Chapter 64
The ceiling he had seen often lately came into view.
It was the ceiling of the place the Blue Sea Knights had been using as their quarters in Halgram.
Kraush, staring blankly at the ceiling, slowly raised his body.
As he did, a dull ache radiated from various parts of his body.
It was due to the aftereffects of Annihilation Erosion.
It was the cost of his greed at the end, so honestly, he had no grounds to complain about this state.
‘I wanted to know how far I could reach against the Ten Great Lords.’
But there was still a silver lining.
No matter how lenient Adolf had been, he had directly left a mark on him.
Moreover, it was significant enough to burn him, despite being a master of Flame Magic.
Kraush clenched his fist.
He could definitely feel the performance boost from the Lunar Body he had just acquired.
However, he was faced with another issue.
That problem was none other than his sword.
‘The sword couldn’t withstand Annihilation Erosion.’
The intense heat and power of Annihilation Erosion proved too much for the sword to handle.
That was a serious concern.
No matter how strong he became, he couldn’t fight without a weapon.
‘I need a sword. One with good durability.’
Kraush crossed his arms and plunged into thought.
Then, all of a sudden, a thought struck him.
‘Rain Thunder Prime.’
One of the Ten Great Heavenly Swords that contained storms.
Kraush distinctly remembered the existence of that sword.
And it was likely the most fitting sword for his current situation.
‘The problem lies with who possesses it.’
Kraush’s expression turned ambiguous as he pondered.
The owner of Rain Thunder Prime was still alive if the timing was right.
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
Just then, Crimson Garden appeared as a crow and landed on the bed.
Setting aside the sword for now, Kraush decided to ask something else.
“Crim, where’s Aslan?”
“He seems to have finished talking with the Sacred Orb. It looks like he mentioned the Lunar Body as well. I suppose the Sacred Orb, having done something too, decided to actively support his actions.”
That was somewhat relieved news.
“Speaking of which, has Aslan become a Spirit Mage now?”
“I told you about the end for spirits who contract with humans.”
The chaos spirit born from the first Spirit Mage.
Knowing that well, Kraush glanced at Crimson Garden.
“I’m here this time.”
Kraush said that resolving things didn’t mean relying solely on Crimson Garden, since he had obtained immortality from her.
Crimson Garden gazed at Kraush with half-open eyes before breaking into a faint smile.
“Do you think you can surpass me with that level of growth? By my estimation, you won’t accomplish it even by the time your lifespan runs out.”
She shot back with those nasty words.
But Kraush was aware that her intentions weren’t purely mocking.
The bond between Kraush and Crimson Garden was gradually deepening.
So, when the end came someday, she might unwittingly think.
That she hoped her own troublesome immortality would not pass on to Kraush.
She was someone who cared deeply, after all.
“Crim, we have a contractual relationship.”
So Kraush made it clear.
“You give me your immortality, and I, in exchange, take your immortality while growing stronger. It’s a very simple deal.”
Both she and he should not forget that fact.
“Who said otherwise?”
Crimson Garden quipped, fluttering off the bed.
It was a sign that she wasn’t unaware of that.
Meanwhile, a sly smile spread across Kraush’s face, and he decided to ask something else.
“Have you found out anything about the missing Abela?”
“She suddenly vanished while residing in the Red Tower. Apparently, the Flame King also left the Igrit family to look for her.”
Adolf, who went to find Abela, returned empty-handed.
He surely hadn’t found her, right?
‘What on earth is that guy doing?’
Kraush felt his head getting complicated.
Then, he shook off those thoughts.
Unlike Merina Sigryn, mages can elevate their level purely through arcane knowledge.
‘To be honest,’
Kraush viewed Abela as the most potential danger.
Among those who returned, she could grow stronger faster than anyone else.
‘Whatever she’s doing, she’s not a spark I want to stir up right now. If we don’t meet, it’s better that we don’t at all. There’s no benefit in them knowing about me.’
To start with, Kraush had no intention of revealing to the three that he had regressed.
For now, he decided to gather information about Abela and then rose from his seat.
He was planning to grab a meal and procure something from Halgram’s magical city before leaving.
That would mean spending quite a bit of money, but he didn’t mind.
After all, it could just be deducted from Valheim.
“Clearly, now you’ll need a weapon.”
At that moment, Crimson Garden suddenly stretched her wings wide as if to show off.
She was as quick-witted as ever.
“I know of one good place to get one.”
However, Kraush blinked in surprise.
“I’ll procure a decent one from someone who’s quite adept in weapon-making.”
“Uh, Crim.”
While it was quite gracious of Crimson Garden to say she’d procure a weapon for him, Kraush felt a bit awkward as he already had something in mind.
“I actually have a place in mind to get my sword.”
Crimson Garden froze for a moment.
Then, she slowly retracted her wings while glaring at Kraush.
“It’s temporary. Who said one must use a single sword their whole life? Seriously.”
With that, Crimson Garden flapped her wings and flew out the window.
Watching her leave, Kraush could only let out a hollow laugh.
He had unintentionally hurt Crimson Garden’s feelings.
But it seemed the gesture of her looking out for him wasn’t lost on him.
‘Then, the next destination is the Demonic Bastion.’
Putting off his feelings about how exhausting it was to keep moving, Kraush stood up.
There was no time for him to rest.
He could only keep moving forward.
Just then—
Thump!
The door swung open to reveal Bianca.
And for some reason, she was holding a large basket in her hands.
Her expression was oddly serious for some reason.
“……Bianca?”
As Kraush cautiously called her name, she walked over and set the basket down on the table.
“It’s food.”
Kraush’s eyes blinked in surprise.
“Eat up.”
Kraush silently got up from his seat.
Opening the basket revealed various dishes, just as Bianca had mentioned.
Watching Kraush pull out the food and sit in a chair in front of Bianca, the warmth still evident indicated it had just been cooked moments ago.
As he scooped a bit and tasted it, a subtle sweetness filled his mouth.
Though it had lessened compared to before, Kraush could tell it was a dish made by Bianca.
“So, you won’t be eating elsewhere anymore, right?”
Kraush hesitated.
On that day, Bianca had met him along with Lirina.
It was evident.
She had entirely heard about what he had been up to with Lirina.
“Bianca, that’s….”
Kraush was about to dodge the question, but meeting Bianca’s emotionless gaze made him pick up his spoon again.
He had no clue why he was being cautious, but it seemed like the right move for now.
Sometimes, staying quiet can help one skirt a crisis.
＊ ＊ ＊
Inside the rattling carriage.
The early summer had arrived, revealing lush green pastures.
After seeing off the vice-captain of the Blue Sea Knights, Kraush had boarded the carriage and was on his way.
Aslan and Lirina didn’t bother meeting up.
They had said their farewells at the end, and they would meet again at the academy eventually.
The farewell was already more than enough.
So, Kraush was resting in the carriage, as he always did.
During that time, he felt someone moving beside him.
Glancing with squinted eyes, he found Bianca, leaning against his shoulder, doing something.
On closer inspection, Bianca was slowly unfolding her clenched fingers.
At that point, he wondered what she was doing and kept watching, when Bianca slipped her small hand between the fingers of Kraush’s now opened hand and showed signs of satisfaction.
Was she bored?
Kraush squeezed his hand tightly.
Snap!
Bianca jolted in surprise but showed no intention of pulling away, remaining still.
“Aren’t you bored sitting in the carriage every day?”
Kraush asked, and Bianca, still leaning on his shoulder, glanced up at him.
“I’m fine, as long as you’re here, Kraush.”
“……We’ll reach a village soon, so let’s buy a new book there.”
Bianca, only thirteen years old, had to find traveling a bit tough, yet she was doing well following him, which he found commendable.
“You’re going to Rhehlern Academy next year, right?”
Then came Bianca’s following question.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of work to do there.”
He had no classes in particular to take, but he intended to swipe the skills of those useless ones.
“What about me?”
Kraush and Bianca were one year apart.
Since Rhehlern Academy admitted students starting from the age of fifteen, Bianca wouldn’t be able to enroll by the time Kraush did.
Noticing that, Bianca seemed to have many concerns lately.
“You can do whatever you want.”
Kraush had no intention of binding her.
“Should I learn something too? I want to go to the academy with you, Kraush.”
“With your brain, you could join the literature department now without any problem.”
Considering she was someone who constantly immersed herself in books, it was hardly an exaggeration.
Yet Bianca shook her head.
“I’m worried because you go to dangerous places every day.”
That implied she wanted to follow him into the world erosion.
“About that….”
Kraush was about to rebut but paused.
When world erosion began in earnest, everyone—commoners and nobles alike—would find themselves in danger.
He was worried whether Bianca could protect herself.
‘She wouldn’t be able to catch up to me, but she should have some power to defend herself.’
However, he didn’t find it too worrisome regarding Bianca.
In her past as the ghost, she had been a monster that overcame even the Ten Great Lords and the 독왕.
Of course, that had a lot to do with her becoming a world erosion being, but it also spoke volumes about her inherent qualities.
‘Should I at least find her a proper mentor?’
As Kraush pondered, his gaze fell on Crimson Garden, who was seated calmly in the opposite chair.
Having lived with numerous beings and their techniques, Crimson Garden was quite strong.
Kraush learned much from her.
Bianca had once mastered daggers and ice magic during her time as a ghost.
Surely, Crimson Garden could teach her those two.
“Crim.”
[ No way. ]
But as soon as he called her, he was immediately turned down.
She had been sulking ever since he mentioned swords the last time.
[ Do you think I’m some tutor who teaches everyone? Kid, teaching you alone is enough of a challenge as is. ]
Although he thought he had grown quite strong by this point, it seemed it still wasn’t enough to impress her.
True, he was still far from meeting her expectations.
‘The most important thing is reaching mastery before the entrance exam.’
That way, he could at least face off against the generation of those in the sky.
“I don’t need you to do it specifically.”
Crimson Garden leads many beings.
Kraush knew of those her kind that were strong enough to face Arthur.
“The beings you lead are strong enough, aren’t they? They could surely be a good teacher to Bianca.”
Hearing that, Crimson Garden didn’t seem displeased by the compliments about her kin.
[ Tch. ]
She stole a glance at Bianca.
Bianca, who had always adored Crimson Garden, had likely been taking care of her when the crow had fallen asleep, gently cradling her onto soft pillows.
Given how much she cared for her, Crimson Garden had a soft spot for Bianca.
[ Look. ]
As she found it hard to maintain eye contact with Bianca’s blank expression, Crimson Garden eventually flapped her wings and flew out.
She was quite the dishonest one.
Thud!
In the meantime, the carriage began to slow down.
As Kraush turned his gaze out the window, a village resembling a mountain climb came into view.
It was the Demonic Bastion, a project birthed from the obsession of a mad weapons engineer who dedicated his life to creating weapons against world erosion.
Surrounding the Demonic Bastion was the city of Lavala, where many lived off the byproducts produced there.
And this was precisely the place Kraush had come to procure a weapon.
Upon entering the village entrance of Lavala, Kraush noticed various armed individuals about.
All of them were challengers seeking to enter the Demonic Bastion, forming the lifeblood of the city.
The Demonic Bastion excavated valuable resources from within and produced numerous byproducts.
Challengers aimed to gather those byproducts, which fetched high prices on the market.
Moreover, the deeper one went, the better the byproducts became.
Thanks to this, challengers formed teams and sought to delve deeper into the lower levels.
‘Though their efforts only extend to the eighth floor.’
Of course, Kraush wasn’t interested in the byproducts from the Demonic Bastion.
What he wanted was the sword that Belokin, Valheim’s third son, had managed to procure from within the Demonic Bastion.
Rain Thunder Prime.
One of the Heavenly Swords that Belokin had stumbled upon purely by chance.
Naturally, the current owner of that sword wasn’t Belokin.
At this moment, it was being wielded by a ghost wandering inside the Demonic Bastion.
‘How amusing.’
Kraush chuckled to himself, knowing full well what Belokin had done after acquiring that sword.
Thanks to Rain Thunder Prime, Belokin’s rampage and mischief had reached their peak, and in the end, that sword had pointed towards Charlotte.
He hadn’t been able to overcome his recklessness and had jumped into the golden realm along with Charlotte.
That led to Belokin’s demise.
Kraush didn’t know the details of the situation back then.
He had been preoccupied, regaining consciousness only when a saint arrived to save him, while Belokin’s face had been burned to a crisp.
All he knew then was that Belokin had died in the golden realm, and Charlotte had brought back the corpse.
Later, Rain Thunder Prime slipped from the hands of the deceased Belokin and returned to Charlotte.
Given that, Kraush was already well aware of the power that Rain Thunder Prime possessed in Charlotte’s hands.
However, this time, Rain Thunder Prime would not fall into Charlotte’s hands.
‘I’ll take it for myself.’
And to do that, Kraush needed to eliminate the sword’s current owner.
The most notorious ghost in the history of the Demonic Bastion.
The ghost known as Nakcheon.
