Chapter 398

A desolate wilderness located in the center of the Northern Magus Nation.

A massive altar showed off its overwhelming majesty.

It was the altar for the ‘great cause’.

‘Once the ritual is over, the boundaries of the three realms will crumble.’

Chris looked at the altar with low, sunken eyes.

It was the moment of destiny.

He could see countless Dark Elves and dwarves gathered on the altar, trembling in fear.

They were the sacrifices to be offered in the ritual.

‘Though the truly important sacrifices are not them.’

At the very center of the altar.

A familiar figure was kneeling, bound in chains.

It was Idrinne.

As if she had accepted her fate, she had her eyes calmly closed, without any sign of resistance.

‘…No matter how much she trusts me. To be so composed.’

He let out a sigh.

Even Chris could not be sure how things would turn out.

He had done his best, but his opponent was the Mystic Demonic House.

‘The Mystic Demonic House must have been confident, too, to have just stood by and watched me run rampant.’

The Pope was no fool.

If he had wanted to, he could have stopped Chris’s tricks at any time, but he had not.

Why?

Because the bastards of the Mystic Demonic House also had a scheme of their own.

‘It will all be decided today.’

If Chris failed, the world would fall into the abyss of ruin today.

Just then, a grand voice echoed.

[The ritual will now begin.]

The Pope rose from his seat.

[Offer the first sacrifices and light the sacred fire.]

He was referring to the Dark Elves and dwarves.

The number of Dark Elves and dwarves gathered in this place was said to be in the tens of thousands, and at this rate, they would all be sacrificed as human offerings.

It was when the Dark Elves and dwarves were trembling in fear.

Christian’s voice suddenly split the air.

“Wait. Stop.”

[…You brat. What trick are you trying to pull?]

“Well, now that we’ve come this far, let’s not pretend with each other. You already know, don’t you? That I intend to ruin your plans.”

Chris let out a sneer.

“You guys had no intention of letting me be, either, did you? You’re planning to offer me as a sacrifice, aren’t you?”

Yes.

The reason the Pope had remained silent despite being suspicious of Chris was that he had intended to make him a sacrifice here.

Because no matter what scheme Chris was harboring, it would be meaningless if he were offered as a sacrifice.

[…Yes, you knew well. In that case, you must also be well aware of the predicament you are in now.]

The Pope gave a chilling smile.

[I was planning to offer you as a sacrifice last, but it would not matter if I changed the order a little. For the sin of blaspheming the great evil, atone in the agony of a billion years.]

Sreureureuk.

As the Pope gestured with his hand, the high priests stepped forward.

All were beings who possessed the power of 8-Star or higher, or close to 9-Star.

No matter how much Chris had reached 9-Star (mid), he had no chance of winning against such a number of high priests.

And there was even the Pope.

‘Even if all those high priests were to combine their strength, they would not be a match for the Pope alone.’

9-Star (high).

A stage beyond manipulating the law of causality, a stage of completely ‘dominating’ it.

The lower states could absolutely not stand against it.

In addition, there were countless ordinary priests, each one comparable to the demonkin.

It was a desperate situation, but Chris twisted the corners of his mouth into a smirk.

“Well, we’ll have to wait and see who will be brought to their knees. The things I have prepared are not to be trifled with, you know?”

It was the moment Chris flicked his fingers.

An anomaly occurred at the altar.

To be precise, it was from the Dark Elves on the altar.

“Guaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Everyone, rise!!!”

Pajijijijijik!!!!

It was a collision phenomenon.

The Dark Elves had been so powerless in accepting their fate because their magi had been sealed by the evil energy of the Mystic Demonic House.

‘It is thanks to the Obsidian King selling his own people to the Mystic Demonic House.’

Chris had been secretly pulling strings to release their seals while preparing the altar.

Normally, it would have been impossible, but it was made possible thanks to the treasures he had obtained from the former Obsidian King and Dwarf King.

‘I secretly communicated with the Dark Elves using the Insignia of Obsidian, then smuggled out the magitool to break the seal from the Tomb of the Master.’

Paaaat!!

Spirits of darkness rose up.

Each and every one of the Dark Elves was a spirit master.

Of course, most of them were of a lower class, and those of a higher state were rare, but their numbers were in the tens of thousands.

It was enough to make them flinch for a moment.

Of course, it was only a ‘flinch’.

Because the Dark Elves alone would have a hard time dealing with even the ordinary low and mid-ranked priests of the Mystic Demonic House.

As expected, the high priests of the Mystic Demonic House, including the Pope, did not even bat an eye.

[What kind of scheme is this? How disappointing. Is this all you have?]

“Of course, this is only the beginning. You’d better prepare yourselves.”

It was that moment.

A thunderous roar began to echo from the high blue sky.

Gooooooooooooo!!!!!

For the first time, the complexions of the high priests changed.

An unusual energy was flying towards them. Moreover, it was not just one.

Massive bodies began to appear in the distance.

[…The Dragonkin?]

Dragons, dyed in a murky, dark red color.

They were the Demonic Dragons that were said to be living in seclusion in the North Sea.

They had been persuaded by Chris.

The dragons that appeared numbered as many as twenty.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaak!!!

An intense energy gathered in the dragons’ mouths and came crashing down below.

It was the breath, the authority of the dragons.

[How dare you. Do you think that mere Dragonkin can stand against the great evil?]

Paaaat!

An evil energy blocked the dragons’ breaths.

Although it was the breaths of nearly twenty dragons, not a single one of the high priests was injured.

The power of the dragons was usually between 7-Star and 8-Star, comparable to the highest-ranking magi, but it could not reach the Mystic Demonic House.

[Excellent. We will make all of those dragons sacrifices for the great cause as well.]

The Pope let out a sneer, but Chris’s preparations did not end there either.

A group of people appeared.

“How dare you try to touch my grandson. I will slaughter you all today.”

It was Nordian!

As the highest-ranking magi of the Dark Alliance revealed themselves, the high priests of the Mystic Demonic House showed a flinch.

The Demonic Dragon corps and the Dark Alliance.

Moreover, Nordian, who stood at the forefront, had reached a perfect low 9-Star.

Including Chris, who was a 9-Star (mid), the high priests of the Mystic Demonic House could not be said to have the upper hand in terms of military strength.

However, in this place, there was one absolute being who made all differences in military strength meaningless.

It was the Pope.

[…You have struggled quite a bit, but you do not know that you have found your own place to die. To be able to gather so many sacrifices, the great ones will also be pleased.]

The moment the Pope rose, the atmosphere of the place changed in an instant.

Everyone felt it.

That no matter how many were in this place, they had no chance of winning against the Pope.

But Chris still did not lose his composure.

He had one last card left.

“Idrinne.”

Idrinne, who had been silently bound in chains, opened her eyes with a flash.

The moment the Pope sent a bewildered gaze, Chris pulled the trick he had prepared.

“You who have made a contract with me, it is time to offer your souls for the great cause.”

[Wait…!]

[Guaaaaaaaargh!!!]

A while ago, when the high priests had dueled with their souls on the line, Chris had lured those who were on the verge of defeat.

He had said he would give a command for the great cause in exchange for his help.

Since it was a content they had already agreed to, they could not refuse.

In an instant, the souls of a significant number of the remaining high priests were offered to the altar.

Besides simply being removed from the battle, there was an even more serious problem.

Suddenly, the altar began to undergo an anomaly.

Paaaaaaaaat!!!!

Using the souls of the high priests as fuel, the altar began to activate.

[You brat?]

The Pope’s expression hardened.

The principle of the ritual that the Mystic Demonic House was trying to perform now was simple.

It was to gather a large number of sacrifices and forcibly break down the boundaries of the three realms.

However, if the altar were to be activated in this way, without sufficient preparation, the ritual would end in failure due to the insufficient amount of sacrifices.

[Do you think I will let that happen?]

The Pope raised his hand to stop the ritual, but his expression soon hardened.

The altar was still flickering with a black light.

There was a reason.

It was because of Idrinne.

“The altar is already under my control.”

Idrinne said from the very center of the altar, her eyes shining with an intense light.

The core of this ritual was, by all means, Idrinne.

All the sacrifices prepared today were scheduled to use Idrinne’s soul as a medium, and Idrinne’s soul was already in a state of being half-encroached by the altar.

To be encroached meant that, conversely, it was also easy to infiltrate from her side.

Idrinne had already secretly finished interfering with the formula of the altar.

[How dare you brats…!]

The Pope tried to act in anger, but he had no choice but to flinch.

When he tried to suppress Idrinne, the altar had shaken violently.

“Remove your filthy hands. If you try to touch me, I will self-destruct along with the altar.”

It was not a bluff.

In fact, Idrinne was planning to self-destruct with the altar if it came down to it, to ruin the great cause.

No matter how powerful the Pope was, he would not be able to stop her.

[You…!]

The Pope ground his teeth and had no choice but to use another method.

Instead of directly suppressing Idrinne, he decided to touch the altar and stop its activation.

A fight to seize control of the altar began between Idrinne and the Pope.

[Reckless. No matter how much of a vessel you are, do you think you can stand against me?]

The Pope’s mighty power tried to snatch the initiative in an instant, but.

“The Pope of the Mystic Demonic House seems to be less of a big deal than I thought. Is this all you’ve got?”

[…What?]

Thud.

The Pope’s energy stopped in the middle.

This was not a simple fight of power against power.

It was a contest of operating the formula.

Idrinne was a genius with the second-greatest talent on the continent, after Chris.

Especially since she had preemptively seized control of the altar’s formula, it was possible for her to resist to some extent, no matter how immense the power the Pope possessed.

“Above all, with the power of my friendship, nothing is impossible!”

Paat!

And so, the energies of Idrinne and the Pope engaged in a fierce struggle over the formula.

Of course, it was a balance that would soon crumble.

Because no matter how great Idrinne’s talent was, there was a limit.

It was clear that she would not be able to hold out against the Pope for long, but the problem was the surrounding situation.

The battle was in full swing.

Chris was not one to miss the opening while the Pope’s hands were tied, even if it was just for a moment.

[Gasp, gurgle.]

The priest who had been fighting Nordian let out a groan, his chest pierced by Andrill.

Chris did not aim for many.

He only aimed for the priests and the apostle.

‘In any case, there are not many priests and apostles. I can take care of them while Idrinne has the Pope’s hands tied.’

Of course, if Chris had been alone, it would have been impossible to take care of the priests and apostles in such a short time, but there was someone who could provide assistance.

[Ahem, I have finally arrived!!]

The Demon King of Silver Snow had managed to appear just in time.

Having finally recovered her 9-Star (mid) power.

When she, one of the most powerful Demon Kings aside from the central ones, joined hands with Chris, the apostles and priests could not hold their ground and fell, spewing blood.

A power as great as her reputation.

‘…But she really has regressed to a child’s form. She has regained her power, but her body is that of a child. If she uses her power, she might be able to return to her adult form, but.’

Chris let out a dry cough.