Chapter 200
In front of the corridor leading to the Special Arts Hall.
A boy with dark blue hair was walking.
Recently, as if he had finished his growth spurt, he had developed a sturdy physique. He was Kraush Balheim.
[You say such nonsense so casually.]
As he thought about it, Kraush recalled what Sizelry had said earlier.
[But I have to try.]
However, Sizelry decided to trust Kraush.
In that case, she would do everything she could.
[I will try to create a connection somehow.]
Sizelry left the room with a determined expression.
Kraush had no doubt that she would arrange a meeting in a short time.
After all, she was the genius girl, Sizelry Ephania.
After Sizelry left, Kraush immediately stepped outside.
As mentioned earlier, the place he visited was none other than the Special Arts Hall.
The place was still bustling with kids busy with their own research, creating a chaotic atmosphere.
Kraush looked around at them and soon arrived at the Curse Studies section.
The Curse Studies section also had quite a number of people, with many researching curses.
Among them, Kraush found a small girl sitting in a corner, diligently working on something.
Although she was clearly older than Kraush, her petite frame made her seem very small as she handled the curse with her tiny hands.
However, the curse she was handling was extremely dangerous compared to her small hands.
She was the only student capable of handling high-level curses.
The youngest disciple of the Curse Master, Veltoa Lacroix.
She was Dorma Lacroix.
"Dorma."
"Eek!"
The moment Kraush called her name, she let out a scream.
As she dropped the vial containing the curse in her hand, Kraush quickly reached out and caught it.
As he let out a sigh of relief, Dorma stood frozen stiff.
It was because the high-level curse could have been released in the Curse Studies Classroom.
Seeing her pale face, Kraush placed the curse vial on her table.
"Sorry, I startled you. That could've been a disaster."
"N-no! It's my fault! I was too careless!"
Hearing Kraush's apology, Dorma quickly shook her head and replied.
Thanks to that, the tense atmosphere seemed to ease a little.
Dorma finally looked at Kraush and tilted her small head.
"Um, Mr. Kraush, what brings you to the Curse Studies Classroom?"
"Dorma, I have a task for you."
Dorma tilted her head again.
"It's about Mr. Veltoa."
At Kraush's next words, her eyes widened.
As he looked at her wide, rabbit-like eyes, Kraush pulled out a chair and sat down.
"First, I found the last sighting of Mr. Veltoa."
"R-really!?"
"Yes, I plan to search for him immediately, but there's another issue."
Kraush was currently a student at Rahelrn Academy.
Although Kraush was treated specially at the academy, he couldn't forget his duties as a student.
Even Sizelry, who was a princess, had taken on an official mission from the Empire to justify her departure.
"Repeated absences without missions or training will result in expulsion."
Searching for Veltoa could qualify as training for Kraush.
However, since he recently spent a long training period with Durandal, he couldn't act recklessly this time.
"What can I do?"
Dorma showed her firm determination, saying she would do anything to find Veltoa.
Seeing her resolve, Kraush gave a short laugh.
"Give me a mission."
"A mission?"
"Yes, a search mission for Mr. Veltoa Lacroix in the Forbidden Zone, Unending Night, where he was last seen."
Dorma once again widened her rabbit-like eyes.
"C-can I issue a mission?"
Most of the missions registered at Rahelrn Academy were from various countries or families.
So she wondered if a student like her could issue a mission.
But Kraush knew well there was no need to question that.
"Of course, you can. If Mr. Veltoa is absent, you are the head of the Lacroix Family."
The Lacroix Family consisted only of Veltoa and Dorma.
This was because Veltoa had adopted Dorma, who was an orphan, as his only daughter.
While there were other disciples, they either had their own surnames or were commoners.
Dorma was the only official member of the Lacroix Family.
In other words, she alone carried the family name.
Perhaps she was the only one at Rahelrn Academy who could act on behalf of her family.
"Ah, ah, that's right!"
Dorma, realizing this belatedly, nodded enthusiastically.
She concluded that issuing a mission under the Lacroix name, not her own, was possible.
"Alright! I'll register it!"
She spoke confidently.
As she said, she was ready to do anything to help find Veltoa.
"Thank you. I'll leave it to you."
Relieved, Kraush thanked her and left the Special Arts Hall.
With this, a way to search for Veltoa was established.
'The next step is to accept the mission.'
Kraush realized he had to face another challenge.
Accepting the mission.
That meant he had to ask Charlotte for help.
'Did Charlotte have a favorite snack?'
Not long ago, Kraush reminded himself that Charlotte was family.
He realized that although he had avoided her out of fear of her overwhelming presence, she had always treated him as her younger brother.
So Kraush now understood that even if Charlotte's actions seemed incomprehensible, they were always for his sake.
But despite that, he was still awkward with her.
'Anyway, I'll have to face her eventually.'
Thinking so, Kraush headed toward the Lion Order.
On the way, various people who recognized Kraush reacted differently.
Most of their reactions to the boy were filled with respect.
While there had been some competitive spirit before, the more Kraush stayed at Rahelrn Academy, the more they respected his accomplishments.
Kraush also began to feel that he was becoming the center of Rahelrn Academy.
Was this how Arthur had felt before?
Kraush thought about how much his life had changed, from being treated as a troublemaker even at Rahelrn Academy.
It was at that moment.
Kraush felt someone following him.
Sighing briefly at the presence, Kraush suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Before the person could react, Kraush's body accelerated.
Excel.
In an instant, Kraush disappeared and arrived at one side of the corridor.
Then Kraush's hand immediately stretched out.
"Kuek!"
The neck caught by Kraush's outstretched hand belonged to a man with pure white hair.
He was White Snake, one of the twins who followed Sigrid.
It was Toy Popoa.
"Toy!"
At that moment, the other twin, Black Snake, Tai Popoa, who was nearby, screamed and charged at Kraush.
They, too, would later belong to the Skyborne Generation.
As if to show their accumulated skills were no joke, the blade extending from Tai's sleeve immediately attacked Kraush.
However, the opponent was far too formidable.
Kraush didn't even draw Rain Thunder Prime but instead wrapped aura around the edge of his hand.
Then he immediately swung the edge of his hand toward the blade.
Clang!
The edge of Kraush's hand, imbued with pure white White Flame, collided with Tai's blade, producing a fierce noise that echoed loudly.
Tai's eyes filled with astonishment.
They were eyes that couldn't believe their sword had been blocked with nothing but the edge of a hand.
But it was a natural outcome.
The Disaster Dragon Fall taught by Durandal was a secret technique that turned the body itself into a weapon.
Over the past few months, Kraush had desperately mastered Disaster Dragon Fall, reaching the first stage of the technique.
Focusing aura on a part of the body to make it harder than steel.
Disaster Dragon Fall
First Form
Body
Kraush could now use any part of his body as a weapon at will.
Meanwhile, Toy, whose neck was being held, tried to twist Kraush's arm.
But no matter how hard he tried, Kraush's arm didn't budge, as if it were a rock.
The difference in strength was simply too great.
Their faces hardened.
They knew Kraush was strong.
But even so, this was excessively strong.
Kraush was clearly a year younger than them.
Moreover, they, too, were among the best of the First Year Students.
No matter how much they thought about it, they couldn't easily accept the gap between them and Kraush.
Crunch!
"Guh!"
At that moment, Kraush tightened his grip on Toy's neck.
As Toy's face turned pale, Tai panicked.
"Let go of Toy!"
"Talk about your task first. Then I'll let go."
It was clear that the ones who had been following him were the Tai and Toy brothers.
So Kraush warned them with a chilling gaze.
Because, both in the past and present, he had no particularly good memories of them.
When Tai began to hesitate, Kraush slightly frowned.
"Why? Did Sigrid Ephania order you?"
When Kraush asked, Tai bit his lips as if suppressing his anger.
"...No. This is entirely our independent action, unrelated to Ms. Sigrid."
"Then why were you following me?"
Tai hesitated, biting his lips.
Seeing this, Kraush cracked his neck.
Tai, who had heard that Kraush always did this before a fight, flinched and quickly spoke.
"It's just that Ms. Sigrid has been overly sensitive whenever it involves you recently, so we thought we might uncover something on our own!"
"Sigrid becomes sensitive only when it involves me?"
Kraush let out a short, hollow laugh.
Well, he had been destroying all of Sigrid's plans after all.
It was only natural for her to become sensitive.
'More than that, has she started targeting me instead of Charlotte now?'
She must have sensed something was off.
Was that why?
A chilling smile spread across Kraush's lips.
'When will she find out?'
That Arthur, whom she loved so dearly, hadn't regressed with her.
If she found out, Sigrid would surely fall apart.
Kraush, who had a deep grudge against Sigrid, unlike anyone else, thought so.
Therefore, Kraush released Toy's neck, hoping she would collapse.
"It's pointless. There's nothing you can uncover from me, and even if you did, there would be nothing to gain."
"Ugh."
Tai clenched his lips, unable to refute those words.
Maybe if it had been a while ago.
But now, the gap between them and Kraush had widened too much.
"And you two should consider not staying on a sinking ship for too long."
With that advice, Kraush turned his body.
Toy and Tai could only watch Kraush, unable to follow him.
Kraush simply thought to himself.
That Sigrid's side would soon make a big move.
'When that time comes.'
This side should also be ready to completely smash Sigrid.