Chapter 281
Chapter 281
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 281
Chapter Title: The Secret of the Barrier
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When Krash opened his eyes again.
He saw a familiar ceiling.
Because this was the infirmary at Raheln Academy.
'Last I remember, the Demon Emperor opened a portal for me.'
Fortunately, it seemed he'd been teleported straight here right after.
Krash cradled his faintly throbbing forehead and sat up.
The surroundings were quiet.
It must have been around dawn.
'Astria's gonna chew me out later.'
Instead, Crimson Garden's scolding came first.
What Krash had done was blatantly self-destructive.
One wrong move, and he could've fallen into qi deviation before even achieving marrow cleansing.
And yet Krash hadn't cared, throwing everything he had at the Demon Emperor, Terrasius.
"I just felt the need to show him too."
Sure, Terrasius would grant any request now.
But how much sincerity would be behind it was another matter entirely.
Terrasius still hadn't given up on creating a magic race.
To him, it had become the obsession of a lifetime.
Even with Krash able to converse through magic.
Abandoning his life's purpose on a dime would be the harder feat.
In Terrasius's eyes, the sight of Krash awakening as Dragon King Clan must have held tremendous value as research material.
Which meant he'd pour even more resources into Krash's Dragon King Clan awakening for sure.
This was a clear win for him.
"And I just didn't like the guy."
Sometimes emotion leads reason.
Krash had simply, purely disliked Terrasius's actions.
So he'd wanted to land one on him—and he had.
Krash chuckled shortly and staggered to his feet.
Even with Astria's treatment, his body wasn't fully back to normal.
Krash walked straight to the infirmary door and opened it.
One fellow who'd been waiting outside jolted upright.
With drool still at the corner of his mouth from dozing, he hurriedly looked over.
Bioren Jeblam.
The daughter born between the Demon Emperor and the Barrier Master.
"What? You're up?"
She looked up at Krash all innocent-like, pretending she hadn't been asleep.
"Why're you out here?"
"...The big-chested saintess said absolute bed rest at least till morning. You sure you should be moving already?"
"I'm used to it one way or another."
Krash loosely swung his arms, pretending to be fine.
His arm creaked audibly in the process, so Bioren shot him a glare.
"Cut the crap and get back in bed to rest. Picking a fight with that guy? You out of your mind? Worse than diving into World Erosion."
"Can't deny that."
Krash leaned against the open door as he said it.
"But don't you feel a bit relieved now?"
"... "
The moment she heard that, Bioren fell silent.
Then her small hand quietly gripped Krash's collar.
Krash looked down with a soft smile.
Bioren glanced away from his eyes and parted her lips.
"...Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
Krash grinned playfully, and Bioren—suddenly irked—thwacked his leg.
"Ack!"
Krash barely kept from toppling over.
The pettily striking Bioren panicked and supported him.
"You jerk, hurt that bad?"
"Hurts. I just got out of bed."
"Shit! Then don't make that face!"
"Don't rag on a guy's expression."
Bioren barely suppressed the urge to hit him again.
With a long sigh, she helped him back into the infirmary.
"The others'll be here soon. They went to grab food after waiting all night for you to wake."
"You didn't eat? You won't grow."
"I ate! I ate first! And what does height matter?!"
Sorry to say it, but Bioren never really grew much taller later on.
For her future's sake, eating more might help—but she clearly had no intention of listening.
Pity.
"Heading to Jeblam next, right?"
"Yeah."
Terrasius had said with his own mouth he'd be waiting in Jeblam.
Going there would let him fully absorb the forcibly elevated Dragon King Clan power.
After this, Krash could solidly claim a seat among the top tiers.
"Good. Hurry off then."
Bioren shooed him away like she meant it.
Watching her, Krash tilted his head.
"What're you talking about? You're coming too."
"...I set up the meeting with him. Isn't my part done?"
"I told you back then. Ixion's gunning for you, so I contracted the Barrier Master to protect you."
"That's..."
Bioren had no comeback, her lips flapping soundlessly.
She wasn't the type to not value her own life.
Whatever the reason, if Ixion was after her, she had to protect herself.
"For starters, why are those guys after me anyway?"
Bioren voiced her doubt about why Ixion targeted her.
And understandably so—she could barely handle basic barrier arts.
Krash couldn't say for sure either.
In the past, Ixion definitely hadn't gone after Bioren.
Her surviving all the way to the Generation of the Sky proved it.
So why target her now?
'I can guess two reasons.'
One was Bioren's barrier arts.
Her barriers fused this world's magic with World Erosion barriers.
In other words, they had the most unique properties among defensive abilities.
Just look at the barrier that even blocked Crimson Garden's eyes—its effects were top-notch.
If Ixion wanted a war of attrition, Bioren's barriers would hold unimaginable value.
'The Black Witch could brainwash her into usefulness.'
The second was something even Krash couldn't confirm: her barriers might aid in creating a World Erosion god.
This part nagged at him.
After all, just as Ixion sought to create a World Erosion god.
The Demon Emperor who'd sired Bioren had aimed to create a magic race.
The creations differed, sure.
But both delved into the realm of creation.
'I thought the Demon Emperor sired Bioren purely to gather data for his magic race.'
Maybe she'd been material for that magic race creation.
After some experiments, deemed unusable, and abandoned.
'But unlike the Demon Emperor, Ixion judged her valuable as material.'
And so decided to kidnap her.
Mid-thought, Krash spotted one oddity.
'...If so, why ask the Barrier Master of all people to kidnap Bioren?'
Sure, it'd be the least suspicious way to approach her.
But Bioren was still the Barrier Master's daughter.
Naturally, the odds of a stunt like this were sky-high.
Ixion weren't idiots.
What was there to trust about the Barrier Master to hand it off so readily?
'Unless there was something trustworthy about her to Ixion?'
What if—just what if—the Barrier Master had been Ixion's affiliate even before Bioren was born?
Krash realized why her conversation had felt off.
'...The Barrier Master might've been with Ixion from the start.'
She'd insisted the pregnancy with the Demon Emperor wasn't forced.
Which meant she'd made some deal with him.
This was the sticking point for Krash.
What deal had the Barrier Master struck with the Demon Emperor to bear Bioren?
But if she'd been Ixion's from the beginning, it all fit.
Her deal with the Demon Emperor?
To achieve each other's creation goals.
'But the Demon Emperor treated Bioren as a failed experiment for his creation.'
So why was Ixion after her now?
The moment Krash's thoughts reached there, he looked up at Bioren.
"...Bioren, your mother the Barrier Master left when you were little, right?"
"Yeah?"
She gave him a puzzled look, like why ask now?
"Anything she did to you before leaving?"
Bioren blinked.
"Did what?"
"Like passing on some important secret."
Bioren tilted her head, scanning her own body.
"No way she'd..."
"Think hard. Nothing at all? The Demon Emperor discarded you, but Ixion's after you—it's suspicious."
"Hmm."
Bioren wracked her brain desperately.
But her expression didn't change.
Crimson Garden's voice cut in abruptly.
"A barrier?"
Krash asked, leaving Bioren aside.
A flapping sound followed, and a raven appeared by the window.
Krash's eyes widened.
It was plenty plausible.
Krash whipped around to Bioren.
"Bioren, can you check if there's a barrier inside your body?"
"A barrier?"
"Your mother might've placed one on your memories."
Bioren blinked.
Then, realizing it could be true, her eyes slowly widened.
"Hold on."
Hearing that, Bioren hurriedly sat by Krash's bed.
She closed her eyes quietly and steadied her breathing.
Bioren began probing her internals with barriers.
And soon enough, she opened her eyes in panic.
"...There really is."
She'd considered external barriers.
Never thought to check inside till now.
Having finally found it internally, her eyes met Krash's.
"I'll undo it."
She said it with resolve.
Bioren steadied her breath and slowly began unraveling the barrier filling her mind.
Krash watched silently, since it needed focus.
A short while later, a glow emanated around her body, and Bioren gasped sharply.
Her face went deathly pale, cold sweat dripping down.
Even with Bioren's barrier arts, it was too intricate to unravel easily.
The Barrier Master must've judged it a memory that absolutely shouldn't be recovered.
Or maybe to keep anyone else from accessing her memories.
"C-Can't... undo it. How the hell did she do this?"
"Bioren."
Krash gripped her shoulder.
"I'll undo it."
Time for Black Hood to shine.