Chapter: 234
Amidst the feeling of something fading away,
Meiri dimly regained her senses.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
And when she opened her eyes,
she was faced with dark blue hair.
Immediately, Meiri gasped as she recognized it.
It was the color of Balheim, the one that had knocked her out not once, but twice!
She quickly noticed that she was being carried by someone.
And in an instant, she realized who it was.
Kraush Balheim.
The man who had been spouting nonsense that she couldn’t understand.
Meiri thought he was completely oblivious to the fact that she was still awake.
And just then, as she was about to quietly move her hands to her waist,
“Just so you know, I also have sensing abilities.”
Suddenly, Meiri froze.
He had caught on to her sneaky little plan to ambush him from behind!
With a sigh, she slowly pulled her hands away from her waist.
She knew she had no chance against Kraush.
At the same time, Meiri realized that the bracelet around her wrist had already been taken by him.
She promptly gave up on retrieving it.
“...What do you plan to do with me?”
“You’re the head of the White Ghosts. I plan to keep you somewhere safe until the White Ghosts are sorted out.”
Kraush said as he sprinted down the corridor.
But there was an unpleasant expression on his face.
Meiri quickly figured out why.
The place was engulfed in chaos and fighting.
The White Ghosts had teamed up with the Lion’s Order and the Inma Sect.
While Felray had shown up alone to support, the Inma Sect had their full force in play.
They needed to crush the Lion’s Order together without fail.
It seemed that the Lion’s Order was struggling considerably.
With the Inma Sect’s reinforcements added to the already large number of White Ghosts,
it was a battle they only barely managed to hold on to.
So, the Lion’s Order was facing at least three opponents each.
And Kraush’s grimace had another reason.
He was looking out the window.
“Tsk, so many have come.”
Because outside, a horde of challengers was gathering.
They were other groups, no less!
It was a chance to deal with the White Ghosts and Lion’s Order all at once.
As soon as they detected the battle unfolding, they had stopped fighting among themselves and had decided to attack first.
Meiri realized this too late, her eyes going wide as she looked at Kraush.
Even though she had the best sensing abilities this side of Rahern Academy,
there weren’t many who could keep up with her skills across the globe.
Yet now, Kraush, too, could sense the presence of those at a distance with almost the same capability.
While he may not have pinpointed the details as she could, his awareness was just as ridiculously wide.
To prove it, the other groups were still significant distances away.
“What...who are they?”
Meiri muttered blankly, and Kraush glanced at her.
“Kraush Balheim.”
Ironically, saying that single name explained everything.
Because he was Balheim.
Kraush shifted his gaze from the window and spotted a figure walking down the hallway.
As he spotted him, Kraush slightly furrowed his brows.
A man with flowing golden energy trailing behind like a curtain.
It was none other than Glen Diana, cousin to Mary Diana.
He had a shallow wound on his arm.
Kraush immediately deduced who had inflected that wound.
Karandis.
This was exactly why the Diana family attempted to create a connection with her.
One of those making overtures was Glen Diana, who was still enrolled at Rahern Academy.
Glen had to become Sigrid’s lapdog.
“You, wielding a spear for the sake of the Diana family, must know that to revive the family, you need to surpass Mary.”
Glen couldn’t deny that statement.
Despite his current condition, the reputation of Mary, born of the Heavenly Body, remained formidable.
Her one-woman victory against the Empire’s Knights at such a young age was deeply ingrained in his memory.
Though she was undervalued now, Glen knew he couldn’t defeat Mary.
“If I told you I could make you stronger, would you follow?”
His parents had knelt and begged before him.
Seeing his once-proud parents begging like that was a first for Glen.
He couldn’t just look away from the downfall of a family they had devoted their lives to.
Therefore, he stamped on his own beliefs.
No matter what it took, he would become strong enough to meet Sigrid’s expectations.
And he would rebuild the family.
“Yes, gladly!”
That was why he had chosen to become Sigrid’s lapdog.
A golden energy began to surge from Glen’s spear.
The walls around him began to crack as that turbulent energy washed over them.
The glass windows shattered with a loud crash!
The force emanating from Glen was nothing short of immense.
“Kraush.”
Glen aimed his spear at Kraush.
“I must defeat you!”
Sigrid had told Glen to defeat Kraush in this match-up.
Sigrid was well aware of Kraush’s strength, realizing Glen currently couldn’t win against him.
Yet she sent him anyway, at least intending for him to at least hold Kraush’s ankles.
Kraush caught on to that fact and squinted.
‘Sigrid, you scheming little...’
Sigrid had turned a future talent she could have nurtured into merely a disposable pawn for her own benefit.
It was all purely for her selfish desires.
‘I had noticed you were heading towards ruin long ago.’
This lady truly didn’t seem to have an ounce of concern for preserving the world.
Kraush felt compelled to ask Sigrid.
What, exactly, was she trying to keep defending while rampaging through everything else?
In the end, no matter how hard she tried to maintain her illusion of control, she had been watching the world crumble right before her eyes.
Wasn’t she the one who picked up a sword next to Arthur to save the world?
Kraush swallowed the instinctive words bubbling up from deep within.
‘In the end, Sigrid, the paths you and I walk surely don’t align.’
Sigrid Ephania.
She truly had no intention of preventing destruction.
Even though she knew of the impending ruin, instead of seeking change, she preferred to wield her power to keep her position intact.
It was foolish to think she’d move towards the same goal as Arthur simply because she was an individual he had chosen.
Arthur had genuinely put forth efforts to prevent destruction.
‘Well, I always knew as much.’
Sigrid struggled with leadership.
To put it precisely, she lacked both goals and means to pursue them effectively.
Since she couldn’t find a way to progress towards her goals, she merely followed Arthur, enchanted by his resolve.
In her eyes, Arthur must have seemed remarkably radiant.
And secretly, she must have felt a sense of satisfaction and elation as well.
Just being by Arthur’s side, she was praised, and they spoke of her as a harbinger of justice.
Yet in reality, her qualities didn’t even begin to measure up to that.
“So be it.”
Kraush dismissed all hope for Sigrid and turned to Glen.
All that Glen was pouring into this moment, sacrificing his future,
the only thing Kraush could offer him now was one thing.
“Then go ahead and win.”
It was the force to counter his all-out effort.