Chapter 180
After Bianca swept through the storm and completed her training.
Kraush returned to his room.
"Alicia, stop going to see Aliod."
"Ah."
Alicia, Kraush's personal maid, hesitated upon hearing his words.
Aliod, the butler of Green Pine Mansion.
He was Alicia's father.
After Kraush visited Green Pine Mansion, the two exchanged glances.
However, compared to the indifferent Aliod, Alicia kept chasing him with her eyes.
She must want to talk to her father, whom she hasn't seen in a long time.
"I appreciate your words, but I am in a situation where I must serve Mr. Kraush. That does not change even in Green Pine Mansion."
When Alicia politely declined, Kraush smiled lightly.
"Then it's an order. I also need some personal time alone."
"......An order, you say?"
When Kraush mentioned it as an order, Alicia hesitated.
But when Kraush looked at her with eyes that showed he had no intention of withdrawing the order, she eventually accepted.
"Thank you. I will return shortly."
After finishing her words, Alicia bowed her head and left quietly.
However, the sound of her footsteps running outside the corridor was quite fast, as if she couldn't hide her happiness.
Since she was still young, there must have been much she wanted to talk about with her father.
'In truth, I did need some time alone.'
Kraush locked the door and looked at the crow from Crimson Garden that had followed him in.
Then, she nodded slightly and perched softly on the doorknob.
Using magic, she sealed the doorknob.
Confirming this, Kraush then took a Corpse Rat out of his pocket.
"Ebelasque."
As soon as he called out, the Corpse Rat jumped and sat on the floor.
At that moment, shadows wriggled beneath the Corpse Rat's feet and shot upward.
What appeared from the quickly rising shadows was a woman with long black hair and an exceptionally striking upper body.
As always, the dark circles under her eyes perfectly reflected her reclusive and lethargic nature.
Ebelasque Benapoch.
She was a World Erosion Being and the world's only Necromancer.
"Why are you properly dressed for once?"
Unlike her usual outfit, a large T-shirt, she was wearing a black dress for women today.
A top that accentuated her upper body and a skirt that cinched her waist.
Along with long black gloves reaching her wrists, which strangely exuded a certain allure.
"Isn't it common sense to have different outfits for home and outside?"
Then, Ebelasque spoke in a slightly curt voice, uncharacteristically for her today.
As much as what she said was an entirely sensible thing.
Kraush had long known that Ebelasque's outfits for going out weren't much different from her usual ones.
Could it be that there was some change in her mindset?
Kraush decided to just leave it at that.
"Mad Blade Emperor."
"I'll bring him out now."
Still obedient to words, Ebelasque tapped the floor with the heel of her shoe.
At that moment, just as with Ebelasque, black shadows began to gently rise.
"Puhahk!"
Soon, what emerged was a man with blood-red hair.
Recognizing the familiar face he had seen recently, Kraush raised his hand slightly.
"Mad Blade Emperor."
"Gulp, huh, you!"
The Mad Blade Emperor tried to shout as soon as he saw Kraush.
But before he could, his voice got stuck in his throat.
Because Ebelasque held complete dominance over him.
Though he had been resurrected through Crimson Garden, his heart was in Ebelasque's hands.
Therefore, he could no longer exhibit the defiance he once had.
Kraush slowly walked up to the Mad Blade Emperor.
Then he bent down to the grimacing Mad Blade Emperor and smiled slowly.
"You, with your strong survival instincts, must know. In the current situation, no matter what you do, your life is as fragile as that of a fly."
Perhaps because of Ebelasque, the Mad Blade Emperor couldn't utter a word and only ground his teeth.
"Since all sudden actions are blocked from the beginning, just give up. If she chooses, that one can control you at will."
His face was colored with humiliation.
But he was quick to assess reality.
"What do you want to ask?"
As much as he was driven by survival instincts, he understood the reality before him.
Therefore, instead of arguing further with Kraush, the Mad Blade Emperor chose to comply.
Such a being was worth resurrecting.
Unlike other Ixion members, he wasn't particularly attached to Ixion.
"Who are the current members of Ixion?"
Kraush already knew their purpose.
What he needed now was information on which World Erosion Beings were part of it.
And.
"Why did you steal the Poison Blood Tome, and who did you trade it with? Tell me everything."
There could be ties to the Empire's Royal Family.
He had to uncover that hidden truth.
* * *
As a corpse, the Mad Blade Emperor had no choice.
From the moment he began speaking, Kraush listened to every word.
Thanks to this, he could roughly grasp which World Erosion Beings were part of Ixion.
'More dangerous ones joined quicker than I thought.'
The total number of World Erosion Beings he identified was 14.
Among them, Kraush judged four, including the Black Witch, to be truly dangerous.
'If we include their servants here, the number would grow even more.'
Kraush crossed his arms and tapped them with his index finger.
Was this the butterfly effect caused by beings like him and Sigrid?
Or was it the result of some hidden force moving beyond his understanding?
He couldn't tell.
But there was one question.
"Hell Fairy?"
It was because a completely unfamiliar name came up.
Kraush didn't know every World Erosion Being.
What he understood were the Ixion members and those he had clashed with in the war against World Erosion Beings.
He couldn't possibly know all those who had been hiding.
But one thing was certain: he had never heard of a World Erosion Being called the Hell Fairy.
"That one."
Then, the Mad Blade Emperor continued.
"That one was the one who asked me to steal the Poison Blood Tome."
Not the Black Witch, but another being, the Hell Fairy, had requested the Mad Blade Emperor to steal the Poison Blood Tome.
At that moment, Kraush's face twisted in a scowl.
"So you're saying you don't know what was done with the Poison Blood Tome after you stole it?"
"Is there a need to know? I simply fulfilled my part of the deal."
The Mad Blade Emperor snorted, showing a completely indifferent reaction.
When Kraush looked toward Ebelasque, she also nodded.
Everything the Mad Blade Emperor was saying now was entirely true without a shred of falsehood.
"What did you get in return?"
"The Blood Leprosy Death Blade."
But the next words left Kraush puzzled.
The Blood Leprosy Death Blade, one of the Ten Great Heavenly Swords and a weapon frequently used by the Mad Blade Emperor.
It was strange that he had obtained it relatively recently.
"You didn't originally possess the Blood Leprosy Death Blade?"
"The sword I originally used was one I had carried from my world. But during battles, it started to wear out and lose its edge, and that's when I was offered the deal."
So, does that mean the Hell Fairy also existed in the original world?
Kraush felt a headache coming on for a moment.
Unless they had intended to regress from the beginning.
The lack of information was slowly starting to reveal itself bit by bit.
"Crimson Garden, do you know the Hell Fairy?"
"I know roughly."
In response to Kraush's question, the crow perched on the doorknob answered.
"In my perspective, the Hell Fairy was a relatively new World Erosion Being with a newly revealed alias. Even during my time as an Ixion member, I only encountered her once."
"What was she like?"
"A strange presence. She gave off an unsettling feeling, even more so than the Black Witch. Her flame-based magic was quite powerful, and she never left an opening."
Upon hearing the next words, Kraush slightly squinted his eyes.
"Flame Magic?"
"Yes, the magic primarily used by the Hell Fairy was Flame Magic. It had a vivid blue hue."
Blue Flame.
'Is it different from the one I know?'
The person Kraush thought of was none other than the Red Witch, Abella.
She was a master of Flame Magic that was distinct from Lord Aslan, the Flame Emperor, to the extent that she was called the Red Witch.
The fact that she has remained out of sight until now and this coincidence gave him a hint of doubt.
But Kraush soon had to shake his head.
'The timing doesn't match.'
The time when the Hell Fairy made a deal with the Mad Blade Emperor was when Kraush was just four years old.
Kraush regressed at the age of 13.
And Abella likely regressed at the age of 12, one year younger than Kraush.
In other words, the Hell Fairy's activities occurred when Abella was only three years old, making the timeline impossible.
"Mad Blade Emperor, is Ixion connected to the Royal Family?"
When Kraush posed the next question, the Mad Blade Emperor answered without difficulty.
"It seems so. I heard that the Hell Fairy was active as a traitor working for the Royal Family."
As expected, it was certain that the Poison Blood Tome was an incident connected to the Royal Family.
Furthermore, the individual known as the Hell Fairy was also involved with the Royal Family.
'Things are more entangled than I thought.'
Kraush knows the secret of the Royal Family.
It's only natural since the Empire began to tread the path of downfall, and the Royal Family lost its authority due to this secret.
'Hardenhartz Mountain was also a place where the Poison King arrived as a result of the 2nd Prince revealing the Empire's secret.'
Although it's safe to assume that won't happen anymore.
In any case, the events were all rooted in the secret of the Royal Family.
'It wasn't strange for Ixion and the Royal Family to be connected.'
What bothered him was that the person who bridged this connection was the unheard-of World Erosion Being called the Hell Fairy.
As Kraush took in the information, he felt an even more complicated tangle in his head and let out a deep sigh.
"Alright. There's no point in contemplating things that won't yield answers yet."
Kraush organized his thoughts before his mind could become overloaded.
Then he reached one conclusion.
"I just have to meet her in person."
If there's something you don't know, confront it directly to find out.
And for that, the effort by the Mad Blade Emperor was all worth it.
Kraush's gaze met the Mad Blade Emperor's.
When the Mad Blade Emperor made a face as if asking what nonsense Kraush was up to now, a brief smile flickered on Kraush's lips.
"Mad Blade Emperor, it's time for you to play your next role."
"What? There's more?"
The Mad Blade Emperor jeered, saying that he had already revealed all the information.
But Kraush paid no heed.
"You'll need to personally attend the upcoming Ixion meeting."
The moment Kraush said those words, the Mad Blade Emperor's face stiffened.
"Wait, wait! There's a high chance I'll be exposed there!"
When the Mad Blade Emperor anxiously asked what would happen if he were exposed, Kraush simply shrugged.
"If you do well, there's no reason you'd be exposed. Don't worry. As long as you act like you normally do, you'll be fine."
"Damn it, how can a dead guy not get caught when he's back alive!"
"That part is for you to figure out......."
A wicked smile spread across Kraush's lips.
"Isn't it your problem to solve, not mine?"
The Mad Blade Emperor glared at Kraush with a face that looked like he was about to curse.
But even so, he wouldn't want to lose the life he had somehow regained.
Despite being a puppet, he was someone who valued his life above all else.
"I should've killed him when I had the chance."
Watching the Mad Blade Emperor grit his teeth, Kraush lightly patted his shoulder.
"I'm counting on you, Mad Blade Emperor."
We might just become the best of friends.