Chapter 153

Chris gave Sanin a few light taps on the shoulder, and Sanin, grinding her teeth, stormed ahead.

It seemed he had completely earned her hatred, but it didn’t matter.

‘She’ll kneel before me eventually, anyway.’

In truth, the position of one of the Five Generals had never interested him to begin with. Same with the Vice-Commander position.

Chris’s goal was to win the loyalty of Marquis Shupen.

‘And for that, I have to make sure Marquis Shupen doesn’t die first.’

He didn’t know what exactly was going to happen.

No, it was because he didn’t know.

He had to get as strong as possible over the next two months.

* * *

After being shown to his lodgings, Chris took a brief rest and loosened up his body before beginning his training in earnest. It was then that the group who had followed him arrived.

[Oh ho ho, I’ve missed you so terribly all this time. My heart ached so much from the longing. Would you grant me a kiss for this emotional reunion?]

“…What do you mean missed me. It’s only been a few days since we parted. And how did you get here so fast?”

Marie wasn’t the only one who had followed him.

Melin stepped forward.

“I hastened my steps to attend to you as soon as possible, my lord.”

“…Not because you just wanted to stick close to me as soon as you could?”

“Hoho, as expected of you, my lord. You know my heart so well. Come, let’s have a bout right away.”

Melin gave a ferocious smile.

He could feel that she had grown much stronger.

During their time apart, she had reached the level of 5-star.

Alros had come too.

“I-I…!! Khhk, I also came to loyally serve you, my lord…!!”

‘I didn’t want to come, so why did I end up here!’ He had been dragged along by Melin before he even realized it.

‘This Barrier Zone is dangerous! Khhk, what if I get caught by those Four Kings’ bastards and turned into an undead or something?’

With a wistful expression, Alros recalled his cross-border friend whom he had met at Gold Cross—Viscount Roy.

Before they parted, Viscount Roy had looked at Alros with eyes full of pity.

‘I hope you’re doing well, Lord Roy. As for me, today again I couldn’t escape from that demon… Khhk. Couldn’t I just defect to Gold Cross?’

Besides them, there was one more who had followed.

“…Why did you even come?”

“Me? I was bored.”

The eccentric doll-like pretty girl Jupien, who had been silently doing push-ups in a corner, replied flatly.

“This place seemed like fun.”

“…Right.”

Chris shook his head.

‘Well, since it’s come to this, it’d be good if we all got stronger together.’

Just then, Melin asked worriedly.

“But, my lord… Are you really alright? I heard about it. That you’re going to duel one of the Five Generals in two months.”

It had only been a day, but the rumor had already spread like wildfire.

Well, it didn’t matter.

“I’m fine.”

“But? All the Five Generals are 6-star level Devil-class warriors.”

Melin didn’t relax her expression.

Of course, she believed in Chris.

Given enough time, she was certain he would break through to 6-star.

But wasn’t it just two months?

“No matter how talented you are, my lord, there’s no way to reach 6-star in only two months.”

“That’s true.”

Even for Chris, the limit he could reach in two months was 5-star at best.

Of course, calling that "only" would be absurd. Reaching 5-star, a level classified as a High-grade Devil, in less than two years since regression.

It was an unprecedented pace, not just in the history of the family—but in the entire continent.

“Even if you reach 5-star, defeating a Five General is impossible.”

“Why’s that?”

“Pardon? That’s because 5-star and 6-star are different classes.”

Melin answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Just as the gap between 4-star and 5-star was like heaven and earth, the gap between 5-star and 6-star was no different.

If a 5-star could manifest their will into reality, a 6-star was someone who challenged the limits of reality itself through will.

The idea that a 5-star could defeat a 6-star wasn’t just impossible—it was common sense.

“So, who decided that?”

“!!”

“Looks like you’ve already forgotten. Why did you pledge your loyalty to me?”

Melin abruptly shut her mouth.

In the past, Chris, who had only been a 1-star, had defeated Melin, who was a 4-star.

“…You’re planning something ridiculous again, aren’t you?”

That’s right.

Chris already had something in mind.

‘All I need is the strength to overcome conceptual willpower.’

An absurd thought.

Conceptual willpower was power that had reached the limit of reality. How could one possibly overcome that?

But—

‘I can definitely do it.’

Chris grinned and stood up.

It was time to begin his real training.

“What kind of training will you be doing? Something outrageous again, like last time?”

Melin asked with excitement in her voice, recalling how Chris had once gone to the border of Gehenna to attain perfect will.

But—

“No, the training ground.”

“Oh? You must have something incredible planned, then. I’ll arrange a secret training field.”

“No need. I’m going to use the same training grounds the regular Majols use.”

“Pardon? The regular Majols?”

Seeing her baffled response, Chris nodded and explained his plan.

“Yeah, I’m going to do physical training.”

His trump card to gain power that could surpass conceptual willpower.

Was none other than physical training.

It was the beginning of endurance training.

* * *

The Dark Demon Army was an exceptional force.

A military unit of ten thousand soldiers, all of whom had mastered demonic energy and become Devils.

Of course, most of them were only 1-star Devils, but that didn’t mean they could be underestimated.

Even reaching 1-star or 2-star meant you could hold your head high wherever you went.

‘In the Union, even a 2-star is enough to be appointed as an official knight.’

In other words, for an ordinary person with no talent, reaching 1-star was no easy feat.

And yet, every soldier in the Dark Demon Army had at least achieved 1-star.

There was no way all ten thousand of them were gifted.

Which only meant that their training system was that outstanding.

So effective, it could raise even the untalented to at least 1-star.

‘Naturally, the training ground must be excellent as well.’

Chris made his way to the training grounds behind the territory of Marquis Shupen.

It was the place where the demon soldiers trained.

From equipment for physical conditioning, to basic weapon drills, to tools that helped with handling demonic energy.

The place was packed with all sorts of gear meant for beginners just starting to learn demonic energy.

But there was a problem—it was exclusively a training ground for beginners.

Completely unfitting for someone like Chris, who stood on the threshold of becoming a High-grade Devil.

“We greet you, Young Lord Christian. May I ask what brings you to this place?”

A training instructor cautiously asked.

“Ah, I came for physical training.”

“But this place is—”

“I know. It’s the basic training area for demon soldiers who are just beginning to learn demonic energy. I came because I was thinking of doing some basic training myself.”

“B-basic training, sir?”

“Yes. Isn’t the foundation of all things the most important?”

“O-of course, that’s true…”

“I’ll train quietly by myself in the corner, so you don’t need to worry about me.”

The training instructor looked flustered.

He wasn’t sure whether Chris was being serious.

But Chris walked off without paying any attention, as if he truly meant to do basic training.

First was long-distance running.

Chris strapped on a magic-sealing bracelet.

It was a Sealing Device that suppressed the movement of demonic energy.

He intended to train relying purely on his physical capabilities, without the help of magic.

‘This is exactly the kind of training I need most right now.’

To be honest—

He could have reached 5-star even today if he wanted to.

He had more than enough insight already.

But Chris was deliberately holding back from advancing.

‘Right now, I’m extremely unbalanced. More precisely, there are too many things I’m lacking.’

It sounded absurd.

How could someone who could overwhelm 5-stars even while at 4-star say he had so many shortcomings?

But it was the truth.

‘Stamina, physical conditioning, the vessel for demonic energy, the absolute quantity of demonic energy, the maturity of demonic energy—everything is lacking.’

Let’s compare him to Jupien, who was also 4-star.

If their physical abilities were broken down into numerical values, he would lose to her in every single category.

Strength, stamina, agility—everything.

‘Demonic energy is the only area that’s a bit better.’

But even his demonic energy wasn’t perfect.

Of course, his manipulation of demonic energy was nearly flawless. That fell into the realm of innate talent.

However, when it came to the robustness of his vessel, the absolute amount, and the solidity that comes from long training—those fundamentals were lacking.

It was inevitable.

The time he’d spent training was simply too short.

The only reason it hadn’t shown until now was thanks to Chris’s overwhelming genius.

‘Until now, it hadn’t been a big problem. Even with insufficient ability, I could produce results far more efficiently than others.’

But going forward, that would change.

This imbalance would eventually drag him down.

No—it was already affecting him.

‘According to the Alliance’s classification, I’ve already reached 5-star. But the power of my Aura Blade is lacking.’

It was an unexpected revelation.

His Aura Blade contained a perfect will and was far stronger than the combat energy wielded by typical Elder-class warriors.

But Chris shook his head in dissatisfaction.

‘Originally, it should be far more powerful than it is now. But my Aura Blade is stuck at just the “powerful” level.’

The reason was simple.

Combat energy is both a manifestation of one’s will and the vessel that carries that will.

While the will itself was perfect, the combat energy serving as the vessel was not.

‘It’s because of the imbalance I carry.’

The completeness of combat energy depends not only on will but on many other factors. Which meant there were deficiencies.

No—in truth, let’s be honest.

It wasn’t just a minor deficiency. By Chris’s standards, the vessel for his combat energy was utterly lacking.

Only because the will it contained was perfect was it able to display even this much power.

But that also meant—

‘If the vessel for my combat energy becomes perfect, then my combat energy itself will become perfect.’

Perfect will and a perfect vessel.

If he could achieve both, then his combat energy could truly be called absolute.

‘If I manage to acquire “absolute combat energy,” then even facing “Will Manifestation” wouldn’t be a mere pipe dream.’

That was Chris’s current goal.

‘I have to completely resolve the imbalance I possess.’

Simply balancing things to an “acceptable” degree wouldn’t be enough.

Especially since the purity of his dark demonic energy was at 100%. Far harder to control than other types of demonic energy.

To forge a perfect vessel for combat energy using such dark demonic energy would require a flawlessly stable balance.

‘The problem is time.’

Considering that others usually spend well over a decade building their foundational abilities, Chris was essentially over a decade behind.

And he had to catch up in just two months.

It was absurd.

‘But I can do it.’

As always, the reason was simple.

‘Because I’m a genius.’

And so, Chris began a genius’s physical training.

* * *

Chris’s physical training stirred quite the commotion in the Dark Demon Army.

Everyone was taken by surprise.

“You’re telling me that Young Lord Christian from the main house is fully focused on basic physical training? What the…?”