Chapter 209
The Day of the Ranking Battle, Early Morning.

At the very top floor of the Dark Maga Manor.

Marquis Langham was reviewing documents in the family head’s office.

“Your Grace, may I come in?”
It was Macfield, the Marquis’s most trusted retainer.
“The preparations for the ranking battle are complete.”

“Good.”

“But there’s a problem…”

Macfield’s face showed concern.
“Princess Yurian has been missing. We’ve sent the family’s maids to search for her, but no luck so far.”

“That’s fine.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry about it. Leave her be. Focus solely on today’s ranking battle.”

Macfield looked puzzled but bowed his head.
“Understood.”

Left alone, Marquis Langham set the papers down and gazed out the window.
The vast expanse of Dark Maga stretched before him.
His eyes darkened.
“Finally, it begins.”

A whisper, barely audible, yet heavy with meaning.

---

Noon.

The ranking battle had finally begun.

“Wooooah!!”

The fervent cheers of the maids echoed through the grounds.

The ranking battle was the greatest festival for the maids—a pure contest of strength, stripped of titles and bloodlines.

Because of its importance, most of the maids who could attend had gathered.

The crowd was so large that an outdoor venue had been specially arranged outside the manor.

Excited faces buzzed with conversation.

The hottest topic, as always, was which of the six-star upper maids would claim ultimate victory.

“Who do you think will win among the five contenders?”

“Well, it has to be either Macfield or Marquis Marek, both loyal to Marquis Langham. The others supposedly fell into the ‘Simma’ state after training under Duke Christian.”

“True.”

“Still, why would Duke Christian take such a reckless risk this time?”

“He’s only human, after all.”

Everyone agreed that Christian had made a rare mistake this time.

Especially Langham’s faction—they openly raised their voices to disparage Christian.

“If it’s true that those maids fell into Simma because of the Duke’s teachings, shouldn’t he be held accountable?”

“Right. That’s a huge blow to the family.”

“Honestly, all the praise calling him a genius must have gone to his head.”

“His arrogance blinded him.”

“Maybe his past achievements were exaggerated.”

Voices criticizing Christian echoed from all sides, mostly from Langham’s faction.

Then, unexpectedly, a voice cut through the murmurs.

“Have you all said enough?”

“What? …Gah?!”

Those who turned around looked as if they’d seen a ghost.

It was the family head, Nordian!

He had appeared at the venue without anyone knowing.

“F-Family Head, we greet you!”

Everyone hurriedly dropped to their knees, and silence fell instantly.

Nordian scowled deeply, surveying the crowd.

His expression was clearly displeased.

In truth, Nordian was furious.

‘These scoundrels call themselves the family’s maids?’

He hadn’t planned to attend the ranking battle in person due to his poor health.

He intended to send only a spiritual projection to gauge the atmosphere.

But hearing the voices slandering Christian had enraged him enough to come himself.

‘Blind and now their tongues are rotten too.’

A fierce aura radiated from Nordian.

The maids’ faces turned pale with fear.

If this were the hot-blooded Nordian of old, he would have ripped out those pigs’ eyes and tongues.

‘But even such scoundrels are necessary for Dark Maga.’

Suppressing his wrath, Nordian instead took a different course of action.

“Very well. As you say, I will decide the Duke’s reward or punishment based on the results of this ranking battle.”

“!!”

“If those trained by the Duke perform below expectations, he will be held responsible. Conversely, if the teachings prove effective, he shall be duly rewarded.”

His cold voice echoed through the hall.

“And if the Duke’s teachings are proven right, those who insulted and slandered him will face appropriate punishment. The nature of that punishment will be at the Duke’s discretion.”

The faces of those who had insulted Christian—mostly Langham’s faction—turned ashen.

Others only dared to voice cautious doubts.

In other words, this gave Christian a legitimate reason to strike back at Langham’s faction.

‘It’s fine. There’s no way such bizarre teachings could work.’

Langham’s faction tried to calm their pounding hearts.

Only a month had passed.

Christian had given absurd, twisted teachings to those with lower achievements, trying to catch up to the higher achievers.

There was no way it could be effective.

‘The family head has always favored the Duke. His judgment must be clouded.’

Nordian took his seat, and Langham, acting as the family head’s proxy, stood.

He was about to declare the start of the ranking battle.

But Nordian found fault again.

“Why does the Marquis stand?”

“…Pardon?”

“The Duke is here. Duke, announce the opening of the ranking battle.”

Langham’s face stiffened.

This was a clear sign that Christian outranked Langham in front of everyone.

Langham’s pride was utterly shattered.

‘Whew. The family head is seriously angry.’

Normally, Nordian wouldn’t have gone this far.

But hearing the voices slandering Christian had pushed him to the edge.

Those voices were, after all, Langham’s doing.

‘No harm to me. I need to expand my influence in Dark Maga anyway.’

Though he had the support of the lower maids, that alone wasn’t enough to wield real power within the family.

‘This ranking battle is a crucial opportunity.’

Any maid who sought power would be captivated by the miracle Christian might perform today.

But there was one problem: Princess Yurian.

‘We still haven’t found her.’

It might not be something to overthink.

Even if Yurian had made a pact with a demon, as Aunt Marian said, what great feat could she accomplish alone?

Especially here, where so many formidable maids of Dark Maga had gathered.

Even if Yurian tried something, it was unlikely to cause serious trouble.

‘Still, I don’t like this feeling. Better to stay alert until the “signal” comes.’

Christian’s gaze darkened.

Fortunately, he had prepared a countermeasure by inscribing a mark.

It wasn’t a powerful mark—he couldn’t risk it being discovered—but it would be useful in the worst case.

With that thought, Christian rose and stepped forward.

He had to focus on the ranking battle first.

“I declare the ranking battle open. Challengers, please ascend to the arena and select your opponents.”

A brief silence fell.

Then a figure stepped forward.

It was Marquis Marek, captain of the Black Wolf Knights.

A six-star upper maid and a member of Langham’s faction.

“I choose Count Berkel, captain of the Black Lion Knights.”

“!!”

This was a crucial match.

It would reveal whether Christian’s teachings had any effect.

As Marquis Marek strode onto the stage with a fierce aura, tension filled the hall.

For reference, the three great knight orders of Dark Maga are:

The Black Lion Knights.
The Black Wolf Knights.
The Black Shadow Knights.

The Black Shadow Knights handle special missions like intelligence and dukes’ affairs, so they’re excluded here.

The strongest forces are the Black Lion and Black Wolf Knights.

They have a long-standing rivalry, and their captains are bitter enemies.

‘Marek has never won against Berkel before.’

‘But this time, who knows? Count Berkel isn’t in full form due to Duke Christian’s teachings.’

Marek’s eyes gleamed with overconfidence, as if victory was already his.

“Come out, Count Berkel! This time, I’ll show you who the true strong one is!”

His voice grew louder.

“Are you scared? Can’t come out?”

“…How noisy.”

At last, Count Berkel stepped onto the stage.

But everyone’s eyes widened in shock.

‘What’s with that appearance?’

‘Why does he look like that?’

Berkel’s body was covered in wounds.

He looked as if he had just returned from battle.

“Your condition…”

Berkel raised an eyebrow.

“…I had some business.”

Of course, it was because of Christian.

‘Damn Duke. Assigning insane tasks right up to the morning of the ranking battle.’

Marek frowned.

“This is madness. Showing up like that for the ranking battle. Or are you mocking me?”

Berkel looked utterly exhausted.

It was clear he wouldn’t be able to perform at his best.

Yet—

“I don’t think it will be a problem.”

“…What?”

“I can handle someone like you even in this state.”

“!!”

Marek’s face flushed red.

“How dare you…!! You’re in Simma! Your mind’s gone too, haven’t you?”

“Simma?”

Berkel tilted his head in confusion.

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

A sudden burst of magical energy flared around Berkel.

Marek’s eyes widened as he sensed the power.

‘What…? Is that Berkel’s magic energy?’

Marek knew Berkel’s abilities inside and out.

Surpassing Berkel had always been his goal as a rival.

But this magic energy was nothing like what Marek had known before.

Previously, Berkel’s magic was like raging flames—destructive but unrefined.

On the other hand, now he was like a finely honed blade.

Like a trained predator.

But that didn’t mean his momentum had weakened.

If anything, it had grown even more intense.

It felt as if a chilling doom was aimed straight at the back of his neck.

Count Berkel murmured the realization he had gained over the past month, thanks to Chris.

“Darkness has ruled over destruction, so it’s only natural that destruction is reborn anew.”

“!!”

“Under the dominion of darkness, destruction can become more complete, and thus, a more potent annihilation will take hold.”

Duke Marek clenched his teeth.

“What nonsense is this? Are you mad?”

“Ah, no.”

Count Berkel bared his teeth in a grin.

Had he, after a month of being toyed with by Christian, started to pick up some of his mannerisms?

A similarly irritating tone slipped out.

“I’m saying that someone like you can be crushed without effort.”

“!!”

Duke Marek’s face flushed red.

Humiliated and furious, yet he couldn’t bring himself to strike out with his sword.

He was overwhelmed by the sheer force of Berkel’s presence.

Or rather—

‘I don’t think I can win. This is impossible.’

It hadn’t been like this before.

Though Count Berkel had held a slightly higher position, the gap was narrow enough that Marek could have turned the tables with a well-timed move.

But now, it was on a completely different level.

He felt no confidence whatsoever.

“Are you scared?”

“!!”

Duke Marek clenched his fists tightly and lunged with his sword.

“Haah!!”

His spiritual technique, the ‘Cursed Wave Art of the Wolf Pack,’ unleashed.

A pack of wolves surged toward Count Berkel.

These wolves were formed from black steel, curses, and illusions.

The moment one locked eyes with a wolf, hallucinations would set in; the wolf’s howls carried curses that dulled the senses; and finally, the black steel teeth of the wolves would tear their prey to shreds.

But Count Berkel’s response was unexpected.

As the wolf pack charged, he didn’t flinch or react.

He simply stood still.

“W-what?”

Voices of confusion echoed as the wolves’ violent surge closed in.

Then Count Berkel raised his sword.

And—

Everyone in the hall widened their eyes.

Something unbelievable was about to happen.