Chapter 30
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: A Lesson in Humiliation
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“What is it?”
“If I win this duel, I want you to let me participate in the Black Dan Hunt not as a beater, but as a Guardian Majin.”
Count Tiramin frowned.
The Guardian Majin was the one who stood guard during the final ritual of the Black Dan Hunt.
A role as important as the protagonist of the hunt who presided over the ritual.
“You’re not unaware of how important the role of Guardian Majin is, are you?”
“I know. It's just that my pride won't allow me to attend as a mere beater. I may not look it, but I am the eldest son of the great House Cazar. Shouldn't I at least be the second protagonist?”
“What? Haha! How arrogant.”
Count Tiramin burst out laughing, finding it absurd.
But only for a moment.
He spoke coldly.
“I'd be pleased if your strength was even half your arrogance.”
Chris shrugged.
“You'll see.”
And so, the second duel began.
***
As befitting a family that handled demonic beasts, they had a large training ground.
The majin of House Tiramin, having heard the news, gathered in a crowd.
“The scoundrel from House Cazar is dueling Young Master Allos? How long do you think that ruffian will last? One minute? Two?”
“Last? He's a notorious, worthless scoundrel. We'll be lucky if he doesn't piss himself in fear at the sight of a demonic beast's might.”
“If he does piss himself, we should make the Cazar lackeys clean it up.”
The majin of House Tiramin snickered.
No one considered the possibility of Allos's defeat.
It was only natural.
It was Chris, after all.
A trashy scoundrel famous not just among the Dark Magic Houses but throughout the Magitech Empire.
Those around Chris now knew he had changed, but outsiders did not.
To outsiders, Chris was still a pathetic scoundrel.
He had defeated Allos yesterday, but they chalked it up to Allos being careless.
If Allos used his demonic beast control art properly, there was no way he could lose.
That was the consensus among everyone in House Tiramin, and they all prepared to watch the duel with relaxed confidence.
Some even went so far as to provoke the majin who had accompanied Chris.
“Hey, you Cazar lot. Shouldn't you stop your young master?”
“A demonic beast won't go easy on him just because he's a precious young master, you know? What'll you do if he wets himself?”
But the reaction of those who came with Chris was strange.
They didn't get angry.
Nor did they agree.
Instead.
“Blind fools.”
“…What?”
“Shut up and watch closely with your eyes wide open.”
They sneered at the majin of House Tiramin.
“We'll see which one of them pisses his pants.”
At those words, the majin of House Tiramin looked utterly baffled.
Just then, Chris and Allos stepped onto the training ground.
Allos was not alone.
He was accompanied by a large demonic beast.
“The demonic beast I will be handling is a ‘Dark Horse’.”
As its name suggested, it looked just like a horse, but with a difference.
Its body was nearly twice the size of an ordinary horse, giving it less of a nimble and more of a boar-like feel.
Allos leaped nimbly and mounted the Dark Horse.
He intended to fight while riding the demonic beast.
“I'll warn you now, due to the nature of the demonic beast control art, I can't hold back once the duel starts. Kneel and apologize to me now. If you do, I'll forgive you.”
Instead of answering, Chris swung a staff around.
For this duel, Chris had decided to use a wooden staff, not a sword.
There were several reasons for this.
First, a staff had a wide attack range, making it advantageous against a demonic beast.
“Can I say something too?”
“…What is it?”
“Don't get beaten up and start bawling. I won't go easy on you even if you cry.”
“!!”
Allos's face flushed crimson.
“You insolent bastard! You'll regret this!”
*Neigh!*
The black demonic beast charged.
It was fast, contrary to its massive body.
A charge attack combining speed and weight!
A tremendous impact, enough to shatter bones in an instant, rushed forward.
Just as Allos, confident of victory, grinned fiercely.
‘Huh?’
Chris's form vanished from his sight.
Allos was stunned.
He was clearly right in front of him, but now he was gone.
And then.
*Thwack!*
“Kuaargh!”
Allos's head snapped back.
A dizzying pain shot through his face.
It felt like he was seeing stars.
Allos belatedly realized he had been struck by the staff Chris wielded.
Through his pain-blurred vision, he could see Chris casually tapping the staff.
“Does it hurt?”
Chris flashed a detestable grin.
“But you can't cry or give up, okay? This is just the beginning.”
Another reason Chris had chosen the staff.
It was perfect for a good beating.
***
The training ground fell silent.
The majin of House Tiramin were wide-eyed, unable to utter a single word.
A shocking—no, an unbelievable—sight was unfolding before them.
*Thwack!*
“Y-You bastard?!”
*Thwack!!*
“Kuaargh!”
Allos was being beaten relentlessly.
It was a scene bordering on complete mockery.
‘Am I seeing things?’
‘How is that scoundrel…?’
It wasn't that Allos's demonic beast control art was lacking.
On the contrary, perhaps because he'd come out grinding his teeth, Allos's art was in peak condition.
But it was completely ineffective against Chris.
The Dark Horse charged fiercely at Chris.
But Chris blocked or dodged the Dark Horse's attacks with almost anticlimactic ease, then smacked Allos.
This scene repeated endlessly.
“H-How?”
Allos stammered.
Allos couldn't comprehend the current situation.
It might be different if it were someone else.
But this was Chris, wasn't it?
The trashy scoundrel!
‘How is that scoundrel doing this?’
Resting the staff on his shoulder, Chris gave a detestable reply.
“Because I'm a genius.”
“!!”
“Dealing with a dunce like you is simple.”
“You bastard!!”
Allos once again pushed the Dark Horse forward aggressively.
But the result didn't change.
*Thwack!*
Stars once again burst in Allos's vision.
This time, he didn't even see how he was hit.
A deathly silence fell over the grounds.
“Is this all you've got?”
Chris snorted and tossed his staff aside.
*Clang!*
Everyone looked on with puzzled expressions at the sudden action.
“It seems you're no match for me. From now on, I'll fight you with my bare hands. Oh, and if you so much as touch the hem of my clothes, I'll let you have the win.”
An utterly humiliating taunt.
“Y-You…!!”
Allos's face flushed with rage once again.
If he surrendered after such humiliation, he wouldn't deserve to be called a majin.
“I'll kill you for sure!!”
Allos's attacks grew even more ferocious.
As if its master's fury had been transmitted to it, the Dark Horse's movements also became rougher.
Chris thought to himself as he deftly dodged the attacks.
‘Good. Just as I intended.’
He had a purpose for this duel.
Becoming a Guardian Majin?
Showing off his strength in front of everyone?
He had those goals, but there was a more important one.
‘I need to steal and learn House Tiramin's demonic beast control art.’
His ultimate goal was to seize the Black Dan.
To do that, he needed to steal and learn House Tiramin's secret art, which was why he intentionally orchestrated this duel.
It wasn't enough yet.
To thoroughly dissect Allos's demonic beast control art, his eyes deepened imperceptibly.
‘The movement of magi that controls the demonic beast.’
He could see threads of magi flowing from Allos, extending toward the demonic beast.
It was black magic of binding and domination.
The demonic path's beast control art was different from the similar ability on the Alliance's side, ‘Taming’.
Taming involves communicating with a monster to make it an ally.
In contrast, the demonic art ‘dominates’ and ‘forces’ through power.
‘The more advanced the art, the more efficiently one can dominate with less magi.’
The highest-level demonic beast control art in the Magitech Empire belonged to the ‘Demonic Beast House,’ one of the Twelve Great Demonic Houses.
House Tiramin's art wasn't on par with the Demonic Beast House, but it was still a considerably high-level art.
‘Adding black magic formulas to solidify control is the core of House Tiramin's art. Formulas for illusion, fear, and excitement that paralyze the beast's reason are secretly mixed in. I'm starting to get the gist of it.’
To understand it just by watching for such a short time?
If others heard, they would be so shocked they'd scream it was impossible.
But it was the truth.
What Chris had just grasped was the very core essence of House Tiramin's demonic beast control art.
‘Of course, it's difficult for me to figure out all the fine details. For now, just understanding the core essence is enough.’
Chris thought.
‘Now I just need to learn the secret technique necessary to make off with the Black Dan.’
The Black Dan comes from the body of a Karazov demonic beast.
If you just kill it, you get an ordinary spirit pill, a Gray Dan, but you have to kill it after a special ritual to get a Black Dan.
To perform that ritual, House Tiramin's secret art was required.
‘Joy of Hell.’
It was the secret art that forced ‘death’ upon a demonic beast.
Chris decided it was about time to wrap up this duel.
“I had high hopes, but you're pathetic. You can't even touch the hem of my clothes. Is this really all you've got?”
“You… you….”
“It doesn't look like you'll get anywhere by continuing. Why don't you just give up?”
Chris said smoothly.
“If you kneel and beg for forgiveness even now, I'll show you some mercy. No, I'll even specially take you in as my younger brother.”
“You bastard!”
Allos gritted his teeth.
“I'll… I'll definitely… kill you!!”
‘Bingo.’ The taunt worked.
Allos moved the Dark Horse with all his might.
The movement of the magic power controlling the Dark Horse was imprinted on Chris's mind through his retinas, not a single detail missed.
‘Not yet. More.’
*Neigh!!*
The Dark Horse charged at Chris with a mad frenzy, then reared up its body.
It was about to stomp down with its front hooves.
The awl-like spikes densely embedded in its hooves glinted ominously.
The excitement of battle.
And under the influence of the magi dominating its mind, the Dark Horse's eyes were visibly bloodshot.
At that moment, Chris noticed that Allos's control over the demonic beast had reached its peak.
‘Now!’
Chris didn't dodge.
Instead, he unleashed black magic.
[Fear of Death]
As if a blade had fallen on its neck, sending a fountain of blood spurting.
The fear of death pierced the demonic beast's mind like a dagger.
In its terror, the Dark Horse's movements stiffened.
“Th-This…?”
“It's the Fear of Death.”
Chris deliberately revealed the identity of the black magic.
“With your crude control art, it's impossible to overcome the Fear of Death.”
“!!”
“Just give up. Admit your defeat.”
“Shut up!!”
Allos could be seen squeezing out his last bit of strength.
A powerful thread of magi extended toward the beast.
He was about to use the ‘secret art’ to force death upon the demonic beast.
The very thing Chris wanted.
Chris focused and watched the scene intently.
What principles of magical formulas were contained in the movement of the magi.
What patterns those formulas formed.
The density and wavelength of the magi.
How it dominated the beast's mind.
How each formula acted upon the beast. And thus, how it forced death.
A greater fear.
The joy that followed.
Submission.
And so, House Tiramin's secret art, ‘Joy of Hell,’ was imprinted on Chris's mind, not a single thread missed.
“It's done! Prepare yourself!!”
The moment the beast finally overcame the Fear of Death—no, the moment death was forced upon it.
*Thwack!*
Chris, who had approached unnoticed, struck Allos's face with a fist as fast as lightning.
*Slump.*
Allos fell, collapsing into unconsciousness anticlimactically.
“……”
A complete defeat.
Looking at the people of House Tiramin, who were steeped in shock and astonishment, Chris shrugged.
“Well then, I'll see you at the Black Dan Hunt.”