TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 75
Inside the rattling carriage.
Kraush was staring at the Armed Princess, who was openly expressing her bewilderment right in front of him.
“…Are you out of your mind? Judging by the fact that you know my real name, you must be one of the World Erosion Beings. But which one? Which reckless, insane bastard decided to don Balheim’s shell and wage war against me? Are you one of the fools whose weapons I’ve confiscated?”
A woman obsessed with weapons, wrapped head to toe in them.
However, just by scrutinizing the performance of each weapon, it was easy to see how dangerous they were.
Especially her primary weapon, the Thirteen Armaments. They were so dangerous that Kraush couldn’t guarantee his survival once they were drawn.
‘How does she even move so nimbly in that state?’
Kraush, who had once witnessed her fighting firsthand, clicked his tongue.
For now, it seemed she carried everything on her body due to spatial constraints, but outside, her combat style would undoubtedly change again.
“You talk too much.”
Thus, Kraush had no intention of engaging in a prolonged battle.
After all, she already misunderstood him as one of the World Erosion Beings.
He decided to act boldly.
“Abandon Rain Thunder Prime and scram.”
“Hah?”
The Armed Princess reacted in utter disbelief.
Yet, even so, she hesitated to attack recklessly.
It was a reflection of her inherently cautious nature.
‘This guy is acting as if he has something up his sleeve.’
As proof, one of the Armed Princess’s eyes narrowed slightly.
World Erosion Beings often possessed peculiar abilities unique to each individual.
The black flame from earlier had stung a bit, but it wasn’t unmanageable.
However, if he possessed another ability, it would undoubtedly become an annoying hassle.
What was most suspicious, though, was the World Erosion power emanating from Kraush.
It was faint.
The power he exuded was far too faint.
‘Unless.’
He was hiding his World Erosion power so well that she couldn’t fully grasp it.
‘Perhaps I should draw one of the Thirteen Armaments.’
A method to end this quickly flickered through her mind.
‘No. It’s not wise to reveal my hand in an uncertain situation. There’s no harm in waiting to confirm.’
Moreover, the fact that Kraush was associated with Balheim nagged at her.
Any connection to Balrok was absolutely unacceptable.
The world, it seemed, was full of things she detested.
All she dreamed of was a simple life surrounded by children.
And so, she pulled the axe from her back.
To achieve that life, she needed to claim Rain Thunder Prime as her new “child.”
“Judging by your audacity to spout those words at me, you must be fearless.”
Thus, she made her decision.
First, she would uncover every move her opponent had.
Watching the Armed Princess, Kraush maintained a composed expression outwardly while exhaling silently inwardly.
‘The bluff worked.’
If she had recklessly charged in to kill him, Kraush would have had no way out.
The difference in skill between them was obvious.
And that meant this was Kraush’s only chance to gain the upper hand against the Armed Princess.
‘The characteristic of the 8th Floor.’
Kraush glanced out the window, where the landscape was racing past.
‘If I can fulfill that condition.’
Even the Armed Princess wouldn’t stand a chance.
From now on, his survival hinged entirely on his endurance.
He hadn’t planned to face such a formidable opponent so soon, but there was no avoiding it now.
If he had to fight, then so be it.
Swoosh—
At that moment, the Armed Princess made the first move.
As she stepped forward, the first thing to strike was her axe.
Her axe techniques were on a completely different level from those of the Butcher Dog.
‘Flameburst.’
As soon as Kraush recognized the axe for what it was, he didn’t counter but immediately retreated.
Bang!
A deafening explosion followed, filling the carriage with thick black smoke.
Flameburst’s effects were an explosion and smoke.
Though simple, the smoke was highly effective at obscuring vision within the confined carriage.
Through the smoke, a single silver blade without any ornamentation suddenly shot forward.
‘The freely moving blade, Starblight.’
Instead of countering, Kraush tilted his head just enough to narrowly avoid the blade.
He then parried the spear that came flying at him alongside Starblight.
Clang!
“Hmm?”
Through the smoke, the Armed Princess narrowed her eyes.
Kraush’s reaction seemed as if he had predicted her attack.
“You’re using something strange.”
The silver blade darted through the smoke at will before returning to the empty scabbard at her waist.
“And it seems like you know a fair bit about my weapons.”
Well, of course.
‘I’m the one who retrieved and categorized all your weapons after your death.’
Handling such tedious tasks was his fate.
Thus, Kraush opened his Sixth Sense instead of responding.
“Damn, how irritating.”
In that instant, her spear began thrusting wildly.
The crimson aura enveloping the spear bared its fangs fiercely, aiming to kill Kraush.
Thus, Kraush relied on his Sixth Sense to unleash an almost instinctive flurry of blunt sword techniques.
Each time, sparks of black flame scattered and slowly spread around.
His arm was going numb.
Despite pushing his body to its limits using Lunar Body and Annihilation Erosion, it was still a struggle to keep up.
But merely defending wouldn’t suffice.
The Armed Princess was still uncertain about Kraush’s true identity.
Kraush had to press her even slightly before she confirmed he was the weaker one.
Clang!
At that moment, Kraush’s blade clashed against the shaft of her spear.
Then, in an instant, he slid down the shaft and slashed toward the Armed Princess.
“Ha!”
With a sharp exclamation, the Armed Princess immediately released her spear and reached for her waist.
In the blink of an eye, two daggers crossed to block Kraush’s blade.
Whoosh!
Black flames flared and scattered around as a result.
But the Armed Princess paid them no mind.
Kraush’s black flames couldn’t deliver a fatal wound to her.
Knowing this, she poured strength into her arms without hesitation.
Crunch, clang!
As her arms extended, the force transmitted through the daggers sent Kraush’s blade spinning into the air.
The Armed Princess’s strength was so overwhelming that Kraush nearly lost grip of his sword.
Not missing the moment Kraush’s sword floated in the air, the Armed Princess immediately thrust her twin daggers like a viper.
Her target was Kraush’s neck.
If the daggers reached their mark, Kraush’s neck would be crushed in an instant.
“Hup!”
Seeing this, Kraush quickly infused his right arm, gripping his sword, with the force of Annihilation Erosion.
The power of the blazing Annihilation Erosion momentarily surged past its limits, accelerating Kraush’s arm downward.
Boom!
However, what Kraush struck was none other than the floor of the carriage.
Amidst the scattering black flames.
The Armed Princess’s body dissolved as if shedding its skin like a snake.
‘Mortal Fang.’
Kraush realized what the twin daggers truly were.
Simultaneously, Kraush immediately released his sword from his right hand and swung his left hand behind him.
‘Black Hood.’
A sword emerged from his left hand as it was swung.
The Mortal Fang wielded by the Armed Princess, appearing from behind him, clashed with Kraush’s sword.
Clang!
Determined not to be overpowered, Kraush pushed more of his Annihilation Erosion into his legs and stubbornly held on.
The Armed Princess’s eyes twisted in frustration as she watched.
It was supposed to be a fatal strike aimed at his neck, but he had blocked it so effortlessly.
“You bastard!”
The Armed Princess immediately swung her left knee upward.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a Starblight once again slipped out of her waist scabbard.
It flew toward Kraush, just as it had done earlier.
Kraush gave up the power struggle, deflecting the Armed Princess’s strength and stepping back.
At the same time, his sword struck the incoming Starblight.
Unlike before, the deflected Starblight did not return but instead aimed at Kraush again.
That was the peculiar trait of the Starblight—it would counterattack even after being deflected.
As Kraush tried to evade the Starblight, the Armed Princess had already thrown the Mortal Fang into the air and was swinging a Flameburst.
True to its nature as a dual axe, the Flameburst’s wide arc left almost no room for escape within the cramped carriage.
‘Damn it, not even a moment to breathe!’
Boom!
As soon as the Flameburst and Kraush’s sword collided, a subsequent explosion sent Kraush rolling across the floor.
Perhaps caught within the explosion’s range, his vision blurred momentarily.
However, Kraush’s Sixth Sense screamed at him.
Telling him to roll again immediately.
Crack, Boom!
The moment Kraush rolled on the floor, the Flameburst struck his previous position, causing another explosion.
But the Armed Princess had no intention of stopping there.
As Kraush started rolling on the floor, she relentlessly brought down her Flameburst, determined to kill him.
“You’re good at rolling, huh? Even a dung beetle has that much talent!”
Spitting out provocative words, she slammed the Flameburst into the floor where Kraush had been and released it from her hand.
Then, she drew a greatsword from her back and raised it high into the air.
“Let’s see if you can escape this too.”
Kraush’s senses snapped into sharp focus as he watched.
That damned woman.
In that moment, her greatsword rose so high it touched the ceiling of the carriage before she brought it down toward Kraush.
Boom!
The massive greatsword, so large it reached the far end of the carriage wall, crashed down.
Kraush barely managed to lift his sword in time to block the greatsword head-on.
Tremble—
His trembling arms showed just how much strain he was under to withstand the greatsword.
The Manifold Greatsword, capable of freely increasing or decreasing its size and weight.
True to its nature, Kraush felt as though he would be crushed along with his sword under its immense weight at any moment.
Despite what had just happened, he’d been saving the second stage of Annihilation Erosion for as long as possible.
If he faltered here, the Armed Princess would figure it out.
‘Damn it, even bluffing is exhausting.’
Before he was crushed, Kraush immediately unleashed the power of Annihilation Erosion.
Clang!
The surge of power from his now-overheated body was so intense that even the Armed Princess momentarily failed to react.
With the strength Kraush poured in, the Manifold Greatsword was lifted ever so slightly into the air.
In that fleeting moment.
Kraush, from an upward stance, channeled all the flames of Annihilation Erosion into his Dark Sword.
Whoosh!
At that moment, the fiercest flames he’d ever unleashed roared to life.
“Hup!”
With a sharp inhale, Kraush slashed downward with his sword.
A crescent-shaped flame surged toward the Armed Princess.
Judging that she couldn’t simply withstand this attack, she immediately released the Manifold Greatsword and raised her wrist.
From her wrist emerged an oddly shaped chain that coiled in front of her like a shield.
Boom!
Amidst the resounding explosion and flickering black flames.
Kraush felt his arms trembling from the aftereffects of Annihilation Erosion.
The smoke escaping his mouth was so hot it felt like it was scorching his throat.
Sweat dripped down in heavy droplets.
In this brief exchange alone, Kraush felt as though he’d faced death several times already, leaving him dizzy.
Had he made even a single mistake, Kraush would’ve already been a corpse.
‘Doll’s Eye.’
So Kraush drew upon the Doll’s Eye, forcibly suppressing his frayed nerves.
Instead, he plastered the most relaxed smile he could muster onto his lips.
He had to appear as though he were a World Erosion Being hiding a trump card.
In response, the Armed Princess, who had retracted the chains back around her arm, narrowed her eyes.
“You’ve been holding back your strength. Is that it?”
Judging that Kraush’s earlier attack had been a glimpse of his full power, she grinned sharply.
“But that’s not enough to take me down.”
As Kraush caught his breath, he heard her words and began to let out a slow, mocking chuckle.
“What the hell are you laughing at, bastard?”
Seeing her openly display her irritation, Kraush slowly raised his Dark Sword.
True to its reputation for durability, the Dark Sword retained its pitch-black form, unyielding even after enduring such an attack.
He made a mental note to thank Crimson Garden for acquiring such a weapon for him.
Crackle, pop—
Kraush’s eyes scanned the black flames clinging to various spots in the carriage, burning vigorously.
Approximately five minutes left.
“Shua Delphia, or should I say, Nabi.”
Kraush called out her infamous title with a sneer.
“Are you in heat? Stop mewling already.”
Twitch—
Her ears and tail, bristling with fury, stood upright in response to his provocation.
“You bastard!”
As she glared at him, the Armed Princess’s fiery gaze burned brightly through the black flames.
All while harboring the clear intention of tossing the cat off the speeding carriage.