Chapter 116
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: An Unwelcome Visitor
-----------------------------------------------------------------
An arrogant statement.
But it was true.
Nordian shook his head, finding it absurd, and then asked with gravity.
[Why do you think I went to the trouble of teaching you in this secret training ground?]
“…”
[Do you think you can bear that weight?]
Nordian had kept it a secret out of consideration for Christian.
Receiving the head's favor wasn't entirely a good thing, after all.
‘It's a double-edged sword.’
The number of those who viewed him with hostility would increase dramatically.
The other heirs were already his enemies, so that was to be expected.
‘Marquis Langham will start to see me as a true enemy.’
Chris narrowed his eyes.
He couldn't afford to be mistaken.
His competitors for control of the Dark Magic House weren't just the other heirs.
The final adversary was Marquis Langham.
Although Marquis Langham didn't currently consider Chris an enemy, if it became official that Nordian favored him, the story would change.
He would begin to oppose Chris in earnest.
Hardships incomparable to what he had faced so far would come.
“It's fine. It's a mountain I have to climb eventually anyway.”
[!!]
“No matter who the opponent is, they will eventually kneel before me, so do not worry.”
Did he sense Chris's bold spirit?
Nordian's gaze deepened.
And then.
A laugh escaped Nordian's lips.
The low chuckle grew into a booming laugh.
An aura so powerful it made one's skin tingle swept through the area.
[Good. I accept your request. From now on, you will be my official disciple.]
“Thank you.”
[However.]
Nordian asked coolly.
[Having agreed to be my disciple, you won't show a disgraceful performance in the upcoming duel, will you?]
He was referring to the Judgment Duel with Eshid.
To become the head's disciple and then lose—there would be no greater shame.
“Do not worry. I will show you a performance worthy of the name of your disciple.”
[Heh heh. You're as good with your words as ever. I'll be looking forward to it.]
Nordian spoke to Simon.
[Open the Forbidden Zone for Christian. The duration is one month. Remember this. Until the set time has passed, he cannot return even if he wishes to. He has no choice but to endure.]
Extreme conditions.
But it was what he wanted.
“I'll be back.”
And so.
The path to the border of Gehenna opened.
It was time to become stronger.
* * *
After Chris left for the Forbidden Zone.
The top floor of the mansion.
The head's office.
The Acting Head, Marquis Langham, was reading a document.
“Young Lord Christian has departed for the Forbidden Zone, they say.”
“The Forbidden Zone? Who authorized it?”
“Seeing as the head butler conducted the 'unsealing,' it seems highly likely it was the head's will.”
Marquis Langham was silent for a moment.
‘How vexing.’
In truth, Marquis Langham hadn't paid much attention to Christian.
He was causing a stir, but it was only among the heirs. He was too insignificant for Marquis Langham to take special notice of.
However.
‘The head has been paying attention to that child for some time.’
Marquis Langham tapped his pen and thought again.
‘Vexing.’
From his first appearance until now.
Christian had been constantly and precariously getting on Marquis Langham's nerves.
The problem was the ambiguity.
He was irritating, but was it enough to act directly? It was unclear.
So he had only been watching.
‘Perhaps he could become a variable in my 'plan'.’
If.
It was unlikely, but.
What if that brat Christian wins the Judgment Duel against Eshid a month from now?
Then Christian would take a giant leap toward the position of Grand Prince.
A picture Marquis Langham did not wish to see.
‘It might be better to clean this up soon.’
As if sensing his master's thoughts, Macfield spoke coolly.
“Just give the order. I will personally go and bring you that arrogant brat's head. Since he's gone to the Forbidden Zone, it will be a good opportunity to take care of him away from prying eyes.”
Nordian wasn't the only one with the authority to open the Forbidden Zone.
As the Acting Head, Marquis Langham also had the authority to unseal it.
But Marquis Langham shook his head.
“For a high-ranking member of the family to directly lay hands on an heir is strictly forbidden by law. I cannot have you step forward.”
“Then?”
“It would be cleaner to have the heirs resolve the issue among themselves.”
“Are you planning to entrust it to Young Lord Eshid?”
Macfield asked, puzzled.
“No, summon Sherard.”
“!!”
Macfield flinched.
The First Prince, Sherard.
A madman, just as his nickname suggested.
Even Macfield, a 6-Star Master Class, would get goosebumps from Sherard's madness whenever they met.
‘He acts docile enough within the family grounds, but what on earth does he do outside the family's domain?’
Soon, Sherard appeared.
“What is it, Father?”
His silver hair fluttered as he smiled brightly.
“Who should I kill this time?”
A chilling question.
It meant this wasn't his first request for murder.
In fact, whenever Marquis Langham needed someone secretly eliminated, he often borrowed Sherard's hands.
No matter how much of a crazed psychopath Sherard was, to ask one's own son to commit murder…
This part revealed that Marquis Langham was no ordinary, terrible figure himself.
“As you know, I don't just take any request. If the person doesn't pique my interest...”
“It's Christian.”
“!!”
Sherard's gaze deepened.
The corners of his mouth drew into a long arc.
“A very... interesting proposal.”
“I will open a spot for you to go to the Forbidden Zone. As for the pretext... just say you're entering for similar training purposes. Once inside, find a suitable opportunity and kill Christian.”
Marquis Langham spoke indifferently, as if handling business.
“Since it's inside the Forbidden Zone, you won't have to worry about repercussions.”
“That's true. Heh heh.”
“Then you may leave.”
Marquis Langham turned his gaze back to his documents.
Outside, the smile vanished from Sherard's face.
It became endlessly cold, an eerie aura flowing from him.
“How troublesome.”
A low mutter.
“He was a rare delicacy that finally caught my interest. I wanted to let him grow a little more before killing him.”
* * *
Fwaash!
With the sensation of passing through a narrow hole in a torrent, a wide-open space appeared.
“So this is the Forbidden Zone.”
Chris looked around.
It was a wasteland devoid of life.
What was peculiar was that everything was gray.
The sky, the land, and even his own body.
The light was distorted, making it impossible to distinguish colors.
The intermediate zone between the surface and Gehenna.
The Territory.
‘To be precise, it's closer to the surface side.’
An intermediate gray zone.
It wasn't the complete Gehenna, so demons and devils didn't appear.
But that by no means meant it was safe.
Powerful demonic beasts, influenced by Gehenna, roamed the area.
‘The demonic beasts are a problem, but the bigger issue is the malevolent energy flowing from Gehenna.’
A creepy, skin-crawling sensation washed over him.
The evil energy of Gehenna flowing through the gray zone had begun to seep into his mind.
Chris strengthened his will and pushed the malevolent energy out.
‘It's not unbearable.’
That's because this was a gray zone, and a region close to the middle realm at that.
Malevolent energy flowed, but it was at a level that could be endured by defending one's mind with will.
‘In other words, it's the most suitable environment for training.’
What Chris needed, as mentioned before, was to solidify his foundation.
To be precise, the foundation of 'will' needed to advance to the 5-Star Elder Class.
This place, where malevolent energy flows and powerful demonic beasts appear, was the best environment to temper his will.
‘If I struggle here to my heart's content, an answer will probably emerge. To be honest, this kind of brutish training isn't really my style.’
But it couldn't be helped.
A powerful will can only be forged in an extreme environment.
‘Let's cheer up by thinking about the wealth and glory I'll enjoy after all this is over!’
Just then, demonic beasts began to shamble into view.
As expected of the Territory, they were 4-Ma Class demonic beasts.
Chris didn't hesitate to draw his holy sword.
Fwaat!
The radiant mana dwelling in the holy sword formed an Aura Blade and sliced off the demonic beasts' heads.
‘I don't need to insist on using demonic energy. My goal is to temper my will, after all.’
By honing the Aura Blade, the power of will, he would naturally be able to harbor a firm will as a Majin.
In the end, whether it was the dark magi or the light mana, their master was Chris.
“Haaap!”
He spent his time in a frantic daze.
After cutting down countless swarming demonic beasts, overcoming numerous life-or-death moments, when his mouth was so dry that not even saliva would flow.
An unexpected voice was heard.
“Wow, you're amazing, as expected.”
“!!”
Chris's eyes shot wide open.
Startled, he turned his head to find an unimaginable person standing there.
‘Sherard?!’
The leader of the Blood Shadow Demon Troupe. No, it was the First Prince, Sherard.
“How did you get into the Forbidden Zone?”
“Ah. Father opened it for me.”
“His Excellency, Marquis Langham?”
“Yeah, he told me to kill you.”
“!!”
Sherard stated his purpose nonchalantly.
“I don't actually dislike you. But it seems you've gotten on Father's bad side.”
“…”
Chris remained silent.
He had thought that by distinguishing himself, he would draw Marquis Langham's attention and be checked.
‘I did prepare countermeasures, anticipating he might send an assassin.’
But to think he would send Sherard.
It was beyond his expectations.
“To be honest, it's an order I don't really want to follow. I'm 'interested' in you, you see. I was hoping we could get along for a long time.”
Chris frowned.
Sherard's 'interest' meant his desire to kill.
The stronger his killing intent, the less likely Sherard was to act rashly.
Like aging a fine dish, he would watch for a long time, sometimes even helping his target grow stronger, before taking their life at what he considered the perfect moment.
‘In his past life, the person Sherard was most interested in was the Hero, Evan. He had countless opportunities to take his life, but he never did.’
- It would be a shame to kill someone as interesting as you so soon, wouldn't it? I'll be looking forward to it, so please, be stronger next time.
That was what Sherard always said when he let the Hero Evan go.
Sherard had said something similar to Chris.
- Hmm, what a pity. If you had learned swordsmanship or magic, I would have been more interested in you than that Hero fellow.
Chris clenched his fists tightly.
‘That damn bastard.’
He remembered the people who had been sacrificed to him in the past.
The Chatterbox of Darkness, who had been especially close to Chris, was also killed by him.
Rage boiled within him.
When the Chatterbox of Darkness was killed by him, Chris, for the first time, regretted his own powerlessness.
‘I have to kill this one, no matter what.’
The problem was his strength.
‘Can I really defeat Sherard?’
He had grown stronger rapidly, but it was impossible.
‘I still can't even fathom how much power he possesses.’
The meaning of that was self-evident.
Chris's power was no match for Sherard's.
Sherard was, at the very least, a high-level 5-Star.
He might have even reached 6-Star.
‘Still, I have to find a way. If he makes a contract with a demon and receives a blessing, he'll become a truly terrible disaster.’