Chapter 213
‘It doesn’t feel bad.’
Nordian drew up his energy.
Fwoooosh!
Darkness surged from his body.
Rumble.
It was nothing more than summoning his energy, yet the surrounding air trembled in response, as if the heavens and earth were shaking.
But the problem came swiftly.
Nordian’s complexion turned pale in an instant.
The backlash from the restriction was beginning to show.
‘My turn.’
Christian closed his eyes and began to sense Nordian’s demonic energy.
More precisely, he focused on the foreign force embedded deep within it.
‘This is the binding force of the contract Nordian made—its restriction.’
It was attempting to seize his life force as payment.
‘I can’t allow that.’
Christian began to observe the structure of Nordian’s body to discern the form of his life force.
Life force—what is the energy of life?
Unlike tangible forms of power like mana or demonic energy, life force is profoundly abstract and conceptual.
But Christian, who had mastered the Art of the Divine Physician, could clearly perceive what form another person’s life force took.
He thoroughly memorized the traits, shape, and energy pattern of Nordian’s life force.
‘I must replicate it exactly.’
Now, Christian’s consciousness turned toward the angelic statue.
Its name was “Trumpet of Life.”
A sacred treasure imbued with refined, artificial life force—capable of restoring even extinguished vitality.
It was one of the rarest relics, even among the Sacred Healing Noble House.
‘What matters is that the life force stored in this artifact is artificial, and therefore not bound to any fixed form.’
Christian brought the angelic statue close to Nordian’s body.
The artificial life force within the statue reacted to Nordian’s own life force and began to reshape itself.
Just as clear water takes on the color of ink when it touches it, the formless artificial life force began to resemble Nordian’s own.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
‘It must match perfectly—without a single deviation.’
Only then could the restriction be deceived.
Christian focused his entire mind on the statue.
He began to directly manipulate the transformation of the artificial life force.
Not to make it “similar”—but to make it identical to Nordian’s.
Like an exact replica.
It was an impossible task.
As stated earlier, life force was an abstract, conceptual energy.
Each person’s life force had a unique, infinitely branching pattern.
What Christian was attempting was akin to reproducing a structure that split into thousands, tens of thousands of fractal branches—down to the finest detail.
And yet—
‘I can do it.’
He succeeded.
Through superhuman concentration, Christian managed to perfectly replicate Nordian’s life force with the artificial life force from the angelic statue—without a single deviation.
The next step was relatively simpler.
He used illusionary techniques to deceive the restrictive force of the forbidden art, making it believe that the life force embedded in the angelic statue was Nordian’s.
Of course, this method was only possible because Christian’s knowledge of black magic had surpassed the peak of mastery, and he possessed a profoundly intuitive sense for such arts.
As a result—
The restriction drew its price from the statue’s life force instead of Nordian’s, and Nordian’s complexion brightened immediately.
“You…?”
Nordian’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He had really done it.
“You already knew I was a genius, didn’t you?”
Christian grinned.
“Still, this method has its limits. You must never overextend.”
The life force stored in the statue was not abundant—just barely enough to pay the required price.
If he forced more power from it, there would be severe backlash.
‘This is a one-time method. Even among the Sacred Healing Houses, treasures that contain such refined artificial life force are rare.’
But Nordian scoffed at Christian’s concern.
“That much is more than enough for dealing with those filthy rats.”
Nordian raised his hand.
“Behold—the true might of our Dark Arts.”
Vwooooom—
Darkness flared up from Nordian’s body once more.
Like a flame rising, it expanded outward in all directions—until, in an instant, it surged and engulfed the area around him.
This was Nordian’s domain of control:
“Sovereign Shadow”
‘He’s reached the limit of his mastery.’
Christian swallowed hard.
The deeper one’s cultivation, the wider their dominion becomes—and Nordian’s control now encompassed the entire vicinity.
The pale ash-gray air that had blanketed the battlefield vanished without a trace, replaced by Nordian’s abyssal darkness consuming everything.
[What kind of power is this?!]
[Attack him!!]
Two high-ranking devils, clearly shaken, motioned hastily—and nearby lower-rank devils charged toward Nordian.
“Lord Patriarch!!”
“Please be careful!!”
The mages of the Dark Demonic House cried out in shock, but Nordian didn’t even flinch.
“You filthy insects dare forget your place.”
He clenched the fist he had extended toward the approaching devils.
“Before the great darkness, wither away… you abominations.”
A tremendous pressure descended on the demon soldiers.
It was the nature of dominion—‘Control’—wielded at full force through the authority of an 8-star being.
Dozens of devils screamed in agony as they were engulfed by the darkness, turning to ash one by one.
An unbelievable scene.
[How does he possess such power?!]
[That old human—could he be a Demon King!?]
The two High-Rank devils hesitated and tried to retreat—but it was too late.
Nordian’s dominion had already engulfed them.
In a panic, the two devils rapidly gathered their energy to defend themselves.
A dome of murky, ash-colored energy—formed from tainted malice—surged up to protect them.
But the miracle brought forth by Nordian did not end there.
“You pathetic vermin. It’s useless.”
With a mere gesture, a sword flew into Nordian’s hand.
He drew the blade from top to bottom—and from it, a slash of Black Energy burst forth.
‘That Black Energy…’
Christian’s eyes widened.
At first glance, it appeared to be a simple wave of black force—but it wasn’t.
It was infused with various forms of demonic energy: red, blood, yellow, blue, grey, purple, and more.
It was a manifestation of Black Energy shaped by the properties of the Dark Energy that governs all darkness.
He had once shown this level of mastery briefly while instructing Christian.
‘That’s Black Energy, yet it holds power that exceeds even “Alienation.”’
On top of that, Nordian’s dominion—Sovereign Shadow—was amplifying the effect.
A dominion transforms the battlefield into a territory aligned with the caster’s attributes, drastically enhancing their abilities.
And the Sovereign Shadow amplified the domination of Dark Energy to its peak.
As the one who ruled all darkness, Nordian’s Black Energy grew stronger by the second.
The wave of Black Energy shattered the defensive dome protecting the two High-Rank devils—then cleaved both of them vertically, clean through.
[Th-this can’t be…]
[How can a human…?]
Even while their bodies were severed in two, the devils continued to speak in disbelief—but not for long.
“I’ve heard enough. Die already.”
As Nordian declared it, the halves of their bodies began to twist and collapse, as if being crushed by an invisible press.
They struggled to resist, but it was in vain.
In the end, both devils were completely annihilated.
“Waaaaaah!!”
“All hail the Patriarch!!”
The mages of the Dark Demonic House roared in triumph.
It was an overwhelming display of power—so great that it was hard to believe even after seeing it with their own eyes.
‘So this… is the power of Demon Lord Nordian.’
It was no wonder the other noble houses in the Magus Empire were wary of him.
“You’ve done well. Please, don’t overexert yourself further.”
“I still can…”
“Look around you. Everyone is fighting valiantly.”
Nordian closed his mouth.
It was true.
The mages of the Dark Demonic House were holding the line without giving an inch against the demonic invaders.
‘It’s all thanks to this child.’
As he watched the battlefield unfold, Nordian once again felt a deep admiration for Christian.
Count Khazar, Count Berkel, and others who had grown significantly under Christian’s guidance were now leading the charge on the front lines.
If not for Christian’s instruction, such achievements would have been impossible.
Before the battle even began, Christian’s earlier gesture of embracing those aligned with Marquis Langham had also paid off—now everyone, without distinction, was united as one, fighting together.
‘And I’ve received tremendous help as well. If not for this child, the backlash might have been unbearable.’
From start to finish, it was all thanks to Christian.
“As Patriarch, I owe you my thanks.”
“You flatter me. After all, the Dark Demonic House is mine as well, isn’t it?”
Nordian let out a faint laugh.
He wasn’t wrong.
Christian was the next rightful heir of the Dark Demonic House.
‘I wonder what this House will look like under his leadership…’
Nordian shook his head.
Now wasn’t the time for idle thoughts.
“But things aren’t as optimistic as they seem. Look over there.”
Through the rift leading to Gehenna, more and more devils were pouring in.
It was like trying to fill a bottomless jar with water.
But Christian calmly shook his head.
“It’s fine. We just need to close that rift.”
“That rift? And how do you intend to do that?”
“It’s simple. We subdue the one responsible for opening it.”
“You mean to say this wasn’t a naturally occurring phenomenon?”
Nordian still hadn’t grasped the full scope of what was happening.
“Yes. This wouldn’t have happened without someone pulling the strings. If we eliminate the cause, the rift will close with it.”
Still, Nordian looked skeptical.
“Do you even know where this culprit is? Let alone stop them?”
“I have a way to find them.”
“!!”
Christian recalled the sharp pulse he’d felt—coming from the brand he had secretly etched onto Yulian.
‘When Yulian uses the power of a demon, the brand detects it and sends me a signal.’
By tracing the signal in reverse, he could pinpoint her exact location.
“Grandfather, if you could use your remaining strength to create an opening in the barrier that’s sealing this place, I’ll go and handle it myself.”
Nordian thought for a moment before giving a nod.
“Very well. But I have one condition.”
“What is it?”
Looking directly at Christian, Nordian spoke in a firm, almost fatherly tone.
“You must return unharmed. Do you understand?”
Christian smiled faintly, touched by the concern in his voice.
“Don’t worry. You know who I am, don’t you? I’ll be back before you know it.”
With a swing of Nordian’s sword—slice!—an opening tore through the barrier.
Christian quickly stepped through.
Above him stretched a wide, clear blue sky.
He was free of the zone of erosion.
‘Yulian’s signal isn’t coming from the main estate. It’s from the city district near Baron Castle.’
He was about to move at once—when suddenly, he came to an abrupt stop.
An unexpected obstacle stood in his path.
“…Where do you think you’re going, Lord Christian?”
A grim face.
A murderous aura gleaming in his eyes.
A 6-star Upper-Rank mage—and Marquis Langham’s most loyal hound—Macfield.
He was standing squarely in Christian’s way.
* * *
‘Why is this guy here?’
Come to think of it, Macfield had been defeated by Count Khazar during the succession duel and had left for treatment at the main estate.
Which explained how he had avoided being caught up in the zone of erosion.
“What do you want?”
“What do you think?”
Macfield grinned darkly.
“By order of Marquis Langham, I’ve been waiting here—just in case you made it out of that eroded zone. I must say, I didn’t expect you to actually escape.”
“……”
“Heh. Either way, this works out nicely. I’ve been wanting to crush that arrogant face of yours for quite some time now.”