### Chapter: 326
Kraush’s Mother, Aria Balheim
Kraush stood before Aria with a thick aura of displeasure radiating from him.
In contrast, Aria sat calmly, her expression unfazed.
After taking another sip of her tea, she finally spoke.
“Anyway, it can’t be all bad news for my son, right?”
“To my eyes, it looks pretty terrible.”
“Surely, you must care for your wife, too. Cut her some slack. Right now, Hardenhartz must feel like walking through a bed of thorns.”
Kraush clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He then got up from his seat.
“Do as you wish. You’ll end up recommending me for the family head anyway, right?”
Aria had two cards to play, and she was going to use them for sure.
“Son, I just want to get along with you.”
“Too bad, I have no intention of getting along with you.”
With that, Kraush left the room.
He knew Aria would cooperate unconditionally just to make him the family head.
So, he figured he wouldn’t waste any more time and was about to head off to find the Guardian Sword when he heard hurried footsteps in the distance.
Looking up, he saw a familiar figure rushing towards him.
It was his sister, Lirina Balheim.
Kraush’s expression softened upon seeing her.
She was the first person in his family with whom he truly felt a connection.
“Lirina!”
“Kraush! Huh, it’s been a while.”
Having rushed over, she let out a light breath and smiled.
“I heard you’re leading the Knights to support the Empire?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
“I’ll join you!”
Kraush’s eyes widened in surprise.
But once he understood Lirina’s intention, he couldn’t help but smile back.
“Looks like I’ve got a solid ally.”
Having someone as strong as Lirina by his side was more than ideal.
With that, he was ready to go.
It was time to completely smash Sigrid.
—
The rampage of the Kingdom of Jeblam was erupting across the Empire.
As a result, chaos reigned supreme.
Anyone outside the well-defended central capital found the outskirts turned into a disaster zone.
The rampage primarily meant that Jeblam was expanding.
Originally village areas were being swallowed up by Jeblam, leading to significant casualties.
“Help! Help me!”
“Run! Get out of here!”
Those caught up in the rampage screamed as they fled.
As their desperate cries echoed, a figure moved through the royal palace of the Empire.
Blood dripped from her sword, stained with the blood of the Empire’s proud White Dragon Knights.
Not just her sword; even her ocean-blue hair was soaked with blood, making her look like a walking horror show.
“Hehe.”
She let out a bizarre laugh as she dragged her legs down the corridor.
Her eyes were glazed over.
Sigrid Ephania.
The former spirited Third Princess of the Empire had completely lost her edge.
Boom!
Thunder crashed loudly from outside.
Sigrid looked up at the black sky.
There was a veil spread across it.
Originally designed as a defensive magic shield for the palace, it had now turned into a trapping magic, transforming into a prison created by a single mage.
The culprit behind this was none other than the Red Witch, Abella.
She had essentially reached the peak of her magic skills and was using them for this chaos.
How did it come to this?
Sigrid’s dazed mind struggled to grasp the situation.
There, she could see the White Dragon Knights rushing to stop her.
“Young Lady Sigrid, stop right now!”
As one knight shouted, his sword came swinging down at her.
But it didn’t even come close to landing.
As if her body twisted, her sword twirled, and that knight’s head was sent flying instead.
“Stop the traitor!”
The White Dragon Knights screamed as they threw themselves at Sigrid.
But she darted among them, cutting them down mercilessly.
Boom!
A spell fired by the palace magicians exploded near her.
And against expectations, instead of getting injured, the mighty momentum of the White Dragon surged forth from Sigrid, neutralizing the spell’s power.
In a moment when Sigrid’s figure dispersed, she suddenly found herself holding the head of a fallen mage.
Thud—
As she tossed the mage’s head to the ground, a cold flicker illuminated her eyes.
“Monster.”
Knights facing her were terrified and fled, but they couldn’t escape the blade of her sword.
In a flash, Sigrid’s sword swept out, mowing them down as blood soaked into the lavish white carpet.
Stepping over that, she continued her path.
How did it come to this?
She wondered again, realizing her memories were fragmented, a forced attempt to forget painful thoughts.
Memories of her last day at the academy flooded back.
After confronting Kraush, who wielded the White Dragon’s might, her mind had turned completely blank.
As if to tell her she wasn’t needed.
Kraush had released a power greater than her own, and it felt like a betrayal of her very identity.
That day, she had locked herself away in the academy.
Then, almost feverishly, she had started pounding on the egg of the White Dragon.
“No. It can’t be. No way.”
That cursed entity could never awaken the power of the White Dragon.
After all, he could only steal curses, not true power.
To Sigrid, bearing the White Dragon’s blood meant her pride and ultimate technique.
She still remembered.
When the curse of the White Dragon’s egg activated the symptoms of albinism.
If only she could have mastered that power fully that day, she would have indeed become stronger.
It had been an accident, a mistake.
For Sigrid, it was a regrettable incident where she missed an opportunity to become significantly stronger.
Of course, she hated dying more, which is why she ultimately had to eliminate the egg through Kraush’s Black Hood.
But even still, Sigrid found herself longing for that day.
With only the remaining power of the White Dragon, she was already at this level.
How high could she soar if that power was entirely hers?
For her, Arthur, who held the reincarnation, offered her another chance.
A chance to regain the power of the White Dragon that she lost due to that curse.
She eagerly awaited the day of her reincarnation.
The thrill of possibly reclaiming the power of the White Dragon kept her up at night.
And so it was, when the chance finally came.
Immediately upon reincarnation, she honed her body and gradually integrated the White Dragon’s power as her own.
She exercised utmost caution in her absorption.
If she rushed and absorbed too much, the White Dragon King would awaken, and she would suffer from the symptoms of bloodline awakening.
So she carefully balanced her absorption.
The power of the White Dragon was her last shred of hope.
When her self-esteem crumbled, her relationships fell apart, and her plans unraveled, the power of the White Dragon was the only thing she clung to.
But the day she met Kraush…
The moment she saw him wield the power of the White Dragon, her heart plummeted into despair.
A bad premonition washed over her.
That’s why she locked herself away.
To confirm the presence of the White Dragon’s power within herself.
She continued to awaken the White Dragon’s might within her.
Normally, it would have been a perilous act capable of triggering bloodline awakening.
But she couldn’t just let her last shred of hope disappear.
So Sigrid frantically dove into the egg of the White Dragon within her body.
And soon, she found herself facing the worst possibility.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no!”
The egg of the White Dragon was empty.
The majestic power she had cherished and fought for to reach the top… all that was left was an empty shell.
Tick!
The last shred of hope flickered in her eyes.
In an instant, her muddled mind began to shred away.
This last vestige she had held onto even through reincarnation had fallen apart.
And with that, Sigrid left the Raheln Academy.
Every time she saw traces of Kraush, she found it unbearable.
But leaving the royal palace thrust her back into facing the worst scenarios.
Everything she’d built politically began to crumble.
It was only expected.
Sigrid had already revealed her ruined self for all to see.
The nobles turned their backs on her with alarming ease.
Although Sigrid was affected significantly by Sigrid’s influence, she was too far gone to grasp that.
Tears welled up in Sigrid’s eyes.
Why did she have to go through all this?
What desire led her to this fate?
She felt it was so unfair.
And that unfairness quickly evolved into rage.
Her rage gradually morphed into a grudge, just before it threatened to explode.
“Arthur is gone from this world.”
“No way.”
Abella’s sudden appearance punctuated the end of her grudge.
“Kraush stole Arthur’s reincarnation and killed him.”
“Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie!”
Listening to Abella’s calm words, Sigrid went wild, destroying everything in the room as she couldn’t stop her rampage.
To her, Arthur was truly her last hope.
“Kraush, Kraush, Kraush! That cursed being!”
As she screamed in rage, feeling a burning anger in her eyes.
“Sigrid, I know a way to bring Arthur back. And I also know how to take revenge on Kraush for what he did to you.”
Abella stood next to a black void of the Dark Witch.
The strange energy pouring from that void vividly invaded the mind of the dazed Sigrid.
The grasp of that power filled her mind to an overwhelming extent.
“Just help me. You can bring Arthur back and you can get revenge. You’re Sigrid Ephania, after all.”
“…What do I need to do?”
Seeing Sigrid’s vacant gaze, a smile crept over Abella’s lips.
It was a strange, eerie smile.
Abella’s red hair drifted quietly.
With her hair flowing, she whisperingly urged Sigrid.
“Destroy the Empire. It’s always been your job to do so.”
After uttering those words, Abella promised to tell Sigrid more later and left.
Sigrid stood there, dumbfounded, muttering to herself.
“Destroy the Empire…”
Deep inside her heart, various ugly feelings erupted.
If she couldn’t have it, then others shouldn’t have it either— that was the ugly feeling rising within her.
And now, she stood ready to follow Abella’s signal and step into the Empire.
Due to the commotion created by Jeblam outside, only a minimal force remained in the palace.
Even the renowned sword of the Empire, the Emperor’s sword, was forced to step out to stop Jeblam.
So, now, no one was there to stop Sigrid.
“Stop right there, Sigrid!”
At that moment, she heard a detestable voice and lifted her head.
There stood a man with ocean-colored hair, identical to her own.
He was taller and more imposing than the Second Prince.
With bright, intelligent eyes, his name was Siran Ephania.
The First Prince of the Ephania Empire.
And he was also the one who had contended most fiercely against Sigrid for the throne.
“Siran.”
“This is where His Majesty resides. Lower your sword at once.”
Siran looked down at Sigrid and said.
A dark intent was evident in his eyes.
Thinking back, Siran had always looked like this.
Since their birth, Sigrid and Siran were fated to compete for the throne.
“I…”
Sigrid slowly started walking again.
Siran had already reached for his sword at his waist.
“I’ve always hated that disdainful look you give me.”
Siran tensed up.
The aura pouring from Sigrid was enough to shake the palace’s very foundation.
“That’s why I’ve made up my mind this time.”
As Sigrid’s form began to disperse.
Before Siran could react, Sigrid was suddenly pointing her sword at his eyes.
“I’m going to destroy you.”
Boom!
At that moment, the floor where Sigrid stood collapsed under her weight.
In a flash, she tumbled down, doing a somersault as she stomped on the fragments of the floor.
At the same moment, shifting her gaze, she found a giant charging with his shield raised.
The Emperor’s Shield and the Iron Wall of the Friedwen family.
It was Termaan Friedwen.
Just as his massive shield was about to crash into Sigrid, she landed directly on the wreckage.
In that instant, she had reached his face, deftly maneuvering past the shield.
By the time Termaan tried to defend himself, it was already too late.
Sigrid’s sword, moving deftly, slashed at his head multiple times.
“Ugh!”
Termaan, the wall of steel, sustained a scar from Sigrid’s onslaught.
However, because of the injury to one eye, his field of vision became compromised.
Seizing that moment, Sigrid landed gracefully on her feet, pointing her sword at Termaan.
White Dragon’s Heavenly Might—
Three Strikes—
White Dragon’s Three Fangs!
The three fangs of the White Dragon pierced Termaan’s chest and side, inflicting severe wounds.
Sigrid’s output now defied logic; her innate talent for battle coupled with her frayed limits had brought her dangerously close to her prime state.
Of course, this intense overflow of power meant she would lose everything after today.
But for Sigrid, who had already lost everything, tomorrow felt like a day that would never come.
“S-Sigrid, you must stop now!”
Termaan gasped as he warned her.
Sigrid cast him a mocking look, chuckling softly.
“What’s the point in stopping?”
Having said that, she aimed her sword at Termaan again.
This time she intended to take his head.
Clang!
But standing in her way was none other than her brother Siran.
Though not as potent as Sigrid, he wielded the power of the White Dragon and forced her sword off course.
Just like always, it was the First Prince obstructing her path.
Sigrid bit her lip in anger.
“How dare you block my way?”
At the same time, as if to make him regret his interference, her sword began to be enveloped in a white light.
“Siran, you can’t—!”
Termaan shouted as he realized what was happening.
Siran wouldn’t stand a chance against Sigrid at this moment.
As Sigrid’s blade pulsed with power, it began to swallow him whole as he struggled to gather strength.
Termaan rushed in to separate Sigrid from Siran.
But Sigrid’s energy exploded faster than Termaan could intervene.
“Die!”
At that moment, a burst of brilliance erupted from Sigrid’s sword.
Boom!
Sigrid’s body twisted violently.
Caught off guard, she almost rolled to the ground, recovering just in time to stare wide-eyed.
She spotted someone with deep-blue hair standing before her.
“What do you mean ‘die’? Sigrid, is your vocabulary really that limited?”
That irritating sneer was unmistakable.
Kraush Balheim, the one who shouldn’t be here in the royal palace, stood before her.
