Chapter 166
“I’m going to merge my magic circle with the sealing array! Please hold on just a little longer!”
Chris’s magic circle, which had already manifested, began to blend seamlessly with the sealing array that Captain Oh had laid out.
More precisely, Chris’s magic circle started to dissolve into the sealing array.
The runes were disassembling in real time, merging into the sealing array.
Even the knights watching couldn’t believe their eyes.
The infused magic didn’t weaken Captain Oh’s sealing array at all; instead, it granted it a new effect.
“Are we ready?”
At that moment, Marquis Shupen appeared.
As he stretched out his hand, a shift occurred.
Whoooosh.
Darkness began to engulf the surroundings.
He had activated the 8-star divine power known as the ‘Domain of Domination.’
But the real surprise was yet to come.
The magic circle Chris had merged with Captain Oh’s sealing array began to glow brightly.
Then, the dark domain that Marquis Shupen had unleashed overlapped with the sealing array, forming a black, translucent seal!
Through the magic, the sealing array and the domain of domination had become one.
‘I was inspired by the magic once used by the former archmage Lanya. She often transformed a hero’s domain of domination into her own magic to unleash tremendous power.’
Of course, the magic Lanya used back then and what Chris was doing now were completely different.
Back then, Lanya’s spell manipulated another’s domain of domination as her own magic.
That was a level Chris could never hope to reach.
Instead, he had selectively borrowed only the necessary elements.
Marquis Shupen’s domain of domination functioned like a shield.
By merging it with Captain Oh’s sealing array, they had imbued it with the properties of the strongest shield.
Thanks to this, a perfect binding spell was completed—one that no one could escape.
Even the power of a demon could be restrained.
“Raaaaaaargh!”
Patera let out a monstrous roar.
A force unlike anything experienced before surged forth.
The power of a demon had manifested.
The transcendent might of an otherworldly being had descended into reality.
It was as if an abyss had opened—a surreal, overwhelming force.
The surroundings weren’t just being devastated; it felt as if they would be wiped away entirely.
Yet, the sealing array held firm.
An astonishing feat.
Though it wasn’t without cost.
“Ugh!”
“Your Excellency!”
Marquis Shupen coughed up blood.
His power was currently sustaining a large portion of the sealing array.
So when the demon’s power rampaged, he took the brunt of the damage.
“…It’s still holding. But this sealing array won’t last much longer. As expected of demonic power—its strength surpasses all predictions.”
Marquis Shupen spoke gravely.
“We should change tactics.”
Originally, the plan was for Marquis Shupen and Captain Oh to keep Patera restrained while Chris used some method to neutralize the demon.
“Even if we hold out, it’ll only be for five minutes. No matter how skilled you are, Chris, it’s impossible to neutralize that monster within that time.”
If they failed, Chris would surely die.
It was better to switch to another plan.
“We’ll go with a herding strategy. Even if it means some casualties, it’s the best option. Send a signal to the troops on standby.”
The second plan Marquis Shupen devised was to scatter forces and lure the monster around, waiting for it to exhaust itself.
Such transcendent power couldn’t be sustained for long, so it was a solid countermeasure.
Troops capable of drawing the monster’s attention had already been positioned nearby.
‘There will be significant losses, but it can’t be helped.’
Better for others to sacrifice themselves than for Chris to die trying.
But then—
“No, I’ll do it.”
“That’s nonsense. Didn’t I just say the sealing array won’t hold for even five minutes? Now there’s less than four minutes left.”
“Don’t worry. That time is enough.”
Chris stepped toward Patera, who was bound within the sealing array.
“You?! Stop!”
But Marquis Shupen, using all his strength to restrain the demon, couldn’t stop Chris.
“It’s fine. If I fail, then please proceed with the second plan.”
Chris had one reason for refusing to back down.
In his previous life, the Dark Talker had once explained in detail how to neutralize Patera.
…Why are you telling me this? What power do I have?
Hehe. You never know.
Chris recalled those memories as he stood before Patera.
Patera, trapped within the sealing array, roared wildly.
The demonic power pressing down beyond the array felt like it was crushing his very soul, but Chris didn’t flinch.
He remembered the Dark Talker’s sly smile.
Chris had dismissed it as nonsense, thinking there was no way he could accomplish such a thing.
At the time, it was truly impossible.
The Dark Talker probably didn’t expect Chris to succeed either.
As someone who had suffered similar pain, he just hoped someone would save Patera.
But now, things were different.
What was impossible then was now within Chris’s reach.
Chris looked Patera squarely in the eyes.
A horrifying figure.
Patera hadn’t chosen to become this being.
His very self had been erased, turned into a puppet controlled by a demon.
Yet, despite that, Patera was still alive.
A being without free will, blindly obeying terrible commands, having forgotten how to think—but still suffering.
That terrible roar was perhaps a cry from his soul.
“Look at me.”
Chris spoke softly.
By chance, Patera’s eyes met his.
Chris spoke again.
“I’ll save you.”
“!!”
Though Patera’s self had been erased, perhaps he instinctively sensed Chris’s goodwill.
His unfocused eyes flickered faintly.
Chris seized the moment.
—Dream Erosion.
A mental curse—a dark magic that invades the unconscious dreamscape.
‘Right now, Patera’s original mind is half-submerged in a dream.’
A barrier shielding Patera’s mind blocked the curse.
But Chris didn’t stop.
‘This is the essence of the curse magic the dark mage showed me.’
The dark mage Chris had seen at the Story Crystal had unleashed a curse that relentlessly eroded any mental defenses.
Chris’s current dark magic was similar but different.
The relentlessness was the same.
No matter what barrier stood in the way, it wouldn’t give up.
Like water droplets wearing down a rock.
At the same time, it was cunning.
It exploited even the smallest cracks.
‘Every mental barrier has a weakness. Especially those of brainwashed individuals.’
This mental barrier was created by the mysterious mage.
Its purpose wasn’t to protect Patera’s mind from outside intrusion.
Quite the opposite.
It suppressed the awakening of Patera’s original human mind.
So Patera’s mind was constantly struggling against its bonds in the unconscious.
Of course, it was a meaningless resistance, like a bug writhing underfoot.
But after so long, tiny cracks had formed in the barrier.
Chris didn’t miss those cracks.
He persistently probed and probed.
Finally, a small gap opened, then a crack appeared.
Chris drove a wedge in.
“Begone!!”
A powerful will to break through everything blocking him.
That will was infused into the curse.
Like glass shattering, a large hole appeared in Patera’s mental barrier.
When Chris blinked, a new scene unfolded.
He had succeeded in entering Patera’s unconscious dream.
Was this the hometown where Patera had lived as a human?
A snowy winter.
A cabin nestled on a remote mountainside.
A peaceful scene—but one that held a terrible presence.
[Arrogant fool. How dare you invade the vessel I inhabit.]
A small boy appeared.
His mouth grotesquely torn from corner to ear.
[Your soul will be mine as well.]
The demon dwelling within Patera.
It was no illusion.
A chilling presence swept through.
The demon before him was real.
‘This is why none of the hero’s party dared attempt the method the Dark Talker revealed.’
The demon parasitized Patera’s dream within his mind.
So the Dark Talker’s method was to invade Patera’s dream and annihilate the demon inside.
An impossible task.
‘Judging by its presence, it’s not a high-level demon.’
Demons were ranked.
First, the conceptual demons of the 1st and 2nd planes.
They existed only as concepts—like the laws that govern the world.
Next, the ‘Great Grade’ demons of the 3rd and 4th planes.
These were true demons, real yet still conceptual in nature.
They embodied hatred, murder, greed, gluttony, lust, and so on.
Each symbolized a particular attribute and ruled over Gehenna.
The demons that humans on Earth feared and worshipped as transcendent beings were usually these 3rd and 4th plane demons.
Finally, the common noble demons of the 5th and 6th planes.
They were not conceptual but fully real entities.
They served the 3rd and 4th plane demons, corrupted humans on Earth, and tormented souls fallen into Gehenna.
“Common noble demons aren’t truly transcendent beings. Humans can still hold their own against them to some extent. Especially the lower-tier demons of the Sixth Circle.”
That said, it didn’t mean they were weak by any stretch.
Even lower-tier demons were immortal.
To even dare face off against a demon at the lowest rank, you needed to be at least an 8-star Absolute Realm.
To truly stand on equal footing with a demon, you had to surpass human limits and reach the 9-star Transcendent Realm.
“Of course, the only ones you can even think about challenging like this are the low-tier demons of the Sixth Circle, the very bottom of Gehenna. Higher-ranked demons are genuine transcendent beings.”
Even a demon of the Fifth Circle, like a duke or marquis, was beyond any human’s ability to confront.
By the way, the Seventh Circle—where Mefina, who keeps showing interest in Chris, belongs—is a separate hierarchy.
It’s a place for fallen constellations cast down from the heavens, or great demons from the Third and Fourth Circles who, for some reason, can no longer remain in their original ranks.
“Now that I think about it, I don’t actually know what level Mefina is. She seems like a pretty high-ranking demon.”
But that wasn’t important right now.
The demon in front of him was the one he had to deal with.
“What circle demon are you from?”
[…What?]
Chris lifted the corner of his mouth in a smirk.
Almost like a provocation.
“Judging by the vessel you’ve descended into, it’s obvious you’re not from a high rank.”