Chapter 104: Guild War — Moonlight (1)
Chapter 104: Guild War — Moonlight (1)
—Neigh.
The divine beast with the bright mane landed gently on the ground and trotted toward me.
Its clear eyes were filled with curiosity.
Normally, the moment it was summoned it would immediately fly off somewhere, forcing you to go through the troublesome process of searching for it. But thanks to my bloodline, I could skip that step.
Sizzle…
As Skinfaxi approached, my vampire body slowly began to melt.
《Your remaining Vitality: 5/100》
《Skinfaxi does not heed the words of intelligent beings! Retreat immediately!》
My body was turning soft.
Skin melted, flesh roasted, blood vessels burst.
The mere approach of the sun’s divine beast was completely devastating the elements that composed my body.
“…Come here.”
I barely managed to speak and spread my arms.
I would be fine.
There should be no problem.
In this labyrinth where one could imperfectly become immortal, I would not die easily.
《Your remaining Vitality: 30/100》
As long as Skinfaxi did not harbor hostility, I could endure indefinitely.
And this divine beast of Solmiran did not treat me as an enemy.
To be honest, I couldn’t be completely certain—but at the very least, it wouldn’t suddenly change its attitude and trample me.
《Your remaining Vitality: 70/100》
My body and mind melted and regenerated repeatedly, so the pain was unbearable.
But it didn’t feel bad.
Excessive hardship became seasoning for the reward one seized at the end.
“Hahaha…!”
I forced out a strained laugh.
Grow stronger, pain.
Endure longer, my body.
—Neigh!
Skinfaxi came right in front of me and tilted its head.
“Shall I hug you?”
I carefully wrapped my arms around the divine beast’s long face.
The final stage of the Hidden Piece.
Communion with Skinfaxi.
Since there was no way to completely block the heat emitted by the divine beast, it was a dangerous act that ordinary explorers would never dare attempt.
“…Hah… haah.”
In an instant, the flesh and muscles of my entire body melted away.
Normally you would need to bring all sorts of equipment tailored to divine beasts, but with high enough Vitality you could brute-force it like this.
Even as I rapidly died, I steadfastly stroked Skinfaxi’s mane.
Then—
—Neigh!
With a joyful snort, the divine beast suddenly vanished.
Leaving behind my body—less than half remaining—and a single golden spherical gem.
Thud.
I fell to the ground and picked up the golden gem with my much thinner arm.
A large smooth sphere scattering mysterious light.
It grew hot in the hand almost immediately.
《Gem — Skinfaxi’s Heart》
《A gem compressing the divine beast’s brilliance—enough to illuminate the entire world—into a single point. It appears to be the original form of the Primordial Fragment.》
I waited for my melted tongue to regenerate, then looked toward the hidden broadcasting crystal sphere and spoke.
“Good children should not try to imitate this.”
One corner of the Moon Battlefield.
“Damn it….”
Crunch!
The head of a human warrior writhing on the ground was brutally crushed.
“……”
The explorer wiped blood and flesh from his foot and picked up the lone remaining Primordial Fragment.
At that moment—
A gnome emerging from the darkness stabbed downward with a reversed dagger grip.
A perfectly timed ambush targeting a blind spot.
“…What?”
The dagger sliced through empty air.
The target had not even closed his eyes, yet the movement was missed.
The gnome did not panic and immediately leapt sideways.
Thud!
A wheel-shaped shuriken flew through the air and embedded itself in the gnome’s neck.
The instant he was struck, his entire body froze, and he tumbled across the ground with the same momentum he had been running.
“…Urgh.”
Even while blood poured from his mouth, the gnome struggled to conceal himself with a Mystery.
A foot suddenly appeared and crushed his body.
“H-how…?”
“No conversation.”
Crack!
Another guild war participant was expelled from the labyrinth, leaving behind only a dark-colored gem.
The explorer who had eliminated two people in an instant—the Sixth Apostle Schemer—picked up the Primordial Fragment indifferently.
That made eleven.
…Just one more.
I stood before the golden tower rising within the Sun Battlefield.
《A tower leading to the depths. Constructed from materials that no longer exist in the modern era. It absorbs natural mana and shines eternally.》
It’s tall.
A tower piercing all the way up to the ceiling that resembled the sky.
Looking up for too long made my neck ache.
After putting on a performance of admiration for the nearby broadcasting crystal spheres, I approached the main gate.
Six circular holes were carved into the center of the bright wooden door.
If all Primordial Fragments were inserted, the path to the depths would open.
Crackle!
The Exalted One delivered a brilliant joke regarding the mechanism.
《That joke is extremely vulgar… I recommend pretending you didn’t understand it.》
“Sue’je, it’s so funny that I can’t focus on the guild war. Please watch this and remain quiet.”
I brushed my disheveled hair back and cast a dreamy gaze into the air.
Then lightning crackled violently from the tattoo near my collarbone before calming down.
“Thank you.”
After finishing with a polite smile, I took out Skinfaxi’s Heart.
Hummm.
When I placed Skinfaxi’s Heart at the center of the circular holes, the gate shone brightly and slid open.
That was the Hidden Piece of the [Battlefield of Sun and Moon] as currently known to the public.
No wonder Yallen said it was meaningless.
After struggling to obtain the gem left by the divine beast, it served only as a key.
Why go through such hardship when the door could simply be opened with six Primordial Fragments?
By now, the spectators watching the guild war—and even the Evil Gods themselves—must have been puzzled.
《The Wise One watches with great interest to see what you will do with that divine beast’s gem!》
“Lidni. You already know, even without me saying it. Please simply trust and wait.”
I continued speaking while looking toward the crystal spheres hidden around the tower entrance.
“Lidni always longs for fresh knowledge. That is why believers are required to actively pursue knowledge as part of their faith. Anyone interested in the Twisted Truth may seek out this cultist Kar.”
Advertising with words alone felt insufficient, so I formed a heart with both hands before climbing the stairs inside the tower.
《Those who have passed here before you and entered the depths: 19》
That number included ghouls.
The number entering the depths from the Moon Battlefield was probably similar.
Almost there.
After climbing the spiral staircase diligently, another door appeared.
Before exiting recklessly, I transformed my index finger into black lightning and poked the door.
Sizzle!
Through the small hole it created, I looked outside with my left eye.
“Hollow, deploy.”
Soon an illusion identical to me appeared outside.
“It’s me again!”
“Go scout the surroundings.”
“Yes, sir!”
The illusion saluted and trotted away with exaggerated steps.
《Your partner reports that reconnaissance is complete.》
The moment I retrieved the illusion, images of a gloomy ruin—most buildings collapsed—flowed into my mind.
No enemies nearby. Everyone must be gathered together.
[Eye That Whispers Falsehoods] was originally a Mystery used for reconnaissance and information gathering.
“Come out again.”
Another illusion appeared.
“Explorers from other guilds will probably be gathered in one place. Infiltrate naturally.”
“Leave it to me!”
Watching Hollow run off, I removed my eye from the hole and unfolded a map showing the positions of guild members.
Five dots were gathered in one spot.
No one got eliminated.
Considering all information about the Ashen Wolf Guild had leaked outside, it was impressive that none had been eliminated.
—Elf elf!
—Half-elf!
When I opened the door and stepped outside carefully, small children made of water flew toward me.
《Spirit (Water) — Naiades》
《A spirit group formed by multiple Naiads. Their intelligence is not high, so complex tasks are impossible, but they are useful for simple errands.》
—You Kar?
—Kar Kar?
“Yes.”
When I nodded, two Naiads flew onto my head and sat there.
—Rai said bring you!
—Right now!
Rai was a Sea-Origin Elf spirit archer of the Ashen Wolf Guild.
“Understood. Please guide me.”
—Let’s go!
—Now’s the chance!
The Naiads began flying energetically somewhere.
As I followed quickly, I glanced up at the sky.
At the center of a sea of sparkling starlight, a radiant sphere shone even from afar.
《Great Sacred Relic — Orb of Lumerlan》
《A great relic left behind by the divided divine being Lumerlan. Its exact effect is unknown, but it certainly possesses the power to block sunlight or moonlight. Naturally, both vampires and ghouls desire it!》
The strategy condition of the [Battlefield of Sun and Moon] was contact with that relic.
At the same time, it was also the victory condition of the guild war.
Because this was a special space, flight-type Mysteries could not reach it.
Only one person who obtained a special item from the depths could approach it.
—Here here!
After traveling for some time, we reached a building whose outer wall had partially collapsed.
Inside, we climbed to the upper floor.
Finally, I reunited with the Ashen Wolf Guild members gathered together in one room.
“Welcome.”
Targon, the massive gray orc leaning against the wall, greeted me casually.
“Kar tribe member! Sit here!”
Brunelda, her hair completely disheveled, slapped the seat beside her.
I hurried over and sat obediently. The Northern Continent barbarian immediately wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“Dran, explain the situation.”
“Yes.”
Dran the sheep beastman monk spoke quietly.
“The number of remaining explorers is currently seventeen. Excluding us, there are eleven.”
Less than half of the guild war participants remained.
And six of them were members of our guild.
That sounded overwhelmingly advantageous—but in truth it was not encouraging.
“The problem is that explorers from other guilds are no longer trying to fight each other.”
Dran frowned slightly.
“If their numbers decrease further, they will lose both the ability to check our guild and the ability to approach the [Orb of Lumerlan]. From now on, they will avoid betraying each other if possible.”
—ROOOAR!
Just as Dran continued his briefing, a savage roar echoed from the depths.
Brunelda curled one corner of her mouth.
“Perfect timing. The guardian of these ruins is rampaging.”
Everyone looked through the shattered window.
Boom!
Not far away, a massive wyvern was sweeping away nearby buildings with its tail.
《Light Wyvern (Level 6)》
《A wyvern imbued with sacred light. The final guardian of Lumerlan’s ruins. Defeating it grants the tool required to fly toward the [Orb of Lumerlan].》
A powerful monster with Soul Rank Level 6 and a boss designation.
It had to be defeated to meet the strategy condition.
But since explorers were fixed at Level 5, no one could defeat it alone.
“Target the wings! That’s the weak point!”
“Kihehe!”
Slaughterer Ghouls leapt into the air and climbed onto the wyvern’s neck and torso, launching a fierce assault.
Watching them stab the wings enthusiastically with their arms moving frantically was almost cute.
“That won’t be enough.”
Targon snorted.
A perfectly accurate evaluation.
—ROOOAR!
The wyvern shook off the ghouls clinging to it with aerial maneuvers and fired a beam of light from its mouth.
KWAaaaa!
Building debris and fragments of the ground scattered like popcorn.
Among them were surely pieces of ghoul flesh and blood.
“Instant death.”
Brunelda said indifferently while picking her ear.
“Kar tribe member. Do you know that if a ghoul’s body is completely pulverized, even their excellent regeneration cannot restore them? The same applies to us vampires. It’s a very powerful monster….”
“So that just makes it more exciting to fight, right?”
“Khahaha!”
Brunelda grabbed my chin and shook it roughly.
“You adorable little brat! You really do understand!”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to say.”
Since falling into Pletika, the only person I could communicate this well with had been Bartimir.
Considering my kind demon daughter’s personality was practically created by me, Brunelda was effectively the only one.
—ROOOAR!
After roaring triumphantly, the wyvern flew away somewhere.
It had only come to punish the invading ghouls.
Normally, the Light Wyvern stayed quietly inside its nest.
“…As you saw, it’s still extremely healthy.”
Dran resumed the briefing that had been interrupted by the ghoul execution spectacle.
“Explorers from other guilds have not yet attempted the hunt. They are trying to act cautiously. Their numbers are becoming uncomfortably small.”
The minimum number of people required to defeat the Light Wyvern was roughly nine.
So explorers from multiple guilds had to cooperate to defeat it—a raid boss.
However, the Ashen Wolf Guild was different.
“Pathetic.”
Brunelda clicked her tongue with her hand resting on my head.
“There are eleven of them, and they still can’t kill a single Level 6 monster? The guild members gathered here are more than enough.”
The Ashen Wolf Guild was the only one capable of defeating the Light Wyvern without relying on other guilds.
Because we had Targon—the Twelve Heroes’ “Moving Mountain.”
“I have no interest in explorers from other guilds. I’ve fought them all at least once.”
The enormous gray orc spoke in a deep voice and slowly clenched and opened one hand.
Because of that simple gesture—
The air inside the room suddenly grew heavy.
“But the spy is still alive.”
Targon spoke in a voice so cold it made one’s ears feel chilled.
“Until I crush that bastard completely, I will not end this guild war.”