### Chapter: 182
In the Ixion meeting hall…
Thanks to Guangduz’s unexpected entrance, the meeting was temporarily halted.
“Well, kid, are you really Guangduz?”
The first to speak up was the Long Ear Clan member, Black Bird, who had a suspicious look in her eye as she scrutinized Guangduz.
Despite her gaze, Guangduz casually shrugged it off and snorted.
“Wouldn’t it be funnier if I were fake? You all have some tricks up your sleeves to come back, right?”
As Guangduz shamelessly surveyed the World Erosives, some nodded in agreement. They were all survivors in their own ways.
“What if a necromancer brought you back?”
It was an elderly gentleman who posed this new doubt.
“Ha.”
Guangduz smirked and narrowed his eyes at the old man.
“Why don’t you check for yourself then?”
“Sure thing.”
The old man, unfazed, approached Guangduz and thumped his cane on the ground.
The resonating sound traveled through the air in front of Guangduz.
A moment later, the old man’s expression became peculiar.
“Yep, you’re definitely alive.”
Guangduz wasn’t a corpse; he was genuinely there.
Yet, despite that, the suspicion lingered. At the very least, it meant he wasn’t Ebelasque’s body.
“I apologize. One tends to become suspicious with age, doesn’t one?”
Guangduz shot a look that seemed to say “See?” and the old man doffed his hat, offering an apology.
“Now, get lost, old man.”
Guangduz brushed past the old man and stepped inside, fixing his glare on the Black Witch as all eyes turned to him.
“So, Black Witch, I think I need to hold you accountable for the life I lost.”
Rage simmered in Guangduz’s eyes.
The Black Witch’s mistake had cost him his life.
So naturally, he was in his rights to ask for an explanation.
The Black Witch fell silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.
“Sorry.”
“Damn it, you coward!”
Guangduz’s fury was justified.
And perhaps because of that, the tension in the air was palpable among the World Erosives.
If they were in the same situation, most would’ve reacted with anger.
And the fact that this incident could fracture the trust within the World Erosives began to show.
Those gathered in Ixion hadn’t originally come together out of trust for one another.
They were united towards a common goal: to create the God of World Erosion.
At the center of this gathering was none other than the Black Witch herself.
To have a World Erosive die because of her blunder was more than enough to create cracks in Ixion.
“Enough with the racket.”
It was then that the Beast King chimed in.
He picked at his large ear with his thick fingers and blew a breath of air.
“Isn’t it your own fault for not making it out alive in the first place?”
Guangduz wasn’t exactly someone you could just disregard.
But from the Beast King’s viewpoint, he could’ve handled it without the Black Witch’s help.
As their eyes met, Guangduz gritted his teeth.
Regardless, the Beast King simply continued to stroke his white beard, seemingly unfazed by Guangduz’s anger.
Everyone knew, no matter how much Guangduz could rant, he stood no chance against the Beast King.
The Beast King’s comment resonated with the World Erosives too.
They all prided themselves on their skills.
Naturally, they wouldn’t want to defend Guangduz, especially since they believed they could have escaped too.
Guangduz, reduced to the role of the weakling casting blame on others, felt utterly ridiculous.
But there would be no one left to support him in that moment.
“Now that you’ve skedaddled back to life, just sit tight and behave. What good are you if you can’t even prove you aren’t a corpse?”
With the Beast King’s scolding, Guangduz had nothing left to say and resignedly took a seat.
A few World Erosives barely suppressed their chuckles at his expense, but they quickly silenced themselves, knowing well enough how he felt.
‘Damn, I didn’t come back just to be mocked. Am I satisfied now?’
As Guangduz sulked in the corner, an unexpected voice echoed in his head.
[ Good job. ]
It was Kraush’s voice, who was receiving all this intel thanks to the necromancy skill of Ebelasque.
So, Guangduz couldn’t help but act a bit exaggeratedly.
The more over the top he was, the easier it was for him to gather opinions from the World Erosives around him.
And as a result, Kraush gained some enlightening information.
Hell Fairy.
He could see who she was through Guangduz’s eyes.
‘Never seen her before.’
The Hell Fairy was undoubtedly someone Kraush had no memory of.
That was concerning.
Kraush had dived deep into the roots of Ixion to uproot its remnants, so he should have known about her.
Yet there was no mention of the Hell Fairy anywhere.
Certainly, the Ixion members were familiar with her.
‘She’s linked to the royal family, and I didn’t have a single clue?’
Kraush was baffled by this situation.
‘The Guangduz incident definitely occurred during the last round.’
Now he wondered if the Hell Fairy had been involved or not.
He couldn’t be sure.
Regrettably so.
He hadn’t kept an eye on the earlier stages, assuming he would reincarnate.
But there was one indisputable fact.
The Hell Fairy was a new variable introduced this time around.
If she was still active at this point, she could very well be a game-changer.
‘It’s possible the Hell Fairy has made a connection with the royal family.’
As that thought crossed his mind, one thing became clear.
The reason for such a noticeable shift even within Ixion.
‘Reincarnation.’
The return of Arthur, along with the three women, had resulted in this outcome.
Kraush was confident of one thing.
At the very least, neither Mary nor Sigrid were involved in this incident.
He had been keeping tabs on both of them.
Which left only one suspect who he’d previously considered.
‘Abella.’
The Red Witch, Abella.
Having reached the pinnacle of magic, she was constantly on Kraush’s mind.
‘If the Hell Fairy has a connection to Abella…’
Perhaps Abella was intentionally extending her reach into Ixion.
The trouble was, Kraush had no idea what Abella wanted through Ixion.
‘Abella has always had a different agenda than ours.’
She didn’t care much about preventing the world’s ruin.
Most mages, after all, were outright insane.
To her, apocalyptic scenarios were just unfortunate because they would hamper her magical pursuits.
Agony from losing everything barely phased her.
The only reason she joined forces with the Celestial Generations was that Arthur was trying to stop it.
She had an unhealthy obsession with Arthur and was far too dependent on him.
While she displayed overwhelming abilities in magic, her core was rotted away from neglect.
Arthur expertly used this deep-rooted enmity to keep her focused solely on him.
But now…
‘The Arthur she knows is gone.’
The one who whispered sweet nothings and supported her no longer exists.
The Arthur in this world bears no resemblance to her memories.
‘Once the fake Arthur showed up, Abella was bound to be by the current Arthur’s side.’
Now the question arose: had Abella found satisfaction with this new Arthur?
Or could it be she couldn’t accept him at all?
‘If that’s the case…’
The emergence of the fake Arthur.
The genuine Arthur nowhere to be found.
Was all of this part of Abella’s scheme?
The current Arthur might be in a point of no return.
As these thoughts raced through Kraush’s mind, his brow furrowed deeper.
Because a rather extreme idea began to unfold.
‘This is really, really extreme, but…’
He had an unsettling feeling.
He hoped to believe it could never be true.
‘That crazy woman might actually pull it off.’
If this world had no real Arthur left.
Then Abella could very well be attempting to create the God of World Erosion to regain him.
Others might dismiss this as an overreaction, but for Abella? It’s entirely feasible.
That woman was always a lunatic.
Perhaps the Hell Fairy was just another piece she orchestrated.
‘Then I must find who’s providing the Hell Fairy with royal family intel.’
Kraush could immediately think of one person who might be privy to such information.
‘Sigrid Ephania.’
The fourth princess of the Empire, a clever and mischievous girl.
There she was.
‘She’s in the Empire right now, isn’t she?’
How convenient.
It would seem he needed a way to get in touch with her.
The only issue was figuring out how to make contact.
Kraush quickly thought of someone.
‘Mary Diana.’
She’s the one tightly leashed to Sigrid.
And through that leash, it might be possible to reach Sigrid.
The royal family’s connection isn’t purely one-sided, after all.
Mary likely had a way to contact Sigrid.
‘Guess I’ll have to meet Mary again.’
Regardless of how it turns out, he intended to break through her last defenses.
Kraush finished checking off what he needed to do next.
Then he lifted his head to focus ahead.
‘What’s needed now is…’
Figuring out the Hell Fairy’s identity and monitoring Ixion’s future moves.
Kraush resolved to make that his sole goal.
*
Until the Ixion meeting came to a close, no significant discussions took place.
The main discourse revolved around gathering intel related to Kraush.
Additionally, there was the matter of someone inheriting the Sword King’s legacy.
‘The Sword King’s legacy, Sigrid is on the move.’
Kraush soon realized who was connected to the Sword King’s legacy.
A long time ago, long before the current Celestial Swordsmen were active, there was the Sword King.
The only person who once stood shoulder to shoulder with him is now the headmaster of Rahern Academy, Tuhwang Durandal.
The Sword King left behind a special legacy, which Kraush believed Sigrid had absorbed.
‘It’s not that I mind; it’s just…’
Still, the thought of it going to Sigrid had him feeling a bit miffed.
“It feels like they’re all keeping an eye on me, huh?”
The returned Guangduz scratched his head and complained.
Just as he’d pointed out, Ixion hadn’t held any meetings regarding future plans.
The reason, of course, was they couldn’t completely trust the returned Guangduz.
Kraush didn’t cling to high hopes either.
Guangduz’s role here was sufficient as it stood.
“What are you gonna do now? The Ixion folks are gonna start targeting you.”
Crimson Garden interjected, with Ebelasque nodding in agreement.
“The Ixion lot are dangerous. Some are outright overwhelming.”
They had hastily set up a barrier, but it was just enough to evade the gaze of the World Erosives.
What they genuinely needed was the power to protect themselves.
The ability to draw Ixion out and obliterate them.
“Let’s summon Veltoa Lacroix.”
The best mage in the world and the one capable of acquiring the highest-level curse.
“We need to find that inspiration.”
Ironically, the inspiration would likely be located quite close to the Empire.
‘And there’s Mary’s Excel too.’
Gathering both skills and curses would be their next step.
