Chapter 249
Come to think of it, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

“If I kill the Bloodthirsty Demon Lord this time, achieving my goal will become much easier.”

The reason the Demon Lord’s Fortress had been able to overwhelm not only the Magic Empire but also the Alliance was largely thanks to the Bloodthirsty Demon Lord.

Among the nine-star Demon Lords, the Bloodthirsty Demon Lord possessed overwhelming power and had mercilessly slaughtered the Alliance’s nine-star superhumans, the Seven Lords, leaving the Alliance helpless.

“The Southern Magic Kingdom was crushed so thoroughly because of the Bloodthirsty Demon Lord. He single-handedly brought the Dark Magic Clan to its knees.”

If it weren’t for him, even though the Southern Magic Kingdom had weakened due to the Azure Flow Demon Lord, it wouldn’t have fallen so easily.

“I have to kill him. No matter what.”

It was a betrayal of Simon, the chief steward, who was full of concern for his younger sister, but there was no time to worry about such trivial matters.

If the Bloodthirsty Demon Lord wasn’t killed, the entire continent would suffer tragedy.

The problem was the danger.

“I have to infiltrate the Demon Lord’s Fortress.”

He had to risk his life.

But it was a task he had to accomplish, no matter the cost.

“I need to figure out a way to kill the Bloodthirsty Demon Lord and escape safely afterward.”

At that moment, Baltlak, a pure-blood of the Bloodthirsty Demon Clan, knelt down and bowed his head to the ground, shouting:

“If you spare our Grand Princess, the Bloodthirsty Demon Clan will never forget your kindness! We will take full responsibility for your safety and guarantee it!”

Christian tilted his head skeptically.

“How can I trust your words?”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t it possible that your Bloodthirsty Demon Clan set a trap to lure me in?”

“N-no, that’s not true. I really came to find you to save the Grand Princess. Please believe me.”

Even Chief Steward Simon shook his head earnestly.

“It’s true, Your Highness. I stake my life on it.”

Christian believed they were telling the truth, but he pressed harder.

“And you say you’ll guarantee my safety? By what means? I doubt your Bloodthirsty Demons have the strength to withstand curses and the grasp of the Death Spirits.”

“…”

If the curses or Death Spirits tried to harm Christian, the Bloodthirsty Demons wouldn’t be enough to stop them.

“We will do our best, risking our lives.”

“How laughable. Do you think I’d go to the Demon Lord’s Fortress on such unreliable assurances?”

Baltlak fell silent.

Christian clicked his tongue in disdain and asked:

“Where is Grand Princess Idline now?”

“She’s in the ‘Black Forest’ where the outpost is.”

At least she wasn’t staying in the main fortress.

‘That doesn’t mean it’s safe, though.’

Christian roughly estimated the location of the Black Forest.

An idea came to him.

“Bring me the ‘Arch’s Hall’ artifact.”

“!!”

It was a famous relic.

It allowed spatial teleportation to a predetermined location once per use.

Its range was about 100 kilometers, enough to travel from the Black Forest to near the Dark Magic Clan’s barrier, ensuring safety even if something went wrong.

“B-but do you know where the Arch’s Hall is?”

“Go to the Rudolph Guild.”

Ruina had it.

‘I’ll have to contact Ruina and make sure she charges at least five times the usual price. Half of the extra profit will be mine.’

Since things had come to this, he planned to squeeze every last bit he could from the Bloodthirsty Demon Clan.

“What will you give me in return for healing Grand Princess Idline?”

He wasn’t really going to heal her, but Christian asked boldly.

“Anything you desire, we will give!”

“Then pass on to me the true essence of the Bloodthirsty Demon Clan’s direct lineage—the ‘Blood Cross’ technique.”

Baltlak flinched.

“T-that is… the essence of blood magic passed only to the highest pure-bloods among our clan…”

“You don’t seem to care much. If you refuse, I won’t waste more words.”

“N-no! It’s not that! It’s just that only the highest pure-bloods can learn it! As you know, blood magic is a secret art specialized for us vampires.”

Christian raised his head slightly, wearing a cocky expression that said he didn’t care.

“I’ll learn it myself.”

“…Understood.”

Christian inwardly rejoiced.

‘Good. This is a secret technique I would never have gotten otherwise.’

Dark magic governs other forms of darkness.

The more types of dark power he mastered, the stronger his dark magic would become.

Especially to broaden the horizon of the Do-Hwa Mirror, he needed to master as many fields as possible.

“There’s one more thing. Hand over the pure blood serum.”

“!!”

Baltlak flinched again.

It was a treasure of the Bloodthirsty Demon Clan, needed for Nordian.

“Understood. We will prepare everything.”

“Good. Hurry. I will also prepare the medicine to heal the Tear of the Widow.”

“Yes, we will return as soon as preparations are complete!”

With that, Baltlak disappeared.

Afterward, Chief Steward Simon bowed his head to Christian.

“Thank you for granting our request, Your Highness. I will repay this kindness with my life.”

Christian gave him a puzzled look.

‘Does Simon really not know the truth about Idline?’

It was strange.

Simon was usually not easily fooled, no matter how much someone wore a mask.

‘He’s not the only one. Every Bloodthirsty Demon Clan member I’ve met so far thinks well of Grand Princess Idline.’

Even Baltlak had shown deep respect and affection for Idline.

‘How perfectly must she have worn that mask?’

Christian shook his head.

‘Anyway, I feel sorry for Simon. But there’s no other way.’

He had grown somewhat fond of Simon, so he felt guilty.

But Simon wouldn’t want his sister to become a demon and commit terrible sins in the future.

Meanwhile, Simon, unaware of Christian’s thoughts, spoke with a worried expression.

“Idline is a good child. She won’t forget the kindness you showed her. She’s wanted to become close to you, so I hope this will be an opportunity to build a closer relationship.”

“…You say Grand Princess Idline wants to be close to me?”

“Yes. She often mentioned it in letters she sent me.”

“…I see.”

Christian made a grimace.

‘I don’t know what she’s thinking. There’s no way she genuinely wants to be close to me. Maybe she said that to keep me on guard.’

In any case, he would never do her any favors or become close to her.

“I need to prepare poison to assassinate Idline.”

He wasn’t planning to slit her throat with a knife.

Even though she was cursed, at his current level, he was more likely to be the one harmed.

He planned to pretend to heal her, then poison her to death.

“The problem is, she probably has resistance to most poisons.”

There was a tricky condition.

She couldn’t die immediately after the poison was administered.

The Bloodthirsty Demon Clan’s minions wouldn’t leave him alone otherwise.

“It has to look like the Tear of the Widow is being healed on the surface, but in reality, she must slowly die.”

Only then could he safely collect his reward and escape from the Bloodthirsty Demon Clan.

A condition so difficult it was almost impossible.

“But I can do it. I have the power of the medical sect that controls healing, and the poison sect that controls death.”

Only Christian could pull off this plan.

He hurriedly made preparations.

He contacted the poison sect to get the necessary items and obtained materials from the Rudolph Guild.

“Oh ho ho, take as much as you want, Your Highness. Today, I’ll give you a special discount.”

Ruina greeted Christian with a sweet smile.

She was in a great mood after charging Baltlak an outrageous price for the Arch’s Hall.

“Remember, half of the extra profit from overcharging the Bloodthirsty Demon Clan is mine.”

“Tch.”

Ruina’s face immediately turned sour.

“After all the trouble I’ve gone through, can’t you just let me keep this much as my share?!”

“I don’t think I’ve ever let you work for free.”

“W-well, that’s true, but…”

Ruina trailed off.

No matter what she said, it was undeniable that Christian always gave her more than just hardship for her efforts.

“Don’t be so obsessed with petty money. Soon, you’ll have a chance to make a fortune unlike anything before.”

“Wait, what do you mean by that?”

Ruina’s eyes widened.

Christian had always been involved in huge-scale affairs.

But a fortune beyond comparison?

A chill ran down Ruina’s spine.

“Ah, I’m planning to rob the Holy Empire.”

“!!”

Ruina’s face went pale.

“W-what?! You must be joking? No way, even you wouldn’t dare mess with the madmen of the Holy Empire?”

“I’m serious. Have you ever seen me joke?”

“…”

Christian thought to himself.

‘I need to bring the Destruction Mage to his knees.’

The Destruction Mage was different from the Poison Mage.

He would only kneel if his pride was completely crushed.

He planned to use the Holy Empire.

‘It’s definitely possible. I just need to turn the schemes the Azure Flow Demon Lord set up against him.’

The Azure Flow Demon Lord had extended his influence even to the Destruction Mage.

Christian planned to use that conspiracy to achieve his goal.

“I won’t do it! Who are you trying to kill?! You’re just going to put me in danger again! No matter how crazy about money I am?!”

“You might win the favor of the Holy Emperor.”

“…”

Ruina fell silent.

The Holy Emperor of the Holy Empire.

“I think this is a decisive opportunity to achieve your ‘goal.’ Don’t you agree?”

Ruina’s expression stiffened, unlike her usual self.

“How much do you know about my goal, Your Highness?”

“Well, I don’t know the exact details. I’m just making an educated guess based on what I know about your background and what your family has been through.”

Ruina bit her lip tightly.

Chris shrugged.

“Hey, don’t be so on edge. I’m rooting for your goal, you know.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. You’re cooperating with me because you want me to have your back when I rise to the top of the Mage Empire, right?”

That was true.

Ruina grumbled a lot but followed Chris’s lead—not just for the money, but because she was betting on his eventual takeover of the Mage Empire.

“…Alright. But no more dangerous jobs, okay?”

“You worry too much. Aren’t you a bit too cautious for a merchant? You should think bigger.”

“Profit! That’s easy for you to say! If I pull something like that in the Holy Empire, I could actually get killed!!!”

Chris didn’t deny it.

‘Since we’re dealing with the fanatical cult, dying is definitely a real possibility.’

Well, there was no need to go into unnecessary detail and make her more anxious ahead of time.