### Chapter: 402
In the Magic Kingdom of Jeblam,
Kraush was back but had no time to explore the magic kingdom.
He had teleported straight to the Mage’s research lab in the Royal Palace of Jeblam.
After telling Karandis to wait a few days back in Icarus, he quickly hopped over here via the magic of Crimson Garden.
“Every time I come here, it feels like a new place.”
Kraush had collaborated with the Mage numerous times, so he visited this royal palace more frequently than many other places. But each time, it felt like the atmosphere in the lab had changed drastically.
The primary reason he felt this change was because of the numerous magical inscriptions scrawled all over the walls.
After having a good chat with Crimson Garden, the traces of magic they had researched were scattered throughout the lab.
Initially, it was a royal palace, but at this point, it felt more like a magical haven.
“Be careful not to touch anything; otherwise, it might stir up trouble.”
“If there are dangerous things, just erase them.”
When Kraush shot a quip at the crow leading the way, she simply snorted back.
“Everything here is the result of researching Holy Mage spells. Don’t worry; the only people allowed in here are the upper echelon.”
Even great wizards who had made names for themselves outside would appear quite pathetic in terms of knowledge compared to those in this place.
So, the number of folks allowed inside this secretive research lab in Jeblam Royal Palace was extremely limited.
As he walked down the corridor, one of those distinguished individuals popped into view.
“Bianca.”
As soon as Kraush called her name, her silver hair fluttered, and she slowly turned to him, sporting a smile.
“Look who it is—the legendary womanizer of the Holy Sword, who’s got five wives! What a scandal!”
“Don’t you think the title is getting longer each time we meet?”
“That’s just your delusion.”
Bianca, the only daughter of the Mage and the Barrier Master, was a former classmate from Rahern Academy.
Since it had been a long time since they last met, Kraush approached her.
“Still drinking your milk?”
And bam—Bianca promptly smacked him.
“Seriously? When was the last time you had a growth spurt? Stop with the milk nonsense!”
Bianca, who had a naturally small stature, shot an annoyed glare at Kraush, who couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Where’s your mother?”
Her mother was the World Erosion Master, the Barrier Master. On that fateful day when they dismantled Ixion, Kraush had forcibly dragged the Mage along to shake down those Ixion folks.
As a result, he found her hidden away, trapped in a complete isolation barrier. Although she had managed to survive, being the Mage, there wasn’t a thing she could do to lift her own complete isolation barrier.
That’s when Bianca stepped up.
After showing her the Barrier Master, she dedicated about a year of her life to breaking that isolation.
And eventually, she succeeded in freeing her.
“Bianca…”
The moment the Barrier Master opened her eyes and met Bianca’s gaze, Bianca threw her arms around her and wept.
She had believed her mother abandoned her, but in truth, her mother had left to protect her. Tears flowed as she embraced her mother, reminiscent of a little child reunited with a long-lost parent.
And that way, Bianca reclaimed her mother.
During the times Kraush had dropped by Jeblam to check on Bianca, he was relieved to hear that she’d kept her promise.
“Think I’m stuck to my mom like glue?”
Maybe it was because a lot of time had passed, but despite once being inseparable, now things felt a bit distance.
“She just stepped out for a bit.”
Hearing that, Kraush genuinely patted Bianca on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry. She won’t ditch you this time; she’ll be back soon.”
And once again, he was met with a smack from Bianca.
“If you keep saying stuff like that, I might just seal you up in a barrier next!”
What a scary threat.
“Yeah, seal me up, and you really won’t get to see me again, so don’t do it.”
In her current state, she hadn’t regained her full powers. So, as she glanced at Kraush, then exhaled slowly, she added,
“Man, your wives really let you roam the streets freely. I thought they’d be too worried to let you out.”
“…”
Upon hearing her next words, Kraush fell silent for a moment, and Bianca raised an eyebrow, realizing something.
“…Have you been locked up before?”
“Not really a lock-up situation.”
“Ha, sounds like something similar happened.”
Indeed, after Kraush lost his powers, Bianca, Astria, Haring, and Karandis had taken turns practically camping out around him for almost 24 hours.
Given how chaotic Kraush’s life was, they were simply uneasy about his safety, thinking his inherent nature never changed regardless of his lost powers.
During that time, he was a bit terrifying if Kraush mentally checked in with himself.
Even if they were worried, following him to the toilet seemed a bit much, don’t you think?
But Kraush could understand that.
Although he was an immortal, his body had been completely fried, leaving him unable to wake up for about three months after that incident.
It was during his healing process where his soul had to take a forced nap.
Finally waking after three long months, the first sight that met Kraush’s eyes was the worn-out faces of his friends.
Even Lirina, who had watched over him with Alicia, looked half-withered.
He had warned them that the events at Crimson Garden were going to be catastrophic, but while it had felt like a short time to Crimson Garden, for everyone else, it felt like a funeral.
It was fortunate Sigrid had other things to attend to, meaning the four women didn’t have to keep a constant watch on him.
So for a while, Kraush had to accept his fate.
But as time passed, once he recovered and began stabilizing his activities as Icarus’s head honcho, things gradually began to shift away from that burden.
“I can’t argue; it was kind of my fault.”
“Wow, progressing with grace, are we? But seriously, it was a bit hair-raising. Honestly, the girls around you are not your average Joes. If you hadn’t woken up, I bet the world would’ve split open!”
Things truly were dangerous at that time, even from Bianca’s perspective.
Many people connected to Kraush searched high and low for various plans just in case he didn’t wake up, resulting in the entire world falling into a state of alert.
Kraush had truly become a significant figure on a global scale.
“I was most scared of your sister; she brought something new every day. If Crimson Garden hadn’t intervened, who knows what might’ve popped up next.”
As Bianca reminisced about those three months Kraush had been out cold, Kraush chuckled ironically.
“You cried the day you found out I woke up.”
Bianca flinched at that comment.
The day she heard that Kraush had awakened, she bolted from Jeblam to see him and collapsed in tears when she found him sitting up in bed.
Kraush had fundamentally changed her life.
She was the one researching mental barriers just to wake him up anyway.
So when she saw him awake, all her anxious feelings burst forth as a flood of relief.
“…Forget that, will you?”
“Don’t expect me to forget; I’m just too sharp-minded for that.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to split your head open to make you forget.”
As Bianca raised her hand, Kraush fled down the hall, led by Crimson Garden.
Having wrapped up his long chat with Bianca, he entered the center of the Mage’s research lab.
Just then, he spotted a silver-haired man tinkering with a magic circle.
What lay drawn on the desk was an advanced magic circle, a combination of hundreds of spells, forming a pinnacle of magic.
The one tirelessly adjusting it was Mage Terasius Jeblam, the king of the Jeblam Kingdom.
Beside him was Crimson Garden’s main form.
As Terasius revised the magic circle, a crow landed on Crimson Garden’s shoulder.
[You’ve arrived.]
At that moment, Terasius’s voice echoed in Kraush’s mind. Even while focused on the magic circle, he was using magic to communicate with him.
“Did you bring the Orb of Destiny?”
[Bring it over here.]
He wasn’t stopping his adjustments but talking fluidly, showing just how absorbed in his work he was.
Crimson Garden was just as focused, conveying her voice through the crow but also fully focused on the magic circle.
As Kraush handed over the Orb, it floated upward into the center of the magic circle.
Then, one by one, the magic circles began to levitate, wrapping around the Orb.
Starlight whirled around.
The symbols inscribed on each spell reminded Kraush of a starry night sky.
It was a breathtaking sight, even to Kraush.
Holy Magic.
After Abella had pioneered this magic, Crimson Garden and the Mage had tirelessly dedicated themselves to perfecting it, and now it was unfolding right before his eyes.
Even as someone who knew nothing about magic, he could feel the determination the two had shown in their quest to finish Holy Magic.
Boom–
Suddenly, Kraush felt a deep resonance inside him.
That vibe was none other than the Celestial Star.
The seven stars of the Celestial Star reacted to the Holy Magic imbued in the Orb.
At the same time, the movements of Nox, the spark of Excel, the current of Lioner, and the flames of Ignis all flared up in response.
The skills he had absorbed until now all reacted at once.
Skills were powers granted by the gods.
If these were reacting, it meant the Holy Magic could likely impact divine power.
Suddenly, a realization hit him.
What kind of sorcery had that crazy Abella conjured?
Finally, something twitched within Kraush, the Black Hood.
As all the skills reacted throughout Kraush’s body,
Flash!
With a sudden burst of light, all the magic circles vanished.
In their place, the Orb sparkled as if the Milky Way was draped within it.
It was beautiful.
That was a truly fitting description for the spectacle before him.
“Kraush.”
At that moment, the Mage finally spoke up. But both he and Crimson Garden were slick with cold sweat.
“Put on the Black Hood.”
The duo realized they had barely managed to maintain the Orb of Holy Magic. Kraush raised his hand.
The Black Hood.
It had indeed been a while.
What would happen next? Even Kraush, a reincarnator, was uncertain.
But he decided to leave it in the hands of his newfound future.
Light thrummed in Kraush’s palm.
[Target: ‘Holy Magic: Orb of Destiny’ ]
And at the moment he swallowed the Orb of Holy Magic, everything transitioned.
