Chapter 394
Compared to his entire being, this was only a tiny fraction.
Still, the demon radiated anger for a moment before suddenly shifting his attitude, as if struck by some thought.
“Very well. I will grant you a fragment of my essence.”
His voice carried a dark, sinister intent.
‘So he wants me to swallow him whole, does he?’
Chris smirked.
It was definitely dangerous.
Even if it was just a part, it was the origin of a Fourth-Tier demon.
Not something one could handle lightly.
The demon’s essence wasn’t some kind of elixir.
The moment you took it in, a terrible backlash would surely follow. It was like swallowing a blazing bomb.
What was worse was the evil that dwelled within.
That evil had to be purged.
Otherwise, he’d be consumed by it in an instant.
‘No matter who you are, it’s impossible to cleanse the evil rooted in a Great Demon’s essence.’
It wasn’t just reckless—it was something that should never be attempted.
But—
‘It’s all part of the plan.’
Chris lifted the corner of his mouth.
Slowly, the demon’s essence settled into his core, and his vision darkened.
A miracle was beginning to stir.
[…]
While Chris was away in Gehenna, the Mystical Maga was shrouded in silence.
The Pope, staring at the altar, furrowed his brows.
“Do not worry too much. Even he is but a trivial creature compared to a Great Demon.”
“…That’s true.”
The High Priest nodded in agreement.
Yet, why did he feel uneasy?
It was as if something had gone wrong.
‘It’s just overthinking,’ the Pope told himself.
Once the demon’s soul passed to the Great Demon, there would be no escaping becoming a sacrifice for the grand design.
‘If we offer him as a sacrifice alongside Idline, the grand design will be perfectly fulfilled.’
At that moment, the magic circle on the altar emitted a pitch-black darkness.
The demon was returning.
‘Looks like things are going well.’
Even before the demon appeared, the suffocating aura pouring out suggested the ritual had succeeded.
But then—
“Ah, you’re back.”
[!!]
The Pope and High Priest’s eyes widened at the sight of the demon.
Something was off.
He was indeed tainted by evil.
A wild, frenzied aura of malevolence poured from him—something they hadn’t sensed before.
Yet, he looked intact.
More precisely, his original self was firmly preserved.
‘How is this possible?’
The baptism ritual was meant to rebirth him.
Everyone in Mystical Maga lost their original selves through the baptism, becoming servants of the demon.
‘Judging by the evil, the ritual wasn’t flawed.’
[…Did he offer his soul to the Great One?]
“Yeah, can’t you tell?”
Chris twisted his lips.
This wasn’t the simple, unlucky look from before. His eyes gleamed with wickedness.
[But how did you keep your self?]
“That’s because I’m special. Unlike you inferior beings.”
[!!]
“Don’t believe me? Then listen to the revelation of the one who swallows the light—my master.”
As planned, a revelation descended.
—In the name of the one who swallows the light, I declare Christian to be my servant.
—You shall serve him as you serve me.
The Pope and High Priest hesitated.
Since the revelation had come, they could not doubt him.
‘Each Great Demon has their own way of achieving the grand design.’
Gehenna had not specified a clear method for Mystical Maga.
They had only been given the grand goal of the “great work.”
There were many reasons for not specifying the method, but mainly because each Great Demon had different ideas.
[That’s…]
“Oh, and the one who swallows the light gave me another command.”
Chris twisted his lips again.
“He told me to become the High Priest for the grand design.”
[!!]
“Honestly, who’s more suited to be High Priest than me? The current one couldn’t even make a name before offering his soul to a demon.”
The Pope and High Priest exchanged incredulous looks.
[No matter how powerful a Fourth-Tier Great Demon is, they can’t just take over the High Priest position of the main temple.]
The Mystical Maga’s church was the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.
They didn’t worship a single demon but served many different ones.
Therefore, no single Great Demon could control Mystical Maga as they pleased.
“Of course. But according to doctrine, isn’t it allowed?”
[…What?]
“If I prove I have a deeper evil heart through a duel, I can claim a higher rank, right?”
Mystical Maga was also a noble family of the Magic Empire.
The law of the strong ruled.
In other words, this was a challenge.
Chris flicked his finger toward the High Priest.
“Let’s have a match. I’ll show you who the true demon worshiper is.”
Mystical Maga was thrown into chaos.
Not only had Chris kept his self intact after the baptism, but now he was challenging the High Priest to a duel.
This was no ordinary matter.
The High Priest was the second most powerful figure in Mystical Maga.
Ranked 9th Star Middle.
A level far beyond the 9th Star Lower.
Among the many priests and apostles of Mystical Maga, only the High Priest and the Pope had reached 9th Star Middle.
They were rare even across the entire continent.
“You’re as fearless as they say. Very well, I accept your challenge.”
The High Priest smiled slyly.
He thought this was for the best.
‘Even with the Great Demon’s revelation, I can’t trust him.’
There were too many suspicious points, and now he had a chance to deal with him as he wished.
He planned to utterly destroy Chris’s body and self, leaving only a breath of life to serve as the sacrifice for the grand design.
Since this was a duel according to doctrine, even the Great Demon who had contracted with Chris couldn’t object.
“You will be reborn today as a noble sacrifice. It will be painful, but consider it an honorable pain.”
The High Priest licked his lips.
Unlike the mutated high priests of Apostle rank or higher, he still appeared human, but in truth, he was no different from a demon.
He possessed the heart of a demon who delighted in others’ ruin and suffering.
“I told you, I’m too great to be just a sacrifice. Someone like me should be the harbinger of destruction.”
Chris chuckled.
“You probably can’t even be used as a sacrifice, so you’ll have to die for my amusement. It’ll hurt, but consider it an honor to be used for the pleasure of this great body.”
The High Priest’s eyebrows twitched.
[It will be interesting to see if you can utter such blasphemy amid the pain of your self breaking down. Prepare yourself.]
With a casual gesture, the demonic aura surged.
A storm of overwhelming power.
But it wasn’t just the sheer force that mattered.
It contained the power to twist causality.
This was the difference between 9th Star Lower and 9th Star Middle.
While the 9th Star Lower could only interfere with causality, the 9th Star Middle could manipulate it freely at will.
This was why the 9th Star Middle was considered a whole different level.
[First, running around is annoying, so I’ll cut off your ankle. Let’s start with your right foot. I want to hear your cute scream.]
The demonic aura took the form of a circular saw blade flying toward Chris’s ankle.
The problem was the causality embedded within.
The law of cause and effect had been rewritten.
Now, according to the world’s laws, the saw blade cutting the ankle was unavoidable.
Just as the High Priest imagined the cruel scene of the blade slicing through the ankle, a dark smile spread across his face.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Krak-crash!
With a horrible sound, blood splattered.
But it wasn’t Chris’s blood.
“AAAAAAH!!”
The High Priest’s ankle was shredded to rags.
The attack he had sent to Chris had been reflected back.
“What?”
The High Priest hastily restored his ankle with evil energy, his face full of disbelief.
“Why the surprise?”
Chris flicked his finger again.
“That’s just how great I am.”
Then a fierce wave of evil energy crashed down.
It felt as if a demon had descended in person—terrifying and wicked.
But again, it wasn’t the size of the energy that mattered.
It was the causality woven into it.
Just like the High Priest had done moments ago.
In other words, the power of the 9th Star Middle.
“What? Even if you’re a servant of a Great Demon, it’s impossible to jump to 9th Star Middle in one go!”
The High Priest shouted in denial.
When you make a contract with a demon, your power surges rapidly.
But from 9th Star Middle onward, it’s different.
Up to 9th Star Lower, you could reach it through the blessings received from the demon.
But 9th Star Middle was a realm where you controlled causality at will, so simply receiving power wasn’t enough. You had to break through the barrier yourself.
That was why, despite Mystical Maga being full of 9th Star Lower, only two had reached 9th Star Middle.
“Don’t be so surprised. Didn’t you know I was great? You knew it all along. Anyway, shall we get started for real?”
Chris smiled.
It was a cruel smile unlike his usual one.
“Please struggle as much as you can. For my pleasure.”
[!!]
“Now, I’ll go for your wrist. Try to block this.”
Flash!
A sword shaped from evil energy gleamed, and the High Priest gritted his teeth, unleashing causality.
He wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.
As soon as I saw his causality strike toward my wrist, I countered by nullifying his causality in return.
Scratch.
[!!]
My ankle was severed.
Chris grinned slyly.
“Just kidding. Fun, right?”
The arena fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone from the Shinbi Mage Guild watching the duel was stunned.
They simply couldn’t comprehend what was unfolding before their eyes.
[No matter how great a vessel he is, how is this possible?]
Of course, with Chris’s abilities, it wouldn’t be surprising for him to eventually reach mid-9th rank.
But to ascend to mid-9th rank in a single bound?
As mentioned before, even with the blessing of the Great Demon, his current level should have been, at best, the very end of lower 9th rank.
“He hasn’t actually reached mid-9th rank.”
The Pope thought with narrowed eyes.
“Something’s different.”
It was an accurate observation.
In truth, Chris hadn’t truly ascended to mid-9th rank.
Then what was the source of the power they were witnessing?
“It’s the gear.”
Chris smirked inwardly.
“I’m using the Great Demon’s Origin like an item.”
After the covert contract, he had taken possession of the Great Demon’s Origin.
Normally, it would have been useless at best—and the moment he accepted it, it would have brought nothing but terrible harm.
“No matter who you are, you can’t just melt down and absorb the Great Demon’s Origin.”
So Chris made a simple choice.
He took it inside, but didn’t truly accept it.
More precisely—
“I just let it reside within me, kept it as a separate object, completely detached from myself.”
In other words, he was merely storing it.
Preventing it from influencing him in any way.
The power of the Throne made this miracle possible.
Thanks to it, Chris could appear outwardly tainted by evil without actually being affected by its corrupting energy at all.
“But that’s not all.”
There was a more important effect.
By using the Throne’s power, he could wield the force contained within the Origin as if it were an item.
“I still haven’t truly reached mid-9th rank.”
But I can freely wield the granted powers as if I had.