Chapter 108 |
The shocking black flames and lightning storm swept through the arena training ground.
In the scene where all the falling petals of the World Tree were burned away,
even the students taking the exam were stunned, losing their focus as they watched.
Kraush’s Sky-Thundering Annihilation far exceeded the students’ level, appearing as if it was at the pinnacle of talent.
“…Monster.”
Someone muttered that absentmindedly.
Indeed, the sight Kraush created deserved that description.
Within those black flames,
Kraush’s eyes moved busily.
At that moment, as Kraush’s lightning activated, Rain Thunder Prime moved.
The moment something invisible touched the blade of Rain Thunder Prime,
Boom!
With the explosive sound, Kraush took a step back.
“Hoo.”
With a light breath, Kraush’s eyes turned red.
He knew well what the recent attack was.
A bomb condensed with aura.
It was the Pirate Empress Kairan’s special aura bomb.
She was known for blowing up erosion species in the great sea with those bombs.
The moment she used it on a person meant she was no longer holding back.
‘It would have been nice if she had been knocked out by that full-force attack.’
Kraush split another flying aura bomb with his sword amidst the black flames.
Thanks to his sixth sense and lightning, Kraush sensed Kairan’s presence moving quickly outside the black flames.
She wouldn’t only rely on long-distance attacks forever.
Her specialty was close-range dagger techniques.
‘Here she comes.’
At that moment, Kraush’s sixth sense reacted.
The moment Kraush gripped Rain Thunder Prime, three sword strikes came through the black flames.
Clang, clang, clang!
The body enhanced by Annihilation Erosion blocked Kairan’s three consecutive strikes.
Kairan, revealed through the black flames, had parts of her uniform burned away and was scorched all over.
One of her arms had quite severe burns.
Having reached the master level, Kraush’s Annihilation Erosion had a higher output than before.
Even if his aura level was at the entry of the master level, Kraush’s output far exceeded that.
And it was very effective in drawing out the opponent’s carelessness.
Kairan had been fooled enough to give him the first move.
At that moment, Kairan deeply dug into Kraush’s space.
Her strange dagger technique disoriented people.
As if a seasick person were complaining of dizziness,
Kairan’s dagger technique skillfully disrupted people’s vision.
But this time, she had a bad opponent.
Kraush’s sixth sense was a technique created by a blind swordsman who didn’t rely on vision.
Crackle!
Simultaneously, Kraush’s lightning further enhanced his sixth sense.
Unlike before, the Heavenly Slaughter Star filled Kraush’s body and compensated for his lacking talent.
As a result, Kraush saw through all of Kairan’s attacks.
“Haha.”
Kairan let out a bitter laugh.
Every dagger she swung was completely seen through by Kraush, never touching him once.
His offensive power was absurd, and his defensive technique was at this level.
‘It feels like fighting a wall.’
As if reaching the end of a combined offensive and defensive art,
Kraush had no openings.
What made him like this?
Even a perfectionist couldn’t train like this.
Honestly, even Kairan couldn’t see a way to break through Kraush.
‘Then.’
Kairan took a deep breath.
At the same time, the rising aura spread throughout her body.
Following the surging aura, her hair began to glow ashen.
‘If there’s no way, then make one.’
The ashen aura flickered on Kairan’s dagger.
By the time Kraush noticed it, Kairan’s dagger had already touched Rain Thunder Prime.
Boom!
The explosive sound echoed through the arena.
The aura bomb she had thrown earlier was overlaid on Kairan’s dagger.
It was her secret technique, Explosive Demolition.
For those who chose defense, she poured out a breaking attack.
The explosion, which could even shatter erosion species, was tough for Kraush to handle head-on.
Bang, boom, boom!
The continuous explosions echoed one after another.
Kraush frowned.
Using Explosive Demolition head-on meant Kairan couldn’t avoid the impact either.
Yet, she kept pouring it out, intending to disrupt Kraush’s lightning.
‘Quite reckless.’
It was practically a battle of endurance that Kairan had initiated.
Fwoosh!
At that moment, black flames surged along Kraush’s blade.
Boom!
Finally, Kraush’s sword and Kairan’s dagger collided, engulfed in explosions and black flames.
Kairan’s eyes met Kraush’s.
With that exchange, Kairan realized what Kraush was thinking.
Amidst the flowing sweat, a faint smile appeared on Kraush’s lips.
Sorry, but endurance battles are my specialty.
“If you’ll force a frontal breakthrough.”
Kraush’s black flames flared up intensely.
“I’ll break through head-on too.”
Black flames and explosions, a contest of who lasts longer.
***
As the black flames and explosions filled the arena,
everyone was so captivated by the scene that the second part of the exam was effectively halted.
Among those watching was Mary Diana.
She was bewildered by the current scene.
The Kraush she saw now was vastly different from before.
The fact that he was swinging his sword head-on against the Pirate Empress Kairan proved it.
Only 15 years old.
It was unbelievable for someone that age to be at that level.
Even Mary, born with the Heavenly Martial Body, couldn’t have fought like that at 15.
Perhaps not even now.
In the past,
as the New Spear, she would have looked at the current Kraush and smiled, calling him a promising talent.
But now, she wasn’t the New Spear.
A talented 17-year-old girl.
She knew better than anyone how to bloom that talent.
But the wasted years searching for Arthur and the one year of imprisonment cost her all her golden time for training.
Of course, her talent was inherent despite the waste.
Among her peers, excluding Charlotte, no one could defeat her.
But what if she faced the current Kraush?
Victory was hard to guarantee when looking at those fierce black flames.
Simultaneously, the black flames reminded her of the nightmarish day.
The boy named Krad, who blocked her spear, should have been Ebelasque’s corpse.
Mary’s eyes trembled.
She tightened her grip on her spear.
The fact that she had wasted the time given to her filled her with regret.
‘If I fail Miss Sigrid’s orders again this time,’
She knew for sure she would be abandoned.
Sigrid was quick to cut off what was unnecessary.
‘No, no. That can’t happen.’
If Sigrid abandoned her, Arthur might abandon her too.
Mary subconsciously knew that Arthur held Sigrid in higher regard than herself.
While Mary was trapped in the compulsion to win,
Kraush and Kairan’s battle continued.
Both their bodies were scorched and covered in wounds from each other’s attacks.
Even with physical abilities and aura, there were limits.
Both were getting messed up.
But even amid that, there was an advantage.
Like Kairan was solely focused on attacking,
Kraush also redirected the purpose of his lightning.
Lightning was a technique created by combining a blunt sword and Lioner.
With Lioner’s lightning added, the lightning technique seemed slow but covered all the spots where the opponent’s attacks would land.
Lightning was practically the next realm of the blunt sword, controlling space.
But at this moment, Kraush changed the flow.
Because he could predict all the opponent’s attacks, he moved his sword to where the attacks would land first.
As a result, Kraush’s sword controlled the space before the opponent’s attacks could complete.
Thunk!
Kairan’s dagger twisted, shaken by Kraush’s sword.
Kairan’s eyes widened.
But Kraush’s sword didn’t stop and pierced into her attack range again.
Faster than Kairan’s attacks.
Although Kairan chose to attack, she felt like she was being attacked.
Kairan felt breathless.
Kraush’s attacks, enhanced by Annihilation Erosion, were overwhelmingly heavy.
Swinging it like that felt like being trapped in a confined space.
Kraush’s sword was no longer in the realm of the blunt sword.
Dominance Sword
It had turned into a sword solely to overwhelm the opponent.
And Kairan, receiving it head-on, couldn’t withstand the force and constantly retreated.
The famed Pirate Empress was being overwhelmed by sheer power.
Kraush’s red eyes, heated by Annihilation Erosion, flickered.
Kraush’s Dominance Sword resembled that of an Asura.
Seeing that, Kairan realized.
She didn’t have much time left to fend off Kraush’s sword.
Even now, Kraush’s sword was closing in on her.
Soon, it would break her defense and thrust the sword at her throat.
‘I’m glad I didn’t accept the professor position.’
The aura on Kairan’s sword began to surpass its previous level.
Her hair, glowing with aura, fluttered wildly.
‘No shame in going all out against a student.’
Then, a single move head-on.
She put all her strength into that one move.
The proof of a master, Kairan’s aura blade, turned a bright red, revealing intense heat.
“Ev-everyone, get back!”
Seeing that, the exam assistants hurriedly moved the nearby children away.
The amount of aura gathered on Kairan’s sword was enough to distort the surrounding air.
It was a level of power that shouldn’t be used against an entrance applicant.
But Kairan had already forgotten that Kraush was an applicant.
A worthy opponent to go all out against.
Only that perception filled Kairan’s mind.
Finally, as if intending to blow away the area,
Kairan’s dagger extended towards Kraush.
Explosive Demolition
Great Explosion
It was Kairan’s secret technique that shattered erosion species in a single blow.
As Kraush’s sword and Kairan’s Great Explosion dagger were about to intersect,
Crack!
Kraush’s blade began to shatter toward Kairan’s dagger.
Seeing that, Kairan’s eyes widened.
Clang!
Eventually, Kraush’s blade shattered into pieces.
Due to that, Kairan’s Great Explosion struck empty air instead of Kraush’s sword.
Boom!
The explosion of the Great Explosion engulfed the area.
But beneath that explosion,
Kraush, who had intentionally broken Rain Thunder Prime’s blade, held it low and gripped it again.
Kairan then realized.
Kraush had never intended to fight head-on from the start.
The provocative actions and frontal responses were to draw her full-force attack.
From start to finish, he had been meticulously playing a strategic game.
For this exact moment.
Boom!
With a thunderous sound, the golden blade of Rain Thunder Prime formed once more.
Below that, Kraush’s full power filled the blade.
In the depths of his mind’s lake,
the moment a single drop of water fell into the mental lake and caused ripples,
the surging torrent was entirely contained within Kraush’s sword.
Finally, the sword reached in front of Kairan, who suffered from the aftermath of using Great Explosion.
Facing the sword, Kairan swallowed a laugh.
‘Despicable bastard.’
If he could still show that level of output, he could have fought head-on.
Annihilation Erosion
Second Technique
Sky Annihilating Sword
The moment the black flames engulfed the arena, along with Kairan’s brief regret.
End of Chapter
