Chapter 109
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Unorthodox Exorcism
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He was right.
To console the vengeful spirits and, in return, make them move according to one's will, the 'Spirit Soothing Art' was necessary.
It was a secret art that only special individuals among the Alliance could perform.
'I can do it.'
Chris's hand, moving the bow, grew busier.
The tone deepened, as if consoling the vengeful spirits.
'I've seen the Spirit Soothing Art countless times in my childhood, so I can imitate it whenever I want.'
In the past.
His 'younger sibling,' the only one in the family who had protected him, was a spirit soother.
The best of their generation, at that.
'The core of the art is consolation.'
He could see the vengeful spirits shedding tears at the music spreading through the hall.
But this alone was not enough.
He had to cast the ritual formula here.
A formula that could only be cast with the mana of light.
That was the problem.
To use the Spirit Soothing Art, he would have to reveal his secret.
'I can't do that.'
He couldn't reveal this secret, not even to Count Cazar and TERN.
'Still, if there had been no other way, I might have considered it.'
Count Cazar and TERN had been willing to die for him.
So, in the worst-case scenario, Chris might have revealed his secret.
But fortunately, Chris had a way.
“TERN, do what I told you! Now!”
“Understood!”
TERN cast a curse.
Incomprehensibly, it was aimed at Christian.
What was even more incomprehensible was the type of curse.
The Curse of Lamentation.
The Curse of Self-Forgetting.
One plunged the target into extreme sorrow.
The other dulled the target's emotions.
There was a reason Chris had TERN cast such incomprehensible curses on him.
'I have to convert these curses into a spirit-soothing formula.'
An absurd notion.
The two were completely different things; how could such a thing be possible?
Regardless of the type of formula, curses were the power of darkness, and spirit soothing was the power of light.
Even Chris couldn't turn darkness into light.
Instead.
'I just have to make darkness act like light.'
An idea that would make anyone call him crazy.
But it was possible.
Because he was Chris.
Chris focused his consciousness on the hand holding the bow.
The energy of the curse TERN had cast was imbued into his fingertips.
An energy that was incomparably deep and pure, as expected of a curse cast by an Aptitude Holder.
Chris channeled that curse's energy directly into his instrument and played.
It was the way of 'Music Magic,' manifesting magic through performance.
No, on closer inspection, it was subtly different.
It wasn't just manifesting magic using sound as a medium; the meaning embedded in Chris's performance merged with the curse as one.
In other words.
Like a 'Bard' who created mystical miracles through music.
The 'lamentation' carried by the curse mixed with the requiem consoling the dead, drenching the vengeful spirits.
The sorrow of the vengeful spirits pierced the heavens, and the mansion began to tremble.
“Th-This?!”
Count Riberi, sensing something was amiss, hardened his face, but he was already casting a 7-Star curse and had no energy to spare.
“Die! Now!”
He focused the curse more intensely on Count Cazar, but the Count endured it with superhuman patience.
Considering the power of a 7-Star death curse, it was an unbelievable struggle.
Count Cazar was exerting superhuman strength out of a father's love to protect his son.
Meanwhile, Chris moved to the next step.
The type of curse imbued in the violin changed.
The Curse of Self-Forgetting.
A curse that made one forget sorrow mixed into the performance and settled upon the vengeful spirits.
But this was not the proper way.
They needed to be given true consolation.
The process of forgetting did not exist in the traditional spirit-soothing formula.
But Chris twisted the process in his own way.
'In the end, the core is consolation.'
The mood of Chris's performance changed.
From sorrow to healing.
A warm melody that healed wounds settled in along with the curse of forgetting.
And the spirits' lingering resentment and wounds began to heal along with their memories.
[Aaaaaaaaaah!]
The vengeful spirits screamed.
Was their resentment resolved?
No, that couldn't be.
It was likely just a small measure of comfort.
But even that held great meaning.
Because no one had ever consoled them.
The vengeful spirits looked at Chris, tears streaming down their faces.
As if in gratitude.
Their eyes seemed to say they would grant any request.
He had succeeded in the spirit soothing!
Now, Chris could make one request of those vengeful spirits.
That was the principle of the art.
What Chris wanted was obvious.
He pointed toward the pale-faced Count Riberi and twisted his lips into a smirk.
“Take your revenge. On that bastard who made you this way.”
“!!”
[Kiaaaaaaaaaak!]
Along with the spirits' desperate struggles, something incredible happened.
The magic circles carved throughout the mansion began to crack.
There was a problem with the human sacrifice!
As a result.
Creeak, scriitch.
The Orgel of Gluttony stopped moving.
“N-No. Keuk!”
Count Riberi vomited a mouthful of blood.
The 7-Star black magic he was casting with the help of the orgel shattered, and he was struck by the backlash.
And then.
*Step.*
A shadow fell over the kneeling Count Riberi.
Eyes chilling to the bone.
It was Christian.
“You…!”
Count Riberi tried to summon his strength, but his core roiled, and he only coughed up more blood.
“W-Wait. I have something to say…!”
He opened his mouth urgently, but.
*Shunk.*
Christian's sword pierced Count Riberi's heart.
Count Riberi's eyes widened in disbelief. His body trembled once, then went limp.
It was a futile death, belying his fame as the foremost vassal of a Dark Magic House.
Chris let out a low sigh and turned to Count Cazar.
“Are you alright, Father?”
“Yes, I'm fine. But you just now…”
Count Cazar recalled what Christian had just shown him.
To perform a spirit soothing by imbuing music with a curse.
Who would believe such a thing was possible?
But then he thought that if it was Christian, it was entirely possible.
Christian had performed even greater miracles before.
'That's my son.'
Count Cazar once again had a doting thought and cleared his throat.
Fortunately, there seemed to be no particular aftereffects on his body.
“Good work. Thanks to you, we've resolved this matter. Now that we've dealt with that Riberi bastard, Eshid will have taken a major blow.”
But Chris gave an unexpected reply.
“It's not over yet.”
“What?”
“The punishment for Eshid. It's far from over.”
“!!”
Christian's eyes were blazing ominously.
'I can't just end it like this.'
That's right.
He had brought down the House of Riberi, Eshid's biggest backer, but he had no intention of being satisfied with just that.
Eshid's ordeal was just beginning.
'I'll drag you down to the very bottom.'
Count Cazar gulped at Christian's reaction.
He sensed that his son was plotting something terrifying again.
“What are you planning to do? Even if we investigate Count Riberi's castle, it won't be easy to find evidence of Eshid's involvement.”
“I'm sure it won't. It doesn't matter. My goal isn't to have Eshid judged by the law.”
Words that were even more incomprehensible.
“Father, what do you think is the worst possible situation that could befall Eshid because of this?”
“…His guilt being recognized?”
“No. Even if he's found guilty of human sacrifice, there's a limit to the punishment. Because of the right to pardon held by direct bloodlines.”
If a common Majin were found to have performed human sacrifice, the punishment would naturally be severe.
But for the direct descendants of the twelve great houses of the Demonic Path, punishments are reduced due to the right of pardon, even for grave sins.
That right is useless if the head of the family decides to impose a heavy penalty themselves, but there was no chance Nordian would go that far.
The punishment would likely be decided at a reasonable level.
“Of course, if his guilt is recognized, even Eshid will suffer a considerable blow, but what I want is more than that.”
“What in the world do you want?”
“Eshid's downfall.”
“!!”
Downfall.
Count Cazar's eyes widened.
“How? You've destroyed the House of Riberi, but Eshid's remaining forces are not to be underestimated.”
“I know.”
Christian grinned.
“I have a way, so please just watch.”
Like a villain.
“That bastard will lose all his glory and be reduced to a miserable state.”
* * *
Meanwhile, at that moment.
“…”
“…”
Nordian and Merian were silent.
'What did I just witness?'
Merian recalled the scene of Chris's spirit soothing and shook her head.
She knew he was a genius, but was something like that even possible?
Performing a spirit soothing with a curse.
The applied skill in Magi to turn a curse cast upon himself to his advantage.
Also, his ability as a 'Bard' to infuse black magic into a musical performance.
On top of that, a performance that could even heal the hearts of vengeful spirits, and so on.
With all this, he created the miracle of spirit soothing.
…It sounded simple, but it was as absurd as performing healing arts by applying destruction magic.
'What is the Lord's reaction?'
Merian discreetly glanced at Nordian.
Nordian, in his boyish form, stood with his mouth shut.
His expression seemed somewhat displeased.
But Merian had served Nordian for a long time and could see right through to what he was thinking.
That wasn't displeasure.
On the contrary.
“Spirit soothing, of all things. A descendant of a Dark Magic House, imitating the methods of those Alliance bastards.”
He grumbled like that, but.
“…Still, it was a fairly excellent response.”
His true feelings slipped out.
Nordian, too, was impressed by what Chris had accomplished.
Naturally.
What Chris had done today was that extraordinary.
“But to not back down even after seeing the power of a Dominant Class was reckless. He should have planned for the future, even if it meant sacrificing his father.”
Nordian tried hard to give a harsh assessment.
It was unclear whether he was hoping for the ruthlessness befitting a Majin, or if it was because Christian had nearly died.
Sensing it was likely the latter, Merian suppressed a smile and said a word.
“Perhaps he was confident he could pull it off?”
“…”
Nordian fell silent.
Indeed, if it was Christian, that bastard, it was certainly possible.
“Anyway, whose grandson is such a reckless daredevil? He'll get himself into big trouble one of these days.”
Merian's eyes widened.
It was the first time.
The first time Nordian had directly referred to Christian as his 'grandson.'
Since becoming the head, Nordian had never used such a personal term for any of his blood relatives.
Whether it was intentional or a slip of the tongue, it was an event of great significance.
He had referred to Christian as a grandson he acknowledged.
“It's been a while since I've been out, and my whole body aches. Let's go.”
“I will stop by Count Riberi's castle for a moment before I leave.”
“Hmm?”
“As the Commander of the Black Shadow Knights, I must confirm if Count Riberi committed any other wrongdoings.”
In truth, her aim was to help Christian.
During the future 'trial,' if she, the head of inspection, lent Christian a hand, it would be a great help.
However.
“Leave it be.”
“My Lord?”
“He seems like he'll handle it well enough on his own anyway. Look.”
The magic that had been showing the fight inside the mansion now followed Christian.
'What's he up to now?'