Chapter 20: The Viscount’s Stone

Gaon knew why the prohibition spell in McCarrin’s brain had activated.

It was because the spell in his heart had been undone.

While he didn’t know the exact method, if he had undone the brain’s prohibition first, the heart’s spell would likely have triggered instead.

The Abyss had always been ruthless, but this was far more vicious than before.

Gaon glanced at the spot where a sound had come from after McCarrin’s death.

Five stones, split in half, lay there.

Soul stones?

He realized how McCarrin had noticed his intrusion.

Are soul stones being mass-produced now? For even these guys to use them…

In the past, soul stones were extremely rare due to their difficult creation process.

They were too precious to be used by just anyone.

But the current situation suggested soul stones could now be made easily.

All the soul stones are destroyed, so there shouldn’t be any remnants left.

The number of destroyed soul stones matched the five Abyss members Gaon had killed.

It seemed there were no more Abyss remnants in Rabes.

Gaon scanned the interior once more, checking for anything he might have missed.

Finding nothing noteworthy, he turned to leave.

It was time to inspect his spoils.

Soon, Gaon reached the storage room and grinned broadly.

The room was filled with a wealth of items.

Among them were numerous elixirs and absorbable artifacts.

The thought of the Pacheongi he could gain made him smile.

He picked up the nearest elixir, infused with sorcery, and consumed it without hesitation.

As it slid down his throat, a massive surge of sorcery emerged.

The circulating Pacheongi immediately latched onto it, guiding the sorcery through his body.

The sorcery began converting into Pacheongi, and Gaon, satisfied, turned to the center of the storage room.

But…

In the middle stood a single red box, displayed prominently.

What’s so special they kept it separate?

It was clearly significant.

Its concealment function blocked his senses from probing inside, making him even more curious.

What was so important that they hid it with such measures?

Approaching the box, Gaon thought,

Could it be a trap?

He couldn’t rule out the possibility.

In the past, the Abyss had rigged storage rooms with countless traps.

Reaching the box, Gaon created a Pacheongi barrier in case it exploded.

“Magic Hand.”

Instead of opening it directly, he used Pacheongi to form a hand and opened the box.

Creak!

The box opened, revealing its contents.

“…!”

Gaon frowned.

Inside was a red dagger—an artifact he knew all too well.

Not because of its appearance, but because of what it contained.

These bastards made another one?

The artifact was called the Curse of the Haunted Night, created through an utterly heinous process.

First, a child was sacrificed in front of their parents to activate the initial sorcery array, drawing out immense sorcery.

Then, when the parents’ grief and rage peaked from losing their child, they were killed to activate a second array, turning them into vengeful spirits.

The sorcery from the first array was used to enhance these spirits, which were then sealed into the artifact.

That was the creation process of the Curse of the Haunted Night.

Gaon picked up the dagger.

“Please… please…”

“Please save my child!”

“I’ll kill you!”

The moment he touched it, countless voices echoed—undoubtedly those of the sacrificed victims.

With a bitter expression, Gaon began purifying the vengeful spirits trapped in the artifact.

Good thing the purification method hasn’t changed.

He had worried the method might have been altered, but fortunately, it was the same.

Gaon successfully purified all the spirits.

As they were released, the Curse of the Haunted Night became an ordinary dagger.

Using Pacheongi, Gaon shattered it into pieces.

This can’t be the only one.

Would the Abyss have made just one Curse of the Haunted Night?

No, they likely created countless others, with just as many victims.

I need to clean them out properly this time.

Gaon renewed his resolve against the Abyss.

He scanned the storage room again, checking for other artifacts created through such cruel methods.

Thankfully, there were none.

Opening his Kerhen pouch, Gaon collected all the items in the storage room and stepped outside, thinking,

This should be enough to reach the 6th Circle.

The quantity of elixirs was substantial.

If he consumed them all, he might just barely reach the 6th Circle.

As he exited the building, Gaon chanted,

“Ice Spear!”

The completed Ice Spear shot toward a nearby pack of Hell Hounds.

Crack!

It exploded, releasing a chilling wave that instantly killed the four Hell Hounds.

Passing the frozen corpses, Gaon headed toward the demonic rift, thinking,

No mid-tier demons, right?

The rift was small—only low-tier demons could come through.

But what if a mid-tier demon crossed using some unknown method?

I kind of hope one shows up.

A mid-tier demon’s appearance didn’t worry him.

In fact, Gaon hoped for it.

Not only could he kill them easily, but mid-tier demons cultivated Madan—a concentrated core of demonic energy.

In the past, Madan was useless to him.

But now, Pacheongi could absorb any energy—mana, demonic energy, or sorcery.

To Gaon, a Madan was as good as an elixir.

Let’s not rush. There’s plenty of time.

Then—

Step!

Gaon stopped abruptly, his face filled with shock as he turned southeast.

What’s that?

Something astonishing had happened.

An immense wave of demonic energy washed over him.

…A titled demon?

It wasn’t a low-tier demon.

Nor a mid-tier one.

It was a titled demon—a viscount or higher.

That’s impossible.

The rift was tiny.

Even a mid-tier demon couldn’t pass through.

Yet a viscount-level demon had appeared?

It was unthinkable.

The demonic energy didn’t belong to a demon.

Wait, if it’s not a demon…

Gaon swallowed hard, then broke into a wide grin and sprinted toward the source.

***

In the Demon Realm, within the Black Forest under Count Nasar’s dominion, a small rift to the mortal world had formed.

Two demons stood before it.

One was Bran, a low-tier demon.

The other was Salcor, a top-tier demon soon to be granted the title of baron.

“Bran.”

“Yes, Salcor-nim.”

Bran swallowed hard and answered.

“If this succeeds, Count Nasar will grant a great reward. I, too, will elevate your status.”

“Leave it to me!”

Bran replied with a booming voice.

Salcor handed him a box, which Bran received respectfully with both hands.

“There shouldn’t be any issues, but be cautious crossing over.”

“I obey your command!”

Bran responded with a determined expression, bowing deeply before turning and striding toward the rift.

Phew…

Reaching the rift, Bran exhaled deeply.

The task wasn’t difficult.

He only needed to install the artifact inside the box once he reached the mortal world.

Neither the installation nor activation was complex.

It was a mission he couldn’t fail even if he tried.

Nothing should go wrong.

Bran stepped through the rift into the mortal world and took a deep breath.

The demonic energy was rich—for the mortal world.

Compared to the Demon Realm, it was woefully lacking.

Still…

He looked at the box.

If I install Mephyrus…

The artifact inside, Mephyrus, would transform the area into an environment akin to the Demon Realm once activated.

The rift would grow, allowing more to cross.

Bran placed the box down and opened it.

Looking at Mephyrus—or rather, its power source—he thought,

I never thought this actually existed.

The power source was an 8-star magic stone.

He’d only heard rumors of such a thing and had never seen one until now.

It’s like facing a viscount.

The stone held an immense amount of dense demonic energy, giving the impression of a titled demon.

Bran carefully extracted Mephyrus and began the installation.

It was simple—just securing it in place.

The key was activation, which required a 30-minute warmup.

He had to ensure no interruptions for those 30 minutes.

Then, Bran stood up—not because he’d finished, but because someone was approaching.

He turned.

Seeing who it was, he frowned slightly.

It was a human.

A very young one.

Is there something wrong with their head?

The young human was smiling brightly.

Who in their right mind would smile in this situation?

Normally, they’d run at the sight of Bran.

That was the sane response.

Bran reached out toward the human.

He was about to undertake a critical task tied to his future.

While the human wasn’t a threat, Bran wanted to focus fully.

Whoosh!

A condensed burst of demonic energy shot toward the human.

Bran turned back to resume the installation.

Boom!

A loud explosion rang in his ears.

“…!”

Bran froze.

The sound came from where he’d aimed.

It exploded midway?

The demonic energy hadn’t reached the human—it had detonated prematurely.

It wasn’t Bran’s mistake.

Someone had interfered.

Cautiously, Bran turned to the human.

The young human spoke.

***

“Bind.”

Gaon cast Bind on the low-tier demon he locked eyes with.

He’d considered killing it immediately but stopped because of the unidentified artifact nearby.

More precisely, because of the artifact’s power source.

That’s at least 8-star.

The power source was a magic stone.

Judging by the quality and quantity of demonic energy, it was an 8-star magic stone.

Gaon had only seen five 8-star magic stones in his life, all imbued with mana.

This was the first imbued with demonic energy.

If I absorb it all…

Gaon swallowed hard.

In the past, absorbing demonic energy was impossible.

But now it was.

If he converted all the stone’s demonic energy into Pacheongi…

Could I reach the 7th Circle?

The 6th Circle was a certainty, and the 7th Circle seemed within reach.

With an expectant expression, Gaon moved to retrieve the magic stone.