Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: The Black Council
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In the pitch-black void of space.
Those who had been invited were entering one by one.
Dressed in all manner of attire, they moved with leisurely steps, as if heading to a party.
“Oh, well now, it's been a while since we had such esteemed guests.”
At that moment, a short, bearded man let out a hearty laugh as he greeted someone.
There stood a tall, slender beauty wearing a mask that covered one eye.
“Hell Fairy, what brings you to the council? You've been absent for quite some time.”
The short man chuckled as he spoke to the woman, who was none other than the Hell Fairy.
She showed no particular reaction to his attention.
“I heard the Mad Emperor got taken down.”
Instead, she stated her reason for attending this meeting.
Ixion, the organization of World Eroder.
This was the regular meeting place of Ixion, a space created by the Black Witch.
“Haha, that's right. That Mad Emperor fool was always singing about the strong and the supreme, only to get done in himself. I figured the guy had nine lives since he was so good at beating a hasty retreat.”
He boomed with laughter as he said it.
The short man's moniker was Master Craftsman.
He was an earth spirit who wielded a hammer capable of forging anything.
“The brat was nagging me to make him a sword. Told him I couldn't, and he got all sulky about it.”
He tossed the hammer in his hand lightly and caught it.
His movements with the hammer looked exceedingly practiced.
“It's weird that he got taken out when the Black Witch was there.”
“Even the Black Witch makes mistakes sometimes, doesn't she? Probably the Mad Emperor got all hyped up and rampaging, only to get smacked down for it.”
To the Hell Fairy's doubt, he replied breezily, as if it were no big deal.
Unlike the Hell Fairy, he didn't find the Mad Emperor's death suspicious in the least.
In the meantime, more guests were arriving in the space.
Some headed straight to a corner without a word of greeting.
Others exchanged hellos with those they knew.
“Yaaawn.”
Meanwhile, one man sprawled on the floor in a cross-legged position and let out a massive yawn.
With his beastly massive frame, inhumanly large ears, and white fur covering his body, he exuded an extraordinary aura.
No one dared approach the man.
“Well, look who it is—the Beast King.”
The Master Craftsman let out an impressed “ooh” upon seeing the man.
Rare faces were showing up in droves today.
They must all have been intrigued by the news of the Mad Emperor's defeat, just like the Hell Fairy.
Whether it was the Black Witch's blunder or the Mad Emperor's self-destruction.
They needed to nail it down for sure.
Clack—
At that moment, the sound of high heels echoed from the inner part of the space.
All eyes turned to the source, and one person felt an eerie sensation.
A sinister presence that twisted one's guts just by looking at it possessed long black hair that shrouded its face.
Beneath that hair, her all-black dress and wide, flowing skirt were her signature look.
Black Witch
True to her moniker, she felt more like a witch than anyone.
And her appearance signaled the start of the meeting.
“Black Witch.”
The first to speak at the council was the man called the Beast King.
“Did the Mad Emperor die because of your screw-up?”
Still sitting on the floor, he cut straight to why they were all here.
The others shared the same burning question.
The death of a World Eroder.
It wasn't unheard of in this world, but Ixion was a group personally assembled by the Black Witch.
If the Mad Emperor's opponent had been one of the Celestial Supremes, maybe—but the Ten Under Heaven?
With the Black Witch's help, escape wouldn't have been impossible.
So when the Beast King posed the question, the Black Witch fell silent for a moment.
Soon after, her black lips parted slowly.
“Ignis, which I thought was lost, has been found.”
“Ignis?”
Her next words instantly shifted the mood of the meeting.
Ignis.
The skill that allowed extraction of the purest World Erosion to create the God of World Erosion.
It was essential for the common goal of the World Eroders gathered in Ixion.
Perhaps because they all knew that.
Everyone's expressions hardened in an instant.
“Who's got it? Last time it was that Valheim guy, right?”
Belokin Valheim.
They had all obtained intel that Valheim's third son possessed Ignis at the time.
But he had died due to World Erosion.
And now, a new bearer of Ignis had emerged.
“Krash Valheim, the youngest of the Valheim family.”
The Black Witch's response came at that moment.
The World Eroders pulled unpleasant faces at the mention of Valheim once more.
And for good reason—Valheim was a demon den even World Eroders couldn't touch lightly.
“So you couldn't save the Mad Emperor because you got distracted by Ignis. That's how it sounds.”
The Beast King nailed it perfectly, leaving the Black Witch without a retort.
True to his words, she hadn't saved the Mad Emperor because she'd lost her head in that instant.
Ignis was vital not just for Ixion, but for her personally.
As the Beast King's eyes began to sharpen while watching her silence...
Clap clap!
Someone started applauding.
At the center of the gathered gazes stood an elderly gentleman in a bowler hat, smiling warmly.
“Don't hound the Black Witch too much. The Mad Emperor's death is regrettable, sure, but didn't we recover Ignis? That's a huge win already.”
The old man lightened the atmosphere.
“Black Witch, if you've gathered intel on this boy Krash Valheim who holds Ignis, would you mind sharing?”
As the old man smoothly transitioned to the next question, the Black Witch nodded slowly.
True to his request, she began methodically briefing the World Eroders on Krash Valheim.
Each detail of his exploits drew varied reactions from the group.
Some already knew of Krash.
He'd been the hot topic lately, after all.
But hearing the Black Witch lay it all out made it sink in anew.
“Did a new star fall on Valheim or something?”
As the Beast King wondered, Krash's feats were absurd for his age.
Just reviewing his track record made it clear to everyone.
Krash Valheim would soon become a massive threat, one hard to ignore.
In other words, a huge obstacle for Ixion, which needed Ignis.
“We should smash him now and drag him here.”
The Beast King stroked his white-bearded chin.
“You still keeping eyes on him?”
To the next question, the Black Witch shook her head.
Seeing her response, the Beast King tilted his head.
“You can't see him with your own eyes?”
“Seems like he's using some kind of barrier.”
“Hah, so the kid knows we're watching and prepared countermeasures.”
The Beast King reacted with disbelief.
This all but confirmed the other side knew of their existence.
“What the hell. This guy's got bad vibes.”
From his established feats to now blocking even the Black Witch's gaze.
A real headache of a guy had appeared.
“Well, yeah. That woman's sticking by the kid's side.”
At that moment, another Ixion member spoke up.
There stood a woman in an outfit that was intimidating at first glance.
Her black skin was barely covered where it needed to be, with long ears standing out prominently.
Her moniker was Black Dawn.
A dark-attribute long-ear clan.
“Crimson Garden.”
The moment she uttered the name, Ixion members reacted differently.
Each one present had crossed paths with her before.
Undying One
Crimson Garden August
Once Ixion's strongest force and the most infamous among World Eroders.
“That woman's staying by the kid right now.”
“The Undying One? After wreaking havoc in Ixion and bailing, she's made the Ignis holder her pet?”
The Beast King scowled fiercely at Black Dawn's words.
An unusual intensity emanated from him.
He'd never gotten along with Crimson Garden.
“Not sure about that far. But she's definitely attached. Several of her minions have been spotted around the kid.”
“The Undying One...”
The Beast King ground his teeth alone.
But his earlier reckless vibe had toned down.
He had no intention of rashly clashing head-on with Crimson Garden.
She was that tricky an opponent.
“Evelask Venapoci's there too.”
The Black Witch added the next piece.
Evelask Venapoci, slated to be Ixion's newest member.
Her necromancer arts were optimized for swarm tactics.
Her absence was surely a regrettable loss for Ixion.
“Undying One plus a necromancer—the situation's gone seriously sideways.”
The Beast King clenched his teeth.
His irritation at variables was on full display.
“Therefore...”
As the Black Witch moved to continue...
Her head jerked to a stop, her gaze slowly turning.
At her sudden reaction, the others followed her line of sight.
And soon, footsteps began echoing from there.
Lazy, frivolous footsteps.
As those who recognized the sound began to question...
“Big crowd, huh.”
A man with blood-red hair appeared.
His usual laid-back smirk stretched wide.
“What, were you all waiting for me?”
The Mad Emperor.
He, who should have been dead, had shown up at Ixion's council.
The World Eroders reacted in all sorts of ways to his arrival.
Astoundment, surprise, disbelief, exasperation, joy, annoyance, rage, suspicion.
When suspicion pierced him sharply, the Mad Emperor's blood-red eyes twisted viciously.
“What? Pissed that I'm back alive? Anyone shooting me looks, let's throw down right now.”
And his next words confirmed it for sure.
He was the real Mad Emperor.