Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Third Brother
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After shattering the Wood Heaven Giant with One Sword, Krash stood motionless in place.
To be precise, right now, standing still was the only thing he could do.
One Sword was a single sword technique struck down in the realm of unity between man and sword.
And that one strike had to contain his full heart and full power.
Thus, Krash had poured not only the aura inherent in his body but also his mental strength and stamina entirely into One Sword.
Without doing so, he couldn't even use One Sword.
As a result, Krash felt like closing his eyes for even a moment would send his consciousness flying away.
Anix couldn't move because Krash was glaring at him, but the reality was that Krash couldn't even blink.
'A mistake.'
He had planned to lay the groundwork to steal the skill.
But he couldn't even twitch his lips, so there was no way.
"Lord Krash."
At that moment, Bianca's voice suddenly rang out.
She was peeking out from behind Krash's back.
Then she looked him up and down.
"Can't move?"
Krash had no leeway to respond.
Seeing only the bead of sweat trickling down his forehead, Bianca made her judgment alone.
Then, abruptly, Bianca wrapped her arms around Krash from the waist up and hoisted him.
"Guh!"
That action sent a pain like his bones were shattering through him, and finally, his consciousness flew away.
In truth, it was Bianca who took down Krash.
She tried to carry the limp Krash with grunts of effort.
But for Bianca, who was smaller than Krash, it was too much.
"Little one, let me help."
At that moment, Darling, who had appeared out of nowhere, approached.
As she moved to support Krash right away, Bianca, apparently exhausted, quickly handed him over to Darling.
Watching that, Darling blinked once.
Wasn't this girl supposed to be Krash's fiancée?
Even if she was still young, to hand Krash over to her so readily without a hint of jealousy.
Darling chuckled in disbelief for a moment before hoisting him onto her back and starting to walk.
At that, the gazes of the nobles gathered on the terrace focused for an instant.
'This little one will be hugely famous when she wakes up.'
Was it boldness, or just acting without thinking?
'Will the rumors of her being half-witted prevail, or the latest ones of her breaking out of her shell?'
Either way, it would lead to entertaining results, thought Darling with a smile—until Anix caught her eye.
Anix was staring blankly at Krash on her back, looking every bit like he'd cause trouble later.
"You can't die before helping with my research, little one."
Saying words Krash couldn't hear, Darling simply walked on.
＊ ＊ ＊
After the incident at the Star Sanctuary.
Krash opened his eyes the next day inside a carriage.
Having been out cold for a full day, the pain wracking his entire body made even opening his eyes a struggle.
One Sword was a sure-kill technique.
He had been aware of that, but he hadn't expected the aftermath to be this severe.
'If I use it repeatedly, I'll die instead.'
But Anix's face at the final moment had been satisfying.
The only regret was that he couldn't devalue the skill Anix possessed in that situation.
Krash had two methods in mind for stealing skills.
One was the standard route of solving the dial that appeared when using Black Hood.
The other was to induce the opponent to undervalue their own skill.
If the opponent thought lowly of their skill's value, it became easier to steal, just like with Arthur.
And the value dropped lowest when they suffered a crushing defeat.
'Too bad, but unavoidable.'
It seemed the time wasn't right yet.
But at least, he had been imprinted in Anix's mind as a dangerous existence.
That alone was enough to stir ripples inside him.
Now all that remained was to slowly devalue the skill he held, bit by bit.
'And at the end of that, Recovery will fall into my hands.'
As Krash organized his thoughts and tried to open his eyes.
He felt something oddly soft yet firm at the back of his head and opened his eyes.
Silver hair cascading right before his nose and a cute face came into view.
One peculiar thing was that her eyes were gently closed.
Krash stared blankly at the face for a moment before realizing its owner was Bianca.
"Bianca?"
She flinched!
Called by Krash, Bianca reacted a beat late.
She wiped her mouth as if she'd just woken up, then turned to greet him.
"Good morning, did you sleep well?"
"What are you doing?"
"Nursing you."
Was nursing a lap pillow?
She'd nearly headbutted him while calling it nursing and falling asleep.
"We're heading back to Valheim now."
"I can see that. What happened at the Star Sanctuary?"
He wasn't thrilled about receiving a lap pillow from Bianca, but his body hadn't recovered yet.
So as Krash lay there and asked, Bianca fiddled with his hair—apparently soft—and answered.
"No idea. Didn't care."
He figured as much.
Bianca, who had little interest in people, wouldn't have paid much attention if he weren't her fiancé.
Even without her explanation, Krash could tell the Star Sanctuary must have been thrown into chaos.
'What comes next is beyond my knowledge.'
All he could do was hope it turned out well.
"Got it. Wake me when we arrive. Need more sleep."
At that, Bianca flinched.
Krash cracked his eyes open.
"Your leg's numb, isn't it?"
"It's not."
"Then why put me on your lap? There's cushions."
"Because you did it for me last time."
She had him there, but Krash turned his body as much as possible.
"Give me the cushion pillow."
Bianca quickly fetched the cushion and let him use it instead of her leg.
Her swift action confirmed her leg had gone numb.
Finally comfortable, Krash closed his eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.
As he slept, for some reason, he dreamed he was a crow and Bianca a white chick.
Ridiculously, the dream left him with a not-bad feeling.
＊ ＊ ＊
A week had passed since the Star Sanctuary incident before he knew it.
With his 14th birthday approaching, Krash finally shook off the aftermath of One Sword and resumed serious training.
He had just under a year until Raheln Academy.
In that time, he had to grow strong enough to surpass Raheln Academy's geniuses somehow.
"Which is why I just want to train every day."
Krash wiped the sweat from his brow.
Then he turned to Aliod.
The news Aliod brought was about his third brother.
And the owner of that news was right in front of Green Pine Pavilion.
Fuming, no less.
"Aliod, how many times have I sent back word from the young master?"
"The 22nd time."
About time he got pissed.
From third brother's perspective, going himself after being ignored would look pathetic, so he'd held back as long as possible.
But now he'd hit his limit.
Understanding, Krash shook out his sweat-damp hair and turned to Aliod.
"Tell him to come in."
"Will that be alright?"
Krash knew what Aliod was worried about, but he nodded.
Aliod followed the order and headed to the entrance of Green Pine Pavilion.
In the meantime, as Krash walked to the bench, a water bottle was smoothly offered beside him.
Krash took it and uncapped it.
As he gulped down the water, Bianca, who had given him the bottle, sat a little distance away.
"You smell like sweat."
"Don't say that casually to others; it hurts feelings."
"I figured you wouldn't care, Lord Krash."
The stench from World Erosion was far worse than sweat.
So he was numb to smells anyway.
'How bad is it?'
Lifting his shirt to sniff, he caught a faint foul odor.
Well, handling aura daily expelled bodily waste constantly.
Inevitable after training.
"Gonna wash up?"
Seeing Krash about to move, Bianca closed her book, and Krash pondered briefly.
Then he shook his head.
"Nah, probably moving again soon anyway."
"Then stay away from me."
Hearing that, Krash stood from the bench.
He took one step toward Bianca, and she shot up like a startled cat, fur standing on end.
"I warned you."
"Oh? Warning your fiancé? You've grown bold reading books all day. Think you can run from me?"
"Lord Krash, books hurt when they hit."
Seeing Bianca casually wield her book like a weapon, Krash nodded in understanding—then stepped forward.
Bianca instantly spun and bolted.
Watching, Krash took a few steps, stopped, and chuckled.
Maybe because she felt like a little sister, playful sides emerged around Bianca.
Those who only knew his venomous side before would have seen him as mad.
His laughing face suddenly froze.
'Has my head grown accustomed to peace in just that time?'
The world could still fend off World Erosion on its own.
Thus, Krash had been influenced by that false peace.
'Arthur, did you feel this too?'
Arthur Gramalte, always taut as a bowstring, even giving off a sharp impression at the academy.
He faltered at the end, but Arthur stayed vigilant.
Having regressed, he couldn't relax in this superficial peace.
Krash disliked Arthur but didn't belittle his path.
Arthur had led at the forefront until the world's end.
Wonder what that guy was doing now.
Though the Arthur he knew was gone from this world.
"Playing around with your fiancée? Quite leisurely, aren't you?"
At the sneering voice, Krash turned.
There stood a boy just past puberty, with the same hair color but two heads taller.
One difference: unlike Krash's fierce eyes, his were normal when not frowning.
Probably because they were half-brothers.
His name was Belokin Valheim.
The third direct son of the Valheim family.
"No one can live seriously forever."
Krash replied glibly, and Belokin's eyebrow twitched.
From just that exchange, Belokin sensed something different about Krash.
He seemed relaxed.
The Krash who always averted his fearful eyes now stared straight at him.
'Are the rumors true?'
That fact furrowed Belokin's brow even more.