Blood Moon (1)

The black market was chaos itself.

The black market was silent. A magician and an Elf suddenly appeared at the opening. To those who made a living from illegal activities, the Elf was a disaster, and the magic seen from ignorance was a calamity.

The big shots of the black market, who wouldn’t even flinch at a knife fight, were running away in a hurry. Those who couldn’t escape in time were busy hiding. The Dwarf old man immediately closed the door and locked himself inside when the battle broke out, and the demi-humans who were trying to rob empty stores disappeared as soon as they noticed Ranya’s presence.

I turn my head. Pordil’s eyes, glanced at, had lost their light. Those rotten eyes were buried on the floor, dripping only blood. It was a miserable sight. Not only was half of her neck cut and torn to shreds, but spears were stuck all over her body. Even a witch sentenced to death by the religious inquisition wouldn’t die so miserably.

Perhaps she was the most violently dealt with Demon. I don’t think it’s an excessive measure. As always, and as long as I believe that I am, I’m human. Therefore, I am on the side of humans. Still. Maybe. So, there’s no mercy to show to Demons.

In this silence, I threw the blood-soaked blade on the ground and approached Ranya.

“Ranya. Is there a problem?”

“Friend. The leaf is strange.”

“Strange, you say?”

The leaf is strange. I tilted my head and asked again. Is it because the leaf is a little withered? It wasn’t of very good quality from the start. A yellow leaf that’s almost completely withered.

“…”

But.

The leaf that Ranya took out was black.

She folded the leaf with a look as if she had lost everything in the world. She couldn’t bear to squeeze it tightly, so she gently covered it with both hands. Ranya closed her eyes tightly and said in a trembling voice.

“It’s dead. I can’t feel the power of the Mother Goddess-nim.”

“…I kind of expected it.”

“Friend. Tell me.”

Ranya swallowed hard and held back her tears. Her Adam’s apple trembled. Her eyes were moist, and she looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. I don’t have Elf sensitivity, so I don’t know for sure, but I could tell that it was a very sad thing for her. I patted Ranya on the back and explained.

“I’m sure Shuriel-nim told you what kind of Demon that guy is, so I’ll explain it briefly. The reason the leaf died is… it was drained of its essence.”

“Drained?”

“I’m sorry. I should have killed him sooner.”

Ranya, who was hesitating with just her mouth open, couldn’t hold back her tears and shed jewel-like tears. The thought of ‘just because of a leaf’ wouldn’t leave my head, but I decided not to say it out loud. They’re a race that cries like this even when just a leaf crumbles, so how did they endure when the World Tree burned down during the Demon invasion?

I comforted her until she stopped crying, and when she finally stopped crying and returned to her usual Ranya, I turned my head again and started collecting the corpse. Well, I have to report to Shuriel-nim, so I’ll cut off a horn as evidence,

…

…Ah, damn it.

“…Ranya.”

“Yes?”

“Where did the corpse go?”

It’s gone.

Pordil’s corpse, which was skewered on the wall like a skewer, had disappeared. The bloodstains remained, clearly emitting a bloody scent, but there was no corpse. I even poured Mana in when I got close to make sure she was dead, so how? The heart that was beating with hatred had stopped, and the mouth that was spewing lies was cut off. The life signs had definitely stopped.

Even if Pordil hadn’t died, I had only turned my eyes away for a few dozen seconds. She escaped in that time? Only the lingering scent of melted magic power could be felt in the place where she had been. The black, slimy magic power formed a sticky puddle and pooled on the floor.

I put a barrier on my hand and carefully touched the magic power. It was such a thick magic power that it could be seen and touched directly. Again. Naturally, the question of ‘how’ crossed my mind. How did she leak magic power when there was the blessing of the World Tree? All magic power should be blocked under the purification of the Mother Goddess-nim where the roots and leaves of the World Tree touch. How-

“Friend! Be careful!”

“Kyaeuk?”

I let out a girlish moan and was grabbed by the nape of my neck. Ranya grabbed the back of my neck and threw me far away before I could even come to my senses. The force was enough to leave a bruise on my neck. I rolled hard on the ground. Just before I fell, I saw several arrows being fired over my neck.

-Swish! A sharp whistling sound. Arrows filled with wind fly towards the sky. The arrows, imbued with the power of the spirits, twisted their trajectory as if they had a will, gradually accelerating and increasing their destructive power.

I threw off my veil and stood up. It was really fucking annoying, the battle wasn’t over. I turn my eyes. Black blades were stuck in the place where I had been, and the ground was melting. If it hadn’t been for Ranya, it would have been me, not the ground, that had melted. Judging by the power, it wouldn’t have been an instant kill, but… it would have taken quite a while to reconstruct.

I turned my eyes to where the arrows had been fired from.

“…Cordil.”

The roof of a remote building. Pordil, who was roughly unwrapping bandages, and one male Demon assisting her. It was the magic exile, Cordil. The twins, two becoming one, had gathered in one place.

“You only have one chance, Pordil.”

“…A spare life, huh? Not bad.”

Pordil’s body shines like burning ashes. The skin, which was covered in pus from burns, regained its original color, but it was fragmented here and there, revealing an empty interior. There were no muscles or internal organs inside. Only pitch-black darkness. A shell. That was a shell. A shell with only a soul stuck in it. She clenched and unclenched her hands, then turned her gaze to me.

“If you wanted to kill me, you should have killed me before opening the box, honey? Oh, you did kill me. Thanks to you, I’m in this fucked up body.”

“…What did you do with the leaf?”

“It’s no fun to say the end of the play in advance, right? You’ll find out on your own as time goes by…”

She stopped talking and immediately raised her nails. Kagagak! A sharp metallic sound spread as her nails crossed.

“Why don’t you listen to the rest in hell?”

A red moon rises in her eyes. She fell weakly from the building as if committing suicide, then suddenly kicked off the air and rushed at me. The path is a straight line. She slashes diagonally, crossing both hands. I accelerate my thoughts. That’s an attack imbued with Aura. I deployed a barrier in front and retreated.

But.

“Pordil. Ignore it and run.”

“Thank you, honey?”

Cordil drew a line in the air, and the barrier evaporated. Magic exile. A sanctuary was set up. It’s an annoying ability no matter how many times I see it. I clicked my tongue and winked at Ranya. Then, spirits gathered at her feet and led her body. Evasive maneuvers. I barely tilted my head, and her fingernails grazed the tip of my nose. I thought spirits were also treated as magic, but that wasn’t the case. Offensive magic seemed impossible, but assisting movement wasn’t affected.

“Too bad you don’t have a boyfriend either?”

Pordil smirked with a raised corner of her mouth.

“Ranya. Give me some cover.”

“Okay.”

I evade this way and that with the help of the spirits. However, it was slowly reaching its limit, and the number of wounds on my body was increasing. Should I cut off my arm and blow it up now? No. The attack tempo was faster than I thought. I can inflict wounds, but I can’t take follow-up measures.

Ranya… was also unable to use any special measures because her magic was blocked in the same way. She was shooting arrows, but arrowheads without magic were like throwing just lumps of iron. Pordil lightly deflected the arrowheads and continued to rush at me. I bite my lip tightly. Shuriel-nim. At least Kalberd. It would be easier to fight if I had an Aura Knight. If it goes on like this, it’s a war of attrition.

“Ranya. Even Ranya should retreat.”

“No way. Elves don’t abandon their friends.”

“Even if the World Tree is in danger?”

“…Such assumptions are meaningless. I won’t run away. Killing Demons is the wish of the Elves. This is also the will of the Mother Goddess-nim.”

To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to die. If I decided to hold out, I could hold out until Shuriel-nim, who sensed the magic power, came. But there was no guarantee that Ranya would do the same.

It’s a common dilemma. Endure while knowing that Ranya will die, or protect her no matter what. Being tested for humanity was always a pain in the ass. Conflict of opinions. The magician’s reason always spits out opinions that contradict me.

‘Fuck off.’

Well… the answer is already decided.

“Frien, d?”

She stops drawing the bowstring. Ranya was startled when I suddenly rushed at the Demon and sent spirits. I feel the power trying to pull me back. I showed the spirits that there was no need to do that. However, the spirits did not retreat. Ranya’s will to protect me was stronger.

Unnecessarily kind. I kick off the ground to separate the spirits. I ignore the spirits that still haven’t fallen off. If they get in the way, I’ll have to blow up my toes to get them off.

“You’ve finally gone crazy!”

“Eat shit.”

If you’re the only sane person in a completely crazy world, then you’re the crazy one. I casually answer Pordil, who’s rushing at me, and stretch out my right hand. A very familiar, and never forgettable, scene flashes back. The moment when I used my body as a bomb and blew away the area. A white flash overturned the world.

‘I won’t explode as strongly as I did then…’

I accelerate my thoughts.

Pshuk! The blade pierces my palm and begins to cut my arm. I deployed a barrier ‘inside’ my elbow when the blade reached near my wrist. The idea of ​​deploying a barrier inside the body would not be easy to come up with. An ordinary magician wouldn’t be able to do it either. Because. If you do that, your muscles will be cut.

-Chwaaak!! When a barrier was created inside the muscle, my right arm fell off with a thud. A shower of blood rises. I immediately raised my right arm and scattered blood. Our vision was obscured, and I took the opportunity to create distance while she was flustered. A terrible pain ran up my spine, but I gritted my teeth and endured it.

“Ranya!”

When I shouted at her, spirits flocked to her body. 3 seconds until the explosion formula engraved on my arm explodes. I had to quickly create distance to get out of the blast radius.

-Kwaaaang!!!!

“Kyahaeuheueueugeut?!”

Exactly 3 seconds later.

With a loud roar, my arm shattered and scattered white flashes. Pieces of meat flying away as minced meat. Pordil didn’t even think that my arm would explode, so she was hit directly and flew far away. She’s already been hit once, and she’s being hit twice? How stupid. Although it didn’t have the power to blow away the area like it did back then, I was able to inflict some damage.

“You, this cheeky. Bitch.”

“Cordil. It’s the same as before. If you get close to that magician, they’ll explode the inside of their body-“

“Ha! I like that. You’re saying I can kill him if I collide with him five more times?”

“…I’ll try to stop him as much as possible. Be careful.”

And. I’ll take back what I said about it being cost-effective. I lost an arm, but she only got a burn. It was the height of absurdity. I’m even blocking magic and fighting, isn’t that too much?

“Friend! Are you okay? A, arm. Fell off.”

“I’m okay, ugh. Actually, I’m not okay.”

Entrusting my body to the wind pressure and the spirits and backing away, Ranya appeared and took me in her arms like a princess. I staggered and got out of her arms. Pordil didn’t care about her burned face and reorganized her fingernail blades.

“Friend. We have to get out of here. You’re too hurt. I’ll attach spirit friends. The spirit friends will request support from Kardrasil.”

“What about Ranya?”

“I’ll hold out. Until my friend gets out.”

“When I told you to leave, you didn’t listen at all… Lower your head. Ranya.”

-Chwaaak! A blade grazes over my head. I used my left arm to lower her posture, and thanks to that, I barely managed to avoid it. I wasn’t hit because I’m short. I sigh inwardly. Being small in a fight had more advantages than disadvantages, but it was strangely annoying.

“Are you thinking of running away?!”

A storm of rushing blades.

She pulled out her fingernails and threw them like shurikens.

Should I go outside the sanctuary and launch a meteor? But. If I do that, at least thousands of people will die. No, the entire city might be blown away. Demons who insist on street fighting are a problem because of this. If we had fought on a flat ground, I could have launched magic without worrying about casualties.

If I retreat, I’ll miss him again. I didn’t think that guy would just sit here until Shuriel-nim came. Rather, it was better to react to Pordil’s anger and try to kill me, and endure it in reverse.

However.

“It’s already too late! Cordiiiiil!!!”

At that moment.

A ray of light began to rise from the spot where Cordil was standing.

A giant pillar of light. It emits a red light and soars into the sky. The pillar reached the moon that was illuminating the sky, and soon began to dye the moon red. Like her eyes full of blood vessels. The pure white moon began to fill with blood.

Cordil, who had always had her eyes closed, opens her eyes. Then she says. Turning her gaze towards us. Looking at us clearly.

“The red moon has risen. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Blood Moon.

The red moon shines on us.

At the same time. The cries of the demi-humans echoed simultaneously from outside the black market.