Chapter 61
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: An Opportunity
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‘There are so many types of physical poisons, and it’s a pain to make and carry separate antidotes for each one. So I made this.’
Leaving Marisa speechless with shock, Chris rummaged through his belongings until he finally found what he was looking for.
A transparent orb.
It was a magical device used to signal one's location to comrades.
An essential item when operating separately from the group like this.
“…What are you trying to do?”
Chris grinned.
“What do you think will happen if I use this to send a false signal to the mages of the Extreme Poison House?”
“!!”
Marisa growled a warning.
“Don’t even think about trying anything funny. The moment you tamper with it, that device will self-destruct.”
Location signal devices prioritized security above all else.
If an enemy subdued the owner and used the device to send a false signal, their comrades would be in grave danger.
Thus, it was designed to self-destruct if even a slightly incorrect mana pattern was entered.
The resulting explosion was equivalent to at least a 4-Star destruction spell.
“There won’t even be a corpse left of you.”
Chris nodded.
She was right.
If such a powerful destruction spell went off right in front of him, even he would have a hard time emerging unscathed.
However.
“I just have to make sure it doesn’t explode.”
“…What?”
Marisa’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
Chris was injecting his mana!
“This madman?!”
Marisa squeezed her eyes shut.
If the device self-destructed, it wouldn't just be Chris who was in trouble. Marisa, standing right next to him, would be caught in the blast as well.
She clenched her teeth, bracing for the impact that would soon engulf her entire body, but something was strange.
It was quiet.
“……??”
Marisa cautiously opened her eyes, only for them to fly wide in disbelief yet again.
Chris was doing something else insane.
“So this is the pattern? What about the security on the transmission circuit? Is the back of the spiral the core of the security?”
He was prodding the device with his magi, making it react as if he were playing with a toy.
And yet, there was no rejection.
“H-How?”
It was a question she’d lost count of asking since meeting Chris.
Once again, Chris kindly explained.
“It’s nothing special. I just have to make the device not recognize my mana.”
“……”
Right, but how was that even possible?
It was like saying you could make something invisible while looking right at it.
“Ah, got it.”
With a *click*, the device’s security was disarmed.
Immediately, a signal began to chime.
A green alert.
It was an inquiry confirming Marisa’s safety.
If no response was received within the time limit, the mages of the Extreme Poison House would come to rescue her.
“What’s the Extreme Poison House’s signal code?”
“…Do you really think I would tell you?”
Disarming the device’s security wasn’t the end of it.
Usually, when sending signals with such a device, a combination of ten or more patterns was used to form a code.
“Well, there are ways to find out even if you don’t tell me.”
Marisa tensed at his casual remark.
‘Is he… going to torture me?’
It was the easiest method.
If she were in Chris’s shoes, she would have chosen the same path.
After all, if a false signal were sent from their leader's device, the Extreme Poison House’s exploration team would be thrown into chaos.
‘Damn bastard.’
Marisa clenched her fists tightly.
But she couldn't blame him.
Right now, she and Chris were enemies.
The thought of being tortured by Chris brought an inexplicable surge of frustration welling up inside her, and she bit her lip hard.
This was truly the worst.
She didn't know exactly what felt so awful, but it was the worst feeling she'd ever had.
‘Why did I have to be engaged to a guy like him?’
“Hurry up.”
“What?”
“If you’re going to torture me, then get on with it!”
“…What are you talking about?”
“What?”
“I need to concentrate, so could you please be quiet? Ah, there we go.”
While Marisa blinked blankly, Chris tapped out a signal on the device.
He did it by combining the unique code symbols of the Extreme Poison House.
“……”
“Curious how I did it again? This… Hmm. I just did it because I’m a genius. You wouldn’t be able to copy it even if you knew, so don’t be too curious.”
To be precise, he had hacked the device, traced the mana residue, and deduced the code, but Chris couldn't be bothered to explain, so he just gave a vague answer.
Chris smirked with his characteristically smug expression.
“Well then, I’ll be on my way. Ah, and just in case you’re wondering, don’t even think about breaking the curse. At your level, you’ll never be able to break it, no matter how hard you try.”
Then, he disappeared without a backward glance.
Left alone and bound, Marisa wore a dazed expression.
She stared at the spot where he had vanished for a long time before muttering a single phrase.
“…You bastard.”
* * *
Chris moved quickly.
‘I’ve spent too much time.’
But it hadn't been without its gains.
For one, he had made Marisa indebted to him.
She might be cursing him now, but once everything was over, she would realize that he had saved her life.
‘I’ll be dealing with the Extreme Poison House a lot in the future. I’ll use this as leverage to make her my pawn.’
And that wasn’t all.
The location signal device.
Marisa was the leader of the Extreme Poison House’s exploration team.
With this device, he could issue false commands.
‘First, I’ll order them to climb down the cliff and explore. Next, I’ll have them dig up the swamp and search the bottom. I’ll make them suffer endlessly so they stay out of my way.’
Chris smiled wickedly.
And there was more.
‘After making them suffer for a while, I’ll use them at a critical moment.’
Chris decided to use the full force of the Extreme Poison House for the grand finale of his ‘operation.’
The exploration team of the Extreme Poison House would be dancing in the palm of his hand without even knowing it.
‘Now, I need to get my hands on that artifact.’
Chris’s gaze hardened.
The artifact discovered this time wasn't actually that powerful on its own.
But depending on how it was used, it was capable of creating tremendous miracles.
After more than two years of research, Marquis Langham figured out how to use the artifact, and a terrible tragedy befell the Dark Magic Houses.
That incident led to the death of the Old Lord Nordian.
‘I can’t let that happen.’
Old Lord Nordian had to stay alive to prepare for the future.
And for Chris’s own sake, he absolutely had to obtain the artifact.
‘Because I’m the only one who can use the power of this artifact properly. The problem is, where is it?’
Artifacts appeared in one of two ways.
First, they could have been hidden long ago.
Second, they could fall anew from the sky.
The expression ‘fall from the sky’ was not a metaphor.
They were literally dropped to the ground from places like Gehenna or the heavens. After all, artifacts were items created by demons or constellations imbued with their power.
As if enjoying the sight of the lowly creatures on the ground fighting over their artifacts, demons and constellations periodically made them appear in the world.
‘I heard roughly where it would be.’
The northwest of the mountain range.
But even that was a vast area.
Searching alone would take days, and he still might not find it.
‘But there’s a way.’
First, he headed toward the northwestern part of the mountain range.
Along the way, he didn't forget to use Marisa’s location signal device to send strange commands to the Extreme Poison House’s exploration team.
“Why does Lady Marisa keep telling us to explore places like this?”
“It’s an order from Lady Marisa. She must have her reasons, don’t you think?”
“True. It is Lady Marisa, after all.”
The Extreme Poison House exploration team tilted their heads in confusion but followed the signal commands sent by Marisa.
After arriving in the northwest, Chris did something unexpected.
He examined the ground and the traces of bent grass in the thickets.
He wasn't looking for the artifact.
“Bingo.”
Chris smiled faintly.
Faint traces.
Signs that a person had passed through.
They were traces that only a professional tracker would notice, but they were definitely there.
‘This is deep in the Demon Realm where no one should be living. The reason for such tracks is obvious.’
Chris followed the tracks, moving cautiously.
Using the secret techniques of the Shadow Sword House, his presence completely vanished.
How long had he been moving like that?
He came across an astonishing sight.
“Are the Dark Magic House bastards here yet?”
“No, not yet.”
“I don’t know how much longer we have to wait. Those damn slugs. They need to hurry up and take this artifact.”
There were two masked mages!
Judging by their builds, one was a woman and the other a man. He could tell which house they belonged to at a glance.
‘The aura of poison. They’re from the Extreme Poison House.’
And they weren’t just ordinary mages.
The man was 4-Star.
The woman appeared to be a staggering 5-Star.
However, the man seemed to be of higher status, as he spoke down to the woman.
“This is so tedious. To think I have to be playing mole like this. Dammit. All because of that bitch, Marisa.”
His outburst revealed a great deal.
‘The man is a direct descendant of the Extreme Poison House. Probably… one of the Young Lords.’
The 5-Star woman in front of him seemed to be his subordinate.
But why were high-ranking members of the Extreme Poison House in a place like this?
Chris answered his own question internally.
‘They must be the ones who joined hands with Marquis Langham.’
That’s right.
This conspiracy wasn’t planned by Marquis Langham alone.
He had collaborators within the Extreme Poison House.
They likely joined forces with him to bring about the downfall of Marisa, a rival in the succession dispute.
As if to confirm his suspicion, the man spoke in a dark voice.
“Still, it can’t be helped. Once this is over, I won’t have to see that damn bitch Marisa’s face anymore, so I’ll have to endure it.”
“……”
“You’re well-versed in the plan, right? Once Lady Jupien of the Dark Magic House takes the artifact, we lure them into a trap and annihilate them. And we must leave behind evidence that it was Marisa’s doing.”
This was the full extent of Marquis Langham’s plan.
To have the Dark Magic House’s exploration team annihilated by the vile schemes of the Extreme Poison House.
The victims would include Jupien and Chris, both of Baron blood, so it was not a matter to be taken lightly.
Marquis Langham would use the sacrifice of the exploration team as a pretext to obtain the price he wanted.
He would demand not only the artifact discovered during this expedition, the ‘Crest of the Constellation,’ but also the artifact the Extreme Poison House had found previously, the ‘Twilight Amulet,’ as compensation.
‘I won’t give them a single thing.’
First, he had to snatch the Crest of the Constellation right before their eyes.
Just then, the masked man from the Extreme Poison House spoke.
“By the way, I wonder what kind of artifact this is. It seems to be a holy relic of some sort. But I can’t exactly open the seal first.”
When an artifact is first discovered, it is hidden in a sealed form.
“It’s not like I can have it anyway, so it doesn’t matter what it is. All I need is to get rid of that bitch, Marisa. You should go and set up the trap now.”
“As you command.”
The 5-Star woman vanished in a flash.
As the masked man was left alone, Chris lowered his stance.
‘This is my chance.’
Honestly, if the 5-Star woman had stayed, Chris wouldn’t have been able to try anything.
But the man was different.
The man’s level was 4-Star.
And… Chris’s level was also 4-Star. The level of ‘Starlight.’
‘Even in a direct fight, I’ll win.’