### Chapter: 293
The Never-Ending Stairs
And the giant steel ball that keeps rolling down, no matter how much you smash it.
These two elements mixed together formed a chaos of a barrier maze.
Inside the maze, black flames scattered.
Bang!
Kraush, who had nearly been caught by the speeding ball, smashed it once more.
That made it the eighth ball he had destroyed.
By now, Kraush had delegated Biolain to Aslan.
Thanks to flying magic and weight-reducing spells, the two were trying their best to avoid getting overtaken by the steel balls as they descended.
A few beads of sweat had started to form on Kraush’s brow.
Slicing the steel balls was no issue.
But on a separate note, he still had no idea how to escape the barrier.
‘This psychological pressure is heavier than I anticipated.’
Kraush took a moment to catch his breath.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
At that moment, another steel ball started rolling down from above.
“Biolain, how’s the barrier-breaking going?” Kraush shouted, trying to ignore the impending ball.
But Biolain, floating in the air under Aslan’s flying magic, didn’t look too comfortable.
“…I’m on it. But since we keep going down these stairs, my efforts keep cutting off midway.”
The steel balls accelerated without any intention of stopping.
Normally, they would reach a certain speed and then stop accelerating, but it seemed there was some kind of special power infused in these steel balls.
Because of that, everyone, including Kraush, Aslan, and Biolain, had to keep running down the stairs without pause.
Thud, thud, thud!
“Here comes another one, Kraush!”
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, Kraush began to lead Biolain and Aslan further down.
They were still fast enough to escape the steel ball for now.
“Biolain, is there another way out?”
Though he considered smashing the barrier, that could risk distorting it and failing to reach their target.
Thus, Kraush was left with no choice but to rely on Biolain’s barrier magic.
After hearing Kraush’s question, Biolain let out a deep breath and cautiously spoke.
“Well, not exactly. But we’ll need to check each step.”
“Each step?”
“The barrier is on the step we’re on right now. It’s been set up to repeat like a Möbius strip from a certain point. So if we can find which step is under that barrier, we can break it.”
Kraush understood why Biolain had been unable to break the barrier until now.
No matter how genius Biolain was, how could she find the point of the repeating stairs while running at this speed?
“Then we just need to find where the stairs lead to?”
In that moment, Aslan looked at both of them and chimed in.
“Is there a way?”
“There are 2,534 steps. I’ve been marking them with magic as we go down. If we step on the points where I set the magic, we’ll know their positions.”
When did he find the time to do that?
“I thought it might help, but the issue is I know the count, but not the starting point or the end point. So…”
Aslan looked up at the descending steel ball.
“The point where the steel ball starts is likely the starting point of the stairs. It’s designed like a trap that activates at a certain repeating point. Naturally, it would make sense for the initial drop to have the most acceleration.”
The steel ball wasn’t always coming from above.
Sometimes, they would hear it rolling from below as well.
Of course, it came back down again, but it was true that each steel ball had a starting point.
Aslan turned to Biolain, hoping to confirm his hypothesis with her.
“If we reach the starting point of the steel ball, we can check.”
If they could confirm whether the steel ball’s position was at the start, they could then go down the 2,534 steps and reach the end point.
“It’s definitely worth a shot.”
Kraush abruptly stopped on the stairs and gripped Rain Thunder Prime tightly.
“Aslan, use your magic to determine the starting position of the steel ball.”
“Got it.”
Aslan mirrored Kraush’s pause, immediately drawing in mana.
Then he shaped the mana into a spell and waved his hand against the wall.
Boom!
A streak of light appeared as Aslan’s magic embedded itself into the wall.
The light streamed down the wall, wrapped around the stairs, and began descending rapidly.
The moment Kraush saw Aslan’s magic in effect, he unleashed black flames.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
The rapidly accelerating steel ball was now so close it was almost upon them.
Just like before.
Kraush didn’t hesitate and swung Rain Thunder Prime at the oncoming metal sphere.
Whoosh!
The steel ball was sliced clean in half, rolling away as it fell down the stairs.
Upon seeing this, Kraush immediately looked back at Aslan.
Eventually, Aslan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly perked up.
Thud!
That was the sound of another steel ball as it started rolling down.
“Kraush!”
“I’m on it!”
Kraush began running down the stairs with Biolain and Aslan.
They had already run down these stairs more times than they cared to count.
Now that they were figuring out how to break through, he ran even faster when Aslan suddenly stopped at a certain spot.
That was where the light from Aslan’s spell had come to a halt.
Biolain swiftly landed on the ground and started examining the stairs.
Before long, she raised her head towards them.
“Yep! This is the starting point!”
A smile crept onto Kraush’s face.
They had found it.
Thud, thud, thud!
In the meantime, another steel ball sped down, closing in on Kraush.
If this was the starting point, the end would be right above them, and the steel ball could cover them in no time.
“Let’s go down one more step before breaking the barrier!”
“I’ll count as we go!”
Aslan resumed guiding the light spell up the stairs.
The light magic continued leading the way down.
Aslan cast flying magic again alongside Biolain, and they began their descent.
Thud, thud, thud!
But Kraush soon realized the steel ball was catching up faster than before.
‘Did the tenth ball come with extra conditions or something?’
It seemed that as a certain number of steel balls were destroyed, the next ones began to descend faster.
At this rate, they would be caught before they could reach the bottom of the stairs.
And Kraush’s prediction came true when they soon spotted a new steel ball.
“Aslan, keep going!”
Kraush shouted to the two rushing down below and gripped tight to his sword.
Then he aimed another Rain Thunder Prime at the incoming steel ball.
Boom!
Kraush winced at the vibration returning through his arm.
‘Wait, did it get heavier and stronger?!’
The steel ball was now far denser than before.
Crash!
Kraush poured on even more force as he smashed the ball, allowing himself a moment to breathe.
Thud, thud, thud!
But that respite was short-lived.
Another steel ball was now speeding down with more force than the previous one.
It seemed like this was aiming to obstruct him from breaking the barrier.
With an absurd velocity, the steel ball was now rolling down the outer wall instead of taking the stairs.
“Damn it.”
Growling beneath his breath, Kraush activated Excel and jumped downward.
Before long, he could see Aslan and Biolain ahead.
Thanks to the use of Excel, he was quick to catch up to the two.
“2,534!”
At that moment, Aslan yelled out the number and suddenly stopped.
Biolain quickly placed her hands on the stairs as he did.
“How long will it take to break the barrier?”
“Three minutes, no—two minutes!”
Biolain immediately slipped into a state of concentration, as if wasting time was out of the question.
Watching her, Kraush readied Rain Thunder Prime again.
He intended to shatter yet another steel ball.
Thud, thud, thud!
The sound of the steel ball barreling down echoed ominously.
Just as Kraush was about to unleash his magic—
Crack!
A thought struck him.
The appearance of the steel ball indicated the starting point.
If he shattered it, just like before, the newly manifested steel ball would certainly fall directly on Aslan and Biolain.
Given that the starting and ending points were almost physically touching, they would be turned to mush.
‘Then, I can’t shatter it this time.’
Realizing he couldn’t simply cut through the steel ball, Kraush pumped rain in and infused Excel into himself.
“Biolain, keep going! I’m heading up! Aslan, you protect Biolain!”
Biolain was in the zone.
This was still within the barrier.
Any danger to Biolain could arise at any moment.
So Kraush, keeping Aslan close, sprinted upwards as fast as he could.
Thud!
Moments later, the steel ball filling the space was now approaching the wall of the building.
As soon as it was upon Kraush, he heated his body with sheer speed.
Fueled by the flames of Annihilation Erosion, Kraush felt his muscles swell.
Simultaneously, he drew on his strength by applying the teachings of ‘Dragon of Ruin.’
Just as the steel ball was about to collide.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Kraush threw his body into the steel ball.
BANG! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
As he collided with the steel ball, black flames erupted.
At that exact moment, Kraush’s Rahern Academy uniform was torn to shreds by the ball’s high-speed rotation.
Kraush struck with determination, gritting his teeth while resisting the ball’s speed and weight.
He pushed the Annihilation Erosion even harder, amplifying his strength.
As the spinning momentum ripped through his skin, blood flew.
Had he not been of the royal dragon lineage, this amount of speed would have left him with shredded skin, exposing flesh and bone.
Kraush’s legs were practically bolted to the stairs.
The spherical steel ball continued rolling, making it increasingly difficult to block.
Kraush, colliding with the ball, channeled black flames into his fingertips.
“Damn it, stop!”
He then sank his fingers into the spinning ball, channeling all his strength into his arms.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
As he endured the intense shock and strain, Kraush felt his lip split.
Sizzle!
The steel ball hissed and just barely came to a stop.
Kraush, having poured tremendous energy into it, continued to breathe heavily.
“Is this really how I’m gonna go down?”
This wasn’t some world-eroding creature or anything; who would have thought a steel ball would cause this much trouble?
If he ever crossed paths with the barrier mage again, he was definitely going to give her a piece of his mind.
Just then, a voice from the Crimson Garden echoed in Kraush’s ear.
“Kraush, it’s not over yet.”
Kraush turned just in time to see the steel ball beginning to glow ominously.
A chill crept into the air as the light spilled out—a sight that appeared utterly unsettling.
Since Kraush had already sliced through it, it was triggering yet another trap.
“This…”
[ It’s an explosion. ]
One powerful enough to engulf the entire staircase.
With his face turning pale, Kraush drew Rain Thunder Prime.
Then, he swung his sword at the steel ball with outstanding speed.
Slice!
As he sliced into the ball, the light faded instantly.
Boom!
Kraush stomped down on the stairs with all his weight and channeled maximum Excel into his body.
Boom!
Just as a gust of wind caught up, Kraush shot downward like a shooting star.
As he rushed back along the path he came, he glimpsed the steel ball forming directly above Aslan and Biolain.
Kraush dashed toward it, extending his arms just before the new steel ball hit the ground.
Crash!
It felt like his arm might snap under the weight, yet, Kraush trusted in his royal dragon lineage and endured.
“Kraush!”
Aslan shouted just as he activated magic.
With the weight-reducing spell and a gust of wind, the steel ball went flying downward instead of crashing down.
Thanks to this, Kraush, having released his grip on the steel ball, staggered but prepared to charge upward once more.
He’d need to block the next incoming steel ball.
“It’s done!”
Just then, Biolain’s triumphant voice rang out.
Having lost track of her surroundings as she focused, she activated her barrier magic.
At that moment, the stairs beneath Biolain’s hands turned a brilliant gold.
“Jump down!”
At her command, Kraush hoisted Biolain up like a sack of potatoes.
As he sprinted downward alongside Aslan, a door marked the end of their ascent.
Kraush kicked down the door, leaping inside while practically tumbling over Biolain.
As Aslan dashed in after them, he shut the door behind them just in time to—
Thud!
The steel ball crashed outside, halting just in front of the door.
“Ouch, ouch!”
Biolain, who had landed in Kraush’s arms, rubbed her arms as she stood up.
In that moment, she looked at Kraush with wide eyes.
“Hey, you, you!”
Kraush was covered in blood and cuts.
But upon seeing her reaction, he simply set her down and stood up.
“Just a scratch.”
His arm might feel stiff, but the wound itself was nothing serious.
Hiss!
Moreover, being part of the royal dragon lineage granted him absurd regenerative abilities.
His skin was already healing rapidly.
Biolain stared at him, dumbfounded.
“Are you a monster?”
“I’m pretty much on my way there.”
Kraush didn’t deny it, raising his head.
Even though they were underground, the soft glow of moonlight filled the area.
And along with that, they saw a massive reed tree shining.
The reeds swayed gently with an unknown breeze, catching the light and scattering it beautifully throughout the room.
“…This is it.”
And soon, Biolain said with a blank expression.
They had finally reached the place where Biolain’s powers were sealed.
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