### Chapter: 419
That day, after asking the Swordmaster not to help Ixion.
Kraush found himself facing him again after a long time.
Maybe that’s why.
Kraush felt a pure curiosity.
Just how much had his swordsmanship grown since that day?
“Honestly.”
The term ‘growth’ felt a bit empty.
Kraush had ultimately defeated Abella by piling on power until the very end.
For him, it was merely a means to unleash his dark energy.
He rarely took down his opponent with sheer sword skill.
“So what do I need to do now?”
To defeat the Great Anomaly, what must he accomplish?
“I need to expand my swordsmanship.”
To receive the strike of the Great Anomaly, he needed to be able to break through its sword techniques.
Otherwise, he’d just end up with the same result as before.
So, Kraush stood with his sword aimed at the Swordmaster.
“It’s been a while.”
Even though he was blind and deaf, he seemed to know it was Kraush just from the presence.
“Did you gain some enlightenment from the sword I showed you then?”
Sadly, he hadn’t.
“This time, I’ll succeed.”
With those words, Kraush kicked off the ground and dashed across the summit of Enmaia Mountain.
The cold air enveloped his body.
The thin oxygen and gravity made him feel lighter than usual.
Within that atmosphere, Kraush’s ash flame flared up fiercely.
As the blazing ash flame split the air, Kraush’s sword clashed with the Swordmaster’s.
A resounding clash echoed as Kraush’s sword met the Swordmaster’s.
Thud—
In contrast to the tremendous power Kraush wielded, a rather small sound echoed.
It was as if a pebble had been thrown into a tranquil lake.
The tiny ripples spread out from around the Swordmaster and quickly faded away.
This sensation.
It felt similar to when he had clashed swords with the Great Anomaly.
It was a peculiar sensation, as if they stood not in the same world, but in entirely different realms.
Kraush’s face hardened.
“What on earth...”
What world were the Great Anomaly and the Swordmaster perceiving?
Having not seen the world they were looking at, Kraush gripped his sword tighter.
And then he continued the sword techniques he had trained himself in.
Kraush’s sword derived from two forms.
One was the dull blade he cultivated through instinct and the secrets he found in the Balheim library, utilizing his sixth sense.
This blunt blade, confining the opponent’s space and cornering them, suited Kraush very well indeed.
The second was a technique derived from that blunt blade.
Originally a means to counter the opponent’s sword, it instead focused on seizing the opponent’s space first.
The “Striking Blade.”
Kraush’s Striking Blade, swinging powerfully, overwhelmed his opponent like a storm.
Combined with the Sword King’s techniques, the “Sword Light,” this propelled Kraush’s strength even further.
From here, the final technique drawn from the Sword Light, “Annihilation Erosion,” became Kraush’s combat style.
However, this method was completely ineffective against the Great Anomaly.
Its sword was invisible even to his sixth sense, and Kraush had to slash at his chest in the blink of an eye.
No matter how careful he was, it felt like he was seeing a different realm altogether.
“You haven’t stepped into this world yet.”
In that instant, the voice of the Swordmaster echoed through the air between their blades.
This world.
What could it be?
“There are various lights in this realm.”
“Lights, you say?”
“The gap between the seen and unseen can never be bridged, no matter what you do.”
In that moment, the Swordmaster’s sword twisted.
Before Kraush’s sixth sense could react, the Swordmaster’s sword had already struck him in the side.
“Cough!”
Kraush exhaled harshly as he rolled across the ground.
But seeming accustomed to pain, Kraush immediately straightened up and charged at the Swordmaster again.
Just moments earlier, the Swordmaster’s sword had been oddly invisible.
Kraush couldn’t decipher what had happened.
“What do you mean by ‘light’?”
It was the lake of his psyche into which he was sinking.
Inside the lake of his psyche, the light of divine energy began to fill the space like fireflies.
Realizing this, Kraush instinctively began to draw in the divine energy.
Before long, the lake of his psyche was filled to the brim with divine energy.
Kraush recalled what the Swordmaster had said earlier.
To become a star.
On the day he struck down Abella, he had needed to become a god to do so.
And the water god had said.
There are as many gods above as there are stars in the sky.
Gods and stars.
As Kraush contemplated these two concepts, his eyes gradually widened.
“Oh, I see.”
Kraush drew up more of the divine energy.
As the fireflies of divine energy began to rotate gently within the lake of his psyche.
The speed increased, and it began to accelerate, surrounding Kraush with a shining light.
“The message to become a single star.”
This world existed above all creation.
If he wanted to live in the darkness above all creation, he needed to learn how to shine himself.
The divine energy within Kraush ignited, becoming a single star and began to emit a fierce light.
The moment the starlight filled Kraush, his eyes jerked open.
The Swordmaster’s sword was moving.
What had been completely unrecognizable before now appeared distinctly.
The Swordmaster’s sword was submerged in starlight.
That light was the radiance emitted by the Swordmaster-starlight.
It was so bright that it nearly obscured Kraush’s perception.
But now.
As the starlight poured out from Kraush clashed against the Swordmaster’s, he could clearly perceive the existence of the Swordmaster’s sword.
They had become their own unique stars.
This was the moment when Kraush stepped into the realm of the star domain.
Kaang!
At last, Kraush managed to directly block the Swordmaster’s blade and gasped for breath.
As starlight flowed from his body, the ash flame flickered.
“Is this the realm you were seeing?”
His head pounded.
The starlight emanating from the Swordmaster dazzled his vision.
“You too must have seen a world like this.”
As he spoke those words, Kraush knew it was true.
On the day he ascended to the realm of gods, he had perceived the gods beyond that realm.
They were all stars in their own right.
If Kraush had not touched the realm of gods that day, he surely would not have realized this now.
“Swordmaster, aside from you, who else can witness this?”
Seeing such a world, no one could have possibly defeated the Swordmaster.
After all, they would not even be able to perceive his sword.
“That’s why Charlotte managed to defeat him in the end.”
It was because she too had reached the realm of stars.
Realizing the significance of reaching the star domain through pure talent, Kraush let out a hollow laugh.
“Well...”
The Swordmaster slowly turned his head, gazing down at the base of Enmaia Mountain.
“I guess it might have been Mu-hwang.”
Upon hearing his father’s name, Kraush understood.
His father would have been more than capable of reaching that level.
And that meant there were indeed very few who could perceive such a world.
“Have you now met the minimum requirement?”
At the Swordmaster’s question, Kraush sighed heavily and nodded.
“Yes, thanks to you.”
Thanks to the Swordmaster, he had opened his eyes to the realm of stars.
Now he could face the sword of the Great Anomaly.
“Then, let’s teach you a few more things.”
Is this not where it ends?
Ignoring the sweat dripping down his forehead, Kraush tightened his grip on his sword.
Yet, a smile spread across Kraush’s face.
He had also amassed countless experiences to grow stronger.
And now, he understood better than anyone the joy of becoming stronger.
“Thank you for your guidance.”
He would learn everything even to the brink of death.