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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 46
In the past, the “Dark Chatterbox,” who was once part of the Hero’s party, used it only once.
During a fierce battle with the Bloodshade Demon Corps Commander, an 8-star Demon, the Hero’s party faced annihilation, and the Dark Chatterbox used Demonization to barely escape the crisis.
And… as the price, the Dark Chatterbox lost his life.
Naturally, at Christian’s current level, it was a forbidden art he should not be able to use.
However, Christian had modified the technique of Demonization in his own way.
He excluded all elements from the technique that boosted practical combat power, such as demonic energy enhancement and physical reinforcement.
He also ensured that no wickedness would be imbued.
Thanks to that, the difficulty of casting the technique was drastically reduced.
The demonic energy required to perform the technique was replaced with the ambient energy of the negative dimension surrounding him.
Because of that, he barely managed to succeed in casting the technique.
‘Now… it’s possible.’
Chris took a deep breath.
Darkness does not collide with darkness.
Unlike before, the Sacred Darkness surged into Chris’s body without any resistance.
It flowed as if it were returning to its rightful place.
Chris accepted the Sacred Darkness without losing a single trace of its power, and once again, a transformation began.
Past nine-tenths, to the full ten-tenths.
All of the Sacred Darkness was absorbed, and the nature of the demonic energy within Chris was completely transformed.
Pure dark demonic energy with no foreign elements.
Chris had accomplished what no one in the history of dark magic had ever achieved.
And that wasn’t the end.
Crack, crack.
Christian’s body began to change.
‘No way… another body reconstruction?’
It wasn’t that.
There were no changes in his muscles or bones.
His physique had already reached perfection through two prior body reconstructions; there was nothing left to improve.
The area around his shoulder blades changed subtly, though the reason was unclear.
That wasn’t all.
A black crescent moon-shaped mark appeared on his temple and then vanished without a trace.
At the same time, his eyes began to burn.
Chris couldn’t see it, but the light in his pupils had changed.
Originally, his eyes were a vivid, blood-red hue.
But now, black light shimmered within them. They had become a deep, dark crimson.
[…Unbelievable… That something like this could happen.]
In the empty space, the voice of the demon echoed.
“…What’s wrong?”
[…By fully accepting perfect darkness… the level of your soul has risen. In other words… your soul is now on par with a Half-Demon.]
Chris’s face showed surprise.
Half-Demon!
It’s said that when one reaches the peak of 9-star, they surpass the limits of a human soul.
Still human, yet possessing a soul that rivals that of a transcendent being.
However, because he is human, it is impossible for him to fully attain the stature of a demon or a constellar being.
That’s why it’s called “Half-Demon”—meaning a being who is only halfway to transcendence.
‘You’re telling me… I’ve become that kind of transcendent being?’
Chris opened his hand.
There wasn’t anything noticeably different.
It just seemed that, by accepting the perfect Sacred Darkness, the level of his soul had risen.
‘Doesn’t feel like it has much significance.’
No.
There was no way it could be meaningless.
He didn’t know how he’d use it yet, but it would definitely become a great power.
[Heh heh… how amusing. A new Half-Demon has appeared….]
“……”
Chris blankly stared into the darkness where the voice came from.
It seemed like a rather talkative demon.
The longer he listened, the less oppressive it felt—unusual for a demon.
‘He must be holding back on purpose. If I were exposed to a demon’s wicked energy for too long, even I wouldn’t come out unscathed.’
A strange devil indeed.
Still, no matter what kind it was, a devil was an evil and detestable being.
[An unworthy mortal… bearing the stature of a Half-Demon… It doesn’t suit you….]
The demon’s voice began to grow distant.
It seemed to be disappearing.
[But you… are interesting. I hope… you continue to entertain me.]
Eventually, the demon’s presence vanished completely.
Chris raised his middle finger.
He had no intention of welcoming a demon’s interest.
‘Anyway.’
Chris looked up.
Far above, light was seeping through.
It was time to return from the darkness.
‘How long has it been? Everyone’s probably shocked.’
His sense of time wasn’t precise, but it felt like at least seven days had passed.
Considering that the Archduke Nordian had taken four days to absorb the Sacred Darkness, things would be in chaos back at the Dark Mage Tower.
‘Wait.’
Christian smirked.
‘Isn’t this the perfect chance to mess with them?’
A mischievous idea came to mind.
‘Just walking back in calmly wouldn’t be any fun. Should I play a little prank?’
His target: the entire Dark Demonic Main House.
More precisely, it was a chance to strike at those high-and-mighty direct descendants.
As he left the negative dimension, Chris cast dark magic upon himself.
[Curse of Exhaustion.]
[Curse of Depletion.]
And so on.
Chris’s appearance had changed drastically—for the worse.
As if he had barely survived and returned from the brink of death.
And most crucially—
[Art of Concealment.]
A secret technique that allows one to disguise their condition from others.
Originally, it was a secret art from a prestigious swordsmanship clan used by heroes, but because it was too difficult to fully master at his level, Chris combined it with dark magic.
He subtly fused it with the principles of illusion magic.
It wasn’t an outright illusion spell—using that would’ve been easily detected.
The essence of illusion is ultimately trickery, and Chris discreetly mixed its foundational principles with the hidden techniques of the sword clan.
To properly utilize the essence of illusion magic, one typically needed the purple attribute of demonic energy, but things had changed now.
Chris could now use any type of dark magic as if it were his own innate attribute.
In fact, he could wield it more powerfully than the original holders of those attributes.
Flash!
A faint purple glow mixed into the sword clan’s secret art, and Chris’s body—more precisely, the state of his mana core—appeared dangerously unstable to others.
It was the beginning of the “prank” he intended to pull.
* * *
East wing of the main family’s mansion.
A few demonic dark mages were lounging in the garden, yawning.
“How long are we supposed to keep waiting? That delinquent is probably dead and gone without even a corpse left.”
“I heard the Archduke said to wait just one more day.”
“The Archduke did?”
The other looked surprised.
The Archduke had completely withdrawn from family affairs after his seclusion—was he really paying attention to that delinquent?
“Must be because even trash like him still carries the family’s blood. How merciful of him. The time’s almost up, so let’s bear it a bit longer.”
As they gossiped about Chris, trading idle chatter—
Suddenly, the passage began to rumble.
“?!”
“Wh-what the hell?!”
The dark mages flinched in shock.
And then—
Crack!
Like something being spat out from an egg, a figure emerged from the passage.
“Y-Young Master Christian?! No way?! How did he come back alive?!”
“His condition is critical! Call a healer!”
The dark mages panicked.
Delinquent or not, he was still a direct descendant of the main family.
Now that he’d returned alive, they couldn’t just ignore him.
“He’s in a state of extreme exhaustion. It looks like he barely managed to escape with his life.”
The healer assessed Chris’s condition.
“What about his core?”
A middle-aged man with a stern face stepped forward and asked.
His name was Macfield.
He was a 6-star ranked demonic being—one of the core elites of the main family.
“I can sense dark demonic energy... but it’s murky. Something seems to have gone wrong.”
The healer spoke with a troubled expression, and those who heard him nodded in agreement.
‘Of course. There’s no way that delinquent could’ve absorbed more than 80% of the Sacred Darkness.’
‘He must’ve gotten greedy and caused some kind of issue. Barely clung to life and just barely managed to return.’
With Christian's return, a shocking question echoed in the minds of the demonic beings.
Since over a week had passed, did he manage to absorb over 80% of the Sacred Darkness?
But as expected—
“Hmph.”
Macfield stared at Christian’s exhausted mana core.
Just like the healer said, it was nothing but clouded.
Of course, it was all a disguise.
The “Art of Concealment” that Christian had cast over his body was a secret technique of a swordsmanship clan—specifically, one used by their infamous shadows.
The reapers of the alliance who would silently approach and take lives unnoticed.
It was a secret art that intricately blended with the principles of illusion magic, enough to deceive even a high-ranking demonic being like Macfield.
“Escort him inside and treat him. I’ll report to Marquis Langham.”
Speaking coldly, Macfield thought to himself—
It was time to dispose of that worthless delinquent through the Dark Demonic House.
* * *
Top floor of the main building of the Dark Demonic House.
A large office overlooking the mansion grounds.
A middle-aged man sat reviewing documents.
Expressionless, with a ruthlessly cold demeanor. His steel-framed glasses only added to the chilling impression.
A 7-star demonic being, and the acting head of the Dark Demonic House—Marquis Langham.
“Your Excellency.”
Macfield bowed his head.
“Young Master Christian of the Khazar Count family has returned from the Sanctuary.”
Marquis Langham continued reading his documents.
He showed no interest in Macfield’s report.
It was only natural.
To Marquis Langham—the second-in-command of the Dark Demonic House—Christian was far too insignificant a being to warrant attention.
“Shall he not be punished?”
“……”
Only then did Marquis Langham glance up.
“He must be held accountable for the chaos he caused during the Sacred Darkness Ceremony.”
Marquis Langham set his papers down.
He touched the frame of his steel glasses.
‘Christian, huh.’
A worthless delinquent who brought disgrace to the honor of the Dark Demonic House.
That was the extent of Marquis Langham’s perception of Chris.
An eyesore, but not enough of a threat to warrant intervention—so he had left him be.
‘But now… he’s becoming a nuisance.’
Marquis Langham recalled recent events.
His own son, Ashid, had attempted to frame that boy and ended up the subject of disgraceful rumors.
It was entirely Ashid's fault, but that wasn't the important part.
What mattered was that Ashid, as the heir apparent, now had an unnecessary blemish on his record.
‘He also did something useless at the Count Tyramin's house.’
It was Marquis Langham who had driven a wedge between the Khazar Count family and the Tyramin Count family.
Why?
Because it benefited the main family.
However, there had been reports that Christian might lead to a reconciliation between the two families.
That wasn’t all.
‘Royen was supposed to become a pawn in the plan for the upcoming Venomous Demonic House, but Christian ruined that too.’
Royen, who was defeated by Christian, and his sister, Jupien.
They were direct descendants, but not of Langham Marquis’s bloodline.
Langham Marquis had intended to use them as sacrificial pieces in a certain plan targeting the Venomous Demonic House. However, Royen’s defeat in the Sacred Darkness Ceremony had unexpectedly disrupted that plan.
And decisively—
‘Father has shown interest in him.’
He had called Christian to meet him separately and even allowed him to leave the passage of the dark dimension open.
This was something that the usual Nordic man would never have imagined.
‘This is unwelcome.’
Marquis Langham wanted to lead the Dark Demonic House without any disturbances. He did not welcome any turmoil that was out of his control.
A slippery character like Christian was unwelcome.
He would have preferred to just watch, but Christian had already crossed the line multiple times.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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