Chapter 201
After Kraush visited Charlotte's Lion Order.
"Sure."
Kraush heard Charlotte's very cool response.
He thought she would at least ask why he was taking on such a task.
But Charlotte didn't particularly inquire about it either.
She simply accepted it as something Kraush wanted to do.
"Why, do you want to come along, too, sis?"
As he was dumbfounded by Charlotte's overly easy answer,
Charlotte lightly teased Kraush with her usual smile.
"It's fine. I'll be back safely."
Thanks to Charlotte, it seemed unlikely that he would have to skip classes at Rahelrn Academy without permission.
"Oh, speaking of which, that kid named Arthur that I mentioned before."
Kraush's ears perked up.
"He said he would decide and come in around the time the second-year students' training course ends."
Fake Arthur is also a graduate of the Special Class.
So, naturally, he would have received scout offers from other groups as well.
It was an understandable situation.
'I thought he would jump at the chance to observe Charlotte and me up close.'
Was he unexpectedly trying to test the waters a bit more?
Given the recent suspicious movements on this side, he might intentionally be keeping his distance.
Kraush thought so and expressed his gratitude to Charlotte before walking out of the Lion Order.
It was at that moment.
Kraush noticed familiar black hair.
Sticking closely to the wall, she was desperately trying to hide her body.
But her natural physique was far too prominent to be concealed by a mere wall.
Mary Diana.
She was the woman once called the Divine Spear.
"Mary."
When Kraush called her, Mary flinched and sheepishly stepped away from the wall.
Unlike when she had locked herself in her room, Mary was now wearing her uniform.
However, the poorly ironed uniform with buttons not properly fastened was far from tidy.
Especially her hair, which seemed unkempt and messy as if it hadn't been brushed properly.
She fidgeted with an extremely timid demeanor.
The image of her as the Divine Spear was now utterly unimaginable.
"Do you have any business with me?"
Seeing her appear as if she had been waiting for him, Kraush leisurely asked.
"Th-that, I, I just heard Mr. Kraush came back, so I thought I'd..."
With her shoulders hunched, Mary stammered as she spoke.
Looking at the floor, she seemed quite broken.
It was only natural.
She must have realized by now that her skill was gone too.
Suddenly losing her skill.
It must have been utterly bewildering for Mary as well.
And her bewilderment was fully evident in her appearance.
However, she couldn't share that fact with anyone.
Moreover, she absolutely couldn't let Kraush know.
If Kraush noticed that her skill was gone and abandoned her, she would have nowhere left to go.
So, her reason for coming here today must have been to confirm that.
"Well, I do have something to do, so I might have to leave Rahelrn Academy again."
Kraush said that as he approached Mary.
Mary flinched and became even more timid.
She instinctively feared that Kraush, who was approaching, might discover her lack of a skill.
Regardless, Kraush came up to Mary and placed his hand on her white shirt.
Then, he began unfastening the misaligned buttons to fix them properly.
Mary stared at him blankly.
It felt strangely as if Kraush was fixing her poorly aligned life.
"Mary, so you've finally decided to come out of your room."
"Ah, y-yes, yes, Mr. Kraush said I just had to follow, so I, I thought I should try my best to meet expectations!"
Mary rambled, trying to emphasize how hard she had worked.
"Good job. That's fitting for someone like me."
"Ah, heh, hehe."
When Kraush smiled and praised her, Mary foolishly giggled.
That laughter was filled with a sense of recognition and happiness.
At this moment, she felt as if she could do anything for him.
"How have things been with Sigrid lately?"
Kraush naturally asked about Sigrid.
"Ah, ah, well, I haven't seen her anymore. It's completely over."
Sigrid, whom she had once followed as her master.
However, even though Sigrid no longer came to see her, there was no regret in her eyes.
In fact, there was even a faint trace of resentment toward Sigrid.
"I, I just think I should have done this from the beginning."
Along with that, she felt a small sense of regret.
If she had left Sigrid's side sooner, she wouldn't have ended up like this.
Seeing that, Kraush slowly patted her head.
"It's okay. You've broken free now, haven't you? Mary, you're free now. You can do whatever you want."
"D-do whatever I want?"
Mary looked up at Kraush.
Like a dog waiting for its master's command, ready to obey at any moment, Mary only looked at Kraush.
But Kraush didn't give her any commands and withdrew his hand from her head.
"Well, I have to go now."
"Ah."
Watching Kraush leave without giving her any orders, Mary flinched.
While she hesitated, Kraush gave her a short smile.
"It's good to see you out of your room. Train and take care of yourself until I return."
"Y-yes, yes!"
Perhaps interpreting his next words as a command, Mary visibly brightened and answered energetically.
Seeing that, Kraush walked past her, putting his hands into his pockets.
Then, he took out a handkerchief and wiped the hand he had just used to pat Mary's head.
Naturally, Kraush's eyes were emotionless.
With this, things were completely over with Mary.
At least, she wouldn't be a hindrance anymore in the future.
'The only ones left are Sigrid and Adela.'
Thinking of the two, Kraush continued walking.
He was merciless, at least to those three.
* * *
The Unending Night.
One of the World Erosions that had become a Forbidden Zone.
That place was always shrouded in night, with no sun ever rising.
In the space filled only with darkness, towers of unknown origin rose like bamboo shoots toward the sky, and the Erosion Species that inhabited those towers were bizarre beings called Black Species Ghosts.
Kraush had only one reason for visiting the Unending Night.
The purpose was to meet the world's greatest Curse Master, Veltoa Lacroix.
The problem was the location of the Unending Night.
Unlike the generally managed Forbidden Zones, the Unending Night existed in the Lawless Area.
Especially, the mountain range leading to that place was incredibly rugged.
Not only was it impossible for horses to pass, but even people found it difficult to walk due to the dense trees and grass.
Those trees and grass, being so close to the Unending Night, were entirely influenced by it and had deformed grotesquely.
Thus, even criminals from the human world did not exist in the Unending Night.
The mountain path leading to such an Unending Night.
Surprisingly, Kraush was traveling very comfortably.
The reason was simple.
It was because the carriage Kraush was traveling in was no ordinary carriage.
Clop clop clop—
Even as the trees and grass repeatedly pricked its feet, the horse didn't care at all.
The identity of this horse was none other than the Ghost Horse summoned by Ebelasque.
The carriage Kraush was riding in was also made of bones, with no wheels to speak of.
Thanks to that, the floating carriage leisurely passed over the mountain range.
"Did you really have to follow me?"
Kraush, who had been watching the passing scenery, turned his head to the side.
There, a woman sitting in the front seat with her arms crossed raised her head.
Her neatly arranged black dress matched her black hair, tinged with a canary-like hue.
The woman, whose upper body was particularly emphasized due to her crossed arms, squinted her eyes tightly.
"Of course, I had to come with you. Did you really think I'd let you go to a Forbidden Zone alone?"
"Originally, I was supposed to go alone."
"No way. You're supposed to stay with me, live together for the rest of our lives, so you have to take responsibility and stay safe."
It felt like he had rarely lived a safe life anyway.
Kraush looked at Ebelasque with an incredulous expression but said no more.
After all, it was true that having Ebelasque around was convenient.
The problem was that she wasn't the only one who had followed Kraush.
"Haring, you too."
A woman who was clinging close to Kraush's side, for some reason wary of Ebelasque.
Haring Lagrain.
As soon as she heard that Kraush was leaving on a mission through the Lion Order, she had immediately followed him.
"Where Kraush goes, I go too."
Determination was evident in Haring's eyes.
Since they were heading to a Forbidden Zone, Kraush thought it would be dangerous for Haring, but because of her insistence, he had no choice.
'Well, worrying about someone who was once part of the Skyborne Generation is kind of funny.'
Rather, it seemed like a good opportunity for her to gain knowledge about the Forbidden Zone.
After all, Kraush didn't plan to stop the Destruction all by himself.
"Just don't overdo it."
At that, both Ebelasque and Haring looked at Kraush simultaneously.
Their reactions seemed to say, "Of all people, you're the one to say that?"
Only the crow of Crimson Garden sitting on Kraush's lap chuckled mockingly, as if to say, "Look who's talking."
While Kraush showed an awkward reaction, the carriage came to a halt with a clattering sound.
They had already passed through the mountain range.
After crossing the mountain range, the surroundings gradually began to darken.
Just moments ago, it had been midday, but now it was turning into night.
Moreover, this night was far darker than any other.
It seemed there was even fog forming.
The carriage continued to move forward through the pitch-black night fog, so dark that nothing could be seen ahead.
If it had been an ordinary horse, it would have frozen in fear upon being surrounded by the night fog, but it didn't matter to the Ghost Horse.
After a while, the night fog began to gradually clear.
Instead, what appeared were towers of bizarre shapes rising through the night.
The sharp-tipped towers jutted into the sky as if to attack the night itself.
Kraush, looking at the scene through the window, opened his mouth.
"Ebelasque, leave the Skeleton Legion alone."
"Why? Aren't you looking for Veltoa?"
"Even if your Skeleton Legion moves, it'll only waste energy fighting the Black Species Ghosts."
Kraush looked at the Black Species Ghosts visible outside the window.
The creatures sticking their heads out from the towers were all observing the unexpected visitors.
And once those observations were complete, they would undoubtedly come rushing in droves.
That meant they had judged them as prey.
"For now, let's keep moving. Veltoa won't be in such an outer area anyway."
The reason Veltoa had entered the Forbidden Zone was to search for a curse.
And it was likely the Highest-Level Curses.
Even Veltoa wouldn't be able to handle the Highest-Level Curses at will.
The only reason he sought the Highest-Level Curses was simple.
To observe them.
'Crazy old man.'
What kind of lunatic would enter a Forbidden Zone just to observe a curse?
Kraush thought Veltoa was truly an incomprehensible person.
"Then how do you plan to find him in this vast place without the help of my corpses?"
As the carriage moved forward, Ebelasque glanced outside with a slightly exasperated expression.
As she said, the Unending Night was truly vast.
Thinking about searching this place to find him, she wore a helpless expression.
However, Kraush didn't seem to care much.
"It's simple."
Kraush's gaze turned forward.
To the place where the Unending Night grew even darker.
"The place where the power of the World Erosion feels the strongest."
That's where Veltoa is.