### Chapter: 316
The Final Ark.
Kraush was sprinting through an environment formed around a million years ago.
Behind him, Haring clung tightly, her body pressed against his back.
At first, she felt embarrassed to be carried like this by Kraush. But that didn’t last long.
Kraush’s speed was so impressive that Haring had to activate her aura just to keep from being blown away. As a result, she could barely keep her eyes open.
‘Wow, Kraush has gotten this strong, huh?’
Lately, Haring had seen more of Kraush getting hurt than fighting. Maybe that’s why she was surprised to see just how strong he had become.
Sure, Haring had also grown significantly stronger through training, but she was still a far cry from Kraush.
A hint of determination washed over her.
How much more effort would it take before she could stand beside Kraush?
She wasn’t sure, but the rocky path toward that goal felt daunting.
At the same time, the image of Kraush’s face at their wedding kept flashing in her mind.
Those loving eyes he had when he looked at Bianca were something Haring had never seen directed toward her.
The warmth in his gaze was definitely there, but it never held the same love that was reserved for Bianca.
That thought hurt Haring terribly.
‘If only I didn’t realize my feelings…’
It was getting increasingly difficult for Haring to suppress her feelings, which had already come to light.
She didn’t want to feel jealous.
She didn’t want to be disliked by Kraush.
She just wanted to be happy being by his side.
But deep down, her desires only grew stronger.
She didn’t want to be disliked; she wanted to be loved too.
Haring bit her lip.
She knew she was greedy, but as days went by, that greed felt harder to bear.
While she couldn’t take Bianca’s place, she longed for Kraush to at least look at her with affection.
Perhaps that was why she immersed herself even more in her training.
Being next to him made her wonder if he might, one day, glance her way.
But she knew better than anyone that Kraush wasn’t that kind of person.
‘What am I supposed to do…’
Haring felt the ache in her chest deepen, damning her emotions.
“Haring.”
Just then, Kraush called out.
“Ah, yeah!”
Startled and flustered, Haring answered a bit too loudly.
Kraush continued looking ahead as he asked,
“Is that the Carrion Mushroom over there?”
Pointing, indeed, there was a Carrion Mushroom.
“Oh, yes! That’s it!”
Hearing her response, Kraush leaped towards the mushroom and then set Haring down. She quickly began gathering it.
With this, she completed the final requirement to extract the postnatal benefits.
Once she was done, Haring stood up and looked around.
There was Kraush silently focused on something in the distance.
“…Crimson Garden.”
Just as Kraush muttered the name, a loud explosion echoed from somewhere.
“Bam!”
Startled, Haring turned her gaze to the source of the sound, feeling a bad premonition wash over her.
This was not good.
Whatever it was, it didn’t feel good at all.
“K-Kraush…”
Haring unconsciously gripped Kraush’s clothes.
Instantly, he wrapped his arms around her.
“It’s fine. There’s no problem.”
Just that one reassurance quickly eased Haring’s anxiety.
“Let’s head back to the entrance right away. Can you show me the way?”
Kraush turned around again and presented his back for her to mount.
Understanding the urgency, Haring obeyed without hesitation and jumped onto his back.
“Yeah, I remember the way perfectly.”
“Don’t panic if the path changes halfway, just keep me updated.”
The path could change.
Haring’s face stiffened at that.
If the road was changing, it meant something irreparable was happening in the kingdom.
She realized that the situation had escalated beyond regular concerns.
With Haring on his back, Kraush activated Excel and started sprinting.
Haring held on tightly, bracing herself against the mounting speed.
Kraush had accelerated far beyond his previous pace.
Haring struggled against the wind to keep her eyes open because she needed to guide Kraush.
Then, it happened.
Boom!
The sound from before had returned, but now it was much louder.
At the same time, the ground shook violently.
Haring looked towards the source and her eyes widened in shock.
Smoke billowed up from the top of a mountain.
As lava flowed down, it transformed the surroundings into chaos.
An uncontrollable natural disaster was unfolding right before their eyes.
Boom!
But the natural disaster didn’t stop there.
Above, thunderstorms rained down with ferocity.
The ceaseless rainfall rapidly transformed into floods.
At another point, water spouts whipped up everything, tearing the landscape to shreds.
Natural disasters were erupting simultaneously across all visible locations.
This was a scene Haring had never encountered before.
She briefly thought, ‘Is this the end of the world?’
The chaos was so overwhelming that it felt as though reality was unraveling.
“The most vicious seed planted in the Final Ark has begun to rampage.”
Kraush told Haring as he watched the disasters unfold.
Haring looked at Kraush, eyes filled with confusion.
He seemed to already suspect this was happening.
At times, Kraush seemed to know so much that others couldn’t even fathom.
Even now, he showed no signs of confusion, as if he were accustomed to such events.
But Haring felt a sense of foreboding rising within her, fearing she shouldn’t voice the question forming in her mind.
As if saying it would make Kraush slip away from her grasp.
While Haring was engulfed in these thoughts, Kraush was putting on a grim face.
Having heard from Crimson Garden, he had anticipated this rampage of the vicious seeds to some extent.
But this wasn’t something that should happen, even with their warnings being passed onto Sisly.
‘And Sisly was pursuing the spy based on that information.’
Yet, despite passing that information, the Final Ark had still succumbed to chaos.
What did that imply?
‘Something irreversible had occurred.’
And it was in Lagrain, where the Poison King resided.
Though she didn’t speak her thoughts aloud, deep down, Kraush had a conviction.
Lagrain was in danger.
[My vision was also obstructed.]
Crimson Garden felt frustrated as they couldn’t observe the situation in Lagrain effectively.
Ebelasque was hastily sending corpses, yet even that would take time with the rugged mountain scenery.
In the end, Kraush had to see things with his own eyes.
Boom!
In that moment, Kraush stepped into the suffering earth.
The storm he had seen from far away had finally caught up to him.
The rain began lapping at his ankles.
Kugugugugung!
At the same time, floods roared in the distance.
Boom!
The sky cracked, unleashing thunder upon the world.
The Final Ark was currently reproducing all the natural disasters that had ever existed in the world.
For now, it was manageable.
But soon Kraush heard a noise that sounded wet and freezing.
When he looked up again, he saw the rain turning into ice.
At the same time, the water that had swelled to his ankles was beginning to freeze over.
In an instant, the temperature dropped, plunging them into an ice age.
The icy grip tightened around Kraush.
If it were just him, it would be one thing, but now he was carrying Haring.
“Haring, hold on tight!”
Kraush shouted as he summoned the power of the Annihilation Erosion.
He could tell that Haring was gripping him even tighter.
Boom!
Kraush launched forward, transforming everything around them into chaos as he sped away.
He dashed away from that place in the blink of an eye.
Even the ice age couldn’t keep pace with him, and as he escaped, he caught sight of the castle walls.
Given the sudden natural disasters, the walls were in disarray as well.
Yet, more importantly, Kraush sensed something dark above the walls.
As soon as he felt it, he knew what was coming.
A World Eroder.
Those Ixion goons were definitely up to something.
“What a perfect opportunity.”
They probably knew Kraush had entered the Final Ark and were seizing their chance.
But they were underestimating him too much.
Kraush had always prepared for such contingencies.
If he huddled up indoors afraid of every little thing, he wouldn’t be able to protect the world.
And unlike them, he had a little surprise of his own hanging around—a bomb necklace, to be exact.
One capable of blowing those Ixion idiots to smithereens.
‘The strongest insurance of all time.’
But this was only a last resort.
He’d only bring it out when he was sure he could wipe out the Ixion baddies entirely.
So he had to confront them with his own strength for as long as he could.
“Haring, can you cast Invisible?”
Kraush asked, recalling one of the spells he had practiced with her long ago.
Haring, her hair blowing wildly, clung tighter to him as she replied.
“I can do it!”
In such a serious situation, Kraush almost burst out laughing at her enthusiasm but managed to stifle it.
Hearing her determined voice filled him with strength.
“Be careful with the recoil.”
One of his hands released its grip on her legs, and he drew forth the Rain Thunder Prime.
Then he ignited the power of Annihilation Erosion in a dazzling display.
He would show them just how real trouble felt if they dared to mess with him.
With a leap, Kraush’s form began to disperse.
In an instant, he reached the top of the castle wall then kicked towards the ground.
Boom!
The impact nearly shook the earth beneath him.
But thanks to Haring’s Invisible spell, no one noticed Kraush standing there.
With lightning speed, he soared up into the air, clearing the walls.
Upon reaching the summit, he saw a dark figure.
The figure sat atop the walls, reaching its hand toward the sky.
In its appearance, it looked as if it were invisible to others.
‘It must have distorted space with the power of world erosion.’
It had methods similar to Haring’s Invisible.
However, for Kraush, that was no concern.
The invisible were invisible to those who didn’t manipulate world erosion, but to Kraush, it was all too clear.
“Foolish humans, it’s hilarious watching you flounder in ignorance.”
As he got closer, he could hear its voice.
Kraush recognized it immediately.
The name was clear as day.
The World Eroder—Adon.
From the Drad clan, resembling a chameleon.
Its defining trait? Utter hatred for humanity.
Back in his previous life, the remains of its dwelling spoke for itself, with nearly hundreds of human bones discovered around its lair, and most kidnapping cases nearby were linked to this creature.
The most notorious of the world eroders.
Even now, Adon was still a world eroder with a bounty on its head.
Kraush’s eyes burned intensely.
Flames of merciless fury ignited on his blade.
As if by sheer luck, this was perfect.
Despite its capabilities, Adon was adept at fleeing, managing to avoid detection even from experts like Lakradiyon.
So Kraush poured all his strength into his sword, igniting it with white flames and lunged.
Swoosh!
“Gah?!”
In an instant, Kraush’s sword pierced Adon’s heart.
Adon’s eyes popped wide in disbelief as he looked back at Kraush.
He had never imagined someone would pierce him, especially when he couldn’t even feel Kraush until he appeared directly behind him.
The irony of a being capable of utilizing invisibility meeting his demise at the hands of another invisible foe.
Kraush’s gaze turned icy, as if to comment on the cruel twist of fate.
“Not realizing your own fate while laughing at others.”
“Y-you human…”
Adon spat blood, glaring at him.
But Kraush just scoffed at the anger directed towards him.
“Too bad you strayed too far from humanity.”
Before Adon’s words could finish, flames erupted from Kraush’s sword, engulfing him entirely.
The hollow words of a criminal who had traversed the world and somehow survived felt so empty.
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