Chapter 176
Flaaash!
A magic circle appeared in midair.
“!!”
At that moment, the dark mages watching the duel instinctively jumped to their feet.
‘An interference spell?’
‘W-What?’
It was a technique that intervened in the opponent's magic formula.
The problem was, this technique was incredibly high-level.
It required real-time intervention in a formula that constantly changed in an instant.
Unless one had a deep and thorough understanding of the opponent’s magic, it was impossible to pull off.
‘There’s no way Lord Christian would know the forbidden black magic formulas of the Destruction Demonic House, right?’
‘Did he reverse-engineer and decipher the whole spell on the spot?’
But the real surprise was only just beginning.
The usual purpose of an interference spell was singular.
To disrupt and cancel the opponent's formula.
Of course, in theory, it was possible to intervene in other ways.
Like changing the direction of the magic, altering a part of its nature, and so on.
But that would require the ability to create new magic in real time.
Something impossible unless one was truly a master in that field, so realistically, the limit was just to disrupt the formula and cancel the magic.
‘He changed the nature of the magic that Lord Kashmir cast!’
The interference spell Christian unleashed altered Kashmir’s magic.
It added an enchantment attribute to the ice within the vortex.
The dark mana that Chris unleashed embedded itself into the ice.
‘Insane.’
The dark mages watching swallowed hard.
Even seeing it with their own eyes, they could hardly believe it.
‘Could it be... has Lord Christian reached the 5-star level in black magic?’
‘But even a professional black magician at 5-star level shouldn’t be able to pull that off?!’
If the black magic that Kashmir used had been a simple 2 or 3-star spell, maybe it’d be plausible—but it wasn’t.
4-star.
It was black magic at the level of “property transformation.”
‘This is absurd.’
But they didn’t know.
That the true shock was only just beginning.
“You may be playing tricks.”
Philip’s eyebrow twitched.
He was offended that Chris had pulled off something even he, hailed as a genius, couldn’t do.
“But it’s useless!”
Fwoooosh!!!
The flames of destruction surged even fiercer.
The icy vortex that Kashmir had fired now looked utterly feeble.
But then, a change occurred.
Whiiiiiir!!
The vortex of ice spread out wide.
As if it were surrounding the flames from a distance.
“What is this? How did the Rusted Horn undergo such a change?”
“That’s completely different from the original form of the Rusted Horn, isn’t it?”
Of course, this too was something Chris had accomplished.
‘He used the dominating nature of dark mana.’
The reason Chris imbued the Rusted Horn with dark mana wasn’t just to enhance its power, but to bring the spell itself under his control.
A feat possible only because Chris’s dark mana was pure at a ten-tenths level.
Of course, it was also only possible because Kashmir didn’t resist Chris’s interference at all.
‘Just because it’s Dark Demonic House's black magic doesn’t mean it’s invincible.’
Chris narrowed his eyes.
Dark Demonic House's black magic was similar to “Aura Force.”
It was black magic manifested through willpower.
Therefore, the spell had a core pillar of will.
‘All I need to do is collapse that pillar of will.’
Naturally, that was an extremely difficult task.
Especially to break the will of a 5-star Dark Demonic House's black magic with a 4-star spell—equivalent to breaking 5-star Aura Force with a 4-star Black Sword.
But it didn’t matter.
Even when he had only wielded a Black Sword in the past, Chris had displayed power that overwhelmed Aura Force.
“Lord Kashmir. Watch closely what I’m about to do.”
“!!”
Vmmmmm!
The dark mana imbued in the ice changed.
Chris’s “will” was carried into the dark mana and into the magic Kashmir had cast.
“This is the manifestation of will.”
Chris gestured with his hand.
The ice flew toward the flames of destruction.
Ice that, under normal circumstances, would’ve immediately melted and disappeared.
But unbelievably, the ice didn’t melt. Nor was it shattered by the destructive force imbued in the flames.
Chris’s “will” had overcome the power of destruction.
“…This is absurd!!!”
Philip’s voice trembled in disbelief.
And it wasn’t just Philip. Everyone watching had the same reaction.
It was supposed to be impossible to infuse will into a 4-star spell.
That’s why there existed special Dark Demonic House's spells, which served as “vessels” capable of holding will.
But Chris had already imbued will into his Black Sword, something originally possible only with Aura Force.
Though there was a difference between the Black Sword and magic, this level of control was well within his ability.
Chris spoke quietly once more.
“Will is the power that makes everything possible.”
The feeble ice tore through the flame like a giant.
An unreal sight—like an egg shattering a rock.
Kashmir trembled.
He could feel Chris’s will embedded in his own magic.
"Never forget this sensation you're feeling right now."
This was the very reason Chris had engaged in this duel.
He intended to let Kashmir experience his own “will” and use it as a foundation for growth.
If he didn’t become stronger, Kashmir wouldn’t be able to endure what lay ahead.
Meanwhile, Kashmir felt Chris’s intent and tightly resolved within himself.
‘Thank you, my lord.’
A determination began to rise in his heart.
‘I will never forget the grace you have shown me. I, Kashmir, will dedicate everything I have to you, my lord.’
And then—
An unbelievable miracle occurred.
Flaaash!
The flame, slashed apart by ice, scattered into pieces.
The spell had been dismantled!
“Guh-heok!!”
From the backlash, Philip coughed up blood and fell to his knees.
The hall fell into silence.
Everyone's expectations were overturned, and Kashmir had emerged victorious.
No—Kashmir hadn’t done anything. It was Chris’s victory.
‘How could something like this happen?’
Everyone in the banquet hall stared at Chris, stunned.
Had Chris defeated Philip in a straightforward duel, they wouldn’t have been that surprised.
But he had performed an absurd miracle and brought Philip down.
Everyone in the hall was left in speechless disbelief, wondering if what they saw had truly happened.
“Looks like this side has won.”
Srrrng.
A cold blade pointed at Philip’s throat.
“!!”
Philip clenched his teeth.
“I… I can’t accept this.”
“Hm?”
“You must’ve pulled some underhanded trick I don’t know about…!!”
Based on his knowledge of black magic, Philip couldn’t accept what had just happened.
‘He must’ve used some kind of unknown artifact. There’s no way something like that could happen otherwise!’
Philip was a genius.
But even he couldn’t dream of accomplishing what had just occurred.
So naturally, he assumed the opponent had cheated somehow.
Meanwhile, Chris looked straight at Philip and said bluntly:
“You’re a fool, so I guess your thoughts are limited too.”
“!!”
“Either way, that’s enough. As promised earlier, get on your knees and beg for forgiveness.”
Philip’s eyes widened as if they would tear apart.
Now that he thought about it, they had agreed before the duel that the loser would kneel before the victor.
“Y-You think… I’d actually do something like that?!”
“You better do it.”
Sshk.
“If you don’t, you’ll die.”
Chris’s sword dug into Philip’s neck.
“!!”
Blood trickled down.
“Why? Do you think I won’t do it?”
Philip’s eyes trembled.
“If… if you kill me… my main house won’t stay silent…”
“Who knows? But right now, what matters more to me is the honor of our Dark Demonic House that’s been disgraced. You really have no idea what you’ve done wrong, do you?”
Philip had disgraced the host—House of Darkness—by causing a scene in the banquet hall.
“When a demon noble’s honor is insulted, there’s only one rightful response. To make the offender pay with their life. But out of consideration for the Destruction Demonic House, I’m giving you a chance to beg for forgiveness.”
Chris continued in a detached tone, both his gaze and voice cold.
“If you refuse, then it can’t be helped. Do as you please. Honestly, I’d be just fine killing you right here.”
Philip’s body began to tremble.
He realized Chris truly intended to kill him.
“I’m going to count to three.”
The blade dug in deeper.
“One.”
Blood gushed out even more fiercely.
But Chris didn’t stop.
The blade sliced cleanly through the thin skin of his neck.
At this rate, once he reached three, Philip’s carotid artery would be severed, and he’d die.
“Two.”
And then—
“W-Wait!! Please stop!!”
The retainers who had followed from the Destruction Demonic House shouted in panic.
An unbelievable sight followed.
Philip dropped to his knees.
“S… sorry for causing a disturbance.”
Everyone in the banquet hall was stunned.
The famed genius of the Destruction Demonic House, Philip, showing such disgraceful submission?
Philip’s entire body trembled with shame.
But the humiliation wasn’t over yet.
“That all?”
“W-What…?”
“And to Kashmir?”
“!!”
To apologize to Kashmir, whom he had treated like trash?
His mind started to go blank.
Then Kashmir spoke.
“I’m fine.”
“Hm?”
“This victory isn’t mine. I’ll receive an apology properly later—after I’ve made Lord Philip kneel with my own strength.”
It was a statement that made Philip’s mind go blank.
With fury and shame flooding him, Philip felt like he might faint.
Chris let out a wide grin.
“Well, that doesn’t sound too bad either. Fine, you may rise.”
But Philip couldn’t get up.
Overwhelmed by extreme humiliation, he was unable to collect himself.
“Wait… Don’t tell me you pissed yourself?”
“!!”
Philip’s face went pale.
He hurriedly looked down—but thankfully, there was no stain.
It was Chris mocking him.
“Oh, my mistake then. You were zoning out so hard, I figured you might’ve pissed yourself like a mutt.”
“!!”
“Anyway, even if you’re ashamed or miserable, don’t go peeing yourself. Should I make your Destruction Demonic House clean it up?”
Never relenting with the mockery, Christian stepped down from the dueling platform.
Philip, having barely regained his senses, screamed from behind—but it was nothing more than the pathetic outburst of the defeated.
Everyone in the hall stared at Christian in complete shock.
Compared to when the banquet had first begun, their view of him had changed entirely.
No one could look down on Christian anymore.
Then, an entirely unexpected voice reached his ears.
“Fufu, how graceful. You’ve far exceeded my expectations.”
“!!”
In that instant, Christian flinched.
And it wasn’t just him. Everyone in the hall looked toward the newcomer with surprise.
‘Elder Märchen of the Four Demon Stars!!’
A being who stood at the pinnacle of the 7-star rank.
It was Märchen the Puppeteer.
“This is our first time meeting, isn’t it? I’m Märchen. Though I’m unworthy, I am one of the Five Evils of the Mystic Demonic House and currently serve as an elder of the Four Demon Stars. A pleasure to meet you. I’ve long wanted to see you.”
Märchen smiled alluringly.
Despite being an elder, she looked no older than someone in her thirties.
She had the ash-gray hair unique to the Mystic Demonic House, and her cloudy jade eyes gleamed with an enchanting glow.
“The puppeteer has arrived.”
“Is this okay? What if a fight breaks out?”
Tension spread through the room.
This was different from when Idrinne had shown up.
While Idrinne also belonged to the Four Demon Stars, she had come disguised as an ordinary envoy, hiding her status.
But Märchen was a true powerhouse within the Four Demon Stars—and one with deep, bitter history with the Dark Demonic House.
Worse yet was the nature of her ability.
Märchen’s “puppetry,” which transcended the very ‘laws’ of magic, could bring about brutal massacres regardless of the number of enemies.
As the tension in the air grew taut—
Christian responded in a relaxed tone.
“Pleasure to meet you. I’ve been wanting to see you too.”
Märchen looked intrigued.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes. Since I plan on cutting off your head someday, I figured I’d get a look at what kind of person you are first.”