I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 86

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 86. The Sky Killing Star Ah Jura!

‘Ick, don’t make eye contact.’

Krash quickly averted his gaze from Blavi.

Blavi had sensed the attention and turned to look his way.

‘Not yet.’

But Blavi, having looked at Krash, simply turned his head away again.

After all, in the guise of Krad that Krash had assumed through disguise, there was no way to tell where his eyes were actually looking.

Darling’s Drug could not reveal the truth without an insight that pierced to the very essence, nor any magic capable of such penetration.

—”What was she trying to accomplish by crafting this drug to such lengths?”

Only Crimson Garden, having sensed that singular obsession, wore a bewildered expression.

“What are you talking about?”

Krash himself, lacking any expertise in alchemy, understood nothing of it.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Seiran Sefira.”
“And I’m delighted! You’re Lilish of Balheim, aren’t you?”

In the meantime, Seiran and Lilish were exchanging brief greetings.

They were, after all, the de facto leaders of their respective factions.

Krash’s attention, meanwhile, turned to Seiran.

Blavi’s rampage had been triggered by her death.

The Astromancy that resolves Blavi’s Sky Killing Star had been passed down through generations to Rank-1 Officials.

With her death, Blavi’s rampage—his rage spiraling beyond control—had driven the World Erosion’s architect to declare war.

‘Wait. What if—’

A fleeting glimmer crossed Krash’s pupils, hidden beneath his eyelids.

Blavi was a problem Krash had always preferred to defer as long as possible.

Approaching him at all was difficult, and Seiran, the cause itself, was no different.

Above all, Blavi was not a figure Krash knew particularly well.

‘He’s merely Sefira’s loyal servant.’

He was a man entirely unconnected to Starry Generation.

‘Arthur had turned Blavi’s rampage to his advantage to dominate Sefira.’

Sefira’s transformation into Arthur’s dog was a gift born of Blavi’s rampage.

Blavi’s chains had to be refastened, but when he lost his mind in the process, Arthur had saved Krash from being beaten to a pulp—by collecting a price for it.

‘So I figured it wasn’t a problem to solve right then and there.’

Krash thought it through and an idea came to him.

‘I have the Black Hood.’

Stealing the Sky Killing Star.

That was the thought.

Back then, he hadn’t foreseen Blavi’s rampage, nor had he dared to consider taking the Sky Killing Star.

If he stole the Sky Killing Star, Krash’s own curses would go wild with excitement.

‘The Sky Killing Star amplifies the effects of curses one already possesses.’

The thought of what tremendous synergy his curses would create in conjunction with the Star made his head pound.

So Krash had put the Sky Killing Star out of his mind.

There was a calculation behind it—he would continue to rely on the power of his curses going forward.

But some of them.

If he excluded the dangerous ones, the Sky Killing Star was actually quite appealing.

The Sky Killing Star had the property that the stronger the owner’s murderous intent toward others and toward the world, the stronger the owner became as well.

But Krash already possessed a brilliant way to address that killing intent.

‘The Eye Doll can suppress the murderous intent of the Sky Killing Star.’

That wasn’t all.

The curse amplification that the Sky Killing Star possessed.

The Eye Doll would surely be affected by that as well.

‘If I amplify the Eye Doll, it can suppress the madness of World Erosion even if it grows stronger.’

Krash’s eyes gleamed.

It was a completely different direction from his original plan.

But plans could always be adjusted according to circumstances.

‘I’ll take this as an opportunity instead.’

He couldn’t openly use the Black Hood on Blavi.

The moment Blavi became the target of the Skill, there was no telling what he might do.

‘So in the end, what I need to target.’

Seiran Sefira.

He needed to persuade the princess who held his leash.

So it was with a twinge of regret that he found himself thinking.

If he’d come in his true form, he might have tried to approach her at least once.

‘Should I change right now?’

Then again, there was no need to rush into such decisions.

Thump-thump.

At that very moment, Krash felt a tugging sensation at his collar.

When Krash turned his head down, he found Bianca staring at him with a sullen expression.

“What’s wrong?”

Krash asked in bewilderment, but Bianca’s face only grew more vacant.

“Something feels off. Don’t stare at her for so long.”

At her words about staring, Krash tilted his head.

Was she talking about looking at Seiran?

Even if he gazed at her face behind the veil, he couldn’t have made out her features anyway.

But seeing Bianca’s pouting expression, he decided to let the matter drop.

“Second, Third, Fifth—all of you stand by for now. Captains, come with me. I need to confer with Sefira.”

Lilish led the captains toward Sefira as she spoke.

The vice-captains were told to rest as they saw fit, and so a brief respite fell upon them before their sortie.

“Man, Krash, that was impressive earlier.”

And so it was that the story of Krash’s earlier punch to the Green Sea Knights member naturally became the topic of conversation.

“Were you trying to look cool in front of your sister?”
“Can’t blame him. I wouldn’t let it slide if someone touched my family either.”

Some praised Krash, as though lifting him up.

To them, Krash was relatively young, so his courage seemed admirable.

“Still, I’m worried. Those Green Sea Knights members are probably grinding their teeth about this.”
“They got hit by a Cheonghae Knights member. They’ll be throwing a fit about the shame.”

Meanwhile, others voiced concern and unease.

They were all part of the same Balheim Knight Order, and they were Third and Fifth ranks.

It was inevitable that they’d clash frequently.

Krash, for his part, was preoccupied with other thoughts.

Judging from the captain’s reaction earlier, the Green Sea Knights would never dare touch him.

What mattered to him now was how to steal the Sky Killing Star.

The Green Sea Knights were long forgotten.

“Krash.”

In that moment, Bianca tugged at his collar again.

Just as Krash was about to brush it off, claiming he hadn’t seen anything—

his body went rigid.

Because Seiran Sefira was walking straight toward him.

“Screech!”

In that instant, Crimson Garden shot skyward.

With Blavi following at her back, she bolted away with practiced haste.

“Uh, there—”
“Is that… Seiran Sefira?”

The Cheonghae Knights’ members reacted with belated alarm.

For them, the daughter of Sefira’s leader arriving without warning was a bolt from the blue.

‘I thought she’d followed Lilish. Why is she here?’

A question flickered through Krash’s mind.

He’d glanced at her, yes, but everyone was staring at Seiran—the situation didn’t warrant her approaching him specifically.

That wasn’t reason enough for her to walk straight toward him.

‘Did something catch on?’

Krash possessed relatively little information about Seiran.

She’d already died by the time Sefira served as Arthur’s tool.

Perhaps she’d seen something in him through Astromancy.

While Krash’s thoughts raced—

Seiran approached him without a moment’s hesitation.

“Hello?”

And an unexpected greeting followed.

At the same moment, Blavi’s eyes widened behind her.

“…A curse?”

He’d sensed the power of World Erosion dwelling in Krash’s body.

Krash swallowed hard.

This was why he’d put off the Blavi and Seiran situation.

Her information was simply too sparse—the greatest unknown variable of all.

In that moment, Seiran lowered her stance before Krash.

“Why do you possess three Skills?”

The instant her question emerged like a whisper, Krash’s face hardened.

Beneath the veil, the peach-colored lashes that framed Krash’s disguised features were laid bare.

This woman was not perceiving the world in any ordinary fashion.

Something akin to the same level of sixth sense that Krash possessed—a different faculty entirely.

The Astromancy passed down traditionally through Sefira dwelt in a realm beyond the comprehension of ordinary humans.

Through it, Seiran was seeing straight through Krash at this very moment.

The fact that he possessed three Skills had been exposed.

And the moment that secret was laid bare, the stiffness in Krash’s face transformed in an instant.

Seiran, too, sensed the shift in his demeanor.

What flickered across his face was not confusion, but the visage of an opportunist.

“Seiran Sefira.”

And so Krash made his play.

“Let’s talk.”

When a variable arose, Krash’s way was to confront it head-on and smash it directly.

“Talk?”

Seiran’s expression wavered with consideration for a moment.

Then a faint smile played at the corners of her mouth.

“I’d like that. Sounds amusing!”

And so an unexpected conversation took shape.

＊ ＊ ＊

Drawing the gaze of Cheonghae Knights and members of other orders alike, Krash followed the two women out.

He had left Bianca in Crimson Garden’s care.

She’d wanted to follow, but there was no place for her in this conversation.

And so the place Krash moved to with Seiran was the barracks that Sefira had constructed before the Demonic Realm.

“You’d find it more comfortable to talk here as well, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes.”

He had no intention of conducting this conversation within earshot of others.

Krash glanced at Blavi.

Fortunately, after that initial reaction to the curse,

he had made no further moves against Krash.

His sole purpose was to follow Seiran’s orders and protect her.

He would not act unless she wished to converse.

“Come now, sit comfortably!”

Watching her move freely about the tent, Krash pulled out a chair and sat.

In the meantime, Seiran brought over a container of Cookies and set it before him.

“Do you enjoy sweets?”
“Not particularly.”
“Oh, the girl does. That’s a shame.”

She promptly bit into a Cookie, then smiled.

“Something sweet really does lift the spirits. So you wanted to speak with the girl?”

Her conversation was entirely whimsical.

Whether one should call it moody or deliberately calculated,

Krash wasn’t entirely sure.

Instead of responding further, he simply raised his hand.

In that instant, the Cookie held in Seiran’s hand vanished.

And at the same moment, it appeared in Krash’s hand.

The half-eaten Cookie was unmistakably the one Seiran had been eating.

Whoosh—

In that instant, Blavi’s blade—transformed from an Earring—was aimed at Krash’s throat.

He had moved the moment Krash used his Skill.

Had Krash intended to cut, he would have dodged using Destruction Flame Erosion.

But Krash understood the blade was merely a warning.

Don’t use your Skill without permission in front of Seiran—that was the message.

“Blavi, put it away.”

Blavi retrieved his blade the moment her words finished.

‘That senile old fool.’

Having lived through harsh times, his actions left nothing to chance.

As Krash inwardly disparaged Blavi,

Seiran licked away the cookie crumbs clinging to her fingers with a delicate touch.

Then she turned to Krash with a bright smile.

“That’s quite an entertaining skill. Were you planning to show me others?”
“There’s only this one I wanted to show you. But in exchange, I’d like to make you a proposition that could work to your advantage.”

Seiran stroked her chin thoughtfully, her interest piqued.

“Very well. What sort of proposition?”
“The Sky Killing Star. Blavi.”

At the sudden mention of his own name, Blavi’s eyebrows twitched.

He had been officially recorded as a man who had retired and died of old age.

His return through Banrowhwan Dong was a secret, his identity still concealed.

For Krash to expose his identity like this — there was no choice but to react.

Yet Seiran merely drew a smile, her expression betraying little surprise.

“I want to take his Sky Killing Star for myself.”

Krash had just demonstrated a skill to her moments before.

The implication was clear: if he chose to, he could steal the Sky Killing Star.

“The Sky Killing Star, then.”

Hearing this, Seiran fell silent, lost in thought.

Soon a smile returned to her lips.

“That would be quite fortunate for Blavi.”

The opening was promising enough.

“Though it would be rather unfortunate for Sefira, I’d say.”

As expected, the rest of her meaning was less charitable.

“Blavi is Sefira’s steadfast guardian. The Sky Killing Star is a curse upon him, yes — but it’s also the very leash that binds him to her. Remove it, and he has no reason to remain loyal to Sefira.”

Release him from that burden, and Blavi loses his greatest incentive to serve.

That was the point Seiran had been circling.

“So you’re saying that even a loyal hound can’t be trusted without a collar around its neck?”

This was a man who had devoted his entire life to Sefira.

At Krash’s question, she merely gave a light shrug.

“Whether we trust Blavi or not is for us to judge. What I’m saying is simply that your proposal lacks real value.”

In other words, whether you take the Sky Killing Star from Blavi or leave it — it hardly matters to her.

But if you want it, you’ll have to pay the price.

Krash smiled slowly, realizing that Seiran was a more formidable opponent than he’d anticipated.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t the easy type either.

“Two years from now, at Olfid Lake in Sefira’s garden.”

Krash named a specific date.

“I will save you from your death.”

An abrupt declaration followed.

Yet between his closed eyelids, Krash’s eyes gleamed.

“That’s my condition for the deal.”
“……You’re not suggesting something baseless, are you?”
“But you don’t know what kind of Skill I possess.”

When Krash had first used Black Hood.

Seiran had shown an interesting reaction.

At that point, she could only discern the number of Krash’s Skills.

Not what Skills he actually possessed.

Moreover, just moments ago, Krash had revealed with his own mouth the identity of Blavi—something that, aside from Sefira’s senior leadership, no one should have known.

As if there were a way for him to perceive it.

That fact, overlapping with his death prediction just moments before, planted a simple question in Seiran’s mind.

Perhaps Krash possessed a Skill related to prophecy.

Seiran chose silence.

A genius is one who, when given a single piece, thinks of ten.

In Krash’s view, Seiran was of the same caliber as the First Prince, Hilnaider.

So he cast his move without hesitation.

“You know Blavi’s Skill better than anyone.”

The corners of Seiran’s mouth hardened.

Blavi’s Skill.

The ability to pierce through truth.

Veritas.

A cheat Skill that could discern whether another’s words and intentions were truth or lies.

This was also why Krash had thought Blavi’s matter could not be easily resolved.

The moment he approached with falsehood, Blavi would draw his sword.

Yet in this moment, Krash spoke only the truth.

Seiran met Blavi’s gaze.

At that, Blavi nodded with an uneasy expression.

It was proof that everything Krash had said was true.

“The truth your faithful hound spoke. I’d say your life is fair compensation for the deal.”

Krash had cast his net.

All that remained was how she would respond.

Seiran, who had smiled with ease throughout, fell silent where she stood.

Krash possessed three Skills in total.

Perhaps one of them might be something that could neutralize Blavi’s Skill.

But as if to dispel that final doubt—

Krash summoned a small flame in his palm.

That fire, burning distinctly black, was unmistakably a Skill.

“No more doubts now, I’d think.”
“Ah, ha ha.”

Krash had deliberately revealed his second Skill.

Krash, who possessed information no one else could uncover.

That information was not something one could easily discern without a foresight Skill.

At this point, all three Skills were essentially known.

Which meant, in other words, that he had no Skill capable of counteracting Blavi’s.

Checkmate had fallen on the board.

“…Could you give me a moment to think?”
“Of course.”

Krash pulled back his chair and rose.

Merely making her think had given this conversation sufficient value.

As he turned to leave, his eyes brushed Blavi’s for an instant, but Krash walked past him.

The leash was already around his neck; he need not fear anything without his master’s command.

So Krash departed, and a few minutes later—

“Sigh.”

“Blavi, I was just curious how a girl like her ended up with three Skills. Did I do something wrong?”

She wasn’t a saint, and he was just an ordinary knight—so how could she possibly have three Skills? She’d approached it out of pure curiosity and never imagined the conversation would veer into this territory.

Every word that fell from Krash’s lips made her scramble to keep her anxious expression in check.

It was no wonder that, replaying the exchange in her mind, she began to fidget with restless energy.

“What do I do, Blavi?”
“Whatever pleases the lady, miss.”

She’d managed to wring out some kind of agreement, but the whole situation left her thoroughly unsettled.

“I shouldn’t have poked at it. His face is so unsettling—frankly it scares me. He looks like some shadowy villain straight out of a fairy tale.”

At the thought of Krash, who kept his eyes shut the entire time while exuding that sinister aura, she shuddered.

Unaware that her own expression was scarcely any different.

As she twisted her face into a grimace, seized by the thought that she’d gotten herself tangled up in something decidedly wrong—

“Sniff.”

Krash, who knew practically nothing about Seiran, had thrown down his gambit and exhaled through his nose.

‘If I buy time, she’ll definitely show up with something else prepared next time. I should probably talk things over with Crimson Garden about how to handle her.’

The absence of information can sometimes lead one to overestimate an opponent.

Krash had momentarily forgotten that fact, now that Sefira’s princess had entered the picture.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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