Chapter 253
“I will do my best, but I can’t make any guarantees.”
His tone naturally grew more formal, almost stiff.
“The outcome of the treatment depends entirely on Grand Princess Idline.”
It wasn’t a lie—it was the truth.
As mentioned before, the poison he had created was no ordinary toxin.
‘I used the secret technique called Hwalakdan (活惡斷) from the Medical Sage’s teachings.’
Hwalakdan was a rare art that amplified healing effects for the righteous but served as a form of judgment against the wicked.
‘So, if the person has a pure will, it helps rebuild their broken spirit. But if their will is corrupt, it shatters it further.’
And that wasn’t all.
‘I also infused the poison with the properties of Cheondok, making it especially lethal to the Blood-Shedding Demon King.’
“Hoo.”
Standing before the annex, Chris let out a long breath.
Inside was the Blood-Shedding Demon King.
Thump, thump.
Nightmares from his past life surged, his heart pounding wildly.
Using the unlocking ritual Deborah had taught him, he opened the barrier and slowly stepped inside.
“!!”
Chris’s eyes widened at the sight before him.
It was nothing like he had expected.
There stood a pale-faced girl.
‘Is this the Blood-Shedding Demon King? Why does she look like this?’
She looked nothing like the terrifying figure from his previous life.
Her features were similar—an unbearably beautiful face—but the aura she gave off was completely different.
Back then, the Demon King radiated an abyssal energy, as if bent on annihilating all existence.
No trace of emotion, like a demon descended to destroy the world.
But this girl before him showed none of that.
Though unconscious and her expression unclear, her eyes twitched faintly, and she let out soft groans—far from demonic.
She looked like a wounded child.
‘What is this? Is this another mask?’
But Idline was completely unconscious now.
This was no act—it was her true form.
‘And this…’
Chris swallowed hard.
Idline’s hands and feet were pierced through with stakes, chained tightly.
But these weren’t ordinary chains.
They were inscribed with sealing runes—an intricate spell that not only bound her physically but disrupted her power, causing excruciating pain.
‘She sealed herself.’
There was only one reason she would endure such torment.
She had lost control before and, to prevent herself from rampaging, had willingly imprisoned herself like this.
‘…Unbelievable.’
Chris shook his head.
Memories of what Simon and the others from the Blood Sword Maga had told him flooded back, stirring confusion.
Then, suddenly, something changed.
Idline’s eyes fluttered open faintly.
“!!”
Chris’s heart dropped.
He could never forget the moment he locked eyes with the Blood-Shedding Demon King in his past life.
It was like staring death itself in the face—a terrifying sensation, as if doom had descended.
But Idline’s gaze now was completely different.
“Ugh.”
A soft groan escaped her lips.
No fierce energy, no overwhelming presence—just the raw pain of suffering.
Then she spoke, her voice trembling with agony.
“Y-you are… Christian, the Dark Maga’s Grand Duke?”
A perfectly coherent question—unthinkable from the Blood-Shedding Demon King.
“…You know me?”
“Of course… I know. Why are you here?”
“…I came to heal you.”
Chris couldn’t hide his surprise.
To calmly converse with the Blood-Shedding Demon King—he had never imagined such a thing.
“P-please stop. Even for you, this is impossible. More importantly, you should leave this place quickly.”
“What?”
“P-please…!”
Suddenly, the light in Idline’s eyes went out.
With a painful groan, a fierce energy began to surge.
Crack.
Her trembling hand pulled out the stake piercing it, which fell to the floor.
‘Berserk mode!’
The effect of the Tear of Madness—causing the victim to lose their sanity and go berserk.
‘I have to stop this.’
The overwhelming energy sent chills down his spine.
As Chris searched for a way to respond, another unexpected event occurred.
“No!”
Crack!
Idline bit her tongue to stay conscious, then used blood magic to levitate the fallen stake and impale her hand back into the wall.
“!!”
Crimson blood dripped down.
Chris swallowed hard.
‘What…?’
There was only one reason she would harm herself like this.
To avoid hurting Chris.
“…It’s getting harder to hold onto my sanity. Please… go back.”
“…”
“What are you waiting for?! Hurry! I don’t want to hurt you with my own hands!”
It was no lie.
Idline was truly struggling with all her might not to kill Chris.
Realizing this, Chris’s mind became a chaotic mess.
He had never imagined the Blood-Shedding Demon King could look like this.
In a confused voice, he asked,
“…If you lose your sanity and end up hurting others, what will you do?”
“I will take my own life.”
Idline answered without hesitation.
“…”
Chris stared at her blankly for a moment.
‘I just don’t understand.’
The girl before him and the great demon who had turned the world into hell flashed alternately through his mind.
Was this really not a façade?
If not, then what was the truth behind her past self?
‘Still, I can’t back down now.’
Yes.
Chris made up his mind firmly.
If this were anyone but the Blood-Shedding Demon King, he might have paused to understand their situation.
But this was the very demon who had brought ruin to countless lives.
There was no room for mercy or consideration.
‘If what I know about the Blood-Shedding Demon King is wrong, then this medicine will reveal the truth.’
He spoke with resolve.
“…I came to heal you.”
“It’s impossible.”
“No, I can do it. But the Tear of Madness is a curse that attacks the mind. To cure it, I need to use a ‘Concept Medicine’ that works directly on your consciousness. Will you open your mind to me?”
“!!”
Opening one’s core was a dangerous act—one no sane person would allow without complete trust.
‘If she refuses, I’ll have to force open a crack in her mind. Since she’s under the Tear of Madness, it should be possible.’
But to his surprise, Idline nodded without hesitation.
“Very well. I will open my mind to you.”
“…Are you sure?”
“I trust you.”
Her answer was pure and sincere, making Chris feel even more uneasy.
“Then I will begin.”
Chris reached out and placed his hand on Idline’s forehead.
To touch the Blood-Shedding Demon King—it felt like handling a loathsome serpent.
Yet, strangely, there was no resistance. That only made Chris more uncomfortable.
Flash!
The ‘Concept Poison’ wasn’t a physical toxin but a curse-like poison that acted on the mind.
Chris injected his Concept Poison into Idline’s fully opened consciousness.
Meanwhile, Idline felt Chris’s touch vaguely.
His presence spread through her mind.
A warm, radiant energy.
Though it was technically poison, Idline couldn’t perceive it as such.
It was too clear, too comforting.
Thanks to the Hwalakdan effect Chris had mixed into the poison.
‘It’s not just warmth. There’s a sharp edge beneath it.’
A sharpness meant to judge and punish corruption.
But contrary to Chris’s expectations, that sharpness did no harm to Idline.
Unbelievably, it meant there was no corruption in her heart.
Instead, the Hwalakdan energy cut through the Tear of Madness trying to tear her mind apart.
Idline felt a gentle protection within Chris’s energy.
‘Grand Duke Christian made such an incredible medicine for me.’
Was it because she was near death and her heart was weak?
Her chest trembled.
The moment she sensed that energy, she immediately understood.
How extraordinary this Concept Medicine was.
Chris must have poured all his strength into creating it to save her.
‘Not only that. He came all the way to my domain himself.’
For the Grand Duke of the Dark Maga to come here meant risking his life.
For someone with no ties to her—just for her sake.
Idline couldn’t help but feel overwhelming gratitude toward Chris.
‘Ah, I was right to trust my eyes.’
How could someone be so great? So noble?
‘There is no one else like Grand Duke Christian in this world.’
Then, chilling whispers tore through her mind.
[You… are finished now. Your fate is nothing but endless suffering.]
[You… will endure the greatest torment since the dawn of creation, deep within Gehenna.]
Idline bit her lip tightly.
It was the echo of the curse she bore—the Tear of Madness.
The Tear of the Widow was a curse that relentlessly burrowed into the weakest point of a person’s consciousness, shattering their mind from within.
No matter how strong-willed someone might be, there was no one without a vulnerable spot in their psyche.
By obsessively exploiting that crack, the curse inevitably drove anyone to mental collapse.
Idrine’s unconscious weakness was the ruin that awaited her in the future.
“Because I made a pact with a demon, I’m bound to face a terrible destruction.”
The truth was, Idrine never wanted to make a deal with a demon.
But without her, there was no one else who could protect the blood-sword Maga’s followers. She had no choice but to reach out to the demon.
“Very well. I will grant you power.”
She still remembered that day vividly.
The demon’s dreadful voice, directed at her.
“But know this: you will meet the destruction you fear most. And it will be by your own hand.”
A prophecy of the ruin that awaited her.
Demons made contracts with humans only to bring about their downfall.
That was why demons showed disdain for the greedy and preferred those with radiant souls.
Because destroying a shining soul was the greatest pleasure for a demon.
Thanks to that, Idrine gained the strength to protect the blood-sword Maga, but each day she lived in fear of the destruction looming ahead.
“I want to run away.”