### Chapter 336
The ocean of the great sea was pitch black.
As if someone had spilled ink all over it.
It was incredibly dark.
Kraush arrived at the edge of this vast, dark sea.
“We’re stopping here.”
Kraush turned at the voice coming from behind him.
There stood Karandis on the deck.
As promised, she’d managed to find a ship from somewhere.
The size of the ship was beyond imagination.
It was more like a battleship.
Furthermore, its speed across the sea was no joke.
While a regular ship would take three days to reach the great sea, the one Karandis found made it in just one day.
‘Whoever it belonged to, they must have roasted some noble alive.’
Karandis sure knew how to push people around.
She probably provided some excuses and cornered a noble enough to borrow the ship.
“Yeah, this is sufficient. Thank you.”
Kraush expressed his gratitude to Karandis for bringing him this far.
Once thanked, Karandis smiled and rummaged through her pocket.
Then she handed him a small brooch embedded with emeralds.
“This is a charm given to sailors by their wives for safe return during voyages.”
When Kraush stared at the brooch after hearing its significance, Karandis giggled mischievously.
“Of course, it’s also a charm for friends given with the same meaning.”
Kraush accepted the brooch and tucked it inside his jacket.
“Thanks. I’ll be back safe.”
“Then good luck.”
With that, Kraush leaped off the deck.
As if it was nothing, he stood upright on the surface of the ocean.
Standing on the water took some trickery, yet Kraush began walking across the waves as if it was no big deal.
Karandis, watching from a distance, raised her hand when he was no longer visible.
Bwoooooo—
At that moment, the ship began to turn with the sound of a horn.
Kraush waved goodbye.
If that was the case, he’d surely return safely from the great sea.
Now, he just needed to—
‘I need to negotiate with dear father.’
The brooch he received from Karandis wasn’t just a wish for the sailor’s safe return; it symbolized something deeper.
It meant the one who gave it would always cherish you in their heart.
So, it was also a brooch used to confess to sailors.
‘I haven’t given up yet, Kraush.’
Even if he didn’t see her that way, Karandis burned with unyielding determination until the very end.
*
On the pitch-black great sea.
Kraush walked across its surface.
While others might feel nauseous at the sight of the black ocean, Kraush surprisingly felt at ease.
And why wouldn’t he?
After all, he was now part Dragon King and carried the power of world erosion within him.
Thus, it was a tall order for the world erosion itself to cause him harm.
‘Looks like the ultimate seed hasn’t sprouted yet.’
Despite the wild waves, to Kraush, this sea seemed surprisingly calm.
Of course, it’d be a different story if the ultimate seed sprouted soon.
But that time wasn’t here yet.
‘Though it will probably be soon.’
Kraush felt the need to research how to properly absorb the aura.
Lost in thought as he walked, an idea suddenly struck him.
‘Do I even need to absorb it?’
Kraush’s thinking shifted.
It was excessive to transform the aura absorbed in the demonic bastion into inner refinement.
At first, he thought he had to somehow absorb it and roll it around inside him, but that seemed way too rigid.
‘I have Rain Thunder Prime, Black Hood, and the Four Seasons.’
Using these three, Kraush could summon the aura without the need to contain it within his body.
‘Just like in the demonic bastion.’
In the demonic bastion, Kraush had used the aura abundantly from the gaps in the world.
His characteristics allowed him to do so.
At that moment, a grin formed on Kraush’s lips.
‘If only there were a way to melt and store the aura’s inner refinement.’
Kraush looked up.
Completing the true God of Creation Weapons was not a problem.
‘I’m sure there’s a skill related to this.’
He recalled someone with that skill.
‘Skill: Sable.’
Ironically, the user of that skill was someone he had just met.
The princess of the Sefira.
Her name was—
‘Serang Sefira.’
She was indeed the one who possessed the skill Sable.
“I never expected to reunite like this.”
Kraush chuckled lightly as he looked down.
Below the dark sea, something was rapidly rising.
Kraush had already readied his fist.
Kwahng!
In that moment, a sea serpent-like ocean erosion creature shot up into the sky over the great sea.
Its gaping mouth was even larger than the ship Kraush had just been on.
The characteristic of oceanic dimensional creatures is that their average size is tens of times larger than regular menaces.
They enjoyed the benefits of the vast expanse of the ocean.
So, a regular ship would be swallowed whole if it passed by.
But that was only for ships.
Hwarak!
Kraush swung a fist engulfed in white flames right into the cheek of the ocean erosion creature.
Kwahng!
“Gah!?”
In an instant, the beast’s head snapped back and collided with the ocean’s surface.
The ocean erosion creature was dispatched in a single blow and sank back into the sea.
“I’ve dealt with bigger beasts before.”
Having already faced the Forest of Giants, this was no challenge for Kraush.
[ Not long ago, you almost got killed by a 4-star erosion beast, and now you’re flexing. ]
At that moment, the voice of Crimson Garden resonated in his ears.
What was this guy talking about?
That was back when he was 13—four years ago!
[ By the way, it’s coming. ]
Kraush felt it too.
Kraush turned his head.
As he entered the great sea, the sky showed no signs of clearing the storm clouds.
Over the great sea, a gigantic whirlpool was heading his way.
“Ghost ship.”
One of the persistent nuisances that haunted those venturing into the great sea.
Physical attacks had no effect on ghost ships.
It was like a mirage, existing yet not existing at the same time.
The skull head at the bow of the ghost ship opened its mouth wide.
In that instant, the ocean began to churn violently.
Swooooosh!
Heavy rain began to pour down from the sky.
Kwahng!
Sudden lightning cracked down, and a fierce wind howled in.
In the distance, Kraush saw a massive whirlpool charging toward him.
The whirlpool was drawing all the water skyward, thrashing the ocean madly.
Two things could create a whirlpool in the great sea.
One was the aforementioned Sea Dragon’s Pearl.
And the other was the ghost ship currently barreling toward him.
“Tsk.”
Kraush knew he couldn’t do anything about the ghost ship.
Even if he erased it, it would only reappear somewhere else.
So, without hesitating, Kraush dove into the sea.
As he entered the great sea, he prepared himself for underwater conditions.
Kraush activated the magic tool he’d brought along.
It allowed him to breathe without any issue underwater.
Kraush quickly swam down to where the whirlpool didn’t reach.
As he descended, he began to sense multiple presences.
All of them were ocean erosion creatures.
‘Looks like there’s a lot of them.’
Kraush used Rain Thunder Prime.
As he did, his aura flared up fiercely in the great sea.
“It’s going to be a long journey.”
He certainly wouldn’t get bored.
*
Deep within the great sea.
Chaos reigned due to the sudden appearance of an intruder.
The ocean erosion creatures showed fierce malice, attacking at every opportunity.
But this intruder was not someone who could be dealt with solely by those ocean erosion creatures.
Flame flickered!
White flames erupted from the depths of the sea.
With each surge, the bodies of ocean erosion creatures piled up endlessly.
However, even Kraush felt this situation was somewhat displeasing.
Because there were just too many ocean erosion creatures swarming around.
‘This is too much.’
Even for Kraush, keeping this up would eventually drain him.
Especially considering the potential encounter with the Sea Dragon, the master of the ocean.
If he continued to lose stamina like this, he’d have problems later on.
[ Well, you’re obviously igniting a fire in a pitch-black sea, so of course they’ll come rushing. ]
At that moment, Crimson Garden pointed this truth out.
Kraush blinked in surprise.
That’s true.
If Kraush was burning brightly in a dark room, it would attract attention.
He had overlooked this simple fact in pursuing the erosion creatures with white flames.
Realizing this, Kraush switched his white flames to black flames.
Then he continued to exterminate the encroaching ocean erosion creatures.
Gradually, their numbers began to dwindle.
Black flames represented the power of world erosion.
Therefore, within the depths of the great sea created by the power of world erosion, the ocean erosion creatures could no longer distinguish him.
Soon enough, Kraush was able to dive peacefully beneath the great sea.
Kraush gulped down a smile, thinking he should have done this from the start.
‘If you keep fighting all the time, maybe I’ll become a battle maniac like Mary.’
He figured he’d thought about it while dispatching each creature approaching him.
Kraush began to worry he might end up like Mary.
‘It’s pretty refreshing now.’
Compared to Mary, his mindset wasn’t clouded at all.
Even if he had a lot of things on his mind, he shouldn’t be like that.
Kraush silently thanked Mary for being a good example as he sped downward in the great sea.
At that moment, he sensed a presence.
A presence that felt distinctly different from the world erosion.
Kraush quickly recognized who it was.
[ Over there, there’s someone exactly like you. ]
And there, he too was slaughtering ocean erosion creatures just like Kraush.
A fellow candidate for the Ten Great Lords.
Glide Lacroix.
His face burned with a fierce fire.
Kraush understood why he looked that way.
He had fixated all of his resentment on things related to world erosion.
So, the one rushing through the depths of the great sea right now was the embodiment of that resentment.
Shadows swirled around him like blades.
With each pass, the erosion creatures were shredded to pieces before they could even approach him.
He was overwhelming.
‘It makes sense.’
Glide was one of the strongest Kraush acknowledged.
The only reason he hadn’t climbed to the Ten Great Lords was that there was simply no seat empty for him.
He had long reached that level.
‘Damn it, it would be better not to run into him right now.’
But the fact that one side recognized the other meant the other side also recognized them.
Kraush and Glide’s eyes met.
Glide glared at Kraush, gradually scrunching his face in distaste.
His reaction had completely changed from when they first met.
“…Kraush, what have you become?”
Kraush understood exactly why Glide reacted that way.
The power of world erosion dwelling within Kraush’s body.
To someone like him, who loathed all powers of world erosion, Kraush had definitely crossed an unspoken line.
To the world erosion racist, Kraush was just another target of discrimination.
