Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: What Have You Been Up To?
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Dorothy, a first-year student at the venerable Halgram Magic Academy.
With her disappearance, Aslan crumbled.
Lilina vaguely sensed that some incident had occurred between Aslan and her.
But since she wasn't directly involved, she had no idea why Dorothy had vanished.
So what about Krash?
'I know the whole story.'
On his way back to the Azure Sea Knights' quarters after hearing Lilina's request, Krash mulled over the tale Aslan had told him long ago.
[Do you really need to go to all this trouble hearing out a story you already know? That guy's such a pushover, he'd probably just hand over his Moon Yin Body if you took it.]
"Nah, he wouldn't let it go that easy."
Krash shook his head lightly.
Having spent time with Aslan, Krash knew one standout trait about him.
The guy had ironclad stubbornness.
No matter if it worked against his own interests.
His stubbornness never broke.
So Krash was certain.
That bastard would declare until his dying breath that using Black Hood on his Moon Yin Body would summon the dial.
The Moon Yin Body was one of the very reasons for Aslan's ironclad stubbornness, after all.
"Plus, the Igrit family might not be on the Valheim level, but they're still the house of the Ten Supremes' Flame King."
Their defenses were naturally tight, packed with magical security measures galore.
Just sneaking in would get him caught nine times out of ten.
"You might be a crow who doesn't care, but humans are different."
Which meant he needed the most inconspicuous way: official entry.
That was by using Lilina to slip in as her acquaintance.
The Igrit estate sprawled over such vast grounds that servants and staff often turned a blind eye to meeting friends inside.
"And personally, I have no plans to make nice with that guy."
Aslan Igrit, the Flame Emperor who bore the Moon Yin Body.
He'd earned that title by burning his own body to forcibly suppress the Moon Yin Body.
So the Aslan Krash had met was covered head to toe in burn scars.
He vividly recalled those venomous eyes glaring at him from beneath the full-body bandages on the day they first met.
'Though later on, even those eyes softened up a bit.'
Either way, Aslan had burned away too much in the process.
He'd even torched his own lifespan, dying at just twenty-four.
In a way, he was the only one of the Generation of the Sky to die of natural causes.
'The Flame Emperor has to stick around.'
His venom ran deep, but he was one of the few who could actually hold a conversation.
You couldn't just let a guy like that die.
'The worst World Erosions don't just pop up one at a time.'
Krash had witnessed the world's end with his own eyes.
He'd seen how helplessly the Generation of the Sky got tossed around by simultaneous outbreaks of the worst ones.
He would stop the apocalypse.
Which meant he needed guys to hold off the other worst ones while he finished his.
And Arthur had surely picked those three women for exactly that role.
They had the talent for it, no doubt.
In fact, no one had bought as much time for Arthur's arrival as those three.
Even Krash had to acknowledge that much.
'But not this time.'
Krash had no intention of leaving those three women be.
Not after all the damage they'd caused.
Time to play different cards.
And one of those was Flame Emperor Aslan Igrit.
If he'd lived until the worst erosions hit, he'd have blocked at least one head-on for sure.
'So this time, I won't let him end up like that.'
No way was he letting the guy burn through his life.
'I'll make you struggle just as hard as I'm struggling. Aslan.'
Unsure if it was for Aslan's sake or his own, Krash pressed on.
[So how exactly are you planning to find this Dorothy girl?]
Crimson Garden chose that moment to speak up.
Hearing it, Krash shrugged.
"Find her? What’s there to find?"
[Didn't you just say you were going to find her?]
"I can't. To be precise, Dorothy's already gone from this world."
And the bombshell dropped.
[What? So what're you gonna do? Summon Evelask to resurrect her or something?]
"That's off the table too. No corpse left behind in the first place. She burned to death at the Flame Lord's hand."
Another bombshell followed, leaving Crimson Garden with a baffled look.
[Seriously, what're you planning?]
Krash cracked his neck lightly.
"I'm bringing Dorothy back to life."
[Am I the only one who doesn't get what you're saying?]
"You'll get it right away."
Krash looked up.
"The Spirit King's egg."
[......Damn.]
Crimson Garden clicked her tongue at the name that shouldn't have come up.
"Steal the egg and resurrect Dorothy with it. She's a spirit, after all."
Spirits.
What were they?
To sum it up simply: spirits were erosion beasts.
They leaked out from one of the world's forbidden zones.
The Spirit King's Forest.
There, spirits were born, grew, and ventured out into the world.
Dorothy had been one such spirit.
That Spirit King's Forest wasn't far from Halgram, in fact.
The reason was straightforward.
The Red Mage Tower and Ignis managed it together.
The Flame King's fire magic was perfect for shrinking the forest's scale.
So they maintained it daily to keep it from expanding.
Krash now stood before the walls encircling that Spirit King's Forest.
"Not many guys go out of their way to suffer like you do."
Hearing the voice at the wall, Krash turned.
There stood a woman he'd seen before.
Her swollen chest straining against her uniform top.
Fiery red hair framing a black star badge.
She was one of Sephira's members who'd come investigating World Erosion not long ago.
"So that's why you had me drag this kid all the way here."
Crimson Garden clicked her tongue, eyeing Krash with displeasure.
"Aren't you working your disciple a bit too hard?"
"You said use me while you can. You're my only card right now."
The Spirit King's Forest was a forbidden zone under brutal surveillance.
Any issues there demanded immediate response, naturally.
No random person could enter; only those with proper upper approval.
And who could get that approval?
None other than Crimson Garden's familiar, a Sephira member.
Her chest badge showed not the Grade 4 from before, but Grade 3.
She'd climbed another rank in the interim.
High enough for free access to forbidden zones on investigations.
Crimson Garden must've raised her familiar well.
"Aiming for Sephira's top spot?"
"Hmph, even if they offered, I wouldn't take it. My familiar's just too damn capable."
With that, she erased her hair color.
Then tossed Krash a badge from her pocket.
He caught it: a Sephira Grade 4.
To let him into the Spirit King's Forest.
"I'll let you in since you want to get this done, but you sure about going? Honestly, I'm against it."
Crimson Garden grimaced at the energy leaking from the Spirit King's Forest.
Had she pulled something there before?
Krash found it odd but replied anyway.
"Yeah. Need the egg to fix this. And among forbidden zones, the Spirit King's Forest is on the safer side."
He'd been there himself before.
Nothing too tough from his perspective.
"Ugh, fine. Then I don't wanna go in. You go alone."
"Why the sudden whining? I can't even enter without you."
Prodded by Krash, she finally clicked her tongue.
Then strode forward.
"Don't regret this."
By then, her hair had reverted to its natural black.
Krash pinned on his badge, pulled his robe hood low, and followed.
Moments later, guards appeared at the gate.
They snapped to attention at her uniform and badge.
Sephira Grade 3 was sky-high for mere soldiers.
"Sephira Grade 3 Officer Mircis, as contacted ahead. Beside me is Grade 4 Officer Krad."
"Yes, we've been informed. Opening up now—please wait a moment."
The guard moved briskly.
Sephira ran regular forbidden zone checks.
So the soldiers were primed for speed.
Soon, the gate rumbled open.
Golden spirit light-dust began drifting out.
Harmful to human skin on contact, yet breathtaking to behold.
"Escort alright?"
"Yes, Grade 4 handles combat."
Krash nodded lightly.
The guards didn't question his youth.
Sephira specialized in World Erosion, after all.
"Here—magic respirators to help with the light-dust. Check levels and time, and recharge with aura, please."
Krash and Crimson Garden donned the respirators handed over with practiced ease.
They gave the guards a nod and stepped inside.
Krash squinted briefly through his respirator at the influx of light, then slowly opened his eyes.
Golden dust swirled before him like flower petals.
Towering trees came into view.
This was the forbidden zone.
The Spirit King's Forest.
A paradise for erosion beasts known as spirits.
His first visit in this life made it feel all the more profound.
Along with the World Erosion pulsing through the entire zone.
'Breathing this much would ramp up my World Erosion just from exposure.'
Forbidden zones lived up to the name.
Entering with Extreme Blood Poison Infusion made their danger hit home anew.
Kiiiek, thud!
Behind them, the gate sealed shut.
Krash, bundled head to toe with faint aura cloaking his body, stood by Crimson Garden.
"Let's go. I know where the egg is."
"Krash."
As Krash moved to step forward, Crimson Garden called out abruptly.
She stared up at the sky.
"I hoped it wouldn't come to this, but looks like no such luck."
Krash blinked.
"What're you getting at?"
That's when a deep hum echoed from above.
Krash looked up late.
At the edge of the World Erosion-tainted golden sky.
Something pitch-black hurtled toward them fiercely.
"Let's talk after we bail."
Crimson Garden clapped her hands together.
Layered red magic circles bloomed underfoot, teleporting them in an instant.
The scenery shifted; Krash tumbled somewhere in the Spirit King's Forest.
Crimson Garden's spatial magic at work.
She clutched her head, dizzy.
Her familiar Mircis was honed in literature, not martial arts.
Using minimal aura for mana had triggered the vertigo.
"Ugh, damn—what's the big deal?"
Krash adjusted his respirator amid the spatial nausea and asked.
Teleporting out of nowhere wasn't like her.
Crimson Garden glanced at the golden sky through the trees before answering.
"......Years back, I needed something from the Spirit King's Forest, so I sent my familiar to fetch a spirit."
"What'd you do?"
Krash looked baffled; she just looked troubled.
"After my familiar finished my task, she didn't return the spirit. Instead, they traveled the world together. Quite eagerly."
"Hey, hold up, Crim—"
But as her words continued, Krash's expression shifted.
"Don't tell me that's the Primordial Spirit User from way back?"
"......"
Crimson Garden fell silent.
The Primordial Spirit User.
The world's only recorded spirit user.
That was Crimson Garden's familiar.