### Chapter: 410
Blavi, the Heavenly Seat.
His twin swords wield a technique known as the “Kill God Twin Swords.”
Once, it embodied the murderous intent of the Celestial Killers.
Now, while he lacks the celestial backing, deep within Blavi’s body, soaked for years in that realm, the primal desire to kill still surged.
In this state, Blavi’s two swords, infused with the Kill God technique, clashed against Kraush’s Star Sword.
Ashen flames poured from Kraush’s body, igniting around Blavi.
However, undeterred, Blavi ferociously swung at Kraush, appearing completely unfazed by his own potential harm.
It was as if he didn’t care what happened to himself.
As Kraush deflected Blavi’s strikes, confusion clouded his mind.
Blavi was now devoid of consciousness, acting only on rage and wielding his weapons.
Yet, despite the overwhelming power of his true form, Kraush sensed a strange dullness in him.
‘Surely, the gods must have manifested.’
At present, Blavi was under the influence of a god tied to his skill.
Kraush expected that he would have lost control to the divine being.
But something felt off.
‘Wait a minute…’
Could it be that Blavi was resisting being overtaken by the god?
Having commanded an entire generation, Blavi was an exceptional fighter.
Perhaps, unlike lesser beings, the gods struggled to seize control over powerful individuals like him.
‘If that’s the case…’
Right now, it seemed Blavi was in a power struggle, both unable to claim dominance over his own body.
If this were the case, the murderous intent instilled within him could run wild uncontrollably.
This was a plausible scenario.
And that meant,
‘For me, this is a golden opportunity.’
Kraush had learned how dangerous a body comprised solely of primal instincts could be during his past battle against the Beast King.
But more perilous still was an intelligent individual stripped of that very sanity.
If it were true that such consciousness had dissipated and only the body’s core instincts remained, an empowered Blavi would be easier to subdue.
Kraush aimed a kick at Blavi’s abdomen after deflecting his blade.
But before his leg could reach its target, Blavi’s elbow intercepted with lightning speed.
Every feint or distraction Kraush attempted was thwarted by Blavi.
Even as Kraush exposed openings, Blavi refrained from charging recklessly.
This was certainly no instinctive response from a mindless being.
If Blavi had been purely acting on instinct, he would have jumped at any perceived opening already.
Regardless, Kraush intuitively understood the reason behind this.
‘Veritas.’
The ability to see through lies and truths.
Could it be that Blavi’s god was the reason for this?
Now, Blavi had unlocked the full expression of Veritas.
Seeing the truth provided a monumental advantage in combat.
No matter how many illusions Kraush threw, Blavi could decipher what was genuine.
The evidence? Every single diversion Kraush conjured had been neutralized before his eyes.
This was a considerable loss of advantage, akin to losing a critical tactic.
Yet, this only applied when facing an opponent of equal strength.
If one could unleash far superior firepower, then that advantage would be swallowed whole.
What had Kraush been called in his past?
The Crystal Cannon.
The last remnant of that moniker’s assertion was one thing.
He was unparalleled when it came to sheer firepower.
From this moment forth, Kraush disregarded the illusions entirely.
Instead, he ignited the ashen flames with renewed ferocity.
Kraush charged straight into battle as his blade struck Blavi’s in a fierce confrontation.
Perhaps due to Kraush’s reinvigorated intensity,
Blavi’s swords faltered, unable to withstand the assault.
Boom! Bang! Crash!
The clash of swords faded into nothingness,
leaving only the explosive power of flames in their wake.
With relentless strikes, Kraush pushed Blavi back repeatedly.
Even as Blavi gathered the aura within him to bolster his Kill God technique, it seemed insufficient to withstand Kraush.
Observing this, Kraush couldn’t help but chuckle wickedly.
“Trying to match my firepower? Good luck with that.”
Kraush’s eyes glowed a striking gray, flashing like a dragon’s pupils.
Simultaneously, a greyish scale coating enveloped his entire face, smoke billowing from his mouth.
Blazing Heavenly Dragon of Ash.
A peak he had reached after countless battles.
A chill ran through Blavi as his instincts screamed.
He understood that if he continued to fight Kraush, he might very well meet his end.
As Blavi stumbled back, Kraush’s eyes lit up with fervor, gathering more power into his blade.
Kraush had initiated another technique.
Sword Light.
An ability of the Sword King that allowed him to absorb his opponent’s power.
The sword light radiated brilliantly, merging with the intensity of Kraush’s flames.
“If you were planning to escape…”
In that moment, Blavi felt the world around him shift to ashen shades.
Realization struck him that he could neither evade this light.
“You should have run from the start.”
With a cunning smile, Kraush swung his sword.
Annihilation Erosion.
Seventh Form.
Heavenly Fire Dragon of Annihilation.
The soaring ash flames devastated everything in their path.
Though Blavi desperately coated his body in aura for defense, he could not fully counter the onslaught.
His entire body scorched, Blavi reeled and tumbled to the ground, coated in ash.
Being flesh and blood, he wouldn’t die from this.
But it was clear he wouldn’t move for quite some time.
Kraush gracefully landed before Blavi.
Blavi showed no signs of rising.
Had he been in his prime, he might have rallied to attack in that condition.
But now, his instincts had succumbed fully, powerless against Kraush’s might.
Kraush raised his hand over him.
‘I sincerely hope this resolves the matter.’
Kraush activated his Black Hood to steal Blavi’s skill.
This was a gamble even for him.
Once a god overtook his body, the power of the skill user could be rendered meaningless.
But if the skills were under the control of the manifested god,
‘If I can’t fulfill the conditions set by the god, I won’t be able to seize the skill.’
Kraush hoped that was not the case as he invoked the Black Hood.
[Target: Blavi]
As the Black Hood glimmered to life in his hand, Kraush clenched his fist tightly.
‘Got it!’
He felt the skill that pierced through the truths of existence, Veritas, now in his grasp.
Thankfully, his expectation had come true.
‘Next…’
Was the god manifested within Blavi still present or had it vanished?
Kraush quietly awaited his answer.
“Grrr.”
A sound of low growling escaped Blavi’s lips.
Then, slowly, as he opened his eyes, he locked gazes with Kraush and said:
“Kraush, you’ve made quite the mess.”
Veritas activated, confirming he was indeed the real Blavi.
The presence of the god had left him.
Relief flooded Kraush as he rummaged through his belongings.
He then poured a special emergency recovery potion made by Darling on Blavi.
Seeing his burns start to heal brought some comfort.
Intense healing might bring some pain, as Blavi frowned, but it was far better than being in that state.
“I feel much better now.”
“Seriously, how did you end up possessed by a god?”
Looking at Blavi catching his breath, Kraush clicked his tongue.
If Blavi had completely lost control, it would have been nothing short of a disaster.
“I can’t apologize enough. It happened faster than I expected. I was barely able to resist.”
So Blavi barely managed to resist?
It wasn’t surprising given how many others with skills had suffered the same fate at the gods’ hands.
Still, relief washed over Kraush now that Blavi had returned to himself.
Blavi, forcing his body upright, regarded Kraush.
“As you know, due to my past ties with the Celestial Killers, my compatibility with the divine isn’t perfect, allowing me to retain some consciousness.”
Kraush recognized the seriousness in Blavi’s tone and adjusted his stance.
“Did you manage to learn something?”
“It’s not so much that I learned, but I did sense the divine intent indirectly.”
Kraush’s expression shifted to one of keen focus.
Blavi took a deep breath before continuing.
“It seems the gods plan to unleash another wave of world erosion upon our realm.”
Kraush’s eyes widened dramatically.
“What does that mean?”
“That’s as far as my insight goes. However, the manifestation of the gods is undoubtedly linked with the emergence of world erosion.”
These damn bastards.
After all Kraush had done to close the Kingdom of Jeblam and mitigate the effects of world erosion, the gods seemed determined to undo it with their presence.
“Thank you for sharing this information.”
This revelation presented a more pressing reason to prevent the gods’ manifestations and uncover the truth behind them.
“Your skills could help stave off the manifestations, right?”
That was indeed the case.
In the face of a possible second Ragnarok where the gods manifested,
Kraush was the only one equipped to stop them with his Black Hood.
“Yes, it seems I have to become something akin to a skill thief.”
A skill thief.
One who needed to steal every skill out there in the world.
*
After wrapping up the situation with Blavi, Kraush successfully found Seirang, who had been hiding in a closet.
Today was the day he had warned her she could be in peril.
Feigning indifference but clearly frightened, Seirang decided to cower in the closet until the dust settled.
“No matter how much you study astrology, the unpredictable nature of the world always seems to prevail.”
Upon hearing about Blavi’s possession by a god, Seirang looked perplexed.
“Seirang, knowing that skills can attract divine manifestations, I think we need to collect them all.”
There was no guarantee these events wouldn’t recur.
Thus, Kraush decided to retrieve every skill present within Sephira.
Perhaps it was due to the recent incident with Blavi,
but people seemed surprisingly compliant in relinquishing their skills.
Skills were valuable, but the prospect of catastrophe outweighed their worth.
Moreover, their willingness to comply was surely helped by Kraush’s reputation.
“Isn’t what you’re doing for the greater good?”
“Who could refuse when the one who saved the world bows down?”
Kraush met each skill bearer one by one, humbly requesting their skills.
In response, they trusted Kraush’s sincerity and willingly transferred their skills to him.
‘Turns out my journey wasn’t in vain.’
Having lived a life without skills before, Kraush understood how monumental this gesture was, and he expressed his gratitude multiple times.
The total number of skills he retrieved was four.
Never had he imagined it would be so simple to acquire skills he had struggled to attain.
‘Besides, acquiring them like this…’
There would be countless more skills to gather in the future.
Kraush was, after all, human.
There were limits to his applications.
‘I need to put to use what I’ve got, but…’
If he found himself consistently outmatched in applications, it would be better to replace them with divine techniques altogether.
“I can’t believe it.”
Kraush stood before the magical space opened by Crimson Garden, rolling his shoulders back.
“Honestly, I never expected to be collecting skills after closing the Kingdom of Jeblam.”
It was time for him to step into the role of a skill thief.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
