### Chapter: 315
The Final Ark.
The environment here, which holds the entirety of the world up until now, is quite peculiar.
From extinct creatures to those that have stopped evolving. This is the only place where at least one individual of each kind still exists—the Final Ark.
Kraush stood before the towering walls surrounding the Final Ark managed by the Lagrain family. Just observing from afar, he could sense its immense power.
The Final Ark itself wasn’t dangerous. However, the strength it contained to preserve all living beings within the world of erosion was far more colossal than one could even imagine.
“I’ll keep an eye on our spies. You go ahead.”
Kraush mulled over Sigrid’s words as he stood at the entrance to the Final Ark. That side was well taken care of, so he didn’t need to worry.
Casting a glance to the side, he saw Haring, who was busy checking her bag. He had decided to venture into the Final Ark with her.
She might not be as knowledgeable as the Poison King, but when it came to ingredients, she was sharp as a tack.
No matter how skilled Kraush was, it would still take time to search for unfamiliar materials. Thus, Haring was perfectly suited for the guiding role.
As for the Soul Devourer Curse, he had already contacted Dorma about it. They still had some time until she sent over the curse, which was why Haring willingly accompanied Kraush.
“Haring, is it okay to go in unarmed?”
With the body of a dragon prince and Ignis at his side, Kraush couldn’t suffer from the world erosion anymore. But Haring was a different story, so he asked.
She flashed a confident smile. “Yeah, I’m a Master now too! It’s fine even inside the Final Ark.”
As Haring stated, she was fully capable of controlling her Master powers.
She already possessed remarkable talent, being part of the Sky Generation. Ever since meeting Kraush, she had dedicated herself entirely to training, achieving substantial growth.
Right now, she was among the top-tier talents at Rahern Academy.
“Impressive work.”
Kraush smiled, feeling Haring’s dedication once again, causing her to shyly bow her head.
“B-because I wanted to be by Kraush’s side.”
Haring replied in a whisper, causing Kraush’s smile to turn bittersweet.
Kraush understood Haring’s feelings. He also knew that she was trying to keep her distance from him because of it.
Now that he had a wife, he worried that his feelings might become a burden.
‘If only you acted more like the others,’ Kraush thought as he couldn’t shake the image of Haring trying to hide her feelings.
‘Does she remind me of my first love, Lirina?’
He had never told Lirina how he felt about her. Her status as a maid made it complicated for him.
He was a cursed child cast aside by his family. If he became her lover, he couldn’t predict the harm it could cause her.
Kraush was certain her life wouldn’t be smooth sailing.
So, he buried his feelings deep down, until the day Lirina died.
Knowing that he managed to suppress his feelings back then, he couldn’t treat Haring the same way he had treated others.
Kraush scratched the back of his head.
To think he was looking at a girl who liked him and seeing his past self—it made him feel ridiculous.
“Haring.”
At his call, Haring lifted her head, which she had been avoiding eye contact with.
Kraush met her gaze and said, “I’ve always said it, right? I trust you.”
As he spoke, he smiled at her.
“That means I’m grateful for you always standing beside me.”
So he didn’t want her to feel any guilt just for standing by him.
It seemed Haring understood his feelings, as a gentle smile blossomed on her face.
While she didn’t often smile in front of others, she would light up whenever Kraush said something—even the most trivial words.
That fact made Kraush’s heart soften even more.
“Yeah, I’ll work even harder.”
She promised to do her best, but he didn’t think he needed to rush her.
“Good.”
Kraush nodded and looked towards the Lagrain family gatekeeper.
He bowed his head respectfully, and soon after, he opened the door to the Final Ark.
As Kraush passed through the door, he was greeted by a flood of light, revealing a common plain beyond.
A plain that could be found anywhere in the original world. It felt completely devoid of danger.
But—
Shiver—
Kraush sensed the strong aroma of world erosion at the tip of his nose.
No matter how ordinary the plain appeared, it was one of the precious zones engulfed by world erosion.
‘It feels like the power of world erosion is stronger than usual…’
Kraush knew what this feeling meant. It meant the Final Ark was beginning to cultivate the most vile of seeds.
‘During the time of the Giant’s Forest, it was the same; this wouldn’t be any different.’
He had to think back to the influences the vile seeds might have had when being created inside the Final Ark. Given the world’s chaotic state, he had to chew on as much information as he could in this timeframe.
Meanwhile, Haring also stepped through the door.
Thud!
The sound of the castle gates closing echoed behind them.
“The first thing is to find the Ghostly Mushroom. I’ll lead the way.”
Haring stepped ahead with confidence, as if to prove she was serious about working hard.
Seeing her bold stride made Kraush chuckle, and he followed her.
‘Let’s gradually recall everything regarding the vile seeds.’
But for now, the priority was to gather materials.
＊ * ＊
It had been a week since they entered the Final Ark.
Kraush and Haring steadily collected materials as per their original goal.
As a result, they had managed to gather the majority of the materials in just one week.
Haring tied up her bag, which was filled with materials, making sure she had extras in case of emergencies.
No way they would run short on anything.
“What else do we need?”
“The Carrion Mushroom! It’s nearby, so we’ll be able to find it quickly.”
Perhaps due to how smoothly they were finding the materials, Haring’s face was bright with joy.
She was thrilled to have actively contributed to Kraush.
“Thanks, Haring, it’s all thanks to you.”
Kraush fervently expressed his gratitude towards Haring.
“Yup, hee hee.”
Feeling slightly bashful, Haring picked up her pace.
But in her hurry, she stumbled over a thick tree root.
“Haring!”
Just as Kraush reached out to catch her, Haring spun and landed perfectly on the ground.
Her landing skills were nothing short of a cat’s.
Having landed without any issues, Haring looked up.
She then saw Kraush, who had paused in an attempt to catch her, and exclaimed, “Ah!”
It was her chance to be caught, but she had intentionally thrown it away.
Even if she tried not to be greedy, she couldn’t help but feel down about missing that chance.
Seeing her like that, Kraush couldn’t help but chuckle and reached out to pat her head.
“I’m glad you didn’t get hurt.”
Though, honestly, it was amusing to think a talent like Haring would get injured from tripping.
Haring smiled gently at Kraush’s patting.
[“Are you two, like, on a date or something?”]
At that moment, the voice of Crimson Garden chimed in, teasing them as usual.
Kraush shot her a perplexed look.
After a quiet spell, it was surprising to hear her speak up now.
“Haring, hang on a moment.”
“Okay.”
Kraush pushed Haring to wait and stepped a bit away from her.
He then rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a corpse rat.
“Crimson Garden, what have you been up to? Why so quiet for a while?”
Both Ebelasque and Crimson Garden had been unusually silent for quite some time.
So, when Kraush inquired, Crimson Garden responded.
[“I’ve been infiltrating the Ixion cult. Those guys have been spreading out a lot lately, so it was the right time to expand their power.”]
Squeak squeak.
Upon hearing that, Kraush understood the situation.
Seeing that Ebelasque responded as well, it seemed they’d been working together.
And he also figured out why they hadn’t reported sooner.
Since there wouldn’t have been much change until they thoroughly infiltrated, they decided to inform him afterward.
“The fact that you let me know means…”
[“Yes, I managed to insert a world eroder amongst the Ixion ranks. As a trading condition, he won’t be linked back to me.”]
That was a warning regarding Abella, he assumed.
Kraush trusted Crimson Garden’s judgment.
She was quicker to consider choices like this.
[“Sigrid Ephania has teamed up with that Abella character.”]
Kraush’s expression immediately hardened.
Sigrid had allied with Abella.
“If that’s the case, about this spy…”
[“Yes, it’s partnered with Ixion.”]
“…Incredible. I thought they had thrown everything away and lost hope, yet they went this far.”
Kraush realized that Sigrid had truly hit rock bottom.
‘If only she had just maintained the current status.’
She, likely a cursed child reincarnated like him, had ruined all plans and had come to rise instead.
In the end, Sigrid had collapsed under pressure.
Of course, Kraush had continuously provoked this situation.
Sigrid had never been mentally stable to begin with.
Growing up in the royal household, where she’d felt the weight of being unable to become an Emperor, her psyche had cracked long ago.
‘Aria mentioned that Sigrid would destroy the Empire and then claim the title of Emperor for herself.’
Kraush understood Sigrid’s obsession with the empire.
And he also recognized her twisted desire to shatter what she could not possess.
‘The Emperor was secretly trying to maneuver to put a child from Sigrid and me on the throne.’
Naturally, Sigrid would have caught wind of that.
‘The spy Sigrid placed—’
That might not have been to claim the Empire, but rather, to bring it down altogether.
Kraush scratched his head in frustration.
“Crimson Garden, what’s the outside situation?”
[“The Empire isn’t idle either. The Lagrains have already identified the spy and are currently pursuing them. The problem is the direction that spy is fleeing.”]
Kraush’s eyes narrowed.
“Don’t tell me…”
[“In the direction of the Final Ark.”]
The identified spy was fleeing toward the Final Ark.
Upon hearing this, a brilliant idea shot through Kraush’s mind.
“…Crimson Garden, find out right now where the spies from the Empire are headed. And let Sisly know too. If anyone can contact the Imperial Family, it’s her.”
[“…You think they’ll all head for the precious zones?”]
Crimson Garden caught on quickly.
The Empire was managing numerous precious zones.
And among world eroders lurked methods to unleash world erosion.
Because Abella had directly studied Crimson Garden’s methods of world erosion.
“Damn, these lunatics.”
Kraush cursed under his breath and turned around.
“Haring! Things just got serious. We need to grab these materials fast and head back to the entrance!”
“Uh? Oh, got it!”
Haring was just about to sprint, but Kraush dashed in front of her.
“Hop on.”
Haring blinked her big eyes, looking utterly bewildered by what he just said.
“It’ll be quicker if you get on! Right now, that’s the fastest way!”
Though Haring wasn’t slow, Kraush had Excel at his disposal. Naturally, he could run much faster than her.
Realizing this, Haring hesitated for just a moment before shutting her eyes and hopping onto Kraush’s back.
However, her position was a bit awkward.
“Hold on tightly.”
As Kraush warned her, Haring took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around his neck, securing herself properly.
In that moment, the scent of violets tickled Kraush’s nose.
It was Haring’s fragrance.
Kraush shook off his distractions and stomped down on the ground, launching himself forward.
The eruption of the precious zone.
Ixion was about to commence their full-blown assault on the Empire.
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