Chapter: 122
The moment the storm of black flames swept through the plaza, the entire area trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
The Double-Fold members, witnessing the astounding destructive power firsthand, stood there with their mouths agape.
Although they knew Kraush’s abilities, the opponent they faced was a nearly 7-star level Erosion Type.
Everyone was genuinely unsure if they could take it down with a single strike.
But seeing that incredible output made them realize just how absurd Kraush truly was.
He indeed possessed the power to take down Decarabia in one hit.
Everyone felt the weight of the strength of the second-year prodigy and number one.
“He’s turned into a monster.”
While Aniks let out a dry laugh, Kraush and Haring descended simultaneously through the black flames.
Elfin leaped towards them, receiving both Kraush and Haring and landing as gracefully as a feather.
In that moment, she flinched.
Just a brief touch against Kraush’s body revealed the intense heat radiating from him.
Had they been enduring such a state while attacking?
It was an unbelievable mental fortitude.
Not to mention, Haring was in the same boat.
Repeated exposure to Kraush’s heat had left her skin covered in burns.
It was evident how hard both of them had struggled, just as much as themselves.
“Hang in there.”
Seemingly labored in breathing, when Kraush spoke, Elfin gently set him and Haring down.
With Haring’s support, Kraush managed to stand, wobbling but not collapsing.
The heat in his body was scorching.
It seemed the toll of the Inferno Erosion was finally claiming its price.
Kraush barely maintained his sanity as he raised his head.
Then he caught sight of Aniks.
Aniks, though not as bad as Kraush, was in quite a disheveled state.
And this was a version of Aniks that Kraush had never seen before.
Naturally, it was to be expected.
Aniks had never exerted himself to this extent.
Seeing that, an odd sense of relief washed over Kraush.
It felt like the remnants of stale emotions had been carried away by a wave, vanishing deep within his heart.
This world was not the world he once knew.
It was a world ever-changing, and one that could still change.
If that were the case, his task was simple.
He wouldn’t allow all this change to be in vain.
Just as Kraush was barely managing to hold onto his fading consciousness, the Crimson Garden’s warning echoed.
“Focus! It’s not over yet!”
As Kraush momentarily froze, he lifted his gaze.
There stood Decarabia, charred black from the Inferno Erosion.
Its body had undoubtedly absorbed the infernal blast directly, rendering it stationary.
The destructive force, condensed to its limits, was not something Decarabia could withstand.
In that instant, a crackling sound echoed, and fractures appeared on Decarabia’s face.
As the burnt fragments of its face began to fall away…
CRACK!
Something poked its head out from among the shattered pieces.
It was a diminutive version of Decarabia.
Its face was grotesque, with its snout protruding in a manner far more bizarre than its original monkey-like visage, and viscous liquid dripped from the tentacles sprouting from its body.
At that moment, a shiver ran down Kraush’s spine.
What he saw was the result of Decarabia condensing its world-eating powers in a last-ditch effort amidst the black flames.
And that result had reached a simple realm.
7-star level.
The new realm Decarabia had attained.
“———!”
At that moment, its roar reverberated.
The sound was so deafening, it might as well have been an inhuman pitch that caused a ringing in the ears, filling the plaza with overwhelming noise.
Others gradually began to sense Decarabia’s altered state.
The instant their gazes landed there, their faces stiffened.
The overwhelming aura pouring from Decarabia almost seemed to tighten around their throats in an instant.
The fierce fighting spirit that had propelled them just moments ago now wavered in the face of such a presence.
Thud–
“…This is too much.”
One of the Double-Fold members sank down, his face overwhelmed with despair.
“We’re all going to die,” someone mumbled vacantly, and none dared to contradict this sentiment.
Except for one person.
Kraush, now wielding the Thunder of Destruction.
“Aniks.”
Kraush called out to Aniks.
As Aniks turned to Kraush, his face turned ashen upon witnessing Decarabia’s awakening.
Then Aniks’ eyes widened.
Black flames were gathering again around Kraush’s sword.
Aniks understood what this meant.
He hadn’t given up yet.
“Let me go before that thing.”
Smoke billowed from Kraush’s mouth.
His body was in a state where even moving was becoming impossible.
Yet, he believed he could swing his blade at least once.
“I’ll make it a special delivery.”
Without asking further, Aniks placed his hands on the ground.
He too was at his limit, but a fierce determination surged forth, intent on sending Kraush there.
Kraush hadn’t given up yet.
Then, he wouldn’t either.
Such was the essence of Aniks.
“Kraush, I’ll go with you.”
“I will help as well!”
Haring and Elfin immediately joined them.
Seeing Aniks and Kraush not wavering reignited their resolve.
Unbeknownst to them, Kraush’s tenacity slowly began to spread among everyone.
And in turn, that tenacity began to converge into a single path.
The members of Double-Fold stared blankly at the four.
Leaving them behind, Kraush inhaled deeply, gripping the Thunder of Destruction tightly.
“Throw me.”
The moment those words left his lips, vibrations coursed beneath the feet of the trio.
Ka-chung!
Suddenly, trees surged upward beneath them.
The swift-growing trees bore witness to how much aura Aniks had invested in recovery.
In that instant, Decarabia also recognized their movements.
It yanked its arms, still embedded in its original head, from the ground.
Kraush noticed it right away.
Decarabia had attained 7-star level.
But it was in no normal condition either.
Having undergone such abrupt awakening, Decarabia forcibly compressed the world-eating powers.
As a result, it had yet to absorb the entirety of the world’s devastation from its original body.
Thus, it could not detach from its original form.
Moreover, the influence of the Inferno Erosion could not be avoided by its new body either.
Evidence of its abnormal state was visible in its new form.
This was a definite opportunity.
Recognizing that, smoke billowed from Kraush’s mouth.
His body had already reached its limit.
He had fought against the God of Night using the Inferno, followed by landing a blow on Decarabia with the Thunder of Destruction, pushing himself to his breaking point.
Signals of distress were sounding off within him.
With those signals echoing, Kraush could barely move another step.
But he couldn’t rest yet.
The enemy was right in front of him.
Kraush’s mind raced rapidly.
His body, having reached its limit, was unable to unleash the power of the Inferno once more.
The opponent was a 7-star level Erosion Type, still incomplete, but this wouldn’t be enough to sever its lifeline.
‘If that’s the case…’
Kraush realized he needed to use a new skill.
If pushed any further, he might not be able to handle the consequences, but there was no other option.
Upon the rapidly rising trees, Kraush briefly closed his eyes.
And in that moment of closing them…
Night enveloped him.
As Nox descended upon him within his body.
Tick!
A sound like something breaking quietly resonated.
It was the sound of a star Kraush had long suppressed with his eye puppetry snapping free.
Grrrrr!
While inaudible to the outside, Kraush felt a massive vibration rising from deep within, as if the very essence of his being was being consumed, reaching out towards the top of his head.
The Celestial Slayer Star.
As he detached the eye puppet, an uncontrolled killing intent surged upwards.
In an instant, Kraush nearly lost his consciousness.
The killing intent of the Celestial Slayer Star was beyond imagination.
After all, there was a reason even the notorious Blavij could ultimately be driven mad by it.
The Celestial Slayer Star craved to engulf Kraush, gnawing at his mind.
Impulsive killing intent exploded around him, drawing the black flames along for the ride.
His body had reached its limit, but the Celestial Slayer Star demanded his body to forcibly rise up and express its desire to annihilate the world.
“Hey.”
And within that killing intent, Kraush’s eyes gleamed red.
“You won’t devour me.”
As the Celestial Slayer Star sought to swallow him whole, a veil of night began to descend.
The descending night started to contain the rampaging Celestial Slayer Star.
Enveloping stars within was Night’s role.
As the seven stars of the Celestial Slayer Star began to embed themselves within the night, one by one.
Soon, the moment all seven stars settled within the night.
They unleashed a combined torrent of light.
Kraush was initially capable of wielding three stars: the Celestial Default Star, the Celestial Sovereign Star, and the Radiant Star.
However, in this moment, thanks to Nox, he was able to unleash the original powers of the Celestial Slayer Star.
First Star: the Celestial Emissary Star.
Second Star: the Celestial Default Star.
Third Star: the Celestial Artifact Star.
Fourth Star: the Celestial Sovereign Star.
Fifth Star: the Celestial Jewel Star.
Sixth Star: the Celestial Manifest Star.
Seventh Star: the Radiant Star.
All seven stars permeated into Kraush’s body.
In that brief moment Nox managed to maintain its hold,
Whoosh!
Kraush’s black flames met the true power of the Celestial Slayer Star, flaring up more intensely than ever before.
At that moment, Decarabia’s arm stretched out.
Tentacles sprouted and inflated, overwhelming the area.
Kraush was in no state to avoid it.
Just as he resigned himself to this outcome, Elfin leaped forward in front of him.
Her blade, radiating a violet aura, swung toward the tentacle mass.
Her sword was a swift strike.
The flurry of strikes besieging the tentacles tore at them mercilessly, nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.
However, Elfin too had fought tirelessly up to this point.
Perhaps as a result, some tentacles sliced through her body, inflicting wounds.
“Keep going!”
But Elfin disregarded the pain, biting her lips as she shouted.
The trees beneath Kraush continued to surge forward.
Decarabia, now within arm’s reach, opened its mouth wide, as if enraged.
In that instant, light began to gather again within its maw.
The flash from before.
The problem was that it was moving faster than before.
At that moment, Haring acted before Kraush.
Drawing two daggers from her waist, she crossed them simultaneously.
A crunch echoed from her mouth as she swallowed the sole toxic pouch she had left.
In that instant, Haring shot forth with a speed that was almost frighteningly quick, right as Kraush barely caught up.
With the poisoned daggers raised, she swung them in unison.
Swish!
The two daggers embedded into Decarabia’s jaw, forcing its head upward.
The light that had been pooling in its closed mouth shattered outward.
BOOM!
Simultaneously, the errant flash that had lost its direction exploded from within.
“GRAAAAAAH!”
Enraged by the pain, Decarabia swung its other arm fiercely at Haring.
Caught off guard while she had thrust her daggers into its jaw, Haring was sent flying high into the sky by the strike.
In an instant, she was effectively out of the fight.
But in the gap she created,
That very gap connected Kraush and Decarabia.
With Haring out of the way, Decarabia’s gaze finally settled on Kraush.
He had now reached the immediate vicinity.
Though he couldn’t move even a single step, Aniks’ trees propelled Kraush right up to Decarabia.
The black flames swirling around his sword no longer rampaged aimlessly.
Instead, they organized themselves neatly, coloring the blade of Thunder of Destruction in the dark.
Like the calmness cast by night over the Celestial Slayer Star.
Now, an unprecedented sense of calm enveloped Kraush’s blade.
But the heat radiating from the sword was a different dimension altogether.
Inferno Erosion
Fourth Form
Inferno Night’s Cut
Whirr!
As the opponent’s neck spun upward into the sky, the black flames that had engulfed it sucked it all in.
Ka-chung!
Seeing that, Kraush immediately poured forth his last strength to leap.
Haring, who had lost consciousness from Decarabia’s impact, plummeted down.
As Kraush snagged Haring in mid-air, Aniks exerted himself immediately.
To receive Kraush as he plummeted.
Just as Aniks reached out, his branch was torn apart by the collapsing form of Decarabia.
As a result, the branch Aniks had stretched toward Kraush couldn’t reach him.
“Kraush!”
Hearing Aniks’s shout, Kraush fell into Decarabia’s grasp.
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