Chapter 44
“Definitely not like ordinary magic.”
When he first woke up in this body—Christian’s body—there was one thing he felt truly fortunate about.
He was born into the Dark Magic family among all the noble houses of the Magic Empire.
In truth, the Dark Magic family was relatively weak compared to the other twelve great noble houses of magic.
The top five among the noble families were:
Among these, the Mystic, Spirit, and Obsidian families wielded power incomparable to the others.
Yet, Christian considered it a blessing to be born into the Dark Magic family instead.
All because of the Sacred Darkness.
“A power that opens the possibility of becoming a true transcendent as a mage.”
[If someone can fully master the Dark Magic, they will threaten the position of the Demon King.]
This was a rumor whispered quietly throughout the Magic Empire.
But it wasn’t just a baseless tale.
Even Lord Nordian, the head of the Noga family, couldn’t completely master the Dark Magic.
Every time the Sacred Darkness erupted, only a certain amount was released.
Nordian absorbed just under 80% of it.
And yet, he was one of the strongest among the Demon Lords.
There were even rumors that the head of the Destruction family, counted among the top five, had to concede before Nordian.
And then there was the original ancestor of the Dark Magic family.
The first to accept the Dark Magic, he absorbed over 90% of it and became the third-ranked Demon King.
But even he never fully absorbed 100%.
So, what if someone could completely conquer 100% of the Dark Magic?
“They could surpass even the Demon King.”
Thanks to the Sacred Darkness, Christian was able to set a plan to rise to the very top of the Magic Empire.
He took a deep breath.
And plunged himself into the Sacred Darkness.
Pure darkness enveloped him like a protective embrace, and soon his form was swallowed entirely by the shadows.
The Dark Magic family was thrown into chaos.
Because of the results of the Sacred Darkness ritual.
Everyone but one had failed.
They couldn’t believe that the reckless Christian was behind it.
“This can’t be.”
“Lord Roin was defeated by that wild man?”
“I heard the other young masters of the collateral branches were all taken down too.”
“Is that even possible?”
The mages were dumbfounded, whispering among themselves.
Something impossible had happened.
No matter how talented, there were limits to facing opponents of equal caliber.
And yet, Christian had single-handedly defeated four rivals?
That wild man?
Naturally, no one could believe it.
“Maybe he cheated? Used forbidden magic tools or something.”
“Right. There’s no way that wild man could beat Lord Roin.”
“We need a proper investigation and severe punishment!”
The mages assumed Christian must have used some trickery and clamored for his punishment.
Then, unexpectedly, a voice cut through the noise.
“There’s no need for that.”
“!!”
The mages turned in surprise.
“Second Young Lady!”
A beautiful girl with a cold expression, probably in her late teens.
It was Jupien, the Second Young Lady.
“Don’t bother with that wild man Christian.”
“W-why not?”
The mages looked confused.
Jupien and Roin were siblings, very close.
Unlike the other siblings, they cared deeply for each other.
But then—
“He won’t return alive from the Sacred Grounds anyway.”
“……!!”
“He’s trying to contain more Sacred Darkness than his vessel can hold. The outcome is obvious. There won’t even be a body left.”
The mages swallowed hard.
‘Now that I think about it…’
Two days had already passed since the Sacred Darkness ritual.
But Christian still hadn’t emerged from the Sacred Grounds.
“Even Lord Nordian had limits absorbing the Sacred Darkness. That wild man’s vessel is obvious. He’s probably already dead from overreaching. No need to worry anymore.”
The mages nodded hesitantly.
The amount of Sacred Darkness released every two or three years wasn’t large.
But it wasn’t enough for one person to monopolize.
Only a vessel like Lord Nordian’s could absorb nearly 80%.
In most cases, the maximum was about 60%.
Beyond that, the core would collapse, and the person would die.
Jupien walked away with an indifferent expression, heading to see the unconscious Roin.
‘How dare he.’
Jupien bit her red lips tightly.
Roin and Jupien were direct siblings, but unlike the others, their father was not Marquis Langham.
Their father had died in battle against the Union forces, and they had grown up relying on each other.
But now, her beloved younger brother was in this state.
Though his life was not in danger, Roin’s future was over.
He hadn’t absorbed any of the Sacred Darkness. No one would treat him as a direct heir anymore.
‘Unforgivable.’
Jupien’s gaze darkened.
If, by some chance, that wild man Christian returned alive—
He would pay dearly.
Several more days passed.
But Christian still hadn’t emerged from the Sacred Grounds.
The Dark Magic family assumed he had died there, paying the price for his greed.
People’s interest gradually faded.
“Foolish man.”
“Told you, greed without knowing your limits leads to punishment.”
But there was one person waiting for Christian.
Banshee maid, Mari.
She wandered the main hall like a statue, waiting for Chris.
“…What’s that ghost?”
“Looks like she’s waiting for her master. But he won’t come back anyway. How foolish.”
“Becoming a ghost together sounds fun.”
Passersby chuckled.
Mari whipped her head around.
Her eyes suddenly flashed with a chilling light.
[Oh ho ho. Silence… please.]
“!!”
The mages shivered, swallowing hard.
They were intermediate mages of rank three or higher.
But meeting the gaze of a banshee like Mari left them frozen, unable to speak.
‘How can a banshee have such presence? Is she not an ordinary banshee?’
‘Could it be… that banshee is…?’
Then Mari smiled slyly and wrapped her hand around their necks.
Though intangible as a ghost, the sensation was terrifying.
It felt like their souls were being grasped.
[My heart pounds as I wait for my young master… If you keep making noise beside me, won’t you disturb my devotion?]
“……”
[If I get upset, I might visit at night… So keep your filthy mouths shut and be quiet. Oh ho ho.]
A banshee visiting at night meant collecting souls.
The mages nodded stiffly without a word.
After that, Mari waited for Christian without interruption.
Endlessly.
Meanwhile, Christian was sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness.
‘How much time has passed?’
He didn’t know.
His sense of time was unclear.
All he felt was the deep darkness.
Pure and untainted, without a single blemish.
A darkness so sacred it almost felt holy.
But it wasn’t comforting.
Like how water that’s too pure can harm fish, this purity was overwhelming.
‘Can I really make it all mine?’
A considerable time had passed since he began absorbing the Sacred Darkness.
Christian was starting to worry.
He had expected it wouldn’t be easy.
But it was even more difficult than he imagined.
‘Up to about 60% was no problem.’
‘70% was still manageable.’
But beyond 70%, it became overwhelming.
He vaguely understood why Lord Nordian never reached 80%.
The burden increased exponentially after 70%.
80% felt like a distant dream.
If 80% was this hard, what about 90%? And the ultimate goal—100%?
‘But I have to do it. Otherwise, I have no chance.’
The Sacred Darkness was a tremendous power.
Ordinary magic was like fuel for casting dark spells and magic arts.
Stored in the core and used when needed.
But the Sacred Darkness wasn’t stored in the core.
It wasn’t a power you could just pull out like ordinary magic.
It was completely different.
The Sacred Darkness changed the user’s constitution.
More precisely, it affected the core, altering the nature of the magic.
The magic’s attribute would transform into what was called Dark Magic.
‘That’s why it’s called Sacred Darkness. Strictly speaking, it’s a bit different.’
If you absorb 10% of the Sacred Darkness, your magic’s nature changes by exactly 10%.
20% absorbed means 20% change.
50% means 50%.
70% means 70%.
In other words, if you absorb 100%, your magic’s attribute will be entirely Dark Magic.
And Dark Magic stands above all other magic attributes.
To explain precisely:
Magic has various attributes.
Ashen, golden, blood-red, crimson, and so on.
Each type of magic had its own compatible dark spells and magic arts.
You had to master the right attribute to unleash your true power.
Cursed dark magic matched with Ashen magic.
Blood magic with Blood-red magic.
Destruction dark magic with Crimson magic.
And so forth.
If you didn’t master the matching attribute, you could only unleash less than half your potential.
There were limits to reaching higher levels.
But Dark Magic had no such restrictions.
Dark Magic was a power that dominated all other magic attributes.
It ignored elemental affinities altogether.
No matter the type of dark magic or magical energy, he could use it freely without any restrictions.
The purer the dark mana, the stronger this effect became.
If the purity reached around 50%, it was said he could wield about 70% of the power compared to those who had mastered innate magical attributes.
At 60% purity, that rose to roughly 80%.
It was an incredible feat.
“In the case of Noga-ju Nordian, whose dark mana purity is close to 80%, he can use all kinds of power at nearly the same level as those who have mastered innate magic.”
And that was without even reaching a full 80%.
What about over 90%?
It was said that at that point, one could even surpass the strength of those with innate magical abilities.
And 100%?
No one knew.
No one had ever achieved it.
There was speculation that some unknown effect might come into play.
One thing was certain: for Chris to stand at the pinnacle of the Mage Empire, he had to fully master this Sacred Darkness and make it his own.
“Let’s see who wins.”
He opened his core wide.
There was nothing special about how he absorbed the Sacred Darkness.
Once he threw himself into it, the Sacred Darkness would be drawn into his core, transforming the nature of his mana.
However, if the vessel couldn’t handle the load, the core would begin to collapse. Eventually, the body would be consumed by the Sacred Darkness, leading to death.
So the rule was to retreat immediately if he felt he was reaching his limit during absorption.
For Chris, surpassing 80% purity triggered a serious sense of danger.
“It’s risky, but not yet. I can hold on until 90%.”
He gritted his teeth and endured.
His vessel was so vast that it couldn’t even be compared to Noga-ju Nordian’s.
The real problem began after 90%.