### Chapter: 273
The day after finishing his chat with the Demon Lord.
The attitude of the Demon Lord towards Kraush had completely changed.
Previously, it felt like he was just listening with one ear and letting it slip out the other.
But now, whenever Kraush spoke, he was all ears.
“What kind of trick did you pull?”
Baioren looked at the Demon Lord with an expression that suggested he found it a bit creepy.
“Conversation.”
But that was all Kraush could say.
He had simply lent his voice to Crimson Garden, engaging in a deep discussion about magic with the Demon Lord.
That was all he did.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Yet, for the Demon Lord, who had longed for such a conversation all his life, nothing could be sweeter.
‘I never thought I could pull the Demon Lord into this.’
Did Arthur know?
That he could actually bring the Demon Lord to their side.
‘Was he unaware or just too scared to try?’
Arthur had kept a safe distance from the Demon Lord.
Considering how many unpredictable variables there were, he might have thought that getting too close would backfire.
‘It would have been impossible without Crimson Garden, though.’
Without someone as knowledgeable as Crimson Garden, Arthur would have ended up getting punished by the Demon Lord for acting smart.
There was no way relationships could be built this way otherwise.
“Kraush, look over there.”
Just then, Kraush lifted his head at Bianca’s words, who was trailing beside him.
Following her gaze into the woods, a small village began to come into view.
In the vicinity of the Giant’s Forest, under a tree that was larger than the others, small wooden structures were lined up.
Demoran Village.
The village that Kraush had come to for his duties with the Lion’s Order.
‘Definitely.’
Kraush understood why the elemental spirit Dorothy, Aslan’s lover, had said the world erosion felt different here.
The energy of world erosion was so potent that it made Kraush’s nose wrinkle.
He realized this was the process of the creation of the most terrifying seeds.
‘But for seeds to be forming already in typical world erosion… that seems early.’
The most horrific seeds began from the Kingdom of Jeblam, which had long endured world erosion.
So, discovering that seeds were being formed in an area outside Jeblam puzzled Kraush.
Even if the appearance of seeds in other world erosions had been accelerated since they formed in Jeblam,
generally, the ones that had been neglected for a long time would take priority.
‘Since the Giant’s Forest is near the Kingdom of Jeblam, it must be affected.’
Feeling something fishy, Kraush entered the village.
The village was quieter than he expected.
Given that world erosion had occurred nearby, had everyone temporarily evacuated?
He didn’t even hear the usual children’s laughter that would typically echo in a village.
“Something feels ominous.”
Haring, who had a good instinct, rubbed her goosebump-covered arms.
Just like her, Kraush felt a palpable sense of unease.
[There it is.]
In that moment, a presence, as Crimson Garden had mentioned, was felt.
Rushing to the source, Kraush opened the door without knocking.
He pinched his nose at the stench that wafted from within the house.
Then, based on what he saw inside, he hastily stopped those who followed him.
“Everyone, don’t come inside.”
Everyone looked puzzled, but they halted at Kraush’s words for now.
“Baioren, can you cast a barrier on each of us?”
“It’s not difficult, but what are we blocking?”
“An epidemic.”
At Kraush’s answer, Baioren’s face hardened.
She was well aware of how terrifying an epidemic could be.
With that, Kraush’s gaze drifted somberly towards the room.
Inside, a person lay on the bed, skin clinging tightly to their bones.
Their arms and legs were rotting away, and dark spots appeared all over their body.
Moreover, their pupils were massively dilated, their eyes entirely blackened.
Kraush recognized the name of this epidemic.
‘Black Hand.’
It was named after the initial onset when the hands turned black and began to rot.
While it hadn’t spread globally, it was causing significant trouble in the vicinity of Freya.
‘Due to that, the abandoned Giant’s Forest has been nurturing the most horrific seeds.’
Soon, the Giant’s Forest would transform into a monstrosity, leading to the demise of the Freya Mountains.
That was also the reason why a child from Freya, Arsoldar, perished.
He had rushed off to protect his hometown, facing the giant until his death.
‘Thanks to him sacrificing his own flesh to fight, the Giant was severely damaged, and they managed to squash that forest.’
However, the Freya Mountains, being the largest mountain range in the world, meant losing it equated to losing a multitude of resources and causing environmental problems.
That had greatly contributed to the Empire’s downfall.
‘Was the timing of the outbreak around this period?’
Kraush had somewhat predicted it, but he hadn’t expected the outbreak to start just then.
‘Still alive,’ he noted as he assessed the patient afflicted by the Black Hand.
The onset time was approximately a week ago.
‘The incubation period for the Black Hand is about a week.’
The request for tasks related to world erosion had come in two weeks prior.
Thus, the timings matched perfectly.
Kraush pondered, then absorbed the Black Hand afflicting the patient.
He immediately incinerated the disease with Ignis, wiping it out completely.
The patient’s face gradually returned to normal.
With proper nourishment, they should have a chance at recovery.
‘That’s resolved for now. But the real issue is…’
Kraush lifted his head with a serious expression.
Because, as Kraush had indicated, the real problem lay elsewhere.
‘The village is almost completely empty.’
With critical patients left behind, they must have all fled to a safe place below the Freya Mountains.
The concern was that among them, there could be carriers.
Since the Black Hand is an airborne disease.
‘Unless they were trained individuals capable of handling high-tier auras.’
Regular folk would undoubtedly be in the incubation stage of the Black Hand.
Kraush burst out the door, determined.
If the people of Demoran Village joined with the citizens of the Empire, the disease would spread rapidly.
The Empire was the most densely populated country, and they exchanged resources fervently.
“Themarrin!”
Kraush, realizing he had no choice but to pull his trump card.
An alias, Tamerin Jeblam.
The true name belonged to the Demon Lord, Terasius Jeblam, who turned to this direction.
“We need to find all the Demoran Village residents before they reach the Empire and stop them.”
Kraush’s instincts told him he could locate them if he wanted to.
But he couldn’t match the power of Terasius’s magic.
His magic was nearly omnipotent.
“12 hours.”
Kraush understood the meaning of the timeframe Terasius had given.
The instant he nodded, Terasius vanished in a flash.
As Aslan watched this unfold, his eyes widened.
He had just used a high-level teleportation spell without any preparation.
Did he not have any intention of hiding his identity?
Well, it didn’t really matter to those gathered here if his identity was revealed.
“Are the villagers carriers?”
“Yeah.”
Kraush replied while scanning the surroundings at Bianca’s question.
Now that he recognized the presence of the Black Hand, he could definitely smell something pungent in the air.
“What are we going to do? We’ve put a barrier in place for now.”
Baioren pointed out the barrier she had cast while asking.
Kraush could erase the Black Hand suspended in the air.
He could easily eliminate it with Ignis.
He could also cure the Black Hand issue.
Once he had stolen the disease with the Black Hood, he could burn it away using Ignis.
However, the process would take too long.
The Black Hand had become a problem that could not be resolved without Kraush.
“Haring.”
Thus, Kraush decided to start concocting a medicine.
At the call, Haring looked up in surprise.
“With your knowledge of curses and poisons, you could develop a treatment for this disease.”
Before his regression, a cure for the Black Hand had definitely been developed.
However, the developed medicine had various shortcomings.
It was effective only within a week of the disease’s onset and had several side effects.
The reason was simple.
The Black Hand lay at the intersection of a curse and a disease.
This meant both healers and pharmacologists had to work together, leading to constant clashes between the curse and the medication.
This, in turn, resulted in several side effects.
Of course, there was someone who managed to study both curses and medicines simultaneously in Starlon.
The legendary alchemist, Darling Danphelion.
However, she belonged to Starlon.
Back then, relations between the Empire and Starlon had soured drastically, leading eventually to war.
Starlon would not dispatch a talent like an alchemist to a crumbling Empire.
‘It would take far too long for a special cure for the Black Hand to be developed after that.’
But now there was another individual who had studied curses and medicines together.
That was Haring Lagrain.
Haring hesitantly replied, her eyes wide with panic.
“Kraush, I didn’t do it alone.”
Developing a medicine wasn’t easy.
Hence, she didn’t want to display unwarranted confidence.
“I know. I’ll also ask Darling for help.”
Kraush said, glancing at Aslan.
With his magic, reaching out to Darling would be possible.
Aslan nodded immediately in response to Kraush’s direction.
“But if the medicine is successfully developed, you—Haring—should be the sole developer.”
“Me alone?”
“Darling is from Starlon.”
Thanks to Kraush’s ongoing efforts, the negative impacts between the Empire and Starlon had considerably lessened.
However, the Empire still kept Starlon in check, and Starlon did the same with the Empire.
The region struck by the Black Hand was still very much in the Empire’s territory.
The ones most likely to be affected by the Black Hand would ultimately be the Empire’s citizens.
They would naturally be suspicious if it was said that the medicine had come from Starlon and would hesitate to use it.
Hence, Haring’s name as the manufacturer of the medicine was essential.
Haring opened her lips for a moment and then closed them.
She understood that it would be a disservice to Darling.
Having a clever mind, she grasped the entirety of the situation.
“… Got it. I’ll do my best.”
Haring declared firmly, vowing to use all her knowledge to succeed in crafting the medicine.
She looked reliable.
“I’m counting on you.”
If this task succeeded, the Lagrain family would once again make a name for themselves in the Empire.
With a bit of luck, they could become an important family, taking the lead in treating the rising cases of cursed illnesses.
“What about us?”
With roles assigned, Bianca looked at Kraush, who seemed devoid of one himself.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
Kraush eased the storm called Rain Thunder Prime, raising his head.
“We need to close the world erosion.”
That was the task at hand.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
