Chapter 173
Karandis Poseus.
Glen Diana.
Balak Hogma.
Haring Lagrain.
And Kraush Balheim.
A temporary team of five second-year students.
Standing on the Red Line, they observed their bracelets turning red.
"Even though there's nothing here, the air feels stifling."
That place was the volcanic zone at the center of the island.
Around them, there was nothing but paths leading up the mountain, rocks, and boulders.
Perhaps that's why the heat rising from the ground and the thin air characteristic of high-altitude regions were dragging them down.
But Kraush knew very well that wasn't the only reason.
"It's because there's a 7th Rank Erosion Species nearby."
Creatures of the 7th Rank Erosion Species inhabit the World Erosion as their movement depends on its power.
As they possess significant strength, these creatures are naturally restricted from freely roaming without the World Erosion.
Hence, it is generally rare to encounter a 7th Rank Erosion Species outside the World Erosion.
However, the problem is that there are occasional instances where they emerge outside.
It's not that they can't come out; they just hesitate to.
Instead, when they come out, they erode their own force to create the World Erosion.
Because of this, Erosion Species outside the World Erosion are inherently weaker than those within it.
'And when the Greatest Evil erupts.'
The spreading World Erosion of the Greatest Evil engulfs the entire world.
In such a World Erosion, the restrictions on Erosion Species of 7th Rank and above are lifted.
As a result, high-level Erosion Species rampage everywhere, effectively becoming a disaster.
'Tsk, unpleasant memories are coming back.'
Since it wasn't particularly a good memory, Kraush shook his head to dispel it and began climbing the Red Line.
"So, there's a 7th Rank here. That's it!"
Then Balak burst out laughing in a spirited voice.
In contrast, Glen, who was beside him, had been silently lost in thought without saying a word.
'It's probably because Mary has completely fallen behind me.'
He must have some inkling as well.
That if Mary can't claim the top spot, only the worst case scenario awaits her.
Her life was already in ruins as the Princess Assassin.
It was solely because of her acknowledged talent that she, despite being the Princess Assassin, was allowed to live and had survived until now.
However, even that talent of hers had been overshadowed by Kraush.
Now, it was evident that she would truly be left with no place to go.
"Glen."
Soon, they would have to face the 7th Rank Erosion Species.
Therefore, they couldn't leave him in that state any longer.
"Mary was strong enough."
Hearing those words, Glen looked at Kraush.
Mary's defeat to Kraush wasn't due to a lack of talent.
Glen, of course, knew that well.
So, upon hearing those words, Glen slowly nodded.
"Yes, she is my sister, after all."
Looking at his face, he seemed to have partially shaken off his concerns.
"Squeak!"
[ It's moving. ]
At that moment, both Ebelasque's Corpse Rat and Crimson Garden reacted simultaneously.
As the two mentioned, a vibration slowly began to resonate from the ground.
Kraush's Sixth Sense spread rapidly beneath the ground.
The moment something was caught in his Sixth Sense, Kraush shouted to the other four.
"Jump up immediately!"
With Kraush's shout, he ran towards the summit.
The four others, albeit belatedly, started following him.
That's because they all knew there was always a reason behind his actions.
Kraush, running to climb the mountain, let out rough breaths.
Because he had exerted himself quite a bit earlier, his body didn't have much stamina left.
His reserve stamina wasn't much.
'I have to finish this before using it all.'
It was at that moment Kraush thought that.
Boom!
With a resonating sound, a tremendous vibration was felt from below.
The startled four turned their heads downward to see the base of the mountain erupting.
And what gushed out from the exploded hole was lava.
The flowing lava spread beneath the ground, melting the remaining trees and rocks.
The black smoke rising from the fire engulfed the surroundings.
"What's going on here?"
Karandis exclaimed with a shocked expression, seemingly surprised that even lava had erupted.
If they had been down there, they would have been swept away by the lava.
Without Kraush's Sixth Sense, they wouldn't even have been able to fight and would have been forced to retire.
"Kraush."
Then Haring, too, with a tense expression, seemed to start sensing the presence.
Although it wasn't a fully formed 7th Rank Erosion Species, Haring had previously faced Decarabia.
Perhaps because of that, she seemed more sensitive to the aura of a 7th Rank Erosion Species.
Boom!
Then, once again, a loud sound and vibration erupted from below.
The entire mountain shook.
"Wow!"
At that moment, Balak screamed.
Bang!
Along with a deafening explosion from below, something leaped out.
The creature that jumped out with a massive amount of lava rolled across the ground and then stood firmly on the mountainside.
A physique about three times the size of a human, with a body made of rock.
In between the rocks, lava dripped and melted the stones around it.
The bodies of the four, excluding Kraush, instinctively froze.
Just like prey unable to overcome its instincts when locking eyes with a predator.
Humans were no different in front of a true predator.
Especially one that they themselves had to hunt.
Whoosh!
"Snap out of it."
At that moment, Kraush's Black Flame rose, covering the entire area.
As the power dissolved the World Erosion, it also blocked the oppressive aura inherent in the Erosion Species.
Thanks to being enveloped in the Black Flame's realm, the four seemed to regain their composure.
"Kraush."
Haring, who had approached him before he realized it, called out to Kraush.
Her thought was to use Invisible for a pincer attack, as they had before.
But this time, Kraush shook his head.
That won't work.
"We can't hold out against that with just three people."
7th Rank Erosion Species.
Lavados.
An Erosion Species in the form of a golem made of lava and solid rock.
Its solidity, as well as its lava-emitting output, cannot be ignored.
It was impossible for just three people to hold out against such a creature while stalling for time.
"And that thing can't be taken out in one blow."
The Annihilation Erosion controlled by Kraush fundamentally consisted of burning flames.
Against Lavados, made of lava and rock, it was difficult to inflict significant damage.
The compatibility was poor.
Full output might work, but he had already fought Mary.
Moreover, the trials weren't ending here.
The situation was not favorable enough to exhaust everything.
Hence, this time, he decided to change the attack strategy.
"All three of you still have the Poison Pill that Haring gave, right?"
Before climbing the Red Line, Kraush and the other two had received Poison Pills from Haring.
It was something she had prepared deliberately just in case.
The three nodded simultaneously.
"If it gets critical, use it right away."
The moment Kraush issued that warning, Lavados finally began to move.
The creature, spewing lava from its body, climbed the mountain with its massive frame.
The problem was its considerable speed.
Despite its size, it moved nimbly, scattering lava as it charged.
Just watching it was dizzying.
"Karandis!"
"Yes!?"
Kraush called Karandis first.
When Karandis flinched and shouted in response, Kraush smirked.
"You're the most compatible with that thing."
"Uh, me, me?!"
"Yes, you're on the front line."
Karandis's face turned into a frown.
After all, among the group, Karandis was, without a doubt, the weakest in terms of skill.
"Then if I block it well, marry me!"
But even in her overwhelming fear, Karandis shouted out what she wanted.
Who would have thought she'd bring up such a condition here?
"No."
Kraush, thinking she was something else, immediately rejected it.
The one cutting off the suggestion was Haring.
Karandis's gaze turned to Haring.
At the same time, Glen also turned to Haring with a look that asked if he had just heard correctly.
Karandis had been flirting with Kraush repeatedly until now, so they hadn't paid it much mind.
But the fact that Haring said something like that was unexpected.
As the two stared at her, Haring spoke with a calm expression.
"Kraush doesn't like it."
"What does that have to do with you, Lady Haring......."
As Karandis tried to say something after hearing that.
"That thing's almost here!"
Balak shouted to the three to snap out of it.
Karandis flinched, drew a cutlass with a single-edged blade, and stepped forward.
"Anyway, if I block it, grant me one wish!"
Without waiting for an answer, she charged forward, and blue aura burst from her blade.
At the same time, a stream of water gushed from her opposite hand, wrapping around her arm and forming into a shield.
It was Poseus, representing the Marine Kingdom.
Perhaps because of this, as a member of the Poseus Royal Family, she also practiced water-related secret techniques.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
Lavados's swung fist collided with the water shield, forcing Karandis to take several steps back.
The difference in physique and strength meant she couldn't withstand it head-on.
But thanks to her well-balanced offensive and defensive skills, she didn't fall.
At that moment, Balak and Glen simultaneously appeared from the sides.
Their swords and spear struck Lavados's legs at the same time.
Then, a dagger thrown by Haring hit Lavados's upper body.
Boom!
With the explosion emanating from the dagger, Lavados's body faltered for a brief moment.
Taking advantage of the gap, Karandis escaped and quickly caught her breath, adjusting her posture.
"Can you handle the heat?"
"Yes, somehow!"
She, too, had been trained and disciplined through rigorous training up until now.
Moreover, she had recently been making relentless efforts in order to become Kraush's wife.
Once she set a goal, she pursued it with unwavering determination.
That was Karandis.
And she had never failed to achieve a goal she'd set for herself.
Even while dripping in sweat, she winked at Kraush, as if to prove it.
She was remarkable in many ways.
"Relax and let it flow; it'll be easier that way."
Kraush advised as he quietly inhaled.
Then, as usual, the heat from his body did not emerge.
Instead, an inexplicable aura began to form around Kraush.
Kraush's body temperature rapidly dropped.
'He halts Ignis.'
Ignis, which had always fueled the Annihilation Erosion burning within him, was extinguished.
As Kraush suppressed the ever-burning Ignis inside him, his body gradually revealed its true nature.
Kraush's body was imbued with the Lunar Body he had received from Aslan.
Naturally, when the Annihilation Erosion was extinguished, the first to manifest was the Lunar Body's effect.
Filled with Yin Energy, the Lunar Body attracted various calamities.
This Lunar Body met with Nox within Kraush.
The Lunar Body exhibited its traits more strongly under the Yin-filled night.
With the Annihilation Erosion extinguished and Kraush's body filled with Nox, it was the optimal condition for Yin Energy to accumulate.
A cool night breeze flowed through Kraush's body.
The scorching sun was nowhere to be seen, and a winter night had descended.
The cold breeze gradually turned into a sharp, knife-like wind.
Eventually, something else began to mix into the wind's form.
It was snow.
Snow poured down from the sky, gradually filling the interior of Nox.
In the midst of it, Kraush exhaled quietly.
Because he knew better than anyone what the snow truly was.
It was a High-Level Curse that Kraush had recently acquired from Dorma and newly mastered through the Poison Blood Tome.
Snow Devourer.
A High-Level Curse that not only froze the target upon casting but also perpetually froze everything surrounding the target.
As such, it was a Curse that required caution, and if one fell victim to it, the fatality rate would reach extreme levels.
However, for Kraush, Snow Devourer was being used in a completely different manner.
Like the method described in the Poison Blood Tome, Kraush continuously erased and recast the curse on himself using Ignis.
During the past time, Kraush had secluded himself in his room and repeated this process.
That was precisely how his body reached an immune state against Snow Devourer.
Such an act was essentially madness.
As described in the Poison Blood Tome, the process of poisoning oneself is not recommended without significant patience.
Let alone, it wasn't even a poison with a clear antidote but a High-Level Curse.
Without Ignis, which burned the curse from Kraush's body, this method would have been impossible to attempt.
It was to the point that even with Ignis, Kraush nearly had his hands frozen and shattered entirely.
However, Kraush was even more of a lunatic than the one who had described the Poison Blood Tome.
He clenched his teeth tightly and stubbornly froze himself, burned himself with Ignis, froze again, and burned again, repeating the process.
And as a result.
After countless repetitions.
Kraush reached an immune state against Snow Devourer.
As always, it was an absurdly relentless determination.
Around Kraush's body, pure white cold air began to flow.
Rain Thunder Prime also began to slowly freeze under the influence of that cold air.
This was due to the nature of Rain Thunder Prime, which was created with aura.
"Hoo."
A coldness entirely unlike the heat he usually felt exhaled from his mouth.
The Secret Technique, Extreme Blood Immersion Poison, which Kraush had mastered to integrate World Erosion into his body.
This Extreme Blood Immersion Poison, containing the power of World Erosion, amplified its strength even further when combined with Snow Devourer.
Nevertheless, Kraush was not satisfied with his current state.
'More.'
Only by further increasing the cold air's output here could Lavados be confronted.
Kraush's pupils gradually turned a deep red.
Amid the endlessly pouring snow of the night.
The Seven Stars of the Heavenly Slaughter Star that he possessed began to emit light all at once.
Accordingly, the snowfall became even fiercer.
Heavenly Slaughter Star is a force that amplifies the power of curses.
The moment the Heavenly Slaughter Star and Snow Devourer met, the cold air pouring out from Kraush deviated from its previous trajectory.
Crackle, crack!
The lava flowing beneath the rock began to freeze visibly.
Within a cold air that devoured even intense heat completely.
Kraush's red pupils gleamed, and the snow-white Rain Thunder Prime was lifted.
Annihilation Snow Erosion.
A state entirely opposite to Annihilation Erosion created by a curse.
It was the moment when the master of pure white cold air declared his presence on the Red Line.