Chapter 78
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: The First Brother
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“A master?”
Chris nodded.
“I have to take proper responsibility. I'll guide Allos in his shortcomings and make sure he can act like a proper Majin.”
“What, this crazy bastard...?! Haven't you been learning Demonic Training for less than half a year...?! Gack?!”
Allos yelled, only to get punched in the back of the head by his brother and groan.
“You're telling the truth about making him act like a proper Majin?”
“Of course. I may not look it, but I'm a genius, so I'm good at handling people... no, at teaching them.”
It wasn't an empty boast.
Chris was good at everything and had a natural talent for education.
In the past, those who received his education(?) all grew at a pace that left others in the dust.
‘The problem was that they all suffered immensely.’
His brother nodded.
“I understand. I'll trust you, Young Lord. Allos, from now on, you will serve Young Lord Christian as your master.”
“B-but...!!”
“Hurry up!”
Allos, with tears welling in his eyes, bowed his head to Christian.
“I... I will serve you as my master from now on.”
“Good. Don't think too hard about it, little brother. I just want to help you achieve your potential.”
“L-little brother isn't... I'm older than you... no, than the Young Lord...!”
*Thwack!*
Allos was hit by his brother again.
“He's been spoiled rotten and has no manners. Please understand.”
“It's fine. I'll be sure to correct his habits, so don't worry.”
“Then I'll leave him in your hands. I'm counting on you.”
After his brother left, Allos glared at Chris with eyes half-filled with venom.
It was a look that promised no obedience.
“You get it, right? You have to follow my orders from now on.”
“...What on earth are you going to make me do?”
“Make you do? Nothing much.”
Chris shrugged and said.
“How about we start with some cleaning?”
“...What?”
“It's only natural for a disciple to clean their master's house.”
Chris pointed to his still warehouse-like residence.
The ghosts had been cleaning it, but since it was done by supernatural phenomena, the details were lacking.
“Sweep and wipe everything.”
“......”
“But, use your magi.”
And so, Chris finally gained a disciple and a human servant.
* * *
“You psycho, I'll never do it!”
Allos resisted, but after a heartfelt conversation(?) with Chris, he began to follow his orders.
‘Don't hate it so much. I have my reasons for making you do this.’
The County of Tiramin was a family that specialized in the Demonic Training of beasts.
Frankly, Allos's Demonic Training wasn't bad for his age.
However, his problem was that his fundamentals in handling magi were too weak.
Cleaning is a very complex action.
By performing such complex actions with magi, his fundamentals would surely solidify.
‘I may not look it, but I was called a true master quite often in the past.’
Chris could instinctively see through the problems in any phenomenon.
The same applied when he looked at another's achievements. He could intuitively grasp what the problem was, why they couldn't overcome their wall, and what would be the most effective way to achieve their goal.
That's why those he taught all achieved rapid results.
‘Even the Hero's party made leaps and bounds in their achievements after meeting me.’
Of course, the level the Hero's party reached was incomparable to Chris's.
But Chris's insane intuition didn't discriminate between high and low levels of achievement.
He could instinctively catch the problem even in realms he had never reached himself.
Chris would casually toss them advice, and every time they heard his timely words, they would have a lightning-like epiphany.
What would have required endless frustration and challenges alone, they could overcome as if climbing a ladder, thanks to Chris's advice.
Allos wasn't the only one who received Chris's help.
- To my respected King Emperor Majesty Older Brother. As you advised, in deepening the malice of my curses...
It was a letter from TERN.
The two often exchanged letters.
Tender brotherly love?
As if.
- If you lack talent, you should at least put in some smart effort. Try working as I told you.
Chris wanted TERN to grow quickly and become his pushover... no, his assistant.
So he often sent letters that were half nagging, half advice.
Thanks to Chris's affection(?), TERN was growing by leaps and bounds.
‘He's already reached the brink of 3-Star in ash-gray curse arts? That's faster than I expected. Then again, even in my previous life, TERN reached a pretty high level in curse arts. Could he be a specialist, an 'Aptitude Holder,' in the field of curses?’
Such beings sometimes exist.
People who are completely mediocre in every other area but show insane achievement in one specific field.
It was a little different from simply being talented.
It was closer to the realm of a 'blessing.'
After writing a reply to TERN's question, Chris added another line.
- When you write the title you use to address your older brother in your letters, write it with a bit more respect.
For the record, the King-something Majesty title was something TERN used reluctantly, because Chris had threatened not to teach him otherwise.
And so, time passed in a blur.
It was a busy time, but one with leisure, free from taut tension.
Just as he was starting to feel a bit drowsy, a crack appeared, as if glass was shattering to pieces.
“Are you Christian?”
He had been on his way to the main mansion because Marchioness Fresia had some business with him.
He was walking in high spirits, enjoying the bright sunshine.
When he heard an unexpected voice.
‘...This voice?’
A chill ran straight up Chris's spine.
It wasn't a voice he was hearing for the first time.
No, it was a tone he could never forget.
High-pitched for a man.
A unique voice that sounded playful yet was laced with madness.
‘No, that's impossible. There's no way I'd suddenly hear 'his' voice here.’
Memories like trauma flared up, and his heart pounded.
Chris slowly turned his head.
Hoping his feeling was just a mistake.
But.
“Nice to meet you. I'm your first brother, Sherard.”
The moment he saw the face of the beautiful young man, as exquisite as glass, sitting in the tree, Chris's vision went dark.
Humanity's worst madman.
The nemesis of the Hero's party.
The terrible nightmare of the Age of Ruin, the man who became the tenth Demon King, the 'Leader of the Blood Shadow Demon Troupe,' was smiling brightly at Chris.
* * *
The Blood Shadow Demon Troupe.
A group of madmen.
They supposedly once had the ambition to change the world, but now they were nothing more than a slaughterhouse of psychos.
A criminal organization with a kill-on-sight order from the Magitech Empire.
Fortunately, for now, they remained at the level of a mere group of crazed criminals, but with the start of the Age of Ruin, the Blood Shadow Demon Troupe would grow powerful enough to shake the balance of power between the two factions.
It was because of their leader.
A madman who stood above all other madmen.
A slaughterer who reveled only in murder.
That was the leader of the Blood Shadow Demon Troupe.
The bastard committed acts of terror and murder as he pleased, making no distinction between the Magitech Empire and the Alliance.
Countless dregs of humanity flocked to him in the age of chaos, and wherever the Blood Shadow Demon Troupe passed, it turned into a living hell.
If there was one silver lining, it was that he didn't just slaughter anyone indiscriminately.
He mainly targeted the strong.
He was a madman who felt pleasure from killing.
He felt an even more ferocious urge to kill the strong among them. It was said he felt a more intense pleasure when killing the powerful.
The one he was particularly obsessed with was the Hero, Evan.
Because of him, the Hero's party had to face countless life-or-death crises.
The one who caused the death of the Chatterbox of Darkness, who had been especially close to Chris, was also the leader of the Blood Shadow Demon Troupe.
‘Why is he here?’
The identity of the leader of the Blood Shadow Demon Troupe was never revealed.
Because he always wore the blood-red mask that symbolized the Blood Shadow Demon Troupe.
At the very end, when he met his death at the Hero's sword, his mask shattered, and Chris only caught a glimpse of his face.
A face so beautiful it was impossible to imagine the slaughter he had committed.
The same face he had seen then was now smiling gently at him.
‘To think he was from a Dark Magic House.’
*Thump, thump.*
His heart pounded like crazy.
Heat rushed to his head, and his face went pale.
A distant feeling—be it rage or killing intent, he couldn't tell which—seized his mind.
“Hmm? Why are you so frozen? Isn't this the first time we've met?”
The leader of the Blood Shadow Demon Troupe... no, the First Prince Sherard, leaped down from the tree and tilted his head right in front of Chris.
“Or, is there something you want to say to me?”
“!!”
In that moment, Chris's reason snapped.
‘I have to kill him. I must.’
He remembered the people who had died because of this man.
The people screaming amidst the horrific scenes that had turned to hell.
And.
The final smile the Chatterbox of Darkness had shown as she met her end.
He couldn't think about the consequences.
The killing intent to strike off the man's head right now dominated his thoughts.
*Grit.* The moment he clenched his teeth and tried to draw up his magi.
“Hmm, you.”
Sherard's and Chris's eyes met.
Narrowed, blood-red eyes stared fixedly at Chris.
“!!”
Chris felt a shock, as if he'd been doused with cold water.
His hand wouldn't move forward.
As if his very soul had frozen.
The reason was simple.
‘...He's strong. So strong he's incomparable to my current self.’
If a fight broke out, it would be over in an instant.
Chris would die.
There was that great of a gap between them.
“I heard I got a new little brother, so I came to see you, but you seem to really loathe me. Still, if you show such hostility so blatantly.”
Sherard smiled gently.
“I'll have to kill you, little brother. And I'd rather stay quiet within the family.”
“......”
Chris clenched his jaw tightly.
His breathing grew ragged.
A distant killing intent rose within him, one that made him want to strike off the man's head even if it meant his own death.
‘No. I have to endure it. Now is not the time.’
There was plenty of time.
For now, just learning the identity of the leader of the Blood Shadow Demon Troupe was an enormous gain.
He just needed to get a little stronger and kill him before he left the Dark Magic House.
“Hmm. By the way.”
Sherard said languidly.
“The rumors about you were so wild, I was excited to see how great you'd be, but you don't seem like much. You're below my 'expectations.'”
“!!”
Expectations.
It meant his murderous urge.
Remembering something the man had said in the past, Chris's blood ran cold.
- Chris, was it? A shame. If you had properly learned swordsmanship or magic, my most coveted opponent wouldn't have been Evan, but you. I would have enjoyed watching you die slowly as I chopped off your limbs one by one.
*Enough with these useless thoughts.*
Chris calmed his heart and forced the corners of his mouth to rise.