Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 685

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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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Yet Kale Heniatus’s smile seemed utterly incongruous with the present chaos.

Boom! Boom, boom!
Hundreds of crimson stones and fiery blades converged around the White Star’s hands. The calamitous flames mingled with wind, hardening into something as unyielding as the wind barrier he commanded, while a curtain of water held its ground beside the inferno and flame, blocking all that approached.
A veil of water remained at the side of that fire and wind, obstructing everything that drew near.

Kale Heniatus moved swiftly toward that water curtain.
His gaze fixed solely upon the White Star.

‘Rok-su. When you wish to use Embrace on a person, you must first remember three things. There are other precautions as well, but these three take priority—the rest comes later.’
‘I believe I’ve heard enough by now.’
‘You were the one who brought it up first, Rok-su.’

Boom, boom!
Though water and stone collided, what erupted was an endless barrage of explosions.
Crack. The shattered stones mingled with water droplets rebounding from the water veil, appearing as thick and crimson as blood itself.

The stones did not impede Kale Heniatus’s advance. Yet the fragmented stone and water drenched his face and body.
Though he had not invoked ‘Moment’, his form grew increasingly scarlet.

“Kale Heniatus—!”

The White Star sensed Kale Heniatus approaching through the crimson stones that obscured his vision on all sides.
Though unseen, that dense aura of dread was palpable.
A colossal presence bore down upon him.

Grrr!

The White Star felt fury surge within him.
Then, Kale Heniatus’s voice reached his ears.

“Death holds no fear for you, does it? Or perhaps you have already conquered that fear.”

Is there any being that remembers as many deaths as White Star?
And their own deaths at that?
There probably isn’t.
White Star must have endured the terror of death through madness, perseverance, or some other means.
That’s why he can exist in this place now.

“But you’re afraid of something else right now.”

Through the crimson stones, Kale could see White Star’s face clearly.
The beads of sweat still clinging to his face hadn’t disappeared.

“Is it difficult?”

Kale’s pace suddenly slowed. He changed direction with his steps.
The crimson stones parted, creating a path in his wake.

Boom, boom—!
White Star continued to erase the stones with his veil, ceaselessly condensing power into his blade.
Rather than launching a hasty attack, he seemed intent on gathering all his strength to obliterate this space. He bore considerable burden from this domain.
Kale’s voice reached White Star’s ears. Though he walked slowly, his tone measured, the presence of Kale Heniatus—all of him—could be felt even unseen.

“You’re exhausted, aren’t you? Each rebirth wears on you. That’s why you’re trying to end it all this time, isn’t it?”

White Star’s eyes were always weary, his face always fatigued.
If he had truly overcome the terror of death, would he wear such an expression?
White Star merely endured.
An endless cycle of life with memory intact. That was truly a curse—a horrific curse that Kale would never wish to experience.

“You’re afraid you’ll have to live again, aren’t you?”
“Nonsense.”

White Star calmly shook his head at Kale Heniatus’s words.

“Is that so? Then listen.”

But Kale had seen it.
When he wielded this power, White Star’s eyes trembled. His steps retreated backward.
White Star would be afraid.

“Me.”

I approached White Star in a circular motion.

“No matter what you do, I’m always one step ahead.”

In the end, it was I who had stayed one step ahead, reducing White Star’s plans to nothing.
During all those clashes, wouldn’t White Star have harbored such thoughts?

“I despise this version of myself, want to kill you, want to take everything from you.”

And.

“Growing increasingly terrified.”

Whiiiiing—
Before the blade where fire and wind intertwined.
I halted my steps.
And I gazed quietly at White Star.

“Isn’t that right?”
“Nonsense—!”

A voice thick with raw fury burst from White Star’s lips.
I took another step forward as if finding the sight amusing.

“Afraid that I’ll steal your goal. That all those countless ages of yours will crumble because of me. Terrifying, isn’t it?”

A curtain of water.
I brought my face close enough to see right through it.
As if White Star’s attacks meant nothing to me.

“Isn’t that so? Isn’t my current form exactly what you’ve always desired—something beyond human?”

I understood the extent of Dragon Fear.
And so I was certain: my current aura had transcended even dragons.
Rather than attacking me, White Star sought to destroy this space itself—a clear indication of the desire to escape this realm as quickly as possible.

Hiss.
Kale Heniatus’s lips curved upward, his eyes crinkling as he spoke.

“You’re not afraid of my power. You’re not afraid of my allies.”
“Obviously.”

Lee Soo-hyuk had said it.
That there were three things one must understand first when dealing with humans. If you remember this, you can solve everything else one step at a time.

‘First, you must fear Rocsu.’

Whiiiiii—
The power gathering in White Star’s blade had reached its limit, taut as if it would burst at any moment. He seemed ready to swing his sword at any instant, but he was timing it.
Timing to sweep this entire space away.

‘Rocsu, it seems like I’m just going to lose. This isn’t that kind of fear. It’s something more fundamental—fear of you as an existence itself.’

Then, Kale Heniatus took another step forward.
Splash.
White Star’s water barrier touched Kale Heniatus’s forehead. Water droplets scattered from the liquid barrier.

“Want me to tell you a secret?”

Kale Heniatus spoke playfully, and White Star, holding only the golden token, scrutinized the empty-handed Kale Heniatus.
Regardless, Kale Heniatus continued with ease.

“You think I’ve been possessing body after body, countless bodies, interfering with you all this time, right? That’s why you thought you could obstruct me at every turn.”

In the Land of Death in the Caro Kingdom. When I deceived White Star, claiming the land held its power.
White Star had believed that Kale Heniatus was someone who had repeatedly possessed bodies over hundreds of years to interfere with him.
A smile formed at his lips.

“Yes. The moment I step outside, I plan to tell everyone how cunningly and relentlessly you’ve possessed bodies to interfere with me. After that, who would acknowledge you as a hero?”

White Star’s voice spread out in a base and secretive manner.

“Or would your precious family, the Heniatus Family, embrace you? Wouldn’t they try to kill you? They’d all find you disgusting, calling you a monster. Yet here you are, rushing at me, claiming I kidnapped Duke Derth.”

Pfft. A deflating laugh escaped Kale Heniatus’s lips.

“You fool.”
“…What?”

The moment White Star hesitated, every crimson stone ceased its movement. Thud. Thud. The stones fell helplessly to the ground. Only White Star’s blade continued to radiate taut power in that space.
Kale Heniatus spoke carelessly, as if tossing a stone into a lake.
Kale Heniatus casually tossed out the words like skipping a stone across the Lake.

“Hey. I’ve been here for 2 years.”

White Star’s eyes widened involuntarily.
Kale Heniatus simply laid out the facts for him.
Kale Heniatus simply told him the truth.

“All of this is what I’ve accomplished over the past two years.”

And Kale Heniatus saw every bit of it.
And Kale Heniatus saw through all of it.

‘I think that’s enough, sir.’
‘Listen until the third time. The second time, you must admire him. You must be genuinely astonished by his very existence.’
‘They’re similar, aren’t they?’
“That’s similar, isn’t it?”

Lee Soo-hyuk had smiled at Kale Heniatus’s reaction.

‘Being genuinely astonished by an existence, or being afraid of an existence—aren’t they similar? If you’re extremely astonished by one being, you’ll become afraid. And if you’re afraid of a being, that being itself becomes remarkable, doesn’t it?’
‘…You really do think like me, Rok-soo.’
‘That’s disgusting to hear.’
Don’t make that creepy sound.

White Star couldn’t continue speaking when he saw Kale Heniatus.

“…you-”

Otherwise, the results Kale Heniatus had achieved made no sense.
If that weren’t the case, the results that Kale Heniatus achieved wouldn’t make sense.

The man whom people across the entire Continent called a hero, who had repeatedly blocked his path—had accomplished all this in just two years?
The person who is called a hero by people across the Continent, and what that guy who repeatedly blocked my path accomplished in just 2 years?

“…That’s a lie.”
“No. It’s the truth.”

There was no trace of deception in Kale Heniatus’s face as he answered matter-of-factly.
He simply stood there, still emanating that spine-chilling aura. Like an absolute being.
Flames ignited in the White Star’s eyes.

‘This is impossible.’

In just two years of possession, he became a hero and acquired everything, growing at such a pace?
If that were the case.
If that were truly the truth.
Wasn’t it as if the entire world itself was helping Kale Heniatus?

“That can’t be!”

A furious cry burst from the White Star’s lips, burning with rage.
The sweat streaming down his face vanished, and the hesitation that had gripped him moments before disappeared as well.

Unlike him, who struggled desperately to muster his power, Kale Heniatus simply stood there.
And the space where the two of them stood was under Kale Heniatus’s dominion.

The White Star found that fact unbearably horrifying.
Without hesitation, he began to move his sword, as if to obliterate Kale and this space itself at once. Tremendous power surged in response to his movements.

Then, a gentle voice reached his ears.

“You’re afraid.”

The White Star’s eyes reflected Kale Heniatus wearing a soft smile.
No more words were needed.

Whoooosh—

The water barrier vanished.
The White Star tightened his grip on his sword and swung it directly at Kale Heniatus.
After all, the distance between them was only a few steps.

Until that moment, Kale Heniatus had not unleashed a single Ancient Power.
I simply focused.

‘Rok-soo, and finally. This is the most important part.’
‘I must remember this section precisely.’

The distinctive chill of the golden token circled within Kale’s palm.

‘When the storage location is destroyed and the contained person is released, or when you yourself voluntarily release that person’s containment.’

Kale slowly closed his eyes, then opened them. Lee Soo-hyuk’s stern expression flickered and vanished.

Containment is not omnipotent.
When a space, object, or human body stored using containment is destroyed.
Containment breaks.
Or there were cases where one voluntarily released another’s containment. This was precisely what would be done to the Fake World Tree.
In any case, Lee Soo-hyuk had warned about that moment of release.

‘The released enemy will be waiting.’

Kale moved his hand slowly.
Whoooosh—
The black sword containing the calamity was not massive. It was simply slightly longer than an ordinary blade.
The wind it stirred caused Kale’s robes and hair to flutter.
The sword’s tip pointed directly at Kale.

The released enemy waits.

‘Having completed all preparations to kill you. Waiting for the moment to strike you down.’

Therefore.

‘Since containment could break in a situation you cannot escape, if you consider safety, it is better to kill the enemy or prevent them from attacking you rather than rely on containment.’

Kale stared straight ahead.

“Kale Heniatus–!”

The sword had already been swung. White Star found it suspicious that Kale Heniatus did nothing, but it was too late to withdraw the blade.
Whoosh.
Kale tore a button from his clothing.

And Kale collided with White Star.

“…!”

Yet White Star heard no thunderous sound.

“…W-what-!”

A sword imbued with tremendous power.
Fire and savage wind that mirrored calamity itself. The two forces condensed together, amplifying one another in a destructive state.

That power was being sucked in.
Silently, it simply vanished.

The power was being drawn into the button held in Kale Heniatus’s other hand.

‘Team Leader, the fact that you’re saying this means you’ve tested it on people before?’
‘…No. I won’t use it on people.’
‘But I’ve seen you use it during every battle.’
‘That’s because it’s better for us if I absorb attacks with high destructive power first, right?’
‘That’s true.’
‘Right? Lee Soo-hyuk, your reaction is too lukewarm. Still, since I handle these high-impact attacks for you, fighting becomes easier, doesn’t it?’
‘But ultimately, don’t you have to release that power again?’

Lee Soo-hyuk scratched his cheek and answered awkwardly.

‘True enough. Yes, this is an important point too!’
‘Understood.’
‘Hey, listen! Why absorption isn’t omnipotent is this: when I absorb a massive force that’s already been unleashed, the one who used it develops fear toward me, and even if I successfully absorb it, since it’s already in motion, I have to release that power again within ten minutes maximum. Otherwise, the absorption breaks on its own!’
‘Yes, yes.’
‘Hey, are you just half-listening?’
‘I’m remembering it all.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Seriously.’

Kale Heniatus had genuinely committed every piece of Lee Soo-hyuk’s advice to memory.

A colossal force on the verge of detonation was being embraced and contained within the golden badge.
In that moment, a faint sound escaped.

Whiiiiish–
The instant the soft whisper of wind reached White Star’s ears, the moment he recognized it, the moment his body began to retreat to evade that sound.

Crack!
With the sound of earth being torn asunder, Kale Heniatus shot forward alongside the wind toward White Star.
Beads of perspiration formed on Kale Heniatus’s brow. He felt his heart thundering violently within his chest.
Simultaneously, his mind blazed with heat as warmth surged through his entire body.

Was it because he had invoked the embrace twice?

Whoooosh–
Kale Heniatus’s sleeve brushed lightly against the flaming sword and began to char.
Yet that fire was swiftly consumed entirely by the button.
The power of the fearful is merely easy prey for the sovereign to seize.

‘The flaming sword has vanished.’

Now only one thing remained.
A fleeting span of mere seconds.
Kale Heniatus extended his hand.

“I have you.”

The hand that had been gripping the golden badge opened, seizing White Star’s arm.
The moment White Star perceived the cold metallic sensation of the golden badge against his arm.

“No, this cannot be—!”

He felt a terrible force dragging his body forward.
Simultaneously, he felt a sinister aura suffused with the terror of death flowing up through his body, progressively overwhelming him.
White Star could hear the gentle voice of Kale Heniatus, smiling as he gazed upon him.

“Kale Berrow. Come with me.”

The White Star, hearing a name from the very distant past spoken by Kale Heniatus, felt his arm being drawn inexorably into the golden barrier.
Kale Heniatus gazed upon the White Star, who trembled with fear at his very existence, and offered him a tender smile.

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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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