Chapter 556: Brook's Autobiography!
The moment Keshia lifted her skirt, Brook, despite being nothing but bones, suddenly shot a nosebleed.
The force of it actually sent him flying backward.
Ryuunosuke felt his face heat up with secondhand embarrassment.
As expected of Brook.
Even as a skeleton, he could still bleed from the nose.
"Captain," Najenda said, not reacting to the chaos at all. Her attention had already shifted to the information behind it. "That blessing and that price he mentioned just now… is it related to Lilith?"
"So then Mr. Ace… he…"
If Krul Busurud and the others had truly traded what they cherished most in exchange for eternal time and power, then what about Ace?
After entering Laugh Tale, Ace must have encountered Lilith's projection.
In that situation, it was very likely he had received some kind of favor as well.
"Ace should be fine," Ryuunosuke answered directly.
"I already sensed it during my earlier talks with him."
"I don't know the exact reason, but I'm guessing it has something to do with Roger."
"Let's confirm what's going on here first."
Najenda nodded and wrote everything down without missing a beat.
…
"Krul Busurud," Keshia said softly.
The hatred on her face was gone, replaced by a shy stiffness she could not hide.
After all, it was the first time she had ever lifted her skirt in public.
"Now can you tell me?"
"You know the thing, right?"
Brook's voice steadied. Then he began.
"Keshia… your original name should be Chrona."
"Back then, we were all members of the Great Kingdom's expedition team."
…
Krul Busurud spoke slowly, recounting the past piece by piece.
They had all originally been part of an expedition team sent out by the Great Kingdom.
One day, an object fell from the sky.
They rushed to investigate immediately.
The person leading the team at the time was Jeff.
And at the impact site, they met Roy and Wades.
Roy and Wades were adventurers, and they also had the backing of a Great Kingdom.
Because of that, Jeff warmly invited them to join the expedition and explore together.
Before long, they reached the center of the fallen object.
Inside the massive crater was a meteorite, radiating an overwhelming energy.
Back then, skilled craftsmen would use meteorite iron to forge powerful weapons.
So their first thought was simple.
If this meteorite could be forged into a weapon, whoever held it would gain terrifying power.
Roy and Wades knew very clearly that this meteorite belonged to the Great Kingdom.
It was not something they could covet.
So there was no treasure hunt, no grabbing, no scheming.
They only expressed curiosity.
They wanted to see what kind of weapons could be made from meteorite iron like this.
That was when the meteorite's outer layer cracked.
Countless roots burst out and began spreading wildly.
None of them were weak.
They attacked the strange roots immediately.
But when their attacks landed, the roots absorbed everything.
And instead of being suppressed, the rampaging roots spread even faster.
Strangely, the roots did not attack them.
They only expanded, swallowing the land inch by inch.
Soon, the roots covered the entire island.
Then new branches sprouted from the center.
Leaves unfurled.
In the span of moments, a gigantic tree stood there, alive as if it had been waiting to awaken.
And at the front of that tree, a humanoid figure slowly formed.
That was Lilith's first appearance in this world.
A voice echoed out, cold and intimate at the same time.
"Do you want power?"
"My children."
"Monster?!"
"What is that?"
"Children?"
For a moment, everyone was thrown into confusion.
Krul Busurud, meanwhile, quietly stepped back, pulling Chrona with him.
Faced with an unknown existence, his first instinct was to protect the woman beside him.
Because at that time, Chrona already carried Krul Busurud's child.
And this happened before the child was even born.
Rustle.
Before anyone could react further, roots exploded upward.
Even though their group was strong, they could not resist that speed and overwhelming force.
They were entangled instantly.
Then the roots wrapped around them and transformed.
They became Lilith's clones.
The clones embraced each of them like a lover, like a mother, like a jailer.
And in the next instant, they were dragged into an illusion.
What they experienced inside the illusion was almost identical to what Ryuunosuke had faced before.
They made their decision quickly.
They chose the exchange.
They chose power.
And what was most important to each of them differed.
For Krul Busurud, there was no hesitation.
His first thought was Chrona.
"In my heart, nothing was more important than you."
"But after I made the exchange… I regretted it."
"Still, that kind of thing can't be undone."
"Soon my body started breaking down. My muscles began to die, then rot, then fall away."
"In just a few minutes… I became like this."
"And in this state, I didn't dare come looking for you."
Krul Busurud finished the story of what happened, and the outcome that followed.
Even now, remorse still clung to his expression.
Keshia frowned, confusion pushing through her shyness.
"Why did your body change like that?"
"But I didn't become a skeleton like you."
Brook shook his head.
"I don't know. Everyone's aftereffects are different."
"Mine was the necrosis of every muscle in my body."
"Yours was different. Part of your soul was stripped away, and then a new part was infused into you."
"I'm not sure about the others."
Hearing that, Keshia fell silent.
She had felt something strange when she saw Krul Busurud fighting like he was trying to die.
But the truth coming from his mouth still struck her like a hammer.
Then the quiet voice beside them cut in.
Ryuunosuke had been listening the entire time.
"Since it was an exchange, you already received a blessing."
"So how did you regain your memories?"
"You traded your lover, so you must have traded everything."
"The person. The memories. Everything."
Ryuunosuke's gaze was sharp.
Just like Keshia, who had completely lost her memories after the deal.
If Krul Busurud had not triggered something special through his actions, Keshia might never have remembered anything at all.
Even now, Keshia still looked confused.
So how was Krul Busurud different?
And Krul Busurud definitely did not come here just to explain the past.
More likely, he came to help Keshia recover too.
"Because of this," Krul Busurud said.
He reached into his belongings and pulled something out.
An Infinite Orange Stone.
The light on it was dim, but there was no mistaking what it was.
Even weakened, its existence was undeniable.
"This was left behind after Lilith and Adam fought."
"It contains a special power."
"It can weaken the power of grace."
"That's why I regained my memories."
"But my body… probably can't be restored."
He said it with bitterness, but there was calm in it too.
His own recovery was no longer his concern.
What he wanted was for Keshia to regain her memories.
And the simplest way to force that outcome…
Was for him to die.
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