Chapter 265
“…You mean the Destruction Maga?”
“That’s right.”
Everyone’s faces registered surprise at the unexpected name.
Christian averted his gaze.
To the east.
Toward the place where the Destruction Maga resided.
“The Constellation has revealed that a terrible evil is stirring within the Destruction Maga. You must sacrifice your lives to root out this evil.”
“!!”
An absurd demand.
Why was Christian telling them such a ridiculous story?
And he didn’t stop there.
“Of course, I know your strength alone won’t be enough. That’s why the Constellation has revealed a specific method to me.”
“What is it?”
“The Annihilation Flame.”
At that moment, everyone in the hall flinched.
The source of the Destruction Maga.
And, unknown to anyone at this point, the hiding place of the Blue Stream Demon King’s dagger.
Christian twisted his lips and continued.
“We will trigger the Annihilation Flame to erupt and burn the Destruction Maga to ashes.”
Thus began the plan to strike a blow at both the Destruction Maga and the Blue Stream Demon King at once.
The Annihilation Flame.
One of the Three Sacred Sites, and the holy ground of the Destruction Maga.
But the unusual thing was that the Annihilation Flame was actually a massive volcano.
“The Destruction Maga is situated atop that volcano.”
In other words, detonating the Annihilation Flame meant causing that volcano to erupt.
“Of course, it’s nearly impossible.”
But Christian had a plan.
“If we turn the Blue Stream Demon King’s own schemes against him…”
The Blue Stream Demon King had extended his influence into the Destruction Maga as well.
And unlike the dark and deadly manipulations he’d done in the Dark Maga and the Venomous Maga, this was a far more horrific plot.
“If left unchecked, the Destruction Maga would suffer near-total annihilation.”
The problem was that the conspiracy had already advanced beyond the point of no return.
There was only one way.
A drastic measure was needed.
Something so catastrophic it would overshadow the Blue Stream Demon King’s schemes.
“When this is over, even the Destruction Maga will have to kneel before our Dark Maga.”
The completion of the Dark Alliance required the Destruction Maga.
And there was another crucial reason this plan had to succeed.
“We need to seize the Annihilation Flame.”
The proud Destruction Maga would never willingly hand it over.
So Christian planned to take advantage of the chaos to snatch the Annihilation Flame.
“With the fanatical zealots of the Cult of Devotion, my plan will succeed.”
Christian recalled the cult priests’ reactions.
“Souls tainted by sin. We will sacrifice our lives to carry out the Constellation’s will!”
“We will gladly become martyrs for the Constellation!”
Including Ektar, the cult priests would risk everything to carry out Christian’s operation.
“That’s settled. Now, we must crush the Destruction Maga in the Dark Tournament.”
Just then, a message came through the comm.
It was Count Kazaar.
“Christian, where are you now?”
“Just stepping out for some fresh air. What’s the matter?”
Kazaar’s expression darkened.
Something else was brewing.
“They say the Destruction Maga plans to invite all the other prestigious mage families to the Dark Tournament. They intend to humiliate us in front of everyone.”
He sounded determined.
But Christian just smirked.
“Good. The more spectators, the better.”
Kazaar sighed lowly through the comm.
“Are you sure you’re alright? There are rumors that Duke Schwarz of the Destruction Maga has it in for you.”
A famous figure.
“One of the Five New Stars of the Mage Empire.”
A title given to the next generation of powerful heirs among the noble mage families.
Also called “Lesser Demons,” including Idrinne of the Blood Sword Maga.
“Schwarz is a lower 7-star achiever, right? Definitely a formidable opponent for your current 6-star level.”
A telling phrase: “current level.”
“Don’t worry, Father.”
“…”
“And remember this.”
Christian’s voice grew heavy.
“Our Dark Maga is no longer the weak force it once was.”
“!!”
Indeed.
Over the past few months, under Christian’s leadership, the Dark Maga’s mages had grown tremendously.
So rapidly, in fact, that even they hadn’t fully realized it.
“Of course, we’re still not quite on par with the Five Great, including the Destruction Maga.”
Christian continued his thoughts.
“But battles aren’t always decided by raw power alone.”
With the right strategy, it’s entirely possible to defeat a stronger opponent.
Christian decided to lay the groundwork.
“Tell Duke Schwarz of the Destruction Maga this: He won’t be able to face me alone, so I won’t mind if he teams up with other mages for a joint attack.”
“…Are you serious?”
“That’s not all. Our Dark Maga plans to send only five fighters to the Rider’s Duel, but the Destruction Maga can send as many as they want.”
The Dark Tournament was traditionally fought as a family feud.
The heads of the families would face off.
Then the heirs, the dukes, would duel.
Followed by a series of duels between the family’s strongest mages, called the Rider’s Duel.
Finally, a team battle among mid-level mages.
Notably, the head-of-family duel accounted for over 40% of the outcome.
Since Nordian might not recover in time for the tournament, the Dark Maga had to win all the other duels to claim victory.
Kazaar was silent for a moment, then asked again.
“Are you sure you want me to say that?”
“Yes. Be sure to say exactly that. And if they’re hesitant, add that they should accept surrender in advance. If they don’t want to be humiliated in front of the other families, they’d better make a wise choice. Sorry, I’m busy now. Ending the call.”
“…You? You—”
Kazaar’s mouth hung open as Christian cut the comm.
He wasn’t lying about being busy.
“I have to raid the Cult of Devotion’s vault.”
Where was he now?
Surprisingly, inside the Cult of Devotion’s vault.
“How did you get in?”
“I snuck in.”
Christian said to Ruina, who stood beside him, mouth agape.
“Remember? I promised you ten million rupees after the fight. Here, take whatever you want worth ten million rupees.”
“Ahhh! Why do you talk like it’s yours? Are you out of your mind, planning to rob the Cult’s vault?”
“You were so eager to follow me, now you’re playing coy.”
Christian shrugged.
Ruina trembled but greedily swallowed as she eyed the treasures in the vault.
“They’re so distracted right now, they won’t even notice if we take some.”
“Y-Yeah, probably.”
“Exactly. Especially since only the archbishop manages this vault, and with the fake archbishop recently dead, no one really knows what’s inside. We can swap out some lower-grade relics you have and take what we want without issue.”
“Oh ho ho, as expected of the duke I admire. Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!”
Only then did Ruina excitedly start rummaging through the vault, while Christian’s gaze shifted around.
He was looking for something essential.
“Not this, not that…”
Finally.
His steps stopped before a single item.
“Here it is.”
An old amulet that gave off no aura.
It had belonged to the recently deceased fake archbishop.
“Why this? It looks like they just moved it here from the fake archbishop’s possession. As a relic expert, I don’t see any special use.”
“No.”
Christian shook his head.
“The function is just concealed.”
He poured his mana into the amulet.
At first, nothing happened, but he kept manipulating the mana like decoding a cipher.
Then, a change occurred.
A faint glow began to emanate from the amulet.
“Is this a concealment relic?”
“Not quite. Watch.”
Christian held the amulet and manifested his mana outside his hand.
Then, something unbelievable happened.
A brilliant white light burst forth!
The mana transformed into pure white Constellation mana!
“No way…”
“Yes.”
The relic’s name was Hypocrisy of Black and White.
It disguised the nature of the mana it manifested.
Dark mana appeared as light mana.
Light mana was disguised as dark mana.
The reason Christian sought this relic was simple.
“I’ll need to use light magic in the upcoming Dark Tournament duel.”
Christian’s opponent, Duke Schwarz of the Destruction Maga, was a lower 7-star achiever.
A formidable foe for Christian’s current 6-star level.
But what no one knew was that Christian had already reached 7-star level in the Constellation realm.
News of the family duel between the Dark Maga and the Destruction Maga spread throughout the Mage Empire.
“The Dark Maga must be insane. They’re not even worthy of being called a noble family, yet they dare challenge the Destruction Maga?”
“This will completely shatter whatever dignity they had left.”
No one expected the Dark Maga to win.
Other noble families cared about only one thing.
“How much blood will the Dark Maga spill this time?”
“The Destruction Maga is sharpening their teeth. I doubt any of their duelists will come out unscathed. This might finally be the end of the Dark Maga’s claim to nobility.”
Throughout the long history of the Mage Empire, noble families disappearing was not uncommon.
Most believed this duel would mark the beginning of the Dark Maga’s downfall.
But some thought differently.
The Five Kings.
The Elder Council.
[What schemes is the Dark Maga up to now?]
[More precisely, Duke Christian. Intelligence says it’s all his plan.]
[Do they really think they can defeat the Destruction Maga?]
The Lords of the Underworld had witnessed countless miracles wrought by Archduke Christian up to now.
So this time, they couldn’t just brush it off.
[It seems we need to remain cautious. The chances are slim, but if the so-called Dark League that Archduke Christian mentioned really comes into being, it would deal a devastating blow to the grand ambitions of our order.]
There was a general consensus.
In fact, Christian had disrupted several of the Underworld’s affairs before.
Most notably, his recent rescue of Idrinne was a critical blow.
Because of that, the Anax faction of the Underworld failed to subdue the Bloodblade Maga.
‘And that’s not all. Rumor has it that Christian’s meddling is also the reason why the Karn Empire’s royal family remains beyond their grasp.’
The elders of the Underworld discussed the matter gravely.
“We cannot just stand by and watch.”
“But how can we intervene in matters involving the Dark Maga and the Destruction Maga? We have no means to interfere.”
That was the problem.
No matter what schemes Christian was pulling, the Underworld had no choice but to remain idle.
With no solution in sight, the elders’ gazes gradually shifted upward toward the dais.
There, seated in the highest place of honor, was a figure as pale as a corpse.
An aura as if death itself clung to him.
He was Plyton, the Lord of the Underworld—known as the ‘Master of Death.’