Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Take Responsibility
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Roarrrrrrr!
The roar of white flames echoed throughout the Holy Kingdom of Preman.
The intense aura of the white flames was strong enough to be felt even by the opposition forces rushing in from afar.
'This is...'
The Heavenly King, Tersada Beakis, widened his eyes.
This aura was unmistakably the one he'd sensed from Krash.
Which meant the one confronting the World Erosion intruder in the Holy Palace right now was Krash.
Tersada's gaze turned to the skies above the palace.
There, pure white flames blazed, emitting a brilliant light.
'To think he had this much power.'
He'd already guessed at the man's strength.
But he never imagined it could output something like this.
'I thought playing the figurehead hero would be enough.'
This was no figurehead material.
Tersada's eyes gleamed quietly.
He didn't view Krash's rash handling of the Saintess incident in a purely negative light.
From the start, Tersada had only wanted to erase the meaning of the Saintess, the symbol of the Holy Kingdom's corrupt traditions.
He'd handed the decision on her treatment to Krash right from the beginning.
Of course, with the condition that he become Preman's new hero.
'So that refusal he gave me that day wasn't a simple no after all.'
A hero who ended Preman's corrupt Saintess tradition, plus one who protected Preman from a World Erosion being.
The more his name spread, the louder the name of the reborn Preman through religious revolution would ring out.
"Jenix, Inquisitor."
"Yes."
The Inquisitor Vice-Captain Jenix responded immediately to Tersada's call.
"Uproot the Holy Royal Family completely."
And install a puppet king who worships only pure faith.
Tersada left the rest unsaid.
Jenix, who understood perfectly, bowed his head and vanished.
Now was the time to create a new hero.
While Preman writhed in preparation for its religious revolution,
Krash quietly gazed at the white flames blazing before him.
The moment he held his breath.
Whoosh!
Krash spotted the staff flying through the white flames and immediately swung his sword.
Clang!
Krash parried the staff in an instant and took a step back.
The power contained in that staff was beyond imagination.
Even while maintaining Annihilation Heavenly Rakshasa, he'd been pushed back in raw strength.
Which meant his opponent was seriously pissed.
Through the blazing white flames, Yeonma's figure began to emerge.
Since Krash had swung with full power, the man had clearly taken damage.
His right arm and half his face were covered in burns.
Of course, to Krash, that was barely worth a click of the tongue.
He'd unleashed that output right in the man's face, intending to blow off his head and body entirely, yet that was all the damage?
Krash had grown much stronger, but he still fell short against Yeonma, a powerhouse even among Ixion's elite.
'I never expected to win right away anyway.'
This level of injury was fine.
It would etch into their minds that Krash was a definite threat.
'Just seeing my flames will make them piss themselves.'
He'd uproot Ixion's roots with these hands, no matter what.
"Hot stuff."
Yeonma inspected his burns while still in his staff-thrusting stance.
The moment he'd realized Krash's trap, Yeonma had cloaked himself in smoke.
As it had defensive properties, it should have withstood most impacts.
But auras mitigate World Erosion power.
Not only did it nullify Yeonma's smoke entirely, it directly burned his body.
'No, even without the War Emperor's power, I would've taken damage.'
Krash's firepower was absurd.
'I wanted to kill him if possible.'
Yeonma eyed the white flames still burning on Krash's body.
It was clear he was preparing for the next attack.
On top of that, Blavi was descending rapidly from above.
The opposition forces were almost here.
Continuing the fight here would be a bad move.
'Time to retreat.'
He'd get an earful back at Ixion about coming back empty-handed.
But he could at least make sure they knew Krash's danger level.
"We'll meet again soon."
Yeonma blocked Krash's thrust with his staff, smiled, and retreated.
A black spatial gate had opened behind him.
The Black Witch must have sensed the situation and sent support.
"Stay inside and enjoy your remaining days, you old fart!"
Even as he taunted, Krash kept thrusting his sword relentlessly.
But Yeonma had no intention of taking more hits; he wrapped himself in smoke and dove through the gate.
"Looks like we'll be seeing plenty of each other."
With that, Yeonma raised his hand to his head.
Then he realized it was empty and made a regretful face.
His bowler hat had been blown away in the white flame explosion.
It was a memento he'd left in Yeonma's world, and now it was gone.
Regrettable, but nothing compared to his life.
Yeonma memorized Krash's face firmly and disappeared through the gate.
Once Yeonma vanished, Blavi finally arrived.
If Blavi had used his secret technique, they might have caught him.
But that would've damaged nearby homes.
The festival was in full swing, with people everywhere.
He reverted his Heavenly Sword Yin-Yang Moon to earring form and turned to Krash.
Krash knelt amid the fading white flames, breathing heavily.
Cold sweat poured from him; anyone could see he was in critical condition.
"Pushing your body like that will kill you quick."
"I-I'm... d-doing it... to s-survive."
Krash used Cold Snow Jaw to rapidly cool his body as he replied.
Blavi hoisted Krash up effortlessly.
"I'll drop you off like last time."
He was referring to when he'd urgently carried him to the Saintess before.
"Th-thank... you."
With that, Krash closed his eyes.
Trusting Blavi to handle the rest.
The religious revolution in Preman.
News of it spread across the world on a massive scale.
From the Saintess's dethronement to the change in the Holy Kingdom's king.
It was a series of events on an unprecedented scale.
Special broadcasts dominated global news for a while.
Late September.
Right as autumn set in, it was only natural.
A new Holy Emperor's enthronement ceremony was held alongside it.
The new Holy Emperor was Tersada Beakis, already a candidate.
"Holy King and now Holy Emperor too. Hogging all the titles."
Krash flipped the newspaper while watching the broadcast.
He was still in Preman.
The massive events required treatment and recovery.
Most of that recovery was Astraia's nagging and healing.
Krash's eyes caught "Saintess Dethroned."
Preman had decisively eradicated the corrupt Saintess tradition this time.
But Astraia was a key player too.
She was the Saintess who ended it with her own hands.
They couldn't eliminate the living Saintess, Astraia, so Preman granted her the new position of Archbishop.
'They don't want to send away the Saintess they still have.' Basically that.
Once they secured their positions, they found the Saintess role too valuable to erase completely.
In the end, it was all open to their interpretation.
Creeeak—
At that moment, the hospital room door opened.
Krash looked up to see, predictably, Astraia.
She peeked her head through the gap.
When their eyes met, she flinched and slyly pulled back behind the door.
Krash stared at her in disbelief.
Just hours ago, she'd been nagging and treating him diligently.
Now this? Of course he was incredulous.
But he could somewhat understand Astraia's feelings.
During treatment, she'd focused on her expertise.
But once she snapped out of it, she'd remember.
The confession she'd blurted out in front of him.
"Astraia."
At his call, she stuck tight to the door as she entered.
Her ample chest made it hard to squeeze in fully, but she tried.
"What are you doing?"
"N-nothing... special."
Astraia rolled her eyes evasively.
As Krash predicted, she was recalling her confession to him.
Just thinking about it turned her face beet red; she didn't know what to do.
Of course.
She never imagined her heart would override her head and spill out like that.
As Krash stared, her face grew even redder.
Soon, it was fully crimson.
"I-it's... a-all... y-your fault!"
She turned the tables shamelessly.
Krash blinked at her blame-shifting, then chuckled unexpectedly.
Her wide eyes trembled with her arms.
She felt like dying of embarrassment, yet the culprit was laughing. Unbearable.
"W-what's so funny! Is my confession that hilarious? It's already happened—what am I supposed to do now...?"
Before long, Astraia was sniffling.
Actually saying it made her feel wronged too.
She hadn't realized her feelings ran this deep.
As she hung her head, Krash rubbed his nape briefly.
Since hearing her words, he'd pondered it himself.
He couldn't just ignore Astraia's feelings.
From before his regression to now,
he'd built deep ties with her.
Ties too tangled to unravel.
'Preman's young hero.'
That's how they were being hailed together now.
Preman had committed fully; they tied the religious revolution and World Erosion invasion together to hype Krash massively.
With his prior feats under Cardinal Mirei Beakis, the effect was phenomenal.
The hero recognized by the reborn Holy Kingdom that ended its corrupt traditions.
Naturally, Krash's reputation skyrocketed.
And Astraia was linked right beside him.
No longer the Saintess.
Even with the Archbishop title from Preman, staying there wouldn't treat her well.
'For her future, I need her by my side.'
His thoughts reached that point, and he stopped rubbing his nape.
He'd heard her feelings straight from her mouth.
So it was his turn to respond.
"Astraia, I have a fiancée."
Krash spoke gravely, and Astraia's face calmed a bit.
"...I know."
She'd known all along and fallen anyway.
"I know what you're gonna say too."
Probably something like give up because of your fiancée.
But too late—she'd confessed, and she had no intention of bottling up her feelings now.
"That's what you were just agonizing over, right? That I have nowhere to go now."
Astraia keenly pierced his thoughts.
"You're right—I have no place left. Even after graduating Raheln Academy and returning to Preman, no one would welcome me."
"That's—"
"So."
Astraia stepped forward firmly and stood before Krash's bed.
She suddenly grabbed his collar.
Krash looked at her questioningly, but her flushed face was right there as she yelled.
"Take responsibility to the end. I'm gonna cling to you no matter what it takes."
"What do you—"
Before Krash could reply, Astraia's face moved first.
He realized too late what she was doing and tried to pull back, but the wall was right there.
A soft sensation touched Krash's lips.
His eyes widened as Astraia stole a forceful kiss and pulled away sharply.
Her face now worryingly red, she brushed her side hair aside seductively.
At the same time, a bewitching smile crossed her lips, beyond mere embarrassment.
"Now I've given you my lips too. No escaping."
The Saintess's limits were off.