Chapter 314
To borrow a demon's power, a price was needed.
He was secretly kidnapping commoners and offering them to a demon as human sacrifices, just biding his time.
Then the Hero appeared.
Still, it was fine.
The fact that he had made a pact with a demon was a secret no one knew.
He forced himself to calm his anxiety, thinking that even the Hero wouldn't be able to recognize him.
However.
“Brother, think carefully. The throne does not suit you. Isn't it because you harbor a misguided greed that you are suffering so?”
His younger brother, the second prince, began to intimidate him.
Through an unknown curse.
It was a terrible curse.
Whenever he fell asleep, all kinds of pain would wash over him.
Without distinguishing between mental and physical pain.
The problem was that since it was a pain he only experienced in his dreams, it didn't show on the outside at all.
From the outside, it only looked like he was sleeping peacefully.
Even when the royal physicians or Holy Radiance Mages examined him, they could find nothing wrong.
Even if they tried to treat him, it was something happening in his dreams, so there was no way to intervene.
They said it was because his energy was weak and told him not to worry too much, to the point that they thought he was overreacting.
‘I will never forget this pain. I'll kill them all. I swear it.’
The Crown Prince ground his teeth.
For a moment, he wondered if the Hero could break this curse, but since his pact with the demon could be revealed, it was absolutely out of the question.
In the midst of this, a horribly unbearable incident occurred.
Splash!
Filthy waste was poured over the Crown Prince's head.
“……”
The Crown Prince blankly stared at the filth dripping from his head.
He saw the second prince, sneering.
“My, my. It seems an attendant from my palace made a mistake while moving the waste. What shall we do, now that your jade body is soiled?”
“……”
“Still, since you are so generous, brother, I'm sure you will forgive him kindly, won't you?”
The Crown Prince's hands trembled with anger.
But he forced a smile and bowed his head.
“Y-yes. What can be done about a mistake? I-I will understand.”
“Haha. As expected of my dear brother. By the way.”
Splaaash!
Waste was thrown on him again.
“……”
“You'll forgive this too, won't you? Haha.”
As the second prince laughed, everyone around him also burst into laughter as if in mockery.
The Crown Prince realized the second prince was doing this intentionally.
He intended to humiliate him horribly in front of everyone until he was forced to abdicate the throne.
Just then, a voice came to his ears.
-Entrust everything to me. I will grant you everything you desire.
The moment he swallowed hard, his eyes met the second prince's.
A gaze like one looking at an insect.
The humiliation he had endured until now surged up as if to explode, paralyzing the Crown Prince's reason.
‘I'll kill him. I'll kill him, I swear it.’
The Crown Prince's eyes turned bloodshot.
The second prince flinched at the Crown Prince's suddenly unusual atmosphere, but it was too late.
The Crown Prince reached his hand out toward the demon.
“To you… I entrust my everything.”
And so.
Hell descended upon the Imperial Palace.
***
“N-no.”
Asran staggered in shock.
But Chris shook his head as if he had expected it.
‘As expected, it proceeded just like in my previous life.’
In his previous life, the Imperial Palace was completely razed to the ground because of the Crown Prince's rampage after being persecuted by the second prince.
As a result, the third prince, Lauren, who was far away and thus spared from the disaster, unexpectedly ascended to the throne.
‘It wasn't something I could have stopped anyway.’
The Crown Prince had sold his soul to a demon a long time ago.
He had even been secretly performing human sacrifices for a long time, so there was no turning back.
“We must go to the Imperial Palace at once and stop the demon!!”
Asran shouted urgently, but there was a voice that opposed her.
“It is impossible for us to face a demon alone.”
Unexpectedly, it was Evan.
Yulian, who was with them, also nodded her head.
As a former demon contractor herself, she knew the power of a demon better than anyone.
“A noble-class demon possesses power equal to a 9-Star Demon King, so facing one head-on is a suicidal act. We must be cautious.”
Demons are also divided into classes.
The great ranks of the 3rd and 4th Circles were beings in a class of their own, and ordinary demons were divided into common demons without a title and noble-class demons with a title.
A common demon possesses power roughly similar to an 8-Star demonic being of the Absolute Realm, and a noble-class demon possesses power equal to a 9-Star Demon King.
‘Though the power they possess varies greatly depending on their title.’
As far as Chris knew, the demon the Crown Prince had contracted was a ‘Baron’-class.
‘Roughly the power of one entering the 9-Star rank.’
One could say it possessed power equal to Nordian's.
With their current strength, it was an opponent they could not possibly face.
‘That's why, when dealing with a demon, the standard procedure is to stall for time and endure until the demon is reverse-summoned. Because of the law of causality, they cannot remain on the mortal plane indefinitely.’
Asran stammered.
“Th-then. Everyone in the Imperial Palace will die.”
“It is unfortunate, but it cannot be helped. If we rashly confront the demon, it will only lead to more needless sacrifices.”
Evan said flatly.
There was a reason he spoke so coldly.
‘Christian is someone who must not die in vain in a place like this.’
Christian is the one who will save this world.
Evan believed that no matter how many lives were at stake, they were not worth the single life of Christian.
Asran bit her lip hard.
But since his words weren't wrong, she couldn't say anything.
‘Asking for help from the Seven Honored Ones is also impossible.’
It wasn't that the Karn Empire had no one from the Seven Honored Ones.
The Spear Saint. One of the greatest powerhouses in the Alliance, once called a worthy rival to the Sword Emperor, belonged to the Karn Empire.
The problem was that the Karn Empire's imperial family feared the Spear Saint's power and kept him in check.
They had framed him for a crime and sent him into exile, and the Spear Saint had sworn never to involve himself in the affairs of the Karn Empire again.
‘The other Honored Ones probably won't step in easily either.’
A considerable number of the Seven Honored Ones were individuals who prioritized their own safety above all else.
It was highly likely they would make some excuse and refuse to act until the demon was reverse-summoned.
‘I have to fight, even if I'm alone.’
But then, an unexpected voice spoke.
“No, I will stop the demon.”
“!!”
It was Christian.
Evan frowned.
“You, doing something reckless again….”
“…No, it's not like that.”
Chris shook his head.
“I can do it.”
“!!”
At his voice, full of confidence, everyone's eyes widened.
‘If I thought it was impossible from the start, I wouldn't have come to the Karn Empire.’
He had a plan.
The area fell silent.
Everyone stared at Chris as if in disbelief.
It was only natural.
Because it was a demon, a transcendent being.
“Why do you always….”
Evan lamented.
He seemed to be misunderstanding, thinking that Chris was about to risk his life again.
‘...No, I'm really going because I have a chance of winning.’
Evan wasn't the only one who had misunderstood.
Yulian, who gave him a look as if watching an incorrigible younger brother and thinking 'I knew it', and Asran, who let out a cry of 'As expected of the Hero', both had faces full of admiration.
Their gazes seemed to think he was about to make a sublime sacrifice, jumping into the fire for everyone's sake, so Chris had a sour expression.
Evan let out a long sigh.
“It's probably useless to try and stop you anyway. I will go with you.”
“Right, this big sister will join too. I can't just watch my little brother enter the pit of fire alone.”
“I, Asran, will also offer my life alongside you!”
As the three of them shouted so, for some reason?
Why did he get this sour feeling?
“…Anyway, let's go.”
And so.
The Hero took up his sword to fight the demon.
***
Before heading directly to the Imperial Palace, he gathered more forces.
He released Marquis Valmond and Heinz, who had been imprisoned after their duel with Chris.
“So? The Crown Prince? Then what happened to His Highness the second prince?”
“He was probably sacrificed at the hands of the demon.”
“!!”
Marquis Valmond had a conflicted expression, then suddenly bowed his head to Christian.
“Please accept my loyalty, Your Highness the Hero!!”
“……”
“I, Valmond! Have recognized that Your Highness the Hero is the hope of the Karn Empire! I will become your sword!”
...Hearing that the second prince was dead, he had quickly switched sides to Chris.
‘What a character. Well, it's not bad since he'll be easy to use.’
Heinz, the Vice-Commander of the White Tiger Brigade, also came over on his own.
“Then the one who plotted the poisoning incident during the duel must have been the Crown Prince. In the name of the White Tiger Brigade, I must make him pay the price.”
...In truth, it was Chris's doing, but there was no need to tell him, so he just nodded.
“Then let's go at once. We don't have time.”
When they arrived at the Imperial Palace, the situation was even more serious than they had expected.
A terrible evil energy from Gehenna was swirling throughout the entire palace, and bizarre humanoid monsters were roaming about, carrying out a slaughter.
They were demonkin, servants commanded by the demon.
“…The power of this darkness seems extraordinary. For now, wouldn't it be better to gather more forces?”
As Marquis Valmond, a self-preservationist who valued his own safety above all, showed signs of trying to sneak away, Asran raised her voice in a burst of anger.
“No, what are we to do if you, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, get scared?!”
“Who said I was scared?! I-I'm just worried about His Highness the Hero-Prince, that's all!”
“If we retreat now, everyone inside will die!”
“W-who doesn't know that? But realistically, isn't it impossible for us to face those monsters of Gehenna alone?! We'll just be throwing our lives away!”
His intentions were too obvious, but his words weren't wrong.
Evan asked Chris.
“What are you going to do? Are we going in like this? That pig's words aren't entirely without reason.”
“Wait a moment.”
It was when everyone had a puzzled look on their faces.
Suddenly, a voice mixed with irritation was heard.
“What took you so long? I thought I was going to die.”
Ranya appeared with a pale complexion.
She had received Chris's instructions and had come to the Imperial Palace in advance.
“What's the situation?”
“Fortunately, this genius mage succeeded in activating the defensive line, so we've avoided the worst-case scenario. The civilians have evacuated inside the defensive line, and the palace knights and mages are holding out against the demonkin. This is all thanks to me modifying the palace's Great Barrier in advance. Otherwise, everyone would have been annihilated by now.”
Ranya gestured with her chin and spoke triumphantly, but Chris clicked his tongue.
“It's not enough. You only strengthened the defensive effects; you didn't strengthen the counter effects, did you? This won't do.”
“How am I supposed to modify such effects on this rusty Great Barrier? Honestly, those who know nothing are always so confident. Don't say such ridiculous things.”
“I'll do it now.”
“…What did you say?”
“I said I'll modify the Great Barrier on the spot right now.”
Ranya blinked her eyes and then had an incredulous look on her face.
“No, what kind of crazy talk is...”
“Just give me your hand. I need to borrow your mana.”
He snatched the hand of the dumbfounded Ranya.