Chapter 326

[Yes, that is correct. This form is merely my thought-form, which has barely managed to escape. My real body is in the place that tin-can wraith is guarding.]

It seemed she was talking about the Death Knight Lord.

She wrinkled her pretty, princess-like face.

[The Lord of the Four Kings' Castle dares to use Us as an experimental subject to augment his own power. Damn it, I should have smashed his head in when he was still young. Why did I have to be a Demon King? If I were a Hero and not a Demon King, I would have burned the Four Kings' Castle down.]

The Demon King of Silver Snow placed her hands on her hips and huffed.

A Demon King who wished to be a Hero. What an ironic sight.

[In any case, I have a proposal for you. How about you make a deal with Us?]

“What kind of deal?”

[We will help you take down that tin-can knight. In return, you will free Us from Our bonds.]

It was a proposal with no reason to refuse.

However, there was a problem.

“How do you propose to help me? Aren't you completely sealed away right now, Your Majesty?”

[Do not worry. We will inhabit your body and move in your stead.]

An astounding story.

But Chris wore an ambiguous expression.

“Are you saying you will descend into my body?”

The Demon King of Silver Snow nodded.

[Those two are black magicians, so it won't work, but a body like yours should be able to fully manifest Our swordsmanship. Do not worry. We are great, so We can handle a mere wraith like that with ease. We will return your body to you without a single scratch.]

“…I don’t know if a descent is possible. Would you like to try?”

[What do you take Us for? A mere descent is, of course… Huh?]

The thought-form of the Demon King of Silver Snow was about to enter Chris's body, but recoiled in shock.

[What is this soul-rank? What is your true identity?]

“It just happened to turn out this way. Because of my soul-rank, a descent will not be easy.”

The principle of descent is to forcibly push the opponent's soul and mind into a corner and take its place, so it was impossible for it to work on Chris.

[N-no…! Then I cannot help you at all. We are in a useless body right now, unable to even lift a single branch.]

The atmosphere of the Demon King of Silver Snow rapidly grew sullen.

[Damn it, if only We were in Our proper state, a mere riffraff like that would be a one-hit kill. How sorrowful. How did the great We end up in such a state?]

The Demon King of Silver Snow turned her back and began to trudge away.

“…Where are you going?”

[There is no hope for you anyway, so what's the point of staying together any longer? We will just go be miserable alone. You all go on your own way as well.]

“Please wait a moment. I have a plan.”

[…What is it?]

The Demon King of Silver Snow's ears perked up.

“Your Majesty will tell me how to fight. So that I can defeat that thing.”

Chris explained in detail.

“We will share Your Majesty's mind and my mind with black magic. So that we can convey our thoughts in real-time. If Your Majesty performs a simulated duel in your mind as if you were fighting yourself, I will follow it exactly.”

[…Are you being serious?]

Sharing their thoughts in real-time was not difficult in itself.

But the problem was whether Chris could follow the thoughts of the Demon King of Silver Snow and manifest them.

Logically, it should have been impossible, but.

“For me, it is a simple task.”

At that absurd statement, the Demon King of Silver Snow stared at Christian for a moment.

Then, she let out a hollow laugh.

[You, you're a madman.]

“……”

[But We do not dislike it. Because We were a madman originally as well. For someone from a black magic house, We made a fuss about learning the sword on Our own and was even kicked out of the family.]

For reference, the Demon King of Silver Snow had once been a Grand Duchess of the Illusion Demonic House, but had been excommunicated from the family for saying she would learn the sword.

[Fine. Let us two madmen give it a try.]

Teren was in charge of connecting their minds.

-Ah, ahem. Does it seem like we're properly connected? Try to guess what I'm thinking right now.

-…You're thinking about drinking.

-Yes, do you know how much I crave a drink after being trapped for so long? You wouldn't know.

-…I know that feeling well. I'm craving a drink, too, so please stop thinking about alcohol.

Having confirmed that their thoughts were being shared, Chris stepped forward.

At the presence of an intruder, the Death Knight Lord once again unleashed a gleam from its eyes.

Chris let out a smirk and beckoned with his finger.

“Come at me, tin-can specter.”

Paaaaaaah!

The sword stormed forward, and the second duel began.

* * *

‘To think there's a madman like that in the world?’

The Demon King of Silver Snow gulped.

Even to her, a Demon King, an impossible event was unfolding before her eyes.

When that brat said he would follow her thoughts, she had thought he would, at best, be able to ‘imitate’ them to some extent.

That alone would have been an incredible feat.

But that wasn't it.

It was a perfect manifestation.

As if he had become her.

‘Of course, I’m not thinking of any high-level swordsmanship.’

Still, it was an impossible feat.

Even if it was the same thrust, it was completely different depending on who performed it and how.

No matter how simple the motion, the sword she wielded was more powerful than any ultimate technique.

It wasn't just because of the optimal path or strength.

It was because of the ‘meaning’ contained in the sword.

‘He is embodying the 'meaning' contained in my sword perfectly. Even if we're sharing my 'mental image', how?’

Meanwhile, Chris, sensing her surprise, twisted the corner of his mouth.

‘To think an opportunity like this would come.’

In his mind, the mental image of the sword she was wielding appeared in real-time.

A diagonal slash.

It wasn't just the simple motion that was being shared.

The two were currently sharing their thoughts perfectly.

In other words, he could vividly understand the reason, the will, and the meaning with which she wielded her sword.

Of course, it was merely a thought that flashed in an instant, flickering like an unconscious impulse.

It had not even taken on a concrete form.

A thought that others would not even be able to properly read, let alone accept its meaning.

But Chris grasped all of it in that instant and was manifesting it perfectly.

That was not the only surprising thing.

The Demon King of Silver Snow once again wore a shocked expression.

‘His sword is rapidly improving?’

Right now, Chris was not simply following her mental image.

He was internalizing her skill in real-time, achieving tremendous growth.

The sword that had at first seemed so precarious, as if it would break at any moment, had transformed into a powerful shield, and now, it was even occasionally delivering sharp counterattacks.

‘But it's impossible.’

The Demon King of Silver Snow’s expression turned heavy.

It was an incredible struggle, but it was not enough.

‘Above all, that tin-can punk still hasn't used his full power.’

Just then, the situation changed.

Gwoooo.

The Domain of Dominion deployed by the Death Knight Lord began to vibrate, and its energy of death began to surge.

Chris’s expression hardened.

‘A Domain Technique.’

It was a unique 8-Star authority deployed in combination with a Domain of Dominion.

‘It's the Sword of Death. It unconditionally causes the opponent to die instantly.’

It didn't matter whether the attack succeeded or failed.

Like a ‘miracle’, the moment the attack was launched, the opponent would meet their death.

The only way to block it was to overpower the opponent’s Domain of Dominion.

“Grand Duke, get away!!”

“Brother, it’s dangerous!”

Paaaaaaah!

Kashmir and Teren combined their powers and attacked the Death Knight Lord.

While the Death Knight Lord was momentarily stopped, the Demon King of Silver Snow urgently sent a message.

-It's impossible. Give up and retreat! Then you might be able to live!

However, Chris shook his head.

If he were to evade while the Death Knight Lord was stopped, he might be able to escape the crisis.

‘But I can't defeat that thing by just evading.’

Therefore.

-Show me the next sword.

-…What did you say? It's impossible.

-Can't I just cut death itself?

The Demon King of Silver Snow swallowed hard.

That was right, it wasn't that there was no way.

He just had to cut death with his sword.

But to cut death, one of the absolute laws of the world.

It was absolutely impossible at Chris’s current level, but.

-Haven't you seen that I am the owner of an insane talent?

-!!

-I'll figure it out myself, so just hurry up and show me.

The Demon King of Silver Snow’s expression hardened.

-Fine. Watch. This is Our sword.

The Demon King of Silver Snow took a ready stance in her mental image.

-If you can cut the world, then your sword will be able to cut anything.

Simultaneously.

Flash.

A single ray of light appeared.

It was merely a small light, but in that moment, the entire world within the mental image came to a stop.

Afterward.

Slice.

The sound of something in the world being cut was heard.

He didn't know what was cut.

No, ‘what’ it was did not matter.

Because if she willed it, she could cut anything.

Any being, even death itself.

Because that was the ideal she had reached.

‘This is the Demon King of Silver Snow's 9-Star ultimate technique.’

Chris raised the corner of his mouth.

He aimed his sword and looked at the ‘death’ that was approaching him.

Now, he had to cut that death.

‘No, what I have to cut is not death.’

Chris recalled the ultimate technique the Demon King of Silver Snow had just shown him.

She hadn't particularly aimed for death.

She had simply cut.

Everything.

‘Imitating the ultimate technique is impossible, but.’

Furthermore, the Demon King of Silver Snow had not shown what thoughts she held as she deployed her ultimate technique.

Because it wasn't something he could imitate even if he saw it.

‘I have to reach it through my own enlightenment.’

Paaaaaaah!

Chris’s dark Domain of Dominion spread around him.

A Domain of Dominion that did not even have a proper name yet.

It was an incomplete domain without any meaning, which had simply enhanced the authority of domination, but in this moment, for the first time, it began to contain a ‘meaning’.

It was the meaning of ‘to cut’.

‘For darkness to dominate all things means that it can even dominate the act of cutting itself.’

The darkness sank deep.

In that moment, the possibility of dominating everything in the world resided in his Dark Demonic Energy.

Of course, it was still just a possibility.

But that meaning was not light.

Because it meant that his Dark Demonic Energy had begun to embrace the rank of a true authority of dominion that could make all things in the world kneel.

Although it was not yet properly complete, it also meant that his Domain of Dominion was approaching the state of a perfect 8-Star.

And so, the authority of ‘to cut’, dominated by his Dark Demonic Energy, imbued his sword, and.

Fwaaaat. Slice!

With the sound of something tearing through the air, the sound of something being cut was heard.

He had cut down the approaching ‘death’!

[!!]

As a backlash, the Death Knight Lord could be seen staggering.

“Lord Kashmir!!”

“Yes, Grand Duke!”

Kashmir unleashed his power, and the full force of his destructive energy exploded against the Death Knight Lord, which staggered and showed an opening.

“This is the end.”

A magic circle appeared.

It was a Stellar Radiance magic circle, deployed with the energy of light.

Expel.

It was a Stellar Radiance magic that banishes wrongful beings who have descended upon the mortal plane.

Since it was difficult to annihilate it head-on, he was aiming for an opening to reverse-summon it.

Paaaaaaah!

A brilliant light enveloped the Death Knight Lord.

[Gwooooooo!!]

As the Death Knight Lord drew up its power to nullify the banishment magic, Teren moved.

“I'm here too! Submit to my brother's greatness, you tin can!!”

Fwaaat!

The curse of the one with the aptitude, which disrupts an undead's lingering resentment, dug into the Death Knight Lord, and its momentum was broken once again.

Just then, an aura of darkness extended from Chris once again.

‘Since my darkness can dominate all things, it can dominate light as well.’