Chapter 366
Chris spoke in a firm tone, as if to confirm he hadn’t misheard.
“You said I should become the Demon King.”
It’s necessary.
He recalled his past life—the Bloodthirsty Demon King.
A power on a whole different level.
But now Chris understood something else.
In fact, the Bloodthirsty Demon King hadn’t fully unlocked Idrinne’s potential.
If Idrinne became the Demon King, she might surpass even the Bloodthirsty Demon King in strength.
Of course, becoming the Demon King right now would be impossible.
Still, before the apocalypse begins, Idrinne must step into the realm of the Demon King.
Chris alone couldn’t take on the Mystic Maga and the Central forces.
“You have to achieve it within half a year. Can you do it?”
An outrageous demand.
But Idrinne bit her lip tightly and nodded with determined eyes.
“I will try. No, since it’s your request, I will definitely succeed.”
Her face softened with emotion again.
“Above all, you want me to become the Demon King because you worry about me, right? To keep my soul from falling into the hands of demons, I have to become as strong as possible.”
Chris remained silent.
…Honestly, I just told her to get stronger so I could use her, but that’s not entirely untrue.
Currently, Idrinne’s soul was protected from demons by a loophole that gave Chris partial ownership, but it was unstable.
If she became the Demon King and reached the level of a half-demon, resisting the demons would become easier.
“You care about me so much, I’ll give it my all! You should train with me too!”
“…Why me?”
“You need training as well, don’t you? We’re friends, so we should train together!”
“No, being friends doesn’t mean we have to do everything together…”
“I won’t take no for an answer!”
“…….”
And so, they began training together, and time flew by.
Berling’s treatment started to take effect, and she gradually showed signs of recovery. Meanwhile, Kashmir and Marisa, who had come along to the Four Kings’ Castle, were secretly preparing something under Chris’s orders.
As for Idrinne and Chris—
Insane.
Chris’s face paled at the sight before him.
Whoosh!
A crimson storm raged.
Idrinne had already reached the lower eighth rank in her training.
No, judging by the meaning behind her domain of control, she was incomparable to a typical lower eighth rank. Rising through the eighth rank would be a mere formality.
I gave her advice, but this is outright cheating…
She seemed even stronger than Evan and Lanya.
“How is it?! I worked hard to help you! Not bad, right?”
…Though she still acted like a fool.
“By the way, what kind of training are you doing?”
Chris had been leisurely commenting on Idrinne’s training but hadn’t done any serious training himself.
“You said I needed to achieve something, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
In the upcoming battle with the Wraiths, using the Hero’s power would be difficult due to the watchful eyes around them.
They had to fight using only dark magic, which was far weaker than the Hero’s achievements.
At best, Chris was barely at the lower eighth rank.
That was until recently.
“I’ve already achieved it.”
“…When did you say that?”
Idrinne looked utterly confused.
They’d been goofing off the whole time—what achievement?
“It was just a matter of consolidating it.”
“Is that so? If you say so, then I’ll believe it.”
Idrinne accepted it.
Chris was a genius beyond common sense; it wouldn’t be strange if he took a nap standing on his head and still managed to achieve something.
“So, have you reached the full lower eighth rank?”
“No.”
“…Then maybe somewhere in the eighth rank?”
“Watch this.”
Chris unleashed a ‘Divine Power,’ and Idrinne’s eyes widened as if they might burst.
“C-could it be…?”
“Yes.”
Chris smirked.
“Do you see now why I said I could take down the Wraiths?”
Upper eighth rank.
This was the achievement Chris had made with dark magic.
Just then, a voice came through.
It was a message from Robinson, who had recently become a subordinate.
—The Wraith Ritual has concluded.
It was a ceremony where the souls of the family’s deceased were absorbed into the Wraith’s power.
The souls absorbed this time were at the triple flame level of the eighth rank, so the Wraith’s power must have grown exponentially.
—The Wraith’s power might now rival the Four Kings’ Lord.
Idrinne’s expression grew worried.
“Is this really okay? Even for you, this might be difficult.”
Just because Chris had reached the upper eighth rank didn’t mean he could surpass the Wraiths.
At this point, the Wraith was closer to the level of a ninth-rank True Demon King than anyone else in the Magic Empire.
But Chris showed no sign of concern.
“It’s fine. I have a plan.”
Idrinne nodded firmly.
“Understood! I trust you.”
“But there’s something you need to do.”
“Me? This is what you call a favor between friends? Just say it! I’ll do anything you ask!”
Idrinne’s voice rose with excitement at Chris’s request.
But her smile quickly vanished after hearing it.
“…What did you just say? Are you out of your mind?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
Idrinne gaped.
There were plenty of problems.
“Isn’t that basically suicide?!”
Even foolish Idrinne was appalled by the absurdity of Chris’s words.
The operation was about to begin.
This plan wasn’t particularly outlandish.
But it was more shocking than any operation before.
[Family Death Match]
As the name suggests, it was a war between families fought until one was completely wiped out.
The Dark Maga branch had officially declared a death match against the Cursed Maga.
“Think again! If you declare a death match, the Cursed Maga will throw everything they have at killing you!”
“I’m fine with that. In fact, I welcome it.”
Chris smiled.
“I’m planning to wipe out the Cursed Maga anyway.”
He wasn’t joking.
Chris intended to uproot the Cursed Maga entirely.
The Cursed Maga are irredeemable scum.
Judging by everything the Cursed Maga had done so far, they were the most evil family alongside the Mystic Spirit.
The death match declaration was definitely to eradicate the Cursed Maga.
The problem was the odds.
“The Dark Maga branch only has a few people with you, right?”
“Why? You’re here too. I trust you.”
Idrinne temporarily joined the Dark Maga branch to participate in the death match.
“Th-thank you for trusting me. Just leave it to me!! …No, wait, this is still too much!!”
Idrinne bit her lip hard.
“This won’t do. Our Bloodsword Maga will also declare a death match.”
“…That’s unnecessary.”
If they lost, it would give the Cursed Maga legal grounds to exterminate the Bloodsword Maga.
Of course, they intended to win, but they couldn’t risk that for the Bloodsword Maga.
Then, an unexpected voice spoke.
“For the sake of our benefactor, this is a risk we must take.”
A soft voice.
A woman who resembled Idrinne, radiating deep elegance.
The Blood Countess Berling.
She had regained consciousness thanks to Chris’s treatment!
Though not fully recovered, her complexion was still pale. The long unconsciousness had left her limbs thin and frail.
“Our benefactor has essentially saved our family.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration.
Not only had they saved the family head Robinson and the vice head Berling, but Idrinne had also been saved by Chris’s life-saving intervention. Thanks to Chris’s leadership of the Dark Alliance and the curse placed on the Four Kings, the Bloodsword Maga had managed to survive until now.
“Still, it’s unnecessary. Honestly, it won’t help.”
According to Chris’s plan, a large force would only get in the way.
Though she refused sincerely, Berling continued.
“Mother, if you say that, Christian will get embarrassed and respond harshly on purpose.”
“Oh my, is that so?”
“Yes, he’s just shy, so he talks gruffly.”
“How adorable. Hehe.”
…That’s not true at all.
Chris gave a reluctant look as Berling spoke.
“Don’t feel burdened. We want nothing more than to see the Cursed Maga wiped out. Honestly, we don’t want to share the revenge with anyone else.”
The Bloodsword Maga had suffered the most under the Cursed Maga’s brutal tyranny.
In the end, Chris nodded, and the formal declaration of war was delivered to the Cursed Maga.
The Wraith reacted with fury.
[Ignorant fool. How dare you.]
The Wraith looked at the ‘doll’ sent as a messenger.
Chris had used the Cursed Maga’s specialty—puppet magic—to deliver the declaration.
Sending a normal demon as a messenger would have meant capture and horrific torture, so he used a puppet instead. But the Wraith felt insulted.
[I will turn you and the Bloodsword Maga into test subjects, neither dead nor alive. Name the time and place of the final battle.]
[There is no need to decide.]
The doll’s voice was cold.
[The war has already begun.]
[…What?]
At that moment—
Kraaaash!!
A loud noise erupted outside.
[!!]
The Wraith’s expression changed.
A familiar energy—dark magic!
Chris had launched an immediate assault on the Cursed Maga’s main estate right after declaring war.
The doll was engulfed in black magic.
[You and the Cursed Maga will be destroyed today.]
Flare!
Before the Wraith could react, the doll self-destructed, unleashing a powerful energy that overwhelmed the Wraith.
It wasn’t just ordinary dark magic.
The legendary poison of the Demonic Poison, Cheondok (Heavenly Poison), spread through the wraith.
[You bastard, how dare you!!! I’ll kill you.]
The wraith ground its teeth, letting out a voice seething with rage.
‘Looks like the Cheondok took effect.’
Chris whistled softly.
Of course, no matter how potent Cheondok was, it couldn’t harm the wraith even a little.
But it could buy a moment—just enough time to bind the wraith briefly while it dealt with the poison.
That brief window was all he needed.
To put his plan into motion.
“You bastard!!!”
“How dare you!!”
As the gate was smashed down and they stormed inside, countless demonic beings appeared from every corner.
In just an instant, their numbers swelled into the hundreds.
True to the strength of the Five Great Powers, their forces were overwhelming, while Chris’s side barely numbered a handful.
Christian, Kashmir, Marisa, Alos.
Along with Idrinne, Berling, and a few of the highest-ranked seven-star blood sword demons.
Together, they didn’t even total ten.
Compared to the vast army of cursed demons closing in, their numbers were pitifully small.
“You must be insane. Walking straight into your own grave like this.”
A man clad in a pitch-black robe stepped forward, radiating a chilling aura.