### Chapter 372


    Aria Gramalte.


    Hero King, Warrior of Victory, and Reincarnator.


    With countless names attributed to her, she sat alone on an ind not far from the maind.


    The sea breeze blew, tousling her blonde hair.


    Gone was her male disguise, and there she sat by the seaside, all on her lonesome.


    Pat-pat—


    She heard a pair of footsteps approaching.


    Aria slowly turned her head to the side.


    Then, she spotted a girl with red hair.


    “…Aria-nim.”


    The girl calling her name was none other than the Red Witch, Abe, who gazed quietly at Aria.


    She hade to this isted ind, and somehow, she had managed to find her.


    After a brief nce at her, Aria spoke up.


    “What do you want?”


    Aria’s voice dripped with disdain directed at Abe.


    Despite feeling that rejection, Abe didn’t bat an eysh and simply looked around, asking,


    “What brings you to a ce like this, Aria-nim?”


    There was nothing on this ind.


    Aria surely knew that well enough.


    “Do you know how shocked I was when you suddenly vanished? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”


    Hearing that, Aria snorted derisively.


    “Shocked, huh?”


    Aria turned her gaze back to Abe, holding a contemptuous smile.


    “Abe, you know I’m not the Aria you want, right?”


    Abe silently stared back at Aria.


    Aria knew that the Aria Abe desired was the one from her previous life, her lover.


    “I can’t be the Aria you want.”


    The memories of reincarnation that the current Aria possessed were nothing but fragments.


    She hadn’t reincarnated repeatedly; someone had forcibly imnted those memories into her.


    Abe wasn’t oblivious to this fact either.


    “Isn’t it about time you let me be?”


    Abe had already experienced failure with the current Aria.


    So, Aria understood that she was teaming up with Ixion to create something like the God of World Erosion.


    Aria had left this alone because Abe was disillusioned with the world through her memories.


    This was due to her memories having so many gaps.


    If she had retainedplete memories, it would have been different.


    But now, she was nothing more than a ghost of reincarnation, indifferent to the world.


    “Aria-nim, you have to be here for the world…”


    “I told you, I’m not the Aria you knew!”


    Aria shouted loudly.


    Abe fell silent again.


    She watched Aria’s departing figure.


    That stance seemed like that of a girl wounded by trials, but if one looked at the hand she raised, it was quite the opposite.


    “Well, I suppose that’s enough of this.”


    And then her polite manner of speaking changed.


    Akasha characters began to flow from Abe’s grasp.


    This was ancient magic passed down from long ago.


    Sensing the magic flow toote, Aria turned her head.


    Just then, she saw a blinding light saturating her line of sight and instinctively drew her sword.


    Boom!


    It was then that Aria realized the entire space of the ind was twisting.


    In the sky, a clock with its hands distorted emerged.


    Aria caught on that Abe had trapped her in this space.


    “Abe, you—”


    Fierce hostility emerged in Aria’s eyes directed at Abe.


    But that didn’t matter to Abe as she rummaged through the space she had opened.


    What she pulled out was a small orb.


    However, it wasn’t just any ordinary orb.


    The Bloodline Theory of the Lagrain family.


    The Holy Grail of the Holy Kingdom, Freeman.


    The phantasm hidden in the basement of Hardenhartz.


    The unique gate and barrier technique of Bioeren.


    The pitch-ck space of the ck Witch.


    Not to mention countless other materials and techniques amalgamated into the Transcendence Stone.


    This was what Ixion referred to as the Holy Grail, and she held it up, gazing at Aria.


    “What’s that?”


    This was something Aria had never seen, despite it being a piece of the reincarnation memories.


    Of course, this made sense.


    This was an item Abe had created for the first time in this world.


    But one thing was crystal clear to Aria.


    That item was extremely dangerous.


    It could very well be a perilous tool that might realize Abe’s dreams.


    “…What are you nning to do with that?”


    Aria swallowed hard and asked.


    The aura emanating from Abe felt different this time.


    Her presence was reminiscent of the Abe who had once brought destruction to the world.


    Abe nced at Aria emotionlessly before turning her gaze back to the Transcendence Stone.


    “Right? I also don’t know how far I can go with this.”


    Her vague words prompted an icy chill to run down Aria’s spine.


    In that moment, a profound emptiness flooded Aria as sheid her gaze on Abe.


    It felt as if all her senses had inverted.


    Her breath caught in her throat.


    It felt like her consciousness was about to snap.


    “And isn’t that the fun part?”


    As Abe’s voice seeped back into her ears.


    sh!


    A burst of light radiated from Aria’s body.


    Abe shut her eyes briefly before opening them again.


    She soon noticed that Aria had vanished.


    “Hmmm, that won’t do.”


    Abe expressed disappointment at the mesmerization borrowed from the ck Witch.


    She thought it would be useful but it turns out the ck Witch imbues way too much rational thought into her magic.


    “Guess it doesn’t matter.”


    Abe slowly began to rise into the air.


    After all, she nned to take her sweet time waiting.


    She still needed more time before the other materials arrived.


    “How long has it been since I yed tag?”


    Abe stared down at the ind with an emotionless gaze.


    Recalling a childhood memory she no longer remembered, she spoke.


    *


    After almost falling prey to Abe’s mesmerization.


    Aria had entered a nearby forest, catching her breath.


    Maintaining transparency by bending all light around her, Aria pressed a palm to her chest.


    ‘That was the ck Witch’s spell.’


    When on earth did she learn such a thing?


    It had been stressed multiple times in her memories that Abe was a magical genius.


    But to learn the ck Witch’s mesmerization? She’d never expected that.


    ‘Moreover.’


    Aria had gained the memories of her previous life and had trained extensively.


    She hadn’t gone about it carelessly.


    So far, she had been working hard to hone her abilities.


    Yet, she almost fell victim to the mesmerization so easily.


    ‘That girl has definitely lost it.’


    Aria frowned at the thought of Abe.


    From the start, Aria had never considered her to be an ally.


    She had always kept her guard up around her.


    ‘In the end, it was destined to blow up in my face.’


    Aria lifted her gaze.


    In the sky, she could still see the distorted clock’s hands turning.


    That space was currently Abe’s magic that was binding her.


    Would she be able to break through it?


    Aria bit her lip tightly.


    She couldn’t care less about whether this world copsed or not.


    But she refused to be tossed around until the world perished.


    ‘I’ll break through.’


    Just then, as Aria infused light into the sword in her hand.


    “Aria, running away is pointless. On this tiny ind, no less.”


    Aria heard Abe’s voice echoing from above.


    “Most of all, no one knows you better than me.”


    With those words, Abe unfurled her staff into the sky.


    At that moment, the heavens warped, revealing dozens of red hounds beside her.


    The hounds sprang from the sky, lunging toward the ind.


    “Why not just have a chat with me instead?”


    After hearing that, Aria snorted.


    No one would willingly talk to a mad wizard.


    Bark bark!


    The sounds of barking hounds echoed through the forest.


    They were sniffing around anding to hunt her down.


    With a firm grip on her sword, Aria began to sprint forward.


    At the same time, her figure suddenly split apart.


    To be precise, it was an illusion created by bending light.


    The illusion dashed straight ahead and leapt toward the seaside.


    The red hounds bolted after the illusion.


    Meanwhile, Aria continued sprinting with light concentrated in her sword.


    Aria’s golden eyes flickered rapidly.


    Those golden eyes possessed extraordinary insight.


    The Starry Eye.


    A special gaze capable of piercing the flow of all forces.


    It could easily distinguish even the flow of magic.


    ‘No matter how great a spell is.’


    Ultimately, spells are sustained by power.


    There are bound to be gaps in magic that confines a space like this.


    And above all, Aria’s light sword had the worstpatibility with magic.


    After all, Aria’s light sword could physically slice through magic itself.


    ‘You think I haven’t killed the ck Witch several times?’


    This was a light sword crafted for slicing through the space magic created by the master of space magic, the ck Witch.


    There was no way she’d be foolish enough to use space magic when trapping herself.


    Aria surged with light and transformed into a radiant sh.


    In an instant, she reached the walls of space at the edge of the sea.


    With the flow of power distinctly prating the space, Aria struck at the wall.


    Shink!


    The burst of light extended in a straight line, cleaving through the space.


    Just as Aria confirmed this, ready to charge through—


    Boom!


    She suddenly came to a halt as she collided with something.


    At that moment, Aria’s eyes spotted another wall of space beyond the one she had just sliced.


    It was starkly different from the wall she had just cut.


    Aria’s eyes widened in shock.


    Since Abe knew about Aria’s sword and her insight, she had purposely set up a doubleyered wall of space.


    Outsmarted.


    Just as that thought crossed Aria’s mind, she heard the sound of barking hounds behind her.


    Aria hastily turned around to see the red hounds encircling her.


    In addition, Abe was slowly descending from above, perched atop one of the hounds.


    “Seems it’s given a fair game of tag.”


    Abe said, pointing her staff at Aria.


    “Aria, if you cooperate quietly, that’d be great. I don’t particrly wish to hurt you.”


    “Is that so?”


    After hearing Abe’s words, Aria lowered her sword.


    Then, from underneath her feet, she raised a fierce beam of light.


    “How unfortunate. I actually want to hurt you.”


    When Abe sensed Aria’s hostility, she sighed.


    And that’s why she didn’t like talking.


    There were too many who don’t get it, even when they do converse.


    “Fine then.”


    Just then, as Abe prepared to inject magic into her staff to finish off Aria—


    Wush!


    Out of nowhere, a sword shot out from behind the doubleyered wall of space.


    Seeing the jet-ck sword glow with fiery mes, Abe raised an eyebrow.


    “Looks like it’s finally showing up.”


    At that moment, Aria, too, turned her head in surprise.


    Shink!


    As the swordced with dark mes swung, it cleaved through the space itself.


    Boom!


    The ground shook.


    Pat-pat—


    A figure began to walk through the broken wall.


    Aria’s eyes gradually widened.


    The one who entered was a man with sea-blue hair.


    Kraush Balheim.


    Now known as the Dragon King, he led the world’s first alliance, Icarus.


    He gave Aria a quick nce before shooting daggers at Abe.


    “Abe.”


    Kraush cracked his knuckles.


    “Looks like we’ve got a date. Time for you to take a good beating.”


    Kraush charged at Abe.