Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: The Night That Never Ends
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After Krash visited Charlotte's Lion Corps.
"Do that."
Krash heard Charlotte's utterly cool response.
He'd expected her to at least ask why he was taking on such a mission.
But Charlotte didn't question it at all.
She simply accepted it because it was what Krash wanted to do.
"Why is sis coming along too?"
As Krash stood there dumbfounded by her easy agreement, Charlotte flashed her usual smile and lightly teased him.
"It's fine. I'll be back safely."
Thanks to Charlotte, skipping classes at Raheln Academy wouldn't be an issue.
"Oh, and that Arthur kid you asked about before."
Krash's ears perked up.
"He said he'd decide around when the second-years' training ends."
The fake Arthur was from the elite class too.
So naturally, he'd gotten scouting offers from other units as well.
It was understandable.
'I figured he'd jump at the chance to observe me and Charlotte up close.'
Apparently, he was playing it cautious.
With their recent suspicious movements, he might be keeping his distance on purpose.
Krash thanked Charlotte with that thought in mind and stepped out of the Lion Corps headquarters.
It was at that moment.
Krash spotted a familiar head of black hair.
She was plastered against the wall, desperately trying to hide her body.
But her naturally voluptuous figure was far too much for a simple wall to conceal.
Mary Diana.
The woman once called the Divine Spear.
"Mary."
As Krash called out, Mary flinched and timidly stepped away from the wall.
Unlike when she'd been holed up in her room, she was wearing her uniform.
However, from the poor ironing to the buttons she couldn't even fasten properly, she looked anything but neat.
Her hair was a mess too, uncombed and sticking out in all directions.
She fidgeted with an incredibly timid expression.
The Divine Spear she used to be was now utterly unimaginable.
"Something you need?"
Seeing how she'd seemed to be waiting for him, Krash asked leisurely.
"W-Well, I-I heard Krash-nim was back, so just for a bit..."
Mary hunched her shoulders and stammered out her words, staring at the floor.
She was quite broken.
It was only natural.
She must have realized her skill was gone by now too.
For her skill to suddenly vanish.
Naturally, Mary would be utterly bewildered.
And that bewilderment showed plainly in her appearance.
But she couldn't tell anyone about it.
Especially not Krash.
If he noticed her skill was gone and abandoned her, she truly would have nowhere left to go.
So her showing up here today was probably to confirm it.
"Yeah, I've got some business, so I'll be heading out of Raheln Academy again."
Krash said that as he approached her.
Mary flinched and shrank back even more.
She was instinctively terrified that the approaching Krash might discover her skill was gone.
Regardless, Krash reached Mary and placed his hand on her white blouse.
He undid the misbuttoned fasteners and began fixing them properly.
Mary stared blankly at him.
It felt strangely like Krash was fixing her own botched-up life.
"Mary, looks like you've finally decided to come out of your room."
"Y-Yes! Y-You said it'd be okay if you came with me, so I-I thought I had to make an effort to live up to that!"
Mary babbled on, emphasizing how hard she'd been trying.
"Good job. As expected from my classmate."
"Ah-heh, heh-heh."
As Krash smiled and praised her, Mary grinned like a fool.
That smile brimmed with the satisfaction of recognition and a sense of happiness.
Right now, she felt like she could do anything for him.
"How's it been with Sigrin lately?"
Krash naturally brought up Sigrin.
"Ah, th-that... I haven't seen her anymore. It's completely over."
Sigrin had once been her master.
Yet even though Sigrin no longer came by, there was no regret in Mary's eyes.
If anything, there was a faint resentment toward her.
"I-I should have just done this from the start."
Even a hint of regret slipped through.
If she'd left Sigrin's side sooner, maybe she wouldn't have ended up like this.
Seeing that, Krash slowly stroked her head.
"It's okay. You escaped in the end, didn't you? Now you're free, Mary. Do whatever you want."
"W-Whatever I want?"
Mary looked up at Krash.
Like a dog awaiting orders to obey, she gazed only at him.
But Krash gave no command, simply removing his hand from her head.
"Well, I should get going then."
"Ah."
As Krash turned to leave without orders, Mary flinched.
While she hesitated, Krash gave her a brief smile.
"You look good out of the room. Train while I'm gone and take care."
"Y-Yes!"
Seemingly interpreting his words as a command, Mary brightened visibly and replied energetically.
Watching that, Krash pocketed his hands as he walked down the hall.
He then pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the hand he'd just used to pet her head.
His eyes, of course, were utterly emotionless.
That settled things with Mary completely.
At least she wouldn't get in the way anymore.
'All that's left is Sigrin and that Adela girl.'
Thinking of the two, Krash continued on his way.
He might tolerate others, but he was merciless with those three.
The Night That Never Ends.
One of the World Erosion zones turned forbidden.
It consisted solely of eternal night, with no sun ever rising.
In the space of pure darkness, towers of unknown origin sprouted like bamboo shoots toward the sky, and the erosion beasts parasitizing them were bizarre entities called Black Seed Ghosts.
Krash had come to this endless night for one reason alone.
To meet Beltua Racklord, the world's greatest Curse Master.
The problem was the location of the Night That Never Ends.
Unlike managed forbidden zones, it existed in lawless territory.
The mountain range leading there was particularly treacherous.
Horses couldn't traverse it, and even people struggled through the dense trees and undergrowth.
Those trees and plants, influenced by the nearby Night That Never Ends, had mutated grotesquely.
Thus, not even criminals from the human world ventured into the Night That Never Ends.
On the mountain path to that endless night.
Yet Krash traveled with remarkable ease.
The reason was simple.
The carriage he rode wasn't an ordinary one.
Clatter-clatter-
Though branches and vines constantly scratched at its flanks, the horse paid them no mind.
This horse was none other than a spectral steed summoned by Evelask.
The carriage Krash rode was made of bone, with no wheels at all.
Thus, the floating carriage glided effortlessly over the mountains.
"Did you really need to come along too?"
Krash, gazing at the passing scenery, turned to the side.
The woman sitting up front with her arms crossed looked up.
Black hair tinged with forsythia yellow, neatly arranged in a black dress.
Her crossed arms accentuated her prominent upper body, and she narrowed her eyes sharply.
"Of course I'm coming. You think I'd let you go into a forbidden zone alone?"
"We agreed you'd stay behind."
"No way. You promised to live forever with me, so take responsibility and stay safe."
As if she'd ever lived safely herself.
Krash gave Evelask an exasperated look but said no more.
It was true that having her around made things easier.
The issue was that she wasn't the only one who'd followed him.
"You too, Haring."
The woman plastered right against Krash's side, eyeing Evelask warily for some reason.
Haring Lagren.
The moment she heard Krash had accepted a mission through the Lion Corps and was leaving, she'd tagged along immediately.
"Where Krash goes, I go."
Steadfast determination shone in Haring's eyes.
Though a forbidden zone was dangerous, her insistence left him no choice.
'Well, worrying about a Generation of the Sky member is pretty funny anyway.'
This could be a good chance for her to learn about forbidden zones.
Krash had no intention of stopping the world's end alone.
"Just don't push yourself too hard."
Evelask and Haring both turned to stare at Krash simultaneously.
As if to say, who's one to talk?
Only Crimson Garden's crow on Krash's lap cackled as if mocking him.
As Krash awkwardly shifted, the carriage jolted to a halt with a thud.
They'd exited the mountains.
Beyond the range, the surroundings gradually darkened.
It had been midday moments ago, yet night was falling.
And this night was far darker than any other.
Fog seemed to be rolling in too.
The carriage pressed on through the pitch-black fog where not even a hand in front could be seen.
A normal horse would have frozen in terror upon entering the fog, but the spectral steed didn't care.
Moments later, the night fog began to lift.
In its place appeared bizarre towers piercing the night sky.
The sharply pointed spires thrust upward as if assaulting the heavens themselves.
Krash gazed at the sight through the window and spoke.
"Evelask, keep the Bone Legion back."
"Why? Aren't you here to find Beltua?"
"Even if your Bone Legion moves, they'll just waste away fighting the Black Seed Ghosts."
Krash eyed the Black Seed Ghosts visible outside the window.
The ones peeking from the towers were all observing the sudden intruders.
Once their observation ended, they'd surely swarm in force.
They'd judged them as prey.
"Keep going for now. Beltua won't be out here on the periphery anyway."
Beltua had entered the forbidden zone to seek curses.
The highest-grade ones, no doubt.
Even Beltua couldn't handle top-grade curses freely.
The sole reason he'd come for them was to observe.
'That crazy old man.'
What madman would enter a forbidden zone just to observe a curse?
Krash found him utterly incomprehensible.
"Then how do you plan to find him in this vast place without my corpses' help?"
As the carriage advanced, Evelask peered outside with a slightly daunted expression.
As she said, the Night That Never Ends was endlessly vast.
The thought of searching it made her look daunted.
But Krash didn't mind.
"Simple."
Krash's gaze turned forward.
To where the Night That Never Ends grew even thicker.
"The place where the World Erosion's power feels strongest."
That's where Beltua would be.