TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 15
If it was Charlotte’s secret technique, the thought of “maybe” kept crossing his mind.
Even so, there was a knot of unease deep within his heart.
Thud!
The sound of the Thousand-Face Demon’s footsteps echoed once more, leaving him no time to think further.
“If we fail, it’s the end for both of us.”
“Yes, that’s why you must distract it until I’m ready, Brother.”
“Hah, damn it.”
In the end, Belorkin decided to gamble on Kraush.
Forget everything else—survival comes first.
He resolved to focus solely on that.
Thud!
The intervals between the footsteps had shortened before he realized it.
It was now undeniable proof that the Thousand-Face Demon was right in front of them.
“I’ll prepare now.”
At that moment, Kraush drew the sword he had brought with him.
As he did, his eyes closed, and soon after, an aura began to rise steadily from his entire body.
Kraush entered the realm of Sword and Spirit Fusion, where his spirit and sword became one.
Seeing this, Belorkin’s pupils shook violently.
Amidst the pouring rain and the swamp water rising to his waist.
Along with the oppressive presence of the Thousand-Face Demon closing in.
Despite all these distractions, Belorkin realized that Kraush’s mind had entered a state of absolute focus in an instant.
‘What kind of concentration is this?’
How could it be this strong?
Belorkin suddenly felt the rough pounding of his own heart.
A foreboding sensation crawled up from the pit of his stomach.
And soon after, his premonition came true.
A blue aura began to bloom atop Kraush’s sword.
At first, it was just a handful of aura.
But the aura gradually enveloping the sword left Belorkin in shock.
The amount of aura was certainly not large.
It was merely at the level of a lower-tier Expert.
However, its quality was on an entirely different level.
It was a transparent aura, so pure that it seemed unreachable even after decades of training, and it was wholly contained within Kraush’s single sword.
That level of mastery was so unfathomable that it momentarily blew away Belorkin’s mind, leaving him even more bewildered.
No matter how much Kraush had learned from Charlotte’s secret techniques, how could he possibly achieve this?
Belorkin’s heart began to pound wildly once again.
No.
This can’t be.
This can’t…
“Brother.”
At the moment when his limbs felt numb and the blood drained from his face.
Kraush’s voice reached him.
In Kraush’s blue eyes, now open, there was nothing but calm.
“Please.”
And as Belorkin belatedly realized what that request was, he raised his hand.
“A-alright.”
The moment Belorkin infused Ignis into Kraush’s aura.
The blue flames burned with a clarity that was on an entirely different level from his own.
The blazing sword seemed capable of burning anything, and in its presence, Belorkin felt infinitely small.
Thud! Thud!
In the meantime, the Thousand-Face Demon became clearly visible through the pouring rain.
Even seeing it again, its enormous size was absurd enough to inspire terror just from its charging figure.
Could he really buy enough time?
That thought crossed his mind.
“Brother, it’s fine.”
Kraush’s voice reached the tense Belorkin.
“It seems I have more than enough time, so you don’t need to distract it.”
And at the moment he heard those words, Belorkin felt something heavy drop in his heart.
Kraush had likely said it out of concern for him, but the words felt as if they meant he was completely unnecessary.
All he had done was grant Kraush the divine power of a skill.
Even that power was divine, not truly Belorkin’s own.
Then what was he even doing here?
That thought filled Belorkin’s mind entirely.
Kraush’s sword was slowly raised above his head.
Belorkin’s gaze followed the sword upward.
The sword imbued with Ignis burned brilliantly, even under the torrential rain.
The flames burned stronger than they had for Belorkin, making him look pitiful in contrast as he stood drenched.
That sword would undoubtedly cut down the Thousand-Face Demon.
The power contained within it was unmistakable.
But what would happen to him once that sword struck the Thousand-Face Demon?
Belorkin had been utterly powerless against the Thousand-Face Demon.
All he had done was flee miserably, rolling in the mud.
Yet Kraush had cut down the Thousand-Face Demon with his own strength.
That was…
That meant…
Wasn’t it proof that he was beneath Kraush?
The half-penny youngest who had lived confined in the Green Pine Mansion.
What meaning did he have in Balheim if he was beneath even that youngest?
“Ah, ah…”
Belorkin’s lips, turned blue from the rain, trembled.
He would rather, rather that it not be cut down.
He would rather the Thousand-Face Demon not fall.
Forgetting even his desire to live, Belorkin desperately wished for that moment.
But as if to shatter his last hope, despair fell from the sky.
One Sword.
The moment Kraush’s sword descended, for a brief instant.
The pouring rain stopped.
Drip, whoosh!
And when the rain began to pour again, belatedly.
Rumble!
The sound of something splitting apart echoed clearly.
As Belorkin’s vision slowly extended forward, there lay the Thousand-Face Demon, split diagonally.
The creature, unable to resist, was engulfed in flames that began from the diagonal cut, crumbling away.
Witnessing that, Belorkin’s heart crumbled as well.
Thud—
Belorkin sank to his knees without realizing it.
The entire world was pointing to the fact that he was beneath Kraush.
“Brother, it’s over now.”
At that moment, Kraush’s voice rang clearly in his ears.
As if recognizing its master’s death, the rain began to subside, and the size of the swamp gradually shrank.
As the sunlight streaming through the clouds illuminated Kraush’s face, his expression appeared exceptionally bright.
It was no longer the face of a Half-Penny.
It was the radiant face of someone moving forward.
In contrast, Belorkin’s face was hidden beneath Kraush’s small shadow.
“Ha, haha.”
A brief, hollow laugh escaped from his lips.
Soon, Belorkin began to slowly rise to his feet.
His mind was a chaotic jumble of thoughts.
However, there was one thing he understood.
Kraush had surpassed him.
And the biggest piece of trash in Balheim was himself.
Realizing this, Belorkin gripped his sword.
Kraush was exhausted from his earlier strike.
Since it had been a blow delivered with all his strength, even Belorkin could easily notice it.
“Die.”
Without hesitation, Belorkin swung his sword toward Kraush’s neck.
His disfigured face twisted into a wide, crooked grin at the thought of killing the youngest who had brought about his downfall.
Clang!
However, what he felt from his sword was not the sensation of slicing through his younger brother’s neck, but the sound of blades colliding.
“Haha, kuh.”
At that moment, Belorkin heard a strained laugh, as if someone was forcing it out.
When his gaze belatedly turned to Kraush’s face, Kraush was staring at him with a grim smile.
“Belorkin, thank you for never changing, not even a little.”
Belorkin couldn’t understand those words, but he realized something.
Something pitch-black was rising from Kraush’s body.
“What.”
Startled, Belorkin hastily withdrew his sword and attempted to summon Ignis.
But no flames emerged from his sword.
When Belorkin realized this, one of his eyes widened in shock as Kraush smirked at him mockingly.
“Looking for this?”
In that instant, black flames surged from Kraush’s sword, carried by a dark aura.
Recognizing it as Ignis, Belorkin’s eye opened wide in disbelief.
“What, you, what have you done!”
As the flustered Belorkin shouted, Kraush casually shook the water from his wet hair.
Then, without hesitation, he swung his sword toward Belorkin.
Swoosh!
Caught off guard by Kraush’s use of Ignis, Belorkin failed to avoid the unexpected attack.
“Aaaaah!”
His chest slashed open, Belorkin tumbled to the ground, writhing in the black flames.
“Belorkin, you know, when I was really young, I wanted to get along with my siblings.”
As Belorkin screamed in agony, Kraush began walking somewhere with slow, deliberate steps.
The place he was heading toward was none other than where the Thousand-Face Demon lay.
“But no matter how hard I tried, you always hated me, all because of that pitiful pride of yours.”
With that, Kraush began slicing off one of the fingers of the Thousand-Face Demon’s cursed arm.
Then, stabbing it with his sword, he started walking back.
“Still, since we share the same blood, I had a tiny bit of hope. That maybe, just maybe, you’d eventually accept and embrace me as your brother.”
Even amidst the searing pain, Belorkin could hear Kraush’s voice clearly.
“But thankfully.”
When Kraush finally stood right in front of him, he looked at Belorkin and smiled just as he had at the beginning.
“You never made such a choice.”
And as Belorkin opened his mouth to shout something, the Thousand-Face Demon’s finger was shoved into it.
“Mmph, mmph!”
Belorkin screamed as the finger was forced into his mouth.
But Kraush merely looked down at him coldly.
Moments later, Belorkin realized that his last remaining eye was disappearing.
Realizing this, he began to struggle even more desperately, but it was already too late.
Not only his eye but also his nose and mouth had completely vanished.
“Grrk, grrk!”
A guttural sound echoed from his throat as his vocal cords vibrated.
Desperately gasping for air, he began writhing on the ground.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?”
Kraush spoke without even a hint of a smile as he watched Belorkin.
“When you burned my face, I writhed just like you.”
On the day Belorkin burned his arm.
Kraush couldn’t even open his eyes until the Saintess healed him after Belorkin had burned his face as well.
For that reason, Kraush did nothing to help Belorkin.
Gradually, with choking sounds, Belorkin’s breathing began to fade, and when it finally stopped.
Kraush let out a light sigh and looked up at the sky.
The clear sky, now free of rain, was disgustingly blue.
Unfortunately, no matter how the clouds cleared, his heart could never be as blue.