Golden Gachapon Bonus Chapters (2/2)
Thanks to "Na_Not_Listed" for the super gift.
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Moon looked down at his open chest, at the deep claw marks that had nearly reached his ribcage.
He scread in raw anguish, the excruciating injury overwhelming him now that he was no longer trapped in the illusion that had been masking the damage.
But screaming wouldn't save his life.
[Minor nd]
[Purify]
Moon cast both healing skills simultaneously, as he took out a healing potion and gulped it down instantly. The combined healing effects slowly began knitting his chest back together, the bleeding slowing as tissue regenerated. Moon forced himself to his feet despite the lingering pain, his eyes never leaving the fox standing several ters away. It had three magnificent tails swaying behind it, each one tipped with purple energy. The creature was the size of a large dog, its fur snow white except for those glowing purple eyes that shone in malevolent energy.
Moon imdiately summoned Mirage from his Beast Taming Space, the white horse appearing beside him. He vaulted onto his companion's back, positioning himself for maximum mobility while keeping his staff ready and his gaze locked warily on the three-tailed fox.
The fox hadn't made any aggressive moves since being forced to retreat by the lightning. It simply stood there, watching Moon with those unsettling purple eyes, its expression unreadable.
Moon frowned with growing suspicion. 'Is it preparing another ability? Maybe its illusion power has a cooldown period it's waiting out?'
Whoosh!
A powerful gust of wind approached from Moon's right side without warning. His head snapped toward the source, and his eyes widened in shock at the sight.
Nina was charging at him with her sword raised, the blade already mid-swing and re inches from his exposed side.
Moon's dagger spawned in his hand, rising to et the sword strike.
CLINK!
tal clashed against tal, the impact sending vibrations across Moon's arm as he deflected Nina's attack.
"I knew sothing was wrong…from the very beginning. The fox is controlling them." Moon muttered, staring at his entire team approaching him with hollow eyes.
All of them were approaching him now with weapons drawn and spells forming. Their movents were chanical. And most tellingly, their eyes were completely hollow, empty of any conscious thought. Moon's attention returned to the fox, whose face now displayed an unmistakable smirk of satisfaction. Its three tails danced behind its back, radiating waves of purple energy.
"You've been planting your seeds from the very beginning…the first one was Nina, then Mara…then everyone else. The ten gates, whether you win or lose the battles inside, you are still 'chosen' by them afterward. Your power resides in those gate spaces, affecting everyone who enters. You've been infecting my entire team before the challenges even began." At that mont, everything clicked into place. All the strange behaviors, the odd decisions, the inexplicable hostility from Nina—it all made sense now. The words from the first tablet echoed in his mind:
[Let it be known to those who enter with ambition in their hearts: this place does not reward the patient.]
[Let it be known to those who stand before the ten: he who opens one and rests has opened nothing at all. To free one is to free none.] Repeating the passages ntally, Moon realized sothing crucial.
Although his [Tenacity] skill hadn't prevented him from being trapped in the final illusion when entering this crimson gate, it HAD been working since the very beginning of the trial. It had been passively warding off the gradual illusion infection that had been spreading through his teammates' minds, protecting him from the sa creeping control.
Until finally, in this chamber—the fox's true lair where its power was strongest—even Tenacity couldn't fully protect him, and the illusion had claid him too.
"I must say, had it been soone else, you would have killed an entire S-rank squad on your own with ease. Congratulations on your impressive trap."
Moon's smiled grew colder. "But unfortunately for you, you chose to hunt one of the few flaws existing in this world."
His controlled teammates continued advancing, Reid nocking arrows, Kael gathering flas, Grant raising his shield, Mara's healing spell ready to cast. The fox's smirk widened, clearly enjoying Moon's defiant speech. "Oh, you are quite the confident one, aren't you?" Its voice was feminine, lodic, utterly at odds with the malevolence in its eyes. "What makes you think I won't simply kill you anyway, even knowing about my control? My new minions are quite capable." Hearing it speak, Moon wasn't surprised. Such a cunning creature, it was no surprise it had the ability to speak. Still, Moon's smile didn't waver. In the next instant, before any of his controlled teammates could unleash their prepared attacks, they all collapsed to the floor simultaneously.
Their bodies went rigid, unable to move, as if invisible chains had suddenly bound them in place.
Seeing the smirk on the fox's face falter, a satisfied smile appeared on Moon's face. "You don't seem in control now, do you?"
The fox's gaze snapped toward Moon with sudden wariness, then toward the paralyzed teammates, then back. "You... you placed your own magic on them all. How did you know to—" "After seeing the way Nina started acting aggressively toward for absolutely no rational reason, I began having doubts. Those doubts beca real concerns when you claid Nina as a guardian, then took control of Mara too—who also started displaying suspicious changes." The fox's eyes narrowed, its tails lashing with agitation. "That still doesn't explain how you knew to place protective runes on everyone preemptively."
"Well, seeing how enthusiastic Mara was about healing absolutely everyone who erged from the gates, I realized you were probably installing your control seeds through the healing magic she provided to wounded teammates.
So, I was just as enthusiastic, constantly helping everyone around, but also placing my powerful control runes on them all through my touch. I must say, had everyone survived the gates, I wouldn't have had enough materials or ti to inscribe sufficient runes for the entire team. But so died, which made resource allocation much easier. "
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