### Chapter: 174
Lavados.
A seventh-level Degradation Species made up of lava and rock.
True to its name as a seventh-level behemoth, Lavados was a ridiculous creature capable of turning an entire mountain into an active volcano.
According to ancient texts on world erosion, there were areas where the landscape changed due to volcanic eruptions triggered by Lavados’s appearance.
However, due to such characteristics, Lavados’s power was somewhat lesser compared to other seventh-level beings.
That’s why Lavados was chosen as the seventh-level erosion species for this session of the Red Line; if it had been another combat-oriented species, the students would have been absolutely helpless.
And standing before this Lavados, a girl was desperately taking on its assault.
With healthy skin and reddish-black hair, usually adorned with a myriad of accessories, today she was bare, preparing for the test.
Instead, she wielded a shield crafted solely from water, unlike her usual blade.
She had initially tried using her sword, but it didn’t prove particularly effective.
So now, she was fully focused on defense, absorbing Lavados’s frontal attacks.
Karandis Poseus.
Her natural disposition was flexible. Her thought processes were always adaptable, and she would use any means necessary to get what she wanted.
Perhaps because of this, her flexibility showed even in battle.
She was now evading Lavados’s attacks with remarkable fluidity.
Her shield of water adjusted itself fluidly to meet Lavados’s strikes.
As a result, Lavados’s punches glided away harmlessly.
Thanks to that, it was entirely focused on her, getting quite worked up as this tiny human kept slipping past its assaults.
And whenever Lavados spewed lava, she would erect a wall of water to mitigate the damage.
So there were splotches of dark lava scattered all around where the water had made contact.
It was truly a matter of elemental compatibility and flexibility.
But even alone, Lavados wouldn’t have struggled all that much.
After a few hard blows, her shield would inevitably break, or Karandis would be exhausted and lose.
The real problem was that she wasn’t alone.
“Balak!”
“Got it!”
As Glen swung his spear to the side, Balak landed beside him, having dodged Lavados’s molten attack.
Simultaneously, Glen swept his spear toward Lavados again and followed right behind.
Their actions were filled with no hesitation or doubt.
Their synergy seemed like they had trained together a countless number of times.
This duo’s coordination was consistently annoying to Lavados.
They couldn’t land any major hits, but they were more than effective at keeping Lavados from focusing entirely on Karandis.
In fact, they repeatedly interrupted Lavados’s chances of finishing her off.
But in the end, these three could probably find a solution together.
It was true they couldn’t deal critical damage individually.
However, among them was someone who could land solid hits on Lavados.
WHACK!
A flying dagger pierced Lavados’s side.
FWOOSH!
In that instant, the dagger bloomed ice flowers from Lavados’s flank.
“!”
Lavados smacked his side in irritation, but nothing greeted his hand.
All that happened was a bunch of ice flowers formed, sticking to Lavados’s side.
That little surprise came from Haring’s poison.
After countless researches and experiments recently, Haring started adding curses to her poisons.
Initially, she had only discussed poison and curses with Darling to help Kraush, but before long, she had begun to forge her approach.
As a result, Haring began wielding various poisons infused with curses.
From explosive curses mixed with corrosive poison to curses that instantly freeze on contact — her arsenal expanded significantly.
From the time she met Kraush, Haring ceaselessly refined her poisons.
The results of her relentless training were becoming apparent.
In times of crisis, geniuses always make strides.
Haring was also among those remarkable talents.
Perhaps that was why, after the day of Aliod, she was experiencing yet another growth spurt.
“I see.”
Now, Lavados’s attack pattern started to become distinctly clearer to her.
She began to realize where and what kind of poison could corner Lavados further.
Before long, the aura surrounding her dagger transformed, abandoning its fleeting form for a steadier shape.
Aura Blade.
At this moment, she was crossing the threshold to master level.
Unbeknownst to her, she threw a precisely poisoned dagger toward Lavados at just the right moment.
Thanks to that, Lavados was going absolutely crazy.
He wanted nothing more than to rip them apart right there.
But with each individual present, getting through them wasn’t so straightforward.
Thus, Lavados quickly reconsidered his strategy.
His arms shot up to the sky.
KABOOM!
Instead of targeting Karandis, he set his sights on the ground.
“Yikes!”
Karandis barely managed not to fall over with a startled scream due to Lavados’s sudden move.
But even then, Lavados wasn’t aiming to take Karandis down; he was aiming to smash the ground.
“It’s going to unleash lava! Everyone, guard yourself!”
Recognizing Lavados’s intention, Glen shouted.
The moment Balak was first to leap, steam billowed from Lavados’s body.
WHOOSH!
Boiling vapor erupted, forcing Balak to retreat.
Lavados continued pelting his fists onto the ground.
With each strike, cracks in the earth began to form slowly.
Just as Glen had said, Lavados intended to unleash lava.
Once submerged in lava, Lavados would be invulnerable.
It wouldn’t suffer any damage from the molten rock; in fact, it would instead grow stronger by consuming it.
As he thoroughly thought about it, Lavados relentlessly pounded the ground.
CRACK!
Suddenly, a sound similar to ice freezing resonated.
Lavados couldn’t pinpoint the noise amidst his constant hammering.
He sensed a drastic drop in temperature around him.
Surrounded by steam and heat, why did it feel so cold now?
Caught off guard, Lavados looked up to see a boy strolling toward him.
A boy with a shimmering blade glowing blue, and his red eyes shining brightly made everything around him freeze upon touch.
It was an uncanny sight to see everything he stepped on freeze solid.
Simultaneously, Lavados felt something was off.
And he quickly recognized this unsettling feeling as warning bells going off in his mind.
It was a sensation entirely different from when he faced the others before.
Danger.
That kid was a real threat.
Lavados raised both arms high.
The previously contained lava surged toward his palms, as he prepared to let it pour forth and melt his opponent away.
“Hey.”
However, a voice suddenly called up from below.
As Lavados’s eyes jolted down, he saw that same boy he had encountered earlier.
With a smirk and flowing hair, the boy grinned.
“What good is being that slow?”
With his sword raised to the sky, the dagger pierced effortlessly into Lavados’s rocky arm.
“―――――!”
By the time Lavados registered his shock, it was already too late.
The unyielding blade had severed one of his arms clean off.
An incredible cutting force.
GUSH!
Lava surged from the newly severed limb, meeting the icy cold and turning into steam.
HISSING sounds filled the area as heat vapor blanketed everything around.
Lavados’s eyes darted rapidly through the steam.
And inside the mist, Kraush was moving smoothly.
CRACK!
The constant sound of ice forming surrounded him.
No good.
There was no point in holding back.
In haste, Lavados lifted his remaining arm.
At that very moment, the lava swirling inside him erupted forth.
“EVERYONE, GET BACK!”
With Haring’s shout, everyone scrambled to escape.
Lava continuously poured out from Lavados, melting everything in its wake.
The molten rock started flowing towards the ground like a river.
At that point, Lavados, reduced to a smaller size by the consumed lava, flung himself into the molten stream.
A few daggers showered down upon him, but Lavados had already succumbed to the molten flow, leaving them ineffective.
Lavados began to ride with the current of lava, heading back to the opening he had created earlier.
He intended to regain strength inside his self-made volcanic lava.
Then, he planned to explode the volcano and obliterate the five students from before.
It was just then when Lavados felt his victory was assured.
“Glen.”
At that moment, Kraush rushed to Glen who seemed a bit disoriented.
“Throw it!”
Glen understood the command instantly.
His arm swelled up, and a spear took shape in his grip.
Golden aura, reminiscent of Mary, flared as Glen launched his spear with all his might.
“Go!”
With the shout from Glen, Kraush leaped up, catching the spear mid-air.
In that moment, Kraush’s body was pulled upwards by the immense power of the spear.
High above, he spotted Lavados swimming through the lava.
That creature was rapidly approaching the hole he had created.
If this continued, Lavados would surely dissolve in the lava and be lost forever.
In that dire moment, a frigid chill spilled from Kraush’s mouth.
Deep in the winter night, ripples emerged in the previously calm lake.
Those ripples quickly transformed into surges, consuming all light.
CRACK!
Suddenly, the Rain Thunder Prime in his hands gave rise to a blade of thunder, forming a scabbard.
Now, the freezing chill, flowing like water once more, turned into a torrential ice storm.
As the gathered cold multiplied drastically in power.
Before the thunder itself could freeze solid, light burst forth!
Kraush’s eyelids snapped open, shattering the scabbard.
Annihilation Erosion
Three Forms
Annihilation Thunder & Snow
The combined storms of thunder and ice ripped through the lava recklessly.
The rising molten rock, unable to withstand the cold, began turning solid and becoming stone.
Caught in the massive tempest, Lavados was hurled upward from the lava river.
In the meantime, the cold completely encased Lavados, sealing the very exit that had been flowing lava.
Lavados’s eyes widened as he began to realize his last escape attempt was being blocked.
Looking at Kraush, who was now landing atop the frozen lava, he gasped.
“――――――――!”
Letting out a noise beyond human comprehension, Lavados lunged at Kraush like a wild beast.
But he couldn’t go far.
Dagger planted firmly into the ground exploded, creating chaos in its path.
Before the rising black smoke, a wall of water surged up.
That was Karandis’s doing.
But Lavados’s rage was at its peak.
Ignoring the water barrier, he charged forward, breaking through the wall.
As he emerged from the wet barrier, Balak was right there, wielding two swords with the reverse grip.
In that moment, light pulsed from Balak’s tiger-like tattoos.
His yellow eyes sparkled as the dual swords performed a deadly dance.
What a bizarre dance it was!
Lavados, who had been rushing, suddenly found himself sliding away gracefully against the flow of the sword’s air.
It was an advanced technique that utilized the flow from the Hogma family.
While it didn’t be particularly effective when Lavados was in his normal size, now that he had shrunk down to a human size, the flow proved to be too much.
In that instant, two daggers hurtled toward Lavados’s feet, exploding right below him.
As he struggled to regain his balance, Lavados rolled helplessly away.
Phew.
Now, caught right before Lavados, stood Kraush, exuding pure white cold.
In a flash, Lavados’s wide eyes were filled with shock.
Kraush’s dagger surged with another wave of chilling cold toward Lavados’s throat.
As starry skies overhead glimmered, seven shining stars unleashed their radiant light into the blustery snow.
This ominous wind carried onto Kraush’s blade, creating a freezing red snowstorm.
Annihilation Erosion
Four Forms
Annihilation Cut of the Night
SLASH!
The blade, filled with the power of ice, cut through without any hesitation, and Lavados’s head soared into the air.
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