Chapter 322
The arena fell into a stunned silence.
Everyone stared at Christian with wide, disbelieving eyes.
Shock rippled through both the Dark Alliance and the Four Kings’ faction alike.
Before Christian lay the shattered remains of two undead commanders.
They were the corpses of the first legion commander he had challenged, the “Scythe of the Abyss,” and another commander known as the “Ruler of the Four Seas.”
Two legion commanders had been utterly defeated and annihilated.
But that wasn’t all.
Another victim was falling.
Thud!
“Unbelievable… th-this can’t be…”
A black mage with ash-gray eyes coughed up blood and collapsed.
This was no ordinary black mage.
He was one of the Five Evils—the core of the Cursed Mages’ seven-star elite.
One of the five highest-ranking mages had just lost his life.
A heavy silence settled over the crowd.
Legion commanders and the Five Evils were considered the strongest among the Summoning and Cursed Mages.
Of course, above them were the Four Kings and the Three Abysses—eight-star absolute powers—but even the commanders and the Five Evils were terrifying forces in their own right.
And yet, Christian had taken on three of them alone—and won.
A crushing victory at that.
“No way…”
“How could this happen?”
The dark mages of the Dark Alliance clicked their tongues at the other factions’ mages, who were equally incredulous.
“Didn’t we say not to doubt the Grand Duke? There’s nothing impossible for him. He’s insane.”
Such reactions didn’t come only from ordinary mages.
The heads of the Destruction and Extreme Poison factions—Duke Vessen and Duke Huam—were equally shocked.
In fact, their shock was even greater. Their higher level of understanding made them realize just how absurd Christian’s feat truly was.
Nordian shrugged his shoulders.
“He’s my grandson.”
“…”
At that moment, Count Kazar spoke cautiously.
“Shouldn’t we start calling them back? Surely, out of some sense of pride, the Four Kings or the Three Abysses won’t intervene just because it’s the Grand Duke Christian. But who knows what dirty tricks the Four Kings might try.”
Nordian nodded in agreement.
They weren’t the type to just sit back and take it.
But before the Four Kings could even make a move, Christian did something no one expected.
“Is that all the Four Kings have? Legion commanders, the Five Evils… all utterly disappointing.”
“!!”
“Especially the Five Evils. The puppet master Märchen, all talk and no substance. To think they bragged so much at this level—I’d be too ashamed to show my face.”
The remaining Five Evils’ expressions hardened coldly.
All five were direct descendants of the Cursed Mages.
Unlike other prestigious mage families, they were unusually close-knit.
To be taunted like that by the one who had killed two of their own was unbearable.
Christian sneered mockingly at them.
“Come on, all of you leftovers—attack me at once.”
“…What?”
“You’re so weak that I don’t even need to face you one by one. It’s a hassle, so I’ll just kill you all at once.”
“!!”
The shock spread again.
To face the highest seven-star mages alone—such madness.
But Christian’s insane provocation didn’t stop there.
“Ah, is that too much? Since even if you all attack at once, you won’t be a match for me, how about this? I’ll let you curse me all you want without interference.”
The atmosphere on the Four Kings’ side ignited with barely contained fury.
The three remaining Five Evils stepped forward, their faces grim and resolute.
“I’ll make sure you neither live nor die.”
“That’s the same line the one who just died used. I think Märchen said something similar before he died. Did you all agree to use that as your last words?”
“Shut up!!”
Fwoooosh!
Ashen magic circles appeared around the Five Evils.
The three magic circles expanded and merged into one.
They were combining their power to unleash a curse.
[Prison of the Abyss.]
A miraculous-level curse that felt like falling endlessly into a bottomless pit, stealing all perception.
One curse after another followed.
“Wail of Sorrow,” shaking the mind with primal terror as if facing a demon; “Collapse of Lament,” inflicting unbearable pain while disrupting bodily balance.
“!!”
Christian staggered, clearly affected by the combined miraculous curse.
“G-Get him!”
The Dark Alliance mages shouted urgently.
Curses and illusions shared similarities.
Once you started losing ground, it was difficult to turn the tide.
More curses rained down.
[Collapse of the Origin.]
An atrocious miraculous curse that shattered the self beyond the mind.
Christian swayed again, clearly hit by the curse.
The light in his eyes began to fade.
The Five Evils intensified their power.
The “Collapse of the Origin” pierced Christian’s mind repeatedly.
Finally—
Christian’s eyes went completely blank.
The Dark Alliance mages screamed in horror.
“Grand Duke!!”
The Five Evils smiled cruelly and beckoned.
“Foolish one. This is the price for your arrogance. Come here.”
Clack, clack.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, Christian walked toward them.
Seeing this, Dukes Vessen and Huam urgently turned to Nordian.
“Shouldn’t we save Grand Duke Christian?”
But Nordian’s reaction was strange.
He furrowed his brow and said quietly,
“Still, he’s my grandson, but what a madman. A wicked one.”
“…What did you say?”
At that moment, Christian reached the Five Evils.
The woman among them, Zaehwa, smiled coldly and caressed Christian’s face.
“Heh heh, I’m looking forward to it. You’ll become an experiment of our Four Kings’ faction, endlessly tormented, reborn as a monster neither dead nor alive.”
“Is that your last will?”
Christian, still dazed, suddenly spoke.
“…What?”
In an instant, his sword flashed.
Thud.
Zaehwa’s eyes widened in shock as she tried to raise a shield, but it was too late.
Her heart was pierced through.
“How?!”
“Ah, it was just a trick. Fooled you, didn’t I?”
Christian smirked.
“There’s no way someone like me would fall to your low-level curses.”
Unfortunately for them, Christian’s soaring soul level granted him powerful resistance to mental attacks.
“Curses at my level or below barely affect me.”
“Of course, curses that directly harm the body are another matter, but I’ve quietly neutralized those with secret techniques from the Uiseon family.”
Christian looked both of them squarely in the eye.
“Now, die.”
“!!”
The two remaining Five Evils recoiled in shock, trying to back away, but Christian wouldn’t let them.
Especially since the last two specialized in mental curses.
They were his worst match.
Shing! Shing!
A storm of blood-red energy surged as Christian’s sword sliced through one of the Five Evils’ necks.
“You bastard!!! I will never forgive you!!!”
The last Five Evil shouted with bloodshot eyes.
A dangerous aura flared, as if he was about to sacrifice himself to kill Christian.
But—
“It’s about time to end this.”
Christian spread his hand.
What followed made everyone’s eyes widen in disbelief.
Whoosh!
Darkness spread around Christian, swallowing the surrounding area as if claiming it as his own domain.
Someone gasped.
“…A dominion?”
It was a far more advanced form than when he first unleashed it against a demon.
“Still not fully perfected, though.”
Christian’s dominion hadn’t yet taken on his own unique ‘meaning.’
It was simply the ultimate expression of dark magic’s power of control.
“But it’s enough.”
The raging curse energy abruptly halted.
“Disperse.”
An unbelievable thing happened.
The curse energy began to fade.
It had succumbed to the dominion’s power of control.
“N-No way…”
“What’s impossible about it? I’m the one who makes it possible.”
Thud.
Christian’s sword pierced the last Five Evil’s neck.
With wide eyes, he met death—and the duel was over.
A suffocating silence fell over the crowd, stunned by the impossible miracle Christian had shown.
Christian looked down at the Four Kings’ faction.
“Pathetic. Continuing this would only waste time. I’ll end the duel here.”
“!!”
“The Four Kings’ faction was all show and no substance. To think our Dark Alliance struggled so long against such weaklings. Unbelievable. If it weren’t for the Death Corridor, where deploying troops is difficult, we would have wiped them out in one blow.”
An absurd statement.
Just as the Four Kings’ faction was about to retaliate, Christian made a stunning declaration.
“I won’t waste any more time on scum like you. We’ll have a rematch in a week.”
“!!”
Christian lifted the corner of his mouth in a supremely arrogant smile.
“The location will be the Rihad Plains, the heart of our Dark Mages’ territory. There, I will annihilate you.”
Christian’s declaration sent shockwaves through both camps.
“Is what you said really possible?”
Nordian asked with concern.
“If you fail, our Dark League will suffer irreparable damage. Our power is nowhere near that of the Four Demon Kings’ Alliance.”
“Nowhere near.”
This wasn’t an exaggeration.
The numbers of the highest-ranking demons made that painfully clear.
Just look at the Legion Commanders and the Osas—there were only demons ranked seven stars ‘Upper’ or above in that group.
And when you include the regular seven-star demons below them, plus the high-ranking five- and six-star demons, the gap only widened further.
It was no wonder the Four Demon Kings’ Alliance was called the strongest coalition in the Magic Empire.
The Duke Huam, standing nearby, spoke in a heavy tone.
“Wouldn’t it be better to defend the Death Corridor than to gamble on this?”
But Chris shook his head.
“Staying here as we are will only lead to starvation and death.”
“!!”
“And this isn’t a gamble. I will succeed—no matter what.”
Silence fell over the room.
The three heads of the families present couldn’t bring themselves to speak.
They simply couldn’t believe it.
Chris’s plan was just too reckless.
Nordian sighed.
“I believe in my crazy grandson. But this isn’t just a matter for our Dark Magic family.”
The other houses had to agree.
Then, unexpectedly, Duke Besen spoke up.
“Fine. I’ll go along with your plan.”
“Duke Besen?”
Everyone wore surprised expressions.
Besen frowned as he looked at Christian.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not trusting you. I’m tired of cowering in the castle, scared of those gloomy bastards. I agreed because it’s humiliating to stay on the defensive. This time, we’ll wipe them all out in one fell swoop.”
“…You don’t trust my grandson?”
“No, brother, that’s not it…”
Nordian narrowed his eyes, and Besen faltered, stumbling over his words.