Chapter 404
Since that day, Christian had not regained consciousness.
The problem was that he wasn’t just unconscious.
The life functions of his body had stopped.
…In other words, his physical body was in a state of death.
‘It’s not just the body. The soul has also left the body.’
Everyone dared not speak of it, afraid that the moment the words left their lips, it would become a confirmed reality, but Chris was dead.
If it hadn’t been for Chris’s last words, they might have already held a funeral.
—I’ll be back soon, so wait for me.
Believing those words, they were forcefully preventing the decay of the lifeless body.
But could he really return?
It was a matter of course, but it is impossible for the dead to come back to life. There had been countless 9-Star transcendents in history, but not a single one had ever been revived after death.
Just then, Nordian spoke in a heavy voice.
“Do not worry. Christian will surely come back to life and show his annoying face again.”
His voice was trembling faintly.
It was more of a desperate wish than a belief.
“I won’t let him off the hook when he comes back. How dare he make this old man worry like this. This time, I’ll really show him what this old man is made of.”
“…The same goes for me.”
“I’ll use the Advent of Creation to spank his bottom.”
“I’ll lend a hand as well.”
“…Why you? Only I can scold my grandson.”
“…I am also Christian’s fath….”
“So?”
“…Never mind. I’ll stay put.”
Count Kazar flinched at Nordian’s possessiveness(?).
The two looked up at the sky, earnestly wishing for Christian to return soon.
They were not the only ones eagerly awaiting Christian.
Everyone felt the same.
The detached villa of the Dark Demonic House where Christian used to stay.
It was under ironclad security.
The lineup of those on guard was astounding.
Not only the strongest of the Dark Demonic House, like Marquis Shupen and Merian, but also influential figures from all sorts of renowned magus houses were standing guard.
They were all individuals who owed a debt to Christian.
The security was one issue, but it was their desperate desire to wait for Christian that kept them by his side.
It was a matter of course that Kashmir of the Destruction Demonic House, Maris of the Extreme Poison Demonic House, and Teren were present.
But besides them, there were other, out-of-place individuals who should not have been there.
It was Evan and Ranya.
“……”
At this point in time, the Dark Demonic House was the greatest house in the Magus Empire.
So when the figures known as the Hero’s party and called the stars of the Alliance were present, the demons wore uncomfortable expressions.
“…Why are you bastards here?”
“Shut your mouths, you worthless worms who couldn’t even protect Christian. I’m holding back the urge to cut off your heads right now, so if you get on my nerves any further, I’ll kill you all.”
At Evan’s murderous response, all the demons clamped their mouths shut.
It didn’t seem like an empty threat.
Evan looked ready to wipe out everyone in this place at any moment.
‘Should I really just kill them all here?’
During the battle with the Mystic Demonic House, Evan and Ranya had been diligently fighting the demons and raising their states.
Because Christian had instructed them to reach 9-Star.
They had miraculously succeeded in setting foot into the 9-Star realm, but what was the point? In the meantime, Christian had ended up in this state.
Ranya also froze the atmosphere with a chillingly stiff face.
With two 9-Star superhumans acting like this, everyone could only remain silent.
Furthermore, they were not the only two making the atmosphere murderous.
The door to the villa burst open and a figure appeared.
“What is this commotion? How dare you disturb Christian’s sleep. Do you all want to be torn to shreds and die!”
It was Idrinne!
Her aura was completely different from when she was with Chris.
Not a speck of laughter could be found, and the piercing chill made it difficult to even meet her eyes.
Idrinne, too, had reached 9-Star through the recent events, so everyone avoided her gaze without a peep.
“Ugh… Idrinne, I’m so tired.”
The Demon King of Silver Snow came out of the villa, muttering as she watched Idrinne’s expression.
Currently, the ones maintaining Chris’s body were the Demon King of Silver Snow and Idrinne.
Idrinne with her Blood Art of Life, and the Demon King of Silver Snow with her law of causality of Immortality.
“Shut up and go back to Chris’s side and work.”
“…Ugh. I-I’m so tired.”
“Do you wish to rest for eternity?”
“…Ugh. Y-you’re so scary. Don’t bully me.”
Even the Demon King of Silver Snow could not go against Idrinne’s murderous aura.
Of course, Evan was an exception.
“Do your job properly.”
“…What did you say?”
“Since a task like watching over Christian has been entrusted to someone like you, you’d better do it perfectly, no matter what it takes. If even the slightest problem occurs with Christian, I will kill you myself.”
Those standing by gasped in shock.
As expected, Idrinne looked at Evan with cold eyes.
“You’re a barking dog who doesn’t know his place. It seems I’ll have to educate you in Christian’s stead.”
Idrinne had never liked Evan from the start.
How dare he be Christian’s first kin.
If she had her way, she would have eliminated all of Christian’s other kin besides herself, but that was impossible since Christian would dislike it.
Instead, it seemed necessary to firmly crush that upstart Evan who didn’t know his place.
“I will show you mercy and not kill or cripple you.”
Chaang!
Idrinne drew her rapier, and Evan drew his sword in response.
Just as a Demon King and a Saint-rank 9-Star superhuman were about to fight, in a touch-and-go situation where everyone was at a loss,
“!!”
Flinch!
The two of them stopped moving at the same time.
They had felt some unusual premonition.
“This is…?”
“You felt it, too?”
“What is happening?!”
Beside them, Ranya’s complexion also hardened, and the Demon King of Silver Snow came out from the villa.
Only those who had reached 9-Star had felt the change.
It was when the rest of them were tilting their heads in confusion.
Gooooooooooooo!!
With a great roar, an earthquake as if the heavens and the earth were being overturned occurred.
“Why all of a sudden?”
“This isn’t a simple earthquake.”
“Th-there!!! Look to the north!!”
Everyone’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
The far-off north.
A pillar of eerie violet light was soaring up from the sky.
“What is that?”
“If it’s that way… isn’t it toward the central direct jurisdiction?”
“At that distance, it’s the location of the Imperial Capital where the Magus Emperor is.”
Something unusual was happening.
Soon, dire news flew in.
“It’s an attack!! The enemy is crossing the northern border!”
Everyone wore an expression of incomprehension.
The northern border was the one adjacent to the central direct jurisdiction where the Magus Emperor was?
“The Magus Emperor’s central army is heading south, committing indiscriminate slaughter!!”
“!!”
Everyone’s complexion turned pale.
The Magus Emperor had finally begun to move.
“Who is leading the Magus Emperor’s army?”
“It is the Grand Magus General!!!”
It was the Demon King of the Red River.
A transcendent-level Demon King who possessed the same power as the Pope they had fought not long ago, with a state of high 9-Star.
And so.
In Chris’s absence, the worst crisis had befallen the continent.
***
Chris was in the middle of repeating a tedious task.
Paaaat!
Andrill flashed, and the distortion of the void that was the seed of a Great Being shattered into pieces.
He stretched out his hand and absorbed the source of the scattering law of causality.
How many times had it been?
He had repeated it at least several thousand times.
The amount of the law of causality absorbed at once was truly like a speck of dust.
But as the number of repetitions reached the thousands, an amount of the law of causality that could not be ignored had accumulated.
‘But this alone is meaningless. I have to ‘define’ this law of causality as my own.’
The law of causality Chris was currently absorbing was in its raw form.
He had to make this law of causality hold his own meaning.
It was not an easy task.
It was different from simply imbuing his will with meaning.
‘The law of causality is the law of the world. In other words, I have to make the law of causality I hold become a part of the world’s law.’
Chris’s mindscape sank low.
‘First, before I define the law of causality, I have to define my own existence.’
As one could tell from the titles of the Great Beings, the definition that referred to their existence became their law of causality.
He had to be able to define the origin of the existence known as Chris in a single word.
Chris’s thoughts continued.
From his previous life, until now.
Chwareureuk, the past flashed by.
His abused childhood.
His struggle for wealth and glory.
Far from wealth and glory, to the point where he stood in this place after all sorts of hardships.
Countless recollections came to mind, but he shook his head.
These things could not define the existence that was him.
‘What kind of existence am I?’
He could not easily come up with an answer.
How much time had passed like that?
Suddenly, a low voice was heard.
—Give up.
Chris’s eyes widened.
This was the space of the void.
A place where no one existed?
—I am an existence that exists, yet does not exist in reality. I have appeared to tell you this.
Chris swallowed hard.
He had realized what kind of being the owner of the voice was.
‘A 2nd-realm being.’
An unbelievable story.
It was from the 3rd-realm beings that they existed as individual entities.
Those of the 2nd realm and above were merely conceptual existences and did not exist in reality as individuals.
An existence of a distant quality, no different from the world itself, had revealed itself.
—…Give up, what do you mean by that?
Even Chris did not dare to show an arrogant attitude and asked politely.
—The ruin of the world has already been decided. The attempt you are trying to make is but a meaningless endeavor.
—…A determined fate, you say?
—That is right. The coming world ruin is not the fault of the beings of the Dark Heaven. They believe that they are opening a new world, but they are not. It is simply that the natural fate of the world is heading towards ruin, following the flow of creation and destruction.
It was a shocking story.
—…Why are you telling me such a thing?
—Because it is a pity to see an existence like you fall in a futile struggle.
—!!
—If you accept the ruin, ‘we’ will protect you directly. Afterward, you will become the one to lead the new world, acting as a proxy for ‘our’ will.
It was an unexpected proposal.
—If you are saddened by the deaths of those close to you, we will protect them from the ruin as well.
Chris swallowed hard.
‘What should I do?’
In truth, even if he reached 10-Star here, it wouldn’t solve the entire situation.
The situation was still hopelessly bleak.
Especially if the world was truly fated for ruin, would his struggles have any meaning?
Accepting the offer would be the wise choice.
However.
—…I refuse.
—You refuse? You will become a greater being than anyone else in the new world.
—I apologize, but that is not a very tempting offer.
Chris continued with an absurd story.
—My goal is simply to enjoy wealth and glory. I have no interest in being some great being who leads a new world.
Becoming a high-ranking being meant having to suffer just as much. It was an absolute refusal.
Moreover, the opening of a new world meant that everything would return to the beginning.
There was no way he could enjoy wealth and glory.
Most importantly.
‘I don’t think following this proposal is the answer.’
It was a gut feeling.
‘I will stop the ruin according to my own will.’