Chapter 225
“Gahk!!”
It was completely one-sided.
No—calling it that was too generous.
This wasn’t even a duel. It was a thorough humiliation.
Fernan’s strength was by no means weak.
In particular, he had mastered Energy Conversion—a technique only accessible to the upper ranks of 5-star—and could wield Poisonous Energy as fluidly as flowing water.
But in front of Christian, it meant nothing.
Fernan’s Poisonous Energy couldn’t even pierce Christian’s blade.
And Christian—like a cat toying with a mouse—utterly trampled him.
‘How?’
‘Could it be… Christian isn’t actually 5-star?’
They had known Christian was strong.
He had, after all, defeated Count Cessia, who was at the mid-stage of 6-star. But most assumed luck had played a major role.
No one imagined this level of power.
‘So it wasn’t luck after all?’
‘No… even if that’s true, a 5-star simply shouldn’t be capable of this.’
The entire crowd looked utterly shaken.
Of course, even within the same rank, there were differences in individual capability.
But everything had a limit.
‘Wait… could he really be 6-star?’
‘No—his Energy clearly feels like 5-star.’
That was half-right… and half-wrong.
Because Christian was both 5-star and 6-star.
He smirked to himself.
‘Thanks to my ascension through the Radiant Path, I reached a perfect 6-star state. My magical discipline surged right alongside it.’
Upon stepping into the 6-star realm, Christian’s “vessel”—his capacity—had grown tremendously.
So even though his Magus Power was still technically at the 5-star level, it was now operating under the influence of a vastly expanded framework—
enabling strength far beyond what any ordinary 5-star could muster.
‘In the end, whether it's Radiant Energy or Magus Power, it all belongs to me—Christian.’
And that wasn’t all.
‘I can do tricks like this too.’
Fwoosh.
In an instant, Christian’s movement changed.
As if he had pushed past the limits of time, his speed reached a blinding extreme—
Whack!!
Fernan took a fist to the face and crumpled disgracefully.
The future heir of the Venomous Demonic House, tossed around and rolling across the ground like trash.
It was shocking beyond words—
but the watching demons didn’t even have the attention to spare on Fernan anymore.
They were all too shaken by what Christian had just displayed.
“Just now… that punch—was that Will?”
That was the power of 6-star: the Authority of Will, a strength born from sheer resolve, able to push the body past its physical limits!
“H-How can a 5-star…?”
“Is he really 6-star? No… the Energy he gives off is still 5-star.”
The demons of the Venomous Demonic House widened their eyes and focused intently on Christian.
No matter how many times they looked, Christian’s aura was unmistakably at the 5-star level. Not even a speck of 6-star energy could be felt.
Then how was he using Will?
“Ah, I tried it, and it just worked.”
“!!”
A lie.
He had used a trick.
‘Just for a moment—I used the power of Radiant Ascension, cloaking it so no one would notice.’
The manifestation of Will, whether through Radiant Ascension or through Sorcery, appeared identical on the surface—simply an extreme enhancement of one’s physical capabilities.
So long as it was used briefly, he could disguise it without being noticed.
“…That… that’s ridiculous…”
Fernan barely managed to get back to his feet, stammering.
“What’s ridiculous about it? Then again, I guess someone like you who’s lacking wouldn’t get it.”
“You bastard…!”
“Your poison arts are pathetic too. Did you know you haven’t even come close to touching the hem of my robe? With skills like that, what made you think you had the right to challenge me?”
For the record, the one who started this whole quarrel was Christian. Fernan had only politely greeted him.
Of course, Fernan had been hiding malicious intent too.
‘Anyway, is it not time yet?’
Christian’s eyes gleamed with a meaningful thought.
That’s right.
This whole thing hadn’t been a spontaneous act of hostility.
It was all part of his plan—to rip off the “mask” Fernan was wearing.
And so, to provoke him further, Christian laced his words with even more venom.
“What exactly did your father teach you for you to be this useless? Oh right, your father was a man not even worth dealing with, so I suppose it makes sense that you'd end up just like him.”
Snap—a thread in Fernan’s mind snapped.
“You bastard!! I’ll never forgive you!!”
Enraged, Fernan drew up all his power.
But something was off.
There was a faint energy mixed into his poison aura—something different.
‘Got you.’
Christian’s eyes gleamed.
He enveloped his hand in dark demonic energy and thrust it toward Fernan’s poison aura.
Then, using his “Dominance,” he stimulated the hidden energy embedded within the poison.
Whoooosh!
Everyone in the hall opened their eyes wide.
“W-What is that?!”
It was demonic energy!
Christian had forcibly exposed the demonic energy Fernan had been concealing—using the Dominance of his dark mana.
“Th-this is…”
Fernan’s face turned pale as the truth was revealed: he had formed a contract with a devil.
The hall buzzed with murmurs.
Of course, in the Magus Empire, entering a contract with a demon wasn’t always punished.
In fact, over in the territory of the Four Kings’ Castle, it was harder to find someone not under contract with a devil.
But the Venomous Demonic House, unlike the Dark Demonic House, strictly forbade any form of contract with devils.
To think that the very heir-apparent of the Venomous Demonic House had formed a contract with a devil?
Christian let out a cold sneer.
“All those people you killed—was it to offer them as sacrifices to your demon? I bet there are far more corpses hidden than the ones that’ve been discovered so far, right?”
“!!”
It was true.
Fernan gritted his teeth.
“You bastard… I’ll never forgive you. I’ll kill you.”
Fwoooosh!!
A surge of power erupted from Fernan—far beyond anything he’d shown before.
“W-What do we do?!”
The other members of the Venomous Demonic House panicked, unable to act decisively.
“Lord Christian! You must retreat!!”
“W-We should run!”
Melin and Alros shouted frantically.
But—
“Run? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Christian twisted his lips into a smirk.
“Scum like him only understands a proper beating.”
He raised his sword.
“Watch closely. This is the blade of the Dark Demonic House.”
Fwaaah!!
Dark energy gathered around his weapon.
But that wasn’t all—his powerful Will infused into the blade as well.
‘A lowlife who made a contract with a devil just for greed... someone like that is nothing I can’t crush.’
Clash—!
The poisonous aura imbued with demonic energy clashed with Christian’s dark energy.
And then—
“Guhhak!!”
Fernan spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.
Thud!
Christian stepped on his head, knocking him out cold.
“Marisa. Drag him away. I’m sure he’s hiding a lot more sins that’ll come out under interrogation.”
“…Uh… R-Right.”
Still stunned, Marisa nodded in a daze.
The hall fell into complete silence from the shock.
The revelation that Fernan had entered a contract with a devil was staggering—but what truly shook everyone was how effortlessly Christian had taken him down even after that.
All eyes turned toward Christian, filled with disbelief.
But the incident didn’t end there.
Christian, as always, pushed things even further.
‘No way I’m stopping here.’
Fernan wasn’t his only enemy.
His real target was the entire faction behind him—the followers of Marquis Goras.
‘The best offense is a preemptive strike. There’s no way I’m letting this perfect opportunity slip by.’
He glanced at the Marquis Goras faction, whose faces had gone stiff with shock, and sneered as he fired off a mocking remark—
“Pathetic. Then again, Marquis Goras was every bit as vile as a demon himself—like father, like son.”
“!!”
A direct insult to Marquis Goras.
“But he’s not the only problem. You lot standing over there don’t look any less filthy yourselves. You’re all blinded by greed—and frankly, you don’t even seem that capable.”
Christian casually flicked his finger toward the faction of Marquis Goras.
A statement that lumped the entire Goras faction together in one sweeping provocation.
The atmosphere in the hall grew razor-sharp, ready to explode at any second.
Melin and Alros, who had come along with Christian, swallowed nervously.
It had been one thing to beat Fernan, who had made a contract with a demon.
But this—this was crossing the line.
‘Why is the Lord Duke pushing it so far?’
‘Ugh… Lord Duke, please, that’s enough already!’
Only Mari seemed to have different thoughts.
[Ahhh… So sexy. He’s just too much.]
Even Marisa clenched her teeth.
‘This lunatic… I have to stop him. At this rate, it’s going to spiral out of control.’
There was no way the Goras faction would sit quietly after being provoked like that.
But just then, Marisa hesitated.
Christian’s words came back to her.
— “I’ve got something in mind. Just watch.”
‘What the hell is he thinking…?’
Marisa bit her lip hard.
At that moment, a heavy voice echoed through the hall.
“I cannot let that comment stand.”
The members of the Venomous Demonic House who saw the speaker gasped in surprise.
“Lord Drun!”
It was the Lord of the Poison Mind Pavilion—one of the two great poison research divisions, along with the Ten Thousand Poisons Pavilion.
He was a 6-star demon and a member of the Goras faction.
But he wasn’t alone.
“Indeed. You will apologize.”
This time, it was someone even Christian recognized.
The Captain of the Poison Demon Corps, the elite force of the Venomous Demonic House.
One by one, more figures with overwhelming auras appeared, surrounding Christian.
All of them were 5-star or 6-star high-ranking demons—key figures in Marquis Goras’s faction.
“I don’t see anything wrong with what I said. Then again, I suppose lackeys living off the filth of Marquis Goras’s scraps wouldn’t know just how worthless they are.”
“You bastard…!”
“I mean, I’m right, aren’t I? You know full well what crimes Marquis Goras has committed, yet you follow him anyway. Blinded by greed, too shameless to feel any guilt—but still too proud to hear the truth when it’s said aloud?”
With the insults piling up, the tension around the Goras faction reached a breaking point.
“If you don’t shut your mouth this instant, you’ll regret it.”
“Don’t think the Dark Demonic House’s shadow will protect you after that kind of slander.”
Even Marisa, Alros, and Melin were now staring at Christian with pleading eyes, silently begging him to stop.
But Christian suddenly broke into a wide grin—and said something completely unexpected.
“Want me to prove just how worthless you all are?”
“…What did you just say?”
“It’s simple. A duel between you and me using poison arts. In other words… we’ll settle this with a ‘Holy Grail Duel.’”
“!!”
It was a unique form of duel exclusive to the Venomous Demonic House.
All other factors were excluded—only poison arts were tested, with extremely straightforward rules.
Each side would pour their own poison into a cup, and both would drink.
The name "Holy Grail Duel" came from the idea of willingly drinking poison from the chalice, fully prepared to face death.
“What nonsense…”
“Oh, of course, I don’t mean right this moment. As you all know, I’ve never actually received any proper training in poison.”
Christian flicked his finger nonchalantly.
“The duel will be held one month from now.”
“!!”
“I figure that’s more than enough time to crush you. So—how about it?”
Their faces turned crimson with rage.
What kind of lunacy was this?
But Christian wasn’t done yet.
“A one-on-one duel would be too boring. All of you—come at me together. I’ll crush you all at once.”
It was an arrogant declaration that he would drink all of their poisons at the same time and defeat every one of them with his own.
No—this wasn’t arrogance. This was delusional madness.
Drun, the Pavilion Lord of the Poison Mind Pavilion, who had stepped forward earlier, scoffed in disbelief.
“You really are insane. Fine. I accept the duel. But remember this—”
A chilling threat followed.
“On that day, you won’t even leave behind a corpse. You’d better send your will to the Dark Demonic House while you still can.”
After that, the gathering was dismissed, and Marisa hastily dragged Christian to a quiet place.
“Are you insane?! This is suicide!!”