Chapter 220
[What did you say?]

“Ah, yes, I did steal the soul contract His Highness made without any proper justification. But do you know this?”

Chris continued, his voice dripping with mockery.

“There’s a law in Gehenna that states: ‘A higher-ranked being may seize the soul contract made by a lower-ranked being.’ It’s a loophole that allows a superior demon to take possession of a soul owned by an inferior demon at will.”

[…What?]

“In other words…”

A dark crescent moon symbol appeared on Chris’s temple.

The mark of a half-demon.

“I’m saying that, in terms of soul rank, I am a higher being than His Highness. A lowly Demon King of Cheongryu, who is nine-starred but hasn’t even reached the half-demon rank.”

[!!]

Indeed.

To everyone’s shock, Chris’s soul rank surpassed that of the Demon King of Cheongryu.

Though the Demon King of Cheongryu was nine-starred, he had not attained the half-demon level.

Chris turned his gaze toward the presence of the Demon King of Cheongryu.

His look was arrogant, as if staring down an inferior being.

“So, I suggest you leave now.”

With a gesture, Chris summoned the Spear of Causality, but it flew in the opposite direction—toward the Demon King of Cheongryu.

[!!]

Because Chris had misused the laws of causality, he was now bound by their restrictions in return.

‘It’s not a fatal wound, but it will hurt. Even a Demon King can’t avoid the backlash of tampering with causality.’

In a twist of fate, Chris fell victim to his own scheme.

As the presence of the Demon King of Cheongryu faded, Chris refocused on the contract.

A brilliant black crescent moon symbol fully manifested on the nape of Yulian’s neck—no, on Rear’s neck—before sinking back inside.

It was the mark that signified her soul was now bound to Chris.

At the same time, the surrounding world began to tremble.

[You bastard…!!]

A furious voice erupted from a demon of the Third Realm whose contract had been abruptly nullified.

A violent storm of Gehenna’s instruments surged forth.

Having lost the causality that existed in the Middle Realm, the demon couldn’t wield power directly, so it flooded the area with Gehenna’s instruments, attempting to kill Christian.

‘Must block it!’

Chris unleashed the power of radiance to shield himself and Yulian from the instruments.

A towering, solid spire began to literally melt away the wicked instruments.

The destructive force was like molten lava engulfing everything.

But thanks to the radiant mana, which countered the evil energy, they barely held on.

‘I survived.’

Chris exhaled a low sigh.

‘The Demon King of Cheongryu must have taken a heavy hit from this. The Third Realm demon will surely retaliate.’

Since the Demon King of Cheongryu was the direct contractor of the Third Realm demon, he would be held accountable.

Whatever price he’d pay, it would be significant.

‘Anyway, it’s over.’

Chris let out a long breath.

As Yulian’s contract was canceled, the Summon Hell lost its power, and the corrupted area began to revert to its original state.

From afar, it seemed the damage wasn’t too severe.

He could faintly hear the faint cheers of the minions shouting, “Long live Duke Christian!”

‘First, I need to heal Yulian.’

As the demon vanished, Yulian, who had been clinging to demonic power, collapsed heavily to the ground.

Chris hurriedly applied his medical qigong for emergency treatment.

He had to heal the wound in her heart before the demon’s curse of immortality faded.

Her condition was so severe that it took all his strength just to keep her alive.

Once her breathing stabilized, Chris sighed again.

‘That was really tough. How much hardship have I been through?’

From the corrupted space to Maxfield, the Marquis Langham, the Third Realm demon, and finally the Demon King of Cheongryu—it had been an endless series of obstacles.

‘Ugh, on days like this, I just want to drink a cold glass of alcohol and pass out. Damn body—why am I so weak to alcohol?’

Perhaps because he finally had a moment to breathe, Chris found himself resenting his own fate.

‘Damn it. Why do I have to suffer so much? And on top of that, I can’t even drink! That’s just cruel!’

Still, there was one hope.

‘Soon, I’ll be heading to the Extreme Poison Mage. I’ll definitely develop a potion to increase my alcohol tolerance.’

The time to visit the Extreme Poison Mage was approaching.

He planned to stay there briefly to accomplish his goals.

To make his greatness known to the Extreme Poison Mage.

To obtain the Poison Well.

To stop the Jade Green’s rebellion.

‘Ultimately, I’ll bring the Extreme Poison Mage to his knees.’

Chris added one more objective.

‘While I’m at it, I’ll concoct a poison blend to boost my drinking capacity!’

He shivered at the thought of himself getting drunk and partying hard.

Just imagining it made him happy.

‘There’s still something I need to take care of before I leave.’

At that moment, he heard Yulian’s faint voice.

“Th…thank you.”

“It’s nothing. As payment for avenging you, I’ll be using you as my eternal lackey, so be prepared.”

Yulian gave a faint smile.

Unlike the scheming expression she’d worn before, this one was transparent and sincere.

“I won’t just stand by and watch your revenge. I’ll be your strength. So, feel free to use me as much as you want, Master.”

Chris looked a bit embarrassed.

Though they had become master and servant, hearing such words directly still felt awkward.

‘Anyway, Yulian will be a great help from now on.’

By forming a soul master-servant contract, Chris could now gauge exactly how powerful Yulian was.

Her dark mana was nothing extraordinary.

But her original soul’s elemental magic was a solid six-star level.

And that too, mid-tier.

She would be a significant asset.

Since they had a soul contract, there was no fear of betrayal.

‘I’ll make sure to use her thoroughly as my lackey.’

Chris spoke up.

“Rear…”

“No, just treat me like usual. Hearing my real name reminds me of my old family.”

Yulian said bitterly, and Chris nodded.

“I have a first order for you.”

“What is it?”

Yulian looked puzzled.

“I’m not in any condition to carry out orders right now.”

Though he had given emergency treatment, Yulian was bedridden for the foreseeable future.

“That’s why I have a more suitable role for you.”

“??”

Yulian’s confusion deepened, but after hearing Chris’s explanation, her eyes widened.

Chris grinned.

“Don’t you want to give that bastard Marquis Langham a proper lesson?”

Before leaving for the Extreme Poison Mage, there was one last thing to settle.

To drag Marquis Langham’s reputation through the mud.

Chris planned to use this incident as leverage to completely topple Marquis Langham from power within the Dark Mage faction and bring about his ruin.

He had a solid plan.

*    *    *

From this point on, Christian’s status within the Dark Mage faction was completely transformed.

Though he had the support of the common minions, his position had still felt unstable.

Marquis Langham was a towering figure who commanded respect.

Most retainers kept their distance from Christian, wary of Langham.

But everything changed.

—Marquis Langham fled from the Gehenna demons!

Everyone present witnessed Langham’s absence.

The family was in dire straits, yet he abandoned his post.

No matter who he was, this was unforgivable.

‘Of course, if things had gone according to Langham’s plan, it wouldn’t have been such a problem.’

Originally, Langham intended for Nordian to be critically injured and for the family’s senior retainers to suffer heavy losses.

Who would blame Langham then?

But thanks to Christian, everything went completely against Langham’s wishes.

Nordian remained unscathed, and so did the retainers.

There was no escaping the blame.

From common minions to key retainers, everyone said in unison:

—“There’s no comparison to Duke Christian.”

The Dark Mage faction’s survival was entirely thanks to Christian.

Thanks to his teachings, the retainers’ combat power increased dramatically, and their brilliant performance drastically reduced the sacrifices among the common minions.

Christian also assisted Nordian in dealing with the higher-ranked demons.

Though others didn’t know the details of Nordian’s vitality, everyone knew Christian had helped him in some way.

Most importantly, Christian had gone alone outside the corrupted zone and succeeded in sealing the Gehenna rift.

From start to finish, all credit belonged to Christian.

So it was only natural that the Dark Mage minions cheered enthusiastically.

“If it weren’t for Duke Christian, how many lives would have been lost?”

“The Duke is our pride and hope.”

“There’s no one else fit to lead the Dark Mage faction but Duke Christian.”

What was even more surprising was that these praises didn’t come only from the common minions.

Even retainers who had kept their distance from Christian, including those loyal to Marquis Langham, spoke similarly.

“I will follow Duke Christian from now on.”

“Yes, he is truly the rightful master of the Dark Mage faction.”

Their change of heart was largely due to Christian’s conduct during the crisis.

—“I will forget the past. From now on, I will fight solely for the Dark Mage faction.”

Disappointment in Marquis Langham and admiration for Christian led many to switch allegiances.

After all, they were all minions.

Of course, not everyone changed.

There were still quite a few who remained loyal to Marquis Langham.

Those who craved nothing but greed, without an ounce of pride as members of the Main family.

“Right now, Marquis Langham is wavering, but it’s just a passing gust.”

“Besides, Lord Noga’s time isn’t going to last much longer.”

But they were overlooking one crucial fact.

Christiaan had no intention of leaving Marquis Langham as he was.

He planned to use this incident as a pretext to deal a fatal blow to Langham.

He would drag the marquis down into the gutter, leading him ultimately to ruin.

After the dust settled, Nordian gathered all the retainers and, in that very meeting, Christiaan dropped a bombshell announcement.

“…The Grand Duke has achieved great merit. I hereby grant a reward. Is there anything you desire?”

Nordian asked what reward Christiaan wished to receive for his service, and Christiaan nodded.

“Yes, there is.”

“What is it?”

“Please grant me, by the authority of the family head, the power over personnel appointments and judicial matters within the clan.”

A murmur rippled through the hall.

Alongside military and diplomatic authority, these were core powers of the family head.

Yet Nordian nodded without hesitation.

“Very well.”

The retainers glanced sideways at Marquis Langham.

Those powers had originally belonged to Langham, the acting family head, but now they were being stripped away right before their eyes.

And Langham’s ordeal was only just beginning.

“There is one more thing I ask.”

“Speak freely. Whatever it is, I will grant it.”

Nordian’s answer was clear: whatever Christiaan desired, he would have.

Christiaan smiled slyly, then made another demand that struck like a thunderclap.