Chapter 365
“Then, I’ll see you at the contest for the Vice-Lord position.”
Whoosh. As he was leaving the quarters of the Necromancy Demonic House, a single voice was heard.
It was the Demon King of Silver Snow.
[Are you alright? I did pull a trick on the Lord of the Four Kings' Castle as you said, but at this rate, it is highly likely that the Lord of the Four Kings' Castle will truly awaken as a Demon King.]
It meant that the Lord of the Four Kings' Castle had obtained his achievement thanks to the Demon King of Silver Snow! And according to Chris’s intentions, at that.
- It’s alright. Everything is going according to plan, so please do not worry.’
[Aish, if I weren't in this state, I would have wiped them all out. How frustrating. I’m quite a swordsman, you know. I suppose I have no choice but to leave it to you, the Hero.]
- …….
[By the way, to think you were the Hero, how wonderful! I truly loved romance novels where the hero was the main character. Would you not accept me as a member of the Hero’s party?]
- …That’s a bit much.
[I beg you! It is my dream to travel as a member of the Hero’s party! Gazing at the night sky by the campfire, the budding feelings between us….]
- Anyway, I’m hanging up now. Take care.
Before she could get any noisier, he cut the connection.
‘I’m busy. I have to hurry.’
With Chris’s current power alone, it was naturally impossible to bring down the Curse Demonic House.
There was much to prepare.
He arrived at the territory of the Blood Sword Demonic House and tilted his head.
Something about the atmosphere was strange.
‘Where did Idrinne go?’
Normally, as soon as he arrived, she should have appeared, making a silly fuss, but it was quiet.
Not only that, but the entire territory was quiet.
“…Are you Christian?”
“!!”
Christian’s complexion hardened.
From within the shadows untouched by the moonlight, a single figure had appeared.
A pale complexion.
A chillingly beautiful appearance, despite being a man.
A low, sunken presence.
‘He’s strong.’
It was an aura that surpassed that of the Sculptor, a being at the state of high 8-Star whom he had recently faced.
On the man’s forehead was engraved a blood cross of the same design as the one engraved on Idrinne’s forehead.
Chris looked at the crest and slowly opened his mouth.
“The Head of the Blood Sword Demonic House.”
The fallen Vampire Lord revealed himself.
***
Duke Rubinson.
He was the Head of the Blood Sword Demonic House, but he was one who had joined hands with the Necromantic Curse after his betrayal.
He would not have come to find him with good intentions.
“I will not mince my words. Stop your foolish tricks at once and leave the Four Kings' Castle.”
He warned with a cold gaze.
“If you do not, not only you, but the entire Blood Sword Demonic House will meet a terrible fate.”
Chris crossed his arms.
“Did the Vengeful Spirit tell you to say that?”
“!!”
“In any case, are you not in a state of being a slave, no different from a puppet?”
Rubinson’s gaze darkened.
It was an excessively contemptuous remark to make to the head of a prestigious magus house.
But it was the truth.
Because Rubinson was truly in a state no different from being the Vengeful Spirit’s slave.
‘His betrayal of the Blood Sword Demonic House was not of his own will, but because of the Vengeful Spirit’s curse.’
Chris looked straight at Rubinson and spoke of the details.
“Did the Vengeful Spirit say that if you do not follow his orders, he will kill the Lady of Blood, Verling?”
She was the Vice-Head of the Blood Sword Demonic House.
At the same time, Rubinson’s partner.
She, too, had been struck by the curse of the Curse Demonic House and was in an extremely critical state.
The worst part was that Verling’s curse was connected to Rubinson.
If Rubinson were to disobey the caster of the curse, the Vengeful Spirit, his partner Verling would pay the price and meet her death, so he had no choice but to forcibly obey his orders.
‘The true-blood vampires have a faint familial love between parents and siblings, but with those they have chosen as their partners, they form a relationship from which they cannot be separated, as if they have shared their souls.’
That was the reason the magi of the Blood Sword Demonic House did not show any hostility toward the traitor Rubinson.
Because it was not of his own will.
Just then, a voice filled with sorrow was heard.
“…Father.”
It was Idrinne.
“I cannot follow your words. Please return.”
“…If you do not, do you not know what will happen to your mother?”
“I know. But still, I cannot help it. I will protect Grand Duke Christian.”
“!!”
Rubinson let out a fierce growl.
“Are you saying that whelp is more important than your mother? Don’t tell me, is that whelp the partner you have chosen?”
‘…What kind of nonsense is this?’
Chris wore a bewildered expression.
Idrinne also promptly denied it.
With a beet-red face.
“Th-that is not it. A partner, you say. It is preposterous. Th-that is, we are just the closest of friends….”
“…You expect me to believe that?”
Seeing his daughter’s face, which had turned from red to the color of an apple, Rubinson’s expression sharpened.
From the side, Chris shook his head and interjected.
“We are really in no such relationship, so you do not have to doubt that.”
Idrinne’s face hardened, and she muttered faintly.
“…It’s not that we’re in no relationship at all….”
“…Hmm? What was that?”
“No, I said we are the best of friends!”
Idrinne hurriedly composed her expression and spoke to Rubinson.
“It is not just because I hold Grand Duke Christian dear. It is for the sake of our Blood Sword Demonic House. If we miss this opportunity, our Blood Sword will eventually be brought down by the Necromantic Curse.”
“……”
“Mother would not wish for such a thing, either.”
Rubinson remained silent.
Idrinne’s words were right.
But for Rubinson, it was a story he could not accept.
“It cannot be helped. If that is your will, then I have no choice but to eliminate him, even by force.”
Paaaaaaaat!
A powerful, blood-red energy surged up.
“Stop! Father, you know it too, don’t you?! That Mother does not wish for you to do this!!”
“It does not matter. There is only one thing that is important to me.”
Idrinne grit her teeth.
A blood-red energy began to pour out from her body as well.
The other true-blood vampires also came out and raised their energy.
On the verge of an explosive situation.
Chris casually uttered a single phrase.
“How foolish. To think you would try to take your own life.”
Idrinne’s momentum came to a dead stop.
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Is it not strange? No matter how much of a Vampire Lord he is, he wouldn’t be unaware that it is impossible to face all of us alone.”
Chris looked straight at Rubinson.
“Are you not trying to save the Blood Sword Demonic House and Vice-Head Verling by taking your own life?”
“……”
Rubinson did not answer.
His sunken eyes told him that Chris’ guess was correct.
‘If Rubinson, one of the two pillars of the curse, dies, Verling will be able to be freed from the curse.’
The Stigma of Subjugation.
The curse placed on Verling and Rubinson was composed of two pillars: a slave and a sacrifice.
Here, the slave was Rubinson, and the sacrifice was Verling. It was a format where if the slave, Rubinson, did not follow the orders, the sacrifice, Verling, would pay the price.
In other words, if Rubinson died, Verling could be freed.
He could also stop committing acts that harmed his own house.
“How foolish. To think the only thing you could come up with was such a pathetic method.”
Rubinson wore an angry expression.
“Do not speak so carelessly. Are you saying there is another way?”
“There is. It is simple.”
Chris said in a light voice.
“You just have to kill the Vengeful Spirit.”
“!!”
Rubinson wore a dumbfounded expression.
“Who doesn’t know that? It is an impossible task.”
Because of the curse, Rubinson could not raise a hand against the Vengeful Spirit.
“Or are you saying you will kill the Vengeful Spirit alone? That is a preposterous story.”
“Of course, with my current power, it is difficult to take down the Vengeful Spirit.”
Chris readily shook his head.
Right, ‘for now,’ it was difficult.
Because the Vengeful Spirit was an especially strong existence, even among those who had reached the wall of high 8-Star.
To compare, to the point that even the Nordian of the past could not guarantee a victory.
It would be the same even if he joined forces with Idrinne.
“But if you lend a hand, the story will change.”
“What have you been listening to all this time? I cannot be hostile to the Vengeful Spirit because of the curse.”
“I will block the Vengeful Spirit’s curse for a short while.”
“…What?”
Rubinson’s face hardened.
“Of course, a complete release is difficult. But I can make it so the curse does not take effect for a short while, until we take down the Vengeful Spirit.”
Rubinson wore an expression as if it were a preposterous story.
“There is no way it is possible to pull such a trick on the Vengeful Spirit’s curse.”
“Have you gone deaf from living as a slave? It seems you have not heard of what kind of existence I am. With my abilities, whether it’s the Vengeful Spirit or anything else, it is more than possible.”
At the voice filled with conviction, Rubinson clamped his mouth shut.
“However, there is something you, the Head of the House, must follow according to my words.”
“…What is it?”
Chris raised the corner of his mouth and said.
“Offer your soul to me. That is the condition.”
***
Rubinson protested, asking what kind of crazy talk it was, but just as the others had, he soon found himself nodding his head.
‘It’s unavoidable if I want to interfere with the Vengeful Spirit’s curse.’
Although he had spoken with such confidence, blocking the Vengeful Spirit’s curse, even for a short while, was not an easy task.
In particular, the curse placed on Rubinson and Verling was a 9-Star ‘Ultimate Curse’ that the Vengeful Spirit had cast by transcending his own state under special conditions.
‘Still, if I make his soul my subordinate, a room for interference in the curse will be created.’
Afterward, Rubinson returned.
He was to hide the fact that he had joined hands with Chris and set a trap from within the Curse Demonic House.
‘To annihilate the Curse Demonic House, I must bait the Vengeful Spirit with a perfect trap.’
There was much to prepare.
The next thing he had to do was to heal Verling.
‘Although she has become extremely exhausted because of the curse, if I heal her diligently with my Medical Sage Qigong, she should be able to move to some extent.’
Verling, too, was a powerhouse of mid 8-Star.
Even if she could only lend a hand, it would be a great help.
‘I will make them all my suckers!!’
With that in mind, he was fervently pouring his Medical Sage Qigong into Verling when, from the side, Idrinne bowed her head with a voice wet with tears.
“Truly… thank you. To bestow such a grace upon me every time. You are my savior.”
A choked-up face.
Not only had he saved her soul, but he was also saving her parents who had fallen into the abyss.
‘…Hmm, I’m just trying to make them my suckers.’
To achieve his goal, he needed suckers to do his bidding, so he was only doing this.
He subtly tried to take some credit.
“I’m not doing this for free. You’ll have to pay it all back later. I’ll be collecting it with interest.”
“Of course, that is my intention.”
Idrinne continued, her words in a strong tone, one by one, with a deep gaze as if she would pierce through him.
“For my entire life, for all of eternity, I will repay this grace by your side.”
“…There’s no need to go that far.”
“No, I will absolutely do so. Unconditionally. Absolutely. Even if you say you don’t want me to.”
“……”
At that burdensome reaction, Chris wore a bitter expression.
‘Well, she’s saying she’ll voluntarily become a permanent sucker, so I guess it doesn’t matter.’
He shook his head and rose from his seat.
“Anyway, let’s go. You have something you need to do, too.”
“What is it?”
“You, become a Demon King.”
“……”
Instead of an answer, Idrinne just blinked her eyes.
“Just now… what did you say?”