### Chapter: 217
In the face of Astria’s confession…
“You…”
Just as Kraush was about to say something.
KABOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed fiercely.
The source of the blast was none other than the direction of the Holy Royal Palace.
At first, Kraush wondered if it was an attack from the opposition, but in that moment, a chilling sensation prickled his skin.
Kraush’s head snapped in that direction.
In the distance, flames were rising from the white and gold palace.
This is…
Kraush’s aura, encapsulated by the four seasons, stirred within him.
He knew this ominous sensation all too well.
[Someone from Ixion has moved.]
At that moment, the voice from Crimson Garden echoed above.
“Ebelasque.”
As Kraush hurriedly called for Ebelasque, her skeletal mouse climbed onto his shoulder.
“There’s been no news from the Light Sovereign.”
“Tsk.”
So, they must be holding a separate meeting without the Light Sovereign.
Sure enough, it seemed they were keeping an eye on him.
“Tell the Light Sovereign to crash the meeting later.”
Kraush set that aside for now and looked back at Astria.
“Astria, it seems a World Erosion has appeared at the Holy Royal Palace.”
“Wha? A World Erosion?”
Astria’s eyes widened.
Of course, that was the reaction; a World Erosion appearing out of the blue was no small matter.
Especially since this was the Holy Kingdom.
For even a World Erosion to infiltrate here meant it was no ordinary being.
“Yeah, we’ll need to figure out what their motives are, but they definitely have something in mind.”
“So you’re saying you’re going to check it out?”
Astria’s eyes glimmered with concern.
She was desperate to stop him.
Yet her hands didn’t grab onto Kraush.
“If you get hurt, I’ll heal you no matter what. Just don’t die, okay?”
Instead, she did what she could to the fullest.
She was confident in her healing abilities, so she wanted to give her all to the person she loved.
Seeing Astria like that, Kraush placed a rough hand on her head.
“Yeah, no matter what happens, I’ll come back alive by your side.”
He wanted to say the words he hadn’t been able to before.
“Aslan.”
Just then, from a gap, Aslan appeared with Diona.
Although Diona looked rather ragged, she smiled brightly upon seeing Astria.
Fortunately, it seemed the Chief Inquisition Officer, Benox, had handled things well.
“Astria, I’m counting on you.”
Leaving those words behind, Kraush turned away.
“Keep your promise!”
Hearing Astria’s last shout, Kraush began to sprint, stepping atop the roofs, weaving through the crowd.
Before he knew it, his speed was further boosted by Excel.
“Crimson Garden, have you identified who sparked this commotion?”
Kraush had no idea why they chose this timing to invade the Holy Royal Palace.
The confrontation with Ixion would come at a much later stage.
‘Considering the current wobbling balance, the world has changed too much because of me and those three.’
As soon as Kraush, bearing Ignis, got involved with Ixion, the situation on their side had also warped significantly.
So, he couldn’t easily guess Ixion’s intentions in this incident either.
[Just wait. We’re surveying from the sky.]
As promised, a crow was flying around above, hastily scouting the area.
Then…
KABOOM!
Once again, the ceiling of the Holy Royal Palace was smashed to pieces.
Kraush quickly glanced towards that direction, spotting a man with black hair landing on another ceiling.
‘Blavi.’
His name was Celestial Blavi.
The former owner of the Celestial Hall and one of the living monsters who had even survived Reincarnation Wars.
Kraush knew him as a malevolent entity.
He nonchalantly brushed away the soot from his face with a finger.
Only then did Kraush realize.
‘So the black star that hung over the Holy Royal Palace was indeed a mark of Ixion.’
As smoke emerged from the broken ceiling, Kraush’s eyes widened the moment he spotted the figure.
[It’s Yurma.]
In the midst of the smoke stood a gray-hatted elder, gripping a staff atop a giant hand made of smoke.
He was one of Ixion’s members and considered one of the dangerous World Erosions.
Kraush focused, hoping to gather as much information as possible, but it seemed there was nothing useful to glean.
With no other choice, Kraush began to accelerate even more.
—
“Ah man, I wish you’d just stop interrupting me.”
Meanwhile, as Blavi faced off against Yurma, Yurma twirled his mustache with a finger.
But Blavi stared at him with emotionless eyes and lightly tapped his other earring.
With that, aside from the sword in his right hand, a new blade materialized in his left.
One outshone in utter black, while the other glimmered in pure white.
It was one of the Ten Heavenly Swords, Umiyue.
The crimson aura emanating from Umiyue was tantalizing yet organized.
Although Kraush had stolen the Celestial Hall, his aura bore the deep red hue, hinting at its lengthy infusion with the Celestial Hall.
Seeing this, Yurma clicked his tongue in disappointment.
It wasn’t looking like they wanted to back off anytime soon.
‘On our side, we’d love to leave this behind quickly.’
The Holy Royal Family and the opposition were so caught up in their power struggles that they weren’t paying attention over here.
However, as time passed, they’d start noticing the chaos on this side.
Even if Yurma wanted to, having to fend off Blavi plus the Emperor of the Apocalypse, Terasaa, was heavy work.
‘Looks like, there’s no other option.’
It seemed he needed to exert a bit too much to break free from this predicament.
Although he could ask the Black Witch for help, she had a history with the Light Sovereign, so…
It’d be better to solve this on his own.
Just as Yurma pressed his staff down onto his smoke hand…
He suddenly felt a disturbing, rough energy.
As he raised his gloomy gaze, a bright white flame shone before him.
The moment he caught sight of the ominously bright fire, doubt crept in.
He saw the smoke he’d created dissipating as the white flame approached.
‘Huh?’
This was unconventional; his special smoke, crafted through his own World Erosion abilities, was vanishing in the glow of that white flame!
He couldn’t believe his eyes, lifting his staff and quickly bringing it down.
KABOOM!
In an instant, the aftermath of World Erosion released from his staff clashed with the white flame.
It was like hitting a transparent wall, causing the white flame to scatter in every direction.
Yet some of the splattering flame ignited the smoke around it, setting it ablaze.
‘What the…’
Yurma squinted, fixating on the direction where the white flame swept through.
There, amidst the flames, was a figure with black-blue hair fluttering.
As Yurma’s brow furrowed upon seeing him, it was for a good reason; the boy appeared far too young.
He couldn’t be more than fifteen!
Moreover, that hair color looked familiar.
‘Is that… Balheim?’
He hastily recalled the members of the Balheim family.
Originally five, now down to four since one had perished.
Among them were two males.
One was Rai Balheim.
‘He wouldn’t look that young.’
The one who had directly clashed with the Light Sovereign couldn’t possibly appear this young.
That left…
‘Kraush Balheim.’
The younger brother of Balheim, and the one whom the Black Witch had warned him to avoid!
There were no others.
Yurma’s eyes widened in realization.
He heard he had played a significant role in the battle with the Light Sovereign.
Also, he was a student from Rahern Academy, but he never expected him to be this young!
‘And that flame just now…’
Having spent considerable time in this world, he suddenly pieced together the source of Kraush’s power.
‘Could it be the Battle Emperor’s secret technique?’
The Battle Emperor Durandal.
He had likely defeated a massive number of World Erosions and their kind.
Years ago, Yurma had encountered him in the midst of his prime as a Battle Emperor.
Remembering that day made him wince as he felt an old ache at his side.
He’d taken a heavy blow back then, leaving him in a near-dead state.
‘So he’s rumored to become a successor of the Battle Emperor?’
Never did he think he would be wielding the aura of his own Ignis at this level.
‘Does the Black Witch know about this?’
He’d only recently learned that her subordinates had been beaten by Kraush.
So, she couldn’t be completely unaware of the new developments.
But she hadn’t relayed this information to Ixion.
‘What a peculiar line of thought.’
Yurma couldn’t guess at all what the Black Witch was scheming.
Even if she was another World Erosion.
‘The one who gathered Ixion is also one to keep her thoughts to herself.’
With that thought put aside, he set his sights back on Kraush.
And he came to an honest assessment.
‘This is dangerous.’
The strength emanating from Kraush was undeniably hazardous.
Moreover, he was merely at the brink of adulthood.
His potential for growth was boundless.
It’s common for young prodigies to evolve rapidly.
‘If someone at that age already possesses this much power…’
By the time he reaches full maturity, he would surely become an extraordinary monster.
‘And judging by how the Black Witch mentioned him, he’s grown significantly beyond that point.’
It was only a few months since the Light Sovereign incident.
Back then, he wasn’t at the level to combat World Erosions.
He couldn’t even casually approach because of Crimson Garden and Ebelasque’s presence.
As long as he prepared for war against both of them, he was in no danger of dying.
‘But now it’s different.’
Yurma’s expression grew grim.
To take down Kraush now would involve much more difficulty than before.
‘This isn’t looking good.’
The current flow of events was unfavorable.
The next time they met, he would undoubtedly grow even stronger.
At the same time, he spotted a crow flying above.
The power of World Erosion flowed from that crow.
Crimson Garden was likely watching the situation unfold as well.
‘Will we manage to abduct him without suffering losses?’
The Black Witch had wanted his Ignis.
Ideally, if he could get his hands on Kraush, it would be a tremendous success.
‘But given the present circumstances, that’s likely impossible.’
Yurma had achieved his purpose for being here.
The reason he had come was straightforward: to gather insights into the designs of the Holy Grail.
Yurma had successfully copied that design within the smoke he controlled.
In an ideal scenario, he’d escape quietly.
But the person he encountered was none other than Blavi.
Blavi, having learned of Yurma’s plan through Seirang’s astrology, appeared to halt him.
And now he faced a new task at hand.
‘If I can’t abduct him…’
Yet since meeting Kraush, his thinking flipped entirely.
Now, Ignis was no longer the issue.
That entity could no longer afford to be left as is.
An eerie aura circled around his eyes.
‘He must die.’
At that moment, an opportunity presented itself as he stood before Kraush.
KABOOM!
In an instant, the smoky barrier he had raised shuddered violently.
“Tsk.”
Yurma, almost losing his hat, clicked his tongue and glanced sideways.
There stood Blavi, brandishing two swords.
His swift strike was indicative of someone experienced, not someone who’d just spent a long life and remained oblivious.
Additionally, it seemed the Holy Royal Family and the opposition were finally wrapping things up.
Ominous energy approached from their direction.
Yurma gripped his staff tightly.
His gaze fell back onto Kraush.
He yearned to take his life right that moment, but the disturbances were too many.
‘If that’s the case…’
Yurma slammed his staff down.
Putting on a grin, he raised his brows towards Kraush.
“There are too many interruptions. Next time, I shall see you.”
CRACKLE!
With that, a cloud of black sparks erupted beneath him, and a wave of smoke engulfed everything, soaring toward the sky.
The smoke became an immediate threat, even making Blavi retreat from the area.
‘Let’s damage this place at least irreparably.’
The smoke swiftly rose, filling the skies over the Holy Royal Palace.
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