Chapter 330

Ria had caught six, and Chris had caught four.

“Hehe, I win! Admit it?”

“…The ones I faced were a bit stronger.”

“So you’re refusing to admit defeat? For a genius, you’re pretty petty.”

“…Who’s petty? Fine, I lost. Your skills are impressive.”

Chris wore a reluctant expression.

He couldn’t remember the last time he lost a bet.

“So, what do you want from me?”

“That’s still a secret.”

“…?”

“This is exciting. This must be what friendship feels like, right? Anyway, be prepared to grant my request! Hehe.”

Ria smiled brightly, as if she had some secret plan.

Unease crept up inside Chris, but this wasn’t the time to waste on idle talk.

‘We’ve already taken longer than I expected.’

The power of the true dragons was stronger than anticipated.

If it weren’t for Ria, they would have been in serious trouble.

‘…Ria’s strength isn’t just seven-star level. She’s at least an eight-star advanced.’

It was astonishing.

At that moment, a question popped into Chris’s mind.

‘To think such a prodigy existed in the Blood Sword Maga. Why hasn’t someone like her become famous?’

Chris didn’t know much about the Blood Sword Maga.

After Idrene became the Blood Demon King, she had brutally purged her own clan, leaving few survivors.

He had assumed Ria was one of the victims of that purge.

‘Still, it’s strange. Someone with that level of skill completely unknown?’

There were only two eight-star absolute demons in the Blood Sword Maga.

The current clan head, the fallen Vampire Lord Robinson.

And the vice head, the Blood Countess Berling.

‘Neither of them.’

Vampire Lord Robinson was allied with the Four Demon Kings and Curses, and Berling was in poor condition, barely able to move.

‘No, there’s one more.’

Chris swallowed hard.

His body stiffened as if struck by lightning.

‘Grand Princess Idrene.’

Idrene’s power was known to be eight-star advanced.

Almost identical to Ria’s.

‘No way.’

Chris wore a look of disbelief.

He had entertained similar suspicions before, but the gap between ‘Idrene’ and ‘Ria’ was so vast that he dismissed it as nonsense.

“Hehe, today’s been great. A secret friendship mission, and I even won the bet! I’m thrilled!”

Look at her.

That foolish grin.

How could anyone see Idrene’s face in that scatterbrained girl?

But if Ria was Idrene…

All the lingering doubts suddenly made sense.

“I have to ask you something.”

“Ask me anything!”

“…Why did you get close to me?”

“Why ask that? There’s no special reason. Friends don’t need reasons!”

“…Really?”

“…To be honest, there is a reason.”

“Tell me.”

Ria’s cheeks flushed.

Brightly, unmistakably red—like a white sheet of paper blushing like an apple.

“I just wanted to be close to you from the moment I first saw you. I don’t know why. Even now, I want to get closer. More than now, even more. Like a greedy person, I want to be greedy.”

“……”

As expected, a foolish answer.

The problem was, it didn’t sound like a lie.

It was sincere.

‘I don’t get it.’

For now, they had to deal with the Life Vessel first.

After this was over, he would get to the bottom of the truth.

“Let’s go down.”

The Life Vessel was located deeper inside.

Chris knew the layout well because he had been here once before with the previous hero party.

‘Besides the true dragons, there aren’t any major threats.’

They were making their way down, disabling undead and traps along the way.

Suddenly, a chill ran down Chris’s spine.

‘Why do I feel so ominous all of a sudden?’

It was a gut feeling he couldn’t ignore.

Thanks to his heightened soul level, his instincts had a prophetic quality.

And in the next moment, Chris discovered the source of his unease.

“What is this…?”

In the very center of the underground ruins was a massive magic circle.

“Why is something like this here?”

He had never seen anything like it in his previous life.

The problem was, this wasn’t an ordinary magic circle.

‘It’s linked to Gehenna. Who would dare draw such a high-level demon-worship magic circle?’

Chris shuddered.

Only one group in this world could create such a magic circle.

‘…The Mystic Maga?’

At the same time, footsteps echoed.

Slow, deliberate steps.

Chris’s eyes widened when he saw who appeared.

They wore white priest robes embroidered with chilling demonic symbols.

“Mystic Maga?”

And not just any of them.

They bore the mark of tortured humans on their foreheads.

A symbol that had terrified the alliance in Chris’s previous life.

‘Heretic Priests!’

They were the Mystic Maga’s battle priest order.

They branded anyone who didn’t worship demons as heretics and offered them as sacrifices.

‘Why are they here?’

That wasn’t all.

[Hehehe. How delightful. I was wondering how to bring you to us, and here you come walking in on your own. Lucky indeed.]

A strange figure spoke.

Pale as a sheet of paper, with pitch-black pupils lacking whites, long nails, and two black wings sprouting from their back.

More demon than human, Chris swallowed hard.

“The Mystic Maga’s Cardinal.”

[Oh? You know of us Mystic Maga? I am Cardinal Scheller. A pleasure.]

The cardinal bowed exaggeratedly, as if mocking.

Chris’s expression darkened.

‘A cardinal is at least an eight-star being.’

The Mystic Maga was a demon-worshipping cult.

All members had made contracts with demons, granting them immense power.

The highest-ranking priests—the cardinals, bishops, archbishops, and high priests—received special blessings, becoming almost like high-ranking demons despite being human.

‘At least it’s not a bishop or higher.’

Bishops wielded power in the upper eight-star range.

Still, the situation was grim.

Even with Chris and Ria combined, facing a single cardinal was tough, let alone the entire battle priest order.

‘What do I do?’

For now, he decided to stall.

“A cardinal of the Mystic Maga coming all the way to this remote ruin? They must be really bored.”

“On the contrary. This is more important than anything else, so I came personally.”

The cardinal smiled slyly.

“To welcome you, the great vessel who will fulfill our Mystic Maga’s grand mission.”

“!!”

Chris frowned.

“What nonsense is that? Your grand mission means Ragnarok, right?”

The cardinal looked surprised.

“As expected of Grand Duke Christian. You know our Mystic Maga’s wish. Yes, we plan to destroy this false world and open a new one, following the will of the great demons.”

This much Chris already knew from his previous life.

But a vessel?

‘Could it be…?’

Something clicked.

“…I wasn’t supposed to be the vessel, was I?”

The cardinal let out a low, impressed sound.

“You really know our Mystic Maga well. That’s right. The vessel we originally had in mind wasn’t you.”

The story continued.

“We originally considered Grand Princess Idrene of the Blood Sword Maga as the vessel. But suddenly, you appeared. You fit the prophecy better.”

“……”

“After thorough consideration, we concluded that you are indeed the vessel the prophecy speaks of. That’s why we came to bring you here.”

It was astonishing.

Chris clenched his fists tightly.

‘So, in the previous life, Idrene was just a tool for these guys?’

The mystery was solved, but it wasn’t a reason to celebrate.

If this continued, Chris would become the vessel instead of Idrene.

[This magic circle will strip away your false will and rebirth you as the perfect vessel. Rejoice. Today, you will be born anew here, becoming the protagonist of the great mission.]

“…Shut up with your nonsense.”

Chris desperately searched for a way out during the conversation, but no solution came easily.

Using a spatial artifact to escape was impossible—they wouldn’t let him.

A direct fight was hopeless.

‘No, there has to be some way.’

Then, Ria, who had been standing silently beside him, spoke up.

“Grand Duke Christian, may I ask you something? Are we friends?”

“…What kind of nonsense is that to ask now?”

Chris answered irritably, but Ria didn’t back down.

“Please answer. It’s important.”

“…Yes, we’re friends. Why?”

“Hehe, I see.”

Ria smiled.

It was an expression Chris couldn’t understand.

“Actually, I have something to apologize for. Will you forgive me?”

Then—

Chris’s eyes widened at what happened next.

Ria’s appearance began to change.

Her flowing crimson hair, her deep, enchanting violet eyes.

A breathtaking beauty, as if sculpted by the heavens themselves.

It was Idrene!

“This is…?”

“Yes. Sorry for deceiving you. I am Idrene. I hid my true form because I feared you would see me as an enemy, but somehow I ended up hiding it all this time.”

Chris fell silent.

He had suspected it to some extent, so the surprise wasn’t overwhelming.

Still, it was hard to believe that the scatterbrained Ria was actually Idrene.

“…I ask again. Am I still your friend?”

Her voice trembled faintly.

Idrine’s eyes held a flicker of unease as she looked at him.

Just like that fool, Ria.

Chris was silent for a moment before answering.

“…Yeah, you’re still my friend.”

The unexpected reply caught even Chris off guard.

Truthfully, he hadn’t completely let go of the resentment he felt toward the Bloodletting Demon King.

Of course, he now fully understood that Idrine wasn’t to blame for what happened in the past, but this was a feeling etched deep in his soul—beyond reason—and not something easily shaken off.

Still.

“…You’re my ho— I mean, friend.”

The warmth he’d felt toward that fool Ria wasn’t a lie.

She really was his “pushover.”

“Hehe, thanks.”

Ria—or rather, Idrine—smiled.

Maybe it was the change in her appearance?

It was the same goofy smile, but instead of seeming silly like before, it now carried a captivating charm.

“Remember the bet we made earlier?”

“I remember. Stop with the pointless talk and tell me how we’re getting out of here…”

“I’m about to make that request now.”

“What…?”

“I’ll hold them off. You just have to survive and escape.”