-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Encountering the Moon Priestess
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The sky glowed an alien pink, and the wind whipped around, making it hard to even open my eyes.
In the heart of this storm, which even Stardust had struggled against, a man dressed in black stood there.
Yes, that was me. Me.
".....So this is what it feels like?"
The wind blew fiercely enough to easily sweep away a child.
And flying towards me were attacks spewing from dozens of magic circles.
Yet, through this very storm, which no hero had ever managed to penetrate, no matter how hard they tried, I walked with ease and comfort, as if taking a morning stroll in my backyard.
"Seriously, why are there so many gnats?"
Deflecting the star-like projectiles with telekinesis was just a bonus.
Things that looked like they belonged on top of a Christmas tree kept flying at me, it was incredibly annoying.
I smoothly deflected the star-lumps flying towards me with a single flick of my hand.
As a result, the purple star, which embedded itself in the ground instead of hitting me, exploded with a deafening roar.
Boom!
It completely pulverized the ground where it landed, like a bomb going off.
"Whoa... holy crap..."
Watching it, I whistled.
Yes, indeed.
The power was truly beyond imagination.
How is a basic attack this strong?
I raised my head.
A pink tempest, rising high enough to cover the entire sky.
As expected, it was indeed an event that no hero in the original story could stop, ultimately destroying Seoul completely.
It made you think no human could possibly stop this.
Of course, that didn't apply to me, who already knew everything.
Thinking that, I spread my hand and blocked a purple beam of destruction flying towards me.
Unlike the fierce intensity with which it was fired, the light scattered in all directions before even touching my hand.
I smiled slightly, watching it.
Yes. The Moon Priestess. A truly powerful and threatening enemy. In terms of sheer difficulty to defeat, she was even harder than the Han-eun Group's colossal weapon from back then.
But that's when you're fighting blind.
I grinned, and then closed the hand I had spread open.
And the moment I did,
Pop!
The magic circle that had been firing the beam shattered into pieces and exploded.
Yes, the core of this terror attack wasn't the Moon Priestess, but the buffs the Grand Master had laid out beforehand – specifically, the magic circles placed all over Seoul.
They weakened heroes' abilities, amplified the Moon Priestess's firepower, caused signal jamming, nullified dark powers, supplied mana, and just a ton of other monstrous options.
In essence, these magic circles were the true core of this terror attack.
While the Moon Priestess's basic magic skills were quite strong, they weren't overwhelmingly powerful enough to completely overwhelm Stardust, Icicle, and Shadow Walker. If she fought Stardust one-on-one, she'd barely hold on before losing?
That's why it was the Grand Master's buffing magic circles that made her almost invincible.
This was the key to conquering this terror attack, in fact, the center of everything.
Even in the original story, they only managed to uncover this secret after Seoul was almost completely destroyed, then they broke all the magic circles beforehand and succeeded in killing the Moon Priestess.
...Thinking about that, the image of the Moon Priestess, asking to be killed, flickered in my mind again. Yes, that was just the messed-up original story. Not anymore.
Anyway, I went a step further here.
Meaning, I hacked the magic circles and made them work in reverse.
So, these giant magic circles placed in Seoul...
They make me stronger and weaken my enemies.
In other words,
Inside this storm, they give me unrivaled power.
"Up we go, alright~"
I flicked a purple lightning bolt striking down at me, sending it back into the sky.
I simply sliced through incoming lasers.
And I exploded the star-lumps with telekinesis.
I leisurely approached the center of this storm, where the Moon Priestess would be.
Ah, easy, easy.
Soon, I'll be seeing the Moon Priestess.
***
"Haa... haa..."
In the heart of the storm.
There, she gasped for breath.
"...Hngh..."
Inside the storm she herself had conjured, someone was approaching, breaking through every barrier she had created.
'...How did they do it?'
Barriers amplified by the Grand Master, based on her own magic.
Dozens, hundreds of offensive magic circles surrounded the spot where she stood.
She could feel someone advancing, piercing through all of them.
'Who could it be?'
In the two previous terror attacks, many had rushed to stop her.
But all of them had retreated without even getting halfway through the storm.
The current intruder, however, was coming towards her location at an incredible speed, as if walking into their own home.
'...Perhaps, it's another hero.'
She thought quietly.
Finally, someone is coming to stop everything.
Yes, it's better this way.
She paused for a moment and looked at her hands.
She was in the eye of the typhoon. Even though no wind blew there, her hands were trembling like someone with essential tremor.
Grabbing one hand with the other, she smiled bitterly.
Yes. It's better this way.
Only three times, including this one. In just three times,
it's already this hard. This agonizing.
If I had done this dozens more times,
would I have been able to endure it then?
The crushing guilt, ceaseless.
A life trapped in the Moonlight Church, gnawing at herself and blaming herself.
Yes. Perhaps it's better to just end it here.
What meaning could a life spent harming others possibly have?
The person approaching now will probably try to capture her, or kill her.
But capturing her would be useless. Since she was being controlled by the Grand Master, they would instead be manipulated.
Therefore, she would resist with all her might.
If that happened, then of course,
she would die right here.
'...I... I didn't want to die, you know.'
A faint glimmer of tears welled in her eyes as she thought that.
Truthfully, she had been prepared to sacrifice her life if necessary.
However,
she hadn't expected it to come so soon.
Given that the heroes had been so helpless just last time, she had expected at least dozens more attempts before anyone reached her.
She hadn't expected someone to come straight to her location in just the third terror attack.
'...What am I thinking? No, it's better this way. It can be stopped before greater harm occurs.'
Though she tried to steel herself with such thoughts,
still, she was a little scared.
From the start, she had some idea of people's reactions.
People who called her a monster, feared her, and despised her.
And especially the hero—
that hero, strong enough to break through all her barriers—
what kind of expression would he have when he saw her? Anger? Hatred? Contempt?
Having to bear such gazes.
And the possibility of dying right here, right now.
For her, it was a terrifying prospect.
"....."
Still, she steeled herself.
Yes. I have to pay for my sins.
I can't run forever.
When the hero arrived, she would provoke him slightly, fight, then naturally weaken herself and simply take the attacks. When the decisive blow came.
With such a sad heart, she even planned how she would die.
She imagined the hero's contemptuous expression as he approached, and with steeled resolve, she faced him.
Finally, the person who burst through the storm was...
"How do you do!"
...a man who was smiling brightly and greeting her.
'...What?'
***
Using the reverse-engineered magic circles, I easily pierced through the pink storm, also known as the mana storm, and finally arrived at the eye of the typhoon.
Unlike the fiercely raging winds outside, the center was quiet, not a single gust of wind disturbing it.
And in its midst stood a woman, clad in white priestess robes, her hair tied with a red ribbon.
Her appearance seemed straight out of a comic book.
She looked slightly mysterious, yet also had a kind demeanor that made it hard to believe she was responsible for such a terror.
Her height was only slightly taller than Seoeun's, so I had to look down at her, which gave her a faint resemblance to Seoeun.
The Moon Priestess, a character who died a truly pitiable death in the original story. I finally met her, the one who had caused all this terror.
...Her expression was stoic, seemingly indifferent as she looked at me, but her eyes betrayed a deep fear.
So, I decided to greet her.
"How do you do!"
I smiled and spread my arms wide as I greeted her.
A smile always makes a good first impression. Of course it does.
And as a result, her fearful eyes instantly shifted to a look of utter bewilderment.
...Hmm, well, at least they changed, so that counts, right?
Anyway, momentarily taken aback by my sudden greeting-assault, she seemed to snap back to her senses, her face hardening again as she coldly retorted at me.
"....Who are you? No, that's not important. If you've come to stop me, I want to tell you it's useless."
After saying that, she took a deep breath.
And at the same time,
Ziiiiiiiiing.
Dozens of magic circles began to appear in the air around her, glowing with a purple light.
And simultaneously, her red eyes fixed on me, she murmured softly.
"I will keep fighting. Whether you stop me or not, it doesn't matter...."
"Baek Eun-wol."
I cut her off and spoke.
"Baek Eun-wol. Known as the Moon Priestess in the Moonlight Church. Picked up by the Grand Master and raised under him. Can use magic granted by the Moon God. Dislikes the Moonlight Church and opposes the Grand Master's ideology. However, due to a spell he cast on her, she is forced to act according to his will. She doesn't want to cause terror."
I rattled it all off in one go.
At my words, she stopped conjuring magic, her body instantly stiffening.
To her, whose eyes were frantically darting around, unable to process the sudden situation, I grinned and said,
"Eun-wol, leave that cult-like Moonlight Church behind."
"Won't you join me?"
Alright.
Time to really start my pitch.
***
[Everyone! We have breaking news as I speak! Egoistic has reportedly appeared at the scene of the Moon Priestess's terror attack, arriving by airship!]
And while Egoistic was doing that inside the storm, the Republic of Korea was in real-time uproar.