Chapter 361
Of the remaining three, Emily of the Crimson Eyes had been killed by Christian during the last war, and the other two, Drenne and the Sage of Death, had to deal with the seal here, so they were mobilizing every highest-ranking magus available.
[This is excessive.]
“Shut up and follow the order. Do you want to die at my hands?”
[!!]
Archlich Rockpelt flinched at Drenne’s cold warning.
‘Somehow, I have a bad feeling about this.’
Drenne recalled the atrocities the whelp Christian had committed on his way to the Four Kings' Castle.
Even for a surprise attack, the traces were far too clean.
To the point that even though it was certain he was the one who had committed the acts, they could not press him for anything.
She had to consider the possibility that Christian’s skill surpassed their expectations.
‘Still, four highest-ranking magi should be enough. No, will it be enough?’
Drenne frowned.
It was clearly an excessive force.
But for some incomprehensible reason, she kept getting an uneasy feeling.
‘Should I rather postpone dealing with the seal and go myself?’
Just then, another change occurred within the seal.
The Demon King of Silver Snow opened her eyes again.
She looked directly at Drenne, then gave a faint smile.
It was a smile of death, as if declaring her opponent’s doom.
“!!”
Drenne swallowed hard.
It was certain.
The Demon King of Silver Snow harbored killing intent toward her.
‘…I have no choice but to deal with the seal first.’
She had no choice but to entrust Christian to the other members of the Four Kings and Three Abysses and focus on dealing with the seal.
Never imagining that the Demon King of Silver Snow, who had closed her eyes, was sending this kind of message to Christian.
[That one’s scared of me! Ahem. To overwhelm an opponent with a single glance. That is who I am.]
The Four Kings' Castle was the place where the lives of the people were the most desolate among the eastern, western, northern, and southern magus nations of the Magus Empire.
The curse necromancers who ruled the Four Kings' Castle treated those they governed like livestock, depriving them of humane treatment and inflicting countless sufferings.
It was only because the Demon King of Silver Snow alone kept the Four Kings' Castle in check from crossing the line; if not, the Four Kings' Castle would have truly been a hell on earth.
‘District 4 is an especially terrible place, even in such a Four Kings' Castle.’
Chris looked around his surroundings as he walked.
From within the maze-like, tangled alleys, people with hollow eyes were looking at him.
Eyes filled with only fear and despair, without any hope.
It was because of the tyranny the curse necromancers had inflicted upon them.
‘If the Four Kings' Castle falls, their lives will get better, too.’
Chris shook his head and proceeded to his destination.
After walking for some time, he felt gazes sticking to his back.
‘How many are there?’
There was no need to pay attention to the small fry.
Chris counted only the real ones, that is, the number of 8-Star highest-ranking magi.
‘Four of them. This is a jackpot, isn’t it?’
Chris whistled.
More than half of the 8-Star highest-ranking magi, who were called the Four Kings and Three Abysses, had come to get him.
It was a moment of mortal danger, yet Chris had an absurd thought.
‘Excellent. To think things would be resolved so easily.’
A thought that would make anyone who heard it doubt their ears.
But he was being sincere.
‘Because I’ve been deliberately provoking them so hard until now to bait as many of the Four Kings and Three Abysses as possible.’
Right.
This was an opportunity that would not come again.
Because after what happened today, the Four Kings' Castle would absolutely not let its guard down around him.
Chris wore a tense expression on his face.
It was an act.
So that the opposing side would not notice his composure.
He also quickened his pace. This, too, was a deliberate act to look anxious.
‘They won’t strike me here.’
There were too many eyes watching.
They would reveal their true colors at the destination he was heading for.
Soon, a building that did not fit in with its surroundings appeared in the middle of the slums.
It was a tower engraved with a magic circle, and magi were guarding it.
“Y-you are?”
“What are you asking when you already know? You know who I am.”
Paat!
Chris subdued them in an instant and entered the tower.
He then cast a barrier to prevent anyone from entering from the outside and went down to the connected basement.
A large underground space revealed itself.
‘The control room.’
It was the place that controlled the obelisks that accumulated people’s negative emotions.
It was wider than any decent plaza and was divided by several partition walls according to its purpose.
‘The core that serves as the circuit is on the inside. The rest is a magical spare space.’
Due to the principles of the obelisk, there had to be a space around the circuit for thoughts to linger.
It was the perfect environment for a good brawl.
‘Let’s get ready first.’
Paaaat!
Dark demonic energy stretched out from Chris’s hand, and a magic circle unfolded in the surrounding space.
Since he had cast a barrier before entering the tower, he would be able to buy a short amount of time.
It wasn’t as if he were planning to make any grand preparations anyway, so it was enough.
Craaack!
Soon, the barrier collapsed with a loud roar.
Then, figures exuding a formidable aura began to descend into the underground space.
Just as he had detected, there were a total of four.
The first to reveal himself was an Archlich.
One he had seen once before.
[It has been a while since the armistice talks. You arrogant whelp. The day I get to tear you to shreds has finally come.]
The Murderer of Silence.
He was a low 8-Star and a necromantic knight who was said to toy with life and death.
Then, another Archlich revealed himself.
Rockpelt, the Lord of Eternity.
He was at the state of mid 8-Star and was the ruler of countless undead.
“Heehee, today is a very good day. I’m so excited. Ahh. I wonder what kind of screams I will get to hear today.”
It was a beautiful woman with ash-gray hair.
Unlike her appearance, both her eyes and her voice were overflowing with madness.
The giant scythe slung across her back emitted an eerie light.
The Clown of the Abyss.
She was at the state of mid 8-Star and, unusually, had delved into the field of a ‘Curse Knight,’ elevating curse-using knightly duels to the level of art.
“How troublesome.”
The last was a handsome man with a cold impression.
The Sculptor of Despair.
He was at the state of a whopping high 8-Star and was a master of tangible curse techniques. He was a figure who was always mentioned when counting the five strongest individuals in the Four Kings' Castle.
As the four of them appeared, a suffocating pressure filled the space.
However, the four soon wore puzzled expressions.
It was because there was hardly any fear to be seen on Chris’s face.
On the contrary, he looked nothing but composed.
[Have you still not grasped the situation? You will meet your end after excruciating pain. And not just that, your corpse and your very soul will be made to suffer.]
At that growl, Chris shrugged his shoulders.
“Oh my, how scary.”
[…You whelp. Are you truly insane?]
“What do you mean, insane? What am I to do if it’s not scary?”
[Hah!]
The Lord of the Undead showed a sign of anger.
The Murderer of Silence also began to raise his energy in response.
However, the other two, the Clown and the Sculptor, showed a somewhat different reaction.
“Heehee, something is strange, isn’t it?”
“…This is vexing. It seems this will be more troublesome than I thought.”
At the reaction of those two, the two Archliches, the Lord of the Undead and the Murderer of Silence, frowned.
For reference, the Clown and the Sculptor were at a somewhat higher state than these two Archliches.
[What do you mean by that?]
“Did your intelligence also disappear when your heads turned into skulls? Does that whelp’s appearance look like a simple bluff to you?”
[!!]
“That whelp is currently convinced of his victory against us. Without a single shred of doubt.”
The Archliches wore expressions of disbelief.
[Nonsense? No matter how great that whelp is, he is a mere low 8-Star. With that, against us?]
They, too, were absolute beings of 8-Star.
They could easily discern the extent of the power Chris harbored.
His dark demonic energy, at its very best, was only at the level of a low 8-Star.
However.
“What if that whelp doesn’t only have dark demonic energy?”
[What do you mean by…?]
The Sculptor asked, looking straight at Chris.
“Is that not so, Hero?”
[!!]
Astonishment appeared on everyone’s faces.
“I had thought it was nonsense from before. For an abnormal genius of your level to appear in the Alliance and the Magus Empire at the same time. If you are the Hero, then your current composure can be explained.”
Chris wore a slightly surprised expression.
He had never been found out by anyone, yet this was the first time he had been discovered.
Well, it didn't matter.
“Yes, that’s right. I am the Hero.”
Snap.
As he snapped his fingers, paat, the underground space was covered in a barrier.
It was not a high-dimensional barrier.
It was just a barrier to prevent others from peeking inside from the outside and to keep the energy inside from leaking out.
Chris’s core spewed out a ferocious energy.
The external dark demonic energy receded inward, and in its place, a brilliant mana of light was revealed at the forefront.
The might of the light instantly overwhelmed the pressure the four magi had been exuding.
The four highest-ranking magi flinched, and Chris gave a sly smile.
“Then you should understand now, shouldn't you? What kind of situation you are in right now?”
A pillar of light descended upon the holy sword.
“All of you, offer your necks to the Hero.”
* * *
High 8-Star.
It was the state Chris had achieved with his Stellar Radiance.
The same state as one of the enemies before him, the Sculptor.
But it was different.
‘Even at the same high 8-Star, the levels are divided. And by a significant margin at that.’
The state of high 8-Star was one reached by those who had established their own worldview.
Among them, they were divided into two groups.
Those who had faced the wall, and those who had not yet reached it.
The wall here referred to the 9-Star wall.
Therefore, an enormous difference arose.
One could tell by comparing the Nordian of the past and Grand Duke Vesn of the Destruction Magus House.
Although both were high 8-Star, Grand Duke Vesn did not dare to think of opposing Nordian.
Because Nordian was one who had faced the wall, and Grand Duke Vesn was one who had not.
It wasn't just the Nordian of the past.
The Ghost Sword King, the Obsidian King, the Vengeful Spirit, and the Holy Knight of Death, Drenne.
The powerhouses who represented the Magus Empire were precisely those who had faced the wall.
Although they had not yet ascended to the state of a Demon King, they were those who had reached the very brink.
Chris, too, had reached the same state as them with his Stellar Radiance.
So, it was only natural for such a scene to unfold.
Slice.
[Kuaaaaargh!!]
The Murderer of Silence’s right arm was cut off and flew into the air.
Although an Archlich possessed flesh and blood, it was like a moving corpse, so no blood flowed.
He should not have felt pain either, yet the Murderer of Silence let out a terrible scream.
It was because of the authority of light that Chris had manifested.
“For wicked minions like you, the Hero’s sword is the perfect cure.”
It wasn't a joke; it was the truth.
The matchup was also the worst for the four of them.
Curses and necromancy drew strength from people's negative emotions through the obelisks.
In other words, they were beings of the evil attribute, no different from the minions of Gehenna.
It was only natural that the Hero’s sword would exert an even greater power against them.
[Shut up!!]
Pabak!
A new arm sprouted from the severed cross-section of the Archlich’s arm.
Fwoosh!
The sword of the necromancer, a materialization of the pain of vengeful spirits, blazed like a flame.
Domain of Dominion.
The Intersection of Life and Death.
The surrounding life and death wavered at the sword of the necromancer.
A terrible attack that would have caused any ordinary person to lose their life and die instantly just by being within its range.
That wasn't all.
“Heehee!! To think the Demonic Radiance was the Hero! I will hear the screams of both the Demonic Radiance and the Hero at the same time!!”
The large scythe flashed.