### Chapter: 251
After Wrapping Up in the Forest of Giants, Kraush Returned to Rahern Academy
The incident in the Forest of Giants wasn’t exactly made public.
The Holy Royal Family personally instructed everyone to keep their mouths shut about it.
If Kraush ever tried to explain why he had visited the royal family, he’d have to mention the fact that they were descendants of the White Dragon King.
So, cover-ups were a must.
Instead, since there were just too many witnesses, the royal family spread rumors that differed from the truth.
They claimed that the World Erosion group, Ixion, had targeted the Fourth Princess Sizelry Ephania.
And, of course, they added that it was none other than Kraush who saved Sizelry.
They spread the word that Kraush sacrificed himself to save her.
For his visit to the empire, they slapped on some personal business to explain things away.
The problem was that those crazy royals took this opportunity to hint at some strange relationship between Sizelry and Kraush.
Kraush was annoyed, but he couldn’t say much since the rumors weren’t entirely false.
If he were to poke his nose into the rumors, he risked fanning the flames even more.
It wasn’t all bad though.
As a result of the incident, the royal family had completely severed ties with Ixion.
They publicly declared Ixion as an enemy.
Thanks to that, the four kingdoms, who were aware of Ixion but still hesitant to act, finally threw themselves into investigating them.
So, Kraush ended up getting the outcome he wanted.
After all the chaos settled, the first thing Kraush did upon returning to Rahern Academy was simple.
He desperately sought the Holy Maiden’s help to recover.
Having learned the extremely dangerous technique of the Devastation Flame Dragon,
even if it was incomplete, it had the power to stand against the World Erosion.
Naturally, Kraush had to bear all the consequences for that.
“Seriously, you!”
With fierce reprimands coming from Aria, Kraush recovered at lightning speed thanks to her.
He couldn’t help but think this situation was unavoidable.
With the Demon Lord’s arrival being uncertain, he couldn’t fight against three World Erosion creatures without using the Devastation Flame Dragon.
He simply had to struggle madly to stay alive.
After droning on about his ordeal, Aria wanted to argue, but knowing the circumstances under which Kraush made his choices, she couldn’t continue.
“… Now even the World Erosion creatures are involved. How dangerous is this going to get?”
Kraush was heading toward a situation that was becoming increasingly hard to manage, so Aria was plenty worried.
In light of her concerns, Kraush couldn’t give any rash answers.
Instead, he could only say one thing.
“I’ll keep my promises, no matter what.”
Even if he was on the brink of death, he wouldn’t return to Aria empty-handed.
With that certainty from Kraush, Aria threw her hands up in surrender.
Just as much as Aria was worried, Kraush’s thoughts became quite profound as well.
It all started when the Armed Princess joined Ixion, signaling a complete shift in the world’s direction.
Particularly, Ixion had become increasingly relevant to Kraush.
‘Being the Challenger has its limits in gathering information.’
Ixion still doubted the very existence of the Light Sovereign.
As a result, they wouldn’t provide any updates on the current situation despite letting them join the meetings.
Recently, the Black Witch was only giving individual missions to each member of Ixion.
Given the nature of the Light Sovereign, he wouldn’t question it.
Just to avoid suspicion, it became absurd to pry.
Consequently, the current movements of Ixion became utterly unclear.
‘But I do have an inkling of what those Ixion creeps need.’
Ixion’s goal was to create a god through World Erosion.
And they intended to achieve their individual goals through the power of this created god.
Kraush was aware of what was needed to create such a deity.
First off, a massive amount of World Erosion power.
Most of the recent missions assigned by Ixion revolved around gathering this power.
Additionally, a skill called Ignis was needed to purify and burn such World Erosion power.
Kraush had stolen that skill beforehand.
There were other essentials as well.
There were ingredients listed by the Black Witch necessary for creating a god from World Erosion.
‘As long as I keep Ignis safe, their objective won’t come to fruition.’
Still, Kraush didn’t want the remaining ingredients to fall into Ixion’s hands.
‘So, what’s the next step?’
He had to raid the ingredients to thwart Ixion’s goals.
‘That’s probably why an Ixion member like the Refiner appeared in the Sacred Kingdom of Freeman.’
During the festival of the Sacred Kingdom,
the Refiner had exploited the religious revolution to sneak away with the blueprint of the Holy Grail.
‘Ixion had never shown interest in the Holy Grail before.’
But this time, even while staying cautious about the potential danger to the Refiner, they had boldly stolen the blueprint.
This meant they recognized they lacked the original materials to create a god through World Erosion.
‘Abella.’
Kraush realized the Red Witch, Abella, was involved in this.
Although her exact motives were unclear, she was helping Ixion.
‘She must have advised the Black Witch.’
Being someone like Abella, who knew the future, she would’ve understood why the god from World Erosion had failed to materialize.
She likely shared that insight with the Black Witch, prompting her to have the Refiner steal the blueprint.
‘If that’s the case…’
This time, they might actually be able to complete the god of World Erosion.
Kraush wasn’t even sure what would happen if they successfully created it.
Yet knowing the potential outcomes, he felt compelled to stop them.
Ultimately, this process could blossom into the ultimate seeds of destruction for the entire world.
‘Those wretched creeps won’t have a moment of peace, I bet.’
Both he and Ixion seemed to be speeding up their chaos in tandem.
‘Am I trying to prevent the destruction, or am I just pushing it along?’
That’s the kind of existential crisis Kraush was suddenly faced with.
Things were rapidly changing for the worse.
As such, the tasks he had to shoulder were growing exponentially.
“Kraush!”
“Kraush!”
That included this.
He saw Haring and Karandis burst into his hospital room.
They both knew about his involvement in the princess kidnapping incident and frantically paced around.
If Aria hadn’t barred outsiders from entering for a few days,
they’d have caused a riot in the hospital room.
“Good to see you’re okay.”
“Of course, it’s Kraush.”
While Haring and Karandis were checking him over,
Charlotte and Aslan came in figuratively late and gave their casual assessment.
Compared to the previous two, they were relatively calm.
Moreover, behind Aslan stood another figure.
It was no other than Aslan’s loyal attendant, Lirina.
When Lirina’s eyes met with Kraush’s, she paused briefly before smiling brightly.
That grin seemed innocent for now, but Kraush understood it meant they’d have a ton to discuss once they returned to the dormitory, so he decided to keep quiet.
The issue was that quite a few more people dropped by afterward.
Kraush couldn’t tell if all the work he had done before was worth it.
Many people, with whom he had formed connections during this time, learned about his situation and paid him a visit.
Thanks to that, Kraush felt like his mouth might hurt more than his body at this point.
[ Aren’t these the seeds you sowed yourself? ]
“Chirp, chirp.”
Crimson Garden and Ebelasque nodded, saying it was all Kraush’s doing.
After that uproar in the hospital room,
Kraush slowly succumbed to exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.
He had been training all week to master the Devastation Flame Dragon.
With immediate concerns on his mind, once he’d returned to Rahern Academy, he finally relaxed.
Ultimately, Kraush fell asleep with a sound like he was fizzling out.
Maybe it was because he slept comfortably for the first time in ages,
but Kraush entered an interesting dream.
This dream showcased long-forgotten scenes.
Emotionless Bianca.
Aslan wrapped in bandages.
Lirina, always worrying for Aslan.
Aria, sick and tired of the Sacred Kingdom.
Haring, living for hate and revenge.
Each person, refusing to accept their grim reality, marched through a day-to-day life of horror.
And Kraush was no different.
He was also cursed.
He had taken on that very role.
But for some reason,
Kraush didn’t hate his reality as much as he used to.
‘Oh, I see.’
He quickly realized why.
The current him existed because of the person he used to be back then.
If the past cursed version of Kraush hadn’t existed, he wouldn’t be living like this now.
Kraush clenched his opened palm into a fist.
As a result, the scenery before him began to shift.
Bianca, who had regained her emotions.
Aslan, smiling alongside the spirit Dorothy.
Lirina, who occasionally engaged in playful antics following Aslan.
Aria, standing tall and strong without the Sacred Kingdom’s help.
Haring, who severed the chain of revenge ignited by his family’s death.
The past transformed into the present, radiating brightly.
Before long, Kraush also returned to the current version of himself.
He came to realize once more,
why he had been fighting against destruction so fervently.
Kraush opened his eyes.
It was still dark outside.
A crisp dawn fragrance tickled his nose.
It felt like he had slept for quite a while, as the fatigue plaguing him had lessened significantly.
Tomorrow, he could easily resume life at the academy.
There were plenty of things awaiting him.
First, he needed to fully assimilate the body of the Dragon King.
There were still plenty of things related to Ixion, Adela, and Aria, but
Kraush no longer felt overwhelmed about it.
Squirming—
While lost in his own thoughts,
Kraush suddenly halted at a soft sensation coming from his arms and looked down.
When he gently lifted the blanket, he discovered sea-colored hair shining beneath.
After staring at it for a while, he casually began tracing the wet corner of his eyes before clenching his fingers into a fist.
Smack!
Without the slightest hesitation, he landed a smart slap right on top of his own head.
“Eek!”
The hair’s owner sprang up, clutching her head in surprise.
As she got up, her sea-colored hair cascaded down.
Her name was Sizelry Ephania, the Fourth Princess of the Holy Royal Family.
“What are you doing, hiding in someone else’s bed?”
“Oh, sorry! I must have dozed off after coming to pay you a visit, I found a warm spot!”
Did she arrive while he was napping?
As Kraush stared at Sizelry, she cleared her throat a couple of times.
“You seem to be doing much better.”
“Of course, the Holy Maiden took care of me.”
“You have no idea how shocked I was when you just vanished after throwing me away.”
Just thinking back to that moment seemed to give her a headache as she sighed dramatically.
“That was the best choice I could’ve made at that time.”
“I know, but understanding with the head and understanding with the eyes is a different story.”
“Is that something YOU should be saying?”
Kraush asked, thinking, how could someone with such a predictable nature even say that? Sizelry chuckled lightly.
“That’s something only I can say.”
That was probably true.
“Kraush.”
In that moment, Sizelry, perched on the edge of the bed, quietly gazed at Kraush.
Kraush felt puzzled by her serious expression.
He had never seen Sizelry look so earnest.
With her big, pumpkin-colored eyes shining like never before,
she bowed to Kraush with a kind of grace that could even astonish him.
Each movement radiated elegance that could captivate Kraush.
“Thank you for saving me… twice.”
Sizelry expressed her sincere gratitude.
Her body trembled slightly.
Regardless of being known as the most intelligent person around, she was still just sixteen.
It wasn’t something one could easily overlook that a friend could have died in her place.
Given her generally kind heart, Sizelry was particularly sensitive.
Kraush, watching her for a moment, gently placed his hand on her head.
“Right, next time, be sure to avoid trouble. It’s your specialty, after all. If you can’t avoid it, I might have to save you again.”
He jokingly delivered his answer, watching Sizelry, who began to grin and settle down.
Then, she seemed to recall something, putting on her usual mischievous smile.
“Oh, and I have something to apologize for.”
That smile had a hint of embarrassment mixed in it.
And before Kraush could voice any questions, Sizelry answered him.
“The royal family submitted a marriage proposal on your behalf to Balheim.”
With that, the shocking revelation dropped like a thunderbolt.
“And Balheim accepted it.”
That next news hardened Kraush’s expression.
Despite already being engaged elsewhere, Balheim accepted the royal family’s proposal.
Only one person could do something like that.
‘That woman.’
Kraush’s mother.
Aria Balheim.
This was undoubtedly her doing.
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