Chapter 364

However, the problem was that there was no way to deal with him right now.

The Blood Sword Demonic House that was protecting him was a problem, and if they were to strike him without a just cause, not only the Demon Emperor, but the Dark Alliance would also not stand by.

As mentioned before, it might have been different in the past, but now the Four Kings' Castle had been reduced to a state where it had to be mindful of the Dark Alliance.

‘I must find a way to eliminate him without any noise. So that neither the Dark Alliance nor the Center can take issue with it.’

Just then, a low, sunken voice was heard.

[How pathetic. To think I entrusted the Four Kings' Castle to you, and this is all you have to show for it?]

“!!”

As she whipped her head around, a familiar figure had appeared.

A gray robe that covered his entire body.

An ominous shadow that flickered like a specter.

It was the Vengeful Spirit, the head of the Curse Demonic House.

A super-powerhouse who had reached the wall of high 8-Star, and a bitter enemy of Drenne, the Vice-Head of the Necromancy Demonic House.

[Drenne, to think you were this pathetic. It’s to the point of being embarrassing. And with this, you aim for the position of Vice-Lord?]

Drenne grit her teeth in anger.

But she had nothing to say in rebuttal.

“…When will the Lord of the Castle return?”

[He is currently in the process of overcoming a great wall, so he will return in time for the contest for the Vice-Lord position. After hearing of your pathetic state, I alone have come out in a hurry.]

It was a surprising story.

It meant that the Lord of the Four Kings' Castle was seeking to overcome the state of 9-Star (advancing) and reach a perfect low 9-Star.

If he were to truly succeed in overcoming the wall, a new Demon King would be born in the Magus Empire.

[Of course, we must catch that rat bastard Christian before that.]

Drenne agreed.

They had to catch Christian before the Lord of the Four Kings' Castle came out.

“Is there a way? If he hides in the Blood Sword Demonic House and avoids us, there is no suitable method.”

[What a foolish worry. There is no way he will just hide quietly.]

The Vengeful Spirit let out a sneer.

[Seeing the way he has acted until now, he will surely try to pull some kind of trick again. At that time, we just have to strike him in return.]

It was a reasonable opinion.

There was no way that reckless whelp would stay quiet.

[I will be in charge of catching him, so Drenne, you just try not to get in the way.]

It was the moment Drenne was about to flare up.

“F-forgive me. An urgent report has come from the Blood Sword Demonic House.”

“What is it?”

“That whelp Christian has sent a letter.”

The Vengeful Spirit and Drenne met each other’s gaze.

“Ha, a letter? How dare he?”

[I wonder what kind of trick he is trying to pull. Let me see it.]

And then.

The two who had received the letter fell silent for a moment.

As they had just discussed, they had expected that he would not stay quiet.

But the letter contained a crazy story that far surpassed their imagination.

-Application to Participate in the Contest for the Vice-Lord Position.

Christian of the Outer Faction of the Four Kings' Castle.

It meant that Christian was aiming for the position of Vice-Lord of the Four Kings' Castle.

***

“What?”

“How dare he?! What does he take our Four Kings' Castle for?! We must absolutely not accept this!”

The elders of the Four Kings' Castle, who had heard the news, spewed forth their anger.

Drenne also wore a greatly displeased expression.

‘This damn whelp. There’s a limit to how much he can insult us.’

The whelp had even added this phrase to the letter.

-If you are scared, you do not have to accept.

It was a provocation.

And one aimed at Drenne and the Vengeful Spirit.

Because the contest for the Vice-Lord position was scheduled to be their stage alone.

However, the Vengeful Spirit said something unexpected.

[How cunning. Was this the reason he insisted on belonging to the Outer Faction?]

The whelp’s current status was as follows.

Branch Head of the Dark Demonic House, belonging to the Outer Faction of the Four Kings' Castle.

This meant that the branch of the Dark Demonic House he belonged to was under the Outer Faction of the Four Kings' Castle.

The reason for this complicated affiliation was because he had strongly insisted on it at the time of the agreement.

Saying that for a definite friendship between the two sides, they must be affiliated under the opposing side.

They had wondered what kind of nonsense it was, but it seemed he had been harboring this kind of scheme.

[Even if he belongs to the Outer Faction, he is a magus who is a proper member of the Four Kings' Castle. He, too, is qualified to challenge for the Vice-Lord position.]

The Four Kings' Castle was a place where the strong preyed on the weak.

It was the law of the Four Kings' Castle that anyone, as long as they were strong, could challenge for any position without any restrictions.

[He has aimed for a blind spot in the laws of our castle. It is for the better.]

“What do you mean, Vengeful Spirit?”

[We can just eliminate him during the contest for the Vice-Lord position. As it was during a legitimate duel, neither His Majesty the Demon Emperor nor the Dark Alliance will be able to protest in any way.]

“……”

[Why? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of him?]

“Shut up. How dare you. Vengeful Spirit, do you want to die first? That is not it.”

Drenne shut her mouth with an uneasy expression.

‘Why does it feel like I’m being drawn into his scheme?’

In truth, it was nothing to worry about.

‘His power is definitely below mine or the Vengeful Spirit’s.’

It was a judgment she had made after seeing the traces of the battle between the Sculptor and him.

She couldn't tell exactly what kind of power he had used, as he had erased the traces, but there was still something she could grasp.

‘He could not withstand the Sculptor’s Domain of Dominion head-on and had to break through it in a different way. It means he is still lacking.’

Even among those who had reached the wall of high 8-Star, there was a gap in superiority.

It was a gap as small as a speck of dust, but it was also a gap as large as the sea.

For reference, there was also a difference between Drenne and the Vengeful Spirit.

Although she didn't want to admit it, the Vengeful Spirit was slightly superior.

It was a difference so faint that she would have to actually fight him to know who the victor would be.

[Even if you are worried about him, rest assured. The one who will eliminate him in the contest is I.]

A story that touched Drenne’s pride.

‘You son of a bitch.’

Drenne grit her teeth hard.

She wanted to tear both that whelp Christian and the Vengeful Spirit, who was subtly looking down on her, to shreds.

In the end, under the Vengeful Spirit’s assertion, Christian’s participation in the contest for the Vice-Lord position was approved.

“Ha. This shouldn’t be happening.”

Drenne, who had returned to her quarters, let out a sigh mixed with irritation.

She felt as if she were being swept up by him.

A gut feeling that she should absolutely not let things go according to his scheme.

Just then, a voice was suddenly heard.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

“!!”

Drenne’s eyes widened as if they would tear.

It was Christian!

“You whelp, how dare you? Do you know where you are? Do you want to die?”

Paaaaaaaat!

A ghastly energy rose up.

An aura incomparable to the Four Kings and Three Abysses she had fought before, a terrible presence as if she were facing the Nordian of the past.

Before, she would not have been able to lift a single finger, but Chris nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.

“I came because I have something to say. Before you draw your sword, why don’t you hear me out first?”

Chris gave a faint smile.

“That is, if you don’t want to just do the Vengeful Spirit a favor for nothing.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“If you fight me, do you think you’ll even be able to participate in the contest for the Vice-Lord position? Even if you win, you’ll suffer a fatal wound, won’t you?”

“……”

“Ah, since there’s no chance of you winning against the Vengeful Spirit anyway, would it be better to honorably withdraw in such a manner?”

Drenne wore a furious expression.

“Shut your mouth with that nonsense before I tear you to shreds.”

“Why, am I not right? You cannot win against the Vengeful Spirit. Don’t you know it, too? That even at a high estimate, the probability of you winning against the Vengeful Spirit is less than thirty percent.”

Drenne clamped her mouth shut.

Because Chris’s words were not wrong.

“In particular, with all of the Three Abysses dead, the Vengeful Spirit’s power will have surged even more, so your chances of victory will have dropped even further.”

The Vengeful Spirit was the head of the Curse Demonic House.

And yet, even though he had lost the main forces of his house at the hands of Chris, he did not show any particular sign of regret.

It was because of the nature of his power.

Just like his moniker, the Vengeful Spirit, he could amplify his own power by using the vengeful spirits of the dead of his house.

If the magi of the Curse Demonic House died, on the contrary, the Vengeful Spirit’s power would become that much stronger.

“And do you think the Vengeful Spirit will fight you fair and square? He will surely pull some kind of trick to make you kneel before him in utter defeat. Just as he did to the head of the Blood Sword Demonic House.”

Duke Rubinson, the head of the Blood Sword Demonic House.

He was in a state where he had become no different from a slave of the Curse Demonic House after falling for the Vengeful Spirit’s scheme.

“…So, what is it that you want to say?”

“I will eliminate the Vengeful Spirit in your stead.”

“!!”

“In return, you will have a contest for the Vice-Lord position with me. The winner between the two of us will become the Vice-Lord.”

Drenne wore a dumbfounded expression.

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this?”

“Why is it nonsense? It’s not a bad deal for you, is it? Surely you’re not going to put on a pretense you don’t even mean, saying you must keep your loyalty for the sake of the Four Kings' Castle?”

Chris twisted the corner of his mouth.

“You of the Four Kings' Castle aren’t like that, are you? The ones who think only of yourselves, who can sacrifice even your parents or your children for the sake of a speck of your own gain, that is you, is it not?”

An insult that crossed the line.

But it was the truth.

Just look at the Vengeful Spirit. Although he was the head of the house, he had placed a curse on the bloodline of his house so that they would become his nourishment when they died.

Drenne, too, had no such thing as a heart for the Four Kings' Castle.

The reason she acted for the Four Kings' Castle was solely because of her lust for power to become the Vice-Lord.

“Although you don’t possess any such emotion as guilt anyway, there is no need to be hesitant. I am not telling you to commit an act of betrayal. You just have to turn a blind eye for a short while to what I am about to do.”

“…What are you planning to do?”

“The annihilation of the Curse Demonic House.”

“…What?”

Drenne asked back blankly, without even realizing it.

As if to say she had not misheard, Chris gave a wide grin and said again.

“I plan to annihilate the Curse Demonic House, the entire house.”

***

Instead of an answer, Drenne showed a reaction as if she had heard something insane.

Because it was a story that was far too unrealistic.

No matter how great a blow it had recently suffered, the Curse Demonic House was one of the Five Strong , the five strongest prestigious houses in the Magus Empire.

How could he annihilate such a place?

But Chris dispelled her doubts with a single phrase.

“As you know, there is nothing I have set out to do that I have not achieved.”

“……”

An absurd confidence.

But it was the truth, so it sent a shiver down her spine.

“…Do you think I will just stand by and watch your antics?”

“Well, now? If you try to interfere, I’ll just have to go to the Vengeful Spirit.”

“…What?”

“Whether it’s the Necromancy or the Curse, I plan to annihilate one of them. I wonder if the Vengeful Spirit will keep his loyalty to the Necromancy Demonic House.”

There was absolutely no way he would.

Drenne bit her lip hard.

‘Should I call the Lord of the Castle? No, I cannot call the Lord of the Castle because of a mere whelp like this.’

The Lord of the Four Kings' Castle was in the process of overcoming none other than the 9-Star wall.

To ask for help from the Lord of the Four Kings' Castle because she could not handle a mere whelp like this was an impossible thing.

And above all.

‘…Whatever happens to the Curse Demonic House is, in fact, none of my concern.’

Just as Chris had pointed out before, there was no way the magi of the Four Kings' Castle possessed any sense of community.

‘In any case, there’s no way the Curse Demonic House will be completely annihilated just because of this one whelp.’

If the Curse Demonic House were to shed a moderate amount of blood due to his scheme, the position of Drenne, the Vice-Head of the Necromancy Demonic House, would rise.

“Stop your chatter and do not come to find me again. I have heard nothing.”

It was a silent approval.