Chapter 367
An imposing presence.
Judging from the aura, he was a 7-Star highest-ranking magus.
‘The Curse Demonic House's power is indeed formidable.’
The core forces of the Curse Demonic House were the Five Masters and the Three Abysses.
The Five Masters referred to the five of 7-Star (high).
The Three Abysses referred to the three of 8-Star.
Even though all of them had died at Chris’s hands, there were still 7-Star highest-ranking magi remaining.
‘But that’s as far as they go.’
“Well, now? This place is scheduled to become your grave today.”
“…What?”
It was in that moment.
Paat.
A thin line was drawn across the neck of the robed man who had stepped forward.
Blood spurted out like a fountain.
“…H-how?”
The robed man muttered in disbelief, then collapsed forward with a thud.
The arena fell into silence.
“What do you mean, how? To think a whelp who isn't even on my level would dare to face this body. You don't know the value of your own life.”
The state of the man just now was 7-Star (low).
Even within the same 7-Star, the difference between low and high was like that of heaven and earth.
To even make a pretense of facing Chris now, one had to at least reach 7-Star (high).
The problem was that there were no such highest-ranking magi left in the Curse Demonic House.
At best, they were 7-Star (low), or, in very rare cases, 7-Star (mid).
“Now do you understand whose grave this place will become?”
The magi of the Curse Demonic House swallowed hard.
A group numbering in the hundreds had been overwhelmed by a single person.
“D-don't be scared! No matter what, there are only a handful of them!! If we combine our strength, victory is ours!”
He wasn't wrong.
The magi of the Curse Demonic House were not just a flock of rabbits that were large in number.
They were just lacking compared to Chris; they were a qualitatively powerful force that would not lose out when compared to any other prestigious magus house.
However.
“It seems you don't know why we came with such a small number. Kashmir.”
“Yes, Grand Duke!”
Gooooooooooh!
A powerful energy stormed from Kashmir’s body.
“I will designate the coordinates, so unleash your energy there.”
“Understood!”
It was the core of the barrier that surrounded the Curse Demonic House.
Kwaaaaaaaang!!
An energy of destruction erupted.
Kashmir, who, thanks to completely absorbing the Flame of Ruin, lacked nothing in terms of pure destructive power compared to anyone from the Destruction Demonic House.
The moment a crack appeared in the barrier, Christian moved.
Paaaaaaaat!!
A black magic circle appeared.
“Th-this is? A new barrier?”
The mages of the Curse Demonic House shouted in bewilderment.
It was not a barrier that was being deployed on the spot.
It was a wide-area barrier that could only be deployed if thorough preparations had been completed at the location in advance.
“How could you pull such a trick on our Curse Demonic House?”
It was the work the Vampire Lord Rubinson had secretly carried out.
Thanks to him, Chris was able to manifest a large-scale, wide-area barrier so sturdy that no one could rashly touch it.
The surroundings grew dark, as if a curtain of darkness had been drawn.
-Grand Barrier, the Curtain of Dominion.
It was a barrier that contained the effects of his Domain of Dominion, the Dominion of the Seven Hues.
The entire Curse Demonic House was placed under the influence of the Dominion of the Seven Hues.
However, the Dominion of the Seven Hues was an authority that amplified the power of those under its command.
There had to be a subject to receive its protection.
“Marie, it's your turn.”
“Yeah, got it. Leave it to me.”
A stiff-faced Marie stepped forward.
It meant that Marie was the protagonist of this barrier.
‘Christian, you unlucky whelp.’
She hated Christian.
She hated him because every word he said was unlucky, and she hated him because, despite that, he was actually secretly warm-hearted, which made her heart tremble for no reason. She hated him even more because he was so far ahead that it was difficult to even reach out to him anymore.
‘I want to be by his side, too.’
Marie squeezed her eyes shut.
She knew. That a gap too large had already formed for her to stand beside him.
But she had her own way of helping him.
‘I am the greatest genius of the Extreme Poison Demonic House. When it comes to poison creation, there is no one who can surpass me.’
Ten Thousand Poisons.
It was Marie’s nickname.
A poison that was only possible because it was her was cast.
-Devourer of Malice.
It was not a tangible, material poison, but an intangible, conceptual magic poison.
“Th-this is?”
“No!!”
The magi of the Curse Demonic House, who had realized the identity of the poison, screamed with pale faces.
As its name suggested, it was a poison that devoured malice.
All curses originate from malice.
A poison more fatal to the magi of the Curse Demonic House than any other, receiving the protection of the ‘Curtain of Dominion’ Chris had unfolded, descended upon the entire Curse Demonic House.
The forces of the magi of the Curse Demonic House were drastically reduced.
“Now, do you understand what kind of situation you're in?”
If wolves gather, they can catch a lion.
But because of Chris's barrier, the magi of the Curse Demonic House had been reduced to a state no different from rabbits.
Especially, the blow was severe for the mid to low-ranking magi.
Because this kind of interference was all the more fatal the lower one's state was.
No matter how many rabbits gathered, they would only become targets of slaughter.
The 7-Star magi were still intact, but they were too lacking in quality compared to Chris’s party.
Including Berling, there were three of 8-Star, and the 7-Star magi of the Blood Sword Demonic House who had followed along were also mostly of the mid and high states.
“Wipe them all out.”
“Kuaaaargh!”
The highest-ranking magi of the Blood Sword Demonic House rushed out in all directions, and soon, a storm of blood raged.
Everyone from the Blood Sword Demonic House had a menacing aura, as much resentment had piled up against the Curse Demonic House until now.
Even when they tried to resist, their curses were interfered with strand by strand due to the barrier Chris had unfolded, and a one-sided massacre took place.
“E-everyone, get a grip!”
“We have to break through the barrier first!”
“Find the axis!! It's not a permanently fixed barrier, so there must be an axis that serves as the center of its motive power!”
The mages of the Curse Demonic House, their eyes flashing, searched for a way to break through the barrier.
Meanwhile, at that moment. A figure who did not fit in with the place was fidgeting with a look of extreme anxiety.
“Then, I'm counting on you, Alros.”
“……”
Alros’s complexion soured.
‘Uwaaargh!! You devil of a whelp!! Why is it always me!!’
The axis of this barrier.
It was none other than Alros.
Originally, Chris, the caster, should have been in charge of it, but since he had to fight the Vengeful Spirit, he had instead pulled a trick and passed it on to Alros, whose demonic energy properties were similar to his own.
“I'm counting on you. The outcome of this battle depends on you. So, in terms of chess, you've taken on a role like the king. You can think of it as an honor.”
‘Honor, my ass. Uwaaargh! Save me!!’
Fortunately, there was no danger to Alros.
No one had expected someone as pathetic as Alros to be the axis of the barrier, and Alros, too, had unknowingly become quite a bit stronger while being rolled around by Chris until now, to the point where he could protect himself from a stray arrow.
Afterward, the battle flowed in a one-sidedly advantageous manner.
A great deal of blood from the magi of the Curse Demonic House was spilled.
But it was too early to rejoice.
‘No matter how many of those whelps we defeat, it's not important to the outcome of the battle at all.’
The decisive battle with the Vengeful Spirit would decide everything.
If that weren't enough, a ghastly aura that felt as if it would pierce through was flowing out from inside.
It was the Vengeful Spirit’s energy.
Idrinne’s and Chris’s gazes met.
“What will you do? If we go to the Vengeful Spirit’s quarters, it is highly likely to be dangerous.”
The Vengeful Spirit’s quarters would be no different from a fortress.
Her skills were already inferior, and yet she would have to fight a disadvantageous battle.
Even if they were to fight, it would be more advantageous to lure him out here to fight.
“No, we will go.”
“For what reason?”
“Something is strange. It seems he is pulling some trick inside.”
He would have dealt with the Heavenly Poison long ago.
For him to not even show his shadow while his house was being indiscriminately pushed back meant that he was aiming for something.
‘Don’t tell me?’
As if Idrinne had had the same guess, her face hardened.
“Let’s hurry.”
They entrusted the battle to Berling and headed inside.
As they drew closer to the inner sanctum, a suffocating, gloomy energy pierced their lungs.
Although it was clearly the surface, it felt as if they were stepping into the mire of Gehenna.
And then.
It was after they had set foot into the large mansion where the Vengeful Spirit was.
“!!”
Christian’s and Idrinne’s eyes hardened.
A terrible sight was unfolding.
Rubinson was suspended in the air, his limbs and heart pierced by stakes.
“Father!”
Chris’s complexion also grew heavy.
‘The Vengeful Spirit’s capabilities surpass my expectations.’
He probably hadn't noticed Rubinson’s betrayal in advance.
If he had known, he wouldn't have let such a disaster happen.
It meant that right after the situation had occurred, he had immediately subdued Rubinson and put him in this state.
And that was despite Rubinson also being at the state of high 8-Star.
[So you are Christian.]
“!!”
It was the Vengeful Spirit!
Chris’s gaze hardened.
‘When did he appear?’
Chris’s senses were more sensitive than anyone else’s, yet he hadn't felt him appear at all.
It wasn't that the Vengeful Spirit had deliberately hidden his presence.
Even though he was looking at him with his own eyes, he could not feel his presence.
‘It's as if he’s a being that doesn't actually exist.’
If it were a living being, no, if it were an existing being, there would be physical laws that followed.
If one moved one’s hand, the air would be pushed back accordingly, or if one took a step, a sound, big or small, would be made.
There was none of that. Not even a shadow was cast.
‘His very existence is beyond the law.’
It was a cross-section that offered a glimpse of the Vengeful Spirit’s power.
The Vengeful Spirit was certainly a super-powerhouse on par with the Nordian of the past, before he had become a Lesser Demon King.
[A pleasure to meet you. I wanted to see you very much, as it happens.]
It wasn't sarcasm.
The Vengeful Spirit’s voice was as if he were genuinely happy to have met Christian.
[Because there can be no material as high-quality as you. You will be put in a state where you can neither live nor die, suffer terribly, and become my nourishment. Not just you, but everyone who came with Idrinne.]
It wasn't a simple threat.
To extract the opponent’s pain and make it his own power was one of the Vengeful Spirit’s specialties.
Until now, countless people had been put in the state the Vengeful Spirit had described and had suffered terribly until their minds were completely broken.
“Don’t tell me, you whelp! The reason you didn’t come out was because you were deliberately hoping the members of your house would be killed? To make them your power?”
[Huhu, that’s right. I am grateful to you for saving me the trouble. Everyone in the house will be happy, as they will die and become a part of me.]
It was a terrible story.
The Vengeful Spirit had placed a curse on the bloodline of his house.
So that when they died, they would become vengeful spirits and a part of his power.
So, although he was the head of the house, he was happy that the members of his house were dying.
[Then, shall we begin? A prelude is in order.]
As he gestured, the sigils of a curse appeared on the nails embedded in Rubinson’s body and turned crimson.
“Keueuk!!!”
Rubinson’s eyes turned crimson.
A look of extreme pain.
In proportion to that, the Vengeful Spirit’s energy began to grow stronger.
He was making Rubinson’s pain his power.
“You whelp!!! Stop!!”
Idrinne swung her sword in anger, but it was useless.
She could not approach, blocked by something unseen.
It wasn't a physical barrier with a strong defense. The approach itself was not ‘permitted.’
[It is useless. His becoming my sacrifice has already been established as a law, so unless you can twist causality, you cannot nullify it.]
It meant that he had gone beyond the miracle of simply twisting the law and had established a completely new law.
It meant that the Vengeful Spirit, too, had established his own worldview.
It was on a different dimension from the other enemies he had met until now, who had forcibly enhanced their power with sacrifices.