TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 97
The news that the Sky-Piercing Knight Order of Balheim defeated the 8th Class Erosion Species, Agares, spread across the world.
Since it was an incident that took place in the Demonic Realm, naturally, the entire world turned its attention to the situation there.
At the same time, people praised Balheim as expected, showering it with admiration.
In particular, the reputation of Lilish Balheim, a direct descendant of Balheim, soared even higher.
To think they managed to subdue an 8th Class Erosion Species without a single death in the Knight Order.
It was an event that undeniably proved her capabilities.
It even reached the point where people speculated she might become one of the next Ten Strongest Under the Heavens.
However, behind the scenes.
No one knew that there was someone who had fought against Agares more desperately than anyone else.
Because that person chose to conceal their identity, even Lilish remained silent until Kraush regained consciousness.
Thanks to this, a commotion erupted in the Holy Kingdom.
And when the clamor of public opinion finally began to subside.
Kraush opened his eyes in the treatment room of the Holy Kingdom.
[You’re not the type to be left alone. So, stop sulking every day and come outside. There’s a festival happening right nearby. Let’s, well, go see it together, just the two of us.]
Kraush stared at the ceiling of the treatment room for a moment.
The memory that brushed past him in his dream lingered faintly even after he woke up.
A woman with hair shining brilliantly under the sunlight, who couldn’t quite hide her embarrassment despite pretending otherwise.
[I know. Someone else came under a curse again, didn’t they? Just looking at you, I can tell. I know that. But couldn’t you, for just one day, put your own life first?]
And the look on her face when she tried to hide her disappointment that day when he couldn’t go out.
After that, the two of them had fewer and fewer conversations.
Kraush shook his head to erase the memory that surfaced.
Then, as he slowly sat up, he realized the pain in his body had vanished as if it had been washed away.
This feeling—no doubt, that one must have healed me.
[You’re really living it up, aren’t you?]
Kraush turned his head toward the voice he heard.
There, by the window illuminated by sunlight, sat a crow.
It was Crimson Garden.
“Of course I am. I thought I was a goner.”
[Knowing that, why did you push yourself so far?]
“Well, we got Agares, didn’t we?”
Kraush scratched his head awkwardly.
Having slain one of the harbingers of destruction, he felt a deep sense of relief.
[Let me ask you one thing.]
At that moment, Crimson Garden approached Kraush.
[Why are you so desperate?]
Crimson Garden was aware that Kraush was a regressor.
But even in her eyes, Kraush’s obsession seemed abnormal.
Kraush approached everything with a fervor bordering on madness.
And he did so without sparing his own body in the slightest.
Crimson Garden didn’t know the circumstances that led Kraush to become a regressor.
That’s why she asked him.
What drives you to go this far?
At her question, Kraush thought of Arthur.
In the past, someone had asked Arthur a question similar to this.
Of course, the reason for that question was different—it was because Arthur was too cold-hearted, unlike Kraush.
But the fact that they were asked the same question remained the same.
At that time, Arthur had answered like this.
[Even if I told you, do you think you’d understand?]
No one can fully comprehend something they haven’t experienced themselves.
That’s why Arthur had said it.
Standing on the brink of destruction, having gone through regression—what could you possibly know?
That’s why Arthur treated those around him as mere tools.
He coldly used people with words, ensuring that only those who would never betray him remained by his side.
Kraush wasn’t much different.
Though perhaps a bit less extreme than Arthur, he also treated people like chess pieces.
The only difference was that Kraush included himself as one of those pieces.
In the life Kraush had lived, he had never once prioritized himself.
He was fully aware that he was just a disposable tool meant to take on curses.
And so, even now, as a regressor, Kraush was the same.
In the life he had lived, the thought of himself as a chess piece had taken root deeply in his mind.
[For just one day, couldn’t you put your own life first?]
The words from his dream resurfaced once more.
Kraush looked at Crimson Garden.
If he told her about the impending destruction, how would she react?
Would she become as desperate as he was?
Or would she accept it with composure?
He didn’t know.
But Kraush opened his mouth to speak.
“It’s something I need to do to live as myself.”
The only time Kraush could live for himself was when he was preventing destruction.
[…….]
Crimson Garden said nothing, simply staring at Kraush in silence.
Soon, she let out a quiet sigh, spread her wings, and soared out the window.
[There’s just under half a year left until the Academy.]
Breaking the silence, Crimson Garden’s voice carried on.
[Until then, I’ll train you to the point of exhaustion, so be prepared.]
And with that, she flew out of the window.
Watching her leave, Kraush let out a brief laugh.
Really, it was just like Crimson Garden to say something like that.
-Clatter-
At that moment, the door to the treatment room opened.
Standing there was Bianca, holding a wet towel and a bowl.
Quietly, as if she hadn’t noticed Kraush yet, she began to close the door.
But then, she raised her head.
And the moment her eyes met Kraush’s.
-Clang!-
She dropped the metal bowl she had been holding onto the floor.
Kraush froze at the sight.
He had promised Bianca he’d return safely, but this was the worst condition he’d come back in yet.
He was at a loss for words.
In the meantime, Bianca slowly approached him.
As usual, her face was expressionless, but when she reached Kraush, she stretched out her arms.
Understanding what that meant, Kraush smiled bitterly and extended his arms under hers.
Then, he wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her into an embrace.
In Kraush’s arms, Bianca began to tremble silently.
“I’m sorry.”
When Kraush apologized, Bianca said nothing and only burrowed deeper into his arms.
As Kraush gently stroked Bianca’s head, she spoke.
“Introduce me to the teacher you mentioned, Mr. Kraush.”
So, it came to this after all.
“Alright.”
Training together until I head to the Academy might not be a bad idea.
Creak-
At that moment, the door opened once again.
Standing there was a woman with peach-colored hair draped in a veil, alongside Blavi of the Heavenly Dog Star.
“I really just came to see them wake up and then leave. I do have some responsibility, you know. As a member of Sephira here—oh, they’re awake!”
Seyrang, who seemed to have been contacted by Sephira, looked over while conversing with a magic device in her hand.
Then she put the device away, and upon seeing Bianca nestled in Kraush’s arms, she gave a bittersweet smile.
“She was very worried and cried a lot. You’ll need to comfort her quite a bit.”
“And yet, you’re the one who walked in while I was comforting her.”
“The situation inside here can’t even be seen through astrology.”
It was sincere, but Kraush took it as a joke.
“More than that, isn’t it rather cruel to hide that you’re part of the Balheim Direct Line?”
“You never asked.”
“Well, that’s…”
Seyrang closed her mouth.
After all, it was true she hadn’t asked.
“Anyway, thanks for sending the guard.”
Blavi had reached Agares even before the Blue Sea Knight Order emerged from the Demonic Realm.
That alone was proof of how faithfully he followed Seyrang’s orders.
‘If I had waited for Blavi, I might have caught them more easily.’
But that was just hindsight.
With no clue when Blavi would arrive, he couldn’t afford to waste more stamina.
“It’s fine. That was part of the deal. Even if it hadn’t been, I would have sent them after hearing the news.”
She shuddered slightly, as if recalling what Mirvis had mentioned.
Kraush, knowing exactly what it was, showed no particular sympathy.
It was to be expected, given that the person before him was the writer of the erotic novels Ebelasque often read.
What was hidden in her third drawer was none other than the erotic novels she authored.
A princess of Sephira and secretly an erotic novel writer.
When he first discovered it while searching her room, he was utterly flabbergasted.
‘I never thought I’d end up using it like this.’
In any case, Kraush decided to get to the main point now.
“What about the other deal?”
He asked while stroking Bianca’s head, and Seyrang remained silent.
Kraush knew an unsettling amount about many things.
So Seyrang also knew that his prediction of her impending death might not be entirely false.
After deliberating for a moment, she finally let out a sigh.
“Alright. From the beginning, it was a deal that wouldn’t harm us anyway.”
What Kraush wanted was the Heavenly Slaughter Star.
Even with the loss of the Heavenly Slaughter Star, Blavi’s bond with Seyrang and Sephira was not so shallow as to end.
Thus, she could readily give it up.
“But are you sure? Revealing so many facts to a girl like me?”
Seyrang already knew that Kraush possessed three skills.
On top of that, she knew that one of those skills could steal other skills.
Yet Kraush didn’t seem particularly concerned.
After all, as things progressed, those truths would inevitably come to light anyway.
“You wouldn’t want your secrets exposed either, would you?”
Seyrang flinched and froze in place.
By the time she had sent Blavi, she had already tacitly acknowledged it as her own vulnerability.
That meant she would absolutely never go around exposing Kraush’s secrets either.
“So we’re a community of secrets, then.”
Seyrang forced a smile.
For some reason, the word “community” seemed to make Bianca cling to Kraush even tighter, but he let it slide.
“Blavi.”
At Seyrang’s call, Blavi stepped forward.
“What should I do?”
“Just grant permission in your heart to give away the Heavenly Slaughter Star.”
Blavi faithfully followed Kraush’s instructions.
Kraush raised his hand toward Blavi.
The target was Blavi, and the object to steal was the Heavenly Slaughter Star.
From Kraush’s hand, Black Hood activated without the need for a dial.
In that instant, Kraush’s body froze and stiffened.
A terrible murderous intent surged up from deep within him.
‘So this is what it feels like.’
It was similar to the curse known as the Butcher’s Devil from before.
At the same time, the effects of the Doll’s Eye intensified along with the Heavenly Slaughter Star.
The Heavenly Slaughter Star amplified the power of curses.
The murderous intent that had surged was crushed in an instant under the weight of the Doll’s Eye.
Simultaneously, the frenzy that had been leaking out was suppressed as well.
Thanks to absorbing so much World Erosion recently, controlling the frenzy had been precarious.
But with the Doll’s Eye strengthened by the Heavenly Slaughter Star, all those issues were resolved.
And that wasn’t all.
‘The Heavenly Slaughter Star increases physical abilities in proportion to the murderous intent toward others.’
He was itching to test his body immediately.
“No. You need to rest and recover.”
But Bianca, noticing Kraush’s thoughts, spoke with a petulant furrow of her eyebrows.
Considering the Saintess’s abilities, Kraush knew she would undoubtedly declare him fully healed.
But feeling guilty toward Bianca, he decided to hold back for a bit.
“Blavi, how do you feel?”
In the meantime, Seyrang turned to Blavi and asked.
Blavi clenched and unclenched his fists before looking at Kraush with an odd expression.
“It feels as though the shackles that bound me have disappeared.”
“So it’s a good feeling. That’s great.”
Seyrang smiled in satisfaction before turning away.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave now. I wouldn’t want to intrude on your time together.”
“Alright. I’ll come to protect your life when the time comes.”
“I can protect my own life, thank you very much.”
She scoffed slightly before turning and heading for the exit.
As she grabbed the doorknob, Seyrang turned back to look.
“I have one question. Where will you be next year?”
Surely, her vaunted astrology could tell her that.
So why bother asking?
Kraush wondered but decided to answer as repayment for the Heavenly Slaughter Star.
“Rahelrn Academy.”
“Hmm.”
Seyrang’s lips curled into a smile, and beneath the veil, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
“I see. Have fun at the Academy. Oh, by the way, let me tell you something before I go.”
As a parting gift, she continued.
“The Fake Saintess recently appearing in the Holy Kingdom—could she not actually be fake?”
Hearing those words, Kraush let out a long sigh.
“Are you testing whether I’m a prophet or not?”
“Well, who knows?”
Why do astrologers all love to act so cryptic?
Thinking he could never understand, Kraush spoke.
“That person is not a fake.”
Nor are they real.
There is only one thing that is certain.
The Fake Saintess will be a force that shakes the very foundation of the Holy Kingdom.
“That answer is sufficient.”
Only then did Serang grab hold of the door and open it.
“Please help my friend, Austria.”
“What did you see through astrology?”
“Nothing at all.”
Kraush, not believing her, watched as she spoke those honest words and left, her peach-colored hair fluttering.
Just one thing.
She hid the fact that something that should have been visible about Austria had suddenly disappeared.