Chapter 254
But there was no way to undo a contract with a Devil.
Not unless a being of a higher order in the hierarchy of the Dark Heaven forcibly canceled the contract.
The Devil Idrinne had contracted with was a great being of the Third Realm, so there was no possibility of such a miracle occurring.
The ‘Rending of Delusion’ dug into that fear of hers, and her mind was driven to the verge of collapse.
But just at the moment when she could endure no longer, Christian had arrived.
‘I don’t want to meet my ruin just yet.’
Idrinne clenched her fists tightly.
The ‘Conceptual Medicine’ that Christian had made for her settled into Idrinne’s mind.
…Of course, this wasn’t a medicine, but a poison, but from Idrinne’s perspective, it was seen only as a lifeline that would save her.
‘With Grand Duke Christian’s help, I can overcome this.’
The Rending of Delusion was not, in fact, a curse with any special kind of effect.
After all, there were countless curses besides the Rending of Delusion that dug into the weaknesses of the mind.
Nevertheless, the reason the Rending of Delusion was so infamous was due to the intensity of the curse.
The Rending of Delusion was a joint curse-technique cast by the Five Evils—the most powerful among the highest-ranking magi of the Curse Demonic House—gathered in one place, and it held an intense malice incomparable to other curses.
To overcome the Rending of Delusion, one had to possess a will strong enough to conquer the malice of the Five Evils, the five highest-ranking magi who had cast the curse.
A virtually impossible task.
But.
‘I won’t lose!’
Fwoooosh!!
The moment Idrinne steeled her will, the Conceptual Medicine that had permeated her mind emitted a brilliant light.
As mentioned before, the Severance of Good and Evil plays the role of strongly bolstering the will of one who holds a righteous will.
And so, the miracle of the Realm of the Medical Saint began to seep into Idrinne’s collapsing mind.
Furthermore, it wasn’t just Chris’s Conceptual Medicine that held onto Idrinne’s mind.
‘I can’t die like this. A dream I wish for has appeared.’
Idrinne continued with an unexpected thought.
‘I will definitely become friends with Grand Duke Christian!’
Yes.
That was the dream that had now formed within her.
Even though she would meet her ruin in the end.
Still, she wanted to become Grand Duke Christian’s friend and smile brightly by his side.
Like other people, ordinarily.
‘So, I will not lose!’
As if helping Idrinne’s will to fight against the Rending of Delusion, the Severance of Good and Evil once again emitted its light, and a desperate battle began.
* * *
“Did it take effect properly?”
Christian watched Idrinne’s form for a moment.
If he set foot in her spiritual world for too long, there was a risk that his own mind would get caught up in the Rending of Delusion, so he couldn’t confirm if the poison had worked properly.
Idrinne’s complexion seemed to have regained some vitality, but that was an expected reaction.
This was because he had made it so that a healing effect would appear at first due to the power of the Medical Saint’s techniques, regardless of whether it was acting as a poison or a medicine.
‘There’s no need to worry. It must have worked properly.’
Chris had strengthened the part of the Severance of Good and Evil that condemns evil as much as possible.
So that if she harbored even a little bit of wrongness, it would instead act as a poison.
Unless Idrinne truly possessed a heart like that of a saint, she would not be able to escape death.
‘I’ll know once I watch and see.’
Chris shook his head.
‘I should get going now. Let’s collect the rewards from the Blood Sword Demonic House and leave.’
As he turned his back, he heard Idrinne’s stammering voice.
“Th…ank you.”
“!!”
Chris stood blankly for a moment, then shook his head and left the annex.
* * *
“What happened, Your Grace? By any chance…?”
Deborah and the other True Bloods greeted him with anxious eyes.
Chris, who felt down for some reason, answered in a heavy tone.
“I have administered the treatment. However, as I said before, the result depends entirely on Grand Duchess Idrinne.”
Deborah’s eyes wavered with anxiety.
But she soon shook her head.
“I believe my lady will overcome it.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes, she will.”
She bowed her head to Christian.
“Thank you so much, Your Grace. Our Blood Sword Demonic House will never forget the grace you have bestowed upon us this day.”
Chris was silent for a moment.
‘That attitude won’t last long.’
As mentioned before, for now, a healing effect would appear, just as Chris intended.
But as time passes, the Severance of Good and Evil and the Heavenly Poison will take effect, and Idrinne will eventually be led to her death.
‘Of course, if Idrinne is truly a good person, she will avoid death.’
Chris shook his head.
First, he had to collect his reward and leave.
“I would like to receive what was promised.”
“Of course. Here is the True Blood Serum.”
She brought out a box wrapped in silk.
It would be of great help to Nordian.
“We have also prepared for you to learn the Secret Art of the Blood Cross. However, there is a problem.”
“What is it?”
“As it is the most important Secret Art of our house, it is difficult to reveal it for a long time, even to you, Your Grace.”
Deborah’s voice trailed off.
“After discussing with the elders of our house, we have decided to give you a maximum of one week. However, that is a woefully insufficient amount of time to comprehend the Secret Art of the Blood Cross….”
But Chris shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter. I will manage somehow within a week.”
To be honest, it was also impossible for Chris to perfectly comprehend the True Essence of the Blood Cross within a week.
After all, the Blood Cross was the ultimate Secret Art for the True Blood Tribe, who specialized in the Bloodline Arts.
‘Still, even if it’s not perfect, I should be able to gain some enlightenment that will help with my Bloodline Arts. Though I wish I had a little more time.’
It was a shame that he wouldn’t be able to obtain the perfect True Essence, but it couldn’t be helped.
‘Because I don’t know when the effects of the medicine will appear.’
Three days if it’s quick. Five days at the absolute longest.
‘I have to leave this place before then. I’ll gain as much enlightenment as I can and go. This is an opportunity to experience the Blood Cross that will never come again.’
He steeled his resolve and immediately began his training.
The Blood Sword Demonic House had prepared a separate place of seclusion for Christian’s training.
Christian immediately faced the Blood Cross, which Deborah had brought over from the Blood Sword Demonic House’s main family.
The Blood Cross was a single, artifact-type grimoire.
A magical artifact that didn’t just have spells written in it, but had the authority of dark magic dwelling within the book itself.
The moment one opens the book, they experience the illusion of the Blood Cross.
‘It feels similar to the educational Illusion Stones I developed.’
However, the difference was that this grimoire contained the authority of the Bloodline Arts, so simply by seeing the illusion, one could instinctively embody the True Essence of the Bloodline Arts.
Fwoosh!
As he opened the grimoire, Chris’s consciousness was drawn into a blood-red world.
In a world of deep, deep crimson, the Blood Cross was blazing.
Just looking at the Blood Cross sent a tingling stimulation through his Dark Demonic Energy.
It felt as if the power of the Bloodline Arts he had learned would advance just by staying still like this.
‘I have to obtain an enlightenment that will be helpful to me through that Blood Cross.’
Pure blood.
Life and death.
As Chris’s consciousness gazed upon the Blood Cross, it reached the origin of the Bloodline Arts, and his deep study began in earnest.
Time flew by in an instant.
One hour, two hours.
Half a day, one day, two days, three days.
But there was a problem.
‘The Secret Art is much vaster and deeper than I thought.’
Originally, his plan was to pick and choose only the enlightenments that would be helpful to him, learn them quickly, and leave.
But upon facing the Blood Cross directly, he realized it was not a Secret Art that could be obtained through such shortcuts.
It had a distant depth, like gazing into an abyss.
‘To obtain the Blood Cross, I have to spend a sufficient amount of time and properly attain enlightenment.’
But to have to perfectly comprehend a house’s ultimate Secret Art within a few days.
That was an impossible task, even for Chris.
‘Should I give up?’
If he pushed himself and dragged it out longer, he could find himself in an irreversible situation.
‘If Idrinne dies, the Blood Sword Demonic House won’t just stand by.’
Chris agonized.
‘I have the Hall of Arches, but if things go wrong, it could be disrupted before I can use it.’
The Hall of Arches was not omnipotent.
Since it was a transfer through subspace, if they had a magical tool that could interfere with subspace, like Lenin’s Scissors, they could prevent its activation in advance.
‘The Blood Sword Demonic House also knows that I have the Hall of Arches, so they won’t just let me escape helplessly.’
As the Blood Sword Demonic House was also a great magical house, there was a high possibility that they possessed an item with the authority to interfere with space.
Considering various factors, dragging it out any longer was dangerous.
But Chris couldn’t let go of his lingering attachment.
‘It’s a Secret Art too precious to give up on.’
The True Essence, as deep as an abyss, seemed to be tempting him.
If he missed this chance, another would never come, so he couldn’t bring himself to leave.
‘Especially the Blood Cross, a power of life and death. It will create an even more powerful synergy with the powers I have learned so far.’
In the end, Chris made a decision. To cling to it for just one more day.
‘Even if the perfect True Essence is impossible, I’ll obtain at least a part of it.’
His consciousness sank even deeper.
But was it arrogance?
It still did not come easily.
Within that breathtaking closeness of almost touching it, but not quite, his anxiety grew.
It was dangerous.
It seemed he really had to leave now.
‘Just a little more. Just a little.’
It was that moment. Suddenly, the door to the training chamber burst open.
It was Deborah!
‘Crap.’
Chris’s face went pale.
It seemed that, in the end, something had gone wrong.
‘Can I escape?’
Chris touched the Hall of Arches and examined Deborah’s expression.
If Deborah had brought a magical tool that interfered with space to stop his escape, the moment he used the Hall of Arches, he would become lost in subspace and his soul would be disintegrated.
But Deborah’s expression was strange.
It should have been menacing with killing intent, but there was no sign of that, and instead…
‘…Gratitude?’
Just then, Deborah suddenly did something unexpected.
She suddenly bowed her head and cried out in an emotional voice.
“Thank you for your grace, Your Grace!”
“…What did you say?”
“Thanks to your treatment, Your Grace, our lady has survived!”
At that news, which was like a bolt from the blue, Chris’s body went rigid.
* * *
‘The Blood Drenched Demon King survived?’
It was real.
Everyone from the Blood Sword Demonic House, including Deborah, was shedding tears and thanking Chris.
‘Impossible.’
The meaning of this situation was singular.
It meant that Idrinne was truly a good person who did not possess any twisted thoughts.
‘The Blood Drenched Demon King was really a good person with a righteous heart?’
The image of the Blood Drenched Demon King from his previous life, who had turned the world into a living hell, came to mind.
But it wasn’t a lie.
If Idrinne hadn’t been a good person, she would not have been able to survive Chris’s poison.
‘In that case, does it mean that the Blood Drenched Demon King became corrupted later on?’
That was the only possibility.
After all, it wasn’t uncommon for a good person to fall and become a horrific devil due to some trigger.
‘Because I don’t know what exactly happened in the Four Kings’ Castle in my previous life.’
Chris shook his head in frustration.
‘But there’s a limit to how much one can change. To think that horrific archdevil was originally a good person?’
Chris considered the possibilities of how Idrinne could have changed so drastically.