Chapter 13
“Uh, y-yeah, that’s right.”
The knight replied absentmindedly with a blank expression, almost looking like a deer caught in headlights.
At 13 years old, everyone was considered a minor in need of protection.
It was absurd to think that someone like Kraush could have any prior experience with world erosion before this.
Just then, another knight next to him playfully nudged his arm.
The mid-tier knights of Balheim were essentially at the bottom of the hierarchy.
This was a battle of pride among the direct descendants.
If they meddled, they would likely end up with a bloodied nose.
“Ah, ahaha! Just kidding!”
The knight quickly burst into laughter and skedaddled away from Kraush.
In the meantime, Belorkin was glowering at Kraush with a frown.
He couldn’t wrap his head around the current situation.
‘What on earth gives him that sense of ease?’
Kraush’s demeanor was drastically different from when Belorkin experienced world erosion for the first time.
Belorkin distinctly remembered feeling flustered and making a series of mistakes.
Yet here was Kraush, doling out advice to the knights as if he were a seasoned veteran.
‘How in the world has that dimwit Kraush changed so much…?’
Kraush’s transformation set off a nagging sense of anxiety in Belorkin.
In that moment, Kraush’s eyes met Belorkin’s.
Kraush smiled at him.
As if to say, “We’re not the same, are we?”
Belorkin bit down on his lip, turning his head away.
For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to look directly at Kraush.
He had always assumed Kraush would live his whole life as a dimwit beneath him.
But now, that dimwit had transformed overnight.
A question began to stir in the deepest, darkest corners of Belorkin’s mind.
Could it be… just could it be that the biggest fool in Balheim might not be himself?
What if Kraush, like Charlotte, eventually rose up…?
The person left at the very bottom would be…
Belorkin’s teeth ground together as the questions continued to bubble up.
‘No, no, NO!’
Belorkin trudged through the swamp, his unease palpable in his movements.
He was already feeling anxious due to his jealousy over Charlotte’s superiority;
Ironically, the only mental safety net for Belorkin was none other than Kraush.
He took comfort in having someone below him.
And each time he pushed that someone down, it provided a sense of psychological stability.
But suddenly, that someone was rising up.
It felt as if the ground beneath him was opening up, threatening to swallow him whole.
Belorkin had brought Kraush along today to confirm that he was still below him.
But the reality that was tightening around his throat was far scarier than that.
If Kraush were to climb above him…
There would be only one person left at the bottom of Balheim.
Belorkin’s mind was in chaos.
What if, just what if?
“Brother, Belorkin.”
“Uh, what?”
Belorkin jumped a little when he heard a voice and quickly lifted his head.
Kraush pointed ahead.
“I think we’re approaching the owner’s domain.”
Hearing those words, Belorkin finally turned his gaze.
As Kraush had said, the color of the swamp was progressively darkening to a menacing black.
The atmosphere screamed danger, indicating they were nearing the owner’s lair.
“Phew, this was easier than I expected. Kraush, you must be lucky. It was much tougher back in my day.”
Belorkin forced out a nonchalant conversation to suppress his wandering thoughts, as if to say that Kraush’s first-world erosion experience was nothing remarkable.
Indeed, the knights shared the same sentiments.
“Looks like there’s nothing but the owner and no other erosion species around.”
The knights said, seemingly relieved.
Given the swamp’s nature, engaging in battle would be quite cumbersome.
They appeared grateful to pass through without any major confrontation, perhaps only facing some bugs.
“Then we should exercise more caution,” Kraush interjected.
As Belorkin frowned and the knights exchanged puzzled glances, Kraush spoke matter-of-factly.
“What I mean is, the owner is dangerous enough to achieve a three-star ranking without any erosion species around.”
The atmosphere shifted as everyone froze at that statement.
If what Kraush said was true, that meant the entity they were about to face was an erosion type capable of maintaining world erosion all on its own.
Clearly, caution was warranted.
However, Belorkin was irked by Kraush’s dismissal of his thoughts.
“Honestly, he sounds like quite the coward. It’s only three stars after all. Why are you all getting worked up over what he said?”
Belorkin chastised the knights, even as he himself was the one feeling anxious.
With a hand resting on the sword at his waist, he boldly strode forward.
The knights had no choice but to hurry in his wake, for he was the core of this mission.
As Kraush followed behind the knights and Belorkin, he sensed something stronger than the swamp’s noxious gases enveloping him.
The smell prickling at his nostrils was a potent scent of curses.
‘As expected.’
It seemed this owner was indeed a formidable opponent.
‘Anyone who steps into a curse would certainly face hardship…’
Or they might even die before the curses got a chance to take effect.
But having given the necessary warnings earlier, Kraush didn’t feel concerned.
The Balheim name was not some mutt’s name, and both Belorkin and the knights belonged to Balheim as well.
As long as everyone remained vigilant, navigating this situation should be manageable.
Thus, Kraush began to focus his attention elsewhere.
What he was honing in on was none other than the very power of the world erosion.
The source of the force that constituted world erosion.
While it wouldn’t be visible to an ordinary human eye, to Kraush, who had endured curses several times and had mastered extreme blood venom, it was vivid and clear.
It felt as though he had stepped into a space thick with gray smoke swirling like fog.
Just a small breath through his nose and mouth felt like the power of world erosion was about to rush into Kraush’s body.
‘Can I do it?’
As Kraush continued to acclimate to extreme blood venom, he understood how to absorb and manipulate this power.
But theory and practice are two distinct things.
Even for Kraush, the force of world erosion was nerve-wracking.
‘No, it must work.’
Flashes of the future began to cascade through his mind, and Kraush balled his fists tightly.
If he couldn’t prevent the apocalypse, there would be no future to speak of.
He had already rolled around unprotected in curses; how could he not handle this?
Huff!
In that instant, Kraush inhaled deeply, pulling in the power of world erosion.
The gray mist rushed into his nose, quickly spreading throughout his body.
Guh!
At that moment, a wave of excruciating pain hit him, and Kraush instinctively gasped out loud.
“Kraush-sama?”
The startled knights turned to look at him, but Kraush waved his hand dismissively, still covering his mouth.
“Sorry, I just tripped a little.”
Kraush wanted to appear nonchalant even though he had just tasted his own blood.
Belorkin, however, bore a slightly delighted expression, almost pitying him.
“Tch. It’s just the beginning of world erosion. Don’t push yourself too hard. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, just say so. I can have a knight carry you.”
It seemed he had mistaken this moment as Kraush finally reaching his limits.
While Belorkin appeared unfazed, Kraush slowly removed his hand from his mouth.
What he revealed was crimson blood.
He had coughed up blood at the moment he absorbed the power of world erosion.
‘Well, I guess that makes sense.’
World erosion wields an incredibly powerful influence; it can change the environment around it.
It is akin to extreme venom that surpasses curses.
It was only natural that Kraush’s body couldn’t handle such a direct intake.
Nevertheless, he had to accept it.
‘Extreme blood venom.’
This was precisely the reason he had been honing this skill.
Focusing on his breathing, Kraush concentrated on the rhythm of his heartbeat.
He began to slowly blend the power of world erosion into his aura, gradually allowing his body to accept it.
Aura is like the channel of a massive river.
By continually circulating and integrating the power of world erosion, its potency started to dilute bit by bit.
Kraush was effectively merging it into the expansive river of his aura.
Demariss Balheim handled this river of aura with extreme delicacy.
And using that delicate technique was crucial, as written in the secret manuscripts on blood venom.
Kraush had read those manuscripts hundreds of times.
He could almost recite every detail from memory, even with his eyes closed.
So, he focused.
To pull forth the true value of extreme blood venom.
As time passed, Kraush’s body started to lose the ability to distinguish between aura and the power of world erosion.
While some discoloration seeped into the aura, it began to create an entirely new shade of clarity.
A pitch-black hue.
One that could not be tainted by any other color.
Kraush gradually exhaled as his eyes opened.
In that fleeting moment, the darkness in Kraush’s eyes flickered and vanished.
Ugh!
At that moment, his body shook violently.
This was because the entire world twisted around him, a stark red haze encompassing his vision.
It was the side effect of the madness stemming from the extreme blood venom.
Demariss Balheim had probably gone mad after witnessing this very world.
Fully aware of this truth, Kraush began to rub at his eyes.
Now was the time to deploy the temporary technique he had prepared.
Since Demariss Balheim, Green Pinegwan had effectively shut down.
Yet, it wasn’t that everyone hadn’t discovered the secret archives.
Just one person did.
This man, who had been pushed to the back of the Balheim family due to being blind, discovered the secret archives.
However, he couldn’t read the manuscripts there due to his blindness.
Thus, he was forced to close the door of the archives, but he left one manuscript behind in hopes that someone like him wouldn’t appear again in the future.
A sense that could replace sight.
One that enabled the spread of one’s aura like threads, allowing for perception of everything around.
His sixth sense.
It was a form of super-sensory perception that didn’t rely on physical senses but instead felt everything through the aura.
‘It’s faint.’
Unlike the blind ancestors who cultivated their physical senses throughout their lives, Kraush could only expand his aura by the width of a finger’s joint.
Even so, he could still feel the presence around him and recognized where he was.
He was not in a world covered by the madness of world erosion.
His mind recognized that he was in the world he had lived in all his life.
As soon as he realized this, Kraush slowly opened his eyes.
The skewed world that had previously dominated his vision began to fade away.
The madness that had ensued began to recede.
Though it wouldn’t entirely dissipate.
As long as he was absorbing the power of world erosion, madness would inevitably emerge.
That’s why Kraush needed Bianca’s curses all the more.
His sixth sense was merely a temporary measure.
However, the fact that he could suppress madness with his sixth sense was significant.
Even a makeshift solution was a solution.
In this moment, Kraush felt he had taken another step forward.
He was gradually awakening to the joy of growth he had never felt before in his life, an awareness that emerged after regressing.
Shiver!
At that moment, Kraush felt a sudden chill running up his spine, causing him to snap his head around.
Something odd grazed past the remnants of his sixth sense.
‘Could it be…?’
“The owner has arrived!”
Just as Kraush realized it, Belorkin’s voice rang out in front of him.
When Kraush turned to look, he saw a headless figure emerging from the thick darkness.
As the eyes that had been closed slowly opened, they quickly locked onto Kraush.
Then, one after another, faces began to unveil themselves from the darkness.
Not only human faces, but also those of animals and even insects.
All kinds of grotesque visages emerged.
As that horrifying scene rose a wave of revulsion, the first head that appeared slowly parted its lips.
“Grrraaaah!”
Suddenly, an ear-splitting shriek echoed, and multiple arms erupted from the darkness.
The Thousand-Faced Demon.
The three-star creature sensed the intruder and prepared to attack.
“Prepare for battle!”
Belorkin shouted, and a green aura burst forth from his sword.
The aura gradually transformed into flames, connected to one of his skills.
Ignis.
Belorkin set his aura ablaze.
Seeing Belorkin’s flames lit up brilliantly infused the knights with morale.
This was because Belorkin’s Ignis had the power to uplift those who witnessed it.
Conversely, Kraush felt a wave of nausea wash over him.
Memories of being helpless and being scorched by those very flames resurfaced.
“This is the difference between you and me! Got it? You’re not even on the same level as me, you little bug!”
Kraush could still vividly hear Belorkin’s voice when he had been defeated and had to rely on Ignis.
Both he and Belorkin from that time were in tatters.
And Kraush knew it.
He knew that he still bore the marks of turmoil here in the present.
“What about you now, Belorkin.”
The 17-year-old who tries to poison his 13-year-old brother, can you still say you’re undamaged?
A chilling smile crept across Kraush’s lips.
As if chance had granted him an opportunity to recognize this fact.
Today, some would weep while others would laugh.
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