### Chapter: 180
After Bianca had swept through her training like a storm…
Kraush found his way back to his room.
“Alisha, stop! We’re going to see Aliod now.”
“Ah.”
As soon as Kraush said that, Alisha, his personal maid, froze on the spot.
Aliod, the steward of Green Pine Hall…
He happened to be Alisha’s father.
After Kraush visited Green Pine Hall, the two had exchanged glances.
However, while Aliod remained as stoic as a statue, Alisha kept her eyes glued to him.
She must really want to chat with her dad since it’s been a while.
“Thank you for your kind words, but I must attend to Kraush-nim. That won’t change, even at Green Pine Hall.”
When Alisha politely declined, Kraush chuckled lightly.
“Well then, it’s an order. I need some time alone anyway.”
“…Is that really an order?”
When Kraush mentioned an order, Alisha hesitated.
But when she saw the look in Kraush’s eyes, knowing he wasn’t going to take back his words, she finally agreed.
“Thank you. I’ll be back shortly.”
With that, Alisha bowed her head respectfully and left.
However, she couldn’t hide her excitement; the sound of her footsteps rushing down the hallway was quite quick.
She was still young and probably had a lot she wanted to catch up on with her father.
‘Honestly, I do need some time alone too.’
Locking the door behind him, Kraush noticed the crow from Crimson Garden following him inside.
It nodded its head and perched lightly on the doorknob.
Using magic, it secured the doorknob to keep it shut.
After confirming that, Kraush pulled a corpse rat out of his pocket.
“Ebelasque.”
As soon as he called its name, the corpse rat jumped up and sat on the floor.
At that moment, shadows began to wriggle beneath its feet, shooting upward in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, a woman with long black hair and a striking upper body appeared from the shadow.
As always, the dark circles under her eyes reflected her usual hermit-like appearance.
Ebelasque Venapochi—the world Erosive and the only Necromancer.
“Why are you actually dressed properly today?”
Unlike her usual oversized t-shirt, today she wore a stylish black dress.
The outfit accentuated her upper body and featured a tight waist skirt.
With long black gloves reaching her wrists, there was a certain allure to her look—though no one could quite understand why.
“Isn’t it common sense to wear different clothes at home and outside?”
Ebelasque replied somewhat curtly today.
She was right; that was indeed quite reasonable.
However, Kraush knew very well that Ebelasque rarely dressed differently, even when going out.
Was there some change of heart or something?
Kraush decided to let it slide.
“Where’s Guangduz?”
“I’ll summon him now.”
Still obedient, Ebelasque tapped her high heels on the floor.
Suddenly, just like before, a shadow began to bubble up from the ground.
“Pwah!”
A man with blood-red hair soon emerged from the shadows.
Since Kraush recognized him from before, he waved lightly.
“Guangduz.”
“Cough, cough, you!”
The moment Guangduz saw Kraush, he tried to shout.
However, before he could even begin, his voice was abruptly cut off.
This was because Ebelasque was holding the reins on him.
Though he had resurrected through Crimson Garden, his heart was literally in Ebelasque’s hands.
Therefore, he no longer had the rebellious attitude he used to flaunt.
Kraush slowly walked over to Guangduz.
Then, he lowered himself and smiled slowly at the silent man biting his lip.
“You understand that, as someone with a strong will to survive, your life is worth less than a fly in this situation.”
Guangduz, unable to voice his anger due to Ebelasque’s grip, simply gritted his teeth.
“Any sudden moves are completely off the table, so just give up. If you think about it, she can control you at will.”
His face was filled with shame.
But he was quick to grasp the situation.
“What do you want to know?”
With survival instincts kicking in, he was able to recognize reality.
So, instead of questioning Kraush further, Guangduz decided to comply.
This was definitely a worthwhile resurrection, as he wasn’t particularly attached to other Ixion members anyway.
“Who are the current members of Ixion?”
He was already aware of their aims.
Thus, the information Kraush needed was about which world erosives were currently associated.
And…
“Tell me why you stole the Bloodline Theory and who you dealt with regarding it. Everything.”
There could be ties to the imperial family behind this.
Kraush needed to dig deep into that aspect.
*
As a corpse now, Guangduz had no choice but to answer.
From the moment his lips began to part, Kraush listened attentively.
Thanks to that, he could roughly understand the current composition of Ixion’s world erosives.
‘They’re more dangerous than I expected; they’ve joined up faster than anticipated.’
He counted a total of 14 world erosives.
Among those, he deemed four, including the Black Witch, to be particularly dangerous.
‘If we include their minions, the count would surely be even higher.’
Kraush crossed his arms and began to tap his index finger against his bicep.
Could this outcome be a butterfly effect caused by him and Sigrid, or was it a labyrinthine issue that even he couldn’t fathom?
He couldn’t tell.
However, one thing puzzled him.
“Hell Fairy?”
That name had come up, one he had never heard before.
Kraush didn’t know all the world erosives just because he was Kraush.
What he understood was limited to those he had encountered during the wars between Ixion members and world erosives.
He couldn’t know every last one lurking in the shadows.
But he was sure: the one referred to as Hell Fairy was completely unknown to him.
“That guy.”
Then Guangduz continued.
“That was the one who asked me to steal the Bloodline Theory.”
It wasn’t the Black Witch; it was someone named Hell Fairy who had urged Guangduz to steal it.
At that moment, Kraush’s face crinkled up in disbelief.
“So you mean to say you’ve got no clue what they did after you stole it?”
“Why would I need to know? I just did what I was paid to do.”
Guangduz let out a scoff, showing that he truly didn’t know.
When Kraush glanced at Ebelasque, she nodded in agreement.
What Guangduz was saying was entirely true with not a shred of deception.
“And what did you receive in exchange?”
“The Bloodras sword.”
However, the next statement raised Kraush’s eyebrows in confusion.
The Bloodras sword, one of the ten legendary swords, was Guangduz’s weapon of choice.
The fact that he had recently acquired it threw Kraush off.
“Didn’t you already have a Bloodras sword before?”
“The sword I originally used was one I brought from my world. But during a battle, it got worn out and dulled, which is when I got the proposal for a trade.”
If that’s the case, then that Hell Fairy must have existed back in his original world as well.
Kraush felt a headache coming on.
If this had all been planned from the beginning of his reincarnation, he wouldn’t be surprised.
But with the lack of information flooding into his thoughts, he felt his mind getting tangled.
“Crimson Garden, do you know this ‘Hell Fairy’?”
“I have a vague idea.”
In response to Kraush’s question, the crow perched on the doorknob spoke up.
“I’d say it’s a recently named world erosive. I encountered them once while I was still a member of Ixion.”
“What was it like?”
“It was… unsettling. It made me feel more uneasy than the Black Witch. Their fire attribute magic was quite strong and, above all, they didn’t give you any openings.”
At that moment, Kraush furrowed his brows slightly.
“Fire magic?”
“Right, the Hell Fairy primarily manipulates fire magic, and it was tinted a bright blue.”
Blue flames.
‘Is it different from someone I know?’
The person who came to Kraush’s mind was none other than the Red Witch, Abella.
She was a master of fire magic quite different from the flame god, Aslan, after all.
The fact that she’d been missing all this time made him wonder, but…
Kraush shook his head.
‘There’s no way that timeline could sync up.’
The time period when the Hell Fairy made a deal with Guangduz corresponded to when Kraush was only four years old.
Kraush’s reincarnation began when he was 13.
And Abella would have been one year younger than Kraush, making her 12 at her time of reincarnation.
So the Hell Fairy was active when Abella was at the age of just three, meaning the timelines don’t match.
“Guangduz, is Ixion tied to the imperial family?”
When Kraush shot his next question, Guangduz responded without hesitation.
“Probably. I heard that the Hell Fairy is acting as an insider for the royal family.”
Of course, the event involving the Bloodline Theory was undoubtedly linked to the royal family.
Moreover, the fact that the Hell Fairy was associated with them made it even more suspicious.
‘Things are more tangled than I thought.’
Kraush had knowledge of the royal family’s secrets.
It made sense; after all, the empire was on a downward slope, and the royal family was losing their authority due to that secret.
‘Hardenhartz also came into the picture because the second prince revealed this secret to the empire, leading to the Poison King showing up.’
Though this incident may have been closed off, it all started with the royal family’s secrets.
‘It wouldn’t be odd for Ixion to be connected with them, but…’
The connecting bridge in all of this was the Hell Fairy, a world erosive he had never even heard of.
Despite having gathered information, Kraush felt more confused than ever. He let out a sigh.
“Enough. Overthinking won’t lead to any results.”
Kraush organized his thoughts before they overloaded.
Then he arrived at one conclusion.
“I can just meet them directly.”
If there’s something he doesn’t know, the best way to find out is to confront them and gather information.
And that was the purpose behind having Guangduz do this.
Kraush’s eyes met Guangduz’s.
As Guangduz wore a puzzled expression, Kraush briefly smiled.
“Guangduz, it’s time for you to play your next role.”
“What? There’s more?”
Guangduz grumbled, suggesting that he had already spilled his guts about enough.
However, Kraush paid him no mind.
“You need to attend the upcoming meeting of Ixion yourself.”
As soon as he said that, Guangduz’s expression hardened.
“Wait, wait! There’s a good chance I’ll get caught there!”
Guangduz questioned what would happen if he got exposed, and Kraush shrugged.
“If you’re good at what you do, there’s no way you’ll get caught. Don’t worry; just act like you usually do.”
“Damn! How can you not get caught when a dead guy shows up!”
“That’s for you to figure out…”
Kraush sported a wicked grin.
“It doesn’t exactly fall under my responsibilities, does it?”
Guangduz glared at Kraush, looking like he was about to erupt with expletives.
Yet deep down, he didn’t want to part with this second chance at life.
Although he was a puppet now, he still prioritized his own life.
“Last time, I was supposed to get rid of you.”
Glancing at Guangduz, who was gritting his teeth, Kraush patted him on the shoulder.
“Count on you, Guangduz.”
I have a feeling we could become the best of friends.
