Chapter 85
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: He Who Toyed with the Devil
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“Wrong. That’s not it.”
[…Not it? Unless the very foundation of the 4th Realm has shifted, there should be no new Seat.]
The being’s voice was low.
[Just as I thought. You are not a Seat of the 4th Realm. How dare you mock me.]
A frigid, soul-rending pressure emanated from it.
An aura that felt as if it could tear Chris’s body to shreds at any moment.
A sharp sense of crisis arose, but Chris did not back down.
This was the crucial part.
“No, I haven’t lied.”
[The truth? Ridiculous. I have already spoken all the true names of the 4th Realm.]
“I think not. Isn’t there one name you haven’t mentioned?”
[What are you talking about? I have already named them all.]
“Well, you should think carefully. Are you certain you’ve mentioned every true name? There must be one you’ve omitted.”
[What nonsense are you…?]
For a moment, the being paused.
It remembered.
Which name it hadn't mentioned.
“Do you see it now? What you’ve missed.”
Chris took a step forward.
Toward the being.
As he drew closer, Chris’s atmosphere shifted.
It was entirely different from before.
An indescribable pressure radiated from him.
Incredibly, it was a pressure just like the spiritual aura the being had emanated moments ago.
Feeling the pressure of that soul, the being’s voice trembled.
[H-how… is this? This feeling…?]
“Yes, that’s right.”
A corner of Chris’s mouth lifted.
Simultaneously, a fierce energy erupted from him.
An energy familiar to the being.
An energy it could never mistake.
It was the being’s *own* energy.
“My true name is ‘Istaroth.’ I am your original self. You fake.”
The being’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
Its soul began to churn violently.
And then, something astonishing happened.
[Th-that’s…! A lie. N-no, it can’t be. Aaaaaaaah!!!!!!]
With a scream, it began to scatter into nothingness.
A horrifying.
Incomprehensible sight.
Chris let out a long sigh.
‘Thankfully, it worked.’
The reason for this was simple.
The being wasn't the original, but a fake, a clone.
And it wasn't just him. All the high-level bosses in this underground garden were clones of someone who had existed in reality.
‘The moment they question their own existence, they are immediately annihilated and ‘reset’.’
He had discovered this while challenging the 28th floor with the Hero's party.
The boss of the 28th floor was a transcendent intelligent being with the insight to see through the world's truths, and absurdly, it was endlessly questioning its own existence, repeating a cycle of annihilation and regeneration.
‘It was a gruesome sight.’
Chris once again felt a chill at the thought of the beings who created this underground garden.
The transcendent entities existing in the highest realms of Gehenna and the Celestial Realm.
Why would they create such a bizarre labyrinth?
‘Anyway, I was worried, but the gamble paid off.’
He let out a long sigh.
From beginning to end.
The reason Chris had put on such an act was to make the being question its own existence.
Of course, it had been an extremely dangerous gamble.
Without one particular tool, he would never have dared to attempt such a scheme.
‘It would have been impossible without the Crest of the Constellation.’
It was the holy artifact he had spirited away during the artifact exploration with the Extreme Poison House!
The Crest of the Constellation was also known by another name: the 'Crest of Concealment'.
In other words, it was an artifact with a disguise function.
‘One of the Crest of the Constellation’s important functions is its ability to mimic the essence of a target.’
It wasn't like disguise magic that merely copied appearance and aura.
It temporarily altered the very essence of one's soul to perfectly resemble the target's.
Of course, if the being had been in its complete state, it wouldn't have been fooled even with the Crest of the Constellation.
But with its perception sealed and thanks to the groundwork Chris had laid with his acting, it had been deceived.
Just then, an unfamiliar voice echoed in the air.
It was the voice of the non-elemental spirit belonging to the ruins.
[You are the ‘first’ to clear the 27th floor!]
[Your name, achievements, and epithet will be recorded in the Underground Garden’s Hall of Fame!]
Letters shimmered into existence in the air.
It was the entry to be recorded in the Hall of Fame.
Christian van Baron Cazar
Achievement: First to Conquer the 27th Floor
Epithet: ‘He Who Toyed with the Devil’.
Chris whistled internally.
‘That’s a grand epithet.’
It wasn't bad.
When news of this spread, not just the Dark Magic Houses but the entire southern demonic nation would be thrown into an uproar.
And then, Chris heard the voice he had been waiting for.
[You are awarded a bonus for your first clear achievement!]
‘Excellent!’ Clearing the 27th floor was a feat no one had accomplished before.
Of course, a being of the Demon King class could have cleared the 27th floor conventionally.
But once one reached that level, they shouldered too many responsibilities to undertake such a dangerous challenge, which was why it had remained unconquered.
*Fwaat!*
Finally, the reward Chris had longed for descended.
It was a small wooden box.
Opening it with a pounding heart, he found a familiar-looking ring inside.
A murky gray ring engraved with five circular symbols. A faint light emanated from one of them.
‘The Vampiric Ring.’
It was a top-tier artifact.
One of the most highly-regarded artifacts in existence.
‘It’s powerful even now, but it’s a growth-type artifact that becomes even more potent over time.’
It was the most cherished artifact of Ranya, the 9-Star Archmage from the Hero's party, so there was no doubting its performance.
‘And it’s a perfect fit for me.’
Chris, even more so than the Archmage Ranya, could utilize this artifact’s abilities to their fullest.
Although it was still only at the first stage of release, using this artifact would allow Chris to momentarily amplify his power by more than thirty percent.
If he could unlock the second stage, an amplification of over fifty percent would be possible.
And with each subsequent release, other new abilities would become available. It was an incredible artifact.
‘This will be my trump card.’
For a moment, Chris thought of the First Prince, Sherard.
Could he kill him?
‘Not yet. But it won’t be long.’
Once he grew a little more.
And unlocked the Vampiric Ring further, then he would be able to take Sherard’s head.
‘I will kill you. Without fail.’
Chris vowed with heavy eyes.
In any case, it was about time to head back.
If he dallied too long, the annihilated demon would reset and revive.
‘I have to teleport back, so first, I’ll find the key.’
He already knew the location of the 27th-floor key from his exploration with the Hero's party.
After grabbing a suitable treasure to give to Ruina, he was about to activate the teleportation.
‘Hm? What’s this?’
The key to the 27th floor, befitting its status as a key to the highest level, had an additional function.
It allowed one to survey the lower floors while activating teleportation. Chris let out a dumbfounded sound.
“Why are they raising hell down there?”
Jupien, Marisa, Kashmir.
And even Simon.
They were in the middle of a bloody battle with the 17th floor’s boss, the Spider Queen Tarantula.
Worse, all of them were in a critical state, on the verge of losing their heads.
***
“Watch out!!”
*Kwwaaaaang!!*
With Kashmir’s shout, a massive explosion swept through the area.
Jupien, already disheveled, scowled.
“Your magic is flashy.”
“M-my apologies.”
“Don’t apologize, just block them properly.”
The spiderlings spawned by the Spider Queen were swarming them endlessly.
They were called ‘spiderlings,’ but each one was the size of a pony.
Their individual power was only about that of a 1-Ma class demonic beast, but when their numbers were in the hundreds, thousands… no, infinite, it was a different story.
No matter how many they killed, new spiderlings endlessly appeared.
And there was an even bigger problem.
The mother of the spiderlings, the Spider Queen.
Her upper body, from the waist up, resembled a human’s.
Her face was even alluringly similar to that of a beautiful woman.
But from the waist down, she was completely monstrous.
A grotesque body as large as a house was attached to her.
Dozens of pairs of legs writhed like great spears.
A 6-Ma class demonic beast.
Such was the majesty of the Spider Queen Tarantula.
“My, this is troublesome. I had a feeling this wouldn’t be profitable.”
*Spurt!*
A stream of blood shot from Simon’s shoulder.
He had been wounded by a thread shot by the Spider Queen.
“I never imagined it would be such a loss.”
He had come to save Christian, but Christian was nowhere to be found, and he was stuck in a deathmatch with the Spider Queen.
Simon extended a hand toward the spiderlings rushing at him.
*Wooooong!*
The spiderlings’ faces swelled up and then burst like balloons.
It was a Blood Art that used the blood within an opponent’s body to cause an explosion: ‘Blood Explosion.’
Hundreds of spiderlings were annihilated at once, creating a moment of silence, but it was brief.
Once again, spiderlings began to crawl out.
And on top of that, there was the Spider Queen, extending her threads of ‘Will-Thought’ and looking for an opportunity.
Simon thought with a faint smile.
‘How annoying. What a thankless task this is.’
At this rate, they would all be wiped out.
‘Though there is one way.’
Simon gazed intently at those fighting a desperate battle around him.
Jupien, Marisa, Kashmir.
The scions of three prominent families.
‘If I offer them as a blood sacrifice, the Spider Queen would be a piece of cake.’
The Blood Art was neither black magic nor a demonic art.
It was an ‘uncanny art.’
A peculiar art that used blood to manifest various phenomena without any specific form.
Thus, it possessed various techniques not found in other black or white magic.
Among them, Simon’s greatest specialty was the ‘Human Blood Sacrifice.’
It amplified one’s power by offering the blood of others as a sacrifice.
‘They all carry noble blood, so the effect should be excellent.’
*Gulp.*
A sudden, maddening thirst for blood welled up inside him.
The temptation to sink his teeth into their necks right now was overwhelming.
He had no qualms.
Simon had always been a degenerate who treated the lives of others like insects.
However.
‘If I did that, I’d become an enemy of Young Master Christian.’
Simon frowned slightly.
Of course, Christian wouldn’t know if he killed them here.
But would he remain ignorant forever?
That crazy young master who could deduce everything from a single passing clue?
‘Of course, it wouldn’t matter if I became Young Master Christian’s enemy. No, that might be entertaining in its own way.’
Simon chuckled softly as he imagined Christian trying to kill him.
That, too, seemed like it would be very interesting.
But.
“I might have to introduce him to my Idrinne, and that would be a bit of a problem.”
*Fwaat!*
Simon waved his hand, and a rain of blood fell.
The bodies of the spiderlings hit by the blood sizzled and burned as they met a gruesome end.
“You three. Can you hear me?”
The three pricked up their ears.
“At this rate, we’ll all be annihilated. Of course, I have a way to survive, but the three of you will certainly die.”
In the end, if the worst came to pass, Simon would use their lives as a sacrifice.
“So, let’s devise a plan. Lady Jupien and Lady Marisa, please suppress the spiderlings.”