Episode 60

It didn’t seem like she intended to harm him.

The attack just now wasn’t meant to kill—it was a trap, a spread of poison on the ground to stop his footsteps.

Either way, it was a nuisance.

“Speak.”

“…Aren’t you going to apologize?”

“……”

“I still can’t forgive the insult you dealt me.”

Chris remained silent.

‘Christian… what kind of huge mistake did you make to deserve this?’

The girl’s emerald eyes were filled with venom as she glared at him.

This wasn’t a petty grudge.

‘I’m busy. Maybe I should just apologize and move on. It’s not even my fault.’

But then a thought struck Chris.

‘Wait, Marisa is the one who’s going to be framed and sacrificed this time.’

During this expedition, the Dark Maga’s exploration team would be wiped out.

Marisa would be the one blamed.

Her hands would be cut off, her eyes gouged out, her tongue torn free.

‘Well, whatever happens isn’t really my concern.’

Still, considering the upcoming conflict between the Dark Maga and the Extreme Poison Maga, it wouldn’t hurt to owe a favor to one of the key figures in the Extreme Poison Maga—make her indebted to him, a useful pawn.

With that in mind, Chris spoke up.

He scratched his ear, putting on as little sincerity as possible.

“Apology. Is that enough?”

“……”

Marisa’s face flushed red.

“You’re… the worst.”

“I apologized because you asked. What more do you want me to say? We’re already done with each other. Are you still under the delusion that we’re engaged? By the way…”

Chris smiled coldly.

“Don’t you underestimate me?”

“…What?”

“You had the nerve to come find me alone. If I take you down here, this expedition will be our victory.”

Marisa’s expression shifted.

He was saying he intended to subdue her right here!

‘If I restrain her, she won’t be framed.’

The way to prove Marisa’s innocence this time was simple.

Create an alibi.

How?

By capturing her and locking her up tight.

Chris thought this was a considerate move, but Marisa trembled with rage.

Then she let out a bitter laugh.

“Fine. We’re enemies now. I’ll make you regret it.”

Her jewel-like emerald eyes gleamed coldly.

“Especially for the insult you dealt me last time.”

Crackle.

Poison began to boil up from her body.

Not just one color.

A chaotic spectrum of hues flared—she was wielding multiple types of poison.

‘No wonder they call her the “Small Ten Thousand Poisons.”’

Chris whistled inwardly.

That nickname came from her mastery over countless poisons.

Despite being born a concubine, she was recognized as a legitimate heir and a powerful rising figure.

“I’ll give you one last chance.”

The color of her emerald eyes shifted.

In an instant, they flickered through dull red, white, black, and green.

Her gaze changed with the poison she summoned.

“Kneel and apologize to me now. If you don’t, you’ll turn into nothing but a handful of blood soaked in my venom.”

A chilling warning.

Chris just scratched his ear again.

“You talk too much. Does the Extreme Poison Maga fight with words? You’re just like those noisy alliance fools.”

“!!”

Marisa’s face darkened.

Snap!

Magic energy burst from her hand.

But it wasn’t just any magic—it was a deep blue aura that soon turned into a misty fog.

She had reached the realm of transforming intangible magic into poison—‘Magic Poison’!

A level only attainable by those ranked three stars or higher, a counterpart to the Black Sword realm.

But Marisa’s assault didn’t stop there.

She pulled out small glass vials from her pocket.

More poisons.

Not ordinary ones.

Each was among the deadliest poisons known.

Since her current skill level made it difficult to manifest multiple poisons simultaneously as magic poison, she resorted to throwing them physically.

Crash!

The vials shattered midair, releasing toxic gases that engulfed Chris.

He was now surrounded by more than five different poisons.

Marisa spoke coldly.

“You’re about to experience hellish pain.”

The poisons she used weren’t instant killers.

Instead, they inflicted excruciating agony over time, slowly dragging the victim to death.

Five different poisons at once—Chris was about to endure unimaginable torment.

“Apologize right now. Then I might let you off.”

“…Apologize, huh? No thanks.”

The same answer as always.

Marisa scowled fiercely.

“Apologize this instant! Or you’ll die!!”

“Well, I don’t think so.”

“Don’t bluff…!!”

At that moment, the poisonous mist began to clear.

Marisa’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of Chris.

He should have been writhing on the ground in pain, but he looked perfectly fine.

Not pretending.

The poisons hadn’t affected him at all!

“W-why?”

“Ah… well.”

Chris chuckled.

“I took the antidote beforehand.”

“N-no way!!”

Not just one poison, but five.

How could he have gotten the antidote to the Extreme Poison Maga’s secret poisons in advance?

“Ever heard of a cure-all?”

“What?”

“I made something like a universal antidote that works on almost any poison. Turns out, it works pretty well.”

An absurd explanation.

But half true.

‘These aren’t poisons imbued with willpower. Making antidotes for physical poisons is simple.’

The Extreme Poison Maga’s poisons are divided into several categories.

Physical poisons.

Magical poisons with special effects.

Poisons imbued with will.

Poisons that cause miracles.

Marisa’s poisons were physical.

Among physical poisons, hers were high-level, but to Chris, they were child’s play.

Of course.

“I actually have a knack for medicine.”

In the past.

Chris had many professions.

He was once a comrade of the hero.

A leader of a massive group.

Among his many titles was one that stood out.

Doctor.

No, more precisely—

Not just any doctor.

His medical skills were exceptional, revered as divine, even saintly.

It hadn’t always been that way.

Originally, he was just an ordinary skilled physician, but during the Age of Destruction, a fateful encounter granted him unparalleled medical prowess.

Among the many renowned medical families, one was considered the best and counted among the alliance’s seven great houses.

Also known as the nemesis of the Extreme Poison Maga.

The ‘Medical Saint’ family.

Chris was the last disciple and the 27th head of that family.

That was one of his past titles.

---

“You’re truly insane.”

That was what the hero’s party had said countless times.

Not just them.

Everyone who knew Chris recognized his talent and called him crazy. Because it was truly insane talent.

“If you had learned swordsmanship or magic, the fate of the world would have been very different.”

They lamented endlessly.

But unfortunately, Chris never learned swordsmanship or magic.

It wasn’t a coincidence.

For his own reasons, he absolutely could not learn swordsmanship or magic.

If he had, his original family would never have let him live. They would have killed him without hesitation.

So Chris deliberately closed his eyes and ears to swordsmanship and magic.

‘Damn cursed bloodline.’

Chris chuckled softly.

In truth, he was born with one of the rarest bloodlines on the continent.

Few could rival his lineage.

But it was a cursed one.

Instead, he learned countless miscellaneous skills.

Not by design.

He picked them up wandering the back alleys.

Just by watching others, he quickly mastered skills beyond expert level.

Medicine was one of them.

He studied medicine more deeply than other skills.

‘Healing people pays well.’

It was a respectable profession, free from interference.

If the First Great War hadn’t happened, he might have settled as a doctor.

But the First Great War, sparked by the Bloodthirsty Demon King, threw his life into chaos.

He went through countless ordeals and then met a fateful person.

“…Crazy. Why did I only meet someone like you now? I don’t have much time left.”

The last surviving member of the Medical Saint family.

Once one of the alliance’s seven great houses, revered by all, but unable to escape the Bloodthirsty Demon King’s slaughter.

The 26th head was near death when she met Chris.

She passed away exactly one week after their meeting.

She entrusted Chris with a burden.

[…You are now the 27th head of the Medical Saint family.]

She handed him a tome containing the family’s secret techniques.

It wasn’t complete.

The original was 45 volumes, but during the family’s destruction, most were lost. Chris only received 15 volumes.

Less than a third.

And no master to teach him.

She was too weak and ill during that week to pass on much.

He had to learn on his own.

Still, despite the harsh conditions, Chris gained incredible abilities.

‘Though I failed to acquire the family’s unique healing energy, the Medical Saint Qi Gong.’

Instead, he gained medical knowledge.

Chris now possessed the continent’s greatest medical expertise.

The Extreme Poison Maga’s poisons?

No matter how much Marisa was hailed as the “Poison Queen” and how exceptional her poisons were, they were still limited by physical constraints.

They could be antidoted—no problem.

Granted, this only applied to poisons within the realm of physical effects, but Chris had managed to create an antidote on the level of neutralizing even the deadliest toxins. The ingredients were insanely expensive, but that was easily solved by emptying Ruina’s purse.

“Th-this can’t be…”

Chris glanced down.

Marisa was tightly bound in magical ropes, completely subdued.

‘…She must be in shock.’

Since her specialty poison had no effect, the outcome of the duel was obvious.

Of course, the power of the deadly poison Marisa wielded wasn’t limited to just toxins.

She also possessed some of the continent’s top assassination techniques, but even those weren’t enough to take on Chris.

“W-what kind of trick did you use?!”

“Hm, nothing special.”

Chris casually rummaged through Marisa’s belongings and answered without much concern.

“Poison works through a few basic principles: irritation, paralysis, neurotoxicity, hemorrhaging, hypersensitivity, corrosion, necrosis, and so on. So, if you create an antidote that simultaneously antagonizes all those mechanisms at once, it’s pretty straightforward.”

Marisa’s face went blank.

What the hell is this lunatic saying?

‘Is that even possible?’

Physiologically, it was absolutely impossible for a human body.

In fact, even the secret manuals of the medical sect didn’t contain anything like the antidote Chris had made.

Chris had created this antidote entirely from scratch, inspired by but not found in the medical sect’s ancient texts.