"Sixth… Sixth-rank Archanist!"
Ralph stared dumbfounded at the familiar "Borlak" before him, as though looking at a completely different person—no, he *was* a complete stranger! No matter how deeply Borlak might have hidden his true abilities, given his age and the fact that he had never once left Antiphler, there was absolutely no way he could have become a High-rank Archanist!
This… this had to be some high-ranking mage or Great Mage who had transformed into Borlak's appearance, using special means to bypass Count Nurembek's bloodline inspection and infiltrate the underground palace to seek the secrets left behind by the Sun King.
Suddenly, a scene from earlier flashed through his nearly blank mind.
When he had been smugly showing off the existence of another secret chamber, boasting that it contained the secret of the Sun King's power, and bragging that he knew how to open the chamber, the "Borlak" before him had replied with unusual sincerity:
"Mm, thank you for telling me this secret."
"I really am stupid, truly…" Ralph raised his dull, lifeless eyes and muttered to himself.
Though he desperately wanted to shout a warning to Her Highness the Princess, Denis, and Alten—that "Borlak" was an impostor, a High-rank Archanist in disguise—and though he wanted to channel every ounce of his fury into spells directed at the "Borlak" before him, he also knew all too well the terrifying power of a High-rank Archanist. A casual wave of the hand or a focused gaze could easily send him plummeting into the abyss of death.
Everyone present, including that newly "promoted" insane Sky Knight, the Prince who had exhausted the Scale of Order, and the Princess who had no other cards left—even if they all joined forces, they would be slaughtered one by one within half a minute by this High-rank Archanist.
The only option was to submit, to wait, to bide their time until His Excellency Midaren, "Crown of Glory," struck at the prearranged moment.
"How could a High-rank Archanist have slipped in? It's like a lion wandering into a flock of sheep!"
Ralph was consumed by bitter regret and terror, his entire body trembling as if chilled to the bone, his spiritual energy unable to coalesce. Even with his grand ambition of standing at the pinnacle of mages like the Sun King, his Second Circle cultivation constantly reminded him that the most important thing right now was to advance to Mid-rank as quickly as possible.
One had to walk the path step by step. Even knowing the secret of the Sun King's power, his greatest hope was merely to exchange it for the strength of a Seventh Circle mage, to step into the High-rank and become a powerhouse like Duke Plantagenet, gaining glory and status—he hadn't dared to directly aspire to the Legendary realm. After all, the Sun King himself had grown step by step.
And now, standing before him was the very "High-rank mage" he had dreamed of. How could he possibly dare to resist?
A Rank Six High-rank Archanist typically meant a Seventh or Eighth Circle magical level, or possibly even a Ninth Circle Great Mage!
"Wise choice." Lucian looked at Ralph before him, whose sweat dripped bead by bead down his deathly pale face, and smiled faintly.
Ralph nodded numbly, then saw that in "Borlak's" azure eyes, the depths grew ever more tranquil, ever more profound, ever more profound, ever more tranquil…
Ralph, who was already in a state of mental instability, was easily "controlled" by Lucian.
Fifth Circle Illusion — Domination!
Having learned that the "Beltrand" Castle devil incident was a test orchestrated by his master, the Tempest Dominator, Lucian also came to understand that the "Abomination" he had encountered—even though it was "played" by little crystal Averice—was a real entity connected to the *Parable of Suffering*!
From Fernando and Averice's accounts, Lucian had learned of the legends surrounding the seven mysterious devils from the deepest reaches of Hell, and of the current void in research regarding them. According to the two "experts'" speculation, when negative emotions accumulated over a prolonged period through repeated cycles without any outlet for release, the corresponding devil would manifest as a projection within the heart—no ritual required. The subsequent ritual steps served primarily to strengthen the projection and allow it to draw upon power to grow, which was why they could be devoid of any genuine magical significance. As long as the person conducting the ritual genuinely believed with all their heart, it would work—giving rise to the absurd and bizarre incidents where the most ridiculous, most incomprehensible rituals could "summon" a devil.
The *Parable of Suffering* served the most critical early-stage role. Those who read it with pleasure and immersed themselves in its atmosphere of perversion, despair, suffering, decadence, and bloodshed would, after prolonged exposure, easily allow their negative emotions to accumulate to a critical threshold, thereby establishing a mysterious connection with aberrant devils of suffering, abomination, jealousy, and the like. At that point, without an external catalyst or the subsequent "ritual steps," such a person might merely become twisted in personality, committing harm to others or themselves, yet never actually gaining the powerful, arcane forces of a devil.
In other words, what the ritual steps looked like didn't matter. What mattered was the ritual itself—without it, the devil's projection couldn't draw power to grow and manifest. More importantly, the preliminary accumulation and cultivation of negative emotions was essential; otherwise, not even a devil could project itself over. What would there be to summon?
When he had "lured" Borlak, Lucian had chosen to use mystery to conceal the truth, and partly out of his own twisted sense of humor. He had selected "Greed" from the legends of the seven great devils and fabricated a comical ritual based on a silly game from Earth used to trick girls. At the time, Lucian had been absolutely certain that neither Borlak nor Frederick, who had witnessed the ritual, would actually succeed in summoning the devil of "Greed"—after all, they lacked the critical prerequisite like the *Parable of Suffering*, and lacked the prolonged, repeated accumulation of "greed" as a negative emotion.
But now, Frederick had actually summoned the devil of "Greed" through the "apple-peeling greed ritual" and "obtained" the power to step into the Sky Knight rank!
Although there was still a gap between him and a true Sky Knight, his strength had undergone an explosive increase. Combined with his grotesque and menacing appearance, Lucian was now thoroughly convinced that this was the "masterwork" of the devil of Greed.
This was simply inconceivable, completely beyond Lucian's expectations. It had only been a single month—where had the once relatively normal Frederick managed to accumulate such intense, such unquenchable greed?