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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 101
Chris looked slightly surprised.
‘Well, Jupien has always been someone with a righteous personality. She even defied the Blood-Drenched Demon King and died because of it.’
He felt grateful.
‘She even spoke up for me during the meeting. One way or another, she’s helped me a lot up until now.’
He spoke out of a sense of appreciation.
“It’s fine.”
“…It’s fine?”
“To be exact, you’re not much help. You’re too weak right now.”
“!!”
Jupien’s face flushed bright red.
But it was true.
She was a 3-star rank.
For someone in her late teens, that was an incredibly fast achievement, but it still wasn’t enough to be of help to Chris.
Even so, hearing it so bluntly wasn’t something anyone would enjoy.
Just as Jupien began to frown—
“Don’t force the union of illusion arts and swordsmanship.”
“!!”
Jupien flinched.
It was advice meant for her.
Chris continued with a serious expression.
“If the sword and the illusion arts are each alive on their own, they’ll eventually come into unity.”
To reach 4-star rank with the Illusion Sword Art that Jupien was learning, she needed to be able to transform the Black Sword into illusion magic.
A level only attainable when the two became one.
It was the wall she was currently up against—
the point where many illusion sword artists faced failure.
“How did you know what I was struggling with?”
“I saw you practicing the other day, and it was obvious. As you know, I’m a genius.”
Chris grinned.
“Here, watch.”
Chris drew his sword.
The Black Sword suddenly flashed into the air.
At the same time, it transformed—into a Black Cloud made of darkness.
But it was nothing like an ordinary black cloud.
It was as if he had cast an illusion spell.
A dense, massive cloud of darkness unfolded.
He had manifested the unity of illusion and the Black Sword—
a 4-star Illusion Sword Art.
It was impossible to tell where the Black Sword ended and the illusion began.
That’s why it was a lethal illusionary black sword.
“…When did you even get that good at Illusion Sword Art?”
“I never trained it separately. I just tried copying you after seeing you practice last time. It worked out well.”
“…You’re seriously insufferable.”
Did he hurt her pride? He glanced at her, but—
That wasn’t it.
Jupien’s eyes were locked onto the illusion Chris had unleashed.
As if she didn’t want to miss a single detail.
Chris shrugged and spoke.
“You get what I’m saying, right? The essence of unity lies in the Black Sword. If your Black Sword is truly alive, it can be transformed into an illusion. Now that you’ve seen it, you can do it too, right?”
Jupien didn’t respond, but it was clear from her expression that she understood.
Chris hadn’t just shown her a rough demonstration.
He had deliberately controlled the Black Sword in a precise way so that Jupien could gain practical insight, and he followed the standard method in uniting it with the illusion—just like a textbook example.
Since Jupien had been struggling with that exact process, she immediately realized what she was lacking.
Though not quite on Chris’s level, Jupien was still a prodigy worthy of the title.
“I’m not going to say thank you.”
“Yeah, no need to. Just pay me back with labor. I’ll work you to death later, several times over, in return for this lesson.”
“……”
“Now go train hard and make yourself useful to me.”
Jupien frowned and turned her back.
“If there’s anything you need, just say it. I should return the favor, after all.”
Flash!
Jupien vanished, and Chris let out a quiet chuckle.
At that moment, Melin shook her head beside him.
“Young Master, honestly.”
“What?”
“No, it’s just… You’re tempting. When will I ever get to duel with you to my heart’s content?”
Excited again by Chris’s swordplay, Melin spoke with a competitive fire rising in her voice.
“I feel like it’s okay now to have an all-out fight to the death.”
“If we fight to the death now, you might actually die.”
“That’s even better. The thrill of risking your life in battle… It’s so intoxicating and exciting.”
Chris looked at her for a moment with the gaze of someone staring at a… pervert, then cleared his throat.
“We’ll duel all you want after this job is done. Anyway, Melin, I have something for you to do.”
“Name it. Whatever it is.”
“Infiltrate the Ribery Count’s estate and hide there.”
“The Ribery Count’s estate?”
“Yeah. Don’t get caught, and stay hidden. I’ll contact you separately when the time comes.”
It was an odd command.
“And Alros?”
“Y-yes? What should I do? If there’s nothing, I’ll just head to the Tyramin Count’s estate… Not like I’d be any help anyway…”
Alros mumbled nervously.
“You’re going to the Khazar Count’s estate.”
“Wha—! I-I’m useless, I won’t help the war effort at all?!”
Alros panicked.
Chris shook his head.
“There won’t be a big battle with the Brucen Hundred Kingdoms anyway. I’ll take care of it before that happens.”
“Then?”
“Just deliver my message to my father. And make sure no one finds out about it.”
Because it was top secret, it couldn’t be sent by letter or through a communication sphere.
Chris lowered his voice and whispered.
“Tell him to prepare to strike the Ribery Count’s family.”
“…No way?”
Melin and Alros widened their eyes.
Including the command Chris had just given to Melin—
They realized what Chris was planning.
“Your guess is correct.”
Chris nodded with a calm, sunken gaze.
That’s right.
Chris’s goal wasn’t just to clear his name.
Through this incident, he intended to annihilate the Ribery Count’s family and sever Ashid’s wings.
* * *
As Chris made the necessary arrangements and left the Dark Demonic House—
There were two people watching them from the top of the main house.
Ashid and Yulian.
The two were drinking tea at a table on the balcony.
“What do you think, Yulian? Isn’t it amusing to watch them squirm like bugs?”
“……”
First Princess Yulian quietly sipped her tea instead of answering.
Unlike her usual gentle expression, her gaze was indifferent and sunken.
There was something chilling about it.
But Ashid continued speaking in his usual friendly tone.
“You can be honest with me. You act kind, but it’s all just an act, isn’t it?”
“……”
“My only beloved little sister, Yulian. What kind of monstrous horror is hiding beneath that hypocritical mask of yours? Your big brother is curious.”
Yulian still said nothing.
She simply sipped her tea quietly.
Ashid shrugged as she continued to keep silent, then disappeared.
Yulian set her teacup down on the table.
And then—
Clang!
“Disgusting.”
Her eyes were filled with contempt.
Not just for Ashid.
But for the entire Dark Demonic House.
Even for herself.
So filthy and repulsive it was unbearable.
So much so that she wanted to burn everything down and destroy it all.
She picked up a shard of broken glass and slashed her own arm.
Slice. Rip.
With the sound of flesh tearing, blood began to flow—but she didn’t stop her hand.
With a blank expression, she continued to mutilate herself.
Her wrist soon became tattered.
What was more horrifying was that this self-harm didn’t seem to be the first.
Faint scars layered beneath the fresh wounds—evidence of countless repetitions.
Yulian blankly stared at her own body and muttered again.
“Filthy.”
Her voice, like a curse, dispersed heavily into the air.
As if sinking.
* * *
Fwoosh!
Chris moved swiftly.
‘Looks like I’ve shaken off the trackers Ashid sent.’
A group of trackers had been tailing him—whether to spy on his actions or to eliminate him when the chance arose. But tailing Chris was no easy feat.
Having confirmed he’d just thrown off the last tracker in the opposite direction, Chris exhaled.
He was about to head to his real destination in earnest.
Suddenly, a chilling voice rang out.
[Do you not need help?]
‘Mefina!’ The Devil of the 7th Realm he had met before.
[If you wish, I shall help reveal the truth. It's not a difficult matter.]
Chris’s expression turned to one of surprise.
‘If I accepted a Devil’s aid, it would be over quickly, that’s for sure.’
The principle behind human sacrifice was simple.
Offer the lives of the chosen victims to the Devil, and receive their blessing in return.
It was similar to a type of demonic contract.
The reason why human sacrifice left no trace was also similar.
The one who offered the sacrifice would make a condition with the Devil—to be granted a blessing of concealment.
Thanks to the Devil’s power, there would be no evidence left that a human sacrifice had occurred. But on the flip side, if the Devil chose to reveal the truth, it could easily manipulate everything.
Ashid would be immediately identified as the one responsible for the sacrifices.
“Why are you making such an offer?”
[Heh. I told you already—I find you interesting. I'm simply acting out of goodwill toward you.]
“…Goodwill, huh.”
Chris let out a short laugh.
“Shut up.”
[!!]
“You Devils are always like that.”
It was the typical move of a Devil when seducing someone they desired.
They never asked for a soul outright.
They offered small favors, little by little, and in the end, took the soul.
‘More importantly, something like that won’t be enough to deal a real blow to Ashid.’
Even if he borrowed the Devil’s power and exposed Ashid as the perpetrator behind the human sacrifices—
Would that be enough to strike a fatal blow?
Unlikely.
It might cause some serious damage.
But Ashid would surely find a way to use his power and influence to cover it up, and the matter would be settled with minimal consequences.
Chris couldn’t let it end like that.
‘Opportunities like this don’t come often. I need to land a decisive, fatal strike. Enough to completely ruin Ashid’s standing.’
There was a way.
‘All I need is evidence that Ashid colluded with the Alliance.’
One key question.
How were Ashid and Count Ribery able to procure that many people as sacrifices?
The border with Gold Cross is tightly monitored on both sides.
The answer was simple.
‘Someone from the Burssen Marquisate was working with Ashid’s side.’
A sin utterly unforgivable for a Magus.
Chris pulled an item from his coat.
A sacred relic he had previously acquired—“Insignia of the Constellation.”
The Insignia of the Constellation had various effects related to disguise, but its most important function was this:
It erased all traces of demonic energy.
Fwoosh!
All traces of demonic aura vanished cleanly from Chris’s body.
No one could tell he was a Magus by any means.
\[Don’t tell me—you?]
“Yeah. I’m going to the Burssen Marquisate.”
Chris nodded.
“Because that’s where all the answers lie.”
Chris already had a good idea of who was colluding with Ashid.
Baron Bord.
The man who held actual power, ruling in place of the ailing Count of Burssen.
He had to be taken down.
* * *
Gold Cross is a coalition of countless nations.
The Burssen Marquisate was one of them.
As its name implies, it was an independent county-turned-nation—not large in size, but a small powerhouse with solid foundations and a strong military.
‘I can’t just barge in. First, I need to make preparations.’
Fortunately, there was someone who could help him.
The greedy fool, Ruina.
The two met in a back alley of the Burssen Marquisate.
“Nice to see you. Been well? Funny seeing you outside the Alliance.”
“Y-yes, indeed…”
Ruina replied with a face like she’d bitten into a turd.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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