Chapter 215
‘If I use Andril’s Authority, I might be able to find a way to catch him off guard.’
Winning was absolutely out of the question.
‘The problem is, using Andril’s Authority is a gamble in itself.’
Chris hadn’t fully made Andril his own yet.
He hadn’t even completely unlocked the Authority.
All he could do was barely tap into a fragment of it.
Naturally, that meant limitations on its usage.
‘The backlash will be massive too. Since I’m using it in an improper way, the aftereffects will be devastating.’
But even so, this was the only method with even the slightest chance.
For now, he had to look for an opening—so he tried striking up a conversation.
“What brings you here, Marquis? Weren’t you cowering somewhere far away, too scared of the demons to face them?”
“I never ran. I just happened to be away by coincidence.”
“Ha. What thick skin you have. You sent Macfield to stop me, and now you say that?”
“I sent Macfield only to assess the situation. Just in case any survivors managed to make it out of that Gehenna pocket space.”
A blatant denial of wrongdoing.
Chris let out a hollow laugh.
‘Even in a situation like this, he refuses to admit any fault—how typical of Marquis Langham.’
“Then why are you here now? I’m busy, so step aside.”
“I can’t do that.”
Marquis Langham pointed to Macfield, lying dead on the ground.
“I will hold you responsible for killing Macfield.”
“…What did you just say?”
“Macfield was a loyal retainer of the main house. No matter how high your position as Grand Duke, you killed such a man—so it’s only right you be punished accordingly.”
Chris frowned.
What a ridiculous excuse.
“Kneel, now. Obediently.”
“Marquis Langham—no, Langham. Look at the situation. Do you really need to go this far, dragging out such nonsense? There’s no one watching. You’re just trying to stop me, aren’t you?”
Chris dropped the honorifics and asked what had been weighing on his mind.
“Since it’s come to this, let me ask—did you plan to use Yulian from the very beginning?”
“……”
“No, let me rephrase that. When did you make a deal with the Demon King of Azure Flow?”
For the first time, Marquis Langham’s expression changed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know everything. If you hadn’t made a deal with the Demon King of Azure Flow, there’s no way you could’ve evacuated yourself at exactly the right time.”
A shocking revelation.
The Demon King of Azure Flow was helping Yulian.
Yet she had also joined hands with Yulian’s mortal enemy, Langham?
‘The Demon King of Azure Flow was using Yulian too.’
Summon Hell was a powerful spell.
But even that wasn’t enough to completely annihilate the Venomous Demonic House.
Even if it hadn’t been Chris, someone would’ve found a way to stop it. There would have been heavy losses, of course.
So, the Demon King of Azure Flow had secretly allied with Marquis Langham on two fronts.
By forcing the Nordian family and the Dark Demonic House to exhaust themselves fending off Summon Hell, she created the opening for Marquis Langham to rise to power.
‘In exchange, she must have demanded the Sacred Darkness from Langham.’
Chris clicked his tongue.
In the end, Yulian had been used—completely and thoroughly.
“Let me ask you one thing. What exactly did you do in that elven village in the Grey Zone?”
This was crucial.
It might hold a clue to stopping Yulian.
‘Though first, I need to survive this bastard Langham.’
“Did you experiment on the elves, trying to develop a forbidden technique to enhance your dark spirit arts?”
For reference, Marquis Langham was known for having trained in Dark Spirit Arts, a power originating from the Venomous Demonic House, as a secondary ability.
Since elves were a race naturally gifted in spirit magic, there was a high chance he used them in human experimentation to enhance his dark arts.
But Marquis Langham gave an unexpected answer.
“On the surface, yes.”
“What do you mean?”
“That was just a cover. In truth, I simply tortured and killed them.”
“…Why would you do something like that?”
“For what’s happening today.”
A chill ran down Chris’s spine.
“You don’t mean… You wiped out the elven village on purpose for this moment?”
“That’s right. And for the record, the plan was proposed by the Demon King of Azure Flow herself. We destroyed the village and deliberately left a single survivor.”
Langham continued in a detached tone.
“After that, the Demon King of Azure Flow approached the survivor and incited her to make a contract with a devil. That survivor is the current Yulian. And everything that happened since then—you already know.”
It was a horror beyond imagination.
From beginning to end, Yulian had been a pawn in their scheme.
Langham, the Demon King of Azure Flow, and the devil she contracted with—none of them were any different from monsters.
“Why go that far?”
“Because there’s no other way I could kill my father with my own hands.”
“!!”
Chris stared in disbelief.
“Why? The head of the Nordian family doesn’t have much longer to live anyway. Even without doing all this, he won’t survive for long. So why are you so obsessed with killing him yourself?”
It was something Chris had always wondered.
If Langham’s only goal was to seize control of the Dark Demonic House, there was no need to go this far.
He could’ve just waited.
Once Nordian's time was up, no one in the Dark Demonic House would be able to stop Langham from becoming the next patriarch.
But Langham, in both his current and past lives, had always insisted on killing Nordian with his own hands.
It was completely irrational.
And then, Langham responded in a way Chris didn’t expect.
That emotionless gleam in his eyes suddenly blazed with a fierce light.
“You don’t understand… what kind of wretched life I was forced to live because of that man.”
“!!”
“My father never once acknowledged me. He always saw me as lacking—and in the end, he stripped me of everything.”
“…So this is all for revenge?”
“This isn’t some petty revenge.”
Langham ground his teeth furiously.
“I’m going to kill him—and by doing so, I’ll prove with my own hands that he was wrong.”
His voice dripped with bitterness and a chilling resentment.
In truth, Marquis Langham had spent his entire life crushed under Nordian’s shadow.
He had never lived up to his father’s expectations. And every time he saw that look of disappointment in Nordian’s eyes, his heart twisted further.
So, what Langham truly wanted wasn’t just the position of Patriarch of the Dark Demonic House.
What he wanted was to make Nordian—the man who never acknowledged him—regret everything.
‘It’s all your fault, Father. You made me this way.’
But then, Chris suddenly let out a snort of laughter.
Waving his hand as if to apologize, he spoke.
“Ah, sorry—I know you were being serious. But I couldn’t help it. It’s just too damn funny.”
“…What?”
“I mean, seriously. You sound like some angsty, warped teenage brat going through puberty.”
“!!”
“And let’s be honest here—you were lacking. You failed to inherit the house because you weren’t good enough. So what’s with this pathetic tantrum?”
Chris spat the words with clear disdain.
“And all this while claiming you wanted to be recognized, you go around doing these horrific things?”
“…….”
“No wonder the head of the Nordian family didn’t want to pass the Dark Demonic House on to you. You’ve got no talent and your personality’s trash. If it were me, I wouldn’t leave you a single coin either.”
If—
If Marquis Langham had been lacking in magical ability but at least had the character and depth to bear the weight of the Dark Demonic House, Nordian might have reconsidered.
But Langham’s very nature was unfit to inherit the house from the start.
‘If a guy like that became the head, he’d run the Dark Demonic House into the ground.’
Langham’s aura grew heavy and oppressive.
“…Shut up.”
“What, did I hit a nerve? Am I being too insensitive? But I just can’t bring myself to care when your whining is this pathetic.”
“I told you to shut up!”
A chilling wave of power erupted from Marquis Langham’s body.
Chris pushed back with his own force, forcing a grin onto his face through sheer will.
‘Yeah… He really is 7-star Upper Rank. No pushover.’
No—he was far more than that.
Under normal circumstances, Chris wouldn't even stand a chance against him.
‘I have to wait for a single opening. He’s probably riled up from the provocation, so if I’m lucky… I might find a gap.’
The air grew tense—tight like a drawn bowstring.
Just as Langham raised his hand, his eyes filled with murderous intent—
—a completely unexpected voice cut in between them.
“Hmm. That’s troublesome. Christian’s mine to kill, after all.”
“!!”
Chris and Marquis Langham both flinched in unison.
Standing there was someone no one expected.
Radiant silver hair.
A figure almost feminine in appearance.
And at the same time, a hideous scar running diagonally across the face.
‘Sherad!!’
Chris sharply inhaled.
‘So he really didn’t die back then?’
Previously, Chris had trapped Sherad and forcibly transported him to Gehenna.
But even afterward, Chris couldn’t shake the unease in his chest.
That nagging suspicion—what if Sherad had survived Gehenna?
‘I only sent him there because I had no other choice at the time, but… a monster like that wouldn’t die so easily.’
And now, of all times, this is when he reappears?
‘Why show up now?’
Marquis Langham seemed to be thinking the same, his brow furrowing.
“Sherad, what’s the meaning of this?”
“Hm? Isn’t that a bit cold for a father seeing his son after so long? I mean, I did come back from hell, after all.”
“I asked what you're doing here.”
Despite his appearance, Sherad was, in fact, Marquis Langham’s biological son.
And yet, the Marquis showed no hint of emotion at his son’s return from what he’d believed was death.
Of course, Sherad hadn't expected warmth or affection.
The two of them were monsters—barely different from devils.
“I came to see Christian.”
Sherad licked his lips with his tongue.
“To kill him.”
Marquis Langham shook his head.
“If that’s your goal, then get lost. I’m going to kill him.”
Langham extended his hand toward Christian.
A dreadful aura of darkness began to gather.
It was a combined strike—melding Dark Spirit Arts with the energy of the Dark Demonic House.
It was a finishing blow, one intended to end things in an instant.
But then, an unexpected disruption occurred.
Fwoosh!
A wave of blood-red energy surged toward Marquis Langham.
It was a spell—Blood Curse Art, cast by Sherad.
Langham blocked it with a raised hand.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Ah, did I not say it clearly?”
Sherad gave a sly smile.
“I said I was going to kill Christian. I won’t let anyone else have him. Not even you, Father.”
“……”
Langham frowned.
‘So that madness of his is flaring up again.’
He was well aware his son Sherad was a deranged killer.
Especially when his opponent was strong—that’s when Sherad’s bloodlust intensified.
Langham sighed in exasperation.
“Fine. I’ll step back for now. You kill him. It doesn’t matter who finishes him off anyway.”
But then, Sherad pulled another incomprehensible stunt.
Fwaaaaaah!!
An even fiercer burst of blood energy roared forth—again targeting Marquis Langham.
“What now?!”
“Well, yes, I did come here to kill Christian, but…”
Sherad cast a sideways glance at Christian and smiled darkly.
“…seeing him in person made me change my mind.”
“……”
“Wouldn’t it be a shame to kill him now, after all?”
Sherad was now muttering complete madness.
“Just think how much stronger Christian could become… Ahhh, the thought alone gives me chills.”
Sherad giggled as he spoke—completely unhinged.