TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 77
The carriage area where Kraush arrived late.
There, Pendal lay with most of his chest blown away, and Olivia, the White Mage, was sobbing uncontrollably as she poured healing magic over him.
Beside her stood Lakradiyon with her head lowered and Vice-Captain Soldrik biting his lip, holding back his emotions.
Lakradiyon, sensing Kraush’s presence belatedly, raised her head.
“…Mr. Kraush, you’re safe.”
“Yeah.”
She spoke with trembling eyes.
Kraush gave a curt reply and glanced sideways at Crimson Garden.
“What happened?”
Then, he quietly asked in a voice only Crimson Garden could hear.
[Pendal took the hit from the fireball shot by that incarnation, which Lakradiyon couldn’t evade. After that, your group sent the Armed Princess elsewhere, and the incarnations collapsed. That’s the result.]
Hearing this, Kraush’s eyes widened.
‘Pendal sacrificed himself?’
Kraush remembered Pendal from before his regression.
He was nothing short of a scoundrel who lived like a delinquent in the Demonic Bastion, indulging in all sorts of atrocities.
Kraush knew this firsthand, having been on the receiving end of Pendal’s misdeeds.
He knew exactly how rotten Pendal was.
Thus, he thought Pendal wouldn’t be much different now.
Because Pendal had indeed obstructed Kraush’s group in the past.
‘But he saved Lakradiyon?’
Kraush found himself momentarily lost in confusion.
“Rak, take it.”
Calling her by her old nickname, he handed over the Jade Heaven.
Quietly accepting the Jade Heaven, she briefly recalled Kairan, the former team leader of Icarus.
But there was no time for reminiscing.
“Pendal.”
“…It was supposed to go to you. I only held onto it because you wouldn’t take it.”
Pendal struggled to speak.
“Captain, stop talking!”
Olivia shouted, but Pendal paid her no mind.
Instead, he stared at Lakradiyon with dying eyes.
“I’ll take it.”
Lakradiyon, prioritizing his feelings over questioning why he saved her, bowed her head as she spoke.
As if that was enough, Pendal then turned to look at Kraush.
“Balheim direct line.”
With a faint smile, he let out a shallow breath.
“Sorry… for getting in your… way.”
Blood welled up and trickled down from Pendal’s lips.
Kraush, hearing Pendal’s apology, slowly ran a hand through his hair.
He had seen death countless times.
From wars between humans to battles against the World Erosion Beings, and even as the World Erosion spread to its most devastating form, claiming countless lives.
Among them were individuals Kraush had grown somewhat attached to.
In the ruined world, the only survivors were Arthur, himself, and those three others.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Kraush had witnessed the deaths of everyone.
“Rak, bring down Nakcheon.”
But watching Pendal’s death stirred something different in Kraush.
Kraush hadn’t particularly formed any bond with Pendal.
In fact, Pendal was more of an enemy than an ally.
Pendal was hardly someone Kraush could even consider a passing acquaintance.
So what was this feeling Kraush was experiencing now?
The answer was simple.
‘Am I so caught up in this regression?’
Kraush felt a deep sense of disdain for himself.
A fleeting connection.
How foolish it was to define and act upon someone based solely on past impressions.
People change constantly with time.
If anyone knew this best, it was Kraush, who once spent all his time lamenting his life and cursing the world.
‘To judge so arrogantly with such a shallow perspective.’
Kraush ground his teeth.
At this rate, he was no better than Arthur.
Arthur, who had gone through far more regressions than Kraush, had failed every time to save the world from destruction and ultimately had his regression ability taken by Kraush.
It was all because Arthur had seen Kraush over countless regressions and assumed he would remain stagnant forever.
Arthur made assumptions.
He believed Kraush’s skill could only steal curses at best, not unique abilities like regression.
Thus, he let his guard down in front of Kraush and revealed the existence of the regression skill.
Unaware of the consequences it would bring.
‘And yet.’
Kraush had now judged Pendal based on memories from before his regression.
This made him furious at himself.
Unlike Arthur, Kraush had only one chance at regression.
Whether a second regression would even be possible was unknown to anyone.
After all, the regression wasn’t something Kraush held in his hands directly.
If he failed to prevent destruction in this cycle, the world would end.
Kraush truly believed this and was giving it his all.
‘To protect this damned world.’
He had to break free from this dependency on regression.
People change countless times.
Kraush had learned this through himself and through connections like Bianca, whom he had met after his regression.
He resolved never to forget this truth.
“Pendal.”
So Kraush spoke to Pendal.
“Today, I entered the Demonic Bastion with you all.”
Pendal remained silent, listening to Kraush’s words.
Because he understood exactly what they meant.
“And with all of you, I’ll bring down Nakcheon and open the ninth floor.”
“Ha…”
Pendal let out a short sound and then swallowed a smile.
“Noble, honorable words.”
Though his tone carried sarcasm, his smile reflected a profound peace, as if there could be no better death.
With that, Pendal’s eyes closed.
“Captain, Captain! Captain!”
Olivia screamed as she called out to Pendal.
But her cries could no longer stir Pendal’s body.
“Olivia.”
As her sobs erupted, Soldrik embraced her.
“Let him go now.”
“Hic, sob.”
Leaving her to weep in Soldrik’s arms, Kraush turned to Lakradiyon.
At that, Lakradiyon rose from her place.
“Mr. Kraush Balheim.”
At that moment, Soldrik called out to Kraush.
“I take full responsibility for obstructing your path. It was under my orders that—”
“Enough.”
In the end, it was true that they had gained time to respond to the Armed Princess.
“Take good care of Pendal.”
Having said that, Kraush turned his body and began to walk away.
As Kraush raised his hand, ensuring he was out of sight from the three, a faint spark flickered past.
‘Lioner.’
It was none other than Pendal’s skill.
At the very last moment, Kraush had stolen Pendal’s Lioner through the Black Hood.
[Recognized as more than a rival.]
The second dial had somehow been unlocked, revealing the third.
[Inherit Pendal’s will.]
For that dial, Kraush had spoken his final words to him.
Thanks to the unlocked dial, Kraush had been able to steal Lioner.
‘Call it petty if you want.’
This damned world left no other way to stop its destruction than to devour everything in this manner.
It was a resolve he had made on the day of his first regression—to swallow whatever he could and stand at the very top to prevent annihilation.
Thus, Kraush had stolen Pendal’s Lioner.
‘At the very least.’
He would not let it go to waste.
＊ ＊ ＊
Nakcheon.
A man sitting alone in the foremost room of the eighth-floor Carriage Zone.
Once a Raider who had conquered the Demonic Bastion, now a tragic figure consumed by it.
Kraush now stood before the final door, ready to bring him down.
After taking a day’s rest in the carriage to recover, Kraush lightly swung his sword to loosen up.
Perhaps it was the aftermath of his battle with the Armed Princess.
His body still ached here and there, but thanks to his Lunar Body, he had healed faster than most.
In this state, he might not be able to defeat Nakcheon.
But now, it was fine.
Because he had obtained Pendal’s Lioner.
Testing it secretly yesterday without anyone noticing, Kraush was convinced that this would let him take down Nakcheon.
“Lakradiyon, are you ready?”
“Yes, you may proceed at any time.”
Upon hearing Lakradiyon’s response, Kraush nodded.
“Let’s go.”
With that, he raised his hand and pushed the door open.
Creak—
With the sound of rusted hinges groaning, the shaky room of the carriage came into Kraush’s view.
This carriage zone was unlike the others.
The chairs were empty, and the wooden floor bore cracks and scars here and there.
But the most peculiar feature was that there was only one door.
In front of that door sat an old man, holding a sword encased in a long scabbard.
An elder wielding Rain Thunder Prime, its black surface adorned with a streak of lightning, as if carved from a tree struck by thunder.
Nakcheon.
Once the gatekeeper of the ninth floor, he now sat there with eyebrows turned white from age.
Creak, thud—
As Kraush confirmed Lakradiyon’s entrance, he closed the carriage door behind him.
At that moment, Nakcheon’s shoulders twitched slightly.
Simultaneously, his body began to rise with a cracking sound.
It was as if his bones were being reassembled after a long period of dormancy.
The sound alone indicated how few had ventured to the eighth floor in all that time.
Standing upright, Nakcheon’s eyes gleamed a fierce red.
“Lakradiyon, you know what to do.”
Seeing this, Kraush called out to Lakradiyon.
He had already explained to her how to defeat Nakcheon.
While Kraush used Ignis to set the entire carriage ablaze, Lakradiyon was to fight and hold him off.
That was Lakradiyon’s mission.
Thus, she drew her Jade Heaven and stepped before Kraush.
“Understood.”
With those words, Nakcheon unsheathed Rain Thunder Prime.
However, the blade that emerged was blunt and empty.
The formless blade left onlookers questioning its purpose.
A blade without an edge would not function as a proper sword.
But in that instant, Rain Thunder Prime proved why it was one of the world’s ten Heavenly Swords. From its guard, a golden light surged.
Boom!
With the sound of thunder exploding, the blazing golden light radiated an intensity strong enough to shift the very atmosphere.
As the golden light compressed in an instant—
A golden blade emerged, shimmering with an overwhelming energy and revealing its razor-sharp edge.
A sword that amplifies the wielder’s aura to manifest its blade.
Rain Thunder Prime.
Depending on its wielder, Rain Thunder Prime could either become the world’s greatest sword that could cut anything or the worst, unable to cut a thing.
Thus, swordsmen often said,
If the world’s greatest swordsman were to choose a sword, none would fit better than Rain Thunder Prime.
And this was precisely why Kraush had worked to ensure Rain Thunder Prime never fell into the hands of the Sword Master.
Boom!
Now, Rain Thunder Prime shone with its golden blade in Nakcheon’s grasp.
The overwhelming brilliance of the golden light was enough to intimidate onlookers, tightening Lakradiyon’s nerves.
Because that golden light signified Nakcheon’s level of mastery.
“He’s coming.”
Kraush’s brief remark marked the moment.
As Lakradiyon hastily raised her sword, Nakcheon had already arrived before her.
Clang!
Matching Nakcheon’s step, Lakradiyon intercepted Rain Thunder Prime with her Jade Heaven.
Yet, even as her sword blocked, Lakradiyon’s body staggered heavily.
Despite his aged form, Nakcheon’s strength was on an entirely different level.
She realized once again.
The reason Icarus had crumbled before Nakcheon that day, and why Kairan, the team’s leader, had risked her life to ensure their escape.
Whoosh!
The sound of flames roaring from behind made Lakradiyon catch her breath.
Kraush had begun setting the carriage ablaze by plunging his Dark Sword, imbued with Black Flame, into its structure.
Nakcheon’s crimson gaze turned toward the source.
He, too, had noticed Kraush’s peculiar actions.
But Lakradiyon immediately stepped in, shielding Kraush from his line of sight.
As if to say, “You’ll have to kill me to reach him.”
‘My role is to buy time.’
Though she had fled that day, this time she would prove otherwise.
“Come.”
With Lakradiyon’s curt command, Nakcheon and Lakradiyon finally clashed.