Chapter 116
An arrogant statement.
But it wasn’t wrong.
Nordian shook his head in disbelief, then asked heavily,
[Why do you think I went out of my way to train you in this secret training ground?]
“……”
[Do you think you can bear the weight of that?]
Nordian had kept it secret out of consideration for Christian.
Being favored by the family head wasn’t something purely beneficial.
‘It’s a double-edged sword.’
The number of enemies who would oppose him would increase significantly.
Other heirs were already his rivals, so that was one thing. But—
‘Marquis Langham will start opposing me in earnest.’
Chris narrowed his eyes.
He couldn't afford to be mistaken.
The rivals competing for the Dark Demon Seat didn’t end with the other heirs.
The final opponent was Marquis Langham.
Although, for now, the Marquis didn’t even see Chris as an enemy—
if Nordian’s favoritism toward him became publicly known, the situation would change.
He would begin opposing Chris in earnest.
The hardships he’d face would be incomparable to anything before. But—
“It’s fine. That’s a mountain I have to cross anyway.”
[!!]
“No matter who it is, they’ll eventually kneel before me. So don’t worry.”
Perhaps it was Chris’s boldness and confidence—
Nordian’s eyes grew deeper.
And then—
Laughter came from Nordian’s mouth.
It began low but gradually swelled into loud laughter.
A pressure surged that made the skin tingle.
[Good. I accept your request. From now on, you will be my official disciple.]
“Thank you.”
[However.]
Nordian asked coldly,
[You’re not going to show a disgraceful performance in the upcoming duel, now that you’re my disciple, are you?]
He was referring to the judgment duel with Ashid.
To become the family head’s disciple, only to lose in the duel—that would be the height of disgrace.
“Don’t worry. I’ll show a performance worthy of being your disciple.”
[Kuk… You’re good with words, as expected. I’ll be looking forward to it.]
Nordian spoke to Simon.
[Grant Christian access to the forbidden area. The time limit is one month. Keep this in mind—until the set time passes, he won’t be able to return even if he wants to. He’ll have no choice but to endure.]
An extreme condition.
But that’s what he hoped for.
“I’ll return.”
Just like that—
The path to the border of Gehenna was opened.
It was time to become stronger.
* * *
After Chris left for the Forbidden Zone.
The top floor of the mansion.
The family head’s office.
Marquis Langham, acting on behalf of the family head, was reading documents.
“Lord Christian has departed for the Forbidden Zone.”
“The Forbidden Zone? Who gave permission?”
“Since the chief steward initiated the unlocking process, it likely came from the family head himself.”
Marquis Langham remained silent for a moment.
‘How irritating.’
In truth, Marquis Langham hadn’t paid much attention to Christian.
Though he was stirring things up, he was merely standing out among the other heirs—not someone worth Langham’s focused concern.
However—
‘The family head has taken an interest in that child for some time now.’
Langham tapped his pen, then reconsidered.
‘Irritating.’
From his first appearance until now,
Christian had continued to irritate Langham in subtle ways.
The problem was the ambiguity.
He was bothersome, yes—but not enough to move against him directly.
So he had simply watched from the sidelines.
‘But maybe he’ll become a variable in my “plans.”’
If—
It’s unlikely, but—
If Christian were to win the judgment duel against Ashid a month from now?
Then he’d take a major step toward the position of Grand Duke.
A development Langham absolutely didn’t want.
‘Perhaps it’s time to clean things up.’
Sensing his master’s intentions, Macfield spoke coldly.
“Just give the order. I’ll personally cut off that arrogant brat’s head. Since he’s gone to the Forbidden Zone, it’ll be easy to handle him away from prying eyes.”
Nordian wasn’t the only one with the authority to open the Forbidden Zone.
As the acting family head, Marquis Langham also had that authority.
But Langham shook his head.
“It’s strictly forbidden by family law for a senior member to lay hands on a successor. I can’t send you.”
“Then?”
“It’s cleaner to have heirs settle heir-related matters.”
“You’re planning to leave it to Lord Ashid?”
Macfield asked with a hint of confusion.
“No. Summon Sherad.”
“!!”
Macfield flinched.
First Prince Sherad.
A madman, true to his nickname—“the Lunatic.”
Even Macfield, a 6-star Master Class, would get chills from Sherad’s madness whenever they crossed paths.
‘He behaves himself within the family estate, but who knows what kind of atrocities he commits outside our domain.’
Soon, Sherad appeared.
“What’s the matter, Father?”
He smiled faintly, silver hair fluttering.
“So, who am I killing this time?”
A chilling question.
It wasn’t his first assassination request.
In fact, whenever Marquis Langham needed someone eliminated discreetly, he often made use of Sherad’s hand.
As mad and psychopathic as Sherad might be, the fact that Langham would casually ask his own son to kill someone—
It showed Langham himself was no less monstrous.
“You know this already—I don’t take just any request. If the target doesn’t pique my interest…”
“Christian.”
“!!”
Sherad’s eyes deepened.
His lips curved into a long, crescent smile.
“A very... intriguing proposal.”
“I’ll open a spot for you to enter the Forbidden Zone. Just say you’re going in for training—that’ll serve as your cover. Once you’re inside, find the right moment and kill Christian.”
Marquis Langham spoke with cold indifference, like handling any other clerical task.
“Since it’s inside the Forbidden Zone, there’ll be no consequences.”
“True. Heh heh.”
“Then be on your way.”
Marquis Langham turned his gaze back to the documents.
Outside the office, the smile vanished from Sherad’s face.
His expression grew deathly cold, and an eerie aura seeped out.
“…This is troublesome.”
A low murmur.
“It’s such a rare and interesting delicacy… I wanted to fatten it up a bit more before killing it.”
* * *
Fwoosh!
With the sensation of being pulled through a narrow hole by a raging current, a vast space unfolded before him.
“So this is the Forbidden Zone.”
Chris looked around.
A barren wasteland devoid of life.
What stood out was the grayness.
The sky, the ground—even his own body.
Light was distorted, making it impossible to distinguish colors.
It was the middle ground between Earth and Gehenna.
The Borderland.
‘Technically, it’s a bit closer to Earth.’
The intermediate gray zone.
It wasn’t fully Gehenna, so neither Hellspawns nor Devils appeared here.
But that didn’t mean it was safe—far from it.
Powerful demonic beasts, influenced by Gehenna’s energy, roamed this place.
‘The beasts are a threat, but the real problem is the evil aura seeping out from Gehenna.’
A chill crept over him—a shiver that prickled his skin.
The wicked energy flowing through the gray zone began to infiltrate his mind.
Chris steadied his will and forcibly expelled the aura.
‘It’s not unbearable.’
This was the gray zone, and more specifically, an area closer to the middle world.
The aura was present, but with strong enough willpower, one could resist its effects.
‘In other words, it’s the perfect environment for training.’
What Chris needed, as mentioned earlier, was to build his foundation.
More precisely, the foundation of will necessary to advance to 5-star Elder Class.
With demonic aura in the air and powerful beasts appearing, this place was ideal for tempering his will.
‘If I throw myself into the grind, the answer will come. Honestly, this kind of brute-force training isn’t my style, but…’
There was no helping it.
A powerful will could only be forged in the harshest environments.
‘Let’s endure it, and think about all the glory and wealth I’ll enjoy when this is all over!’
Just then, some demonic beasts began to appear, lumbering closer.
As expected of the Borderland, they were 4-star level beasts.
Chris didn’t hesitate—he drew his holy sword.
Fwoosh!
Radiant mana filled the sword, transforming into an aura blade that sliced through the beasts’ necks.
‘I don’t need to cling to demonic energy. My goal is to fortify my will anyway.’
By training in aura blades—manifestations of one’s will—he would naturally develop an unshakable willpower as a Demon.
In the end, whether darkness through demonic energy or light through mana, the master was still Chris.
“Haap!”
And so, time passed in a blur.
He cut down wave after wave of beasts, faced countless near-death moments, and his mouth was so dry, not a drop of saliva would come.
Then, an unexpected voice rang out.
“Wow… you really are something else.”
“!!”
Chris’s eyes flew open.
He turned his head in shock—standing there was someone he could never have imagined.
‘Sherad?!’
The Lord of the Bloodshade Squad—no, First Prince Sherad.
“How the hell did you get into the Forbidden Zone?”
“Oh. Father opened it for me.”
“Marquis Langham?”
“Yeah. Said to kill you.”
“!!”
Sherad casually stated his objective, without the slightest hesitation.
"I don't actually dislike you. But it seems you've become quite an eyesore to Father."
"……."
Chris remained silent.
He had expected that Marquis Langham might try to suppress him as he began to stand out.
‘I even prepared countermeasures just in case he sent an assassin.’
But to think he would send Sherad.
That was far beyond his expectations.
"To be honest, this isn't an order I want to follow either. I find you... interesting. I was hoping we could stay close for a long time."
Chris frowned.
Sherad’s “interest” meant a desire to kill.
The more intense his murderous impulse, the less likely he was to act on it quickly.
Like aging fine cuisine, he would observe his prey over time—sometimes even help them grow stronger—before finally taking their life at what he considered the perfect moment.
‘In my past life, the one Sherad was most interested in was Evan, the Hero. He had countless chances to kill him, but he never did.’
— "It’d be a waste to kill someone as fascinating as you too early, right? I’ll be waiting, so please be stronger next time."
That’s what Sherad always said when he let Evan go.
He had once said something similar to Chris as well.
— "Hmm, too bad. If you’d learned swordsmanship or magic, I might have found you even more interesting than that Hero punk."
Chris clenched his fists tightly.
‘That bastard.’
He recalled the people who had fallen victim to Sherad.
Even the talkative one from the shadows, someone Chris had been especially close to, had been killed by him.
Rage surged through him.
When the talkative one was killed, it was the first time Chris had ever regretted his own lack of power.
‘I must kill this bastard.’
The problem was strength.
‘Can I really defeat Sherad?’
He had grown stronger rapidly, but it was still too much.
‘I still can’t gauge how powerful he really is.’
That said everything.
Chris's power didn’t reach Sherad’s level.
Even conservatively, Sherad was a high-tier 5-star.
He might have even reached 6-star by now.
‘Still, I have to figure something out. If that bastard forms a contract with a Devil and receives their blessing, he’ll become a disaster beyond imagining.’