Episode 314
To wield the power of a demon, a price had to be paid.
In secret, commoners were being abducted and offered as human sacrifices to the demon, waiting for the right moment.
Then, the hero appeared.
Still, it was fine.
No one knew that he had made a contract with the demon.
He forced himself to suppress his anxiety, thinking that even the hero wouldn’t recognize him.
But then—
“Brother, think carefully. The throne does not suit you. Isn’t your suffering the result of your misguided ambition?”
His younger brother, the second prince, began to threaten him.
Using an unknown curse.
A cruel curse.
Every time he fell asleep, unbearable pain would flood over him.
Both mental and physical torment, without distinction.
The worst part was that the pain only occurred in his dreams, leaving no visible signs.
To outsiders, he appeared to be peacefully asleep.
Even the royal physician and the court mage found nothing unusual.
They couldn’t treat it either, since it happened only in his dreams.
They said it was just his energy being depleted and told him not to worry, even suggesting he was overreacting.
“I will never forget this pain. I will kill them all. Without fail.”
The crown prince gritted his teeth.
For a moment, he thought maybe the hero could break the curse—but that was impossible. If anyone found out about his pact with the demon, it would be the end.
Then, something utterly unbearable happened.
Splash!
Filthy sludge poured down onto the crown prince’s head.
“…”
He stared blankly at the filth dripping from his hair.
He saw the second prince smirking.
“Oh dear, it seems one of my servants made a mistake while carrying the filth. How dreadful to soil your royal body.”
“…”
“But I’m sure you’re magnanimous enough to forgive such a slip, aren’t you?”
The crown prince’s hand trembled with rage.
But forcing a smile, he bowed his head.
“Y-Yes. What can be done about a mistake? I will understand.”
“Haha. As expected of you, brother. But—”
Splash!
More filth was thrown.
“…”
“You’ll forgive this too, won’t you? Haha.”
As the second prince laughed, those around him joined in mockery.
The crown prince realized the second prince was determined.
He intended to humiliate him mercilessly in front of everyone until he was forced to relinquish the throne.
Then, a voice whispered in his ear.
—Leave everything to me. I will grant you all you desire.
Swallowing hard, the crown prince locked eyes with the second prince.
A gaze like that of a predator staring at a worm.
The humiliation he had endured surged up, paralyzing his reason.
“I will kill them. I will kill them all. Without fail.”
His eyes turned bloodshot.
The second prince flinched at the sudden, ominous change—but it was too late.
The crown prince reached out toward the demon.
“I entrust everything to you.”
And so,
Hell descended upon the royal palace.
“Th-That can’t be.”
Aslan staggered in shock.
But Chris shook his head as if he had expected this.
‘It’s unfolding exactly as it did in my previous life.’
In that life, the crown prince’s rampage under the second prince’s persecution had completely devastated the palace.
As a result, the third prince, Lauren, who had been far away, unexpectedly ascended the throne.
‘It was inevitable.’
The crown prince had long ago sold his soul to the demon.
He had even been secretly offering human sacrifices for a long time—there was no turning back.
“We have to go to the palace immediately and stop the demon!”
Aslan shouted urgently, but a voice opposed him.
“It’s impossible for us alone to face the demon.”
To everyone’s surprise, it was Evan.
Yurian, who was with him, nodded in agreement.
Having once been a demon contractor herself, she knew the demon’s power better than anyone.
“Noble-class demons possess power equal to a nine-star demon lord. Facing them head-on is suicide. We must be cautious.”
Demons were ranked.
The great beings of the third and fourth planes were exceptions, but ordinary demons were divided into common demons without titles and noble-class demons with titles.
Common demons had power roughly equivalent to an eight-star absolute realm mage, while noble-class demons matched nine-star demon lords.
‘Their power varies greatly depending on their rank.’
Chris knew the demon the crown prince had contracted was of baron rank.
‘About the strength of a nine-star advanced level.’
Comparable to Nordian’s power.
There was no way they could confront such a foe with their current strength.
‘That’s why the standard tactic against demons is to stall and hold out until the demon is re-summoned. Due to causality, they can’t remain on the mortal plane indefinitely.’
Aslan stammered.
“Th-Then everyone inside the palace will die.”
“Unfortunately, there’s no other choice. Recklessly confronting the demon will only cause more needless casualties.”
Evan spoke coldly and decisively.
There was a reason for his harshness.
‘Christian must not die here in vain.’
Christian was the one destined to save this world.
Evan believed no number of lives were worth more than Christian’s.
Aslan bit his lip hard.
But he couldn’t argue with that.
‘Asking the Seven Lords for help is impossible.’
The Karn Empire did have Seven Lords.
The Spear Saint, once the rival of the Sword Saint, was one of the strongest in the alliance and belonged to the Karn Empire.
The problem was the royal family feared and restrained the Spear Saint’s power.
They framed him and exiled him, and he swore never to interfere in Karn’s affairs again.
‘The other Seven Lords won’t step in easily either.’
Many of them prioritized their own safety.
They would likely make excuses and avoid intervening until the demon was re-summoned.
‘I have to fight alone.’
But then, an unexpected voice broke the silence.
“No, I will stop the demon.”
“!!”
It was Christian.
Evan frowned.
“You’re being reckless again…”
“No, that’s not it.”
Chris shook his head.
“I can do it.”
“!!”
Everyone’s eyes widened at the confidence in his voice.
‘If it seemed impossible, I wouldn’t have come to the Karn Empire in the first place.’
He had a plan.
The room fell silent.
Everyone looked at Chris in disbelief.
Understandably so.
They were facing a transcendent being—a demon.
“Why do you always…”
Evan sighed in frustration.
He thought Chris was about to risk his life again.
‘No, I really believe there’s a chance.’
Evan wasn’t the only one misunderstanding.
Yurian looked at him like a helpless older sister watching a reckless younger brother.
Aslan, on the other hand, was awestruck, as if witnessing the hero’s resolve.
They all seemed to think Chris was about to make a noble sacrifice, throwing himself into the flames for their sake.
Chris frowned at their assumptions.
Evan let out a long sigh.
“There’s no stopping you anyway. I’ll go with you.”
“Me too. I can’t just watch my little brother walk into the fire alone.”
“I, Aslan, will also risk my life!”
The three shouted together, but why did Chris feel uneasy?
“…Anyway, let’s go.”
And so,
The hero drew his sword to face the demon.
Before heading straight to the palace, they gathered more forces.
They freed Marquis Balmond and Heinz, who had been imprisoned after dueling Chris.
“Is that so? The crown prince? Then what happened to the second prince?”
“He was probably sacrificed to the demon.”
“!!”
Marquis Balmond frowned, then suddenly bowed to Christian.
“Please accept my loyalty, Hero!”
“…”
“I, Balmond, recognize you as the hope of the Karn Empire! I will be your sword!”
Upon hearing the second prince was dead, he quickly switched allegiance to Chris.
‘A remarkable man. Well, he’s easy to use, so no harm done.’
Heinz, vice-captain of the White Tiger Squad, also came over willingly.
“So the poison plot during the duel was the crown prince’s doing. We must make him pay in the name of the White Tiger Squad.”
…Actually, Chris was the one who did it, but there was no need to reveal that, so he just nodded.
“Then let’s go immediately. There’s no time to waste.”
When they arrived at the palace, the situation was worse than expected.
A dreadful aura of Gehenna permeated the entire palace, and grotesque humanoid monsters roamed, slaughtering all in their path.
They were demon servants—the demon tribe.
“…The darkness is unusually strong. We should regroup and prepare before entering.”
When Marquis Balmond, a self-preservationist, tried to back out, Aslan snapped at him.
“No, how can the captain of the royal guard be afraid?!”
“Who said I’m afraid?! I’m just worried about the hero crown prince!”
“If we retreat now, everyone inside will die!”
“Who doesn’t know that? But realistically, we can’t fight those Gehenna monsters alone! We’d just die pointlessly!”
His words were transparent, but not wrong.
Evan asked Chris.
“What will you do? Go in as is? Balmond has a point.”
“Wait a moment.”
Everyone wore puzzled expressions.
Suddenly, a sharp, irritated voice cut through the air.
“Why are you so late? I thought you were dead.”
Lanya appeared, her face pale and drawn.
She had arrived at the palace earlier on Chris’s orders.
“How’s the situation?”
“Fortunately, thanks to my genius as a mage, I managed to activate the defensive barrier and avoided the worst-case scenario. Civilians have taken refuge inside the barrier, while the palace knights and mages are holding the line against the demons. It’s all thanks to me tweaking the palace’s battle array in advance. Otherwise, we’d all be wiped out by now.”
Lanya gestured proudly, clearly pleased with herself, but Chris clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“That’s not enough. You only strengthened the defense; you didn’t enhance the countermeasures. This won’t do.”
“How am I supposed to improve those effects on this rusty old array? Seriously, you’re confident because you don’t know better. Don’t spout nonsense.”
“I’m about to.”
“…What did you say?”
“I’m going to fix the battle array right now, on the spot.”
Lanya blinked, then looked utterly incredulous.
“Are you out of your mind…?”
“Hand it over. I’ll need to borrow some mana.”
Without waiting for a response, Chris snatched her hand away, leaving Lanya stunned.