### Chapter: 307
Aria had always known that Kraush was sharp.
She was aware he had a knack for seeing right through people.
But she never anticipated he could even pierce through what she had buried deep in her heart and tried desperately to forget.
Her face began to turn a bright shade of red.
It was embarrassing.
The secrets she had tried so hard to hide were laid bare, and it made her feel unbearably exposed.
At the same time, self-loathing and a whirlwind of emotions overwhelmed her.
The urge to flee from this very spot surged to the front of her mind.
She finally recognized her own selfishness.
Under the guise of saving the world, she had committed various acts.
And when it came to her beloved, instead of thinking about him, she had been solely focused on her own desires.
All this time, she only cared for herself.
And she couldn’t bear the disgust she felt for herself.
“I’ll do it again, restart.”
Perhaps after experiencing her first reincarnation, Aria might have accepted Kraush’s advice.
She might have fought against the world’s destruction alongside him and truly loved him.
However, several reincarnations later, the once radiant Aria had dulled, worn down by incessant failures, unable to come to terms with her growing self-disgust.
Ultimately, what she chose was to escape.
To leave Kraush, who saw through her flaws, and the crumbling world behind, to reincarnate.
If she did, then things like this wouldn’t happen anymore.
She could just try again next time.
That was the conclusion she reached.
Kraush looked at Aria with a stunned expression.
And in that moment, he too realized something.
Aria had already fallen apart because of the cycle of reincarnation.
A light began to flow from Aria’s body.
It was proof that she had made up her mind about reincarnating and activated her skill.
Kraush’s eyes widened.
He needed to stop this.
If Aria left like this, she would be permanently broken in the next reincarnation as well.
Even if she decided to reincarnate once more in this world.
He absolutely could not allow her to reincarnate in this state.
For her sake, Kraush had to do everything he could to halt her reincarnation.
“Stop! Aria! Stop it!”
Kraush shouted as he grabbed her.
But Aria was already activating her reincarnation with deadened eyes, as if she had made her decision.
“Next time, I’ll do better. It’s okay. I’ll definitely do better next time.”
Kraush’s teeth ground together.
He had been thinking of ways to stop her reincarnation all this time, but he hadn’t used any of them.
Yet seeing her now, he realized there was no other option.
“Aria, reincarnation will completely ruin you one day.”
So Kraush quietly told Aria, who was in the midst of reincarnating.
“I wanted you to always shine brilliantly as the Hero King. And I wished to stand alongside you at the end of it all.”
Kraush looked at Aria with a bittersweet expression.
It was the look of someone bidding farewell to their lover.
“Therefore, I hope this choice I make today becomes a turning point for you at the very least.”
Aria’s eyes faintly turned toward Kraush.
She had no clue what he was talking about.
“Aria Gramalte, from now on, I will take your reincarnation away.”
Aria’s eyes began to widen slowly.
“Since the day I heard about your reincarnation, I’ve met the conditions of the Black Hood. The conditions to take your reincarnation have already been fulfilled.”
“…What?”
Aria’s eyes trembled in bewilderment.
At the same time, Kraush’s hands began to glow intensely.
This meant he was activating the Black Hood.
“I’ll take the reincarnation. I’ll protect the world you couldn’t defend.”
Kraush’s eyes were sincere.
He was genuinely intent on stealing her reincarnation.
Various thoughts flashed through Aria’s mind.
What would she have left if she lost her reincarnation?
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Reincarnation had become everything for her.
The moment it was taken away, she would feel empty.
“Stop, stop it!”
Aria felt a genuine sensation as if her reincarnation was slipping away from her.
She shuddered, yelling at Kraush to stop immediately.
However, Kraush only continued to activate the Black Hood.
“From the start, was this your plan all along to stay by my side?”
Aria yelled at Kraush, filled with rage.
But Kraush didn’t even bother to answer her, keeping his cold gaze locked on her.
Tears welled up in Aria’s eyes.
Her mind couldn’t function properly.
Because of the self-disgust she felt, her mental state was in complete disarray.
And now, with Kraush declaring he would take her reincarnation, it felt like the culmination of her confusion.
Under normal circumstances, she might have considered his intentions a bit more.
But at that moment, she had no time for such thoughts.
Her mind shifted from escaping through reincarnation to desperately holding onto it.
Once her reincarnation was taken, she would only be left to flail and perish in a world on the brink of destruction.
And then she wouldn’t be able to protect the world at all.
“I refuse to let you!”
At last, Aria shouted and pushed Kraush away.
His hand remained firmly engaged with the Black Hood.
If she lost her reincarnation, it would be the end for both her and the world.
That conviction drove her to draw her sword.
The sword, now unsheathed, launched toward Kraush’s heart.
Flashes of light erupted from the weapon.
Kraush, having mastered the Extreme Blood Poison, was strong enough to operate in the realm of the Sky Generation.
To finish him in an instant, Aria unleashed all her strength.
Swoosh!
Kraush couldn’t evade Aria’s full force.
The sword impaled his heart, the shining aftermath tearing him apart.
Ka-boom!
Aria faced the remnants of Kraush’s final expression as she unleashed her attack.
His face wore a fragile smile that burrowed deep into her mind.
Kraaaaash!
The shockwave following Aria’s flash obliterated the surrounding area.
Not a trace of Kraush’s corpse remained.
Aria collapsed to the ground.
Having killed her lover with her own hands to protect her reincarnation, she blankly stared at her sword.
There wasn’t even a drop of Kraush’s blood on it.
No more would reincarnation be taken from her.
Wobbling, she stood up.
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
An array of unknown emotions tormented her fiercely.
She couldn’t even identify what she felt.
All she knew was that she had to escape from here.
“Reincarnate, I need to reincarnate…”
If she could just change things again.
As those thoughts crossed her mind, Kraush’s final smile appeared once more.
Why?
Why couldn’t she reincarnate?
Could it be that she had indeed lost it to him?
No, surely she still had her reincarnation within her.
The reason she couldn’t reincarnate was simply that she believed she shouldn’t do so right here and now.
Aria didn’t understand that reason.
Dazed, she lifted her head.
Raindrops began to fall from the sky.
Dark clouds gathered, obscuring the sky.
She stumbled away from that spot.
And just like that, she disappeared from the world.
Even as the world moved towards its destruction.
She stared blankly at everything around, unable to reincarnate.
Whenever she wished to reincarnate, Kraush’s face always emerged in her mind.
It felt like a curse.
A curse that prevented her from reincarnating each time she attempted, as Kraush’s memory hindered her.
Kraush was indeed trying to take her reincarnation.
He had been ready to do so since the day he first heard of it.
Yet now, just before dying, he had placed upon her such a dreadful curse.
“…You jerk.”
Aria cursed Kraush.
She hated and resented him for betraying her.
Deep down, she understood.
Aria was no fool.
She knew why Kraush had said those things.
She realized why he had tried to stop her.
And whether he could truly take her reincarnation or if it was all an act, she comprehended the myriad of truths she was aware of.
But she had to hate him.
Because that was how she could survive.
She, an exceedingly selfish being, needed to adopt that stance to endure.
“You bad jerk…”
Tears streamed down Aria’s face.
The suffocating curse bound her tightly.
This cursed state wouldn’t be lifted even if Aria tried to reincarnate again.
“How I wish you had just taken it instead. That would have been better.”
Aria sobbed for days, forlorn.
It was the first time she wept so deeply despite going through countless reincarnations.
“…I loved you.”
To the one who no longer existed, not even a trace remained.
“I truly loved you.”
Responding to his question of whether she loved him now felt unreachable.
“…So please take it next time.”
When that day arrived, the day he resolved once again to take her reincarnation.
“To do that, I will do everything I can until then.”
Aria decided to live her life fully.
After spending years in vain, she stood up.
She raised her head.
The Conqueror’s White Knight descended from the sky.
This world had undeniably reached its end.
Though only reincarnation remained ahead.
She resolutely chose not to reincarnate until the very last moment.
Aria had to fight desperately until the very end.
That was her curse bestowed by Kraush, and a promise.
She observed the curse he had left her in anger, stemming from love.
For she believed she was not worthy of standing by his side.
This hatred must be carried for a lifetime.
So that on the day he chooses differently one day.
She wouldn’t voice the feelings deeply engraved in her heart.
As much as I hate you, I hope you hate me in return.
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