Chapter 85

Chapter 85. Interlude – Moonlight (1)

My head feels numb from the rising sense of happiness.

Even if I stay still, the corners of my mouth keep curling up.

My body feels light, as if floating on clouds.

– I came to pick you up.

The moment I heard those words, I was so happy.

Questions arose about how Dale realized I wasn’t Yuren but Yurina, and how he knew I would undergo the Holy Mark Replacement Technique.

But in the joy of Dale coming to save me, those trivial questions washed away and disappeared from my mind.

– It’s okay if you don’t shine anymore.

I lived to become the sun.

I lived to shine.

Because I had to atone for the sins I committed.

Because I wanted to be loved by my mother again, like before.

I had to become ‘Yuren.’

But.

The sun called ‘Yuren’ was too distant, too dazzling.

No matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t reach it.

It was too hard. It was agonizing, like dying.

Swinging my sword until my palms were raw, seeing my mother’s cold eyes, having nightmares about my brother.

The more I moved forward to become the sun, the darker my life became.

Then Dale appeared to me.

The first friend I made.

My teacher, my savior.

My new sun.

‘I won’t live to become Yuren anymore.’

I broke the chains that had bound me for the past eight years.

I erased my fear of my mother and my guilt toward my brother.

Dale taught ‘courage’ to me, who was a coward unable to decide anything for myself.

‘Dale.’

Does he know how much salvation his existence has brought me?

Did he notice the emotions swelling in my heart, ready to burst?

I don’t know.

No, it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t know.

I’ll tell him little by little from now on.

‘From today, I’ll live for Dale.’

I’ll give everything for him, who gave me a new life.

If the moon can only shine because of the sun.

‘My sun is Dale.’

Remembering that fact, a smile won’t leave my lips.

An unknown power surges through my body, as if I’ve taken a precious elixir.

“Ah, uh. Ah.”

Clank.

A grotesque figure in black armor stood up.

A puppet summoned by a man named Faust before he fled.

If I had undergone the Holy Mark Replacement Technique, would I have become a puppet like that?

‘No, I was already a puppet.’

Before meeting Dale, I was just a puppet without strings.

But.

‘Not anymore.’

I gripped my sword and summoned my magic power.

The Holy Mark of the ‘Moon God’ engraved on my left chest emitted light.

Whoooosh!

Golden aura enveloped the blade.

Looking at the golden aura reminiscent of a radiant sun, I frowned.

‘It wasn’t this color before.’

The reason my aura was golden was solely because I forcibly adjusted my magic power to mimic my brother.

‘I don’t need to do that anymore.’

Stopping the habit of adjusting my magic power, I poured all my strength into it.

Crack!

With a sound like something breaking, the golden aura gradually turned silver.

A cold, moonlit silver aura fiercely rose along the blade.

“Haa.”

A thrilling shiver ran down my spine.

A refreshing sensation spread through my body, as if a blocked breath had been released.

“…Ah.”

A soft gasp escaped my lips.

Unknown information filled my mind, like forgotten memories resurfacing.

‘This is…’

A blessing.

A divine blessing that only a very few heroes who awaken their Holy Marks can manifest.

‘Moonlight’s Blessing.’

Information about Moonlight’s Blessing naturally flowed into my mind.

‘The more you think of someone precious, the more power it grants.’

I couldn’t help but laugh at the information that entered my mind.

I had heard that some blessings have quite peculiar traits.

But a blessing that grants power the more you think of someone else?

‘There’s no blessing more fitting for me.’

I glanced at Dale and smiled faintly.

Just seeing him filled my body with an overwhelming surge of terrifying magic power.

“Uoooh!!!”

The grotesque figure in black armor roared and charged at me.

Black aura fiercely rose from the greatsword in its hand.

Just by the amount of aura flowing along the blade, it was easy to tell that this grotesque figure possessed immense power.

“Haa.”

I took a deep breath and gripped my sword.

For some reason, facing the fiercely burning black aura, I felt a sense of ridicule.

“Sun Sword 7th Form.”

A technique I only knew in theory, one I had never succeeded in before.

The high wall blocking my path, the realm beyond it.

I stepped forward without hesitation toward that realm.

“Halo.”

A silver ring formed along the blade.

The coldly shining silver ring wrapped around the greatsword burning with black aura.

Swoosh!

The greatsword, enveloped in aura, was sliced in half like tofu.

“Ah, uh?”

I swung my sword at the grotesque figure, who was staring dumbfounded at his severed sword.

Crunch!

The sword pierced through the black armor and skewered the grotesque figure’s heart.

* * *

The silver light illuminated the dark basement.

I looked at Yuren, enveloped in the silver light, and let out a soft gasp.

“Huh.”

Originally, Yurina’s magic power was already at an extraordinary level.

But the magic power I felt from Yurina now far surpassed that ‘extraordinary level.’

Unless she had consumed some legendary elixir, there was only one explanation for such a sudden change.

‘A divine blessing.’

Memories of my past life naturally surfaced in my mind.

Yuren was undoubtedly the strongest swordsman of humanity, but he didn’t possess a ‘divine blessing.’

After all, divine blessings aren’t something one can obtain through effort, so it wasn’t strange that Yuren hadn’t awakened one.

‘But to awaken a divine blessing so suddenly?’

If so, it means that Yuren in my past life didn’t lack a divine blessing but failed to manifest it until the end.

‘…The future has changed.’

In the opposite direction of what I feared.

“Dale…”

Yurina, who had defeated the grotesque figure in black armor with a single strike, turned to me with dazed eyes.

As she took a step forward.

“Ah.”

Yurina suddenly staggered as if she were about to collapse.

I quickly caught her in my arms.

“When you first awaken a blessing, your body will be overwhelmed by fatigue as it adjusts to the new power.”

“Ah, yeah. That makes sense… But how do you know that, Dale…”

Yurina, in my arms, trailed off and slowly closed her eyes.

“Huu.”

I carried the sleeping Yurina out of the basement.

The mansion was half-destroyed by the magical barrage, but since the mansion itself was vast, a few rooms remained intact.

When I opened the door to a relatively intact room.

“Eek!”

A maid hiding in the room saw me and trembled in fear.

“I-I’ll do whatever you say, p-please spare me!”

“……”

I sighed deeply, looking at the pale-faced maid clasping her hands together.

‘If anyone heard, they’d think I killed everyone on my way here.’

Of course, I hadn’t killed anyone while breaking through the mansion.

“I’ll use this bed.”

“Ah, yes. P-please make yourself at home!”

The maid quickly got up and bowed repeatedly.

After laying Yurina on the bed, I placed the back of my hand on her forehead.

‘She has a fever.’

Probably from her body adjusting to the new power, causing a fever.

“Sorry, but can I ask you for a favor?”

“Y-yes, of course!”

“Can you bring some cold water and a towel?”

“Ah… Yes. Right away!”

The maid hurriedly ran out of the room.

As I sat on a chair beside the bed, quietly watching Yurina.

“Where is that arrogant Republic bastard?!”

Had she regained consciousness?

Rozanna’s voice echoed loudly through the hallway.

Bang!

Rozanna burst through the door and glared at me with fierce eyes.

“You…! What are you doing here?!”

“Can’t you see? I’m taking care of your daughter.”

“You…!”

Rozanna stomped toward me.

“How dare a Republic bastard mess with an Imperial noble family? Do you think this is a neutral zone like the Reynaldo Hero School? Just wait. I’ll report this to the Imperial family and make sure you pay…”

“Report it to the Imperial family, huh.”

I chuckled and stood up.

“W-what?”

As I stood, Rozanna flinched and stepped back.

I walked toward her, curling the corner of my mouth.

“Go ahead and report it.”

“Hah. You think you’re so tough? No matter how strong you are, do you think you can handle the Imperial family?”

“I can’t.”

No matter how much my abilities had recently improved, I couldn’t handle the Imperial family alone.

But.

“Can you handle it?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Consorting with demons and attempting to use the forbidden Holy Mark Replacement Technique. What do you think will happen to the Helios Family if this gets out?”

“W-wait! Consorting with demons? What are you talking about…?”

“You saw that corpse in the basement, right? If you examine it, you’ll find demonic energy.”

“……!”

Rozanna’s face turned pale as she gaped.

Even if they could somehow overlook the attempt to use the Holy Mark Replacement Technique, consorting with demons would be the end of the Helios Family.

Consorting with demons was a crime on par with treason.

“I-I didn’t know he was a demon!”

“Really? Well, if you say so, I’ll believe you.”

I leaned close to Rozanna’s ear and whispered.

“But I’m not sure if the Imperial family will believe that.”

“Eek…!”

Rozanna’s face twisted in despair.

“How about it? Shall we go to the Imperial family together?”

“…….”

Rozanna hung her head in silence.

The deliberation was long, but for a noblewoman who valued her family’s honor over her own life, the choice was clear.

“…Fine. I’ll let this matter slide.”

She bit her lip and nodded.

“Hmm.”

I looked at Rozanna’s distorted face and narrowed my eyes.

‘It feels unsatisfying to end it like this.’

Considering the suffering Yurina would have endured because of Rozanna, I wasn’t satisfied with letting it go as if nothing happened.

‘What can I do to crush this arrogant noblewoman’s pride?’

As I pondered.

“Um… I brought the water.”

The maid peeked her head through the open door.

“Ah.”

I looked at the maid and curled the corner of my mouth.

* * *

Click.

The door opened cautiously.

The scent of fragrant black tea wafted through the open door.

“Eek…”

Rozanna entered the room, carrying a tray, dressed as a maid.

As if proving she was related to Yurina by blood, despite being over fifty, Rozanna looked stunning in the maid outfit.

“I-I brought the tea.”

“You brought it?”

“Y-yes, I brought it.”

“Good, good. You should speak politely.”

I leaned back in the chair and gestured to her.

“Are you going to stand by the door forever?”

“Ugh…”

A noblewoman of a prestigious Imperial family, dressed as a maid, serving a mere candidate.

It was humiliating enough to make her wish she could bite her tongue and die.

“Let’s see. You brought the tea, so how about giving me a shoulder massage?”

“W-what?”

Rozanna gaped in shock.

“You brat, how dare you…!”

“You brat? What did I tell you to call me?”

“Ugh!”

Rozanna’s face twisted in despair.

“If you keep this up, I’ll call all the servants in the mansion.”

“N-no!”

Appearing before the servants in this outfit.

That was absolutely unacceptable.

“Then… you know what to do?”

I looked at Rozanna with a curled lip.

Rozanna, who had been biting her lip with her head hung low, tightly closed her eyes.

“I-I’ll give you a shoulder massage. M-master.”

Rozanna shed tears of shame, her face twisted.

I chuckled and turned my head to look out the window.

The night sky had already darkened.

The faint moonlight illuminated the Helios Family.