Chapter 157
Sanin was appalled.
Chris swung his sword once more.
KWAANG! KWA-AANG!!
Each time he took the blow of the Black SteelAura, Sanin's insides were shaken violently.
He was driven back uncontrollably.
Even though Sanin was also using the same Black SteelAura, he was being overpowered by Chris’s.
“Th-This is impossible!”
“Why is Captain Sanin’s Black SteelAura being puhed back?”
A 6-star transcends the wall of willpower.
Thus, even if it's the same Black SteelAura, there’s a vast difference between one cast by a 5-star and one cast by a 6-star.
Even the Black SteelAura manifested with the utmost willpower by a 5-star cannot compare to that of a 6-star.
But that very logic was crumbling right before their eyes.
‘What the—!’
Sanin clenched his teeth and extended his hand.
FWOOSH!
An illusion spell unfolded.
Not just a mere distraction, but an illusion capable of inflicting actual damage.
It was a spell on the level of ‘True Strength’ the realm of Dark Sorcerers equivalent to the Black SteelAura.
‘Sanin is a balanced type among the Magic Swordsmen.’
The Dark Demonic House is a family of Magic Swordsmen.
Its members are divided by combat style.
There are Martial Magic types who use dark magic only as support.
There are Sorcery types who focus primarily on dark magic.
And there are Balance types who handle both sides equally.
Sanin was the latter—neither side outweighed the other.
‘But I’m an all-rounder.’
Chris’s swordsmanship surpasses even that of Martial Magicians, and his mastery of sorcery exceeds that of specialized Dark Sorcerers.
FWOOSH!
Chris’s Black SteelAura shredded Sanin’s illusion completely.
Even though Sanin’s dark magic was also at the 5-star level with his True Strength spell, it was effortlessly extinguihed.
This showed just how powerful Chris’s Black SteelAura truly was.
However, in the process of countering the illusion, a slight opening had formed, and Sanin, worthy of his status as a high-ranking 6-star Dark One, didn’t miss that opening.
“Prepare yourself!”
In that instant—
Sanin transformed.
More precisely, Sanin’s will imbued his every movement.
Will.
Another authority exclusive to 6-stars.
Through willpower, one manifests transcendent physical capabilities.
His sword now surged at Chris with an entirely different level of speed.
It was as though the moment he swung, the blade had already reached its target.
Dodging with sight alone was impossible.
And yet, incredibly, Chris evaded the strike.
Chris had predicted Sanin’s attack trajectory just before Will activated and moved in advance.
Bloodshot veins appeared in Sanin’s eyes.
“That kind of luck only works once!”
FWOOSH!
Will activated again.
A flash of light—and the blade surged toward Chris as if to slice through his body.
Slice.
Once more, it narrowly grazed him. His long sleeve was cleanly cut away.
“Darting around like a rat! Don’t delude yourself into thinking your luck will hold forever!”
Frustrated, Sanin grew even more agitated and unleashed Will repeatedly.
A barrage of attacks so fast they left not even an afterimage.
The Dark Ones of the Dark Demon Army watching the duel gulped nervously.
“Th-That…? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“If he makes one wrong move, he’ll die.”
It seemed like a fountain of blood could erupt from Chris at any moment.
But unless one side surrendered, interfering in a duel between Dark Ones was the gravest of taboos.
‘Why is Lord Christian holding out so recklessly?’
‘He needs to surrender now!’
If Christian were to actually die, it would put the Dark Demon Army in a very difficult position.
As everyone watched in growing anxiety—
One by one, people began to feel something was off.
‘…When’s he going to fall?’
‘…He’s still dodging? How?’
And then—
KWA-A-AANG!!
An explosion burst forth.
A destructive dark spell, cast by Christian, detonated right in front of Sanin.
A spell that struck at the perfect gap with perfect timing.
Black Steel Aura came crashing down on the stunned Sanin.
“!!”
Sanin barely managed to block it but was forced to stumble backward.
The duel reached a brief lull, and the arena fell into dead silence.
‘Captain Sanin got pushed back? Even after using Will?’
Sanin clenched his fist tightly and growled.
Clearly, his pride had taken a heavy blow.
“What the hell kind of trick was that?”
“Nothing special, really.”
Christian shrugged.
“What’s the use of speed if I can see all your attacks coming?”
“!!”
“And honestly, for someone using Will, you’re not even that fast. You’re weak. Are you really a proper 6-star?”
Yes.
Surprisingly, Sanin wasn’t strong.
‘Compared to Sherad, who was at the same level, he’s downright unimpressive.’
Sherad was also a lower-rank 6-star.
But Sherad had been far more threatening.
So much so that it felt unfair to even compare them.
‘Even among those who’ve reached 6-star, there can be differences in power… but this is excessive. Is he not a proper 6-star?’
Chris tilted his head.
‘But the level he’s achieved is definitely 6-star. Then why?’
He realized the answer right away.
‘That guy’s fallen into Mind Demon.’
It refers to the inner torment that negatively affects one’s cultivation.
The higher one’s realm, the more severely they’re impacted by it. If not dealt with early, it can lead to fatal consequences.
‘He probably hasn’t even realized it himself.’
Chris smirked.
‘It’s only natural for a Dark One to ruthlessly dig into another’s weakness once it’s exposed.’
It was obvious what kind of Mind Demon it was.
“Do you know why, even as a 6-star, you can’t defeat me?”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“Because you’re pathetic. You reached a mediocre level and now you’re arrogant enough to think you're above everyone else.”
“!!”
Chris sneered.
He deliberately lowered his voice just enough for only Sanin to hear.
“You think you’re all that just because you became a 6-star, but at the end of the day, you’re just a dog guarding the main house.”
Sanin’s face flushed with rage.
Because Chris had hit him with the one thing he didn’t want to hear.
Sanin’s Mind Demon.
It was the inferiority complex of being from a branch family.
“…I can’t accept that. Some so-called heir of the main family who’s weaker than me…”
“Is that so? Then prove it.”
Chris motioned with his finger.
“Prove that you’re stronger than me. If you can.”
Sanin’s energy sank low.
A chilling aura spread around him.
He was about to unleash his Will-Type Technique.
“…Don’t regret this.”
In that moment—
FWOOSH!
The world around Chris went dark.
His vision blackened like a canvas soaked in ink.
A storm of swirling blades surged around him.
It was Sanin’s exclusive Will-Type Technique: Black Painting Shatter.
A technique that traps the opponent in an illusion and tears them apart along with it.
Once inside its range, evasion is impossible.
The only way to break free is to counter with overwhelming power.
‘Because it fuses illusions, its concentration of power is somewhat lower compared to other Will-Type Techniques.’
But that was only in comparison to other Will-Type Techniques—it still couldn’t be compared to something like aura techniques.
It was an absolutely critical moment.
“You know what the difference is between you and me?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“Technically, I was also from a branch family like you. And to be honest, my situation was far worse than yours. Even so, I challenged the position of heir.”
The status and influence of the Marquis Shupen and the Count Khazar weren’t even on the same level.
Moreover, unlike Sanin who was already at the 6-star level, when Chris challenged for the title of heir, he had only reached 2-star.
“But I became the heir, and now I’m one step away from becoming the Grand Heir. Why do you think that is?”
“……”
“I’ll tell you what the difference between us is.”
Chris drew a different sword.
It was Andril.
He brought it out because no ordinary blade could withstand what he was about to do.
Black Steel Aura surged around Andril.
“…Don’t do anything foolish. No matter how powerful your Black Steel Aura is, it can’t overcome a Will-Type Technique.”
“Who knows? My Black Steel Aura is a bit… special.”
Chris’s eyes gleamed.
“While you were wallowing in your pathetic inferiority complex, I’ve smashed through everything in my way to reach this point.”
“!!”
“And I’ll keep doing the same. No matter what stands in my way, I won’t stop.”
With that declaration—
FWWOOOOOSH!!!
Chris’s will began to fuse into the Black Steel Aura.
Not merely drawing out his will through the vessel of aura as before—
He directly inscribed his will into the Black Steel Aura itself.
A will to destroy everything in his path.
“W-What are you doing?! How can you inscribe will into Black Steel Aura?!”
Just as Sanin shouted in panic, it became clear that what Chris was doing now was no ordinary Black Steel Aura.
Black Steel Aura is simply the manifestation of will.
But what he was doing—engraving additional will into it—went beyond the fundamental concept of Black Steel Aura.
It was more akin to a Will-Type Technique.
‘Not that this counts as a true Will-Type Technique either. But who cares? That’s not what’s important right now.’
Chris gave a cold, twisted smile.
This was the “Absolute Aura” he had gained.
A power that, though still classified as aura, surpassed the limitations of aura itself.
‘It’s such an overwhelming power that I can’t use it casually.’
He’d likely need to reach the mid or upper 5-star level to wield this power without instability.
“Tch…!! You think mere aura can…!!”
Sanin unleashed his Will-Type Technique at full strength.
The blades tore through the illusions surrounding Chris.
At this rate, Chris’s body would be shredded along with the illusion.
But—
Chris gave a cold smile and swung his sword from top to bottom.
It was a light stroke, yet heavier than any other.
A straight line that destroyed everything standing in his way.
Just like the path Chris had carved out through his life.
And at that moment—
The black illusion shattered into pieces.
“Keugh!!”
Sanin dropped to his knees, vomiting a mouthful of blood.
As his Will-Type Technique was destroyed, the shock reverberated back to his spirit.
And then—
Thud.
Chris’s sword was pointed at Sanin’s throat.
“!!”
The arena fell completely silent.
Everyone of the Dark Army swallowed hard.
A miracle had taken place—one they could hardly believe even after witnessing it with their own eyes.
“You remember the bet about handing over your position as one of the Five Captains, right?”
Chris grinned.
“I’ll be counting on you for a smooth transition.”
And just like that—
Christian proved his qualifications to all members of the Dark Army.
* * *
Meanwhile, atop the spire—
The Marquis Shupen, having witnessed the outcome of the duel, quietly swallowed.
‘I had anticipated there might be an upset, just in case.’
But that didn’t mean he truly expected Christian to defeat Sanin.
At most, he thought it might be a close and hard-fought battle—yet this result completely exceeded all expectations.
‘He didn’t just win—he completely overwhelmed Sanin.’
Of course, Sanin had only recently broken past the wall into 6-star and was considered on the lower end even among other 6-star novices.
He was also suffering from inner demons.
His Will-Type Technique, “Black Ink Shatter,” lacked concentration of power, and it was a poor match against the absurdly strong aura that Christian had just displayed.
Had it been a different 6-star-level Dark Army officer, the result wouldn’t have been so one-sided.
Still, even with Sanin’s flaws, he was only lacking in comparison to other 6-star ranks—he wasn’t someone a 5-star could ever hope to overpower.
‘Unbelievable.’
The Marquis Shupen shook his head.
“He really is impressive.”
[Ahem, well of course he is. He’s my disciple, after all.]
“…Didn’t he basically learn everything on his own? From what I’ve heard, you barely taught him anything.”
[…I gave him the fundamentals.]
Though they had a master-disciple relationship, aside from initially introducing him to the Dark Martial Arts, there hadn’t been any real teaching afterward.
[Anyway, what did you think?]
Nordian asked in a subtly curious tone.