Chapter 63
Since acquiring the Moon’s Echo Body, Kraush had been maintaining his Flame Decay Absorption at a certain level without any penalties.
It was precisely because he could keep the Flame Decay Absorption in check that he was able to face Adolf directly.
However, there was another, deeper reason why Kraush had sought the Moon’s Echo Body.
‘It expands my limits.’
Flame Decay Absorption was a technique that burned the power of world erosion with Ignis and infused that energy into the body.
The downside was that the burning energy also inflicted damage on Kraush’s own body.
Because of that, the time he could use Flame Decay Absorption was limited to just three seconds.
But now, having gained the Moon’s Echo Body, that timeframe had significantly widened.
At the very least, during battles, he could maintain the Flame Decay Absorption freely.
And that meant if he compressed the time back down to three seconds, he could break through limits even higher than this current level.
‘I haven’t tried it yet, but…’
It wasn’t like he couldn’t do it.
Kraush tossed aside the respirator he was wearing.
It was actually hindering his breathing.
He then put his sword back into its scabbard.
An utterly insane move during battle.
Yet, without hesitation, Kraush took a deep breath, pulling his aura upward.
In that moment, the power of world erosion within his body began to burn, meeting Ignis.
It was hot.
But he could endure it.
‘More, just a bit more.’
The power of world erosion ignited even more fiercely within him.
The scorching heat felt like it was about to engulf his entire body.
Kraush bit his lip.
Though the heat threatened to make him dizzy, the Moon’s Echo Body was barely holding that heat in check.
Smoke began to seep from Kraush’s lips.
Flames flickered within his eyes, and the air around him started to distort from the heat.
At the same time, Adolf sensed something unusual.
‘What’s he trying to do?’
At that moment of pondering how to incapacitate without harming, Kraush’s flow began to oddly shift.
As he passed through the fireballs, he radiated an even greater heat than those blazing orbs.
It was as if his body was trying to surpass its own limits.
Adolf’s thoughts converged with this realization.
‘More!’
The moment Kraush seemed to spit blood from pushing his body to its limits,
The profound heat leaped into his entire form, spreading outward.
Every muscle and nerve felt the heat coursing through them.
At that moment, Kraush’s hair and fingertips ignited with dark flames.
The realm Kraush had just managed to surpass had rapidly expanded.
Along with the heat burning throughout his body, his mind was compressed to its very limit.
The aura dwelling within him swirled with world erosion, surging forth as it inflated his body.
Clang!
In that instant, Kraush felt something shatter in his mind.
It was a wall.
The barrier he could hardly overcome began to crumble with Kraush’s breakthrough, ushering him into a new domain.
Expert-level pinnacle.
Prior to Mastery, the space separating geniuses from the mediocre—Kraush had finally reached that threshold.
His previously reddened eyes lit up with a fiercer intensity than ever.
Three seconds?
Don’t make me laugh.
One second would be all it took.
But that single second was sufficient.
Boom!
The impact from Kraush stamping his foot reverberated with a moment’s delay.
By the time the shockwave hit, Kraush’s sword was already drawn from its sheath.
Sensing the anomaly, Adolf raised his hand in response.
However, Kraush was faster than his action.
The swirling heat shot out from Kraush’s sword in an instant.
It met Ignis, igniting into black flames, as Kraush thrust the sword forward.
Sword and Spirit Unite.
In that moment, Kraush’s mind reached that realm faster than anyone.
Even the ripples across the lake of his consciousness ignited fiercely in flames; the dragon’s roar engulfed the fire.
With a single slash,
A single strike.
It was a sword that reached a new plane through the fusion of Kraush’s techniques—Sword Demon’s unification and Flame Decay Absorption.
The single cut encapsulated within that fusion finally broke free from the constraint of a mere downward slash, birthing a new technique.
Flame Decay Absorption (Second Form)
Flame Decay Celestial Sword.
As the black flames sliced through the Spirit King’s Forest, an eerie silence momentarily filled the space.
And then, everything began to twist as though it was being severed in half.
In that moment, the ensuing chaos was filled with the sound of explosions echoing.
Boommm!
Within the raging black flames, Adolf gazed down at Kraush with wide eyes.
Blood trickled down his cheek.
At that moment, his outstretched hand was also stained a deep red, as if burned.
It wasn’t a grave injury.
Even the “Terribly Strong” would suffer minor injuries engaging with world erosion.
However, it was nothing compared to the wound inflicted by a lad who could barely be considered an adult.
Adolf’s gaze slowly shifted downward.
Kraush was gasping for breath, barely able to keep standing as he held his sword up, which felt like a tremendous effort.
His fingertips were singed black, and the torrents of sweat pouring down his face made his limits painfully clear.
Moreover, Kraush’s sword was cracking due to the heat.
Crash!
And when he could no longer withstand the heat,
the sword ultimately shattered into pieces.
Still, Kraush’s eyes remained fixed on Adolf, burning with indomitable spirit.
Gripping his hands in a tight fist, Adolf’s gaze turned fierce.
“Descendant of Valheim.”
Hearing Adolf’s call, Kraush summoned the last of his strength to lift his drooping head.
It was a tenacious will.
Where on earth did such resilience come from at that age?
To an onlooker, he appeared as if he had endured decades on the battlefield.
“What relation do you have with Aslan?”
Kraush couldn’t comprehend Adolf’s question.
One thing remained clear.
“Just a guy who I know, for crying out loud.”
That idiot who had already chosen to die alone.
Hearing those words, Adolf fell silent for a moment.
Kraush would undoubtedly grow stronger.
Someday everyone in the world would know of him.
And if Aslan stands by him then, things could turn out differently.
The issue, however, was how Aslan would reach that point.
‘After all, I went looking for Abel who suddenly vanished from the adoption procedure, only to find…’
Had he somehow become acquainted with that brat in the meantime?
“Kraush!”
In that moment, a massive wall of ice shot up between Kraush and Adolf.
It was Aslan’s magic.
Seeing Aslan conceal Dorothy in water to keep her hidden from Adolf, Kraush couldn’t help but smirk.
Boom!
At that moment, a tremor resonated from across the forest.
Kraush and Adolf both knew what that tremor meant.
One of the high spirits was on its way, reacting to the uproar caused by the earlier commotion.
If a high spirit started rampaging, it would become a troublesome affair.
If things escalated, the city walls might even be at risk.
The high spirit had to be taken down.
“You two!”
Just as Adolf was about to grab them and send them out, the magic circle beneath Kraush and Aslan began to glow.
“Flame King, Adolf Igrit.”
Adolf’s eyes went wide as he took in the sight.
With a grin, Kraush looked at Adolf.
“Good luck playing with the high spirit.”
Realizing the chaos was intentional on Kraush’s part, Adolf snarled.
“You little brat!”
As Adolf shouted, the world before Kraush faded into white.
In an instant, transported out of the Spirit King’s Forest, Kraush felt someone catch him as he was about to fall.
That someone was none other than Crimson Garden.
“Why don’t you just blow everything to bits for once?”
Kraush fought to maintain his consciousness as Crimson Garden spoke.
“Seems like you’ve made quite the mess. It couldn’t be helped.”
“I just wanted to see if my power could match the “Terribly Strong”…”
Kraush turned away, a little sheepishly.
As he looked over at Crimson Garden, he spotted Aslan and Dorothy.
Aslan, holding Dorothy’s hand as if he would never let go, bowed his head to Kraush.
Dorothy still looked a bit dazed by the situation.
“…Thank you, Kraush. I owe you a debt I can never repay.”
“Is that so?”
Kraush replied nonchalantly.
With the Moon’s Echo Body gone, Aslan would continue to grow stronger.
He might even become stronger than when Kraush first knew him.
“What will you do from now on, Aslan?”
Earlier, he had mentioned that Adolf wouldn’t be trying to kill him anymore.
Moreover, with the loss of the Moon’s Echo Body, Aslan would be able to learn Igrit’s flame magic.
Whether he would reveal that fact immediately was uncertain, but there was no longer any reason for him to feel pressured by Igrit.
Still, that narrow-minded elder wouldn’t look kindly on Aslan.
Aslan had provoked Adolf by bringing up his family name.
And Dorothy was also involved.
It would never be accepted for a spirit to be close to the Igrit family.
All of that wouldn’t be solved overnight.
“I… will learn the Igrit family’s flame magic.”
Aslan’s eyes gleamed with a vivid red.
Despite suffering because of the Igrit family, he chose to enter their ranks once again.
That meant he was willing to walk a treacherous path all on his own.
To protect Dorothy, he was resolved to grow stronger, no matter how difficult the journey.
From that expression, Kraush felt the stubbornness that Aslan used to display.
‘This feels just like old times with Aslan.’
Protecting Dorothy, taking down the Flame King—those were all things he was meant to do.
“Aslan, come to Rhehlern Academy next year.”
Kraush suggested to Aslan.
“There, you can dodge Igrit’s issues while growing stronger and buying more time to protect Dorothy.”
If during that time he could hone both the Igrit’s magic and Aslan himself, escaping from Igrit wouldn’t be that hard.
“Kraush, you’re going to enroll in Rhehlern Academy too, right?”
“Yeah.”
Hearing Kraush’s answer, Aslan suddenly smiled slowly.
It was the first genuine smile Kraush had seen from him.
His face had always been covered with burns and bandages.
But that smile seemed remarkably decent.
“I’ll enroll. Let’s meet again there.”
With that, the two shared a promise, and Kraush smirked, feeling a bit revitalized.
“Then you should handle your issues.”
Just as Aslan was about to call out to Kraush to give him something in return, he hesitated and turned his head.
There stood Dorothy, wearing a rather embarrassed expression.
Despite the situation, Dorothy faintly absorbed the outside sounds.
Realizing this, Aslan cleared his throat, while Kraush had already vanished with Crimson Garden.
“Ahem, Aslan.”
Having returned from the dead, the spirit, Dorothy, called out to him as if clearing her throat.
Regardless of the circumstances, she had her own words to share in the end.
Aslan and Dorothy’s eyes met.
Both of them surely felt the same way.
It was something they understood without needing to speak, but there were times when words had to be said.
“Dorothy, I thought I hated magic.”
So, Aslan was the first to open up.
“Due to the Moon’s Echo Body, I couldn’t handle flame magic. Magic felt like a shackle to me, for all that the Igrit family encompassed my life.”
Aslan was slowly dying within the confines of Igrit.
So, he knew full well.
Had he not met Dorothy, he might’ve ended up completely ruined.
“But meeting you changed everything. I found happiness in magic, you used magic for my suffering, and because you were there, I was finally able to use magic for someone else for the first time in my life at the dorm.”
Aslan had no knack for romantic or poetic words.
He was merely conveying his feelings honestly.
Yet, every time he spoke, tears began to brim in Dorothy’s eyes.
“That’s all thanks to you.”
Whether she was a spirit or a mortal enemy, none of that mattered to Aslan.
What was important was, above all, Dorothy.
“Dorothy, I like you.”
If the world labeled Dorothy as an enemy, Aslan would gladly be the world’s foe.
After all, it was Dorothy who had shaped his existence.
In that moment, as Dorothy’s tears fell, her trembling eyelids fluttered closed.
“I’m a spirit.”
“I know.”
“My name is a fake, my appearance might be illusionary, and perhaps even my memories were created by world erosion.”
“Still, to me, you’re Dorothy.”
That much would never change.
“Aslan, have you heard about the primordial spirit artisans?”
Of course, he had.
The primordial spirit artisans were from the Igrit family.
“You know, the end for spirits and humans may very well lead to a such conclusion.”
Aslan took Dorothy’s hand in his own.
As Dorothy trembled at the warmth, Aslan spoke.
“Whatever the outcome, I want to be beside you until the end.”
Aslan’s crimson eyes met Dorothy’s azure ones.
And that was the end of it.
Dorothy’s bright smile broke the flow of tears as she slowly beamed back at him.
Perhaps spirits were destined to fall in love with humans.
“…I like you too.”
At the moment Dorothy finally responded, her tear-streaked bright smile was an overflow of Aslan’s awaited words.
＊＊＊
After leaving space for Aslan and Dorothy, Kraush trudged along, wearing an almost defeated expression.
He missed his bed.
“Wake up. You have to take responsibility for what you did.”
Suddenly, a crow had replaced Crimson Garden, speaking coldly.
Honestly, could Crimson Garden be a demon in disguise?
He wondered if it could just refrain from resting on his shoulder in this state.
“Kraush!”
“Kraush!”
In that moment, two voices calling his name reached Kraush.
One voice sounded surprised, while the other remained calm as usual.
Turning to the source of the voices, he found two familiar figures.
One was a very fair-haired, older maid, and the other was a petite white-haired younger girl.
Kraush tilted his head as he looked at them.
He could accept Lirina being here, but what in the world was Bianca doing here?
“Kraush, we’ve always got our eyes on you.”
Bianca spoke, almost as if she could read Kraush’s thoughts.
With a slight frown, it seemed like Bianca was upset about something.
“Why is Lirina here again?”
Avoiding Bianca’s gaze, Kraush turned to Lirina.
He wondered why she was here when she could have returned to the mansion or gone to Aslan.
“Well, the mansion’s in chaos, so I thought there would be a lot of work to do.”
That was the excuse of neglecting her duties.
“And I’m not someone so clueless to get caught in between Aslan and Dorothy.”
The second reason was plain old common sense.
Kraush could understand that, so he nodded.
Meanwhile, Lirina glanced at Bianca and turned to Kraush.
“I can’t believe you were trying to coax someone so cute.”
After hearing that, Kraush had a look of incredulity.
What had he ever coaxed?
It was true that Bianca was his first love but that love had long since ended. Plus, he had buried his feelings down to nothing but a doll.
But seeing Lirina glance at Bianca made him realize she was just teasing him.
That personality of hers hadn’t changed, even now.
“Flirting with a girl’s heart? What a horrible person you are.”
“Kraush isn’t a horrible person.”
Yet what Bianca countered was about something else entirely.
Bianca turned towards Lirina and looked up at her.
“Kraush is a good person.”
Her eyes held pure sincerity.
Lirina’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Then, she looked back at Kraush before covering her mouth.
“He’s so cute! I feel embarrassed he’s with someone like you.”
Kraush decided to let it go.
“I want to put him in my pocket and take him home to keep, but can I have him, fiancée?”
“Don’t you dare drool on him.”
As Kraush pulled Bianca closer, she widened her eyes before rolling them around.
Then, she approached Kraush and gently wrapped her arms around his.
Seeing that, Lirina let out a light sigh.
“Must be nice to be such a little sweetie.”
Kraush decided to accept the flattery.
“However, I wish you hadn’t made me so nervous earlier, and I really appreciate you helping Aslan and me.”
Kraush recalled that receiving help from the person he couldn’t save made a significant difference in who he had become.
Nevertheless, it was hard not to feel warm inside.
“Then I’m glad to hear that…”
Just as Kraush was about to respond, his vision suddenly flickered and darkened.
Ah, this is a limitation.
And with that, Kraush lost consciousness.
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