Chapter 286

At last—

Nordian’s complexion grew pale from the strain of overexerting himself.

Whoooosh!

The energy radiating from the two Spirit Kings dissipated.

They had managed to hold the defense—somehow!

“That’s it!”

The Demon Lord of Cheongryu furrowed his brow, his expression tense.

Unlike the waning Nordian, the Demon Lord remained steadfast, unyielding.

“But no matter how powerful a 9-star Demon Lord is, casting two ultimate spells at once has to take a toll.”

There had to be a momentary lapse in his power.

That was the opening they had to seize.

“Christian, be careful,” Nordian urged urgently.

It was now a matter of success or death.

Christian nodded and surged forward toward the Demon Lord of Cheongryu.

Roar!

The spirit army stepped up to intercept, but the summoner—the Demon Lord—was visibly weakened from overexertion.

They couldn’t block Christian’s path.

“More than anything, I’ve grown strong enough myself!”

Then, something unexpected happened.

The Demon Lord of Cheongryu, watching Christian approach with growing unease, bit his lip and drew his bow.

An arrow was carefully aimed.

“Watch out!!” Nordian shouted, but it was too late.

A low hum filled the air.

Around the Demon Lord, the world seemed to warp and tremble.

The laws of reality were twisting.

This was no mere miracle.

Beyond manipulating miracles, this was a power that controlled the very cause and effect of the world.

An ultimate skill of a 9-star.

[Annihilation Arrow]

Once fired, this arrow ignored all causality, delivering certain death.

Christian couldn’t dodge it, not even by a hair.

The only way to survive was to twist causality itself to defend—but that was impossible for him.

“No!!” Nordian cried out.

Then, an unbelievable miracle occurred.

Christian drew Anduril and sliced through the Demon Lord’s arrow.

“!!”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

Especially the Demon Lord of Cheongryu, who was utterly shocked.

That ultimate skill had been unleashed with full force to eliminate Christian.

Late to realize, the Demon Lord’s gaze fixed on the magic sword Christian held.

‘That sword… could it be the Holy Annihilation Sword?’

After devouring the fallen ruin in the destructive magic realm, Anduril had evolved further.

Its seals had partially broken, revealing its true form—something the Demon Lord recognized.

‘Why is the Holy Annihilation Sword, once wielded by the Demon King, in that guy’s hands?’

The Demon Lord’s pupils flickered.

‘But no matter how powerful the Holy Annihilation Sword is, it can’t sever causality.’

At that moment, Christian seemed to read the Demon Lord’s thoughts and smirked.

“Ever heard of karma?”

“!!”

“You reap what you sow. Watch this.”

Flashing brightly!

Yulian, the spirit residing within Christian’s spirit stone, emerged in spirit form.

But something was off.

A twisted force swirled around Yulian.

[Unforgiving, enemy.]

“!!”

The intensity was enough to make even the Demon Lord flinch.

There was a reason.

‘Anduril was fed causality and gained power.’

By absorbing the fallen ruin, Anduril had awakened multiple attributes.

Most were still beyond Christian’s control, but one was useful.

‘Substitution.’

Here, substitution meant causality.

In the past, the Demon Lord of Cheongryu owed Yulian causality.

Tricking Yulian into making a pact with a demon was a clear violation of causality.

However, Yulian had been such a trivial being that the Demon Lord had ignored this breach by force.

Christian used Anduril’s substitution property to convert that causality into power.

Since the power came from twisting causality, it could resist the ultimate skill.

‘Of course, it wasn’t free.’

As payment to Anduril, Christian had pledged the Demon Lord’s neck.

Though it was the Holy Annihilation Sword, Anduril’s prey wasn’t limited to constellations.

A Demon Lord was more than enough to satisfy it.

“!!”

Yulian unleashed a barrage of attacks on the Demon Lord.

Though amplified by Anduril’s power, Yulian couldn’t truly match the Demon Lord.

But the timing was perfect.

The Demon Lord was exhausted from consecutively unleashing 9-star powers.

Yulian couldn’t even scratch the Demon Lord, but it was enough to be a nuisance.

Just a brief moment—but that was all Christian needed.

Thud.

Christian slipped behind the Demon Lord.

Finally, he had the chance to strike.

“How amusing. What do you think I am to you?”

The Demon Lord sneered.

Though only a moment had passed, his overstrained energy had mostly recovered.

Just as he moved to kill Christian like swatting a pesky insect—

Christian lifted the corner of his mouth.

“I know exactly who you are. The most vile and despicable being in this world.”

“…What?”

“Shut up and kneel.”

What nonsense was this?

The Demon Lord was so stunned that even anger escaped him, leaving a blank expression.

Then, it happened.

An unbelievable force began to press down on her body.

The effect of the Ten Thousand Demon Seals.

‘What?!’

The Demon Lord instantly recognized the nature of this power.

“You think you can suppress me with mere spiritual pressure?”

It was absurd.

In truth, the Ten Thousand Demon Seals’ spiritual pressure weakened against higher ranks.

It was absolute against those who couldn’t wield willpower, but 5-star and above could resist somewhat, and 7-star or higher saw little effect.

For a 9-star Demon Lord like her, it was laughable.

Just as she scoffed and tried to shake off the spiritual pressure—

Her knee buckled.

She couldn’t resist the force.

“?!”

Her expression hardened in disbelief.

“Being a Demon Lord means nothing when you carry the most pitiful soul.”

“…What?”

“That’s right. You have a soul lower than even a worm.”

Christian sneered.

What was spiritual pressure?

It was the pressure exerted by a higher-ranked soul on a lower-ranked one.

The lower the soul’s rank, the stronger the pressure felt.

‘The Demon Lord of Cheongryu’s soul is even lower than that of ordinary mortals.’

A Demon Lord, once a glorious Fairy King, having such a pitiful soul?

It was strange—but true.

“You committed all those horrific acts out of fear of death. How could your soul’s rank be high?”

“!!”

Soul rank varied even among mortals, influenced by many factors.

First, mastering willpower raised the soul’s rank.

In that sense, it was hard to understand how a 9-star Demon Lord could have a low soul rank.

‘But soul rank isn’t determined by achievement alone.’

First and foremost—

The soul’s circumstances.

The Demon Lord was now a slave to demons.

‘Not all demon contractors have degraded souls.’

There were different types of demon pacts.

Some, like Mephina’s selection of Christian, elevated the soul’s rank.

Those who worship demons according to their beliefs, like the magic beings of the Mystic Realm, were similar.

But the Demon Lord’s case was different.

She had sold her soul to demons and become a slave.

A soul reduced to slavery naturally ranked lower than ordinary mortals.

‘But that alone didn’t cause this.’

There was a more important reason.

Her past deeds.

The most decisive factor affecting soul rank was the path etched into the soul through one’s life.

It was natural that a saint who performed countless good deeds would have a higher soul rank than a mere strong knight.

Of course, living kindly alone didn’t guarantee a high soul rank.

The key was whether one lived in harmony with their soul’s beliefs.

Even a villain who caused great harm could have a high soul rank if their evil aligned with their convictions.

Like the magic beings of the Mystic Realm, who were terrible evils yet possessed high soul ranks.

‘But the Demon Lord of Cheongryu, once a radiant Fairy King, committed countless unforgivable evils for her own greed.’

If her misdeeds had been for some cause or belief, it wouldn’t have mattered much.

But her actions were the epitome of baseness.

‘There’s another reason the Ten Thousand Demon Seals work so well on her.’

Christian sneered.

“No pathetic Demon Lord trembling in fear of death can withstand spiritual pressure.”

“!!”

“Just terrified of the torment of Gehenna.”

Indeed.

The Demon Lord’s reason for committing horrific evils and seeking the Three Primes was simple.

To gain immortality and avoid death.

Because falling into Gehenna meant eternal torment.

‘Yulian confirmed this by approaching the elves beforehand.’

This fear was undermining her overall power.

‘No matter how powerful a Demon Lord, harboring such a dark heart means their achievements can never be whole.’

Up to 4-star was the realm of skill.

From 5-star onward, it was the realm of will.

Will was another word for conviction.

The stronger one’s conviction, the more powerful their will became.

As the Fairy King, she had reached the ninth star fueled by an unshakable belief in protecting her clan.

But gripped by the terror of death, she had long ago committed unspeakable atrocities, corrupting that very conviction into something vile.

There was no way someone with such a tainted belief could possess strong spiritual pressure.

“How dare you…!!”

The Demon Lord of Blue Stream gritted his teeth, summoning his energy.

He tried to shake off the spiritual pressure with sheer force, but he wasn’t left unchecked.

—“Purgatory’s Blaze.”

Seizing the mental crack caused by the spiritual pressure, an illusory dark magic was cast.

A crude, low-level illusion meant only to make the Demon Lord experience the torment of Gehenna.

Yet, surprisingly, the Demon Lord of Blue Stream reacted dramatically.

[!!]

Upon seeing the vision of Gehenna, fear flickered in his eyes.

It was clear that the terror of Gehenna was deeply ingrained in him.

‘What an ironic sight.’

Once a Fairy King and Demon Lord, now reduced to trembling at the mere thought of death.

But it wasn’t so strange.

The suffering that devil contractors endure after falling into Gehenna is beyond words.

It’s incomparable to any torture.

The most excruciating pain in existence—souls torn apart and ravaged for eons.

Without rest. Forever.

‘In a way, it’s tragic. The Demon Lord of Blue Stream sold his soul to demons all for the sake of his clan.’

Of course, that didn’t justify the evil deeds he had committed.

[You…! Don’t underestimate me. This pathetic…!]

A blazing roar!

The Demon Lord of Blue Stream unleashed his full power.

Ignoring the rank of souls or mind, he tried to forcefully dispel the spiritual pressure.

But help came to Christian’s side.

The three heads of the Nordic clan joined in.

Together, they suppressed the Demon Lord of Blue Stream’s energy with sheer force.

Crack!

In the end, the Demon Lord couldn’t hold on and dropped to one knee.

He had completely succumbed to the spiritual pressure.

“No, no…”

His face drained of color as he sensed the fate closing in on him.

Then, suddenly, something strange happened.

Rumble.

Darkness spread abruptly around them.

Like a creeping fog, the shadows expanded, soon engulfing the entire area.