Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: Give Him One Good Hit
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The heart of Demon Village.
Demon Emperor Terrasius Jeblam blinked, not understanding what he'd just heard.
He hadn't expected the sudden insult. He simply stared at Krash.
He couldn't fathom what it meant.
"Why the sudden outburst?"
Terrasius decided to ask directly.
Why was Krash so determined to pick a fight with him?
To Terrasius, Krash was a once-in-a-lifetime discussion partner on magic.
Naturally, he planned to maintain a good relationship with him going forward.
He'd assumed Krash felt the same.
So he couldn't understand why Krash was spewing curses and showing outright hostility.
"I know this incredibly talented barrier master."
At Krash's thunderous roar, pitch-black flames of Black Flame erupted.
It was the power of World Erosion, focused solely on destruction.
"I'm planning to rack up some favors with him for future help."
It was an absurd story no matter how many times he heard it.
But Krash's eyes burned with sincerity.
He truly intended to fight the Demon Emperor.
Terrasius fell silent for a moment, his gaze shifting behind Krash.
Standing there, right on cue, was a single girl.
Silver hair identical to Terrasius's.
It was Bioren Jeblam, of his own bloodline.
Confusion was etched on her face.
She never imagined Krash would challenge Terrasius out of the blue.
She'd known he was crazy for a while now.
But not this crazy.
Terrasius glanced at Bioren and pieced it together.
"You need that girl, I take it."
He waved her off lightly, as if to say she was no concern.
"Do whatever you want with her. No need to let it sour things between us."
Terrasius's eyes held no emotion whatsoever.
Bioren bit her lip in frustration at his words.
But she couldn't say a thing.
In Terrasius's presence, she always shrank back.
She tried to act sharp around him.
But every time she met his impassive gaze, she felt her very existence denied.
So she always shrank away.
"No, it's right for fathers to punish any guy who gets too close to their daughter."
At that moment, Krash's voice reached her ears.
"So I'm stepping in for the scumbag who wants to cozy up to your daughter and exploit her for all she's worth. Time to commit a little filial impiety."
It was utterly ridiculous, defying all logic.
But that made it all the harder to get Krash to back down.
His eyes showed nothing but the intent to throw down.
"...I thought you were above pointless actions."
"Really? My specialty is acting without rhyme or reason. Looks like you can grasp the truths of magic but not people."
Even at Krash's mockery, Terrasius's expression didn't change.
"If that's what you want."
Different elements began rising around Terrasius's body, one by one.
"Then I'll oblige."
It was like he was gently scolding a child.
Despite looking younger than Krash, he felt like a serpent who'd lived centuries.
"Krash, are you insane?!"
Bioren finally couldn't hold back and shouted.
What was the point of what Krash was doing?
He'd said they needed Terrasius's cooperation.
Yet here he was, antagonizing him.
To Bioren, it made no sense.
"Bioren, I've lived long enough to know that bottling up resentment usually turns people into idiots."
Krash had seen plenty who'd buried their grudges against life deep inside.
And in the end, they'd all broken somewhere.
He could say that with certainty, having experienced it firsthand.
"So flipping the table once in a while, with anyone, helps a lot."
As Terrasius entered combat stance, heat boiled up from Krash's body.
Soon, white smoke began pouring from his mouth.
"Makes life bearable."
Leaving Bioren with words she couldn't grasp, Krash's form scattered.
A belated gale roared in.
Caaaang!
What followed was the clear ring of clashing blades.
Krash's thunderous roar had collided with Terrasius's defensive spell, producing the noise.
Black Flame flickered along Terrasius's barrier.
It devoured and burned all things, but it was nothing against Terrasius's shield.
Faint sparks danced across the barrier he'd woven.
Krash saw right through it.
A ridiculous spell that reflected all attacks on the barrier back at the caster with greater power, scaled to the caster's mana.
This mad bastard had cast a 9th Circle spell the moment Krash charged.
'Is he holding me in high regard.'
Or just eager to end it quickly.
Either way, Krash soon faced his own Black Flame rebounding from the barrier.
Flash!
With a burst of Black Flame light came an explosion.
Villagers startled by the commotion were joined by Bianca and Aslan.
"What happened?"
Bianca recognized Krash's Black Flame and asked Bioren.
Bioren stared at the scene with a dazed expression.
"...Krash just challenged my father out of nowhere."
Father?
A flicker of confusion crossed Bianca's eyes.
Then she spotted the figure inside the fading Black Flame.
It was none other than Temarin Jeblam, top of the third-year magic department.
The one Bioren called father.
Bianca knew Krash paid special attention to him.
She'd figured there was a reason.
"That's..."
Aslan gaped at Terrasius.
He recognized the Lurumino spell.
"The Demon Emperor for real?"
At Aslan's mutter, Bianca hurriedly peered through the Black Flame.
There was Krash, face blackened by soot.
"Cough."
He hacked, as if he'd inhaled the smoke from his own Black Flame, looking every bit the victim of his attack.
Bianca almost rushed forward but held herself back.
There had to be a reason.
"Best not to interfere needlessly."
As Krash coughed, Terrasius's voice emanated from within Lurumino.
He gazed up at Krash with the same impassive face as before.
The gap between them was like heaven and earth.
No matter how strong Krash had become, his opponent was one of the world's four transcendents, the Heavenly Demon Emperor.
And when it came to magic, he'd reached the pinnacle.
To him, Krash was just playing around.
That vast chasm existed between them.
Yet at Terrasius's words, Krash simply raised his sword overhead.
"People."
Black Flame began rising from Krash's blade.
Terrasius's eyes flickered subtly.
Lurumino still held.
Terrasius possessed such overwhelming mana he could maintain it for a month if he wished.
He couldn't comprehend why Krash, having tasted his own attack via Lurumino, would swing again.
"Live by doing needless things."
In that instant, Krash unleashed another Black Flame-infused thunderous roar.
Kwaaaaang!
The Black Flame rebounded through Lurumino and surged back.
But this time was different.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaaaang!
Last time it ended with one clash.
Now, the destructive roars kept coming without pause.
Each time, Krash was engulfed by his returning Black Flame.
So much Black Flame billowed that Krash's form vanished entirely.
Inside Lurumino, where pitch-black flames soared.
Terrasius simply watched the direction Krash was striking from.
Onlookers from afar might think Krash was blindly spamming Black Flame.
But Terrasius, inside, realized the sword swings were growing stronger.
'What is he doing.'
He first thought Krash was ramping up his output.
But soon he saw it was more.
Krash was absorbing every bit of Black Flame rebounding from Lurumino.
Then channeling the absorbed Black Flame straight back into his Thunderous Roar.
Each strike amplified the Black Flame's power.
Lurumino added the caster's mana to reflect attacks.
Even that returning power, Krash devoured whole.
'If he keeps this up, his vessel might shatter.'
Krash was packing more power into his sword than his body could handle.
Naturally, it strained him, risking the very vessel containing his power.
Kwang, kwang, kwang, kwang!
Yet Krash hammered Lurumino relentlessly.
And his strikes kept growing fiercer.
This was Lurumino cast by Terrasius himself.
Krash didn't think his raw output alone could break it.
Lurumino reflected power of the same type.
Thus, even Terrasius's mana converted to Black Flame, which Krash gulped down like a starving ghoul.
Thud, thud—
The overfilled Black Flame began pounding inside Krash.
Vast quantities churned within, leaking from his mouth in excess.
It had once been one of the powers sustaining his body.
But overwhelmed, it started burning his insides as fuel.
As his body burned from within, Krash ground his teeth.
But he had no intention of stopping his swings.
Kwang, kwang, kwang, kwang, kwang, kwang!
Endless strikes sent Black Flame skyrocketing.
Before long, worry crept into Terrasius's eyes.
He feared Krash might die, costing him his magic confidant.
Krash snorted at the expression.
"Y-You're worried about that?"
Forcing out the words amid ragged breaths, he swung down.
"When I'm going berserk to land one solid hit on you?"
Kwaaaaang!
The latest strike exploded the Black Flame.
Its power was markedly different from the start.
An explosion of Black Flame vast enough to engulf the area.
And Krash swallowed it whole again.
"Krash..."
Bioren watched, fists clenched white-knuckled.
She still couldn't understand Krash's actions.
But somehow.
His desperate swings at Terrasius felt like they voiced her own heart.
In her place, who couldn't even cry out against a life whose only worth was as an experiment.
Krash's sword wailed desperately for her.
"Shit..."
A curse slipped from Bioren's lips.
It pissed her off.
Her mother had abandoned her as a child, before she could even speak properly.
Her father treated her solely as a test subject, never once as his blood daughter.
Her half-human, half-World Erosion bloodline strangled her life, unworthy even of her own acceptance.
An utterly unfair existence.
Yet she had no choice but to accept it.
No one would hear her cries against reality anyway.
Not even the parents who should have been on her side.
Who in the world would listen?
But now.
Krash swung at Terrasius for Bioren's sake.
Even as his body wore away, engulfed in Black Flame.
He didn't stop, striking relentlessly.
"Krash..."
Tears welled in Bioren's eyes for some reason.
She'd thought she'd accepted everything.
Yet deep down, the resentment against the world's unfairness always choked her.
Maybe she'd been waiting all along for someone to cry out that injustice for her.
"That bastard..."
Even if the fist wasn't her own.
"Give him one good hit!"
Bioren's emotional shout echoed thunderously.
A refreshing smile curved Krash's lips.
"You got it."
Going pro.