### Chapter: 296
“Hah, ha.”
Kraush exhaled, finally letting go of the breath he had been holding to his limit.
White smoke continuously poured from his mouth.
His body felt like it was overheating, teetering on the brink of losing consciousness.
Even with the physique of Dragon Royalty, pushing himself to the absolute limit came at a cost.
‘Memory Devourer.’
A dirty trick that drastically boosts current output at the cost of his own memories.
Black Bird was all in, so Kraush had no choice but to give it his all too.
If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have to overexert himself like this.
There was no way he could afford to take it easy and still beat the elite member of Ixion, Black Bird.
‘Damn it, I used more power than I expected.’
Kraush staggered as he looked at the crumbling barrier.
At this rate, he was going to get caught up in that damage.
Just when he was about to make a break for it, black chains suddenly wrapped around his body.
When he lifted his head late to check, there was the Hell Fairy, arms outstretched while pressing down on her chest.
Had she regained her senses?
She must have shattered a few ribs and nearly punctured a lung.
That’s some serious mental fortitude she’s got.
“Can’t, go.”
The strength of the chains tightening around Kraush began to increase.
Kraush tried to move, staring at the firmly wrapped chains.
But his body didn’t budge an inch.
‘Abella might arrive too.’
Actually, he was starting to question why Abella wasn’t already here.
‘Maybe…’
Was she biding her time?
Eyes narrowed, Kraush couldn’t read her intentions.
He had noticed Abella really did want to retrieve Arthur, but all he knew was that she needed the god of World Erosion involved, and everything else was just a big mystery.
‘Could she be deliberately not helping Ixion?’
Kraush tsked inwardly, pulling in heat.
He was all messed up physically, but finishing the Hell Fairy off was a necessary task.
“Do you really think you can hold me by yourself?”
“……”
The Hell Fairy remained silent in response to Kraush’s question.
Ixion must have believed that with Black Bird and the Hell Fairy, they could easily bring Kraush and Bioeren down.
Kraush’s abilities had been confirmed during the upheaval in the Holy Kingdom not too long ago.
Given the time that had elapsed, he thought they would have grown significantly, which was why he had intentionally matched them up.
But Kraush had grown at an unfathomably rapid pace, surpassing all expectations.
Even if he accounted for growth, the speed at which he advanced was just ridiculous.
Black Bird was among the higher-tier combatants among the World Erosion creatures.
If he wasn’t careful, he might be on par with the Ten Great Lords.
Yet, he had single-handedly defeated her.
No matter how vulnerable he was to the aura of the World Erosion, this was simply unacceptable.
Now, Kraush had become quite a threat to the World Erosion creatures.
As if to overshadow this fact, she raised her arms while keeping Kraush bound.
Just as Kraush was about to break the chains, something unexpected gripped her hand tightly.
It was a willow branch.
Seeing that, Kraush’s expression fell, but soon confusion replaced it as his eyes widened.
The moment she grasped that one willow branch, the previously split willow instantly wilted.
“You!”
Kraush shouted, questioning what she was doing, just as he tried to tear free from the chains.
A strange breeze began to weave around them.
Boom—
Kraush raised his head as a sound reverberated throughout the barrier.
Above the Hell Fairy’s head, the space around her began to darken and warp.
‘So you’ve finally shown yourself.’
Creeeeak—
A disturbing sound resonated from beyond that space.
At the same time, Kraush felt an unsettling sensation enveloping his body.
It was as if his body rejected the very existence of that entity.
A chilling feeling crept through him.
In that moment, a figure slowly peeked into view across the warped space.
A woman with a wide-brimmed black hat.
Eyes that absorbed all light and lips stained black.
A completely pitch-black woman was staring at Kraush.
The Black Witch—
Deashilus Makina.
The one who gathered Ixion and sought to create the god of World Erosion—a lunatic.
Here she was, appearing on the scene.
Under normal circumstances, he’d be facing a life-or-death scenario.
But the instant Kraush met her gaze, he chuckled.
“What are you looking at? You can’t come out from there.”
When Kraush spoke, the Black Witch fell silent.
The Black Witch was undoubtedly an uncontrollable monster.
She was considered one of the most dangerous of the World Erosion creatures, with power rivaling that of the Beast King and Swordmaster.
But she had one significant limitation.
She could not step outside the space she had created.
This world rejected her very existence.
Thus, the moment she did step beyond Kraush’s world, the very power of the world itself would try to crush her to death.
This world was toxic for her existence.
And that was precisely why she couldn’t act directly and relied heavily on Ixion.
Whu-whu-whu-whu—
In that moment, a wind blew toward the space the Black Witch opened.
Kraush felt himself being pulled toward her by that wind.
Before long, the Hell Fairy also got swept up and began to flee toward the Black Witch’s space.
But that was a clear underestimation of Kraush.
Keeping his position while being dragged, he squeezed out every last ounce of strength to form the blade of Rain Thunder.
Kraush screamed loud enough to make his heart ache, feeling intense pain, almost like his insides were falling apart, but he didn’t care.
He threw Rain Thunder with everything he had.
With the Black Witch pulling him in, Rain Thunder utilized the very wind she conjured to soar forward.
Phew—whoosh!
“Kyaah!”
Rain Thunder found its mark, embedding itself in the Hell Fairy’s collarbone.
That was supposed to have been a deadly blow aimed at her neck, but midway, the Black Witch altered its trajectory with the wind.
Kraush gritted his teeth in frustration, recovering Rain Thunder with Black Hood.
The sudden shift in wind allowed him to bring Rain Thunder back down to the ground with a thud.
However, his body felt like it fell apart and made no effort to move.
That was a clear sign he had drained every ounce of strength he possessed.
Hooow—
At that moment, the Black Witch began to absorb Kraush’s form once more.
Kraush drove the remaining blade of Rain Thunder into the ground.
Thud—thud—thud—thud!
The wind pulling him from behind was so powerful that even Kraush’s body trembled violently as he tried to keep the blade steady.
Kaboom!
Simultaneously, black octopus legs began to emerge from beyond the Black Witch’s space.
That had been a familiar sight from before.
“If you don’t come, the Assistant Examiner’s life will be forfeit.”
As expected, the Black Witch dragged the Assistant Examiner along with her.
Kraush already knew the Assistant Examiner was in trouble, but hearing it felt entirely different.
Kraush furrowed his brow.
And yet, he mockingly responded.
“So you’re saying he’s still alive?”
“See for yourself with your own eyes.”
All of the black octopus legs surged toward Kraush simultaneously.
Even if he was being pulled, he had his own countermeasure ready.
Kraush had a safety net in place.
If Terasius was in character, he would’ve relayed the safety measure to the others by now.
Even if not, he would undoubtedly respond to a summoning.
But that would be a last resort.
Kraush hesitated on whether to use it when—
Sizzle—
Kraush heard something rising behind him.
Upon hearing the sound, a smile slowly spread across Kraush’s face as he turned to face the Black Witch.
“Don’t want to?”
Just as Kraush spoke, a translucent barrier formed above him.
Ka-ching!
The black chains binding him snapped apart forcefully.
It was a barrier meant to block mana.
Simultaneously, an array of red magic circles began to materialize behind him.
The magic circles soon filled every inch around them.
There were well over a hundred of those circles.
The sheer power pulsing from those circles made even the Black Witch grimace slightly.
Kraush realized this was the magic of Aslan.
While he had been busy fighting Black Bird, the two had continuously been waiting elsewhere.
With Bioeren’s barrier, they could avoid the Black Witch’s gaze.
Taking advantage of that window, Aslan had been preparing a massive spell all along.
One that he could unleash just once using everything he had.
“Did you think it was just me here?”
A provoking smile escaped Kraush as he directed it towards the Black Witch.
“Watch closely.”
Scrolls began to shatter all at once.
“This is the strongest sorcerer on our side.”
As the shattering magic circles simultaneously erupted into brilliant light, they obliterated everything around them, including the Black Witch’s space.
Ancient Magic—
Fiat Lux!
A searing white light engulfed everything, swallowing the Black Witch’s space whole.
“Kraush!”
Hearing the voice of Bioeren calling out his name, Kraush turned his head.
There was Aslan alongside Bioeren, who had also placed up a barrier.
Blood streamed from Aslan’s nose and eyes, dripping onto the ground.
He had sacrificed a myriad of complex spells from different circles to activate this monumental spell.
This meant Aslan was out of the game now.
But the effect was sure to be significant.
Fiat Lux was a one-hit-kill magic that obliterated anything thought to be an ally.
Given how perilous its usage was, hardly any modern magicians could utilize it.
‘He must’ve found it in Terasius’s magic library.’
Now considered virtually extinct.
The spell was initially unfinished.
To successfully cast Fiat Lux, six circle mages were needed.
Even then, if those mages didn’t trust one another, the effects of the spell could backfire. Absurd, right?
Hence, Fiat Lux was labeled an incomplete spell.
The idea was that magicians, who typically don’t trust each other, would have to rely on one another for it to work.
Rumor has it, the creator of Fiat Lux was tired of untrustworthy mages and crafted the spell to mock them.
However, Aslan saw light in that spell and continuously improved it.
When he stripped the vile aspects away and retained only the essential components, he ultimately perfected Fiat Lux as his original spell.
And he could cast it alone now.
‘What a genius.’
He was holed up in the wizard’s library, and yet, he came up with such a brilliant move.
But the Black Witch was no slacker either.
Beyond the white light, Kraush glanced at her trying to seal the space.
Somewhere along the line, she had also recaptured the Hell Fairy and the Black Bird.
The Black Bird, scorched white by the flames, looked undetectable, alive or dead.
But even if she were alive, given the toll of the Memory Devourer, it was safe to say she wouldn’t be returning to the fray anytime soon.
“See you again.”
Now, all of his plans had been shut down.
Yet the strangely composed voice of the Black Witch gnawed at Kraush’s nerves.
Afterward, as the Black Witch completely vanished, the effects of Aslan’s Fiat Lux began to wane as well.
“Cough, cough.”
Simultaneously, blood gushed from Aslan’s mouth as he crumpled to the ground.
Thud—
Kraush caught his falling body.
Both of them were in shambles, staring at one another before they burst into absurd laughter.
They couldn’t help but laugh at each other’s wretched state.
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