――The name of the “Thorned Emperor,” Yugaldo Volakia, is known far and wide, not just within the Volakia Empire, but all over the world.

The reason lies in the tragic love story recorded in the annals of the empire, “Iris and the Thorned King.”

The tale that depicts the encounter and parting of the kind-hearted girl Iris and the feared Emperor of Volakia, the “Thorned King,” has touched the hearts of many readers, accompanied by a tragic finale.

The fateful meeting of the two, their first parting, the reunion after being betrayed by a subordinate and ousted from the throne—this began their rebellion, and over a long, long time, while the true history shifted in its narrative, the most essential core has remained unchanged: that the two deeply loved each other.

So much so, this unchanging love story, “Iris and the Thorned King,” continues to be cherished.

However, for this reason, the tale told in people’s hearts as a passionate tragedy has unconsciously concealed a part of the original historical truth.

Iris and the “Thorned King” did not spend their days peacefully nurturing their love.

In a tumultuous era where betrayal and wailing intersect, the two lived each day risking their lives, fighting to win the future they desired, and fell into a blazing love.

Indeed, Iris and the “Thorned King” turned the entire Volakia Empire upside down and ultimately achieved the seizure of the empire. — Of course, the ensuing tragedy goes without saying.

Yet before that tragedy occurred, they certainly accomplished a great deal.

With a heart of compassion and a dedicated presence, Iris won over many. With Iris at his side, the “Thorned King” achieved war results worthy of the Emperor of Volakia.

War results worthy of the Emperor of Volakia — that which embodies the ironclad laws of the Volakia Empire, which have not changed since ancient times; in other words, the proof of strength.

――Yugaldo Volakia, the “Thorned Emperor,” is the strongest emperor in the history of the empire.

“Damn it!!!”

With a thunderous roar that could shatter the heavens, Grooby Gamuret leaped back, discarding the chain scythe severed midway through its handle.

In the next moment, the chain scythe released into the air burst into flames of a bright red.

If he had hesitated for even a moment, that flame would have set him ablaze, his instincts understood the near-death experience as his beastly hair bristled. But there was no time to relax.

“The little pup dances well. However, in terms of spectacle, those of my star are far more impressive.”

Calmly, with an emotionless tone, he boasted as brilliant red trails of light assaulted him.

What was swung at him was the worst of all weapons, where even the clash allowed no counter-attack, much like the renowned sword bearing the name of the empire, its sharpness and its troublesome traits being unparalleled. If he could, he wanted to create such a masterpiece by his own hands.

“At the very least, I wish that the damn lord would show me that up close!”

With the sword being a treasure that only the rightful owner could wield, the opportunities to see it in person were incredibly rare.

Discharging his dissatisfaction as a general, Grooby utilized his small frame to dodge swiftly, avoiding the crimson slashes, dodging, then dodging again.

If one could not take it, then dodging was the primitive but optimal solution against this enemy. If Goz or Moguro had been present, they wouldn’t have dodged but taken the blows, burning out their lives.

The aftereffects of the slash scorched the cityscape, and even as he tasted the burnt smell in the air, Grooby narrowly evaded the bladed winds. However, he still couldn’t take a breath.

Even if he managed to dodge the sun-slicing “Sun Sword,” another swift strike of darkness cleaved through the world.

“—!”

Even his habitual curse could not escape his lips.

With the momentum of unleashing the “Sun Sword,” the strike of the “Evil Sword” whipped through the air, just centimeters above the head of the crouched Grooby, his beastly hair standing on end.

The aftermath of that slashing was more than just avoiding decapitation.

Along the trajectory of the blade, the ground for dozens of meters ahead was sliced, and the imperial capital’s buildings began to collapse, leaning precariously.

That absurd sharpness made it already a hassle to create a sheath to encase such a blade, the power of the sword known as “Evil Sword” Murakame.

Manifesting impossible sword strength, the “Evil Sword” naturally required an appropriate cost to wield. For an ordinary person, swinging it even once could very well cost them their life — a nightmare land.

“Yet you swing it around so easily…”

“Do you worry for me while facing me? Then that concern is unnecessary. You little beings like you should only worry about yourselves. My star is all I need to care about.”

“Damn it, you don’t make any sense!”

In his right hand, he wielded the “Sun Sword” Volakia, while his left hand brandished the “Evil Sword” Murakame.

The enemy assembled the worst dual-wielding combo, did not announce his name, but as he wielded the “Sun Sword,” there was no doubt he was the rightful owner.

Adding to that, green hair crowned with thorns, the undead resurrected around him— the true identity of this worst dual wielder surfaced, and terrible possibilities swarmed in Grooby’s mind.

And thus—

“Yugaldo Volakia…”

“Even if you don’t call, I know what I am. However, I commend your insight for recognizing me across time.”

With a voice strained like it had been drawn from deep within, the figure standing atop the burning remnants of a building responded, the undead— Yugaldo.

At Yugaldo’s response, Grooby made a noise of disdain, “I’m one of the ‘Nine Divine Generals,’ you know?”

“The ‘Nine Divine Generals’… Ah, so that position still exists.”

“Seems like it vanished with your generation, though.”

Whether he was interested or not, Yugaldo’s speech remained void of inflection as Grooby crossed his arms behind his back, drawing two hand axes.

He still had plenty of cursed tools. The problem was not the remaining quantity of curse tools but the quantity of Grooby’s life left.

“——”

While locking eyes with Yugaldo, he glanced down at his chest from the corner of his vision. As usual, the thorny vines embedded in his heart squirmed, driving sharp thorns painfully within.

He had hastily dealt with the “Curse of Thorns” that coursed through him, but this reckless maneuver was not planned for a long battle.

At a glance, the “Curse of Thorns” was a powerful curse that indiscriminately involved anyone caught in its radius of effect. Hence, the sorcerer must concentrate on casting and maintaining the curse while expecting that the enemy would remain hidden.

He was naive. Very naive. His assumptions were utterly miscalibrated as the enemy wielded his powerful weapon openly—no, while the weapon was indeed powerful, the struggle was not solely due to the weapon.

The one wielding that weapon was an extraordinary powerhouse.

Currently, within the Volakia Empire, a general’s rank directly reflected the position of the Nine Divine Generals.

This was a system revived by the current Emperor, Vincent Volakia, having once disappeared throughout history, only to occasionally reappear. Still, the first loss of the Nine Divine Generals was none other than during Yugaldo Volakia’s reign.

Why did the system of Nine Divine Generals vanish during Yugaldo’s tenure?

That was—

“—It can’t be helped. The weak wished to take the life of my star.”

—The “Thorned Emperor” himself had eliminated all the Nine Divine Generals of that time.

Of course, Grooby was not among the Nine Divine Generals at that time, nor were there transcendent strong beings like Cecilis or Arakia. However, it was hard to believe that those who claimed to be “Nine Divine Generals” in history were weaker than Grooby and his peers.

In short—

“—A damn short decisive battle!”

“Stop speaking such impure words. It is disrespectful.”

As the remnants of slashes scattered across the streets, Grooby’s body lunged towards Yugaldo.

With two hand axes poised, Grooby approached, but Yugaldo readily defended himself with the “Sun Sword,” pointing out Grooby’s disrespectful behavior rather than his weapon. Grooby bore his fangs and slammed down his hand axes in a furious assault.

Naturally, the strike was intercepted by the raised “Sun Sword,” just as he intended.

“Ugh!”

At the moment of impact between the axe and the “Sun Sword,” Yugaldo’s face cracked. Literally.

Fissures raced across his pale face, the proof that Grooby’s strike had landed.

“That hurt, didn’t it? Damn it!”

As Grooby laughed, watching the hand axe igniting and flying away, he had released it to avoid igniting it further upon contact with the “Sun Sword.” However, its effect as a cursed artifact — not cutting but having the impact of the opponent being knocked back — had activated.

Originally designed to kill opponents clad in thick armor or steel helmets while they wore such gear, the axe vibrated to an almost invisible degree, passing through contact and crushing flesh, bones, and organs, all at once.

Such fatal damage to living creatures, but how effective it was against the undead was hard to know—

“Interesting. However, if this cannot continue—”

“Who said that? I’ve got loads of cursed gear!”

If one or two were insufficient, Grooby drew out additional hand axes, raising them in both hands. Hearing Grooby’s answer, Yugaldo raised his cracked brow just slightly.

Then, throwing a hand axe, Yugaldo also turned and slashed, but Grooby dodged, and immediately returned fire with another hand axe.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!”

“——”

Between Grooby’s roar and Yugaldo’s silence, a moment’s defense transformed into a fierce battle.

As Grooby’s cursed tools were thrown wildly, Yugaldo continuously unleashed a duet of “Sun Sword” and “Evil Sword” in response.

While it seemed evenly matched to the naked eye, in essence, Grooby was at a significant disadvantage.

The stamina remaining, the remaining cursed tools, the lethality of both weapons, everything was stacked against Grooby.

The venom coursing through his blood steadily reduced his life, and the cursed tools he kept tossing would eventually run out. His tools would wreak great havoc if they hit, but an opponent’s blade meant certain death upon contact.

It was obvious to anyone which side had the upper hand, and even more apparent to the battling parties.

Therefore, Grooby utilized his disadvantage.

“I’ll show you some nasty sights!”

Grooby did not consider himself the strongest among the Nine Divine Generals.

He had once prided himself as the strongest in Volakia, but when called by Vincent and witnessing the others with his same rank, that fantasy dissipated.

He wished to be strong, but he did not wish to fall behind, nor would he allow himself to do so.

In strength, Cecilis surpassed him, in explosiveness, Arakia reigned, in versatility, Roswaal, in intellect, Chisha, in general capability, Goz, in survival, Moguro, in peculiarity, Yorna, and in anti-army performance, Madelin. None were even close.

That was Grooby’s self-assessment and his reach as a general.

But, however, even so, Grooby had strengths that other generals lacked.

――His single-minded obsession with killing, and the quality of his methods were unmatched.

“Gah!”

In the midst of throwing, blood poured from Grooby’s eyes.

The poison coursing through his veins was wrecking his blood vessels, bursting from spots all around his body. Seeing Grooby spit blood, Yugaldo’s expression remained unchanged.

He was clearly also a top-tier martial artist and likely recognized that Grooby was forcing himself to confront him while battling against the “Curse of Thorns.” He understood it placed a heavy toll on Grooby’s body, limiting his time to endure.

The blood spitting out was merely evidence of that certainty.

Even if his blade didn’t reach him, Grooby was on the verge of exhausting himself and dying. Indeed, Yugaldo had likely grasped that insight.

Thus, Grooby, spewing blood from his mouth, was unable to evade the crimson mist.

“——”

With slightly furrowed brows, Yugaldo retreated, evaporating the blood mist with the flames of the “Sun Sword.”

That blood mixed with the poison Grooby had consumed, but no considerable harm would affect Yugaldo. The aim was not to harm him with poison.

It was to smear him with Grooby’s blood. — This succeeded even amidst missed strikes.

“Damn ambush!”

Just as Grooby revealed a blood-drenched grin, the hand axes he had previously avoided swarmed toward Yugaldo as if guided by strings.

These were guided projectiles of the cursed tool known as “Blood Axe,” homed in on Grooby’s blood.

“What is this…?”

As Yugaldo dodged the incoming Blood Axe, he was astonished to see those he had thought he’d evaded spiraling back toward him.

A storm of blood axes bore down from all directions, but even with Yugaldo’s phenomenal physical abilities, continuing to dodge would eventually catch up to him, along with the endless barrage.

Moreover, since Grooby was not one to wait for such an opportunity.

“When’s the end of your troubles? I’ll give you the answer!”

However, what Grooby held was not another Blood Axe, but rather the segment of the chain scythe that had burnt away in their earlier exchanges.

This specially processed chain weight, Grooby spun it short and hurled it toward Yugaldo’s feet at arrow-like speed while Yugaldo, having discerned the difference from the Blood Axe, quickly reacted to defend with the abdomen of the “Sun Sword.”

Instantly recognizing the difference and deciding he could afford to avoid it displayed remarkable insight. But nothing Good could touch without consequence from Grooby, the curse tool smith.

The moment they clashed, the chain weight glowed red, and an incredible explosion enveloped Yugaldo.

“Whoa—!”

Being buffeted about by the explosion, Yugaldo finally let out a strained grunt as he was driven back. Nevertheless, he swiftly regained his balance and prepared again for pursuit.

At that moment, the Blood Axes that had been rendered immobile returned to focus on the stunned target.

One Blood Axe could shatter bones, two could damage internal organs, and three or more would inevitably claim a life.

With a torrent of ten or twenty raining down, even Yugaldo could not endure.

Thus, Grooby was certain he had secured a kill—

“—Take pride. You are stronger than any of the Nine Divine Generals of my era.”

In a split second, Yugaldo’s formidable face loomed before Grooby.

The strike of the “Evil Sword” sliced through, grazing Grooby’s right ear, while a soaring kick slammed into his solar plexus, sending him flying back.

Yet, even as he was launched away, Grooby loosened his belt and drew a ribbed sword crafted from serpent fangs, swinging to cleave Yugaldo’s approaching head.

“Had you been a rebellious traitor, you might have endangered the life of my star.”

With a twisting motion, he released the elongated strike like the body of a serpent.

Reflecting on the peril to himself, Yugaldo mercilessly dismantled it with the “Evil Sword,” evaluating Grooby’s combat strength according to his own experience.

As evidence of taking pride in that evaluation from the historically strongest emperor, Grooby clashed his feet together, unleashing two harpoon ropes from his clothing, aiming to shatter Yugaldo’s shoulders.

“Impressive, even under these circumstances.”

With that, Yugaldo tore away Grooby’s ankles, causing him to cough blood, while Grooby ripped the cloth from around his neck and spread it into the air.

For a brief moment, that obscured the line of sight between Grooby and Yugaldo.

“Damn it!!!”

Through that spread fabric, Grooby flicked his finger against the magic crystal stone embedded in his throat, unleashing a roaring wave of sound directed at Yugaldo.

Attacking from an unseen position was a surprise attack with no way to evade.

However, in response to that sound, Yugaldo demonstrated the true power of the “Evil Sword.”

――There is a term called hitting the core.

It means to strike the essence of things, but for everything, there is a corresponding “core.” In every entity, phenomenon, and even concept, there exists a “core” that expresses its true nature.

The “Evil Sword” Murakame cleaves through the “core” it perceives.

Once, Murakame resented Grooby for remaking itself and melted into the forge, wanting to eliminate the “core” signifying its “scent” so that no one would ever sniff it out.

Since then, no one could track the “Evil Sword” Murakame by smell.

And here, Murakame cut through Grooby’s unleashed roaring wave.

As Grooby’s eardrum recognized the sound of the magic crystal in his throat cracking, the very moment he noticed, the strike aimed to cleave Grooby himself—

“――”

An unexpected gust swept in, saving the life that was supposed to be severed.

“Wow, that was close. I just happened to be out for a walk, and now you get to live, kid.”

As the emergency backup cursed tools he’d scattered about were rendered null, and he was right on the verge of death, a tall figure casually appeared and announced so.

Both Grooby and Yugaldo could not hide their astonishment at this sudden intruder.

Not only had he interrupted this intense battle, but he had also made his approach completely undetected until this moment.

“Debey…”

“Ah, don’t force yourself. It was your technique that got you cut, but it seems your voice got caught in the crossfire. If you force it, you might never be able to speak again.”

Responding to Grooby’s rumbling voice, who appeared to be speaking through solidified blood, the black-furred wolfman neatly assessed what had taken place and then placed Grooby down.

He then glanced toward Yugaldo, his eyes narrow like threads, glaring at the standing figure.

“Interesting. That cursed tool chasing you around is quite convenient, but it seems you neutralized it with a single arm. And yet—”

As he paused, Yugaldo’s severed right arm began to regenerate.

As the wolfman indicated, Yugaldo had cut off his blood-stained arm just before the storm of Blood Axes erupted, narrowly avoiding it.

While such a method of evasion was not entirely unexpected, losing an arm would typically slow one’s actions down. Even considering that he was an undead, that logic should still apply.

Yet, even with an arm lost, Yugaldo exhibited no change in his movements before and after.

That was unexpected for Grooby, and without the wolfman’s intervention, it could have turned into a life-threatening opening. ― But that foreshadowed greater implications.

“Oi, Guzo…”

“…Did you just call me a damn thing?”

“That’s right…”

“I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Bringing his jaw down in response to the call, the wolfman picked up a golden smoking pipe and lit it at the end.

Then, amidst the swirling smoke, he lowered his tone slightly to continue.

“What a malicious sorcerer this is. — There’s no love whatsoever.”

As the wolfman spoke the same words, Grooby felt a similar impression.

Yugaldo, checking the sensation in his regenerated right arm, stripped away his singed coat as the ancient, mighty emperor held the “Evil Sword” in his left hand.

――Because Yugaldo too was afflicted by the “Curse of Thorns,” just like Grooby.