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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 60
It didn’t seem like she was trying to harm him.
The attack just now wasn’t aimed at him—it was to stop his steps by hitting the ground.
Still, it was a nuisance.
“Say it.”
“…Don’t you have any intention of apologizing to me?”
“……”
“I still can’t tolerate the humiliation you put me through.”
Chris remained silent.
‘What the hell did this Christian guy even do to her?’
The girl’s emerald eyes were glaring at him, filled with Venom.
This wasn’t the look of someone holding a petty grudge.
‘I’m busy, but maybe I should just give a quick apology and move on. Even if it wasn’t actually my fault.’
But then Chris suddenly remembered something.
‘Wait… Marisa’s the one who’s fated to be falsely accused and sacrificed in this expedition.’
During this exploration, the Dark Demonic House’s team gets annihilated.
Marisa is the one who ends up being framed.
She has both hands cut off, her eyes and tongue ripped out.
‘Well, whatever happens, it’s not really my problem.’
Still, considering the upcoming conflicts between the Dark Demonic House and the Venomous Demonic House, it wouldn’t be bad to make one of their key figures owe him a debt—turn her into one of his assets.
With that in mind, Chris spoke.
He picked his ear and responded with the most insincere tone possible.
“Sorry. That enough for you?”
“……”
Marisa’s face turned red.
“You… you’re the worst.”
“You asked for an apology, and I gave one. What else do you want me to say? Don’t tell me you still think we’re engaged or something. We’re already over. Anyway.”
Chris gave a cold smile.
“Didn’t you underestimate me a bit too much?”
“…What?”
“You came to find me all alone, without any fear. If I take you down here, this exploration would be a win for our side, wouldn’t it?”
Marisa’s expression changed.
Chris was saying he would subdue her right here and now!
‘If I restrain her, there’ll be no need for her to be framed.’
Proving Marisa’s innocence in this expedition was simple.
He just needed to give her an alibi.
How?
Subdue her, tie her up, and lock her away.
Chris saw it as a favor, a show of generosity.
But Marisa trembled with rage.
Then she let out a short laugh.
“Fine. We’re enemies now. I’ll make you regret it.”
Her gem-like emerald eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
“For the humiliation you gave me last time, too.”
Zzzzt.
Toxic energy began to boil from her body.
It wasn’t a single color.
A kaleidoscope of colors surged wildly—proof of just how many kinds of poison she could control.
‘She really is worthy of the name Little Queen of Ten Thousand Poisons.’
Chris whistled inwardly.
It was a nickname given to her because she could freely handle countless poisons.
Despite being born of a concubine, she was recognized as a direct heir and a leading next-generation figure.
“I’ll give you one last chance.”
The light in her emerald eyes changed.
In an instant, they shifted—murky red, then white, then black, then green.
Her eyes changed every moment, reflecting the different poisons she was drawing out.
“Kneel and apologize to me now. If you don’t… you’ll turn into nothing more than a splash of blood under my poison.”
A chilling warning.
Chris just scratched his ear again.
“You talk a lot. Does the Venomous Demonic House fight with words? You’re all mouth, like the rest of the Alliance dogs.”
“!!”
Marisa’s expression twisted viciously.
Fsssh!
Magical energy burst from her hand.
And it wasn’t just any magical energy. The deep blue aura quickly transformed into a pale, hazy mist.
It was Demonic Poison—the technique of transforming intangible magic into poison!
A level comparable to the Black Sword technique, one only usable at 3-star or above.
Marisa’s attack didn’t stop there.
Next, she pulled out small glass vials from her pouch.
They were poisons, of course.
And not just any poisons—each one was considered a top-tier toxin.
Since her current level didn’t allow her to manifest multiple poisons as Demonic Poison all at once, she threw them as alchemical weapons.
Shatter!
The vials she threw burst in midair and transformed into gas, engulfing Chris completely.
Chris was surrounded by more than five different kinds of poison.
Marisa spoke coldly.
“Now you’ll suffer pain like hell itself.”
The poisons she used weren’t the kind that killed instantly.
Instead, they were cruel toxins that caused unbearable agony over time—until the victim slowly died.
And she’d hit him with not just one, but five different kinds. Chris was now facing unspeakable torment.
“Apologize to me now. I’ll give you the antidote.”
“…Apologize, huh. I don’t feel like it.”
The same answer.
Marisa scowled harshly.
“Apologize right now! If you don’t, you’ll die!!”
“I don’t know… doesn’t seem like I will.”
"Even if you bluff...!!"
At that moment, the poisonous mist began to clear.
And when Chris’s figure was revealed, Marisa’s eyes widened as if they would tear apart.
He should’ve been writhing on the ground in agony, but instead, he stood there perfectly fine.
It wasn’t that he was pretending to be composed.
The poison hadn’t affected him at all!
“W-why…?”
“Ah… that.”
Chris let out a small chuckle.
“I took the antidote in advance.”
“T-that’s impossible!!”
It wasn’t just one—there were five types of poison.
And how could he have gotten the antidotes to the secret poisons of the Venomous Demonic House ahead of time?
“Have you heard of a panacea?”
“W-what?”
“I made something like a universal antidote that works against all kinds of poison, and, well, it’s working pretty well.”
An explanation that made no sense.
But it was half true.
‘They aren’t poisons imbued with will—just physical toxins. Making an antidote for that is simple.’
The poisons of the Venomous Demonic House were categorized by several levels.
Poisons of a physical nature.
Poisons imbued with magical effects.
Poisons infused with will.
Poisons that triggered phenomenal transformations.
Among them, the poisons Marisa used were physical poisons.
They were among the highest grade of physical poisons, but to Chris, they were child’s play.
That was only natural.
“Actually, I’m quite skilled in medicine.”
In the past—
Chris had held countless professions.
He was once a former comrade of a Hero.
He had also been the leader of a massive organization.
And among his many titles was this one:
Doctor.
No, to be precise—
He wasn’t just a doctor.
His medical skills were exceptional. He was called a divine healer, even revered as a saint.
It wasn’t like that from the beginning.
At first, he was just a renowned physician of ordinary caliber, but due to a fateful encounter during the Age of Ruins, he came to possess peerless medical skills.
Among the many renowned medical families, the one considered the greatest—also one of the Union’s Seven Great Houses.
A family once known as the natural enemy of the Venomous Demonic House.
Chris was the last disciple, and the 27th head, of the Immortal Healer Clan.
That was one of his many former titles.
* * *
- You’re really insane.
A phrase Chris had heard countless times from the Hero’s party in the past.
It wasn’t just from the Hero’s party.
Everyone who knew Chris, upon seeing his talent, said the same thing. It was truly an insane talent.
- If you had learned swordsmanship or magic, the fate of the world would have been vastly different.
They lamented this countless times.
But unfortunately, Chris did not learn swordsmanship or magic.
It wasn’t some cruel twist of fate.
For various reasons, Chris absolutely could not learn swordsmanship or magic.
Had he learned them, the original family Chris was born into wouldn’t have let it slide. They would have definitely had him killed.
Because of that, Chris deliberately closed his eyes and ears to swordsmanship and magic.
‘Stupid bloodline.’
Chris let out a small chuckle.
In reality, Chris had been born into a lineage more precious than anyone could imagine.
Even across the entire continent, it would be hard to find a lineage rarer than his. But it was, in fact, a cursed bloodline. A pitiful one.
Instead, he learned numerous odd skills.
It wasn’t something he specifically intended to do.
He just happened to pick them up while wandering the back alleys.
Just by watching others, he quickly became more skilled than experts.
Medicine was one of those skills.
Among the various odd skills, medicine was the one he learned most thoroughly.
‘Healing people makes money.’
It was a respectable profession, one where he could live comfortably without anyone holding him back.
If the Great War hadn’t happened, he might have settled down as a full-fledged doctor.
But the Great War, triggered by the Blood-Drenched Demon King, threw his life into a terrible storm.
He went through countless experiences, and along the way, he met a fateful connection.
- ...Insane. Hah, why did I have to meet someone like you now? I don’t have much time left to live.
The last surviving member of the Immortal Healer Clan.
The Immortal Healer Clan had once been one of the Union’s Seven Great Houses, a family that had earned the respect of people across the world, but they couldn’t escape the massacre carried out by the Blood King.
The 26th Clan Head, when she met Chris, didn’t have much time left.
In fact, she passed away exactly one week after meeting Chris.
She entrusted Chris with not just a burden, but a responsibility.
[…Now you are the 27th Clan Head of the Immortal Healer Clan.]
She handed him a book containing the secret techniques of the Immortal Healer Clan.
It wasn’t the complete version.
The original had 45 volumes, but when the clan was wiped out, only 15 volumes were salvaged, which Chris received.
Not even a third of the original.
And there was no teacher to teach him the secret techniques.
For a whole week, she suffered in agony and was on the brink of death, so she could hardly pass on any teachings. He had to learn everything by himself.
Despite this, Chris was able to gain remarkable abilities under these harsh conditions.
‘Though I failed to acquire the unique healing power of the Immortal Healer Clan, the Immortal Healing Energy.’
Instead, what he gained was medical knowledge.
Chris acquired the finest medical knowledge on the continent.
The deadly poison of the Dark Demonic House?
No matter how outstanding Marisa's poison was, called the Subtle Poison, it was ultimately just a level of poison that couldn’t surpass physical limits.
It could be neutralized with ease.
Of course, this applied only to physical poisons, but making an antidote on the level of an all-purpose antidote was incredibly expensive in terms of the materials needed. That problem was easily solved by robbing the purse of Ruina.
“Unbelievable…”
Chris glanced down.
Marisa was tightly bound by magical ropes, restrained and subdued.
‘...Looks like the shock was too much for her.’
Since her long-standing poison didn’t work, the outcome of the duel was clear.
Of course, the Dark Demonic House’s powers weren’t just limited to poison.
They also possessed some of the continent’s most advanced assassination techniques, but it was no match for Chris.
“Wh-What did you do?!”
“Hm, nothing special.”
Chris casually answered as he rummaged through Marisa’s belongings.
“The principle of physical poisons doesn’t go beyond irritation, paralysis, neurotoxicity, hemorrhagic effects, hypersensitivity, corrosion, necrosis, and so on. So, if I create an antidote that counteracts all those principles at once, it’s pretty simple.”
Marisa’s face went blank.
What was that crazy person just saying?
‘Is something like that even possible?’
It was physiologically impossible for the human body.
In fact, even the Immortal Healer Clan’s secret techniques did not include the antidote Chris had used.
It was an antidote Chris had created by referencing the Immortal Healer Clan’s secret techniques.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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