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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 108
He cast a defensive dark magic, but it was useless.
Crash!
Like shattering glass, it was destroyed in an instant, and the darkness of annihilation pierced straight through Count Ribery’s heart.
Count Ribery, with a gaping hole through his chest.
"We won, right, brother?"
Teren spoke with a bright face, but both Chris and Count Khazar’s expressions began to harden.
"Brother? Father? What’s wrong?"
"Damn it. Don’t tell me—"
"It seems to be true."
The two exchanged words with unclear meaning.
Count Khazar shouted urgently.
"Christian! Teren!! Both of you—run now!"
"Yes, but—"
"Now! Christian, take care of Teren!! I’ll hold him off—just go!"
At that moment.
Fwoosh.
Ash-colored mist gathered around Count Ribery’s body. Right at the hole in his chest.
From the mist, which clustered like a cloud, a sinister light began to emanate, and then—
Count Ribery was fully restored.
"!!"
An unbelievable scene.
Chris, realizing what had happened, swallowed a curse.
‘Damn it.’
It was the 7-Star cursed dark magic: Immortality.
Through the music box, Count Ribery had gained the power of a 7-Star Dominant class caster.
* * *
"……."
A heavy silence filled the hall.
‘This is the worst possible outcome.’
Just as the gap between 4-Star and 5-Star, or 5-Star and 6-Star, is immeasurably vast, so too is the difference at 7-Star.
5-Star manifests willpower as Aura.
6-Star manifests power that reaches the limits of natural law through will.
7-Star Dominant class becomes the master of law itself.
That’s why techniques like Immortality—which twist and defy the rules—can be manifested.
Count Ribery gently touched his now-restored chest and spoke in a relaxed voice.
"Impressive. Count Khazar, I’d heard of your might, but not to this extent. If not for the music box, I’d have stood no chance against you."
"…How are you able to manifest power beyond your own level?"
Count Khazar asked coldly.
"No matter how powerful the Devouring Music Box is, I was under the impression it didn’t have such capabilities."
"Hmm, seems you’re misunderstanding the Devouring Music Box. Though, you're not the only one."
Count Ribery chuckled.
"The power of the Devouring Music Box doesn’t stop at merely enhancing a caster’s ability. If enough sacrifices are offered, it allows the caster to surpass their own limits."
“!!”
Count Khazar gritted his teeth as he understood the meaning behind the words.
“…How many have you sacrificed so far?”
“Hm, a whole lot?”
Count Ribery grinned coldly.
“What does it matter how many lowly, worthless lives were taken—lives that held no value to begin with? Even they should feel infinite honor in having served as nourishment for a greater power.”
“…You bastard. Shut your mouth.”
“Ku ku, how noble of you. That’s the problem with our Dark Demonic House. We seal away powerful relics like this just because we can’t tolerate a little human sacrifice. In that sense, Lord Ashid truly fits the vision of a new Dark Demonic House.”
Count Khazar trembled with rage.
But the situation was dire.
As long as Count Ribery could wield the power of a 7-Star, they had no chance of winning.
“Well then, let’s finish this. All three of you shall be offered as sacrifices for Lord Ashid. Consider it an honor.”
Count Ribery began chanting, and the music box resumed its eerie melody.
With it, a gray aura spread around Count Ribery.
“Rest shall call upon you. Descend, O Death!”
“!!”
The group’s faces turned pale.
It was the 7-Star miracle-class dark magic: Death.
Literally a miracle-class curse that forces death through spoken command.
The decree of death had fallen upon them.
* * *
At that moment, on a hill overlooking Count Ribery’s estate—
A young boy and girl were having a conversation that defied understanding.
“What will you do?”
“…….”
“Will you intervene, Clan Head?”
Clan Head!
The boy’s true identity was an avatar of Nordion, the former head of the noble house.
Nordion’s physical body was so aged and frail that he could only appear in the outside world by using an avatar like this.
The girl beside him was Merian.
She had altered her appearance using illusion magic. As a member of the inspection unit, she often needed to move in secret and was well-versed in disguising herself.
“…Things aren’t looking good.”
Merian turned her gaze.
In the air, the interior of the mansion was projected.
Count Ribery, using the music box, was casting a 7-Star miracle-class curse.
He had broken the house’s greatest taboo. He deserved punishment.
‘But the Clan Head never interferes in house affairs. No, he can’t.'
[I cannot.]
It was a statement full of meaning.
On the surface, the reason Nordion didn’t intervene in family matters was because he had entrusted everything to Marquis Langham.
But Merian knew the truth.
Why Nordion had to make such a choice.
There was a reason why Nordion could not intervene in the affairs of the family.
A secret known only to Merian and Simon.
‘Even so, the only reason he came all the way here must be because of that boy, Christian.’
Nordion insisted it wasn’t because of him, but it was undeniably because of Christian.
If Christian hadn’t been among those in danger right now, Nordion wouldn’t have even considered stepping in.
Of course, Count Khazar was also his beloved biological son, but he would have left him to die.
Because the “price” Nordion would have to pay for interfering in family matters was far greater than letting his beloved son die.
“……”
The situation inside the mansion suddenly shifted.
A moment of extreme tension.
With the 7-Star curse already cast, there was no way they could escape death.
Nordion’s gaze darkened.
‘Is he going to act?’
Merian swallowed nervously.
It was the first time anything like this had happened since Nordion declared seclusion.
But then—
Nordion’s overwhelming aura suddenly vanished.
“Clan Head?”
“…That lunatic? What the hell is he doing?”
An expression of disbelief, uncharacteristic for Nordion.
Merian, who also looked toward the projection of the mansion, wore the same expression.
In a life-or-death situation—
Christian had begun doing something insane.
Something they could not have imagined.
* * *
The moment the 7-Star miracle-class curse Death descended.
An unexpected event occurred.
“O evil, be twisted!”
Flash!
Count Khazar used dark magic to draw the entire Death curse onto himself.
Thanks to that, Christian and Teren remained unharmed.
“Gahk!”
“Father!?!”
In an instant, Count Khazar’s complexion turned deathly pale as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
With a trembling voice, he shouted at Christian.
“Christian, run!!”
“!!”
“The path may be blocked, but with your ability, you should be able to break through somehow! I’ll be fine, just take Teren and get out of here!!”
He was sacrificing himself to save Christian and Teren.
Chris clenched his fists tightly.
‘Damn it. What do I do?’
Even for Chris, stepping up against someone using a 7-Star curse was reckless.
Just as Count Khazar had said, it would have been the wise choice for at least Christian and Teren to escape.
However—
—You are my son.
The moment Count Khazar acknowledged him resurfaced clearly in Christian’s mind.
And it wasn’t just that.
“Please run, brother.”
Teren gripped Christian’s shoulder.
“With my abilities, escaping alive is impossible. I’ll try to buy a few seconds—just enough for you to survive.”
Both Count Khazar and Teren were doing whatever they could to save him.
Why?
Chris let out a hollow laugh.
Yeah.
It was laughable.
The way they acted.
How could they be so foolish?!
Chris clenched his teeth.
“Don’t make me laugh.”
“What?”
“I said, both you, Father, and you, Teren—don’t make me laugh. I’m not going to run away.”
“Christian, you—!”
“Brother!”
Chris shook his head.
Instead, he turned his gaze to Count Ribery.
“I’m going to eliminate that bastard and make sure none of us die.”
“!!”
“There is a way, so please trust me.”
Yes.
Ever since he discovered the suspicious traces of a curse in the Burssen Kingdom—
Chris had been preparing a contingency plan.
To deal with a situation like this.
‘The problem is, I can’t be sure it’ll work.’
But he had to make it work—no matter what.
“Father, just hold on for a little longer. It doesn’t have to be long. One to two minutes—just endure for that long.”
Count Khazar gritted his teeth.
He pushed his resistance against dark magic to the limit.
Unlike the 8-Star “Absolute Death,” the 7-Star “Death” curse could still be withstood to some degree.
Chris then spoke to Teren as well.
“Your role is important too. Listen carefully to what I say.”
Chris quickly whispered something into his ear.
“Brother?”
“You must do exactly as I say.”
Teren looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded firmly.
Though Chris didn’t realize it, Teren had already come to fully trust his older brother long ago.
Meanwhile, Count Ribery sneered at Chris’s actions.
“I don’t know what scheme you’re up to, but struggling won’t change anything... huh?”
Count Ribery gave a dumbfounded sound as he watched Christian’s actions.
His face was filled with confusion.
The others were the same.
Even Count Khazar forgot the death closing in on him and wore a blank expression.
It was only natural.
Christian pulled out a small string instrument from his luggage—a violin.
Everyone thought they must be mistaken, but no.
It was indeed a violin.
It wasn’t an artifact or relic disguised as an instrument.
A pure musical instrument.
Completely out of place in this situation.
“You’ve lost your mind. Why the sudden instrument? Planning to play a requiem in honor of your impending death?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“I’m going to play a requiem.”
Count Ribery looked utterly baffled.
But Christian was serious.
Though his purpose was different.
Christian glanced at the bodies hanging from the ceiling.
“So many have died unjustly; someone needs to comfort them.”
“!!”
“My performance is a requiem for them.”
Amid the horrific scene,
A clear, pure sound began to resonate.
Though it was the same requiem, its tone was completely different from the music of the music box.
Christian had once been an active performer.
His skill was beyond question—a virtuoso’s mastery.
Warm, beautiful, yet simultaneously heartrending sounds filled the room.
It made everyone’s hearts ache, and for a moment, the people inside were stunned.
But at this moment, the ones most deeply moved were others.
The dead.
More precisely, their restless spirits.
The reason Christian was suddenly performing like this?
‘I have to make those spirits move according to my will.’
Right now, Count Ribery could manifest power beyond his limits because he had offered human sacrifices to the relic.
But what if the spirits could be moved?
If problems arose from the sacrifices offered to the music box?
Count Ribery would lose his power.
‘The problem is, moving the spirits isn’t easy.’
Sensing Christian’s plan, Count Ribery smirked.
“Foolish. You really think you can move restless spirits with just some music? It’s impossible unless you’re a spirit summoner from the Union.”
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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