Chapter 275
No one in the Destruction Maga clan truly believed that Christian would succeed.
Beneath that disbelief lay a certain pride.
“No matter how much of a genius he is, coming from the Matu family, what could he possibly know about dark magic?”
“Even we failed to contain it.”
The Destruction Maga clan specialized in dark magic.
Granted, destruction is a force that maximizes chaos, so it doesn’t pair well with the sealing arrays—an attribute of preservation—but still, for them, experts in dark magic, to fail where Christian claimed he could succeed was unthinkable.
Many thought Christian was arrogant, intoxicated by his own talent, overestimating himself.
But then—
But then—
“It’s done. The seal should hold for a few more days.”
“…”
Everyone in the Destruction Maga clan stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Christian had reached the core of the sealing array and, with surprising ease, repaired the crumbling formation.
Even Duke Besen couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“W-How?”
“I simply reconnected the intact parts of the array temporarily. Though the formation was fragmented, it wasn’t completely destroyed.”
“…That’s impossible.”
“It’s possible for me.”
His words silenced the room.
But in truth, it was a lie.
‘Since I was the one who broke it, fixing it was bound to be easy.’
Christian recalled the conversations he’d had with the priests of the fanatical cult.
“Our power alone can’t break the sealing array suppressing the Rampant Flame.”
“Even so, the Constellation gave us a revelation. I’ll tell you the array’s weak points.”
Posing as a prophet, Christian had been told how to breach the sealing array.
In other words, the array had collapsed exactly as he had planned, so he already knew how to restore it.
‘I could fully restore it if I wanted, but that wouldn’t be good.’
The operation was only just beginning.
“Then, as I said, please issue an evacuation order to the retainers.”
“…”
Duke Besen’s face flushed red as he bit his lip tightly.
He seemed the type who hated taking orders.
Jessica, the deputy clan head, spoke gently.
“Please do, Lord Head. Preparing for the worst doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”
Besen scowled deeply but nodded.
“Order the evacuation!”
And so, a massive evacuation began.
Christian and his group took on the role of assisting with the evacuation.
Kashmir repeatedly bowed, her face full of gratitude.
“Thank you, Your Grace. Thanks to you, it seems we can avoid the worst.”
“This isn’t a moment to celebrate. Most of the key Maga members are staying behind.”
Kashmir’s expression darkened.
Only the lower-ranked mages and non-combat personnel had decided to leave.
The core members of the Destruction Maga clan planned to stay and try to suppress the Rampant Flame’s rampage.
Of course, everyone suspected it was a hopeless endeavor.
“Still, thank you. I’ll stay here and face death, but at least my mother will survive. Come to think of it, Your Grace, you’ve saved my mother twice now. I’m truly grateful.”
Christian crossed his arms.
“Empty words?”
“Huh?”
“If you’ve received kindness, you should repay it. Are you just going to say thanks and do nothing?”
“Of course I want to! But I’m going to die soon—how could I possibly repay you?”
“By helping me with what I’m about to do.”
“What do you mean?”
Christian revealed something astonishing.
“I have a way to calm the Rampant Flame.”
“!!”
Kashmir’s eyes widened as if they might pop out.
“Is that really true?!”
“Shh, keep your voice down. No one else can know.”
Kashmir looked puzzled by Christian’s reaction.
“There is a way, but it’s something the Destruction Maga clan would find hard to accept. You, Prince Kashmir, will have to help me.”
“What kind of way? Just tell me! I’ll give my life to help!”
Christian nodded and then said something unexpected.
“I have to strip the Destruction Maga clan to its core.”
“…What?”
Kashmir looked as if she misheard, but Christian repeated himself.
“I need to take everything—the Vigor, the Legacy, the true essence of Destruction magic—to calm the Rampant Flame.”
That was the first reason for the evacuation order.
To empty the clan’s stronghold so it could be thoroughly ransacked.
The answer to calming the Rampant Flame lies in the past.
Long ago, in the early days of the Destruction Maga clan, the Rampant Flame wasn’t sealed with a fallen ruin as a sacrifice.
Back then, the clan managed the Rampant Flame differently.
‘They absorbed the energy of the Rampant Flame before it exploded.’
The energy of the Rampant Flame’s origin gradually accumulated destructive power over time.
Once it crossed a critical threshold, it would go berserk, causing volcanic eruptions.
So, the Destruction Maga clan members regularly absorbed the energy of the origin—much like how the Dark Maga absorb Holy Light.
It was a win-win: they calmed the Rampant Flame and gained powerful destructive energy.
But there was a problem.
‘It was too dangerous. Failure meant instant death.’
Many members of the Destruction Maga clan died repeatedly.
So many sacrifices were made that the clan couldn’t grow in numbers at all.
That changed when the clan produced a great figure known as the “Demon King of the Red River.”
Currently ranked fourth among the Demon Kings and serving as the Central Demon Army’s Grand General, he captured the fallen Celestial and offered it as a sacrifice to suppress the Rampant Flame’s eruption.
After that, the clan members could safely absorb the Rampant Flame’s energy leaking beyond the seal indirectly, without casualties, allowing the clan to flourish.
So, what’s the answer to calming the Rampant Flame raging now?
‘Simple. I have to absorb all of its energy myself.’
Not just absorbing the energy leaking beyond the seal, as the clan members do now.
Like the clan’s founders did in the past, he had to accept the Rampant Flame’s origin itself.
‘The problem is, this won’t be easy for me either.’
The situation was different now.
The Rampant Flame’s energy had been accumulating for hundreds of years.
The risk was incomparable.
‘I have to prepare thoroughly.’
That was why he needed to strip the Destruction Maga clan to its core.
First, he had to smuggle out various relics capable of countering the Rampant Flame.
Most importantly,
‘I have to obtain the ultimate essence of Destruction dark magic.’
It sounded absurd.
But now it was possible.
‘Because the clan’s stronghold is empty due to the evacuation order.’
Even the remaining key members had left to suppress the Rampant Flame.
“Alright, Alos. You know what you have to do, right?”
As always, an alibi was needed.
“Yes, yes! I just have to evacuate the people instead of Your Grace, right? Leave it to me!!”
Alos shouted cheerfully, perhaps relieved that the mission was safer than expected.
“Good. It’ll be tough, so do your best.”
“Huh? I’m just giving orders from behind the scenes. Why would that be tough…?”
Christian frowned, crossing his arms.
“What do you mean, just standing behind and giving orders?”
“Huh?”
“We came to help the Destruction Maga clan. Of course, we have to do our best with our own hands and feet.”
“!!”
“Besides, this is our chance to win the clan’s favor. Show them your utmost dedication and move them.”
‘Winning the Destruction Maga clan’s loyalty requires winning their hearts.’
Alos opened his mouth but said nothing.
It was true, but why was this his job?
Especially since he was disguised as Christian, so any praise would go to Christian, not him.
‘So I do all the hard work, and he takes the credit? That rotten Christian bastard!!’
But when he met Melin’s sharp glare, he couldn’t say a word and was dragged along.
While Christian stripped the clan’s stronghold, Alos would be the one working hard in his place. Of course, the thanks would go to Christian.
‘Well, me doing well is for Alos and everyone’s sake anyway.’
Christian shamelessly thought as he looked away.
Kashmir and Tern, now part of the “thieves’ gang,” were resolute.
“To aid Your Grace’s great cause is my infinite honor! I, Kashmir, will be the guiding light to help you achieve your goals!”
Christian blinked, a bit taken aback.
‘Isn’t it a bit too casual about stripping their own clan?’
Tern was just as fired up.
“To call yourself my guiding light? How arrogant. You just quietly guide the way. I’ll be the one assisting Your Grace.”
“…That’s unacceptable. No matter that you’re Christian’s brother, I will be the one to assist Your Grace today.”
“The true language of a mage is fists. Care for a match?”
And so, an unnecessary loyalty competition broke out.
Christian cleared his throat.
“Both of you, quiet… Let’s get moving.”
And so, the house-cleaning began.
As expected, the stronghold was empty.
Not completely vacant, though—some high-ranking mages who had decided to stay were wandering about.
“Vigor is hidden in the back of the third basement floor. There are no guards, but a few retainers remain.”
If they were discovered, it would be disastrous.
‘But there’s a way.’
Christian snapped his fingers quietly.
Then, something incredible happened.
The ground began to tremble!
The mages remaining in the stronghold shouted in alarm.
“The signs of the Ruin Flame are getting worse!”
“All high-ranking demons from the main faction, gather at the Ruin Flame immediately!”
When restoring the sealing formation around the Ruin Flame, I had attached a spell that allowed me to subtly manipulate its state.
Thanks to that, the demons from the main faction panicked and rushed toward the Ruin Flame, leaving the main base almost completely deserted.
“Please lead the way.”
“Understood!”
With Kashmir guiding us, we infiltrated the main base.
We did encounter a few people here and there, but nothing we couldn’t handle quietly.
“Tern, erase their memories.”
“Yes, brother.”
Swish!
Tern cast a cursed dark magic imbued with oblivion on the fallen destructive demons.
Tern was naturally gifted in curses.
He wielded curses as easily as moving his limbs, allowing for incredibly precise control—he could curse someone without leaving a trace.
“You’re quite impressive for someone so young.”
Kashmir admired him, and Tern puffed up with pride.
“Well, I’m his younger brother. Of course I am. It’s all thanks to King Emperor Majesty, my brother.”
“King Emperor Majesty… a fitting and noble title for Grand Duke Christian.”
“Don’t even think about using that title. Only I, his brother, have the right to say it.”
‘…They’re all so noisy.’