Chapter 32
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: A Calculated Rampage
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!!
The relaxed majin guards instantly tensed up.
Allos stepped forward.
“Drive it into the cave.”
Now, all Allos had to do was control the Karazov with Maren-sul and perform the ritual.
Soon, a massive shadow fell over the inside of the cave.
The Karazov was a demonic beast that resembled a peacock.
However, it was more hideous than beautiful.
Its body was twice the size, and the patterns on its wings were splotchy, as if smeared with filth.
Its neck was as thick as a log and writhed like a snake.
It had three hideous pairs of eyes, and its head was enormous, resembling a solid iron mace. A blow from that head would not end in a minor injury.
Its most threatening feature was its poison.
Whenever the Karazov's wings moved, a grayish-white powder flaked off.
It was a poison that clouded the mind; falling victim to it would render one helplessly incapacitated.
A demonic beast possessing both a powerful body and poison.
‘By classification, it's a 4-Ma class, but it's not actually that threatening of a beast.’
Unlike its power suggested, the Karazov was a coward.
It would flee at the slightest threat.
That was why Allos and his majin guards didn't look particularly tense.
“Young Master Allos, the Karazov is a coward. It will never attack first, so don't worry and just cast the Maren-sul.”
Allos nodded and approached the Karazov.
But the Karazov's reaction was strange.
Grrrr!
The Karazov let out a groan.
A harsh, guttural sound.
But Allos thought nothing of it.
He simply assumed it was a groan of fear.
Before casting the Maren-sul, Allos even had the leisure to glance over at Chris.
‘Watch closely what I do.’
His gaze seemed to convey that very message.
And then.
The moment he reached out his hand to cast the Maren-sul.
The unexpected happened!
-Kyaaaaaaak!!!
The Karazov shrieked and lunged with a headbutt.
Caught off guard, Allos couldn't dodge the attack.
Thwack!
Struck head-on, he was sent flying backward through the air.
“Young Master?!”
“Are you alright?!”
The majin guards rushed to Allos in shock.
-Grrr.
Flap!
The Karazov flapped its wings.
The majins' faces hardened.
“Poison!!”
“Hurry, strike it down before the poison takes effect!”
Fortunately, all the majin had taken an antidote beforehand.
But the antidote couldn't grant them complete immunity.
The longer they were exposed, the more the poison's power would overwhelm the antidote, and then it would be over.
They had to capture it before that happened.
The majin charged, but.
Thwack!
The Karazov easily blocked their attack. A second victim was sent flying, spraying blood.
“H-How?”
The majin were bewildered.
The Karazov had never shown this kind of aggression before.
A slight threat with a sword would usually paralyze it with fear.
That's why, despite being a 4-Ma class beast, young majin could hunt it on their own.
But now, far from being scared, the Karazov was rampaging like a wild beast. Its three pairs of green eyes were wide and gleaming menacingly.
‘There's a reason for this.’
The only person here who was completely at ease, Chris, thought calmly.
‘Because I'm the one who caused it.’
The aphrodisiac Chris had spread last night was no ordinary one.
It was a secret alchemical art that stimulated a demonic beast's aggression to its absolute peak, causing the Karazov to rampage like this.
‘And on top of that, I secretly cast a curse on it.’
The curse Chris cast was ‘Oblivion of Fear’.
As its name suggested, it was a curse of black magic that eliminated fear, allowing the Karazov to display the prowess of a berserker.
“Call for help from outside!”
“It's too late! We have to handle this ourselves!”
But they were no match for it.
The majin guards were all young, barely on the cusp of adulthood.
Their achievements were, at best, at the 2-Star level.
One by one, they fell to their knees under the attacks of the Karazov, which raged like a mad bird.
Above all, the poison was the problem.
The poison released with every flap of its wings clouded the majins' minds.
‘N-No.’
‘At this rate, we'll all die…’
Just as despair settled on the majins' faces.
Just then, *thud*.
A quiet footstep echoed in the cave.
A sound that seemed to pierce everyone's ears.
!!
Turning in surprise, they saw the handsome, noble-like youth, Christian, smirking obnoxiously.
“The County of Tiramin is quite pathetic. Do you need my help?”
It was time for him to step up and be the hero.
* * *
“……”
Allos and his majin guards looked dumbfounded.
‘What is that madman talking about?’
How was Chris supposed to save them?
They were 2-Star.
Chris was just another 2-Star majin.
But Christian spoke with an arrogance that suggested he could actually defeat the Karazov.
“If you agree to call me your brother from now on, Allos, I'll make a special exception and help.”
“You bastard.”
Allos spat out a curse.
But why? Was it because of that bottomless, infuriating confidence?
He had a feeling that Christian might actually be able to resolve this situation.
“Well, hurry up. You don't have much time, do you?”
Just then, the Karazov opened its maw wide over a fallen majin.
If left alone, that majin would die.
Finally, Allos couldn't hold back any longer and yelled.
“You crazy son of a bitch!! Help me, you fucking bastard!”
Chris's lips curled into a smirk.
“From now on, serve me as your brother.”
At the same time.
Fwoosh!
Chris threw a dagger.
The dagger flew in a straight line as if drawing a stroke, and *thud*, it struck the beast's head.
It was a surprisingly accurate throw, but it dealt no damage.
Its armor-like skin easily deflected the dagger.
However, it succeeded in drawing its attention.
The Karazov glared at Chris.
-Kyaaaak.
It shrieked and charged!
Chris dodged by spinning his body half a turn to the side, and as they passed each other, his sword slashed at the Karazov's wing.
Clang!
But, as expected, it had no effect.
It bounced off as if it had struck an iron plate.
To injure the Karazov, one needed to use at least the Black Sword, a technique that imbued a blade with magi.
The Black Sword could only be used by a 3-Star.
In other words, to land a significant blow on the Karazov, one had to be at least a 3-Star majin.
‘I could win if I used the power of the union, but that's impossible right now.’
An opponent he couldn't beat in a direct confrontation.
But that was fine.
He had a way.
“You stepped up all high and mighty, so what the hell are you doing, you idiot?! You should at least run away!”
Allos roared.
Allos and the other majin were already afflicted by the poison, unable to escape.
“This is an affair of the County of Tiramin! It has nothing to do with you, so get lost while you still can!!”
Chris looked slightly surprised.
Though it was mixed with curses, it was, in its own way, a statement of concern for him.
‘Did he grow fond of me after getting beaten up so much?’
It was the same with TERN. As expected, there was nothing better than the affection that blossoms amidst flying fists.
“I appreciate the concern, but.”
Clang!
Chris's sword struck the Karazov again.
And so, Chris dodged and blocked the Karazov's attacks, never missing an opening to land a counterattack.
Counterattacks that had no meaning.
No, they weren't meaningless.
Amidst the back and forth.
Chris was preparing a certain technique.
“I told you I have a way.”
Clang!
Chris dropped his sword.
Everyone's eyes widened in alarm.
“D-Danger…!!”
Just then, Chris spread his hands.
One hand was aimed at the Karazov.
The other was held close to his own body.
An incomprehensible action.
And then, the unbelievable happened.
Clunk!
The Karazov had stopped moving!
-Shudder.
As if resisting, the feathers on the Karazov's wings trembled.
Then, Chris spoke in a commanding tone.
“Fold your wings.”
?!
Amazingly, the Karazov obeyed his words.
It folded its flapping wings.
The majin from the County of Tiramin cried out in astonishment.
“Maren-sul?!”
“How?!”
Chris thought calmly.
‘How? I saw how it was done during our spar.’
Of course, it wasn't as if Chris had mastered Maren-sul just from seeing it that one time.
He had already learned the basics at the County of Cazar, and he had secretly practiced in his spare time after the duel with Allos.
‘Well, I couldn't copy it perfectly, so I modified it in my own way.’
Since he hadn't learned it formally but had stolen a glance during their duel, there were many gaps in his understanding.
In magical terms, it was like having a formula with missing variables.
Chris filled in the empty parts with his own methods.
‘So, shall we call it Chris-style Maren-sul, based on the Tiramin's? After all, imitation is the mother of creation.’
With one hand, he dominated the beast's movements, while with the other, he unleashed curse-based black magic to suppress its spirit.
“Now, head to that altar.”
Chris commanded.
The Karazov resisted, but Chris's other hand emitted a dark light.
He had broken the Karazov's will to fight with fear-based black magic.
“I-Impossible. How could such a thing happen?”
Maren-sul was a difficult art, impossible to use without long periods of training in controlling demonic beasts.
That wasn't all.
There was something even more astounding.
How could he manifest curse-based black magic while simultaneously using Maren-sul?
The two were completely different branches of power.
Even the Tiramin's Maren-sul merely mixed curse arts into the technique; it was impossible to use both powers separately and simultaneously like that.
Amidst the majins' astonishment, the Karazov stepped onto the prepared altar.
The altar was placed before the crevice of Gehenna.
-Kyaaaaak!!
The Karazov shrieked in terror at the evil energy flowing out of Gehenna.
Chris's mind focused.
‘I need a greater fear to overwhelm the malice of Gehenna.’
Chris's other hand was stained with an even deeper darkness.
An even greater fear filled the Karazov's mind.
When that fear crushed even the malice flowing from Gehenna.
The formula unfolding from Chris's hand changed.
Joy settled within the fear.
A single ray of light amidst the dread, like a hymn of ecstasy. Joy.
This was the process of the Black Dan ritual.
The moment the Karazov overcomes even the terror of Gehenna and joyfully offers its life for the caster, the Grey Dan inside its body transforms into a Black Dan.
A crystal of pure darkness that has overcome even the malice of Gehenna.
‘Right now!’
Chris's hand flashed.
A dagger was in his hand.
It was the dagger acquired by the corrupt merchant lord Grantel, an item that fell into the category of a treasured blade.
The dagger sliced through the Karazov's armor-like skin.
Fwoosh!
Green blood splattered violently, and Chris thrust his hand inside.
And in the hand he pulled out, there was a small orb.
It was a spirit pill.
“A Black Dan?!”
“No, it's a Grey Dan!”
The majin of the County of Tiramin exclaimed.
The spirit pill in Chris's hand was not black, but grayish.
Chris put on an obvious frown.
“It's not a Black Dan. Did the ritual not work properly?”
It was a lie.
The Black Dan was currently in Chris's pocket.
How did that happen?
‘I switched them.’