Chapter 29: Milk (無 月)

“Why would you go so far…?”

****

****

Tsuki could only stare blankly at the battle between Lucian, who had become Ruin, and Eclipse.

“You must have lost many memories, just like me…”

Tsuki had sealed Eclipse for a thousand long years, which had left her in a state somewhat akin to a forgotten legend.

Because of this, she knew all too well what changes occurred to humans who had fallen into such a state.

‘A curse named Oblivion… No, now that I recall my past, I wonder if it wasn’t a curse, but rather a kindness.’

It was the natural order for any memory to fade and wear away with time.

Perhaps the forgotten humans who lost their past were receiving a benevolent deity’s final consideration.

“Lord Lucian… you, too, must not remember anything, not even your name, due to oblivion.”

Even she, who had been with Eclipse, possessing the power of disaster, had lost everything except her name.

It was clear without a word what state he would be in, wrapped in the power of Ruin itself.

“Even in such a state, you still don’t spare yourself for us… for humanity…”

Lucian, who had fallen while protecting people, was still acting to protect them even after becoming Ruin.

—Whoosh!

[Lucian, where did your imposing presence go? Why aren’t you moving from that spot?]

[There is no reason to speak.]

[Heh heh, well, good. Do you think I’d miss such a heaven-sent opportunity?!]

Eclipse let out a maniacal laugh and began to conjure something with a dark red aura.

—Creak, creak.

A gigantic spear rotating wildly as if to tear space apart, and countless black blades.

And shadow-like tentacles shot towards Phantom at a speed humans could never perceive.

[Oh, Savior who has become Ruin, I shall personally end your life!]

Eclipse’s full-power attack, aimed at killing a single being.

But for some reason, Phantom still stood motionlessly in one place.

“N-no! Dodge, Lord Lucian!!”

With a sound of cutting wind, hundreds of blades assailed Phantom.

Boom—

Rumble, rumble—

A continuous series of explosions.

A massive shockwave shook space, and the terrain of the Underworld distorted from its impact.

[No matter if it’s you, Lucian, you won’t be unharmed!]

But when the attack ceased, Phantom stood there, unchanged from before.

[……]

[Th-this can’t be…]

None of the countless attacks unleashed by Eclipse had reached Phantom.

As if his very existence ‘did not permit attacks,’ every strike scattered meaninglessly.

[Not yet… It’s not over yet!!]

Giant arms extended from the darkness and blades pouring from the sky rained down on Phantom like a downpour.

But he still did not move from his spot.

‘……Why isn’t he counterattacking?’

Lord Lucian holds power more formidable than anyone.

Even using just a mere fragment of the power he’s shown so far, he could easily counterattack Eclipse.

“Lord Lucian, why aren’t you moving even a single step…?”

At that moment, Tsuki noticed Eclipse’s attacks scattering dangerously close around her.

Strikes that narrowly grazed her by a hair’s breadth, perilously close.

‘Ah… Lord Lucian…!’

Tsuki looked at his upright back and finally understood.

Behind Phantom’s back lay the fallen Ren and Leon. The injured guild members.

And most importantly, one person.

“I was here…!”

The reason he didn’t move.

The reason he silently endured Eclipse’s heinous attacks head-on.

‘Lord Lucian was protecting us.’

Despite possessing power more immense than anyone, he was solely focusing that power on protecting everyone.

‘……Lord Lucian.’

Her chest ached with a heavy feeling.

In the past. And now.

He was always someone who thought of others before himself.

[Hahahaha! Even in this situation, you’re only focused on protecting people.]

[You’ve fallen to Ruin, yet your instincts as a savior remain? Answer me, Lucian!!]

Eclipse mocked incessantly.

But Phantom, despite the legend’s provocation, merely showed his resolve calmly.

[To end your story.]

[Whether I am a Savior or Ruin.]

[I will become whatever it takes.]

Phantom’s cold, black eyes showed no tremor amidst the surging threat to his life.

Though, in reality, it was quite the opposite.

****

‘…Hey, you. It hasn’t even been a minute since you so boldly took control.’

[Pant, pant. Th-there are side effects from forcibly transferring authorityyyy—]

—Zap!

[Huuueee. Sihyun-nim, please do something… This zapping feeling is weirdddd…]

The notification window suddenly went into overdrive, then promptly collapsed, claiming side effects.

‘I was a fool to expect anything. I thought it would unleash some kind of berserk mode. Do I really have to handle this myself again?’

[S-sorry, Sihyun-nim. I… I am a useless notification window… Huuueeeng.]

‘Enough. More importantly, those terrifying-looking spears and blades are flying at us in real-time, is this really okay?’

[I’ll tell you an invincible spell! Come on, repeat after me. Tekkai!]

‘When I get home, I’m really going to throw away all my manga.’

—Boom!

The torrent of Eclipse’s attacks seemed to hit an invisible wall, not even reaching Sihyun’s vicinity.

‘The effect is certainly clear.’

[Kuhuhu. M-my beginner package is an amazing Noble Phantasm…]

‘Yeah, yeah. I get it, now just stay down. I’ll figure something out.’

Sihyun thought he should do something and tried to move his body.

—Twitch, twitch.

Strangely, he couldn’t move even a single step.

‘What is this? I suddenly can’t move at all.’

[Oh, Sihyun-nim. It’s common sense that you can’t move when you use Tekkai, right? Hehe.]

This is seriously annoying. Don’t be faithful to the source material on things like this.

But strangely, those around him were misunderstanding the situation.

Ren and Leon, the guild members. Even Tsuki was looking at him with admiration.

‘Here we go again. This misunderstanding of theirs.’

To them, Phantom simply appeared like a serene, unmoving mountain, absorbing all attacks with a monumental presence.

‘Even if the intention is different, the result is good. Let’s just consider it a good thing.’

Sihyun now had his ‘enjoying it’ mode activated.

[I will become whatever it takes.]

[Ha! You, who are Ruin, will become a Savior? What sophistry, Lucian.]

‘I’m not Lucian, and I’m not a Savior, okay? And Ruin is at my house, you idiot.’

[Hehehe… Shall we see if you can block this too?]

Eclipse laughed grotesquely and stretched out a hand towards Tsuki, who was lying fallen behind Sihyun.

[The shrine maiden is already no different from a clone assimilated with me. Becoming one with a human is unpleasant, but… I will absorb the girl.]

“N-no…!”

Dark red chains burst from Tsuki’s shadow and began to coil around her.

She resisted desperately, but she was already a part of Eclipse.

If he wished, she would be completely assimilated at any moment.

“No… please…!”

Tsuki tried to resist with the small remaining power of the moon.

[How foolish. You don’t think you can stop my fully unsealed self with just that much moonlight, do you?]

“Th-that can’t be…!”

[It’s a thousand years, a thousand years! Over those long years, your power has gradually worn away. The shrine maiden’s power can no longer affect me.]

A desperate situation.

No matter that Phantom had torn through space to appear, Eclipse’s Underworld was still intact.

There was no moon power anywhere to stop Eclipse, who had used the power of the eclipse to turn the moon itself red and bind it to himself.

[Lucian! The same goes for you. Your power is clearly mighty. A strength I can never hope to rival. But while you can’t be defeated, you also cannot annihilate me.]

[My sole reverse scale is the mighty power of the moon. Even if you’ve become Ruin, it’s impossible you possess the power of the moon!]

[In the end, I’ll be the one laughing. Hahaha!!]

‘Ah, I really want to land a punch on arrogant guys like him.’

Sihyun wanted to punch Eclipse in the face, who was laughing as if he would suffocate.

‘Hmm… There has to be a way—’

[L-Lord Sihyun is truly amazing! I can’t believe you even prepared the power of the moon!]

‘You’ve been lying down all this time, and now you suddenly get up and say what?’

[Are you going to pretend you don’t know? That thing Lord Sihyun has been wearing on his head since this morning! I can feel an immense power of the moon from it!]

Sihyun raised a hand and lightly brushed his hair.

There, the crescent moon hairpin Luna had put in his hair that morning, mimicking him, glittered.

– “Sihyun… wear this…”

A beautiful girl with silver hair like moonlight and golden eyes.

The hairpin, imbued with Luna’s feelings, held moonlight, just like her name.

‘Is it special because Luna had it? I can’t tell what’s what.’

He didn’t know if it was because Luna was the princess of the moon country, or just because of its moon-like appearance.

But Sihyun wasn’t one to not use it.

‘Eclipse, you made a mistake. You shouldn’t have told me your weakness.’

Our cute Luna’s hairpin is the best in the world, that’s what.

****

Tsuki thought everything was over.

The power of the moon was special.

Even Lord Lucian, a Savior, couldn’t use that power carelessly.

Surely that must be true.

“H-how…?”

Something held in the hands of the pitch-black man.

Its form was obscured by the silver moonlight bursting forth as if in an explosion, but an immense power of the moon was emanating from that tiny object.

“It’s moonlight I’ve never felt before… But how could Lord Lucian…?”

The moonlight shining in Phantom’s hand brought awe to Tsuki, and to Eclipse.

[It’s a lie… It’s a lie!! This power… this power…!!]

It made him feel a terror he would never experience again.

[Eclipse. If a story has a beginning, it must also have an end.]

Phantom slowly raised his right arm.

—Swoosh!

The silver light radiating from his hand extended in a straight line, beginning to take the shape of a sword.

[How could you…! How could you possibly have the Princess’s power—]

[Your story ends here.]

The moment Phantom’s right arm swept down towards the ground in a clean, straight line.

[Moonless (無月).]

His sword path, which cleanly bisected space itself, fittingly lived up to the name Moonless, annihilating Eclipse, who symbolized the moon, without a trace.

As Eclipse vanished, and the moon began to regain its original light from its red hue, everyone realized that the catastrophe had ended.

Amidst this, the one who had ended the terrible disaster simply looked up at the moon in the sky with composure, seeming to desire neither gratitude nor recompense.

His pitch-black eyes were lost in some faint thought.

“Ah… Lord Lucian. You must be happy to have regained the silver moon…”

Wrong.

What Sihyun was thinking with that faint gaze were two things.

‘I’m sorry. For plagiarizing the skill name until the very end!’

And one more thing.

‘Luna’s curfew passed, noooooaaarghaaaghh!!’