It was a moonlit night. A quiet night, a holy night.

I went deep into the forest behind the village with the leader. The words that all the magical beasts in the vicinity had been eradicated were not a lie, as not a single magical beast was to be seen.

The night road I was walking on now was the road to the Mist Cliff. Walking again on the road I had run towards death, I felt a new emotion. I felt restless and all sorts of things.

Just as I was about to stop, thinking I had come a reasonable distance from the village... I heard the leader's voice from behind.

"Let's stop. This is far enough."

"...."

Because I was a man like a green frog, I walked a lot further from there and then stopped. The leader followed me, grumbling.

We had come a long way. At this distance, no matter how loudly we fought, the villagers would not wake up from their sleep.

Screech—

I drew my sword and turned around. The leader was looking at me with a black greatsword slung over his shoulder.

I stared at him calmly.

"Leader. Say it again. Did I hear you right? You said you were satisfied?"

The leader scratched his neck and answered.

"...I think so."

I got angry at the leader who answered as if it were nothing.

"You magical beast. Don't you remember what you said?"

"What did I say?"

"You said that people eventually stop, settle down, and become satisfied. And then it's over."

"...."

"But satisfaction? Did you say satisfaction? Did I hear you right?"

I had wondered who would break that monster-like guy. It was himself who had broken him. Wasn't it a common saying that the biggest enemy is oneself?

"You've become a pathetic man since I last saw you. Is this the leader I know? The monster I know was a man who never compromised. That one thing was respectable. But who are you? You're not the leader. Where did the monster who swept away everything without mercy go, and why is there a weak girl in front of me? Tell me. Where did the leader go?"

The leader looked at me silently, and then let out a deep sigh.

"I'm tired. That man is tired and went to sleep for a while."

"He went to sleep?"

"What's the use of me being strong? A family member died."

"...."

"There was a time when I thought that if I became strong, everything would be solved. I believed that the problems that were happening now were happening because I wasn't strong enough. But... you're right. I was a pathetic fool who knew nothing. No matter how strong you are, you're so powerless in the face of death. I was a weak fool who could do nothing."

I couldn't stand it and shouted.

"Leader!!!"

The forest echoed.

"Look at me! Look at me! Do I look like a ghost? I didn't die! What doesn't kill me makes me stronger! But why are you weaker?"

"...."

"The leader doesn't talk like that! He doesn't make pathetic excuses like a defeated man without even fighting! Tell me! Where did the leader I knew go?"

The leader smiled weakly. That sight made me unbearably angry.

I took a deep breath and then said in a low voice.

"Leader. Do you know what I was thinking as I went through that chaos?"

"I don't know."

"I came here through that rough storm with the sole intention of kicking your ass. My ultimate goal is you. Defeating you is my life's wish. I overcame the brink of death just thinking about your ass."

The leader touched his ass and muttered.

"...I feel strangely dirty."

"But where did that man go? A guy like you can't be my ultimate goal. The man I will finally defeat is not such a weak man. The ass I was thinking of was not such a wrinkled ass!"

"...It's even unpleasant."

"Shall I tell you what's more unpleasant?"

"What is it?"

I aimed the silver sword, which was shining faintly in the darkness, at the leader.

"You'll find out naturally when you kneel before me."

The leader grinned.

"I'll apologize in advance. That won't happen. I'm sorry you were so looking forward to it."

Thud!

The leader slammed the black greatsword he was holding into the ground.

I narrowed my brow and glared at the leader.

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

The leader cracked his knuckles and replied.

"I'll fight you with my bare hands."

"...This bastard."

"I'll acknowledge it if you make me draw my sword."

"Acknowledge what?"

"I'll acknowledge that the story of you rampaging in the Blake Kingdom was true."

I frowned.

"What do you have to acknowledge or not? It's a fact, so I don't need your acknowledgment."

"Really? Then forget it. You braggart with only a mouth."

"...."

I had a staring contest with the leader for a moment.

"...If I win, you'll kneel and beg for forgiveness, saying 'I'm sorry for not recognizing you, great Devil of the Red Eyes Ashuban'."

"Then if you lose, you'll be a restaurant waiter for the next few days. We're short on hands."

I snorted.

"What do you mean, short on hands? There were no customers."

"They don't usually come in the evening."

"That's an excuse."

"Shut up and do as I say."

"You're the one who should be preparing to kneel. You fake."

I slowly raised my ki, and at the same time, the leader's momentum changed. There was no particular movement, but suddenly the air around us became heavy. It was a pressure that seemed to crush the entire area.

A magnificent energy that was hard to believe came from a single man flowed out. It's not for nothing that I call him a magical beast. It was as if I were facing a single magical beast that was rough, violent, and fierce, and for which common sense did not apply.

I quickly circulated the ki I had been warming up throughout my body.

Hwoooong—

A strange sound of the wind was heard in my ears, and my clothes and hair began to flutter in the wind.

I overcame the leader's pressing momentum by tearing it apart with the wind as if in a desperate struggle.

"...!"

The leader looked at me with slightly surprised eyes.

"Leader. Do you hear it, this wail? The ghosts are welcoming their friend."

"...Is that also a type of black magic?"

"I told you it's martial arts."

While talking, I asked the Heavenly Demon for his opinion.

'Master. How is it?'

[Hmm. It's hard to tell who is superior.]

'With whom?'

[With Frost.]

'...!'

[I'll have to see them fight directly to know the result.]

I glared at the leader.

"Leader. Were you one of the Eight Sword Masters? Were you hiding your identity?"

He grinned and pointed at the black greatsword stuck next to him.

"Do you think this crude greatsword looks like one of Ophosis's famous swords?"

"Hmm."

As someone who had seen Frost's sword directly, it was hard for me to think so. Because it was just a crudely large greatsword with no special features. It seems he is definitely not one of the Eight Sword Masters.

"Well, a weakling like you couldn't be one of the Eight Sword Masters."

"You're all talk. Do you fight with your mouth?"

"A war of words is also a part of fighting, you ignorant fool. Don't you know about psychological warfare?"

"It'll be morning at this rate. Hurry up and come at me. I need to sleep."

I took a long breath and looked at the leader.

"Huuuuu..."

Even though he was standing carelessly without any particular preparation stance, I couldn't see any openings. It was like looking at a huge storm that was holding its breath. And I felt like I was facing it with a single tree branch.

I don't know if he's stronger than Frost. Frost didn't show all his skills in the first place.

Can I beat that monster?

Frost had fought me at my level, but the leader was a man without mercy, so the possibility of that was low.

But what does that matter? A fight is all about momentum. You don't know until you try.

Isn't he being completely careless? Now is the chance.

I said coolly, holding my sword at an angle.

"Tonight. I will kill you and bring back the real leader."

And then I looked up at the moon in the sky and shouted.

"O Ketel! Give me the strength to defeat that heinous magical beast!"

"You're being ridiculous."

I honestly warned the leader, who was muttering something about my condition getting worse.

"Leader. I'm not the me you knew before. Be careful not to die."

"Just come at me."

"I warned you."

"Are you ready?"

The leader took a step forward and looked at me. A pressure comparable to that of a yasha emanated from his fist.

"Wait."

I asked for a moment's understanding, and then pulled my left hand, which was not holding the sword, behind my back.

When my hand came out from behind my back, a black Night Sky Spear was already in it.

I threw the Night Sky Spear at the leader, who was blinking in surprise, and shouted.

"Start!"

Swoosh!

The Night Sky Spear flew at a tremendous speed. But the leader easily caught the Night Sky Spear and then squeezed his hand.

Crack!

The solid turned into a gas and easily scattered. But that was already expected. What I was aiming for was exactly that.

The Night Sky Spear scattered into the Night Sky and obscured his vision, and in the meantime, a wonderful sight was waiting for the leader in the night sky.

The leader, who had scattered the Night Sky with a wave of his hand, looked up at the sky where dozens of black spears were floating and opened his mouth foolishly.

"What is this..."

I grinned and said.

"It's called the Black Rain of the Full Sky."

As I stretched out my hand, dozens of Night Sky Spears poured down on the leader like rain all at once.

The Night Sky Spears, as soon as they rained down on the leader, scattered into the Night Sky and turned into a jet-black darkness, coloring the surroundings.

In the meantime, I prepared my best attack.

The Night Sky scattered on the silver sword, the starlight sparkled, and finally, the moonlight settled. The moonlight of the Full Moon seeped into the silver sword without a sound.

A clumsy trick won't work against the leader. One shot. A powerful one shot is needed.

A single sword strike that gathers all my strength to cut.

I had contemplated this over and over again while riding in the carriage. And so, the new ultimate skill I had created after much contemplation.

A terrifying ultimate skill that splits even the round Full Moon in the sky in half, turning it into a Half Moon.

Moonlight Sword. First Form. Half Moon.

I stuffed the moonlight of the Full Moon into the blade of the sword. It seemed like it wouldn't all fit in the sword, but I stuffed it in anyway. I pushed it in somehow.

Naturally, the moonlight was condensed to a high density. The entire blade was filled with a faint moonlight. To the point where a thrill ran through my hand from the huge power contained in the sword.

In this state, I lightly mixed in the wind of the Floating Step. So that the moonlight that stretched forward would not scatter and would remain solid and stretch far.

I put everything I had into this one attack. It is the one and only sword strike that will tell the leader what I had experienced in the Blake Kingdom.

I looked at the blade, which was shining with a faint light. It held a tremendous power, but it did not sparkle brightly. It was just shining quietly and faintly, like the moonlight pouring down in the middle of the night.

Just because it's strong doesn't mean it has to be loud. Isn't that right?

I shot my body at the leader, who was engulfed in the Night Sky, holding the chillingly quiet sword.

Putting the force of my charge into the sword strike. I presented my best attack.

The silver sword, holding the moonlight, cut through the darkness without a sound.

From the lower left to the upper right. Diagonally.

Perhaps because I was extremely focused, time seemed to flow slowly.

In the periphery of my vision, I could see the trees on the left side of the path being cleanly cut by the extended moonlight sword ki.

The sword, holding the moonlight, drew a beautiful line and advanced into the deep darkness. The moonlight advanced like a single ray of light cutting through the undulating Night Sky.

The vast power contained in the sword seemed to annihilate the Night Sky before it even touched it. It was as if it were erasing the darkness with a fine brush.

The moonlight cut through the undulating Night Sky like a ray of light and advanced without hesitation... and then it met something black.

A roar erupted a beat later.

KWAAAAAAAANG!!!

***

A scenery that seemed not of this world. A sight as if the clouds that had been playing in the heavens had descended, curious about the secular world where humans live.

This place, which some called the sea of fog, was the Mist Cliff.

What could be seen was a sea of fog with no end in sight. But below it was a dizzying cliff.

At the edge of such a dangerous Mist Cliff, a being was sitting loftily, staring blankly at the sea of fog. It was a fox as white as snow, and the fur around its eyes was red, creating a strange feeling.

The fox sat still and watched the sea of fog. The sea of fog, bathed in moonlight, undulated very slowly.

"...."

At that moment, the fox's ears perked up. It had caught a certain sound from a distant place.

The fox slowly stood up. Its whole body shone with a silver light. It looked as if moonlight were flowing down. It was a mysterious sight that some would admire as divine.

The fox, which had stood up gracefully, watched the forest where darkness had settled... and then threw its body there.

(End of Chapter)