Chapter 367
An Ominous Presence

The aura was unmistakable. Judging by the energy radiating from it, this was a top-tier 7-star demon.

“The cursed demon clan really does have incredible strength,” he thought.

The core forces of the cursed demon clan were Osah and Samyeom.

Osah referred to the five upper-tier 7-star demons, while Samyeom were the three 8-star demons.

All of them had fallen at Chris’s hands, yet there were still some top-level 7-star demons left.

“But even so…”

“Well? Today, this place is going to be your grave.”

“…What?”

At that moment—

Slash!

A clean line appeared across the neck of the man in the robe who had stepped forward.

Blood sprayed out like a fountain.

“…H-how?”

The robed man muttered in disbelief before collapsing forward with a thud.

Silence fell over the hall.

“What do you mean, ‘how’? You’re not even on my level, yet you dared to challenge me? You don’t value your life at all.”

That man’s rank was lower 7-star.

Even within the 7-star tier, there was a vast difference between lower and upper ranks.

To even pretend to stand against Chris, one had to be at least upper 7-star.

The problem was, the cursed demon clan no longer had any such top-tier demons.

At best, they had lower 7-star, and very rarely, mid 7-star.

“Do you understand now whose grave this will be?”

The cursed demon clan’s demons swallowed hard.

Hundreds of them were being overwhelmed by a single individual.

“D-Don’t be afraid! They’re just a handful! If we unite, victory is ours!”

That wasn’t entirely wrong.

The cursed demon clan’s demons weren’t just a mindless horde of rabbits.

Though inferior to Chris, they were qualitatively strong—comparable to any prestigious magical family.

But—

“Seems you don’t understand why we came in such numbers, Kashmir.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

A fierce energy surged from Kashmir’s body.

“I’ll give you the coordinates. Release your energy there.”

“Understood!”

At the core of the cursed demon clan’s barrier.

KABOOM!!

A destructive force exploded.

Thanks to fully absorbing the blazing flames, Kashmir’s pure destructive power rivaled anyone in the destruction demon clan.

As cracks appeared in the barrier, Christian moved.

A black magic circle flared up.

“W-What? A new barrier?”

The cursed demon clan’s sorcerers cried out in surprise.

This wasn’t a hastily conjured barrier.

It was a large-scale area barrier that required thorough preparation beforehand.

“How could you pull such a trick on our cursed demon clan?”

It was the work of Vampire Lord Robinson, done in secret.

Thanks to him, Chris could manifest a large, impenetrable area barrier that no one dared challenge.

The surroundings darkened as if a veil of darkness had been drawn.

—Great Barrier, Veil of Dominion.

It was a barrier imbued with the effects of the Seven-Color Dominion, Chris’s domain power.

The entire cursed demon clan was now under the influence of the Seven-Color Dominion.

However, the Seven-Color Dominion amplified the power of those under its protection.

There had to be a recipient of its blessing.

“Marisa, your turn.”

“Got it. Leave it to me.”

Marisa stepped forward decisively.

She was the key player in this barrier.

“Christian, that annoying bastard.”

She disliked Christian.

She hated how every word he said grated on her nerves, yet secretly, his warmth made her heart flutter.

She hated that he was so far ahead, beyond her reach.

“I want to be by his side too.”

Marisa squeezed her eyes shut.

She knew the gap between them was already too wide.

But she had her own way to help him.

“I’m the greatest genius of the Extreme Poison Demon Clan. No one surpasses me in poison crafting.”

“Man-dok”—“Ten Thousand Poisons”—was her nickname.

Only she could unleash this poison.

—Malice Devourer.

Not a physical poison, but an intangible, conceptual magical toxin.

“W-What is this?”

“No!!”

The cursed demon clan’s demons screamed in terror as they realized the poison’s nature.

As the name suggested, it devoured malice itself.

All curses originate from malice.

This poison, empowered by Chris’s Veil of Dominion, settled over the entire cursed demon clan, dealing a fatal blow far worse than any other toxin.

Their combat strength was drastically reduced.

“Now, do you understand your situation?”

When wolves gather, they can take down a lion.

But because of Chris’s barrier, the cursed demon clan’s demons were reduced to nothing more than rabbits.

Especially the mid- and lower-tier demons suffered greatly.

Such disruptions are more deadly the lower the rank.

No matter how many rabbits gather, they only become prey.

The 7-star demons remained, but they were qualitatively inferior to Chris’s group.

Even Berling had three 8-star demons, and the accompanying Blood Sword Demon Clan’s 7-star demons were mostly mid to upper rank.

“Wipe them all out.”

“GRAAAH!”

The highest-ranking demons of the Blood Sword Demon Clan charged in all directions, unleashing a storm of blood.

The grudges accumulated against the cursed demon clan made the Blood Sword Demon Clan’s forces fierce and relentless.

Even when trying to resist, the cursed demon clan’s curses were disrupted by Chris’s barrier, resulting in a one-sided massacre.

“Everyone, stay alert!”

“We have to break the barrier first!”

“Find the axis! Since it’s not a permanent barrier, there must be a focal point for its power!”

The cursed demon clan’s sorcerers’ eyes gleamed as they searched for a way to break the barrier.

Meanwhile, someone completely out of place was nervously pacing, face pale as a sheet.

“Well then, I’m counting on you, Alos.”

“……”

Alos’s expression soured.

“Ugh! Damn it! Why is it always me?!”

The axis of this barrier was none other than Alos.

Originally, Chris, the sorcerer, should have handled it, but since he had to fight the primal spirit, he cunningly passed the task to Alos, whose magical nature was similar to his own.

“I’m counting on you. The outcome of this battle depends on you. Think of it like the king in chess. Consider it an honor.”

“Honor my ass! Help me!!”

Fortunately, Alos was in no real danger.

No one expected someone as weak as Alos to be the barrier’s axis, and Alos had grown stronger from being pushed around by Chris, enough to protect himself from stray attacks.

From then on, the battle tilted heavily in their favor.

The cursed demon clan’s demons bled heavily.

But it was too soon to celebrate.

“No matter how many of them we take down, it won’t affect the outcome.”

The decisive battle with the primal spirit would determine everything.

A chilling aura was already emanating from within.

It was the primal spirit’s energy.

Idrinne and Chris exchanged glances.

“What shall we do? Going to the primal spirit’s lair is highly dangerous.”

The primal spirit’s lair was essentially a fortress.

They were already at a disadvantage in strength, and now they had to fight on unfavorable ground.

It would be better to lure it out here and fight.

“No, we’re going.”

“Why?”

“Something’s off. It seems they’re scheming inside.”

The Thousand Poisons Demon Clan would have dealt with it already.

The clan was being pushed back indiscriminately, yet no shadow was cast—meaning something was being planned.

“Could it be…?”

Idrinne’s face stiffened, as if she shared the same suspicion.

“Let’s hurry.”

Leaving the fight to Berling, they headed inside.

The deeper they went, the more suffocating and gloomy the atmosphere became.

Though above ground, it felt like stepping into the mire of Gehenna.

Finally, they entered a large mansion where the primal spirit resided.

“!!”

Chris and Idrinne’s eyes hardened.

A horrific sight lay before them.

Robinson was impaled on stakes through his limbs and heart, suspended in midair.

“Father!”

Chris’s expression darkened.

“The primal spirit’s power exceeds expectations.”

He probably hadn’t foreseen Robinson’s betrayal.

If he had, this wouldn’t have happened.

It meant that after the incident, they had subdued Robinson and left him like this.

Robinson was also an upper 8-star demon.

[So, you are Christian.]

“!!”

The primal spirit spoke.

Chris’s gaze hardened.

“When did you appear?”

Chris’s senses were sharper than anyone’s, yet he hadn’t sensed the primal spirit’s arrival.

The primal spirit hadn’t deliberately hidden its presence.

Even though Chris could see it, he felt no presence at all.

“It’s as if it doesn’t exist.”

If it were a living being—or even an existing entity—it would obey physical laws.

Moving a hand would displace air; taking a step would make some sound.

None of that happened. Not even a shadow was cast.

“It exists beyond the laws themselves.”

A glimpse into the primal spirit’s overwhelming power.

It was clear the primal spirit was once as formidable as the Nordic before becoming the Soma King.

[Glad to see you. I’ve been wanting to meet you.]

It wasn’t sarcasm.

The primal spirit’s voice sounded genuinely pleased to meet Christian.

[There’s no better material than you. You will be trapped between life and death, suffering terribly as my nourishment. Not just you, but Idrinne and all who came with you.]

This was no mere threat.

Extracting an opponent’s pain to fuel one’s own power was one of the vengeful spirit’s core abilities.

Countless people had suffered unimaginably, driven to the brink of madness by the very fate the spirit had described.

“You don’t mean to say… you stayed hidden all this time because you wanted the family members to be killed off? To use their suffering as your strength?”

[Heh heh, exactly. By sparing my own hands, I’m grateful to you. With the entire family dead, they’ll become part of me. That’s something to celebrate.]

It was a horrifying truth.

The vengeful spirit had cursed the family’s bloodline.

When they died, their souls would become part of its power.

That was why, as the head of the family, it took pleasure in watching its members perish.

[Well then, let’s get started. We’ll need a prelude.]

With a gesture, the cursed marks on the nails embedded in Robinson’s body flared bright crimson.

“Grrrgh!!!”

Robinson’s eyes turned blood red.

He writhed in excruciating pain.

In response, the spirit’s energy surged with intensity.

It was feeding off Robinson’s agony.

“You bastard! Stop this!”

Idrinne swung her sword in fury, but it was useless.

An invisible barrier blocked her path—she couldn’t get close.

It wasn’t just a physical shield with high defense. Approaching was simply not allowed.

[It’s useless. His sacrifice is already established by the laws of cause and effect. Unless you twist those laws, you can’t nullify it.]

This wasn’t just some miraculous bending of rules—it was the creation of entirely new laws.

The vengeful spirit had established its own worldview.

Unlike any enemy Idrinne had faced before, who had forcibly strengthened themselves by sacrificing others, this was on a whole different level.