Chapter 222
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 222
Chapter Title: The Red Moon's Incarnation
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Something was gradually taking shape beyond the space invisible to the naked eye.
It still wasn't visible to anyone else's eyes.
What fully revealed itself far exceeded my expectations.
An enormous size that seemed several kilometers in diameter.
Countless tentacles stretched out in all directions across the Great Forest, creeping toward the elves' city and even the World Tree itself.
The surfaces of those tentacles were covered with an uncountable number of grotesque eyes and mouths filled with sharp teeth.
And those tentacles all connected upward to a single body.
The moment I saw what was atop that body...
"Cough!"
I coughed a couple of times and spat out the congealed dead blood pooling in my mouth.
"Fuck. That's beyond an ancient god."
Just trying to analyze its true nature caused an overload.
In my memory, only a tiny fraction of the powerful entities I'd seen in Labyrinthos were this hard to analyze.
The presence before my eyes was on that level.
If my instincts were right, this thing was likely a manifestation of the Red Moon itself.
Of course, plenty of existences could drive you mad just by looking at them, but they could all be resisted to some degree.
But attempting to analyze it from its very origin, like I was doing now, produced a backlash entirely different from mere observation.
Something that shouldn't be comprehended.
I gave up on further analysis without regret.
At least one thing was certain.
Regardless of whether that thing—still unfelt and unseen by others—was the Red Moon's true body, once the red mist it emitted spread out, it was over.
Let's think. It had judged me capable of disrupting its plans and imprisoned me.
So, what factor did I have now that could truly thwart it?
The Sword of Intent, now fully usable after breaching the wall, could deal a blow, but it wouldn't address the root cause.
"At least, if that nauseating mist it spews covers the city, we're all done for."
The mist was already slowly seeping from it, extending toward the city.
The red mist coiled around the vegetation spread throughout the Great Forest domain, twisting everything it touched into grotesque shapes.
To block something on that scale, I'd need power on the level of an Authority,
My Authority of Death [Thanatos]? Or the Machine God's Heart?
As I pondered, I recalled one key difference between me and the others.
"Librarian."
[Confirmed.]
"Find the core triggering the Red Moon."
[The core currently triggering the Red Moon exists within the entity you're observing.]
"What a fucking nightmare."
The difficulty was insane.
Even with my full power as a Mind Master, eliminating it would be tough.
[This is a mid-boss scenario, but the final boss showed up instead.]
Simply trying to analyze it had pierced my immense resistance and counterattacked.
A way to break through its guard...
The only slim hope was Luna, but unfortunately, she'd depleted most of the power in her bracelet defeating the previous Dragon Demon Varil.
She likely had no strength left to forcibly neutralize something this overwhelmingly powerful.
"Damn it!! Hold them off!!"
"Aaaahhh!!!"
"Healers over here!!"
Screams echoed from all directions.
The undead fought valiantly, and Varil's breath as the Shadow Dragon poured relentlessly onto the enemies, but their numbers didn't dwindle.
Without addressing the root, the elves' city would fall this very night.
"Where is House Head Romila?!"
Oselon House Head, who had been firing arrows furiously upon my arrival, rushed over and asked me urgently.
I gave him a rough explanation of the situation there.
"She's injured and receiving treatment. The situation seemed urgent, so I came here first."
We'd slain the Demon Tree, but something far graver had emerged.
"Wha... what the hell is that...?"
At that moment, an elf collapsed to his knees, speaking in a trembling voice.
And like a contagion spreading in an instant, other elves halted their battles, staring blankly toward the forest depths.
Ah. It was starting to become visible to them now.
It was exhaling red mist and devouring the World Tree's power, gradually revealing its presence.
The towering trees of the Great Forest seemed like child's play compared to it.
Exaggerating a bit, it could rival the clouds in the sky.
"Elder Oselon. What can you see right now?"
He answered my question with chattering teeth.
"Endless tentacles... and a horrific body... I can't see above that."
"That's a relief. Better not to know."
I couldn't guarantee what would happen if they saw even up to that upper part.
"N-no, it's coming!!"
Then, as the thing standing there spewing mist began slowly advancing toward the World Tree, the elves cried out in terror, their faces drained of color.
"Varil."
I raised my hand and commanded. The Shadow Dragon Varil, who had been unleashing his breath, landed behind me.
Szzzz...
He dug his claws firmly into the massive barrier, gathering immense high-pressure energy in his maw before releasing it.
Krreeeeong!!!!
The crimson breath from his mouth melted everything it touched as it hurtled toward the monster.
But it didn't halt its advance.
Varil drove his claws in even deeper, ceased the breath, and gathered mana once more.
This time, far more intense energy erupted.
Bwoooosh!!!
With a tearing sound, the momentarily released breath, now corrupted to pitch black, carved a massive scar into the earth from the barrier onward, striking the monster.
And like slicing upward with a laser, it rent the sky as well.
The elves watched in stunned silence, forgetting to breathe, as the recoil from the breath pushed back Varil's colossal body.
Nothing within the breath's range remained—everything turned to ash.
The encroaching enemies nearby were reduced to scattered dust as well.
But the monster remained unscathed.
Meaning physical force alone wouldn't work.
Varil growled lowly at the still-intact foe and prepared another breath.
"Varil, stop. Just handle the approaching ones."
The enemies weren't just that colossal thing.
No point wasting it if it wasn't effective.
"Stand down... Young elves, prepare to retreat."
"House Head Oselon?!"
"We can't stop that. Even a Sword Master's aura blade wouldn't scratch it. No—approaching it would just corrupt and kill you."
His voice boomed across the barrier.
"So flee. We'll stay and fight to the last."
He'd made his decision.
If it couldn't be stopped, at least evacuate the young elves while they held out to the end.
"Forgive us, Young Master. We couldn't keep our promise."
In a situation like this, one might scream that it was all my fault.
But he didn't.
Of course, I hadn't orchestrated this, and it would've happened even without me—but that didn't change facts.
I let out a short sigh and replied.
"That won't do."
Why go through all this hassle just to help them die?
I slowly drew my ghost sword, neatly gathering the aura within my body.
After breaching the wall, I could now fully wield the power available to Mind Masters.
This wasn't like overclocking from Sword Master state to mimic it.
With my overwhelming physical prowess backed by aura, I could easily defeat fellow Sword Masters, and my experience let me gain the edge even against higher-tier Mind Masters—but that was only because I'd walked that path before.
[Intent – Strong]
The elves around me flinched and turned toward me.
They'd shifted their gaze from the overwhelmingly imposing monster to me.
[Blue]
The aura blade blazed like the light of a brilliant blue supergiant.
A bursting density as if the mere aura blade had been compressed dozens of times over, the derived power from it, and infused with true Mind Master strength—true intent.
Boom!!!
I spun the sword in one hand and raised it above my shoulder.
The blade tip, angled downward from behind my head, burned blue.
"An... intent-infused sword...? No way."
I stomped down with a powerful step and swung.
Slash!!!
The speed of the released blue sword beam defied imagination.
Far surpassing the speed of sound, it carved a straight line through the forest, slamming into the colossal monster—the Red Moon's form.
Krunch!!
It had ignored Varil's breath as if it were nothing, but it couldn't disregard the intent-infused sword of a Mind Master. A massive sword scar appeared on its body.
The monster staggered wildly, unleashing a scream verging on a wail.
This time, unlike with the Demon Tree, I wouldn't let it smack me from behind after slaying it. Its hand was almost fully revealed now, and it was time to play mine.
"Elder Oselon. From now on, I'll handle that thing."
"Wha... what?! You have a way?!"
"Yes. Just one. Can't believe I didn't think of it sooner."
Despite my bold claim, the situation looked dire on the surface.
The World Tree showed no resistance, as if it'd lost all power, with violet corruption coiling around it by the second.
Falling Petals' power had ceased moments ago.
Seemed like a problem deep in the roots...
"I neutralized it for a moment, but it doesn't mean much. We need to address the root."
"That just now... a sword infused with intent? You're a Mind Master...?"
"Yes."
"Unbelievable. But if it's shrugging off a Mind Master's power—even such an intense sword beam—doesn't that make it even worse...?"
"It's fine. It took damage, so now I'll whittle down its defenses."
Oselon House Head looked puzzled at my words.
"House Head. How long can you hold?"
"Not long. Without the World Tree's blessing, we elves can't use our great spirit magic."
"Just a moment."
"Where are you going?!"
"To the root depths for a bit. I need Falling Petals."
"Wait! That area's sealed with a formation..."
Boom!!!