83 – The Darkest Month

Opening the door, what appeared was none other than a rather small ‘sanctuary.’

Despite its modest size, the grandeur and sacredness emanating from it felt undeniably real.

And above all, the figure standing at the far end.

A figure whose height, age, and gender were difficult to discern, completely covered in cloth, with even their head veiled.

In other words, it was the Pope.

“So, you’ve come. Heretics.”

Judging by the voice, it was a woman.

The Pope turned away from the window and faced Ha-yeon and her companions directly.

With that, she removed the veil covering her head and face.

What was revealed was a face with long, silver hair reaching her waist and skin so pale it was almost deathly.

And that face was eerily similar to Ha-yeon’s.

Or, to be more precise.

“More like she resembles Eleina.”

Ha-yeon, strictly speaking, also resembled Eleina, and so would the Pope standing there.

Why they resembled Eleina was a bit of a question… but it didn’t seem like a difficult problem to solve.

“Draw your sword.”

Ha-yeon simply unleashed a massive sword aura towards her with a basic swordsmanship technique.

The sword aura, absorbing the surrounding mana as it surged forward.

Bang-!

It was destroyed by an invisible barrier that appeared in front of the Pope.

“Divine Descent.”

The Pope wasn’t one to leisurely chat or let her guard down.

No, one could tell just by looking at her.

[The Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash’ says Eleina is trying to descend directly!]

Divine Descent. A state where one’s contracted Constellation or Demon King directly descends into the contractor’s body.

Why haven’t we seen this before?

‘The Constellation’s grade has to be incredibly high.’

It was only possible if the Constellation’s level was absurdly high.

Yes, that meant only Myth-grade Constellations like Hairel could do it.

And until she contracted with him, or even after, no one else had appeared who had contracted with a Constellation of Myth grade except for herself, so it was only natural.

Crackle-!

Crimson lightning began to erupt from her body.

‘The remaining Divine Swords…’

Not just the red, blue, and yellow Divine Swords that Ha-yeon possessed, but the other five Divine Swords.

Naturally, Eleina, the original owner, possessed them all.

“Focus on one point!”

They had to attack as much as possible now.

Thinking so, Ha-yeon shouted, and the rest of the group behind her began to move as well.

A massive wave of mana erupted, and powerful skills instantly began to target a single point.

Of course, most of them were nullified or deflected by the power of the five Divine Swords, but it wasn’t without results.

Clang-!

Cracks began to appear little by little.

And even amidst all that, changes were beginning to occur in the background.

‘Her level is rising.’

The level she possessed was skyrocketing. Perhaps soon she would possess an immense level.

Still… she wouldn’t truly become a Constellation.

There would definitely be a loss of level in the process of Divine Descent, and according to Hairel, even if the main body were to descend, the System would automatically impose restrictions.

But still, she was approaching the level of a Constellation.

‘I need to stay focused.’

She swung the swords in her hands, unleashing a blinding white light and a crimson Hongyeom.

And those energies began to tear through the barriers protecting Eleina.

It was the result of compressing and releasing a slightly larger amount of mana than usual.

Of course, the consumption was also high, but… the results were bound to be significant.

Swoosh-

Raven drew his sword beside her.

A crimson aura, reminiscent of blood, flowed backward on the sword’s blade, coiling around the sword and his arm.

Soon, those energies formed nine sword shapes near him.

Bloodfiend Nine Swords.

Raven’s only long-range skill and unique skill, capable of unleashing tremendous firepower in an instant.

Raven quickly took aim and launched the nine blood swords forward.

And from behind him, an overwhelming heat, not inferior to Ha-yeon’s Fire Dragon Sword, flew forward.

Veronica’s attack.

Ellen was Veronica’s polar opposite, so she could potentially weaken the attack. Therefore, she remained still.

Jin Na-yeon and Kaede, who didn’t have suitable long-range attacks, were waiting for their chance.

Lee Seol-ah was the same.

Bang-!

The flying attack struck Eleina’s body directly.

Along with it came a tremendous roar.

A hit.

It was around the time Ha-yeon thought so.

“You’re quite strong.”

A thin, small voice, but one that carried power and was heard by everyone in the party.

Immediately after that voice, something flew from the area that was still obscured by dust.

“Kugh….!!”

“You’re annoying to deal with. Human bodies are weak to flames, and you seem quite strong.”

A foreign silver energy that was pure white and emitted no light.

That something, which momentarily took the form of a beam, instantly pierced Veronica’s left thigh and right shoulder.

The moment Ha-yeon saw Veronica’s condition, she tried to switch to a defensive stance.

Clang-!

Another silver energy struck her body.

She managed to deflect it by turning her sword with instantaneous reaction speed, but she realized one thing from that.

‘The power is stronger.’

The power was stronger than the attack that had struck Veronica earlier.

After blocking the attack, Ha-yeon quickly took a defensive stance. Veronica retreated to the rear as quickly as she could, and the rest of the group filled the gap.

“So, my reincarnation.”

As the smoke cleared, a woman walked out.

A figure with the same face and similar atmosphere as the Pope from earlier.

But at the same time, a completely different personality.

[The Demon King, ‘Darkest Moon’ has succeeded in Divine Descent.]

Darkest Moon. It was Eleina.

‘Strong.’

That was the first thought that came to mind the moment she saw her.

She could tell just from the aura.

She was the strongest person here. Even more than Raven.

‘But only slightly.’

At the same time, she could tell that the difference wasn’t that great.

“You.”

“…..”

“Are you good with a sword?”

It was that moment.

Eleina, who had spoken so briefly, instantly closed the distance to Ha-yeon.

And the Moon’s Sword, presumably a Divine Sword, appeared from nowhere, leaving behind a trail of dark ink, and flew towards her, which Ha-yeon blocked with her two swords.

“Ha-yeon!!”

The other members also tried to rush towards Eleina at that sight, but that was also a meaningless action.

“Waxing Crescent, New Moon, Waning Crescent, Gibbous, Waning Gibbous, Full Moon.”

With those words, six orbs appeared behind her.

The same energy as before.

Those orbs blocked the other six who were trying to approach Ha-yeon.

“This will end the interference.”

Clang-! Clang-! Clang-!

They clashed swords countless times.

Each time, Ha-yeon could feel viscerally that her swordsmanship was inferior to hers.

And she couldn’t ask for direct help because of those orbs.

Lee Seol-ah, Kaede, and Jin Na-yeon were managing to block the Moon’s energies named Waxing Crescent, Waning Crescent, and New Moon to some extent, but Ellen, a direct combatant, and Veronica, who was already injured and only a hair’s breadth away from danger, were in great danger.

And Raven was occupied by ‘Full Moon,’ the strongest-looking moon, so it seemed difficult for him to provide immediate assistance.

“Kuh….”

“For a reincarnation, you’re quite skilled with a sword. Unexpected, I thought you were a defective product.”

Eleina’s swordsmanship was too flashy, but it was also highly practical.

The act of wielding a sword that emitted a dark light, filled with the energy of moonlight, felt like watching a sword dance.

Of course, the energy contained within was clearly murderous intent.

‘She wasn’t unharmed by those attacks earlier either.’

She wasn’t unharmed by the attacks that Raven and Veronica had launched earlier.

There was a long gash on her left arm and a burn on her left leg.

Moreover, the burn was quite severe, with some areas melting away. Perhaps that was why she had dealt with Veronica first.

Anyway, despite all that, she was this strong.

‘I need to end this quickly.’

As she said, her body must be weak.

Northern Demon Swordsmanship, Second Form.

“Ice Dragon’s Fang.”

She quickly changed her sword to the blue Divine Sword and used Northern Demon Swordsmanship.

Of course, the result was blocked.

“Oh, Northern Demon Swordsmanship.”

“You know this swordsmanship?”

“Of course, I created it, what do you mean?”

If that was the case, it wasn’t hard to understand. It also explained why Hairel had given her this swordsmanship in the first place.

“Well, you’ve modified it, so the details are different.”

But the basic form is the same.

“Northern Demon Swordsmanship.”

Fifth Form.

“Rising Moonlight.”

A sword strike that surged upwards in an instant.

Ha-yeon also swung her sword down to counter, but.

“[Stop]”

With that word, her arm paused for a moment.

And that pause made a huge difference in the fight.

Slice-

She managed to pull back, but she couldn’t avoid it completely.

A fairly deep wound was left on Ha-yeon’s left arm, and blood flowed.

[Activating Skill, ‘Super Regeneration’.]

“Perhaps because we share the same body and soul, it’s not very effective.”

Ha-yeon immediately recalled what she had forgotten.

A power granted to a few transcendent beings, and a power that only a few beings favored by them could use.

And Kairon had used that power, so there was no reason why she couldn’t use it.

‘Word Spirit.’

It had become quite troublesome.