Purging the Black Moon's Hideouts
Leoness and I arrived at the spot marked on the map. There was an entrance overgrown with thick vines, so hidden that you wouldn't notice it unless you looked closely.
"...This the place?"
"According to the map, yes."
Leoness, riding piggyback on my back while peering at the map, replied with firm conviction.
"Then let's go."
I roughly shoved the vines aside and stepped into the dim passage. A musty moldy smell and damp air hit us like a wave.
"Ugh, the smell..."
Leoness's cute sniffly voice came from behind me.
How long did we walk through the endless darkness? At the end of the passage, a red-rusted iron door came into view.
The old classroom's rear, basement storage of the abandoned greenhouse.
I aimed my thumb, loaded with a Bullet, at the door's lock.
"Bang."
-Bang!
With a crisp explosion, the lock tore off like paper.
-Creak.
As I opened the door, murmurs came from inside.
"Who's there!"
Two cultists in black robes jumped in surprise and turned to us, the uninvited guests.
"Intruders!"
"Kill them!"
One drew a dagger from his robes and charged like a beast, while the other raised his staff and began chanting.
Not bad reaction speed.
I'd thought they were just random grunts, but these must be Black Moon cult battle priests after all.
The dagger guy kicked off the ground and rushed me. In this narrow underground passage, there wasn't much room to dodge.
Behind him, the staff-wielding mage chanted his spell.
"Cra... Igni..."
Fire magic. In this tight space? Was he trying to take us all down with him?
Whatever.
I've dealt with worse in the game a hundred times.
"You there! To the left!"
I ignored Leoness's urgent warning from my back and stepped forward instead.
Black mana had already condensed stickily at my fingertips.
But I wasn't aiming at the charging guy's forehead. Too fast—hard to hit.
Target: the floor.
"Bang."
-Boom!
A roar echoed as the ground under his feet exploded.
"Gah!"
Caught off guard, the swordsman lost his balance and tumbled forward pathetically.
I didn't miss the opening. I stepped on his back like a springboard and leaped into the air.
A gruesome crunch of his spine breaking came from underfoot, but who cares.
My real target was the mage behind him from the start.
"Y-You crazy bitch...!"
The mage, nearly done chanting, had red flames flickering at his staff's tip.
Distance: about three meters. Perfect range.
"Bye."
The black flash from my fingertip pierced the staff's tip—the mana core—dead on.
-Pop!
The gathered mana lost control, backlashed, and triggered a massive explosion.
The mage got flung into the wall by the blast's aftermath.
Acrid smoke filled the narrow passage.
-Thud.
I landed lightly on the floor. Leoness, still on my back, peeked over my shoulder with wide, startled rabbit eyes.
"Is it over?"
"Probably?"
As the dust settled, the two cultists lay in pitiful states. One was out cold from his crushed spine; the other convulsed, charred all over.
I approached the fallen mage.
"Hey. Wake up."
I nudged his side with my toe.
"Ugh... urgh..."
"One question. What were you doing in this room?"
Instead of answering, he reached into his robes. Last-ditch suicide attempt?
-Thwack!
I kicked his solar plexus without hesitation.
"Guhk!"
"Answer the question. Next one's lower. What were you doing here?"
Trembling, he pointed to the iron cabinet in the back.
"Th-There... comm... crystal..."
"Communication crystal?"
I flung open the cabinet. Inside sat a massive crystal orb emitting an eerie red glow.
The crystal's surface faintly showed scenes from all over the academy. Every guard patrol in detail.
That pink hair among the guards—is that Lilliana?
A familiar face flashed by, but the view switched too fast to confirm.
Leoness craned her neck from my back.
"Hoh. So they were contacting each other with this."
"Surveillance camera and radio in one, huh."
I smashed the crystal on the floor.
-Crash!
Red shards scattered everywhere. A system chime rang out simultaneously.
Black Moon Cult's Academy Internal Outpost Destroyed (1/12)
"Good. One down."
I dusted off my hands. Easier than expected. At this difficulty, the remaining 11 would be a breeze.
"Alright, on to the next spot."
At my words, Leoness unfolded the map again. Current location: old classroom basement storage.
"The closest from here is the music room."
"Then let's go."
"Wait a moment."
Leoness stopped me.
"What about these fallen ones?"
"Hm..."
They were worthless trash not worth sparing... but straight-up killing them felt off.
"Tie 'em up and the guards will pick them up, right?"
"Hoh. Quite efficient."
We roughly bound the downed cultists in the corner and exited the underground passage.
///
Stepping out of the abandoned greenhouse, cool night air brushed my heated cheeks. The academy was already chaos. Distant torch-bearing guards scurried about. With the prison busted open, it was the expected response.
"Guards are tight."
"Better for us. All eyes on the prison."
We slipped through shadows, hugging building walls. Into the old building. The hallway was deathly silent. The occasional creak of old floorboards boomed like thunder.
At the music room door, faint presences inside.
...Three. No, four.
Leoness couldn't fight, so it was 4v1. A frontal assault like before was too risky.
Time to switch tactics.
I pulled out the item I'd grabbed from the basement storage: a flash orb stored with the crystal. Low quality with high misfire rate, but beggars can't be choosers.
"I'll open the door and toss this. Close your eyes."
"Understood."
Deep breath. I gripped the doorknob.
"One, two... three!"
-Bang!
Door flew open; I hurled the orb inside.
"What the—!"
-Flash!
Luckily, no dud. Blinding white light swallowed the music room.
"Ambush!"
"Agh! My eyes!"
As they clutched their faces and staggered, I charged in and fired my fingers wildly.
-Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Hit at least one, right?
Superior vision advantage. Three screamed and rolled on the floor in seconds.
The last, missed by bullets, swung blindly with eyes squeezed shut.
"Die! Die!"
"Sigh."
I dodged the swing easily and uppercut his jaw with my palm. Dull thud—he foamed at the mouth and passed out.
We searched the music room thoroughly. Finally, deep in an instrument case: the red communication crystal. Smashed it.
Black Moon Cult's Academy Internal Outpost Destroyed (2/12)
"Next..."
"More importantly, you."
"Hm?"
"Are you alright? Your breathing's ragged."
Leoness's observation made me realize my breath was labored.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Adrenaline masked it during the fight, but now fatigue crashed in. Still a long way to go.
"I'm fine."
"Get down."
"What?"
"I can walk now. Strength's back in my legs... Being carried just burdens you."
Leoness patted my shoulder.
True, piggybacking nonstop was taxing my stamina. I gently set her down.
She wobbled on landing but steadied against the wall.
"See? No problem."
Leoness lifted her chin arrogantly. But her pale face and sweaty brow betrayed her.
Cute.
I chuckled and hurried on.
"Alright, next spot."
We had to move fast before the guards tightened the net.
///
Third: alchemy lab. Half-mutated rats squeaked on the experiment table. Knocked 'em all out, smashed the crystal.
(3/12)
Fourth: sealed armory. They were crafting nasty weapons—smashed everything.
(4/12)
Fifth, sixth... Like breaking dojos, we wrecked Black Moon outposts all over the academy one by one.
After the seventh—the food storage warehouse—I finally hit my limit, collapsing against the wall to catch my breath.
"Let's rest. I'm dying here."
I slumped in the corner, grabbing bread and jerky from a box.
"You really... have no sense of crisis."
Leoness stared in disbelief, but...
-Grrrowl.
"..."
"..."
We silently split the bread and jerky.
"Tasty."
"...Tasty."
Everything had happened in a blur of chaos. But surviving near-death together? A strange camaraderie had sprouted between Leoness and me.
Comrades-in-arms felt off. Friendship. Yeah, like friends.
"By the way, you."
"Yeah?"
"That black magic of yours. Is it really okay?"
Leoness's gaze lingered on my fingers. Mine followed.
My slender white fingertips were stained pitch black, like ink.
What the hell is this.
Why are my fingers like this?