NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 205: Growth
Chapter 205: Growth
From the very beginning, full force.
For Kraush, it was one of his specialties.
However, the cost was nothing short of devastating.
“Krahk!”
A rift in World Erosion emptied as the result of forcibly unleashing Annihilation Heavenly Asura.
Through the gap, Aura pierced through, rampaging to rip Kraush’s body in half once again.
The pain was so intense it seemed to ignore even the price paid for using Annihilation Heavenly Asura itself.
But Kraush was the toughest of the tough, driven by pure spite.
Crunch!
Kraush clenched his teeth.At the same time, he forcibly suppressed the surging Aura.
Kraush had experience suppressing the power of World Erosion in the past.
Drawing from that experience, he relied solely on his mental strength to forcefully expel the Aura.
“Haring!”
With Kraush’s shout, Haring grabbed Kraush and simultaneously kicked to the side.
Whoosh!
A beam of light swept cleanly through the spot where Kraush had been just moments ago.
Nearly rolling together, Kraush and Haring looked toward the place where the flames of Annihilation Moonfire burned brightly.
There, in the center of the impact of his Annihilation Moonfire, was the Reverse Night Star.
But perhaps it wasn’t a 9-star Erosion Species for nothing.
Its condition appeared relatively intact.
However, Kraush had definitely managed to wound it just now.
The Reverse Night Star’s back was charred black as evidence.
Thunk– Boom!
The wings attached to its back, unable to withstand the heat, finally fell off.
Including the two wings that were directly struck and sent flying in the initial attack, a total of three wings were now gone.
‘If I had aimed for its neck from the start.’
Had he tried to go for the neck, it might have been Kraush who suffered instead.
Even with Haring’s Invisible ability closing the distance to the maximum range, the Reverse Night Star had still noticed their approach.
‘But with this, I’ve blocked both its escape and additional attack methods.’
The Reverse Night Star’s wings were exceptionally troublesome.
Not only could it fly freely through the skies, but its speed was near supersonic.
The intense heat and light pouring from its wings could easily melt human flesh.
Especially the barrage of light raining down from the sky was nothing short of a hellscape.
Thus, the fact that three of its wings had fallen off was a stroke of good fortune.
With only one wing remaining, it wouldn’t be able to fly.
“Haring, curse incoming. Get down.”
At that moment, Kraush immediately pulled Haring close and shielded her with his body.
Just then, the light pouring out from around the Reverse Night Star momentarily reached Kraush.
“Kraush!”
Haring cried out in alarm, but Kraush didn’t mind.
Any curses seeping through could be burned away with Ignis and converted entirely into the power of World Erosion.
When it came to curse compatibility, Kraush was unmatched.
“Haring, stay close. Don’t separate.”
However, the curse was lethal to Haring.
The curse carried by the Reverse Night Star was combustion.
When the light penetrated the body, it ignited flames from within.
Naturally, with fire burning inside the body, there was no way to extinguish it.
Most victims died coughing out smoke from their mouths.
[Then wouldn’t that make them no different from you on an ordinary day?]
Even in this situation, Crimson Garden’s biting sarcasm made Kraush sigh.
Through his past training, Kraush had managed to significantly extend the duration of Annihilation Heavenly Asura.
The madness caused by World Erosion had sharply decreased ever since the emergence of the Aura.
It was likely due to the inherent stability of the Aura itself.
Moreover, the murderous intent of the Heavenly Slaying Star had become exceedingly unlikely to run rampant since obtaining Nox.
The night of Nox allowed the Heavenly Slaying Star to remain in its most stable state.
As a result, Kraush had greatly extended the application time of Annihilation Heavenly Asura.
Previously, the madness and murderous intent would spiral out of control within ten seconds, imposing a strict time limit.
But once that issue was resolved, the duration naturally increased.
Furthermore, Kraush’s strength had reached a point where he could now summon Annihilation Heavenly Asura without the need for instant enhancement elixirs.
“Hoo.”
On top of that, Kraush’s body carried the curse of Frost Fang.
Applied alongside Annihilation Heavenly Asura to extend its duration, Frost Fang regulated Kraush’s heat at an optimal level.
Thanks to this, the time until reaching his limits had been significantly extended.
However, even with the extended duration of Annihilation Heavenly Asura,
it was still insufficient to completely subdue the Reverse Night Star.
“Grrrkkk…”
The Reverse Night Star let out a guttural, blood-boiling sound as its blackened fingers once again pointed toward Kraush.
Kraush, carrying Haring, activated Accel to dodge the incoming beams of light.
Without Accel, his body would undoubtedly have been riddled with holes by now.
To put it plainly, a 9-star Erosion Species was still too much to handle.
If Kraush had come here alone, he would have had no choice but to give up.
But from the beginning, Kraush had no intention of facing the Reverse Night Star alone.
“My life just keeps hitting new lows.”
A voice echoed, and with it, a blood-colored blade extended toward the light beams.
Whoosh!
The incoming beams of light, surprisingly, failed to pierce the blade’s edge.
Instead, they were deflected, scattering light across the sky.
It was the Blood Rahsado, one of the Ten Heavenly Swords.
Even the Light Sword once wielded by the Sword King, Lai Valheim, couldn’t penetrate its edge.
And standing there, with crimson hair flowing, was none other than the Mad Sword Emperor—now a corpse controlled by Ebelasque.
He had been sent here under Ebelasque’s command to confront the Reverse Night Star.
“Haring.”
“I’m fine.”
Kraush called to Haring, who stood beside him.
She tightly gripped her dagger, as if to reassure him that there was no need to worry.
Given that Haring had lost her brother due to the Mad Sword Emperor, Kraush had asked out of caution. But it seemed his question was unwarranted.
“You already avenged me, Kraush.”
Haring had no lingering attachment to a revenge already fulfilled.
It was just like her.
“Mad Sword Emperor, we’re going to draw out the Reverse Night Star’s true form. It’ll act just like it did last time, so match its moves well.”
“Ugh, what an irritating bastard!”
Though grumbling, the Mad Sword Emperor swung the Blood Demonic Sword at the Reverse Night Star.
As his body began to glow with an increasingly crimson hue, it was clear he understood the task at hand.
Even if death had significantly weakened his physical abilities, he was still the Mad Sword Emperor.
It was no coincidence that the Mad Sword Emperor had nearly brought Hadenhartz to ruin single-handedly. His skill in facing off against the Reverse Night Star was evident.
Even the Reverse Night Star wouldn’t be able to ignore that.
“Crimson Garden.”
[ Preparations are already underway on my end. ]
Kraush completed his final check.
Good.
The final strategy could be entrusted to Ebelasque.
‘What I need to do is.’
Push the Reverse Night Star to its limit until it reveals its true form.
Until then, it wouldn’t be possible to bring it down.
＊ ＊ ＊
The Reverse Night Star was now extremely furious.
And for good reason.
The crimson-haired man before it was relentlessly persistent.
Even when struck by its beams of light, his regenerative abilities allowed him to recover almost immediately.
With his natural healing factor enhanced by Ebelasque’s necromancy, he was essentially an unkillable zombie.
“Haha, I’m already half-dead, so I don’t need to worry much about getting hurt!”
On top of that, the Mad Sword Emperor wasn’t weak enough to be dismissed by the Reverse Night Star.
He was cunning, expertly exploiting gaps in its defense to launch threatening attacks.
His innate combat skills, coupled with his disregard for the damage to his body, made him an infuriating opponent.
But the real frustration wasn’t the Mad Sword Emperor but the combination of Haring and Kraush.
Using Invisible, they completely erased their presence, only striking when the Reverse Night Star fully exposed its defenses.
Since it had lost three wings from their initial attack, every single blow from Kraush was devastating, even for the Reverse Night Star.
What made it worse was Kraush’s sharp instincts.
If the Reverse Night Star deliberately created an opening, Kraush would never fall for it.
He only acted when he was absolutely certain the opening was real.
Adding to the annoyance were the cursed centipedes that occasionally lunged at it.
Perhaps because of this, the Reverse Night Star’s patience was reaching its limit.
The starlight surrounding its body grew stronger, scattering throughout the night and following its movements.
Crack!
In that moment, the Reverse Night Star’s skin began to split and tear.
Crack-crack-crack!
The cracks quickly spread across its entire body, becoming deep fissures.
“Mad Sword Emperor, if you don’t want to die, get out of the way.”
Seeing this, Kraush immediately grabbed Haring and kicked off from the ground to escape.
With Accel amplifying his movements, Kraush pushed his body to its limits, accelerating to maximum speed in an instant.
“Dammit!”
The Mad Sword Emperor’s belated shout echoed briefly.
At that very moment, a burst of light erupted all at once from behind Kraush.
The light spread in all directions, sweeping over the surroundings in an instant.
Kraush, who had already distanced himself from the explosion, immediately drew Thunderstorm.
At the same time, Haring raised her dagger, radiating an intense aura of poison.
‘Did she take an elixir while retreating?’
Kraush gave a brief smile at Haring’s swift and ready response.
It was proof that, just as he was growing stronger, the Skyborne Generation was also advancing.
Feeling reassured by their mutual growth, Kraush swung Thunderstorm.
Boom!
Haring’s dagger and Kraush’s Thunderstorm collided with the light, tearing it apart.
Despite the significant distance they had gained, the impact was still substantial.
However, both of them emerged unscathed as they successfully neutralized the light.
Kraush’s gaze shifted to the site of the light’s eruption.
There, something stark white stood.
The now-exposed, gleaming white skin rippled like the light itself, and its wings and head had transformed into luminous forms.
This was the true form of the Reverse Night Star, stripped of its outer shell—a being fully unified with starlight.
In this form, no physical attack could affect it.
The creature had become starlight itself.
“Haring, stay back.”
This was no longer something Haring could handle.
Even if she used Invisible, the moment she disengaged it, the Reverse Night Star would strike first.
Kraush’s body tingled all over, a clear warning from his senses.
Even standing in the presence of the current Reverse Night Star, his body screamed at him to flee immediately, warning of imminent danger.
If Kraush with his resilience could feel this way, Haring could barely hold herself together, her body stiffened to its limits.
“Kraush…”
“It’s fine. This is what I’ve been preparing for all this time.”
Placing a firm hand on Haring’s head, Kraush pushed forward.
Whoosh!
In that moment, black chains shot up into the sky.
Boooom!
The chains spread outward, anchoring themselves firmly into the ground.
Thanks to the chains firmly embedded in the ground, the surroundings resembled a scene trapped inside a cage.
Sensing something was off, the Reverse Night Star scattered starlight.
The moment the scattered starlight reached the chains, it was reflected back.
Boom!
The reflected starlight grazed the Reverse Night Star and exploded as it hit the surroundings.
Seeing this, the Reverse Night Star shimmered with starlight as if enraged, realizing it had been trapped.
However, it was a 9-star Erosion Species.
Even in its true form, it could likely break through the chain cage prepared by Ebelasque if it kept attacking.
“But I won’t let that happen.”
At that moment, a horse composed of bones and blue light appeared before him.
Its glowing blue flames for a mane made it evident that this was no ordinary creature.
“Neigh.”
The horse neighed, and Kraush climbed onto its back with practiced ease.
He knew exactly what this horse was—Ebelasque’s second corpse.
It was the very horse that Arthur frequently rode, and its performance was exceptional.
The Reverse Night Star turned its gaze toward Kraush, starlight spilling recklessly from its body, clearly infuriated.
In that case, Kraush thought, he might as well make it unleash all its fury and cool it down.
“Let’s go, Number 2.”
Round two was about to begin.
Translators note: