Episode 32

“!!”

The once-relaxed bodyguards suddenly tensed up.

Alos stepped forward.

“Drive it into the cave.”

Now, all that was left was for Alos to use the Marryeon Technique to control Karazov and perform the ritual.

A massive shadow soon loomed inside the cave.

Karazov was a demonic beast resembling a peacock.

But rather than beautiful, it was grotesque.

Its body was twice the size of a normal beast, and its wings were mottled with what looked like filthy stains.

Its neck was thick like a log, writhing like a snake.

It had three pairs of hideous eyes, and its head was enormous—like a solid iron mace. A headbutt from that thing wouldn’t end with just a minor injury.

The most dangerous aspect, however, was its poison.

Every time Karazov flapped its wings, a cloud of grayish-white powder drifted down.

That powder was a toxin that clouded the mind; anyone hit by it would be rendered helpless in battle.

A beast with both brute strength and venom.

“By rank, it’s a Grade 4 demon beast, but it’s not actually that threatening.”

Karazov was surprisingly timid for its power.

At the slightest threat, it would flee.

So Alos and the bodyguards weren’t overly tense.

“Master Alos, Karazov is a coward. It won’t attack first, so just cast the Marryeon Technique without worry.”

Alos nodded and approached Karazov.

But Karazov’s reaction was strange.

A low growl rumbled from it.

A rough, unsettling sound.

Alos dismissed it as just a frightened whimper.

Before casting the technique, he even glanced at Chris with a confident look.

“Watch closely,” his eyes seemed to say.

Then, as he reached out to cast the Marryeon Technique—

Something unexpected happened!

“KIAAAAH!!!”

Karazov let out a terrifying roar and charged headfirst.

Caught off guard, Alos couldn’t dodge.

Thud!

He was struck squarely and flew backward through the air.

“Master?!”

“Are you alright?!”

The bodyguards rushed over, shocked.

Grrr.

Karazov flapped its wings.

The bodyguards’ faces hardened.

“Poison!”

“Hit it before the toxin takes effect!”

Fortunately, all the bodyguards had taken antidotes beforehand.

But even with the antidotes, they couldn’t fully resist the poison.

The longer they were exposed, the more the toxin would overwhelm the antidote—and then it would be over.

They had to take it down quickly.

The bodyguards charged, but—

Thud!

Karazov easily blocked their attacks. The second victim was sent flying, blood spraying.

“W-why?”

The bodyguards were stunned.

Karazov had never been this aggressive before.

Usually, just threatening it with a sword was enough to freeze it in fear.

That was why, despite being a Grade 4 demon beast, only young bodyguards hunted with it.

But now, Karazov wasn’t scared—it was rampaging like a wild beast, its three pairs of green eyes wide and flashing fiercely.

“There’s a reason for this.”

Chris, the only one who remained calm, thought casually.

“Because I caused it.”

The aphrodisiac Chris had spread the night before wasn’t ordinary.

It was an alchemical secret technique that wildly amplified the beast’s aggression, driving Karazov into a frenzy.

“Plus, I secretly cast a curse on it.”

The curse was called “Forgetful Fear.”

As the name suggests, it erased fear through dark magic, allowing Karazov to display the ferocity of a berserker.

“Call for backup outside!”

“It’s too late! We have to handle this ourselves!”

But they were no match.

All the bodyguards were young, barely adults, with at most a 2-star rank.

One by one, they fell to Karazov’s frenzied attacks.

The poison was the worst part.

Every wing flap released toxin that clouded their minds.

“No, this can’t be…”

“We’re all going to die like this…”

Despair settled on their faces.

Then, tap tap.

A soft, deliberate footstep echoed.

A sound that pierced everyone’s ears.

“!!”

Turning in surprise, they saw the noble-looking youth, Christian, smirking annoyingly.

“The Tiramyn family is pathetic. Need my help?”

It was time for the hero to step in.

---

“…”

Alos and the bodyguards looked bewildered.

‘What the hell is this crazy guy talking about?’

How could Chris possibly save them?

They were all 2-star bodyguards.

Chris was just another 2-star.

Yet Christian spoke arrogantly, as if he could actually defeat Karazov.

“If you agree to serve me as your senior, I’ll help you out.”

“Crazy bastard.”

Alos spat the insult.

But for some reason—maybe because of that boundless, irritating confidence—it felt like Christian might actually solve this mess.

“Come on, hurry up. We don’t have time.”

Just then, Karazov opened its jaws wide toward a fallen bodyguard.

If left like that, the man would die.

Alos couldn’t hold back and shouted.

“You crazy bastard!! Help us, damn it!”

Christian lifted the corner of his mouth.

“From now on, call me your senior.”

At the same time—

Whoosh!

Christian threw a dagger.

It flew straight like a drawn line and pierced Karazov’s head.

The precision was astonishing, but it didn’t cause damage.

Karazov’s armor-like skin simply deflected the blade.

Still, it succeeded in drawing Karazov’s attention.

The beast glared at Chris.

KIAAAH!

With a roar, it charged.

Christian spun his body half a turn to the side, dodging the attack.

As they crossed paths, Christian’s sword slashed at Karazov’s wing.

Clang!

But it was useless.

The blade bounced off like hitting iron.

To wound Karazov, one needed a black sword infused with magical energy.

Black swords required at least a 3-star rank to wield.

In other words, to land a meaningful hit on Karazov, you needed to be at least 3-star.

‘We could win with combined forces, but that’s impossible now.’

A direct fight was hopeless.

But that was fine.

There was a way.

“What the hell are you doing, acting all high and mighty? You might as well run away!”

Alos shouted.

The bodyguards, including Alos, were already poisoned and unable to flee.

“This is the Tiramyn family’s problem! It’s none of your business, so get lost now!”

Christian looked slightly surprised.

Though laced with curses, it was a genuine concern.

‘Maybe after getting beaten up so much, he’s grown fond of me?’

Like Tern, the best bonds often form through exchanged blows.

“Thanks for the concern.”

Clang!

Christian’s sword struck Karazov again.

He dodged and blocked the beast’s attacks, never missing an opening to counterattack.

The counterattacks were meaningless.

No, not meaningless.

Amid the back-and-forth, Christian was preparing a trick.

“There is a way.”

Clang!

Christian dropped his sword.

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock.

“D-danger…!!”

Then, Christian spread his hands.

One toward Karazov.

The other close to his body.

A baffling gesture.

And then, something unbelievable happened.

Click.

Karazov froze.

Flutter.

Its feathers trembled in resistance.

Christian spoke firmly.

“Fold your wings.”

“?!”

To everyone’s astonishment, Karazov obeyed.

It folded its flapping wings.

The Tiramyn bodyguards gasped in disbelief.

“Marryeon Technique?!”

“How?!”

Christian thought calmly.

“How? I showed you during our sparring.”

Of course, Christian hadn’t mastered the Marryeon Technique in one go.

He had learned the basics at the Kazar family estate and practiced secretly after sparring with Alos.

“I couldn’t copy it perfectly, so I modified it my way.”

Since he hadn’t been formally taught, there were gaps in his knowledge.

Like a magic formula missing parts.

He filled those gaps with his own methods.

“So, you could say it’s the Christian-style Marryeon Technique, inspired by Tiramyn’s. After all, imitation is the mother of creation.”

One hand controlled the beast’s movements, while the other cast a dark curse to suppress its spirit.

“Now, head to that altar.”

Christian ordered.

Karazov resisted, but Christian’s other hand radiated a dark light.

The curse of fear sapped Karazov’s will.

“Th-this can’t be. How is this possible?”

The Marryeon Technique was a difficult skill requiring long-term training to control a beast.

But even more shocking was the fact that Christian was using the Marryeon Technique and a curse simultaneously.

They were completely different types of power.

Even the Tiramyn family’s Marryeon Technique only mixed in curses superficially; using both powers separately at the same time was impossible.

Amid the bodyguards’ shock, Karazov climbed onto the altar prepared in advance.

The altar stood before the rift to Gehenna.

KIAAAAH!!

A terrified scream tore from Karazov as the wicked energy seeping from Gehenna washed over him.

Chris’s mind sharpened with focus.

“I need a fear even greater—one that can overwhelm the malice of Gehenna itself.”

His other hand darkened further, swallowed by an even deeper shadow.

An overwhelming terror flooded Karazov’s mind.

And when that fear pressed down, crushing even the evil radiating from Gehenna—

The spell unfolding from Chris’s hand shifted.

Joy blossomed within the fear.

A single ray of light, a hymn of delight shining through dread. Ecstasy.

This was the essence of the Ebony Ritual.

The moment Karazov overcame the terror of Gehenna and willingly offered his life in joy for the caster, the ash cluster within his body would transform into ebony.

A pure crystal of darkness, one that even Gehenna’s malice could not taint.

“Now!”

Chris’s hand flashed.

Clutched in his grip was a dagger.

A short blade, the kind the corrupt merchant lord Grantel had procured—an item barely legal to carry.

The dagger sliced through Karazov’s armor-like skin.

Fshh!

Green blood splattered wildly as Chris plunged his hand inside.

When he pulled it back out, he held a small orb.

A spirit cluster.

“Ebony?!”

“No, it’s ash!”

The retainers of Count Tiramyn shouted.

The orb in Chris’s hand wasn’t black—it shimmered with a grayish hue.

Chris scowled noticeably.

“So it’s not ebony. The ritual must have failed.”

But that was a lie.

The ebony cluster was already tucked away in Chris’s pocket.

How did that happen?

“I switched them.”