I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills

Chapter 72 Why’s the Cat Here?

In the aftermath of Kraush turning Pendalord’s crew into a field of awe,

Lakradiyon was slowly walking towards him.

In the current situation, Lakradiyon had yet to even step in.

Everyone present knew too well how much worse the situation would become if she joined the battle.

“…Just go.”

They couldn’t stop them.

At best, they had bought some time.

So when the path was cleared, Kraush and the approaching Lakradiyon turned to leave.

With his sixth sense, Kraush had already found the path.

As long as the walls of the Mechanical Labyrinth didn’t shift, there was no need to use his sixth sense further, so Kraush started running.

“You didn’t kill them.”

Lakradiyon was surprised by his response.

Noting his restraint, she had realized Kraush had been merciful.

“Should I have killed them? Are they part of a bandit gang or agents of world erosion?”

Kraush reacted with disbelief.

While he couldn’t assert that they hadn’t committed crimes or killed people in Demonic Bastion,

From Kraush’s standpoint, they were sufficiently subdued without fatal force.

After all, there was a mountain of people Kraush intended to kill in the future.

Watching him, Lakradiyon fell silent for a while.

Then, as she caught up to run alongside him, she slowly began to speak.

“Mr. Kraush, if we manage to get through this, may I make a request?”

“That kind of statement is bound to unsettle people during critical times.”

Kraush showed his displeasure but eventually nodded.

“Go ahead.”

It wasn’t difficult to listen.

However, Lakradiyon’s words seemed to be setting up a flag.

As Kraush and Lakradiyon were nearly through the Mechanical Labyrinth,

Crimson Garden, who had been gracefully flying overhead, suddenly descended in front of Kraush.

[Kraush!]

Unlike when she warned of traps, her voice now carried palpable irritation.

[Stop!]

And with that command, Kraush’s thought process accelerated sharply.

In a reflex, he reached out and yanked Lakradiyon by the collar, pulling her back with him.

“Ah.”

As Lakradiyon stumbled with confusion, both she and Kraush retreated significantly.

At that moment, it happened.

Boom!

With an explosive sound, the wall before Kraush split, revealing the space beyond.

Lakradiyon gasped.

It was the labyrinth wall that even her aura blade couldn’t slice.

To have shattered it in one strike was a shocking revelation of the gap between them.

Footsteps echoed from beyond the crumbled wall.

“Lakradiyon, fall back.”

Sensing the presence immediately, Kraush led Lakradiyon swiftly to retreat, shrouded in smoke.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Lakradiyon quickly followed.

Thanks to their swift action, they safely escaped to a junction just before their location and clung to the wall, minimizing their presence while heightening their senses.

Kraush’s sixth sense was more pronounced now than when navigating the maze, straining to identify the newcomer.

Beads of cold sweat lined his forehead.

Crimson Garden and Ebelasque were his own kind, moderate among the world eroders.

‘The rest…’

No need to mention, there were more madmen than any other kind.

Of course, Kraush had no means to confront a world eroder of his current level.

What is a world eroder?

Born from world erosion, they possess its intrinsic power, causing many problems across the world.

Some are as powerful as the top ten fighters, monsters in their own right.

The one who had just appeared couldn’t be of that caliber.

Otherwise, it would be a real death sentence.

Kraush fervently hoped it was an eroder within his means to handle.

Gradually, Kraush’s sixth sense began to capture the figure’s form.

“Walls, walls, walls, goddamn it’s so many. It’s irritating, just on my way to greet the new kid.”

Though still at a distance, the voice was caught by his heightened senses.

A high-pitched female voice.

Soon, the silhouette became clearer.

Flowing crimson tails and two prominent tiger-shaped ears atop her head.

Messy hair, just barely reaching the nape, and an eyepatch covering one eye.

But most striking was the hundreds of weapons draped all over her body.

How she managed to carry such an arsenal was a mystery, but she did so naturally.

Armed Princess

Kraush’s judgment?

She was nothing but a crazy eroder.

＊ ＊ ＊

The Felid Clan, Armed Princess.

A deranged world eroder, she adorned herself with an array of weapons from all over the world.

Obsessed with armaments, she would kill to obtain any weapon she desired, regardless of ownership.

Upon hearing Crimson Garden, Kraush realized why she had appeared in Demonic Bastion.

‘She’s after Rain Thunder Prime.’

One of the world’s top ten celestial swords.

For the weapon-crazed Armed Princess, it was irresistible.

‘Had the Armed Princess aimed for Rain Thunder Prime before?’

Beyond that was a mystery.

But if she had, it meant she hadn’t managed to take it from Nakcheon.

It was Belorkin who obtained it.

‘…Did the Armed Princess fail to deal with Nakcheon?’

The Armed Princess could have easily overcome Nakcheon, given her monstrous strength.

But Nakcheon’s uniqueness must have been her undoing.

Within Demonic Bastion, Nakcheon was nearly an immortal.

With the Bastion’s energy supplying continuous regeneration, he was almost invincible.

Furthermore, Nakcheon could move freely on the eighth floor if he wished.

If he decided not to surrender Rain Thunder Prime, evading the Armed Princess would have been easy.

‘Had her goal been the Bastion, she could have destroyed Nakcheon and moved on.’

But with Rain Thunder Prime in mind, the Armed Princess likely gave up in frustration, constantly outmaneuvered by the ever-elusive Nakcheon.

After all, Rain Thunder Prime wasn’t the only one among the top ten celestial swords.

Yet now, at this very moment, the Armed Princess had appeared.

Coincidence?

Unfortunately, Kraush couldn’t dismiss it as mere chance.

‘The Armed Princess has always been after the top ten celestial swords.’

She must have caught wind of the rumor at the right time.

The news that a Balheim heir was seeking Rain Thunder Prime and challenging Nakcheon.

She’s simple-minded.

She acted impulsively upon hearing the news.

‘Being a Balheim must have tipped her off.’

Balheim was her least favorite opponent.

The one she feared the most was the Weapon King Balrok Balheim.

The eyepatch she wore.

It bore the scar given by the Weapon King during his travels around the world.

Thus, anything related to Balheim triggered her.

If Rain Thunder Prime fell into Balheim hands, becoming untouchable, she’d rather steal it before it got out of reach.

She made a rash move, infiltrating Demonic Bastion.

Not methodically descending from the first floor, but using one of her weapons to break in from the seventh floor in a crazy stunt.

Kraush furrowed his brows in annoyance.

Just when things seemed to be going well, a big problem exploded.

The scale of it was extraordinary.

In the meantime, the Armed Princess’s footsteps echoed, heading for the eighth floor.

Luckily, they had retreated fast enough, and it seemed she hadn’t noticed them.

Her talent was for combat, not detection.

A sigh of relief escaped Kraush’s lips.

Had he faced the Armed Princess on the seventh floor, there would have been no way out for him.

“Mr. Kraush, that person just now…”

“A world eroder.”

Lakradiyon swallowed hard.

Kraush knew all too well the pressure the term ‘world eroder’ exerted.

Yet, their shared life experiences meant he could hardly fear the name.

[What will you do? You could consider giving up on Rain Thunder Prime. There’s no benefit to clashing with that crazy woman.]

Crimson Garden, different from her encounter with Ebelasque, seemed to have some knowledge of the Armed Princess.

[She’s relentless once fixated on a weapon.]

It seemed she might have fought over a weapon with the Armed Princess in the past.

But Kraush shook his head.

He couldn’t give up on Rain Thunder Prime.

For Kraush, there was no sword among the celestial blades as easily obtainable and suitable as Rain Thunder Prime.

‘There’s a saying that a craftsman doesn’t blame his tools.’

But Kraush knew well that it was a lie.

Craftsmen are the most discerning about their tools.

Especially himself, striving to reach the pinnacle of craftsmanship, he had to be even more selective.

‘Besides, if the Armed Princess gets her hands on Rain Thunder Prime by chance, it’s game over.’

She was one of the leaders in the front line during the war with the world eroders.

Just imagining her with Rain Thunder Prime was enough to cause a headache.

And there was one, in particular, a world eroder who must never get Rain Thunder Prime.

‘Sword Sage.’

If somehow the Armed Princess handed it to him, he could overturn the entire war with that one piece.

Charlotte managed to kill the Sword Sage only because she held Rain Thunder Prime.

And because of it, Charlotte ended her life after defeating him.

Had any condition in that war not been met, the world eroders would have won.

‘In hindsight, Arthur must have laid off Rain Thunder Prime, not meddling with Charlotte, for that reason.’

Arthur must have judged that only Charlotte with Rain Thunder Prime could defeat the Sword Sage.

‘I have no intention of sitting back and watching.’

Arthur used Charlotte and Rain Thunder Prime as expendable tools to defeat the Sword Sage.

But Kraush did not intend to let the war end like that.

Hence his journey to Demonic Bastion to seek Rain Thunder Prime.

‘I won’t even let that kind of war happen again.’

The thought of how many good people died during that time still caused him immense disgust.

Arthur exploited the situation, seizing control over the weakened Skyborne Generation through the war.

But Kraush had no ambition for such power struggles.

He had no need for the power to rule the world.

His primary goal was to prevent world destruction.

So Kraush would not allow another war with the world eroders to happen.

He aimed to weaken the eroders so they couldn’t even consider starting another war.

“Lakradiyon, I’m heading to the eighth floor.”

If on the eighth floor, he could handle the Armed Princess.

He might not defeat her, but he could certainly prevent her from obtaining Rain Thunder Prime.

And the Armed Princess had already been injured by the Balheim family.

The moment Kraush, a Balheim heir, held Rain Thunder Prime, she wouldn’t dare to touch it, fearing Balrok Balheim’s wrath.

That’s why Kraush turned to Lakradiyon, who had come with him.

To defeat Nakcheon and obtain Rain Thunder Prime, he needed her support from the start.

“I came to Demonic Bastion with the goal of reaching the eighth floor. I will follow you.”

Hearing Lakradiyon’s firm reply, Kraush took a light breath.

The situation might have taken a turn for the worse, but if lucky, it was a good thing.

After all, the Armed Princess was someone they could at least contend with.

“Let’s go.”josei

It was time to use the same tactics that helped him survive the great war with the world eroders.