### Chapter: 393
The Red Witch, Abella.
She appeared alongside the Sarion and immediately fixed her gaze on one spot.
That spot was none other than Kraush.
Seeing him, Abella twirled her staff around playfully.
But then, her staff suddenly came to an abrupt stop.
‘Space magic is blocked.’
Originally, she had planned to head straight for Kraush, but now her eyebrows raised in surprise.
The magic she wielded was deeply rooted in ancient practices.
Many modern mages struggled to counter ancient spells that had faded into history.
And now, her own magic had just been interrupted.
So, who had blocked Abella’s magic?
Only two names came to mind.
One was the Demon King.
However, he was currently busy traveling across the world, setting up magical barriers to keep her in check.
She knew he wasn’t here.
Then there was only one left.
‘The Immortal.’
Crimson Garden August.
Abella shifted her gaze.
Before her was a colossal magic circle encompassing the entire Freya Forest.
It must not have been easy for the Giant’s Forest to conjure such a magic circle, given the overwhelming force of World Erosion.
Impressive preparation, for sure.
‘Is the plan to block space magic and prevent my escape using it?’
Well played.
But that didn’t mean she was out of options.
If all else fails, she could just raze the entire Freya Mountain range with a single blow.
And she intended to do precisely that.
“Sarahion.”
The Sarion, Baraka, opened his mouth.
“Blast it away.”
And with that, the Sarion struck down toward the Freya Mountains.
It was the moment when—
A beam of light erupted from below in the forest, shooting a freezing breath straight at the Sarion.
With its massive size, the Sarion had no room to dodge the oncoming icy breath.
It was hit dead on.
Kwaaaang!
The impact of the icy blast staggered the Sarion.
“Hmmm?”
With much more force than she expected, Abella took notice.
Who could possibly unleash such power?
As she enhanced her vision with magic, she spotted a white-haired girl, panting heavily as she stood there.
Even with the Sarion’s own overwhelming power pressing down, she had utilized the spirit beast to shoot forth a blast.
Thanks to that shock, those trapped under the Sarion’s pressure finally regained their senses.
Abella recognized her.
It was Bianca Hardenhartz, none other than Kraush’s fiancée.
Moreover, she had heard of Bianca’s past with the White Ghost.
‘She’s still quite young.’
Such an achievement at her age was impressive.
If she stayed on a normal path, she’d surely reach the Ten Great Lords.
‘Maybe not being suppressed by the Sarion is a leftover effect from the curse she had before.’
Abella was aware of Bianca’s curse.
Though it had been taken by Kraush, it had tormented her since before she was even born.
It was rare to be cursed from the womb itself.
It’s possible that some emotions still tethered the remnants of that curse.
This was, for Abella, quite an interesting situation.
Faced with a crisis, her body had instinctively suppressed the inherent fear.
‘She’s going to grow.’
It seemed she was on track to grow far beyond the White Ghost she once was.
The problem, however, was that with the lifting of the Sarion’s pressure, chaos broke out below.
No matter how powerful Icarus was, he’d be perplexed dealing with a Sarion larger than any Giant.
Additionally, those who had just emerged from a fierce battle had almost no strength left to take on a Sarion.
This was also true for the Sanctuary of Stars.
Given the fight with the Giants, the other Sanctuaries weren’t in peak condition either.
The very fact that they hadn’t immediately attacked the Sarion was proof of that.
“Ah, Abella?”
At that moment, Abella locked eyes with a woman who recognized her.
It was Mary Diana, the former spear knight, staring up wide-eyed at Abella while gripping her spear tightly.
Mary looked utterly confused as she failed to grasp the situation.
Having lost interest in her, Abella turned her head away.
Kugugugu!
The Sarion shook off the impact of the breath and popped its head up amid the steam.
No matter the talent to reach the Ten Great Lords, Mary stood no chance against the Sarion now.
In that moment, the Sarion started to absorb all light around it.
As it did, the surrounding scenery began to warp.
The sky grew dark, and the space around the Sarion distorted.
The energy building up held enough power to wipe out the entire Freya Mountains.
A fraudulent breath attack.
Dangerous.
Everyone in the Freya Mountains felt it instinctively and stiffened their faces in fear.
Meanwhile, Abella entrusted Icarus to the Sarion and descended slowly into the forest.
She was confident there was no one here who could stop the fake breath.
Thus, she would proceed straight toward her goal without wasting any more time.
“Huuh.”
As Abella moved, deep within the forest, Bianca was spitting blood as she drew upon the power of the spirit beast again.
“Bianca! No! Not anymore!”
“I will… stop this.”
Upon seeing this, Karandis, startled, attempted to dissuade her.
But Bianca, undeterred, bit her lip and stubbornly prepared the spirit beast’s breath.
However, it was nothing compared to the Sarion’s power.
Just then, a crow landed atop Bianca’s shoulder.
[No need to overdo it.]
Hearing the voice from the crow, Bianca’s eyes widened.
“Krim.”
As she called that name briefly, the Sarion unleashed its breath to the Freya Mountains.
This was a cataclysm capable of erasing everything from existence.
Kwaaaang!
But soon after, an explosion emerged from the Sarion that had just unleashed its breath.
The sound echoed in Abella’s ears, making her look back up at the Sarion.
The Sarion, with half of its head blown off, was flailing around.
Even though it was already a dead entity, losing its head wouldn’t kill it.
But Abella quickly deduced why the Sarion’s head had exploded.
‘The Sarion’s own breath?’
She turned her head slowly, a strange expression on her face.
And suddenly, she caught sight of a woman hovering above in the air.
With even redder hair flowing in the wind, the woman gazed challengingly.
Between her hair, shining horns glimmered in the light.
Abella realized who it was.
Crimson Garden August, the very same.
‘So it wasn’t just some magic circle she set up; she’s come in person.’
It appeared Kraush had granted her immortality after all.
The breath sent by the Sarion moments ago had been countered directly by her magic.
But that choice wasn’t exactly the best one.
Following Abella’s gesture, the Sarion bent down and began to dive straight down.
The Sarion’s entire body was immune to magic.
The only reason the previous attack had worked was that it was its own breath causing damage.
Against a mage like Crimson Garden, the Sarion was its natural enemy.
Since it could just crush her without using breath, that was that.
Thud!
At that moment, a sound met Abella’s ears.
Turning her head, she saw a man approaching.
His hair was a dark blue fluttering in the wind, with two swords in his hands.
One was the Thunder Sword of the Heaven’s Sword, and the other, the Holy Sword.
The gemstone in the middle of the Holy Sword was already dimmed to a pale white.
This meant the Holy Sword’s effect for physical restoration had already been used.
“Kraush.”
Abella called out his name.
Kraush’s white eyes slowly lifted to meet hers.
Thanks to the Holy Sword’s restoration, Kraush was back in peak condition.
“I didn’t expect you to walk right in.”
Abella said, her expression relieved at the time saved searching for him.
At that moment, the wood covering something inside her staff unraveled, revealing a pearl that looked like it contained the cosmos.
That was none other than the Transcendence Stone.
“Are you getting anxious because of the Sarion?”
“Ha.”
Kraush scoffed at Abella’s question.
“Do you think I’d be shaken by a pile of bones?”
Kuwung!
In that moment, the Sarion collided with the magical defenses layered by Crimson Garden.
The defenses designed entirely for physical force were more like accumulations of aura than true magic.
That much was evidenced by the fact that the Sarion couldn’t break through.
However, even that couldn’t withstand the Sarion’s size and strength for long.
Soon, the barriers would shatter, and the Sarion would run rampant through the Freya Mountains.
Kraush, fully aware of that, didn’t even flinch.
“Yeah, I see.”
For Abella, this was good news.
Originally, the Sarion was just a smokescreen placed to prevent him from meeting Kraush.
Now that she had encountered him directly, what happened to the Sarion no longer mattered.
Light began to flow from the Transcendence Stone connected to her staff, resembling a river of stars.
“Well, that settles it.”
Abella stopped asking questions and activated her magic.
In an instant, everything around transformed into a pitch-black space.
It happened in a heartbeat.
The acceleration from Kraush’s Excel couldn’t keep up as everything turned obscured in darkness.
Amidst this sheer blackness, only Kraush and Abella stood facing each other.
Crimson Garden had blocked the escape route for Abella using space magic.
But now, why had the landscape suddenly changed?
“To those outside, it looks like we’re both just standing still.”
Abella casually explained, her expression radiating confidence in her imminent victory.
“From the outside, no one can intervene anymore.”
No matter how Crimson Garden tried, she wouldn’t be able to undo this magic.
This prison was Abella’s original spell that connected their souls and stopped all time except in the spiritual realm.
If undone carelessly, Kraush could face complications.
“Abella.”
At that moment, Kraush called out to Abella.
Despite being in a precarious position, he remained focused on her.
“What happened to Aria?”
The one thing Kraush was curious about was—
What had happened to Aria, who had regained her memories?
Upon hearing the question, Abella blinked for a moment, then raised her head.
“What do you think you’re seeing right now?”
Kraush’s face turned to confusion.
But soon, he grasped what Abella was staring at.
Indeed, her attention was directed at the Transcendence Stone.
Kraush’s eyes slowly widened.
“It seems Aria thinks I am waiting for her to regain her memories.”
Abella shook her head disinterestedly.
“All I needed was Aria who had regained her memories. I needed her as a material to interfere with other timelines.”
Thus, Abella had been waiting for Aria to regain her memories.
And the moment Aria did, she had captured her.
Using her as material for the Transcendence Stone, no less.
After saying this nonchalantly, it was clear she felt zero guilt about her actions.
To her, it was just a necessary step toward her goal.
Plus, she calculated that Kraush would never think of touching the Transcendence Stone.
Kraush’s eyes widened with suspicion as they began to tremble.
“You…”
Kraush’s voice dripped with rage.
Abella had used Aria.
Yet beyond that, he had spent significant time by Aria’s side in the previous cycle.
He had expected even the least respect from her.
Alas, it seemed there wasn’t even a speck of empathy left in her heart.
“You’re not human.”
Hearing this from Kraush, Abella tightened her grip on her staff.
“No, I’m more human than anyone.”
Her red eyes shone brightly as she looked at the Transcendence Stone.
“Only humans hold curiosity above all else in this world.”
As Abella’s words sank in, Kraush shot forward, kicking the ground.
Kaaaang!
Kraush’s sword, reaching right in front of Abella, was halted by her magical defenses.
Abella gazed at Kraush who had wasted no breath on his futile actions.
“So, I can do whatever it takes to satisfy that curiosity. Kraush, if you were me, you’d be no different.”
Upon hearing those words, Kraush began to radiate a white light.
“Get lost.”
Such insults fall flat in the face of a true warrior.
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