Chapter 107
DANG! DANG!
The bell rang, but few came rushing in.
That was thanks to the pre-emptive ambush that had cleared out many of the guards in the vicinity.
Of course, in just a little while, proper forces from inside the castle would come running, but by then, it was already too late.
Fwoooosh!
Flames of combat, transforming from Melin's sword into a black blade, flared up.
The destructive fire formed from the black sword struck the inside of the castle gate.
More precisely, the massive latch.
The castle gate shuddered, and Melin once again struck the latch with full strength.
Eventually—
“No, stop!!!”
The mages of the Ribery Count’s House, who had arrived too late, cried out with pale faces.
KUUUUNG!!
The castle gate opened.
And then—
The Black Swamp Knight Order of the Khazar Count’s House, hidden in the darkness, entered the castle.
It was the moment a storm of blood descended upon the Ribery Count’s House.
* * *
The battle was completely one-sided.
In terms of military strength alone, there was not a significant difference between the Khazar and Ribery Count Houses.
The Ribery Count’s House was also one of the top vassal houses.
But even with equal strength, the outcome differs vastly depending on how one engages in battle.
The Khazar Count’s House had prepared thoroughly.
The Ribery Count’s House had been caught off guard, completely relaxed.
It was a battle whose outcome had been decided from the very beginning.
Thanks to that, Count Khazar even had the leisure to look around.
“Our target is the Ribery Count’s House! Be careful not to harm any civilians!”
“Yes, understood!”
The battle, which broke out late at night, began to conclude before dawn passed.
It was a decisive victory, beyond question.
While the Ribery Count’s House suffered heavy bloodshed, the Khazar Count’s side had barely taken any damage.
“But this is strange. It’s too easy.”
Count Khazar said with unease.
Chris agreed.
“Something is off. We did catch them off guard, but for them to collapse so easily...”
“I don’t know where that bastard Count Ribery went. He should be inside the castle.”
Strangely, throughout the battle, Count Ribery had not been seen.
That was the decisive reason their side had suffered such an overwhelming defeat.
“He either fled. Or...”
Count Khazar turned his gaze.
To the innermost part of the castle.
The Ribery Count’s mansion, which had yet to be taken.
“He must be holed up in his own fortress. Waiting for us.”
Just then, the mage who had been sent for reconnaissance came running back!
“There’s something strange going on at the mansion! A dense cursed fog is covering the area—we can’t get close!”
Count Khazar let out a small chuckle.
“Looks like he doesn’t have the courage to come out and fight, so he’s laid traps in the mansion.”
“That seems to be the case.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. A coward like that could never be a match for me.”
Count Khazar spoke in a firm voice.
In fact, Count Khazar was a 6-star Upper rank.
In contrast, Count Ribery was a 6-star Middle.
Considering the gap between upper, middle, and lower ranks even within the same star level, it wasn’t overconfidence.
But Chris couldn’t feel at ease.
‘Something’s not right. Count Ribery should know he’s not as strong as Father. So why hasn’t he fled?’
Suddenly, Chris recalled the cursecraft Count Ribery had used back in the Burssen Empire.
A mastery that couldn’t be ignored.
A bad feeling stirred inside him.
“I’ll go with you as well.”
“You too?”
“Yes. I can be of help.”
The chances were slim.
But the worst-case scenario might still happen.
He had to be there.
Fortunately, Count Khazar nodded.
Christian was a strong mage in his own right. He was past the stage of needing protection just because he was a son.
But then, Teren—who had been beside them—spoke up hurriedly.
“I-I’ll go too!”
“…Teren, you?”
“I can help as well! I’ll support you and Brother from the rear with curse magic!”
Chris made an uncertain expression.
‘Doesn’t seem like he’ll be much help.’
But he quickly changed his mind.
‘…No, he might actually be useful.’
Chris recalled how Teren had fought just recently.
Compared to before, his growth was unbelievable.
Teren was clearly a cursed arts affinity user.
When someone with affinity casts a spell, even if it’s the same spell, its power is far more refined than that of others—it would definitely help.
“Father, what about bringing Teren along too? It’ll be a good experience for him.”
After some thought, Count Khazar nodded.
“But Teren, you must not move to the front. That’s absolutely forbidden.”
“Yes, I’ll remember that without fail.”
Chris also gave a warning.
“Teren, if we run into danger, trust my words and follow them no matter what.”
“Yes, understood.”
Teren nodded, and Chris looked toward the mansion as he spoke.
“Then let’s go.”
* * *
The mansion, befitting the prestige of the Ribery family, was nothing short of extravagant.
Its massive scale.
Countless statues.
A garden embroidered like a scene from a painting.
But now, it only felt eerie and desolate.
The black swamp knights of House Khazar surrounded the mansion with a grim presence.
“What’s the situation inside?”
“It’s quiet.”
“Quiet?”
“Yes, not a single presence can be felt.”
Once again, something that didn’t make sense.
If the mansion were the last stronghold, it should’ve been fortified with mages gathered for defense.
“Strange.”
“Yes. We can’t accurately confirm what’s happening inside. The moment we step in, we’re afflicted by a madness-inducing curse.”
Count Khazar lifted his gaze and surveyed the mansion’s facade.
“‘Rampage of Madness.’ It’s a dark spell that casts a madness-inducing curse over a wide area.”
A 6-star Ideation Curse.
A spell covering the entire mansion grounds.
Yet Count Khazar kept tilting his head.
“I don’t understand. Why waste power like this?”
Ideation—the domain of master-class 6-star mages.
A powerful ability, but every cast consumed a tremendous amount of energy.
Especially one of this scale.
“He surely doesn’t think a trashy curse like this would work on me.”
Step.
Count Khazar strode toward the closed doors of the mansion.
[Kyaaaahhh!]
His vision blurred violently and wails echoed in his ears.
“Begone!!”
With a shout, the sound of glass shattering rang out—and the madness was dispelled.
He had suppressed the curse through sheer force.
From the start, wide-range dark magic was more suited to massacring the weak, and had little effectiveness against someone like Count Khazar.
“You, come in as well.”
When Christian stepped forward, symptoms of the madness began to take hold.
He didn’t possess the raw power to dispel the curse as Count Khazar had.
However—
‘Only fools fall prey to curses like this.’
He dissected the mechanics of the curse.
How it invaded the mind.
Why it caused madness.
After thoroughly analyzing the spell, he severed its flow.
Even though it was a wide-range curse, to nullify it so easily—this was astonishing.
Tern’s display was just as impressive.
Woom!
A dense ash-gray veil enveloped Tern.
He had cast the “Curse of Malice” on himself.
The malice surrounding him repelled the madness-inducing curse trying to consume him.
A reversal of logic—fighting a curse with another curse.
As expected, his skill was outstanding.
“You’ve both done well. Let’s go in.”
Count Khazar briefly showed a satisfied expression at his sons’ exceptional performances, then stepped further inside.
But once they had entered—
“!!”
All three gasped.
An unimaginable, horrifying sight lay before them.
Creaaak. Creeaak.
A discordant, unsettling noise echoed, as if something were swaying.
Countless corpses hung from the ceiling, dripping blood!
That was the reason no presence could be felt inside the mansion.
Everyone had already turned into corpses.
As the group froze in place from the shocking scene—
Click! Clack!
The door they had entered slammed shut on its own and locked.
Then every window shut tight as well.
As if to say: no one would escape.
Then music began to play.
A chilling funeral march filled the mansion.
Amid the eerie, skin-crawling atmosphere, the sound of footsteps echoed.
“It’s been a while, Count Khazar.”
“!!”
It was Count Ribery.
He was dressed like a mourner, clad in black ceremonial robes, and in one hand, he held an old music box from which the funeral tune was playing.
Realizing what the music box was, Chris’s expression hardened.
“Father, don’t tell me… that object—is it from the main house?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
Even Count Khazar frowned.
“Cursed Relic, ‘Music Box of Gluttony.’ How did that bastard get an Ego Relic stored in the main house?”
It was a relic with a will of its own.
When sacrifices were offered, the ego within the music box would assist the caster’s curses.
The more sacrifices offered, the more the caster could use curses far beyond their natural limits.
As expected of a cursed relic made by devils—truly horrific.
“Heh heh… What’s so great about power, you ask? I am the highest vassal of the Dark Demonic House. Unlike you, cast aside as a branch family, it’s nothing difficult for me to obtain a relic of this level. Now then—”
Count Ribery turned a cold gaze toward Christian.
"To think I’d end up like this… I never could’ve imagined it. No doubt, it’s because of you, Lord Christian."
"!!"
"Don’t even think about leaving here alive."
Count Khazar stepped forward, his expression hard.
"Silence. You think I’ll let things go according to your plan?"
"Heh, you’re gravely mistaken. The only one who will die here today is not just Lord Christian."
Count Ribery’s eyes flared with intensity.
"You too, Count Khazar, will meet your end."
"!!"
The music box’s tune began to rise.
Then came a horrifying murmur.
[Screee... skrrrk. Give me... f-... food... blood...! H-hurry...!]
It was the ego of the music box.
Perhaps it contained a fragment of a devil—just hearing its voice sent a dreadful chill down one’s spine.
Count Ribery burst into mad laughter and shouted,
"I’ve already prepared the sacrifices! Feast as much as you want! And play a curse for me!"
Fwoosh!
Blood from the corpses hanging from the ceiling began to be sucked into the music box.
[Kikik! Kiiiek!!!]
The more blood it absorbed, the darker the funeral march became.
As if it were sinking into the abyss.
Count Ribery’s body turned a deep ash-gray, and an ominous energy began to pour from the music box.
He was about to unleash a curse through it!
"Father!"
"I know!!"
Fwaaash!
Count Khazar’s sword was dyed in black darkness.
Darksteel Aura.
No—this wasn’t ordinary Darksteel Aura.
Its darkness deepened as if submerged in the abyss.
A curse had begun to take hold.
The "Curse of Madness"—amplifying offensive power to its limit.
The "Curse of Ruin"—shattering the opponent’s defenses entirely.
And it wasn’t just once.
The two curses stacked endlessly upon the Darksteel Aura, and after dozens of layers, the aura became imbued with complete destruction.
On top of that, even the “Binding of Carnivory,” which completely sealed off the target’s ability to evade.
It was Count Khazar’s Willpower Technique: "Blade of Annihilation."
A person-targeting technique that could inflict the most fatal blow of any assault.
Once marked, even dodging became impossible.
Fwaaash!
In the blink of an eye, the Blade of Annihilation struck Count Ribery.