Chapter 406
Evan took the front line and raised his sword, while Idrinne unfolded her Blood Art from behind. Ranya supported the two with her white magic.
Kwaaaaaaaang!!!
The world rang as if an earthquake had struck.
They had barely managed to block it, but all three of them were not in good condition.
“Impressive. Let us see how far you can block.”
The Demon King of the Red River conjured flames once again.
The red flame turned blue, then transformed into a pure white flame (白炎).
It was an Arc Fire, heated to over 100,000 degrees by twisting the law of causality.
That was not the end of it.
Hwareureuk.
Two, three… over ten Arc Fires rose up.
“Try to block this as well.”
“!!”
The faces of the three turned pale.
No matter how strong they were, it was impossible for them to block that.
“…It is fine if we die. We must protect Christian.”
“…That’s what I was about to say, you impudent whelp.”
“Ugh… I don’t want to die yet, though.”
The three of them blocked the path in front of the coffin where Christian lay.
With the determination to not let him lay a single finger on Christian before they died, they glared at the Demon King of the Red River.
“How foolish.”
The white flames swayed and flew toward them.
Evan and Idrinne tried to stop them as they had just done, but it was useless.
Not a single one of the more than ten white flames was extinguished.
In the end, there was only one way.
They had no choice but to offer their lives to prevent Christian from being caught in the explosion of those white flames.
“My life belonged to Christian from the start. I have no regrets.”
“Why do you keep saying what I’m about to say? The one closest to Christian is me.”
“Ah, be quiet, you fools!”
And so.
The white flames flew right before them.
It was when everyone was preparing for the end in the face of the storm of destruction that was about to occur.
Suddenly, a change occurred.
Uddut.
The white flames stopped in mid-air.
As if they were caught by something.
Then, they died down without a trace.
“!!”
The Demon King of the Red River wore a flustered expression.
“No, what? Is this the suppression of the law of causality? This is something impossible unless one is a Great Being? Who?”
It referred to a technique that nullified the opponent’s law of causality with an overwhelming one of your own.
But there were no Constellations or Great Devils in this place right now.
“…Don’t tell me?”
And.
The one everyone had been desperately waiting for.
An annoying voice was heard.
“Ah, I’m a little late.”
“Christian!!!”
Everyone’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
Christian, who had been lying in the coffin, had gotten up.
“H-how?”
The Demon King of the Red River wore an expression of disbelief.
“Why are you so surprised? A genius like me can die and come back to life.”
Of course, it was not as easy as it sounded.
Especially the fight with the Gatekeeper, a 3rd-realm being, had been gruesome.
He had barely managed to win by gathering the power of the other Great Beings of the 7th Realm.
‘The Celestial Realm and Gehenna must be in an uproar right about now.’
The beings of the 7th Realm had all regained their power and their original positions, and had begun a war against those who had tried to confine them.
Since it was a war between Great Beings, the Celestial Realm and Gehenna would not be able to pay attention to the surface for at least several hundred years.
“Christian!!!”
“Has everyone been well?”
“…But you?”
Idrinne, Evan, and Ranya stopped in their tracks as they were running toward Christian.
They had noticed the change in Christian.
A presence more like that of a Great Being than a human.
“Ah. I’ve had some achievements.”
Chris grinned.
“First, shall we talk after we catch that red-headed bug over there?”
“!!”
To call the 4th-ranked Grand General of the Magus Empire a bug.
But the Demon King of the Red River could not utter a single word of anger.
As a high 9-Star Demon King, he could feel what kind of achievement Chris had obtained.
“I-impossible? How did you reach 10-Star?”
“What do you mean, impossible, when you’re seeing it with your own eyes? Die.”
A shocking event occurred.
The moment Chris flicked his finger, the Demon King of the Red River vomited a mouthful of blood.
A shocking sight.
“I broke down your law of causality from the inside, but you didn’t die? Impressive.”
“!!”
The Demon King of the Red River staggered back.
‘I-I have to run.’
No matter how high a 9-Star he was, it was still the realm of a mortal.
Compared to a 10-Star who had reached the level of a Great Being, he was like a bug.
Gritting his teeth, he scattered destruction black magic into the air.
It was an attempt to split space and escape into a subspace.
“Where do you think you’re going? Don’t you think you’re underestimating me?”
The space the Demon King of the Red River had split was sealed in an instant.
“Die.”
“W-wait!!”
The surroundings were instantly submerged in darkness, which then swallowed the Demon King of the Red River as he was.
“Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahk!!!!”
A gruesome scream echoed, and a handful of blood rained down from the empty air.
He was dead.
It was an unbelievably empty end.
Christian did not stop there.
“What is this now?”
The Demon King of the Red River had not come alone.
He had brought humans who had been turned into monsters as his demonic soldiers.
Just from what he could see, their numbers reached the thousands.
The demonic soldiers were frozen, overwhelmed by Chris’s presence.
“…Saving them is impossible, I see.”
Chris let out a sigh.
They had not become monsters because they wanted to.
They had been forcibly experimented on because of the Magus Emperor, and after suffering all sorts of pain, they had ended up in such a terrible state.
The screams their souls let out resonated with Chris’s soul.
“…The only thing I can do for you is to grant you rest. Rest in peace.”
Chris raised his hand.
The entire world was filled with darkness.
But it was not a cruel darkness.
A warm darkness, like the peace of the evening, enveloped the demonic soldiers and led their souls to rest.
—*Aaaaaaaah.*
The monsters, freed from their pain, shed tears.
And so, the monsters all melted away into the darkness, and the surroundings fell silent.
“……”
Everyone stared at Christian, who had performed an unbelievable miracle, in astonishment.
Christian shrugged.
“Why are you all staring? Is this the first time you’ve realized how great I am?”
“!!”
At that annoying voice, everyone let out a deflated laugh.
They felt that no matter how lofty a state he had reached, he was still the same Christian.
“Christian!! We’ve been waiting!!”
Idrinne ran forward, and just as Evan, who had been beaten to the punch, was about to scowl fiercely.
Suddenly, a suffocating pressure descended upon the area.
‘This is?’
A pressure that made even Chris, who had reached 10-Star, feel a sense of tension.
Excluding the beings of the Celestial Realm and Gehenna, there were only two beings in this world who possessed such power.
“…The Magus Chancellor.”
Sreureuk.
From the empty air, a handsome, black-haired man in a gentleman’s suit appeared.
A sly smile hung on his lips.
The Magus Chancellor had really appeared.
“A pleasure to meet you. To not only return from the dead but also reach 10-Star. How impressive.”
Clap, clap.
The Magus Chancellor clapped.
“Shut up. Did you come here to die?”
Chris said coldly.
“Hmm, you, kill me? Isn’t that a bit of a stretch?”
“!!”
“It seems you haven’t yet obtained the ‘authority’ corresponding to a Great Being.”
The Magus Chancellor smiled faintly.
He was right.
Chris’s current state was that of a 10-Star (in progress).
He was lacking compared to the Magus Chancellor, who had reached a perfect 10-Star.
But Chris did not back down either.
“It seems you don’t know. My specialty is bringing strong opponents to their knees. Taking down the likes of you is something I can do at any time.”
If one were to compare their strength, the Magus Chancellor certainly had the upper hand.
But it was not an insurmountable gap.
It was a gap that could be overturned depending on the situation.
And Chris had never lost in such a case.
“…Well, you are a monster. I’d only be at a loss if I were to fight a monster, so I shall hold back. In any case, I did not come here to fight you.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I came to make you a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
The Magus Chancellor gave an unreadable smile for a moment, then flicked his finger.
Hwiik, the background changed, and the surrounding people disappeared, leaving only the Magus Chancellor and Chris.
“Ah, do not be alarmed. It is because this is a story that others should not hear, so this is for security.”
Then, the Magus Chancellor brought up an unexpected story.
“I want you to kill the Magus Emperor.”
“!!”
Chris’s eyes shot open.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“I never wished for the ruin from the start, you see. Take a look at the state of my soul.”
The Magus Chancellor dismantled the boundary of his soul for Chris to see.
A mark of binding was engraved upon it.
“The Magus Emperor forcibly engraved the mark of binding on me back when I was the 9-Star Demon King of Dark Annihilation and made me his slave. I was forced to obey him, but I never agreed with the Magus Emperor’s will.”
“……”
“To make humanity stand above Gehenna and the Celestial Realm? What for? In the first place, it’s just a load of nonsense, isn’t it? Am I wrong? I want to take the Magus Emperor’s head myself, but as you can see, I am bound by the mark of binding, so you do it in my stead.”
Chris’s gaze sank low.
‘What is he plotting?’
He could not believe that story at face value.
He remembered what the Dark Chatterbox had said.
—The true mastermind behind all of this might be the Magus Chancellor.
The Magus Chancellor continued to speak.
“I understand that you cannot trust me. Still, it would be wise to think it over carefully. Without my help, you will not even be able to enter the barrier.”
“The barrier?”
“Yes, you see that unpleasant pillar, don’t you?”
An unidentified pillar of light was soaring up from the Imperial Capital where the Magus Emperor was.
“It is an altar that the Magus Emperor has been preparing for hundreds of years. No matter how strong you are, it will not be easy for you to break through the barrier of that altar, which the Magus Emperor has completed with all his might, will it? However, I personally lent a hand in the creation of that altar, so it is possible for me to create an opening.”
“……”
“Those who were in the Imperial Capital have already begun to be devoured by the altar, and the Magus Emperor is in a state of continuously growing stronger. If you delay any longer, you will not be able to do anything.”
However, Chris frowned.
‘What should I do?’
It certainly seemed difficult to break through that pillar.
He could not trust what kind of backstabbing trick the fiend would pull.
Just then, the Magus Chancellor brought up something that could not be overlooked.
“If you wish to save the Magus Empress… that is, ‘Marie’, it would be best for you to make your choice quickly.”
“…What?”
“Marie tried to become your strength, but in the first place, she is an existence created as the Magus Emperor’s tool. There is no way she could oppose the Magus Emperor. She tried to pull a trick to inflict damage on the Magus Emperor, but was caught and has become a sacrifice instead. If you delay any longer, the existence known as Marie will disappear from the world completely.”
It did not seem like he was lying.
In the end, Chris said.
“…I have a condition. You will swear to offer your soul to me and become my kin.”
It was not a condition he had set with the expectation that he would comply.
If he refused, he had intended to use that as a pretext to bind him with another snare, but the Magus Chancellor gave an unexpected response.
“Very well. I shall become your kin.”
“…What?”
“In that case, does this make you my second master? If you wish to become my one and only master, please get rid of the first one for me.”
Chris wore an incredulous expression.
“Don’t even think about pulling any tricks.”
Paaaat!
He engraved a mark of binding on the Magus Chancellor.
Now, the Magus Chancellor was in a position where he could not be hostile to Chris.
‘Even with this, it’s not like I can trust this fiend.’
Still, it would serve as a means to control him to some extent.
“Lead the way to the Imperial Capital.”
Finally.
The moment of the final battle was approaching.