[WN] I Became the Genius Bastard of a Noble Dark Clan Chapter 56

 Chapter 56

Chris swallowed hard.

Wait, this mission.

Only then did the details the Dark Chatterbox had told him resurface.

It wasn't that she hadn't mentioned it.

The incident was so massive that it had been difficult to connect it to this particular mission.

—Chris, what do you think was the most important event that occurred in Continental Year 975?

Continental Year 975 was the present.

Five years before the First Great War.

The Dark Chatterbox, true to her nature as a nine-tailed fox from the Obsidian Magic Family, wagged her tail provocatively as she spoke.

—Perhaps sensing the coming storm? All sorts of major incidents began to unfold across the continent. The coup in the Blood Sword Magic Family, the Fall of the Stars incident for the Gold Cross, the downfall of the Crown Prince of the Carn Empire, and more. But I believe there was an even more crucial event.

—What was it?

—If you want to hear it, pet my tail.

—…No thanks? You only brought it up because you wanted to babble anyway.

—Ung. Ung. Still, pet me, pet me~! Chris's touch feels so good!

As Chris, with a displeased expression, stroked her tail, the Dark Chatterbox giggled and said,

—The Devil's Amulet Incident.

—…What’s that?

—It was a relic dispute between the Dark Magic Family and the Extreme Poison Family, not well-known to outsiders. Honestly, at the time, it wasn't a big deal.

Perhaps Chris’s touch was comforting? The Dark Chatterbox yawned.

—During the relic exploration, the Dark Magic Family’s unit was annihilated, and the Extreme Poison Family also paid a heavy price, shedding a lot of blood, but that was about it. The important thing is that this incident would later cause a massive butterfly effect.

—What kind?

—A few years later. Because of this incident, the Dark Magic Family’s old patriarch meets his death. At the hands of his son, Marquis Langham.

The Dark Chatterbox spoke with a languid expression.

—If it weren't for this incident. If the old patriarch Nordion had survived, the Bloodthirsty Magic King wouldn't have been able to so easily seize the Dark Magic Family. As a result, the era of destruction arrived even faster.

"!!"

Chris’s eyes flashed open.

That was definitely the incident!

I have to stop it.

This wasn't just a simple relic dispute.

It was Marquis Langham's conspiracy.

Marquis Langham intended to sacrifice Chris and others, using it as a pretext to achieve his goals.

Goals that would lead to a devastating catastrophe in the future.

What should I do?

Chris pondered.

First, he had to participate in the mission. Only by diving in directly could he disrupt the conspiracy.

The problem is that it's not possible with my current abilities.

He was only at the 3-star realm.

It was an incredibly fast achievement, but to true powerhouses, it was merely the level of a child.

Still… it's not like there’s no way.

Chris’s gaze deepened.

Did Marquis Langham know?

What abilities Chris, whom he intended to make a sacrifice, possessed?

Chris formulated a plan.

First, let's prepare. I need to get outside.

He couldn't prepare within the Dark Magic Family estate.

But what excuse can I use to go outside?

Chris paused.

Suddenly leaving the mansion without any reason would draw Marquis Langham's attention.

He absolutely could not let his preparations be discovered.

I need to find a way to leave without raising suspicion.

Just then, a low voice spoke.

"You."

He turned his head to see a face he had seen once before.

The girl with the chilly demeanor.

It was the 2nd Princess, Jupien!

"Did you call for me?"

"…Yes."

Why is she acting like she knows me? Chris was bewildered.

She hadn't just called him.

She was glaring at Chris with eyes full of hostility.

Why is her gaze like that? Oh, is it because of Roin?

He had heard that Roin and Jupien were exceptionally close siblings.

A direct descendant who failed to gain even a speck of dark magic during the Sacred Black Ritual was no longer treated as a direct descendant.

So, this reaction was because Chris had ruined the standing of her beloved younger brother.

Hmm. I don’t think Roin did anything well either.

Didn't Roin pick a fight with Chris first in the beginning?

Honestly, that guy deserved what he got.

Chris's tone naturally became less polite.

"What do you want?"

"…What do I want?"

Jupien narrowed her eyes.

"I hate you. Enough to want to crush you on the spot."

"……"

"But since we've been assigned the same mission, I'll endure it for now. Instead, you will follow my orders. From this moment on, insubordination will not be tolerated."

Chris let a corner of his mouth curl up into a faint smirk.

Cute.

The 2nd Princess Jupien had a youthful appearance.

Though in her late teens, she looked much younger.

Her expressionless face made her seem like a walking doll.

Perhaps that was why, even when she tried to project authority, he felt no real threat.

Not that I actually think she’s cute, though.

Suddenly, a good idea struck Chris.

"Follow your orders, you say? I don’t want to."

"…What?"

"While you are my superior, Princess, I wonder."

Chris shrugged.

Then he put on an utterly obnoxious expression.

"I wonder if the Princess is truly qualified to give me orders."

"!!"

A chill descended upon Princess Jupien’s face.

Her already doll-like, expressionless face grew even colder.

"…You."

But Chris didn't stop his provocation there.

"Isn’t that right? If you’re the sister of that incompetent idiot Roin… I imagine the Princess’s level is quite obvious without even looking."

"!!"

Jupien glared fiercely at him, then.

Chaang!

She drew her sword.

"…Take that back right now."

"It's a fact that Roin is an idiotic imbecile, so what exactly am I supposed to take back? Ah, perhaps your eyes are blinded because he's your brother? His sniveling cries when I beat him were quite a sight to behold. Shouldn’t the Princess, who failed to properly educate her younger brother, be apologizing to me instead?"

The air around Jupien dropped to an abysmal temperature.

"…You’ll regret this."

"Really? We'll see about that."

"…Brace yourself."

A black sword of magic energy rose from the sword she held.

Stable materialization of magic energy.

It showed that her cultivation was at least 3-star Middle Realm or higher.

Paat! The black sword flew towards Chris.

But.

Chris reached out a hand.

Towards the incoming black sword.

"!!"

Jupien’s brow furrowed.

What is he doing?

It wasn’t just a sword; it was a black sword materialized from magic energy.

The moment it touched his hand, it wouldn't just cut him—his palm would explode and be severed.

But she didn’t stop.

Despite her doll-like appearance, she was also a mage.

If he was injured by his own foolish actions, it was Chris’s responsibility. There was no reason to go easy on him.

However, Chris did something she couldn’t have imagined.

"Indeed, as expected of an idiot's sister, you seem to be nothing special."

His palm brushed past the side of her sword.

It didn't touch it.

An incredibly narrow, precarious distance.

It was the moment Chris’s palm slid past her sword, barely touching it.

Something unbelievable happened.

"!!"

Jupien’s solidly materialized black sword trembled violently!

As if trying to revert to its original magic energy form.

Chris had exerted his Dark Magic Control to destabilize her magic energy!

As expected, I can use it this way too?

Chris inwardly rejoiced.

He’d tried it, thinking it might work, and it had indeed succeeded.

Chris moved again.

Jupien momentarily froze, feeling a sudden jolt in her core, but he reached out to her still-unmaterialized black sword.

He exerted his control again, just like before, and,

Paat!

The black sword completely de-materialized!

Of course, he hadn't simply used control alone.

Jupien's cultivation was higher than Chris's. Therefore, merely using control had its limits for performing such a feat.

Instead, Chris targeted the 'structural' weaknesses of the black sword.

For magic energy to materialize into a black sword, it needed to form pillar-like cores at intervals. He precisely identified these supporting pillar-like sections and interfered with them using his control.

It was an act akin to a magic trick.

"…How?"

Jupien’s face turned pale.

Though not to Chris’s extent, she was also a talented individual of the Dark Magic family.

She had realized what insane feat Chris had just pulled off.

It’s impossible.

But this was no time to be dazed.

Chris countered.

His hand moved towards her neck.

She tried to dodge backward, but her body abruptly stopped.

Chris had cast a 'Binding' Dark Magic spell.

How dare he.

Dark Magic wasn't something only Chris could use.

Jupien had mastered Dark Magic as deeply as her swordplay.

She unleashed three Dark Magic spells in rapid succession.

'Curse Release' to escape Chris’s Dark Magic.

'Instant Paralysis' to stop Chris’s movements.

And simultaneously, the destructive Dark Magic of 'Rusty Skin' to make Chris's hand rot away.

It was a chain of Dark Magic spells that would earn admiration even from a professional Dark Mage.

But.

Just before her Dark Magic spells could fully manifest and take effect in reality.

Paat!

Her Dark Magic spells were simultaneously canceled.

It was because of Chris.

Chris had interfered with her Dark Magic.

This wasn't using control.

He had cast opposing Dark Magic to cancel her spells at the manifestation stage.

It was a feat only a specialized mage with vastly superior magical comprehension and incredibly fast processing power could accomplish.

And to do this while engaged in physical combat?

Well, interfering with the pathetic magic of a magic swordsman is simple.

To categorize, Jupien was a magic swordsman, having mastered both sword and magic.

No matter how high a level of Dark Magic she had learned, her understanding of magic would inevitably fall short compared to a specialized Dark Mage.

Chris, on the other hand, had no such limitations.

He could master swordsmanship and magic to the highest level, each in its own right.

Thud.

Chris’s hand touched her nape.

She had lost.

Unexpectedly.

"You… you."

Jupien’s eyes widened to the point of tearing.

For someone usually showing little facial expression, it was an extremely intense reaction. She was that surprised.

She wasn't the only one. The mages watching their fight from nearby also looked on in shock.

Christian actually won in a direct confrontation with Princess Jupien?

Chris, deliberately, let out an obnoxious scoff.

"To be so pathetic. I don't think I need to listen to the Princess's words."

"!!"

Jupien’s face flushed red.

But she couldn’t say a word.

Because she had lost.

Of course, Jupien had excuses.

She hadn't used her full power just now. She had been caught off guard before she could even try anything.

She hadn't even gotten to use her specialty, Phantom Swordplay (TN: A fighting style that combines illusion magic and swordplay), which merges illusion and sword.

If she had gone all out from the start, she wouldn't have been defeated so easily.

But a loss was a loss.

"I’ll handle the mission myself, so don’t try to interfere with me from now on. Don’t even try to find me unnecessarily. I’ll be gone from the mansion for a few days."

"…From the mansion? For what reason?"

Chris spoke calmly.

"I’ll be out having fun."

"!!"

"Since the mission will be tough, I need to have a lot of fun before we depart, don't I?"

The excuse Chris came up with to go outside.

It was acting like a scoundrel.

He was originally a scoundrel anyway, so it would suit him well.