Chapter 22
Only Chris could subdue the Holy Sword.
That was the truth.
“Not even the Demon King could do it. Because of the Holy Sword’s inherent vulnerability,” they said.
Subdue.
But that wasn’t quite right.
The reason Chris could wield the Holy Sword—or more precisely, why he could hold it without any adverse effects—was because he exploited a loophole in the sword’s rejection of demonic energy.
In other words, a trick.
“Far from truly subduing it, I’m just handling it carefully, tiptoeing around its sensitivities.”
Still, it didn’t really matter.
Whether it was true subjugation or a clever workaround, the important thing was that the Holy Sword was in his hands.
“Impressive. To think you could subdue the Holy Sword. But did you really subdue it?” Melin asked, standing in the training hall.
“Not completely. Maybe halfway… or so,” Chris replied confidently, though in truth he was barely managing it, constantly cautious.
“If you respect me that much, you might as well just pledge your loyalty,” he added with a smirk.
Melin smiled.
“You’re quite entertaining, young master. This is fun.”
With that, she suddenly lunged forward.
Fast.
Far faster than when she had used her one-star demonic energy before.
“There’s no catching up to that speed,” Chris admitted.
The gap in skill—or more precisely, in sheer physical class—was too great.
Her physical abilities and demonic energy were on a completely different level.
But it didn’t matter.
Why had he gone through all the trouble to retrieve the Holy Sword?
“Upward slash! Downward cut!”
He couldn’t match her speed, but he could predict her moves.
And if you can predict, you can react—even at a slower pace.
Even if reacting meant being crushed by overwhelming force, Chris held the Holy Sword.
A weapon that was the natural enemy of demonic energy.
Clang!
Melin’s sword came down, clashing against the broken Holy Sword.
The demonic energy enveloping Melin’s blade was neutralized by the sword’s counteracting effect—like fire meeting water, both evaporating.
Only then did Melin realize why Chris had said what he did earlier.
“A superior weapon can reduce the gap in strength.”
Chris had brought the Holy Sword as a countermeasure against her demonic energy!
No matter how skilled he was, if she pressed him with strong demonic energy, he had no chance.
“So if I can just block your demonic energy, I can take you on?” Melin scoffed.
Demonic energy was just one of her many powers.
The true strength of a demon who specialized in martial arts was their extreme physical training.
Melin pressed the attack in earnest.
Her powerful sword strikes rained down on Chris.
Clang! Clang!
Chris was pushed back.
It was obvious he was outmatched.
He looked like he might fall to his knees any moment, but as time passed, Melin’s expression grew more complex.
“Is he really blocking all my attacks? Every single one?”
Though clearly outclassed, he hadn’t allowed a single effective hit.
Melin soon understood why.
“He’s reading my attacks. In advance.”
In advance.
That was the key.
Before she even moved, Chris was already reacting—as if he could glimpse the future and see exactly how she would strike.
At first, she thought it was a coincidence.
But it wasn’t.
If it were, it wouldn’t happen repeatedly like this.
“How is he doing it?”
Melin’s face twisted in confusion.
Of course, predicting an opponent’s moves wasn’t impossible.
The more advanced your understanding of martial arts, the easier it was to read your opponent’s actions.
Melin herself could often see the next move of less skilled opponents.
But Chris wasn’t like that.
His method of prediction was completely different.
“I have pretty sharp observational skills,” he thought.
There were commonalities in swordsmanship.
For example, certain stances were unavoidable before executing a move.
To perform a downward slash, you had to raise your hand first.
And before that, you had to move your shoulder and upper arm muscles.
This was true for both masters and novices.
Chris’s extensive knowledge and keen eye allowed him to catch these subtle movements and anticipate the next strike.
Meanwhile, those watching the duel remained silent, stunned.
“…So, sister, was what I said correct?”
“……”
“My son is truly a genius.”
“…Is that supposed to be comforting?”
“Pardon?”
Count Kazar frowned.
Merian had never liked Christian, mostly because of his reckless behavior.
But there was no denying his talent.
Who else could block a four-star demon’s sword with just one-star demonic energy?
No one among the main family’s heirs could do that.
“At this rate, he might even surpass you when you were younger…”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you fool!”
“What did you say?”
“Can’t you see, Christian? Look at how he’s manipulating his demonic energy!”
Merian raised her voice, and Count Kazar’s eyes widened.
Only then did he notice.
Christian’s demonic energy moved strangely.
Its flow was unnatural, and the core’s energy fluctuated oddly.
“Why…?”
Count Kazar frowned in confusion.
He knew his son’s demonic energy control was excellent for a one-star.
During training, it had always been stable, without any tremors.
“Could there be something wrong with Christian’s core?”
But that didn’t seem to be the case.
Count Kazar realized Chris was deliberately manipulating his demonic energy in that strange way.
But why?
Wasn’t that like performing acrobatics with demonic energy in battle?
“I don’t understand why he’s doing that.”
“…You don’t? Of course you don’t.”
“Sister?”
“He’s doing it to avoid the Holy Sword’s rejection reaction!”
“!!”
Merian fell silent.
‘No way… Is there really someone capable of that?’
She was the daughter of Duke Nordian, the Demon Lord.
Among her siblings, she was the most favored by Nordian.
She had been there when the Lord of the Demon Army tried to subdue Grunade.
I won’t do it.
Even the Lord won’t do it?
No, it’s not that he can’t. He just won’t. It’s dirty and dishonorable.
The Lord grumbled, staring at the broken Holy Sword.
It’s possible. If you have a near-mad sense for controlling demonic energy.
Father’s control is already at its peak, isn’t it?
It’s not just about reaching a high level. It’s an innate sense that lets you manipulate demonic energy as naturally as breathing. On top of that, you’d need two brains to pull it off.
??
The Lord explained patiently.
What is demonic energy?
It’s vital energy transformed into dark energy. Mana is vital energy transformed into light energy.
Then what exactly are darkness and light?
……
Merian couldn’t answer easily.
She knew, yet didn’t know—darkness and light were complex concepts.
Even a high-ranking demon like you can’t answer that easily. So how would the Holy Sword distinguish between darkness and radiance? It’s just an inanimate object.
……
It’s about its nature. Demonic energy has unique properties different from mana. The Holy Sword uses various magical methods to detect those properties. Usually, it compares wavelengths, since demonic energy and mana have fundamentally different wavelengths.
The Lord flicked Grunade with his finger.
Surprisingly, despite contact, the Holy Sword didn’t react.
But this one is broken, so some of the wavelength detection parts are missing.
So?
If you operate demonic energy at wavelengths the sword can’t detect, you can deceive it. Probably why the fallen hero could wield it—their wavelengths matched.
The Lord flicked the sword again playfully.
It still didn’t react.
Then couldn’t Father do it too? Twisting the wavelength of demonic energy is no problem for him.
In actual combat?
……
Merian had no answer.
The Lord flicked the sword harder, making it tremble as if in pain.
Maybe for a moment. But as you know, demonic energy’s wavelength constantly changes with every movement. So you’d have to endlessly vary it into wavelengths the sword can’t detect.
…Impossible.
Exactly. If someone could do that, they’d be born with the innate sense to manipulate demonic energy as naturally as breathing.
The Lord continued.
He added one last thing.
Such a person didn’t exist in this world.
Merian agreed.
Changing the wavelength of demonic energy was a matter of innate sense.
You had to be born with the ability to move demonic energy as naturally as breathing.
But even those people couldn’t wield the Holy Sword.
Because they had to do this acrobatic manipulation while fighting an opponent.
As the Lord said, unless you had two brains—one for controlling demonic energy, one for combat—it was impossible.
Yet, that impossible thing was happening right before their eyes.
“They’re not even just fighting normally. To maneuver Magi like some kind of acrobatics, all while predicting Merlin’s moves—that’s insane.”
Even one of those things alone was shocking, but to be doing several unbelievable feats at once was beyond belief.
“…Impressive.”
Unable to break through Chris’s defenses, Merlin took a small step back and began weaving dark magic.