Chapter 291
Chapter 291
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 291
Chapter Title: Tyrant Emperor
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The trait sealed away from Violen by the barrier master.
Mystic Gate.
The day Krash finally set out to visit that place.
Krash spotted Violen waiting alone in front of the Zeblam palace entrance.
While Krash had been training, Violen had honed her barrier techniques on her own.
The barrier training, which had tapered off after survival was assured, had resumed for the sake of what lay ahead.
"So, when are they showing up?"
"Soon."
Just as Krash said that, the sound of footsteps running from afar reached them.
Soon after, Krash turned his head in that direction.
"Kraaash!"
There stood a woman waving her hand high in the air.
Soot smeared across her face here and there, but she paid no mind to her disheveled appearance.
"It's done!"
The one who had come running was the magic tool artisan, Rona Imblize.
Perfect timing—she'd finished it right on schedule.
They'd slaved away here for quite a while too.
Essentially, she'd done almost all the work alone.
"Here, take it!"
Rona quickly handed Krash a bracelet.
The bracelet was a safety recall device.
A safety recall device made for Krash, who was highly likely to serve as bait for Ixion going forward.
"Everyone wearing the bracelets will be linked together. Once you put it on, it'll connect to your will, so you can activate it right away."
"If I trigger it, the teleport magic will bring all the other wearers here too?"
"Yeah, exactly! I added a key feature here. For the spatial coordinates during magic transfer, I engraved independent spatial coordinates that only people wearing matching bracelets can use! Even if another space mage tries to interfere, they can't—not only that, but I've set it up so it activates through a separate space even in locations where magic activation is deliberately disrupted..."
Krash thought Rona was being a bit too chatty.
Even so, her finished product exceeded expectations.
With this, even if the Black Witch dragged him away, he could summon the bracelet wearers at will.
'Feels like I've turned into a walking bomb.'
A device that could instantly summon the world's strongest forces.
It might just be the most powerful magic tool in the world.
"But there's a catch. Since it uses independent spatial coordinates, the bracelet's durability is low."
"So there's a usage limit."
"Yeah, it'll probably only work once. The number of people you can summon with it is capped at eight too."
Eight people.
She said that, but it was more than enough firepower.
Three of those who would wear this bracelet were among the Heavenly Four Strong, after all.
'Still, dragging Ixion in up to the Heavenly Four Strong level to take him out sits a bit uneasy with me.'
If the world united to eliminate Ixion, the other World Eroders would feel intimidated too.
Given what they'd done before his regression.
It weighed on Krash's mind deep down.
But now that he knew how deeply Abella was involved, he couldn't just sit idly by.
'Ixion has to be eliminated, one way or another.'
The moment they created and unleashed a god of World Erosion.
Who knew what chaos that would unleash upon the world.
So Krash resolved to completely eradicate Ixion.
'To do that, I need to master the Creation Martial God.'
After this mission wrapped up and he returned to Raheln Academy.
Once he'd fully mastered the Creation Martial God.
Then he'd strike Ixion.
Krash quietly clenched his fist, burning with resolve.
"Good work. Give me one more, and hand the rest to Terrasius."
Terrasius had expressed his intent to join the fray as well.
So he'd surely distribute the bracelets appropriately to the imperial side planning to fight alongside Krash.
The Demon King, stuck making safety devices, might gripe about being underestimated.
But once he saw the bracelets Rona had crafted firsthand, he'd change his tune.
They came from the world's top magic tool lab, made by a genius artisan.
The Demon King would recognize their value in no time.
"Who are you giving the extra one to?"
Violen voiced her curiosity about Krash receiving two bracelets from Rona.
Krash tucked it away in his pocket as he replied.
"To the person we'll meet on the way there today."
"That one you sent to guard before?"
"Bingo."
Violen asked who it was, but Krash just shrugged without further answer.
"You'll see when we get there."
She'd find out soon enough anyway.
At that moment, the sound of the final footsteps Krash had been waiting for arrived.
Red hair fluttered quietly in the breeze.
His eyes had deepened even further since before, and the aura emanating from him was far more extraordinary than ever.
"Aslan."
Krash called his name briefly, and Aslan raised a weary hand in greeting.
"H-hey, Krash."
"You're late. That's tardy."
"Even looking like this, I busted my ass to make it on time."
Krash gave Aslan's body a quick once-over.
The mana flowing from him was naturally influencing the surroundings.
If someone of lower caliber than Aslan saw him, they might mistake him for an ordinary mage, unable to gauge his true realm.
"You've gotten pretty good with that dangerous stuff."
"Haha."
Aslan let out an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his neck with his bandaged hand.
"I mixed it with a bunch of spells to handle it, so don't worry."
Krash glanced at his bandaged hand.
This was the guy who'd unleashed fire magic nonstop, even while covered in burns.
He'd never been all there in the head to begin with, so no surprise there.
"As long as you don't die, I don't care. Your choice."
"This is why making good friends matters."
A smile played across Aslan's lips.
Aslan had now joined them.
Now, all that remained was heading to the sealed location for real.
'I've waited so long.'
Let's see just how much trouble the World Eroder bastards went through.
The place where Violen's power was sealed.
As Violen had said, it was a mountain not far from Zeblam.
The mountain's name was Aberia.
A name given before the Kingdom of Zeblam was founded; in ancient tongue, it meant "Wandering Mountain."
As proof, Aberia's slopes were perpetually shrouded in thick fog, making it hard for first-timers to navigate.
But Violen seemed to remember every inch of the place, traversing Mount Aberia like her own backyard.
"Since it's bound by barriers, the memories are even more vivid."
Or so Violen said.
Thanks to her, Krash made the ascent without getting lost.
Before long, the three arrived at a certain spot.
It was a sheer cliff, appearing out of nowhere.
As evidence of their long climb up the mountain.
Fog-shrouded peaks loomed in the distance.
Violen stood firm at the cliff's edge.
"This the place?"
"Yeah."
Violen nodded at Krash's question.
"All I see is a cliff."
Krash voiced his honest impression, and Violen gave a wry smile.
"It's got barriers up."
As expected, the barrier master hadn't left it half-assed.
"I'll undo it now, so wait here."
Violen approached the cliff's edge and began gesturing with her hands.
She was unraveling and dismantling the barrier formula the barrier master had set.
Krash left her to it and quietly scanned the surroundings.
'I told them the location.'
He'd figured that if he just gave the geographic coordinates, they'd find it without issue and hold the position.
Had they failed to locate it, perhaps?
That was when Krash had that thought.
His Sixth Sense triggered, and his head snapped around to the rear.
The shadow cast by the mountain behind them rippled quietly.
"Ho?"
A short exclamation followed, and the rippling shadow slowly began to rise into form.
Krash clicked his tongue at the chill rising from his gut.
"Krash."
Aslan felt it too; tension naturally etched across his face.
It was only natural.
Few in this world could remain calm before the one who had appeared.
Beyond the pitch-black shadow.
A middle-aged woman emerged, draped in a robe so long it dragged on the ground.
She looked middle-aged, but her true age seemed far greater.
"Making folks wait this long—you're quite the naughty little brat."
With each vibration of her voice, shadows danced wildly around them.
The sheer power contained in her voice alone was enough to affect the natural environment.
On her chest gleamed an inverted skull, pierced through the crown by a sword blade.
The symbol of Lactea.
Heavenly Four Strong
Tyrant Emperor
Glaisys Lactea
The last of the Heavenly Four Strong Krash had yet to meet.
And the very person he'd summoned to guard the site where Violen's power was sealed.
She approached Krash with a wrinkled smile, her footsteps heavy.
With each step, thick shadows dripped from beneath her feet.
It felt ominous, as if the darkness itself was rising and moving on its own.
"To think you'd boldly ask me of all people. As expected of the Martial Emperor's whelp."
Before he knew it, she stood before Krash and slowly straightened her hunched back.
Her towering height cast a shadow over his face, nearly eclipsing the sun.
Almost two meters tall.
Jet-black hair like spilled ink cascaded from beneath her robe.
Through those strands, she gazed quietly down at Krash.
"So, little one, where's this World Eroder? If not, are you the World Eroder standing before my eyes?"
Krash let out a small breath in response to her question.
"We shouldn't go accusing innocent citizens of being World Eroders."
"This old bag treats anyone wielding the cursed power of World Erosion as a World Eroder. Isn't that the same thing?"
"Unfortunately, it's not just World Erosion power that I wield."
Krash brazenly converted the World Erosion power right before her eyes into aura.
Glaisys narrowed her eyes at the sight.
She saw through the aura Krash wielded.
"Hmm, the Fighting Emperor's power, that old coot."
Back when the former Fighting Emperor, Durandal, held his seat among the Heavenly Four Strong.
She had been making her name as one of the Ten Heavenly Strong.
But now, time had passed; the former Fighting Emperor Durandal had stepped down, and she had taken his place.
Firmly establishing herself as the existence World Eroders feared most.
"You've crammed every damn thing into your body, haven't you? Don't you want to live long, little one?"
"I want to live so long that that's exactly why I do this. If the world ends, what's the point of an eternal lifespan?"
Glaisys's face grew even more amused at Krash's bold retort.
"Ho ho, do you think you're some hero who's going to save the world now?"
A subtle pressure emanated from her body, tightening around them.
Pressure that would have an ordinary person clutching their throat and writhing on the ground.
Yet Krash still insolently held his head high, staring straight at her.
"I couldn't care less about being a hero."
Interest flickered in Glaisys's eyes.
"All I want is to protect this godforsaken world. That's it. If I need to be called a hero in the process, fine. If something villainous is necessary, I'll do it."
"Do you really think this world is going to end?"
"Even human lifespans have an end. Why wouldn't the world?"
Impressive rhetoric.
Glaisys clearly read the unyielding will in Krash's eyes.
"You're a stubborn one."
But she didn't dislike it.
Those with eyes like that didn't die easily.
Humans grew stronger the longer they lived.
That was Glaisys's creed.
"But you're ill-mannered."
"Grew up without parents."
"Trying to drive nails into the coffin of parents who are still very much alive."
"You can always hammer another nail into the one already there. What's to worry?"
Aslan quietly eyed Krash like he was a madman.
He was used to Krash speaking without filter, but seeing him hold nothing back even before Tyrant Emperor Glaisys Lactea was something else.
Glaisys was the eldest among the Heavenly Four Strong, a senior even to the others.
Yet Glaisys offered no further scolding.
"Keep a good eye on that rat in your pocket. If it catches this old bag's eye, I won't let it slide."
She merely directed quiet malice toward the World Eroder linked to Krash.
The corpse rat in Krash's pocket went as still as if truly dead.
Krash could almost hear Evelask swallowing hard.
"All done!"
Just then, Violen thrust both hands up triumphantly.
As she turned back toward Krash, proud from breaking her focus.
Her face froze in shock.
Glaisys stood right beside Krash, naturally.
Glaisys quietly regarded Violen.
"She's a person."
And Krash quietly warned Glaisys.
A blatant declaration that he wouldn't stand by if she classified Violen as a World Eroder and attacked.
"Threatening before a tiger might amuse if it's just a lion cub."
Glaisys hunched her back again, as if to say not to worry.
The pressure emanating from her vanished.
"Now, there should be some recompense for working this old bag to the bone."
Glaisys, now giving off the vibe of an ordinary middle-aged woman, smiled.
Krash slowly unclenched his sweaty fist in response to that smile.
Instead, he handed her a bracelet.
Having heard about it beforehand, she accepted the bracelet from Krash.
She was precisely the person Krash had planned to give the safety device to.
"It'll exceed expectations."
Ixion would approach one way or another.
Of that, Krash was certain.