Chapter 369
As the Vengeful Spirit pointed his finger at Christian, a curse was imprinted on Christian’s arm.
Saaaa.
A malevolent energy surged, and just as the Vengeful Spirit was forming a ghastly smile, an incomprehensible event occurred.
Slice.
An arm was severed.
The problem was, it was not Chris’s arm.
It was the Vengeful Spirit’s arm.
[…What?]
The Vengeful Spirit, without even realizing it, let out a dazed groan.
He could not understand the situation.
Why his own arm?
That, too, was for a moment; he soon let out a scream.
[Keueuk!!]
A terrible, sharp pain stormed from the severed arm.
Even while screaming, the Vengeful Spirit fell into confusion.
‘He reversed my curse? How?’
What was even more nonsensical was the fact that his physical body had been damaged.
As mentioned before, he had transcended the limits of the flesh.
He hadn't simply strengthened his body; he had imbued it with ‘immortality’ and ‘permanence’ through a law, making it impossible to damage his physical form.
And yet, not only was his arm severed, but he was even feeling pain?
This held a grave meaning, as it meant that the law he had established had been violated.
‘What kind of trick did he use?’
Gritting his teeth, he once again cast a curse.
To confirm what kind of trick Christian had used.
This time, he drew upon an even more intense energy and cast the same curse, but the result was the same.
The Vengeful Spirit’s other arm was severed.
[!!]
The Vengeful Spirit’s eyes widened.
Only then did he realize.
What kind of trick Christian had pulled.
[You whelp… Don’t tell me?]
“Yes.”
Chris let out a sneer.
“Do you know the saying, ‘what goes around comes around’?”
The Vengeful Spirit was strong.
Even more so than he had expected.
And yet, Chris did not doubt his own victory.
His previous life.
Because he knew how the Vengeful Spirit had met his end.
The Vengeful Spirit had died before the Age of Ruin had come. At the hands of the Demon King of Dead Blood.
‘At that time, the Vengeful Spirit was at the state of a 9-Star (advancing) Lesser Demon King.’
And he was not an ordinary Lesser Demon King, either.
As one could see from what he was witnessing now, it was known that he had far surpassed the level of an ordinary Lesser Demon King.
On the other hand, the Demon King of Dead Blood’s state at the time was also 9-Star (advancing), as it was right after she had just awakened.
Everyone had predicted the Vengeful Spirit’s victory, but the result was the opposite.
It had been the Demon King of Dead Blood’s overwhelming victory.
There was a reason.
‘She had devoured the Vengeful Spirit’s vengeful spirits with the authority of a devil.’
The vengeful spirits were the source of the Vengeful Spirit’s power, so he had been brought down helplessly.
‘I do not possess the devil’s authority that the Demon King of Dead Blood had.’
Instead, there was another way.
One that was even more effective than simply devouring the vengeful spirits.
Ruler of a Myriad Ages Transformation.
Subjugation.
It was an authority that forcibly made the opponent submit to him.
Of course, even with an authority like this, it was not possible to easily obtain the Vengeful Spirit’s vengeful spirits.
Because those vengeful spirits were already no different from being one with the Vengeful Spirit.
However, if it was a soul that had not been a vengeful spirit for long and had not yet fully assimilated, the story was different.
Especially if that soul belonged to a lofty being of 8-Star or higher.
Like the Sculptor, who had died not long ago.
‘No matter how great the Vengeful Spirit is, there is no way he can easily make the vengeful spirit of someone like the Sculptor his own.’
The vengeful spirit of the Sculptor appeared behind Chris and let out a fierce growl toward the Vengeful Spirit.
[How dare you turn me into a vengeful spirit and make me a slave of the soul? No matter if you are the head of the house, do you think I will tolerate such an act?]
It was a matter of course, but no one in the Curse Demonic House wished to die and end up in such a state.
Especially those who had been powerful in life resisted fiercely.
The other members of the Three Abysses, the Clown and the Crimson Eyes, also appeared behind Chris and glared at the Vengeful Spirit.
All of them were those who had been killed by Chris, but they were so enraged at the Vengeful Spirit that they had even forgotten their grudge.
They were not the only ones.
Save me.
I want to escape, too.
Aaaaaaaargh! Vengeful Spirit, I will kill you, without fail.
Like a bursting dam, the vengeful spirits wavered, and the Domain of Dominion shook, inflicting a blow upon the Vengeful Spirit’s psyche.
“Now, Father!”
“I will tear you to shreds!!”
Rubinson and Idrinne did not miss the opening and charged in.
The Demonic Spear of Blood merged with the Mark of Fire.
The blood spear of death blazed, carrying the sublime flame that annihilated evil.
Since the law had already been broken, the Vengeful Spirit, too, would not be safe.
[We are first! We will make you pay the price for daring to insult us, Head of the House!]
The Three Abysses stepped forward.
Although they were already dead, they used their own resentment as fuel and cast a curse.
Emily of the Crimson Eyes cast a mental curse, and then the Clown scattered a feast of all sorts of dazzling curses. Then, the Sculptor’s curse that made the physical body collapse erupted.
The Vengeful Spirit staggered, and the blood spear, imbued with the power of Rubinson and Idrinne, was on the verge of piercing the Vengeful Spirit’s heart.
[How dare you…! To look down on me.]
The surrounding air changed completely.
No, it wasn't just the air.
The blood spear came to a dead stop.
The curse the Three Abysses had cast also lost its form and disappeared.
Fwoosh, the vengeful spirits were engulfed in ashen flames and let out terrible screams.
Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!!
No!! Please, please!! Stop!!!
The feeling was different from before.
It was a desperate, breathless scream.
He wasn't simply using the pain of the vengeful spirits as before; he was completely annihilating them and making them sacrifices to strengthen his power.
He would permanently lose power by losing the vengeful spirits he had gathered until now, but he would be able to exert a power that was difficult to imagine.
[I did not want to go this far, but I have no choice. I will make you pay the price.]
A terrible energy of a curse stormed forth.
It was incomparable to anything before.
It was clear that it would be absolutely impossible to block or evade.
Idrinne swallowed hard and said urgently.
“Hold out your hand to me. I will engrave the mark.”
“…What?”
“With the authority of the Vampire Princess, I will make the curse heading for you come to me instead. Other than that, there is no way for you to survive that curse.”
Chris wore a dumbfounded expression.
If she were to do such a thing, Idrinne would die.
“It’s alright! This is my friendship. Do not mind me.”
“…Daughter. Your friendship is truly grand. If that is friendship, then all other friendships must have frozen to death.”
“Father, you be quiet. You have nothing to say.”
The love-struck Head of the House, Rubinson, who had turned his back on his house for his wife, clamped his mouth shut.
“It’s fine.”
“What do you mean, it’s fine? Did you not say it yourself? That friendship is about giving anything and everything! Hurry! There is no time!”
“No, I said it’s not necessary.”
Chris shook his head and stepped forward.
As if to face the curse head-on.
“I can block something of that level anytime.”
The Vengeful Spirit let out a sneer.
[How reckless. It seems you are trying to pull another trick, but it will not work on me.]
Originally, in situations like this, Chris would always find a gap in the opponent’s power and use his talent to come up with an outlandish move.
But the Vengeful Spirit was different from the others Chris had faced until now.
There was no room to pull any tricks.
There was only one way: to overwhelm him with an even greater power.
Then.
‘I just have to show him an even greater power.’
Chris took out a single sword.
It was Andrill.
He wasn't planning to use the authority imbued in Andrill.
He had taken it out because Andrill was the only weapon that could handle what Chris was about to do.
‘The Ruler of a Myriad Ages is not an authority that simply strengthens one’s dominion.’
On the contrary.
The strengthening of his dominion was merely a secondary effect.
‘The real thing is this.’
Paaaaaaaat!
A brilliant light of Stellar Radiance appeared around Chris.
That wasn't all.
At the same time, a deep, dark jet-black also appeared. Around the light.
The darkness that ruled the entire world enveloped the sublime light.
Like a demon trying to make even the light submit and embrace it.
The light submitted and melted into the darkness.
The traces of light disappeared, and in their place, the darkness emitted a brilliant, sublime light.
“Ah.”
At the sight of the painfully beautiful darkness, Idrinne, without even realizing it, let out a gasp.
Domain Technique.
Demonic Radiance.
The darkness that had become one with light was imbued in Andrill.
Gooooooooooh.
A loud roar that seemed as if it would tear the world apart echoed.
Originally, light and darkness cannot become one.
At that miracle that directly defied the absolute law of the world, the entire surroundings vibrated.
‘This is not a power I can handle yet.’
Chris barely managed to swallow the surge of blood that welled up in his throat.
As he tried to manifest a power that was beyond reason, a tremendous backlash struck his body.
He would probably only be able to handle this power once he had ascended to a perfect 9-Star.
For now, he could barely manage to unfold it once, but that was more than enough.
‘It’s the end.’
Because there was no way he could handle this power.
[You whelp!!!!]
As Andrill, wrapped in the Demonic Radiance, was aimed at him, the Vengeful Spirit raised his voice as if in a last-ditch effort.
[Do you think I will be defeated!! I am the Vengeful Spirit!!]
But that shout was like a scream filled with fear.
The Vengeful Spirit knew it, too.
What would happen the moment that brilliant darkness was directed at him.
Paaaaaaaat!!
The Vengeful Spirit manifested his power with all his might.
It was a last-ditch effort in which he had given his all, as if there were no tomorrow, but it was useless.
The darkness emitted a brilliant light.
The expression ‘to emit light’ did not suit darkness, but it was actually so.
The most lofty and noble darkness. More brilliant and sublime than any light.
The moment the darkness, which made one’s heart ache just by looking at it, flashed, all the curses the Vengeful Spirit had manifested returned to nothingness.
It wasn't simply trampled by force.
The nobility embraced by the darkness had turned the Vengeful Spirit's malice to nothingness.
That wasn't all.
Ah.
We, too, are finally saved.
The vengeful spirits who had been tormented by the Vengeful Spirit shed tears.
The radiance of the darkness had purified even the vengeful spirits.
An unbelievable sight.
The darkness had not even properly unleashed its power yet.
Just by being touched by the hem of the darkness's radiance, everything of the Vengeful Spirit had lost its power.
[This cannot be….]
The Vengeful Spirit stared blankly at the surging darkness.
There was nothing he could do.
It was as if he had become a lowly creature standing before a great, absolute being.
Compared to that darkness, everything he had built up until now was merely trivial.
‘…Why have I struggled so much until now? Compared to that darkness, the things I have built up are….’
Such a sense of futility brushed past him, and that was the end.
The darkness split the Vengeful Spirit’s body, and after a moment of silence.
Gooooooooooh!!!
The vicinity where the Vengeful Spirit had been standing began to be completely annihilated.
The Vengeful Spirit’s physical body, the ground he had been standing on, and the air that filled the empty space.
No, space itself disappeared, and in its aftermath, a tremendous shockwave stormed forth.
The large mansion where they had been began to crumble to pieces.
“What power is this? We have to escape!! Christian?”
Idrinne wore a troubled expression.
They had to get out at once, but Christian’s movements were sluggish beyond compare.
His body was not listening to him due to the無理(muri - unreasonable/forced) manifestation of power.
“Excuse me!!”
Idrinne lifted Chris up in her arms.
But there was a problem.
“W-wait a minute. This is a bit much?”
Chris flailed in embarrassment.
Of all things, the way she was holding him was a princess carry!
“What’s there to be shy about between friends!! This is all friendship, too!!”
“I’ll just walk myself! Put me down!!”
“Ah, how annoying! Do not reject my friendship!”
As Chris struggled, she hugged him even tighter so he wouldn't fall.
His body was a mess from the backlash of using the Demonic Radiance, so he could not resist.
‘Uwaah. At least change the position!’
Meanwhile, Rubinson, who had seen the two of them, grumbled in a peculiar tone.
“…Friendship, my ass.”
“Father, you be quiet.”
“……”