Chapter 275
No one from the Destruction Demonic House expected Christian to actually succeed. Underlying their thoughts was a certain pride.
‘No matter how much of a genius he is, how deep could his knowledge of dark magic be, coming from a family of magic swordsmen?’
‘Even we failed to handle it.’
The Destruction Demonic House was a family that specialized in dark magic. Of course, since destruction is an power that maximizes chaos, it was a poor match for handling sealing formations, which are an attribute of preservation, but still, for him to accomplish what they, the dark magic specialists, could not…
Many thought that Christian was simply drunk on his own talent and didn't know his place.
And yet.
And yet.
“It’s done. It should be able to hold for a few more days now.”
“……”
Everyone from the Destruction Demonic House stared with wide eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.
Christian had reached the core of the sealing formation and had truly repaired the crumbling structure of the seal with remarkable ease.
Even the haughty Grand Duke Vessian couldn't hide his surprised expression.
“H-how?”
“I just temporarily connected the intact parts of the formation. The formation's structure was fragmented, but it wasn't completely disintegrated.”
“…How could that be possible?”
“But I can do it.”
His words silenced everyone.
But in truth, it was a lie.
‘Since I’m the one who broke it, it’s only natural that repairing it would be easy.’
Chris recalled the conversation he had with the priests of the Fanatic Order.
- We cannot break the sealing formation that suppresses the Flame of Ruin with our power alone.
- The Constellation has given a revelation for that as well. I shall tell you the weak points of the sealing formation.
Posing as a prophet, Chris had told them how to attack the sealing formation. In other words, because the seal had been broken according to his own design, he already knew the method of repair.
‘I could repair it completely if I wanted to, but that would be a problem.’
The operation had only just begun.
“Then, just as I said, please issue an evacuation order to your household.”
“……”
Grand Duke Vessian’s face turned red as he bit his lip hard. He seemed to be the type who really hated listening to others.
The Vice-Head, Yesika, spoke coaxingly.
“Let’s do as he says, Lord of the House. It wouldn't be a bad idea to prepare for a worst-case scenario.”
Grand Duke Vessian scowled and then nodded his head.
“Issue the evacuation order!”
Afterward, a large-scale evacuation began.
Chris and his party played a role in helping with the evacuation.
Kashmir bowed his head, his face filled with repeated gratitude.
“Thank you, Your Grace. Thanks to you, it seems we’ll be able to avoid the worst-case scenario.”
“This is no time to be happy. Most of the important magi of the Destruction Demonic House have decided to stay behind.”
Kashmir’s face darkened.
Only the mid-to-low-ranking magi and non-combat personnel had decided to leave. Most of the core magi of the Destruction Demonic House planned to stay behind to stop the eruption of the Flame of Ruin.
Of course, everyone suspected it was an impossible task.
“Still, thank you. I will remain here and meet my death, but at least my mother will be able to live. Come to think of it, you have now saved my mother twice, Your Grace. Thank you again.”
Chris crossed his arms.
“Just with empty words?”
“Pardon?”
“You have received a favor, so you must repay it. Are you just going to wipe your mouth clean and forget it?”
“O-of course, that’s right. B-but I’m about to die, so how can I repay the favor?”
“You can help me with what I’m about to do.”
“With what?”
Chris said something astonishing.
“I have a way to calm the Flame of Ruin.”
“!!”
Kashmir’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
“Is that really true?!”
“Shh, please lower your voice. Others must not find out.”
Kashmir looked confused at Chris’s reaction.
“I have a method, but it is one that will be difficult for the Destruction Demonic House to accept. That is why I need your help, Lord Kashmir.”
“What is the method? Just tell me! I will help you even if I have to risk my life!”
Chris nodded his head and then said something completely unexpected.
“We need to rob the main castle of the Destruction Demonic House.”
“…What?”
Kashmir looked as if he had misheard, but Chris said it again.
“The treasury, the family heirlooms, the True Essence of Destruction—I must take them all to be able to calm the Flame of Ruin.”
That was right.
The first reason he had proposed the evacuation order was to turn the Destruction Demonic House into an empty nest so he could rob it blind.
* * *
To find the method to calm the Flame of Ruin, one had to look back into the past.
Long ago, in the early days of the Destruction Demonic House, the Flame of Ruin was not sealed by sacrificing the Fallen Ruin as it was now. Back then, the Destruction Demonic House managed the Flame of Ruin in a different way.
‘They absorbed the energy of the Primordial Well before it could explode.’
Over time, the Primordial Well of the Flame of Ruin accumulates the energy of destruction. When the accumulated energy passes a critical point, it runs rampant, which leads to a volcanic eruption.
Therefore, the members of the Destruction Demonic House would periodically absorb the energy of the Primordial Well, just as the Dark Demonic House absorbs the Sacred Black. It was a method that killed two birds with one stone, as it both calmed the Flame of Ruin and allowed them to obtain powerful destructive energy, but there was a problem.
‘It was too dangerous. Failure meant instant death.’
Countless members of the Destruction Demonic House met their deaths, time and time again. So many were sacrificed because of the Flame of Ruin that the Destruction Demonic House was unable to grow in numbers at all.
That trend changed after the Destruction Demonic House produced a great figure called the ‘Demon King of Red Heaven’.
He is currently the 4th ranked Demon King and serves as the Grand General of the Demon Emperor’s Army. He captured the Fallen Star that had crashed to the earth, offered it as a sacrifice, and suppressed the eruption of the Flame of Ruin.
After that, the members of the Destruction Demonic House were able to safely absorb the energy of the Flame of Ruin that leaked through the other side of the seal in an indirect manner, allowing them to achieve their current prosperity without anyone being sacrificed.
So, what was the answer to calming the now-rampant Flame of Ruin?
‘It’s simple. I just have to absorb all the energy of the Flame of Ruin.’
This didn’t mean absorbing the trickles of energy that leaked out from behind the seal, like the current members of the Destruction Demonic House were doing. It meant accepting the Primordial Well of the Flame of Ruin itself, just as the founders of the Destruction Demonic House had done in the past.
‘The problem is, this won’t be easy, even for me.’
The situation was different from the past. The energy in the Flame of Ruin had now been accumulating for hundreds of years. The level of danger was incomparable.
‘I need to be thoroughly prepared.’
The reason he planned to rob the main castle of the Destruction Demonic House was precisely for that preparation. First, he had to steal various artifacts that could withstand the Flame of Ruin, and crucially,
‘I have to obtain the highest True Essence of destruction dark magic.’
It was a ridiculous notion. But now, it was possible.
‘Right now, the main castle of the Destruction Demonic House is practically empty because of the evacuation order.’
Even the important magi who remained had mostly left the castle to suppress the Flame of Ruin.
“Now, Alros? You know what you have to do, right?”
As always, he needed a double for his alibi.
“Yes, yessir! I just have to evacuate people in your place, right, Your Grace? Leave it to me!!”
Perhaps relieved that the mission was safer than he thought, Alros shouted cheerfully.
“Right. It’ll be a lot of hard work, but do your best.”
“Pardon? I’m just giving orders from the back, so why would it be a lot of hard…?”
Chris crossed his arms and frowned.
“What do you mean, you’ll stand back with your hands behind your back and just give orders?”
“Huh?”
“We came here to help the Destruction Demonic House. Naturally, we must help them with all our might, working with our own two hands and feet.”
“!!”
“More importantly, this is a chance to capture the hearts of the Destruction Demonic House, so show them your most devoted side and move their magi to tears.”
‘Winning their hearts is also necessary to make the Destruction Demonic House an ally.’
Meanwhile, Alros, who had received his orders, stood with his mouth agape. What he said was a hundred times correct, but why was he the one being made to do it? On top of that, he would be suffering while disguised as Christian, so no matter how hard he worked, Christian would be the one to receive the praise.
‘I’m doing all the suffering, and he’s taking all the glory, that rotten Christian!!’
But when he met Merian’s glaring eyes, he was dragged away without being able to make a peep.
Now, while Chris was robbing the main castle of the Destruction Demonic House, Alros would be suffering greatly in his place. Of course, the gratitude would be directed at Chris.
‘Well, my success is for the good of Alros and everyone else, so…’
After that shameless thought, Chris turned his gaze.
Kashmir and Teren, who had become his fellow members of the theft team, were steeling their resolve with determined faces.
“To be able to help with the Grand Duke’s great undertaking, it is an infinite honor for this Kashmir! This Kashmir will become a guiding light so that you may achieve your goals!”
Chris looked bewildered at that passionate declaration.
‘He’s robbing his own house, though. Isn’t he a little too enthusiastic about it?’
Teren was just as passionate.
“How dare you call yourself my brother’s guiding light. How arrogant. You should just quietly guide the way. Assisting my brother will be my job.”
“…You are saying something I cannot concede. Even if you are Grand Duke Christian’s younger brother, I will be the one to assist him today.”
“Magi speak with their fists. Would you like to have a go?”
On top of everything, a useless loyalty competition.
Chris cleared his throat.
“Both of you, shut… no, be quiet. Let’s get started.”
And so, the burglary of the empty house began.
* * *
As expected, the main castle was desolate. However, it wasn't completely empty; some of the high-ranking magi who had decided to stay behind were walking around.
“The treasury is hidden behind the third basement floor of the main castle. There are no guards, but… there are a few vassals remaining.”
It was a problem, as they absolutely could not be discovered.
‘But there’s a way.’
Chris secretly snapped his fingers.
Then, something surprising happened.
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
The ground began to vibrate!
The magi remaining in the main castle cried out in alarm.
“The signs from the Flame of Ruin are unusual!”
“All high-ranking magi in the main castle, gather at the Flame of Ruin!!”
When he had repaired the sealing formation of the Flame of Ruin, he had attached a spell that would allow him to shake it at will. Thanks to that, the magi in the main castle moved toward the Flame of Ruin in a panic, and the castle became truly empty.
“Please guide us.”
“Yes, right away!”
They infiltrated the main castle with Kashmir as their guide. It wasn't that they didn't encounter anyone along the way, but they were able to handle those situations appropriately.
“Teren. Erase their memories.”
“Yes, Brother.”
Fwaat!
Teren cast a dark magic curse with the effect of amnesia on the fallen magi of the Destruction Demonic House. Teren was an adept in the field of curses. He could handle curses as if they were his own limbs, allowing for extremely detailed control and enabling him to cast them without leaving a trace.
“You’re amazing for being so young.”
At Kashmir’s admiration, Teren raised his chin proudly.
“Whose younger brother do you think I am? It's only natural. It's all thanks to my King Emperor Majesty Brother.”
“King Emperor Majesty… A wonderful title that suits Grand Duke Christian.”
“Don't you dare covet it. Only I, his younger brother, am allowed to use that title.”
‘…They’re all so noisy.’