### Chapter: 281
When Kraush opened his eyes again, he was greeted by a familiar ceiling.
Why? Because this was the infirmary of Rahern Academy.
‘If I remember correctly, that Demon Mage opened the way for me last.’
Fortunately, it seemed he had been transferred here immediately after the spatial shift.
Kraush rubbed his throbbing forehead and slowly got up.
The surroundings were quiet. It must have been early dawn.
‘When I see Aria, I’m definitely gonna hear about this.’
[ Who taught you to rush through such a transformation process like that? ]
Instead, Crimson Garden‘s reprimand came first.
What Kraush did was clearly an act of self-destruction.
If he wasn’t careful, he could have ended up not just transforming but being completely immobilized instead.
Yet, Kraush paid no mind and went head-to-head with Terasius.
“I just felt a need to show him what I’m capable of.”
Clearly, Terasius would now help him with any request.
But whether he would genuinely help was a different story altogether.
Terasius still hadn’t given up on creating a magical race.
For him, it had become a lifelong ambition.
Even if Kraush, who could now discuss magic, was present,
it was still harder to suddenly abandon a life’s purpose.
For Terasius, witnessing Kraush awaken as a Dragon King would have been an invaluable data point for his research.
So it was obvious that Terasius would invest even more in Kraush’s transformation.
That was a clear advantage on Kraush’s part.
“And also, I just really didn’t like him.”
Sometimes, emotions trump reason.
Kraush simply disliked Terasius‘s actions.
And since he wanted to dish out a punch, he did it.
[ You simple-minded fool. ]
Kraush gave a short laugh and unsteadily rose from his bed.
Despite having received treatment from Aria, his body still wasn’t in full working order.
Kraush, in his still-dazed state, walked over and opened the infirmary door.
At that moment, someone standing outside jumped and got up.
With drool on the side of her mouth, she hurriedly looked in his direction.
Bioloren Jeblam.
She was the daughter born between a Demon Mage and a Kekkeshis.
“What’s up? You woke up?”
She looked up at Kraush, feigning innocence as if she hadn’t been dozing off.
“What are you doing outside?”
“…I heard the holy maiden with the big chest needs to rest for at least a night. Are you already okay to move?”
“I’m getting used to it.”
Kraush pretended to be fine while stretching his arms lightly.
But the creaking sound from his arms made Bioloren shoot him a skeptical look.
“Stop screwing around and get back inside to rest. Who in their right mind would pick a fight with that guy? Why do something worse than world erosion?”
“I can’t deny that.”
Kraush leaned against the open door.
“But it felt a bit refreshing, didn’t it?”
“…”
At the next words, Bioloren fell silent.
Then her tiny hand grabbed Kraush‘s collar tightly.
Kraush looked down at her, grinning widely.
In response, Bioloren quickly averted her eyes and parted her lips.
“…Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
As Kraush teased her, Bioloren seemed to grow a little mischievous and kicked his leg.
“Ow!”
Thanks to that, Kraush barely managed to maintain his balance, almost toppling over.
Surprised, Bioloren rushed to steady him as he teetered.
“Geez, was that really that painful?”
“Yeah, I just got off the bed!”
“Ugh! Anyway, who told you to make that kind of face?”
“People have faces for a reason.”
Bioloren suppressed the urge to hit him again.
With a long sigh, she helped Kraush back inside the infirmary.
“Others will be coming soon. They went out to eat while waiting for you to wake up.”
“Aren’t you eating? If you keep this up, you won’t grow at all.”
“I just ate! I was the first one to eat! And what does height even matter?”
It felt a bit rude to say, but the truth was, Bioloren didn’t seem to grow much afterward either.
So, for her future’s sake, it would be better to eat a bit more. But she didn’t seem open to that idea.
What a shame.
“Anyway, I’m heading to Jeblam.”
“Sure.”
Terasius had clearly stated he was waiting at Jeblam.
By going there, he could completely absorb the forcibly drawn-out Dragon King power.
After this, Kraush could definitely establish himself among the ranks of the powerful.
“Perfect. Hurry up and get lost.”
Bioloren waved her hand as if to shoo him away.
Watching her, Kraush tilted his head.
“What do you mean? You should go too.”
“…I played matchmaker, so isn’t my job done?”
“You said Ixion is targeting you, so you should stick close to me, as per the deal with Kekkeshis.”
“That’s…”
Bioloren sputtered, seemingly at a loss for words.
She wasn’t one to throw her life away carelessly.
For whatever reason, if Ixion was after her, she had to protect herself.
“Why in the world are they after me?”
Bioloren voiced her confusion about why Ixion was targeting her.
After all, she only dabbled a bit in barrier techniques.
Kraush couldn’t be sure either.
In the past, Ixion definitely didn’t aim for Bioloren.
The fact she made it to the age of the skies was proof of that.
But now they were after her.
‘Two reasons seem plausible.’
One was due to Bioloren’s barrier skills.
Her barrier techniques were a unique blend of current magic and the barriers from world erosion.
In other words, among abilities related to defense, she held outstanding traits.
Judging by how her barrier could even block the view of Crimson Garden, its effectiveness was undeniable.
If Ixion were planning a siege, Bioloren’s barriers would hold unimaginable value.
‘If the Black Witch brainwashes her, she could be of use.’
The second reason was something Kraush couldn’t be completely sure of, but it might be that her barriers could aid in creating a god of erosion.
This part concerned Kraush quite a bit.
After all, it was as if Ixion was attempting to create a god of erosion.
And the Demon Mage who birthed Bioloren wanted to create a magical race.
While the two objectives differ in what they aim to create,
they did share a common ground: both were in the realm of creation.
‘I thought the Demon Mage birthed Bioloren solely for the sake of gaining information for creating that magical race.’
Perhaps Bioloren was simply viewed as a material for the Demon Mage to create a magical race.
Then after some experiments, when deemed unusable, Bioloren was abandoned.
‘But unlike the Demon Mage, it seems Ixion concluded that Bioloren holds some value as a material.’
As a result, they decided to kidnap her.
While pondering this, Kraush suddenly caught onto something odd.
‘…Then why did they have to ask Kekkeshis to kidnap Bioloren?’
Sure, if she were to get close to Bioloren, it would be the easiest way to bring her in without raising suspicion.
But either way, Bioloren is a child of Kekkeshis.
Naturally, the odds of spontaneous actions like this happening were high.
Ixion wasn’t foolish either.
Why would they trust Kekkeshis enough to handle it?
‘But what if there was a part of Kekkeshis they could trust?’
What if, before Bioloren was even born, Kekkeshis had been affiliated with Ixion?
Kraush suddenly understood why he felt so uncomfortable speaking with Kekkeshis.
‘…Kekkeshis might’ve belonged to Ixion from the start.’
Kekkeshis had clearly said that the birth of Bioloren from Demon Mage and her was not forced.
Then it meant there must have been some sort of trade-off with her.
Kraush was puzzled about that specific point.
What deal did Kekkeshis strike with the Demon Mage that led to Bioloren’s birth?
But if she had been part of Ixion from the get-go, it would all make sense.
Her purpose for striking a deal with the Demon Mage?
It would be to achieve their mutual goals of creation.
‘But the Demon Mage treated Bioloren as a failed experiment for creating a magical race.’
But then, why would Ixion be targeting her now?
The moment Kraush thought this, he lifted his gaze to look at Bioloren.
“…Bioloren, didn’t your mother, Kekkeshis, say she left when you were a child?”
“Yeah, she did.”
Bioloren responded with puzzlement, as if questioning what he was driving at.
“Did she do anything before leaving?”
Bioloren blinked in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“Did she tell you any vital secrets before leaving?”
Bioloren tilted her head while searching her memories.
“There’s no way she would have…”
“Think really hard. Is there really nothing? I’ve got doubts about why Ixion is targeting you now.”
“Hmm.”
Bioloren seemed to be trying to squeeze her memory as hard as she could.
But her expression remained unchanged.
[ Didn’t she leave you with a barrier? ]
At that moment, Crimson Garden‘s voice unexpectedly chimed in.
“A barrier, you say?”
Kraush shot a question to Bioloren.
At that, a crow flapped into view by the window.
[ In terms of memories, if Kekkeshis did something and didn’t want it revealed, she could’ve tampered with your memories. ]
Kraush’s eyes widened.
It was a story with ample possibility.
Kraush quickly turned to Bioloren.
“Bioloren, can you check if there’s a barrier inside your body?”
“A barrier?”
“Your mother might have placed a barrier on your memories.”
Bioloren blinked again.
Slowly, she began to recall the possibility that such a thing could exist and widened her eyes.
“Wait a moment.”
Bioloren, on hearing that, hurriedly sat next to Kraush’s bed.
Then, she closed her eyes quietly, taking a deep breath.
She started to search her insides quietly, looking for a barrier.
Before long, Bioloren opened her eyes, her expression one of astonishment.
“…It’s really there.”
She had thought about placing a barrier outside her body.
But had never considered putting one inside herself.
Now that she found it, she locked eyes with Kraush.
“Remove it.”
She spoke as if made a resolution.
Bioloren took a deep breath, and began slowly unraveling the barriers filled in her mind.
Kraush, knowing she needed his full focus, stayed silent and just watched her.
After a while, beams of light began to pour from around Bioloren, and she gasped sharply.
Her face turned pale, and cold sweat dripped down.
Despite Bioloren’s powerful barrier skill, the one she was unraveling was intricately complex.
It was clear that Kekkeshis had deemed it a memory that should never be reclaimed.
Or perhaps she had also kept others from accessing Bioloren’s memories.
“It’s not working. What did she do?”
“Bioloren.”
Kraush placed a hand on Bioloren’s shoulder.
“I’ll help you.”
Now was the time for the Black Hood to shine.
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