Chapter 214
Chris frowned.
“How dare you. Do you want to die?”
“Bluffing won’t get you anywhere. No matter how great the Grand Duke is, he won’t be able to beat me.”
That wasn’t entirely wrong.
Though he’d been humiliated by Count Kazar in the ranking battle, Marquis Macfield was a formidable warrior ranked at the upper sixth star.
Chris, still only a fifth star, was no match for him.
But Chris’s reaction was unexpected.
Far from showing fear, he lifted his chin and said boldly, “You fool. I don’t know who’s really out of their depth here.”
“…What did you say?”
“If we fight, you’re the one who’ll die.”
Chris didn’t stop there.
“If you kneel now and beg for mercy, I’ll spare your life.”
Macfield stared blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing.
He didn’t take Chris’s threats seriously at all.
“Heh heh, still babbling even in a situation like this. Impressive, really. But do you know something?”
He took a step forward.
“There’s no one here to protect you. Not your great family head, not that unlucky Count Kazar, nor Sir Merian.”
A cruel gleam lit Macfield’s eyes.
“I won’t kill you easily. I’ve hated your arrogant attitude for a long time. I want to see how that smug face of yours twists in pain, how you beg for your life.”
Dark energy began to rise from Macfield’s body.
A powerful aura befitting an upper sixth star.
It far surpassed the strength of Count Sesia, whom Chris had fought before.
Back then, Chris had been able to gain the upper hand by using the power of the righteous Yiseon clan, his natural counter.
But with Macfield, that advantage was gone.
Yet Chris’s reaction remained baffling.
“I’ll warn you one last time. Kneel now and beg for mercy, and I’ll spare your life.”
“Ha ha ha! Still full of bluster. Looks like you’re scared after all. I’m eager to see how you beg for your life with that proud face of yours.”
Macfield raised his hand.
For reference, ordinary dark mages who can’t obtain the ‘Seongheuk’ (Holy Black) attribute usually master black (dark) energy.
They also learn a secondary magic attribute.
Macfield, like Count Berkel, had mastered destructive red magic.
Black and red energies swirled together, flickering menacingly.
That energy was about to become a blade aimed at Chris.
Despite the life-or-death danger, Chris showed no sign of fear.
Still confident, still arrogant.
Macfield’s face twisted in confusion at such an excessive display—too much to be mere bluffing.
“Do you know? I’ve never once lied.”
“…What?”
“So when I say I can kill you, that’s no lie.”
Chris raised a single finger.
“One second. One strike is all it takes to bring you to your knees like a dog.”
Macfield’s face flushed red.
“Enough with the annoying bluster! Shut up!!”
Suddenly, a dark spiritual energy flared.
“Evil Cloud Black Flame.”
A sinister mist crept toward Chris.
The moment it enveloped him, it would ignite in dark flames.
But the instant Macfield activated his spiritual energy, Chris calculated the mist’s range and moved like lightning, slipping out of its reach.
“Who falls for such slow attacks?”
“You bastard…!”
“Try using your brain for once. Or maybe you’re too stupid for that.”
This scene repeated several times.
Macfield launched powerful attacks, but Chris, with near precognition, dodged each one before it landed.
His taunts only fueled Macfield’s fury.
Then, suddenly, Macfield’s expression shifted to a cold smile.
“You’re caught.”
“!!”
A whirlwind erupted around Chris.
This time, Macfield had anticipated Chris’s movements and activated his spiritual energy in advance.
“Trapped in the Wind’s Swift Blade, it’s over. Scream in agony as your body is torn apart!”
A storm of razor-sharp wind blades infused with black steel energy.
Once trapped, escape was impossible.
Chris would be mercilessly shredded by the relentless blades.
The only way out was to break the spiritual energy with sheer strength—but as a fifth star, Chris lacked that power.
Moreover, Macfield had recently established the framework of a microcosm.
Though it was only a framework, and he’d been humiliated by the seventh star Count Kazar, the power of one who had formed a microcosm was incomparable to those who hadn’t.
There was no way Chris could endure.
Yet Chris said something incomprehensible.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“…What?”
“Try a little harder. You’re disappointing me. At this rate, you’re the one who’s going to die.”
A vein bulged on Macfield’s forehead.
“Shut up!!”
The wind blades intensified, fueled by Macfield’s rage at Chris’s provocation.
Then, suddenly, something strange happened.
Snap.
The raging storm abruptly stopped.
“Huh?”
Macfield looked stunned.
“Why?”
He tried to activate his spiritual energy again.
But it was useless.
He felt his power falter, breaking apart strand by strand.
Then, something even more shocking.
“Ugh.”
He coughed up blood—blackened, dead blood.
“W-what…?”
Crack.
A sound like something splitting echoed in his ears.
Unbelievably, it came from his core.
His core was cracking.
“W-why?”
“You fool.”
Chris smirked.
“You didn’t even realize your core was cracked and still tried to show off your strength.”
Macfield’s eyes widened as if they might burst.
“W-what did you say?”
“When you got beaten by your father in the ranking battle, your core cracked.”
Chris shook his head silently.
‘I can’t believe he went that far. Looks like your father had a lot of grudges against you.’
Count Kazar had taken his revenge on Macfield during the ranking battle, beating him to a pulp.
But it wasn’t just surface wounds.
He had secretly inflicted damage on Macfield’s core without anyone noticing.
‘A truly vicious injury.’
At first glance, it looked like a minor scratch. Even Macfield hadn’t noticed.
But if he pushed himself too hard, the core’s vital parts would be strained.
A fatal wound for a high-ranking mage.
‘Maybe he did it deliberately for my sake. After all, Macfield is the enemy I have to face.’
But Macfield shook his head fiercely, refusing to accept it.
“There’s no way a core injury like this could cause this…!”
“Normally, yes. But what if someone shakes your magic and digs into that wound?”
“…What?”
Chris grinned.
“I learned something useful earlier.”
He snapped his fingers.
Then, something unbelievable happened.
The magic within Macfield’s core trembled.
“Ugh?!”
Macfield coughed up blood again!
“The Grand Duke’s Dark Dominion. After watching closely, I think I can imitate it.”
“!!”
“It’s the perfect technique to crush you right now.”
Normally, even Chris couldn’t manipulate the magic within another’s core.
But after seeing Nordian’s Dark Dominion annihilate low-level demons with overwhelming control, he had an idea.
‘If Nordian can do it, maybe I can too.’
Nordian’s dark magic purity was less than 80%.
Chris’s was 100%.
If Nordian could do it, so could he.
That was his reasoning.
‘Of course, I can’t match the Grand Duke’s power yet.’
Nordian’s strength came not just from pure dark magic, but from his mastery of the domain of control.
Chris’s control was still weak.
‘But if I seize the right moment, I can at least aggravate a wounded core.’
Chris deliberately provoked Macfield into unleashing a powerful spiritual energy attack.
To strain that injured core.
Then, he precisely exerted his control, worsening the damage.
‘His flawed microcosm helped me too.’
As seen with Count Berkel, a faulty microcosm was worse than none.
Macfield’s microcosm was similar.
Perhaps driven by rivalry with Chris, Marquis Langham had pushed him too hard, resulting in an unstable microcosm.
It increased his power but destabilized his magic, making him vulnerable.
Macfield shouted in disbelief.
“Nonsense…! You say you copied the Grand Duke’s domain? That’s impossible!!”
“I can.”
Macfield gritted his teeth.
“Damn…!!”
He tried to fight back, but Chris’s control shook his core again.
The first strike was the hardest to land, but once the wound was exploited, it was over.
Every time Macfield tried to use his magic, his core twisted, and he couldn’t summon any strength.
Terror filled Macfield’s eyes.
“W-wait, Grand Duke—”
“Too late.”
Flash.
A sword gleamed, and blood splattered.
Chris glanced briefly at the collapsed Macfield, then suddenly vomited blood.
“Ugh.”
‘This ability is still beyond me.’ He had only mimicked the power of the domain’s authority using his dark mage skills, and the strain was overwhelming.
He knew he couldn’t use it lightly, except in truly exceptional circumstances.
‘I wasted too much time. I have to stop Yurian, and fast.’
Inside the encroaching darkness, the dark mage’s minions were locked in a fierce battle.
He had to resolve this as quickly as possible.
Chris was hurrying forward when he suddenly came to a halt.
There was no choice.
A force far more overwhelming than what he’d faced with Macfield was holding him back.
“Damn it.”
Recognizing the source of the pressure, Chris let out a bitter laugh.
“Are you really going this far?”
Turning his head, he saw a familiar face.
Cold, single-lensed glasses.
An emotionless, mechanical gaze.
It was Marquis Langham.
“…”
A heavy silence fell.
No matter who Chris was, in this situation, he couldn’t help but feel the weight of danger pressing down on him.
Langham himself had stepped in.
‘Get a grip. Find a way.’
Swallowing hard, Christian steadied his breath and studied Marquis Langham with sharp, focused eyes.
Unlike his usual calm and composed demeanor, Langham now radiated a deadly intensity.
There was no opening.
Langham’s known rank was Upper 7th Star.
But through various unsavory dark arts, it was clear he wielded power equivalent to an 8th Star.