Chapter 407
Only Evan, Idrinne, and Lanya decided to accompany Chris to the Imperial Capital.
Though Count Kazar and many others wished to join, Chris shook his head.
“They won’t be of any help anyway.”
At least a rank 9 was required.
Nordian and the Silver Snow Demon Lord were too severely injured to join. Fortunately, Chris had given them emergency treatment, so with time, they would recover.
“Come on, let’s hurry.”
The Archmage Prime Minister smiled faintly and urged them on.
Snap.
With a snap of his fingers, a portal opened—an interdimensional gateway leading near the Imperial Capital.
A foreboding pillar of violet energy encircled the city.
“What on earth is that pillar?”
“That’s the Ascension Path.”
An unexpected name.
“Do you know what ‘ascension’ means?”
“…Isn’t it when ranks from the third or fourth level rise to a higher tier?”
“Exactly. The Celestial Realm and Gehenna planned to use you as a sacrifice to destroy the world and ascend into a new one. But with that method, humans would only be pawns.”
The Archmage Prime Minister continued.
“So, the Demon Emperor intends to destroy the world himself and become the main actor in the ascension. Thanks to you, the schemes of Gehenna and the Celestial Realm have collapsed, so the Demon Emperor is close to achieving his goal.”
Chris frowned.
He realized a harsh truth from the Prime Minister’s words.
“Was the Demon Emperor using me from the start?”
“More than using you, he was betting on you. He judged that you would ultimately defeat the schemes of Gehenna and the Celestial Realm.”
The Celestial Realm and Gehenna sent Chris back in time to make him the perfect sacrifice.
Though the Demon Emperor seemed aligned with them, in truth, he hoped for Chris’s victory to serve his own ambitions.
“Of course, it didn’t matter if you failed. The Demon Emperor’s true target wasn’t you.”
“…What do you mean?”
“You’ll see once we go inside.”
The Archmage Prime Minister gave a mischievous, yet ominous smile.
“Come on, step inside, true hero.”
Flash!
Part of the pillar faded, revealing a passage.
Chris frowned but stepped through.
Evan, Idrinne, and Lanya followed closely.
“What is this?”
Those who entered looked around in confusion.
Once a bustling metropolis with over a million inhabitants, the streets were now deserted.
Looking closer, they saw unconscious people collapsed inside buildings.
“They’re physically unharmed, but their souls have left their bodies. It seems they’ve been captured as sacrifices for the Ascension Path, as the Prime Minister said.”
Chris clenched his fists tightly.
Sacrificing the souls of over a million humans—it was a horrific atrocity.
Since the plan was to destroy the entire world, sacrificing a million people was nothing to them.
“I won’t let this stand.”
Chris’s grip tightened.
“It’ll take time to consume so many souls as sacrifices. If we hurry, we might be able to save some.”
Everyone nodded at Lanya’s words.
“Let’s head to the Imperial Palace.”
They made their way toward the palace rising at the city’s center.
[Stop.]
Monsters blocked their path intermittently.
All were creatures with power rivaling the highest-ranked demons. Some even approached demonic strength, but none could truly stop Chris and his group.
“…Something feels off.”
“Christian, be careful. I don’t like this feeling.”
Evan and Idrinne’s warnings resonated with Chris.
The closer they got to the palace, the stronger the ominous sensation grew.
Finally.
As they crossed the palace walls and entered the sprawling gardens—
“!!”
The entire group froze.
In the eerie silence, as if even the air held its breath, a boy sat leisurely in the garden.
Emerald green hair and sapphire eyes.
A familiar face.
‘What’s going on?’
Chris swallowed hard.
It was a face he had seen countless times in his previous life.
The boy seemed to sense their presence and turned his head.
His gaze locked directly on Chris.
[So, you’re Christian? It’s the first time I’ve seen you in person.]
Just those words carried an overwhelming pressure that crushed the group.
Everyone except Chris turned pale.
A presence strong enough to suppress a group of rank 9s.
“…Demon Emperor.”
Chris growled lowly.
‘Why does the Demon Emperor look exactly like me?’
Not the dark mage ‘Christian,’ but the prince ‘Chris’ from the Kingdom of Law—their faces were identical.
The boy tilted his head.
[Why do I look like you? There’s no special reason. You carry my bloodline. My original name was Werner Argen. Heard of it?]
The founder of the Kingdom of Law in Chris’s previous life.
[You know the Kingdom was created because of the schemes of the Celestial Realm and Gehenna, right? I provided the seed back then, so you’re my descendant. Still, I never expected someone to be born who looks so much like me.]
An unexpected revelation.
Though it didn’t matter much now, one thing nagged at Chris.
“You’re saying I look like you?”
[Yes, not just in appearance, but in talent and potential too. Watching you grow was like seeing my former self. It took me less than ten years to reach rank 9.]
“!!”
If the Demon Emperor’s words were true, Chris had no chance.
He was facing a terrifying monster with the same talent who had lived for an unfathomable time.
But that wasn’t all.
Something even more despairing happened.
[Let me introduce you to a familiar face. Come out.]
Slowly, a girl’s silhouette appeared in midair.
A familiar face—Mahu.
‘No way…’
Chris clenched his fists.
This was different from when he met Mahu in the previous Imperial Capital.
Back then, Mahu felt hollow, as if her soul was empty.
Now, she radiated an intense, oppressive aura.
She seemed reborn as a perfect being.
“…What happened to Mari?”
“Are you talking about Mahu’s ‘soul’? As you can see, she returned to her original place and became one with it. The ‘Mari’ you knew no longer exists.”
Chris gritted his teeth.
Mari had vanished, absorbed into Mahu.
‘This is ridiculous.’
But there was no time to dwell on anger.
“Mahu is a weapon designed to kill the great ranks I’ve prepared over countless years. Today, we’ll test her abilities.”
The Demon Emperor gestured, and Mahu stepped forward.
“Christian, be careful!!”
“Fall back!!”
Evan and Idrinne rushed forward urgently.
They summoned their rank 9 powers to defend, but something shocking happened.
Crash!
When Mahu raised her hand, Evan and Idrinne’s energies shattered instantly.
“What?!”
They looked bewildered.
The power they had just unleashed was based on causality, yet it collapsed without resistance.
It wasn’t crushed by overwhelming force.
It was simply erased, as if wiped away by an eraser.
‘A power that nullifies causality.’
Chris realized the nature of Mahu’s attack and shuddered.
When they met before, Mahu used an unknown power, but now, having absorbed Mari and become perfect, her power’s nature was clear.
‘A power aimed at the great ranks.’
Chris felt a chill.
Not just the great ranks.
No one present could oppose Mahu.
Their powers were all based on causality.
“If you want to stop the Demon Emperor’s will, kill me.”
Mahu’s previous words echoed.
She wanted Chris to kill her—or rather, Mari.
Chris couldn’t accept that.
‘Damn it, why did Mari walk right into the Demon Emperor’s trap?’
If Mahu hadn’t become perfect, there might have been a way.
But now, no answer was in sight.
‘No… something’s off.’
Could Mari have been unaware of what would happen?
Chris recalled Mari’s last words.
She had said ‘prepare.’
What was she preparing for?
He didn’t know.
But—
‘This situation is what Mari intended. She must have prepared a solution. I have to find it.’
Chris’s eyes darkened.
Was it just his imagination?
For a moment, a strange desperation flickered in Mahu’s eyes as she looked at Chris.
Suddenly, Chris had an idea.
“Evan, Idrinne, Lanya. Hold Mahu’s movements for a moment.”
It was a tall order.
Against Mahu, all rank 9 powers based on causality would be nullified.
But fortunately, Evan, Idrinne, and Lanya were exceptional talents—second to none on the continent.
Even rank 8 powers could be wielded with great strength.
Flash!
A domain excluding causality spread around them.
Mahu tore through the domain casually, but the three didn’t back down.
Swords, blood magic, and white magic surged in a dazzling display, binding Mahu’s limbs for a moment.
“Now!!”
Chris approached Mahu and reached out his hand.
He wasn’t attacking.
His hand touched the area where her soul resided.
[…You?]
The Ma-hwang, who had been watching cautiously, suddenly wore a look of confusion. He had caught on to Chris’s true intention.
But it was too late.
“Mental Link.”
It was the act of connecting one’s own mind to another’s.
A common dark magic in the mental realm, but if the target was someone of Ma-hu level, it was impossible to penetrate their mental defenses unless they willingly lowered their guard.
“I can do it.”
The reason was simple.
“‘Mari’ would never reject me.”
Sure enough, the expression on Ma-hu—no, on ‘Mari’s’ face—softened.
And then—
Whoooosh!
Chris entered Mari’s mental world.
But there was a problem.
“What is this…?”
Chris’s face twisted in surprise.
He had ventured into countless minds before.
Yet Mari’s mental world was unlike any he had ever seen.
“Why isn’t it unified?”
A person’s mental world is usually a single, vast space—consciousness on the surface, unconscious depths stretching endlessly beneath.
But Mari’s mind was divided into countless rooms.
And these were no ordinary rooms.
—Aaaahhh!
—Please, stop… stop…!!
Every single room echoed with screams of unbearable agony.
Chris swallowed hard.
One grim possibility flashed through his mind.
“Could it be… Mari’s true identity is…?”