Chapter 257
Idrinne looked around and, ah, let out a sound of admiration.
“A blockade formation of an incredible level is hidden here.”
“Can you see it?”
“If I hadn’t heard you talk about it, I wouldn’t have noticed.”
Chris had a slightly surprised expression.
This blockade formation was one he had set up using an artifact stored in the Dark Demonic House’s treasury, and it was difficult for anyone without a deep knowledge of dark magic to even notice its existence, yet she had seen it.
‘The plan was that when Marquis Langham revealed his evil intentions, we would unleash the blockade formation to tie him down, and then Marquis Shupen and the Five Captains would strike together.’
Idrinne nodded firmly.
“Thinking that I’m helping a friend in crisis makes my heart pound for some reason.”
“……”
“Ah, ahh. I’m sorry. For talking like an elementary school student from one of those Alliance academies again. I’m just excited because this is the first time I’m stepping up for a friend’s sake.”
As Chris was her first friend, it seemed everything was exciting and thrilling for her.
Chris shook his head back and forth and thought, ‘But why is it so quiet?’
It was about time for Marquis Langham to appear, but there was no sign of him.
An ominous silence.
As he was frowning, a loud noise was suddenly heard.
“G-Grand Duke!”
It was Sanin, the youngest of the Five Captains!
Chris’s eyes flew wide open in alarm.
He was covered in blood.
“What happened to you? Weren’t you supposed to wait at the barrier until I gave the signal?”
“W-while we were waiting, something went wrong.”
Sanin coughed, kul-leok, and spat out blood. He looked to be seriously injured.
“That bastard Langham attacked us at the barrier.”
“…What? There’s no way that bastard Langham would do something like that.”
Unexpected news.
Langham was still aiming for the Patriarch’s seat. If he committed an act like attacking the barrier, forget the Patriarch’s seat, he would become a public enemy of the Dark Demonic House, wouldn't he?
“He declared that he would kill all of us, and with his own power, even kill Patriarch Nordian of the main house and become the Patriarch himself.”
“!!”
“There’s something strange about that bastard Langham’s condition. He possesses a power incomparably greater than before, so even when His Excellency Marquis Shupen and we Five Captains combined our strength, we were pushed back helplessly.”
Chris’s face hardened.
He had an idea of what it was.
‘The secret arts of the Mystic Demonic House.’
The Mystic Demonic House was a Devil-worshipping group. It was possible for them to enhance one’s power by making a Devil’s power descend.
‘I set up the blockade formation to prepare for something like this.’
The blockade formation Chris had set up here used both a holy relic and a magical artifact, so it had the effect of weakening a Devil’s power.
But they had caught him off guard and attacked the barrier instead.
“My father is using his strength right now, but he won’t be able to hold out for long. Your Grace, at least you should bypass the barrier and escape.”
But Chris shook his head.
“I can’t do that.”
“Your Grace! Please don’t let my father’s death be in vain.”
“Who said I would let him die?”
Chris retorted coldly.
“Sanin, have you forgotten who I am?”
Sanin swallowed hard at the sheer force in Chris’s gaze.
“By any chance, do you have a clever trick up your sleeve this time, like when you fought the patera before?”
“I can’t use a method like that this time. We have no choice but to face him with force.”
Sanin’s expression darkened.
But Chris said in a firm tone, “Sanin, our Dark Demonic House is not weak.”
“!!”
“No matter what forbidden power that bastard Langham has accepted, if we combine our strength, we can face him.”
Sanin swallowed hard.
Thinking back on the power Langham had displayed earlier, it seemed utterly impossible for them to face him with their current strength, but.
‘If His Grace the Grand Duke is with us, a miracle might just happen.’
Chris glanced aside.
“Sister Yulian.”
Fwoosh!
Yulian, who had been hiding nearby with the power of the spirits, appeared.
Perhaps because she had heard the story about Langham, Yulian’s eyes lacked their usual gentle light and were incomparably cold.
“Things have gone awry, but nothing has changed. Today, we will take Langham’s head. Sister, please carry out the role I spoke of.”
Yulian gave a short nod.
“Ending Langham’s life will be my job.”
Yulian’s form disappeared again.
This time, Chris looked at Idrinne.
“You….”
Before Chris could say anything, Idrinne quickly cut him off.
“I’m going too. We are true frie… Ah, no, that’s not what’s important, but in any case, I will lend you the power of friendship!”
Chris nodded.
“Let’s go.”
* * *
They headed for the barrier with all their might, and upon arriving, Chris couldn’t help but swallow a curse.
‘Insane.’
The barrier, which had stood firm, was crumbling down.
Atop the collapsing wall, Marquis Shupen and the other captains were falling together.
“Keok!!”
“Father!!”
Marquis Shupen, who had fallen to the ground, had a surprised expression upon seeing Sanin and Chris.
“No, why have you come, Your Grace!!”
“Why else? I came to fight.”
Chris hurriedly checked the condition of Marquis Shupen and the Five Captains.
They had all suffered considerable injuries, but fortunately, no one was dead. It seemed they could still fight.
Just then, a figure appeared atop a still-intact spire of the barrier.
It was Langham.
The expressions of Marquis Shupen and the Five Captains hardened.
Chris’s was the same.
He could feel a completely different aura than before.
It was as if a giant were casting its shadow over them.
“Is that Christian? So you’ve come to your grave. Good. Now I don’t have to go through the trouble of chasing you down.”
A pitch-black energy surged up from Langham’s body.
It wasn’t Dark Demonic Energy.
It was the energy of a Devil.
“Christian, I won’t kill you right away here. I’ll leave you with just your life, drag you before our father, and cut off your head right in front of him. After watching his face fill with despair, I will cut off his head as well.”
Chris let out a hollow laugh.
“What are you talking about, you half-wit who’s accepted the power of a Devil?”
“!!”
“Even a pubescent brat would be more mature than you. Then again, since you’re such a half-wit, you lost everything you had and ended up in a position where you have to beg from a Devil.”
Langham’s gaze became even more chilling.
“Shut up.”
The Devil’s energy emanating from Langham raged like a storm, and the faces of Marquis Shupen and the Five Captains grew even paler.
“You should escape now, Your Grace.”
Marquis Shupen said with determination, but Chris shook his head firmly.
“This is an order, so do not say anything more that is unnecessary. As the Grand Duke, I will punish that disgrace to our house today.”
“…Is there a way to face him?”
Marquis Shupen asked the same question as Sanin had.
“I don’t have any particularly grand countermeasure. But we can win.”
Chris looked straight at Marquis Shupen and the Five Captains.
“However, keep this in mind. Everyone here must follow my words to the letter. As long as you follow my words, we can win.”
“…I don’t know what you are thinking, but I understand. We will follow the Grand Duke’s instructions.”
Leap.
Marquis Langham jumped down from the spire.
Dark spirits began to creep forth, being summoned.
The aura of the spirits was much stronger than when he had fought alongside Sherard.
To be precise, they were stained with the energy of a Devil.
“Wheel of Death. Die.”
The dark spirits rotated like a wheel around Langham.
It was a 7-Star miracle-level dark spirit magic where the legion of dark spirits descends upon the opponent like a vortex.
With the energy of a Devil imbued in it, it surged with a power as if it were being cast by a magus of the 8-Star absolute realm.
Just then, Chris quickly issued a command.
“Marquis Shupen, from the front! Unleash your guardian Dominion! Sir Leon and Sir Duke, the dark magic curse ‘Wail of Sorrow’ to disrupt the spirits! Sir Sanin and Sir Hamel, support Marquis Shupen! Count Hynkel, prepare a piercing-type destruction dark magic!”
Marquis Shupen and the Five Captains followed Chris’s orders, half in doubt.
Kwaaaang!!
The dark spirits collided with Marquis Shupen’s defensive barrier, and his face turned pale.
He was barely holding on with the help of Sanin and Hamel.
“Now! You two, cast the Wail of Sorrow curse!”
The Five Captains, Leon and Duke, tilted their heads in confusion but cast the Wail of Sorrow curse.
The Wail of Sorrow was a curse that shook the opponent’s mind with a sound filled with malice.
‘There’s no way this will work on dark spirits?’
But then, something surprising happened.
The dark spirits began to let out pained screams.
“What?”
“It’s because those dark spirits are not in a normal state right now. As their power was forcibly enhanced with a demonic aura, they’ve become unstable. Count Hynkel, the destruction dark magic at the coordinates I’ve designated!”
Chris designated the coordinates at the exact center of the Wheel of Death, and the Spear of Destruction that Hynkel launched pierced the core of the spirit legion!
[Kiaaaaaaaak!!!]
The dark spirits that had formed the legion scattered, and everyone had a surprised expression.
If it had just been them, they never would have been able to create such a result.
It was only because Chris had accurately seen through the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent’s attack that they were able to achieve this.
Langham frowned.
“Cheap tricks. It’s useless. How long do you think you can last?”
“Well, I think that’s a worry you should have for yourself.”
Chris curled his lips into a smirk.
“Surely you’re not thinking you can use the Devil’s power indefinitely, are you?”
“!!”
“Shall we make a bet? On whether your vessel will collapse from the demonic aura first, or if we will collapse first?”
Langham’s expression hardened.
That was right.
The power of a Devil was not something that could be used indefinitely.
The more one used it, the more strain it put on their mind, body, and soul, until they eventually could no longer bear it and would collapse.
‘Though it’s different for a true Devil contractor.’
Meaning contractors who didn’t just simply accept the power, but who receive the Devil’s favor.
They receive a special ‘blessing’ from the Devil and can wield even greater power with much lighter restrictions.
‘Of course, that doesn’t mean I can take him lightly.’
It was because his opponent was Langham.
Even though he had merely accepted a Devil’s power out of greed, he had originally possessed abilities on par with an 8-Star, so Marquis Langham’s power now was at a horrific level.
Although, since it was a level achieved through all sorts of wicked arts, it likely had several unstable aspects.
‘Still, I’m no pushover either.’
If they were to compete with just raw power, Chris’s side would be the one to lose.
However, Chris had watched the Hero’s party fight against the servants of Devils countless times in his previous life.
Therefore, Chris understood how to fight against those who wielded the power of Devils more perfectly than anyone else in this world.
“Come at me, you half-witted, pubescent, patricidal papa’s boy. This great one will make you realize just how insignificant you are.”
“I told you to shut up!”
The clash began again.
Langham poured out even more intense power than before.
But each time, Chris found the opening and blocked the attack.
‘It’s a good thing Marquis Shupen’s Dominion specializes in defense.’
In addition, the combination of the Five Captains was also good.
‘And everyone’s skills have improved since they fought the patera, thanks to my teachings.’
On top of that, there was an additional, powerful force.
‘Lia’.
No, it was Idrinne.