Chapter 299
“A nine-tailed fox? In the Alliance, not the Obsidian Demonic House?”
Most nine-tailed foxes belong to the Obsidian Demonic House.
“Ah, there are circumstances.”
‘The Chatterbox of Darkness’s whereabouts are unknown. I doubt she would be in the Magus Empire.’
Chris frowned.
One fortunate thing was that when they had met before, he had placed a mark on her with Heavenly Poison, so he could at least tell whether she was safe or not. For now, it seemed nothing had happened.
‘Still, I have to find her before it’s too late. The Mystic Demonic House might target her again.’
Chris also looked toward Ruina.
“You look into it, too.”
“How much will you pay me?”
“……”
“Hey, I’m an expensive person, you know? It’s a problem if you keep trying to work me for free… Sir Evan, I told you not to look at me like I’m trash!”
And so, after some twists and turns.
Fwaat!
Chris, with Ruina’s help, traveled to the Tri-Alliance, and Evan departed for the Celestial Magic Tower.
An unexpected person appeared in the place where they had been.
White-silver hair.
Pointed ears. A spirit stone embedded in her forehead.
An elf girl with a beauty as if from a painting.
It was Yvonne, the Young Mistress of the Mirror Ice Palace, who had been at the duel with the Ghost Sword King before disappearing!
The one who had sent Chris an unidentifiable, ominous gaze at the time.
That wasn't the only suspicious thing.
“Christian of the Dark Demonic House.”
A surprising fact.
Chris was currently disguised as the Hero, and no one in the Alliance knew his identity, yet this elf girl knew.
“It was a shame this time, but that’s alright. We’ll be meeting again soon in the Karn Empire, after all.”
Yvonne smiled sweetly.
Chillingly so.
“Everything is according to the will of the great ones.”
* * *
The place where the Tri-Alliance was located is the Western Magus Nation.
It is ruled by the 8th-ranked Demon King of Lament and, as is the case with the other Magus Nations, the prestigious Magus houses are in charge of actually governing their respective territories.
It faced the Holy Empire, the Mirror Ice Palace, and the Round Table, making it the place where the most intense conflicts with the Alliance occurred.
Therefore, the Ghost Sword, Magical Beast, and Illusion Demonic Houses of the Western Magus Nation were more accustomed to joining forces with each other than fighting amongst themselves.
For houses to be on good terms with each other was something that would be unimaginable in other parts of the Magus Empire.
The Tri-Alliance, an alliance where no single party was superior and all held equal authority, was also a form of union that would be unimaginable in other Magus Nations.
This was possible partly because the three prestigious houses of Ghost Sword, Magical Beast, and Illusion had comparable military strength, without any one side being dominant.
However, signs of a crack were beginning to appear in this solid Tri-Alliance.
It was because of the fall of the Ghost Sword King.
‘Who will be the next leader, the Beast King or the Duke of Illusion?’
‘Both of them have been grinding their teeth for the leader's seat, so it’s unlikely they’ll yield.’
Grinding their teeth.
It was a strange expression, but it was true.
Originally, the position of leader of the Tri-Alliance was not one of authority that held superiority over the other houses.
It was merely the role of a representative who mediated the conflicts between the three houses.
But the Ghost Sword King had shattered that harmony.
The Ghost Sword King had reigned like a king of the Tri-Alliance, and thanks to that, the Illusion and Magical Beast Demonic Houses had had their pride greatly wounded.
The Tri-Alliance’s principle that all three houses were equal had been broken long ago because of the Ghost Sword King.
‘That's why the Beast King and the Duke of Illusion are ignoring the Ghost Sword Demonic House's request to attack the Holy Empire to rescue the Ghost Sword King.’
‘At this rate, a split in the Tri-Alliance will be unavoidable.’
The magi of the Tri-Alliance held their breath and warily watched the Beast King and the Duke of Illusion.
Meanwhile, the magi of the Tri-Alliance were not the only ones observing the movements of the two.
[Who should we choose as the next leader of the Tri-Alliance?]
[The Beast King would be good. The Duke of Illusion is cunning and difficult to handle.]
It was the Four Kings' Castle.
The Four Kings' Castle had originally formed an alliance with the Ghost Sword King, but that had fallen through when the Ghost Sword King was defeated by the Hero.
They needed to form a new alliance with the new leader, but they had decided to simply install a leader who suited their own tastes.
With the power of the Four Kings' Castle, there were any number of ways to intervene.
[I will take on this task.]
A man with a dark complexion, Navid, stepped forward.
He was an Executor-level key executive of the Four Kings' Castle and a top-level 7-Star magus of the Curse Demonic House.
[I will be sure to make the Beast King a slave to our castle.]
A chilling statement.
It meant that beyond simply backing him as leader, they would use some sort of scheme to turn him into a puppet of the Four Kings' Castle.
Afterward, the Four Kings' Castle moved swiftly, and the Executor Navid made secret contact with the Beast King.
At this rate, the Tri-Alliance was in a crisis of being controlled at the whim of the Four Kings' Castle.
‘What is this?’
Navid, who was on his way to the Beast King, hardened his face.
A chilling sensation of some kind had seized him.
“Where are you off to?”
“?!”
From a tree in the dense forest, Christian was looking down on him.
“How?”
“Ah, I knew a rat from the Four Kings' Castle would be snooping around the Tri-Alliance again. I roughly back-calculated and tracked the wavelength of dark magic you leaked while communicating with the Four Kings' Castle.”
Navid had a look of disbelief on his face, but it was a possible feat for Chris.
Navid hid his bewilderment and soon put on a menacing expression.
“This is perfect. I’ll capture you alive, take you to the Four Kings' Castle, and make you an experimental subject.”
For reference, Navid was a top-level 7-Star magus.
He emanated a powerful presence, but.
“Well now, shall we see how that turns out?”
Chris twisted the corners of his mouth.
* * *
Puk!
“Keok?”
Navid coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Chris’s Holy Sword Ernhild was piercing Navid’s chest.
“H-how?”
“How? It's because you're weak, that's how.”
Navid’s level was low 7-Star.
On the other hand, Chris had now reached high 7-Star in terms of Stellar Radiance.
He could win easily if he used the power of Stellar Radiance.
‘Well, even if I hadn’t fought with Stellar Radiance and had fought with Dark Demonic Energy, I would have won without much difficulty.’
For reference, Chris’s Dark Demonic Energy was still at low 7-Star.
However, the power of the Dark Demonic Energy he possessed was incomparably stronger than other powers of darkness.
Therefore, he would never lose to an opponent of the same class.
“Y-you bastard…!”
He tried to put up a final resistance, but it was useless.
Fwaat! Puk!
His life was completely extinguished.
“Alright, that’s done. Come over here.”
After he contacted them with a communication magic tool, a few figures appeared a moment later.
Unexpectedly, they were Alros and Jupien.
“G-greetings, Your Grace the Grand Duke.”
Alros looked at Chris with anxious eyes.
‘Aaargh! Why did this devil call me again?’
Sensing that something unusual was waiting for him, he had a tearful expression.
Meanwhile, Jupien frowned and crossed her arms.
“Why did you call me for, you bother? I was just about to have some fun.”
Jupien, befitting a hot-blooded, gutsy idiot of a magus, had been looking forward to the battle with the Four Kings' Castle, and she looked full of complaints at having been suddenly called over by Chris.
“There’s something for you two to do. But Jupien, you’re speaking informally? I’m a Grand Duke now.”
“I’m your older sister. You can expect me to use formal language when you can actually hold your liquor.”
“……”
Chris would always become small whenever the topic of alcohol came up.
“Anyway, what is it?”
“Listen up. It’ll be fun.”
Chris raised the corners of his mouth, and soon, Jupien’s and Alros’s eyes widened.
It was a story they could have never imagined.
“How about it?”
“Yeah, okay. I'll do it. It sounds like fun.”
Jupien’s face brightened, and,
“Aaargh!! I refuse!! Just kill me! No, I'd rather go to the battlefield!!”
Alros screamed.
There was a reason for his abhorrence.
“You're going to offer the two of us to the Beast King as sacrifices?!”
Because, as expected, it was another extremely dangerous job.
“You don't have to worry too much. You probably won't die.”
“What do you mean, ‘probably’?! It means I really could die if things go wrong, doesn’t it?!”
Alros looked at Jupien as if pleading.
“Lady Jupien, please say something. Aren’t you in much more danger than I am?! You could really die!”
“I'm fine with it. Sounds like fun.”
“What?”
“It's thrilling.”
With that, Jupien began to do push-ups.
As expected of a hot-blooded idiot. It was a sight that showed she never stopped training for a moment.
“I have to train a little more before the operation. This is exciting.”
“……”
Alros had a fed-up look on his face as he began to sulk.
“Well, don’t think of it too badly. Alros, this is a good thing for you, too.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“We’re going to swindle the Beast King, and in the process, I will advance your family’s Beast Taming Arts by a level.”
“!!”
For reference, the collateral branches of the Dark Demonic House each had their own specialty.
Alros’s family, the house of Count Tiramin, specialized in the Art of Beast Refinement, which controlled magical beasts.
And the head of that art was the Beast King's Magical Beast Demonic House.
“It’s a chance to show off to your family.”
“…Aaargh, my life is more important than my family. Can’t I just not….”
“Sorry, that's not an option. You can choose to do it happily, or be forced to do it unwillingly. The choice is yours.”
“You wretched Grand Duke!!”
And so, the plan was decided. Chris asked the two a question.
“Ah, there’s one thing I need to confirm. I am your master, correct?”
“…What are you suddenly talking about?”
“I’m the Grand Duke, aren’t I? So I’m the master of everyone in the house, which means I’m your master too, right?”
“…You’re already working me like a slave, what’s the point in asking now? If you put it that way, then yes. How dirty and cheap.”
Alros grumbled in reply.
“Jupien, what about you?”
“You’re the Grand Duke, so it’s correct. Master and younger brother. But, I’m busy with my strength training, so could you not ask weird questions?”
Chris nodded his head.
The reason he had suddenly asked such a strange question was simple.
‘I have obtained their souls.’
It was to casually bind the two as his vassals.
The words a person speaks carry ‘meaning’.
Especially words spoken to one of a high soul-rank gain a binding force similar to an oath just by being spoken.
This was the reason for the saying that one should not speak carelessly to a devil or a Constellation.
‘Of course, this is a scam. Well, it doesn’t matter. It’s not a bad thing for them either.’
Because Chris's symbol was talent, just by becoming his vassal, they would be influenced by it and could expect a certain degree of improvement in their own aptitude.
Above all.
‘I need them to capture the Beast King and the Duke of Illusion.’
Chris shifted his gaze.
Toward the Executor of the Four Kings' Castle, Navid, who was lying dead.
Sreureureuk.
Chris’s appearance began to change.
To look exactly like Navid.
It was not on the level of a plausible imitation.
Using the Emblem of the Constellation and the state of assimilation from his 7-Star Dark Demonic Energy, he had replicated Navid’s very existence, like a doppelgänger.
“Let’s go.”
It was the beginning of the operation.
The first target was the Beast King.
* * *
In the southern part of the Western Magus Nation, there was a vast, dense forest region.
It was the territory of the Magical Beast Demonic House.
Unusually, the Magical Beast Demonic House did not have a special fortress or base like other prestigious Magus houses.
Only villages, scattered sporadically here and there throughout the forest, could be seen.
This was a characteristic that had arisen because the Magical Beast Demonic House was, in the first place, a federation of demi-human tribes.
The dog-people, the cat-people, the snake-people, and so on.
Though there were several demi-human tribes, the main pillar of the Magical Beast Demonic House was a single tribe.
Werewolves, the Lycanthropes.
The village of the Lycanthropes was in the deepest part of the forest region.
It was on a scale that could rival a small city, and every figure walking around the village emanated the presence of a powerful warrior.
Into this village of warriors, a single figure who did not fit in with the surroundings was stepping foot.
It was Christian, disguised as Navid.
Beside him, he was accompanied by a cart covered in cloth.
“Halt, who goes there?!”