Chapter 305
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 305
Chapter Title: Facing Down Destruction
Krash's White Flame.
Arthur's Flash.
Every time the two swords swung, the Erosion Beings were sliced apart.
It was because their power was far beyond what ordinary Erosion Beings could handle.
Having swiftly cleared out the horde in an instant, the pair now converged on a single point.
One of the World Erosion's masters leading the Erosion Beings—a creature called Valkireos—was in the midst of demolishing a building.
Valkireos spotted Krash and Arthur approaching.
The beast immediately lowered its horns to punish them, but Krash and Arthur were even faster.
White Flame erupted from below, while Flash scattered from above.
Valkireos's heart was incinerated by the White Flame.
Valkireos's head was severed by the Flash.
Thud!
Unable to withstand the two strikes, Valkireos collapsed.
Dust billowed up around them, accompanied by a brief silence.
"W-We survived?"
"We survived! We made it!"
The people, realizing they had lived, jumped to their feet one after another, shouting in joy.
Krash, who had been watching them quietly, turned his head.
There stood Arthur, catching her breath.
Even at a glance, Arthur was strong—remarkably so.
There was no doubt that countless regressions had made her powerful.
But Arthur also possessed talent as abundant as that of the Generation of the Sky.
'If only we could truly ally with Arthur and fight together.'
If such a world existed.
Stopping the destruction might have been far easier.
Yet that path had been forsaken by both Arthur and Krash.
Arthur had betrayed Krash once, and Krash had betrayed Arthur.
The lingering sense of betrayal between them could no longer place the two on the same side.
"You're stronger than I thought."
Arthur sheathed her sword at her waist and walked over.
Krash recognized it as the holy sword of the Freeman Holy Kingdom.
Evidently, Arthur in this timeline wielded the holy sword as well.
"You did great. I don't plan on sharing my story, but you definitely made this easier."
Arthur glanced back at the villagers who had survived unscathed.
A hint of relief shone in her eyes.
It was a side of Arthur that Krash didn't recognize.
Arthur was the type to prioritize personal gain when protecting people.
She certainly seemed more hopeful than the jaded Arthur that Krash knew.
"How many times do we have to do this before stuff like this stops happening?"
But she wasn't as worn down as the Arthur Krash remembered.
Krash noticed the cracks already forming in her resolve.
"If only back then..."
Her mutter trailed off, and she flinched, glancing at Krash.
"Sorry. I've been alone for so long that I talk to myself a bit."
"With the world falling apart, no one's going to nitpick something like that."
Even so, Krash fixated on her mention of being alone.
He had a feeling his own death was tied to why she'd spent so much time solitary.
Arthur showed no intention of talking about Krash.
Setting that aside, Krash needed to figure out how to escape this place first.
His timeline lay elsewhere, after all.
"Arthur Gramalte."
Arthur turned at his call.
Meeting her gaze, Krash shifted his eyes toward the ruined Epania Empire.
"You're planning to take down Conquest's White Knight, right?"
"..."
Arthur fell silent for a moment.
She seemed lost in thought, then slowly lifted her head.
"Yeah. I am."
It was the mission etched into her through endless regressions.
For that mission, Arthur intended to confront Conquest's White Knight.
"I'll help."
Arthur's eyes fixed on Krash, questioning his sincerity.
Krash nodded.
"I want to beat that bastard to death too."
Krash had some information on Conquest's White Knight.
But it was only analyzed from reports gathered at a distance.
He'd never clashed with the White Knight directly.
'This could be a chance.'
A chance to fight Conquest's White Knight head-on and gather data.
The best outcome would be absorbing all the Worst and preventing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from emerging.
But he always had to prepare for the worst of the worst.
"You'll die."
Arthur stated bluntly that Krash wouldn't survive.
But Krash only smiled.
"Have I ever fought thinking I wouldn't die?"
If he could grow strong only by picking winnable fights, he never would have bothered.
Krash had always overcome brushes with death—and that's how he'd grown strong.
Realizing his resolve, Arthur let out a breath.
"I can't beat Conquest's White Knight as I am now."
She looked down at the holy sword in her hand.
Regret tinged her expression for the time she'd squandered.
"To take down Conquest's White Knight, I need to prepare."
"What about the other Celestial Supremes?"
"What Supremes? Lactea's that guy is the only one left. All the former Supremes, included, are dead."
Krash realized this timeline was in worse shape than he'd thought.
At least in his pre-regression days, the Celestial Supremes had still been alive when the Four Horsemen appeared.
"The Generation of the Sky is gone too. A few might've survived, but they're as good as dead now."
She sighed deeply, brushing back her hair.
"If that idiot Mary Diana hadn't led the army, more of them might've made it."
An unexpected name slipped from Arthur's lips.
Arthur looked utterly fed up just thinking about Mary.
'How the hell did a guy like that win Mary over?'
Evidently, his regressions weren't wasted.
"How long will the preparations take?"
"At least a week. I'm awakening the holy sword to its true form."
That explained the week-long wait.
"The problem is..."
Arthur surveyed the world around them.
Could this world hold out for a full week?
Conquest's White Knight would slaughter humans relentlessly.
To them, humans were unnecessary in the world they sought.
A week was no longer a luxury they could afford.
"Four days. I'll finish in four and come back."
Determination burned in Arthur's eyes.
It would be grueling, but she'd burn herself out to shorten the timeline.
"I'll help on the way."
They needed every hand available right now—even a cat's paw.
If Krash assisted, Arthur could awaken the holy sword with less hassle.
"The place to awaken the holy sword is the holy site. It's far, so I'll go at max speed. Can you keep up?"
Krash lightly stretched his legs.
"No one else in this world could follow you but me."
Seeing his confidence, Arthur nodded.
"I won't wait. You know that."
"Exactly what I want."
Arthur turned back once as she prepared to dash off.
"...So, what's your name?"
Saying Krash here wouldn't mean anything.
"Krad."
So Krash opted for an old alias.
It was just one letter off from his real name.
Arthur would notice, of course, but she didn't press.
In a world like this, what did a name matter?
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
Arthur's Flash chained endlessly, one after another.
Like a meteor shower streaking across the sky, she hurtled forward at tremendous speed.
Krash trailed right behind, matching her pace.
With Annihilation Flame Erosion activated and Acceleration in use, Krash kept up.
Arthur glanced back.
'How is he keeping up with me?'
Her Flash was arguably the fastest in the world.
Only Mary's Acceleration had ever matched it.
'No way he's using Acceleration.'
Though puzzled, Arthur didn't slow down.
Instead, she accelerated without worry, leaping over mountains.
Even so, the holy site was quite distant.
Despite their blistering speed, it took a full day.
Running nonstop without rest.
They finally arrived at the holy site as dawn broke.
The holy site—land where the gods had closed their eyes.
As they reached it, a pristine white mist came into view.
But Krash and Arthur knew it was no ordinary fog.
The fallen gods' bodies had decomposed over time into tiny particles.
Thus, no one could simply enter the holy site.
An ordinary human body would shatter upon inhaling the gods' particles.
"Krad, can you make it in?"
Arthur had already ascended to demigod status.
The particles posed no issue for her.
"No problem."
Krash faced no trouble either.
His body housed the Four Seasons.
Even divine particles were mere powerless energy now.
The Four Seasons would devour and replace them upon absorption.
"Then let's go."
He'd followed her here on his own two feet.
It wasn't blind pursuit.
Trusting Krash, Arthur stepped into the holy site.
The oppressive mist dragged on.
Breathing in the god-particle fog brought an inexplicable pressure.
Thus, Krash and Arthur walked in near silence.
This was Krash's first time entering.
He'd never been able to reach it before.
After some time, Arthur suddenly halted.
Her stop triggered Krash's Sixth Sense as well.
Something was approaching through the mist.
"God's messengers."
"God's messengers?"
"Wraiths who once believed in and followed the gods. After their deities died and left them without faith, they lingered here, parasitizing off the god particles to survive."
This was new information to him.
"If they're coming here..."
"Fight time. They see us as intruders stealing their lifeline—the god particles."
"Guess we have to fight."
Krash drew Thunderclap.
Seeing it, Arthur shook her head.
"Run first. It'll be soon anyway."
She was the expert here.
Krash followed without question, dashing after her.
As they plunged through the mist, the messengers drew closer.
They navigated the fog effortlessly, heading straight for them.
"We're here!"
Arthur stopped.
An altar stood there.
Arthur walked to its center, brushing away the dust with her hand.
She then drew the holy sword from her waist and placed it atop the altar.
"Ready. The problem is..."
Arthur looked up.
The mist now swarmed with God's messengers.
The steam-like white figures dripped with crimson-black eyes.
Elongated hands gripped weapons of every variety.
An ominous aura emanated from them.
Having fed on god particles, they wielded fragments of divine power.
This would interrupt the holy sword's awakening.
"Arthur, prepare the awakening."
Pristine white White Flame rose from Krash's body.
As promised from the start, he'd aid her awakening.
His task was simple.
Buy time until she completed it.
"I'll sweep these fanatics away."
Fanatics have always been weak to a good beating.