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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 52
One small relief was that the magical beasts appearing in the trial weren’t particularly agile.
The ranking of magical beasts is determined by the overall assessment of their abilities, and while these beasts were strong, they were relatively slow compared to other 4-star beasts, meaning that with enough effort and focus, it was possible to avoid them and hang in there.
Of course, all that meant was barely dodging—one mistake would still result in a fatal wound.
‘He’s definitely good at dodging.’
Through the projection orb, Christian’s movements were visible.
He was weaving in and out, narrowly avoiding the attacks.
[He certainly has talent. His movements are completely different from the other kids.]
Nordian’s voice held a hint of admiration.
[But he’s too clever. He’s predicting every movement of the beasts and dodging them all. He needs to be pushed to his limits to really feel the essence of the Dark Demonic Energy.]
What Nordian hoped to achieve through this task was simple.
Before giving him proper instruction, he wanted Christian to physically experience the essence of the Dark Demonic Energy in a life-or-death situation.
Feeling that essence right before one begins learning the Dark Demonic Art is a priceless experience.
‘The Dark Demonic Energy is a great power. If he could fully grasp and utilize its essence, he could even take down those magical beasts with that alone.’
Of course, that was an extremely high-level technique.
A profound skill that most users of the Dark Demonic Art never grasp in their lifetime.
Nordian had assigned this task to lay the groundwork for that path of ascension.
‘But at this rate… He won’t feel the essence at all…’
Just as that displeased thought crossed his mind—
Something unexpected happened.
Thud!
One of the Twin-Head Bears collapsed.
“!!”
[?!]
Merian and Nordian’s eyes widened.
It happened completely out of the blue.
“Did you intervene, my lord?”
[…No.]
“Then why—?”
Nordian couldn’t answer.
He was staring intently into the crystal orb, unable to believe what he had just seen.
‘What was that just now…? No. It can’t be…’
Right before the Twin-Head Bear collapsed, Christian had lightly touched its back with his hand.
It wasn’t an attack—just a touch.
And yet, the Twin-Head Bear had fallen.
There was only one thing.
Nordian knew of a phenomenon that could cause such a result.
It made no sense.
There was no way someone who hadn’t even officially entered the Dark Demonic Art could do such a thing.
But at that moment—
Thud!
Another deafening crash echoed.
The second Twin-Head Bear collapsed.
The hall fell silent.
This time, even Merian recognized it.
“My lord… Could it be, just now—?”
[…]
In place of the silent Nordian, Simon—who had been quietly standing nearby—smiled faintly and spoke.
“That looked like the technique you used to favor, my lord. Wasn’t it called ‘Dark… Execution’?”
“……”
No.
It was impossible.
And yet, even to Nordian’s eyes, the technique Christian just used was unmistakably Dark Execution.
He had only intended for Christian to feel the essence of Dark Demonic Energy, but instead, Christian had skipped dozens of levels and used an advanced technique outright!
And the surprises didn’t end there.
Seeing what Christian did next, Merian forgot she was next to the clan head and muttered aloud—
“…He’s insane?”
* * *
‘As expected of the old clan head. His reputation holds true. What a brilliant method of instruction.’
Christian was inwardly impressed.
At first, when the difficult magical beasts appeared, he tilted his head in confusion.
Why would he assign a task like this?
It just seemed dangerous.
But of course, he was wrong.
True to his title as the strongest Dark Demonic Master, Nordian had assigned the perfect challenge.
‘He’s telling me to use Dark Demonic Energy to take down those beasts!’
That wasn’t the task at all.
But Christian misunderstood it that way.
Because it seemed possible.
‘The only thing I have over those beasts… is that I possess Dark Demonic Energy.’
In that case, he had to use Dark Demonic Energy as a weapon.
That must be the answer to the task.
…It wasn’t that at all, but Christian misunderstood and arrived at the answer on his own.
‘The nature of Dark Demonic Energy is perfect darkness. And domination.’
What Nordian didn’t know was that Christian had already fully grasped the essence of Dark Demonic Energy.
It wasn’t a realization from knowledge.
It had been instinctively engraved into his body when he absorbed ten parts of the Sacred Darkness.
‘The nature of darkness and domination. How do I turn that into a weapon?’
It didn’t take long to find the answer.
Magical beasts also harbor darkness within them.
He had to subjugate that darkness.
‘It won’t be easy. But against these magical beasts… I can manage.’
Christian admired Nordian’s thoughtful “consideration.”
The magical beasts that appeared were strong and physically resilient, but in return, they were slow and had weak resistance to demonic energy.
Originally, the chosen beasts were meant to push Chris to his physical limits, but instead, they turned out to be perfect targets for testing Dark Demonic Energy.
At first, it didn’t go well.
He had no clear sense of how to dominate an opponent’s demonic energy.
No one had ever taught him.
But Chris gradually began to find the clue on his own.
‘Let go of the Dark Demonic Energy for a moment. Let it run wild on its own.’
Dark Demonic Energy naturally possessed the tendency to dominate other energies.
But if he tried to force that domination, it didn’t work well.
So then?
Just for an instant—release control.
Let the Dark Demonic Energy rampage freely.
Of course, it couldn’t stop there.
If the energy rampaged too wildly, the opponent’s demonic energy would generate a strong backlash, and he would lose control instead.
The moment Dark Demonic Energy asserted its dominance, he had to immediately seize control again and fine-tune it—only then could he manipulate the opponent’s energy as he wished.
It was like a tightrope act.
But after several tries, he started to get the hang of it.
‘I don’t need to dominate the entire core of the magical beast. Just control the energy flowing to key organs—through the blood vessels.’
For instance, the heart. Or dominate the energy flowing toward the brain, just enough to temporarily halt the function of that organ.
That way, he could take down his opponent using only a small amount of energy.
As expected, the Twin-Head Bear lost consciousness and collapsed with a thud.
‘This is perfect for Dark Demonic Energy training.’
Chris was impressed.
In truth, it wasn’t a technique easily applied against other dark beings.
They wouldn’t just sit still and let it happen, unlike this bear.
But against magical beasts like these—strong in physical power but slow to react and with weak resistance to demonic energy—it could be a powerful move.
Above all, it was the best possible training for mastering Dark Demonic Energy.
‘As expected of the clan head. He gave me this task specifically to train my control over Dark Demonic Energy. Next is the Rock Lizard.’
Just as the name suggested, it was a lizard with rocky skin.
Neither magic nor weapons could inflict real damage with external physical attacks.
‘This one, too… He must want me to defeat it with Dark Demonic Energy. How should I go about it?’
Simply dominating the energy flowing toward a vital spot wouldn’t be enough.
Unlike the Twin-Head Bear, the structure of this beast’s organs was different.
It had three hearts. And they were made of stone. They wouldn’t stop easily.
‘In that case—’
Christian’s eyes gleamed.
He moved into the Rock Lizard’s blind spot.
Once again, an unbelievable sight began to unfold.
* * *
“……”
[…]
Merian and Nordian remained silent.
‘…Am I really seeing this right?’
Merian thought with a dumbfounded expression.
Nordian hadn’t said a single word, but it was obvious what he was thinking.
Something that should never have been possible was happening right in front of them.
Simon shrugged and spoke in a cheerful tone.
“Oh? That’s an advanced application. Instead of simply halting the function of a specific organ temporarily, he disrupted the flow of demonic energy to inflict widespread damage across the entire body.”
In other words—
What Christian had just accomplished was this.
He temporarily “stopped” the flow of demonic energy coursing through the Rock Lizard’s bloodstream.
How?
Even with Dark Demonic Energy, it’s impossible to dominate the entire flow of the opponent’s energy.
So what Chris did was seize control at brief intervals, cutting the flow at various joints along the way.
Like a line of carriages moving in a row—he stopped some of the ones in the middle.
He didn’t halt many.
But Chris cleverly disrupted the flow in a sequential pattern.
Causing confusion in the leading flow, and then triggering chaos in the trailing energy right after.
That way, the entire train of energy shut down.
“…Merian, did you teach him that?”
“…No, I didn’t.”
“…Well, I suppose. That’s not something you can learn just by being taught.”
When someone first acquires Dark Demonic Energy, even getting it to move properly inside their body is difficult.
That’s the reason Dark Demonic Arts exist in the first place.
And yet—what was that just now?
‘…He’s handling it like it’s an extension of his own limbs.’
Merian swallowed hard.
What’s more, Christian’s insane display kept evolving as time went on.
Next, as Nordian had prearranged, more of the same type of magical beasts appeared—yet Chris, as if using it all for Dark Demonic Energy practice, gleefully started taking them down.
Each time, faster and more efficiently than the last.
“At this rate, does he even need to learn the Dark Demonic Arts?”
The Dark Demonic Arts are techniques used to control Dark Demonic Energy.
Simon chuckled lightly and asked,
“He seems way better at controlling it than most, don’t you think?”
“……”
Silence filled the room.
Only the image of Chris, excitedly taking down magical beasts, played across the screen.
After quite a while—
Nordian slowly opened his mouth.
[The task is over.]
At that moment, darkness swept in, and Christian was summoned back to the training grounds.
Chris looked momentarily confused, then bowed his head toward Nordian.
“Thank you for assigning me such a good task, Clan Head. Thanks to it, I was able to make a small breakthrough.”
Hearing that, Nordian’s expression was… how to put it—
It was the face of someone staring at something utterly bizarre.
Merian understood that look.
He probably had the same expression on his face.
A descendant of the family had shown an impressive display—he should’ve felt proud. But… was it because it was too impressive? The first feeling that came was bewilderment.
‘…I nearly died doing that task.’
Chris tilted his head at their reactions. Only Simon was barely holding back the laughter that kept slipping out.
“Clan Head?”
[…Yes. I saw how you performed. You did… better than expected.]
“You flatter me. It was thanks to the excellent task you assigned, Your Highness.”
Nordian fell silent again.
He had told him to experience an extreme situation, and instead, his grandson toyed with the magical beasts—he didn’t know what to say anymore.
Even if Nordian himself went back in time, he wouldn’t be able to do what Chris had done.
‘…Is this what they call a true genius?’
Nordian decided to acknowledge it.
That this thunderous, barefaced grandson’s talent far surpassed his expectations.
The moment he admitted that, his heart skipped a beat.
How long had he waited for such blood?
His other children and grandchildren—
They were his kin, but none met the mark.
He had given up expecting anything from them.
But with this kind of talent… maybe, just maybe, Chris could truly fulfill his long-cherished wish.
However—
Nordian hardened his expression.
‘He’s only just taken his first steps.’
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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