Lunar Eclipse (8)
Meanwhile.
Viktor was in the middle of a fight.
“Kgh...!”
“Oh dear, is this really all you’ve got?”
No, maybe calling it a fight was wrong.
It looked more like a one-sided beating.
Jersian.
A top-tier force even within the New Kingdom.
He had the experience and skill to casually crush Carmilla, another pureblood.
“You lowly livestock...!”
“I told you, you can’t touch me.”
Calling him a one-man army would not have been an exaggeration.
Of course, right now he was being toyed with by a single human boy.
“You’re holding out better than I expected.”
“Huff, huff...!”
His breathing came rough and ragged.
Jersian’s pupils shook, unfocused.
He couldn’t even grasp what was happening to him.
“Tricks... what tricks are you using?!”
Nothing landed.
Not one of his attacks landed.
If he cast Blood Manipulation, it missed. If he threw a punch, it passed through.
The boy in front of him just stood there calmly, barely even counterattacking.
“Tricks? I’m fighting fair and square.”
“You dare... mock Jersian?!”
It made no sense.
The boy was clearly right there, so why couldn’t he hit him?
Like a mirage, the boy kept appearing all over the place.
Jersian reflexively unleashed Blood Manipulation, but his arrows only pierced empty walls.
“Damn it...!”
What was this?
What in the world was this?
What exactly was he fighting?
‘Did he really turn into a ghost...?!’
Eyes wide, Jersian staggered and formed another technique.
As if he couldn’t stand to watch anymore, Viktor stomped on his face.
Kwak-!
“Kgh...!”
“I’m starting to doubt you can learn at all. How many times have you failed the same way?”
The masked clown stood in midair.
A dark crimson aura writhed around him like heat haze.
A pitch-black scythe rested in his hand, and an old crown floated above his head.
Ding-!
[Skill Name: Nightmarification]
-The user’s body assimilates with Nightmare.
-While the skill is active, the user is granted ‘Invincible’ status.
-Unrestricted flight becomes possible, and the user is freed from all physical forces.
The status window floated before his eyes.
Through that blue screen, the clown looked down at the man.
Jersian looked utterly wrecked.
“......”
“Ugh...”
The neat suit he had worn was gone, replaced by torn rags.
His right arm, torn off in the first clash, hadn’t regenerated and only twitched.
His stylish trademark mustache was caked with dirt from rolling on the ground.
Small wounds covered the rest of his body too.
The clown gave the staggering man a flat remark.
“Pathetic.”
“Ghk, haa...”
“This is all you’ve got?”
“From a human...!”
“Aren’t you ashamed? You’re getting crushed by that very human, and you still haven’t even brushed my collar.”
“I’ll kill... I’ll kill you...!”
“Then do it. How?”
Shwaaaak-!
In a blink, the clown was right in front of Jersian.
The scythe had already swept through and hooked one of the man’s legs.
Before Jersian could react, Viktor slashed down with a shard of stake in his hand.
Slice-!
“Gaaaaaah!!”
An ugly scream.
After a heavy cutting sound, the severed surface sizzled and melted.
Jersian had no choice but to writhe in agony.
“Aagh, hk, aaagh!”
“Man, you’re loud.”
Bbeok-!
The man sprawled helplessly.
Something black slammed into his face.
“Activate. Baseball bat.”
Bbeok, peok! Kwak-!
No mercy, just brutal blows caving in his face.
Each scream made the bat hit harder.
Even the mask’s smiling mouth looked grim for once.
“So this is all you had, and yet you acted like the strongest one in front of our Princess-nim?”
Crack, kwack! Peo-eok-!
His pale face was smashed into a blood-soaked mess.
Every word fell with another strike, like he was calling out a beat.
“Grrk...”
In the end, Jersian could only twitch on the floor.
He had been trampled without even understanding how.
The clown looked down at him without emotion.
His lower body had been carved up, his left arm had been severed, and now only the right arm remained.
“Arrogant bastard.”
“......”
“Who the hell gave you permission to lay hands on my master?”
Thud, thud-.
A weak tap of the bat brushed his face.
“By... a human... haak...”
“Still saying that? You really never quit.”
Jersian was strong.
He had just met the wrong opponent.
That bug-like movement, layered with Nightmarification, backed by an Agility stat boosted by seven full ranks.
Those three created monstrous synergy.
To Jersian’s eyes, simply tracking Viktor’s movement was already his limit.
Reacting, blocking, or counterattacking was impossible.
‘Even if it has a five-minute limit...’
At least for those five minutes, Viktor could not lose.
No law in the world could touch him.
It stood out even more in one-on-one combat.
“Human, human, human... you looked down on humans that much, and yet you can’t beat a boy much younger than you.”
Bbeok, bbeok-!
The baseball bat swung back and forth without pause.
“I want to hear it one more time.”
“......”
“What did you say about humans? What did you say about our Princess-nim?”
“......ghk.”
Slice-.
Jersian’s last remaining arm was cut off.
He lay there as a mangled lump of flesh.
All of that had happened in less than five minutes.
“Hoo... now I finally feel a little better.”
Viktor took a deep breath.
The moment his feet touched the ground, the writhing haze around him faded.
The promised five minutes had passed, and [Nightmarification] was released.
Chizik, zizizik-.
The crown flickering with dark crimson light went out.
Right after that, the clown’s legs wobbled for a moment.
“Motion sickness...”
The boy groaned and held his forehead.
This was the perfect opening to attack, but Jersian had already lost even that ability.
“I...”
Even as a mangled mess, his lips moved.
With effort, Jersian forced out words.
“I... lost...”
A pained mutter.
Was he trying to beg for his life now?
“You finally figured that out?”
“I admit it, human... you’re strong. I... lost...”
“Give up on begging. I have no intention of sparing you.”
“Khh... khk khk...”
No.
Something was strange.
Instead of crying, the man wore a broad grin.
Soon he burst into wild laughter, as if he couldn’t hold it in.
“Kahahaha! You idiots... this is why humans can’t win.”
“What, did your mind finally snap?”
“Yes, I was defeated. Defeated, sure...”
Split lips.
Jersian muttered through slurred speech.
Madness flashed in his barely open eyes.
“But... we won the war.”
“War?”
“The Sacrificial Rite is already underway! By now, all preparations should be complete...!”
With blood boiling in his throat, the man screamed.
Froth bubbled from between his lips.
“A weapon that will burn the continent will rise from this land right now...!”
His expression was full of certainty.
He seemed convinced the ghoul-fused Colossus would awaken and massacre thousands.
“When?”
“...What?”
The clown asked flatly.
“I asked when that weapon of war is coming out.”
“Haha... no need to rush. You’re all getting wiped out anyway!”
“So when?”
“Right now!”
“......”
“Right now!”
“......”
“Right now!”
“......”
“Right now...?”
Even after a long wait, nothing happened.
Viktor looked down at Jersian in disbelief.
Jersian turned his head in panic.
“W-why... by now, the Sacrificial Rite should have finished...”
His strained gaze turned toward one place.
The spot where they had imprisoned the kidnapped villagers.
Where the cathedral stood.
Originally, a flesh-fused Colossus should have erupted from that spot.
“...Huh?”
A blank breath left him.
Seeing that reaction, the boy smiled in satisfaction.
“Heh.”
Looks like Alice had done her part.
She had probably gotten the kidnapped people out safely.
The cathedral interior was empty now.
No sacrificial offerings, no Sacrificial Rite.
Naturally, nothing could be performed.
“So?”
“......”
The boy mocked him lightly.
Jersian stared at the clown, stunned out of his mind.
The mouth on that white mask curved up in a cheerful smile.
“Did you really think I couldn’t see through your entire plan?”
As if he were watching the funniest comedy in the world from the best seat in the house.
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