Chapter 212
“Where the hell has Marquis Langham gone?”

Christian frowned deeply.

Whether he liked it or not, they were supposed to be allies in this situation—but Langham had simply vanished. It was as if he had known this would happen all along.

“No way… could it really be?”

A chilling thought ran down Christian’s spine.

“Could it be that he sensed this would happen?”

It might be an overreach, but it was entirely plausible.

“Langham most likely knew Yulian’s true identity.”

From everything Christian had seen, Langham was meticulous to a fault. Could he have failed to notice that his daughter’s soul had changed? Not just for a day or two, but for over five years?

Langham must have also realized that Yulian was dabbling in forbidden arts—and yet, he let it slide.

“But why?”

The answer came quickly, carried on a voice that rang out sharply.

“Christian, take cover.”

“!!”

“I’ll handle those demons myself.”

It was Nordion.

With a resolute expression, he glared fiercely at the demons.

Christian gritted his teeth.

“Langham used Yulian’s scheme to target the head of the Nordion family.”

In a situation like this, Nordion wouldn’t stand idly by. If he didn’t step in, the Dark Maga would spill an unimaginable amount of blood.

“This must have been the same back in my previous life.”

Christian recalled how, in his past life, Nordion was killed by Marquis Langham.

“The head of the Nordion family weakened himself trying to stop the demons, and Langham, who gained power through forbidden dark arts, killed him.”

In other words, Langham had anticipated Yulian’s treachery and used it as a trap to weaken Nordion.

Yulian, in turn, was being used by her enemy.

“What a despicable bastard.”

Christian scowled.

“What are you waiting for?! You are the hope of our Dark Maga! Take cover at once!”

“I will not.”

“What?”

“I am the Grand Duke. Am I to hide behind others forever?”

“I understand your pride as a demon, but now is not the time for stubbornness. Leave those disgusting demons to me.”

Nordion’s voice grew cold and determined. He was ready to fight.

But Christian shook his head.

“No. I won’t leave this to you, Grandfather.”

“What? There’s no one else who can face those demons but me…”

“Why not? Are the demons here just puppets?”

“!!”

“We, the Dark Maga, will fight. Not just you, but all of us.”

Christian looked around at the demons gathered in the hall.

“What are you waiting for?! Will you just stand by and watch these vile monsters invade our home?”

“!!”

“Everyone, take up your weapons!”

With a booming voice, the demons snapped to attention.

“Waaah!!”

“Long live the Dark Maga!!”

“Let’s crush those demon bastards!!”

Christian’s confident stance inspired courage, breaking the oppressive gloom that had weighed down their spirits.

Yet Nordion still looked grim.

“If we clash with those demons, the casualties among our own will be heavy. It’s better if I go all out.”

If Nordion unleashed his full power, he could probably wipe out most of the demons alone. His strength was formidable—second only to the nine-star demon lords.

But doing so would irreversibly worsen his condition. He was willing to sacrifice himself to preserve the Dark Maga’s strength.

Then Christian said something unexpected.

“Grandfather, sometimes you seem to underestimate the Dark Maga. You’re overprotective.”

“!!”

“Above all, we are not that weak.”

Christian raised his voice and called out to a group.

“Count Kazar! Count Berkel! Sir Merian! Viscount Hanegal! Baron Auer! Viscount Milena!”

These were the ones who had recently received his training.

“You all promised to repay the favor of my teachings, didn’t you?”

Those named nodded. They were grateful for Christian’s guidance and had made similar promises.

“Whatever I ask, you will do it, Grand Duke?”

Count Berkel spoke on behalf of the group.

“If you are truly thankful for what I’ve done, then fight with your lives to protect the Dark Maga. That is the price I ask of you.”

Berkel’s eyes flickered with emotion.

“He’s not just talented. He’s the one who will carry the Dark Maga forward.”

And he wasn’t the only one who thought so. Everyone who heard Christian’s words, all the demons in the hall, were impressed.

Especially when compared to the missing Marquis Langham, Christian’s greatness shone even brighter.

Christian didn’t stop there.

He turned to Langham’s loyalists.

Though they had suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of Christian’s trainees in the recent ranking battle, these demons were still six-star or higher—another core of the Dark Maga.

“I don’t know where your master has gone.”

“!!”

They looked unsettled. They too were thrown off by Langham’s disappearance.

“Langham was probably blinded by his plan to weaken Nordion, acting without regard for consequences.”

Strategically, it wasn’t a bad plan. Even if he faced criticism from the demons, as long as he achieved his goal against Nordion, it was a win for Langham.

But there was one thing Langham hadn’t counted on.

He never imagined what role Christian would play.

“I will never let your disgusting schemes succeed.”

Christian’s resolve hardened.

Langham had no idea what fate awaited him for what he had done today.

Christian planned to use this incident to deliver a political death blow to Langham.

A demon who fled in the face of such an enemy was unforgivable.

“For now, dealing with those demons is the priority.”

Christian looked at Langham’s faction.

“I won’t dwell on your past pathetic behavior.”

“!!”

“But as Grand Duke, I order you to do your best. You are demons of the Dark Maga as well.”

“You are demons of the Dark Maga.”

Those words struck a strange chord in their hearts.

No matter how much they had chased power by following Langham, it was clear now—Christian was a far greater figure than Langham could ever be.

Finally, Christian turned to the mid- and lower-ranked demons who had spoken ill of him under Langham’s orders.

They deserved punishment, but Christian said:

“You too. Fight with your lives. That is your punishment from me. Leave not a single one of those vile monsters alive.”

The demons who had slandered him felt their hearts stir.

Langham, who had only badmouthed them from behind their backs.

Christian, who boldly forgave them for the sake of the family.

The contrast was undeniable.

“If I survive this, I will pledge my loyalty to Grand Duke Christian.”

“Me too.”

Many of Langham’s faction thought the same.

With everyone in the Dark Maga admiring Christian, a fierce cheer erupted.

“Waaah!!”

“Long live Grand Duke Christian!!”

“Long live the Dark Maga!!”

“Let’s kill every last demon bastard!!”

The overwhelming spirit of the demons seemed to push back the dark, malevolent energy that had been suffocating the estate.

Meanwhile, two high-ranking demons floating in the void sneered.

[Interesting.]

[It’s fun to see them struggle a bit.]

Christian’s gaze darkened as he looked at the two.

“Those two are the real problem.”

He could handle the other mid- and lower-ranked demons somehow.

But if those two high-ranking demons—almost on par with the top-tier demons—joined the fight, the damage would be uncontrollable.

“My father just reached seven stars, but he’s still no match for high-ranking demons.”

Still, Christian was confident.

He had a plan.

“I’ll take care of those two.”

Nordion frowned.

“Don’t stop me. If not me, no one can catch those two.”

Christian nodded.

“Understood. But I have one condition.”

“A condition?”

“I will assist you.”

“You’ll help me?”

Nordion looked incredulous.

“No matter how much of a genius you are, you’re nowhere near strong enough to aid me.”

“I’m not talking about lending power.”

Christian shook his head.

“I will bear the backlash of the restrictions your grandfather must endure.”

“!!”

Nordion’s eyes widened.

“What nonsense is this? Don’t you know what kind of forbidden dark arts I’m using?”

Nordion’s power came at the cost of a curse—he couldn’t fully manifest his strength without paying a price.

If he broke the restrictions, he would have to sacrifice an equivalent amount of his life force.

The key was that this wasn’t just physical weakness—it was a ‘price’ paid in life energy.

A dark magic ‘contract’ that couldn’t be offset by simply replenishing vitality.

“I understand perfectly. But it’s still possible. We just need to trick the restrictions.”

“…What? What do you mean by that?”

Nordion was baffled. Tricking the restrictions sounded impossible.

But Christian was serious.

“Look.”

Christian pulled a small object from his pocket—a tiny angel figurine.

“It’s a top-tier treasure from the Uiseon family. It contains artificially crafted life energy.”

He had taken it from Duke Huam after the recent conflict with the Geukdok Maga.

The extremely poisonous Maga was a rival to the Uiseon noble family and had collected many of their treasures.

“We’re going to exploit the weaknesses in the restrictions and offer this statue’s life force in its place.”

“That’s nonsense… How could that even be possible?”

If it were possible, who would willingly sacrifice their life force?

Nordian’s face showed absolute disbelief, but then he suddenly fell silent.

Chris’s gaze was unwavering—completely resolute.

As if to say, “I can do this.”

“Please believe me.”

“…Who on earth are you?”

Nordian shook his head in disbelief.

“Fine. I’ll leave it to you.”

At that moment, two high-ranking demons began to move.

[That old man is the biggest nuisance. How about we split him between us?]

[He doesn’t look easy to handle.]

[He’s just an old man whose time is up anyway. It seems he’s barely clinging to life through some forbidden technique. He probably can’t even use his full strength.]

The high-ranking demons seemed to see right through Nordian’s condition.

The two demons approached Nordian through the air.

“Give me your hand. We need to analyze your grandfather’s life force pattern first, so don’t stop us from examining your body.”

Chris was the first to take Nordian’s hand.

Nordian glanced at Chris’s hand holding his own. Though he had no intention of thinking this way in such a situation, it struck him that among all his grandchildren, Chris was the first to actually hold his hand.