I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 90

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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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Episode 90. Had he crossed over?

Black rain pattered down steadily through the forest.

Krash and Lilish stood facing each other.

Krash had frozen, still hearing the words that had just left Lilish’s lips.

‘How did you know about Ignis…?’

Lilish had recognized his Ignis.

The Ignis burning within those black flames, mingled with the power of World Erosion, looked nothing like a skill blessed by God.

‘How?’

That was Krash’s question.

Charlotte and the Chief Steward, whom Krash had encountered so far, both knew of Belokine’s Ignis.

The Chief Steward in particular had ample opportunity to observe Belokine’s skill in detail, as she had to test him.

Yet even she, upon seeing Krash’s black flames, had not thought of Ignis.

And that made sense.

Ignis was purifying fire.

Those who knew of such Ignis could not possibly look upon black flames and think of Ignis.

But how had Lilish recognized it?

Fragments of Lilish’s memories surfaced in Krash’s mind.

Yet naturally, there were not many of them.

Lilish and Krash were not particularly close.

More than that, she spent nearly every day out in the field, having devoted herself almost entirely to World Erosion.

Krash respected Lilish in his own way.

The World Erosion she had single-handedly stopped numbered in the hundreds at least.

So what Krash knew of her was her achievements and reputation.

And her exceptional swordplay.

And beyond that—

‘Her skill.’

Krash’s brow furrowed inwardly.

He knew Lilish’s skill well enough, but it hadn’t been of much help in recognizing Ignis.

After all, it was an offensive skill.

But perhaps she, too, had changed.

Krash realized he’d been silent far too long.

At this rate, suspicion would only deepen.

“And what of Nisroch, that you’ve come here?”

So he feigned deafness, letting the fighting cover his deflection.

Seeing Krash’s artfully startled expression, Lilish fell silent before speaking.

“Dealt with. It didn’t take long.”

Krash had the advantage against World Erosion Creatures, so that much made sense.

But hearing that she’d disposed of Nisroch in such a short span renewed his sense of her true strength.

Still, Nisroch had never been that formidable an opponent for Lilish.

Even without the Knight Order’s aid, she wouldn’t have found it difficult.

“So I’d like to continue my questions.”

But her response made it clear his misdirection had failed.

Krash regarded Lilish.

Her face, taciturn by nature, showed no particular emotion.

It was simply the look of someone seeking to resolve a genuine question.

Krash clicked his tongue inwardly.

He didn’t know Lilish in any detail.

But he knew she and Belokine came from the same womb.

Not a half-sibling like himself, with blood mixed only halfway—a true full sister.

If she ever learned that Krash had killed Belokine, what would happen?

Krash suspected something decidedly unpleasant would follow.

So instead of answering, Krash exhaled softly.

As though about to reveal something difficult to say.

“I received it from Belokine, just before he died.”
“Received?”
“It’s the ability of my skill. I learned a new skill that way.”

Lilish had heard of Belokine’s end.

He’d defeated Cheonan-gwi, who’d finally gone berserk in the World Erosion, and perished in the process.

And Krash had been there as well.

Certainly at the time, Krash had never faced Cheonan-gwi before—World Erosion itself had been entirely new to him.

But a mere year had passed.

Krash had grown strong enough to hunt a six-star Erosion Creature like Harpas.

There was no way to account for such growth in a single year.

Even a genius like Balheim had his limits.

‘That power flowing through his body.’

Lilish’s focus naturally turned to the World Erosion power coursing through Krash’s veins.

To Lilish’s eyes, the World Erosion power dwelling within Krash appeared as a Curse.

‘No. It couldn’t be.’

In that moment, her eyes widened.

The Krash she knew had obtained Belokine’s Ignis as a skill.

So then—couldn’t a Curse be stolen as a skill as well?

Lilish was aware that Krash had traveled the world for some time.

Perhaps his journey across the world had been to obtain the power of a Curse.

‘No. It must be.’

There was no other way to explain Krash’s growth.

In the direct line of Balheim, only the strong could earn recognition.

Without resorting to a Curse, Krash had no way to gain acknowledgment through talent alone.

Her eyes wavered as the realization struck her.

Lilish, who had traversed countless World Erosions, understood.

How dangerous a Curse truly was.

“Krash, you cannot.”

She too had once neglected family.

But after Belokine’s death, she had decided things could not remain as they were.

So she could not leave Krash to his path.

If he touched a Curse, its aftermath would one day consume him.

She could not bear to lose her youngest as she had lost Belokine.

“……?”

Krash, meanwhile, regarded Lilish with confusion.

What did she mean by “you cannot”?

Had his lie been exposed?

‘I don’t think that’s it.’

Lilish’s expression showed no sign of having seen through a lie.

More precisely, she looked just as unmoved by emotion as she had been from the start.

“If you keep meddling with that Curse, you’ll put yourself in danger.”

But as Krash heard what came next, he gradually began to notice something.

‘Is she actually worried about me right now?’

Even in the past, Krash had been connected to Lilish by nothing more than half a bloodline.

Perhaps that was why.

When she showed concern, Krash was taken aback instead.

He’d never once in his life received such worry from family.

Suddenly, the whole situation felt deeply strange to him.

‘She must have seen the World Erosion flowing through my body and misunderstood something.’

This was too ambiguous to explain away.

He couldn’t very well explain anything about Geuk-hyeol Chim-dok to her.

When Krash fell silent, Lilish’s eyes darted back and forth.

She was someone who had never once regarded Krash as a younger brother in all her life.

So was it right for her now to try offering him advice?

Krash had heard the word “half-blood” his whole life.

So surely he thirsted for strength more than anyone else.

Maybe what she was about to say would be selfish.

“Please don’t worry, sister,” Krash said.

While Lilish was still deliberating how to broach the subject, Krash spoke first.

Her concern had made him uncomfortable.

But the woman before him truly was worried.

So he couldn’t deny it.

“There’s nothing particularly dangerous about it. These are things I’ve thought through for quite a while, in my own way.”

Then Lilish latched onto those particular words.

“For quite a while……”

Krash said he’d been thinking about this for a long time.

That meant his deliberation had lasted far longer than a year.

In other words.

“……It wasn’t Belokine who defeated Cheonan-gwi.”

The thought had begun as a misunderstanding, but Lilish had arrived at the truth.

“You defeated Cheonan-gwi with that power.”
“……Yes.”

Unable to deny what was true, Krash answered.

At that, Lilish’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“The reason you didn’t attend Belokine’s funeral was guilt for failing to protect him.”

Another layer of misunderstanding piled on.

Krash swallowed a bitter laugh inwardly.

The more they spoke, the more absurd misunderstandings accumulated between them.

It was precisely the kind of misunderstanding only Lilish could make, knowing nothing of what lay between Krash and Belokine.

And in that same moment, deep within Krash’s heart, he felt an unsettling emotion surface.

And Krash quickly recognized what that emotion was.

—Guilt.

From between the dark trees, the voice of Crimson Garden came down from where she sat perched on a branch.

‘Guilt.’

Of course, not guilt for having killed Belokine.

Even if Krash could return to the past, he would kill Belokine again.

Because Belokine, to the very end, never changed and sought to kill him.

So Krash felt no guilt toward Belokine.

He simply didn’t want to be met with either misunderstanding or pity because of this.

—When did you demand everything of me, yet feel guilt toward your own sister? You insufferable bastard.

Crimson Garden was oddly irritated.

—So you’ll tell her out of guilt, then.

Krash shook his head inwardly.

He had no intention of being moved by such petty guilt.

He could not begin to count how many lies he had spoken.

It was simply the first time he had ever been met with misunderstanding and pity from family.

That guilt had only surfaced for a moment.

Krash had no intention of telling Lilish that he had killed Belokine.

‘Still, Belokine would be closer to her than I am anyway.’

Blood runs thicker than water.

More so than a half-brother she’d scarcely ever spoken to.

Belokine, her true brother in blood, would surely be more precious to her.

So it was the moment Krash chose to say no more and turn away.

A ripple—

Suddenly Krash’s instincts flared to life.

At the same instant he whipped his head around, Lilish was looking in the same direction.

A chill prickled across his arms.

That sensation—profound enough to raise goosebumps—was unmistakably alarm.

In that unsettling awareness that comes when facing a threat,

Krash recognized the presence that had triggered it.

And in the same breath, a question formed in his mind.

‘Why is this creature here, at this moment?’

This was the eastern reaches of the Demon Realm—the outermost region, and the safest place one could find there.

A presence like this should never manifest here.

“…Lilish.”

Krash called out to her urgently.

She had already sensed it too; her brow furrowed.

In that moment, Crimson Garden took wing and landed on Krash’s shoulder.

-That wretched thing is on the move.

Even Crimson Garden’s tone betrayed displeasure.

Without hesitation, both Krash and Lilish spun around in perfect synchrony.

Then they sprinted forward in the direction from which the presence emanated.

“Krash, get back to the Fortress Wall!”

Seeing him follow directly at her side, a panicked Lilish cried out.

She had watched Krash fell Harpas.

But this—this was different entirely.

Even as Balheim’s direct blood, this was dangerous territory.

“Turn back, nothing of the sort. This direction has always been toward the Knight Order, hasn’t it?”

The presence she felt now was unmistakably moving in the direction of the Knight Order.

It hadn’t reached the Knight Order yet, but it would descend upon them within a short span of time.

Knowing this, Lilish bit her lip.

She couldn’t very well tell him to return alone through the Demon Realm, no matter what.

“Once you arrive, leave immediately with Cheonghae.”
“Yes, let’s go now.”

Krash’s answer offered no reassurance whatsoever, but she had no choice.

So she stopped worrying about it and began running faster, her speed increasing.

Following her, Krash too furrowed his brow.

The situation was far from favorable.

And for good reason—Krash had sensed this presence before.

‘Agaress.’

An eight-star Named Erosion Creature from the demon hierarchy.

And from the past.

The very one who had torn down the Fortress Wall of the Demon Realm and invaded the Empire, leaving it in ruins.

A Named Erosion Creature that should have remained in the heart of the Demon Realm had suddenly appeared in the east.

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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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