### Chapter: 274
World Erosion.
Fragments scattered from a world that has met its doom.
World erosion lurks and voraciously aims to take root in other worlds.
Thus, world erosion leaves behind various detrimental effects on the realm.
It creates an appallingly harsh environment, driving out the original inhabitants to ensure that existing life cannot survive.
Ironically, to prevent their own extinction, they must annihilate other worlds.
That is world erosion, and it is vital for the original world’s inhabitants to halt it at all costs.
Rustle—
To prevent such world erosion, Kraush was currently climbing the Freya Mountains.
Following him was none other than Bianca Hardenhartz, his fiancée.
“I’m almost there.”
Kraush signaled to Bianca and stopped walking.
Bianca, halted behind him, looked ahead.
Deep within the forest, there appeared a place where space seemed distorted like a twisted line.
Unlike the mountains of the Freya Range where Kraush stood, bizarre buildings of a style unseen before lined the forest.
The sight of those structures was undeniably ominous.
‘It’s definitely an infectious strain that alters the surrounding environment.’
Kraush unleashed his intuitive senses.
He gave a quick glance inside before turning back to Bianca.
“Bianca, there’s an epidemic spreading inside the world erosion. Make sure to wrap your aura tightly.”
“Right, I’ve got it covered.”
With her aura level, Bianca wouldn’t easily fall prey to the Black Hand.
“Let’s move.”
Kraush stepped inside the world erosion.
The moment he did, an unpleasant sensation gripped him as if something was entwining around his body.
No wonder the world erosion created near the Giant’s Forest was felt strongly.
From just the sensation, he could tell the severity of the world erosion was high.
Crackle—
In that instant, Ignis flared up around Kraush.
The curses trying to invade were instantaneously nullified.
Sending heat towards Bianca and dispelling the curses, Kraush lifted his head.
Unbeknownst to him, there was a significant presence vibrating in multiple tall structures that seemed to rise around ten stories high.
From inside the buildings, thick, grayish liquids slithered and oozed out.
Thud—
As the substance pooled on the ground, it merged together, soon forming a muscular human shape.
One of them grasped a spear and even created clothing from the liquid.
The issue was there were not just one or two of them.
They were filling up almost entirely at the entrance of the world erosion.
Kraush deduced whose forms they mimicked.
‘They’re imitating intruders who have ventured inside the world erosion.’
Shadowy doppelgängers.
Doppelgängers capable of replicating appearances and some abilities.
‘They’re rated at 5 stars.’
Not too high, but definitely a tricky match.
The hitch was this: among these many shadowy doppelgängers, only one was real.
They would keep producing and launching assaults indefinitely until that real one was taken down.
This aspect made tackling shadowy doppelgängers slightly tougher than expected.
‘And the terrain is the worst of all.’
With high-rise buildings growing recklessly off the rugged backdrop of the Freya mountains, finding the real one wouldn’t be easy.
No wonder the villagers abandoned hope in combating the world erosion and requested assistance.
Sadly, the request came too late, after they had already contracted the Black Hand.
If it had been normal folks, they wouldn’t even have dared to attempt it.
Snap!
Before Kraush could act, a fox suddenly leaped out from behind Bianca.
An ice-made fox spirit, Pii.
However, it was different from its past tiny form.
Now, it had transformed into a full-grown fox, standing tall on its elongated limbs.
Three tails fanned out, spreading gracefully.
Moments later, balls of cold air began to gather from the tips of its tails.
The formed orbs compressed tightly, freezing solid.
Then, they burst forth like cannonballs.
Boom!
The three icy orbs flew, hitting the shadowy doppelgängers, leaving them obliterated.
The shadowy doppelgängers, unable to put up any resistance, were erased by the icy orbs.
Normally, despite being destroyed, those doppelgängers could regenerate.
However, the residual chill froze their forms solid, preventing any recovery.
For the shadowy doppelgängers, Bianca was formidable.
Bianca and Kraush exchanged glances for a brief moment.
Without needing to speak, both understood each other’s intentions; Kraush sprang into action.
In the meantime, Bianca continuously fired icy orbs through Pii.
With each orb launched, the shadowy doppelgängers were dismantled, allowing Kraush to dash through their midst.
Before long, Kraush arrived at a building and immediately raised his leg.
Crash!
With a kick, he shattered the door and stormed inside.
Although shadowy doppelgängers had been lurking within, they were no match for Kraush.
With just his aura-clad hand, he wiped out the doppelgängers and looked up at the ceiling.
Right above.
Numerous shadowy doppelgängers writhed and swarmed.
They had preemptively prepared for their imminent prey.
But Kraush smirked at the sight.
“Who said they could come up here?”
Apologies, but Kraush had no intention of ascending.
As he clasps the Rain Thunder Prime, he lowered his stance.
Whoosh—
In that moment, the flames around Kraush turned white.
The power of world erosion converted into aura.
The blazing white flames of fire surged around Rain Thunder Prime, warping the space around him.
Sensing irregular energy flowing from below, the shadowy doppelgängers began to react in panic.
They tried to make some form of counteraction.
But it was too late.
All the flames had already gathered onto Kraush’s sword.
Crackle—
With a small burst of flame igniting, Kraush extended his sword straight up.
Boom!
The white flame slash shot up, piercing through the ceiling.
The shadowy doppelgängers waiting right above erupted into flames and were ignited.
The inferno of white flames continuously pierced through the ceiling, destroying several layers before finally shooting out through the building’s roof.
Kaboom!
The beautifully blazing white flames engulfed the building entirely, turning it to ash.
As the vast power wreaked havoc, the structure collapsed under the strain, debris raining down.
Kraush effortlessly dodged the falling rubble, stepping outside just in time to see the shadowy doppelgängers crumbling.
That was because the real doppelgänger hiding above had also been incinerated.
“Kraush!”
Bianca, now with ice wings sprouting from behind, swooped in beside him.
The couple had effortlessly eliminated the 5-star erosion types in the blink of an eye.
Bianca gently took Kraush’s hand with both of hers.
As the chill flowing from Bianca enveloped Kraush, his heat quickly dissipated.
While he had become resilient to such a level of heat, Bianca’s cooling touch seemed to prolong his stamina.
“Thanks.”
Kraush expressed his gratitude, and Bianca glanced up at him as she released his hand.
“I did this to help.”
Was she thinking that way?
Having embarrassed himself many times in front of her, Kraush could only offer a shy smile.
“Right now, I’m genuinely thrilled.”
Bianca beamed with pure joy at the acknowledgment of her efforts.
She had always dreamed of standing beside Kraush.
That’s why today was a day most valuable to her.
Seeing Bianca joyful, Kraush felt a flurry of thoughts.
On one hand, he wished for her safety, but on the other, sensing her strength eased some of his worries.
But there was no doubt that Bianca’s effort was worthwhile and would become a significant asset to Kraush.
That was more than enough.
“Bianca, can you expand your spirit realm? I’m thinking of seeking out the owner.”
In this situation, Kraush asked Bianca as a partner.
It was more useful to send out spirit allies to scout than relying solely on his instincts.
“I can do that.”
Bianca’s ice wings flared out to each side.
In that moment, each feather shed and transformed into a spirit.
From tiny birds to mice, hundreds of spirits morphed and rapidly spread throughout the forest.
Despite handling so many spirits, Bianca’s expression remained serene.
Kraush felt a sense of how much Bianca had matured.
And how significant a help she would be for him moving forward.
A brief smile crossed Kraush’s face as he ruffled Bianca’s hair.
The sensation of Kraush’s hand made Bianca giggle with delight.
“We’ll finish this today.”
“Sounds good!”
And in that moment, the couple began to wreak havoc on the world erosion.
—
*
After that, Kraush and Bianca pressed forward into the world erosion.
Now experienced fighters, the eroders merited little challenge against them.
Although they moved smoothly toward the endpoint, a major problem loomed ahead.
‘Looks like the devourer is starting to stir.’
At the termination point of the world erosion.
It was the world erosion that connected with the endpoint.
Just in front lay a vast, lush forest, vastly different from the previous world erosion they had encountered.
Unlike the wintery Freya Mountains, a stifling heat wafted along in the winds.
Beyond that lay the Kingdom of Jeblam, the Giant’s Forest.
Why did the Giant’s Forest suddenly come into view?
That was because it had begun cultivating the most horrific seeds.
To grow these most dreadful seeds, it was swallowing up the other world erosions.
‘It wasn’t just a coincidence that the Giant’s Forest was so close.’
Indeed, the Giant’s Forest had been consuming world erosions.
“What shall we do?”
Bianca looked at Kraush worriedly, observing the situation unfolding before them.
In a typical world erosion, there would have been an owner present inside.
However, as the Giant’s Forest commenced its devouring, the range of the world erosion owner expanded.
As a result, the world erosion that spread the Black Hand epidemic had crossed into the Giant’s Forest.
‘Not all of the world erosion has been engulfed yet.’
They had not anticipated such a massive range, but for now, they still had the chance to eliminate the owner and seal the world erosion.
To prevent the Black Hand from spreading further, they needed to eliminate it immediately.
“Let’s move.”
Having ventured in once already, twice wouldn’t be impossible.
They would catch the owner and emerge from the Giant’s Forest.
Thus, their second journey into the Giant’s Forest began.
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