### Chapter 386
Crimson Garden August.
An entity of World Erosion and an immortal that existed long before Kraush was even born.
You see, dragon nobility is obsessed with immortality.
They have everything but the one thing they lack is immortality. It’s like having a fancy car but no gas!
That’s why they are so fixated on achieving it.
And Crimson Garden, in theory, was a dragon noble who achieved that immortality.
However, there was a catch to her immortality.
To preserve her soul eternally, her body fell into an everlasting slumber.
As a result, Crimson Garden had been in a deep sleep since eons ago up to this point.
In her sleepy state, there wasn’t much she could do.
All she could do was contract with her followers and see the world through their eyes.
Basically, there was almost nothing she could actively do. It was like being a spectator in her own life.
Crimson Garden’s body was constantly relocated to a unique space.
Thanks to this, even Arthur, who repeatedly regressed, couldn’t pinpoint her exact location.
And now, here we are.
Kraush had finally reached the slumbering body of Crimson Garden.
With a sea of stars flowing overhead, Kraush raised his hand toward Crimson Garden.
What glimmered in his hand was none other than the Black Hood.
A skill that could steal anything in the world if conditions were met. Talk about a magic shop get-out-of-jail-free card!
Both Crimson Garden’s body and Kraush’s hand began to shine simultaneously.
The crow that watched the scene paused for a moment, lost in thought, as memories from the past flickered in her mind.
Before the crumbling world of the dragon nobility.
When she witnessed her regression friend leaving behind only a lifeless body, proclaiming they would reset everything.
The hopelessness and futility she felt.
Still, she clung to the vague hope of perhaps seeing her friend again someday, along with the immortality she unexpectedly acquired.
Those days drifted through her mind like a cloud.
But now, that past seemed obscured by the passage of time.
Crimson Garden could hardly recall the beauty of her original world.
After all, she had left the world that crumbled behind, settling in Kraush’s realm for a long time.
She no longer ached over the memories of that fateful day.
Time heals all wounds, or so the saying goes.
And Crimson Garden finally understood what that meant.
“Well, that’s how it goes.”
The past merely serves as a scaffolding for the present; ultimately, things fade away.
What matters now is the present self who continues to live in this era.
And it is also the self who will face the end.
Eventually, Kraush clenched his hand tightly.
[Target: Crimson Garden August]
At that moment, the crow took flight, spreading its wings into the night sky.
As the flapping wings soared high past Crimson Garden’s head…
Boom—
The entire space shook violently.
A serene silence enveloped the surroundings.
In Kraush’s grasp, the light had vanished.
Within that silence.
Crimson Garden’s eyes, which had been closed, slowly started to rise.
Her eyes blinked repeatedly.
Then, she stretched her neck and sat up, gradually surveying her condition.
Long, red limbs and body.
And one wing waving gracefully on her back.
Was it because it had been so long since she looked down at her own body?
A myriad of emotions danced across her face.
Who knew this day would actually come again?
Overthinking it was unnecessary yet irresistible.
However, shaking off those thoughts, she turned her head.
There stood a figure.
The man who took her immortality in exchange for his own.
He stood still, rigid, the moment he received Crimson Garden’s immortality.
Usually, he would’ve teased her about finally waking up.
But here he was, head tilted upward, frozen like a statue.
As she briefly stared at him, Crimson Garden’s eyes began to widen.
“You don’t mean…!”
Realizing the situation, she hurriedly transformed her appearance.
Instead of crimson wings, fiery red hair sprouted forth.
At the same time, horns and a tail adorned with red scales began to sway.
In her dragon noble human form, Crimson Garden radiated beauty beyond imagination.
With long red lashes and noble poise, she showcased her superiority over the other races.
Her magnificent red hair danced in the air as she rushed towards Kraush.
“Kraush!”
Kraush had received Crimson Garden’s immortality.
Though her soul would remain throughout her life, it came at the cost of her body falling into eternal slumber.
He had boldly declared he would solve the deadly disadvantage of immortality…
But of course, it wasn’t without risk.
“No way, it can’t be allowed!”
If he ever messed up, it couldn’t be!
At least not like this. Kraush couldn’t screw things up like that!
Crimson Garden reached Kraush and firmly gripped his shoulder.
In that moment, various types of magic began to flow from her hand.
This was to forcibly awaken Kraush before he could be consumed by immortality.
“Burn it all! Just burn the immortality! You can do it!”
As she shouted those words, ready to activate her magic if Kraush failed to engage…
“Pha!”
A cloud of smoke erupted from Kraush’s mouth.
With his head held high, he exhaled the smoke and briefly swayed before finding his footing.
Crimson Garden’s eyes widened with astonishment.
She silently stared at Kraush’s stiff expression.
Kraush slowly lowered his head to meet her gaze.
Then, with a partially twisted face, he forced a smile to ease her worries.
“Why the fuss? You’re acting all dramatic.”
“You…”
Crimson Garden had a look of disbelief.
Then she let out a long, slow sigh before brushing away her red hair.
“Why didn’t you just go down without fussing and getting all worked up?”
It seemed as though she was worried for nothing; she was genuinely annoyed.
But despite that, relief flourished across her face.
She could be a bit of a drama queen sometimes.
“Now that you’re immortal, you can’t just die, right?”
A red aura shimmered around Kraush’s body.
That was proof that immortality had been applied to Kraush’s soul.
Watching it quietly, Crimson Garden suddenly asked.
“I thought you would use my immortality to burn through Ignis.”
Though it would disappear, it would fulfill Crimson Garden’s promise.
Ultimately, it wouldn’t be a bad deal for Kraush.
“No, Crimson Garden, I still need your immortality.”
At the moment he met Abella and started devising ways to stand against her.
Kraush had included Crimson Garden’s immortality in his plan to take down Abella.
The soul tethered by the natural laws of immortality was essential for him.
Thus, both the Holy Sword and immortality were necessary to smash Abella’s schemes.
“This is why I made some flashy displays.”
Kraush waved the hand that had held the Black Hood.
Soon after, Crimson Garden began piecing together what was unfolding, her eyes widening.
She’d figured out the madcap antics he was up to.
“You… don’t tell me.”
Kraush clenched his open hand.
“Yeah, I used the Black Hood not just on you but on immortality too.”
With the Black Hood’s power directed at the immortality, Kraush extracted something crucial.
The Curse of Eternal Slumber.
An insidious curse that could keep someone asleep forever to preserve their soul.
This upper-tier curse was more unyielding than any typical curse.
Kraush, activating the Black Hood against immortality, forcibly extracted that Curse of Eternal Slumber.
Sure, immortality might become unstable in the process, but that was the least of his concerns.
As long as immortality lasted until he confronted Abella, it was fine.
Kraush burned away the extracted Curse of Eternal Slumber through heavenly flame.
Though the heat surged from within, making him slightly dizzy…
In the end, only immortality remained intact.
‘This was a tense race against time to achieve my goal before going to sleep.’
Had he succumbed to the curse and slipped into that eternal slumber, it would have been quite a close call for him.
It was probably best not to mention this to Crimson Garden.
Concern still lingered in Crimson Garden’s eyes as she looked at him.
The reason Crimson Garden had asked Kraush to take the Black Hood was that she never planned to give immortality to just anyone.
She was fully aware that his life would end the moment he received it.
So, even though she wished to give it away, she couldn’t pass it on to anyone else.
Such was Crimson Garden’s deep sense of responsibility.
‘In her eyes, maybe she thought I could handle her immortality.’
Despite often speaking cryptically like a crow, she cared for others more than anyone.
The time spent with Crimson Garden was about convincing her of that.
Kraush Balheim wanted to give her confidence that even if immortality were given, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Crimson Garden gazed at Kraush with disbelief.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Without hesitation, she raised her hand and slapped him on the back.
It was as though she had assumed he would be worried, expressing her displeasure.
Then she tightly grasped his collar.
“Next time, at least give me a heads-up.”
The way she glared at him was deadly serious, and Kraush could only nod in response.
“Phew, you worry too much for no reason.”
However, it was clear that relief washed over her, for that was classic Crimson Garden.
Boom!
In that moment, the space began to shake violently.
With Crimson Garden awakening from immortality, the space that had lost its purpose began to collapse.
Looking at it, Crimson Garden turned her body.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“What’s next for us?”
When Kraush followed her, he asked, but Crimson Garden turned back, confused by his question.
“Isn’t it obvious? The World Erosion agents are causing trouble. You need to conserve your strength to face that lunatic Abella.”
Crimson Garden’s hand waved dismissively.
With a bounce in her step, she continued, “It’s been ages since I woke up. I need to stretch my legs.”
As that registered, Kraush broke into a slow smile.
“I can’t believe I’m actually going to see an immortal fight firsthand.”
“Don’t be shocked! I’ll show you what a real dragon noble can do!”
With that, she dashed out of the cave alongside Kraush.
As they emerged, they were greeted by Ebelasque.
She was nervously pacing among her own corpses, her face filled with concern.
Ebelasque was aware that Kraush was going to claim Crimson Garden’s immortality.
“Whoa?!”
In that instant, she was startled to see Crimson Garden step out.
“C-Crimson Garden?!”
When she stammered in disbelief, Crimson Garden simply sniffed disdainfully.
“Just look at that chest.”
“…Guess so.”
No one else would call her out like that aside from Crimson Garden!
“It’s time to put that blubber up there to work. Get ready!”
“D-Don’t call it blubber!”
Ebelasque covered her chest, face turning red as she yelled, pressured by Crimson Garden’s vibe.
But Crimson Garden paid no mind and held her fingers together to snap.
Suddenly, her outfit morphed into a battle-damaged uniform.
With a cape adorned with the image of a dragon swirling majestically around her.
Simultaneously, a fierce smile of battle lust painted her face.
Here stood the highest commander of the dragon noble empire and the fiercest battle mage known as—
The demon goddess,
Crimson Garden August.
It was the moment of her rebirth.
