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Chapter 337

An awkward, almost oppressive silence filled the air.

Within it, the expressions of the Kona Academy members looking at us betrayed a mix of wariness, confusion, and disbelief.

If I had to guess what they were thinking, it would be something like:

‘Why is that man here?’

‘What is he even talking about?’

Their faces said as much—and beneath that, a layer of suspicion.

Understandable, really. From their point of view, the Imperial Academy—who had completely overpowered them in the first match—might’ve come here to rub salt in their wounds.

One thing was certain: they hadn’t seen the maid who had turned into a monster and been destroyed by us just moments ago.

“Professor Leon Cascadia. What in the world are you—”

The supervising professor, a swordmaster-level fighter, furrowed his brows and called out to me.

Instead of answering, I glanced toward Luna.

“She’s really gone?”

“Umm… hard to say. The distortion covers this entire building. If I try to distinguish individuals, we’ll run out of time.”

She pressed her hands to her eyes, tilting her head this way and that as if peering into the distance.

“So is she here or not?”

“Not sure.”

Even though seeing through essence was Luna’s specialty, this particular phenomenon seemed to strain even her abilities.

“What are you trying to pull? Barging in like this—are you looking for a fight?”

“There’s a mafia among you.”

“A… mafia? What’s that?”

“Simply put, there’s a killer here—someone who wants all of you dead.”

Thinking back on it, that was probably the most accurate description possible.

“What nonsense—”

“Everyone, stay where you are. Don’t move.”

Naturally, that provoked outrage.

“Utter nonsense! You barge in here and spout madness—leave now, or I’ll file a formal complaint!”

At his angry outburst, Luna frowned.

“Luna. Hold it. If you step in, that man’s head will explode.”

I stopped her by slipping my hands under her arms and lifting her slightly off the ground.

She kicked in midair, cheeks puffing out in annoyance.

“I’m not a kid.”

Thud!

Her kick landed squarely on my shin.

Normally, I would’ve retaliated, but this time I held my tongue—mostly because she gave me a look that said she was genuinely hurt.

“To clarify the situation—since someone’s already been killed, arguing won’t help.”

“Killed? I’ve heard nothing of the sort.”

“The moment we arrived, we found one of the Valtosma maids—transformed into something monstrous. Surely your managers have noticed someone missing?”

When I turned to the senior servant dispatched from Valtosma, he hesitated, then nodded.

“Some maids have gone missing recently, yes…”

“Do you still not believe me?”

The professor snorted at my question.

“Who’s to say you didn’t harm them yourselves, to shake our trust—”

BOOM!

The killing intent exploded from my entire body, and Luna immediately yanked on the back of my collar.

“Leon. Calm down. If you don’t, that guy’s head really will pop.”

…Déjà vu.

The pressure alone made several faces blanch.

“Even so, it’s hard to believ—”

“KYAAAAA!”

A scream cut him off.

Everyone turned toward the sound, rushing in its direction.

There, a maid was pinned to the ground, thrashing—while the thing pinning her down shoved a pulsating, cell-like sphere into her mouth.

Its head was covered in jellyfish-like flesh, with countless grotesque eyes swirling inside its translucent dome.

“Wh-what in the world—”

Shing—!

I reacted first.

Before anyone else could move, I drew my spirit sword and sliced the creature apart, shredding it into chunks before burning the writhing remains to ash with a surge of lightning.

Luna immediately knelt to inspect the maid.

“How is she?”

“Too late. She’s dead.”

It was clearly an unnatural death.

Even when Luna tried to check for any remaining soul, there was nothing left—completely devoured.

Then, suddenly—

Blood tears streamed from the maid’s eyes, and with a sickening pop! her skull burst open.

From it, another jellyfish-like parasite burst out, wrapping around her head.

“Ugh…”

“Damn it… what is that…”

The horror left everyone speechless.

It was beyond gruesome—bordering on the absurd.

Whenever the Red moon was involved, it always ended like this.

“Now do you understand?”

“Wh-what was that thing…”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it either.”

I’d fought all sorts of things in the Labyrinthos—void gluttons and worse—but this jellyfish parasite?

That was entirely new.

If I’d known what it was, maybe I could’ve stopped it sooner.

“Gather all attendants and servants staying in this lodge.”

“B-but there are monsters outside—”

Their fear was understandable.

I snapped my fingers.

From my shadow, black specters rose silently.

“Gasp!”

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“U-undead!”

“They’re strong enough to protect you. Go quickly—we can’t afford any more casualties.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

The attendant fled with the specters in tow.

We regrouped in the main hall.

Silence again.

No one dared speak.

“What… what the hell is happening?”

Gordon Hontail finally spoke, his tone trembling.

Of course they didn’t know about the Red Moon phenomenon.

I glanced around the room.

It was possible that one of the Valtosma attendants was the culprit.

But instinct told me something else.

At least one of them—right here—was the source.

Luna narrowed her eyes, scanning the crowd for the culprit, but she too looked frustrated.

“Still can’t tell?”

“There’s interference in this space—something distorting my senses.”

Even if things looked stable on the surface, the entire area felt twisted, as though reality itself was warping.

A space this unstable would make teleportation almost impossible.

They flinched under my gaze but no one spoke.

“I can still identify them, one by one.”

“Yeah? Then we’ll start checking once everyone’s here.”

“Once I find one, I can find the rest.”

Her confidence was… unsettling.

But for now, it was the best option.

If this ritual required human sacrifices, then keeping everyone together under guard was the safest course.

BOOM! BOOM!

Suddenly, a series of massive tremors shook the building like an earthquake.

“Wha—what’s happening!?”

Panic erupted.

Then, all at once, every window shattered and waves of red mist surged in through the openings—like a living tide.

It was as if something wanted to stop us from regrouping.

But whatever trick they had ready, I wasn’t about to let them succeed.

[7th Circle]

[Barrier Magic]

[Reinforce Wall]

A large-scale spell that would normally take minutes to prepare formed instantly in my palm and flared outward.

In seconds, vast magic circles expanded around us, erecting translucent barriers.

BOOM!

The Red Moon’s power wasn’t ordinary magic—it was otherworldly.

Normally, no spell could block it completely.

But this was no ordinary spell, and this world wasn’t entirely under that influence yet.

The barrier held.

A thunderous impact rang out, and the red mist slid off, dissipating harmlessly.

We remained untouched.

“M-magic…? Did the young master just—?”

“Impossible. No one can invoke magic like that. No chant, no runes, and yet—instant and perfect? Structurally impossible.”

The descendant of a magic house, Gordon Hontail, stared in disbelief.

The world outside the barrier looked completely changed, as though we’d been thrown into another dimension.

“They’re trying to stop us from regrouping. But with that last disruption, one thing’s certain.”

Luna stepped forward.

Her target—Tintel Ramos, the same man who’d just spoken in disbelief about magic.

“W-what are you—urk!?”

She grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him off the ground.

“Did you really think you could hide from me by blending in? You must think I’m an idiot.”

Her sudden action threw the room into chaos.

Shing!

Ssshhh!

Both professors drew their swords, followed by the students.

Gordon Hontail raised his staff, furious.

“What are you doing? Put him down!”

But Luna’s gaze didn’t waver.

“Wh… why… what are you—”

She looked him dead in the eye, her voice calm but sharp.

Tintel Ramos.

A support mage from a vassal branch of the Hontail family, specializing in disruption magic.

He had just called Gordon “young master” earlier.

Given that, his shock was understandable.

But still—Luna’s timing was too exact to be coincidence.

“Fine. If you won’t show yourself, I’ll drag you out.”

Above her, her invisible halo spun into view, glowing brightly.

Rainbow light surged around her, and Tintel’s body went rigid.

Then—something shifted.

Emotion drained from his face, replaced by a blank, mechanical stare.

The whites of his eyes vanished as he began muttering in some unknown language, like a chant from another world.

Everyone froze, speechless.

Luna spoke quietly.

“Stop babbling and tell me who’s working with you.”

Then she shook him like a rag doll.

But a man already devoured by the Red Moon wasn’t going to answer.

Still, Luna persisted.

“Luna. Beating him won’t make him talk.”

“I can fix it.”

She dropped him—and clenched her fist.

“You’ll want to talk now.”

WHAM!

Her punch landed squarely on his face.

“You’ll want to talk.”

BAM!

Her fists flew like lightning, pounding him mercilessly.

Everyone watched, dumbstruck.

Tintel kept muttering, but his voice wavered with every blow.

Gradually, the chanting faltered.

His distorted voice twisted and cracked—

—and then, impossibly, he started to groan in pain.

“You’ll want to talk.”

Luna’s brutally simple, physical “exorcism” somehow began to work.

Even the being consumed by the Red Moon started to flinch and cry out under her fists.

“Argh!! Stop! Aghhh!!”

By the end, he was covering his face, screaming as she pummeled him.

“…Wow. That actually works.”

Violence, it seemed, was far more versatile than anyone had expected.

Everyone else just stared, dumbfounded.

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