TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 117
Haring, hearing Kraush’s shout, belatedly stretched out her leg, but her reaction was too slow.
Kraush, left with no choice, grabbed her arm and swung the Rain Thunder Prime in one motion.
Whoosh!
The slash of the Black Flame tore through the air and made contact with Juyo’s right arm.
Then, with an explosion, Kraush pulled Haring back and leapt far away.
But even within the billowing smoke, the darkness pouring out of the Crystal Skull continued to extend.
Kraush tucked Haring under his arm and quickly distanced himself from the area.
It was because Kraush understood what that darkness was.
‘Night.’
He had dealt with Juyo quickly so that the Night God’s power couldn’t be used.
But now, it seemed some condition had aligned, and the Night God had begun to move.
‘Damn.’
Kraush scowled deeply, cursing his unusually bad luck in such situations.
“Put me down.”
At that moment, Haring’s voice rang out.
Her expression clearly showed how much it hurt her pride to be carried like a piece of baggage by Kraush.
When Kraush released the hand holding her, Haring landed agilely like a cat and immediately stood beside him.
“It was urgent.”
“I know.”
Well, as long as she understood, that was good enough.
Kraush, listening to her response, fixed his gaze forward.
The Crystal Skull in Juyo’s right hand had already turned completely black.
At the same time, starlight began to swirl within the eyes of the black skull.
The atmosphere of the surrounding space shifted.
It felt as though they were trapped in a realm of night, staring solely at the night sky.
Haring’s hair stood on end as her lips tightened into a triangle.
Kraush reacted with equal displeasure.
He understood exactly what this feeling signified.
When a god revealed its presence in the mortal world, humans were overwhelmed by an inexplicable impulse.
And that impulse was boundless reverence toward the god.
But Kraush knew the truth.
“A god that’s lost even its name dares to mess with people’s minds.”
This was a mental attack.
Fwoosh!
The flames ignited within Kraush’s body forcibly snapped him back to his senses.
If it were a higher god, perhaps not, but the mental interference of a nameless god could be countered by igniting Ignis.
After all, shocking the body was the best way to recover one’s focus.
“Haring, use a poison you can neutralize on yourself.”
Kraush advised Haring, who stood frozen, her hair still bristling.
At his words, Haring belatedly activated Mandel Poison.
“Ugh.”
As blood trickled from her lips, light returned to Haring’s eyes.
Though she still seemed to be in some pain, her movements appeared unaffected.
Haring’s gaze flicked briefly to Kraush.
Mandel Poison was a secret technique capable of both poisoning and detoxifying.
To escape the mental interference, Haring had used an exceptionally potent poison.
Her muddled mind couldn’t calculate what level of poison was necessary to wake herself.
Thus, she had to resort to a poison so strong that even she, accustomed to toxins, momentarily faltered.
Still, she could detoxify herself, so she was fine.
Kraush, on the other hand, was not.
He had to endure the shock with his body alone.
‘To break free from the mental interference, he must’ve endured a shock at least on par with mine.’
Yet there he stood, completely unfazed.
‘…Is everyone from Balheim like this?’
While Haring marveled at Kraush with curious eyes,
Kraush fixed his attention on the skull before him.
Then, with a clattering sound, the skull finally opened its mouth.
[To dare enter my graveyard. You’re fearless, aren’t you, grave robber?]
With each word it spoke, Kraush felt a prickling sensation run across his skin.
But despite that, his eyes began to open slowly.
The Night God had directly identified Kraush as a grave robber.
Another term for a grave robber.
A thief.
And Kraush’s skill.
Black Hood.
The Night God was aware of the god Kraush had made a contract with.
＊ ＊ ＊
Black Hood.
The time Kraush encountered the god who bestowed this skill upon him wasn’t far removed from his current age.
It’s said that contracts with gods are always special.
The skills granted by gods are powers beyond human comprehension.
And their utility varied widely depending on how they were used.
Thus, many sought to possess such skills.
But not everyone in the world was fortunate enough to receive them.
Bam!
Back then, Kraush was no exception.
During a mock duel, Kraush had been struck down, rolling across the floor.
Sixteen years old.
It had been only one month since Kraush enrolled in the Rahelrn Academy.
At that time, Kraush couldn’t enter the academy at the usual age of fifteen like others.
So, he trained relentlessly for an extra year.
As a result, even with his half-penny talent, he managed to gain admission to Rahelrn Academy.
Compared to geniuses, he was utterly lacking, but with enough training, he could at least reach the level of an ordinary knight.
However, being at the level of an ordinary knight meant nothing.
At Rahelrn Academy, such talent was considered worthless.
[Ha, idiot, stop trying so hard when you know it’s hopeless.]
Inside the Martial Arts Department’s training ground.
Kraush heard the mocking gazes and voices directed at him.
[Tch.]
He spat out the blood pooling in his mouth.
His appearance was a complete mess.
The ongoing activity was a mock duel.
And in that mock duel, Kraush currently ranked dead last.
[Aren’t you ashamed to carry the name Balheim? If you can’t fight with dignity, at least don’t disgrace yourself.]
Had he injured one of his eyes?
His vision was dark on one side.
Through his squinting, battered eye, Kraush glared at his opponent.
A fellow student.
A man from the 4 Kingdoms’ Poseus, one year younger than him.
Derek Orman.
He was one of the Four Great Houses of Poseus, a figure hailed as the new “Golden Age,” spreading his name far and wide.
Kraush was well aware.
He knew that it was only thanks to the name Balheim that he even set foot on the threshold of Rahelrn Academy.
He also understood that the ones standing before him now were people he could do nothing about.
But this was all he could do.
[Shut up! You worm!]
Kraush gripped his sword and swung it toward him.
Thwack!
The incoming spear shaft struck Kraush’s jaw, sending his consciousness flying.
Watching Kraush tumble across the ground, Derrick clicked his tongue.
[If you lack skill, maybe you should fix that foul mouth of yours.]
[Derrick! Quit fooling around and come over here! Senior Arthur is holding a mock duel!]
[What, really?]
Among the children rushing away in a flurry.
Kraush lay on the ground alone.
The sky was obscenely high.
‘It hurts.’
Bruises all over his body stung painfully.
Following the professor’s suggestion, Kraush made his way to the infirmary.
He had visited the infirmary so often, from rolling around everywhere every day, that he was sick of it by now.
Outside the infirmary.
The voices of children echoed loudly.
Each of them, filled with dreams, was brimming with excitement.
Despite being declared adults, they were not even in their twenties on average.
They were all reveling in their youth.
But Kraush sat alone in the nurse’s office, treating himself in the absence of the school nurse who had briefly stepped out.
They say there’s no paradise where you escape to.
Even at Rahelrn Academy, where he had fled from Balheim, Kraush was alone.
[Damn.]
A curse slipped out of his mouth.
Kraush clutched his dark blue hair as if he were tearing it out.
If only he had come from an ordinary family, rather than Balheim, he wouldn’t be treated like this.
But his hair color and the name Balheim always followed him like a tag.
And they would never leave him for the rest of his life.
‘If only.’
If only he had a skill.
Kraush swept his hand over his face.
What was he even thinking at this point?
He walked out of the nurse’s office with his bandaged wounds.
[If you treat it like that, it’ll only get worse.]
At that moment, Kraush heard a voice.
When he turned his head, there was someone sitting on the windowsill of the nurse’s office.
In the darkened nurse’s office.
The sunlight streaming from the sky cast shadows on the girl’s back.
A face so pale it seemed almost inhuman.
And long black hair fluttered in the summer breeze.
Against the background of cicada cries echoing from afar.
The girl smiled a captivating smile that would steal anyone’s gaze when she met Kraush’s eyes.
Dressed in clothes he had never seen before, the girl spoke.
“Or perhaps, no matter how you treat it, it’s already beyond saving.”
A girl whose name he didn’t even know.
And she was none other than.
The god who had given Kraush the Black Hood.
Kraush stood with a hardened expression in front of the skull imbued with the Night God.
To this day, Kraush still didn’t know why that god had given him the Black Hood.
The god had said nothing about itself and had never appeared again since.
Kraush only recognized the god’s presence when he felt the power of the skill it had granted.
This was an entirely different form of contract from any other.
And so, Kraush had always been curious.
Who was the god who had given him the Black Hood?
“Night God, do you know which god made a contract with me?”
When Kraush asked, the skull’s eye sockets glowed red.
[It seems you don’t even know what being you’ve allied with.]
He knew.
This thing knew.
Kraush’s eyes shone with a different kind of light.
He hadn’t expected the moment to resolve his long-held question to come like this.
“I just want to have a conversation.”
Kraush tried making the first move.
While the Night God’s night was important, so was learning about his own god.
So he wanted to try talking to him no matter what.
The skull fell silent for a moment after hearing Kraush’s proposal.
Clack, clack, clack!
Then suddenly, the skull began to chatter its teeth.
Kraush realized the Night God was mocking him.
As Kraush scowled, the skull, which had been laughing with its teeth clattering for some time, came to an abrupt halt.
[What conversation can I have with a grave robber who disturbed my rest?]
Damn it.
From the start, it had no intention of talking.
At that moment, the night around the Night God rippled.
Juio Irma, the Erosionist who had lost consciousness, had risen at some point.
Though “risen” might not have been the best word for it.
Because his head had been consumed by pitch-black night, leaving it completely empty.
[How amusing. Thanks to the one who coveted my power, I can now wield it.]
Thick darkness dripped down between the arm holding the skull and the severed arm Juio had raised.
The darkness eventually connected the two, restoring the arm to its original state.
Whoosh!
At that moment, black flames surged once more.
The Night God erased the approaching black flames with a mere gesture.
Then, as the skull’s glowing eyes turned toward where Kraush had been, the place was already empty.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Kraush had fled.
[How pathetic.]
The Night God extended its hand forward.
Darkness spilled from its grasp and began to seep into the ground.
[Try running all you want in my graveyard.]
Thud, thud, thud!
The sound of something massive moving echoed from all around.
The erosion species, influenced by the Night God’s night, began to stir all at once.
Their target was anyone who had entered the graveyard.
Soon, the invaders would be torn apart by the fangs of the strengthened creatures.
However, the Night God had overlooked one thing.
-Tap-
With the sound of footsteps, the Night God’s gaze turned backward.
-Crash!-
At that moment, a golden blade that had rushed towards the skull collided in front of the Night God’s skull, creating a loud noise.
The Night God’s skull’s eye sockets flickered.
The one who had swung the sword at him was none other than Kraush.
He thought he had escaped, but he hadn’t.
Kraush had only pretended to escape.
[A skill, huh.]
The Night God realized what Kraush had done.
As he said, the reason Kraush could hide his presence and appearance was none other than Haring’s skill.
Haring’s skill, Invisible.
The reason he could approach Juio Irma from behind was thanks to this skill.
But Haring was not by Kraush’s side.
The crystal skull, noticing that Haring was moving alone while using Invisible, clicked its teeth together.
[Tricks.]
The crystal skull sneered.
It was all meaningless.
Even though Kraush had launched a surprise attack, he couldn’t pierce the protective barrier around him.
At that moment, black pillars surged from beneath his feet.
These were pillars that would blind anyone they touched with darkness.
Kraush stepped back to avoid the pillars.
Smoke slowly seeped from Kraush’s mouth.
The World Erosion within him was flaring up, and Annihilation Erosion was beginning to activate.
The Night God’s eye sockets glowed intensely upon seeing this.
He had felt it from the first time he saw him.
The power emanating from Kraush was unmistakably World Erosion.
[You damn grave robber, you’ve touched something you shouldn’t have.]
Kraush did not respond.
Instead, he tempered his body.
His boiling body was now entering the second stage of Annihilation Erosion.
Yet Kraush felt it was not enough.
‘Even at this level, I can’t handle the Night God.’
Though he was a god who had lost his name, a god is still a god.
The power emanating from the skull far surpassed Kraush.
Of course, it was nothing compared to the power of his true form.
Yet, it was still overwhelming Kraush.
‘There are two ways to win.’
One is for Haring, who is not here, to succeed in the task she was entrusted with.
The other is to smash that crystal skull imbued with the Night God’s power.
Neither is an easy task.
But if it can be done, he intended to accomplish both.
So,
“Crimson Garden.”
[Sigh.]
As soon as Kraush called, a sigh filled with Crimson Garden’s displeasure flowed out.
“I need to use it for the third time.”
[Can you handle it?]
“It’s my specialty.”
Saying so, Kraush swung Rain Thunder Prime to the side.
At the same time, he inhaled and abruptly severed one of the curses he had been using.
Kraush’s eyes turned blood-red, and his mind was dyed red as well.
[You rotten bastard, you’ll fry your brain doing that.]
-Crack!-
That was the moment.
[Huh?]
The Night God realized that the surrounding presence had completely changed.
And he knew who was at the center of this change.
With Rain Thunder Prime swung to the side.
From a boy quietly exhaling smoke.
‘What?’
The skull’s eye sockets slowly swayed through the night.
Finally, when the Night God realized something.
-Boom!-
The body of Juio, inhabited by the Night God, was now rolling after breaking through the graveyard wall.
It had flown to the corridor on the opposite side of the graveyard.
The protective barrier made of the Night God’s power shook violently.
At the same time, the skull’s eye sockets flickered as if in confusion for the first time.
Because he hadn’t realized what had just hit him.
-Snap, crack.-
The sound of something falling from the broken wall was heard.
When the Night God’s eye sockets turned that way, Kraush was there.
His pupils were dyed blood-red, and a red aura flickered around his body.
At the same time, Kraush’s Rain Thunder Prime was glowing a different, blood-red light.
The Night God’s eye sockets widened.
He couldn’t understand what Kraush had just done.
Smoke flowed out from between Kraush’s lips.
At the same time, the explosive power emanating from his body was on a different level than before.
The curse Kraush had temporarily erased.
It was none other than the Doll’s Eye.
During training with Crimson Garden, Kraush’s Doll’s Eye had once collided with another curse and neutralized it.
As a result, two things within Kraush’s body went berserk simultaneously.
One was the frenzy of World Erosion.
The other was the killing intent of Heavenly Slaughter Star.
When these two began to wildly rampage against each other.
Kraush discovered something new there.
The frenzy and the killing intent of Heavenly Slaughter Star were similar but could not coexist.
Because of this, they collided and neutralized each other in a delicate balance.
Originally, these two monsters that would devour his mind were now restraining each other, dividing their power.
The moment one side’s scale tipped, it would be the end.
Kraush’s mind would be instantly consumed.
But the power from their collision was fully transferred to Kraush’s body.
The power of World Erosion, which surged due to the frenzy, increased dramatically in an instant.
The body’s strength, forcibly drawn out by the killing intent of Heavenly Slaughter Star.
When these two things took root in Kraush.
Kraush saw a new realm.
The third stage of Annihilation Erosion.
Annihilation Asura.
’10 seconds.’
Kraush has reached the pinnacle of time.