279. Moonlit Night (月夜)
279. Moonlit Night (月夜)
***
The outlaw Gray Arrow.
A known outlaw who used a longbow as tall as himself, and as a sniping-type outlaw, his notoriety was considerable.
His distinctive appearance was that of a male elf character with short gray hair. His outfit, too, was entirely gray.
"..."
Gray Arrow narrowed his eyes as the violet meteor struck true, landing a direct hit.
BOOOOM!!
With a tremendous roar, the violet burst of light exploded violently, clearly dyeing the entire area violet.
But.
'Rin, with just this much?'
Gray Arrow felt more puzzled than anything.
It was rare for two outlaws to ambush someone together and execute a strategy. And while there had clearly been no visible way for Rin to dodge, he still hadn't expected it to end so easily.
A user who had appeared like a supernova just a month ago and made a massive name for herself.
—Rin.
The unconventional oddity of her being a Dancer Class who used a Crescent-Moon Weight was one thing, but the performances she had gradually revealed were nothing short of overwhelming.
The fact that she scrimmed with pros was as good as proof of her skill, and considering mentions from Jeanne d'Arc, who was famous for rarely acknowledging others, her ability had effectively reached beyond the pro level.
On top of that, even though they used different weapons, the fact that Lyudmila—a fellow sniping-type outlaw—had been taken down weighed heavily on his mind.
Considering Lyudmila's standing among outlaws, called the Magic Bullet Marksman...
'Getting taken down this easily makes no sense.'
The arrow nocked on his gray longbow rippled with an eerie color, continuing to accumulate light.
It was too early to indulge in the complacent thought that the Meteor Spear's impact had finished it.
Fffff.
The area where the violet light still churned violently remained impossible to see clearly.
But he never relaxed his guard.
He kept the bowstring drawn taut, bracing for any eventuality.
"Don't let your guard down!"
Gray Arrow shouted loudly toward the other outlaw far away, who had retrieved his long spear, and recalled the importance of this commission.
A massive commission fee, and a situation where multiple clients—rare even among outlaws—attacked a single target.
It was even a commission from Phantom, one that was said to be hard to receive even among outlaws.
The commission amount itself was on a different order of magnitude, and even the silver coins spent on tracking had not been light.
So they absolutely could not fail.
Fffft.
The violet mass slowly subsided, and the smoke that had spread thickly from the explosion's aftermath gradually faded—at that moment.
————!
Without any warning, space itself began to dye pitch-black.
The outlaw Gray Arrow could only stare at the sudden spatial transformation with alarm and stay on guard.
***
"Don't let your guard down!"
At Gray Arrow's voice, the outlaw Stabbing Death Spear carefully positioned himself on a branch of an old tree.
He simply stared impassively at the space where the violet explosion had erupted.
A lean, muscular body reaching two meters.
With a sharp-featured human male appearance, he felt no joy even though he had launched the Meteor Spear at perfect timing.
'Just this much?'
He had meticulously predicted Rin's movements and formed a plan, so everything up to now had certainly gone smoothly.
From her holding her position at the start, to the prediction that she would move quickly toward either him or Gray Arrow.
Then the moment the distance had widened. Using the outlaw system's trait of being forcibly summoned near the target to drive down the Meteor Spear.
There had not been a single mistake in that entire process.
Rin's responses—deflecting or dodging all the previous attacks—had been surprising even though expected, but still within the planned range.
'It probably didn't finish her.'
Now, as the massive violet explosion slowly faded, Stabbing Death Spear was half-certain of that.
Considering Rin's known combat record, even with such a meticulous plan, he didn't think it could end easily.
'Monster.'
According to the information he'd gathered, Rin was a fighter beyond common sense.
Flash!
Then, as he clenched his hand, he naturally grasped the violet long spear that appeared in the air.
Stabbing Death Spear pulled back the hand holding the spear, preparing his next skill.
'...Still, it must have done some damage.'
Even if Rin had blocked the Meteor Spear.
It would be hard for her to withstand Gray Arrow's gray-rippling attack from across the space and this skill he was now preparing.
Just as the violet energy began concentrating once more above the spearhead of the long spear in his hand—
————!
From within the gradually fading violet light, an incomprehensible, massive pitch-blackness burst forth.
The darkness erupted as if to corrupt the entire space, and before he could even think of how to respond, it dyed everything black in an instant.
The grassland that had been reddening under the sunset glow was darkened in a single sweep as the pitch-black passed over it,
and the sky, too, which had been dyed red by the sunset, was instantly overpainted with pitch-black darkness, transforming into a dark night sky.
Within the space that had changed into a night sky where darkness had settled in an instant.
A great full moon, dazzlingly bright, illuminated the earth as if showing off.
"What in the world is this situation..."
Stabbing Death Spear muttered at the unexpected turn of events, unable to accept what was happening even as he prepared his skill.
Control over space that was impossible without an Awakening Skill.
But among the information gathered on Rin, there had been no mention of her possessing such a skill.
'An unknown skill of her Hidden Class?'
No, that couldn't be.
The Awakening Skill Rin had shown on stream was a skill called True Moon Princess.
A type of Awakening Skill that dyed her form in pure white light and enhanced her body.
It wasn't a spatial-control Awakening Skill like this.
In the space that had suddenly turned to midnight, as if even time itself had changed.
"..."
"..."
When Stabbing Death Spear cast a stunned look at Gray Arrow, the short-gray-haired elf also appeared tense, still holding his bowstring drawn.
Then, the moment the Meteor Spear's aftermath fully subsided.
In the vision of the two outlaws, who had been watching warily with Rin in mind, a sudden, enormous light appeared.
Flash!
Moonlight bright enough to illuminate the world shone radiantly upon Serin.
***
Serin had definitely reacted to the spear bearing a massive violet glow as it fell like a meteor.
'Every last one of them uses nothing but filthy skills...!'
She had been surprised by Stabbing Death Spear's appearance in a space where he shouldn't have been able to appear, but she had certainly considered that there must be some trick to the enemies attacking from opposite ends.
So it wasn't a speed she couldn't react to.
Just as she thought she had struck the violet spear away with her Crescent-Moon Weight using concentration pushed to its limit, the violet-charged long spear exploded like a massive shell.
And so Serin couldn't erase even the aftermath of the enormous explosion.
With her HP Gauge having plummeted below 30%.
Serin felt a faint loss of sensation in her left eye, and her left hand, too, hung limp.
A sensation of loss caused by negative effects on the damaged areas.
"..."
Within that view where the violet explosion enveloped her and even the world appeared dyed violet.
When she saw the sky fading with sunset, strength entered the hand gripping her Crescent-Moon Weight.
—Using Special Skill 'Moonlit Night'.
*
————
- Moonlit Night: Changes an open area where the sky is visible into a quiet night world where moonlight exists for 1 hour. (Cooldown 24 hours. Cannot be used in Unique Domains or Absolute Domains.)
Gain bonus damage equal to 200% of Attack Power due to the effect of the Crescent-Moon Weight 'Moonlight'.
————
*
The world dyed violet swallowed pitch-black in an instant, its light completely transformed, and soon a great full moon shone upon Serin.
Amid the feeling of immense power surging up, she consecutively activated her skills.
—True Moon Princess.
Moonlight, dazzling to the point of brilliance, burst forth over her body.
Elegant golden thread was embroidered over her white-dyed light armor, and the Crescent-Moon Weight she held was likewise engraved with golden thread, its very appearance transformed.
A circular Crescent-Moon Weight shaped like the moon, bearing a golden glow.
Her silver hair, which had reached her waist, now extended to her legs, and her beautiful blue eyes were dyed red, taking on a crimson hue.
As Serin, having used her Awakening Skill, clenched her hand once, pure white moonlight wrapped around her, restoring all the wounds she had just sustained and recovering her original beauty.
She let out a short breath and cleared her thoughts.
She had been ambushed, and it was a 2-on-1 situation.
She had not the slightest intention of holding back skills or taking it easy.
Savoring the sense of omnipotence surging up more immensely than ever before under the clear light of the full moon, she took a step forward.
—Moonlight Step.
WHOOOSH!
As enormous moonlight radiated from her and illuminated the world, Serin rode that great moonlight and instantly surged toward Gray Arrow.
As if she had completely erased the distance, moving like light itself, the gray-haired man appeared right before her eyes in an instant.
CRACK!
The Crescent-Moon Weight, bearing enormous moonlight, shot forth in a crescent arc, splitting apart all the massive vegetation nearby as it flew with the force to cleave through everything.
And at that moment, Gray Arrow's bowstring released.
—Phoenix Arrow (鳳凰矢).
The arrow that had been rippling and accumulating gray light erupted with a brilliance that made its original gray color meaningless.
Immediately after, Stabbing Death Spear, who had been preparing his skill not far away, also activated his.
—Spear That Calls Despair.
The violet-charged spear rose high into the air, then scattered violet light as it surged toward Serin like a single beam of light.
...
From the front, an arrow bearing brilliant light in the shape of a phoenix,
and from directly behind, a sinister violet-dyed spear aiming straight at her back.
Even though she had already swung her Crescent-Moon Weight with irreversible commitment, Serin twisted her lips.
SCREECH!
Her right hand, which had swung the Crescent-Moon Weight, was pulled back sharply, and Serin's body spun rapidly.
'It's possible.'
With power stronger than ever surging through her entire body, she had absolute confidence in herself.