Bang! Bang! Bang!

Explosions rang out everywhere as if a bombardment was underway.

It was the sound of armored infantry blowing up.

Hundreds of armored infantry—each said to be worth a thousand regular soldiers—were being annihilated by a single person.

The armored infantry here were units of the same class as those seen in the restricted area of the Pia Forest, but unlike then, they weren't even able to graze a single hair of Isella's.

This was Isella wielding the power of the night.

The armored infantry that had been barely destroyed before by Ottbo's drive magic and Luca's power were now being shattered without even putting up a fight.

And faced with this terrifying scene, Theodore couldn't even let out a groan.

'T-today was supposed to be the weakest day. But she's that strong?'

Isella swept through magic soldiers equipped with special magic weapons and armored infantry with her silver sword energy. There was nothing that could stop her.

'What should I do? At this rate, all the forces given by the Third Prince will be wiped out...!'

Even though the mountain was filled with magic soldiers and armored infantry, they were being cut down like autumn leaves. It was clear they would be annihilated within an hour.

Just then, someone appeared at Theodore's side as he restlessly paced.

"Wow~ That's quite a show~."

"You're...!"

At this arrival, Theodore's expression turned to shock. Although it was too dark to see the man's face, he recognized the voice.

"Theodore, how is it? The secret weapon of the imperial family, the power of 'Night'."

"... Have you come to help us?"

"Of course. Ordinary soldiers couldn't possibly defeat moonlight."

At that answer, Theodore's face lit up. If he had this man's help, he could somehow overcome even the power of the Night.

"But Theodore, do you know the way of the world?"

"Yes? Why are you asking that so suddenly...?"

"To gain something, you have to give something up. To catch moonlight, you need to make a corresponding sacrifice."

As the man spoke, he put his arm around Theodore's shoulder.Suddenly, Theodore felt a chill run down his spine.

"S-Sir M-Mahtra?"

"So, Theodore. Could you perhaps make a little sacrifice?"

"What do you... Argh!"

As Theodore tried to shake off the man called Mahtra, he suddenly felt something being injected into his neck.

It felt like a needle piercing his vein, sending a searing pain through his body.

"Aghk... ugh... aaagh!"

"Oh dear~ Theodore, aren't you overreacting a bit?"

Mahtra chuckled and slowly stepped back.

But the changes occurring in Theodore's body were far too drastic to be called an overreaction.

Crack! Craaack!

His muscles and bones twisted and swelled grotesquely.

His once-handsome face was unrecognizable—the skin was split open, exposing raw red muscle, and his eyes rolled back, leaving only the whites, as if he had lost all reason.

Before long, Theodore's transformation had gone so far that his original form was no longer imaginable.

Now monstrous—rivaling a troll or an ogre in size—he could do nothing but breathe heavily.

"Oh~ Theodore. I think you look better now than you did before."

"Gasp... gasp..."

"Ah, this is a gift. It'll help you fight the moonlight."

With that, Mahtra embedded a jewel-like object into Theodore's body.

Theodore flinched but, seemingly numb to pain, showed no other reaction.

When it seemed all preparations were finished, Mahtra let out a satisfied grin and patted the transformed Theodore on the back.

"Now, Theodore. Show us the results of our research."

"Gra... graaaaaaah!"

With a monstrous roar, Theodore leaped toward Isella, who was slaughtering the magic soldiers and armored infantry.

With a single bound, he descended the cliffside to the lakeshore below, spotted Isella, and let out another bellow.

"Graaaaaaah!"

"?"

Upon seeing Theodore, Isella wore a puzzled expression.

A presence crackling with strong vitality had suddenly appeared, but it was an enemy in a form she'd never seen before.

Ssszzzzz!

"This is..."

From the transformed Theodore, thick, dark purple smoke oozed out.

It seeped into the corpses scattered around, turned red, and then returned to Theodore's body.

Crack! Craaack!

Each time he absorbed the red-tinged smoke, Theodore's body grew more grotesque, and the intimidation he exuded intensified proportionately.

"You've prepared something monstrous,"

Isella said evenly.

Without hesitation, she charged forward and swung her silver sword energy.

Crackow!

The sword energy struck the transformed Theodore's body, and though it seemed like it would explode, it gradually weakened and vanished.

"!"

"Grr... graaaa!"

Simultaneously, the transformed Theodore lunged at Isella.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each time Theodore's massive arm—now larger than Isella herself—struck the ground, tremors shook the earth. A direct hit would cause even Isella serious harm.

'Are they really trying to kill milady and me this time?'

On a moonless night, with an army of armored infantry and magic soldiers almost fit for war, and now even an unfamiliar monster.

It was clear they were dead set on killing Milia and Isella.

Isella took a deep breath.

'This probably isn't the end. They mean to drain my moonlight with this thing, then finish me off with whatever comes next.'

On moonless nights, it's nearly impossible to replenish spent moonlight. She'd gathered as much as she could yesterday, but she didn't know if it would be enough to survive today.

'I'll have to fight as sparingly as possible.'

Just as she finished thinking, the transformed Theodore swung his fist at Isella.

Swoosh— Slash!

"Graaargh!"

Despite the colossal fist hurtling with a blast of wind, the scream came from Theodore, not her.

Isella had slipped along the curve of the blow, moving smoothly and cutting at his weak point.

It's easy to misunderstand, but firing sword energy is actually a very efficient combat technique.

It saves magic power otherwise spent on bodily enhancement, consumes less stamina compared to close-quarters combat, and can effectively deal with multiple enemies.

But it doesn't work well against large opponents like the transformed Theodore.

Thus, she had to use a denser sword energy combined with physical enhancements as well as the skill to inflict maximal damage with minimal force.

The average swordsman would have been smeared into a red paste by that fist.

But Isella was a master of the sword, recognized by Luca.

For a swordswoman like her, deflecting and slicing Theodore's wild blows was not difficult.

Feeling the sensation of slicing through flesh and bone, Isella was sure she'd landed a solid hit and prepared to inflict a critical blow with her next strike.

Crunch!

If a new arm hadn't sprouted from the side where she'd just sliced through his ribs.

"!"

Crash! Kaboom!

Struck by the sudden new arm, Isella was sent flying dozens of meters, tumbling along the ground.

"Cough! Cough!"

Even reinforced with magic power, a single blow had left her coughing blood, grievously wounded.

'To think it'd be this bad...!'

She hadn't let her guard down, but the attack was far stronger than anticipated.

Since the days she'd been training to join the Night's ranks, she hadn't met a foe this formidable.

Ssszzzzz!

Her body shimmered silver again as moonlight knit her wounds closed.

Thud! Thud!

"Graaaah!"

But Theodore, now with three arms, pounded the ground and leaped at her, giving her no chance to catch her breath.

Watching him approach, Isella drew a steady breath.

—Moonbeam Prison

Flash!

A silver band materialized, trapping Theodore. He struggled midair, but the moonbeam did not waver.

"Shh."

Isella caught her breath and took her sword in both hands.

The moment her gaze grew still, moonlight split the sky.

—Scattering Moon

Slash!

The moment the moonlight touched Theodore, countless blades of sword energy rained down. They tore through his body faster than he could absorb them.

Shred!

Even the last scrap of his flesh turned to dust, and the moonlight faded from the night sky.

Thud!

A jewel—one the sword energy couldn't destroy—fell to the ground.But Isella, barely breathing, didn't notice.

'What is this power? It's forcing me to use far more moonlight than necessary...!'

When she attacked Theodore, it felt like some strange force was leeching the moonlight from her. She'd had to keep up the Scattering Moon until the end.

'I've used about half... I have no idea what'll come next, but from now on I really have to conserve it.'

As Isella reined in her power, someone picked up the jewel that had fallen to the ground.

"So, even when talentless guys mutate, they're nothing special. Still, he filled up the demon stone with a good amount of life force, so I guess he did his part."

"Who are you?"

Isella warily eyed the man who appeared out of nowhere. The man replied with feigned disappointment.

"Lysel Pandriga, have you already forgotten my voice? I'm hurt,~"

"What are you talking about...?"

"Come on, you can see my face perfectly even in the dark. Ah, is it your first time seeing this one?"

As he said, Isella could perfectly make out faces in the dark.But she didn't recognize this man's face.

"This face... No, it can't be—"

The mention of "this face" triggered a sudden realization in Isella, and her eyes went wide in shock. At once, she emitted moonlight at its fullest.

"Ahaha! No need to get so tense. I have no intention of fighting you myself."

"You've sided with the Third Prince, darkness!"

"Shh! Call me something else! Mahtra!"

Mahtra put his hand to his lips, glancing around in alarm before sighing.

"There's probably no one alive around here to hear it anyway. But let's not fight directly—you and I would cause a catastrophe. I just came to make one last offer."

"I will not betray milady."

"With us... Hah, I figured."

Before Mahtra could finish, Isella refused outright, and Mahtra broke into laughter.He waved the so-called demon stone.

"If that's your answer, so be it. Well then, if you survive, let's have a meal together."

"Wait! Wai—erk!"

Whoosh!

Just as Isella tried to grab Mahtra, a powerful force radiated from the demon stone.

Even though she'd prepared herself, the alien power made her gasp in pain.

'What is this power? Why does it feel like it's stealing my moonlight?'

It was the same sensation as when she'd felt her strength being drained attacking Theodore. And now the same feeling was coming from that stone.

'I have to destroy that...!'

But just as Isella sent out a blade of sword energy—

Crunch! Craaack! Thud!

Corpses of magic soldiers and the wreckages of armored infantry around her flew toward the jewel.

"...!"

Milia's eyes widened even further.Before long, the jewel was a tower of corpses and wreckage.A red mist trickled down the tower.Where the red mist touched living magic soldiers and armored infantry, it empowered them.

Reinforced enemies swarmed like a tidal wave, a strange red mist drained her moonlight, and the sky was bereft of a moon.

Everything was closing in around Isella.

'... Your Highness.'

But she could not surrender.

If she gave up here, Milia—the Princess—would die.

'If someone must die, it will be me.'

To die protecting her master—a knight's sacred duty.

With resolve for death, Isella's eyes grew fiercer.

Pointing her sword at the oncoming foes, she cried out—

"Lysel Pandriga, knight of moonlight, will give her life to ensure none of your filthy hands ever touch milady!"

"Admirable resolve, but if you go through with it, someone might end up a villain, you know."

At that instant, a clear voice resonated, followed by a peal of thunder.

BOOOM! Crackle!

A massive pillar of lightning crashed down from the sky.

The lightning pierced through every enemy except Isella, detonating them.

"You're...!"

Isella saw the boy standing amidst the lightning.

Mysteriously enchanting dark-green hair. Blue eyes shining transparently as if reflecting a lake.

And light blue wings as if painted from the sky itself.

The boy, his face expressionless as ever, spoke to her.

"Came to back you up, Isella."

Luca had arrived.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=Luca just aura farming...【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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