Chapter 142: The Light of Moonlight
At first, I couldn’t understand.
The domain of the dead was supposed to be far from here, yet it had suddenly manifested right in front of me.
I was sure we had left the domain behind, but now it had appeared again.
However, I didn’t have much time to dwell on it.
“Wait, could this be...?”
[Yes. The domain’s symbol has been moved. It seems someone is carrying the artifact with them.]
The domain’s symbol.
It referred to the core artifact used during dealings with Jess Milo.
If someone was moving the symbol, there was only one group capable of doing so—the Nest of the Shamans.
“What are they scheming?”
The shamans, who had always stayed in one place, suddenly began moving the symbol.
The likelihood that it was connected to the deaths of Jack and Howell was high. Elton had mentioned that he eliminated the shamans who were in contact with them and destroyed their communication channels.
“This doesn’t feel right...”
I needed to reunite with the group as quickly as possible.
Looking around, I noticed that the landscape had become shrouded in darkness, making it hard to see.
Using Clairvoyance, I searched for the divine auras of Lochter and Karl.
Although their auras weren’t visible, I could sense their direction.
Thankfully, they were headed toward the Korun River.
“Did the distraction work?”
It seemed the encirclement had been broken.
All that remained was to escape this area safely.
With the direction set, I summoned the Ring of Blood, drew its bowstring, and prepared for any ambush. The pure white bow began to greedily drink my blood, turning crimson in an instant.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, my vision blurred, and my head spun.
Staggering, I barely managed to steady myself by gripping the trunk of a nearby tree.
A strange, unpleasant sensation washed over my entire body.
Why was this happening?
“R-Reto!”
[The power of the ring is diminishing.]
“...Don’t tell me the Ring of Desire has limits too?”
[Don’t be ridiculous. Your mental fortitude is reaching its limit. Do not mistake the ring’s desire for an endless fountain of power. There is no strength without a price.]
“What’s the price?”
[Your will to survive.]
Will to survive?
I’d thought it was amazing that the ring could be used without consuming mana, but it came at an unsettling cost.
If my will to survive ran out, what would happen?
“Would I lose my desire to live altogether?”
The ring’s abilities were born from desires and emotions, and it seemed to consume those same desires as its price. But unlike mana, which had a measurable limit, this wasn’t something I could easily gauge.
“So the more I use the ring, the more dangerous it becomes?”
[You underestimate human desire. Human will is endlessly replenished, shifting and evolving in the face of change.]
“What do you mean by that? Are you saying...”
[It means it’s easy to refill. Just avoid reckless overuse. Your vessel is far too insignificant to fully wield the ring.]
“There it is again—insignificant...”
Grumbling under my breath, I straightened up.
After shaking my head a few times to clear it, I bolted through the forest.
The forest trembled, and I could hear the sound of footsteps closing in from all directions.
The golden mannequins were getting dangerously close.
I had wasted too much time.
“Damn it...”
Cursing, I lowered the bowstring I’d been pulling.
Even with hundreds of them coming, I’d been confident that the arrow’s magic-bullet-like power could hold them off—but now there were limits.
Just as Reto warned, I couldn’t keep firing arrows recklessly.
Especially not when this unsettling sensation, as if something was being drained from my chest, kept creeping over me.
The limits of my abilities were becoming glaringly obvious now that I was being pushed to the edge. While identifying weaknesses was valuable, in this moment, that knowledge was useless.
“My mana’s gone.”
The enchanted blue arrows imbued with piercing power, the golden arrows blessed with sacred power—they’d long been sealed due to my lack of mana. Now I was left only with the crimson arrows, and if they became unusable too, all I’d have left was my physical body.
Could my fists possibly defeat the golden mannequins that could withstand magic bullets?
“This is my limit. I need to hurry.”
Grinding my teeth, I sprinted forward as fast as I could.
But then—
“They’re really swarming like a pack of dogs...”
Golden mannequins burst out from the darkness, blocking the path ahead in an instant.
I hesitated and turned to retreat, only to sense movement behind me.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Forty.
Fifty.
Mannequins appeared one after another, surrounding me.
In the darkness, all I could see were their eerie, glowing white eyes. There were more of those sinister eyes than there were trees in the forest.
“Shit. This is seriously creepy.”
[Use Burst Strike.]
“I can’t.”
[You won’t escape otherwise.]
“That’s something I’ll decide by trying.”
As the suffocating pressure closed in, I reached into my pocket and grabbed a handful of gold coins.
I flung them into the air, scattering them like rain.
Clatter—
Seventy-six gold coins.
They were the ones Fenry had left behind.
The coins gleamed in the darkness, drawing the attention of the mannequins’ glowing eyes.
The golden mannequins lunged toward the coins, completely ignoring me.
I ducked and rolled forward, slipping past them as they pounced on the scattered gold.
The sound of the mannequins crawling on the ground and devouring the coins filled the air.
“Thanks, Fenry. You saved me...”
The greed-driven mannequins, created out of avarice, were naturally drawn to the new source of gold.
[Interesting. How did you know they’d go for the gold?]
“Isn’t it obvious from their name? Golden mannequins.”
I just used the information I’d read in a novel.
But the reprieve wouldn’t last long.
Once they finished devouring the gold, their attention would return to me.
I took advantage of their distraction to follow the faint traces of Lochter and Karl’s auras through the forest.
Not long after, I heard the sound of a sword being drawn and quickly shouted, “It’s me!”
“Arthur?”
The black fog that filled the area had darkened the surroundings so much that visibility beyond five steps was nearly impossible.
As I cautiously approached, I found Karl and Lochter leaning against a tree, breathing heavily.
Lochter, who had drawn his sword earlier, lowered it when he saw me. Karl let out a hollow laugh.
“What the hell happened to you? You look like a beggar.”
“Calling someone who scattered gold a beggar? That’s rich.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Never mind that. Were you waiting for me here?”
“The sudden darkness forced us to stop. Lochter figured you’d find us if we stayed put.”
“Let’s move. The mannequins will be after us soon.”
“...Shit. I swear, if I hear another mannequin sound, I’ll have nightmares for life.”
“Just stick close to me. If we get lost here, we’re screwed.”
The group had been moving toward the Korun River, so I had a rough idea of the direction. Now that I’d joined them, getting the bearings right was crucial—we couldn’t afford to lose our way in this darkness.
As we started moving, Karl asked, “Are we safe once we reach the river?”
“Yes. At the very least, we can shake off the mannequins.”
“Why? Do they hate water or something?”
“Something like that.”
Golden mannequins were incredibly heavy due to their dense structure, making it impossible for them to float. With the river swollen from recent rains, we could ride the current downstream and easily escape them.
Gradually increasing our pace, we pushed through the forest.
Soon, we broke through the thick foliage, and the sound we had been waiting for reached our ears.
Swooooosh!
The rushing sound of water.
The Korun River.
I let out a sigh of relief.
“Finally...”
I worried that I might have taken the wrong direction, but it seemed I’d made it to the right place.
As the sound of rushing water reached my ears, I heard someone behind me swallow hard.
“I’m thirsty. I want to drink water until I’m full.”
“You’ll get your fill soon. You might even drink so much you burst.”
“Damn, but how far has this black fog spread?”
“Once we get past the lower reaches, we’ll be fine.”
As we emerged from the forest, the ground gave way to a rocky terrain scattered with small stones. The darkness still veiled the surroundings, making it impossible to see the river ahead. However, the sound of flowing water was unmistakable, guiding us closer.
We were almost there—I could practically feel the cool river on my skin.
“Move! Get down!”
Karl’s urgent cry broke through the moment, his Danger Sense kicking in. Without hesitation, we sprang in different directions, leaping away from the spot we had just occupied.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A blood-red magic circle flared to life where we had been standing, followed by an explosive blast that sent us rolling across the ground.
“Shit! We have to get out of here now! This is dangerous!”
“What... what is this...?”
At Karl’s warning, I scanned my surroundings with bewildered eyes.
Darkness.
It was impossible to grasp the situation. What had gone wrong?
That’s when a chilling voice reached our ears.
“As expected of my lord.”
“Only three of them, but the two main targets are here. What shall we do?”
Soon after, a familiar voice pierced through the darkness—one I never wanted to hear, not even in my nightmares.
[Caspello, bring me their heads.]
“Shit...”
It was Kamel Blazer, the Mad Butcher.
As soon as communication with him resumed, the darkness came alive with movement.
The unsettling chants of shamans echoed through the air.
And then—
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Heavy footsteps.
The presence of Van Dyke puppets, the hulking constructs used by the shamans, drew closer.
[He read you like a book.]
“...That insane bastard. He anticipated this?”
Kamel had predicted that we would avoid the golden mannequins and head toward the Korun River. He had placed shamans and their puppets in our path.
So that was why the domain had moved?
I couldn’t believe he had figured out our plans this way.
[An insight that pierces the soul.]
“What a terrifying guy...”
Kamel’s calculative mind, one of the defining traits of his character in the novel, was palpable now.
“They’re here...”
“Run, now!”
Lochter and Karl’s urgent voices echoed briefly before being swallowed by silence.
They hadn’t been hurt, but something had changed.
“Everyone, gather here!”
I shouted, but my voice didn’t carry.
Karl’s voice, Lochter’s voice, even the sound of the river—all of it had been muted.
It was black sorcery, a spell that nullified sound within its range.
“Damn it...!”
Through the suffocating silence, massive shadows rushed at us.
The Van Dyke puppets charged forward, their powerful strides shaking the ground.
I clenched my teeth and sprang into action.
The ground erupted beneath their devastating punches, scattering debris everywhere. The puppets were wreaking havoc, but there was no sound—just an eerie vacuum of silence.
The feeling of being in a soundless void was unnerving and deadly.
“Karl! Lochter!”
I screamed their names, but there was no response.
Surrounded by the Van Dyke puppets, I couldn’t even tell which direction the Korun River was anymore.
With my sight and hearing restricted, I was effectively isolated.
If the golden mannequins arrived on top of this, there would be no escaping.
This was a crisis.
“Reto!”
[The river flows to your right. Use Burst Strike to get out of here.]
“Damn it!”
I couldn’t leave them behind.
Fortunately, I could sense the faint presence of my companions through Clairvoyance.
The two of them were moving desperately, likely fending off the coordinated attacks of the Van Dykes.
[Behind you, watch out.]
What?
At Reto’s warning, I dodged an incoming fist and turned around, only to see a new wave of glowing white eyes spreading like fog in the darkness.
The golden mannequins.
They bared their teeth as they charged from behind, splitting into groups and also targeting Lochter.
“Shit! Think, think!”
I wasn’t shouting at anyone else—I was urging myself to find a solution.
Was there truly no way for all of us to survive?
The only card I had left was two uses of Burst Strike.
Suddenly, an idea struck me.
I clenched my fist and began to recall an enchantment. If I combined it with Burst Strike...
[Are you insane? Do you have a death wish?]
“...But it’s worth a shot!”
At that moment—
Screeeech! Screech!
The chilling cries of the golden mannequins filled the air.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud!
Boom! Crash!
The heavy movements of the Van Dyke puppets reverberated.
“Get the hell away from me, you bastards!”
“Raaahhhh!”
Karl’s curses and Lochter’s battle cries broke through the silence, suddenly flooding my ears.
The muted world shattered, and the sounds of the battlefield came crashing into my head.
I could see it now—the wide-open terrain and the battlefield before me.
The oppressive darkness had vanished in an instant, as if it had been swept away.
“The moonlight!”
At Karl’s shout, I instinctively looked up.
“Aah...”
A breath of awe escaped my lips before I realized it.
The full moon that had been swallowed by the darkness now shone clearly in the night sky.
The cold, piercing blue light of the moon pushed back the black fog, bathing everything in its radiance.
And under that brilliant moonlight, I saw it clearly.
The red ribbon, dancing in the air above the battlefield.
The Light of Moonlight.
Before I knew it, I found myself whispering its name.