Episode 144

Chris gazed at the glowing Emerald Tablet and thought to himself.

On the surface, it shone brilliantly, but beneath that radiance churned a vile, poisonous aura.

It was a malevolence no less intense than the evil energy he had witnessed in the beings of Gehenna in his past life.

The fact that such a thick, corrupt force was leaking out beyond the tablet’s seal meant one thing: the Soul of the Dharma King was now inseparably bound to the Fallen Star’s essence.

The Dharma King’s fate was sealed—nothing but ruin awaited him.

“How can someone be so consistently ugly and foolish?”

A bitter laugh escaped Chris’s lips, curling into a mocking smirk.

“You’ve really done something remarkable. The Dharma King, revered as sublime and exalted, yet here you are.”

The Dharma King scowled at the sneer.

“Though you’re but insignificant vermin, it wouldn’t be wrong to share my grand purpose. For the sake of all.”

“For the sake of all?”

“Yes. The Gold Cross is rotten to its core. I intend to gain power, shatter its corruption, and open a new world.”

Chris couldn’t help but burst into loud laughter at such absurd nonsense.

“Shut up. It’s just greed, plain and simple.”

“!!”

“You’re the most disgusting, despicable creature in the world, filled only with greed, yet you spout nonsense no sane dog would believe.”

Hypocrisy? The Dharma King was far beyond such a simple label.

The greed that churned within his chest was so horrific even demons would recoil.

In fact, the very words he just uttered were the same excuses he had used before to mask his own misdeeds.

“So, you turned the former Dharma Queen into a demon’s pawn all for the ‘greater good’?”

“…What?”

“What did you say back then? That it was regrettable but necessary to eliminate the former Dharma Queen for the greater cause? And yet, less than a month later, you took a new queen as your consort?”

Though it had been years ago, Chris remembered every word the Dharma King had said.

The Dharma King’s face stiffened.

Chris smirked.

“Let me ask you one thing. Have you ever felt sorry for Princess Sistanya, the former Dharma Queen?”

“…What nonsense are you spouting now?”

The Dharma King answered with a deeply displeased expression.

“I don’t understand why a mere fiend like you asks such things. As Dharma King, it was only natural to eliminate a follower of demons.”

His voice made it clear: no trace of guilt.

“Ha.”

Chris chuckled softly.

Seeing such consistent ugliness was oddly relieving.

“This is the end.”

“Yeah, there’s nothing more to say. It’s disgusting to keep talking, so let’s finish this quickly.”

“I don’t know what nonsense you keep spouting. You’re the one who’s going to die.”

The Dharma King gestured as if crushing a bug beneath his foot.

“Die.”

A black mist rose before the Emerald Tablet.

The mist reeked of chilling malevolence, yet strangely, wisps of light hovered around it.

A fusion of the sublime and the horrific.

The aura of the Fallen Star had manifested in reality.

‘Is this like an avatar? The seal isn’t fully broken, so it can’t create a true avatar—only the energy has descended.’

Chris analyzed the energy.

Though unstable and wavering, it was the power of a Constellation manifesting in the real world.

At his current level, there was no way he could oppose it.

But then Chris did something unexpected.

He pulled something wrapped in cloth from his pocket in the void space and said,

“Eat this.”

A phrase that didn’t fit the situation at all.

The Dharma King blinked, confused.

Then, something unbelievable happened.

—KIAAAAAAAAH!!!!

A bloodcurdling scream shook the mansion from top to bottom.

A deafening roar and tremor, as if an earthquake had struck.

The black mist was drawn toward Chris—more precisely, toward the object in his hand—and then vanished without a trace.

It had been absorbed.

“W-What…?!”

“Ah, you’re not the only one holding a Joker.”

With a rustle, the cloth was undone, revealing a sword.

An ordinary iron blade, but its blade shimmered with the Constellation energy it had just absorbed.

The energy inside the sword writhed as if being chewed and swallowed, then completely disappeared.

A terrifying sight.

“Perfect timing. This guy’s favorite meal is the soul of a Constellation.”

Andril.

The Constellation-Slaying Sword made its first appearance in the world.

*    *    *

Andril was the sword once wielded by the Bloodthirsty Demon King.

During the Age of Destruction, Andril’s swing was nothing short of the descent of despair itself.

So why had the Dark Mage sect failed to recognize such a supreme demonic sword and let it rot away?

Because the conditions to unseal it were brutal.

‘The wielder must reach 9 stars. And there’s an additional condition.’

At least one Constellation had to be offered as a sacrifice to Andril.

Only by devouring the soul of a Constellation could Andril be reborn perfectly as the Constellation-Slaying Sword.

It was possible only because the wielder was the Bloodthirsty Demon King—otherwise, it was practically impossible.

‘But now, there’s a perfect meal.’

To offer a Constellation as a sacrifice, its power had to be weakened and sealed first.

Just like the Fallen Star sealed within the Emerald Tablet.

‘If the seal on the Emerald Tablet had been perfect, it would have been difficult to use it as a sacrifice.’

But thanks to the Dharma King’s meddling, the seal was half-open.

Though the Fallen Star’s power hadn’t fully returned, from Andril’s perspective, it was like a delicately unwrapped snack.

[Groooowl.]

Andril emitted a low growl, as if impatiently demanding its meal.

Chris felt a chill run through his soul. Though he was only holding the sword, his insides churned violently.

Andril was not yet an item he could wield.

‘Wait. This will be over soon.’

Chris gritted his teeth and stepped forward.

“What kind of trick are you pulling?!”

The Dharma King’s warning came too late.

He manifested the Constellation’s energy again, but the result was the same.

The remnants of incomplete energy were nothing but a snack for Andril.

[Grrrrrr.]

Andril growled ferociously, as if unsatisfied with such weak energy.

The pressure crushing the Dharma King’s soul intensified, emanating from the Emerald Tablet and the Fallen Star’s descent.

Exposed to Andril’s killing intent, the Dharma King’s complexion turned pale.

His hands trembled like leaves in the wind.

This was not the image of a spiritual pillar who had once dominated the era as the Gold Cross’s mental anchor.

It wasn’t weakness of will.

Andril’s soul-crushing killing intent was unbearable for any human.

Moreover, without the Emerald Tablet’s power, the Dharma King was utterly powerless.

As Chris advanced, the Dharma King stumbled backward and fell.

A dark shadow loomed.

Chris’s cold gaze looked down on the fallen Dharma King.

It was time to end this.

This ugly chapter.

And the Dharma King and his filthy ties.

Perhaps because it felt like the last moment, Chris suddenly said,

“Want me to spare you?”

“…W-What?”

“Bow your head and apologize to Princess Sistanya, the former Dharma Queen. Then I’ll let you live.”

The Dharma King’s eyes flickered like waves.

“W-Why… all of a sudden?”

“I’m giving you a chance to atone.”

Chris shrugged nonchalantly.

“Don’t want to? Then just die. But know this—if you die like this, you’ll go straight to Gehenna. You can atone there if you want. I’ll count to three, so make up your mind.”

There was no need to count to two.

The Dharma King hurriedly bowed his head.

“I—I will apologize to her.”

“…”

“I’m sincere. So, please… please…”

Chris looked down at him expressionlessly.

“That’s a lie.”

“…W-What?”

“I’m a fiend. Lying is a basic skill. You lied to the former Dharma Queen, promising to spare her.”

Chris tilted his head.

“What did you say back then? That if she admitted her sins, you’d use your authority as Dharma King to somehow let her live with the child? You lied without even batting an eye.”

The Dharma King’s eyes widened as if they might burst.

“Y-You… how do you know?”

What Chris had just said was a secret deal between the Dharma King and the former Dharma Queen—known only to them.

Because the Dharma Queen was deceived by the Dharma King, she confessed her sins and was easily sentenced to the stake.

But no one else knew about this.

“How do I know? Well, how do you think I know?”

Suddenly, an impossible thought crossed the Dharma King’s mind.

He wasn’t the only one who had heard that conversation.

There was a child cradled in the former queen’s arms who had overheard it too.

Only then did the Dharma King recall Chris’s strange behavior and words today.

“C-Could it be…? You… you are…?”

Chris asked calmly.

“Let me ask again. Are you really sorry?”

“…Really, Chris? I-I’m sorry! I mean it! I…!”

“Alright, I got it. I heard you loud and clear. The rest you can atone for in Gehenna.”

Chris raised Andril.

“W-Wait…!! No!!”

“I did promise, so I won’t kill you myself. But the outcome will be the same.”

When the Fallen Star was extinguished, even the Law King—his soul devoured—could not survive.

And then, finally.

“I’m not your son.”

Without hesitation, Chris drove the Emerald Tablet forward.

The iron blade pierced through the translucent stone.

At that very moment—

A deep, earth-shaking vibration rolled through the air, as if the world itself was turning upside down, followed by a horrific, anguished scream echoing from the abyss.

It was the wail of the Fallen Star, being consumed by Andril.

‘The backlash is far stronger than I expected.’

As the constellation was swallowed whole, Chris swallowed the rising tide of blood in his throat.

‘I have to hold on.’

Gritting his teeth, he threw every ounce of defense he had into protecting himself.

The power of the Holy Radiance and the power of the Demon’s Blood surged forth simultaneously. Normally, using one side’s power would suppress the other to avoid overstraining his veins—but there was no time to worry about that now.

Just as he braced himself—

A flash of light burst forth.

A blinding radiance so intense it seemed to erase everything around it.

The mansion where Chris stood shattered into pieces, crumbling into dust. He clenched his jaw tightly.

The only small mercy was that, compared to the chaos sweeping the surroundings, he himself—grasping Andril—remained safe.

Andril, devouring the constellation, was activating a protective function to shield Chris.

Even though it was sealed, Andril’s power manifested for a simple reason.

‘If I fall and die, Andril’s absorption of the constellation will stop midway. I remember the Blood Demon King once said the same reaction happened when the constellation was first offered as a sacrifice.’

In other words, Andril’s power wasn’t truly for Chris’s sake—it was for its own consumption.

‘Still… this is brutal.’

His insides churned violently as he swallowed more blood.

Even with Andril’s protection, enduring this was no easy feat.

Barely clinging to consciousness, a chilling voice whispered in his ear.

[Interesting…]

“!!”

[Are you… ■■■…?]

Chris realized the voice came from Andril.

The word in the middle was unintelligible.

Oddly, though he clearly heard it, the word seemed to dissolve and vanish from his mind.

“What did it say?”

But Andril gave no answer.

Instead, it spoke again.

This time, with even more ominous meaning.