Chapter 766: Blood Moon and New Moon
"The Lost Portal shall finally open. When the stars fall into Flesh’s warm bed, may Your Kingdoms devour this hypocrisy’s light—"
At the peak of the ritual beneath the Sacred Tree, the Spiderified Elves turned on one another in blood-soaked frenzy. The victor raised their bloodied hands, screaming prayers choked with ecstasy and devotion. Each word was a cry of utter surrender—like a soul being torn from the body and held high, offered to the Mother Goddess, the merciful, loving deity they worshipped.
Some even tore open their own throats, heedless of death, howling until their voices cracked and their blood ran dry.
Then, Seron blew the final horn.
With eight dread limbs unfurling like a nightmare given form, he roared:
"O Great Octo-Armed Mother Goddess, Weaver of Chaos—Decay is Your sacred mark, Massacre Your most pious prayer. I invoke Your Descent in the Name of the Blood Moon—"
"We shall walk toward Immortality beneath Your gaze!"
As the Spiderified Elves echoed his words, a cruel, feminine laugh grew clearer—so close it felt like a whisper against the ear. The full moon above darkened, its surface now a sickly crimson. Blood-red moonlight bathed the world in a lurid, unnatural glow, as if the entire realm had been dyed in gore, transformed into a twisted, dreamlike New World.
A crushing aura of intimidation surged forth. The massive shadow upon the Blood Moon began to move—slowly, deliberately—then split into a bolt of black light, lancing downward.
Not at the earth.
But at the corpse of Fariti, suspended at the crown of the Sacred Tree.
"No—!"
"Gods, what is this?!"
"Why do I feel this urge to kill my comrade in a ritualistic slaughter of a Divine Being? This... this sensation—it can only mean one thing... the Dark Deity is descending!"
People began to awaken, yet their minds grew ever more frenzied, their hearts pounding with bloodlust. It felt as if something vast and unspeakable was about to consume them—devour their very souls.
They fought the impulse. But the weak-minded screamed and lunged at their allies.
This was Deity.
And even now, mere presence was enough to bring endless torment—driving mortals mad, stealing their lives, and dragging their spirits into the Bottomless Abyss.
Even Catherine felt a sudden, violent impulse to kill the "lowly Half-Elf" beside her.
No—this isn’t me!
This is the Dark Deity forcing this thought into my mind!
She clenched her teeth, fists trembling, sweat pouring down her spine. Blood trickled from the corner of her lips. With sheer willpower, she crushed the urge to kill.
They looked up.
A thousand eyes fixed upon Fariti’s corpse—each face etched with fear, panic, tension, hatred.
Then—slowly—the sleeping form stirred.
Eyes opened.
Cold, beautiful, and utterly inhuman. Crimson red irises, deep as ancient abysses, glowing with a soul-chilling aura of dread.
What eyes they were!
In that single glance, the world seemed to collapse into millennia of suffering—death, destruction, agony. The fate of all existence froze in that moment.
The eight limbs of the Spiderified Elf stretched outward, as if savoring the sight of the mortals below. A grotesque smile curled at the corner of its lips.
A voice—sweet, cruel, and utterly alien—drifted from somewhere beyond the body.
"Wanderers kissed by moonlight, my people of Elven blood—now that you have witnessed the Mother Goddess’s arrival, why do you not kneel before me?"
"Is this not the supreme grace you have long begged for?"
In those crimson pupils, a bottomless void seemed to swirl.
"Shahani... Queen Shahani..."
"Is she truly our Mother God?"
"Have I been following rebels—fighting against my own Mother Goddess?"
In that haze, many of the Silver Moon Elves truly believed. They collapsed to their knees, murmuring prayers in the ancient tongue, their voices merging into a haunting chorus.
One Arcane Hermit Order Mage tried to slip away with a hidden spell—but panic seized him. The entire area was sealed beneath a web of magic.
Spider silk trembled. The Spiderified Elf descended slowly, its gaze locking onto Catherine’s face—so strikingly similar to its own.
"You are the descendant of this body?"
In that moment, Catherine felt it—the hunger, the malice in its gaze. It was not just desire. It was a yearning to tear her soul apart, then consume it utterly.
"Enough!"
Her face pale, Catherine forced calm into her voice, shaking. "You are not the Mother God! The pure, flawless Shahani would never take such a monstrous form!"
"You are the Rebel of Ten Thousand Years Ago—exiled by Korelon, His Majesty, the villain cast into the Abyss—the False God, the Queen of Spiders, Ros!"
The Spiderified Elf—Ros’s avatar—only smiled. A mockery. A pitying one.
"Child… your eyes are clouded by illusion. You do not even recognize your own Mother God."
"Submit to Him…"
"Surrender to Him…"
"Sacrifice to Him…"
The Silver Moon Elves’ pupils reflected a crimson glow. Their faces blank, lifeless. In unison, they chanted, closing in on Catherine, forming a ring of twisted devotion.
Within the web of magic, dark energy coiled like living smoke, binding her in a shrinking space.
"No…"
Catherine fell into the ice cavern—shaking violently—pinned by invisible threads, unable to move.
Was this the end?
No. Impossible.
She hadn’t reclaimed Serrynia. She hadn’t fulfilled her promise.
She would not submit!
Great and merciful Shahani… I offer everything—only let me save Serrynia!
Catherine shut her eyes, refusing to look at the madness around her. She plunged into vivid daydreams and waking visions, calling upon her deity in desperate prayer.
"His Majesty… hold on."
Ria, too, strained to endure. With trembling hands, she lifted her longsword, using the last of her strength to stand before the Elven Queen.
All the mockery, the cold stares, the hardships of the past—now forged into a single, unyielding will: to protect Catherine, to save Serrynia.
At last, Catherine’s will broke through the web of magic, pierced the veil between realms, and touched the presence of the deity.
—Shahanini was both Goddess of the Moon and Lady of Dreams, capable of bridging the Real World and the realm of dreams.
Now, her spirit essence surged freely toward the Kingdom of Afanasis.
"Mother God… what must I do?"
"The Dark Deity has descended. The Blood Moon turns red. Serrynia stands on the brink of annihilation. My people await me."
In the haze, she saw a figure—a young yet ageless Elf woman. At once a child, then an ancient sage.
"The symphony of fate has already been composed. Mingyue will reveal your path."
The Elf woman, draped in a translucent gown woven from flowing moonlight, stepped forward and gently touched Catherine’s head.
"Go, child. Fulfill your destiny."
"Yes, Mother God."
Catherine bowed her head, thoughtful.
Then—vertigo. Space twisted. Her spirit returned to the Material Plane. A long, sacred hymn echoed in her ears.
Beside the crimson Blood Moon, a new moon appeared—milky white, radiating soft yet unwavering silver light.
Moonlight shimmered. From the sky emerged sacred entities: Mist Dragon, Moon Horse, Cloud of a Thousand Faces, Sons of Aelona, Luminous Elemental Beings of the Luminous Realm, Elven Sky Guardians—all singing a divine ballad.
Gleams of light fell like rain, piercing through the fallen Spiderified Elves.
In the silver glow, the corrupted Silver Moon Elves snapped back to clarity.
Catherine’s crown transformed—shining silver. Her scepter gathered moonlight, lengthening, crystallizing into a bow of pure, translucent crystal.
The Bow of the Moon—legendary, only known to exist within Serrynia.
"Moonbow."
"She’s truly chosen by that damned wretch! I’ll make sure she dies without a grave!"
Ros felt the familiar ripple of power—her face twisted in rage. She tore off the Mother Goddess’s gentle disguise, her eyes now blazing with cruel intent.
"Lowly mortal entity—die!"
A flood of dark energy surged—like a tidal wave of poison, flowing through the spider realm. It formed razor-sharp, toxic spider-leg blades, each aiming for Catherine’s heart.
These were not mere weapons. They were embodiments of Evil, Chaos, and Darkness—divine power that defied natural law, capable of killing even a dragon with unyielding life force.
At the same time, monsters surged forward—Evil Spiderified Elves, Sword Spiders, Phase Spiders, Soul-Eating Weavers—howling as they charged.
"For the Mother God!"
"Kill her!"
"Offer her head to the Great Mother Goddess! Wash Her in her blood!"
Ria swung her silver sword with all her might, deflecting the onslaught. Panting, she cried:
"You’ll have to step over my corpse first!"
Then—Catherine’s eyes snapped open.
Her pupils glowed with silver light. Her eyes held a galaxy within—countless stars blazing in endless depth.
The Elven Queen stood tall—silver crown upon her head, longbow in hand, silver sash at her waist. On her chest, a mithril chain held a flat, moonstone pendant, glowing with radiant light.
Moonlight wrapped around her like a silken shroud—soft, fragile… yet it repelled every blade, every thorn, every venomous spine. It shielded her from Abyssal Chaos, blocking all attacks from closing in.
Then—radiance erupted from her, expanding like silver waves across the earth, purifying all evil in its path.
"No—!"
"What… is this power?!"
In shrieking agony, the twisted monsters burned, consumed by the light, reduced to ash—charcoal-black dust.
"His Majesty! You’ve done it!"
Ria turned, her face alight with joy. She felt a surge of power—boundless strength flooding her body. The gift of the Goddess of the Moon.
The silver sword in her hand flared with holy light, radiating divine power.
Catherine gave a quiet nod. Then, she raised the Bow of the Moon, drawing the slender silver bowstring.
As she pulled back, silver arrows formed in midair—hundreds of them—each shimmering with immense strength.
"In the name of Shahani, I grant you peace and stillness."
Her voice was clear, cold.
She released the string.
Whoosh—
A hundred silver beams shot forth. Each arrow left behind a trail of luminous moonlight, falling like a meteor shower.
Each one struck true—piercing Abyssal monsters, cleansing them with holy light.
Far away, the Ancient Gold Dragon roared triumphantly, smashing a giant abomination spider into pulp with a single claw.
"Catherine, His Majesty—indeed, you are the chosen ruler!"
On the Sacred Tree’s peak, Ros stared—eyes burning with fury—at the figure wrapped in silver radiance.
"If that witch had come herself, I might have respected her."
"But you? A mere mortal? How dare you stand against a true deity? Is this all your so-called divine favor amounts to?"
"I will make you know—what true Deity means!"
Her eight limbs moved with spider-like precision, weaving the web of magic. Her eyes glowed with cruel triumph.
From the ground, hundreds of black mist tendrils—formed from influence—rose, stretching toward Catherine.
"His Majesty, watch out!"
Ria leapt forward, slashing with her sword. A storm of light cut through the distortion—severing the tendrils mid-air.
Then—under Ros’s control—the region’s edicts twisted violently. The dead rose. The living decayed.
Not just monsters—Elves, Dwarves, Humans—those who had died—dragged themselves up from the earth, broken and decaying, attacking their former allies.
"Rest in peace! You should not return as enemies!"
Titus roared, unleashing a torrent of dragon flame. The undead were engulfed in a blazing sea of fire.
"You filthy Dark Deity! You are corrupting the Cycle of Life—defying the laws of the Mortal Realm!"
Catherine’s eyes blazed with fury.
As a follower of Shahani, the Silver Moon Elves despised necromancy. The moon governed tides—and the passage of souls. It symbolized the eternal Cycle of Life.
Resurrection? That was blasphemy.
Ros laughed—a cold, hollow sound.
"And what of it? When my Web of Magic is complete, even the Cycle of Life will obey me!"
Catherine drew the Bow of the Moon to its full extent. Her gaze locked onto Ros’s avatar atop the Sacred Tree.
On the moonlight bowstring, a single, massive arrow formed—radiant, luminous, blazing with silver power.
"In the name of Shahani… I grant you oblivion!"
Whoosh—
The arrow screamed through the night, carrying the divine might of the Silver Moon Goddess.
At the instant of release, it blazed with silver brilliance—illuminating the dark sky as if dawn had come.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
