TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 55
The Primordial Spirit Master.
And the only Spirit Master to have ever existed to this day.
One who created a new paradigm known as Spirit Magic through contracts with spirits.
He was a man from the Igrit Family.
Together with spirits, he accomplished feats worthy of being called heroic.
However, spirit contracts became a complete taboo in the world.
The reason was simple.
After the Primordial Spirit Master died, the spirit left behind, without its master, became twisted.
They did not understand the concept of death and went berserk, consumed by the thought that their master had abandoned them.
As a result, that rampage soon wiped out an entire city.
Because of that incident, the world came to a definitive realization.
Spirits were entities of World Erosion and were never to be interacted with.
The record of that event remains intact to this day, and the Igrit Family, feeling responsible, has continued to manage the Spirit King’s Forest.
Crimson Garden gazed at the sky with a troubled expression.
“I gathered the servants of that time and captured the berserk spirit.”
Having witnessed the spirit’s rampage and feeling a sense of responsibility, she somehow managed to capture the spirit to handle the aftermath.
“And I returned it to the Spirit King’s Forest.”
Believing that the spirit would return to its original state in the Spirit King’s Forest, she sent it back.
But it was not to be.
The spirit, having lost its master, endlessly longed for them and did not know how to stop its rampage.
As a result, the spirit’s mind completely collapsed.
Thus was born the Chaos Spirit.
“So, the fact that it’s coming here now…”
“…The way spirits judge people is different. The Primordial Spirit Master was my servant, so traces of my presence lingered on him. Recognizing that, the spirit must have felt its master had returned and is now coming this way.”
It had already been countless years since the death of the Primordial Spirit Master.
Even so, the spirit, unable to forget him, was heading this way the moment it sensed Crimson Garden’s presence.
“The Chaos Spirit has no reason left. During the process of destroying the city, it consumed too much malice and collapsed its own mind. It can’t discern anything anymore. Not just my servant, but even you will be caught up in it. So we must escape before that happens.”
Surely, even now, it was chasing the presence toward this direction again.
Thus, Crimson Garden tried once more to spread out a Magic Circle to take Kraush and leave.
But Kraush suddenly jabbed at Crimson Garden’s side.
“Eek!?”
A surprisingly cute scream escaped her lips.
As Crimson Garden stared at Kraush with a bewildered look, Kraush clicked his tongue.
“Don’t you remember what I said earlier? We have to take the egg.”
“Didn’t you hear me?”
“I heard you.”
“Do you truly have a death wish?”
But whether she said that or not, Kraush was already checking his sword.
“…Wait, don’t tell me.”
“I know very well what the Chaos Spirit is.”
Crimson Garden’s eyes wavered.
She realized Kraush intended to fight the Chaos Spirit.
“And I also know that leaving it as is won’t bring that broken being back.”
Kraush said this as he looked up at the sky.
At the edge of the sky, something pitch-black began to gather again.
Even now, its speed was extraordinary.
No, perhaps it should be called sheer determination.
“…Can you really do it? I can’t fight in this body. I can’t help you.”
The Chaos Spirit was now nothing more than a mindless Erosion Species running wild.
Crimson Garden was surely aware of this.
She had only released the spirit into the Spirit King’s Forest out of sentiment, having already given up long ago.
So she asked Kraush.
Could he bring an end to the Chaos Spirit?
“Sorry, but…”
At the same time, black flames erupted from Kraush’s body.
The power of World Erosion had met Ignis and begun to blaze.
“I was the one who finished it off in the first place.”
Though, it hadn’t been alone like now.
＊ ＊ ＊
Kraush recalled the time he had visited the Spirit King’s Forest in the past.
If one were to name the most troublesome existence in the Spirit’s Forest, it would undoubtedly be the Chaos Spirit.
A spirit that had turned into chaos could not be harmed by conventional attacks.
There was only one type of attack that could work against such a Chaos Spirit.
“Skills.”
Only skills imbued with divine power could work.
However, even skills were not omnipotent.
There were offensive skills, but there were also many supportive ones.
Even in the Skyborne Generation, there were few who could face the Chaos Spirit with just a single skill.
As he looked at the Chaos Spirit, what was Kraush thinking?
Ironically, Kraush was perhaps in the ideal state to face the Chaos Spirit.
He currently possessed two skills.
One was Black Hood.
The other was Ignis.
Black Hood was unrelated to offense, but Ignis was different.
The divine flame that burned everything.
Ignis was among the most aggressive of all skills.
Moreover, Ignis had a unique trait that made all conventional attacks effective against the Chaos Spirit.
“So if I’m going to capture it, it’s better to do it now.”
The Chaos Spirit grew stronger as it absorbed World Erosion within the Spirit King’s Forest over time.
Thus, when the Skyborne Generation visited the Spirit King’s Forest back then, the Chaos Spirit had already grown into an uncontrollable monster.
“Back then, it was deep inside, so I didn’t think I could capture it.”
Thanks to Crimson Garden, it had now come out to the forest’s edge, which was a welcome turn of events.
One troublesome problem could now be resolved.
And the Spirit King’s Egg as well.
Kugugugugung!
A pitch-black darkness began to surge toward them, covering the golden sky.
“It’s coming.”
At the moment Crimson Garden’s calm voice echoed.
Kwoong!
A pitch-black mass of liquid plummeted before Kraush and her.
It seemed to be an entity condensed entirely from darkness.
That liquid extended, gradually taking on the shape of a human.
Though its lower half remained a mass of black liquid, its upper body took on a distinct human form, with long arms dangling.
[Agh… ni.]
At that moment, the voice of the Chaos Spirit echoed in their minds.
Just hearing it caused a faint headache, as though it were a scream bordering on a curse.
Looking at the Chaos Spirit, Crimson Garden lowered her gaze bitterly.
For someone like her, who viewed the world through her servants, the Chaos Spirit had once been a companion.
Seeing the tragic end of such a companion in this form was not something she welcomed.
‘Such a sentimental fool.’
‘That’s why she couldn’t bear to see her servants tortured by Arthur and ultimately revealed the location of her true form.’
‘But this time, it will be different.’
‘You will have to help me until I become the strongest, surpassing Arthur.’
‘I have no intention of letting Crimson Garden meet her end in such a way.’
And the first step to breaking Crimson Garden’s shackles was standing right in front of him.
Crack, thud—
The Chaos Spirit began to raise its hand, black liquid dripping steadily from it.
The Chaos Spirit attacked indiscriminately, without any sense of self-control.
All that remained within it was a destructive instinct.
[Ah, Gni.]
As the voice resonated again, Kraush drew up his aura and launched himself off the ground.
At that moment, black liquid shot out from the Chaos Spirit’s fingertips like arrows.
Pababababak!
As Kraush twisted his body to evade, the black arrows embedded themselves into the ground, staining it pitch black.
Kraush recognized it as a kind of curse.
A curse that, if touched, would instantly rot the body into complete darkness.
Meanwhile, as if there were no limits to the Chaos Spirit’s assault, the black arrows continued to fly.
The downpour of black arrows from all directions resembled a torrential rainstorm.
However, Kraush did not retreat upon seeing the arrow rain.
Instead, he began dodging the barrage of arrows with movements almost acrobatic in nature.
His Sixth Sense extended far beyond normal perception.
The heightened senses allowed him to detect every object within his surroundings and chart the shortest escape route.
Whoosh!
Ignis, imbued with the power of World Erosion, burned even the black arrows.
Such a lower-tier curse was merely consumed by the flames of Ignis.
Kraush’s concentration, fully understanding and utilizing his abilities, had reached its peak.
‘It’s working.’
As he countered the black arrows, he realized it.
The Chaos Spirit was far weaker now than it had been before.
‘Because the world hasn’t yet been entirely engulfed by World Erosion.’
Back then, the Spirit King’s Forest had destroyed even the city walls guarded by Igrit and expanded massively.
As the domain of the Spirit King’s Forest grew, the Chaos Spirit had grown stronger alongside it.
But now, perhaps this was the smallest era for the Spirit King’s Forest.
The power of World Erosion that the Chaos Spirit could absorb also had its limits.
Clang!
Amidst the deflected arrows, Kraush and the Chaos Spirit finally faced each other.
The flash of Kraush’s blue eyes caused even the Chaos Spirit to feel a sense of oppression.
Black arrows were ineffective against Kraush.
Realizing this, the Chaos Spirit altered its method of attack.
Boom!
At that moment, a rumble spread from beneath the Chaos Spirit’s feet.
Following that vibration, the ink-like darkness beneath the Chaos Spirit surged upward like a wall.
The wall, towering high enough to block out the sun momentarily, began to collapse toward Kraush.
If the arrow rain didn’t work, it intended to crush him with the wall.
As the massive wave of darkness loomed above, Kraush stomped hard on the ground.
At that moment, the power of World Erosion and aura clashed and began to spin violently around Kraush’s body.
The muscles in his legs swelled fiercely.
Boom! With an explosion of dust, Kraush’s body shot forward in a straight line.
Meanwhile, the black wall came crashing down toward his head.
Beneath the collapsing wall, Kraush, sprinting with tremendous leg strength, had already sheathed his sword.
As the aura, now encased within the scabbard, collided chaotically, it began to condense.
Whoosh!
At that moment, the power of World Erosion flowed into the scabbard, igniting Ignis.
As the explosive energy swelled to the point of bursting the scabbard—
Kraush unleashed his sword like a thunderbolt.
Screeeeeech, BOOM!
The blade of Kraush’s sword severed the base of the black wall.
The black wall, narrowly missing Kraush’s head, collapsed and kicked up a cloud of smoke throughout the forest.
Right in front of Kraush, the Chaos Spirit appeared.
The Chaos Spirit, unable to fathom that even the black wall could be severed, immediately raised its hand toward Kraush, its feet summoning dozens of black arms.
But Kraush’s Sixth Sense perceived all movements of the arms.
Following the trajectories of the approaching arms from every direction, Kraush’s sword moved.
It was none other than the realm of the Blunt Sword.
Wherever Kraush’s sword touched, the black arms were utterly burned by Ignis.
The Blunt Sword dominated all the spaces the Chaos Spirit controlled, bringing Kraush right before it.
Boom!
Before he knew it, Kraush had reached the Chaos Spirit.
In that moment, Kraush’s mind sank into the Unity of Man and Nature.
His sword absorbed the surging aura that resonated from the depths of his psyche.
[Ahg…]
As the Chaos Spirit made its final desperate lunge, extending its arm—
At last, black flames erupted from Kraush’s sword.
One Sword.
A single black line cleaved through the air.
As the cleaving line spread, black flames began to spiral and surge.
[Ahg… Ni…]
With the Chaos Spirit’s scream of despair echoing clearly, it was split apart.