Yuri had unleashed.
His spear blade was imbued with an Aura Blade.
“…You.”
Finally recalling who this man was and how she ended up here, Yuri groaned in pain as her head throbbed painfully.
And then, she remembered.
***
Amidst the hustle and bustle of preparing for Kail and Yuri’s wedding—uninvited guests arrived.
Though Duke Grace was known for being generous even to commoners, there was no way he could invite just anyone to his child’s wedding. Naturally, those without invitations were refused entry.
However, Aruki, who was desperate to find their leader, had no intention of following such orders quietly.
“—They’re inside.”
Realizing that the magical scroll left by Feyna pointed to the inner part of the castle where the wedding was taking place, Aruki muttered this while brushing past two soldiers.
Moments later, after the two guards stationed at the gate collapsed without realizing it, five figures followed behind Aruki.
Aruki informed the members that the signal from the scroll was pointing inward as they looked around.
“I’ll go in alone. Don’t cause trouble and wait. Come in when I give the signal.”
“Got it.”
With tunnel vision focused solely on rescuing their leader, Aruki slipped in alone, leaving the remaining members standing awkwardly, unsure of what to do next.
Just in time for the wedding ceremony, the members decided to grab some food and enjoy the spectacle, heading straight for the venue.
Pretending to be noble as they ate, the members quickly realized this party was far from ordinary.
“That must be the famous Duke everyone talks about.”
“And that woman in the dress looks strong too.”
Spotting the main woman of the event and her father, the renowned Duke Walter Grace, the members let out exclamations of admiration.
Though they belonged to an absurd organization composed entirely of Masters, even for them, encountering a true Master was rare.
Especially for magicians. Once they reached a certain level, magicians rarely left their towers or territories.
“I want to fight him… huh? What’s that guy doing over there?”
What happened next was an accident even the members of Holy Weapons hadn’t anticipated.
Walking toward the bride in her wedding dress, Ashura smiled broadly as he gazed at her. At a glance, one might assume they shared a long history due to his casual smile.
Duke Grace, exchanging greetings with other nobles, tilted his head slightly upon seeing Ashura approach.
“…Who might you be?”
An unfamiliar figure to the Duke, who had reached the level of Master as a sorcerer. Yet, there was something unusual about his presence.
As the slightly tense Duke glared sharply at Ashura, Ashura approached Yuri, blushing slightly as he spoke.
“My lady, I’ve fallen for you at first sight. Please, go out with me.”
“…Do you even know where you are right now?”
“Oh, of course I do.”
Shocked by such an outrageous statement during a wedding ceremony, the Duke sighed deeply and shouted for the guards to arrest this man.
As the guards approached after hearing the Duke’s command, Ashura smirked, looking at the dismissive Duke and Yuri.
“You’ll regret this.”
“What? Regret wha—”
In the next moment, as the guards attempted to arrest Ashura, he swiftly sent them flying and pulled out a long spear from somewhere.
Enraged by the audacity of drawing a weapon in his territory, the Duke moved faster than he could cast a spell, but Ashura’s spear tip was already flying toward him.
An attack so fast it was nearly invisible. The Duke managed to block it thanks to years of experience defending the North against usurpers.
Crack-!
“Oh? You blocked it?”
“Ugh-!? What is this…!”
Momentarily startled by the spear tip imbued with an Aura Blade, the Duke quickly realized he needed to create distance from the Master. He erected a magical barrier around himself and leapt backward.
Had only Ashura been present, the Duke would have easily subdued him without issue. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Ping-!
An arrow piercing through sound shattered the Duke’s magical barrier. Following that, a robed figure lunged forward and stabbed the Duke in the abdomen with a sword.
This entire process unfolded so rapidly that the Duke collapsed without even realizing what hit him.
“…Father?”
Yuri, who hadn’t expected the Duke to fall, stared blankly at the scene until she was struck in the abdomen by Ashura and passed out.
As Ashura carried the unconscious bride, he turned back to his comrades who were glaring at him with murderous intent.
“You idiot. If Aruki gets mad, it’s all your fault.”
“What? Is that how it works?”
“Of course. Is it our fault?”
Kaines growled this while glaring. Shortly after, Aruki returned from searching inside the castle and frowned.
“I told you to stay put… couldn’t you wait even a moment?”
“No, no, no—it wasn’t us! This guy did it all!”
“You’re all the same. Why didn’t you stop him?”
Though they bickered loudly in the middle of the Duke’s territory, no one present dared to stop them.
The soldiers who had drawn their weapons earlier, and the strongest among them—the Duke—had witnessed firsthand what happened.
The members of Holy Weapons sneered at the soldiers of the Duke’s territory.
“There’s no boss here. We need to leave quickly. We’ve been found out.”
“Found out? By whom?”
“Kail Meyer. He’s inside.”
Upon hearing Aruki’s words and realizing whose wedding this was, Kaines burst into laughter, delighted.
“Heh, serves him right.”
This is what happens when you oppose us. Kaines muttered this as they leisurely exited the Duke’s territory.
Kail emerged from the waiting room shortly after.
***
Roughly recalling how she had been kidnapped, Yuri scowled and glared at Ashura standing before her.
“—Pervert.”
“The insults from a woman I love are the best kind…”
“Go die, trash, impotent.”
“Sure, sure, feel free to keep going.”
The next moment, Yuri was struck by Ashura’s fist slamming into her stomach, letting out a pained gasp.
Coughing violently, choking sounds escaped involuntarily. Ashura grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, lifting her up, and locked eyes with her.
“But I don’t tolerate women talking back to me. If you want to be mine, you’d better fix that mouth of yours.”
“You crazy bastard…”
“Fix it.”
Smack, smack—after a few more slaps, Yuri silently bowed her head. If she tried to secretly use magic, Ashura would catch on instantly and attack her.
But doing nothing and staying obedient didn’t suit her temperament either. Gathering the blood pooling in her mouth, she spat it directly at Ashura.
Blood-tinged saliva dripped down Ashura’s cheek. He dabbed it with his finger and tasted it.
“Delicious. The best, truly.”
“As for scum like you, once Kail arrives—”
“Don’t mention another man in front of me.”
Thud—.
Overwhelmed by dizzying pain, Yuri bit her lip tightly as Ashura pierced her thigh with his spear.
Her powerful magic suppressed the injury and stopped the bleeding. Still, she couldn’t prevent her breathing from growing labored.
“Well, that Kail guy isn’t coming.”
“Hah… hah…”
“Why would he? There are six Masters here. Would any sane person dare come?”
If he were sane—those words made Yuri chuckle softly. With unbroken eyes, she looked up at Ashura.
“—Kail will come.”
“Didn’t you hear me? He’s not coming.”
“No, he will. Definitely.”
According to his own logic, Kail had no choice but to come here.
Of course, it was only natural.
Kail, Kail Meyer—
“I believe in him.”
Because he was the most abnormal human she knew.
Ashura openly mocked her blind faith. In fact, he enjoyed it.
When people’s beliefs crumble, that’s when they reveal their greatest weaknesses.
He wondered what would happen when she realized that Kail, whom she trusted so firmly, wouldn’t be able to come—or even if he somehow managed to arrive, he’d end up kneeling before them.
Ashura had seen countless women like Yuri. He loved watching their expressions when the walls they trusted so strongly came crashing down.
‘I wonder how long she’ll last this time.’
The reason he abducted the bride on her wedding day was precisely for this. Experiencing misfortune on what should have been the happiest day created a despair unmatched by any other.
Ashura’s task was simple: slowly, yet steadily tighten the noose around Yuri’s mind. Tighten, tighten, and tighten again until, at some point, with a bang…
BOOM──!
Suddenly, a wall exploded toward Ashura. Startled, he swiftly drew his spear and deflected the debris with a flick.
Then he looked at the man entering through the shattered wall.
“What the hell are you?”
“…Yuri.”
The man scanned the room upon entering and frowned upon seeing Yuri bleeding. Then, glaring at Ashura, he spoke.
“You.”
“Could this be that Kail guy she mentioned? Seriously, he stormed in here? Are you serious?”
“Don’t expect to die peacefully.”
Without a word, Kail unsheathed his Demon Sword.
“You’ll suffer even in death.”
