Chapter 985: Lost Soul.

My reflection in the mirror felt quite awkward.

My features were the same, but there were several changes here and there, making it rather noticeable, shall we say?

In this strange situation, I quietly peered into my face.

Afterward, I raised a hand and gently touched my cheek. Even after touching it, it was indeed my face.

“Huh……”

What is this?

Stunned by the absurdity, I was idly touching my face when suddenly.

“Huh?”

I realized something was off and widened my eyes.

Then, I slightly raised my gaze to examine the top of my head.

Black beast ears sprouting from my head.

Staring at them, a thought occurred to me, just in case.

So, I immediately tried to move my energy to dispel the magic.

“What the hell.”

There was no need to dispel the magic.

Because it was already dispelled.

Then, what were these things I could see and touch? I wondered, touching the ears and tail with my hands.

If it wasn’t magic, then…

‘It means they’re real…?’

Meaning the sensations and feelings I was experiencing right now were reality.

“……”

I had to ponder, my large tail swaying gently.

How could this have happened?

This appearance…

‘It’s the Moonlit Tribe.’

The beast-humans who originally existed in Man-gye. I was in a situation where I had perfectly taken on their form.

If I had to compare, maybe like that Nine-tailed Fox fellow. Should I say it’s a similar feeling?

As I was panicking from the sudden change in situation, Shin Noy-a looked at me and spoke.

“I came because a sudden presence popped up, startling me… but what on earth happened to you?”

“……I’m the one most curious about this situation.”

I was curious too. How did I end up in this mess?

Could this also be the fruit’s influence?

‘……What kind of fruit was it?’

What did I even pick up and eat for my species to change?

It was absurd.

Swish.

As I kept moving my tail with a serious expression, Noy-a suddenly crossed his arms and said.

“……Let’s head up for now.”

“……Yes.”

First, I had to get away from the entrance.

---

It was around the time the moon was heading towards its zenith.

I was sitting perched in Noy-a’s field at a late hour.

I roughly sat down on a rock and explained the situation to Noy-a.

Noy-a wasn’t particularly surprised that I had been carried away by Ya-rang. Or that I had randomly seen a strange tree. He didn’t seem particularly surprised.

He wasn’t even surprised when I mentioned the incident caused by Yu-sa and the fight with the Red Chief.

What was important to Noy-a right now was.

“……You ate something?”

That I had picked and eaten some unknown fruit there.

He seemed surprised at that part, his eyes widening.

“I don’t know what it was… but it seems like the changes happened after eating it.”

The fact that my body suddenly healed. My energy being restored. The fact that my strength suddenly increased.

Even.

‘The fact that my appearance suddenly became like this.’

All were changes that occurred after eating the fruit. So, it means the changes were ultimately caused by the fruit.

“……Hmm.”

After hearing everything, Noy-a crossed his arms and fell into thought. However, it didn’t seem like he was trying to figure out what the fruit was. It was rather like he knew the answer but refused to believe it.

“It seems we’ll have to go find that Turtle fellow.”

“……Now?”

Does that mean we can find the answer if we go now? When I asked about it, Noy-a chuckled and shook his head.

“No, that guy never opens his door if you go at night. It’s best to go when the sun rises.”

“……Ah?”

Was that so? Well, I suppose I’ve never seen a turtle move around at night. It doesn’t seem like it’s simply because he needs to sleep. It seemed there was a separate reason.

“Then, Noy-a-nim, do you know what fruit I ate?”

“No. How would I know about a fruit that abruptly changes your species just by eating it?”

“……”

Then why did you have that expression…? Anyone would think you knew what the fruit was.

Looking at Noy-a, dumbfounded.

“However.”

Noy-a immediately added.

“Even if I don’t know the fruit’s identity, I think we can put it differently.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Rather than changing species… wouldn’t it be more accurate to say it awakened something?”

“Huh?”

Awakened? Awakened what?

“Isn’t that right?”

“So, what is it?”

“No, don’t you know what your mother was in the first place?”

I narrowed my eyes at the mention of my mother. What do you mean?

‘Master.’

The Master of Man-gye. That was my mother’s identity, but what about it?

As I tilted my head, unable to understand. Noy-a spoke to me, sounding exasperated.

“No, I don’t mean her title. Look at what species your mother was.”

“……”

My mother’s species.

That would be…

Ah?

‘Moonlit.’

Come to think of it, my mother was also of the Moonlit Tribe.

I saw it clearly. When fighting the giant Kkurung-i. My mother’s appearance.

‘A Moonlit Tribe member with fox ears.’

With hair faintly tinged with crimson. A Moonlit Tribe member with fox ears and a tail covered in fur the same color as her hair. Amidst her immense presence that unleashed calamities with a mere gesture. She was definitely of the Moonlit Tribe.

But.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

What connection does that have to this situation? To my question, Noy-a let out a deep sigh.

“Haaa.”

It felt full of ‘What am I going to do with this kid?’

“Ah, what is it? Please speak clearly.”

“……Of course. If your mother was originally of the Moonlit Tribe, then your blood must have been infused with it. So, isn’t it correct to see what happened now not as a change, but as an awakening?”

“……”

Hearing that, I widened my eyes slightly.

‘Come to think of it?’

Now that I heard it, that made sense.

It wasn’t strange that I was Moonlit.

‘Isn’t it strange that I became a Dragon?’

It was far stranger to have been born between my father and mother and suddenly become a Dragon.

Certainly, hearing Noy-a’s words, that seemed true.

‘So Noy-a’s words mean…….’

Did eating the fruit somehow awaken my mother’s blood that had been dormant within my body?

‘Then?’

An idea flashed through my mind, and I raised my hand.

I promptly scratched my arm.

Chyaak-!!

My sharply grown fingernails scratched my arm, leaving a wound and splashing blood.

“Huh?”

Noy-a frowned upon seeing that.

Amidst the blood flowing down, I carefully examined my arm. The wound was deep. I had intentionally made it deep.

Feeling the pain, I stared intently at the wound.

Ssssseuuuu–!!

“Oh.”

I let out a short exclamation of admiration. The wound was healing in an instant.

My regeneration speed was originally fast, but that was due to shedding, making it faster compared to ordinary warriors. Regeneration like this, visible to the eye, was not normal.

This… yes. This is exactly it.

‘The state of the Moonlit Tribe visible at night.’

The Moonlit Tribe under the moon naturally becomes extremely strong. That included not just strength, but regeneration as well.

My current state was exactly like that.

‘This was the most annoying thing when fighting that Blue Chief fellow.’

No matter how much I hit him, his regeneration speed was so fast that I had to hit him twice as much as usual.

That damn regeneration power was now within my body.

Saaaaa-!!

Finally, the wound I inflicted myself had completely regenerated. In terms of time, it was truly just an instant.

“This isn’t bad at all-“

Bbaak-!

“Gck!”

I was hit hard on the back of my head and my head immediately bowed.

Rubbing it with my hand, I quickly glared at Noy-a.

“What are you doing!?”

“I should be asking you that, you crazy bastard. Why the hell did you suddenly cut your own arm?”

“No, I was just trying to check.”

“There are plenty of other ways to check, why do you always have to do it like that?”

“Because this is the fastest way.”

Rubbing the back of my head, I repeatedly flexed my arm a few times.

Of course, the wound had healed, and there seemed to be no aftereffects. If I had cut a bit deeper, it would have reached the bone.

‘Good.’

This is good. At this rate, I could be a bit bolder when fighting.

‘I wonder if it would regenerate even if severed?’

I was curious for a moment, but I didn’t try it. Because if it didn’t work, I’d be the only one losing out.

So this is what a Moonlit body is like.

Only then did I understand.

‘The fact that my body healed and my energy was restored.’

Wasn’t just thanks to eating the fruit.

‘……It’s because the moon rose.’

Because the Moonlit Tribe’s blood awakened, and on top of that, it became night. Perhaps my injured body healed and my energy was restored.

I reached that conclusion.

So it was even more puzzling.

‘What’s the purpose?’

With this, I understand even less. For what purpose did they make me eat this? What was Ya-rang’s objective?

It felt even more so because it didn’t seem like they intended to harm me.

“Why did they give me the fruit?”

Not understanding Ya-rang’s intentions, I sought Noy-a’s help.

“Well.”

Noy-a merely wore an indifferent expression, as if he couldn’t know either.

“I can’t know that either. But ultimately, what’s important is this.”

“Yes.”

“It’s highly likely that your mother’s influence was behind that child’s actions.”

“……”

“If there was an intention, it must have been so.”

My mother’s arrangements left behind.

Could Ya-rang even be part of that?

So in the form of a divine sword. Could [she] remain in the form of a divine sword?

“Is your body condition alright?”

“……It’s good.”

It was better than ever. To be honest, I wondered if it could possibly be this good.

The problem was.

‘Have I ceased being a Dragon now?’

It was good to gain the Moonlit Tribe’s power, but had my Dragon form disappeared?

As I thought of this, I could quickly find the answer.

‘That’s not it.’

I haven’t ceased being a Dragon.

That’s because.

‘My divine powers are still intact.’

The power of Greed I gained upon becoming a Dragon remained.

Moreover.

Hwaryuk-!

The flames ignited from my fingertips were also the same.

Seeing as the blue flames obtained from becoming a Dragon’s body were also intact.

‘……Did they just merge?’

‘What is this then.’

There’s no mongrel more mongrel than this.

How many species are contained within this body?

“Truly a mutt.”

“……”

I was thinking about that very thing, and when Noy-a blurted it out, I clicked my tongue briefly. It was true, but hearing it from someone else’s mouth felt incredibly strange.

“So, ultimately… if we want to know more, we have to go see the Elder, right?”

“Wouldn’t that be more certain?”

“Hmm.”

I had to wait for daytime.

The moment I confirmed that.

Whooosh–!!

I sensed a presence.

Naturally, I looked up at the sky and saw something diving towards me.

Tuk-!!

The black shape that landed on the ground was Cheon-ma.

“Ah, you.”

Before I could even react upon seeing Cheon-ma.

Kwak-!

She suddenly approached me and grabbed me by the collar with her hand.

“……Huh?”

What the? I was flustered, suddenly having my collar grabbed.

“What the? Why are you acting like this?”

Why is she acting crazy again? Wondering what was going on, I looked at Cheon-ma.

Then.

“……Who are you?”

“What?”

Cheon-ma asked.

“Who were you with before you came here?”

“……”

At those words, my body froze involuntarily.

I didn’t know why, but I was scared.

Very scared, at that.