Chapter 182
Ixion's conference hall.
Because of the appearance of the Mad Blade Emperor, the meeting momentarily concluded.
"Kid, are you really the Mad Blade Emperor?"
The first to speak was the Darkness-type Jangguijong, the Black Bird.
She stared at the Mad Blade Emperor with deeply skeptical eyes.
However, the Mad Blade Emperor paid no heed to that gaze,
and snorted.
"Then what, am I supposed to be a fake? Honestly, it's funnier that you're all so doubtful. Don't you all have at least one way to survive?"
As the Mad Blade Emperor shamelessly looked around at the World Erosion Beings, there were those who nodded in agreement.
Everyone here had their own methods of survival, after all.
"Couldn't it also be that a Necromancer brought him back to life?"
This time, it was the Old Gentleman who raised the question.
"Ha."
The Mad Blade Emperor let out a short laugh and then glared at the Old Gentleman.
"Go ahead and check for yourself."
"Very well."
The Old Gentleman approached the Mad Blade Emperor without hesitation.
Then, he struck the ground with his staff.
In that instant, the resulting vibration passed before the Mad Blade Emperor.
And shortly after, the Old Gentleman's expression grew subtle.
"He's definitely alive."
The Mad Blade Emperor was truly alive, not a corpse.
Of course, that alone did not dispel the gaze of doubt, but at least the claim that he wasn't Ebelasque's Corpse was confirmed.
"I apologize. Living long tends to make one more suspicious, doesn't it?"
As the Mad Blade Emperor shot a 'See, I told you so' look, the Old Gentleman tipped his fedora and apologized sincerely.
"Then stay out of this, old man."
The Mad Blade Emperor passed by the Old Gentleman and moved further into the room.
Then, while receiving all of Ixion's attention, he fixed his gaze on the Black Witch.
"So, Black Witch, it seems I need to ask you to take responsibility for the price I paid—my precious life."
The Mad Blade Emperor's eyes burned with fury.
The Mad Blade Emperor died because of the Black Witch's mistake.
So naturally, he was in a position to hold her accountable.
The Black Witch remained silent for a moment before slightly nodding her head.
"Sorry."
"Ha, damn it, you bitch."
The Mad Blade Emperor's anger was justified.
Perhaps because of that, no one among the World Erosion Beings denied his outrage.
After all, if any of them were in the same situation, they too would have shown anger.
And this fact began to subtly create cracks among the World Erosion Beings.
The World Erosion Beings gathered under the organization known as Ixion were not united by trust.
They were gathered solely for the common goal of creating the God of World Erosion.
And at the center of that gathering stood none other than the Black Witch.
The fact that a World Erosion Being had died due to her mistake was more than enough to create fractures within Ixion.
"Enough with the noisy chattering."
The one who changed the atmosphere at that moment was the Beast King.
He picked his large ears with his thick fingers and blew into them.
"Isn't it simply because you were too weak to make it out alive in the first place?"
The Mad Blade Emperor's opponent was certainly not someone anyone could ignore.
However, from the perspective of the Beast King, one of Ixion's strongest forces, it was something that could have been handled even without the Black Witch.
Meeting the Beast King's gaze, the Mad Blade Emperor ground his teeth.
But the Beast King, indifferent to his furious glare, leisurely stroked his white beard.
It was a well-known fact that no matter how skilled the Mad Blade Emperor was, he was no match for the Beast King.
The Beast King's statement also influenced the World Erosion Beings.
Each of them was confident in their own abilities.
Naturally, they had no desire to side with the Mad Blade Emperor to protect their own pride.
After all, they all believed they could escape from such a situation themselves.
Suddenly finding himself blamed for being weak and shifting responsibility onto others, the Mad Blade Emperor reacted with incredulity.
But there was no one here who would defend him anymore.
"If you managed to survive, then just take your seat quietly. What's a guy who can't even prove he's not a corpse trying to do?"
At the Beast King's retort, the Mad Blade Emperor, left speechless, had no choice but to return to his seat.
Watching him, a few of the World Erosion Beings chuckled briefly, but understanding his feelings, they soon fell silent.
'Damn it, at least they don't seem like they'll kill me outright for now. Are you satisfied now?'
Thinking that, the Mad Blade Emperor directed his thoughts inward.
[Yes, well done.]
Then, Kraush's voice echoed in his mind.
Through Ebelasque's Necromancy, all the current situation was being relayed to Kraush.
Therefore, the Mad Blade Emperor exaggerated his gestures even more.
It was easier to observe the World Erosion Beings around him if he overacted.
And thanks to that, Kraush obtained one piece of information.
The Hell Fairy.
Because he could see through the Mad Blade Emperor's eyes who she was.
'A stranger.'
The Hell Fairy was someone completely absent from any of Kraush's memories.
Which made it even more of a problem.
Kraush had thoroughly investigated Ixion's remnants and roots alongside the Skyborne Generation to eradicate them.
Nowhere among them was there any mention of the Hell Fairy.
Yet, the Ixion members seemed familiar with her.
'She even has ties to the Royal Family, yet there was no information about her?'
Kraush couldn't accept this situation.
'The Mad Blade Emperor incident definitely happened in the previous round as well.'
Had the Hell Fairy intervened in the Mad Blade Emperor's case back then, or not?
He couldn't be certain.
It's disappointing.
Having lived without expecting regression, there was a lack of information from moments when he hadn't paid attention.
But one thing was clear.
The Hell Fairy was a new variable in this round.
If she was still active at this point, she was unmistakably a variable.
'The Hell Fairy forming ties with the Royal Family might have only happened in this round.'
When his thoughts reached that point, one realization dawned.
The reason for such a major change within Ixion.
'Regression.'
Regression involving Kraush, Arthur, and three women.
The outcome born from that.
Kraush was certain.
At least Mary and Sigrid were not involved in this matter.
Kraush had kept a close eye on their movements all along.
That left only one person he had suspected previously.
'Abella.'
The Red Witch, Abella.
Reaching the pinnacle of magic, she remained a lingering concern.
'If Hell Fairy and Abella are related.'
Perhaps Abella was intentionally reaching into Ixion's inner workings.
The one problem was that even Kraush didn't know what Abella wanted through Ixion.
'Abella always had different goals from us.'
She didn't particularly focus on preventing the destruction of the world.
Mages are generally madmen.
So for her, destruction was merely regretful because she could no longer advance her magic.
Losing everything due to destruction itself didn't concern her much.
The only reason she joined the Skyborne Generation to prevent destruction.
Simply because Arthur wanted to stop it.
She was obsessively devoted to Arthur and completely dependent on him.
While she showed overwhelming skills in magic, her inner self was rotten to the core.
Arthur cleverly exploited her inner self to keep her looking only at him for her entire life.
But now.
'There is no Arthur in this world that Abella knows.'
The Arthur who whispered love and always supported her no longer exists.
The Arthur in this world is not the Arthur in her memory.
'From the moment the Fake Arthur appeared, Abella must be beside the current Arthur.'
Surely, did Abella find satisfaction with the current Arthur?
Or, perhaps she couldn't accept Arthur at all?
'If that's really the case.'
The appearance of the Fake Arthur.
The true Arthur being nowhere to be found.
Could all of this be Abella's intention?
The current Arthur might be in an irreversible state.
As Kraush's thoughts reached that point, his face began to frown more and more.
Because an extreme thought occurred to him.
'It's truly, truly an extreme thought, but.......'
Kraush felt a chilling thought.
He desperately wanted to believe it wasn't true.
'If it's that crazy woman, she might actually do it.'
There is no true Arthur in this world.
Then perhaps Abella, to regain the true Arthur.
She might be trying to create the God of World Erosion.
Others might dismiss it as an excessive thought, but if it's Abella, she could actually do it.
That woman was already a madman to begin with.
Perhaps the Hell Fairy was a move prepared by Abella.
'Then I must find the one providing imperial information to the Hell Fairy.'
Kraush thought of only one person who could provide the most imperial information.
'Sizelry Ephania.'
The empire's 4th Princess and an outstandingly intelligent tomboyish girl.
Sizelry is involved.
'That kid went to the empire, didn't she?'
This is perfect timing.
I think I need to create a way to contact her.
The problem is how to create that means of contact.
Kraush immediately thought of one person.
'Mary Diana.'
That kid is effectively leashed by Sizelry.
And through that leash, contacting Sizelry should be possible.
The Imperial Seal is not entirely one-way.
Mary should have at least one way to reach Sizelry.
'I guess I have to meet Mary again.'
Regardless, he intended to meet her to unlock Mary's final dial, whether sooner or later.
Kraush finished reviewing the tasks he had to tackle from now on.
Then he raised his head and stared straight ahead.
'What's necessary right now.'
Is to grasp even a little of the Hell Fairy's identity and assess Ixion's future plans.
Kraush decided to focus solely on that goal.
* * *
Until Ixion's meeting concluded, no major discussions took place.
The main topic of the conversation was gathering information related to Kraush.
Additionally, there was mention of someone having inherited the Sword Emperor's Legacy.
'Sword Emperor's Legacy, Sigrid has moved.'
Kraush realized who was connected to the Sword Emperor's Legacy.
Long ago, before the current Celestial Four Strongest were active, there was the Sword Emperor.
The only one who once stood shoulder to shoulder with them is none other than Chancellor Fighting Emperor Durandal of Rahelrn Academy.
That Sword Emperor left behind a unique legacy, and Kraush determined that Sigrid had absorbed it.
'It's not something I can handle anyway, so it doesn't really matter.'
Still, thinking it ended up with Sigrid somehow made him feel unpleasant.
"Do they seem like they're watching me?"
The returning Mad Blade Emperor scratched his head furiously, feeling irritated.
Just as he said, Ixion didn't hold meetings regarding their future plans.
The reason was that they couldn't fully trust the returning Mad Blade Emperor.
Kraush also didn't place much expectation on him.
From the start, the Mad Blade Emperor's role was sufficient at this level.
"So what now? Ixion will seriously start targeting you."
Crimson Garden asked, and Ebelasque agreed.
"Ixion is dangerous. There are truly uncontrollable individuals."
For now, they had created a barrier, but it could only evade the eyes of the World Erosion Beings.
What's needed now is power to protect themselves.
Power to drag Ixion down and annihilate them.
"Curse Master Veltoa Lacroix."
The world's greatest Curse Master and the only one capable of attaining High-Level Curses.
"We need to find that old man."
Ironically, the old man would be close to the empire.
'And there's also Mary's Excel.'
It's time to start gathering both skills and curses.