Chapter 246
Of course, its power couldn’t be compared to the real Heavenly Poison.
This was because the Blooming Realm only allowed him to exert power within the limits of his current level of mastery.
This Heavenly Poison was manifested not as a 9-Star ‘ultimate technique,’ but as a 6-Star ‘Will Construct,’ so its power had to be considered as such.
‘But the will of the heavens to condemn all wrongdoing is still contained within it.’
Chris’s eyes flashed open.
He could see the core.
The crystallization of the evil and wrongness that the Jinok Serpent harbored.
Even if it was an incomplete Heavenly Poison, it was more than capable of punishing that murky wrongness.
[W-wait. W-what are you doing? If you don’t stop right now…!]
Did it sense the impending doom? The Jinok Serpent cried out as if in a final struggle.
“No.”
Fwoosh!
The Heavenly Poison, recreated through the Blooming Realm, struck the Jinok Serpent’s core directly.
And then.
CRUMBLE!!!
The will of condemnation contained in the Heavenly Poison began to destroy the wrongness contained in the core.
[No!!]
Sensing its death, the Jinok Serpent struggled, but it was useless.
The Heavenly Poison showed not a sliver of mercy and completely annihilated the Jinok Serpent’s core.
[Kuaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!!!]
The spiritual body of the Jinok Serpent began to turn to dust and scatter, then completely returned to nothingness and disappeared.
It was the end of the legendary divine beast, the Jinok Serpent.
“……”
The magi of the Venomous Demonic House stared at Christian with eyes blank from shock.
Chris grinned.
“I told you I could do it, didn’t I?”
And just like that.
‘The Jinok Incident,’ which had driven the Venomous Demonic House to ruin in his previous life, was resolved at the hands of Chris.
This unbelievable news sent the entire Magus Empire into an uproar.
* * *
After a long time, back at the Dark Demonic House’s main family residence, Barren Castle.
Count Khazar was sitting in the Patriarch’s office, which Marquis Langham had once used.
Having newly become the acting Patriarch, he had achieved an extraordinary rise in status, but the expression on Count Khazar’s face was not good.
The dark circles under his eyes showed that he was full of stress.
It couldn’t be helped.
“That damn son of a…! Just what kind of trouble is he causing over at the Venomous Demonic House!”
When the first news of Christian came from the Venomous Demonic House, he thought he was going to have a heart attack.
That he had beaten Fernan, the most promising young master of the Venomous Demonic House, half to death as soon as he arrived.
And that wasn’t all.
‘He’s going to have a poison duel with Marquis Goras’s faction? And he’s doing it alone, against dozens of them?’
When the news reached them, the Dark Demonic House was in an uproar.
From cries to bring Christian back at once, to demands to attack the Venomous Demonic House.
Worrying about Christian was one thing, but he was losing his mind trying to calm down the magi of the Dark Demonic House, who looked ready to take up arms at any moment.
The one who gave Count Khazar the most trouble was Nordian.
-How dare they scheme against my grandson and force him into such a duel? If they harm even a single fingertip of my grandson, I will annihilate the Venomous Demonic House.
…In truth, it was a conspiracy orchestrated by Christian from beginning to end, but Nordian, who had become a doting grandfather, and the magi of the Dark Demonic House, who had become his ardent supporters, were furious.
If Chris hadn’t stopped them, telling them not to interfere under any circumstances, they might have really marched on the Venomous Demonic House.
‘Just when I thought he got through the duel safely, he goes and causes another incident?’
The conflict that had broken out between the Venomous Demonic House and the Kalbern Kingdom was something Count Khazar had also been watching closely.
He had to be ready to lend a hand, just in case.
But then.
-Grand Duke Christian has headed to the Alliance, saying he will stop the war by himself.
When this news was delivered from the Venomous Demonic House, he nearly fainted.
‘This crazy bastard!’
He didn’t even have time to worry about his son. This time, the magi of the Dark Demonic House were clamoring to invade the Kalbern Kingdom.
And once again, the person who troubled Count Khazar the most was Nordian.
-Shouldn’t I just go and bring back the head of that cat king of the Kalbern Kingdom?
Of course, that was an absurd idea.
It just showed how precious Nordian considered Christian to be.
Thanks to that, Count Khazar’s laugh lines deepened from the stress of calming everyone down, from Nordian at the top to the regular magi at the bottom.
‘This kid, ever since he was young, there was never a time when he wasn’t causing some kind of incident.’
Count Khazar sighed.
From his days as a scoundrel to the present.
Christian was consistently a source of his worries.
‘Though I’m glad he’s safe.’
Was he just safe? Christian had performed one unbelievable miracle after another, making all his worries seem pointless.
In particular, the story of him infiltrating alone and cutting down the Lion King Maximus had spread as a rather big rumor throughout the Magus Empire.
‘Still, I wish he would just come back quietly now. My head already hurts because of the matter with the Destruction Demonic House.’
It was because of the ‘Dark Rite’ that Christian had proposed.
A struggle between the houses for the position of hegemon of the Southern Magus Nation.
As expected, the Destruction Demonic House readily accepted the proposal, and they set a date to hold the struggle between the houses.
‘I followed Christian’s plan, but can our Dark Demonic House really win against the Destruction Demonic House?’
Honestly, he didn’t feel the slightest bit confident.
After all, the power of the Destruction Demonic House was incomparable to that of the Dark Demonic House.
In fact, the mood on the Destruction Demonic House’s side was said to be, “Has the Dark Demonic House gone mad? What a windfall! We’ll use this opportunity to crush them properly.”
‘So I really wish Christian would at least come back quietly.’
But Count Khazar had a gut feeling.
That his troublemaker son would never return quietly.
And so, he was now spending his days anxiously, wondering what kind of news would arrive next.
‘Please, let it be a manageable incident. Please.’
Just then, the door suddenly burst open.
“My Lord Count, an urgent report has arrived from the Venomous Demonic House!”
“What is it?”
Count Khazar steeled himself. He resolved not to be surprised, no matter what news he heard.
But.
“They say the legendary divine beast, the Jinok Serpent, has appeared at the Venomous Demonic House!!”
“!!”
Count Khazar, of course, also knew about the Jinok Serpent.
‘A 9-Star Demon King-class divine beast!’
Count Khazar’s face turned as pale as a corpse.
“W-what happened to Grand Duke Christian? Did he escape safely? Surely, he didn’t recklessly fight it, did he?”
A 9-Star Demon King-class divine beast was not an opponent one could face with force.
One should retreat with minimal casualties, and then discuss a subjugation plan at the Magus Empire level.
But.
“…They say Grand Duke Christian also fought against it.”
“Ah…!”
The strength drained from Count Khazar’s body.
‘This reckless fool. No matter how much of a genius he is, he needs to know his limits.’
Just then, the door burst open again and an unexpected figure entered.
The appearance of a young boy.
It was Nordian’s avatar, used for his external activities.
He had heard that an urgent report had arrived from the Venomous Demonic House and had come, curious for news of Christian.
“What is the meaning of this? You’re saying Christian fought the Jinok Serpent of the Venomous Demonic House? He’s not dead, is he?”
Nordian’s voice trembled.
Count Khazar’s voice was the same.
“No. There’s no way my son would die so futilely. He must be… he must be alive.”
“If it killed my grandson, I will absolutely not stand by. Whether it’s the Jinok Serpent or the Venomous Demonic House, I will make them all pay the price.”
At that voice filled with indignation, the messenger blinked.
“…Um… I think there’s a misunderstanding. They say the Grand Duke is safe.”
“Really? Is he at least seriously injured?”
“They say he’s completely unharmed, without any such injuries.”
Count Khazar and Nordian let out a sharp sigh of relief.
“It seems he managed to escape well.”
“Yes. What a relief. I was worried that daredevil had caused another reckless incident.”
But the messenger looked back and forth between the two of them, then spoke carefully.
“…They say he didn’t escape.”
“What? Then what happened?”
“Well… they say the Grand Duke defeated the Jinok Serpent.”
“…What did you say?”
The messenger scratched his head and said again, as if he couldn’t believe it himself.
“…They say the Grand Duke annihilated the Jinok Serpent by himself.”
“……”
A moment of silence passed.
Nordian and Count Khazar were two people who knew better than anyone just how incredible Christian was.
But to defeat the Jinok Serpent?
A 9-Star Demon King-class divine beast?
The messenger then added an even more dumbfounding story.
“In gratitude for the Grand Duke’s grace, the Venomous Demonic House has sent this message. They have agreed to join the Dark Alliance.”
It was the moment the Venomous Demonic House came to stand under the banner of the Dark Demonic House.
Just as Chris had promised before he left.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that moment.
The Four Kings’ Castle.
Somber voices were being exchanged at a council of elders.
“Have you heard the news?”
“To think that Elder Märchen failed.”
“Seeing as all contact has been lost, it seems she was defeated by him.”
A heavy silence fell.
It was nothing short of a shock.
Just then, one elder sighed and said something unexpected.
“Just when I thought we had finally dealt with Idrinne, some pesky fly comes along to bother us.”
A surprising statement.
For reference, the Four Kings’ Castle is divided into two factions: the Anax faction, centered on Curses and Necromancy, and the Blood Sword Demonic House.
Previously, when Idrinne had met Chris, she had been in a secure position as the Grand Duchess of the Blood Sword Demonic House, which meant something must have happened to her.
“But we haven’t completely dealt with Idrinne yet, have we?”
“She was hit by our Curse Demonic House’s ‘Grand Art,’ so it’s as good as over. She seems to be holding on by force, but unless the legend of the prestigious House of the Medical Saint, a true Medical Saint, comes, no one will be able to cure Idrinne.”
Greed flickered in the eyes of the elder from the Curse Demonic House.
“Since our house’s contribution was great, we of the Curse Demonic House will take Idrinne as a test subject.”
“No, she belongs to our Necromancy faction. Idrinne is the perfect vessel. We of the Necromancy faction will turn her into the strongest of the Undead.”
But from a corner of the council chamber, a strange, robed figure spoke in a chilling voice.
[We will be taking Idrinne.]
“!!”
Everyone froze, then glanced nervously at the strange figure.
Considering that all of these people were elders of the Four Kings’ Castle and high-ranking magi, it was an unbelievable sight.
But it couldn’t be helped.
It was because that strange figure was a member of the Mystic Demonic House.
A scene that showed that even the Four Kings’ Castle could not act freely before the Mystic Demonic House.
“But that’s… Idrinne belongs to our Four Kings’ Castle.”
[Are you refusing?]
“!!”
At that arrogant tone, the elders of the Four Kings’ Castle hardened their faces.
But still, they could not raise their voices.
[In exchange, our Mystic Demonic House will give the Four Kings’ Castle a gift.]
“A gift?”
[We will help you strike at Christian of the Dark Demonic House.]
“!!”
The strange figure from the Mystic Demonic House continued in a slithering, snake-like voice.
[You of the Four Kings’ Castle are in a difficult position to strike at Grand Duke Christian directly right now because of the matters with the Karn Empire and the Blood Sword Demonic House, are you not? Therefore, our side will lend a hand.]
The elders of the Four Kings’ Castle had surprised expressions.
It was true.
The matter of the Blood Sword Demonic House would be more or less settled once Idrinne was dealt with, but the Karn Empire was a problem.
They had tried to seize control of the Karn Empire’s royal family from behind the scenes, but they were facing difficulties due to the unexpected actions of ‘Aslan the Sword of Light’.
For reference, Aslan the Sword of Light was the person Chris had met before in the Gold Cross, and at that time, Chris had given him a hint about the incident the Four Kings’ Castle would cause within the Karn Empire’s royal family.
In such a situation, if the Four Kings’ Castle were to strike at Christian directly, they would have to fight the Southern Magus Nation to their front and the Karn Empire to their rear simultaneously, something they had to avoid.
“But… is the Mystic Demonic House not also in a difficult position to intervene directly?”
[There is no need for us to act directly. Instead, there is someone who will fight for us.]
An unexpected name came from the mouth of the strange figure from the Mystic Demonic House.
[You can simply use the exiled dog, Marquis Langham.]
“!!”