Chapter 378
"There is no time, so I will connect our minds at once."
[Yes, I will begin. There is only one chance, so you must follow me well.]
The Demon King of Silver Snow raised her hand.
As if she were holding a sword, though nothing could be seen.
At her state, it made no difference whether she was holding a sword or not.
As she focused, the surroundings grew quiet.
‘…As expected of a Demon King.’
Chris raised the corner of his mouth.
She had merely taken a ready stance.
She had not even drawn up her energy.
But it was as if the entire world had fallen silent, centered around her.
Although the High Priest and Nordian and the others were clashing, not a single sound could be heard.
[This is my causality slash.]
The Demon King of Silver Snow swung her hand.
It was a light horizontal slash.
What was important was not what was visible on the surface.
The will of the Demon King of Silver Snow, her worldview, was imbued in that single strike.
Chris could feel the causality that constituted the world fluctuating.
[!!!]
The High Priest was agitated.
He had taken no small amount of damage to his causality from the single sword strike the Demon King of Silver Snow had unfolded.
To inflict such damage with only a speck of energy remaining. It was a sight that gave a glimpse of the power the Demon King of Silver Snow originally possessed.
Next was Christian’s turn.
He slowly closed his eyes.
The single sword strike the Demon King of Silver Snow had just unfolded, or more precisely, the will that had split the causality of the world, came to his mind.
‘Causality is the law that constitutes the world.’
Therefore, to manipulate causality meant to twist the law that constituted the world.
Not only did one have to construct a worldview superior enough to surpass the real world, but one also had to be able to cover reality with that worldview in a fleeting moment.
Just like the single sword strike the Demon King of Silver Snow had just unfolded.
‘I can do it.’
His gaze sank.
Clang!
He drew Anduril, and darkness was imbued in it.
He transformed the ‘Throne’ from the form of an Advent of Creation into a pure energy and focused it on Anduril.
The authority that dominated the entire world was concentrated on a single point.
‘It is different from the way the Demon King of Silver Snow did it.’
The Demon King of Silver Snow had constructed a sublime worldview based on the enlightenment of the sword, had made the world submit, and had slashed causality.
Chris raised the dominion of the Throne to its limit.
Kkigik.
As he approached causality based on that dominion, a friction was transmitted.
It was as if the world were enraged, saying that he was not yet qualified.
If things were to go on like this, he would be swept up in a backlash as a price for having rashly touched causality, but.
Chris’s consciousness took a step forward.
If one were to express the worldview the Demon King of Silver Snow had shown in a single word, it would be ‘to cut’.
There would be nothing in the world that her sublime sword could not cut.
The authority of the Throne embraced the worldview of the Demon King of Silver Snow that Chris had just experienced.
The Throne was an authority that dominated everything in the world.
Therefore, it could even make the will the Demon King of Silver Snow had shown its own.
Of course, it was a shortcut.
It was not embracing her true worldview, but merely embracing a fake, degraded version of her worldview that Chris had imitated in his own way.
Still, it was enough.
The worldview of cutting, from the Demon King of Silver Snow, was imbued in Chris’s authority to dominate.
Chris’s worldview pushed away the composition of the real world and covered it with his own law.
Gooooooooo!!
The sound of the world’s causality being twisted echoed, and amidst that chaos, Chris swung Anduril.
[!!!]
He could see the High Priest’s astonishment.
The reason the High Priest had been able to descend to this place was thanks to his having manipulated causality himself and gone against the causality of the world.
Chris’s sword cut through the causality the High Priest had bestowed upon himself, head-on.
Craaaaaack!!!
A sound as if glass were shattering spread.
It was the sound of causality collapsing.
[H-how could this be…!!]
The High Priest’s voice trembled.
As the power that had been going against the world disappeared, the High Priest was exposed to the backlash of causality as he was.
[N-no. I have not yet achieved the will of the great ones… Kuaaaaaaaaaaaak!!!!]
The High Priest was engulfed in flames.
It was a karmic fire that burned the soul.
He was annihilated without even leaving a trace behind, and the arena fell into a static silence.
“Is it… over?”
“…It seems so, little brother.”
Grand Duke Besen and Duke Huam let out a sigh.
But the others still did not relax their expressions.
“…What is it, big brother?”
“…It is not over yet.”
“Yes, what?”
In that moment, it felt as if the world had stopped.
As if the air, the sound, and time had stopped, he could not even lift a single finger.
No one had appeared.
A ‘gaze’ was felt.
From a far, far distance.
‘Crazy.’
No power had been used.
It was just that a gaze had been sent, yet everyone had been overwhelmed.
Chris swallowed hard.
He knew who the owner of this gaze was.
‘It’s the Pope.’
The head of the Mystic Demonic House!
He had encountered him in his past life, in the very late stages of the Age of Ruin.
‘He was almost unknown because he never came to the forefront, but he was a being who possessed a power that rivaled that of the Demon King of Dead Blood in his prime.’
Chris clenched his fist.
He barely managed to shake off the pressure by using the authority of the Throne and opened his mouth.
“What is it, you dog of Gehenna?”
“!!”
Everyone gasped, but Chris did not stop his insolent words.
‘In any case, that whelp can’t do anything right now.’
So there was no need to be scared.
“Seeing you reveal yourself so uselessly, you must be getting anxious. Do you have anything to say to me? I’ll at least listen.”
The mastermind behind the scenes, who had not revealed himself until the very end even in his past life, had shown himself in an exceptional manner.
There must surely be some kind of intention.
[…….]
A moment of silence passed.
Chris felt the Pope’s gaze sweeping over him.
And then.
[Pay attention to the ‘Gate’.]
“…What?”
[Soon the gate will open, and this will be the beginning and the end of the ruin.]
An incomprehensible story.
[The crossroads of the Age of Ruin and the Age of Heavenly Destruction will arrive.]
With that as the last, the gaze disappeared with a whoosh.
The pressure that had been crushing everyone also disappeared.
“Christian, what just happened? Did that whelp say something to you?”
“…No, sir.”
It seemed the words that whelp had just said had only been delivered to Christian.
‘A gate? What is he talking about?’
Chris frowned, then shook his head.
“For now, let’s finish things up at the Four Kings' Castle.”
The fight was still ongoing above.
It was time to completely destroy the Four Kings' Castle.
***
The fall of the Four Kings' Castle!!
The shocking news struck the Magus Empire, no, the entire continent.
Everyone reacted with disbelief.
“No, what kind of place was the Four Kings' Castle for it to have fallen? Wasn’t it perfectly fine and well until just a short while ago?”
“It was the work of the Demonic Radiance. They say he entered the Four Kings' Castle alone and brought it down by causing all sorts of havoc.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. No matter how great the Demonic Radiance is, how could something like that be possible?”
But it was soon revealed to be the truth, and the entire continent was covered in astonishment.
“Just what is the Demonic Radiance, is he even human?”
“They even say he has ascended to 9-Star. It’s the birth of a new Demon King!”
Although he had not yet completely become a Demon King as a 9-Star (advancing), it was only a matter of time.
Everyone watched Christian’s next move with eyes full of fear and wonder.
Meanwhile, Christian,
‘Ah, I don’t know! Let’s just rest for a bit!!’
Was sprawled out on his bed.
‘Just when was the last time I rested? I can’t move anymore.’
But he could not just rest comfortably.
There were too many things bothering him.
‘What did that whelp, the Pope of the Mystic Demonic House, mean? What does he mean, a gate will open?’
A gate (門).
He had no idea what he was talking about.
‘Nothing similar to this happened at all in my past life.’
But it was difficult to think that the coming Age of Ruin would be the same as his past life. Because everything had already changed.
‘In my past life, the whelps of the Mystic Demonic House used the Demon King of Dead Blood to turn the human world into a hell, and used that chaos to break down the boundary of the three realms.’
Since Chris had stopped them, they would not be able to use the same method this time.
‘It’s not like that’s the only way to bring about the Age of Ruin.’
The ‘gate’ would be a means to bring about the Age of Ruin.
He had to stop it.
‘Why did that whelp, the Pope, tell me this fact? What is his intention?’
Chris let out a sigh.
‘There are more things that are bothering me. Marie’s behavior is strange somehow.’
For some reason, she was avoiding him.
Originally, he had planned to bring Marie to the Four Kings' Castle, but he had been refused.
It was a change that had occurred after she had met the ‘Empress’ of the Center.
‘I have to find out what Marie’s relationship is with the Empress, too.’
He must not forget.
The Mystic Demonic House was not the end.
Behind all of these events was the Demon Emperor of the Center.
Chris had a premonition that Marie’s existence would be the decisive key.
‘For now, let’s find the clues I can find first.’
Chris let out a sigh and stood up.
He had been rolling around in bed and ignoring it for a few days, but there was a mountain of work to be done.
As he came outside, a cheer like a blazing fire could be heard.
“Waaaaah!! It’s Lord Demonic Radiance!!!”
“Is it really him? Where is he? Heuk, it’s really Lord Demonic Radiance! All hail the Demonic Radiance!!!”
“Our savior!!!”
They were the ordinary citizens of the Four Kings' Castle.
A cheer that regarded Chris as a hero.
In truth, since they had been freed from a terrible tyranny thanks to Chris, Chris was indeed their savior.
“You have finally come out of your bed? I have been working hard, just as I told you!”
Idrinne’s face brightened up as she saw Chris.
For reference, Idrinne had become the new Lord of the Four Kings' Castle.
Originally, Chris had planned to completely eliminate the Four Kings' Castle, but Idrinne had opposed it.
She suggested leaving behind the remnants of the Necromancy and Curse factions.
-Even vermin have their uses. Couldn't they be used as sacrifices or shields in the fight against the Mystic Demonic House?
-…That may be so, but they are not ones to be trusted.
-It is fine. Leave it to me.
Idrinne guaranteed with a chilling smile that sent shivers down one's spine.
-Because I will make them kneel so thoroughly that they will not even be able to think of betrayal.
-…What kind of method are you planning to use?
-All I have to do is instill an overwhelming fear in them. If they still don't listen, then I just have to kill them.
-…….
It was a statement befitting the next Lord of the Four Kings' Castle.
Afterward, the fact that the remnants of the Curse and Necromancy factions who faced Idrinne reacted as if they had seen a devil seemed to indicate that she was doing a proper job.
‘The Demon King of Silver Snow has entered seclusion. It will probably take some time for her to recover her power.’
-Wait for the day of my return! I will show you my dignity!
…Though it didn't seem like any dignity would be felt even if her power were to be restored.
‘By the way, they say the Demon King of Silver Snow seems to have gained a new enlightenment; I hope she doesn't end up regressing to a child's form?’
Is it because I've only ever seen her in her child form?
Somehow, her child form seemed to suit her better.
Well, it's not like it matters anyway.
“But where are you going?”
“I am heading to the Tower of the Four Kings.”
It was the residence that the former Lord of the Four Kings' Castle used to use.