Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Heavenly Pivot Star
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Crackle, rattle—
The floor was so dark that barely any light reached it.
The sound of falling stones echoed through the space.
How long had that noise been reverberating?
Haring, who had lost consciousness, began to slowly come to her senses.
"Haring, how long are you going to sleep? The food's getting cold."
A hazy old memory flitted through Haring's mind.
It was something her brother had said long ago, gently stroking her hair.
Her brother, who was much older than her, had always been so kind like that.
And even in his final moments, he had been endlessly gentle.
It was an ordinary day—eating breakfast and chatting with her brother before heading out for training.
Haring still remembered that day vividly.
The roof of the Lagren family manor, gleaming under the sunlight.
A man with long hair like spilled blood, his red eyes shining as he waved to her once.
Haring had stared at him in a daze, wondering who he was.
What reflected in her eyes was the sight of him raising his hand toward the sky.
And soon enough, the sky flashed yellow.
A massive wave of Erosion Beasts surged upward, turning the entire Lagren estate into a zone of World Erosion.
The risen Erosion Beasts attacked the Lagren household, and the family's knights and others desperately fought back.
If the Poison King and the family knights had been there, it might have been fine, but for some reason, the Poison King and his knights were away on an expedition.
The Lagren family was in its most vulnerable state against external attacks.
At that moment, as the young Haring stood frozen amid the chaos...
"Haring!"
Her brother spotted her and scooped her up, running desperately to protect her.
Born with a frail body, her brother hadn't achieved much in martial prowess.
But when it came to poisons, he had shown genius-level talent.
So, to evade the Erosion Beasts, he planned to hide with Haring in a poison chamber thick with a foul, choking toxic scent that would be unbearable even for them.
He figured the beasts would avoid it like the plague.
But that's where Haring made a fatal mistake.
"Kyaa?!"
On the way to the chamber, she caught sight of an Erosion Beast tearing into a servant's head nearby and screamed without thinking.
That cry was enough to draw the beast's attention.
Her brother immediately shoved Haring deep into the poison chamber and hurled a vial of poison at the beast.
"Grieeek!"
The enraged Erosion Beast let out a furious roar, its half-melted head oozing.
Seeing that, her brother locked the chamber door from the outside.
"Brother!"
"Haring, remember how we played hide-and-seek and you'd count numbers a lot?"
He said that as he pulled the remaining poison vials from his belt.
"Keep counting numbers. All the way up to the highest one you know. And no matter who calls, don't come out until you're done. Got it?"
"Brother, Brother! No, Aring! No!"
At that instant, the Erosion Beast charged.
Haring trembled at the horrific sounds from outside.
She was only seven years old.
All a child like her could do was obey her brother.
"1, 2, 3..."
So she kept counting.
Haring was good at hide-and-seek; when Aring couldn't find her, he'd tell her to come out after counting all the numbers, just in case.
Tears streamed from her eyes.
It was scary and terrifying, but she held back and kept counting as her brother had told her.
And after counting, and counting some more...
Before she knew it, the noises outside had faded and eventually stopped.
She realized this only after she had counted all the numbers she knew.
Haring approached the door her brother had locked from outside.
Then a faint voice came through.
"Ha... ring."
The moment she heard his broken voice, Haring tried to open the door immediately.
But her brother was holding it shut from the other side.
"I didn't... try to save you. I was trying to save myself... and ended up like this. So it's not your fault. You hear... me?"
Even to the end, her gentle brother spouted nonsense like that.
Anyone could see it was his own mistake, yet he twisted words until the last to spare her any guilt.
All Haring could do was sob in front of the door.
After that, she collapsed from exhaustion right there.
She wasn't found until much later.
Aring's body was severed at the waist.
Torn apart by the Erosion Beast's claws.
And the Lagren family's treasured tome, the Poison Blood Codex, was missing.
Whether it was due to the World Eroder or damaged by the beasts, no one knew.
At the time, the Emperor himself dispatched the Imperial Knights in haste upon hearing the news, which saved the Lagren family.
It had been a near-catastrophic event that almost uprooted the entire house.
Having incurred this debt to the Empire, the Poison King swore loyalty to the Emperor.
Until then, the Lagren family had maintained neutrality between the imperial house and the nobles, but now they firmly sided with the throne.
That was the debt the Lagren family owed the imperial house.
'Brother.'
Haring squeezed her eyes shut, then slowly opened them.
Her eyes were moist from the long-buried memory resurfacing.
She still remembered that day as clearly as ever.
She had two goals.
One was to ensure no more meaningless deaths like her brother's from World Erosion.
The other was to find and avenge herself against the World Eroder that killed her family and brother.
To that end, she readily enrolled in Raheln Academy, which aimed to train heroes to stop World Erosion.
But the other students there seemed different from her.
Even in her brief glimpses, the freshmen prioritized their own power struggles over stopping World Erosion.
She grew sick of them in just one day.
She didn't want to talk to them much.
After all, she was desperate to ensure her brother's death wasn't in vain.
Except for one.
The same-age boy she ended up teamed with for this field mission was different.
"I'm not here at this damn academy to play power games."
That was what Krash had spat out while looking at Karandis and Mary.
"World Erosion has been surging dramatically in recent years, and I'm here at Raheln Academy to learn how to prevent the worst-case scenario."
Hearing that, her gaze fell on Krash.
Krash Valheim.
A direct heir of the renowned Valheim family.
As expected of a prestigious house.
His mindset was exemplary.
As she inwardly rated him highly...
Somehow, Krash and Haring ended up in the same group.
Krash was strong.
He had triumphed over a creature infused with the power of the Night God, issued clear commands, and moved swiftly.
Moreover, while he appeared to show openings and act leisurely on the surface...
Inside, he was meticulous, luring enemies into complacency.
In World Erosion zones, one mistake could cost your life.
He seemed to have tons of experience with it.
A faint sense of admiration stirred in her heart.
It was a relief to know there was someone her age who took World Erosion as seriously as she did.
And then...
Because of her own lapse in attention, he got kidnapped by an Erosion Beast.
Recalling that moment still sent chills down Haring's spine.
She hated carelessness and complacency above all—the very things that led to her brother's death due to her mistake in the World Erosion.
Maybe that's why.
She kept unconsciously overlapping Krash with her brother.
Though the same age, he somehow didn't feel like a peer.
"Ugh."
Haring clutched her abdomen at the pain surging from it.
Only then did she recall what had happened earlier.
After swallowing the White Clarity Pill to forcibly break the limit her brain imposed to protect her body...
She had jammed a dagger into Decarabia's jaw.
Then, she failed to dodge the counterstrike from Decarabia and blacked out.
Her thoughts reached that point, and she looked around.
Wondering where she was.
Her eyes stopped at one spot.
There sat someone with their back to her.
A blurry final memory flashed by.
For a brief moment when consciousness flickered back, he had been holding her as they plummeted.
The memory was vague since she'd passed out again right after, but recalling it made her eyes widen.
Krash had saved her from the fall.
Flustered, she felt her strength drain away as she slowly walked toward him.
A bad premonition gripped her.
He had pushed himself so hard already.
If he'd caught her from that height and fallen with her, he couldn't possibly be unscathed.
"Krash."
As she called to him and reached for his shoulder...
"Ugh!"
She thought her hand had touched fire for an instant.
Startled, she looked at Krash and saw his eyes faintly open.
"You're... awake."
A raspy voice leaked out.
Seeing his face flushed beet red, her eyes began to tremble.
His breathing looked agonizing.
Krash had overexerted himself even while enduring the aftereffects of the Red Tiger Pill.
As a result, his insides were a complete mess.
And amid that, to save her from falling, he'd pushed even further.
It was obvious he'd squeezed out the last dregs of his strength to survive the drop.
The price was his body now burning like a fireball.
The Red Tiger Pill's backlash didn't care if his body was weak or not.
It just scorched his internals with fire-like pain.
"Why... why did you save me? If you hadn't, it wouldn't have been this bad..."
Panicked and at a loss, she asked.
Krash glanced at her briefly before closing his eyes.
"Didn't... save you on purpose."
Haring's eyes shook violently.
They were the exact words her dead brother had said.
"So just... wait quietly."
The moment she heard that, Haring bit her lip hard.
Around then, as if satisfied she'd woken up, Krash dropped his head.
To endure the Red Tiger Pill's aftereffects.
Haring slumped down behind him.
All she could do now was wait for the pill's backlash to fade.
Helping him in his current state might only make things worse.
Just like that day, all she could do was wait.
The fact made her feel utterly powerless.
"..."
She clutched her poison pouch tightly.
It was none other than the keepsake her brother Aring had used against the Erosion Beast.
If it was waiting, she could do that.
She could wait over and over.
'...So please don't die.'
Deep in her heart.
Etching today's events there.
Haring desperately hoped Krash would open his eyes safely.
If not, she felt like she'd break for good.
While the Red Tiger Pill's aftereffects lingered...
Krash kept his eyes closed, bearing it fully.
To be precise, the aftereffects themselves weren't much of a blow to Krash.
After all, his body was scorched every day anyway.
Internal burning aftereffects?
For Krash, who roasted his insides daily via Soulfire Erosion, it was nothing.
So the Red Tiger Pill's backlash wasn't an issue for him.
On the contrary, he was absorbing the lingering energy from it right now.
The Red Tiger Pill was a poison crafted via the Lagren family's secret arts.
Pain like burning alive aside, its effects were definitely worth absorbing.
Poison can be medicine if used right.
So Krash seized the chance to swallow the Red Tiger Pill's essence.
[Crazy bastard, lunatic, out of his mind.]
Crimson Garden kept cursing, breaking his focus, but...
Still, Krash steadily absorbed the pill.
As mentioned, poison becomes medicine when used well.
Thanks to the overexertion that had left him barely able to move, his body actually felt much better now.
He'd still need proper rest and treatment back home, but it was better than nothing.
After a while.
Once he'd fully absorbed the Red Tiger Pill, Krash opened his eyes.
His whole body was drenched in sweat, face burning hot, but he felt okay.
Plus, thanks to the pill, his aura reserves had grown a bit more than before.
'This is good stuff.'
He hadn't worried much about the aftereffects, but who knew it had such benefits.
Next chance, he'd ask Haring for a few more.
"Haring."
The moment Krash called her, she jumped in surprise and looked at him.
Staring blankly at Krash, her face crumpled like she might burst into tears before she hurried over.
"Are you okay? Your body? Any pain?"
She suddenly shoved her face close, asking frantically.
Her expression looked ready to shatter, leaving Krash a bit flustered.
What's with her?
"Need me to support you? Or carry you on my back?"
This time, she seemed dead serious.
Krash belatedly realized she was fretting over saving him.
"Like I said earlier, I didn't end up like this trying to save you. Don't worry about it."
Though at the last moment, his body had moved on instinct.
Haring's Invisible and poisons would be essential later.
So Krash had instinctively caught the falling her.
She had too much to do ahead to die here.
But Krash didn't know.
That those words dug even deeper into Haring.
Haring bit her lip before replying.
"Got it."
Yet her gaze was intensely burdensome, belying her simple answer.
'Come to think of it, the Lagren family places huge weight on favors.'
The Poison King exterminating House Hardenharts on imperial orders was all to repay that debt.
'So Haring's the same.'
Krash also recalled her odd behavior earlier.
She'd been obsessively fixated on saving him.
'Looks like she has trauma from someone sacrificing in her place.'
Tied to her family precepts too, it made sense why she was like this.
Since it had come to this, Krash decided to help her clear the debt quickly.
That should put her at ease.
"If you're worried, I want to research curses and poisons later. Help me out with that. That'll settle it."
Krash had ideas linking curses and poisons.
At "poison research," her eyes shook again.
But even quick-witted Krash couldn't know her backstory.
Haring clenched her fists and nodded.
"Research... okay."
Her eyes burned with unyielding resolve, a bit intimidating.
But better than bad blood between them.
"Anyway, let's head back."
His vitality somewhat restored by the Red Tiger Pill.
Krash stood and looked up at the ceiling above the plaza.
It'd be tough climbing back up after dropping so far.
But Krash wasn't too concerned.
Because his Sixth Sense was picking up a presence.
Krash looked up.
A tree branch began descending from the dim heights.
And soon, a figure came into view for Krash.
"Krash, Haring!"
Not Anix Graiza, who had abandoned them to the trap earlier.
But Anix, who descended to save them despite being at his limit with Wood Heaven Sword Style.
Krash let out a very brief chuckle.
Human lives...
Truly unpredictable.
By the time they completed the mission and exited the ruins...
Dawn had passed, and the sun was rising in the sky.
Accordingly, the ruins naturally hid themselves amid the sand.
They'd stay concealed until nightfall again.
"You okay?"
When Haring asked, Krash lightly swung his arms.
"Perfect."
[Show-off.]
He ignored Crimson Garden's snark.
If he could move, he was fine—that was his creed.
Krash's gaze shifted to Anix.
Anix met his eyes and smiled as usual.
That smile used to repulse Krash.
He'd always called it fake.
'Colored glasses, huh.'
Up until finding the ruins, Krash had seen Anix's smile as phony.
He'd thought the guy viewed Twinchild Group members as pawns and would betray him someday, the notion haunting his mind.
But now, having glimpsed Anix's true feelings...
Krash realized his biases were fully shed.
"Good work. We survived thanks to you."
Anix's eyes widened round at Krash's casual words, then he smiled again.
"Never thought I'd hear that from you, Krash."
"Never thought I'd say it to you."
A weight lifted from his heart.
Krash looked up at the sky.
He'd learned from Pendal not to judge solely by regression.
And from Anix, that people could change completely over something trivial.
This lesson might even hinder his path.
With skills he was determined to steal in his head, he'd grapple endlessly.
But one thing was certain.
'If I could prevent the apocalypse alone, Arthur could've done it solo too.'
When World Erosion raged at its worst...
The world fell into chaos everywhere.
Arthur could block one mega-event, but not simultaneous ones elsewhere.
And the same went for Krash.
Knowing that, Krash had built these connections all along.
'I'll set the Generation of the Sky straight.'
A ray of light appeared somewhere.
The one path to avert doom came into view.
'And I'll lead at the front.'
No matter the pouring rain, sandstorms, or raging tempests.
His role was to stand firmest at the forefront.
The Generation of the Sky would follow, soaring high to ultimately thwart the end.
Krash's eyes gleamed brightly.
His pupils, fixed on that single goal, shone like stars.
The Heavenly Pivot Star.
It suited perfectly as the guiding role Elfin had described for Krash.