Chapter 175
Chapter 175
They regarded each other with suspicion, yet neither truly knew the other’s identity. Still, the moment Yuwon set the rules after pretending to skirt around the issue, he immediately asked about Gion’s identity.
“…Are you asking who I am?”
It was a question Gion had not anticipated. As expected, beneath the robe pulled low over his head, Gion’s expression subtly changed.
“It’s a condition you agreed to. You should know very well what that question means.”
A rule that demanded even the one who asked must answer in turn. It was a rule Yuwon himself had proposed. There was no way he had forgotten it.
“Of course. How could I not?”
With that low reply, Yuwon slowly reached up and cast off the hood of his robe. From the beginning, he had never intended to hide himself.
Srrk—
After the soft sound of fabric brushing past, Yuwon’s face was revealed. Jet-black hair grown down to his waist, a flawlessly pale complexion without a single blemish, and perfectly sculpted features as if carved by hand.
At the center of it all, two eyes gleaming like a winter sea shone vividly. Those eyes fixed themselves squarely on the man standing opposite him—Gion.
“Yurion Aphahiel. That is my name.”
The appearance of Yurion Aphahiel, the rightful Emperor of Aphahiel. Facing him, the eyes of the traitor Gion Tindal turned icy cold.
‘That man is indeed Yurion Aphahiel… I don’t know why his hair is black, but… it has to be him. Only then does that natural dignity and composure make sense. Now I understand. That’s why he could afford to be so relaxed.’
Yurion, who was said to have fought evenly with Colbus Seral, the strongest swordsman Gion knew in the world.
‘He wouldn’t have anything to fear.’
Gion’s gaze shifted to Yuwon. Perhaps because of the black hair, he resembled Black Lion Yulaios even more closely. The dignified bearing and momentum Yuwon exuded made Gion inwardly marvel.
‘So you were heading for the battlefield as well. Aren’t you afraid? Of making the Empire your enemy…?’
In the brief span of a moment, a violent storm raged through Gion’s mind. The man before him was the very Yurion Aphahiel he had been searching for. He had expected to meet him someday—but never like this.
As Gion remained silent, Yuwon, having already fulfilled his part, pressed for an answer.
“I’ve done my part for this question. So now I’ll ask again. Who are you?”
Yuwon’s gaze, sharp like a finely honed blade, pierced straight through Gion. But Gion did not retreat either. He was someone who had threatened the centuries-old Imperial Dynasty—no, if not for Yuwon, he would have already completed that task long ago.
The throne he had seized was still a throne. And its owner did not step back. At last, Gion broke the silence and answered.
“…Gion Tindal. That is my name.”
Gion’s distinctively clear voice calmly delivered his name to Yuwon. At that unexpected answer, Yuwon’s already frozen gaze grew even colder.
“So it was you….”
Yuwon had expected his opponent to be no ordinary person, but even he had not anticipated that it would be Gion.
Under Yuwon’s frigid stare, Gion removed his robe as if to prove his words, revealing his face.
Srrk—
A sound similar to the one Yuwon had made echoed as Gion’s face came into view.
A handsome face rivaling Yuwon’s, with dignity practically dripping from head to toe. In fact, in terms of sheer bearing, Gion looked even more like a prince than Yuwon himself.
Outstanding looks, a persuasive and refined voice, and superb acting ability. Those three traits alone had contributed greatly to Gion’s ability to play the role of a benevolent emperor before the people.
Talents far removed from Yuwon’s own. Of course, Yuwon himself lacked nothing in appearance, voice, or performance—but what he and Gion possessed differed at the very root.
Yuwon, who had returned after conquering the Abandoned Land and the Great Jungle, radiated a pressure that defied words. Something that made prey tremble before a predator. Having acquired that quality, it could not be helped.
A predator does not persuade. It claims through the hunt. No—persuasion does not work on prey in the first place. A predator may hide its fangs and claws, but never its presence.
In other words, the two could be compared like this: a true predator, and a fox wearing a predator’s skin. At last, the two faced each other.
In the middle of a desolate forest within the desert. Their gazes crossed.
Perhaps there was too much to say. Or perhaps they did not wish to exchange words with the enemy before them. For a long while, the two men simply stared at each other in silence.
Unlike moments ago, when suspicion reigned without knowing each other’s identities, they now knew exactly who stood before them. The situation was ripe to explode, yet both remained still, as though frozen in place.
‘Gion Tindal… I already knew it, but he’s truly young. What kind of life must he have lived to harbor such ambition and commit such deeds at that age…?’
‘So this man is Yurion Aphahiel, my opponent. Indeed… the pressure he gives off alone is remarkable. Far better than a Black Lion who’s lost all his teeth in old age while fretting over his offspring. If my uprising had been delayed even a little and this man had already taken the throne, I… wouldn’t have been able to face him.’
They say heroes recognize heroes. Seeing each other with their own eyes, examining one another beyond mere names, both were filled with pure admiration.
By facing Gion, Yuwon understood why the throne had been stolen from him just before he could sit upon it. By facing Yuwon, Gion understood why, despite seizing the throne in one stroke, he had yet to bring his grand ambition to completion.
One second… two seconds… three… five… The silence continued, stretching past ten seconds. When it exceeded that span, Gion finally broke it.
“Then it’s my turn to ask a question.”
Even in this situation, Gion seemed intent on continuing their little game. Finding it slightly unexpected, Yuwon nevertheless nodded in agreement.
“Fine. One question at a time, taking turns. That was the rule.”
With the right to ask secured, Gion immediately followed up with a sharp gaze.
“This is what I want to know. What are you thinking, continuing this war? Someone of your caliber should know very well how advantageous this war is for me and how disadvantageous it is for you. Knowing that, why are you still trying to wage it?”
“That is….”
Yuwon had thought he could answer anything Gion asked, but at that sharp question, his words caught in his throat. It was the very question Yuwon himself had been asking, alone, until just before meeting Gion.
“Was it such a difficult question? It’s strange that you’re taking so long to answer. Surely you’re not fabricating a lie, are you? Emperor Yurion Aphahiel?”
As Yuwon hesitated, Gion pressed him.
“Fine. Since you want an honest answer, I’ll give you one.”
“Good. Let’s hear it. That splendid reason of yours.”
Gion’s expression carried a hint of anticipation. Yuwon shattered that expectation completely.
“I don’t know. Whether I should continue this war. Or whether it’s right to continue it.”
“What…? You’re not telling me you expect me to believe that?”
Gion looked utterly incredulous. Yuwon shook his head lightly and reaffirmed his answer.
“It’s the truth, without a shred of falsehood. I couldn’t find the reason. Now then, it’s my turn again. I may ask, yes?”
At Yuwon’s words, Gion nodded in response. It was rude, but between two men trying to kill each other, there was no room to quibble over such things. Yuwon took it as assent and continued.
“Why? You gained everything. Even without forcing this war, the Empire would have fallen into your hands in time. Until you stirred up the Great Jungle, I was living quietly, as if dead. It was only a matter of time before I was forgotten. So why did you go out of your way to make me an issue and start this war?”
A long question. Gion answered without the slightest hesitation, as if he had prepared the response in advance.
“The era of peace created by Black Lion Yulaios is the problem.”
“What are you—”
It was an answer that demanded further explanation. Gion elaborated.
“Under Yulaios’s rule, foreign nations didn’t even dare to think of challenging the Empire, and domestic nobles, wary of the Emperor’s gaze, avoided even the most common territorial wars, instead dividing into factions within their home regions and focusing solely on political maneuvering. Since no blood was spilled immediately, it might have looked better that way. But that was an illusion.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“Thanks to that, the nobles amassed power little by little without shedding a drop of blood. Their internal bonds only grew stronger. Prolonged peace actually lowered the Emperor’s control. As a result, I was able to lead the Pro-Central Faction nobles and sit upon the throne. Look, Yurion Aphahiel. I am living proof that your father Yulaios’s rule failed.”
Gion deliberately invoked the past, speaking of the balance between the Imperial Family and the nobles. His intent was conveyed clearly to Yuwon.
“…So it wasn’t me that mattered. You just needed a pretext to wage war.”
“Exactly. There’s nothing more effective than war to weaken the nobles’ power. As someone who’s taken the throne, I found it uncomfortable to simply watch. That’s why I did it, and that’s why I will continue. That is my answer to your question.”
Seemingly satisfied with his response, Gion looked at Yuwon with a proud expression. In stark contrast, Yuwon’s face had completely hardened.
“…What about the people who will die because of that? With the scale of this war, the sacrifices won’t be limited to the nobles’ private soldiers. The ones who will suffer the most are the common folk who’ve never held anything sharper than farming tools in their lives. Fathers will go to the battlefield and die, and the streets will overflow with widows and war orphans. Is that what you want?”
“Heh, you speak as if this war will drag on and cause massive losses on both sides. I’m more worried it’ll end too easily and not deal enough damage to the nobles.”
Gion spoke as though the deaths of countless people were none of his concern. Enraged, Yuwon growled low like a predator.
“…Do my words sound amusing to you?”
“You were talking about the people? What a fine, virtuous soul you are. Too bad for you, the one sitting on the throne now isn’t that kind of person.”
Gion continued, sounding almost amused.
“Do you think I became Emperor because I cared about the people or something? Do you think I wanted to be a good Emperor? No, I don’t care about that at all. I became Emperor because I wanted to, and I’ll keep doing what I want. The sacrifices that come with it can’t be helped. Survival of the fittest. Isn’t it only natural that the weak die first?”
Even more devout a believer in survival of the fittest than Yuwon, who had endured the Great Jungle. That was the kind of man Gion was, and precisely why he had made it this far. After sneering, Gion wiped the smile from his face and continued.
“If all I wanted was to be Emperor, I’d be satisfied with things as they are now. But I have no interest in fruit that looks fine on the outside but is hollow within. I’d rather smash it to pieces and take what’s inside. Don’t you agree?”
When Gion finally finished his long answer, the doubts that had been tormenting Yuwon’s mind vanished as if by a lie.
“I understand your intent… very well. Thanks to you, my eyes have been opened.”
Yuwon smiled.
“Hm? What do you mean by that?”
A life as Yurion, thrust upon him without understanding, following the end of a failed past life.
Yuwon, who had struggled desperately not to be discovered as an otherworldly outsider inhabiting a prince’s body, and struggled just as desperately to survive.
After coming this far through countless efforts, the exhausted Yuwon paused and looked back—only for the world to lash him forward once more. It told him it was not yet time to stop. That he had to reach that finish line ahead.
‘Neither the assassin Tang Yuwon, nor the Fifth Prince Yurion. To stop him, I must… become Emperor Yurion Aphahiel.’
That single step, slow because it was irreversible. After long anguish, Yuwon finally set foot upon that path.
“I will reclaim the seat you stole. I will become Emperor.”
The self-proclaimed Emperor who had fled wounded into the wasteland now sought to reclaim the stolen throne and the title of Emperor itself.
Yuwon declared war.