Chapter 303
Chapter 303
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 303
Chapter Title: Arthur...?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The White Knight of Conquest.
The first knight among the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse who would soon appear.
From the moment that monster emerged, the world had begun its full descent into ruin.
The unique ability of the White Knight of Conquest was the power to command the beasts of the earth.
Upon his arrival, the World Erosion entities could unleash their full might even beyond the erosion zones, unrestricted.
KABOOM!
A sound of something collapsing echoed in Krash's ears.
He slowly turned his head, and there it was—a colossal giant smashing through the Freya Mountains as it descended.
The giant, lord of the Golden Territory and the Giant's Forest.
With the restrictions of the World Erosion lifted, it had begun its rampage.
This was truly the worst possible scenario.
Krash quietly gazed up at the sight.
That burning land below was probably the Empire.
The Empire, already ravaged by repeated calamities, had declined at a rapid pace, and now the White Knight of Conquest had put the final nail in its coffin.
Krash furrowed his brow as he watched the flames engulfing the entire Empire.
Just moments ago, he had been passing through the materialized Aura in the Magic Valley.
So, was this an illusion conjured by the Aura?
And if so, why show him this particular scene?
'Maybe it's a warning.'
Aura was the power that protected the world.
This Aura might be warning Krash right now.
Asking if he could face the danger that was about to come.
'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.'
Krash looked up at the White Knight of Conquest.
Even from this distance, an overwhelming power emanated from it, sending chills down his spine.
Krash had grown this strong by any means necessary, sparing no method.
But against that monster, he had no idea what to do.
And for good reason—even the famed Heavenly Supremes had ultimately met their ends at the hands of those monstrosities.
The Generation of the Sky had banded together with sacrifices and cunning to defeat them one by one.
But in the process, most nations had been all but annihilated.
And then came the last one: the Pale Knight of Death.
They couldn't stop that one.
The Pale Knight of Death embodied death itself, absorbing all the powers of the previous three knights.
The destruction wouldn't end until that one was defeated.
Just the arrival of the Pale Knight of Death had wiped out the Generation of the Sky without mercy.
That scene was still vividly etched in Krash's mind.
The same went for Mary, Sigrin, and Abella.
The Pale Knight of Death had been a fundamental assault on their psyches.
Krash, tainted by curses, had somehow kept his sanity intact.
One wrong step, and he might have been reduced to a broken shell.
Even so, deep in his heart, those thoughts lingered.
What if, before the Four Horsemen appeared, even one more from the Generation of the Sky had survived?
What if, in the battles against the Four Horsemen, they could have saved the Heavenly Supremes, the Ten Heavenly Powers?
What if they had held onto their nations, maintained their front lines for just a bit more supplies and reinforcements?
Maybe they could have stood a chance against the Pale Knight of Death at the end.
By the time the Pale Knight of Death arrived, too many had already perished.
Only a handful of the Generation of the Sky remained, and the very concept of nations had been shattered long before.
There was no way to fight back in that state.
To avoid repeating that nightmare, Krash had desperately grown stronger and united those around him.
He wanted as many as possible to survive and stand against the apocalypse.
'Is this a fragment of my memories... or a glimpse of the future?'
Krash couldn't tell.
But he sensed this was the world's own trial for him.
"No way they expect me to take that thing down, right?"
Krash stared at the Knight of Conquest, who had descended to earth and was erasing everything in its path.
If this trial meant defeating that, it was crossing the line.
The moment Krash's face twisted in disgust, a golden flash streaked from the sky.
It hurtled down like a shooting star.
The instant Krash saw it, he realized this place was constructed from his memories.
He instinctively chased after the flash, breaking into a run.
"......Arthur."
Meanwhile, the shooting star crashed down right before the Knight of Conquest.
KABOOOOOM!
A sword thrust out from the golden flash, swinging toward the Knight of Conquest in an instant.
CLANG!
The massive bow swung by the Knight of Conquest clashed against Arthur's sword.
Krash's eyes widened at the sight of him—he looked far older than the Arthur he knew.
The reason? Arthur's appearance was drastically different from his memories.
"Huh?"
The Arthur facing the Knight of Conquest resembled the most recent version Krash knew.
Not the shell of the old Arthur he'd known, but his true form from the present moment.
He had a more androgynous air than before, with feminine undertones.
But now...
The Arthur reflected in Krash's eyes was even more shocking.
Golden hair tied back tightly, whipping in the wind.
A slender jawline, sharp nose, and eyes glowing gold, brimming with profound beauty.
Up to that point, it matched the current Arthur he knew.
But one thing.
One detail left Krash stunned.
His chivalric armor—an ancient relic boasting the world's greatest durability, perfectly fitted to his frame.
Yet Arthur's chest swelled visibly beneath it, plain to the naked eye.
His waist curved gracefully into wide hips.
Every time his fluttering cloak revealed her pronounced figure, Krash froze in place.
"......"
Krash slowed his run, his mouth hanging open in dumbfounded shock.
It was only natural.
Arthur in his memories had been a man.
But the Arthur before his eyes now was unmistakably a woman.
Krash's mind reeled in confusion.
Wasn't this scene based on his memories, conjured by the Aura?
If so, it should show the male Arthur—why was a female version appearing?
As his thoughts swirled, one realization hit him.
'Timelines.'
The countless timelines woven into the world.
Just as Abella could glimpse them, perhaps the Aura was showing him one now.
'Does that mean this is manifesting one of those timelines?'
Was this just a timeline where Arthur was a woman?
As that thought formed, pieces of the puzzle clicked together in Krash's mind.
He had always assumed Arthur merely altered his appearance to look masculine.
But that wasn't it.
Arthur hadn't changed his looks—he had changed his very gender.
'From the beginning.'
Arthur had been a woman.
Which meant the current Arthur was also cross-dressing; her true self was female.
'The reason Arthur had to become a man.'
Krash already knew it, from what the present-day Arthur had told him.
The three women who heralded doom.
Mary Diana, Sigrin Epania, Abella.
To take them all as lovers, Arthur had changed her own gender.
"Ha."
A disbelieving breath escaped Krash's lips.
Was this madness?
Or desperate resolve to save the world, no matter the cost?
"You were one hell of a lunatic yourself."
Krash muttered and started walking again.
If this scene was a perfect copy of that timeline...
He wanted to ask her directly.
Ask what happened on that day when Arthur lost faith in him.
'Then, for that reason alone.'
He'd have to defeat the Knight of Conquest.
Krash drew a deep breath.
He'd had zero intention of fighting the Knight of Conquest.
But seeing Arthur clash with it, he knew.
Arthur could defeat the Knight of Conquest.
So he'd just lend a hand.
At that moment.
Krash felt a massive surge of power flooding into his body.
He realized it was Aura and widened his eyes.
Come to think of it, this was a world manifested by Aura.
Meaning the Aura concentration here was unnaturally high compared to anywhere else.
Just breathing it in filled him to the brim. A grin crept across Krash's face.
"This... is my battlefield."
Krash, who had drawn near-infinite power from Extreme Blood Poison Infusion within World Erosion.
And the reverse held true as well.
Here, brimming with Aura, his output could soar far beyond before.
Thump! Thump!
The heart of Krash, who had devoured the White Dragon, began to pound fiercely.
His body ravenously absorbed the Aura saturating the air.
Transformed into the vessel of the Dragon King Clan, his capacity was vastly expanded.
So he greedily filled himself with the incoming Aura.
Whoosh—
White flames soon cloaked his entire body.
SCRREEECH!
The massive Aura gathered uncontrollably transformed into the White Dragon's aura, laying waste to the surroundings.
The raging flames were forcibly extinguished upon contact.
Krash slowly pulled one leg back.
Then drew Thunderclap to his waist.
'What if I try it now?'
Before entering the Magic Valley, Krash had learned the principles of the Creation Martial God from Durandal.
Durandal had taught him as much as he could absorb, since he'd have to enter the valley anyway.
The Creation Martial God required an absurd amount of Aura.
For one reason alone.
To materialize Aura into any desired form.
By compressing Aura to its limit and manifesting it, the Creation Martial God became an overwhelming weapon that erased World Erosion entities entirely.
After hearing Durandal's explanation, Krash had tried manifesting it himself, but with his own Aura, it was impossible.
That's why he followed Durandal into the Magic Valley—to amass that massive Aura.
But now, the situation had changed dramatically.
This area was overflowing with Aura.
No reason not to test it.
A sheath of thunder aura began forming over Krash's Thunderclap.
Within that sheath of thunder aura.
The Aura dwelling in Krash's body exploded inward.
Krash didn't know how to compress and materialize Aura like Durandal.
He'd never had enough to even attempt it.
So he adapted the compression in his own unique way.
Inside the created sheath.
Fill it with Aura and use the Sword Demon's Draw Technique to forcibly compress it.
The Aura in his body was sucked into the sheath in an instant.
But this wasn't enough to complete the Creation Martial God.
Krash began devouring all the surrounding Aura.
The formation from Bioiren played a key role here.
It stabilized the forcibly absorbed Aura, preventing overload.
Krash shoved the absorbed Aura into the sheath once more.
Inside the thunder sheath, the Aura thrashed wildly, compressing with each impact.
Cold sweat dripped down Krash's face.
Channeling such vast power through his body was disorienting his mind.
A labored breath escaped him.
His body trembled violently from the strain.
Crack!
Yet Krash pressed on, using his body as the vessel.
His eyes gradually turned red.
Scales sprouted across his skin, and small horns emerged from his head.
Crack!
But before compression finished, cracks spiderwebbed across the thunder sheath.
Its durability couldn't withstand the Aura's power.
"Four Seasons!"
Krash pulled another card.
The moment he roared, Four Seasons surged through his body, enveloping the thunder sheath.
Four Seasons' specialty: forcibly maintaining anything without collapse.
And it wasn't limited to life.
With Four Seasons reinforcing it, the sheath grew far sturdier.
Realizing this, Krash poured in Aura without end.
Krunch, craaack!
White vapor poured from Krash's mouth.
The world's most violent power raged madly within the sheath.
BOOM!
Finally, the Knight of Conquest and Arthur sensed the violent power's movement.
The two combatants turned toward it late.
Centered on Krash, the power warped the surrounding space.
Even Arthur choked at the sheer force.
CLANG!
"Ngh!?"
The Knight of Conquest seized Arthur's opening and repelled her.
【HIIIEEEEENG!】
Its pure white steed neighed fiercely beneath it and charged, abandoning Arthur.
At the same time, the Knight drew back its bowstring, aiming at Krash.
It perceived Krash as a greater threat than Arthur and launched its attack.
The thorny crown atop the Knight's head blazed fiercely.
Before its bow, gathered light shimmered and formed an absurd arrow.
The arrow called Pure White—erasing all it touched.
One of the Knight of Conquest's most devastating weapons.
But Arthur wouldn't allow it.
Her body scattered like light and vanished in an instant.
She reappeared right before the Knight.
The Knight loosed its arrow regardless.
Arthur's sword, infused with starlight, devoured all nearby light and swung.
KAAAAAANG!
Her sword clashed with Pure White, devastating the surroundings.
Her arm trembled wildly, but she deflected the arrow's path.
Whiiiine!
The redirected Pure White shot skyward, piercing clouds in its wake.
The backlash gale swallowed everything nearby.
Amid that tempest.
A white light flickered briefly.
Crack!
At its center, the sound of Krash's sheath shattering rang out.
From the broken sheath rose a blade of white-hot incandescence.
Krash gripped the incandescent blade and simply swung it forward.
A line traced the path of the swing.
Crack—
Soon, that line distorted.
Whoosh!
White flames erupted along it, devouring everything.
Extinguishing Flame Erosion
Form Eight
⟨ Extinguishing Flame Martial God ⟩
The world split in half and burned.