I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 245 Sincerity and Doubt (1)

Yuri stepped out through the front gate.

He looked around briefly before heading towards the bustling area near the Demon King’s Castle.

Moments later, Yuri’s expression turned incredulous.

‘Look at these guys?’

Yuri’s gaze landed on a certain spot.

There, just as Mucci had said, some boys and girls were building something.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that they all had white epaulets on their shoulders.

‘The 51st generation?’

The audacity of these gutsy intruders encroaching on his territory—none other than the 51st generation.

Yuri stared intently at them, pondering, ‘How should I crush them so that word spreads?’

Then, something caught Yuri’s eye.

‘Oh? These kids are pretty skilled?’

Seven boys and girls were working together, assembling a small wooden structure by fitting pieces of wood together.

And their craftsmanship was no ordinary sight.

It looked like they had been professionally trained by someone.

Since entering the Cradle, Yuri had never seen anyone with such high-level skills besides himself.

And since they were the new recruits, Yuri felt a surge of interest.

‘Where did these kids come from?’

Yuri scanned them with curious eyes and then spotted one girl.

While everyone else was busy working, a delicate-looking girl sat alone in a sunny spot, basking in the sunlight.

None of the busy ones seemed to pay her any attention, and Yuri realized that this group revolved around the lemon-haired girl.

While Yuri was assessing the situation, others emerged from the Demon King’s Castle.

Among them, Mucci’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh?”

Finally noticing the lemon-haired girl, Mucci urgently informed Yuri of the situation.

Mucci blinked and muttered, “Lisa Verfort?”

Hearing this muttering, Arin’s brows furrowed slightly.

‘…Verfort?’

It was a family name she had heard somewhere before.

Arin’s brows furrowed even more as she tried to recall where, but she couldn’t quite bring it to mind.

She had to follow Yuri, who was striding briskly towards Lisa.

Stomp, stomp.

Confidently.

The boys and girls who noticed Yuri approaching with his hands in his pockets stopped what they were doing in surprise.

Their eyes were filled with extreme wariness as they stared at Yuri.

However, unlike before, they didn’t recklessly charge at him.

No, they couldn’t.

They now knew that even if they decided to go all out, they couldn’t handle Yuri.

Standing behind Lisa under the watchful eyes of others, Yuri spoke.

“Hey.”

A short call.

Lisa turned her body to see Yuri.

And then.

“Kyah!”

She suddenly stood up and screamed, covering her eyes urgently with both hands.

She even stepped back a few steps.

Lisa’s reaction left Yuri and his group bewildered.

Especially Yuri, whose expression soured as if he had bitten into something unpleasant.

“What, you can’t even stand the sight of someone like me?”

It was clear to everyone that Lisa covered her face the moment she saw Yuri.

As if she found the sight unbearable.

So it was only natural that Yuri would feel insulted.

With his voice laced with annoyance, Lisa frantically waved her hands.

“No, not at all! How could I? It’s not that……!”

Hearing Lisa’s words, Arin whispered to Poppy.

“Hey, doesn’t her way of speaking sound weird?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Oh, right… sorry.”

Seeing Poppy’s ‘Are you picking a fight with me?’ look, Arin lowered her gaze.

In fact, the person with the strangest way of speaking in the Cradle was none other than him.

As the two bickered, they quickly turned their heads at Lisa’s ensuing cry.

“It’s just that Yuri-nim’s presence is so dazzling… that I couldn’t dare to look directly at you!”

Lisa’s voice echoed passionately, plunging the open space into silence.

Everyone who heard it… no, everyone except Yuri had question marks hovering over their heads.

‘…What is this?’

‘Is she teasing him?’

‘Must be a new prank that’s going around.’

‘I’m hungry?’

At first, they thought Lisa was simply teasing Yuri.

But as her atmosphere remained too earnest and she continued to hang her head without looking at Yuri, they realized it wasn’t a joke.

Everyone’s jaws dropped.

‘…Is she for real?’

‘Really?!’

While everyone was shocked, Yuri folded his arms and stroked his chin.

“This is… rather fresh.”

Yuri thought back over his life.

In his not-so-long life, he had met plenty who cursed, punched, or pulled swords at their first meeting, but this was the first time he had encountered such a novel reaction.

As if he had discovered a rare creature, Yuri examined Lisa closely before asking a question.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

“Ah…!”

At Yuri’s question, Lisa suddenly fell to her knees, her face filled with emotion.

Then, as if praying, she clasped her hands together.

“My love, my lord… This humble servant is Lisa Verfort.”

It was as if she had heard the voice of a deity.

Even Yuri, taken aback by Lisa’s seemingly prayerful response with her eyes tightly shut, muttered under his breath.

“Wow, damn… This is a bit scary.”

At first, he thought he had found a rare creature, but now it seemed like an unknown species.

Yuri was convinced.

The one in front of him was an entirely new lifeform that hadn’t existed in the world before.

‘This could be dangerous.’

Feeling a slight chill at the back of his neck, Yuri subtly took a step back and asked.

“Uh, right… anyway, what are you guys doing here? Who gave you permission to build an unauthorized structure on someone else’s property? Huh?”

Typically, Yuri’s question would fluster most people.

The northern forest was a zone open to everyone, so it wasn’t like it was private property or anything.

And those caught off guard by his statement would usually retort… but.

“Ah, my thoughts were shallow. This place is also your sacred domain, is it not?”

“…Sacred domain?”

“I’ll have everything dismantled and moved elsewhere immediately!”

“Huh?”

Hearing the word ‘dismantle’ made Yuri’s eyes narrow.

‘Oh? Coming on strong from the start, huh? So you’re saying you want to do this right, are you?’

While Lisa genuinely intended to dismantle and relocate, Yuri thought she was negotiating with him.

It was a minor misunderstanding born out of the fact that someone like Lisa didn’t exist in Yuri’s mental records.

As Yuri carefully considered how to respond, Lisa spoke up first.

“But, Yuri-nim…”

Seeing her hesitate slightly at the end of her sentence, Yuri smirked faintly.

He wore a look that said, ‘Alright, whatever condition you have, just say it; I’ll at least hear you out.’

However, his keen gaze softened at Lisa’s next words.

“It’s just that… if you could allow this humble servant to remain a little closer to you, could you perhaps let me know where the boundaries of the sacred domain lie?”

“……”

“I wish to stay near your sacred domain, to behold your noble visage from afar each day… Please do not turn away from this humble wish of mine.”

Her voice was filled with sincerity.

Seeing her moist, earnest eyes, Mucci flinched.

‘Was she always like this?’

Although Mucci couldn’t claim to know Lisa well, his memories of her were of a girl who was unpredictable and somewhat dangerous.

‘…Well, she still seems that way now.’

She still looked unpredictable and dangerous.

However, her demeanor seemed noticeably different.

Where Lisa once appeared somewhat hollow and lost…

‘…She seems really stable now?’

As if she had found a place of solace.

While Mucci tilted his head, pondering the change in Lisa, Yuri’s gaze deepened.

Yuri looked at Lisa in silence.

“For now…”

A low, weighty tone resonated from him.

“…let’s revisit this in a few days. In the meantime, stop all construction here.”

“Everything shall be as you wish, Yuri-nim.”

Despite Yuri’s tone that sounded like an order, Lisa simply bowed her head politely.

Staring intently at the top of her head, Yuri abruptly turned around and walked away.

“……?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“I’m hungry?”

Seeing Yuri stride away past them, the group was bewildered.

The Yuri they knew would never end things like this, and his sudden retreat was confusing.

Blinking at each other, they quickly followed behind Yuri.

When they reached the Demon King’s Castle’s front gate, Arin, unable to hold back her curiosity, called out to Yuri.

“What’s going on? Yuri, why are we just leaving?!”

Yuri stopped right at the entrance of the Demon King’s Castle.

After a brief pause, he turned his head slightly to look back.

Yuri’s face was stern.

“That girl… she’s not ordinary.”

As he spoke, Yuri’s gaze landed on Lisa, who was looking their way with her hands neatly folded.

Soon, a fiery heat began to flicker in his eyes.

“This feeling… it’s been a long time.”

Ever since his thought process began, he had grown up with a constant awareness of his surroundings.

He had wandered the world, making deals and bargains, but it had been a long time since he had faced someone whose intentions were this unreadable.

A seasoned peddler who had rolled through countless human crowds over the decades.

A peddler who had roamed the world, overcoming countless dangers.

A mercenary industry where bloody fights would break out even over scraps of silver coins.

Not to mention back-alley thugs, and even fence dealers.

No matter how formidable the opponent, he could always

predict at least one or two moves.

But…

‘I can’t read her at all.’

No matter how much he racked his brain, Yuri couldn’t begin to predict Lisa Verfort’s thoughts.

This stirred Yuri’s competitive spirit.

“She’s an opponent that I can never afford to let my guard down against. So, for now, I’m stepping back to make proper preparations before I attack.”

Upon hearing Yuri’s words, the other four were shocked.

“No way… Is it really that serious?”

“Wow, if Yuri’s saying that, she really must be something. I knew there was something a bit off about her eyes, though!”

“I-I’m hungry…”

“Indeed, her every action seemed far from ordinary.”

From Theresia to Gunther, all four of them glanced nervously in Lisa’s direction.

Meanwhile, Yuri brushed his hair back.

“Phew… This is going to be a tough battle.”

His voice was laced with a weary sigh.

He brushed back his bangs and blinked his eyes, which flared up with a burning determination.

“Well, still… it’ll be satisfying to take her down.”

Ignited by a fierce sense of challenge, Yuri tore his gaze away from Lisa and entered the Demon King’s Castle.

As the four of them followed after Yuri.

Left behind alone, Mucci tilted his head, puzzled.

“…Wasn’t she just asking to stay near here if she couldn’t stay at that spot?”

He wasn’t sure why she was seeking Yuri’s permission, but he was pretty sure that’s what it was.

Mucci scratched his head in confusion, but then brushed off his doubts.

Seeing how Yuri and the other seniors reacted, he figured they must be right.

After that, he too stepped into the Demon King’s Castle, following the others.

* * *

A dark room.

A small candlelight flickered softly, illuminating a table where someone’s hands were busily moving.

Swish.

The hands unrolled a small piece of paper.

There were bizarre, unknown figures drawn on it.

Thud.

The hands quickly flipped through the pages of a thick book and began jotting something down on a clean sheet of paper.

Scratch, scratch.

The sound of the pen’s nib brushing against the paper echoed softly in the room.

Finally, several lines of text appeared on the white paper.

*Duran Vikovich, left the Cradle.
Return schedule: Uncertain.
Plan postponed indefinitely.*

The hand holding the paper remained still for a moment.

“Tch.”

A short click of the tongue was heard, and the edge of the paper touched the candle flame.

Whoosh.

The paper quickly caught fire and was tossed into a concave dish on the table.

In the meantime, the pale hand closed the thick book it had opened.

Thud.

The paper turned to ash swiftly.

The flames, larger than the candlelight, briefly brightened the room.

At that moment, the title [The Great Masters of the World] written in gold on the cover of the book was clearly visible.

But it was only for a moment.

Once the paper had completely burned up.

Huff.

With a strong blow, the candle was snuffed out, and the book, along with the room, was plunged into complete darkness.