### Chapter: 231
Corridor of the White Ghost
Kraush had entrusted Glen to Karandis and was now racing down the corridor at breakneck speed.
Bang, Bang!
The noises echoing around him were the sounds of battle from various parts of the White Ghost building.
‘Aslan is definitely clashing with Barkram.’
The odds? Who knows! The magic showdown was truly a battle of knowledge, a pure clash of intelligence.
As for Aslan, he had momentarily stopped casting magic, while Barkram, being the son of the Demon Lord, must have been studying spells non-stop.
Barkram was as genius as Aslan, no doubt about it.
‘I’ll just have to trust him.’
Even if it meant they might all be wiped out in this battle, Kraush was determined to reach Meiri.
With that thought, he pushed his speed to the next level.
At the same time, Kraush’s sixth sense began to spread sharply around him.
Meiri would be kept in the safest spot within the White Ghost.
As he realized this, he became even more attuned to find her.
Before long, he could sense various feelings within the White Ghost building.
There were so many people that it felt like a jumbled mess.
But Kraush steadily tracked Meiri’s presence.
Then, he soon stumbled upon a place where his instincts failed him.
It seemed oddly blocked off, as if someone was deliberately hiding it from his detection.
‘Here!’
The moment he arrived at that spot, Kraush immediately turned his body in that direction.
Maybe it was from using his sixth sense too much, but a slight headache throbbed; however, there was no room for hesitation now that he’d pinpointed the location.
“Here comes Kraush!”
“Block him!”
At that moment, he met members of the White Ghost and Inma Group running down the corridor.
The evidence that these two factions were indeed allied was right before him.
“Phew.”
As soon as he spotted them, Kraush exhaled a breath of smoke.
Synchronizing with the explosive leap propelled by Annihilation Erosion, he launched himself forward.
Just as he jumped, a member from the White Ghost swung a spear at him.
But Kraush grabbed the spear with his hand and twisted his body, delivering a kick to the guy’s head.
Crack!
The White Ghost member slammed into the wall after Kraush’s counter.
Kraush then grabbed the spear and hurled it toward an Inma Group member.
The thrown spear flew at an alarming speed toward the Inma Group member.
In a panic, that member tried to parry it with his sword.
But just at that moment, the spear vanished right in front of his eyes.
He sliced through empty air, losing his balance and stability.
By the time he realized the crisis and attempted to regain his stance, it was too late.
The spear had already returned to Kraush’s hand and pierced through his chest.
Thud!
“Grah!”
The guy let out a scream as his chest was ripped open, rolling on the floor.
Kraush swiftly threw the spear at another person sneaking up behind him, impaling him effortlessly.
He had taken down three people in a matter of moments.
They were decent students in their own right, but they were no match for Kraush.
Unless they were on the same level as the generation of the sky, they couldn’t even dream of holding him back.
It seemed they understood that fact.
Kraush had to halt his running footsteps.
Because he faced a familiar face up ahead.
“Phew, you’ve shown up.”
“……Kraush.”
Seeing Kraush take a light breath and display a less than welcoming reaction, the person before him gave a bittersweet smile.
A tall young man with brown hair.
The student leader of the Gohidan.
The Hero of the Commoners, Felray.
He was there, standing in his path.
There was Sigrid in the White Ghost.
Her power exerted immense influence within the Empire.
Thus, the Gohidan, comprised of many ordinary commoners within the Empire, could not free themselves from Sigrid’s grasp.
What’s more, Sigrid had willingly lent her power to ensure that nobles couldn’t bully commoners studying at Rahelrn Academy.
That meant Felray couldn’t simply be free of Sigrid either.
Kraush was well aware of this situation.
So, without further ado, he pointed his Rain Thunder at Felray.
“I’m stopping you.”
“Yeah.”
For the Gohidan’s sake, Felray had to block Kraush.
Thus, Felray too drew his sword.
“I’ll definitely stop you.”
A sense of determination emanated from Felray.
He was much stronger than he had been when Kraush saved him back in Hardenhartz.
‘So Felray’s entering Mastery too.’
Everyone seemed to be getting stronger everywhere.
However, despite facing Felray, Kraush had a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Because he knew Felray was diligently growing stronger.
In case of future danger, he wanted Felray to be strong enough to handle it.
“I’m definitely breaking through.”
With that declaration, black flames erupted from Kraush’s sword.
The moment of collision between the Gohidan’s student leader, the Hero of the Commoners, Felray, and the top student of the Unnamed Academy, Kraush Balheim, was upon them.
—
Garden in Front of the White Ghost Building
There was a massive hemispherical space disconnected from the outer world.
Inside that area dwelled an all-consuming dark shadow.
Within that shadowy space, the sound of continuous explosions and the chaos of battle reverberated.
At the heart of the clamor was a girl with dark blue hair.
She was none other than the Swordmaster, Charlotte Balheim, leaping through the hemispherical space.
At that moment, shadowy pillars began to rain down from the walls of that shadowy realm.
But Charlotte remained unfazed, evading every one of the falling shadow pillars with just the slightest of movements.
Initially, she sliced through a few, but the shadows extended like water, returning to lash out at her.
As such, Charlotte opted to evade rather than exhaust herself by striking back.
“It feels just like dancing.”
A boy with dark hair and red eyes watched her performance.
Zodiac Cloria.
Holding a black scythe made of shadows, he beamed with delight at the sight of Charlotte.
His skill: ‘Umbra.’
This was the shadowy space he manipulated to control shadows freely.
The thick, shadowy exterior was immune to physical attacks, meaning no matter how much one cut at it, it would instantly rebound.
Thus, there was only one condition for a swordsman to escape this realm: take down Zodiac.
Yet that task was far from simple.
For one, Zodiac’s close combat skills weren’t weak by any means.
Ching!
They were now caught up with yet another opponent clashing swords with Charlotte.
“Charlotte, your sword always feels so heavy!”
With a crude smile, the blond man was none other than Hyzen Handrickson.
Strangely enough, he was performing the same sword techniques as Charlotte.
His skill: ‘Exigo.’
This ability allowed him to perfectly mimic an opponent’s skills, and with a high enough mastery, he could also replicate their habits and charming traits.
But there was a large cost to using such a skill; it significantly fatigued his physical body.
However, Hyzen seemed to be compensating for that drawback with something else.
It was the shadow armor provided by Zodiac.
The armor perfectly supported his body.
Thanks to it, he was able to wield Charlotte’s techniques, which were on a level higher than his own.
Charlotte’s cold gaze turned towards Hyzen.
“Ugh.”
Seeing her reaction, Hyzen stomped the ground, unleashing a gust of sword energy.
But that moment was fleeting.
Charlotte had to parry another sword swung from behind her.
Kawaaaaang!
The impact from this blow was unlike any other.
Even the normally resilient Charlotte felt a tingling in her arm from the shock.
Charlotte’s eyes caught a glimpse of a woman.
A figure radiating a pure white aura stood there.
With beautiful sea-blue hair, piercing sapphire-like eyes, and a face so stunning that anyone seeing her would gasp.
The third princess of the Empire, Sigrid Ephania.
One of the Ten Great Heavenly Swords.
She struck at Charlotte with her weapon, the ‘Sword of White Lines.’
Chak!
The moment Sigrid’s sword clashed with Charlotte’s, portions of Charlotte’s sword froze.
The inherent coldness of the White Dragon surged from the Sword of White Lines.
Charlotte furrowed her brows, and in an instant, the energy of the sword swirled around her as the pressure of the White Dragon surged from Sigrid.
Kaka-ka-ka-ka-kang!
The clash between Charlotte’s sword energy and Sigrid’s White Dragon pressure created a deafening sound.
There was no clear advantage to either side, but both energies neutralized each other.
Charlotte’s signature technique, known for its overwhelming might in battle, was now rendered ineffective.
“That’s not a pretty sight.”
Sigrid smiled sweetly as she pushed past Charlotte’s sword, immediately raising shadow pillars before Sigrid.
Clang!
This time, a solid shadow pillar clashed with Charlotte’s sword.
Of course, it only bought a momentary reprieve, allowing Sigrid to retreat.
In the meantime, the shadow pillars began to rain down again.
Amongst the pillars, Sigrid and Hyzen relentlessly attacked Charlotte.
They preserved their own stamina while forcing Charlotte to keep fighting.
‘So relentless.’
Charlotte didn’t deem that behavior cowardly.
There was nothing more foolish than taking a stand against someone stronger without using every means possible.
The problem was that Sigrid was even stronger than any of them.
‘This feels off.’
Sigrid was already one of the top contenders at Rahelrn Academy.
Whether by intent or by chance, she consistently maintained a distance from direct clashes with Charlotte.
Thus, Charlotte was unaware of the precise extent of Sigrid’s strength.
Yet firsthand contact made the reality clear.
Now, Charlotte understood why both she and Sigrid’s names had been put on par at Rahelrn Academy.
‘That’s not just luck.’
Sigrid was indeed powerful.
The unique ability of the Ephania royal bloodline, the power of the White Dragon, gave her body an edge over normal people.
Often described as a blessed body, the Celestial Bodhisattva, Sigrid possessed the strongest connection to the White Dragon among the royal lineage.
As such, the cold energy emanating from her was potent enough to deter Charlotte from reckless advances.
Moreover, the intimidating aura from the White Dragon bloodline held an overwhelming power.
If Charlotte weren’t who she was, most would bow in submission or cower in fear when facing Sigrid.
The power of the White Dragon was a nearly broken ability.
What’s more, Charlotte had another reason to feel uneasy.
‘The sword gets heavier as time goes on.’
The more their swords clashed, the more potent Sigrid’s blade became.
In reality, Sigrid’s sword had become three times as strong compared to their first clash.
Charlotte couldn’t pinpoint it exactly.
She also was unaware of the origin of Sigrid’s peculiar swordsmanship.
But Charlotte was sure of one thing.
‘If it strengthens ten-fold from now…’
Charlotte would eventually find herself unable to counter Sigrid’s sword.
And it seemed that moment was fast approaching.
She was shocked.
Never did she expect to instinctively feel defeat here at Rahelrn Academy.
‘This is fun.’
For some reason, the corners of her lips curled upward.
Normally, she’d be anxious, leading to mistakes, but Charlotte was different.
She was Charlotte Balheim.
Her expression twisted like that of a demon.
How far could she push her sincerity in battle?
She decided to put that theory to the test.
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