Chapter 117

No one knows exactly when Sherad made a pact with a devil. But it couldn’t have been too long ago.

Once he gains the Devourer trait, he’ll become a monster beyond comparison to what he is now.

‘Maybe… now’s my only chance.’

Chris narrowed his eyes.

Defeating Sherad in a head-on fight was impossible.

It would remain impossible for the foreseeable future.

But here, in the borderlands?

‘Inside the borderlands, I can create countless variables.’

Just in time, Chris had prepared something.

Preparations in case Marquis Langham sent an assassin.

It was a method unusable by Sherad.

‘If I play my hand right, maybe it’s possible.’

While Chris was still considering his options, Sherad spoke with a troubled expression.

“Your face doesn’t look good. I get it. I’m upset too. It’s not like I wanted to kill you this soon. But even I’m afraid of my father.”

“……”

“You don’t know how horrifying my father, Marquis Langham, really is, do you?”

Chris silently listened to Sherad’s words.

Sherad, perhaps overtaken by madness, began to chuckle lowly.

“Grandfather has no idea. What Father’s doing behind the scenes... I may be crazy, but he’s even crazier.”

“……”

“Even I can’t easily ignore his orders. Someday, I plan to kill him with my own hands. But not yet. It’s still too soon. So I hope you’ll understand.”

That meant he intended to kill Chris now.

But Chris, after remaining quiet, suddenly spoke.

“Do you have to kill me right now?”

“Huh? I told you, I have no choice.”

“There’s still about a month left before the spot to the Dark Demon Realm reopens, right?”

“??”

Sherad tilted his head.

“You want me to kill you a month from now instead? What’s the point? Trying to squirm around for a little more life like an insect? That’s disappointing. Or maybe… should I cut off your limbs and keep you alive for a month before finishing you off?”

“No. That’s not what I meant.”

Chris shook his head and replied coldly.

“In a month, I’ll be able to kill you.”

“!!”

Sherad’s eyes widened, and a slow, sticky smile crept across his lips.

“That’s… an interesting claim. But you do know it’s impossible with your level, right?”

“And why do you think it’s impossible?”

Chris let out a short laugh.

Intentionally.

So it would reek of arrogance.

“You should know I’m a genius, right? For someone like me, a month is more than enough time—long enough for anything to happen.”

“……”

“If you're afraid to fight me after I’ve grown in a month, then go ahead and kill me now.”

Sherad stayed silent for a moment, then let out a low chuckle.

It was a laugh laced with madness.

His blood-red eyes gleamed wildly.

“Ahh. Like I thought, it’d be a waste to kill you now. An opponent this interesting should be fully ripened before they die.”

“……”

“Anyway, fine. Like you said, I’ll wait a month before killing you. So try your best for the next month and entertain me as much as you can.”

Sherad’s lips curled into a grin.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

With that final remark—

Flash!

A drop of blood was left behind as Sherad vanished.

He had teleported using Bloodline Sorcery.

‘He’s probably watching me from nearby.’

Chris let out a low sigh.

‘Either way, this works out.’

The truth was, even after a month, a direct confrontation with Sherad would still be impossible.

But that didn’t matter.

There was no need to insist on fighting a mad dog fairly.

‘A month is more than enough time to prepare to take him down.’

Chris’s eyes grew calm and focused.

For the promised month—

He would prepare to strike Sherad down.

But there was a condition that had to be met first.

‘I have to perfectly establish the framework of Will.’

The strategy Chris had in mind couldn’t even be attempted unless the framework of Will was complete.

In the end, nothing had changed.

‘I need to get stronger.’

Chris drew his sword.

And so—

A day, then two—

Time passed in a flash.

* * *

How many brushes with death had he endured by now?

He fought until he collapsed, then rose and fought again.

His body was in the worst state from repeated exhaustion.

If not for the holy relic he’d received from Ruina, he’d already be dead.

Mantle of Nine Deaths

When the wearer’s condition deteriorates to the brink of death, it activates its veil effect to cloak them from demonic beings.

Thanks to that, Chris was barely able to survive each time he neared death.

‘Damn it. This kind of thing really isn’t my style. How did I end up in this hell?’

Chris grimaced hard and brought a hand to his wounded side.

Flash!

A radiant light extended from his hand and healed the wound.

Another reason Chris had managed to stay alive until now—Medical Energy Technique.

By studying the Intermediate Volume of the Medical Energy Technique manual he’d received from Duke Huam, head of the Venomous Demonic House, Chris was now able to perform healing arts on par with the official Holy Sons of the renowned Medical Energy Clan.

“This really is fascinating.”

Just then, Sherad’s voice rang out abruptly.

“How in the world are you able to use the power of light?”

“……”

Chris’s eyes darkened.

Given the situation, his secret had already been exposed.

Well, it didn’t really matter.

‘That bastard’s not the type to go blabbing outside anyway.’

Sherad was a madman obsessed with killing his opponents with his own hands.

So he wouldn’t leak Chris’s secret just to cause trouble.

More importantly—

‘One of us is going to die here anyway.’

Of course, the one to die would be Sherad.

Still, something was bothering him.

‘Laying the foundation for Will is progressing slower than I expected. It’s already been nearly a month. It feels like I’m just about to grasp it—but I can’t.’

It was sluggish.

To others, it might sound absurd.

Chris hadn’t even been here for a full month yet.

And in that short time, he had achieved remarkable growth.

In terms of demonic cultivation, he had risen from 4-star Low to 4-star Mid.

He had advanced a whole level in the blink of an eye.

But even more shocking was his progress as a Holy Radiant.

He had reached the peak of 5-star Low.

Now, he stood before the wall of 5-star Mid.

It was a tremendous achievement.

As often said, the higher the rank, the wider the gap between low, mid, and high.

This widening truly begins from the 5-star high.

That means raising even a sub-level becomes far more difficult than before—yet he had reached the Middle Level wall in record time.

A maddening pace—possible only because it was Chris.

But he wasn’t satisfied.

‘It’s not just about reaching a higher rank quickly.’

To be honest—

Chris wasn’t pleased with his Holy Radiant accomplishments.

It wasn’t a matter of speed.

It was a matter of quality.

‘My Aura Blade isn’t perfect.’

Not that it was defective.

Chris’s Aura Blade was on par with any Elder Knight from the Alliance.

But truly exceptional—

For example, like the recently rising stars, the “Knight of Salvation” or the “Knight of Annihilation”

Compared to the Aura Blades of those who would one day become top-class knights, his was lacking.

Because of the Will it held.

“I should’ve first built a perfect foundation of Will before obtaining my Aura Blade.”

Chris had reached the level of a 5-star in the Alliance by coincidence.

While researching how to imbue Will into the Black Sword, he unintentionally manifested the Aura Blade.

As a result, it didn’t fully contain a perfected Will.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too late—

As a knight, or as a demonic cultivator.

“Even now, I have to lay a perfect foundation of Will.”

It was a crucial stage.

Establishing a perfect Will wasn’t just about strengthening the power of Aura.

Will was the basis that would influence everything going forward: Will Manifestation, Spiritual Techniques, Domains, even Transcendence.

Depending on what kind of Will was established here, one’s future growth would be entirely different.

“A Will that can never be broken. A Will that can break any opponent—I have to form something like that.”

The problem was, it wasn’t coming together easily.

It felt like a faint clue was floating just out of reach in front of his eyes.

At that moment, Sherad approached with a snorting hum.

“Aren’t you being a bit reckless?”

“What?”

“You’re trying to refine your Will, right? But Will isn’t something you can artificially refine.”

Sherad tilted his head, as if he couldn’t understand.

“You’re the first I’ve seen worry about the next step before even crossing the current wall.”

He wasn’t wrong.

No one else tried to build a foundation of Will while worrying about the distant future like Chris.

Most people would just climb the wall as they could, and only think of refining their Will after the fact.

“That’s what ordinary people do.”

“!!”

“A genius like me is different.”

Others could only focus on scaling the wall because even that was a major hurdle.

But Chris was different.

For him, crossing that wall wasn’t difficult at all.

“More than anything, I have a reason why I must master every level perfectly, one step at a time.”

The truth was, even if he let things flow naturally, Chris would still grow strong.

He would rise to at least the 9-star realm without trouble.

And he’d do it faster, more brilliantly, than anyone else.

But that alone wasn’t enough.

“Even if I become a 9-star, I’d only be a typical Demon King-class cultivator.”

To face the enemies he would encounter in the future—

To prevent the coming destruction—mere Demon King-level power would not be enough.

He needed overwhelming strength.

Power great enough to stand at the very peak of the Magus Empire and place all others beneath his feet.

That’s why Chris was carefully building his cultivation step by step, precisely as if planning for the future from the very start.

Of course, it wasn’t an easy path.

“But I can do it. Definitely.”

“Anyway, get your ugly mug out of here. I don’t want to see your face anymore.”

“Hmm, that’s harsh. I came all the way here because I was worried and wanted to help.”

Sherad shrugged.

It wasn’t just empty talk—right now, he was actually keeping the demon beasts from swarming Chris.

The beasts, pressured by Sherad’s aura, lingered in the distance, cautiously watching for an opening.

He had helped in his own way—but it wasn’t something Chris felt thankful for.

‘He’s only helping me because I’m his to kill. If the beasts mess me up first, it ruins his fun.’

A twisted bastard.

“You’re disgusting. Get lost.”

“Heh heh. Fine, fine. I’ll be going now.”

Sherad turned his back but cast a glance over his shoulder.

“Try a little harder, will you? At this rate, you won’t live up to my expectations.”

“!!”

Flash!

With a drop of blood, Sherad’s body vanished—

And in the space he left behind, demon beasts began to approach with low growls.

Chris’s eyes lowered sharply as he looked at the beasts.

“Like Sherad said—this won’t do.”