Chapter 218
Above the skies of Freeman in the Holy Kingdom.
Within the smoke that filled the sky like black clouds, the sound of thunder resonated.
Boom!
The power that violently surged within the black cloud smoke sent chills down the spines of those who witnessed it.
This meant that Smoke Demon had poured all his strength into it.
Blavi's brow furrowed.
'The presence has disappeared.'
Although the black cloud smoke filled the sky,
the presence of Smoke Demon, who had created that black cloud smoke, could not be felt anywhere.
'Did I lose him?'
It seemed that while the black cloud smoke rose and engulfed the surroundings, he had used the opportunity to escape.
Blavi gripped his sword, looking regretful.
Blavi displayed absurd strength in a direct confrontation.
However, he showed a weakness in tracking abilities.
[There are too many obstructors. I'll see you next time.]
The words he left behind.
They clearly conveyed his intention to stop fighting and leave.
'He pulled out.'
Even from Blavi's perspective, there was no chance of victory against Smoke Demon.
This was Freeman in the Holy Kingdom.
Although immediate action was impossible due to the chaos from the Festival of the Gods and internal conflicts,
under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible for beings like the World Erosion Beings to infiltrate.
This was because a Holy Barrier, which only permitted entry to those authorized by the Holy Royal Family, was always in place.
However, that barrier had been temporarily deactivated due to the Opposition Faction for the sake of the Religious Revolution.
Ordinary priests or Holy Knights could not enter without permission.
It had been intentionally deactivated for the Religious Revolution.
Smoke Demon had cleverly used that gap to infiltrate the Holy Royal Family.
'There is a traitor.'
With such perfect timing, there must be a traitor working with the World Erosion Beings somewhere.
'I'll find out later, whether through interrogation or torture.'
Blavi looked up at the sky.
Boom!
The black cloud smoke, struck by lightning from within, appeared undeniably dangerous.
It seemed that he had poured significant power into it to prevent pursuit.
At that moment, dozens of beams of light shot up from beneath the roof.
When the black cloud smoke was hit by the beams of light, parts of it began to collapse.
As Blavi focused his aura to expand his vision, he saw Tersada approaching with members of the Opposition Faction.
Their eyes were filled with intense anger.
They had also realized that the World Erosion Beings had exploited their noble Religious Revolution.
'A bloodstorm will rage for a while.'
That was none of his concern.
Now, there was only one thing left to deal with.
The black cloud smoke that had formed in the sky.
If left unchecked, the black cloud smoke could endanger not only the Royal Palace but also ordinary citizens.
'Eliminate it.'
Dark red aura began to surge from Blavi's body.
As the sticky aura, reminiscent of blood, rose, Blavi's presence grew stronger.
Grrrrrrrr-
At that moment, within the black clouds,
a single hand of smoke, enormous enough to cover the Royal Palace, emerged.
The hand of smoke that formed in the sky cast a shadow over the Royal Palace.
It was a hand of such a size that it left witnesses speechless.
Blavi clicked his tongue at the sight.
"He left behind something big."
The hand of smoke, which had engulfed the entire black cloud smoke, began to descend from the sky toward the Royal Palace.
The entire Freeman, including the Royal Palace, trembled.
As the massive hand of smoke descended, the surface absorbed the full brunt of its impact.
Beneath it, Blavi's black hair and clothes were swept upward.
As the dark red aura surged, his pupils turned bright red.
He intended to blow it away along with the black cloud smoke.
At that moment.
Crack!
The hand of smoke, which was about to strike the ground, suddenly split apart.
The split hand turned into tens of thousands of strands, all pouring toward a single direction.
"What the."
Blavi's eyes twisted sharply at the sight.
It was because he realized that the attack was aimed at an individual.
Blavi's gaze landed on Kraush.
The black cloud smoke left behind by Smoke Demon was not targeting the Holy Royal Palace or himself, but Kraush.
'Was it not meant for escape?'
Realizing this, Blavi immediately kicked off the roof.
For some reason, Smoke Demon had left the black cloud smoke to target Kraush.
And it was a toxic smoke that could dissolve skin, muscles, and even bones upon contact.
Thus, he intended to save Kraush and destroy Smoke Demon's attack.
However, what soon came into his view was Kraush, engulfed in pitch-black flames that resembled a star.
His focus was extraordinary.
Even as an attack extended toward him, Kraush suppressed himself endlessly and entered a state of concentration.
The rising black flames scattered his hair.
At the same time, the smoke escaping his mouth conveyed the heat searing his body from within.
The wind blowing from Kraush heated Blavi's face.
It was an immense heat that even momentarily made Blavi falter.
Within those pitch-black flames,
Kraush's pupils gradually turned red.
Blavi's eyes widened as he saw this.
'Heavenly Slaughter Star.'
The power in his eyes was undoubtedly the Heavenly Slaughter Star.
The Heavenly Slaughter Star, which imbues one with murderous intent toward the world.
In exchange, physical abilities and the amount of aura increase significantly.
However, the murderous intent of the Heavenly Slaughter Star was a troublesome entity that even Blavi, who had lived for a long time, could not control.
It was to the extent that Blavi had become a guard of Sephira to suppress the Heavenly Slaughter Star through their astrology.
But now.
Kraush was perfectly wielding such a Heavenly Slaughter Star.
'...How?'
It had only been a few years since he passed the Heavenly Slaughter Star to him.
Back then, Blavi's evaluation of Kraush was as follows.
A boy full of bravado.
Someone who grew quickly but was nearing the limits of his talent.
However, the venom in Kraush's eyes was exceptional enough to catch Blavi's attention.
Yet, in just a few years,
Kraush had shown such absurd growth that even Blavi was astonished.
The space around Kraush began to distort.
The power surging from Kraush was so immense that it significantly affected the atmosphere.
The problem was that the scale of the power he was gathering now was far greater than expected.
'For what reason?'
To destroy the attacks of the Smoke Demon that were closing in on him?
'No.'
No matter how one looked at it, that level of output wasn't just for that.
Kraush had another motive.
The malice in his eyes always looked to the next, and the next after that.
It was the same that day.
Even as Kraush defeated the 8th Class Erosion Species Agares, he looked only to what lay ahead.
Amidst the pitch-black flames, Kraush's eyes met Blavi's.
As soon as he understood the meaning, Blavi changed direction.
What he leaped toward was none other than the sky.
'As expected of the Heavenly Dog Star.'
Seeing Blavi catch on to his intent, Kraush allowed a rough smile to play on his lips.
At the same time, deep within Kraush's inner self, seven stars hung in the night.
The starlight of the Heavenly Slaughter Star, pouring out its radiance, completely imbued Kraush's body in that moment.
The power of World Erosion began to rampage within Kraush's body.
At this point, thanks to the Four Seasons, even his aura had been replaced by the power of World Erosion.
The power of World Erosion blazing from Kraush was on a completely different level than before.
Crack!
In an instant, within the overwhelming flow of power, even Kraush nearly lost consciousness.
Kraush gritted his teeth and stubbornly seized the power of World Erosion with his own hands.
Whoosh—
And all that power of World Erosion burned as Ignis, becoming flames of black fire.
Within the soaring flames, Kraush's red eyes gleamed fiercely.
Annihilation Heavenly Asura.
'Not yet.'
The black flames that had risen began to accelerate once more.
Due to the Excel's granting effect, the black flames surged wildly within Kraush's body.
Boom— Boom— Boom—
Each time, the black flames spewed out rougher fire, heating Kraush's body.
Even Kraush's body, forged through relentless effort, trembled violently.
'Not yet.'
However, Kraush tightly held onto his mind, which was being forcibly numbed by the pain.
Though it felt as if his insides were melting from the flames, he paid no attention.
The intensity of the flames grew stronger and stronger, and before long, the flames began to unleash the power of the Fire Demon.
The heat waves rising around Kraush's body distorted the space.
'Now.'
Creak—
At that moment, a sound of something locking into place echoed from Kraush's mouth.
Kraush felt the power of the Instant Enhancement Elixir seeping into his body.
It was the fourth-generation Instant Enhancement Elixir, refined and improved repeatedly.
Perhaps because of that, Kraush's output was being raised at a much faster rate than before.
Accordingly, Kraush's body managed to endure the massive flow of black flames.
'That Darling.'
As if to prove she wasn't a genius for nothing.
Kraush, along with the body that allowed him to endure the black flames, exhaled smoke filled with high heat.
Annihilation Heavenly Rakshasa.
The ultimate pinnacle Kraush could reach.
And at this final moment.
Kraush pulled out his last card.
Kraush touched the Four Seasons residing within him.
The Four Seasons, which had been diligently releasing the power of World Erosion, flinched.
The Four Seasons squirmed and then began to transform all the power of World Erosion Kraush had created in an instant.
Whoosh—
The color of the burning black flames began to change gradually.
And what emerged was white flame.
The white flame, which engulfed all surrounding light in an instant, burned madly, reminiscent of the Sun.
All the World Erosion blazing through Annihilation Heavenly Rakshasa had been instantly converted into a power that protected the world, aura.
From Kraush's Rain Thunder Prime, white flames rose silently.
The white flames displayed overwhelming strength even against the power of World Erosion.
And that was no exception even against the World Erosion Beings.
Before Kraush's gaze, which had unknowingly stretched toward the sky.
Blavi was reflected, soaring into the sky.
The dark red aura contained within his Yin-Yang Blade was condensed to the point of being pitch-black.
At last, Blavi's two swords swung toward the Black Cloud Smoke hands.
God Slayer Two Swords Style.
Fifth Form.
Kill God Two Cuts.
Squelch!
The intersecting slashes obliterated the hands of smoke and reached the Black Cloud Smoke.
The resulting storm whipped the wind into a frenzy, shaking the entire Holy Kingdom.
Above the sky.
Through the dissipating black clouds, sunlight streamed in.
As if to show he wasn't a monster passed down from the past for nothing.
Blavi demonstrated a strike of absurd power.
And below that.
At the moment when the white flames of Kraush, standing at the center of the sunlight, burned to their limit.
Kraush abruptly swung the scorching white flames of Rain Thunder Prime backward.
It was a choice that would make any observer question his sanity.
But Kraush had no hesitation.
Clang!
The sound that resounded in that moment was metallic.
Behind Kraush.
The Old Gentleman, in a posture of striking down with his staff, widened his eyes.
He was none other than the Smoke Demon.
From the beginning, he hadn't fled but had hidden his presence in the smoke, planning to kill Kraush.
But Kraush, as if he had known from the start.
Had not poured his strength into the trap he had set but left it to Blavi to handle.
Under the fedora, astonishment filled the Smoke Demon's eyes.
At that moment, white flames began to pour out in unison from Kraush's sword.
The power pouring out from the white flames carried an overwhelming amount of aura, enough to make even the Smoke Demon shudder.
Beyond the white flames, Kraush's red pupils had been fixed solely on the Smoke Demon from beginning to end.
Seeing that, the Smoke Demon realized too late.
'I've been had.'
With that thought, Kraush's white flames consumed the Smoke Demon.
Annihilation Erosion.
Sixth Style.
Heaven-Destroying Flame Net