### Chapter 361
In the Void Beyond the Black Witch’s Grasp
In the depths of the void, Kraush, having unleashed his fiery eruption, found himself plummeting for reasons unknown.
The space around him twisted chaotically as the Erosion shook the very essence of emptiness.
Whoosh!
In that moment, his surroundings transformed into a hazy cloud. It was a cloud formed from burning structures, yet Kraush felt no significant harm.
After all, his body was made of flames.
Bursting through the cloud, he ascended into the open air.
Before him were the blazing remnants of buildings. However, their architectural style differed greatly from what he knew.
This place was neither past, present, nor future.
Clearly, it was another world.
Kraush started to realize where he was.
‘The world left behind by the Black Witch in the void.’
He could see people fleeing while screaming, desperately trying to escape the flames.
Seeing them, Kraush corrected his falling posture.
Boom!
Finally, he landed on the roof of a building. The stone structure here was relatively less charred compared to others.
This was clearly a projection of the Black Witch’s mind, shaped into a world of void.
People were fleeing for their lives.
“The psycho witch is coming this way!”
“Run, run!”
At that instant, Kraush heard the panicked cries echoing around him.
Crash!
As those voices rang out, the building crumbled, revealing a pair of pitch-black octopus legs.
The tentacles that burst through the flames belonged to none other than a Kraken.
The psycho witch.
She was the one who sparked the mindless slaughter known as witch hunting in the Black Witch’s world.
But now, what appeared in Kraush’s eyes was not the psycho witch.
No, it was the Black Witch herself, sitting atop the Kraken’s head.
Why was the Black Witch now being called the psycho witch here?
Perhaps it was because she identified herself with that title.
After all, the psycho witch also threatened to destroy the world out of rage.
This place was not reality.
It was a creation born from the Black Witch’s deep-seated resentment towards the world.
She had already demolished her world, yet she still harbored a grudge.
She had not let go of the hatred towards the world that took away her dearest daughter.
“Black Witch.”
Kraush called out to her.
The Black Witch, sitting atop the Kraken, turned to face him.
Her expression twisted.
It was because she realized he aimed to thwart her intentions of resurrecting her beloved daughter.
“Didn’t you learn anything from seeing this world now?”
Kraush declared as he ignited his White Flame amidst the roaring thunder.
The flames glowed fiercely, consuming everything in sight.
“The world you dream of creating, as the deity of World Erosion, will end up just like this.”
Would a world created by the god of World Erosion fulfill the Black Witch’s desires?
Absolutely not.
Deep down within her, there resided a profound hatred towards humanity.
That hatred would inevitably seep into whatever world she tried to create.
In turn, her new world would also meet a similar fate.
“……What do you think you know to speak so freely?”
Despite his words, Kraush didn’t claim to understand her world.
Yet he knew what the world was about.
He witnessed firsthand how the world he lived in transformed.
How Starlon and the Empire fought against each other,
How civil strife brewed among the Four Kingdoms,
How the world waged war against the entire army of Erosions.
But what about now?
Starlon and the Empire were tighter allies than they had ever been in history.
Rather than civil wars, the Four Kingdoms had reinforced their bonds.
The world was united against a single enemy—Ixion.
The world had changed.
And as one of the key players in that change, Kraush could say this:
“It’s because the world is imperfect that it can change.”
Though flawed and messy, that’s precisely why this world could evolve.
Had it been a meticulously crafted world, even the slightest crack would have led to its complete collapse.
Though it was strewn with breaks and patched up here and there,
An imperfect world could strive towards its completion.
“Shut up.”
Yet the Black Witch, unable to bear the imperfection of the world,
“Shut up, shut up!”
Brought it down in a fit of rage.
That was why Kraush and the Black Witch could never coexist.
The Black Witch was a force of destruction.
Kraush was a guardian of the world.
The Kraken’s leg shot up towards Kraush.
With a powerful leap, Kraush kicked off the ceiling and charged forward.
The brilliant white horn that sprouted from his head shone fiercely.
The effect of the Celestial Blaze still lingered within him.
Kraush’s sword incinerated the Kraken’s incoming leg, wiping it out without a trace.
At this moment, Kraush could no longer be impeded by the Kraken’s limbs.
Beyond the Kraken’s leg, a second foe, Barg, emerged.
Barg unleashed his wolf fangs towards Kraush.
But Kraush’s sword was faster.
Swish, swish, swish!
In an instant, his sword pierced through Barg’s jaw repeatedly.
As he decimated his foes, the Siren appeared before him.
Now instead of a song, she unleashed waves of black ink.
Kraush leaped over it and swung at her neck.
Suddenly, dark lightning struck down towards him.
The lightning momentarily halted Kraush in his tracks.
But this was merely so he could seize the center of the tempest.
As he darted towards the lightning, he grasped the form of Taranis, who resembled a rat.
Kraush engulfed the rat-like Taranis in his White Flame, incinerating him utterly.
Tossing the charred Taranis aside, Kraush felt the ground rumble beneath him.
KRA-KOW!
And just beneath his feet, a massive serpent surged upward, trying to devour him.
A serpent capable of swallowing an entire nation.
It was Yormungand, the Fifth Kind.
Grrr…
However, its body suddenly swelled.
Yormungand, seemingly in pain, swayed in mid-air before opening its mouth wide.
From within, white smoke billowed forth.
Whoosh!
The torn Yormungand fell atop the blazing kingdom.
As Kraush descended through the gap created by the vanquished Yormungand, his sword, raised high, blazed with white flames.
And below, swirling black whirlpools were gathering in the Black Witch’s grasp.
The Black Witch gazed up calmly at Kraush.
He had stated that because the world was imperfect, it could change.
But the Black Witch could only say:
“……My world has long been over.”
Her beloved daughter, Isabelia.
The moment the blessing died was when the Black Witch’s world ended.
All she desired was one thing.
A world where Isabelia could live happily.
In such a world, what more could she want?
Thus, she chose a new world.
One where she could resurrect Isabelia and create a world for her to live in happily.
A whirlpool formed from twisted space encompassed her body as she ascended.
Void of Darkness
Sky Spiral
The vortex that annihilated everything it touched surged skyward.
As Kraush watched the whirlwind aimed at him, he wielded his sword.
“I don’t know.”
What exactly should be done in such a world.
And how to move forward.
How to overcome despair.
Even now, Kraush doesn’t know.
He too had watched his world crumble, had lost people dear to him, and had sacrificed many to protect himself.
And yet, Kraush continues to live.
In all those experiences, the reincarnations intertwined with his life transformed him.
If there were answers to life’s dilemmas,
If there was a clear solution amidst the myriad despair…
Then perhaps life wouldn’t seem so tragic.
“I’m still learning that.”
Kraush offered an answer that might resonate with the Black Witch.
Then, once more, Kraush’s sword swung down.
Erosion of Flame
Tenth Form
Destruction of the Flame.
The flames that enveloped the void rushed towards the realm constructed from the Black Witch’s imagery.
Her sky spirals resisted the torrent of white flames, but they ultimately crumbled against the unrelenting cascade.
Crash! Crash!
The illusory world, born from the void, could not withstand the heat and shattered.
Amidst the shattering fragments,
The Black Witch stood before a young girl lying gracefully upon the ground.
Having only wished for one single happiness, she was now offering everything for that very happiness.
Kraush stood before her.
“……Was I wrong?”
The Black Witch asked.
Was it a mistake to wish for just one happiness?
She wanted to ask.
But Kraush did not debate her faults.
“People are inherently selfish.”
Those who scream that they are justice often trample on others to realize their ideals.
However, there are surely people saved by that justice too.
Humans are selfish by nature.
If someone considers themselves just, they will go to any lengths for that righteousness.
“You and I are ultimately just champions of our own justice.”
Kraush felt neither pity nor rage towards the Black Witch.
To him, she was merely an enemy, a hindrance on his path, one he had to defeat.
The Black Witch felt the same.
She intended to overthrow Kraush to fulfill her own goal and needed his Ignis, thus she opposed him.
Who could discern whose wrongdoing it was here?
It was merely a case of the stronger justice overcoming the other.
“……I’ve no regrets.”
The Black Witch declared she harbored no regrets for having destroyed her world.
Kraush nodded as he locked eyes with her, where fierce flames still blazed.
“Neither do I.”
If he were to regret the path he had taken, it would mean rejecting the person he had become.
Kraush swung his sword.
The blade tore through the Black Witch, cleaving through what she had fought so hard to protect: her daughter, Isabelia.
Crack!
And now cracks began to spread all across the Black Witch’s body.
Her soul, left within Isabelia, was consumed by the white flames.
As the crumbling Black Witch quietly embraced Isabelia,
She placed her forehead against her daughter’s.
“My blessing, in the next life, be my daughter again.”
Her whisper echoed softly.
Crash!
And as the Black Witch shattered into countless pieces, the void unraveled along with it.
KRA-KOOM, THUD!
Together with the collapsing space, Kraush found himself soaring through the air again, just as before.
But this time, he was greeted with a familiar world.
Far in the distance, the sun rose high into the sky.
Evidence that he had battled the Black Witch for over a full day.
The morning sun rises, just like it always does.
And Kraush wished for it to keep rising every day.
As he spun in mid-air, coming back from his fall, he had defeated the head of Ixion, the Black Witch.
However, the war against Ixion was far from over.
The remnants of Ixion were still waging war with the world.
Moreover, the dreadful seed he had ignited was about to go on a rampage.
Kraush would need to move again to stop it.
Additionally…
“Abella.”
There was still Abella left to save.
Kraush kicked off the air, soaring upward.
Though the Black Witch entered her eternal rest,
Kraush, having defeated her, still had no time to rest.
An hero, governed by their own justice, cannot afford to rest, especially not when in the pursuit of proving their justice.
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