Chapter 76
In the blazing flames of the carriage.
Kraush was panting heavily.
His breathing was all over the place.
His bones and muscles screamed to rest, and his mind felt like it was about to fly away in the heat of purging erosion.
Despite possessing the traits of World Erosion, the heat showed no signs of cooling down, compelling his body to push past its limits.
“Huff, huff.”
With a long exhale, Kraush slowly raised his head.
Unlike before, a weak black flame flickered from the hanging sword.
Meanwhile, the opponent before him remained unscathed.
The Armed Princess was looking at him without having taken any major damage.
In truth, neither of them had landed a critical hit on the other.
First of all, Kraush’s attacks had failed to inflict any significant injury on the Armed Princess.
The gap in their skill levels was too vast.
On the flip side, Kraush tailored his evasions meticulously, as he understood her every weapon.
Thanks to his instinct, he possessed a near-predictive ability, dodging every possible attack she threw.
But because of this exhaustive evasion, his body was in even worse shape.
To avoid all her attacks, he had to push his body to its limits, sacrificing his own flesh in the process.
“You seem to be hiding something…”
The Armed Princess, with her eyes gleaming, swung her three swords with enthusiasm.
“Were you all just acting tough?”
Finally catching on, it seemed.
“You’re not a World Eroder, are you? You know all about my weapons. What in the world are you? Which faction are you with?”
The Armed Princess expressed her irritation, clearly fed up with Kraush’s dodging.
It frustrated her that he behaved as if he knew all her weapons.
Kraush watched her silently before taking a breath and straightening his posture.
Then he suddenly sheathed his sword at his waist.
The Armed Princess frowned at this strange behavior as Kraush spoke.
“…Did you not hear what I said earlier?”
Her brows twitched at his words.
“Stop meowing around.”
With that, the conversation came to a halt.
The Armed Princess placed her hand on her chest, indicating she had no intention of entertaining him any longer.
“I tend to be a bit lenient with my weapons.”
At that moment, she dug her hand into her own throat.
Then, she pulled out a dagger from inside her neck.
Wiping the drool from her mouth, the Armed Princess’s eyes shone bright yellow.
“But something tells me my instincts are screaming to kill you right here.”
Out of fear of Balrog’s wrath, she hadn’t been able to kill Kraush recklessly so far.
But now, she decided to forget that hesitation.
Kraush was no World Eroder.
The fact that he was aware of all her weapons meant he had to be eliminated before he turned into an even greater threat.
Clink—
When she held the dagger adorned with a bell charm, the atmosphere around them shifted dramatically.
The heat that had been radiating in the carriage suddenly cooled, as if everything up to this point had been a mere joke.
Her tiger-like eyes unveiled a different kind of malice.
Kraush felt a constricting sensation in his throat.
There stood a colossal tiger.
A beast baring its fangs, ready to kill its prey.
Just seeing that, Kraush easily realized she hadn’t been truly serious until now while analyzing him.
“Thirteenth Divine Blade.”
One of the thirteen divine weapons named directly by the Armed Princess.
The ninth divine weapon, Hell Dragon Spear.
Fully aware of its characteristics, Kraush couldn’t help but chuckle weakly.
“Laughing, are we?”
The Armed Princess’s eyes twisted in disbelief.
From her reaction, it was clear she understood he recognized her divine weapons.
She found it incomprehensible that he could maintain such a relaxed demeanor.
“Shua Delphia.”
Once again, Kraush called her by her full name.
“What nonsense are you trying to spout this time?”
As the Armed Princess grumbled in annoyance, Kraush shrugged his shoulders lightly.
“Just thought I’d call you.”
“What?”
It had no significant meaning.
Just an attempt to stall for time.
Crack!
Because the floor finally couldn’t withstand the heat and began to crumble.
Kaboom!
Walls were suddenly torn away, flinging outward from the carriage.
Despite being inside the Magic Castle, a fierce wind blew in from outside, rustling the Armed Princess’s hair.
Realizing this fact a moment too late, her eyes widened in shock.
As she hurriedly stepped back to evade the collapsing floor, Kraush simultaneously retreated as well.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“What do you mean, what am I doing? It’s only natural for wood to catch fire when it touches flames.”
Kraush stated casually, but the situation inside the carriage was dire.
Everything in the carriage began to crumble under the heat of the black flames.
Crackle, crunch!
The pillars couldn’t withstand the heat and broke apart, causing the roof to be ripped away, carried off by the wind as the carriage sped along.
Clatter, clatter!
Simultaneously, the sounds of galloping horses could be heard from the front of the carriage.
However, the horses themselves were nowhere to be seen, only the fields swiftly passing by between the torn walls.
In an instant, the carriage was losing everything, still being devoured by the black flames.
The Armed Princess hurriedly pressed against the wall to avoid the breaking floor.
Gazing at the rapidly passing floor, she realized just how fast the carriage was moving.
But even pressed against the wall, it wouldn’t make a difference.
The flames of black fire were consuming even the walls she was clinging to.
“Want me to let you in on a little secret?”
At that moment, Kraush, also pressed against the wall, spoke up.
“The doors burned by Ignis, for some reason, can’t be repaired.”
“What?”
Upon hearing that, the Armed Princess’s head snapped up.
Her eyes began scanning her surroundings rigorously.
And before long, she realized that three out of four doors had been completely burned away.
Among them, only one door remained intact.
The very door Kraush was currently leaning against.
“What, what?!”
The first hint of confusion slipped from the Armed Princess’s lips.
Her ears and tail perked up as she realized how dangerous her situation was.
The secret discovered by Velokin through Ignis was that a carriage consumed by Ignis could not be repaired.
This was a magic carriage, but outside it connected to fields somewhere in the world.
Therefore, the moment the carriage’s structure was destroyed, anyone inside would be flung out into the fields.
Using this coincidence, Velokin had managed to defeat the fallen and gain Thunderbolt in the process.
“But there’s only one door left now?”
With sweat trickling down his face, Kraush sported a taunting grin.
Thud!
In that instant, Kraush shoved the door open with his back, revealing that the only exit was now completely burned away.
This left the Armed Princess with no choice but to follow Kraush through the door, or she would get hurled out like the roof just did.
Amidst the flaming carriage, the Armed Princess felt an overwhelming surge of frustration.
In a panic, she’d wasted time throwing her attacks while he had been secretly burning the carriage.
And he had skillfully distracted her to keep her from focusing on the situation inside the carriage.
Her carefulness, intended to assess her opponent, had quickly turned into poison.
Boldness was what she truly needed right now.
The Armed Princess’s face turned crimson.
Realizing she had been played, her face was engulfed in rage.
“You bastard! How dare you toy with me!”
As Kraush stepped backward and crossed the threshold, she gripped the Hell Dragon Spear in reverse.
Fwoosh!
At that moment, the Hell Dragon Spear pierced deeply into her heart.
In an instant, the red and black powers of the Hell Dragon Spear enveloped her body.
The moment a flower only found in hell bloomed on her chest, horns sprouted from her head and a tail emerged.
Simultaneously, dragon-like arms and legs revealed their intimidating forms.
Squeak!
As her bulging thighs gathered strength to their limits.
KABOOM!
The newly-heightened pressure resulted in a loud explosion.
The flames of the already-burning carriage could no longer bear the shock and ultimately shattered.
However, this turn of events only pleased the Armed Princess.
She intended to rip apart Kraush as soon as he passed through the door.
In a rage reminiscent of a vengeful spirit, she propelled herself forward to the entrance.
When her eyes landed on Kraush, it was as if he had been waiting for her all along.
In a stance of sword drawing, he quietly inhaled as a storm roiled within his sheath.
The moment their eyes met in a brief exchange, the Armed Princess’s eyes widened in realization.
His mind was already at the level of uniting with his sword, having fully prepared for her arrival.
Chill!
Feeling a power of World Erosion pouring out from Kraush that far surpassed before, every hair on her body stood on end.
“YOU BASTAAARD!”
Realizing it was already too late, she screamed in rage, extending her elongated claws toward him.
But she couldn’t reach him.
Understanding that she couldn’t get close, her only desire was to shred that damn face off.
Yet, it seemed Kraush wouldn’t grant her the time to vent her wrath.
At that moment, a dragon’s roar erupted from Kraush’s psyche, consuming all the flames around.
And that heralded the completion of a singular blade.
Fire!
Eruption of Purging Erosion
Second Form
Sword of Purging Fire
KABOOM!
The storm of black flames surged forth, swallowing everything in its path.
The entire eighth floor shook violently as the massive tempest tore the carriage apart and obliterated the remnants of the area where the carriage had been.
“Huff, huff.”
Before Kraush’s eyes, the walls shredded by the Sword of Purging Fire were left without a trace.
And the Armed Princess was nowhere to be seen.
Clatter, clatter—
Only the sound of hooves could be heard from beyond the fields.
By now, the Armed Princess must have been rolling around somewhere in the fields on the ground, having been flung from the magic castle.
She wouldn’t die from just that, Kraush thought.
The Sword of Purging Fire was his power, but it wouldn’t be enough to land a fatal blow against the Armed Princess wielding the Thirteenth Divine Blade.
So she would probably reappear, undoubtedly furious.
When they met again, she would surely come at him with the intention to kill.
Of course, the outcome would be very different from now.
“…Before that, I think I might die first.”
With that, Kraush muttered and plopped down on the floor.
Exhausted both mentally and physically from the battle with the Armed Princess and pushing his limits with the Erosion, he felt a throbbing ache in both his mind and body.
I’d better not pull stunts like this again unless absolutely necessary.
If it weren’t for Thunderbolt, he wouldn’t have done something this reckless.
Fwoosh—
At that moment, a rustling sound came from behind him.
When Kraush turned his head, a pitch-black crow perched there.
“Cream, Lacradion is…”
The matter with the Armed Princess had been resolved.
As she had vanished from this space, her clones must have also evaporated by now.
So when Kraush inquired, Crimson Garden clicked its tongue.
“You’ll need to see it for yourself.”
It seemed an unwelcome situation was unfolding.
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