TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 150
On top of the snow mountain, where the snowstorm raged.
A man with long, blood-red hair sat at the edge of a cliff, a sly grin on his face.
The red scarf wrapped around his neck fluttered gently in the wind.
He loved moments like this the most.
When the yellow sky stretched out above.
This sensation, as though the entire world was writhing in tension.
This feeling, reminiscent of his old hometown.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Why did you mess with Hardenhartz?”
It was at that moment.
The man, lost in pleasant contemplation, slowly turned his head to the side.
There stood a woman with long, unkempt black hair.
She was dressed in an all-black robe instead of her usual attire.
Clenching her fists tightly, she glared at the man with eyes filled with indignation.
The man tilted his head as if he couldn’t comprehend her reaction.
“Well, it’s the best situation to gain high-quality World Erosion power, isn’t it?”
His alias was the Mad Blade Emperor.
He was a World Erosion Being affiliated with Ixion.
The World Erosion technique used by the Mad Blade Emperor grew stronger the more formidable his opponents were.
Naturally, the higher the level, the greater the World Erosion power he could obtain.
Hardenhartz currently housed none other than the Sword King, Rai Balheim.
There was no reason to hold back when such high-quality World Erosion was within reach.
“I’ve heard about your power. If it’s like that, why don’t you fight me instead?”
“Hahaha, that’s impossible.”
The Mad Blade Emperor exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders.
“You, as a World Erosion Being, should know how World Erosion is created, don’t you?”
Ebelasque bit her lip hard.
World Erosion was, in the literal sense, erosion.
It was created by eroding a portion of a world.
Thus, even if those unrelated to this world banded together, World Erosion wouldn’t form.
Ebelasque was well aware of this fact.
“If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t be chasing after strong opponents like this, would I?”
“Don’t make me laugh.”
Ebelasque’s face hardened as she glared at him.
“You just want to fight. All of this is just an excuse.”
As she glared at him with a furious expression, the Mad Blade Emperor, who had remained silent until now, covered his mouth.
Then he let out a short, stifled laugh.
“So what? What about it?”
As the Mad Blade Emperor laughed as if it were nothing new, World Erosion energy whirled in Ebelasque’s hands.
Even as the pitch-black energy began to gather around her, the Mad Blade Emperor remained relaxed.
“What I don’t understand is the rookie. I act to benefit Ixion.”
At the mention of Ixion, Ebelasque hesitated for a moment.
Ixion—a group gathered to create a god using World Erosion.
They were individuals united in their quest to recreate their lost world.
“But how does stopping me help Ixion in any way?”
“…The opponent isn’t Hardenhartz. It’s Balheim. How are you planning to handle the aftermath? Balheim will come after Ixion.”
“Hahahahaha! Even better! Won’t we get even higher-quality World Erosion? That brings our world one step closer, doesn’t it?”
The Mad Blade Emperor burst into a fit of maniacal laughter.
Judging by his expression, he seemed completely sincere.
“…You’re insane.”
Ebelasque stared at the Mad Blade Emperor with disbelief in her eyes.
Meeting her gaze, the Mad Blade Emperor slowly wiped the grin off his face.
“How surprising. We who’ve already seen the end of a world were mad long ago.”
His crimson eyes began to glow faintly.
As if recalling a distant memory, he wore a twisted smile.
“Rookie, it seems there’s something in Hardenhartz, so let me tell you one thing.”
With a resounding roar, lightning struck the sky.
It was the signal that World Erosion had truly begun to move.
“This world isn’t our world.”
With lightning crashing behind him, he spread his arms wide, as if to emphasize the truth.
“It’s merely a land of nutrients that exists to save our world.”
Yellow raindrops began to fall from the sky.
“And the insects living on this land—don’t they need to be ground up properly to make fertilizer?”
A yellow raindrop trickled down the Mad Blade Emperor’s cheek.
He genuinely regarded the humans of this world as nothing more than fertilizer.
Just as they did not consider World Erosion Beings as human.
World Erosion Beings, in turn, did not see them as human either.
Feeling this, Ebelasque bit her lip.
Perhaps, in the past, she might have thought the same way.
But now, things were different.
Unlike before, she had gotten to know someone decent.
Ebelasque pressed her hand tightly against her heart.
She had made a promise to him.
A promise to protect Hardenhartz.
That promise was one she owed her life to.
It was a promise that had freed her from a curse she thought would bind her forever.
“Even so, I won’t…”
Just as she tried to speak again to stop the Mad Blade Emperor.
The space beside the Mad Blade Emperor suddenly began to distort.
Seeing this, Ebelasque instinctively held her breath.
Soon, a black frog popped out from the distorted space.
The Mad Blade Emperor greeted it with a delighted smile.
“Oh, Commander of Ixion, what brings you here?”
“I bring ruin, crimson, descending…”
From the frog came a string of incomprehensible words.
The Mad Blade Emperor, listening to the unpleasant, noise-laden voice, lightly tapped the frog.
“Commander, the translation isn’t working.”
At that, the frog fell silent for a moment.
Then, after letting out a brief croak, its voice changed.
“…I came because it seemed like a commotion was brewing.”
A completely different voice, clear and jewel-like, rang out.
Hearing it, the Mad Blade Emperor let out a sly chuckle.
“What commotion? I’m just getting some work done. By the way, the Sword King is here. I’ll be picking up some World Erosion.”
“There’s no guarantee it’ll go as smoothly as it did with the Poison King.”
“No worries! We’ve got the rookie this time, don’t we?”
The Mad Blade Emperor grinned as he pointed straight at Ebelasque.
Ebelasque opened her mouth, then closed it repeatedly.
Because she knew exactly who owned that black frog.
The Black Witch.
The Commander of Ixion and the one who could resurrect the comrades she had longed for.
It was because of her that Ebelasque had joined Ixion.
Moreover, it was because of that woman that Ixion could exist.
She was the only one capable of creating the god of World Erosion.
“Ebelasque Benapoch.”
At that moment, the Black Witch called out to Ebelasque.
When she flinched her shoulders, the Black Witch continued speaking.
“Don’t associate too much with the Mad Blade Emperor.”
It was merely a simple piece of advice.
She did not stop the Mad Blade Emperor.
In other words, it was as if she had given him permission.
Ebelasque’s eyes wavered.
She wanted to tell him to stop immediately, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so.
She had spent her entire life relentlessly studying Necromancy with the sole goal of resurrecting her comrades.
Yet, the revival of life itself was something she had never succeeded in.
The Black Witch was the only one who could make that possible.
Ebelasque could not defy her words.
‘Once again, I am—’
Just as when the Empire had stolen her heart and turned her into the puppet known as the Night Crow.
She was once again becoming a puppet of Ixion.
Because of that realization, Ebelasque felt an intense self-loathing.
She was repeating the same mistake yet again.
Meanwhile, the Black Witch’s frog dissipated into smoke.
She had come here solely to confirm what was going on.
“Now then, rookie, time to get to work.”
The Mad Blade Emperor spoke with a grin to Ebelasque, who had her head bowed.
He, too, knew that Ebelasque could not oppose the Black Witch.
“You remember what you’re supposed to do, right?”
“…While you fight the Sword King, I’m to prevent anyone from approaching.”
“Exactly. That’s it! And just so you know, make sure you don’t interfere. Things need to mature slowly to be enjoyed properly.”
Ebelasque pressed her lips together tightly and turned her body into the darkness.
The Mad Blade Emperor, watching her retreating figure, tilted his head back.
At the same time, he began to grin slowly.
Because at the edge of the snowy mountain, someone was charging forward through the blizzard with terrifying speed.
The Mad Blade Emperor drew a crimson, blood-like sword that matched his hair.
One of the Ten Heavenly Swords.
Blood Leprosy Death Blade.
The crimson blade gleamed as if eagerly anticipating its prey today as well.
At that very moment.
From the snowfield the Mad Blade Emperor was watching, the snow suddenly erupted into the air with a loud crash.
“No way, from that distance?”
Even the Mad Blade Emperor showed a surprised reaction at that moment.
He saw something glinting from within the snow.
It was when he immediately drew the Blood Leprosy Death Blade upon seeing it.
Screeeeech!
The crimson aura rippled as the Blood Leprosy Death Blade deflected something.
The object that had flown into the sky abruptly halted in midair.
The Mad Blade Emperor’s gaze followed it upward.
And what he saw was a single sword.
A sword had been sent flying.
From the farthest visible range atop the mountain, no less.
“Wow, is this guy a monster?”
But it didn’t end with just the sword flying in.
The sword floating in the sky gradually began to grow in size.
The Mad Blade Emperor let out a short laugh.
Because he recognized it as the swordsmanship crafted by the Sword King, Rai Balheim.
Emperor Annihilation Sword.
The sword, which had grown massive enough to fill the sky, reflected in the Mad Blade Emperor’s eyes.
A colossal shadow, formed by the sword, loomed over the mountain.
In the distance, flocks of birds began to flee as if in panic.
Before such an overwhelming sight, it was impossible to imagine any future other than death.
And then, the sky began to collapse.
“Oh, come on.”
The Mad Blade Emperor licked his lips with his tongue.
“Is it fair to stir up my excitement like this?”
At the same time, a crimson aura began to coil around the Blood Leprosy Death Blade.
The bright red aura extended beyond the blade, reaching up to the Mad Blade Emperor’s arm.
Thump!
The sound of a powerful heartbeat echoed so strongly it could be heard in his head.
The crimson aura gradually took shape, revealing a massive, grotesque arm with no skin.
At the end of his arm.
The Blood Leprosy Death Blade in his hand also took on a monstrous form.
This was because muscle strands and blood vessels intertwined to create the shape of the sword.
At that moment, the jet-black gem embedded at its center slowly began to awaken.
When the black pupil settled into the jet-black gem, a surge of heat erupted from his body.
The Mad Blade Emperor leapt off the ground.
With the gigantic arm and the Blood Leprosy Death Blade, now larger than his own body, he reached toward the sky.
Krrrrrrrrak!
The clash between Rai’s Emperor Annihilation Sword and the Blood Leprosy Death Blade resounded with a deafening noise.
At the same time, the surrounding forests and mountains were ripped apart and sent flying.
Anyone who had witnessed such an enormous spectacle would have been left speechless.
Clang!
And the one who triumphed in the power struggle was none other than the Mad Blade Emperor.
He had pushed back the descending Emperor Annihilation Sword.
The Mad Blade Emperor grinned victoriously.
He was such a maniac that he even reveled in the tingling sensation running through his arm.
It was just as he was about to land on the ground.
For some reason, he still felt that the sky remained dark.
When the Mad Blade Emperor belatedly lifted his head, another sword loomed above the Emperor Annihilation Sword.
From the beginning, the Emperor Annihilation Sword had not been just one blade.
More and more Emperor Annihilation Swords were beginning to fill the sky.
“Wow.”
The sight of the sky crowded with Emperor Annihilation Swords was enough to make even the Mad Blade Emperor feel momentarily overwhelmed.
Beneath the sky where nothing but swords existed.
“They say Balheim is a Den of Evil, and I guess it’s true.”
This time, the sky was truly beginning to collapse.