Chapter 215

“If I use Andril’s power, maybe I can find some way to catch him off guard.”

Winning was absolutely impossible.

“The problem is, using Andril’s power is basically a gamble.”

He still hadn’t fully mastered Andril.

He hadn’t even fully unleashed the power.

He could only use fragments of it.

So there were limits to its use.

“The backlash will be severe. Since it’s a shortcut, the aftereffects will be enormous.”

But this was the only method with any chance at all.

He had to wait for an opportunity, so he tried to start a conversation.

“Your Excellency, what is the meaning of this? Weren’t you supposed to be hiding far away, scared of the demons?”

“I never ran away. I just happened to be absent.”

“Hah, you’ve got some nerve. Sending Macfield to stop me, then saying that.”

“I sent Macfield only to assess the situation. I hoped a survivor might have escaped from Gehenna’s domain.”

A denial of wrongdoing.

Chris let out a bitter laugh.

“Even now, you refuse to admit any fault just to avoid being caught out. Truly, the Marquis of Langham.”

“Then why have you come? I’m busy, so step aside.”

“That’s not possible.”

The Marquis of Langham pointed to Macfield, who lay dead on the ground.

“I hold you responsible for Macfield’s death.”

“…What did you say?”

“Macfield was a loyal retainer of the main house. No matter that you’re the Archduke, killing such a man deserves proper punishment.”

Chris frowned.

It was a flimsy excuse.

“Kneel down quietly.”

“Marquis, or rather, Langham. In this situation, there’s no need to come up with such ridiculous excuses. No one’s watching. You’re just trying to stop me.”

Chris dropped the formalities and asked what he’d been curious about.

“Since things have come to this, I’ll ask. You planned to use Yurian from the start, didn’t you?”

“…”

“No, let me rephrase. When did you make a pact with the Demon Lord of Cheongryu?”

For the first time, the Marquis of Langham’s eyes shifted.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I know everything. If you hadn’t allied with the Demon Lord of Cheongryu, you wouldn’t have been able to dodge at exactly the right moment like this.”

An astonishing revelation.

The Demon Lord of Cheongryu was aiding Yurian.

Yet he had also allied with Langham, Yurian’s enemy?

“The Demon Lord of Cheongryu used Yurian as well.”

Summon Hell was a powerful spell.

But it alone couldn’t annihilate the entire Dark Maga.

Even without Chris, they would have managed to stop it somehow, though with heavy losses.

So the Demon Lord of Cheongryu had a double alliance with Langham.

While the Dark Maga and Nordians weakened themselves trying to stop Summon Hell, Langham could ascend to power.

“In exchange, he must have extracted the Holy Black from Langham.”

Chris clicked his tongue.

In the end, only Yurian was being used.

“Let me ask one thing. What exactly did you do in the Gray Zone’s elf village?”

This was important.

It might be a clue to stopping Yurian.

“First, surviving Langham is the priority.”

“Did you experiment on the elves to enhance your dark spirit magic?”

For reference, Langham had unusually learned ‘Dark Spirit Magic,’ a power of the Obsidian (Black Demon) Maga, as a secondary skill.

Since elves were naturally gifted in spirit magic, it was likely he conducted human experiments to strengthen dark spirit magic.

But Langham gave an unexpected answer.

“On the surface, yes.”

“What do you mean?”

“That was just an excuse. In truth, I tortured and killed the elves.”

“…Why would you do that?”

“For today’s purpose.”

A chill ran down Chris’s spine.

“You don’t mean you deliberately destroyed the elf village for this?”

“Yes. By the way, this was the Demon Lord of Cheongryu’s plan. Destroy the elf village but leave one survivor intentionally.”

Langham spoke in a detached tone.

“Afterward, the Demon Lord approached that survivor and encouraged a pact with a demon. That survivor is Yurian. What happened next, you already know.”

A horrifying story beyond imagination.

Yurian had been a pawn in their conspiracy from beginning to end.

Both Langham and the Demon Lord were no different from demons themselves.

“Why go that far?”

“If I didn’t, I couldn’t kill my father with my own hands.”

“!!”

Chris looked baffled.

“Why? The Nordian head doesn’t have much time left anyway. Even if you didn’t do this, he wouldn’t live long. So why are you so desperate to kill him yourself?”

Chris had wondered this for a while.

If the goal was simply the Dark Maga, there was no need to rush killing the Nordian.

They could just wait.

When the Nordian’s time ran out, who among the Dark Maga would stop Langham from becoming head?

But Langham, even in his past life, wanted to kill the Nordian himself.

It was baffling.

Then Langham’s reaction surprised him.

His eyes burned with a mineral-like intensity.

“You don’t know. The miserable life I had to endure because of my father.”

“!!”

“My father never acknowledged me. He always found me lacking, and in the end, he took everything from me.”

“So, you want revenge?”

“Not just revenge.”

Langham ground his teeth.

“I will kill my father and prove with my own hands that he was wrong.”

His voice dripped with deep resentment and a chilling coldness.

Langham had lived a life overshadowed and suppressed by the Nordian.

He never met his father’s expectations, and every disappointed glance twisted his heart.

So what Langham wanted wasn’t just the headship of the Dark Maga.

He wanted to make the Nordian regret not recognizing him.

“He’s the one who made me like this.”

But hearing this, Chris suddenly chuckled.

He waved his hand apologetically.

“Sorry for being serious, but I just laughed. It’s too funny.”

“…What?”

“No, it’s hilarious. You’re like some twisted, rebellious teenager going through a phase.”

“!!”

“And honestly, you’re pathetic. You couldn’t inherit the headship because you’re incompetent, and now you’re throwing a tantrum like a spoiled child?”

Chris spat with contempt.

“On top of that, you want recognition but do these horrible things?”

“…”

“No wonder the Nordian head won’t pass the Dark Maga to you. You lack talent and have a broken personality. Even I wouldn’t want to hand over a single penny to a fool like you.”

If Langham had even a shred of the character to bear the Dark Maga, the Nordian might have thought differently.

But Langham’s capacity was never enough to hold the Dark Maga.

“If a guy like that became head, he’d ruin the Dark Maga completely.”

The atmosphere around Langham grew heavy.

“Shut up.”

“Why? Does it hurt to hear the truth? Was I being inconsiderate again? You’re whining so pathetically I don’t feel like being nice.”

“I said shut up.”

A chilling aura surged from Langham.

Chris raised his own energy to resist, forcing a smile.

“Seven-star Superior, huh? Not easy.”

No, it was more than that.

Normally, Chris could never match Langham.

“I have to wait for just one chance. He’s probably riled up by my provocation, so maybe I can find an opening.”

Tension thickened, and just as Langham raised his hand with a murderous glare—

Suddenly, an unexpected voice cut between them.

“Hmm. This is troublesome. I’m the one who should be killing Christian.”

“!!”

Both Chris and Langham flinched.

No one had expected who stood there.

Radiant silver hair.

Feminine appearance.

Yet a grotesque scar slashed across her face.

‘Sherard!!’

Chris inhaled sharply.

“So she really didn’t die after all.”

Previously, Chris had trapped Sherard and forcibly sent her to Gehenna.

But he had felt uneasy afterward.

What if Sherard survived Gehenna?

“There was no other choice at the time, but that horrible monster wouldn’t die so easily.”

And now, of all times, she appeared.

‘Why now?’

Langham frowned, sharing the same question.

“Sherard, what are you doing here?”

“Hmm, isn’t it a bit cold to your son you haven’t seen in a while? After all, I did come back from hell.”

“What do you want?”

Despite appearances, Sherard and Langham were father and son.

But Langham showed no sign of caring that his son, long thought dead, had returned.

Of course, Sherard wasn’t expecting any warmth either.

They were both monsters, no different from demons.

“I came because I have business with Christian.”

Sherard licked her lips, flicking her tongue.

“To kill him.”

Marquess Langham shook his head.

“If that’s your goal, then just get lost. I’m the one who’s going to kill that bastard anyway.”

He reached out toward Christian.

A sinister darkness began to gather.

It was an attack combining dark spirit magic with the power of dark sorcery.

The force was overwhelming, as if he intended to finish it all in one blow.

But once again, something unexpected happened.

Whoosh!

A surge of blood-red energy crashed into Marquess Langham.

It was the blood magic technique Sharad had unleashed.

Langham raised his hand to block the assault.

“What the hell is this?”

“Ah, didn’t I tell you?”

Sharad smiled slyly.

“I’m the one who intends to kill Christian. I won’t let anyone else take that right. Not even you, Father.”

“…”

Langham frowned deeply.

‘Is that obsession of his kicking in again?’

He knew all too well that his son Sharad was a deranged killer.

Especially that the stronger the opponent, the more intense his murderous urge became.

Langham sighed wearily.

“Fine. Then I’ll step back. You kill him. It doesn’t matter who does it in the end.”

But Sharad did something even more baffling.

Fwoosh!

He unleashed an even more intense wave of blood-red energy, attacking Langham again.

“What the hell are you trying to do?”

“Ah, yes, I came to kill Christian, but now that I see him in person, I’ve changed my mind.”

Sharad glanced at Christian and smiled darkly.

“I guess it’s a shame to kill him right now.”

“…”

“Just think about how strong Christian will become. Honestly, it’s chilling to even imagine.”

Sharad’s words were madness.