Episode 316

A powerful barrier had been set up—but once again, it was completely ignored.

And that wasn’t all.

The energy the demon had been gathering dissipated under Chris’s single, flawless sword technique.

[You?]

Only then did the demon’s face stiffen, sensing something was seriously wrong.

But Chris didn’t answer. He just kept unleashing his sword strikes.

Twice, thrice, five times, ten times.

With every slash, the demon’s body was sliced apart and sent flying into the void, until finally it was shattered beyond recognition.

[W-What…!]

The demon’s body reformed in a swirl of smoke.

It hadn’t taken a fatal blow, but its expression was shaken.

[How could a mere mortal like you—?]

“You really have no idea, do you?”

[What?]

Slowly, something about Chris began to change.

On the surface, there was no visible difference.

His aura, his presence, his entire atmosphere remained the same.

But something had definitely shifted.

And the demon realized what had changed, its voice trembling.

[N-Impossible… This soul rank…?]

That’s right.

Chris had revealed the hidden rank of his soul.

And there was a reason the demon was so horrified.

“Now do you understand?”

Chris twisted the corner of his mouth.

“You’re nothing but a lowly insect before me.”

Chris’s soul rank was higher than that of the demon standing before him.

---

Demons are great and powerful beings.

But what kind of power do they possess?

Their strength was different from that of humans, knights, mages, or even monsters.

All beings in the middle realm derive their power from physical phenomena that actually exist.

Whether swordsmanship, magic, or monsters—it’s all the same.

Even the demon tribes of Gehenna were no exception, as they were closer to monsters.

Only demons and the celestial beings had a different source of power.

Their strength was spiritual.

In other words, their power came from their souls, and the higher the rank of their soul, the greater their power.

“That means if you have a superior rank, you can easily dominate those with inferior ranks.”

This was why Chris had desperately sought the Samwonjeong to raise his soul rank.

“But my soul rank is higher than I expected. Though I’m only a minor baron, I’m ranked above many titled nobles?”

Even Chris was surprised.

He had expected to be roughly equal, but the demon before him felt like a mere pest.

“Maybe I’m at the level of a viscount… or perhaps even a count.”

Of course, that didn’t mean Chris’s soul power was equal to that of a high-ranking demon.

His rank was higher, but the size of his soul’s vessel was much smaller.

Strictly speaking, Chris’s soul power was far less than the demon’s.

“So, quality is high, but quantity is lacking?”

It was a crude analogy, but roughly accurate.

The demon seemed to sense this and radiated a fierce aura.

[So you’re the mortal who recently attained the rank of Ascendant. Excellent. I shall offer you to the great one I serve and receive his grace!]

Roar!!

A fierce energy surged again.

This time, the power was far greater than before, as if the demon was ready to fight seriously.

Slash! Slice!

But it was useless.

The demon’s attack scattered weakly, and then something unusual happened.

A brilliant holy light enveloped the demon’s soul.

It was like a sacred flame purifying corruption.

The demon hastily retreated, but its face had turned pale—this blow had left a mark.

[How is this possible?]

“Foolish. You came here without proper qualifications and dared to challenge me?”

[!!]

Yes.

The demon was losing not just because of soul rank.

To manifest on the mortal plane, a demon must acquire the proper causal conditions through sacrifices and rituals.

But the crown prince had been cornered and failed to offer sufficient sacrifices, arriving in an incomplete state.

Chris glanced around the battlefield.

A pile of relics caught his eye.

“It looks like you tried to compensate for your incomplete state by absorbing the power of relics stored in the royal palace. But no matter how unstable your method, you can’t hope to challenge me.”

[!!]

As Chris said, the demon had tried to make up for its lack of power by absorbing the relics piled up in the palace.

But it was a shortcut, and unlike a proper manifestation, its power was unstable.

Though the flaws were subtle, unfortunately for the demon, Chris was no one to overlook even the smallest weakness.

[Don’t be ridiculous. You’re just a mortal.]

Blazing!!!

The battlefield trembled as the demon tried to draw on the full power of the relics.

But—

“You know what?”

Chris reached out his hand.

“Disrupting things like this is my specialty.”

The flow of power from the relics toward the demon abruptly stopped.

Chris had asserted control.

If it were a simple contest of strength, maybe not—but this was a battle of dominance, and Chris would not lose to anyone.

Of course, the demon had the advantage in sheer scale of control.

But Chris had an unparalleled finesse in wielding it.

Especially now, with the demon’s power unstable and Chris’s soul rank superior, the balance tipped instantly.

One by one, the relics fell under Chris’s control, and with each loss, the demon’s strength visibly waned.

[W-What?]

Realizing it was in danger, the demon tried to flee back to Gehenna—but its face turned pale again.

It remembered the wager made with Chris before the fight.

A promise sealed with their souls—there was no escape.

“I told you, I won’t let you go.”

Chris reached out.

Blazing.

His spiritual pressure spread, engulfing the demon.

It was the Manmaangbok.

“Kneel.”

[!!]

What followed was a sight impossible to believe.

Crack!

The demon, unable to resist, dropped to its knees.

But Chris wasn’t done.

Like crushing a bug, he pressed down on the demon with his finger in midair.

Crack!!

The demon was slammed to the ground like a crushed insect.

Originally, the demon had manifested without proper qualifications, and now, having lost the relics that bolstered its power, it was utterly powerless against the Manmaangbok.

“Besides, my Manmaangbok is currently enhanced by the relics’ power.”

Chris strode toward the fallen demon.

[Th-This… This can’t be…]

The demon ground its teeth, unable to believe the situation.

[What do you intend to do with me?]

“Obviously, I’m going to kill you. Is that even a question?”

[!!]

Fear flickered in the demon’s eyes.

To fear death—unlike a transcendent being.

But that was typical of ordinary demons, not the truly great ones.

‘True transcendent beings possess soul ranks above the fourth tier. These guys are just strong bugs.’

Chris thought coldly.

He wanted to kill the demon immediately, but there was something he had to do first.

‘I need to use this demon to become even stronger.’

There was a way to grow through the demon.

‘I have to lay the groundwork to reach the eighth rank.’

It was astonishing.

He had only recently reached the seventh rank, yet he was already aiming for the eighth?

But it was necessary.

‘Soon, I’ll have to join the war against the Four Kings’ Realm. To achieve my plan, I need to be at least near the eighth rank.’

Reaching the eighth rank in such a short time was impossible for even Chris alone—but with the demon’s help, it could be done.

“Let’s begin.”

He placed his hand on the demon’s head.

“I’m giving you a chance.”

[W-What?]

“Try to hold on, no matter what.”

A thick, dark shadow rose from Chris’s hand.

It was dark magic.

The dark magic enveloped the demon’s soul.

[You… you fiend! Kraaah!!]

The demon screamed, struggling against the dark magic invading its soul.

‘I have to subdue the demon using pure dark magic alone.’

The eighth rank was called the realm of the Absolute.

It meant not just to toy with the laws, but to completely dominate and control one’s surroundings.

Especially for the kind of ‘domain control’ Chris sought, the dark magic had to possess perfect dominion.

‘I will conquer the soul of this transcendent demon with dark magic and gain perfect dominion.’

The dark magic trying to swallow the demon’s soul clashed fiercely with the demon’s own energy.

As expected, a demon was no easy opponent.

The demon’s soul pushed back strongly against the dark magic.

But Chris didn’t retreat.

This time, he didn’t use any tricks or finesse—he simply pressed forward with pure dark magic energy.

Amazingly, the dark magic began to slowly consume the demon’s soul.

Suddenly, the demon let out a terrible roar.

[Kraaaah!]

A surge of energy burst from the demon’s soul.

‘Energy conversion of the spirit body!’

It was sacrificing part of its soul to convert into power.

A permanent drop in soul rank, but a desperate move.

‘This is dangerous.’

If things continued like this, Christ wouldn’t make it out alive.

The most certain way was to immediately annihilate the demon.

But Christ shook his head and pressed on with the reckless challenge.

“I can do this.”

A brilliant flare erupted!

He summoned the dark mana with all his might.

Not just the core mana, but the very power of his soul as well.

“I have to fuse the essence of my soul with the dark mana.”

If he had to describe the core of his soul in one word, it was a proud jester.

A solitary spirit, aloof and looking down on everyone else.

That essence merged with the dominion nature of the dark mana, becoming one.

A blazing surge!

This new, different kind of dominion energy crushed the demon’s soul, preventing it from transforming into pure energy.

Blood trickled from Christ’s nose from the strain, but he didn’t stop.

“Graaah! You bastard…!!”

But the demon wasn’t going down quietly.

It roared in fury, thrashing wildly like a beast trapped in a cage, its power shaking violently.

Even Christ’s dark mana, which had briefly gained the upper hand, began to falter and retreat.

“Do you think I’ll just take this? Even if my soul is destroyed, I’ll kill you!”

The demon’s eyes blazed with a terrifying light as it shouted.

It seemed ready to self-destruct, as a massive surge of energy began flashing within its soul.

In that instant, Christ felt a fierce wave of crisis.

This couldn’t go on.

From the start, trying to subdue a transcendent being like a demon with only the dominion of dark mana might have been impossible.

But why?

Even though he should have given up this reckless attempt and immediately destroyed the demon’s soul—

“I can’t stop now.”

Above all, he felt this instinct.

I can do this.

Suddenly, a thought struck Christ.

There is nothing in this world I cannot dominate.

Nothing at all.

All things, whether light or darkness.

Eventually, they will kneel before me.

“So a flawed demon like this is nothing—I can make it submit however I want.”

At that moment, the demon’s rampaging soul came to a sudden halt.

It was completely bound by the dark mana.

And near Christ, an unbelievable miracle was unfolding.

A domain of darkness spread out.

A “domain of dominion.”

Though it barely extended nearby and lacked a clear form, it was unmistakably a domain of control.

“Ah…”

The demon groaned, meeting Christ’s cold gaze.

“P-please… spare me…”