Chapter 244: Aestrea Against The World (XXI)

But setting all that dramatic tree rot and ancient prophecy nonsense aside…

“Why do you even think I’d help you?”

I asked the question plainly, voice flat and without the tiniest hint of pretense.

Because even though I’d spent a long time searching for Yggdrasill, even though a part of me had always been drawn to it… I didn’t care about saving it.

It could rot away for all I cared.

It could collapse and take this entire damn kingdom with it, and I wouldn’t bat an eye.

No heroism at all… and of course…

No more fucking prophecies.

I don’t give a single fuck.

I’m already sick of that word, prophecy.

It’s like a fucking broken record spinning in the background of every conversation, every plan, every goddamn conversation with someone who thought they had “the truth”.

Fucking let Lucas deal with it. He’s the Hero, right? Golden boy with his glowing sword and stupid grin.

Let him carry the world as the hero normally does…~

“Haah…” I sighed before then looking toward the Emperor.

He met my stare without hesitation, his voice soft, sharp, and terrifyingly matter-of-fact.

“…Because if you don’t help us,” he said.

“You’ll die.”

He simply uttered those words, making my lips slowly curl into a cold smirk. My eyes also narrowed slightly.

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow, cocking my head.

“And how exactly are you planning to make that happen?”

My tone was full of arrogance.

I wanted him to feel the mockery in my voice. The complete and utter disinterest in whatever he thought he had up his sleeve.

But then, something changed.

The Elven Emperor’s expression dropped. His lips flattened, and the polite, calm look in his eyes faded, and something… dangerous … crept in instead.

And behind him, as if remembering she existed, his wife finally opened her eyes fully.

I blinked once, and honestly?

I had almost forgotten she was even there.

She hadn’t spoken a word… hadn’t moved a muscle.

But now, she was staring at me.

And strangely… like a being who saw through me, through skin, through blood, through whatever fake little personality I wrapped myself in.

Her gaze felt like it was peeling me open.

“…You are not the only one touched by the Moon,” she whispered softly.

Her voice was barely audible, but it echoed anyway, through the hall, through my skull, through something else.

My smirk faltered just a little.

Just for a second.

Then I steadied again.

I clicked my tongue and rolled my shoulders, brushing invisible dust from my coat.

“Dammit… Should’ve figured you two were both freaks.”

And then, the Elven Emperor finally stood up. His gaze sharpened, and his next words came with weight, final, commanding, like a gavel slamming down on judgment.

“Restrain him.”

And instantly…

SHHHK!

Dozens of armored elves unsheathed their weapons in unison, the cold sound of steel slicing through the air.

Valthar, whose pride had already taken a hit earlier, was the first to lunge forward.

“You bastard—!”

CRACK!

His mana surged violently, golden and violent, flooding around his arms and shoulders like flame.

The floor beneath his boots cracked as he kicked off, crossing the distance between us in a blink.

His spear shot out like a bolt of light.

“DIE!!”

But I didn’t move, not until the very last second.

SCHLIK!

I twisted my body sideways, his spear barely grazing past my ribs. My hand moved faster than he could react…

CRACK!!

My fist slammed into the side of his jaw. There was a sickening crunch of bone, and his head snapped violently to the side.

“GUH—!”

Valthar spun midair like a ragdoll and crashed into the marble floor with a heavy thud that shook the ground.

“Damn…” I exclaimed, shaking my hand slighly.

“That must’ve hurt…”

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

Suddenly, three soldiers charged next, trying to surround me, one from the left, one from behind, and one aiming for my legs.

“TIE HIM DOWN!”

One elf roared as his blade slashed downward.

CLANG!

I caught his sword with my bare hand. The metal screamed in my grip as frost crawled up the blade.

KRK-KRKRKRKRR!

It froze solid in an instant. I yanked it forward, dragging the elf with it, and slammed my forehead into his skull.

CRACK!

His helmet dented inward, and his body slumped to the ground, groaning.

“URRGHH!”

The one behind me tried to stab at my spine, but I bent low and spun around, sweeping his legs from under him with my foot.

THUMP!

He hit the floor back-first, and before he could even scream, my heel came down.

SQUELCH!

Blood sprayed as his chestplate caved inward, ribs snapping like twigs beneath the force.

“ARGHHHH!”

I turned, eyes calm, breath slow, expression blank.

The third one tried to flee.

I flicked my fingers.

『 Ice Series: Frost Spikes! (✦ 3rd-level Spell ✦) 』

SPLAT!

A spike of ice ripped through his thigh, then his shoulder, pinning him against the wall like a puppet.

His screams echoed loudly.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!”

And then, behind me, a scream reached my ears.

“RAAHHH!!”

Valthar recovered, roaring as his mana flared even stronger, surrounding his entire body in a spiraling golden vortex.

His eyes were bloodshot, his lips twisted in rage.

“YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A MERE HUMAN!”

He charged again, this time faster, stronger, using his full power. His punch came in from the right, mana concentrated into a small dense ball over his knuckles.

BOOOM!

I raised my forearm and blocked it directly.

A shockwave exploded from the impact.

KRRRRK!

My boots scraped against the ground from the force, but I didn’t move an inch.

Valthar’s eyes widened.

“You—!”

BOOOM!

My mana suddenly flared as I increased my mana output to nine, almost the maximum of my physique.

A cyclone of blue light erupted from my body.

The cold snapped outward like a wave, instantly freezing the floor around me in jagged, cracking sheets.

Ice crawled up the columns, and snow twisted violently through the air.

“Shut. The hell. Up.”

My palm glowed cyan, and I drove it into his chest.

“Impacto.”

KAAAAAAA-BOOOOOM!!!

The mana exploded point-blank into his armor. Ice and frost burst outward, launching him straight back.

BANG!!

He slammed into the far wall like a cannonball. Cracks spread around him like spiderwebs.

“GRUUUGHHHH!!”

His armor shattered. His body twitched, frozen mist pouring from his mouth as he gasped for air.

The rest of the elves hesitated, but only for a second.

“TO ARMS!! KILL HIM!!”

More came. Twenty… maybe thirty.

I lost count.

They moved like a wave, roaring as they charged in from all directions.

“TAAAAAAKE HIM DOWN!!”

“FOR THE EMPEROR!”

“HE’S JUST ONE MAN!!”

I let out an annoyed breath.

“Wrong.”

Fwip!

An ice sword materialized in my left hand.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 First Move! (✦ Ice Lotus Bloom ✦) 』

The floor beneath me erupted with blooming ice lotuses. Each one shot out dozens of shards, fast, sharp, endless.

KRSH!

KRSH!

KRSH!

One soldier was impaled through the leg, another through the side of the neck.

A third screamed as ice bloomed from inside his armor, tearing it apart from the inside.

“AAAAAAHHH—GAK—!!”

Blood hit the floor.

Steel clanged as weapons dropped… bodies fell like flies.

All the while, I stood in the center of the hall, unshaken, frost swirling around my feet, my breath visible in the freezing air.

Everything was still now.

Quiet, except for the groans and coughs of the broken men littering the hall.

And then… the Emperor finally spoke again.

“…You could’ve killed them all,” he said quietly.

“But you didn’t.”

I shrugged, brushing a smear of blood off my cheek.

“They weren’t worth the effort.”

I stared into his eyes again.

“So, Emperor,” I said with a sharp smirk curling on my lips, “are you going to step up now… or are you going to keep hiding behind your wife?”

There was a beat of silence.

And the she finally stepped forward.

Her movements were slow… but not weak.

Each step echoed through the frozen, half-destroyed throne hall with eerie grace, like the faint rhythm of distant chimes under moonlight.

Her bare feet touched the frozen floor, yet didn’t seem to feel the cold. Her long white gown didn’t drag; it floated, like silk drifting through still water.

Her face remained unreadable, neither warm nor cruel.

Just… still.

And then I saw it.

As she raised her hand, her fingers gently parted through the air…

Silver light bloomed.

『 Moonlight Binding: Threads of Serenity (✯ 7th-level Spell ✯) 』

A soft web of glowing silver threads unraveled between her fingers and spun outward, fast and quiet.

It wasn’t loud like fire, or brutal like thunder.

It was… quite.

The threads danced in the air like gentle wind, but they cut the marble floor like butter.

Fssshk… fssshkk…!

My eyes narrowed.

I took a slow step back, letting one thread pass an inch from my cheek. It sliced clean through the ice pillar behind me.

SPLIT—!!

The ice fell in perfect halves.

I slowly raised an eyebrow.

“…That’s…”

I didn’t finish as I didn’t need to.

Because I knew what that was.

Moon Magic.

True Moon Magic.

Not a light affinity with a silver glow.

It was deep, cold, and eternal.

…The Vessel of the Moon.

That was my title.

And yet…

She had it.

She had the attribute.

The power that should have been mine alone.

A twitch danced at the corner of my mouth.

My heart didn’t race, but it grew heavier.

A strange, sharp pressure prickled behind my eyes.

“…Tsk…”

I clicked my tongue quietly.

The Emperor watched us silently, his eyes totally focused on my figure, and the woman, the Empress, didn’t even blink.

She only raised her hand again, and this time…

『 Moonlight Waltz: Eight Silver Petals (✯ 7th-level Spell ✯) 』

Eight glowing crescents spun into the air around her body. They moved slowly, like orbiting stars.

My expression turned cold.

“…You shouldn’t have that,” I said quietly, almost to myself.

Her eyes met mine.

And for a second, I saw it, no arrogance, no pride… just a silent understanding.

As if she knew that I was angry.

As if she expected it.

Her next spell bloomed instantly.

『 Lunar Mirage: Lightless Reflection (✯ 7th-level Spell ✯) 』

The crescent blades surged forward, one after another, all from different angles.

SWWWIP!

SWWWIP!

SWWWIP!

They came for my arms, my chest, my neck.

I ducked under the first one, twisted sideways from the second, then raised my palm….

『 Shield Series: Winter’s Barrier! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦) 』

A wave of frost shot up around me, forming a blooming barrier of jagged blue crystal.

CRSHH!

CRACKK!!

Three of the petals shattered against it, but five pierced straight through.

“Dammit!”

One grazed my shoulder, another cut across my thigh.

SHLIK!

Drip… drip…

Blood leaked out in slow trickles, steaming against the cold.

But I didn’t flinch, I just stood there… my eyes locked on hers.

My lips pulled back into a smile—cold and sharp.

“I said… You shouldn’t have that.”

My mana began to rise again.

Ice cracked beneath me.

Air thinned.

Even the shards of broken stone started to frost over as the temperature dropped sharply.

Output… to the maximum.

“Do you know what it means to carry the Moon?” I asked her, walking slowly through the ice mist, blood sliding down my arm.

“You shine beautifully in the dark.”

Each step I took sent another crack through the floor.

“But you also… steal light from something else.”

I lifted my hand, and my sword shimmered into existence. The frost sword in my hand, pulsing with bitter cold and twisted mana.

“You’re not with the moon…”

My voice dropped to a low growl.

“You’re just a fucking reflection.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep