Chapter 218
[…I cannot reveal anything about the contract with the Other through my own mouth, as the Golden Altar of Gehenna forbids it.]
An ambiguous answer—neither confirmation nor denial.
But Chris immediately sensed that his suspicion was true.
‘No way.’
His face fell in disbelief.
As explained before, Gehenna is divided into seven layers.
The seventh layer is the exile realm where those who have lost their original rank fall.
Layers five and six are home to ordinary noble demons.
Layers three and four are the domain of demons of great rank.
Especially those in the third layer, known as the Archdemons, who embody the Seven Deadly Sins.
Considering that demons from the first and second layers govern the fundamental laws of the world, these Archdemons are effectively the highest-ranking demons in existence.
[No matter how impressive you are, this is beyond your reach.]
Chris had no reply.
If the presence behind this truly was a third-layer demon, as a mortal, there was nothing he could do.
‘What should I do?’
Yet, he couldn’t back down.
If he didn’t stop Yulian here, the Dark Mage would spill an uncountable amount of blood.
‘I have to find a way.’
But no matter who he was, facing a third-layer rank was impossible.
‘Damn it. How could Yulian have made a contract with a third-layer rank demon?’
Ordinary humans usually contract with demons from the fifth or sixth layers—common noble demons.
Contracts with fourth-layer demons are rare, but with a third-layer rank? Impossible.
‘No matter how deep Yulian’s grudge is, there’s no way a third-layer rank demon would take interest.’
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Chris’s mind.
The story from Marquis Langham.
—The Azure Lord of the Blue Stream arranged the contract with the demon.
‘The Azure Lord must have intervened! That’s how Yulian could make a pact with such a high-ranking demon.’
At that moment, Mephina’s voice rang out sharply, warning again.
[Don’t entertain foolish thoughts. If you step inside, you will become neither dead nor alive, doomed to be a plaything for an eternal, supreme being.]
A chilling warning.
But Chris surprised her.
He took a step toward the spire.
[You?]
Mephina raised her voice.
[Are you seriously going to act recklessly? Even you!]
“This isn’t reckless.”
Chris stepped forward again.
One foot crossed the threshold of the spire’s door.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura surged at him.
Instinctively, he knew.
He should stop here.
If he went inside, he would face a dreadful ruin.
But Chris didn’t stop.
‘This isn’t recklessness.’
Yes.
There was one way.
One only Chris could attempt.
‘It’s possible.’
He fully stepped inside the spire, and his vision shifted.
A dark space filled with grotesque demonic flowers.
At the top of a straight staircase stood Yulian.
Pierced through the chest by a massive nail, hanging from the branches of a soul-devouring demon flower.
A sacrificial offering to the demon.
Chris bit his lip tightly.
‘So he really did offer himself as a sacrifice.’
Summon Hell is a nine-star forbidden spell.
Even if the Azure Lord of the Blue Stream orchestrated the spell’s manifestation, it required a price—Yulian had sacrificed his own soul.
‘Is he still alive?’
It seemed so.
A faint groan escaped him.
But barely clinging to life.
A huge nail pierced his heart.
Still, he was breathing because—
‘He’s cursed with immortality, unable to die. Meant to suffer ever greater pain.’
Demons don’t easily take the lives of their sacrifices.
They prefer to trap them in a state neither dead nor alive, inflicting endless torment.
‘I have to save Yulian.’
Yulian was the spell’s ‘offering.’
If the offering was freed, Summon Hell would collapse.
‘The problem is, there’s no way a third-layer demon would just watch quietly.’
Sure enough, the demon flowers began creeping toward him.
Beautiful on the outside, but monstrous flowers that lure humans to devour their souls.
“Get lost!!”
With a flash, Chris swung his sword, cutting down the demonic growths.
Suddenly, a voice spoke.
[Hey now, those are my precious children. Could you be a little gentler?]
“!!”
Turning his head, Chris saw a figure emerge.
A being wearing a faceless mask.
The mask was pitch black, holding a deep, unfathomable abyss within.
Just looking at it made Chris’s soul feel like it was plunging into the void, and he hastily raised mental barriers.
‘Could it be…?’
The figure nodded as if confirming.
[Yes, that’s right. I am the master of this domain.]
A third-layer demon!
Chris swallowed hard.
‘Luckily, it’s not the original body. There’s no way a third-layer demon would descend to the surface directly.’
It appeared to be an avatar, a manifested form.
Of course, even an avatar was far beyond any mortal’s power.
[The reason I wear this mask is out of consideration for you.]
The demon spoke in an unexpectedly gentle voice.
[If I revealed even a fraction of my true rank, your immature soul would shatter instantly. So I hide my presence behind this mask.]
Chris frowned.
A demon showing consideration?
“Why would you do that?”
[Because, naturally, I have ‘interest’ in you.]
“…Interest?”
Chris looked puzzled.
No matter how gifted he was, he was still a fragile mortal.
There was no way a supreme third-layer demon would take an interest.
“What do you mean?”
[Well, I’d like to tell you, but it’s not the right time. You’re being watched—not just by us. Once you earn your ‘qualification,’ you’ll understand everything.]
Nonsense.
Chris couldn’t make sense of it.
Then his mind suddenly clouded, as if shrouded in fog.
‘…What did I just hear?’
He blinked.
He felt like he’d heard something important, but couldn’t recall a thing.
…Did he even hear it?
An unnatural gap in his memory.
But there was no time to dwell.
The demon spoke again, chilling words.
[By the way, you came prepared, right? Now that you’ve stepped inside, you must know I can toy with your soul as I please, trapping you in eternal torment.]
“……”
[Honestly, I’m quite tempted. Forgetting all complications, I want to make your soul my plaything. It’s utterly captivating. Truly a being full of distant potential. Seeing you in person makes me unbearably greedy.]
The demon’s mask twisted into a grotesque smile.
[This place is entirely my domain. If I take your soul, who in the Dark Heavens could stop me?]
The air shifted.
An overwhelming pressure began crushing his soul.
Even Chris’s ironclad mental fortitude couldn’t withstand it.
A sense of imminent soul collapse.
But Chris gritted his teeth and said unexpectedly,
“…No, it won’t be that easy.”
“Hmm?”
“I didn’t come here without a plan.”
He drew the holy sword Ernhilt from his pocket dimension.
The sacred blade Olivia had given him.
Not stopping there, he also pulled out his old broken holy sword, Grunade.
And the Banner of the Constellation.
Then Chris summoned his power.
Not magic, but the radiant mana of light.
“Descend, Blessing of the Constellation!!”
The holy relics responded to the radiant mana, glowing brightly.
‘Holy relics are treasures imbued with the power of the Constellation. If certain conditions are met, they can invoke the Constellation’s blessing.’
The first condition: radiant mana, the symbol of a hero.
The second: a just cause that aligns with the world’s natural order.
‘Facing a demon descended to the surface—this cause is more than enough.’
A sublime blessing of the stars enveloped Chris’s body.
The oppressive aura pressing on him was pushed back by the Constellation’s blessing.
‘Even a third-layer rank, this is only an avatar descended here. So this blessing should have some effect.’
If it were the original third-layer demon, a mere gesture would shatter this blessing.
But this demon had only partially descended in avatar form, so it couldn’t break the blessing outright.
‘Of course, this blessing alone won’t stop the demon.’
It would only buy him some time.
The demon sneered.
[You don’t really think such a tiny blessing can protect you, do you?]
With a lazy wave of its hand—
Crack!!
“Ugh!!”
The blessing trembled violently, like an earthquake.
It didn’t collapse, but it wouldn’t hold for long.
At best, a few minutes.
[Foolish. To think you could stand against me relying on such a weak blessing.]
“No, it’s enough.”
“Hmm?”
“A few minutes is more than enough time to drive you off the surface.”
“What?”
Chris lunged toward Yulian.
Crack!!
The demon’s power struck midair, shaking the blessing again, threatening to collapse it.
Cracks formed in Gaho’s armor, and Chris’s insides churned violently, but he gritted his teeth and held firm.
Finally standing before Yulian, Chris uttered words that made no sense.
“Checkmate.”
[You… couldn’t be?]
The demon, sensing Chris’s true intent, let out a shocked voice.
“Yeah. The reason you were able to descend here was because of this very sacrifice.”
Chris curled his lips into a smirk.
“So, if I claim the soul of this sacrifice as my own, you won’t be able to remain on this earth any longer.”
[!!]
It was an absurd idea.
How could he possibly steal a soul already offered to a demon?
Unless the contract with the demon was forcibly nullified, it was impossible.
But—
‘It’s possible.’
There was a way.
Only Chris could pull it off.
He spoke to Yulian.
“Hey, you fool of a sister.”
No response.
No reaction.
Still, he pressed on.
“Open your eyes. You know you’ve been used from start to finish, right? What a dumb idiot.”
At last, Yulian’s eyes fluttered open, blurry and lifeless.
Eyes devoid of any hope, filled only with despair.
It was only natural.
She had lived for revenge, but in truth, she’d only been used.
“Just… leave me alone… I want to let it all go now…”
Her voice was hollow, drained of life.
But Chris didn’t stop.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“!!”
“You haven’t accomplished a thing. And you’re already ready to give up?”
A flash of anger surged in Yulian’s eyes.
But it was faint.
It quickly faded away.
‘She’s done for.’
Her spirit was completely broken by despair.
Chris clicked his tongue.
‘Sorry, but this calls for a drastic remedy.’
There was no time to be considerate of Yulian now.