Chapter 196
He said it was “better this way.”
A response that made no sense whatsoever—
And yet, he meant it.
Because all of Marquis Goras’ schemes ultimately did Christian a favor.
“…Just what exactly are you planning?”
“Oh, nothing too grand. I simply need to prove Marquis Goras’s crimes in front of everyone. That’s all. Simple, right?”
Duke Huam gave a dry chuckle, unable to comprehend what about that could possibly be considered simple.
“There’s just one thing I’d like to say in advance, if I may.”
“What is it?”
“In this negotiation, I intend to make Marquis Goras kneel. But I’ll be doing something in that process that may make Your Grace uncomfortable… so I’d like to ask for your understanding beforehand.”
Duke Huam furrowed his brow slightly.
“What do you mean by that? Can you explain in detail?”
Christian simply nodded, then began to speak in a quiet tone.
As the Duke listened to the explanation, his eyes widened as if they might tear apart at the corners.
* * *
Soon after, the negotiation formally began.
The venue was a large hall prepared within the estate of the Venomous Demonic House.
As Christian entered, countless gazes from those already seated in the hall fell upon him.
Most of them appeared to be aligned with Marquis Goras, their openly hostile auras pressing down on Christian like a physical weight.
Count Khazar and Count Berkel of the Black Lion Knights, who had entered at his side as escorts, both wore stiff expressions—but Christian merely shrugged.
‘Trying to overwhelm me with numbers? What a cute little trick. Still, this works out nicely.’
He smirked faintly.
‘The more witnesses, the better. Especially with what I’m about to do.’
Marquis Goras had no idea.
He didn’t realize Christian had chosen the Venomous Demonic House as the location for the negotiation specifically so its members would serve as witnesses to what was about to unfold.
‘There’s no greater humiliation than being crushed in front of your own subordinates in your own home.’
With slow, composed steps, Christian moved forward—until he came face to face with a man.
A cold, snake-eyed man with a sinister air.
Marquis Goras.
‘Now that’s some pressure.’
Christian could feel the sharp tingle of the man’s oppressive aura, and his lips curved into a grin.
He was clearly a level or two above Duke Huam in terms of strength.
The pressure he exuded was subtle yet deliberate—an attempt to intimidate Christian.
His body naturally wanted to tremble under that pressure, but Christian suppressed the reaction, keeping his expression calm.
‘Putting on a scary act? Please. I already know you can’t actually do anything here.’
Rather than simply endure it, Christian sneered back.
“How dignified, Vice Lord of the Venomous Demonic House. So dignified, in fact, that you don’t even seem to care that the Demon King himself will soon arrive to preside over this matter.”
“!!”
Marquis Goras flinched.
Though the Demon King of Azure Flow had yet to appear, showing off one’s power in such a setting—especially when the Demon King himself would oversee the talks—could easily be interpreted as a sign of disrespect.
Before the main event had even started, Goras had already taken a hit.
“……”
Marquis Goras didn’t respond. He simply turned his gaze away sharply.
Christian, too, only shrugged and kept his mouth shut.
His attention was now focused on the individual who would be arriving any moment.
Tick. Tock.
Time passed.
And the very moment the clock’s hour hand struck the exact hour—
Something changed in the hall.
All sound vanished.
But it wasn’t just sound.
Even the faint rustling of the wind, the swaying of the grass outside, and the movements of people inside the hall came to a complete stop.
‘This is—?’
A shiver ran belatedly down the backs of everyone present.
She hadn’t even appeared yet—
And still, the sheer weight of her presence blanketed the entire hall like a suffocating tide.
Then, the impossible happened.
Fwaaah—
The entire scene of the venue transformed.
The interior of the negotiation hall was replaced by a desolate, ashen landscape.
“A… an illusion?”
“What is this?!”
The gathered warlocks and nobles shouted in confusion.
Only a handful of people who understood what was happening remained silent, swallowing hard.
‘This isn’t some ordinary illusion.’
Christian’s face was stiff as he thought,
‘This is the power of a 9-star being.
Descent of Genesis.’
The power of a 9-star Transcendent Realm that allows one to manifest their own personal domain—
A miniature world.
A shriveled, dead World Tree pierced up through the barren wilderness, and atop its twisted branches, a figure emerged.
A beautiful fairy-like woman—
Her entire body pierced through with countless thin, metallic chains, giving her an eerie, grotesque presence.
Every person in the hall dropped to one knee.
“We greet Her Majesty, the Demon King!”
The Demon King of Azure Flow had arrived.
* * *
The Demon King of Azure Flow said nothing for a while, gazing down at the kneeling assembly.
Christian bowed his head, silently clenching his fist.
‘So that’s the Demon King of Azure Flow.’
This was his first time seeing her.
In his previous life, she had already died before the Age of Ruin began.
‘To think her “Genesis Descent” would be this complete…’
This wasn’t Christian’s first encounter with a 9-star being.
The Hero Evan, who had always been at his side, was 9-star. So was the Archmage Lania.
He had also crossed paths with several of the “Seven Pillars” of the Alliance—multiple 9-star superhumans.
That gave him a fairly solid frame of reference to judge by.
‘She ranks among the upper echelons of the 9-stars.’
Not all 9-star beings were equal.
Even within the same rank, the power gap between them could be vast.
For example, the former Blood-Drenched Demon King had once defeated four of the Seven Pillars of the Alliance by himself.
‘She’s far more powerful than I expected.
To think she’s only ranked seventh among the Demon Kings…’
There was a reason for Christian’s heavy thoughts.
He planned to resolve all the unrest that would erupt in the Southern Magocracy—and ultimately, he would have to confront the one behind it all: the Demon King of Azure Flow.
The formation of the Dark Alliance, his first major objective, would only be complete once he severed her head.
‘I do have a plan… but this is going to be much more difficult than I expected.’
At that moment, the Demon King of Azure Flow’s voice echoed throughout the hall.
[Raise your heads. The negotiation shall begin. Representatives of both Houses, step forward.]
Christian and Marquis Goras stepped to the front.
The Demon King leaned lazily against the World Tree and brought a long smoking pipe to her lips.
[Speak your claims. I will hear both sides and make my decision.]
Christian was the first to present his case.
He explained the truth he had uncovered: that the Goras faction had spread poison in the western territories of the Dark Demonic House—and that he had evidence to prove it.
“It’s all lies.”
Marquis Goras responded with a cold rebuttal.
“This entire situation is a staged farce orchestrated by Grand Duke Christian of the Dark Demonic House and Lady Marisa of the main family.”
[Do you have evidence to support that claim?]
“Of course. First, here is proof that Lady Marisa masterminded the entire scheme.”
Goras presented numerous documents and witnesses.
He had always intended to pin the blame on Marisa.
The so-called evidence was flawlessly prepared.
[And what of your claim that Grand Duke Christian staged the incident himself? What grounds do you have for that?]
“Grand Duke Christian manipulated evidence to frame my loyal subordinates. I have a witness for this as well. Bring them forward.”
A pale-faced figure was then led into the hall.
But the face that appeared was entirely unexpected.
“Mmff!!”
It was Ruina, a beautiful woman with a calm, composed demeanor.
‘…Why is she there?’
Christian stared in a daze, momentarily speechless.
He never even considered the possibility that Ruina might get caught.
‘She should’ve been more careful.’
Words that would’ve made Ruina absolutely furious if she heard them.
But Christian genuinely hadn’t expected Ruina to be captured.
‘I figured they’d catch one of the scumbags with a record of fraud—the ones I intentionally used to fabricate the evidence.’
Christian had specifically entrusted the falsification to men with criminal backgrounds, just in case they were caught by the Venomous Demonic House—they could endure the consequences.
But somehow, Ruina had ended up in their hands.
‘Well, it’s not my fault.’
Christian shrugged as he met Ruina’s scathing glare.
‘She should’ve been more careful. I really didn’t mean to put her through anything.’
Still, it didn’t seem too bad.
Thanks to her quick wit and resourcefulness, she didn’t appear to have suffered much. She looked completely fine.
‘I guess she spilled everything the moment she was caught.’
That’s Ruina for you.
When it came to her, loyalty was a nonexistent virtue.
As soon as her gag was removed, she shouted—
“It was all that Christian bastard’s doing!! I only did what I was told!”
“……”
“Damn Christian! Long live the Venomous Demonic House! Glory to Marquis Goras! Glory to the Demon King of Azure Flow!!!”
And with that, Ruina began spilling everything—without even being pressed. She confessed in detail how she had falsified the evidence under Christian’s orders.
“Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!!”
Her over-the-top theatrics made Marquis Goras scowl. He promptly ordered the gag to be placed back in her mouth.
“As you can see, with such clear evidence, it is certain that Lady Marisa and Grand Duke Christian colluded to frame my loyal vassals.”
Marquis Goras continued in an icy tone.
“And especially, the attempt to massacre innocent civilians is an unforgivable crime. I beseech Your Majesty, the just and righteous Demon King, that both Lady Marisa and Grand Duke Christian be sentenced to death.”
All eyes turned to Christian.
At this rate, there was no escaping the charges—they were about to be pinned on him without resistance.
But then, Christian suddenly raised an objection.
“I object. How can anyone believe what that woman says?”
From what he could tell, Ruina’s identity as the head of both the Rudolph & Deer trade guilds hadn’t been exposed.
Back in the Magus Empire, she had been operating under the artifact Mask of a Thousand Faces, living as a man.
Christian sneered.
“She could very well be giving false testimony under the direction of the Venomous Demonic House. Just look at her—doesn’t she scream con artist?”
“Mm-mm! That’s not true! It was that evil Christian who made me do it!! Long live the Venomous Demonic House! Long live Marquis Goras! Glory to the Demon King of Azure Flow!!”
“See that ridiculous behavior? No one could possibly take her seriously.”
Ruina looked like she was going to explode.
At that moment, Marquis Goras stepped forward.
“Upon investigation, everything this woman has testified is true. Do you not realize that such groundless denial will only hurt your own position?”
Even Count Kazar and the other members of the Dark Demonic House were baffled.
It was plainly obvious Christian had fabricated the evidence. Denying it like this would be utterly pointless.
And yet, Christian continued pushing forward with what seemed to be complete nonsense.
“I cannot trust the testimony of that witness. Therefore, I ask the great Demon King for permission to use the Venomous Demonic House’s Elixir of True Confession.”
The room erupted in chaos.
The Elixir of True Confession was a 7-star Forbidden Poison—a terrifying truth-serum-like elixir.
As its name implied, it forced the drinker to speak only the truth.
But unlike interrogation poisons that inflicted pain to extract confessions, this was something entirely different.
Through an “anomaly” effect, the elixir assessed the truth behind the drinker’s words.
And if any lie was spoken, the drinker would instantly melt into a pool of blood.
The key was that it perfectly discerned truth from falsehood by interfering with universal laws.
Once consumed, it was utterly impossible to lie.
“That elixir is a treasure of our main house. It is not something to be used lightly.”
Marquis Goras spoke in a displeased tone, but Christian only let out a soft laugh.
“Seems the Venomous Demonic House is taking this matter a little too lightly. After all, thousands of innocent civilians were nearly slaughtered.”
Goras was momentarily silenced.
But then he slowly nodded.
He had no idea what Christian was planning, but from his perspective, there was no downside.
If Ruina drank the Elixir of True Confession, then Christian’s guilt in forging the evidence would be even more clearly proven.