Turning Chapter 1

“Listen, sinner, Yudrain Aile.”

 

An abstract voice came from above his head.

 

“You are a sinner who forgot your duty and responsibility as the commander of the Cavalry, and attempted to conspire against the world with your unassailable claims. You dared to deceive the world and also tried to steal the World Sphere by invading the prohibited sanctuary. Do you admit that you tried to run away to another country when the truth came to light, the truth in which it was revealed and connected with the murder of the Duke of Peletta nine years ago, the destruction of the Pearl Tower seven years ago, and the riots and the red field five years ago?”

 

Yuder laughed inwardly. He was a great sinner who would go down in history for a very long time.

 

Was there anyone here who wanted to know the truth when they were only reciting the answers they already decided were the truth?

 

Anyway, what they wanted to believe was not the gruesome reality that the world might soon fall into a crisis of existence, but the belief that the half-hearted Omega that was originally a lowly commoner dared to plot against them, so killing him would solve everything.

 

Meanwhile, Yuder had been wandering around the world for years, trying to find someone who would listen to him and believe him. So many signs were saying that something bad was about to happen to the world. Yuder could feel something so huge that even he couldn’t tell what was slowly approaching, but no one listened to him.

 

With his cranky and sharp personality, Yuder, who repeatedly wandered outside without any family nor connections, was thoroughly isolated, and receiving criticism for being crazy.

 

Even at this moment, he was all alone.

 

If he had really left when he was asked to transfer to the next empire, would he have experienced this? Yuder moved one of his remaining eyes to look at the jade on the far-off platform.

 

The emperor’s place in the dim view was empty. At one time, he only relied on him instead. The emperor who whispered and ordered him to do many things that couldn’t be handled publicly turned away when Yuder was caught.

 

Instead, a man stood beside the throne with a black thorny tree cane. Embedded in that is a red stone.

 

Not long ago, the cane belonged to Yuder. The uniform he wore as the commander of the Cavalry and the authority to stand right next to the throne once belonged to him.

 

The man standing in his place was once Yuder’s subordinate. A man who had never dared to make eye contact with Yuder before had now taken his place. His attitude with the cane was remarkable.

 

Who would blame him, now?

 

In retrospect, so many things had been lost in the name of a great cause. He thought there would be no regrets no matter when he died, but it was not so when he stood before death. Many things were mixed up and swirled in his head.

 

The stubbornness and pride that had sustained him.

 

A great deal of work that still needed to be done.

 

An unanswered question.

 

The first one to leave.

 

The future after he disappeared.

 

And… the face of someone he had been forced to repress.

 

“…….”

 

“In history, there has never been a criminal like this. The sinner does not reflect on his actions at all, even though he has committed a felony in which he tried to take advantage of the Emperor’s trust and ruin the entire nation. His Majesty is sickened by the shock of putting such a man who does not know his honor and responsibility in an unbecoming position. So the punishment of the sin is death penalty, he is to be beheaded here today. Bless the generous Emperor forever!”

 

WAAAAAA

 

The petals fluttered and cheers rang out. Yuder was dragged onto the high altar by the arms of the soldiers.

 

On the altar especially built to punish the high-handed criminal, a giant guillotine which made everyone see the decapitating scene, was shining a navy blue blade.

 

A long torture threw his crushed body like a minced meat under the blade. Until his mana hole was destroyed, the strange pain, which had little to feel surrounded by a low and gentle energy, had been overwhelmed breathlessly. Yuder gasped as he felt his eyes whitened.

 

Usually, criminals sentenced to death had a chance to leave a will, but Yuder was not given such an opportunity. Yuder finally looked up at the blue sky, enough to make his eyes grow cold.

 

It was strange. He thought it would be unfair enough for him to shed tears of blood, but he didn’t feel bad. He rather felt relieved thinking that he could soon be freed from all this tedious work.

 

So, what was so funny about him, who was about to die, who cared about the future anyway?

It was them who didn’t listen to his damn warning.

 

Ah, I see. I was actually exhausted…….

 

As soon as he realized it, the blade fell from his head.

 

Death was neither sweet nor painful.

 

. . . 

 

Yuder was born in a small village in the corner of the Orr Empire.

 

He grew up under his father and his grandparents, but then his parents died, and his grandfather also passed away when he was 13 years old. Since then, he took charge of everything on his own, digging up trees and herbs and selling them to fill the table with bread.

 

Such a change in life occurred when he was 18, when the huge Red Stone fell from the sky one day and surprised the whole world.

 

Fortunately, the stone that fell in a mountain range in the middle of the uninhabited Orr Empire, quickly overturned the entire land and filled the world with strange vibes.

 

After that day, some of the ordinary people began to awaken strange powers. A child who had never held a knife could cut a rock with just a branch, and a common village maid could kill all monsters attacking the village with one finger.

 

There was a strange energy that filled the world with the Red Stone falling on the foundation of all that power.

 

Since they couldn’t understand the situation, those people decided to believe that the energy filling the world was a kind of mana.

 

There used to be mana in the world before. It was only then that very few of the chosen talents had to train for a very long time before they could feel and use it.

 

It only existed.

 

Very few were mages who belonged to the tower and studied for decades, or knights who were able to wield the sword after intense training.

 

However, the new Awakeners did not have to put any effort into using their ability regardless of age or gender. Just as they were able to use their hands and feet from the beginning, so was their power.

 

As a result, the structure of the world, which had been unchanged for more than a thousand years, began to change. There was a sudden tension between those who had previously held power and authority and those who had new power- the Awakeners.

 

Over time, the tension continued to increase as it was revealed that if a person with power met certain conditions, they could develop beyond the level of their first awakening.Those in power in each country were worried about how to deal with the newly powerful ones.

 

It was then the Orr Empire Yuder lived in had made a public announcement across the country, choosing to attract the awakeners to form a new organization.

 

[Whoever has power, come to the capital by the Imperial Palace. If you can prove your strength to be true and swear to use it only for the Empire and the Emperor, no matter your standing you will be entitled to join the Cavalry!]

 

T/N: I’ve seen other people who read the book call them the Calvary and some call them the Demon Corps. The name will be used interchangeably by me depending on the context 🙂

 

The announcement spread everywhere in an instant as if wings were stretched out. Even Yuder, who lived alone in the deserted mountains, found out.

 

Among those who gained strange strength after the fall of the Red Stone was Yuder.

 

One day, he was suddenly able to cut down trees without using an ax. He could cross the city without breaking a sweat. Without firewood, he could set the stove on fire, and without avoiding predators or monsters, he could move stones with one finger to attack them.

 

But he didn’t think he would have to show that power to others. He just thought he would live alone in a small hut where he lived with his grandfather all his life. However, his heart suddenly moved when he heard that he had gone to the market to sell trees.

 

Gathering powerful men from the palace. It was an opportunity that ordinary commoners would never dream of.

 

His grandfather left a will telling him not to be greedy and to live, but he was still young. The announcement seemed like a brilliant opportunity and a heart-rending adventure for him who was unable to take off his boyhood.

 

It was a time when he didn’t know yet that everything came with a price, and that he didn’t really agree with those prices.

 

Yuder packed his things and left home. If he didn’t get accepted to the Cavalry, he would just go back home.

 

The shabbiest accommodation he’d ever had in the capital. In the accommodation which was about to collapse and had an inappropriate name called ‘Giant’s Sleep’, Yuder opened his eyes again after apparently being decapitated by a guillotine.

 

“…What the hell is going on?”

 

No matter how much he looked into the dirty mirror, the way he saw it didn’t change at all. Yuder looked at himself unfamiliarly in the mirror.

 

A face that was still young, black hair with a grim coat. The neck that had been cut was clean without any incontinence. Cheap clothes made of rough cloth and shoes that were too big to wear were so realistic. 

 

Everywhere he looked, it was him after leaving home for the first time 11 years ago on his way to the capital.