Chapter 323
Duke Huam quickly cut in.
“Big brother, I trust Christian’s nephew. After all, he’s your blood.”
“No, little brother. That’s unfair. Didn’t you just call Christian a madman?”
“When did I ever say that, little brother? Slandering others isn’t fitting for a bold Destruction Mage.”
“You damn poisonous brat!”
For context, the heads of the three great houses had grown closer through their joint battles against the Four Kings’ Castle. Nordian was regarded as the eldest brother, Duke Besen as the middle, and Duke Huam as the youngest—they treated each other like siblings.
Chris held back a smile and said, “Don’t worry. We will succeed, no matter what.”
The three heads stared at him silently for a moment.
Duke Besen finally spoke.
“But there’s a condition. You said you’d go to the heart of the Four Kings’ Castle?”
“Yes.”
To pull off the miracle he envisioned, Chris had to infiltrate the castle first.
“Take Kashmir with you. He’ll be of help.”
Chris looked puzzled.
Kashmir had fully absorbed the Corrupted Flame and grown much stronger than before. But his power was all brute force—hardly the kind of strength that would be useful for this mission.
“Taking Prince Kashmir with you… is that because—?”
“Yes.”
Duke Besen nodded coldly.
“If you’re going that far, then raze the Four Kings’ Castle to the ground. Give those damn sinister bastards a proper beating.”
At the edge of the Corridor of Death.
Scattered skirmishes broke out between the two armies in the outer regions of the corridor.
“There—those are the Dark Mages.”
“Don’t let them escape.”
Cursed Mage sorcerers moved alongside their summoned beasts.
They seemed to be a scouting party, not particularly strong.
But one figure stood out.
A boyish youth, surprisingly skilled for his age.
“Huh? That one looks promising. Did the Dark Mages have such talent?”
“What should we do?”
“Capture him. He’ll make a fine test subject.”
There was a saying on the continent:
If you’re to be captured by the sorcerers of the Four Kings’ Castle, it’s better to take your own life.
Because the experiments they conducted were horrific.
Even after death, victims became neither alive nor dead—turned into puppets, synthetic monsters, or undead, denied even rest.
The Four Kings’ Castle especially coveted young, well-trained rookies.
They could be subjected to endless experiments and were ideal for crafting high-performance puppets.
“Don’t let him get away. Capture him at all costs.”
Fortunately, the young Dark Mage didn’t flee.
Foolishly, he stayed behind to hold off others so they could escape.
He fought valiantly alone, but it was futile.
Unable to withstand the accumulating curses, he staggered and finally collapsed.
“We’ve got him.”
“Handle him carefully. No damage. Restrain him gently and send him to the main fortress. The senior elder will use him for experiments.”
Emily, the Crimson-Eyed.
A senior elder of the Four Kings’ Castle, one of the three absolute 8-star sorcerers known as the Three Abysses of the Cursed Mages.
She was currently guarding the main fortress.
‘The other two Abysses and the Four Kings are all on the battlefield. They were displeased to be left alone here, but if I bring them such a test subject, they won’t forget my contribution.’
Originally, three 8-star absolute sorcerers guarded the main fortress.
But with the Triangular Alliance’s reinforcements and the Karn Empire’s advance, the other two had left for the front lines, leaving only Emily behind.
The Cursed Mage sorcerer looked down at the fallen Dark Mage boy.
His strikingly handsome face was sure to delight Emily, who cared deeply about the appearance of her test subjects.
‘The more beautiful the subject, the harsher the treatment. Poor kid.’
The sorcerer smirked and turned away.
But what he didn’t know was that, in the final moment, when no one was watching, the fallen boy secretly wore a smile.
A smile of triumph.
Meanwhile, high above the vast sky.
A great dragon with six wings sliced through the air.
It was Ashtrat, the Dragon King.
On Ashtrat’s back lay a handsome man in a neat formal suit, yawning.
“Dragon, can you drive any better? This ride is unbearable.”
The Dragon King being treated like a mere carriage.
But Ashtrat said nothing.
[…I will be more careful.]
Because the man was the Archmage Chancellor.
Especially today, the Chancellor seemed unusually irritable, so Ashtrat dared not complain.
Carefully, Ashtrat ventured to speak.
[…Is something wrong?]
“…….”
The Chancellor said nothing, only inhaling deeply from his long pipe.
“How’s the Mystic Mage’s progress?”
[…The altar is nearly complete.]
“Hmm?”
The Chancellor’s interest piqued.
“That fast? The plan’s already that far along? The altar’s location—is it ‘there’?”
[Yes. It’s close to the Four Kings’ Castle. The altar can only be activated where the magical energy is that dense.]
“Now all that’s left is the ‘vessel.’ We failed to secure Idrinne. What’s the plan?”
[It seems they’re targeting Christian.]
A startling revelation.
“Hmm.”
The Chancellor frowned, drawing deeply on his pipe.
[Recently, the Mystic Mage’s ‘Heretical Priesthood’ was confirmed to have left the Mystic Mage faction.]
“You mean that fanatical combat sect?”
[Yes. Their target appears to be Christian. They plan to seize him during the war at the Four Kings’ Castle.]
A chilling prospect.
[…Are we just going to watch this happen?]
“What do you mean?”
[The leader of the Heretical Priesthood is a Cardinal. Christian can’t hope to stand against him.]
Ashtrat glanced nervously.
[You showed interest in Christian, didn’t you? If we do nothing, Christian will end up as the ‘vessel.’]
But the Chancellor only chuckled.
“If that happens, then Christian’s fate is sealed. Not worth worrying over.”
Harsh words.
No matter how strong Christian was, facing the highest-ranking Mystic Mage and his fanatical sect was beyond him.
Still, the Chancellor spoke sincerely.
The hardships awaiting Christian were far worse than this threat.
Better to break now than later.
Yet—
‘Somehow, I feel this will be interesting after all.’
The Chancellor looked down at the land below and smirked.
Deep beneath the endless gray earth.
A massive fortress stood.
The Four Kings’ Castle.
An enormous stronghold, even overshadowing the Karn Empire’s capital—the largest city in the alliance.
Most of the castle’s territory was uninhabitable, so people lived concentrated in one place, allowing such a colossal fortress to be built.
But despite its size, it looked lifeless.
Like a city of the dead.
The sorcerers of the Four Kings’ Castle treated their subjects like cattle, ruling through fear.
A carriage entered the gloomy gray city.
[Stop. What are you transporting?]
A lich guarding the castle walls demanded, and the mage driving the carriage answered.
“A test subject for the senior elder.”
[For the senior elder?]
The lich’s eyes gleamed with greed.
“Yes. A rare, top-tier test subject. We’re handling him with care.”
[…I see. Too bad. If the senior elder tires of him, maybe I’ll get a chance. Let’s go inside.]
The carriage creaked as it passed through the walls and headed inward.
It made its way to the main fortress within the outer walls, specifically to the central tower.
The ‘Four Kings’ Tower,’ where the lord resided.
Currently occupied by Emily, the Crimson-Eyed senior elder.
“You brought a test subject?”
Emily’s face was a grotesque blend—half a beautiful young woman, half a hideous old crone.
“Yes, look.”
“Ah, how beautiful.”
Emily opened the coffin and admired the boy’s face with awe.
“A truly top-tier test subject. I won’t forget this favor.”
“Thank you. We’ll take our leave.”
Emily’s eyes gleamed a sinister crimson as she stared at the boy.
“Oh, so beautiful. Like a sculpture. I’ll make sure to love you very, very much.”
She led the boy deep into the tower’s secret chamber.
Inside were all manner of horrific experimental devices—more grotesque than any torture chamber.
Emily strapped the boy into a frame and activated a magic circle.
The ominous symbol emitted a grayish aura.
“Hoho, this magic links your mind to mine. I’ll observe every reaction during the experiments.”
Of course, this was her twisted hobby.
Cursed with a monstrous face due to the curse’s side effects, she took pleasure in tormenting beautiful subjects.
By linking their minds, she could savor even the slightest pain they felt.
“Don’t worry. I won’t drive you mad too quickly. There are many experiments I want to enjoy, one by one.”
Emily let a drop of her blood fall onto the magic circle.
It was a high-level, dark magical ritual that used blood as the basis for a ‘pact’ to link their minds as one.
Fwoooosh!
As the magic circle activated fully, their consciousnesses began to merge.
“Ah… such vast and solid minds.”
Emily gasped in awe.
The boy wasn’t just beautiful in appearance.
His mental capacity was on a whole different level from ordinary people.
Even though she had only just touched the surface, it seemed endless.
So lofty and exalted that it naturally inspired admiration. It felt almost noble.
Like being overwhelmed by a masterpiece crafted by the heavens themselves, a shiver ran down her spine.
“I want to feel more. More. Even deeper.”
Entranced, Emily plunged further into the depths of the boy’s mind.
Diving this deep meant exposing her own consciousness without any defenses, but she didn’t stop.
Like honey drawing in bees.
As if caught in a spell, she eagerly delved deeper and deeper.
And then—
“Ah.”
The moment she faced the vast, unfathomable depths of his inner world, Emily froze.
It wasn’t just admiration anymore.
It was reverence.
She felt like a mere speck standing before the vast cosmos.
“How can such a mind even exist?”
At that moment, a chill ran down her spine.
“This isn’t the capacity of an ordinary person.”
Realizing something was terribly wrong, her face went pale.