Chapter 163
‘He used the manipulated law… in reverse?’
The law Marquis Shupen had manipulated was this:
The angle of movement would be distorted.
If something moved straight ahead, it would be twisted into a diagonal trajectory.
Which also meant—if it moved from another angle, it could continue along its original path.
Of course, among the countless possible angles, identifying the one that would lead straight through was virtually impossible—but Christian had reverse-calculated the trajectory by reading the instantaneous distortion.
“!!”
Marquis Shupen narrowed his brow.
At this rate, he really would get hit.
Fwoooosh!!
A dark shield surged up from Marquis Shupen’s body.
Just as those who reached 6-star had their own unique Intent Armaments, those at 7-star possessed unique Authorities of Dominion.
This was Marquis Shupen’s own personal dominion: Shield of the Dark Soul.
A power that possessed absolute defense, capable of disregarding even laws—an embodiment of Marquis Shupen’s will to protect the Dark Demonic House.
‘Did I go too far pulling this one out?’
A slight regret crossed Marquis Shupen’s mind.
For reference, this was the first time he had ever used this power.
That alone showed how threatening Chris’s strike had been.
‘He’ll know what this power is. He’ll back off.’
When you hit a boulder with an egg, it’s the egg that breaks.
If Christian struck the Shield of the Dark Soul, he’d only hurt himself.
But—
Christian didn’t stop.
“Haaap!!”
He struck down with even greater resolve in his sword.
BOOOOOM!!
A thunderous explosion rang out.
“!!”
Of course, the Shield of the Dark Soul didn’t budge an inch.
The one who took the blow instead—was Christian.
Whether from internal damage, blood began to stream down from his mouth.
“…That’s enough. Stop. This is more than sufficient.”
But Christian didn’t back down.
His eyes seemed to say it clearly.
That he would never stop.
That this was the path he had chosen.
But why?
Why did Marquis Shupen suddenly remember what Christian had said earlier?
— If you truly want to protect something, then sometimes, you must be willing to cross the line and move forward.
Until now, Marquis Shupen had lived entirely for the sake of the Dark Demonic House.
Even his insistence on preserving the identity of House Shupen had stemmed from the belief that it was the right thing for the House.
But was that truly… the right path?
Was it truly right to only protect?
Looking at the results alone—it wasn’t.
The Dark Demonic House was rotting away.
He had tried to protect it, but in the end, he had failed.
If he hadn’t recoiled.
If he had stepped forward like Christian was doing now—
Then perhaps the outcome might have been different.
At that moment, a massive surge of darkness flickered.
Christian had poured all his strength into a strike of black sword energy.
A will to break through anything that stood in his way.
KWAAAAAANG!!
A shockwave swept out as if overturning the entire area.
In the end, Christian couldn’t withstand the rebound and was thrown backward.
And then—
“……”
Marquis Shupen quietly stared down at his own hand.
A faint line had appeared across it.
It was a small wound, caused by the shockwave that had burst through the shield.
So faint that it wouldn’t be noticeable unless looked at closely—but it was still an unbelievable occurrence.
In the end, Christian had fulfilled his declaration to land a blow.
“…Haha.”
Marquis Shupen let out a soft laugh.
Why?
Why did it feel as though something inside him had been cleared away?
“Hahahaha!!”
He acknowledged it.
Christian had not been wrong.
If one truly wished to protect something—
They had to move forward.
And in that moment—
Something inside Marquis Shupen changed.
Before he even realized it, his consciousness slipped into a state of egoless clarity.
Countless thoughts flashed through him.
The water that had long filled the vessel began to overflow.
Everything he had built up until now was restructured—reborn.
How much time had passed?
Flash.
Marquis Shupen opened his eyes.
And then—
FWOOOOOSH!!!
A dense darkness surged from his body.
This wasn’t just the manifestation of demonic energy.
The entire space was consumed by darkness.
As though he had turned the surrounding area into a domain ruled by shadow.
It was as if an overwhelming pressure had surged through the space—one that seized control over the life and death of every existence within it.
It didn’t last long.
It quickly dissipated.
Marquis Shupen, coming to his senses belatedly, wore a look of bewilderment.
“Th-This is…?”
Christian, who had been observing from the side, spoke up.
“Congratulations on stepping into the realm of the Absolute.”
That’s right.
What Marquis Shupen had just manifested was a Domain of Dominion.
A power belonging to the 8-star Almighty class.
* * *
‘He hasn’t fully reached 8-star yet… more like he’s at the stage of approaching it—8-star Advance.’
The domain manifestation was still unstable.
In terms of aura control, he was barely at the level of forming it.
But that was only a matter of time.
Now that he had set foot into it, it wouldn’t be long before he fully ascended to the complete realm of 8-star.
“I’ve stepped into the realm of the Absolute…?”
Marquis Shupen looked as if he couldn’t believe it.
He had thought it impossible his entire life—and now, to achieve it so suddenly?
“True breakthroughs always come unexpectedly.”
“You…”
Marquis Shupen looked at Christian, confused and unsure.
“Don’t tell me… you acted that way during the duel just to help me achieve this?”
Christian didn’t deny it.
“Well, I only gave you a little push. You were already at the brink. If your vessel hadn’t already been full, you wouldn’t have ascended this easily.”
Marquis Shupen looked utterly stunned.
Christian spoke lightly of it—but this wasn’t something to take lightly.
How many high-ranking Magi fail to take even one step forward and end up stuck for life?
What Christian had done was nothing short of miraculous.
He had perfectly grasped what wall was blocking Shupen—and what realization was needed to overcome it. And he had guided him to that realization, naturally.
A feat bordering on the impossible.
“Well, as you know, I’m a genius. Helping others is something I’m not too bad at. In any case, if it helped you, I’m glad.”
Marquis Shupen shut his mouth tight.
Even as a genius, he couldn’t understand how something like this was possible—but that didn’t matter.
What mattered was this:
He spoke with deep sincerity.
“Thank you. I owe you a great debt.”
Yes.
This wasn’t something that could be brushed off as mere assistance.
It was, without a doubt, a favor of great magnitude.
“Oh, think nothing of it. It’s only natural for blood relatives within the same House to help one another. I’m sure Your Excellency would help me too, if I ever needed it.”
Marquis Shupen understood what Christian meant.
This wasn’t a free favor.
And of course, Marquis Shupen had no intention of letting such a favor go unpaid.
It was obvious what Christian wanted from Marquis Shupen.
However—
“It’s impossible for me to take action against Langham right now.”
“Hm?”
“Of course, I won’t keep turning a blind eye to Langham’s crimes. But at this moment, I don’t have the strength to confront him.”
That was an unexpected statement.
He had just stepped into the realm of 8-star—and yet he claimed to lack the strength?
“Langham’s power isn’t at the level of a 7-star. He hasn’t broken through his realm, but he’s strengthened himself through a hideous forbidden art. He’s on par with most 8-stars.”
Christian already knew that to some extent.
‘In my previous life, he strengthened himself in the same way.’
Though still lying low for now, Langham would eventually perfect his strength—and go on to assassinate Noridian.
‘It won’t be long. I did manage to stop him from acquiring the Twilight Amulet, so I have more time than in my past life, but still…’
The artifact known as the Twilight Amulet had played a decisive role in amplifying Langham’s power.
Before Christian became a noble heir, during a relic clash with the Venomous Demonic House, the amulet had nearly fallen into Langham’s hands—but Chris had prevented it.
‘Even so, I can’t be careless. If it’s Langham, he’ll find another way to obtain the power he seeks.’
Having thought that far, Chris finally opened his mouth.
“You’re misunderstanding something.”
“Hm?”
“I never asked Your Excellency to fight Langham for me.”
“……”
“More importantly, let’s be realistic. If you attacked Langham, the Dark Demonic House would collapse from civil war.”
If Shupen attacked Langham, the Dark Demonic House would split—into the army of darkness and the main house—and be consumed by internal conflict.
“Then what?”
Christian crossed his arms.
“I will punish Langham with my own strength.”
“!!”
“All I ask is that Your Excellency serve as my ally.”
An outrageous claim.
But Marquis Shupen no longer saw Christian’s thunderous, brazen words as nonsense.
He had experienced Christian’s terrifying capabilities firsthand.
Marquis Shupen slowly shook his head.
“I haven’t sworn loyalty to you yet. Of course, I fully acknowledge your abilities—but you still lack the qualifications.”
He fully recognized Christian’s brilliance.
But that alone wasn’t enough to pledge loyalty.
It was a matter of qualification.
Strictly speaking, Christian still hadn’t done enough to receive the loyalty of Shupen—the commander of the Dark Demon Army.
‘There is one way. If he achieves a feat worthy of my loyalty—one that proves he’s not lacking.’
And as it happened, the opportunity had presented itself.
“Actually, I have something to report.”
“What is it?”
“There’s an enemy who’s targeting Your Excellency’s life.”
“!!”
Marquis Shupen's eyes hardened.
Christian began to share the information he had gathered.
“…You’re saying the Mystic Demonic House has joined hands with the Four Demon Stars? Honestly, that’s hard to believe.”
“But it didn’t feel like a lie. We need to prepare.”
Marquis Shupen gave a small nod.
The problem was how to prepare.
“We can’t drag the entire Dark Demonic Army into this. If that monster from the Mystic Demonic House really has the power the rumors speak of, ordinary Magi will only become meaningless sacrifices. I’ll confront it myself, along with the Five Generals.”
That would be the most reasonable strategy.
But Chris shook his head.
‘It’s not enough.’
If the opponent were just an ordinary Magus, that plan might have sufficed.
But Chris knew exactly what kind of being Patera was—and what kind of power she could unleash.
‘Patera summons demonic power into herself.’
She couldn’t sustain it for long, but during that time, she wielded cataclysmic force.
Even the Hero’s party had once come close to being annihilated when caught in the grip of Patera’s power.
That alone proved how terrifyingly powerful she was.
‘Back then, that babbling shadow-being did tell us a way to nullify her—but no one dared to try it.’
It wasn’t something humans could normally accomplish.
At the time, the Hero’s group had no choice but to hold on and endure until Patera’s power burned out.
‘But this time… I have to do it. I can do it.’
Chris looked at Marquis Shupen and spoke up.
“Do you remember, before we began our sparring matches, Your Excellency promised me a reward if I managed to land a blow?”
“Of course I remember. What kind of reward do you want?”
Chris was silent for a moment.
“When the time comes to fight the monster from the Mystic Demonic House… I want you to follow my strategy.”
“!!”
He met Shupen’s gaze directly.
“Trust me completely. That’s the only way we can take down the monster from the Mystic Demonic House without any sacrifices.”