Guardian: Derek Walker 30
A blue mana gathered in Hargen's fist. It was mana infused with the cool, menacing aura unique to the Moon Tribe.
Hargen, who had never even properly sensed mana in his entire life, let alone handled it, now manipulated it with expert skill through his body overtaken by Surfer. And the precision was improving by the second.
"Mirage Force."
Luna activated the skill from her dual scimitars. Two illusions of herself materialized in midair.
"That's dangerous mana. We need to take him out fast."
Sensing the ominous mana from their foe, Crit pulled up his own mana as he spoke.
Few beings could handle mana as delicately as spirits. As products of nature itself, spirits innately commanded mana, the essence of the natural world. And Crit, who had reached the realm of Spirit King, went without saying.
Kukukuku!
The ground around Hargen sharply erupted, assailing him. The attack mixed in jagged rocks honed to points. Hargen dodged the protruding strikes with light footwork. He seemed even more agile than before.
"Blade Dance."
Borrowing the power of Pharaoh's dual scimitars, the three Lunas—now increased in number—charged from Hargen's left, right, and front. Her movements occupied all three directions in an instant, leaving him little room to evade.
"I'll handle the rear!"
The village hall floor heaved again, and a massive artificial hand burst from the earth. It was a gigantic hand hardened from soil and subterranean minerals. Like the palm of Buddha, it slammed down on Hargen from behind.
"This is fun!"
A flash of blue energy erupted from Hargen's body like lightning. Judging by the surging aura, he'd chosen frontal breakthrough over evasion.
As Luna predicted, Hargen's body leaned toward her, dancing with blades. The moon mana loaded into his fist clashed against Luna's dual scimitars.
Kukukung!
The manas reacted, unleashing a massive explosion. The Luna attacking head-on was pushed back by the blast's recoil, but two clones still closed in from the sides. However, Hargen leaped upward this time.
"What an annoying ceiling blocking the moonlight. On a fine night like this, how can I not gaze at the sky!"
Hargen's fist pierced the village hall ceiling. The mana-charged punch shattered the thick roof in one blow. Ceiling debris rained down on Luna and Kelly.
"Crit!"
"Got it!"
Kelly cried out sharply at the falling debris. Crit curled into a ball, gathering his power.
In that instant, a vast amount of mana ebbed from Kelly's heart like a receding tide. Her legs weakened as if struck by anemia, but she propped herself with her staff like a cane, barely maintaining balance.
"I'll block it!"
The ground around Luna and Kelly surged up. A massive earthen dome enveloped the two in an instant. The reinforced soil perfectly blocked the falling ceiling fragments. Once the thudding impacts ceased, Crit returned the earth to normal.
Clear moonlight poured through the hole in the sky onto the ground. To the Moon Tribe, it was a light more merciful than the sun. Not a full moon, regrettably, but this mystical power granted those with moon blood a hazy euphoria.
"Kuhahaha! That's it! Moonlight I haven't seen in centuries of sealing! This is the power I've awaited so long! Power overflows!"
Hargen's body swelled even further. Now bloated beyond recognition of his original form, he was no longer remotely human. If Walker had seen him, he'd have recalled some tire company's mascot.
Blue moonlight leaked from the monstrously inflated Hargen's body. The mana surrounding him grew even more ferocious. The moon shadow of greed dominating Hargen—Surfer—had been granted even greater power by the moonlight.
But those blessed by the moon weren't limited to Surfer. Luna's hair gleamed silver, her eyes a stunning sapphire hue. She felt fulfillment from the immense mana flowing from her heart. Not quite on par with receiving Walker's creampie, but a splendid satisfaction nonetheless. Her mind clear, she sensed peak condition for unleashing her power.
"Kuhaha! A kin after all! Good. First time devouring one of my own, but I'm looking forward to it. A new experience today!"
"This will be my first Moon Tribe kill as well. But there will be countless more ahead. I offer you as the first sacrifice."
"I like that attitude!"
Hargen swung his fist. Blue mana fists poured from it like projectiles, barraging Luna from range.
"Luna!"
Kukukuku!
The ground rose, forming a natural shield. Crit's earthen barrier shattered against Hargen's mana fists. Their power weakened, but blocking them completely proved impossible.
Serak!
Luna countered the mana fists with her mana-infused blades. The already deflected mana fists were sliced apart by her scimitars and vanished.
"Shall I eliminate the annoying one first?"
Hargen turned his gaze to Kelly. Protecting her was one of Luna's duties.
"Don't take your eyes off me."
Luna's agile body closed the distance to Hargen in a flash. Within ten meters, the space between them might as well not exist. Another clone Luna closed in too. Four blades total assailed Hargen.
"Under the moonlight! I am invincible!"
Fierce mana coalesced explosively from Hargen's fist. Instead of deflecting the encroaching blades, he slammed the ground hard. The earth quaked, cracked, warped—and the footing beneath Luna ejected her. Her body naturally recoiled backward.
"Here I go!"
Hargen leaped toward Kelly with the ferocity of a tiger stalking prey. Seeing him hurtle at her, Kelly paled in terror.
She swung her staff, gathering mana. Near exhaustion from her previous massive spell, the fear of death drove her beyond her limits.
Kukukukung!
Massive earthen spheres erupted from the ground. Centered on a point and hardened with mana, they boasted steel-ball durability. Five such spheres flew at Hargen.
"Not a chance!"
He pulverized the first with a fist swing, kicked away the second with his left foot. Dodged the third sideways, leaped over the fourth, and body-slammed the last. Beyond them waited Kelly, clutching her staff in terror.
"One down first!"
"I said don't look away."
Luna intercepted between Kelly and Hargen.
"Slaughter Cutter!"
Unlike the flashy Blade Dance, the blade swung with brutal menace. The sword path, evoking cruelty over elegance, aimed to shred Hargen.
Hargen's mana-reinforced fist flew forward to shatter Luna's assault. Plain compared to her complex strikes, but its destructive force was no joke.
Kukung!
Luna's body was shoved back. The instant their fist and blade met, she'd sensed the opponent's terrifying power and withdrawn first.
'He's getting stronger by the moment.'
And the moonlight accelerated it further. Though her own abilities surged under the moon, the gap widened. This exceeded Luna's expectations. As a former guard of the Demon King, he was no ordinary foe.
"Lady Kelly! Are you all right!?"
"Huff... huff... I think I just used up all my mana."
Kelly collapsed to the ground, unable to hold out. Her pallid face suggested no more attacks were feasible. Luna unsummoned her Pharaoh dual scimitar clones. Her own mana was running low.
"This is tricky."
Crit murmured. Contracted to Kelly, he couldn't exert more power with her exhausted. Forcing it might shorten her lifespan.
"Hey. Can you handle him alone? If not, even if it costs Kelly's lifespan..."
"I'll manage solo for now. If the tide turns badly, assist then."
Luna gripped her dual scimitars with a resolute expression.
"Kuhaha! Looking rough! That spirit summoner bitch is done? Then killing just you ends it."
Hargen's distorted voice settled into a specific timbre. Likely Surfer's original tone.
"This body seems to be hitting its limit. I like yours better than this trash. If I win, I'll take it!"
"No one touches this body but Master. Abandon your vain dream."
"Kuhaha! Bold spirit. Here I come!"
Hargen moved again. Under the moonlight sky, the two moon-blooded beings exchanged lethal strikes.
Their speeds nearly matched, with Hargen holding a slight edge in power. Luna compensated with flashy techniques. But the gap widened. Hargen dominated.
"Getting slower? No—am I speeding up!?"
Luna's blades couldn't deflect all of Hargen's fists. Minor wounds accumulated on her body.
"Luna!"
Kelly called out breathlessly, but nothing changed. Hargen's fist slammed into Luna's abdomen.
Kung!
"Kuh!"
Luna's body flew back, rolling across the ground. She'd minimized damage with a proper landing, but the impact burdened her stamina and mana.
"Kuhaha! It's over!"
Hargen's relentless assault culminated in a final fist swing. As Crit moved to intervene, arrows like solidified darkness rained from the sky onto Hargen.
"Grrrrgh!"
"Master Walker!"
Luna instantly recognized the attack as Walker's Darkness Arrow and called her master's name with spirited joy.