Chapter 397

It was when the outcome of the duel was tilting to one side and coming to a close.

Chris secretly spoke to the one who was losing among those engaged in the duel.

-Are you going to become a sacrifice like this? I will help you.

[!!]

A sense of bewilderment could be felt.

-Do not show it, and just listen.

'There is no possibility of being caught.'

Because he had used the authority of the Throne to conceal it, even the Pope could not notice that Chris was pulling a trick right now.

Even though Chris’s state was lacking compared to the Pope’s, he was second to none in this kind of cunning.

-I think it is a waste for you to become a sacrifice. I will help you.

[...]

-However, you will have to follow one of my commands in the future.

Because two individuals of a similar state had fought, both were in a state of ruin. If Chris were to give just a little bit of help, the outcome could be overturned at any time.

However, the cardinal who had heard the proposal did not answer.

It was because he could not trust Chris.

-It is all for the great cause. You will have more to do for the great cause than just becoming a mere sacrifice. I will swear that I will only give you commands solely for the great cause.

[...]

-If you do not wish it, then it is a pity, but it cannot be helped. I pay my respects to your heart that wishes to achieve the great cause through martyrdom as a sacrifice.

Those words moved the opponent’s heart.

‘…As he said, I am not one to become a mere sacrifice. It is all for the great cause.’

As the man showed his assent, Chris let out a smirk inwardly.

-The contract has been established. You will have to listen to one of my commands in the future.

'Alright!'

The man would never be able to imagine.

What kind of command Chris would give.

‘He might as well entrust a fish to a cat. To think he would trust me when there is no one else to trust.’

It was no different from handing over his own life.

In any case, that was for a little later.

Chris intervened in the duel.

It was not difficult at all.

-Move your evil energy as I say.

Directly transferring power was, of course, out of the question. The Pope would notice at once.

Instead, Chris gave ‘advice’.

So that he could turn the tide of battle.

‘In any case, their skills were almost like a blank sheet of paper to each other. If I just give a little bit of a trigger, I can easily turn the situation around.’

Because he had watched them fight to his heart’s content, he had thoroughly grasped each of their strengths and weaknesses.

Thanks to Chris’s advice, a dramatic reversal was achieved, and the opponent was reduced to a sacrifice.

[Th-this… How can this be?!]

The defeated opponent screamed as if he could not accept it, but Chris muttered coldly.

“It is because your heart for evil was lacking. Offer your soul and become a sacrifice for the great cause.”

Paaaat!!

As he flicked his fingers, evil energy shot out from the altar and덮쳤다 the defeated opponent.

He had activated the altar through the authority of the Throne and sealed his soul.

'Good. One down.'

Chris hummed inwardly.

No, if he included the one he had just made a contract with, it was two.

‘This is only the beginning.’

“Continue with the duels.”

The other high priests hesitantly came up to the altar, and Chris repeated the same thing.

At the last moment of the duel, he would lure the loser into making a fraudulent contract.

Those who went out for the duel were two out of every five of the high priests of the Mystic Demonic House.

In other words, a whopping 40% of them fell into Chris’s trap and were eliminated.

***

The plan did not end here.

“Now, I will go and bring Idrinne.”

[...]

The Pope closed his mouth.

[You will personally go and bring Idrinne?]

“Yes. Idrinne is my kin, so if I go, she will not be able to put up much of a resistance and will follow me.”

But the Pope did not nod his head.

[No, I cannot entrust it to you.]

Chris frowned.

“Are you still doubting me? Did you not hear for yourself the great devils acknowledging me?”

[But I still cannot trust you.]

Chris let out a smirk.

It was the reaction he had expected.

‘Just as planned.’

But he did not show it and put on a feigned fierce expression.

“I cannot accept this. I am only striving for the great cause. Has there been even a speck of my actions so far that was not for the great cause?”

The Pope could not offer a proper rebuttal.

Because no matter how suspicious Chris was, it was all just circumstantial evidence.

There was no objective evidence to find fault with.

In fact, all the actions Chris was currently taking were indeed for the sake of the great cause.

[…Still, Idrinne is one of the most important keys to the great cause. I can absolutely not entrust her to you.]

Chris crossed his arms.

“If you insist, then very well. Instead, I will prepare the grand altar for the ritual.”

It was the altar for offering the sacrifices prepared so far to Gehenna for the great cause.

[That is….]

“It seems you have forgotten. I am the High Priest, decided in accordance with the doctrine. The great devils have also acknowledged my position. Preparing the altar is naturally my duty.”

Chris let out a sneer.

“Or, is Your Holiness saying that you are above the doctrine and the authority of the great devils?”

[…You brat.]

The Pope’s eyes flickered with a chilling energy as if in anger, but as expected, he could not rebut.

[…Fine. However, I will not entrust the preparation of the grand altar to you alone. I will personally check everything.]

'Alright!'

Chris cheered inwardly.

In the first place, his goal was not to go and capture Idrinne, but the altar.

Of course, since the Pope would be watching with fire in his eyes, it would be difficult to pull any big tricks openly.

But it was fine. He had a plan.

“And I will also help in capturing Idrinne.”

[Not needed.]

“Are you sure you will be fine? If things go wrong, a direct confrontation with the Dark Alliance will occur, and no matter how great the high priests are, no small amount of damage will occur, will it not?”

[...]

The Pope could not help but hesitate.

The power of the Dark Alliance was certainly not something to be ignored.

Of course, if they were to fight head-on, the Mystic Demonic House would naturally win, but there was nothing to be gained from shedding unnecessary blood before the great cause.

“If I were to just go myself, I could easily bring her by suppressing her mind with the authority of domination, but you do not wish for that, do you?”

[Absolutely not.]

“Then I will just tell you Idrinne’s whereabouts. Because of our master-servant relationship, I can roughly tell her whereabouts even from a distance. If you aim for an opening and launch a surprise attack, you should be able to bring her without much damage.”

It was not a bad proposal.

That is, if it had not been Christian who had brought it up.

Towards the Pope, who was still looking at him with suspicious eyes, Christian shrugged his shoulders.

“Aren’t you being too timid? Even when I try to help, you just tremble in fear. It’s not like you don’t have eyes, so if you’re worried about a trap, you can just check it yourself, can’t you? I’m trying to spoon-feed you, yet you’re too scared to even eat.”

At the jeering, the Pope frowned.

Christian’s words were right.

Above all, the high priests of the Mystic Demonic House were not beings who could be stopped by a mere trap.

[Fine. However, if even the slightest suspicious event occurs, you will absolutely not be safe.]

“I’m asking you to understand my heart, you know? Shall I cheer for Your Holiness, long live, long live, long, long live?”

[…Shut up.]

Time passed after that.

Christian began the construction of the grand altar, and the Mystic Demonic House dispatched a group of high priests to bring Idrinne.

Their number was close to ten, including priests and an apostle.

The high priests who arrived at the place Chris had pointed out wore expressions full of vigilance.

[There does not seem to be anything particularly suspicious.]

[I think we were worrying too much.]

With this number of high priests, it was a force that could wage an all-out war with the Dark Alliance.

Even if there was a trap, there was no need to worry.

[…Still, with the great cause ahead of us, there is no need to cause an unnecessary clash. Let us handle this quietly.]

[Understood, Apostle.]

Idrinne, who had been wandering around the Four Kings' Castle alone, was instantly suppressed and dragged away.

A silence descended as if nothing had happened, but after some time, unexpected figures appeared.

“…The stigma seems to have been properly engraved.”

“Yes, Your Holiness, the Pontiff.”

It was Olivia, the head of the Gold Cross!

Chris's younger sister from his previous life, and the successor to the Star Blood.

“To think they truly did not notice. Ma-hwi is truly amazing.”

A while ago.

Olivia had received a letter from Chris.

It was a request to use the authority of the Star Blood as he had instructed and engrave a ‘stigma’ on the high priests of the Mystic Demonic House.

He had said that if she followed his words, the high priests of the Mystic Demonic House would absolutely not notice the stigma being engraved.

‘Just how does Ma-hwi know of such a way to operate the Star Blood?’

Of course, it was not a stigma of great power.

No matter how elaborately she operated the Star Blood, if it held great power, there was no way they would not have noticed.

It was a stigma with such a trivial effect that she questioned his intentions.

‘…No, what I’m really curious about are not things like this.’

Olivia let out a sigh.

What she wanted to know was Ma-hwi’s true identity.

‘…Brother.’

She suspected that Ma-hwi might be her older brother, Chris.

Of course, it was a story without any basis.

But the thought kept coming to her. It was an intuition.

‘If I could just meet him in person, I would know.’

The opportunity had not arisen until now.

Because he was a magus, and she was one of the representatives of the Alliance.

No, to be precise, it was because Chris had been avoiding her.

‘…I must meet him.’

Olivia bit her lip hard.

“…Will Ma-hwi be alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ma-hwi is scheduled to fight the monsters that just appeared, isn’t he? If something were to go wrong….”

If Ma-hwi was indeed Chris.

But what if something were to go wrong?

Olivia’s mind went blank.

‘No!’

Just then, a crooked voice was heard.

“Worrying is your fate. No matter how strong the bastards of the Mystic Demonic House are, there is no way they can be a match for my King Emperor Majesty hyung-nim.”

“…Sir Teren.”

Olivia frowned.

Teren had been sent by Chris as a helper for this matter.

With the help of Teren, a curse-wielder, they had been able to deceive those bastards perfectly.

“…You are Ma-hwi’s younger brother?”

“Yes, I am the great hyung-nim’s only younger brother.”

It was a voice dripping with pride for Christian.

Olivia’s expression crumpled even more.

The expression ‘only’ had bothered her.

If Ma-hwi was truly her older brother, ‘Chris’.

Then his only younger sister had to be her.

“…You fake.”

“…What did you just say?”

“Never mind. I have nothing more to say to the likes of you.”

“…Are you picking a fight?”

Teren was flustered by her cold attitude, but Olivia did not listen and turned her back.

‘Brother, please be safe.’

Olivia prayed, looking up at the sky.

And so.

Chris’s plans came together, one by one.

And the day of the decisive battle that would determine the fate of the world began to draw near.