Chapter 216
“She’ll undoubtedly become the most beautiful, most captivating thing in the world. But right now… wouldn’t it be a waste to kill her so soon?”
Sherad’s voice rose, trembling with excitement.
“I’ll wait until the very, very end—and then savor the thrill of the final feast. Not a single drop of blood, not an inch of flesh, not even the tiniest scream will be wasted. It’ll be the perfect banquet.”
His blood-red eyes glimmered with unrestrained madness.
Even Marquis Langham hesitated for a moment—such was the sheer grotesqueness of Sherad’s presence.
Then, Sherad turned his gaze toward Langham and spoke with a chilling tone.
“Besides, there’s someone else here tonight—someone other than Christian—who can satisfy my desires.”
“…What?”
“You, Father.”
Sherad grinned, tearing his lips wide into a distorted smile.
“I’ve wanted to kill you for a while now.”
“!!”
“To be honest, you’re not attractive in the slightest. You’re pathetic, petty, and overflowing with inferiority. I like people with strong souls.”
“…You—”
Sherad wagged his finger mockingly.
“Still, I always wanted to crush that pitiful face of yours just once. You’re not my type, but I’ll make an exception and kill you. And look—none of those annoying followers of yours are around.”
“…You bastard.”
A chill crept into Langham’s voice.
Being mocked first by Christian and now by Sherad pushed him to the brink of fury.
Meanwhile, standing a little behind the two, Christian stared at them both in disbelief.
‘What the hell is Sherad doing, showing up out of nowhere like this?’
It was bewildering. But thinking back to his past life, Sherad had always been prone to this kind of unpredictable madness.
He had countless chances to kill the Hero’s party, yet let them live—and occasionally, just like now, he’d step in to help for no apparent reason.
‘But the real question is… what do I do now?’
Christian paused to think.
Leaving Langham to Sherad—for now—was off the table.
And it wasn’t just because of the bitter history between them from his past life.
‘Sherad doesn’t have the strength to stop Langham on his own. He’s strong, yes, but not enough.’
Sherad’s energy reeked with a dense infernal taint—likely the result of a contract with a devil.
Judging by what Christian could sense, Sherad had reached a refined 7-star level, possibly even at the 7-star Upper Rank.
With rank alone, he could fight on par with Langham.
But—
‘Langham’s power goes far beyond the usual scope of 7-star Upper Rank.’
Through countless horrific forbidden arts, Langham had boosted his strength to the point of rivaling 8-star.
‘Of course, Sherad is a lunatic who gets more excited the stronger his opponent is—he’d throw himself into battle without a second thought.’
But even so, he was likely to be overwhelmed.
Christian needed a more secure way to keep Langham locked down.
‘Given how things have turned out, there’s only one path forward. While Sherad keeps Langham occupied, I’ll aim for an opening—and use Andril’s Authority.’
Christian narrowed his eyes, watching Sherad carefully.
Of course, he could never ally with that monster.
Not under any circumstances.
In his past life, the screams of those who died at Sherad’s hands still echoed clearly in Christian’s mind.
Especially the final moments of the Chatterer of Darkness—those remained vivid, unforgettable.
But what Christian intended to do now wasn’t mere cooperation.
“While Sherad fights Marquis Langham… I’ll strike from behind.”
He had a good plan.
A plan that wouldn’t just take out Langham—
—but would deal a critical blow to Sherad as well.
Hiding his true thoughts, Christian opened his mouth.
“I’ll fight with you.”
Sherad widened his eyes, as if genuinely surprised.
“Kuhuhu, not a bad idea. You’re the most alluring person I’ve ever met. Fighting side-by-side might be a delightful form of amusement in its own way.”
“Cut the disgusting talk. But there’s one condition.”
“A condition?”
“You follow my orders. Completely.”
Sherad tilted his head with an unreadable expression.
“Orders?”
“Yes.”
Christian sent a [Message] spell to Sherad, embedding it with his own magical encryption.
There was no risk of Marquis Langham intercepting or deciphering the contents.
After reading the plan, Sherad’s face twisted slightly.
“You think that’ll work? Even for you, that seems a bit...”
“It’ll work.”
Christian’s firm voice made Sherad chuckle.
“As expected. You really are amazing. How can someone be this captivating? Alright, I’ll play along. But… you’re not going to betray me mid-fight, are you?”
Sherad clearly didn’t trust him—but still felt compelled to ask.
“You’re one to talk, paranoid freak. Worry about yourself. If you go down, I’m finished too.”
Christian brushed it off with a casual lie.
With that, their temporary agreement was sealed.
Sherad stepped forward to face Marquis Langham head-on.
Christian raised Andril and took his place at the rear.
“I don’t know what trick you’re trying to pull… but it’s useless.”
Marquis Langham’s expression darkened as he drew upon his power.
“Two pathetic insects joining forces won’t change a thing.”
Fwoooosh—
The sky brightened briefly before being consumed by descending shadows.
The surroundings were swallowed by a thick, oppressive darkness.
[Kyaaaaaahh.]
A chilling wail, like a funeral dirge, echoed through the gloom as a shape began to take form in the shadows.
It resembled a giant—and its body emitted a dreadful, otherworldly tone.
A Shadow Demon.
A shadow spirit tainted by demonic energy—an advanced spirit summoning technique, 7-star level.
“A dark spirit empowered by the restricted use of demonic power.”
The eerie sound radiating from the spirit sent a cold shiver crawling across Christian’s skin.
And then—
A wave of blood-red energy erupted.
It surged forward and forcefully pushed the demonic aura back.
Sherad raised his energy to counter.
“Hmph. Spirits don’t give much feedback when they die, so I don’t usually enjoy killing them,” he said, curling his lips into a vicious grin.
“But still, the way they scream as they vanish—it’s actually not bad. I do hope you let out a lovely scream.”
Fwoosh!
A blade forged of blood shot out toward the summoned spirit.
And just like that, the real battle began.
“They're both incredible.”
Christian’s eyes narrowed, growing colder.
Marquis Langham unleashed an onslaught of 7-star-level dark spirits, pushing Sherad into a tight corner.
The problem was—the power of these spirits far exceeded that of ordinary 7-star spirits.
It was the effect of Langham's enhancement through forbidden techniques.
But Sherad was no pushover.
Even as overwhelming attacks poured down on him, he exploited openings here and there, sending chills down Langham’s spine.
His movements were sharp, refined—clear signs of someone seasoned through countless life-or-death battles.
“I need to find a chance to intervene.”
Right then, Marquis Langham stretched out his hand.
Bothered by Sherad’s unexpectedly fierce resistance, his face twisted into a scowl.
“You're putting up quite the struggle… But this ends now.”
Wuuuuuuuung...
The summoned dark spirits began to dissolve, their forms collapsing into thick, black mist.
This was no ordinary fog—it was formed from the spirit essence of the dark spirits themselves.
The mist began swirling around Sherad like a vortex, flickering ominously as if alive.
“Spirit Conversion Technique!”
A forbidden spell that converts living dark spirits into pure darkness, and then transforms part of their spiritual bodies into raw energy.
And since it was siphoning power directly from the spirits’ essence—its destructive power was overwhelming.
“He’s converting high-grade spirit essence into energy? That's not something a mere 7-star should be able to do!”
Normally, this kind of conversion is only attempted with low- to mid-tier spirits.
But thanks to his forbidden techniques, Langham had pushed the limits of what should be possible, and was doing the unthinkable.
Even Sherad wouldn’t survive getting caught in that monstrous attack.
Just then, Sherad glanced toward Christian.
“So? I did just what you asked. Now… your turn.”
An unexpected line.
If this were the Sherad of old, he would've surely slipped out of Langham’s encirclement before the attack hit.
But he had let himself get surrounded.
Because of what Christian had asked at the start:
— “Force Langham to use his forbidden technique.”
Sherad licked his lips with a wicked grin.
“I’m dying to see just how mesmerizing you’ll be when you move. I’m all eyes.”
Langham, seeing Sherad act so suspiciously calm, frowned.
But then he shook his head.
This technique had been forged through sacrifices of countless lives—it was strengthened beyond reason.
No amount of clever trickery could withstand its force.
“This is the end.”
Darkness surged as though it were about to erupt.
The spiritual body of a high-grade spirit had begun to convert into immense energy.
At that moment—
Step.
Christian took a step forward.
Toward the writhing darkness.
“Is he trying to kill himself?”
Marquis Langham raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
It looked like Christian was attempting something, but the explosive power about to be unleashed wasn’t something one could stop with tricks.
“No need to worry. It’ll be over soon.”
Langham focused his Energy to complete the conversion spell.
The “Order of Chaos,” a forbidden power Langham had gained upon reaching 7-star rank, activated and began acting upon the spirit’s form.
Chaos consumed part of the spirit’s essence and began converting it into raw energy.
[KIIIIAAAAAAAHHHH!!!]
[GRRAAAAAAAAAGHH!!!]
In unbearable agony as its spiritual body was disintegrated, the high-ranking spirit let out a harrowing scream.
Violent energy swelled and flooded the surroundings.
Soon, everything in the area would be annihilated.
Then—Christian did something no one could understand.
He grinned.
“Bingo.”
And drove Andril straight into the dark mist.
And then—
Something impossible happened.
Thunk.
The energy conversion halted completely.
“What!?”
Langham immediately tried to draw power again, urging his chaos into the spirit’s body—
But it didn’t move at all.
It was as if some massive force had completely sealed off his forbidden power.
“This doesn’t make sense. Why?”
He stared at the iron sword in Christian’s hand, utterly baffled.
He recognized it.
“The blade bestowed by His Majesty the Demon King… But it’s supposed to be nothing more than an ordinary sword without any powers.”
Even now, he couldn’t feel any aura from it.
If it were a demonic blade (magical sword), it should exude something—dark energy, or ghostly energy—but this one radiated nothing.
“Aah, well this one isn’t like those cheap knockoff magic swords you’re used to,” Christian said, his face pale as he spoke.
The phenomenon unfolding was caused by one of Andril’s true powers—Perfection.
Andril is the supreme blade of absolution.
It possesses the nature of becoming complete, a sword that rejects all imperfection. Its sanctity does not tolerate anything flawed in its surroundings.
So when it confronts an opponent imbued with imperfection—
It forcefully dismantles that imperfection.
“Beings that defy natural laws—like chaotic abominations, or bodies altered through black magic—that’s what it devours.”
There were many targets susceptible to Perfection, but this…
This was when its power became truly fatal.
“It’s practically a natural counter to 7-star forbidden arts.”
The power wielded by those at the 7-star level twisted the natural order itself—it was the act of warping a perfect world into something imperfect.
That’s why Andril’s “Perfection” could sever the essence of a 7-star’s forbidden spell.
“The problem is, it has limits.”
Christian’s expression was pale as he thought.
First—the backlash was enormous.
Andril’s authority was originally something that only a 9-star Overlord-class being—someone at the level of transcendence—could fully handle.
“That’s manageable. I can endure the recoil somehow. But there’s a bigger problem.”
Second—the sword’s power wasn’t complete.
Andril was still sealed.
Only a fraction of its power had partially manifested due to the residual effects of devouring a constellation last time.
With such an incomplete release, completely severing a 7-star forbidden spell was impossible.
“Worse, once I use it, I won’t be able to activate it again for a long time. That means I only get one shot.”
Marquis Langham seemed to have noticed this and spoke coldly.
“So I don’t know what kind of ability that sword just activated… but if that’s all, it’s meaningless. Just die already.”
FWOOSH!!
The darkness began to surge again.
The interrupted forbidden spell had resumed its activation.
But then, Christian did something even more incomprehensible.
His pale face curled into an even deeper smile.
“Normally, it’d be impossible,” he said.
“…What?”
“But if there’s a gap I can pierce, then there’s nothing I can’t destroy.”
“!!”