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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 30
“What is it?”
“If I win the duel, allow me to participate in the Black Pill Hunt not as a beater, but as a guard demon.”
Count Tyramin frowned.
A guard demon refers to the one who stands guard during the final ritual of the Black Pill Hunt.
It’s a role as important as the main figure who presides over the ritual.
“You do understand how important the role of a guard demon is, don’t you?”
“I do. But attending as a mere beater would be an insult to my pride. Even if I don’t look it, I’m the eldest son of the Great Count Khazar’s family. Shouldn’t I at least be the second most important figure?”
“What? Ha! You’re truly arrogant.”
Count Tyramin burst into laughter, as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard.
But only for a moment.
His tone turned cold.
“If your strength were even half your arrogance, that would be nice.”
Chris shrugged.
“You’ll see for yourself.”
And so, the second duel began.
* * *
Fitting for a family known for handling demonic beasts, there was a large dueling arena.
As the news spread, the demons of the Tyramin family flocked in.
“The Khazar brat and Young Master Alros are dueling? How long do you think the brat can last? A minute? Two?”
“Last? That guy’s a well-known brat and scum. If he doesn’t wet himself in fear at the sight of a demonic beast, it’ll be a miracle.”
“If he does wet himself, let’s make the Khazar family bastards clean it up.”
The Tyramin family demons chuckled among themselves.
Not a single one of them considered the possibility of Alros losing.
Naturally so.
It was Chris, after all.
A good-for-nothing so infamous that his name was known across the entire Magus Empire, beyond even the Dark Demonic House.
While those close to Chris now knew he had changed, outsiders did not.
To those outside, Chris was still the same pathetic scoundrel.
Though he had defeated Alros yesterday, they believed it was only because Alros had been caught off guard.
If Alros used his Beast Art properly, there was no way he could lose.
That was what everyone in the Tyramin household believed, and they all prepared to watch the duel with relaxed confidence.
Some even began picking fights with the demons who had come with Chris.
“Hey, Khazar dogs. Shouldn’t you be stopping your young master?”
“You know demonic beasts don’t go easy on noble brats, right? What if he pisses himself?”
But the ones who had come with Chris responded strangely.
They didn’t get angry.
Nor did they agree.
Instead—
“You blind, idiot bastards.”
“…What?”
“Shut up, and keep your eyes wide open.”
They mocked the demons of the Tyramin family.
“So you can see which of the two ends up wetting themselves.”
At those words, the Tyramin family’s demons wore expressions of disbelief.
At that moment, Chris and Alros stepped onto the dueling grounds.
Alros wasn’t alone.
He was accompanied by a massive demonic beast.
“The beast I’ll be handling is the ‘Dark Horse.’”
True to its name, it closely resembled a horse—but with notable differences.
Its build was nearly twice the size of a regular horse, and rather than sleek, it gave the impression of a wild boar.
Alros leapt up and landed atop the Dark Horse.
He intended to fight mounted on the demonic beast.
“I’ll say this in advance—because of the nature of the Beast Art, once the duel begins, I won’t be able to go easy on you. If you kneel now and apologize, I’ll consider forgiving you.”
Instead of replying, Chris twirled his staff around in different directions.
For this duel, Chris had chosen not to use a sword, but a wooden staff.
There were several reasons.
First, the staff had a wide attack range, making it advantageous against demonic beasts.
“Mind if I say something too?”
“…What?”
“If you get beat down and start bawling, don’t expect any mercy. Even if you cry.”
“!!”
Alros’s face flushed red with rage.
“You arrogant bastard! You’ll regret this!!”
Neigh!!
The black beast charged forward.
Despite its hulking frame, it was fast.
A charge attack combining both speed and mass!
The force of the impact was enough to shatter bones in a single blow.
At the moment Alros smiled viciously, sure of his victory—
‘Huh?’
Chris’s figure vanished from sight.
Alros panicked.
He had clearly been in front of him—yet now, he wasn’t.
And then—
Whack!
“Gaaah!”
Alros’s head snapped back.
A sharp pain exploded across his face.
It felt like stars were flickering in and out of his vision.
Only then did Alros realize he’d been struck by Chris’s staff.
Through his blurry, pain-filled vision, he could see Chris casually tilting the staff in his direction.
“Does it hurt?”
Chris gave a mocking smile.
“But don’t cry or give up, okay? We’re just getting started.”
Another reason Chris chose the staff—
Because it was perfect for beating someone down.
* * *
The dueling ground fell silent.
The demons of the Tyramin family couldn’t say a word, eyes wide open.
It was shocking—no, an unbelievable scene was unfolding.
Whack!
“Y-You bastard?!”
Whack!!
“Gaaah!”
Alros was getting beaten down relentlessly.
It was practically a mockery.
‘Am I hallucinating right now?’
‘How is that wastrel…?’
It wasn’t that Alros’s Beast Art was lacking.
If anything, he had come out grinding his teeth in full focus, and his techniques were in peak condition.
But it wasn’t working at all against Chris.
The Dark Horse charged at Chris with force.
But Chris blocked or dodged its attacks with such ease it was almost absurd, and he kept striking Alros.
That scene repeated over and over.
“H-How…?”
Alros stuttered.
He couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
If it were anyone else, maybe.
But this was Chris!
The trashy wastrel!
‘How is that bastard…?’
Chris slung the staff over his shoulder and answered with an infuriating smirk.
“Because I’m a genius.”
“!!”
“Dealing with a dullard like you is easy.”
“You bastard!!”
Alros once again aggressively urged the Dark Horse forward.
But the result didn’t change.
Whack!
Stars burst in Alros’s vision again.
This time, he didn’t even see the hit coming.
A deathly silence fell over the arena.
“Is this really all you’ve got?”
Chris let out a faint chuckle and threw aside the staff.
Clack!
Everyone looked puzzled at the sudden move.
“I don’t think this is even a fight anymore. From here on, I’ll take you on barehanded. Oh, and if you so much as touch my collar, I’ll count it as your win.”
An utterly insulting provocation.
“Y-You…!!”
Alros’s face flushed with rage once more.
To surrender after suffering such humiliation—he’d have no right to call himself a demon.
“I’ll kill you without fail!!”
Alros’s attacks grew even more intense.
As if responding to its master’s fury, the Dark Horse’s movements also became more ferocious.
Chris weaved around the attacks and thought to himself.
‘Good. Just as I planned.’
He had a purpose in this duel.
To become a guard demon?
To show off his strength in front of everyone?
Those were part of it, but there was something more important.
‘I need to steal and learn the Tyramin family’s Beast Art.’
His ultimate goal was to seize the Black Pill.
To do that, he needed to steal and learn the Tyramin family’s secret technique, and he had deliberately provoked this duel to make it happen.
It wasn’t enough yet.
To completely dissect Alros’s Beast Art, his gaze quietly sank deeper without anyone noticing.
‘The movement of demonic energy that governs the beast.’
He could see threads of demonic energy flowing out from Alros toward the beast.
It was black magic of binding and domination.
The Magus Empire’s Beast Art was different from the Hero Party’s similar ability, Taming.
Taming is a communion that turns monsters into allies.
In contrast, the Magus Empire’s Beast Art is about domination and coercion through power.
‘The higher the level of Beast Art, the more efficiently one can dominate using less demonic energy.’
The Magus Empire’s highest-grade Beast Art belonged to one of the Twelve Demonic Houses—the Beast Demonic House.
While the Tyramin family’s Beast Art didn’t reach that level, it was still a high-level technique.
‘Reinforcing control by weaving in black magic spells—that’s the essence of the Tyramin family’s Beast Art. Enchantments like hypnosis, fear, and excitement are subtly mixed in to paralyze the beast’s rationality. I think I’m getting a grasp on it.’
To understand this much in such a short time?
To others, it would sound like madness—no, outright nonsense.
But it was true.
What Chris just grasped was the very core principle of the Tyramin family’s Beast Art.
‘Of course, it’s hard to figure out the finer details. But getting the core is enough for now.’
Chris thought to himself.
‘Now I just need to master the secret technique necessary to extract the Black Pill from here.’
The Black Pill comes from the body of the Karazov Beast.
If it’s just killed normally, only a basic potion, the Grey Pill, is produced. To extract the Black Pill, a specific ritual must be performed before killing it.
To carry out that ritual, the Tyramin family’s secret technique was essential.
“Ecstasy of Hell.”
A secret art that forcefully compels ‘death’ upon the beast.
Chris decided it was time to bring this duel to an end.
“I expected more, but you’re pathetic. You couldn’t even touch the hem of my clothes. Is this all you’ve got?”
“Y-You…”
“How about giving up now? Seems like it’s not going to work no matter how much you try.”
Chris spoke with a laid-back tone.
“If you kneel and beg for forgiveness even now, I might show some mercy. No—I'll even do you the honor of making you my little brother.”
“You bastard!”
Alros ground his teeth.
“I’ll… I’ll definitely… kill you!!”
‘Bingo.’ The provocation worked.
Alros moved the Dark Horse with everything he had.
Every last movement of the demonic energy controlling the Dark Horse was etched into Chris’s mind through his retinas.
‘Not yet. A little more.’
Hiiiiiihng!!
The Dark Horse charged at Chris with terrifying force, then reared up high.
It was about to slam its forelegs down.
The densely packed spikes embedded in its hooves gleamed menacingly like needles.
Battle frenzy.
And the demonic energy clouding its mind—its bloodshot eyes glowing red—Chris could see it all.
At that moment, Chris realized Alros’s beast control had reached its peak.
‘Now!’
Chris didn’t dodge.
Instead, he cast black magic.
[Fear of Death]
As if a blade were dropping onto one’s neck, followed by a fountain of blood—
The fear of death pierced the beast’s mind like a dagger.
The Dark Horse froze in terror, its movements stiffened.
“Wh-What…?”
“It’s the Fear of Death.”
Chris deliberately revealed the black magic’s nature.
“With your crude Beast Art, overcoming the fear of death is impossible.”
“!!”
“Just give up. Admit your defeat.”
“Shut up!!”
Alros squeezed out the last of his strength.
A powerful thread of demonic energy reached toward the beast.
He was trying to use the secret art—to force death upon the beast.
Exactly what Chris wanted.
Chris focused his gaze on the moment.
How the demonic energy moved—what principles were behind the spell.
What pattern the spells formed.
The density and frequency of the demonic energy.
How it dominated the beast’s mind.
How each spell acted upon the beast, and how it led to the enforcement of death.
Greater fear.
Followed by ecstasy.
Submission.
And so, the Tyramin family’s secret technique—“Ecstasy of Hell”—was fully imprinted into Chris’s mind without a single detail missed.
“That’s enough! Prepare yourself!!”
Just as the beast overcame the Fear of Death—or rather, just as death was being forced upon it—
Smack!
Chris’s fist, appearing out of nowhere, struck Alros’s face like lightning.
Thud.
Alros lost consciousness and collapsed in vain.
“…….”
Complete defeat.
Chris shrugged as he looked at the people of the Tyramin family, frozen in shock and disbelief.
“Then, I’ll see you at the Black Pill hunt.”
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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