Chapter 174
Lavados.
A 7th Rank Erosion Species made of lava and rock.
True to its name of being a 7th Rank, Lavados was an absurd monster capable of turning an entire mountain into an active volcano.
In fact, according to ancient documents related to World Erosion, there were regions where the terrain had changed due to volcanic eruptions that occurred when Lavados appeared.
However, perhaps due to such characteristics, Lavados's inherent power was somewhat inferior compared to other 7th Ranks.
The reason Lavados was chosen as the 7th Rank Erosion Species to be created in this Red Line incident was also for this reason.
If it had been another combat-type Erosion Species, it would have been impossible for students to handle.
And in front of such a Lavados.
He saw a girl desperately fending off his attack.
Healthy skin tone and dark red hair.
Normally, she wore plenty of accessories, but today, for the exam, she wore nothing.
Instead, in her hands, she held only a shield made purely of water, quite unlike her usual self.
At first, she had used a sword, but there was hardly anything she could achieve with it.
Thus, she now focused entirely on defense, receiving Lavados's direct attacks head-on.
Karandis Poseus.
She was inherently flexible by nature.
Her way of thinking was always flexible, and she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.
Perhaps because of this, such traits were entirely reflected in her combat.
Unlike at first, she was now flowing with considerable flexibility to evade Lavados's attacks.
A shield made of water.
She adjusted the flow of the water to match Lavados's swinging attacks.
As a result, Lavados's fist slid off, allowing the attack to be deflected.
Thanks to this, Lavados's attention was firmly drawn to her.
A measly human who looked endlessly small kept deflecting his attacks, making him enraged.
Furthermore, when Lavados ejected lava, she created a wall of water to weaken its power.
Perhaps for this reason, darkened lumps of lava could be seen scattered here and there where they met water.
It was truly a difference in compatibility and flexibility.
But if it were just her alone, Lavados wouldn't have struggled too much.
After a few downward strikes, eventually, her shield would break, or her Aura would deplete, and Karandis would be defeated.
The problem was that she wasn't alone.
"Balak!"
"Yes!"
As Glen's spear shaft swung to the side, Balak, who had dodged Lavados's lava, landed on his spear shaft.
At the same time, Glen swung the spear shaft again, launching Balak toward Lavados, before following right behind him.
There wasn't the slightest hesitation or reluctance in his actions.
Their coordination, as if they had synchronized their breath countless times before, was enough to evoke admiration.
This joint effort between the two consistently annoyed Lavados.
While they couldn't inflict major damage, they sufficiently hindered him from fully focusing on Karandis.
In fact, the two repeatedly obstructed Lavados's opportunities to finish off Karandis.
Yet, even so, these three could manage to handle the situation somehow.
It was true that none of them could deal a significant blow.
However, among them, there was someone who could certainly inflict damage on Lavados.
Thwack!
A single dagger flew in and embedded itself into Lavados's side once again.
Crackle, crackle!
At that moment, the dagger bloomed into an ice flower from Lavados's side.
"!"
Lavados angrily slapped his side near the dagger with his palm.
However, nothing came into contact with his hand.
Only the ice flower blooming froze a part of Lavados's side.
The true identity of that flower was none other than one of Haring's poisons.
After countless research and experimentation, Haring had enhanced the poison's efficiency to an extreme and began infusing curses into such poisons.
Initially, it was to assist Kraush's research, involving conversations with Darling about poison and curses.
But before she knew it, she started finding her own methods in such research.
As a result, Haring came to handle various poisons mixed with curses.
Starting with combinations like the Explosion Curse that detonates everything and Acidic Poison.
To mixtures like the Ice Flower Curse that freezes upon contact and poisons that instantly permeate the body.
Unlike before, she now used a wide variety of poisons and curses.
Since the day she met Kraush.
To stand by his side, Haring had ceaselessly honed and refined her poison.
Consequently, Haring's skills, having reached this level, were steadily growing.
In times of crisis, geniuses always advance step by step.
Haring was also one who stood shoulder to shoulder with such geniuses.
Perhaps because of this.
Since the day of the Mad Blade Emperor, today, she was once again achieving growth.
'I see it.'
Lavados's attack patterns began to appear more defined than before.
She started to realize precisely where and how to use which poison to corner Lavados further.
Somehow, the form of Aura on her dagger began to solidify into a clear form.
No longer the form of an Expert that scatters like smoke, but one that took the shape of a blade.
Aura Blade.
She was now stepping onto the threshold of a Master.
Unaware of this fact, she continued to skillfully throw poison-laden daggers at Lavados at the perfect moments.
Thanks to this, Lavados was driven to the brink of madness.
He wanted to tear these four apart immediately.
If it were just one person, perhaps it would be manageable, but with several of them together, it was not easy to push through.
Perhaps for this reason, Lavados soon changed his mind.
Both his arms were raised towards the sky.
Boom!
Then, he aimed not at Karandis but at the ground.
"Kyaa!"
Surprised by Lavados's sudden action, Karandis let out a scream but barely managed to keep from falling.
However, even in that moment, Lavados didn't aim for Karandis but instead kept striking the ground repeatedly.
"He's planning to release lava! Block it all!"
Having realized Lavados's intentions, Glen shouted.
At that moment, as Balak was the first to rush out, steam began to rise from Lavados's body.
Fwoooosh!
As massive heat-filled steam erupted, Balak couldn't approach and had to retreat.
Lavados continued striking the ground in that state.
Each time, the ground cracked further, and the lower layers slowly began to be revealed.
As Glen said, Lavados intended to eject lava.
In lava, Lavados is invincible.
Instead of being harmed by it, he could consume the lava and become stronger.
Just as Lavados thought this, continuing to pound the ground.
Crrrack!
Suddenly, a sound as if something was freezing echoed.
Lavados, busy striking the ground, didn't catch the source of the sound and felt confused.
Somehow, it felt as though the surrounding temperature had dropped significantly.
The area, filled with his steam, should have been a space where only heat could be felt.
Then why did it feel as though the temperature was dropping?
Lavados momentarily forgot to bring his fist down and raised his head.
In front of him, a boy was walking.
Beneath the boy, who emanated a blade glowing blue and had vividly shining red eyes, everything was freezing.
The sight of the ground freezing wherever he stepped was nothing short of bizarre.
At the same time, Lavados felt a certain sense of discomfort.
It didn't take him long to realize that this discomfort was actually a sense of caution.
A sensation entirely different from when he faced the previous opponents spread like a tingle through his body.
Danger.
That guy was dangerous.
Lavados raised both his arms high.
The lava he had been holding back to maintain his body suddenly surged into his palms.
His plan was to spew out the lava and melt his opponent entirely.
"Hey."
However, before he knew it, a voice came from below.
By the time Lavados belatedly shifted his gaze downward.
There stood the boy he had seen earlier.
With his hair fluttering, the boy smirked.
"You're so slow, can you even do anything?"
The blade, swung upward, soared toward the sky.
Then, the sword pierced into Lavados's rock arm with absurd ease.
"―――――!"
By the time Lavados showed his shock, it was already too late.
The blade, which had continued to rise without stopping, eventually severed one of his arms.
It was an incredible cutting force.
Squelch!
Lava that was about to gush out from the severed arm collided with the cold air, creating steam.
A sizzling sound reverberated, and the surrounding area was soon engulfed in a steamy heat.
Lavados's eyes swept quickly through the steam.
Kraush was still moving quickly somewhere within the steam.
Crackle!
The constant sound of freezing from the surroundings proved it.
This won't do.
Holding back my power serves no good now.
Lavados hastily raised his other arm along with the broken one.
At that moment, the lava spinning violently inside his body overflowed in an instant.
"Everyone, get back!"
With Haring's shout, everyone began retreating hurriedly.
The unending torrent of lava spewing out of Lavados was melting everything around it.
The lava soon began flowing down to the ground like a river.
The stream of lava eventually touched the lava that had been flowing below.
Unlike earlier, Lavados, who had shrunk to the size of a human by consuming lava, threw himself into the lava river.
A handful of daggers rained down on him, but Lavados, already submerged in the river of lava, was untouchable.
Lavados began drifting along with the river of lava.
He planned to enter the hole he had pierced earlier and gather strength inside the lava he had created in the active volcano.
Afterward, he intended to erupt the volcano and kill all five of them.
As that thought assured his victory, it happened.
"Glen."
Kraush, who had approached Glen without him noticing, called out to the flustered Glen.
"Throw it."
Glen quickly understood the meaning of those words.
His forearm swelled as he gripped a spear.
Glen's aura surged dramatically.
In an instant, Glen released the spear with all his might as the golden aura, reminiscent of Mary's, glimmered.
"Go!"
As Glen shouted, his spear flew through the air, and Kraush, leaping, caught it in his hands.
In that moment, Kraush, carried by the immense power of the spear, soared through the air.
From above, Kraush saw Lavados swimming through the lava.
The creature was rapidly approaching the hole it had created.
At this rate, it would disappear, melting into the lava forever.
Amidst the situation, white cold air streamed out of Kraush's mouth.
Within the depth of the mental space where winter night descended.
Even on the frozen, tranquil lake, ripples began to stir.
The ripples soon turned into eruptions, rising and swallowing all sight.
Crack!
At some point, a scabbard made of Thunder Energy had formed over the blade of Rain Thunder Prime.
Now, in the Thunder Energy flowing smoothly like water.
The cold air that gushed out turned into icy rain and eventually a storm of ice.
The cold air, which had accumulated and been suppressed, began applying more and more force.
To the point where even Thunder Energy froze.
Flash!
Kraush's eyelids opened as the Thunder Energy scabbard shattered into pieces.
Annihilation Snow Erosion.
Third Form.
Annihilation Snow Heavenly Thunder.
A storm of Thunder Energy and cold air raged, tearing through the lava.
The soaring lava succumbed to the cold air, freezing and transforming into rock.
Even Lavados, caught in the tremendous storm, was expelled from the lava river, soaring into the air.
In the meantime, the cold air froze all the lava solid, even sealing off the vent it had been pouring from.
Lavados's eyes widened as parts of his body, exposed to the cold, started to freeze.
Realizing his last struggle had been blocked, he suddenly faced Kraush, who had landed on the frozen lava.
"――――――――!"
Lavados, letting out a sound inaudible to humans, charged at Kraush like a beast.
However, his path was soon blocked.
Daggers embedded in the ground exploded, leaving his path in shambles.
Before the blackened smoke rising, suddenly, a Water Barrier shot up.
It was Karandis's doing.
But Lavados's fury had already reached its peak.
The creature disregarded the Water Barrier and forced its way through, eventually breaking past it.
Drenched and enduring the weight of the water, Lavados finally emerged.
In front of him was Balak, holding two swords in reverse grips.
At that moment, light shot up from Balak's tiger-like tattoos.
With a gleam of his yellow eyes, his two swords began to dance.
The dance was incredibly strange.
Lavados's charging body briefly followed the airflow of the swords, tilting as if sliding.
It was a secret suppression technique passed down through the Hogma family, utilizing airflow.
Though ineffective against Lavados in his original form.
Now, shrunken to a human size, Lavados couldn't resist the airflow and began sliding.
At that moment, two daggers flew toward Lavados's feet and exploded.
Lavados, attempting to regain his posture, rolled helplessly.
"Phew."
Before anyone realized it, Kraush, exuding white cold air, stood directly in front of the collapsing figure.
He remained in the posture of swinging his sword.
In the instant this unfolded, Lavados's eyes widened greatly.
Once again, Kraush forced cold air into his sword, which extended toward Lavados's neck.
In the winter night, seven stars simultaneously emitted light, and red airflow was engulfed in the snowstorm.
The engulfed airflow was fully transmitted to Kraush's sword, soon creating an icy red snowstorm.
Annihilation Snow Erosion
Fourth Form
Annihilation Snow Cut Night
Crack!
With the cutting power imbued with cold air, the embedded blade pressed forward without hesitation.
Finally, at the moment the sword reached its end.
Slice!
Lavados's severed neck flew up into the sky.