Chapter 408

Chris had never truly understood what Mari was.

And it wasn’t just Mari.

No one had ever known the true identity of the “Mahu.”

A being of this magnitude surely must have a past, yet there was no trace of one anywhere.

—The Mahu is an artificial soul created by the Demon King.

Created.

But what exactly was created, and how?

Looking at the countless fragmented, tormented spiritual worlds, Chris could only guess.

“Mari’s soul was formed by extracting the grudges and resentments of people.”

He recalled the Painted Garden that had guided him when he first came to the Zodiac Realm.

For centuries, the Demon King had inflicted suffering on countless people, and from their collective anguish, Mari’s existence was born.

At that moment, a familiar voice echoed.

—I just wanted to be happy. That was the wish that brought me into this world.

It was Mari!

She looked at Chris with a bittersweet expression unlike her usual lighthearted self.

Now that Chris knew the story behind Mari’s constant yearning for happiness, he bit his lip tightly.

—Is it… possible?

—…Of course.

Chris nodded firmly.

—Trust me. I will make you happy, no matter what.

Mari smiled brightly.

—Oh ho ho. Would you say that’s a proposal?

—No, that’s not…

Chris shook his head awkwardly.

He had never even considered marriage. With the world on the brink of collapse, who had time for weddings?

“Well, Mari probably wasn’t serious anyway.”

There was only one thing Chris needed to do for Mari now.

Free her from this torment.

A brilliant light burst forth from Chris’s soul.

He poured his heartfelt wish for Mari into the laws of cause and effect, projecting it into the spiritual world.

Like a sacred ritual.

—Aaaah.

The tormented spirits wept.

Tears fell from Mari’s eyes as well.

Though she often appeared carefree, in truth she had always been trapped in unbearable pain.

For the first time, she received comfort, purifying her soul.

The chains binding the spiritual world—crafted by the Demon King—shook violently.

—How dare you…!!

The Demon King’s voice roared with fury.

Chris shouted coldly.

—Get out of my domain!

Crash!!

Though Chris’s power couldn’t reach the Demon King directly, Mari—the true master of the spiritual world—was fully cooperating with him, allowing the bonds to be broken.

Chris emerged from the spiritual world back into reality.

He saw the Demon King staggering, coughing up blood.

“I can win this.”

Chris’s eyes gleamed.

Even the Demon King couldn’t have escaped unscathed after the bonds restraining a being like the Mahu were shattered.

Now was the chance.

A powerful aura radiated from Chris.

He revealed the true form of his soul, one that had reached a great level of transcendence.

A hole.

As if twisting the very fabric of reality, Chris’s cause and effect laws manifested, shaking the surrounding world violently.

“Disappear.”

Flash!

Light and darkness clashed.

The Demon King tried to raise a countermeasure of cause and effect to defend himself, but the recent blow had weakened him.

He staggered, and Mari moved.

[No one who interferes with my lord and my happiness will be forgiven!]

Mari’s power stemmed from pain.

Though her strength had diminished as her pain was purified, the dignity inherent in her very existence remained.

Moreover, Mari’s body had been bound by the Demon King for so long.

Though the chains were broken, their traces lingered, and she used them to strike directly at the Demon King’s soul.

Mari’s slash of cause and effect shattered the Demon King’s defenses.

At the same time, Evan, Idrene, and Lanya stepped forward.

The sword that cleaves worlds.

The blood magic that mocks the source of existence.

The white magic that pierces all planes of reality.

Their ultimate techniques, honed upon reaching the ninth level, surged forth.

No matter how powerful, the Demon King could not withstand such an assault.

But—

[Not bad. If it weren’t for ‘me,’ this would have been a disaster.]

Flash!

Mari’s slash of cause and effect was undone, scattering into fragments.

Evan’s world-cleaving sword, Idrene’s and Lanya’s ultimate spells—all were nullified.

It wasn’t a matter of raising their defenses.

The Demon King analyzed their attacks in real time, then interfered at their very roots to dismantle them.

Just like Chris often did.

[I told you. You and I are alike. Whatever you can do, I can do just as well.]

The Demon King smiled slyly.

Though pale from the damage caused by Mari’s breaking of the chains and Chris’s attack, he remained composed.

He showed no sign of believing he could lose.

“…Can I really win?”

Chris swallowed hard.

He had faced countless powerful foes before.

But never had he felt such an insurmountable wall.

[Chris, I won’t kill you. Since the Mahu is broken, I’ll make you my new weapon.]

The Demon King stretched out his hand, releasing his energy.

Roar.

Level 10.

The laws of cause and effect surged in accordance with this great level.

Chris and his companions braced themselves grimly, but it was useless.

[Struggling is pointless.]

With a glance, the Demon King shattered the energy they had summoned.

Once again, he interfered with the laws of cause and effect to dismantle their defenses!

[Now, let’s finish this.]

The Demon King unleashed his power on the completely defenseless group.

Roar.

A storm of cause and effect raged.

The laws of the world bowed to the Demon King’s authority.

The landscape warped, space and time twisted.

“I can’t handle this.”

Chris bit his lip.

The power the Demon King displayed rivaled even the level of the Three Realms.

As someone who hadn’t fully reached level 10, Chris had no way to counter it.

“How does the Demon King wield such power?”

The Demon King’s cause and effect laws had long since strayed from natural order.

Suddenly, Chris recalled what Mephina had told him before.

—But you… you’re special. You alone have transcended through your own power… You are the only one worthy of rightful ascension.

According to Mephina, the Demon King had not obtained his transcendence through legitimate means.

Chris could easily guess how.

“He must have sacrificed people to gain it.”

The immense power he wielded now was likely bought with the souls of the Zodiac Realm’s inhabitants.

Chris laughed bitterly.

“What Demon King? What resemblance do you have to me?”

[…What?]

“If you can’t even use your power without sacrificing others, you’re pathetic.”

[!!]

Chris twisted his lips into a cold sneer.

“I’ll show you what a truly great being looks like.”

Sensing Chris’s intent, Evan, Idrene, and Lanya stepped forward to shield him.

They wouldn’t last long.

At most, a few minutes.

Within that time, a miracle had to happen.

Chris’s mind settled.

“I have to reach perfect level 10.”

One method came to mind.

To attempt it, he first had to ascend to level 10.

“The reason I haven’t reached level 10 is because I lack the authority that corresponds to this great level.”

Archdemons and Great Stars are born with such authority.

But Chris had only acquired cause and effect through pure enlightenment and his own level five.

He lacked that authority.

“I can get it. Because even that guy got it.”

How could he obtain “authority”?

What was the authority that corresponded to the great level?

The answer came quickly.

Archdemons held authority as masters of Gehenna; Great Stars as masters of the Celestial Realm.

“I have to become the master of the earthly realm.”

More precisely, he had to become the King of Humans.

A vague goal.

But Chris already qualified.

“I’m already the king of this land.”

The Dark Alliance, the Magic Empire, the Golden Cross, the Karn Empire, the Holy Empire—

The entire continent was beneath his feet.

This wasn’t mere political power.

Chris had endured countless hardships and saved the continent and humanity.

If he wasn’t worthy to be humanity’s ruler, then who was?

“At least I’m more fit to be the King of Humans than that guy.”

There was only one exception.

The people of the Zodiac Realm.

Those pitiful souls being sacrificed and erased by the Demon King.

Chris reached out toward the violet pillar.

He declared to the souls still writhing in agony.

“Serve me as your king. I will save you.”

[!!]

The sacrificed souls stirred.

The Demon King roared in fury.

[How dare you! They belong to me! You’re nothing…!]

“Belong?”

Chris sneered coldly.

“You’re not worthy to be their king!”

The sacrificed souls trembled as if affirming his words.

[You think I’ll let things go your way?]

The Demon King gritted his teeth and tried to use cause and effect to forcibly prevent their submission to Chris.

But—

“I told you. You’re no match for me.”

Contrary to the Demon King’s claim, they were not alike.

Chris was incomparably superior.

He began interfering with the Demon King’s cause and effect.

In sheer quantity, Chris’s cause and effect was far less than the Demon King’s.

But the ‘will’ behind Chris’s cause and effect was incomparably stronger.

And Chris was not alone.

—We recognize you as our king!!

—Great King!! Save us!

The souls of the sacrificed from Hwangdo worshipped Chris, lending him their strength.

And it wasn’t just them.

Across the entire continent,

everyone he had ever helped fervently prayed for Chris’s victory.

Fwoooosh!

Chris felt the rank of his soul shift.

He had gained ‘Authority’ and ascended to a perfect 10-star level.

But this was no ordinary 10-star rank.

He had become the Lord of the Earth, the Human King.

The ruler of the First Realm among the Three Realms.

His status was on par with, if not surpassing, the ranks of the other two realms.

[Th-this is impossible…!! I won’t accept this!!]

Chris looked down on the Demon King as if he were nothing but a bug.

“Die.”

The command was issued.

Crackling sounds filled the air.

The Demon King’s body and soul began to crumble into dust and scatter.

[N-no… this can’t be…!! Gyaaaahhh!!!]

He tried to resist, but it was useless.

The world itself was erasing the Demon King’s existence.

Victory was theirs!!!

Yet Chris didn’t relax his tense expression.

The battle was far from over.

“Come out.”

He called upon an even worse being—

one that had toyed with the Demon King himself.

“Archmage Prime Minister.”

With a soft rustle,

the scattered remnants of the Demon King’s dust drifted away in the quiet breeze.

At the far end of that direction, the Archmage Prime Minister appeared, dressed in a formal suit.

“Impressive. To truly achieve victory. And to become the King of Humanity, no less. Remarkable.”

His voice was like a jester’s—mocking, yet calm.

He clearly knew the heights Chris had reached, but there was no hint of nervousness in his tone.

“First, I must thank you. Because of you, I can finally achieve my goal.”