### Chapter: 319
Amid the thick fog of smoke,
Kraush, Haring, and Ebelasque made their way in together.
Ebelasque hid within Kraush’s shadow, while Kraush concealed himself using Haring’s invisibility.
Thanks to this, even though Kraush had entered the Lagrain estate, none of the World Eroders had shown up.
The Lagrain estate, filled with mist-like smoke, was eerily quiet.
Members of the Lagrain family, accustomed to handling poison, were all masters of stealth.
So, while it seemed calm, they were undoubtedly moving swiftly behind the scenes.
“Haring, let’s head straight to the workshop.”
Right now, the most pressing matter was resolving Kraush’s inner core issue.
If that wasn’t settled, there would be no way to confront the World Eroders head-on.
Haring nodded and began leading Kraush to the workshop.
As they made their way there, the quiet hallway seemed endless.
Occasional sounds could be felt, but everyone was clearly holding their breath on purpose.
‘The World Eroders must be lurking around.’
Kraush, shrouded in the miasma of refinement, didn’t entertain any thoughts of encountering the World Eroders.
So, he stayed as close to Haring as possible.
Thud—thud—
Suddenly, a loud thumping sound reached Kraush and Haring’s ears.
As they locked eyes, they immediately pressed against the wall.
Then, from another corridor, a gigantic, bear-like man appeared.
He was exactly as described—a bear.
His face looked just like a bear’s head.
Aside from having a humanoid shape, anyone would recognize him as a bear without hesitation.
‘Black Bear.’
Kraush immediately recognized the identity of the bear-like man.
A World Eroder, the Black Bear.
He was known for his exceptional fighting skills, relying on his robust physique.
“Sniff, I came expecting a fight, but it seems I won’t even catch a sniff of one. How irritating!”
The Black Bear grumbled, snorting loudly.
Since entering the smoke of refinement, he hadn’t encountered a single member of the Lagrain family.
Ever since getting mauled by the previous World Eroder, the Glorious One, the Lagrain family had concentrated their strength on the main house.
As a result, even the average maid in their household was well-versed in the arts of concealment and secret passageways.
So, as soon as this crisis broke out, everyone immediately hid themselves.
“At this rate, this smoke from the refiners is becoming a real hindrance.”
No matter how good the refinement was, with such a thick fog it could detect outside intruders but not what was happening inside.
Therefore, the World Eroders present in the smoke had to find trouble themselves.
“Let one be caught. I’ll dismantle them limb by limb.”
The Black Bear, visibly frustrated, banged his fist against the wall.
The ground shook throughout the entire Lagrain estate.
“Why can’t I just demolish this whole building?”
Just as he was harboring these dangerous thoughts, the Black Bear’s head turned back.
He sensed a presence behind him.
There was a snake slithering nearby.
The Black Bear recognized the snake’s identity.
And so did Kraush.
“Yumsa, what did you find?”
Yumsa, also known as the Sound Snake,
Was a World Eroder who specialized in handling snakes.
With exceptional sensory abilities and assassination skills, Yumsa typically coordinated with the Black Bear.
Yumsa would locate the enemy, and the Black Bear would smash them to pieces.
That was their combination.
“Hiss.”
The moment the Black Bear asked, the snake flicked its tongue, conveying something.
Although Kraush and Haring didn’t understand, the Black Bear’s eyes lit up.
“So, those nasty little things are hiding over there!”
The Black Bear spread his enormous hand wide.
A murderous grin glimmered on his lips.
“Lead the way. Let’s go right now.”
Upon hearing the Black Bear’s command, the snake quickly turned and slithered ahead.
The Black Bear eagerly followed close behind.
Seeing this, Kraush placed his hand on Thunder Prime.
From the looks of it, Yumsa had found the hidden members of the Lagrain family.
At that moment, Haring’s hand covered Kraush’s hand that held Thunder Prime.
As Kraush met Haring’s gaze, she shook her head.
“The Lagrain family won’t fall so easily.”
Haring’s eyes were filled with faith in the Lagrain family.
“The Lagrains have prepared for the World Eroders time and again. This could even be a trap to lure them in.”
Having suffered great pain in the past, the Lagrains were all too familiar with preparing for the World Eroders.
For them, this situation was closer to taking revenge on the World Eroders.
Listening to Haring, Kraush withdrew his hand from Thunder Prime.
Since it was Haring, a direct descendant of the Lagrain family, saying this, he had to trust her.
Kraush couldn’t reveal their identity, especially now when he hadn’t resolved his inner core issue.
“Okay. Let’s keep going.”
With Kraush’s affirmation, Haring smiled and proceeded alongside him.
After some time, they reached the workshop.
The workshop happened to be completely empty.
Even other World Eroders had not dared to touch the workshop.
This was because the workshop, filled with the scent of poison, was an ominous place for even the World Eroders.
Having reached this far, Kraush and Haring immediately released the invisibility.
“Ebelasque, keep guard for me.”
“I’ll expect my payment later.”
Whatever she might receive, Ebelasque emerged from Kraush’s shadow and headed toward the entrance of the workshop.
She was also competent among the World Eroders.
Just as her reputation suggested, it wouldn’t be so easy to penetrate her defenses.
Leaving that side to Ebelasque, Kraush went into the workshop with Haring.
Inside, there were the materials prepared by the Poison King, Hauran.
Since he had agreed to help with extracting Kraush’s inner core, he made sure to prepare the materials as quickly as possible.
“Haring, how does it look?”
“Yup, everything is ready and good to go.”
Haring breathed a sigh of relief and immediately started preparing the materials she had taken from her bag.
However, her face was filled with worry as she worked.
This was understandable because Hauran was supposed to be the one to make the potion for extracting Kraush’s inner core.
Haring was adept at making potions and poisons, but she couldn’t compare to Hauran.
This was her first time successfully crafting the potion for extracting the inner core.
So, naturally, she was anxious that she might affect Kraush negatively.
Kraush picked up on her worries.
“Haring.”
As Kraush called out to Haring, he wore a confident smile.
“I can handle any side effects that come my way.”
Having gone through so much, he was quite used to enduring pain.
He could confidently say that no one could handle pain quite like him.
“It’s the only talent I have in that regard.”
While it was a pitiful situation to be accustomed to suffering, there was no denying that Kraush spoke the truth.
“So as long as I can pull out my inner core, everything will be just fine.”
As long as the end result is produced, then that’s all that matters.
So, Haring didn’t need to worry about the aftermath.
That’s what Kraush said.
“That’s not okay!”
But Haring erupted in anger at his words.
She hadn’t expected a harsh response, so Kraush looked slightly bewildered.
She gazed at Kraush with a sad expression.
“I don’t want you to be hurt.”
Kraush always tried to endure pain to get results.
Seeing that drive, Haring didn’t want to see him get hurt, so even during the rapid potion-making process, she tried to lessen his burden as much as possible.
The future Potion Master, Darling, is all about extreme efficiency.
He had asked Kraush to improve his efficiency, ignoring any potential side effects, producing maximum efficiency.
And Haring had balanced things as much as she could.
She’d researched and manufactured it without sacrificing efficiency, keeping the curse and materials in mind.
Not realizing this until now, Kraush reacted a bit sourly.
“So, I will finish making it without any side effects.”
Seeing Haring’s slightly teary expression, Kraush finally realized he had been too irresponsible.
He thought only he had to endure the pain.
But he had no idea how much it affected those around him.
‘No, I’d probably just overlooked it.’
Remembering the time he fought with Agares,
Kraush recalled Bianca’s tear-streaked face.
He had struggled to find the words to tell her to stop fighting, as she, too, began training to lighten his burdens.
Just like Bianca, Haring was also working so that Kraush wouldn’t have to suffer as much.
So, he had said something so careless to her.
Scratching the back of his head while watching Haring intensely focused on preparing,
Kraush realized he was no longer dealing with it all alone.
‘The Sky Generation isn’t just me.’
With that realization, Kraush looked at Haring.
“I’m sorry, Haring.”
Upon hearing Kraush’s apology, Haring flinched.
“Because of you, I can endure more.”
Thanks to Haring, Darling, and Dorma working together to make those potions, Kraush had overcome countless crises.
So, he figured he ought to express gratitude for Haring’s efforts today, prompting her to dive into serious production.
Her eyes were filled with resolute determination.
Haring’s work was faster than expected.
Thanks to all the trial and error she had experienced with Darling in making potions,
She rapidly combined various materials based on the entries in the arts of refinement.
And soon, Haring produced a small green pill.
The Inner Well Pill.
The Inner Well Pill glowed with a peculiar flow of light.
It resembled a bead that reflected light differently, depending on its angle.
Haring approached Kraush, holding the completed pill.
“Kraush, there will be a shock when you directly touch your soul.”
No matter how much she tried to minimize side effects, it was impossible to erase all effects.
“After you take it, the inner core will exit from your fingertips. You mustn’t move until that inner core escapes.”
Haring warned him as she placed a bowl in front of him.
This was the bowl to catch the exiting inner core.
“Got it.”
Kraush nodded to Haring, who looked tense, before handing him the Inner Well Pill.
Without hesitation, Kraush swallowed the Inner Well Pill.
Putting it in his mouth felt like rolling a bead on his tongue.
Swallow—
Once he made up his mind, he felt the pill slide down his throat.
After a while, Kraush felt a tightness in his body.
It felt like something was swirling within him.
“The effect of the Inner Well Pill is kicking in. You need to focus.”
Listening to Haring, Kraush concentrated intensely.
He sensed the energy from the Inner Well Pill nudging his aura core.
The aura core, which he had kept motionless until now, began to roll on its own.
It was seeking a way out.
If this was the case, he could definitely extract it.
‘The only issue is—’
Time.
The aura core swirling within Kraush had a total of 19 cores.
If it took this long to move just one, it was evident it would take a while to extract them all.
‘But I have to do this.’
In that moment, as Kraush drew up all of his focus,
Boom!
A loud explosion erupted from outside the workshop.
It sounded like a clash was taking place somewhere.
“Kraush, keep going.”
Haring spoke hurriedly to ensure Kraush remained focused, turning to face the commotion outside.
Kraush didn’t even have a chance to stop her.
With a flash, Haring activated her invisibility and dashed outside.
Until Kraush extracted all his inner cores, it was her responsibility to protect him.
‘Absolutely no one will enter the workshop.’
To protect the one she cherished with her heart, Haring honed her poisonous needles, which would later earn her the nickname “Poisonous Spike.”
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