Chapter 101
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Counterattack Preparations
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Chris looked slightly surprised.
‘Then again, Jupien has always been a righteous person. So much so that she defied the Demon King of Bloodletting and met her end.’
He felt a sense of gratitude.
‘I heard she spoke up for me during the meeting, too. I’ve received a lot of help from her one way or another.’
He spoke out of gratitude.
“It's fine.”
“…You say it's fine?”
“To be precise, you can't help. You're too weak right now.”
“!!”
Jupien's face flushed red.
But it was the truth.
3-Star, Upper rank.
For someone in her late teens, it was an incredibly fast achievement, but it wasn't enough to be of help to Chris.
Still, there was no way she would feel good hearing something like that so bluntly.
The moment Jupien was about to frown.
“Don't try to force your illusion art and your sword to merge.”
“!!”
Jupien flinched.
It was advice for her.
Chris continued with a serious expression.
“If the sword and the illusion art are each alive on their own, they will eventually merge.”
To reach 4-Star with the Illusion Sword Art Jupien was learning, she needed to be able to transform the Black Sword into an illusion.
A state achievable only when the two merge.
This was the wall Jupien was stuck on, the point where countless illusion swordsmen experienced frustration.
“How did you know what I was struggling with?”
“I saw you practicing a while ago, and it was obvious. As you know, I'm a genius.”
Chris grinned.
“Here, watch.”
Chris raised his sword.
A Black Sword flared to life.
The Black Sword transformed simultaneously.
It was a Black Cloud, a cloud of darkness, but it was completely different from a normal Black Cloud.
As if he had cast an illusion spell.
A dense, massive cloud of darkness unfurled.
He had demonstrated the 4-Star Illusion Sword Art technique: the merging of illusion and the Black Sword.
Indistinguishable where the Black Sword ended and the illusion began. A deadly illusionary Black Sword.
“…When did you get so good at the Illusion Sword Art?”
“I never learned it separately. I just tried copying what you were practicing last time. Works well, doesn't it?”
“…You're such a jerk.”
He glanced over, wondering if her pride was hurt, but that wasn't it.
Jupien's eyes were riveted on the illusion Chris had created.
As if trying not to miss a single detail.
Chris shrugged and said.
“You get what I'm saying, right? The key to merging is, in the end, the Black Sword. If your Black Sword is truly alive, it'll be able to transform into an illusion. Now that you've seen it, you can do it, right?”
Jupien didn't answer, but she seemed to understand.
Just now, Chris hadn't given a careless demonstration.
He had deliberately manipulated the Black Sword with precision so Jupien could receive actual help, and he had followed the standard process for merging it with the illusion. As if giving a formal demonstration.
Since Jupien had been contemplating that very process, she instantly realized what she was lacking.
After all, while not on Chris's level, Jupien was talented enough to be called a prodigy.
“I won't thank you.”
“Yeah, no need. Instead, repay me with labor. I'll make you suffer several times over for this lesson later.”
“……”
“Now, go train hard and become useful to me.”
Jupien frowned and turned her back.
“If you need anything, let me know. I have to repay you.”
*Fwaat!*
Jupien vanished, and Chris chuckled.
Just then, Melin shook her head beside him.
“Young Lord, you really are something.”
“Why?”
“No, I mean, you're so tempting. I wonder when I'll be able to spar with you to my heart's content.”
Perhaps excited again by the swordplay Chris had displayed, Melin spoke in a voice brimming with fighting spirit.
“I think it would be fine now to fight a life-or-death battle with all my strength.”
“If we fought to the death, you'd be the one in danger now.”
“That would be even better. The moments when your life is on the line in battle are so thrilling and exciting.”
Chris looked at Melin for a moment with the gaze one would reserve for a pervert… and cleared his throat.
“I'll duel you as much as you want after this is all over. By the way, Melin, I have a job for you.”
“Please, command me.”
“Infiltrate the castle of the County of Riberi and wait there.”
“The Riberi County's castle?”
“Yes. Make sure you aren't discovered. Hide there secretly. I'll contact you separately while you wait.”
It was a puzzling command.
“And Allos?”
“W-what should I do? If there's nothing for me, I'll just go back to the County of Tiramin... Uh, I don't think I'll be much help anyway.”
Allos asked meekly.
“You're going to the County of Cazar.”
“Gasp. Someone like me won't be any help in the war!”
Allos was horrified.
Chris shook his head.
“There won't be a major battle with Bursen County anyway. I'll resolve it before that happens.”
“Then?”
“You will deliver my message to my father. Without anyone finding out.”
The content had to be kept strictly confidential, so it couldn't be sent via letter or communication device.
Chris lowered his voice and whispered.
“Tell him to prepare to strike the County of Riberi.”
“…Don't tell me.”
Melin and Allos's eyes widened.
Including the order he had given Melin earlier.
They realized what Chris was plotting.
“Your guess is correct.”
Chris nodded, his eyes somber.
That's right.
Chris's goal wasn't simply to clear his name.
He planned to use this incident to annihilate the County of Riberi and clip Eshid's wings.
* * *
As Chris was taking the necessary measures and leaving the Dark Magic House.
There were people watching them from above the main house's mansion.
It was Eshid and Yurian.
The two were drinking tea at a table on the balcony.
“What do you think, Yurian? Isn't it amusing to watch him squirm like a bug?”
“……”
The First Princess, Yurian, sipped her tea silently instead of answering.
Unlike her usual gentle face, Yurian's gaze was indifferently subdued.
A somewhat eerie sight.
But Eshid continued speaking in a friendly tone.
“You can be honest in front of me. You're pretending to be kind, but it's all just an act, isn't it?”
“……”
“My only cherished sister, Yurian. What kind of terrible monster is hiding beneath that hypocritical mask of yours? This older brother is curious.”
Yurian remained silent.
She only sipped her tea quietly.
When Yurian continued to maintain her silence, Eshid shrugged and disappeared. Yurian then set her teacup down on the table.
And then.
*Crash!*
“Filthy.”
Her eyes were colored with contempt.
It wasn't just directed at Eshid.
This entire Dark Magic House.
And even 'herself'.
It was all indescribably filthy and disgusting.
To the point where she wanted to burn and destroy it all.
She picked up a shard of broken glass and dragged it across her arm.
*Screetch. Rrrip.*
Blood flowed with the sound of flesh being torn and ripped, but she didn't stop her hand.
She continued to self-harm with a blank expression.
Her wrist quickly became a tattered mess.
What was more horrifying was that this didn't seem to be the first time she'd done this.
Beneath the new wound lay countless faint scars. Wounds that had clearly been repeated over and over.
Yurian gazed indifferently at her own body and muttered again.
“Filthy.”
Her curse-like voice scattered thickly into the empty air.
As if sinking.
* * *
*Fwaat!*
Chris moved his feet at a rapid pace.
‘I think I’ve roughly shaken off the pursuers Eshid sent, right?’
A large number of pursuers had tailed him, either to spy on what he was doing or to eliminate him when the opportunity arose, but it was impossible for them to follow Chris.
After confirming he had shaken the last pursuer by sending them in the opposite direction, Chris let out a breath.
It was the moment he was about to head to his destination in earnest.
Suddenly, an eerie voice was heard.
[Do you not require aid?]
‘Mefina!’ It was the demon from the 7th Realm he had met before.
[If you… so desire, I shall help you reveal the truth. It is not a difficult task.]
Chris looked surprised.
‘It’s true that this would end simply with a demon’s help.’
The principle of human sacrifice was simple.
One offered the lives of the sacrifices to a demon and received a blessing in return.
A method similar to a demon contract.
The reason there was no trace of the human sacrifice was similar.
The one offering the sacrifice makes a condition for the demon to grant them a blessing of concealment.
Thus, thanks to the demon's power, not a single trace of the human sacrifice remains. But conversely, if the demon so wished, it could play all sorts of tricks.
Eshid would be identified as the culprit behind the human sacrifices in an instant.
“Why are you making such an offer?”
[Huhu. Did I not say? That I am interested in you. This is merely a favor bestowed out of goodwill toward you.]
“…Goodwill, you say.”
Chris snorted.
“Shut up.”
[!!]
“You demons are always like this.”
It was a typical ploy demons used when tempting a desirable target.
They don't ask for your soul right away.
They offer small, trivial bits of help, little by little, and in the end, they take your soul.
‘More importantly, that alone won’t be enough to deal a proper blow to Eshid.’
What if I borrow the demon’s power to reveal that Eshid performed the human sacrifices?
Would that alone be enough to inflict a fatal wound?
I doubt it.
It would probably deal a significant blow.
But Eshid would use his power and authority to somehow cover it up, and it was highly likely the matter would be concluded at a moderate level.
I couldn't let it end like that.
‘An opportunity like this doesn’t come easily. I have to deal a decisive, fatal blow. One that will drag Eshid’s standing down to rock bottom.’
There was a way.
‘I just need to find proof that Eshid’s side was colluding with those Alliance bastards.’
One question.
How could Eshid and Count Riberi have procured so many people as sacrifices?
The border with Gold Cross is thoroughly monitored by both sides.
It was simple.
‘It means someone from Bursen County was colluding with Eshid’s side.’
A crime absolutely unforgivable for a Majin.
Chris took an item out from his coat.
It was the holy artifact he had acquired before, the ‘Crest of the Constellation.’
The Crest of the Constellation had several camouflage effects, but the most important one was this.
The ability to erase all traces of Magi.
*Fwaaaat!*
The aura of Magi vanished from Chris's body as if washed away.
In every respect, he didn't look like a Majin at all.
[Don't tell me, you?]
“That's right. I'm going to Bursen County.”
Chris nodded.
“All the answers will be there.”
Chris already had an idea of who was colluding with Eshid's side.
Baron Bord.
The one in power, who was effectively ruling Bursen County in place of the bedridden Count.
I had to catch him.
* * *
Gold Cross is an alliance of countless nations.
Bursen County is one of them.
As its name suggests, it was a county that had gained independence. It wasn't large in scale, but it was a strong, small nation with a solid foundation and a powerful military.
‘I can’t just barge in recklessly, so first, let’s prepare.’
Fortunately, there was someone who could help him.
It was Ruina, the money-grubbing pushover.
The two met in an alley in Bursen County.
“Good to see you. Been well? It feels different seeing you in the Alliance.”
“Y-you could say that.”
Ruina replied with a sour look on her face.