Chapter 101
After briefly stopping by Valheim, Kraush returned to the Green Pine Hall, and for the first time in a while, he felt the comfort of home.
Even though not much time had passed, the weight of the Agareth incident made it feel as if ages had gone by.
“Welcome back, Kraush-nim. You must have had a tough time.”
Upon Kraush’s arrival, his butler, Aliod, bowed to greet him.
Since Lilish had concealed the incident regarding Agareth, Aliod had likely been quite anxious hearing that Kraush had gone to the Holy Kingdom due to an injury.
Thus, he finally breathed a sigh of relief at Kraush’s safe return.
“By the way, a letter arrived from the royal family.”
“I had a feeling something like that would come.”
Kraush read the contents of the letter presented by Aliod.
The sender was none other than First Prince Hilnider Starron.
The letter’s message was straightforward:
“Do you remember our deal?”
It was a reminder to tone it down a bit, since controlling information had its limits.
Kraush bitterly smiled, knowing how bewildered Hilnider must have felt upon hearing the news.
This mess had come about because Kraush tried to keep his identity hidden, leaving him with nothing much to say.
‘At least I won’t be leaving the Green Pine Hall for a while. That should be fine.’
Kraush incinerated the letter with Ignis.
“Aliod, expect a guest soon.”
“Shall I prepare the room?”
“Yeah, make it a cool room. I can’t handle heat like Bianca can.”
This was in relation to Bianca’s master who would soon be visiting Green Pine Hall.
[ One more is coming. ]
At that moment, Crimson Garden, who had been holding back her crow form during their time in the Holy Kingdom, landed on Kraush’s shoulder.
[ Someone who will help with your training. ]
Looks like she’s prepared too.
Kraush appreciated Crimson Garden’s thoroughness.
“I’m expecting another person besides the one I just mentioned. Aliod, could you prepare one more room?”
“Yes, I will make arrangements.”
As a top-notch butler, Aliod efficiently got to work.
With arrangements completed, Kraush immediately headed to the training ground.
As usual, Bianca trailed after him, sitting in a chair with a book opened in front of her.
Glancing at Bianca for a moment, Kraush turned his head away.
A crow had settled right in front of him.
[ Do you know the advantages of Celestial Slaughter? ]
“It enhances physical abilities in exchange for bloodlust towards everything.”
Though he could also bring up how potent the curse becomes, Kraush chose not to mention it.
[ Is that all there is to it? The main reason for the bloodlust in Celestial Slaughter comes from the overwhelming power one possesses. It manifests chaotically as a form of malice because it’s too strong. ]
Crimson Garden seemed to know a great deal about Celestial Slaughter.
[ Celestial Slaughter comprises seven stars. From the first star, Celestial Pivot, it concludes with the seventh star, Twinkling Light. ]
Only when one can wield all seven stars can they finally control and temper their bloodlust.
[ However, only a few can handle all seven stars in a century. In this century, perhaps about four sisters can. ]
Thus, those with the Celestial Slaughter ultimately cannot endure and succumb to their malice.
How would the Blavies, possessing the Celestial Slaughter, have maintained their sanity without the astrology family, Sephira?
[ You cannot master all seven stars with your current talents. You know that well enough. ]
Kraush had swallowed others’ abilities to get this far.
His own talent was still lackluster.
[ Thus, you can only handle three of them. Frankly, even this will be very borderline. ]
Fortunately, thanks to the curse of the Eyedoll, Kraush could also suppress the malice brought about by Celestial Slaughter.
So even managing just three stars from the seven would suffice.
[ The first one to master is Celestial Bright Star. It’s the star with the strongest presence of dark energy and symbolizes the moon among the seven. It complements Nightshade well. ]
“So that means I can extend the limits of Depraved Malice.”
[ Tsk, to be honest, I might prefer it if you didn’t. ]
Crimson Garden, who knew very well how Kraush emerged each time from the Depraved Malice, had a disapproving look.
But even if she wasn’t pleased about it, she ultimately decided to teach Kraush the Celestial Bright Star.
[ The second one you’ll learn is Celestial Authority. This star possesses both the malice of the heavens and inauspiciousness, making it the one that enhances the malice of Celestial Slaughter. However, it’s also the star that nurtures talents into great figures. It will be of the most help in compensating for your lack of skill. ]
It was the most essential star for Kraush.
To face many talented opponents, he needed to somehow shove in some abilities of his own.
[ Lastly, it’s the Twinkling Light. This star possesses the power to summon lightning. It will help you handle your Lioner’s abilities better than before. Furthermore, this star is also known as the Breaking Death of the Army. It’s the source of power for the physical abilities of those with Celestial Slaughter. ]
Once Crimson Garden finished explaining the three stars, she spread her wings and took to the air.
[ Mastering these three stars by the time you enter the academy is your task. ]
And with the completion of the mastery of these three, there’d surely be very few who could match Kraush in the academy.
Before he knew it, summer was starting to wane.
He had less than six months remaining.
In that time, Kraush had to master three stars of Celestial Slaughter.
“I guess I’ll be pulling all-nighters.”
[ Isn’t that your specialty? ]
Just as that was said, it truly was Kraush’s forte.
Riding on the thunderous roar, the golden blade of his sword soared.
At the same time, dark flames and thunder erupted from him.
“Let’s do this.”
Being diligent was the one thing he truly excelled at.
＊ ＊ ＊
Despite early fall approaching, the lingering heat still remained.
Bianca was once again nestled next to Kraush, lost in her reading.
Her volume of reading had recently surged as she learned about the world through books.
And the recent focus of her reading mostly comprised stories about world conquest or combat training manuals.
She read these books for one sole purpose.
‘Kraush-nim will be hurt again.’
Instead of just worrying while he went off to dangerous places every day, she thought it best to get stronger and help him.
Once she had an idea, she’d act on it right away.
However, she also knew.
Reading books alone wouldn’t make someone strong.
That’s why she had tried to practice using aura as mentioned in the books, but she only ended up with a bewildered expression.
Born as the youngest daughter of the Hardenharts, she had been mostly ignored within her family, making her a novice in this aspect.
‘When will Master, the one Kraush-nim spoke of, arrive?’
While watching Kraush drenched in sweat, enveloped in dark flames, Bianca wondered.
Kraush would be attending the academy next year.
Upon recalling that fact, her eyebrows shot up in frustration.
Though she desperately wanted to follow him, she was too young to enroll at Rahelrn Academy.
‘If only I were born just one year earlier.’
Feeling deep regret about being born late, she involuntarily started swinging her legs beneath the chair.
Had they been the same age, they would be attending the academy together.
But instead, she had to endure the frustration of being one year younger.
Moreover, recently another worry overtook Bianca’s mind.
There were quite a number of women around Kraush, and it made her increasingly uneasy.
Although she wasn’t quite sure why it bothered her so much, it definitely did.
Whenever she thought about it, her heart would ache.
“…I just want to be by Kraush-nim’s side.”
Blurting out her inner thoughts, Bianca quickly covered her mouth, surprised.
It hadn’t been long since she had regained control of her suppressed feelings.
Thus, she was shocked that her emotions overflowed all at once.
‘…Am I being greedy?’
Wanting to be the only one by Kraush’s side was an unexpected statement, even to her.
If Kraush were to overhear, he would surely scold her, causing her heart to race even faster.
These days, whenever she laid eyes on Kraush’s hand, her heart would race like the wind.
“Ugh, it’s getting so stuffy in here. I hate it.”
In that moment, Bianca turned her head towards the suddenly audible voice.
There stood a woman with disheveled, sweat-soaked blue hair, who looked utterly exhausted.
She was sweating so profusely that her skin peeked through her clothes.
Yet when she glanced at Bianca, a faint smile appeared despite her fatigue.
“Hello, cute little lady, you must be Bianca Hardenhart, right?”
As a highly suspicious figure appeared, Bianca jumped to her feet from her chair.
She then struck a pose akin to one she had seen in manuals.
The woman giggled behind her hand, finding Bianca’s gestures adorable.
She looked like a small white chick puffing up its feathers to show off.
“You don’t need to be so wary. I’m here as your master.”
“Really?!”
The moment Bianca heard those words, she relaxed her guard and dashed over to her.
“I need to become stronger. Can you teach me right now?”
“Umm, right this moment?”
Seeing Bianca’s fiery enthusiasm, the woman wiped the sweat from her brow.
Having skin as pale as Bianca’s, she hailed from the icy Arctic seas, far to the north.
Thus, navigating through this heat had undoubtedly been a struggle for her, and she was hoping to rest for a moment.
“Please, Master.”
“Master? Ahhh, well…”
Having spent so long in a frigid region by herself, she awkwardly cleared her throat at the unfamiliar title.
She was somewhat weak to such terms.
Glancing at Bianca’s sparkling eyes, she hesitated.
‘Hmm, Crimson Garden did say she was a stoic child.’
But looking at her, she seemed far from stoic.
Her gaze drifted towards the dark flames.
A certain boy was quite evidently feeling her presence the moment she arrived.
Caw-caw—
At that moment, a crow’s cry echoed through the sky.
With a crow being one of Crimson Garden’s servants, Kraush was unmistakably the one she spoke of with biting words.
‘Given how much Crimson Garden complains about him, I wonder who he is.’
She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was more special than she anticipated.
The girl standing before her, none other than the one who had personally asked for Crimson Garden’s help, radiated that aura of determination.
As their eyes met, the glint in Bianca’s eyes sparkled even brighter.
In the end, she let out a breath of resignation.
“…Alright, first I should tell you what I do. I wield this kind of magic.”
The moment she spoke, a pure white wolf emerged behind her.
It exuded a chilling aura.
Simultaneously, a white snake appeared around her neck, its frosty chill stunning to behold.
“This is a wolf and a snake.”
Bianca, who adored all things animal-related, particularly found her eyes glued to the snake and wolf.
“Wow!”
The wolf and snake manipulated aura in the shape of ice. Naturally, the creatures managed to captivate Bianca.
“Of course, the creatures you will create will only be a vapor at this point. So, whatcha think? Want to give it a shot?”
With that question, Bianca eagerly nodded.
“Yes, please!”
This was the master that Kraush had personally summoned.
Bianca had no doubts in her response.
“Haha, what a cute disciple. My name is Jena Edalsia. Nice to meet you.”
Jena Edalsia, the beast sorceress from the north.
Guardian of the Eternal Ice region, one of the most prestigious areas of the Kingdom.
She was destined to become Bianca’s new master.
＊ ＊ ＊
While Bianca was forming a new teacher-student bond with Jena, Kraush had been sneakily observing them amidst the dark flames.
[ If you keep staring like that, your eyes are going to pop out. Are you that concerned about your fiancée? If so, wouldn’t it be better to stick by her for life? ]
Crimson Garden’s teasing voice rang in his ears.
Even while learning the Celestial Bright Star, Kraush’s concentration was stumbling due to his concern for her.
“Even if I wanted to, I can’t.”
[ Oh? So you actually wish to do that? ]
“…Crim, you’re just itching to gobble me up, aren’t you?”
[ Absolutely, I’d love to eat you whole. Just sprinkle some pepper on your head before serving, alright? ]
She declared as she flapped her wings and landed before him.
[ Done. I guess I won’t have much focus anyway, so this is for the best. ]
“What do you mean…?”
As Kraush looked on in confusion, Crimson Garden’s crow form twisted and began to shift.
[ Now that Jena has come, the other one I summoned should be here, too. ]
The instant those words reached Kraush, he summoned the thunder.
What he perceived in his surroundings appeared to be warping.
This was a curse.
Bam!
A round of applause echoed from somewhere.
[ A training scenario akin to a real battle; just the type you would relish. ]
What could this be, an outrageous training method?
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