### Chapter: 171
The Domain Achieved by Kraush
That day, Mary witnessed Kraush’s Erosion of Heaven’s Demons with her own eyes.
At that moment, she realized she couldn’t possibly win against Kraush in her current state.
So, she entered seclusion for her training, continuously picturing Kraush’s form as she practiced relentlessly until today.
In her mind, she replayed simulations of battling Kraush over and over.
“I can win.”
If it’s her, she would definitely prevail.
She tried hard to ignore the anxiety in her heart, constantly reminding herself that she was the Divine Spear.
Her opponent was Kraush Balheim.
The guy she always considered a half-wit in her mind.
No matter how strong he became, the reality that he could beat her did not exist.
“I am Mary Diana, the Divine Spear!”
With that conviction, she stepped outside ready for battle.
However, the Kraush before her now was much stronger than before.
The heat radiating from his black flames was so intense it felt like it could burn her skin, and his menacing aura clouded her mind.
Just a few weeks ago, things were different.
But now, he was far stronger than she anticipated.
Of course, it was only natural.
As Mary got stronger, so did Kraush, growing stronger infinitely.
In that moment, he had refined his Annihilation Erosion further with the enhancement elixir.
He honed it in conjunction with the Crimson Garden, constantly improving his skills in the nights filled with darkness.
While Mary was stuck in time, Kraush had never once halted; he had kept charging forward, focused solely on the path ahead.
Even if the path ahead was bloody, Kraush’s feet never wavered.
Because of that, Mary couldn’t catch up with him.
Even with the memories of the Divine Spear, the fact that she had once crumbled was now distancing her from Kraush.
“How can this be…?”
Her knees buckled under the overwhelming force, blood spilling onto the ground.
Kraush’s red eyes sparkled through the spear’s point, piercing through her resolve.
The moment she thought of losing, countless scenarios played in her head.
Even if her brain wasn’t the sharpest, she understood.
She couldn’t even see her beloved Arthur Gramalte, who once cared for her deeply, now forsaken by Sigrid.
Arthur, the man she loved.
Yet, he no longer appeared before her, who had whispered sweet nothings into her ear.
The anxiety spiraled; it chewed at her insides.
Mary was definitely the Divine Spear.
But that was only true when Arthur was there.
She was also just a person.
She had to stand on the front lines, yet her spear had been chipped and worn down by the fiercest foes numerous times.
Her unstable mind needed something to lean upon.
Even if she gave everything she had, she needed someone she could absolutely rely on.
And that someone she chose was Arthur.
Due to Arthur standing always ahead of her in battle, she had managed to endure thus far.
It was his love that kept her going.
But now, the Arthur she yearned for would not appear, no matter how much she cried out.
Just once.
If only she could see Arthur just this one time, she wouldn’t be crumbling in such a pitiful state.
Yet, before her cries, Arthur would never show himself.
Mary’s eyes turned towards the overwhelming Kraush.
His glowing red eyes were akin to that of a demon.
So frightening.
The consequences those eyes might bring forth filled her with dread.
And for some reason, Kraush shone brilliantly, almost blinding her.
Seeing him shining so brightly, unlike her now faded self, Mary felt a feeling she couldn’t put into words.
“I don’t want to.”
She hated it.
“I hate it!”
She detested it.
“I hate it…”
I am the Divine Spear.
The unbreakable avatar of the Empire.
And the lover of the Hero King, Arthur…
“Mary Diana.”
From within the surging black flames, Kraush’s voice resonated.
“Don’t run away from reality.”
And with that, his words dug deep into the core of her heart, where she sought to ignore reality.
Reality.
She couldn’t protect the world.
No longer the Divine Spear, but a Princess Slayer.
Abandoned by the Diana family.
Now she was not even Arthur’s lover.
Mary Diana.
That was the reality she had so fiercely turned away from.
The reality she was trapped in from the last cycle.
Now a criminal with no past glory.
“No!!!”
As she screamed, a brilliant yellow light burst forth from her spear.
That light was powerful enough to pierce through Kraush’s black flames shrouding the Erosion of Heaven’s Demons.
Incredible Speed Beyond Time!
A realm reached through the acceleration of all the body’s movements to the max.
The moment she reached that domain, the world seemed to freeze.
In that world, where time had stopped, she escaped from Kraush’s oppressive hold in an instant.
Simultaneously, her eyes glinted with light as she took a long breath while pointing her spear.
Using Incredible Speed, her body would afterward be overstrained, leaving her in agonizing pain.
But she was confident.
She knew that in this world, she was the strongest.
In that still time.
Kraush was also frozen in the bounds of time, standing perfectly still.
Mary’s spear began to compress the light within it.
As she pressed and pressed, the light surrounded her, twisting the fabric of the atmosphere around her.
An unbelievable current flowed solely around Mary in the stilled world.
The lights all absorbed into her spear.
In the pitch blackness of space.
At long last, her spear howled before the frozen world.
Incredible Speed Beyond Time!
Ultimate Technique.
Spear of Annihilation!
Her spear of light soared, annihilating everything around it as it hurtled toward Kraush.
In the stilled time, Kraush seemed on the verge of being shredded by Mary’s Spear of Annihilation.
As she watched the scene unfold before her, a fleeting thought passed through Mary’s mind.
If she killed Kraush here, there would no longer be anyone left to bear the curse in this world.
She knew that, but she couldn’t stop herself.
Her mind cried out that if she didn’t erase Kraush right there, she wouldn’t have the will to live.
So she would kill him.
Pouring every ounce of her strength, she would take him down.
In that fleeting moment, when Mary’s resolve became singular.
Thud –
A sound, like a drop of water falling, echoed from somewhere.
The noise was so clear it even reached her ears as she thrust her spear.
Before long, she figured out where the sound came from.
Kraush.
She could clearly hear the sound of water droplets falling from him.
How could that be?
No one should be able to move beneath the Incredible Speed!
Then she realized that the sound was coming from the ripples of Kraush’s psyche.
Certainly, the world seemed momentarily frozen in front of her spear.
Yet, it was just that she had become too fast.
The world was still flowing at a snail’s pace.
In that world, the Night of Nox upon Kraush glittered brighter than ever.
The realm of Night of Nox was independent altogether.
Upon that night sky, the seven stars of the Heavenly Spear began to rise.
Each star exuded its light, weaving together a beautiful tapestry.
And the light that intertwined then directed its beam toward Kraush’s body.
With those seven stars in the Heavenly Spear.
As soon as the light from the seven stars completely enveloped Kraush, the power of World Erosion surged forward.
That power had saturated to the brim, igniting once more the flame of Ignis.
The blazing body soared past the limits to attain a new realm.
The moment it reached that realm.
While thinking the world had stopped in the Incredible Speed.
Kraush’s body moved.
Smash!
In that moment, Mary felt the Incredible Speed crack around Kraush’s center.
And that crack soon spread throughout the entire Incredible Speed.
Clang!
Eventually, it led to the collapse of the Incredible Speed.
Above Kraush’s head, a red moon rose.
Reflecting his life experiences, the illusory image shone beneath it.
At that moment, the black flames of Kraush burned fiercer than ever.
Before that inferno, Mary felt her light to be inexplicably small.
The racing light amidst the vast universe merely illuminated the surroundings momentarily.
It could not illuminate everything at once.
When the black flames pouring from Kraush’s sword met the red moon and shone brightly.
Mary then too realized the end.
Annihilation of the Erosion of Flames.
Five Techniques.
Erosion of Heaven’s Moon and Fire.
The black flames coiling around the red moon swallowed the light and annihilated everything.
The sight of the forest being consumed left no words to describe—overwhelming was the only term that fit.
Because of that, chaos erupted in the control center as well.
The spells they needed to project onto the screens malfunctioned, unable to withstand Kraush’s Erosion of Heaven’s Moon and Fire.
Beneath the swirling black smoke, Kraush looked ahead.
In the space where not a blade of grass remained.
Kraush faced Mary, her body charred black, clutching her spear weakly.
Her chest was heaving, and her blurred vision failed to function properly.
She stood only because of her innate talent.
In her hazy eyes, she saw Kraush.
Returning from his red flames to a blue glint, Kraush stood there unwaveringly.
The gap.
For the first time, she truly understood what that meant.
She had completely lost to Kraush.
Click!
[ Overcome Mary with “Force.” ]
In front of Kraush, Mary’s second dial shattered into pieces.
Simultaneously, the third dial appeared.
[ Isolate Mary. ]
Isolation.
The moment she read that line, Mary’s body began to crumble forward.
Boom!
With her black hair swirling around, she fell to the ground, and the wind rustled softly.
And Mary was then sent back.
The Divine Spear.
The spear, which seemed impossible to be broken, crumbled into dust.
As she gazed at that sight, Kraush silently exhaled toward the sky.
“I’ve won.”
Kraush roared in triumph.
