Chapter 119
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: A Calculated Banishment
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Bang.
At the same time.
A crimson wave crashed toward Chris from all directions.
It was a desperate situation with no way to dodge or block.
Chris’s gaze hardened.
‘An attack like this… He’s underestimating me, isn’t he?’
Chris raised his sword.
Then, he plunged straight into the crimson wave and swung his Aura Blade.
The secret art of a renowned sword style, One Flash that Cleaves the Dead Sea.
A single, magnificent streak of light that parted the dead sea split the wicked, crimson flames in two.
In the first place, such a wide-ranging attack only looked powerful; it was spread out without any concentrated aura, leaving it full of weaknesses.
Chris was not one to miss even a momentary blind spot.
‘His style is to fight as if he’s toying with his opponent.’
In his past life, as the leader of the Blood Shadow Demon Troupe, Sherard had rarely fought an opponent with his full strength.
To Sherard, fighting and slaughter were nothing more than a game.
‘Still, this is my chance.’
Chris charged straight at Sherard.
One step, then another.
The distance closed in an instant, and the smile on Sherard’s lips deepened.
As if he were feeling a thrill of excitement.
"Good. Come on."
"Shut up."
Chris’s free hand, the one not holding the sword, formed a hand seal.
It was the manifestation of magic.
Crack!
Cold Volcano.
An ice-based white magic that caused chilling energy to erupt from below, instantly freezing its target, burst out from under Sherard.
For reference, Chris had achieved at least a 4-Star proficiency in all schools of white magic.
As Sherard summoned his blood energy to drive out the cold,
this time, Chris switched to a different type of magic.
He brought a finger to his mouth and bit down hard.
Fwoosh.
A drop of blood scattered into the air, and the vanishing droplet turned into faint particles.
When Chris clenched his fist, the particles vibrated, reacting with the blood energy Sherard had just summoned and causing a resonance phenomenon.
"!!"
A look of momentary bewilderment flashed across Sherard’s face.
The resonance Chris had created was faint.
Compared to Sherard's total blood energy, it only caused a problem in a very small part.
The problem was that it had disrupted a key point in the flow of his blood energy.
A miracle brought about by Chris’s insane insight and his skill in manipulating magi.
Of course, it couldn't last long.
The moment Sherard became aware of the problem, the resonance vanished.
But for that brief moment,
a slight delay was unavoidable, and in the instant his expulsion of the cold slowed,
Chris unleashed the spell he had prepared.
Thunder Explosion.
A white magic spell that created an electrical explosion at a designated coordinate.
It was a targeting spell that exploded at the target point the instant it was cast, leaving no time to dodge.
Zzzzzap!!
Electricity coursed through the frost clinging to Sherard’s body.
The impact itself wasn't great.
The problem was the restriction of movement caused by the spell’s aftereffects.
The freezing cold.
And on top of that, the electricity flowing through it.
Sherard’s body was momentarily paralyzed.
‘Now!’
Chris gritted his teeth.
A chance he had barely seized thanks to Sherard’s carelessness.
The Aura Blade erupted.
A line of light descended toward Sherard’s head.
But.
Sherard gave a faint smile.
A chilling smile.
"I love this."
Sherard’s hand moved.
It trembled from the aftereffects of the cold and shock, but only for a moment. Soon, it was moving at a tremendous speed.
Far faster and stronger than his usual movements.
Chris realized the nature of this phenomenon.
‘Will!’
It was another power of the 6-Star Master Class.
While Majin of lower ranks enhanced their bodies with magi, those at 6-Star and above could use the power of Will to temporarily surpass their physical limits.
The situation was reversed in an instant.
At this rate, Sherard’s hand would tear out Chris’s throat first.
However.
‘I expected this much.’
Chris played his hidden card.
Woong.
The ring on his finger, the Vampiric Ring, let out a low cry.
The magi in Chris’s dantian, his Outer Core, was converted into the light mana of his Inner Core, and for a moment, his body overflowed with energy.
Chris unleashed all that energy in a single burst.
The sword of light accelerated beyond its limits.
"!!"
Sherard’s eyes widened.
He hadn’t expected such a blow.
For reference, to keep Sherard from discovering the existence of the Vampiric Ring, Chris had never once used it over the past month, despite facing death countless times.
Sherard hastily tilted his head back, but he couldn’t dodge it completely.
The Aura Blade grazed diagonally across Sherard’s face.
Drip, drip.
It was only a graze, but an Aura Blade was still an Aura Blade.
A deep wound cut from his left forehead, across the philtrum, to his right cheek, and Sherard’s face was instantly drenched in blood.
This wound would leave a deep scar that would never fade.
"......."
A moment of silence followed.
Having poured out all his strength in one go, Chris gasped for breath in exhaustion, while Sherard, his face a bloody mess, stared coldly back at him.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
Then.
Clap. Clap.
Sherard grinned and began to clap.
"Wow. Brilliant. Even better than I expected. That was truly chilling just now. I almost died there. How long has it been since I felt such a thrilling tension?"
"......."
"What should I do? I want to kill you even less now. You’re already this interesting, so how much more fascinating will you become as you grow?"
Sherard tilted his head as if in thought.
His pale face, drenched in blood.
Combined with his innocent expression, it created a grotesque atmosphere.
"Let’s just stop here."
"...What?"
"I won’t kill you."
"......."
"If I kill you today, I think I’ll regret it for a long, long time. Disobeying Father is scary, but… I’ll just run far away or something."
In other words.
The absurd notion that he would kill him later, once he was stronger.
Sherard grinned.
"How about it? Good for you, right? No need to thank me. You can repay this kindness by dying while entertaining me later..."
"Shut up."
"Hm?"
"Who gave you the right to stop here?"
Sherard looked puzzled.
"If we fight any more, you’ll die."
"We’ll see."
Chris scoffed.
"I think you’re the one who doesn’t grasp the situation."
Chris held out his hand.
And began his prepared secret plan.
Fwaaa!
A faint red, inverted cross began to form on Sherard’s forehead.
It was the dark curse magic, 'Crest of Predation,' which marked one as a target for evil beings.
Sherard looked incredulous.
"What do you hope to accomplish with such a low-level curse? A curse like this is nothing."
Sherard summoned his blood energy.
He tried to forcefully dispel the curse, but.
"!!"
The crest on his forehead didn’t budge. In fact, it grew even darker.
"This is a version improved by yours truly, the genius. Even you won’t be able to dispel it in a short amount of time."
The original 'Crest of Predation' was a 3-Star curse that made the target a mark for unintelligent demonic beasts or evil spirits—nothing special.
But Chris had improved the curse's formula.
So that it would carve a seal so alluring that even higher-dimensional evil beings would feel the temptation to prey on it.
He also threw in security formulas to make it difficult to dispel.
Moreover, since the purity of Chris’s dark magi was a perfect ten, the curse was far more potent than one cast by an ordinary person.
Even Sherard would have a hard time dispelling it.
"Hmm. I still don’t get it. What is my interesting little brother plotting? The demonic beasts near this border are 5-Ma class at best. You don’t actually think they can threaten me, do you?"
"Of course not. The demonic beasts of this borderland can’t harm you."
"Hmm? Then what?"
"However, if I send you not here, but somewhere else... somewhere terrifying, that’s a different story."
"...What?"
Chris took out another item, and for a moment, Sherard’s expression hardened in a way it hadn't before.
"That’s... could it be?"
"So you recognize it. Lenin’s Scissors. I’m sure you know what they’re used for, right?"
An Archmage’s artifact he had once obtained from Ruina, capable of cutting through space.
It was an item of little utility since it was impossible to set precise coordinates.
‘But if I’m just sending someone else flying, I don’t need to calculate exact coordinates. I’ll send him straight to Gehenna.’
Conveniently, this place was a borderland.
A subspace connected to a lower region of Gehenna was linked here, and for the past month, Chris had been calculating the coordinates.
So that even if he couldn’t specify an exact point, he could still send the bastard flying toward Gehenna.
‘Once I send him to Gehenna, it’ll be hell wherever he lands. He’s a dead man.’
But Sherard quickly relaxed his expression.
"Hmm. A grand idea, but do you think I’d fall for such a trick? I just have to dodge Lenin’s Scissors."
"You won’t be able to dodge, even if you want to."
Chris grinned.
He took out the final tool for his operation.
It was a cursed doll.
"You know better than anyone what this doll is, don't you?"
"!!"
Chris smeared the doll with Sherard’s blood from the holy sword.
"Using Blood Art, if I smear this doll with blood, the doll and the owner of the blood become one and the same."
In other words.
It was a similar principle to curses where stabbing a doll with an awl makes the target feel the same pain.
"If I throw this doll to the other side of that space, you’ll be thrown there too."
Normally, this technique isn't easy either.
One must analyze all of the target's complex characteristic patterns to be able to identify them with the doll through blood as a medium.
The conditions are extremely strict, as one must be in close contact with the target to perform the analysis.
‘But I’ve already figured out all of his characteristic patterns.’
While I was recovering my strength for those three hours earlier.
At that time, while replenishing his energy, Chris had also analyzed the characteristics of Sherard, who was standing beside him.
All preparations were complete.
"Keke. Impressive. Very impressive."
"No need to act so relaxed. You’re finished."
Indeed, the composure always seen on Sherard’s face slowly vanished.
He had realized he was perfectly trapped.
There was no way out.
"Yes, I’ve lost. I lost. Keke. Brilliant. I never imagined it. How can you exceed my expectations from beginning to end like this?"
Sherard stared directly at Chris, his eyes brimming with a chilling madness.
"You’re so fascinating it gives me goosebumps."
"......."
Chris furrowed his brow.
Translated, it meant he wanted to kill him like a madman.
"Stop spouting bullshit."
Chris swung Lenin’s Scissors.
The coordinates he had meticulously calculated over the past month were set in the rift, and with a tear, a portal to Gehenna opened.
Chris threw the cursed doll into the rift.
An action performed on the cursed doll affects the owner of the blood in the same way.
Immediately after the doll disappeared into the rift.
"Kekeke. Kuhahahaha!!!"
Sherard was also sucked into the rift.
Laughing maniacally, as if he found it all incredibly exciting.
In his final moment, Sherard’s crimson pupils locked onto Chris with a chilling intensity.
Fwoosh.
The surroundings fell silent.
It was over.
"Haaah."
His tension released, Chris let out a deep sigh.
‘Is it really over?’
He was such a dreadful bastard that it didn’t feel real to have dealt with him so easily.
‘No matter how strong he is, there’s no way he can survive after being dropped into Gehenna.’
The lower region of Gehenna where he would fall was a place where demons ran rampant; he would meet his end in terrible agony.
After death, even his soul would be trapped in Gehenna, forced to suffer for eternity.
Chris shook his head and turned his gaze.
Far in the distance.
A bright light was pouring down from a hole that had opened in the ashen sky.
A month had passed, and the spot had opened again.
It was time to go back.
"...But I'm not too late, am I?"
He hadn’t noticed while grappling with Sherard, but it looked like quite some time had passed since the spot opened.
Chris calculated the time.
‘Thankfully, I don’t think I’m late. I should arrive just in time for the promised Judgment Duel.’
Chris launched himself toward the spot.
Eshid was next.