Chapter 317
As Chris clenched his fist, something terrible happened.
A powerful force of domination crushed the devil; as if pressed by a giant rock, the devil was compressed and then burst apart.
Afterward, it turned to dust and disappeared.
It had been annihilated.
“Keoeok!!”
Chris vomited a mouthful of blood.
‘As expected, it was a strain. It's a relief I succeeded. Even if it was just for a moment, I managed to unfold a Domain of Dominion.’
The Domain of Dominion had already vanished.
‘In truth, I can't even call it a proper Domain of Dominion.’
It was merely the result of pushing the dominating power of his Dark Demonic Energy to its limit and spreading it in the form of a domain.
He hadn't entered the 8-Star rank either.
Still, it was a matter of great significance.
Having succeeded in unfolding a Domain of Dominion once, he would be able to reach 8-Star before long.
Just then, a noisy voice came to his ears.
[Are you alright, Christian?!]
It was Evan.
He had cast a spell beforehand so they could exchange messages.
[The demonkin have been reverse-summoned. You did it. As expected! I'm coming to you right now!]
“…No, don't come.”
Chris shook his head in alarm.
He was afraid of the fuss Evan would make when he arrived.
‘It's hard enough as it is, I don't want to listen to your infuriating sycophancy!’
Chris said urgently.
“I'm fine, so just take care of the injured people outside.”
[…That's you for you. You pushed yourself the hardest, yet you're only thinking of others again. Understood. As you wish, I will look after the injured.]
‘...That's not it.’
Fortunately able to be alone, Chris flopped down on the floor.
He felt like he was about to collapse from pouring all his strength into the final attack.
“Uwaah. Just how long do I have to suffer like this. Having to act as the Hero is too much. That punk Evan, who was supposed to be the Hero, became an idiot instead of a Hero, damn it.”
The worst part was that there was no hope for the future either.
‘It's only going to get harder.’
Chris's face grew heavy.
‘Because the real chaos is about to begin.’
The devil that had just descended was proof.
Originally, devils cannot manifest on the mortal plane this easily.
‘It must have been thanks to the Crown Prince mobilizing a relic with the power of devil summoning, but even so, it was summoned too easily. It should have been impossible at this point in time.’
In fact, in his previous life, the Crown Prince had summoned the devil a little later on.
The meaning of this was singular.
‘The boundary of the Three Realms is weakening faster than in my previous life.’
And it was progressing much faster.
He didn't know the reason.
‘It's highly likely that future events will also be different from what I knew.’
What worried Chris most of all was the movement of the Mystic Demonic House.
The Mystic Demonic House was not just lying dormant.
It was surely preparing for a terrible world-destruction in the silence.
‘To stop the Mystic Demonic House, I first have to crush the ambitions of the Four Kings' Castle.’
It was as he was letting out a long sigh.
Suddenly, he felt a chilling tension.
“!!”
Chris shot up from his spot.
‘What is it?’
He wasn't mistaken.
The tension was gradually amplifying.
It was a warning from his intuition.
Some kind of chilling shadow was looming.
‘This is a being even more threatening than the devil from before.’
An unbelievable story.
In truth, the devil just now hadn't descended with the proper qualifications and so wasn't a real threat. There was also the fact that Chris's higher soul rank made it easier to deal with.
But the being approaching now was different.
With every tick, tock of the clock placed next to the throne, his heart pounded.
Finally.
A figure appeared in the main hall.
“You are...?”
Chris had a surprised look in his eyes.
It was a face he had seen before.
“We meet again, Hero. No.”
The young elf girl smiled sweetly.
“Should I call you the great darkness that will destroy the world?”
It was Yvonne, the Young Mistress of the Mirror Ice Palace.
***
It was an unexpected appearance.
‘Why is the Young Mistress of the Mirror Ice Palace here?’
The Mirror Ice Palace.
A group of elves.
It was in conflict with the Northern Magus Nation of the Magus Empire, specifically the Obsidian Demonic House, and its leader was the current Fairy Queen, Madria.
For reference, Fairy Queen Madria was at the level of entering 9-Star and was one of the Alliance's Seven Honored Ones.
‘The Young Mistress didn't have much of a presence in my previous life.’
No, the Mirror Ice Palace itself hadn't stood out much in his previous life.
This was because it had remained silent and not participated throughout the war, only to be suddenly attacked by an archbishop of the Mystic Demonic House and destroyed in an instant.
‘I did get an unusual feeling when I met her during the duel with the Ghost Sword King.’
Chris frowned.
‘Moreover, calling me a great darkness?’
He had heard a similar story before.
It was from Holy Emperor Istanya.
-The Constellations have given a revelation that you will become a great darkness and destroy the world.
Chris's face hardened.
He realized why he felt such a powerful pressure from that young elf girl.
“…A Valkyrie.”
It meant a warrior of the Celestial Realm.
They were different from contractors who received indirect blessings after making a pact with a Constellation.
They could 'directly' receive the power of the Celestial Realm and, even if only for a limited time, manifest a power comparable to a highest-ranking Celestial.
‘Valkyries were also beings that only appeared after the boundary of the Three Realms had collapsed.’
Chris bit his lip.
Some kind of anomaly was occurring.
But he had no time to think about it in more detail.
“Following the will of the great Constellations, I shall eliminate you.”
Paaat.
A sword of light appeared before the elf girl.
It wasn't the Mana of Holy Radiance.
A more brilliant light.
It was the power of the stars, Stellar Power.
“…Do you know that you cannot survive if you use that power?”
Chris asked in a heavy voice.
A Valkyrie was a powerful being that transcended common sense, but it had a fatal limitation.
They were disposable.
Those who directly received the power of the Celestial Realm would have their bodies collapse and would not last long before meeting their death.
But Yvonne answered without a hint of hesitation.
“It is martyrdom for the will of the great Constellations, so I am not afraid.”
“!!”
Seeing the madness flowing in Yvonne's eyes, Chris frowned.
‘Damn it, what do I do?’
He had never expected the Celestial Realm would try to harm him so directly.
Because it was impossible, according to the law of causality, for the Celestial Realm to directly intervene in the affairs of the Middle Realm in this way.
‘Is this also something that happened because the boundary of the Three Realms has blurred?’
He had to find a way.
‘A Valkyrie's power is 8-Star or higher.’
It was at a lower level than the devil from before, but the situation now was much worse.
Because the devil just now was not in a perfect state.
Above all, and most decisively, Chris had currently exhausted all of his power.
Joining forces with Evan, Ranya, and the others was also difficult. Upon her appearance, Yvonne had immediately deployed a barrier that isolated this place from the outside.
It was a hopeless situation.
‘Think. There must be a way.’
It was as he was desperately racking his brain.
Suddenly, an anomaly occurred.
“Huh?”
Yvonne came to a dead stop.
And then.
Fwaaaaaah!
A long line was drawn across Yvonne's body, and a fountain of blood gushed out.
Someone had attacked Yvonne!
‘...What?’
Chris froze stiff and stared at the sight.
“Keok?”
Staggering, she urgently deployed a defensive barrier with the energy of the Celestial Realm.
But it was useless.
A magic circle was drawn around Yvonne.
‘That's?’
Chris's eyes widened.
It was a familiar type of magic circle.
One he had seen countless times in his previous life.
The one that 'she' used to use.
‘But it's different. The form. And the power.’
The 'she' that Chris knew could never wield such power.
Especially not at this point in time.
The magic circle emitted a chilling, dark light and then pierced through the celestial shield.
“Aaaaaaaak!!”
It was a horrific sight.
Countless thorns rose from the darkness and pierced Yvonne's body.
Instantly turned into a ragged mess, Yvonne struggled, trying to escape the darkness with the power of the stars.
But her face turned white.
“H-how is the power of the Constellation?”
The power of the stars that had resided in Yvonne's body suddenly began to fade.
‘Forced disconnection?’
Chris swallowed hard.
It had severed the connection with the Celestial Realm.
‘Who could do this?’
Naturally, it was no easy task.
It wasn't something possible just by having a high level.
It was only possible if one possessed a controlling force powerful enough to nullify a terminal of the Celestial Realm.
‘Just like my Dark Demonic Energy.’
For a moment, Chris's eyes shot open.
The feeling of the darkness assailing Yvonne was somehow familiar.
‘That's... Dark Demonic Energy, isn't it?’
Chris had an expression of disbelief, but he was certain.
And it was Dark Demonic Energy of an incredible purity.
It looked to be close to 90 percent.
‘Even Head Nordian isn't at 90 percent. Who? Don't tell me it's 'her'? No. That can't be right.’
Chris looked at the energy assailing Yvonne.
The way the Demonic Energy was operated, the Black Magic, the imbued secret techniques, and so on.
They were all identical to the 'she' that Chris knew.
But 'she' was definitely not a wielder of Dark Demonic Energy.
‘How did this...?’
Shortly after.
“K-keok.”
Yvonne, now in a wretched state, collapsed to the floor.
Unlike her grand entrance, it was an empty death.
Finally.
Step.
The sound of footsteps was heard.
“!!”
Chris's hand trembled faintly.
It was a familiar sound.
The one with that unique, light weight to it.
One he had heard countless times in his previous life and could never forget.
As he slowly turned his gaze, a girl came into view.
It was really 'her'.
A sound like a moan escaped Chris's lips.
“…Lena?”
His comrade from his previous life.
It was the name of the Chatterbox of Darkness.
***
A lovely appearance with sky-blue hair.
Nine tails.
It really was the Chatterbox of Darkness.
But Chris looked at Lena as if he couldn't believe it.
‘Why is Lena here?’
Her atmosphere was completely different.
In his previous life, she had always been bright and overly cheerful.
Of course, he knew that cheerfulness was a disguise to hide her pain, but her face had always worn a bright light.
It wasn't like that now.
Her brightness was nowhere to be seen, and instead, all he could feel was a suffocating poignancy.
Moreover, Dark Demonic Energy?
‘Lena has no connection whatsoever to Dark Demonic Energy.’
Lena was originally a test subject of the Mystic Demonic House.
So, she had mainly used the power of the Mystic Demonic House, but Dark Demonic Energy?
“……”
“……”
A moment of silence passed.
Chris couldn't easily find the words to say.
Because the Lena before him now was not the comrade from his past life with whom he had a special bond.
In other words, they were strangers.
There were countless things he wanted to say, but in the end, this was all he could bring himself to ask.
“…What's with that Dark Demonic Energy?”
“……”
“Answer me. I am the Grand Duke of the Dark Demonic House. I have a right to know about your Dark Demonic Energy.”
It was an important matter.
He had to know what on earth Lena had gone through.
‘What is that crest on the nape of her neck?’
A crest he had never seen in his previous life was engraved there.
The crest of a sword in a reverse grip, piercing a tower.
‘It's a crest symbolizing that one has become someone's vassal. Don't tell me she sold her soul to a devil?’
But he soon shook his head.
He couldn't feel any lingering scent of a devil from Lena.
The nature of the crest was also far from that of a devil's.
It held a deep darkness, but it was definitely not a devil's. Nor was it a Constellation's.
‘...Rather, it has a similar feeling to my crest?’
Having thought that far, Chris froze.
His eyes met Lena's.