### Chapter: 317
Kraush took a light breath on the castle walls after turning Adon into a barbecue.
‘So, was it Adon who unleashed chaos in the Final Ark?’
Kraush recalled Adon praying to the sky with his hand raised just before he toasted him.
“Crimson Garden.”
[It’s a different method, but similar in nature.]
It seemed that those Ixion scumbags had their own ideas on how to cause an uproar in the Kingdom of Jeblam.
Kraush grimaced as he looked down at the charred remains of Adon.
Having sprinted all this way, he felt a wave of heat radiating from his body, likely due to the power of Annihilation Erosion he’d just unleashed.
At the same time, he realized that the outer layer of the inner cores of his aura within him had slightly melted.
If it melted any more than that, the aura would explode from his body immediately.
Knowing well what lay ahead, Kraush prioritized managing the aura’s inner cores.
Meanwhile, Haring, who had been beside Kraush, was staring blankly out of the watchtower.
The direction she was gazing was none other than the Lagrain Family.
Kraush followed her gaze and saw nothing but a thick white fog enveloping them.
Both the Lagrain Family and the entire mountain they resided on were shrouded in the fog.
Kraush frowned, realizing the fog resembled smoke.
‘Refinement.’
Somewhere nearby, a Refinement was definitely taking place.
Simultaneously, Kraush had an inkling that Adon was merely bait.
‘They did it on purpose.’
The one rampaging in the Kingdom of Jeblam was Ixion themselves.
They had lured him, effectively holding the Lagrain family’s leash.
Ixion had targeted Kraush and his associates multiple times, but each attempt had failed.
Through that cycle of failures, Ixion had learned something.
Kraush was now an opponent that Ixion couldn’t just take on lightly.
Moreover, Kraush was growing at an unexpected level, continuously improving.
Ixion assessed Kraush as a threat.
Thus, they concluded that splitting their power to send goons after Kraush was too risky.
However, they couldn’t rashly invest excessive power either.
‘I’ve been consistently interacting with strong individuals like the Spirit King recently.’
Kraush had also made sure that his movements were overt, so that others would notice him.
This was a strategic action on his part.
The mere presence of strong allies next to him would discourage hasty actions.
‘In my position, I was balancing things out intentionally.’
Kraush had effectively shackled Ixion.
Ixion was likely to spark a war with the World Eroders.
Kraush wanted to minimize that probability by any means.
‘Therefore, it would be better for the World Eroders to cut ties with Ixion.’
Before humans collided with Ixion, Kraush planned to convince other World Eroders to distance themselves from Ixion.
But whom would Kraush aim to persuade?
It was none other than the center figure of the World Eroders, but from a different meaning than Ixion.
‘Swordmaster (劍尊).’
Kraush was looking to persuade the Swordmaster, called the strongest among the World Eroders.
The monster that Charlotte, who possessed the greatest talent among humans, had sacrificed herself to defeat.
Kraush aimed to convince him to become an enemy of Ixion.
It might sound ridiculous, but it was a necessary task to prevent the war with the World Eroders.
And to make that persuasion happen, Kraush needed to fully digest the inner cores of his aura to handle the God of Creation Weapons.
Only the Sword Talks (劍談) would convince the Swordmaster.
Thus, Kraush needed time.
Time to delay the clash between humans and Ixion.
‘But those pesky Ixion guys have no intention of waiting for that!’
Kraush’s face twisted in frustration.
The fog spoke volumes to him—it was proof of their attitude.
If he wanted to save the Lagrain family and Sisly, they were practically inviting him into the mist.
They were likely planning to trigger their trap the moment Kraush stepped inside.
‘On the flip side, if I don’t enter…’
From Ixion’s perspective, that wouldn’t be so bad either. They could simply take their hostages and make their getaway.
“Those damn bastards.”
Kraush ground his teeth in outrage.
He had caught on that they were in on this plan from the start.
‘My arrival at the Lagrain family was a coincidence, but…’
They had turned this coincidence into an opportunity.
An opportunity to capture Kraush along with the empire’s downfall.
“Kraush.”
At that moment, Haring tugged at his sleeve.
She too sensed Kraush’s turmoil.
Kraush was not in his best state.
His body was filled with the aura absorbed from the fractures of the world.
Although Ixion might not know this, Haring understood that if Kraush entered the fog now, it would put him in jeopardy.
“There’s my father inside. The Lagrain family will be fine.”
After hearing those words, Kraush looked at Haring.
The Poison King, Hauran Lagrain.
He was indeed strong enough to be counted among the Ten Great Lords.
Moreover, the Lagrain family wasn’t an easy family to take down.
After all, they had been thoroughly trained to protect themselves ever since they were devastated by the Light King and Hell Fairy in the past.
Just as Haring said, the Lagrain family wouldn’t crumble easily against Ixion’s attacks.
But that was only a hypothesis.
What was happening inside remained unknown to both Kraush and Haring.
Additionally, the rampaging Final Ark posed a grave concern.
The Lagrain family was the one managing the Final Ark and the castle walls.
If the Lagrains couldn’t act properly, the disaster originating from the Final Ark would ultimately destroy the walls and engulf them all.
Haring likely wasn’t oblivious to that fact.
Yet here she was, insisting that the Lagrain family was fine.
Kraush detected her sincerity beneath her words.
The genuine wish that Kraush wouldn’t be put in danger because of her family.
The arm Haring held onto him trembled weakly.
Through that tremor, Kraush sensed her worry for the Lagrain family.
Of course—
The Lagrain family was her home and her family.
How could it be strange for her not to be anxious, especially if her only remaining family member, her father, might be in danger?
It was bizarre that someone like her would be more concerned for him under these dire circumstances.
As Kraush wrestled with how to navigate this situation, he sorted through his thoughts.
“Haring, I’ve gathered all the materials.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Haring nodded and showed Kraush the bag of materials she had brought.
“The rest of the materials should have been collected by now at the Lagrain family.”
At her words, Haring’s eyes flickered for a moment.
She realized that Kraush had decided to step into the fog.
“Kraush, wait! The Soul Binding spell isn’t ready yet.”
She hurriedly brought up the high-level Curse Soul Binding spell she had requested from Dorma.
Fortunately, they had received word through the Crimson Garden that Dorma managed to procure the Soul Binding spell somehow.
But they had intended to relay that information to Kraush after he returned, so as of now, the Lagrain family was without the Soul Binding spell.
“It’s okay.”
Kraush said as he gazed at his shadow.
“My friends are pretty capable.”
The moment those words left his mouth, his shadow swelled.
Surprised, Haring watched as a head suddenly popped out of the shadow, morphing into a person.
The one who emerged was none other than Ebelasque.
She appeared with a mildly annoyed expression as she looked at Kraush.
“You really use me as a gopher, don’t you?”
In her hand was a small jar covered in an array of talismans.
Inside it was the high-level Curse Soul Binding spell.
After receiving the Soul Binding spell from Taria Bales, a servant of the Crimson Garden, Ebelasque had made her way here.
“Thanks for your help.”
Kraush handed the Soul Binding spell over to Haring.
In shock, Haring stared at Kraush with a stiff expression.
Receiving this meant that Kraush intended to go inside.
“Haring, to resolve this cursed body of mine, I have to get into the Lagrain family, no matter what.”
He needed the materials inside the Lagrain family to fix his body.
With Ixion on the move and time running short, Kraush couldn’t afford to waste time gathering materials again.
“So Haring, please. Come into the Lagrain family with me.”
Haring bit her lip as she found herself on the receiving end of his request.
This man always did it like this.
He pushes without making her feel burdened, claiming it was something he needed.
Haring looked at Kraush.
She could no longer talk him out of it.
Kraush was the reason she had fallen for him in the first place.
“…Alright. Let’s go. I’ll definitely help you resolve your body’s issue.”
Upon hearing her answer, Kraush smiled.
Then, he slyly grabbed Ebelasque’s hem as she was trying to sneak backward.
“Let’s go, my shadow guard.”
“Ugh! I knew this would happen!”
Ebelasque complained but didn’t try to escape.
She understood the urgency of the situation.
Kraush lifted his head.
With Haring and Ebelasque alongside him.
The infiltration operation into the Lagrain family was about to commence.
＊ ＊ ＊
Hauran Lagrain, the head of the Lagrain family.
He was quietly guarding a certain room at the moment.
In the room behind him was the most noble person of the empire.
Her name was Sizelry Ephania.
The fourth princess of the empire and the one hailed as its greatest intellect.
Hauran first met Sizelry when she was just a child.
As a child, she was known for her exceptional mind yet chaotic antics that had earned her a reputation.
Thanks to that reputation, the nobility didn’t particularly see her as the next empress.
However, the moment Hauran laid eyes on her, he realized something.
Every action she took was an act.
One that was sophisticated enough to deceive even adults.
And all this at the tender age of four.
Sizelry was already reading the room at just four years old.
‘What a frightening child,’ he thought.
Yet despite that, Hauran couldn’t help but pay her more attention due to her sharp intellect.
Sizelry was acutely aware of reality.
She knew that if she were to become the emperor, it would cause far too much chaos.
She was also fully aware that staying in the imperial family would put her life at risk.
Thus, she distanced herself from the imperial family in her role as the mischievous youngest princess.
‘After that, I thought the fourth princess wouldn’t return to the imperial family.’
Yet recently, her actions had drastically changed.
Before long, rumors began spreading amongst the nobility that the emperor had fallen ill.
At that point, Sizelry, who had been attending Rahern Academy, suddenly returned to the imperial family.
She made contact with the emperor, who was ailing, and before long, the emperor appeared in perfect health again.
During that time, the Ixion, a group of World Eroders, attempted to kidnap Sizelry.
Coincidentally, Kraush, who happened to be in the empire at that time, rescued her, leading the emperor to praise Kraush as a hero.
He even went so far as to declare Kraush as Sizelry’s fiancé.
A series of events had unfolded in the blink of an eye, almost like flowing water.
Hauran sensed that this incident was wrapped in deeper interests than what was publicly announced.
However, he didn’t probe deeply into the matter.
Digging too deep would only bring scorn from the imperial family.
So while Hauran remained silent, Sizelry arrived at his doorstep concerning the spy.
Initially, he thought she’d come to warn him about connecting his daughter Haring with her fiancé, Kraush.
But after Sizelry’s visit, Hauran began to feel something was off.
Her movements in search of the spy felt slower than expected.
Almost as if she were waiting for some sort of chance.
Seeing this, Hauran discreetly sent out informants.
Lagrain was part of the empire, but in this empire, a blade could arrive at any moment.
Thus, Hauran set out to investigate anything related to Sizelry.
And he soon uncovered a truth.
‘The one who decisively caused the fall of the third princess was the fourth princess’s doing.’
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