TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 142
Upon hearing that Kraush had gone to the Arena.
Mary Diana, the former Divine Spear, was hastily making her way to the Arena Training Ground after returning from her mission.
She was struggling to get closer to Kraush, following Sigrid’s orders.
And now, Kraush had reportedly moved to the Arena Training Ground—no less with Durandal.
There was only one reason for Kraush and Durandal to head to Rahelrn Academy together.
It was to submit an opinion to Rahelrn Academy.
‘This is my chance.’
Regardless of what Kraush was thinking, his opponent was Durandal.
In Mary’s eyes, no matter how much Kraush had grown, submitting an opinion was a daunting task.
‘If he fails, I’ll just take over and make sure his opinion gets submitted.’
Recently, Mary had been fully focused on her training.
After her regression, she had essentially wasted her past life.
Most of her time had been spent searching for Arthur, followed by her days in prison.
She simply hadn’t had the opportunity to train.
However, after entering the Academy, Mary had switched to full-on training mode.
She was originally so skilled and talented that she was called the Divine Spear.
Her innate Heavenly Martial Body allowed her to instantly absorb the memories from her regression.
To the extent that she had trained persistently and diligently, even while under Charlotte and the Lion Order’s scrutiny during her latest mission.
As a result, Mary had achieved remarkable growth in just a matter of days.
‘If it’s now.’
She could repay Kraush’s favor and build a strong relationship with him.
Mary originally disliked Kraush for constantly pointing out her actions and holding her back.
But now, none of that mattered.
Her relationship with Kraush had been reset to zero after her regression.
Now, she spent her days thinking of nothing but ways to get closer to Kraush.
So much so that she even thought more about getting close to Kraush than she did about Arthur.
It was around the time she stepped into the Arena Training Ground.
“Why is it so hot?”
She felt such intense heat that she had to take off her uniform jacket.
Because of that, the children who had come to watch the Arena Training Ground turned their gazes toward her chest.
It was as she repeatedly fanned herself and entered the spectator stands.
Her eyes caught sight of a Black Flame blazing so fiercely it seemed to reach the sky.
At the center of that Black Flame stood Kraush.
But as soon as she saw Kraush, her face showed signs of panic.
‘H-how?’
The energy radiating from Kraush was so overwhelming it momentarily took her breath away.
Whatever he had done, the sheer intensity of it made her stagger just from seeing him at this distance.
The moment she saw Kraush, she clearly realized.
That at her current level, he was someone she couldn’t contend with.
‘I thought it would be enough…’
Of course, she hadn’t been training for very long.
She was still only at the level of taking baby steps.
But even baby steps couldn’t be taken overnight.
It would take her at least three years to fully regain her strength.
In fact, she planned to recover her power during her time at Rahelrn Academy.
But seeing Kraush now shattered that plan.
‘No.’
Such complacent thoughts wouldn’t do.
The task Sigrid had given her—to surpass him—could not be achieved in three years.
‘I need to get stronger immediately.’
Seeing Kraush today made Mary feel certain.
He would only continue to grow stronger.
Without stopping for even a moment, he would keep advancing.
Mary bit her lip.
For some reason, she felt as if her legs might give out.
Could she truly grow stronger than someone who would keep advancing like that?
Having recently gone through countless ordeals, her self-esteem had completely crumbled, leaving her unable to even trust her own abilities.
Anxiety began to gnaw away at her bit by bit.
If she were to lose even the one advantage she had left.
Would Sigrid abandon her?
And in the end, even Arthur might…
“Ah, hic.”
Mary’s eyes reddened as she bit down hard on her lip.
She was scared.
She was terrified.
The fear and anxiety that she might one day be left all alone crept into her heart.
Before she knew it, she was biting her nails.
‘Stronger, stronger, stronger—I have to get stronger.’
So she wouldn’t be discarded.
‘And I have to surpass Kraush.’
Mary’s obsidian-like eyes were locked solely on Kraush.
The determination to surpass him burned fiercely within her.
At this point, Mary had no idea what thoughts Sigrid harbored.
* * *
Whoosh—
In front of the roaring Black Flame.
Facing Kraush, Durandal’s eyes twisted in frustration.
He had clearly grasped Kraush’s full power.
The Black Flame emanating from Kraush was so intense, even Durandal felt its heat.
But despite that, Durandal could not view this situation favorably.
“I thought you were a gem.”
This was like a raw gemstone melting itself under excessive heat.
He found it unfortunate.
And at the same time, various thoughts crossed his mind.
The power flowing from Kraush’s body was unmistakably akin to a curse.
For a moment, it seemed like World Erosion, but the blazing power itself appeared to be a skill.
Naturally, that made sense.
It was Ignis burning the power of World Erosion acquired through Extreme Blood Immersion Poison.
‘I don’t know how he obtained such power or through what means.’
But it was clear that both his body and mind would be ruined at this rate.
Having crossed countless life-and-death situations to reach this point, Durandal had seen many individuals.
And among them, those who disregarded their own bodies like this never met a good end.
“This is exactly why I founded the Academy.”
Durandal lightly cracked his knuckles.
“I thought it was necessary to teach young people how to take care of themselves.”
As a result, he recalled an old acquaintance.
Someone who, like Kraush, cared nothing for his own body, burning himself to the brink of the Forbidden Zone.
“Let’s see you try.”
Durandal reminisced on that time, resolving.
To make the young stronger so no one like that would ever emerge again.
Hence, Kraush had no intention of letting himself become a discarded star like that.
The moment Durandal confidently told him to come.
For some reason, Kraush stood silently, gripping the Rain Thunder Prime.
When Durandal found Kraush’s lack of reaction strange.
Durandal’s gaze landed on the Rain Thunder Prime.
Quietly clenched within his hand, it was wrapped in pitch-black flames.
The thunder energy flowing over it entered Durandal’s line of sight.
Durandal’s thick eyebrows twitched.
The sheer intensity of the power emanating from Kraush’s body delayed his realization.
“Ha-ha.”
Durandal let out a dry laugh.
Kraush was wholly focusing the uncontrollable surge of power into a single point.
That point was none other than the Rain Thunder Prime.
At that moment, he was so concentrated that Durandal’s words didn’t even reach him.
Within that heat, he should have felt his body burning away.
It was an extraordinary level of focus, almost unbelievable.
Cleverly, Kraush had calculated that Durandal wouldn’t strike first, thus playing such a bold move.
What could possibly make him so unyielding?
Durandal exhaled as he pondered the question.
Then, aura began to surge within Durandal’s body.
A late-stage apprentice was concentrating so intensely just to reveal his full strength.
If so, it was the teacher’s duty to fully accept it.
Durandal’s aura flowed steadily amidst the silence.
Known as the Fighting Emperor, yet his battles were waged in profound calm.
Disaster Dragon Fall.
Ash-gray residue began to form and drift from Durandal’s arm.
At the same time, his body began to swell even larger than before.
To the point where it now resembled that of a giant.
The presence of the Fighting Emperor grew even more overwhelming than before.
This was also to sincerely face Kraush’s strike.
At the same time, a spark was igniting deep within his heart.
The skill, Grit.
A skill that raises determination, seemingly unremarkable at first glance.
Yet, this skill possessed a unique advantage.
It provided an unyielding mental fortitude.
Once ignited, this determination would never waver, no matter the circumstances.
Such unshakable resilience sometimes proved to be far stronger than expected.
And it was the skill Kraush currently desired most.
For with Grit, he could endure even the murderous intent of the Heavenly Slaughter Star and the true power of the Extreme Blood Immersion Poison.
‘Not yet.’
Durandal’s skill wasn’t something he could steal just yet.
Thus, Kraush decided to focus solely on the present.
The two immense forces collided and intertwined with each other.
Before Durandal, Kraush was testing his own limits.
It was the first time he was fully utilizing Nox.
Perhaps because of that, Kraush felt as though he was swimming in a pitch-black night.
At this moment, he was a single flame navigating the darkness.
A flame that would never extinguish, burning endlessly.
And as Kraush’s mind heightened, the flame grew ever larger.
Finally, when the flame became immense enough to devour even the night.
Kraush channeled the flame, which had engulfed the night, entirely into the Rain Thunder Prime.
Within the scabbard of thunder energy.
The black flame, which had consumed the night, pulsed violently.
As if condensing all he had learned up to this point.
The surging power grew fiercer and soon became almost unbearable.
Thud—
Cold sweat trickled down Kraush’s forehead.
The red smoke escaping his mouth revealed just how much strain he was under.
Yet Kraush continued to suppress and suppress the power within the scabbard of thunder energy.
Thud—
To pour everything into a single strike.
To ensure Durandal was utterly convinced.
Kraush infused the best strength he could muster today.
Thud—
And when the crimson moon deep within Kraush’s body was swallowed by the black flame.
Crack!
With the sound of the scabbard of thunder energy shattering, the black flame that had engulfed the crimson moon finally emerged.
Annihilation Erosion.
Fifth Form.
Annihilation Sky Moon Fire.
The black flame storm that had bloomed from the night swept across the Arena.
Those who witnessed the black flame storm stood agape without exception.
Its power was so intense that it reached the spectator seats of the Arena.
The Arena’s spectator seats were imbued with special Defense Magic.
That was to shield against potential attacks from the Arena Training Ground.
Yet, the Defense Magic trembled violently within the range of Kraush’s black flame.
Crackle!
And that wasn’t all.
The Defense Magic, cast by a renowned mage, couldn’t withstand the force and began to crack.
Seeing the Defense Magic on the verge of breaking, the children within Kraush’s attack range felt a cold chill.
The thought crossed their minds that they might have been swept away by the black flame if it had broken.
“I-Is such an attack even possible?”
“Is he really 15? This isn’t the kind of output a late-stage apprentice can produce.”
The children muttered with dazed expressions.
Kraush’s strike left such a vivid impression in their minds.
Within the burning black flame.
Durandal stood tall.
As if struck by high-grade magic.
For the first time in a long while, he felt his skin burning.
The slash Kraush had displayed far exceeded the output achievable with a sword.
How on earth had he concentrated such power into a single point?
Durandal looked at his own arm, scorched through the torn fabric of his clothes.
It truly had been quite some time since his retirement.
His arm creaked and tingled with a dull ache.
‘I never expected to feel this kind of shock from a student.’
Even Charlotte, famed as the Sword Star, couldn’t produce such output.
Her swordsmanship was so extraordinary that the term “prodigy” felt insufficient, leaving one in awe.
But in terms of sheer output from a single strike, Kraush was overwhelming.
And from Durandal’s perspective, such output wasn’t meant to be used against humans.
Within the Forbidden Zone of World Erosion.
Monsters ranked 10-star or higher could easily withstand even high-output magic.
Kraush’s strike, no matter how one looked at it, was clearly designed to combat such Erosion Species.
Thus, the direction Kraush and Charlotte pursued with their swords was completely different.
It was quite fascinating that the siblings had such drastically opposite approaches to swordsmanship.
‘Good grief.’
He swallowed a bitter smile.
Kraush pouring all his effort into wielding something like that was one thing.
But seeing him like this only made Durandal feel a stronger urge to help him grow.
‘As long as I make the gem shine brighter before its color fades, that’s enough.’
With that thought, Durandal moved through the dissipating Black Flame.
The Black Flame was gradually fading away.
Considering the immense output, Kraush must have collapsed just as he said he would.
Durandal intended to take him straight to the Nurse’s Office.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a sword flew through the fading Black Flame.
When Durandal deflected the blade with the edge of his hand,
he belatedly realized it was Rain Thunder Prime.
Durandal’s eyes widened in surprise.
Could he still move even after exerting that much power?
Smack!
Kraush, who had leapt out of the Black Flame, was already thrusting both hands forward.
Kraush was, quite literally, a wreck.
The price of using Annihilation Heavenly Asura had left his entire body in shambles.
Yet, as if his willpower couldn’t be taken from him, Kraush squeezed out the last of his strength and lunged at Durandal.
At that moment, Black Hood activated in Kraush’s hand.
Rain Thunder Prime, which had been flung into the air, was joined by a golden blade that emerged with the grip, striking Durandal.
Crunch!
However, the power imbued in Rain Thunder Prime was incomplete.
When its blade touched Durandal’s side, it failed to even leave a scratch and shattered instead.
And at that moment, Kraush’s consciousness finally slipped away.
It was only natural, as he had pushed his Aura to the limit just to draw out Rain Thunder Prime’s blade.
Before Kraush could collapse to the ground, Durandal caught his body firmly.
“…I was mistaken.”
Durandal corrected his earlier thoughts of comparing Kraush to his comrades.
“He’s even more of a lunatic than that guy.”
It was the moment he chuckled, realizing he’d never met anyone this crazy in his entire life.