Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Illusion Battle
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Slaughter Hound Bergman.
His signature traits were his perpetually screw-loose playfulness and his half-assed movements, as if he couldn't be bothered.
That led to frequent minor slip-ups, especially when he was toying with weaker opponents—the flaws stood out even more then.
But his true skill lay in overcoming all that.
Not many could escape the Empire's Black Dragon Knights and slip out of imperial territory.
Unless they were outliers like the Divine Spear, Mary Diana.
In that moment, Krash raised his hand.
Following the Black Hood that activated from his palm, the hairpin Bergman had taken from Bianca returned to his grasp.
Krash pocketed the hairpin securely.
Then, as he looked up, there was Bergman rolling his eyes dramatically, getting to his feet with an irritated scowl.
He looked perfectly fine despite the Inch Strength Krash had hammered into him.
If Bianca hadn't been captured, Krash would have slain him instantly with an aura-clad blade.
But Bergman was no pushover.
To kill him, Krash would need to pour in maximum aura—but that would tip him off, prompting an immediate defense.
Ambushes only worked on equal footing.
With Bianca held hostage, gambling like that was too risky.
So Krash had opted for Inch Strength: lacking raw destructive power but guaranteed to detach her without alerting him.
It was a shame the ambush hadn't fully landed, but Bianca was safe. That was enough.
"Who the hell are you? Why're you messing with people's business?"
His protruding snout twisted in dissatisfaction.
"Too much chit-chat."
Krash wanted nothing more than to grab Bianca right then and head back to Hardenharts.
He needed to treat her wounds as quickly as possible.
Right now, he was the only one who could help her here.
The Crimson Garden's crows couldn't transport her, and Ebelask adhered to the World Eroder's unspoken rules.
That said, turning tail and fleeing with Bergman on their heels was too dangerous.
So he'd take Bergman down here.
"Hit a guy and now the kids these days are ruthless, huh."
The moment Bergman said that, his silhouette scattered into mist.
"Pissing people off like that!"
In that instant, his axe curved toward Krash.
Clang!
In a split second.
Krash's sword filled the space, blocking Bergman's axe.
Fast.
His Sixth Sense had barely kept up.
Plus, judging by sheer aura volume, the guy was peak Expert level.
He'd probably broken his limits upon becoming a World Eroder's minion.
Krash had only recently ripened into mid-Expert.
The gap was obvious to anyone.
"Well, well, you blocked it!"
Clang, clang-clang!
Bergman's axe swung several more times.
Each time, Krash's sword swiftly filled the gap.
It was a blunt sword style.
But even blunt styles only shone when they could fully absorb the opponent's power.
Outmatched in raw strength, Krash kept retreating, unable to leverage the style's signature space control.
"Keep blocking! Block away!"
The Slaughter Hound's signature goofy taunt burst out.
A breezy tone without a hint of weight.
Like some street punk's antics.
But unlike his lightness, that axe felt impossibly heavy.
Kaang!
Their blades clashed again, and Krash's sword flew wide from the power disparity.
Bergman seized the opening, eyes flashing.
Releasing one hand from the axe, his fist rocketed toward Krash.
Thwack!
A sharp impact rang out.
But something he hadn't anticipated happened.
"Guh?!"
The groan came from Bergman, the one swinging.
The reason was simple.
Using Sixth Sense to predict Bergman's move, Krash had swung his own fist to meet it.
Inch Strength.
The secret art's effect was undeniable, piercing the surface to shock internals.
It cracked the bones in Bergman's fingers.
In turn, Krash's left fist was battered too.
He'd landed Inch Strength, but absorbed the shock equally.
Without it, his fist alone would have cracked.
"Ow, it hurts!?"
Bergman's scream echoed as his bones cracked.
Krash wasn't immune to the pain either.
He'd taken the shock too, sending crack-like agony through his hand.
But Krash immediately channeled power into his sword with that hand.
Here, Krash's edge shone.
Whoosh!
His slicing sword grazed Bergman's side.
He'd aimed to gut him, but Bergman twisted away at the last second.
Blood sprayed, and Krash's blue eyes gleamed sharply amid it.
He was used to pain.
He'd endured far worse countless times.
A mere cracked knuckle wouldn't slow him.
Seize the flow.
His thoughts accelerated, focus sharpening.
The successful punch and follow-up slash had stalled Bergman.
Humans flinched from pain.
Even Bergman.
So Krash exploded his aura in that gap.
It surged through his arm muscles, coating his blade in blue.
Ignis.
At his call, the blue aura erupted into flames.
Roar!
The blazing sword assailed Bergman.
Even he faltered at the sudden inferno.
Krash exploited it relentlessly.
Intent on inflicting at least some damage.
"Fuck, you're annoying."
But if this were all it took, Bergman wouldn't have faced Charlotte pre-regression.
"Arf!"
A brief bark escaped him.
Krash knew it was the trigger.
Colors warped around him in response.
The vibrant mountains suddenly bled red.
Sunset hues fell, and barking echoed from every direction around the peaks.
Red veiled Krash's vision.
His senses twisted wildly.
Illusion Binding.
Unlike Bergman, who saw clearly, Krash was trapped—the world distorted around him.
A secret art spreading aura via sound, overlaying illusions on the foe's senses.
Once bound, victims perceived nothing until their "death." Terrifying.
"Trapped and dying inside, huh?"
Bergman sneered at Krash, frozen in place.
But despite his grin, he snorted like a hound, slowly gripping his axe.
When Krash had pressed earlier, Bergman realized he'd been in real danger.
A kid's looks, inferior strength and aura.
He'd assumed an easy mark.
Yet his left fist was cracked, right side slashed.
Search parties from Hardenharts were due soon.
Better end it quick.
"Arf!"
He barked again.
His own senses warped in turn.
Pain from hand and wound vanished.
Self-illusion erased battle hindrances.
Then he advanced slowly, axe ready—like a stalking wild dog, more cautious than ever.
Using Illusion Binding marked Krash as dangerous in Bergman's eyes.
No more carelessness.
The Slaughter Hound's true hunt began.
That movement tracking my axe earlier... not ordinary.
Even in Illusion Binding, he might counter.
So Bergman spun his axe.
Then he smashed not Krash, but a tree trunk.
Crack!
The falling tree hurtled toward Krash.
Simultaneously, Bergman kicked off toward Bianca.
That instant.
Snap!
Krash cleaved the tree and lunged at him.
Bergman barely dodged the incoming blade, glaring wide-eyed.
Krash's eyes rippled red—he was clearly under Illusion Binding.
Yet Sixth Sense.
It perfectly countered the illusion art.
Bergman let out a hollow laugh.
"Haha, you sneaky bastard!"
Bergman felt a chill he hadn't in ages.
Krash had bided his time, hiding his fangs until Bergman closed in.
To lure out my complacency.
Krash's eyes fixed on him.
Staring straight ahead, free of the illusion.
Now he knew for sure.
This wasn't mere prey.
It was beast versus beast, vying for the kill.
Clang!
Axe and sword crashed fiercely through the forest.
Kagagang—their power struggle ground sparks from metal.
Watching that, Bergman thrust his head forward, opening his hound-like maw at Krash.
"If you can't stop me, I'll gouge out that bitch's eyes, chop off her fingers and legs, and stuff 'em down her throat."
Provocative words to rattle Krash.
But his expression didn't flicker.
No reaction to such bait.
That convinced Bergman.
This guy's still affected by Illusion Binding!
Whatever method pierced it, his senses weren't fully normal.
Victory tilted his way.
Krash bore lingering effects and had something to protect.
He just needed to attack.
Riding the momentum, Bergman's axe assailed from all sides.
Krash's sword barely parried, but his body was pushed back each time.
And not just that.
Phantoms began mingling with the axe swings.
Phantom Axe Fury.
Countless feints wove into the deadly strikes.
Far beyond any bandit chief's illusions, phantom axes poured down on Krash.
His Sixth Sense had countered Illusion Binding, but the aftereffects lingered.
Proof: wounds accumulating on his body.
"Nngh, urgh."
Watching from afar, Ebelask bit her lip.
She hesitated, eyes on the duel.
Krash was her benefactor, restoring her heart.
Transaction or not, she had her code.
She didn't want him dying like this.
Should I intervene? But if I do, he'll target me. No, not just me—he'll see Krash as involved too.
The backer who made Slaughter Hound Bergman a minion.
World Eroder Mad Dog.
If that guy targeted her and Krash, it'd be hopeless.
Mad Dog was strong even among World Eroders.
And true to his name, relentlessly tenacious.
Once he bit down, he never let go until death.
So she paced anxiously, unable to act.
Boom!
Krash took a hit from Bergman and tumbled across the ground.
He scrambled up, but the lapse added more wounds.
Ebelask shot to her feet.
No.
Better to die later than here—dying now made it all pointless.
[Do not intervene.]
A voice echoed in her mind.
The Crimson Garden's.
She panicked.
Don't intervene?
Couldn't she see Krash dying?
[Watch.]
The voice returned, laced with certainty.
[The boy said he'd win himself.]
Krash had declared it personally.
As his master, she had to trust and observe.
[Believe the boy who restored your heart. He's the lone wolf I approve of.]
With those final words, Ebelask slowly sat.
"...If he dies, I'll revive him as a corpse."
Hoping it wouldn't come to that.