Chapter 213
‘Not a bad feeling at all.’

Nordian began to draw up his energy.

Fwoooosh!

Darkness started to bloom from his body.

Rumble.

Even though he was only gathering energy, the air around him responded, vibrating as if the heavens themselves were trembling.

But then, trouble struck.

Nordian’s complexion suddenly turned pale.

It seemed the backlash from the contract’s restriction was beginning to take effect.

‘My turn.’

Christ closed his eyes and sensed Nordian’s dark energy.

More precisely, he felt a foreign force piercing into that energy.

‘This is the coercive power of the contract the head of the Nordian family made.’

It was trying to claim his life force as payment.

‘I can’t just let that happen.’

Christ began to observe Nordian’s body, analyzing the ‘form’ of his life force.

Life force—what exactly was the vital energy that life itself held?

Unlike clearly tangible energies like mana or dark energy, it was an extremely abstract, conceptual notion.

Yet, having mastered the Yi-Seon Qi technique, Christ could distinctly perceive the shape of another’s life force.

He etched into his mind every characteristic, form, and pattern of Nordian’s life force.

‘I have to replicate it exactly.’

His consciousness shifted toward the angel statue.

This statue was called the ‘Trumpet of Life.’

A treasure that contained artificial life force, crafted to revive fading lives.

A rare and precious artifact even among the Yi-Seon clan’s heirlooms.

‘The key is that this artificial life force has no fixed form.’

Christ brought the angel statue close to Nordian’s body.

The artificial life force within the statue began to respond to Nordian’s life force, naturally transforming.

Like clear water absorbing ink and taking on its color, the intangible artificial life force started to resemble Nordian’s life force.

But this alone wasn’t enough.

‘It has to be identical, without the slightest error.’

Only then could they fool the contract’s restriction.

Christ focused his mind on the statue.

He began to directly manipulate the changes in the artificial life force.

Not just to make it similar, but to make it completely identical to Nordian’s life force.

Like a perfect replica.

It was an impossible feat.

As mentioned, life force was an abstract, conceptual energy.

Each individual’s life force had a wildly different form.

It was like recreating a pattern branching into thousands upon thousands of strands with zero margin for error.

‘I can do this.’

With superhuman concentration, Christ succeeded in transforming the statue’s life force to be exactly the same as Nordian’s, without a single flaw.

The next step was relatively simple.

He deceived the coercive power of the contract into mistaking the statue’s life force for Nordian’s own.

Of course, this was only possible because Christ’s mastery of dark magic transcended ordinary limits, combining profound knowledge with innate talent.

As a result, the contract took the statue’s life force as payment, and Nordian’s complexion brightened.

“You…?”

Nordian’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He really had done it.

“You knew he was a genius all along, didn’t you?”

Christian grinned.

“Of course. But this method has its limits, so don’t overdo it.”

The life force within the statue was limited—just enough to pay the price.

If pushed too hard, there would be additional backlash.

‘It’s a one-time trick. And treasures containing such pure artificial life force are rare even in the Yi-Seon clan.’

Nordian scoffed at Christ’s concern.

“This is more than enough to deal with those scum.”

He stretched out his hand.

“Watch closely. This is the true power of our dark magic.”

Vwoooom.

Darkness bloomed again from Nordian’s body.

Like flames, the darkness spread, expanding rapidly until it surged beside Hwaak, engulfing the surroundings.

This was Nordian’s domain: the ‘Dark Dominion.’

‘At an extreme level.’

Christ swallowed hard.

As mastery deepened, the domain’s range expanded, and Nordian’s covered the entire area.

The gray ash that had blanketed the area vanished without a trace, replaced by Nordian’s all-encompassing darkness.

[What kind of power is this?]

[Attack!!]

Two high-ranking demons panicked and gestured, prompting nearby lesser demons to charge at Nordian.

“Master!!”

“Be careful!!”

The dark magic demons shouted in alarm, but Nordian didn’t budge.

“How dare these disgusting vermin act without knowing their place.”

Clenching his fist tightly toward the charging demons, he declared,

“Before the great darkness, perish, you wretched things!”

A massive pressure began to crush the demons.

He had amplified the ‘domination’ aspect of his dark energy to the power of an 8-star ability.

Dozens of demons screamed as they turned to ash one by one, vanishing.

An unbelievable sight.

[How can a human wield such power?]

[Is that old man some kind of Demon Lord?]

The two high-ranking demons hesitated and stepped back, but it was too late.

Nordian’s domain engulfed them.

Desperately, they drew energy to defend themselves.

A circular gray dome of foul energy surrounded them.

But Nordian’s miracle didn’t end there.

“It’s useless, you vermin.”

With a gesture, a sword flew toward them.

He slashed it downward, releasing a beam of black steel energy.

‘That black steel energy?’

Christ’s eyes widened.

It looked like an ordinary beam, but it wasn’t.

It contained countless types of demonic energy—red, blood, yellow, blue, gray, purple, and more.

It was a black steel energy embodying the nature of dark magic that ruled all darkness.

A level of mastery he had briefly glimpsed when teaching Christ before.

‘That’s black steel energy, but with power beyond a “miracle.”’

Nordian’s ‘Dark Dominion’ domain enhanced the effect.

Domains typically alter the battlefield’s properties to favor the user, amplifying their power.

The Dark Dominion maximized the dominion of dark magic.

The power of Nordian’s black steel energy, which ruled all darkness, was infinitely amplified.

The beam shattered the defensive dome protecting the two high-ranking demons and sliced them in half.

[Unbelievable…]

[How can a human do this?]

Though the two demons, split in two, still spoke, their time was short.

“I don’t want to hear you. Die now.”

With Nordian’s command, their bodies twisted as if crushed in a press.

They struggled to resist but ultimately couldn’t withstand it and vanished.

“Waaah!!!”

“Long live the Master!!”

The dark magic demons cheered.

It was a terrifying power, hard to believe even with their own eyes.

‘This is the true power of the Dark Lord Nordian.’

No wonder other dark magic clans tread carefully around him.

“Well done. Don’t push yourself any further.”

“I can’t…”

“Look. Everyone is fighting well.”

Nordian closed his mouth firmly.

It was true.

The dark magic demons were standing their ground against the demons without retreat.

‘It’s all thanks to this kid.’

Nordian surveyed the battlefield and admired Christian once more.

Count Kazaar, Count Berkel, and others who had grown significantly under Christian’s guidance were leading the charge.

Without Christian’s teachings, they wouldn’t have performed so well.

Moreover, Christian’s earlier words embracing the faction of Marquis Langham had united everyone, regardless of background, into a single force.

‘I’ve received great help too. Without this kid, I’d have suffered serious backlash.’

From start to finish, it was all thanks to Christian.

“As your lord, I thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. The dark magic clan is mine as well, isn’t it?”

Nordian chuckled wryly.

Not wrong.

Christian was the next master of the dark magic clan.

‘I’m curious to see what kind of dark magic clan this kid will lead.’

Nordian shook his head.

There was no time for idle thoughts.

“But the situation isn’t entirely good. Look over there.”

From the rift to Gehenna, more demons were appearing one by one.

At this rate, it was like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

But Christian shook his head.

“It’s fine. We just need to close that rift.”

“Close the rift? How?”

“Simple. We just need to subdue the one who caused this.”

“So this didn’t happen naturally?”

Nordian still hadn’t grasped the full story.

“No. Such a phenomenon can’t just happen on its own. If we catch the culprit, the rift will close.”

Nordian looked skeptical.

“You mean you know where the sorcerer is and can subdue them?”

“I have a way to find out.”

“!!”

Christian recalled the tingling signal he’d received.

It was the signal from the ‘mark’ he had inscribed on Yurian.

‘I embedded an effect that sends a signal when Yurian uses demonic power.’

By tracing this signal backward, they could pinpoint Yurian’s location.

“Please create a gap in the barrier that Grandfather sealed with his last bit of strength. I’ll go out and handle this.”

Nordian hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Very well. But I have one condition.”

“What is it?”

Nordian looked Christian squarely in the eye, his tone firm and earnest.

“You must come back unharmed. Do you understand?”

Hearing the worry in his voice, Christian smiled slightly.

“Don’t worry. You know who I am, don’t you? I’ll take care of this quickly and be back soon.”

With a swing of his sword, Nordian sliced through the barrier, creating an opening.

Christian slipped through the gap in a hurry, and the blue sky came into view.

He had escaped the domain of corruption.

‘Yulian’s location isn’t at the main estate, but in the town area near Baron’s Castle.’

He was about to move quickly when he suddenly stopped.

An unexpected obstacle stood in his way.

“…Where do you think you’re going, Your Highness?”

A stern expression.

Eyes gleaming with a dangerous intensity.

It was Maxfield, a six-star superior demon and the most trusted retainer of Marquis Langham.

Maxfield blocked Christian’s path.

*    *    *

‘What is he doing here?’

Thinking back, Maxfield had been badly beaten by Count Kazar in the ranking battle and had retreated to the main estate for treatment.

That was why he hadn’t been caught in the corruption.

“What’s going on?”

“What do you think?”

Maxfield’s lips curled into a dark smile.

“By order of Marquis Langham, I was waiting here just in case Your Highness appeared. I never thought you’d actually escape that corrupted space.”

“……”

“Heh heh. Well, this works out nicely. I never imagined I’d get a chance like this. I’ve been wanting to personally crush that arrogant face of yours, Your Highness.”