Episode 95
“!!”
“Isn’t that right? The forsaken puppet prince of the renowned swordsmanship family.”
Crack.
As expected, Evan clenched his fist.
So tightly that his knuckles turned white.
“Shut… up.”
“I’m not wrong, am I? Being sent into the Dark Maga’s territory from the start means you were discarded like a dead card. You must know that, right?”
Evan glared at Chris with murderous eyes.
But he couldn’t find any words to retort.
Because Chris was right.
Born of the most noble bloodline, yet sacrificed to the filthy ambitions of the elders in his family—a pitiful fate.
That was Evan.
‘Not so different from me.’
Chris let out a bitter chuckle.
He, too, was born of noble lineage but had to endure a miserable childhood under a terrible false accusation.
The only difference was that Chris’s father was still alive.
Or more precisely, it was his father who had dragged Chris’s fate into the abyss.
Chris and his mother had been branded as devil’s pawns because of his father’s greed.
‘Well, it’s not important now.’
Still, Chris felt a certain sympathy for Evan, who was so much like himself, and wanted to ease the pain Evan would have to endure in the future.
So he said,
“Don’t you want to survive and take revenge?”
“!!”
Chris’s lips curled into a sly smile.
His voice was like a devil’s temptation.
“On those who insulted your father and dragged you and your mother into the abyss.”
Evan was silent for a long moment.
The dark moonlight hung heavy in the air.
“…What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. I want you to survive and return to the Union.”
“…Return to the swordsmanship family and fight them? That’s impossible.”
Evan spoke heavily.
“My enemies are beyond my reach.”
He was right.
They were far beyond Evan’s level.
That was why he had fallen into despair.
But—
“Maybe for now. But with time, things will change.”
“!!”
“I’m not telling you to go back to the swordsmanship family and fight them right away. No, you must never return there for the time being.”
Chris spoke firmly.
If Evan returned to the swordsmanship family, he would face a terrible disaster in the near future.
He had to avoid that.
“Hide and grow stronger. Then, cut down those hypocrites of the swordsmanship family.”
Taking down those rotten bastards wasn’t just about Evan’s personal grudge—it was necessary for the future.
Because of those damn fools, the swordsmanship family failed to play their part in the great war, and the damage the Union suffered multiplied exponentially.
‘Originally, I was going to do this myself.’
But it wouldn’t hurt to use Evan as fuel to revive his blackened soul.
Sometimes, anger becomes the fiercest flame of life.
“Anyway, things can’t get any worse than your current miserable state, right?”
Evan let out a low, cold laugh filled with deep resentment.
“That’s true. It might be better to become your slave and your blade than to be a dog serving your enemies.”
Evan lifted his head and met Chris’s sharp gaze.
“I’ll follow your words. What should I do?”
“First, you have to survive and get out of here.”
“…You’re going to let me go?”
Evan looked puzzled.
“Yes. If you stay here any longer, you’ll die.”
It was true.
Many demons were still hunting Evan’s life.
Even if Chris tried to protect him, there were limits.
“And you have to leave to follow my orders.”
“…What if I ignore your orders after you let me go?”
Though the mark of servitude was engraved, it wasn’t enough to force Evan’s obedience.
‘The mark of inferior blood is a spell that turns the will-less into servants. But someone like Evan, with his own will, can’t be controlled at will.’
To truly force Evan’s obedience, a ‘Mark of Submission’ would have to be engraved separately, but that was impossible for now.
And it wasn’t necessary.
“That’s simple. Take this pill.”
“…What is this?”
“It’s the secret poison pill of the Dark Maga, the ‘Circle of True Death.’ You’ve probably heard of it. If you don’t take the antidote by a set time years from now, it will kill you.”
A deadly poison with a delayed effect—years later, the poison would activate.
And there was no antidote except the one prescribed.
How did Chris get such a rare poison?
‘Lies. It’s just horse dung.’
But who cared?
Evan didn’t even know what poison tasted like.
“Take it.”
“…….”
Instinctively hesitant, Evan paused.
But then he shut his eyes tight and swallowed the pill.
“…As expected of a deadly poison. The taste is harsh.”
“…Yes, the stronger the poison, the more bitter it tastes. I’ll give you the antidote once I’m sure you’re following my orders well.”
“Alright, but how will you get me out of the Dark Maga’s territory?”
Evan asked, his voice full of doubt.
“No matter how noble you are, you can’t just let me go, can you?”
That was true.
But as always, Chris had a plan.
He whispered his plan into Evan’s ear, and Evan’s eyes widened in surprise.
It was time to use the overly generous mama’s boy, the fool demon, Maisak.
Chris and Evan put their plan into motion.
First, Evan had to show genuine submission to Chris, fooling everyone around them.
Then, they waited for the right moment.
‘The bait should be taking soon.’
Just then, someone approached.
The mama’s boy demon who had been feeding Chris without hesitation—Maisak.
“…Christian.”
“Sniffing your mother’s skirt instead of coming to me? What’s the matter?”
Chris leaned back in his chair, answering with a smirk, not bothering to stand.
Maisak ground his teeth in frustration.
“Is that guy from the swordsmanship family?”
“…….”
“Don’t get cocky just because you made a tiny contribution. Soon, I’ll cut off all your limbs and tear your flesh to feed the dogs.”
A growl so pathetic it no longer stirred any emotion.
Chris ignored him, looking bored.
Then, something happened that shocked everyone nearby.
Bam!!
A heavy thud echoed.
For a moment, no one nearby understood what had happened.
Even Maisak, the one who had just been hit, was stunned.
It was that shocking.
Evan, standing quietly beside them, had punched Maisak square in the face.
“W-What?!”
Maisak snapped out of his daze and shouted in rage, but it was useless.
In pure physical combat, Evan even surpassed Chris.
More importantly, Evan had endured countless battles in the swordsmanship family, while Maisak had been coddled under his mother’s wing—their combat reflexes were worlds apart.
Bam! Bam!
Evan’s hammer-like fists, filled with pure white mana, struck Maisak’s face repeatedly, as if intent on turning him to mush.
Maisak didn’t even get a chance to use his specialty, dark magic.
Chris shouted a few beats late—about five punches behind.
“Stop!! What are you doing?”
“…This one insulted my master. Please allow me to punish him.”
One of Evan’s fists, glowing a deep blue, gripped Maisak’s collar.
It was a fourth-rank holy light mana conversion technique—Fighting Fist.
The power condensed from a knight’s mana blade.
If that destructive force landed on Maisak’s face, no one could imagine what would remain.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Maisak whimpered, sensing death in Evan’s deadly gaze.
“Let him go. Even if he’s a worthless fool, he’s still a noble of the main family.”
“…Understood.”
Evan released his grip as if shaking off dirt, and Maisak collapsed, powerless.
“Evan, step back. I will punish this fool for overstepping.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Chris sighed and approached Maisak.
“You okay?”
“!!”
Even crawling on the floor, his pride was still alive.
Maisak growled fiercely with his battered face.
But Chris sneered in a low voice.
“I thought so. Pathetic as expected. You’re worse than the slaves I command. What a moron. Maybe you should just stay under your mother’s skirt from now on.”
“!!”
Chris’s words crushed Maisak’s pride.
But Maisak couldn’t say a word.
Chris’s gaze pressed down on him like a heavy weight.
The strong looking down on the weak.
“If you want to live long, get lost under your mother’s skirt right now!”
Maisak trembled at his fingertips but couldn’t utter a word.
He disappeared like a miserable dog.
With only the two of them left, Evan spoke.
“Wasn’t that a bit too much?”
“Use formal speech.”
“…Wasn’t that too harsh? I did as you said, though.”
Unexpected words.
It turned out that Evan’s intervention was part of Chris’s script!
“He didn’t seem like he’d stay quiet. From what I overheard, he seems to have some powerful backing.”
Chris shrugged.
“Don’t worry about Maisak’s revenge.”
Chris smirked.
“That was the whole point.”
Indeed.
Today’s incident was bait thrown to Maisak.
Filled with rage, Maisak would act exactly as Chris intended, and Chris planned to sacrifice him to help Evan escape.
The time had come.
The Marchioness Fresia summoned him.
Fresia greeted him with a cold, unwelcoming expression.
“It’s been a while. How nice to see you.”
“Yes, it’s a pleasure to see you too. But I don’t see Maysak here.”
Chris spun his head exaggeratedly from side to side.
“I thought he was a mama’s boy who never left Lady Baek’s side?”
“…You!”
“Oh, I just meant you two seemed close. Did I say something to upset you?”
Presia’s fingertips trembled slightly.
But she didn’t let herself get angrier. She had business to attend to.
“I called you because I have a mission for you.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve heard the Gold Cross gang’s recent movements have been unusual. I want you to go check things out along the Brexis River, the one that flows through the Law Kingdom. This is a solo mission—you’re to go alone.”
Chris whistled quietly to himself.
‘That’s a bit too obvious.’
The Brexis River was the main territory of the Amgwi Corps.
They intended to use Maysak and the Amgwi Corps to take Chris out.
And now, they wouldn’t even allow him to bring anyone along.
It was almost laughable how transparent their scheme was.
It only showed how desperately they wanted Chris dead.
Even though it was clearly a trap.
“Yes, understood. I accept the mission.”
Chris answered calmly.
‘This is exactly the kind of mission I wanted.’
Did Presia realize?
That she had just taken the bait Chris had set.
“One thing, though. May I make a request? Please allow me to bring along a slave from the renowned swordsmanship family.”
“A slave?”
“Yes. I plan to use them as a scapegoat in case things go south.”