Chapter 378
“There’s no time to waste. I’ll connect our minds immediately.”
[Very well. We begin now. This is your one chance—follow closely and do not falter.]
The Demon Lord of Silver Snow raised her hand.
No sound came from it, yet it was as if she held a sword.
At her level, it made no difference whether she actually gripped a blade or not.
As she focused, the surroundings fell into a profound silence.
‘…As expected of a Demon Lord.’
Christian lifted the corner of his mouth.
She was merely performing a ritual gesture.
She hadn’t drawn any energy.
Yet it felt as if the entire world hushed itself around her.
Priests and Nordians clashed nearby, but no noise reached their ears.
[This is my cut through causality.]
The Demon Lord of Silver Snow swung her hand lightly in a horizontal slash.
What mattered wasn’t the visible motion.
Her will, her worldview, was embedded in that strike.
Christian’s eyes caught the trembling of the causality that underpins the world.
[!!!]
The priest faltered.
The single slash the Demon Lord had unleashed had dealt a significant blow to the priest’s causality.
To cause such damage with barely a trace of energy left—this was a glimpse of the Demon Lord’s true power.
Now it was Christian’s turn.
He closed his eyes gently.
The will behind the Demon Lord’s slash—the very act of severing the world’s causality—flashed vividly in his mind.
‘Causality is the law that shapes the world.’
To manipulate causality meant twisting the fundamental laws of existence.
Not only must one construct a worldview far beyond the real world’s complexity, but in an instant, that worldview must overwhelm reality itself.
Just like the Demon Lord’s slash.
‘I can do this.’
His gaze darkened.
With a sharp sound, he drew Andril, and darkness gathered around it.
Instead of summoning the ‘Throne’ through the usual divine descent, he transformed it purely into energy and concentrated it into Andril.
The authority that governs the entire world focused into a single point.
‘Different from how the Demon Lord of Silver Snow did it.’
She had built a refined worldview based on her sword’s enlightenment, bending the world to her will and cutting through causality.
Christian pushed the Throne’s dominion to its absolute limit.
A grinding sound.
As he touched causality with that dominion, friction sparked.
It was as if the world itself was angry, telling him he was not yet worthy.
If he continued recklessly, he would be caught in a backlash for meddling with causality.
But Christian’s consciousness advanced another step.
If he had to sum up the worldview the Demon Lord had shown, it was ‘Benda.’
Nothing in the world could withstand her noble blade.
The Throne’s power now contained the Benda worldview Christian had just experienced.
The Throne was the authority that ruled everything.
Therefore, even the will the Demon Lord had displayed could be made his own.
Of course, it was a shortcut.
He hadn’t truly embraced her authentic worldview, only a counterfeit, a pale imitation he had crafted himself.
But it was enough.
Christian’s dominion now carried the Benda worldview.
His worldview pushed aside the real world’s structure and overlaid it with his own laws.
A deep, resonant roar echoed as the world’s causality twisted, and amidst the chaos, Christian swung Andril.
[!!!]
The priest’s shock was visible.
He had descended here by manipulating causality himself, defying the world’s natural order.
Christian’s blade struck down the causality the priest had imposed upon himself.
A shattering sound, like glass breaking, rang out.
It was the sound of causality collapsing.
“Th-This can’t be…!!”
The priest’s voice trembled.
With the power opposing the world gone, he was exposed to the full backlash of causality.
“No, no! The will of the great ones is not yet fulfilled… Kyaaaaaaah!!!”
The priest was engulfed in flames.
A karmic fire that consumed his soul.
He vanished without a trace, and the hall fell into silence.
“Is… it over?”
“…It seems so, little brother.”
Beth and Duke Huam sighed in relief.
But others still wore grim expressions.
“…Why do you look so troubled, big brother?”
“It’s not over yet.”
“Yes, what do you mean?”
At that moment, it felt as if the world itself had stopped.
Air, sound, time—all frozen. Not even a finger could move.
No one had appeared.
It was a ‘gaze’ that was felt.
From a far, distant place.
‘Insane.’
No power was used.
Just a look, and yet everyone was overwhelmed.
Christian swallowed hard.
He knew who owned that gaze.
‘The Pope.’
The head of the Mystical Maga family!
He had encountered him once before, near the end of the Age of Ruin in his previous life.
‘He’s rarely stepped into the spotlight, so few know of him, but he possessed power rivaling the Bloodthirsty Demon Lord at his peak.’
Christian clenched his fist tightly.
Using the Throne’s authority, he barely shook off the oppressive aura and spoke.
“What is it, dog of Gehenna?”
[!!]
Everyone held their breath, but Christian didn’t stop his insolence.
‘He can’t do anything right now anyway.’
No need to be afraid.
“Showing yourself unnecessarily—are you anxious? Do you have something to say to me? I’m listening.”
In his previous life, the shadowy figure had never revealed himself until the very end.
His sudden appearance now surely had a purpose.
[…….]
A brief silence.
Christian felt the Pope’s gaze sweep over him.
Then:
[“Watch the ‘Gate.’”]
“…What?”
[Soon the gate will open. It marks the beginning and the end of destruction.]
A cryptic message.
[The crossroads of apocalypse and upheaval approaches.]
With that, the gaze vanished in an instant.
The oppressive pressure that had weighed on everyone lifted.
“Christian, what just happened? Did he say anything else?”
“…No.”
It seemed the message had been delivered only to Christian.
‘A gate? What could that mean?’
He frowned, then shook his head.
“First, let’s finish off the Four Demon Castle.”
The battle was still raging above.
It was time to completely destroy the Four Demon Castle.
The fall of the Four Demon Castle!!
The shocking news struck the entire Magic Empire, no—the whole continent.
Everyone was in disbelief.
“No way. The Four Demon Castle? It was standing strong just recently, wasn’t it?”
“They say Mahwi did it. He went in alone, caused chaos, and brought it down.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. No matter how great Mahwi is, that’s impossible.”
But soon the truth was confirmed, and the continent was engulfed in shock.
“Is Mahwi even human?”
“They say he’s reached the Ninth Rank. A new Demon Lord is born!”
Though not yet fully ascended to the Ninth Rank, it was only a matter of time.
All eyes watched Christian’s next move with a mix of fear and awe.
Meanwhile, Christian thought,
‘Ah, whatever! I’ll rest a bit first!!’
He sprawled on his bed.
‘When was the last time I actually rested? I can’t move anymore.’
But he couldn’t relax completely.
Too many things weighed on his mind.
‘What did that Pope mean by the gate opening?’
Gate.
He had no clue what it referred to.
‘Nothing like this happened in my previous life.’
But he doubted the coming apocalypse would be the same.
Everything had changed.
‘Back then, the Mystical Maga used the Bloodthirsty Demon Lord to turn the human world into hell, exploiting the chaos to break the boundaries of the Three Realms.’
Christian had stopped that, so they couldn’t use the same method again.
‘But there must be other ways to bring about destruction.’
The ‘gate’ must be a means to that end.
He had to stop it.
‘Why did the Pope tell me this? What’s his intention?’
Christian sighed.
‘There’s more to worry about. Mari’s behavior is strange.’
For some reason, she was avoiding him.
Originally, he had planned to bring Mari to the Four Demon Castle, but she refused.
It was after she met the central ‘Mahou.’
‘I need to find out what Mari’s relationship with Mahou is.’
He couldn’t forget.
The Mystical Maga were not the end of this.
Behind all this was the central Demon King.
Christian sensed Mari’s presence would be a crucial key.
‘First, I’ll gather whatever clues I can.’
He sighed and stood.
He had been lying in bed for days, avoiding everything, but the mountain of tasks awaited.
As he stepped outside, a roar like a wildfire greeted him.
“Waaah!! It’s Mahwi!!!”
“Really? Where is he? Wow, it really is Mahwi! Long live Mahwi!!!”
“Our savior!!!”
The common folk of the Four Demon Castle cheered.
They saw Christian as a hero.
And indeed, thanks to him, they had been freed from terrible oppression.
“Finally out of bed? I’ve been working hard just like I said I would!”
Idrinne greeted Christian warmly.
By the way, Idrinne had become the new lord of the Four Demon Castle.
Originally, Christian had planned to wipe out the castle entirely, but Idrinne opposed it.
She wanted to leave behind the remnants of the cursed Four Demon Lords.
“Even vermin have their uses. They can be sacrifices, shields in the fight against the Mystical Maga.”
“…Still, they’re not trustworthy.”
“It’s fine. Leave it to me.”
Idrine flashed a chilling smile and declared with absolute confidence.
“I’ll make sure they never even think about betrayal—they’ll be on their knees for sure.”
“…What are you planning to do?”
“I’ll instill overwhelming fear. If they still don’t listen, well, then I’ll just have to kill them.”
“……”
A statement befitting the next Overlord of the Demon King’s Castle.
After that, the cursed and spirit remnants who faced Idrine reacted as if they’d seen a demon itself, which meant she was doing something right.
‘The Demon King of Eunsul has gone into seclusion. It’ll take some time before they regain their strength.’
“Wait for my return! I’ll show you the true might of my authority!”
…Though honestly, even if they do regain their strength, I’m not sure they’ll seem all that imposing.
‘By the way, I heard the Demon King of Eunsul is about to gain some new enlightenment. Hopefully, it won’t turn into some kind of chaotic transformation.’
Maybe it’s because I’ve only ever seen them as a kid?
Somehow, that childlike form just seems to suit them better.
Well, it’s not really any of my concern.
“So, where are you headed?”
“To the Overlord’s Tower.”
It was the residence once used by the previous Overlord of the Demon King’s Castle.