Madness Spreads
***
Aniks Graiza.
The eldest son of the Graiza family and a noble destined to lead Starlon.
Later known as the “Wooden Bow” and one of the Three Prodigies, he was to beco a pillar of the Skyborne Generation.
Now, he was scoffing at his own decision.
Facing a monster that seed impossible to handle, he and the Twin Sprout mbers were buying three minutes.
And all this trust was placed in one uncertain move.
What he was betting on now was Kraush, just one person.
In fact, the entire Twin Sprout’s lives depended on him.
If Kraush failed, the Twin Sprout mbers, exhausted from buying ti, wouldn’t even be able to escape and would be annihilated.
At best, a few might survive.
‘A rational decision-maker like .’
To think he would make such a choice.
Aniks rembered that day.
Two years ago at the Holy Land of Stars.
The day he was struck down by a boy’s all-out attack when they t at Arayon Pavilion.
Boom!
“Mr. Aniks!”
Elfin’s voice cried out as Decarabia’s four arms stretched downward.
Then, clusters of tendrils burst from those arms.
Each tendril, imbued with a curse, aid straight at the Twin Sprout mbers.
Enraged at Kraush’s disappearance, Decarabia launched a large-scale attack to find him.
Seeing this, Aniks imdiately struck the wooden floor.
At that mont, Aniks’s recovery and Mokchendo combined, causing trees to rise like shields.
Thud, thud, thud!
The tendrils collided with the trees, compressing the elastic tendrils.
Unpleasant sounds echoed from the trees.
But the four fists that followed could not be blocked.
Snap!
Strengthened trees shattered with one blow.
Through the gap, Decarabia reached out again.
But Aniks wasn’t alone.
The Twin Sprout mbers leaped and attacked the extended arms.
Slash, thud!
Without a mage, large-scale bombardnt was impossible.
Their attacks only managed to scratch the tendrils and slightly graze the hide.
But it was enough to further enrage Decarabia.
“Graaaah!”
Like a person repulsed by insects biting them, Decarabia roared and wildly swung its arms.
Aniks quickly created platforms with trees to catch or support the mbers before they were exposed to the fists.
“Ugh.”
Repeatedly doing this, Aniks felt the intense drain on his aura and the burden rising.
But he gritted his teeth and endured.
Sweating profusely, he continued to support the Twin Sprout mbers.
Normally, he wouldn’t push himself this hard.
But if not him, no one else would survive.
A headache pounded in his head.
But Aniks ignored it and pushed his Mokchendo further.
His current state resembled soone.
Aniks vividly rembered a boy.
A boy who burned his body to surpass his limits, giving his all.
And soone who was trampled by the star called Charlotte.
‘Kraush.’
Aniks had been praised since birth.
He was the eldest son of the Graiza family, blessed with innate talent.
Life had been smooth sailing after contracting with a god.
No one underestimated him; instead, they sought his favor.
Even the princess of Starlon followed him around.
But that day.
Aniks faced soone who denied everything he was.
Not just small fake stars like himself, but an overwhelming star that shone beyond the world.
Charlotte Balheim.
The first ti he t Charlotte at the Holy Land of Stars, she was beautiful.
Her eyes, devoid of color, held arrogance and nobility.
It was sothing only the strong could possess.
So Aniks was intrigued by her.
Curious about how a genius like her compared to himself.
And he opened a Pandora’s box he shouldn’t have.
Against Charlotte, Aniks was helpless.
His proud Mokchendo was shattered by a single strike of her sword, and he couldn’t even follow her movents.
When he regained consciousness, all he felt was pain on his face.
Because his face was smashed by Charlotte’s sword.
[Disaster. I guess it’s true that Balheim is a monster family.]
Elfin, one of the Three Prodigies, also scoffed, holding her broken arm.
[Wow, she’s really strong. I want to fight her again!]
Balak, another of the Three Prodigies despite his broken legs, showed fighting spirit.
But Aniks was different.
He couldn’t feel pure admiration and recognition like Elfin.
He couldn’t feel awe and fighting spirit like Balak.
Because Aniks had always been at the top of the Holy Land of Stars.
If he had at least fought Charlotte evenly, it would have been different.
But he was brutally beaten.
It shattered all the pride and confidence he had built.
From that day, Aniks’s training ti gradually decreased.
It was natural.
No matter how hard he tried, Charlotte would surpass him effortlessly.
Following her shadow his whole life, he would at best be the second.
For Aniks, who had always been first, it was unbearable.
So Aniks gave up.
Rather than desperately chasing her, it was better to do nothing.
Yet he couldn’t take his eyes off Charlotte.
Even though watching her blinded him.
He found himself paying attention to everything about her.
Knowing the rose had thorns, Aniks still reached out to it.
Then, one day, he noticed soone.
Charlotte’s brother, Kraush Balheim.
Seeing Kraush, Aniks felt curiosity.
‘What would Charlotte’s brother be like?’
He had heard rumors that Kraush was a halfwit.
So he tried a simple provocation.
Wondering how soone overshadowed by a star like Charlotte would react.
And then.
Aniks saw a sword strike that split the sky.
A determination to defeat the opponent, even if it ant being destroyed.
Kraush was indeed a halfwit.
His skills were poor, his physique far from a genius.
He was a failure, considering the education and support from the Balheim family.
And his life was marked by comparisons to his sister, Charlotte.
Born from the sa bloodline, he was destined to be overshadowed by her.
Even Aniks from a different family couldn’t compare to his plight.
But Kraush’s eyes never showed even a hint of giving up.
He only looked forward.
As if comparing himself to Charlotte was a waste of ti.
Kraush began to shatter his destiny as a halfwit with his own hands.
He was like iron, repeatedly struck and tempered.
And Aniks, in a sense, lost to Kraush.
He couldn’t face Kraush’s sword strike again.
But why?
Aniks started training again.
Seeing Kraush, who had been crushed by Charlotte, not giving up.
It made Aniks feel it was too early to give up.
And he felt ashad.
A praised prodigy, defeated twice by siblings.
To restore his broken self-esteem, he resud training.
And he kept hearing about Kraush.
Showing that his determination wasn’t in vain.
Kraush kept causing a stir in Starlon.
Each ti, Aniks found himself more focused on training.
Kraush hadn’t given up.
So neither did Aniks.
When he saw Kraush again at the entrance ceremony,
Kraush had defeated Associate Professor Kairan.
Aniks, witnessing this, smiled with fighting spirit.
If Kraush could reach there, so could he.
And now he was here.
Proving that his training wasn’t in vain.
Aniks, with the Twin Sprout mbers, was holding Decarabia back.
‘Why?’
Every ti he reached his limit, his concentration soared.
Determined not to let anyone die, his extre focus pushed him to new heights.
That’s what a genius was.
In monts of crisis, they pushed beyond their limits.
Such people deserved to be called geniuses.
And Aniks was one of them.
Aniks’s Mokchendo beca more refined.
Decarabia increasingly felt Aniks’s presence as his Mokchendo tightened around it.
“Elfin!”
“Yes, sir!”
Breathing heavily, Elfin flew up with feather-light steps and restrained Decarabia’s arm.
With extre concentration, Aniks lost track of ti.
“Ugh!”
anwhile, a mber exposed to the poison from Decarabia’s tendrils fell.
Aniks quickly caught the mber with a tree branch and secured them to the outer wall.
The Twin Sprout mbers were being worn down.
Retirents were increasing.
With each, Aniks felt more burdened.
At that mont, Decarabia, sensing it couldn’t continue like this, opened its mouth wide.
Light began to gather in Decarabia’s mouth.
Seeing this, Aniks felt a chill run down his spine.
Dangerous.
If that hits, it’s over.
“Everyone, retreat!”
Aniks forcefully raised Mokchendo.
Boom!
A massive arm and body rose behind him.
A wooden giant, as large as Decarabia, appeared.
Mokchendo
Fifth Form
Wooden Sky Giant
Holding his throbbing head, Aniks extended the Wooden Sky Giant.
The Wooden Sky Giant, in sync with Aniks, swung its massive arm.
Crash!
The giant fist collided with Decarabia’s face.
Boom!
“Graaaah!”
Decarabia, unable to dodge, had its light beam interrupted.
“As expected, Mr. Aniks!”
“Hold on! Not much ti left!”
Seeing this, everyone sighed in relief.
Then, the light beam that seed to have disappeared from Decarabia’s mouth started to flow again.
“No!”
Aniks tried to block it, but it was too late.
A flash erupted from the ceiling.
The things engulfed in light flew, and Aniks’s Wooden Sky Giant shattered.
Naturally, the Twin Sprout mbers below were caught in the shock.
The Twin Sprout mbers despaired.
Even Elfin montarily lost her will to fight, enough to kill them all.
But in front of them.
Trees shot up, stacking madly.
Endless layers of wooden walls tightly surrounded the ceiling.
Mokchendo
Third Form
Wooden Sky Wall
The trees grew at a speed far surpassing what Aniks had shown before.
Blood burst from Aniks’s nose.
His eyes were bloodshot from excessive aura use.
But without wiping it, he poured all his aura into it.
Crash!
The flash hit Aniks’s Wooden Sky Wall.
The flash began to shatter the Wooden Sky Wall.
But Aniks’s Wooden Sky Wall didn’t end.
Relentless recovery made trees continue to grow, creating endless walls.
Near-infinite walls kept blocking the flash.
Blood poured from Aniks’s mouth.
His body trembled beyond its limit.
The shock felt like it would knock him out.
But the Wooden Sky Wall didn’t stop.
Boom—
Finally, Decarabia’s flash ceased.
Seeing the ended flash, relief washed over the Twin Sprout mbers’ faces.
An exhausted Aniks also kneeled on the wooden floor.
His aura nearly depleted.
Boom!
Sothing landed on the collapsed wooden wall.
With a rough shake, Decarabia’s face appeared between the wooden walls.
Everyone’s faces turned pale.
Aniks’s full-force defense was just a single attack attempt for Decarabia.
As despair set in their eyes.
“Three minutes!”
Elfin shouted.
Whoosh—
The wind blew.
In the wind current, two figures with fluttering hair descended.
One was a boy with dark blue hair.
The other, a girl with black and purple hair.
Their clothes fluttered as the remnants of black flas swept around them.
The heat they radiated felt intense even from afar.
Through the black flas, Kraush’s eyes shone brightly.
Seeing this, Aniks relaxed and smiled.
He had fulfilled his role.
“Kraush, go all out.”
Aniks said and collapsed.
Decarabia sensed danger and raised its head.
But it was too late.
Kraush’s sword sheath was breaking with lightning.
“Graaaah!”
As Decarabia reached out its hand with a scream.
Mocking its struggle.
The black flas Aniks had relentlessly held down and unleashed finally erupted.
Annihilation Erosion
Third Form
Sky-Thundering Annihilation
A storm of black flas engulfed the entire area.
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