### Chapter: 322
Rabid Dog
In the world that faced destruction, a monster forcibly modified into a Chimera as a combat asset stood before Kraush.
This Rabid Dog, with a dog’s snout and wild eyes, trembled in front of Kraush, its breath ragged.
The Rabid Dog had two notable characteristics.
One was its axe skills, reaching a level that could easily overpower most martial artists.
The second was its specialty—illusion magic.
The Rabid Dog’s illusions could deceive all five senses, and under the right conditions, could ensnare even superior foes.
This wasn’t something to take lightly.
Just moments earlier, the beam of light unleashed by the Rabid Dog was a type of illusion.
It had achieved such a high level that the creature believed the light it conjured was real.
As a result, its magic felt eerily similar to actual sorcery.
Combined, these two abilities birthed the technique known as Welcome Ax.
Kraush had suffered greatly from this technique via one of his former subordinates.
Even now, recalling that moment sent a jolt through his severed right arm.
“Huff.”
With its canine visage, the Rabid Dog snorted, clearly agitated.
Its eyes bore a fierce bloodlust directed at Kraush, fueled by vengeance for its fallen companion, a Doberman.
“What are you staring at?”
Kraush mused, but he refrained from attacking outright.
He was protecting Haring, unconscious in his arms.
No matter what, she couldn’t suffer any more injuries.
‘And we still have Ebelasque to worry about.’
Ebelasque, injured by the Rabid Dog, also needed healing.
Boom!
“Ugh, this is really killing me.”
At that moment, a figure emerged from the crumbled walls of the workshop, clearing the smoke like a giant.
It was none other than Igrit.
Having been hit by Haring’s surprise poison attack, he dusted off his newly acquired fedora and looked at Kraush.
“Well, well, it’s been a while.”
Igrit managed a slight grin.
The twitching side of his mouth suggested he wasn’t fully detoxified yet, but he was capable of ranged attacks.
With Igrit for support against the close-range Rabid Dog, the battle wouldn’t be a simple one.
‘Regardless of everything else, I have to protect Haring.’
She had risked her life for him.
If he failed to protect her, Kraush wouldn’t be able to show his face.
“It seems you’re having trouble fighting properly since you’re busy protecting that girl.”
Igrit tapped his cane against the ground, causing a thundering sound.
“In that case, since I owe you one, let me help make things easier.”
At that moment, smoke giants surged forth from under Igrit’s cane.
Simultaneously, the Rabid Dog swung its axe down, slamming it into the floor.
Just as Kraush was about to unleash his destruction magic, Boom!
The wall of the workshop shattered, and another figure charged in.
“Swoosh! Looks like things just got chaotic!”
There stood a man with long red hair and bright red eyes.
In his hand was one of the Ten Heavenly Swords: Bloodlust Sword.
“Vega!”
Recognizing him, Igrit shouted just as Vega swung the Bloodlust Sword down towards the ground.
Kaboom!
The moment the sword struck, everything around was obliterated.
In the aftermath, Vega made a quick escape from the now chaotic area.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Igrit hastily sent the smoke giants after Vega, only to have a white flame erupt in front of him.
When Igrit saw this, his expression twisted in disbelief.
Kraush’s white flame immolated the smoke giants.
In the blink of an eye, Vega dashed out, carrying Ebelasque on his back.
“Where could you possibly be going? She was your old comrade. You should send her off nicely out of respect.”
Where the hell had Haring gone?
Kraush realized in that moment that Haring had been taken by Vega.
Now free of ties, Kraush, brandishing Thunder Prime, glowered ominously.
With the shackles gone, nothing held him back anymore.
Still, the situation remained a daunting 2-on-1.
Suddenly, from the shadows, the Rabid Dog’s axe lunged toward Kraush.
It came with such speed that it was hard to follow.
The creature’s forced illusions granted it the physical limits to match its speed.
As the axe neared him, boom!
The axe collided with something in mid-air, coming to a halt.
It was remnants of the white flame.
Yet the Rabid Dog didn’t stop.
It spun its axe wildly, rushing Kraush with intense ferocity.
However, once again, the axe’s trajectory was blocked by the same white flame remains.
The combination of Kraush’s white flame and the White Dragon’s aura fortified this barrier.
Bam! Bang! BOOM!
As the cacophony echoed around, white flames erupted from Kraush’s body.
The intensity of the flames was so overwhelming it even made Igrit hesitate.
The Rabid Dog began to retreat from the backlash of the flames.
“I said I’d get rid of any distractions,” Kraush declared, now standing before the Rabid Dog.
By now, white scales had emerged across Kraush’s face.
At the same time, the horn rising on his forehead clearly marked him as part of the Dragon King lineage.
Shivers!
The Rabid Dog faced Kraush, feeling a chill.
The overwhelming power radiating from Kraush was palpable.
“That’s your worst nightmare.”
His words hung in the air for a beat, and suddenly the Rabid Dog found himself airborne.
Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!
The creature smashed through several walls, soaring through the air.
Kraush executed a thrust.
The moment the Rabid Dog detected it, he swung his axe in an attempt to deflect the attack.
While he managed to evade the point, the force behind that thrust sent him spiraling away.
‘A monster.’
The Rabid Dog thought as he regarded Kraush.
Indeed, the being he labeled as a monster was none other than Kraush.
‘However, he’s still immature.’
The Rabid Dog caught the rage burning in Kraush’s eyes.
That rage must stem from the woman he had devastated earlier.
Though anger may fuel strength, it often clouds judgment.
The evidence of Kraush’s rash emotion floated in the Rabid Dog’s nose.
It signaled that time was not on Kraush’s side.
‘The technique he just used is a heightened state—powerful, yes, but fleeting.’
While formidable, its output would wane as time passed.
‘Given his amassed strength, there’s no need to drain it so quickly.’
This tendency likely arose from past battle experiences.
Habits are tough to break.
Especially when they manifest more strongly after every crisis.
‘When you rely on one method to get through everything, you lose sight of alternatives.’
The Rabid Dog called him naive.
He hadn’t yet mastered control over his capabilities.
Excessively inflating his power would consume him, leaving openings behind.
Nothing could be more foolish than gambling everything on a quick fight.
Boom!
Igrit’s smoke caught the Rabid Dog mid-air.
The creature soon landed on the swirling smoke but was quick to recover.
“Huff!”
The Rabid Dog hefted his axe high.
If the opponent favored short skirmishes, he’d simply drag them into a long one.
With his axe held aloft, he brought it crashing down.
Kaboom!
The area where the Rabid Dog swung obliterated into dust.
An explosion radiated, engulfing everything in smoke.
As the smoke settled, Kraush emerged.
Determined, Kraush prioritized silencing the Rabid Dog.
Only by defeating the inherent beast would he ensure Igrit’s defeat.
As Kraush dodged through the smoke,
The surrounding space suddenly warped and distorted.
Caw, Caw!
The ominous cawing of crows echoed in Kraush’s ears.
In that very moment, he realized the atmosphere had turned crimson.
“Gah!”
Somewhere an unsettling dog bark reverberated.
The Rabid Dog specialized its illusions toward auditory manipulation.
The unique barking sound resonated through the area, sending its deceptive magic straight to Kraush’s brain.
At that moment, the Rabid Dog and Igrit’s magic intertwined flawlessly.
Igrit’s smoke dulled perceptions.
This meant anyone caught up in it would be more susceptible to illusions.
No matter how strong-willed someone might be, pairing Igrit’s illusions with the Rabid Dog’s would ensnare them.
The very proof lay in the fact that the Poison King had fallen for their tricks.
And now, Kraush was also caught in their web of illusions.
A horde of black crows filled the sky, descending upon Kraush.
He swung his sword experimentally, casting out white flames that incinerated the crows.
The birds didn’t catch fire, merely splitting into two and raining down upon him.
These illusory crows could not die.
They wouldn’t stop their pursuit until Kraush was finished.
Kraush’s instincts stirred awake.
Ultimately, this was but an illusion.
If he didn’t accept it as reality, its potency would diminish.
So, recognizing reality, his instincts expanded outward.
But the moment Kraush’s eyes narrowed, a new realization crashed over him.
“Huh.”
Because his senses were interpreting the crows right before him as real.
Kraush evaded the attacking crows, hastily stepping back.
The crows struck the ground but didn’t relent in speed, continuing to chase him relentlessly.
Why had his instincts believed this world was real?
The answer was simple.
The Rabid Dog and Igrit’s illusions were working in sync to create this falsehood.
Kraush was now visible to the Rabid Dog, weaving between the crows born from Igrit’s magic.
“Seems immature to me.”
The Rabid Dog noted as he spun his axe.
The weapon ignited with crimson flames.
At that moment, the Rabid Dog recognized Kraush’s distinct sense—a sensory equality providing counter to illusions.
By using that instinct to perceive through illusion, he gained clarity.
Thus, he was confident in his combat approach despite being aware of this outcome.
However, sometimes, such confidence becomes a fatal flaw.
Illusions grow stronger the more one believes them real.
And now, Kraush had allowed the falsehood to seep into his very senses.
The Rabid Dog’s illusion had entrapped him in a trap from which escape was impossible.
That’s why they had placed Igrit and the Rabid Dog in combat together.
With experience, they had discerned that Kraush habitually relied on burst techniques during battles.
Therefore, by consuming his time with illusions, they would ultimately immobilize him.
This was just a fragment of Igrit’s grand scheme.
‘Now, just dragging this out remains.’
Kraush continued to splash out his useless white flames while desperately evading the crows.
But his struggle to escape was meaningless.
Once trapped in illusions, he would merely be played, like a puppet.
‘And when that time is done…’
The Rabid Dog channeled more power into its axe.
Just a single opening.
The moment the power gained through self-induced fury waned.
He would cease to be able to fight.
“Gah, even if a few fly away, it’s not a concern.”
“Yes, now’s not the time to be worried about that.”
The Rabid Dog warned Igrit, who responded in agreement.
As the Rabid Dog stated, Kraush was indeed a dangerous opponent.
Should they fail to capture him, they’d at least need to make him entirely defenseless.
With a shared understanding, the Rabid Dog’s thirst for blood grew as his eyes gleamed with intent.
Kraush unleashed erratic white flames, continuing to flee.
And with each moment, that erratic behavior hastened the depletion of his energy.
‘Almost.’
Just a little bit further.
‘Soon.’
Soon.
The moment the Rabid Dog tightened its grip around its axe, a strange sensation washed over it.
Dread.
It was purely instinctive, but something felt amiss.
That sensation brushed past the Rabid Dog’s consciousness.
Why?
Why right now?
That creeping sense made no sense amid the chaos.
Kraush was entangled in an illusion, wasting energy endlessly.
His only options dwindled, as the white flames continued to fall.
He was aimlessly casting them.
Continuously releasing them.
But amidst this pointless commotion, the Rabid Dog’s eyes widened in realization.
Simultaneously, as it lifted its head abruptly, the Rabid Dog glimpsed the white flames spilling through Igrit’s haze.
“Caw, I knew this wouldn’t be a simple dog, huh?”
Kraush’s voice echoed loudly.
Igrit’s staff moved to strike the ground.
However, at this moment, the Rabid Dog felt time slowed to a crawl.
Kraush sprang into action with blinding speed.
His accelerated state propelled him far faster than anyone else.
When their gazes met for just an instant, Kraush beamed a smile.
“Why are you so far away?”
At that moment, the Rabid Dog realized that the white flames enveloping Igrit surged towards Kraush.
And as the flames converged, they dragged both Igrit and the Rabid Dog toward Kraush.
It was the technique God of Creation Weapons, Kraush had comprehended.
The foundation of this technique relied on compressing aura.
The white flames were merely Aura ignited as Ignis.
Meaning, if he pulled on those now-radiating flames, anyone within would be drawn straight to his grip.
“Gack!”
Yet the Rabid Dog wasn’t a simple foe.
As he felt the sudden pull, he kicked off the ground, launching himself upward.
His axe engulfed in crimson flames charged toward Kraush.
But Kraush remained caught in illusion, completely unaware of his approach.
Thus, the Rabid Dog raced toward him, recognizing that Kraush saw only his own flames.
He would not be aware of the space that opened between Kraush and the Rabid Dog.
Kraush wouldn’t see him coming.
In that split second, the Rabid Dog had the perfect opportunity.
The creature intended to finish the fight.
As the Rabid Dog thought this through, his eyes zeroed in on the flames pooling on his weapon.
Kraush was blinded.
He couldn’t see the Rabid Dog.
Yet it mattered little at this juncture.
By encasing both Igrit and the Rabid Dog in the white flames, everything could be eradicated with one strike.
This sort of crushing output was Kraush’s specialty.
The Rabid Dog’s eyes widened in astonishment.
He realized that he had been the one careless from the very beginning.
And evil schemes had blossomed unexpectedly.
Thus, the Rabid Dog could do but one thing.
He hoped the accumulated power would surpass that of Kraush’s.
—
Welcome Axe
Ultimate Technique
Banner of Welcome
As the full might of the Rabid Dog transformed his axe, it came crashing down towards Kraush.
In that moment, Kraush sent ripples — like a drop falling into a deep lake — as he directed the energy through his sword.
When the infernal white blaze erupted to levels that could blind the very eye itself,
Kraush’s sword lunged into action.
Annihilation Erosion
Eight Formations of
Annihilation Weapon God
At that moment, the shattered world collapsed into the embrace of the white flames.
