### Chapter 387
Inside the Giant’s Forest
In the vicinity of the most sinister realm.
Figures gathered in a place where human footprints dared not tread.
“Beast King, are you sure this is a good idea? If the ultimate evil stirs, we’ll all be done for,” one figure said.
The Beast King, Veldo, shook his large ears and turned his head. There was Jegrop, the so-called ‘master artisan,’ looking worriedly at him.
The ones gathered here were all remnants of Ixion.
World Erosion agents, that is.
Usually, they wouldn’t band together for anything, but this time, everyone shared Jegrop’s concern.
If the ultimate evil erupted here in the Giant’s Forest, the World Erosion agents wouldn’t escape unscathed either.
Yet they all knew that, still they chose to gather here.
“Yeah, that sorcerer’s right,” Veldo reflected, recalling a witch introduced to him by the hell maiden.
The Red Witch, Abella.
When Veldo first met her, it felt like staring into a black piece of paper.
So pure, yet so dark.
That’s the impression she left on him.
Moreover, he realized that Ixion had been orchestrated under her design all along.
The Black Witch must have died without realizing she’d become a puppet.
But Veldo wasn’t particularly angry about it.
They were all escapees from their own collapsing worlds.
With the chaotic ideologies of Ixion, it was only natural that someone would try to manipulate it.
What Veldo wanted was simple.
To know if his goals aligned with hers.
That’s why he asked her during their recent meeting.
“What are you planning to do with the god of World Erosion you’re about to create?”
Abella was a resident of this world.
She had no world to return to and didn’t need to be at odds with it either.
So why was she pursuing the creation of a God of World Erosion?
After a brief silence following Veldo’s question, Abella tilted her head.
“Well, I don’t really know. That’s why I’m trying it out.”
Her reply caused Veldo to slowly harden his expression.
Abella’s eyes were sparkling innocently.
This woman…
She’s definitely not in her right mind.
Chills ran down Veldo’s spine.
It felt as though he was facing an incomprehensible entity.
Through Abella’s eyes, he peered into an abyss.
An abyss that seemed impossible to comprehend.
Filled with all sorts of malice but leaving behind only purity.
That was the Red Witch, Abella.
She was genuinely intrigued by what kind of consequences her actions might stir.
She spoke those words to Veldo.
It’s dangerous.
Of everyone he had encountered so far, Abella was the most perilous existence.
“The god of World Erosion can be used by me first, and then you can do as you please afterwards.”
With those words, Abella turned away.
“…Sure.”
Veldo had no choice but to respond as he watched her retreating figure.
And now, Veldo was about to unleash the greatest evil alongside the remaining Ixion rogues at Abella’s command.
“I’m just following my own beliefs.”
Upon hearing Veldo’s answer, the remnants of Ixion exchanged glances. However, they all followed his lead without objection.
With the Black Witch gone, Veldo was the only leader left for Ixion.
“That bastard Kraush is definitely coming here!”
At that moment, one of the World Erosion agents shouted.
A woman with vibrant orange tiger fur and an eye patch roared with rage.
The Armed Princess, Shua Delphia.
She was someone who had suffered greatly from Kraush’s schemes a few years back.
After delivering Kraush to the Black Witch’s pitch-black lair and heading to her weapon storage, she found herself face-to-face with the Gold King.
“I need to get my stuff back.”
With a smile, he had simply overpowered the Armed Princess.
Terrified, she had no means to escape.
She was about to lose all her cherished belongings to the Gold King.
Desperate resistance was her only option.
But there was no way she—an Armed Princess—could defeat the Legendary Gold King alone.
Moreover, the Gold King was prepared to capture her.
He could drastically enhance his physical abilities in exchange for the gold coins he could burn.
A secret that only the Gold King, who was born from a direct deal with the God of Gold, possessed.
To catch Shua Delphia, he had spent a mountain of gold coins.
If he was going to raid her storage, he needed to haul everything away, including the Armed Princess’s weapons.
In the end, the Armed Princess was completely stripped of her 10 Legendary Swords, fleeing with nothing but her shame in the wind.
In desperation, when the Gold King’s time ran out, he stopped the pursuit.
She was not someone who engaged in unfavorable deals.
Instead, he thoroughly cleaned out the Armed Princess’s weapon storage.
Typical of a weapon enthusiast, all her weapons were high-value items.
After the Gold King had looted her entire weapon storage, the Armed Princess returned to find it empty, screaming in pure despair.
For days after that, she spiraled into a panic, spinning around like a trapped animal, her mind shattered.
“Ugh, meow, screech, hiss.”
She had lost everything she valued more than her own life.
She felt as if the world had crumbled around her.
A while later, she learned from a World Erosion agent who visited her about the identity of the mastermind behind her downfall.
Kraush Balheim.
The bastard who had consistently led her to this miserable fate.
And it was his doing.
“I’m going to kill him.”
Murderous intent welled up in the Armed Princess’s eyes.
Venom began to swirl within her gaze.
“I will kill him. I’m going to kill him. I swear I will kill him!”
With a sound that could tear the sky, the Armed Princess roared and joined the Ixion remnants.
“I’m definitely going to kill that bastard!”
Thus, now that she had followed them to the Giant’s Forest and was shouting fiercely, Jegrop, the master artisan, looked at her in disbelief.
“Armed Princess, we can’t kill that guy.”
“Shut up! I’m going to kill him! I will!”
With her tail and body bristling, she growled.
Jegrop looked quite troubled.
Meanwhile, Veldo sank deep into thought.
“Kraush Balheim.”
Veldo’s golden eyes shone gently.
He was the most significant hindrance to Ixion.
Veldo had seen him only once.
But that time was short and interrupted by the Emperor.
Back then, he had been much less experienced than he was now.
Now, after devouring numerous realms of Gold, he had grown immensely.
“Maybe…”
Looking at the dying seed of the ultimate evil, Veldo quietly contemplated.
He slowly raised his head, placing his hand on his knee as he stood.
“Everyone, get ready.”
At Veldo’s words, the eyes of everyone brightened.
“Our enemy is coming.”
From beyond the Giant’s Forest,
The long-awaited enemy had finally appeared.
—
The Giant’s Forest Fully Engulfed
Meanwhile, Kraush and Icarus were sprinting through the Giant’s Forest.
Due to the characteristics of the Giant’s Forest, the area was loaded with massive Erosion Beasts.
If surrounded and attacked by those critters, there would be no resistance for Icarus.
So they were charging ahead without stopping, taking the shortest route.
But even so, avoiding every Erosion Beast was impossible.
Boom!
A giant groundhog burst through the earth, about to engulf Icarus.
Regardless of how massive it was, it was just a midday groundhog.
If Icarus’s knight had been any of his skilled members, they would have sliced it apart without breaking a sweat.
Yet, the groundhog’s body had become considerably tougher due to the effects of the Giant’s Forest.
The surface of the beast was evidently cursed.
Instantly petrifying anyone who got caught in its gaze.
Kragagagah!
But just before the groundhog could swallow Icarus, a towering shadow engulfed it, pulling it back down.
The members of Icarus were initially startled but soon became accustomed to the sight as they pressed on through the Giant’s Forest.
That shadow belonged to the Empress, Glycis Laktea, who had spread it wide.
“Phew, what a ruckus this year. My old bones feel like they could crumble any second,” Glycis lamented as she glided along the waves of shadow.
At that moment, the Emperor, Darphion Junon, who had been leading the charge, looked back at her.
“You’re still spry, aren’t you?”
“What would a kid like you know?” Glycis retorted, rolling her eyes as she turned her gaze toward the ever-dashing Kraush.
When their eyes met briefly, Kraush shared a fleeting grin.
“You’re not fit for that role.”
“You’re sure lowering your standards. Someone who devoured so much gold should be ashamed,” Glycis commented.
Unlike others, her piercing eyes could see through Kraush’s veil.
The power of World Erosion currently within Kraush was undoubtedly dangerous.
If he managed to control it effortlessly, he could rival even the Heavenly Sword.
“Are you looking to become a bomb yourself?”
“That’s just my nickname, Glass Cannon. I have to live up to it.”
Upon seeing Kraush smile, Glycis clicked her tongue.
“I can tell you’re up to no good. Don’t make it harder for those around you.”
As she warned him, it made sense—he should not trouble those near him.
“Once this expedition concludes, I’m retiring,” she stated.
With that, Glycis summoned her shadows once more.
“Just fill the vacancy when the time comes.”
Then she struck a leopard that leapt down from the shadows.
The leopard staggered and flew in midair, with Darphion slicing it apart.
However, the enemies weren’t finished.
Behemoths continued to swarm towards Icarus.
Things were looking grim.
As the Ixion remnants inflamed the ultimate evil faster, the Giant’s Forest plunged deeper into chaos.
Moreover, the Erosion beasts weren’t their only foe.
“Kraush.”
Hearing his name, Kraush glanced sideways.
A woman who had accompanied him under the guise of a sorceress, with her crimson eyes glaring through her robe, met his gaze.
She was none other than Crimson Garden.
As she called out, Kraush nodded in response.
“Right.”
Kraush could sense it through his instincts.
“The Ixion remnants are arriving. Everyone, prepare for battle against the World Erosion agents!”
As soon as Kraush spoke, Icarus regrouped, readying themselves for combat.
Kuuuuuung!
Just then, one tree morphed into a golem, raising its arm.
Following it, a torrent of black lightning surged down toward Icarus from amidst the wooden golems.
Under that storm descended various Erosion agents, rushing to confront Icarus.
They were all remnants of Ixion.
A showdown between Ixion and the Alliance of Icarus.
The final war for the world had begun.
