### Chapter: 203
The world’s best healer, Veltoa Lacroix.
The first time Kraush met him was in a tavern.
“Wow, the smell of curses is so thick I can almost choke on it. Is that so?”
The man, wrapped in layers of robes and sporting a bushy beard, pinched his nose while chuckling.
“What’s that rambling old codger talking about?”
Kraush had a particularly foul mood back then, which probably explains his biting remarks. After all, he was just a walking, talking curse by that point.
“You’re that famous young cursed one, huh? How about making a deal with this old man?”
Veltoa had a proposition for Kraush.
“What makes you think I’m interested in your old man’s nonsense?”
Seeing Kraush’s deeply furrowed brows, Veltoa grinned mischievously.
“I am Veltoa Lacroix, your dedicated healer. Let’s see if I can help you make the most of that curse you’ve got, shall we?”
And that was the first encounter between Kraush and Veltoa.
And now…
Kraush was once again facing Veltoa Lacroix, but this time, it wasn’t in a tavern.
This was in the Kingdom of Jeblam, where the night never ended.
Wiggle—
The cursed centipede slithered beneath Kraush’s feet.
The charms attached to his body were doing their best to keep the cursed centipede in shape.
Inside it swarmed curses capable of wiping out a human in an instant.
Yet Veltoa casually rode that forbidden beast without a care in the world.
It’s no wonder Kraush thought of him as a madman driven insane by curses.
“Let’s have a story.”
Veltoa nudged the long pole with the lantern that Kraush had been chasing.
He then loosened his robe slightly and flicked his finger to adjust his floppy hat.
“Old man looks like he’s seen better days, doesn’t he?”
Just because he’s wandering around Jeblam freely doesn’t mean he’s some nobody.
Kraush recognized that the lantern he held was for chasing away Black Ghosts.
That’s because he had previously entered the endless night with Veltoa.
So it was no surprise to see him waving that lantern again now.
“And of course, you’re hanging around with the World Erosion creatures, how delightful!”
Veltoa pointed out a carriage approaching in the distance, grinning widely.
The look on his face practically screamed he’d kick them out if they didn’t introduce themselves soon.
Even with two World Erosion creatures and an unidentified Kraush, he seemed utterly relaxed.
Truly, that was Veltoa for you.
Kraush also knew that if he wanted them gone, it would be hard for him to keep up.
“I’m Kraush Balheim, the junior of Dorma Lacroix.”
“Dorma? Since when do you have a junior?”
“Yeah, Dorma is currently enrolled at Rahern Academy.”
“Rahern Academy, huh? Oh, that’s right, the one that Thawn was setting up. Finally got it off the ground, huh?”
Veltoa appeared completely clueless about the outside world, even about Dorma, probably too engrossed in curses to notice what was happening.
“More importantly, what’s with Balheim?”
He stroked his beard while peering at Kraush.
“Why is the child born from one of the world’s most blessed families in such a state?”
There was genuine curiosity in his eyes.
After all, no one in the world knew curses better than him.
It was only natural he’d be intrigued by Kraush’s bizarre current state.
“Just a little imbalance could blow your body to bits. Even I couldn’t fix that.”
Veltoa quickly realized why Kraush had sought him out.
“You’d like me to remove the World Erosion and the curse inside you, right?”
“Not at all.”
Kraush firmly dismissed the idea.
Why would he want to lose all the curses and World Erosion he had gathered? No way!
“At this point, if you try to pull those out, my body would fall apart.”
World Erosion and curses were fueled by negative energy, while Aura and Oura thrived on positive energy.
The balance between these two forces was essential.
If one of them vanished, the harmony would collapse, leading both body and mind to shatter.
Kraush had learned this from Veltoa, that to neutralize curses, maintaining this balance was fundamental.
As Kraush demonstrated a deeper understanding than he expected, Veltoa’s intrigue only grew stronger.
“Seems like you’ve been learning quite a bit.”
Using the lantern-pole as support, Veltoa stood upright on the cursed centipede.
“So, what do you wish to ask me?”
He gave a sly smile, revealing his yellowed teeth.
That grin could only belong to a peculiar old man.
But Kraush desperately needed the help of this old man.
He could only obtain the highest-level curses with Veltoa’s assistance.
“I want the top-tier curse, Four Seasons.”
Veltoa’s hand, which had been stroking his beard, froze momentarily.
“I’d like your help in obtaining that.”
His eyes contained emotions of shock over the unexpected request.
“…Are you out of your mind?”
A moment later, when Veltoa’s mouth opened, Kraush’s sanity came under question.
And rightly so.
The top-tier curses were known to be in a whole other league from regular curses.
Each of them had the potential to send a person’s life spiraling into oblivion in an instant.
Naturally, top-tier curses were something even Veltoa had to handle carefully.
They were like ticking time bombs in the hands of the world’s best healer.
And here was this guy from the Balheim family, asking for a top-tier curse!
It was hard to believe he was anything but insane.
“Right now, there’s nothing that suits me as well as the Four Seasons.”
After hearing Kraush’s next words, Veltoa’s eyes widened.
Recalling the unique aspects of the Four Seasons, he was only left with more questions.
“You seem to be misinformed.”
Veltoa cast a skeptical look toward Kraush.
It was as if he was seeing a young man ready to throw his life away with reckless abandon.
“The top-tier curses are only cursed in name….”
“They’re actually more like Erosion creatures with their own will. That’s why they’re classified separately as curses, right?”
Kraush interrupted Veltoa, finishing his thought.
In response, Veltoa inhaled sharply.
Kraush had previously shown a significant knowledge of curses.
And not the kind that even expert healers would know.
“Did our junior disciple give you that knowledge?”
Kraush shrugged.
No matter how he answered, Veltoa wouldn’t buy it.
“Well, I kind of figured a junior wouldn’t have gone that far in their research yet.”
He chuckled lightly, observing Kraush closely.
The top-tier curse, Four Seasons, was indeed something very peculiar.
As stated earlier, top-tier curses had to be handled differently, showing an inherent will of their own.
Especially in the case of the Four Seasons, it was bizarre beyond measure.
Once ensnared by the Four Seasons, it would indiscriminately consume something specific within the host’s body.
And it would take its place, allowing the afflicted to control whatever it replaced.
This “something” could be anything physical like the stomach or brain.
But that’s just scratching the surface.
Based on limited research, it was known that the Four Seasons could consume the Aura as well.
It could even devour existing curses and take over the soul, substituting its own influence.
Thus, anyone afflicted by the Four Seasons would effectively lose themselves.
They would live as the puppet of the Four Seasons, trapped in an everlasting cycle with no chance of life returning.
So, hearing Kraush’s intentions around utilizing the Four Seasons naturally made Veltoa furrow his brow.
The Four Seasons was a curse that even Veltoa found difficult to manage.
Handling a curse with its own volition was, of course, going to be a challenge.
“Do you plan to use the Four Seasons to swallow the curses inside you? You’d be mistaken.”
As mentioned before, the Four Seasons would consume and substitute.
However, it only replaced the consumed curse.
Thus, the curses would remain intact within one’s body.
So the Four Seasons wouldn’t free him from the curses.
“Nope. Like I said, I have no intention of wiping out the curses or World Erosion.”
Then it became obvious that Veltoa’s brow knitted tighter, as if questioning what Kraush could possibly want with the Four Seasons.
Noting his expression, Kraush decided to share a revelation.
“The Four Seasons can engulf anything within the body to substitute for it. But it has one more little-known feature.”
The Four Seasons certainly subsumed something within to replace it.
“Now, the key is that the Four Seasons doesn’t merely substitute what it consumes. If what it consumes has an equal amount of energy, it can swap it for something else.”
For example, if it eats the brain and the stomach, it can create two stomachs instead of a brain.
All of this without disrupting the individual’s very life.
Kraush had even encountered those afflicted by the Four Seasons who still managed to live with only twenty lungs left.
They remained alive even in that state.
Suspicion grew in Veltoa’s eyes.
“And what do you plan to accomplish with that?”
Kraush raised his left hand to demonstrate.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, black flames erupted from his left hand.
This was the power of World Erosion burned away by Ignis.
Then he raised his right hand.
Whoosh!
Bright flames followed, born from the power of Aura burned away by Ignis.
“I’m going to let both World Erosion and Aura enter the Four Seasons.”
Veltoa’s eyes slowly began to widen.
He knew very well that Kraush’s body was in a precarious condition.
Both powers were constantly on the verge of trying to devour each other.
With the slightest misstep, Kraush’s body could tear in half.
Kraush had concocted a ludicrous plan amidst such chaos.
“And I plan to substitute one power with the other using the Four Seasons.”
If that were to happen, Kraush would only be left with either Aura or World Erosion.
Aura and World Erosion were separate vessels.
Each contained a different essence.
Yet, Kraush was suggesting that he could distort the boundaries between the vessels and merge them into one.
The energy of World Erosion that would replace the Aura.
Or the Aura that would replace the World Erosion.
That would undoubtedly make him multiple times stronger than he currently was.
“…You must be out of your mind.”
And the price for that insanity would wholly fall upon Kraush’s shoulders.
The Four Seasons’ risk of running wild was one thing.
The moment of blending the two powers would cause a massive overload on his body.
“Still, I won’t die.”
The Four Seasons absolutely would not allow the body to perish.
Even if he made twenty lungs inside him, it would find a way to keep him alive.
And that went for both Aura and World Erosion as well.
Even if merged into one force, the shock would not bring him to death.
The Four Seasons wouldn’t let him die.
Kraush’s eyes glimmered with a blue light.
His azure eyes reflected a madness that could even send shivers down Veltoa’s spine.
“Haha, exactly.”
Veltoa suddenly broke into laughter.
“Once you live this life, it’s better to go totally nuts than to play it safe.”
His smile became a wide, glistening grin.
“Alright then. I’ve never dealt with a top-tier curse in someone else’s body, so let’s make for a good experience.”
Thud!
Veltoa slammed the stick down, halting the cursed centipede in its tracks.
As the lantern flickered ominously, the eerie smile that crept across Veltoa’s face shone like a crescent moon.
“Don’t cry if you die.”
Those who laugh draw curses, after all.
