Chapter: 151
In the snowy forest.
Four figures, including Kraush, were sprinting out.
“…So, this boy you’re talking about, the one with the yellow sky— is he the Light Bringer? Also, is he the one who injured the Poison King?”
“Yes, that’s what No. 8 says.”
As they ran, Kraush filled Sena in on the situation.
He attributed the source of his information to No. 8.
Fortunately, No. 8 had been cooperative.
Since she was already familiar with Crimson Garden, she assumed Kraush had gotten his info from there.
“Do you know anything about the Light Bringer?”
When Kraush asked Sena, she ruffled the back of her head roughly.
“Roughly, yes. You know I’m from the Empire, right?”
“Yes, I heard that Sigrid was allowed to participate in the crew as a princess only because she had a professor accompanying her.”
“Right, just as you said. Our family has ties with Lagrain as well. So when the Lagrain incident happened, we cooperated with the Poison King to investigate the world eroder that caused the yellow sky.”
She turned towards Haring as she said this.
She was worried about how Haring would take this news.
Kraush also looked back at Haring.
“Are you okay?”
But Haring’s expression remained unchanged.
She was interested in the story, but she wasn’t about to go berserk again like last time.
“I’m fine. It’s because you’re here, Kraush.”
Haring’s gaze towards Kraush held even more trust than before.
With him around, she could feel stable even underneath the yellow sky.
Kraush acted as a stabilizer for Haring’s unsettled heart.
He was the only one who could cover up the scar etched deep within her.
That was Kraush.
“Hmm, not bad, boy.”
Even in this situation, Sena couldn’t help but wear a playful grin.
“Please, go on with the story.”
When Kraush gave her a look, Sena shrugged and continued.
“Anyway, what I found out is that the Light Bringer is the world eroder responsible for the Lagrain incident. The problem is, we couldn’t find this world eroder anywhere— whether it sunk to the ground or soared into the sky.”
World eroders have the freedom to roam even in the Kingdom of Jeblam, so finding them isn’t easy to begin with.
But if even the Poison King and Gyuju couldn’t find him, it meant only one thing.
“The Black Witch must have taken him.”
The Black Witch, with her unique dimension, could move freely anywhere in the world.
She must have taken him to her own realm.
“The issue is a book that I think the Light Bringer stole— the Bloodline Theory.”
The book claimed to be a treasure of the Lagrain family, filled with vast knowledge related to poisons, including the infamous “Ethereal Poison.”
“This book was discovered again in the underworld trade of the Empire.”
“That means…”
“Sure, the Light Bringer might have handed it over to the underworld trade, but the circumstances surrounding it feel strange. It doesn’t feel like a world eroder’s doing—it feels more like the work of a human hand.”
Sena frowned, feeling uneasy.
“The Lagrain incident might not have only been related to the world eroder.”
Sena turned to Haring.
Naturally, Haring’s face had also hardened.
She had grown fueled by her vengeance against world eroders.
Yet now she had to contemplate that there might be another party involved, complicating her thoughts.
“Regardless, the Poison King has been personally hunting down the Light Bringer since then. Naturally, the royal palace must be aware of this.”
Kraush realized why Sena had brought this up.
“No matter how much the royal palace knows, it’s strange for them to switch the Light Bringer to the Night Ravens’ leader even after he’s wounded the Poison King.”
“Exactly, that’s why I mentioned it. It’s true that the Poison King was tasked with hunting down the Night Ravens’ leader, but it still feels odd to keep shutting down Lagrain’s side. Given the circumstances, it wouldn’t hurt to tie both matters together.”
“You mean there’s a reason they don’t want the Light Bringer captured… tied to the royal family?”
Sena made a displeased face.
“I’d rather it be just speculation.”
Speculation.
It would be nice if it truly was, but for Kraush, who knew part of the royal family’s secrets, he couldn’t merely dismiss it as speculation.
The reason Hardenhartz had been wiped out was that the Second Prince had spilled the family secrets.
“Then it turns out things have been tangled up since way back, huh?”
Kraush clicked his tongue and lifted his head.
“Well, it’s simple, then.”
A wave of dark flames boiled up from Kraush’s body.
“Just capture the Light Bringer.”
Hearing the neat solution, Sena suddenly looked dumbfounded.
But she knew that Kraush’s words were indeed the solution.
“Do you have confidence?”
“Just being confident isn’t always enough to solve everything.”
But Kraush’s eyes were brimming with resolve.
“Still, doing nothing won’t solve anything, right?”
In the end, he was saying he would tackle the problem head-on.
“That’s reckless.”
Sena didn’t sound entirely disapproving, either.
Because she was also the type who preferred to take action rather than just stand by.
“You might just click with this boy.”
“Do you prefer recklessness?”
“I absolutely hate just standing around.”
Just as her laughter echoed,
KWA-AN!
A flock of birds flew up from the mountains in the distance, causing a terrifying uproar.
Though they were quite far away, the shaking ground made all four of their eyes meet.
“This tremor…”
“It’s Lai’s doing.”
When Kraush clicked his tongue, Sena immediately realized.
“Lai? As in the Sword King?”
Haring looked over the mountains with a shocked expression.
If the recent impact was the Sword King’s doing, then they all realized who he was fighting.
“…Kraush, you mentioned the Light Bringer grows stronger the more he fights powerful opponents, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Sena asked while looking up at the sky with an anxious face.
When Kraush replied honestly, she pushed her glasses with black lenses up her nose.
“So if the Light Bringer fights Lai, what rank will that world erosion reach?”
Kraush fell silent for a moment.
KWA-AN!
Then another explosive sound echoed.
This time, it was a thunderous impact strong enough to shake the mountains.
The energy rippling from over the mountains was palpable.
“…At least 8th tier, maybe even higher.”
8th tier world erosion.
That meant the one controlling it was on par with Agares.
Haring’s face went pale.
She had recently faced Decarabia.
Even the incomplete 7th tier Decarabia had pushed her to her limits just to defeat him.
And now for an 8th tier world erosion.
That was beyond what she could handle.
“Well, this is something.”
Even Sena’s expression became uneasy.
Of course, an 8th tier world erosion would easily turn Hardenhartz into a disaster zone.
Right now, they had the Empire’s Fourth Princess and the First Prince of Starlon there.
If anything were to go wrong and blame were to shift, they were in for war.
If they had known it would come to this, they surely would never have allowed both of them to come here.
Yet no one had anticipated it would reach this extent.
It was no surprise, though; the Empire had hidden the existence of the Light Bringer in the first place.
“I’ll run faster. Let’s push ourselves.”
Sena’s eyes began to narrow as she picked up speed.
She was beginning to doubt if the Empire had been subtly aiming for this all along.
With the Light Bringer, and the Bloodline Theory, there were definitely too many peculiar situations at play.
‘What does the royal family want?’
She didn’t have in-depth knowledge of the Empire’s affairs.
After all, she had jumped ship from the Meyer family’s leadership.
She hated being tied down, which was why she had to take action.
As she gnawed on her lips, she lamented her dislike for political matters.
She had no idea what the Empire hoped to gain from this, and having the Fourth Princess right there, did they really aim for these lengths?
‘Thinking isn’t my strong suit.’
She wasn’t one for brains but rather brawn.
Just then,
Sena’s instincts suddenly latched onto something.
Her brow furrowed instantly.
A few seconds later, Kraush also narrowed his eyes.
Seeing this shocked Sena.
She had already suspected that Kraush had a similar instinct as her.
In a pinch, any few seconds could lead to death, which indeed showed a significant gap between her awareness and his.
But she was a powerful figure with both the invitation to teach at Rahern Academy and an alias.
Naturally, her life experience and training far exceeded that of Kraush.
On the other hand, Kraush was just 15.
Plus, Kraush leaned more towards martial arts than sixth sense.
Still, he had managed to sense something rather similar to Sena.
‘Lai is a ridiculous monster, and with Charlotte, she’s really a genius.’
But even the youngest, Kraush was extraordinary.
‘It’s strange thinking a 15-year-old shows such judgement and courage. Considering that, maybe the other two aren’t so far off either.’
What a legacy the Balheim family had.
Most families would see one genius rise to fame for a lifetime.
But to have so many prodigies in one generation—was this really Balheim?
‘What a crazy family it is.’
At this rate, Balheim might shine the brightest of any family in this generation.
No wonder the Empire constantly sought to contain Starlon.
Even the massive entity of the Empire felt fear from Balheim’s movements.
And that fear trickled down to target Starlon instead.
‘There have been plenty of moves in the Empire that seemed unsettling.’
With all this piling up, it was inevitable Sena’s expression would sour.
If this continued, would war spark between Starlon and the Empire?
The thought crept into her mind.
Just then, it hit her.
‘…Wait, could it be?’
Sena casually turned to look at Kraush.
“You felt it too, Professor Sena.”
Sena hadn’t meant to turn around, but she nodded anyway.
She gazed at Kraush, her eyes filled with a strange look.
First, she suddenly joined the Lion’s Order led by Charlotte.
Then, with the Fourth Princess and Haring joining the crew.
All of these points were connected to a single individual that she had now begun to perceive.
‘Could it be a mere coincidence?’
Was this boy, just 15 years old, moving the pieces to prevent a full-blown war between the Empire and Starlon?
Even as Balheim’s youngest, could he even pull that off?
‘Such schemes can’t thrive solely on strength. Without strategy, politics, and networks, the tower crumbles the moment even one piece falters.’
Yet here was Kraush doing just that.
It was as if he could read the currents of the entire world.
Chills—
Just then, Sena felt a sudden chill run down her spine.
Looking at Lai and Charlotte, she could only think Balheim was gifted.
But the moment the thought finished forming, she realized those two weren’t the problem.
Their brilliant light shone like stars, clear for all to see.
Yet, behind the scenes, it was a newly-minted adult boy moving the tides of fate.
‘They say Balheim is a den of monsters.’
Now, it seemed the truly formidable one had emerged from that den.
Sena decided to reevaluate Kraush in her mind.
For some reason, she began to see what lay ahead.
In the distant future, where Kraush would lead a line-up of extraordinary figures, standing proudly in the front.
‘Feeling like something profound is coursing through me.’
Occasionally, she would glimpse something on the horizon, and she shook her head to clear it away.
That future could exist only if it flowed onwards.
For now, solving the issues at hand was the priority.
“Kraush, you said the leader of the Night Ravens is an ally.”
Just as she finished her sentence, Kraush raised his head.
Above the mountains, countless skeletal monsters crawled down toward them.
“That’s a bit too much for a friendly greeting, don’t you think?”
Sena said with a hint of weariness as Kraush pulled out Rain Thunder Prime.
“Yes, they seem to like me quite a bit.”
Seems like a little lesson for them is in order.
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