TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 64
The ceiling he had been seeing quite often lately came into view.
It was the ceiling of the place in Halgram that the Blue Sea Knight Order was using as their quarters.
Kraush, staring blankly at the ceiling, slowly raised his body.
As he did, his entire body throbbed with pain.
It was the lingering aftermath of the Annihilation Erosion.
It was the price he paid for his greed at the very end, so he couldn’t complain, even if he ended up in this state.
‘I wanted to see how far I could push against the Ten Strongest Under the Heavens.’
Still, there was a result to show for it.
Even though Adolf had gone easy on him, he had managed to inflict a wound on him directly.
And not just any wound—he had burned him, someone hailed as a master of Flame Magic, to the extent of leaving a scar.
Kraush clenched his fist tightly.
It was because he could clearly feel the performance of the Lunar Body he had acquired this time.
However, he faced another problem.
And that problem was none other than his sword.
‘The sword couldn’t withstand the Annihilation Erosion.’
The intense heat and power of the Annihilation Erosion had been too much for the sword to bear.
That was a significant issue.
No matter how much stronger he became, he couldn’t fight without a weapon.
‘I’ll need a sword. One with excellent durability.’
Kraush crossed his arms and fell into deep thought.
Then, all of a sudden, an idea came to him.
‘Rain Thunder Prime.’
One of the world’s ten Heavenly Swords, said to embody thunder within.
Kraush vividly remembered the existence of that sword.
And it might just be the most suitable weapon for his current situation.
‘The issue is the person who has it.’
Kraush furrowed his brows in contemplation.
This was because the current wielder of Rain Thunder Prime was still alive during this time period.
“What are you thinking about so intently?”
Just then, Crimson Garden appeared in her crow form and perched atop the bed.
Kraush set aside the matter of the sword and decided to ask about something else first.
“Crim, what about Aslan?”
“After taking a quick look, I saw he had finished talking with the Flame Mistress. It seems he also mentioned the Lunar Body. Perhaps because of her own misdeeds, she has decided to actively support his actions.”
That was at least some good news.
“Come to think of it, is that guy Aslan planning to become a Spirit Master now?”
“I thought I told you before what becomes of spirits contracted with humans.”
The Chaos Spirit that had been born of the first Spirit Master.
Well aware of it, Kraush glanced back at Crimson Garden.
“This time, I’m here, aren’t I?”
Kraush, who had gained immortality from Crimson Garden, said it as if implying he could handle the problem himself.
Crimson Garden gazed at Kraush with faintly glowing eyes before letting out a dry chuckle.
“Do you think you can surpass me with that level of growth? From where I stand, you wouldn’t be able to, even by the time your life runs out.”
Such harsh words to rebuff him.
But Kraush knew her tone wasn’t entirely mocking.
The bond between Kraush and Crimson Garden was gradually deepening.
So, someday, when the end came, Crimson Garden might inadvertently wish for one thing.
That her cursed immortality wouldn’t be passed on to Kraush.
Because she was, at her core, someone with a lot of heart.
“Crim, we’re in a contract relationship.”
So Kraush decided to set things straight.
“You give me your immortality, and in return, I grow stronger by taking on its burden. It’s a simple exchange.”
Both she and he must never forget that fact.
“Who said otherwise?”
Crimson Garden quipped as she leaped down from the bed.
That meant she wasn’t denying it.
Seeing her smirk, Kraush decided to ask something else since things had come to this.
“Have you found anything about Abella’s disappearance?”
“While residing at the Red Magic Tower, she suddenly vanished. I heard the Flame King left the Igrit Family to search for her.”
Adolf, who went to find Abella, returned empty-handed.
That must mean she couldn’t be found.
‘What is she up to?’
Kraush felt his thoughts grow heavy.
Then, he decided to cast them aside.
Unlike Sigrid or Merina, a mage’s rank could evolve purely through magical knowledge.
‘To be honest.’
Kraush viewed Abella as the most significant potential threat.
Among those who had regressed, Abella had the fastest potential to grow stronger.
‘I don’t know where or what she’s doing, but right now, she’s not a flame I should touch. If I don’t have to meet her, it’s better not to. Nothing good will come of her learning about me.’
From the start, Kraush had no intention of letting any of the three know that he had regressed.
For now, he decided to gather information about Abella and nothing more. Then, Kraush got up from his seat.
He intended to take care of his meal and then obtain a certain item from the Magic City, Halgram, before departing.
That would cost him a considerable amount of money, but it didn’t matter.
He could simply have Balheim pay for it.
“I suppose you’re in need of a weapon now.”
At that moment, Crimson Garden spread her wings wide, as if to boast, and spoke.
As expected, her intuition was sharp.
“I’ve already found one for you.”
However, Kraush blinked in surprise.
“I’ll get you a decent one from someone who’s quite skilled in crafting weapons.”
“Uh, Crim.”
Although it was kind of her to offer to procure a weapon for him, Kraush, who already had another plan in mind, gave an awkward smile.
“I’ve already decided where to get my sword.”
Crimson Garden froze.
Then, she slowly folded her wings back, maintaining her posture, and glared at Kraush.
“It’s temporary. Temporary, alright? Who said you’d use the same sword forever? Honestly.”
Crimson Garden flapped her wings irritably and flew out the window.
Watching her leave, Kraush couldn’t help but chuckle dryly.
I guess I’ve upset Crimson Garden.
Still, it’s rare for her to show such care.
‘So, the next destination is the Demonic Bastion, huh?’
Thinking about how tirelessly he moved around, Kraush got up again.
Kraush had no time to rest.
He could only keep moving forward.
It was at that moment.
Clatter!
With the door opening, Bianca appeared there.
For some reason, she was holding a large basket in her hands.
And for some reason, her eyes were utterly serious.
“…Bianca?”
When Kraush cautiously called out to her, she silently walked over and placed the basket on the table.
“It’s food.”
Kraush’s eyes blinked.
“Eat.”
Kraush silently got up from his seat.
When he opened the basket, there were various types of food, just as Bianca had said.
In front of Bianca, who was watching, Kraush took out the food and pulled out a chair to sit.
It seemed like it had been cooked a little while ago because it was still warm.
When Kraush put a piece of food in his mouth with a spoon, he felt a slight sweetness.
Though it was less than before, Kraush realized it was food made by Bianca through that sweetness.
“From now on, you won’t eat from other places.”
Kraush hesitated.
That day, Bianca had met him with Lirina.
He was certain.
At that time, he had heard from Lirina about everything he had done with her.
“Bianca, that is…”
Kraush tried to make an excuse, but when he met Bianca’s expressionless eyes, he started moving his spoon.
He didn’t understand why he was being cautious, but it seemed like he should be right now.
Sometimes, staying quiet is the way to get through a crisis.
＊ ＊ ＊
Inside the rattling carriage.
Perhaps because early summer had arrived, a lush green field could be seen.
After exchanging greetings with the Vice Commander of the Blue Sea Division he had been indebted to for a while, Kraush immediately boarded the carriage and was on the move.
He didn’t meet Aslan and Lirina specifically.
They had already said their goodbyes at the end, and they would meet again at the Academy anyway.
The farewell was already sufficient.
So, Kraush was leaning back and sighing in the carriage as usual.
During this, Kraush felt someone fidgeting next to him.
When he slightly opened his eyes, he saw Bianca leaning against his shoulder, doing something.
Looking closely, Bianca was unfolding her fingers that had been clenched into a fist one by one.
As he watched curiously, Bianca inserted her small hand between Kraush’s fully spread fingers and showed a satisfied reaction.
Is she bored?
Kraush gripped her hand tightly.
Bianca, leaning against his shoulder, was startled.
But it seemed she had no intention of letting go, as she stayed still.
“Isn’t it boring to travel by carriage every day?”
When Kraush asked, Bianca, still leaning against his shoulder, glanced up at him.
“It’s okay because Mr. Kraush is here.”
“…We’ll reach a village soon, so let’s buy a new book there.”
It must be tough for Bianca, who is only thirteen, to keep up with the continuous journey, but he was impressed by how well she was doing.
“Mr. Kraush, you’re going to Rahelrn Academy next year, right?”
Then, Bianca’s question continued.
“Yes, I have a lot to do there.”
He had no intention of learning from classes; he planned to steal the skills of those useless guys.
“What about me?”
Kraush and Bianca are a year apart.
Since Rahelrn Academy only accepts students from the age of fifteen, Bianca cannot enroll when Kraush does.
It seemed like Bianca had recently been thinking about many things, having realized this fact.
“You can do whatever you want.”
Kraush had no intention of restraining her.
“Should I learn something too? I want to go to the Academy with Mr. Kraush.”
“With your intelligence, you could easily get into the Literature Department right now.”
Bianca, who always carried books around.
She was almost exceptionally talented in that area.
But Bianca shook her head.
“Mr. Kraush always goes to dangerous places.”
That meant she would follow him to the World Erosion.
“That’s…”
Kraush tried to object but stopped.
When the World Erosion fully begins, the world becomes dangerous for both commoners and nobles alike.
He was worried if Bianca could protect herself.
‘She might need the strength to protect herself, even if she can’t keep up with me.’
But he wasn’t too worried about Bianca.
In the days of the White Ghost, Bianca was a monster who could defeat even the Ten Strongest Under the Heavens and the Poison King.
Of course, that was largely due to becoming a World Erosion Being, but it meant she had that kind of talent to begin with.
‘Should I find a proper master for her?’
As Kraush pondered this, his eyes fell on Crimson Garden, who was sitting quietly on the opposite seat.
Crimson Garden, being an Immortal, had been with many World Erosion Beings and knew their techniques.
Kraush had learned quite a lot thanks to Crimson Garden.
In the days of the White Ghost, Bianca had used daggers and Ice Magic.
Crimson Garden could teach both of those.
“Crim.”
[No way, kid.]
But she rejected him immediately upon being called.
She had been oddly sulky since their last conversation about swords.
[Do you think I’m some kind of teacher who teaches everyone? Kid, teaching you alone has been so fruitless that I click my tongue every day.]
Though he thought he had become quite strong.
Well, he was still far from impressing Crimson Garden.
‘The most important thing is to reach Master level before enrollment.’
Only then could he at least compete with the Skyborne Generation.
“It doesn’t have to be you.”
Crimson Garden commands many World Erosion Beings.
Kraush knew of those who were strong enough to face Arthur among them.
“Your World Erosion Beings are strong enough. I’ve seen it for myself, so I know. So at least consider it.”
They could be good teachers for Bianca.
Crimson Garden seemed not too displeased by the praise of her World Erosion Beings.
[Tsk.]
Crimson Garden glanced at Bianca.
Bianca had always liked Crimson Garden a lot.
Whenever Crimson Garden’s crow fell asleep, Bianca would gently pick it up and place it on a soft pillow or blanket.
Since Bianca took such good care of the crow, Crimson Garden was secretly fond of her.
[Look.]
Perhaps finding it hard to keep meeting her expressionless eyes, Crimson Garden eventually flapped her wings and flew outside.
She was really not honest.
-Thud-
Meanwhile, the carriage began to slow down gradually.
When Kraush looked out the window, he saw a village that seemed to be built on a mountain.
The ultimate masterpiece created by a Madman weapon engineer who dedicated his life to making a weapon akin to World Erosion, the Demonic Bastion.
The city of Lavala, which lives off the byproducts from the Demonic Bastion.
And this was the village Kraush had come to in search of a weapon.
As they entered the entrance of Lavala, people armed to the teeth could be seen everywhere.
They were all Raiders striving to enter the Demonic Bastion, the elements that made up the city.
The Demonic Bastion autonomously mines underground resources and combines them internally to produce numerous byproducts.
The Raiders’ primary goal was precisely those byproducts of the Demonic Bastion.
High-quality byproducts from the Demonic Bastion fetched high prices, after all.
Moreover, the deeper one went into the Demonic Bastion, the better the byproducts became.
Thanks to this, the Raiders formed teams and endeavored to descend to lower levels.
‘Though that effort would only last until the eighth floor.’
Of course, what Kraush was interested in was not the byproducts of the Demonic Bastion.
A single sword that Belorkin, the third of Balheim, had retrieved from the Demonic Bastion in the past.
Rain Thunder Prime
Rain Thunder Prime, one of the Heavenly Swords, was a sword that Belorkin had obtained purely by chance.
Naturally, the current owner of that sword was not Belorkin.
Because now, a Ghost within the Demonic Bastion possesses it.
‘How amusing.’
Knowing what Belorkin had done after obtaining that sword, Kraush let out a wry smile.
Empowered by Rain Thunder Prime, Belorkin’s reckless rampage and tyranny reached its peak, ultimately pointing the blade at Charlotte.
Unable to control his arrogance, he followed Charlotte into the Forbidden Zone.
This led to Belorkin’s death.
Kraush did not know the details of the situation at that time.
At that time, he had been unconscious until the Saintess came, due to Belorkin burning his face with Ignis.
Only later, after recovering, did he hear that Belorkin had died in the Forbidden Zone and that Charlotte had brought back his corpse.
Eventually, Rain Thunder Prime left the dead hands of Belorkin and went to Charlotte.
Thus, Kraush was well aware of the power that Rain Thunder Prime displayed in Charlotte’s hands.
However, this time, Rain Thunder Prime would not end up in Charlotte’s hands.
‘Because I will take it.’
And to do that, Kraush now had to kill the current owner of Rain Thunder Prime.
In the history of the Demonic Bastion.
The human who had killed the most people.
The Ghost of the Demonic Bastion.
Nakcheon, that is.