A captivating crimson moon floated high in the sky. The castle had no do, and the deep red moonlight gently poured down, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Crimson Moon sat leisurely upon her throne, with the endless deep night and the unbelievably massive blood-red moon behind her. A night breeze swept through, gently lifting her shining blonde hair and elegant pure white dress.
She had never deliberately released magical energy, yet the re ntion of the na "Crimson Moon" weighed heavily on Matou Yuu's heart.
After all, even though his understanding of the Type-Moon world in his previous life had been limited, that na was still shockingly famous.
The person sitting before him was none other than the most powerful lifeform (Ultimate One) on the Moon.
"You said… you've been sleeping inside my body for six years?"
Matou Yuu stood on the steps beneath the throne, suppressing his racing heartbeat as he secretly observed the golden-haired woman before him.
What first caught his eye was her nearly perfect and unbelievably beautiful face, and those queen-like eyes that looked down upon everything, radiating an eerie red light.
"Could it be that you've been inside my body ever since the day I was reincarnated in Fuyuki?"
Crimson Moon did not answer imdiately. She slowly rose from her throne.
Her golden high heels clicked rhythmically against the steps as she descended with graceful, light steps.
Beneath the deep, vast night sky, the blood-red moon hung high. She smiled and elegantly walked down the stairs.
Without a doubt, she was the most alluring and most dangerous woman Matou Yuu had ever t in both of his lives.
Perhaps it was due to the innate charm possessed by the True Ancestor, but every gesture of hers seed to carry a kind of captivating power that made people's hearts flutter.
However, the instant she stepped off the final stair, the elegant and seductive figure before him suddenly vanished from his sight without warning.
Matou Yuu's pupils abruptly contracted, and his body tensed instinctively.
The very next mont, a warm, gentle, and sweetly soft voice whispered beside his ear like a ghost.
"Didn't I already give you the answer? Ever since the night you arrived in Fuyuki City, I have been inside your body, sleeping."
"At that ti, your human reproduction rate was so incomprehensibly fast, like insects in a sewer, that Gaia, the will of the Earth, feared that humanity would eventually devour everything on this planet. So Gaia sent a distress signal, hoping I would descend here, beco the Ultimate One of Earth, and suppress—perhaps even destroy—humanity."
"Of course, as compensation for this boring transaction, I was allowed to create my own companions on Earth."
"All the True Ancestors you see on Earth today were created using as the prototype and blueprint."
Matou Yuu's heart trembled slightly. Although he had a surface-level understanding of these secrets in the past, he had never deeply grasped them.
According to Crimson Moon's logic, Gaia—the will of the Earth—could not nurture its own strongest lifeform like other planets, so it had no choice but to recruit the King of the Moon into its own camp for protection?
"Then why are you inside my body now?" Matou Yuu took a deep breath and asked the most important question.
Crimson Moon still did not reply imdiately.
She elegantly turned around and took a step toward the void before her.
The magnificent and desolate ancient castle surrounding them receded like ripples on water, and the scene instantly reconstructed itself, transforming into a living room decorated in an extrely warm and modern style.
—Marble Phantasm.
Crimson Moon slowly walked to a nearby European-style dining table, picked up an exquisite porcelain teapot with her delicate hand, and gracefully poured boiling water into a bone teacup.
The rising steam instantly filled the air with a rich, llow aroma of black tea.
She lowered her head, staring at the rising steam, and quietly asked, "Do you know of the Second Magician?"
"Of course... Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg... one of the founders of the Clock Tower and the Jewel Magus who manipulates magic that interferes with parallel worlds." Matou Yuu nodded.
Crimson Moon chuckled. "After descending to this planet in response to Gaia's summons, I played a little ga with that old man."
"Why?" Matou Yuu asked.
"No need to even ask, right? Because it was fun, of course," Crimson Moon replied casually.
For the Queen of the Moon, who had lived for countless years, the most unbearable thing was boredom.
She picked up the black tea on the table, took a sip, and her red lips appeared even more glossy.
"Following routine is the most boring thing. What makes things interesting are unexpected events, don't you think?"
"In other words... the fact that you can only stay inside my body now ans... you lost that ga?" Matou Yuu asked cautiously.
"…"
For a mont, the air seed to freeze.
Crimson Moon held the teacup and paused briefly.
She raised her eyelids and gave the young man a cold sidelong glance with her ruby-like eyes.
She said nothing, yet it felt as if she were saying, "If you can talk, then talk more."
Matou Yuu lightly coughed and naturally changed the subject. "So, what exactly is my current situation? I was shot through the heart by Alcides' arrow at the Snowfield Reservation... In other words, I'm already dead, and this is so kind of revolving lantern showing the afterlife?"
"If you were truly dead, you wouldn't have the chance to drink tea with right now."
Crimson Moon said quietly, "Congratulations, Matou Yuu. Your long-cherished wish has co true... Without a doubt, you have safely returned to your original world."
As she spoke, she casually picked up a cookie from the table and slowly placed it in her mouth.
"Six years ago, Gaia quietly left the coordinates of Star Touch in your soul."
Matou Yuu was montarily stunned.
Then, it felt as if a long brainstorming session was unfolding inside his head.
The very next mont, he seed to understand the true aning of the woman's words, and his expression gradually turned interesting.
"Wait a minute… In other words, my ti travel was because of Gaia?! "
"But why go through all this trouble?"
"Of course, it's because of ."
Crimson Moon sneered. "Gaia needs my help, but at the sa ti fears my power. And you beca the perfect vessel to nurture my soul, while also being able to restrict my power... Why not?"
"I've told you everything you wanted to know."
She paused for a mont, then, like a playful young lover, rested her chin on both hands and gazed gently at the young man before her with sparkling eyes and a sweet smile.
"Now, let hear your decision. Do you want to stay in this hotown you've always cherished, or… do you want to return with ?"
Before Matou Yuu could answer, she winked mischievously again and said, "But if I were you, I'd choose the third path."
Matou Yuu calmly asked, "What?"
Crimson Moon picked up a small silver spoon, added a tiny piece of sugar to the black tea, and gently stirred it.
She raised her face, narrowed her eyes, and smiled. "Let's make a deal. I want to taste your blood."
"This way, in the future, I can make you the strongest lifeform on this planet."
Matou Yuu fell silent for a mont and secretly observed the woman before him.
Even under the crimson moonlight, her golden hair had not lost its shine.
Her lips were plump like cherries, with a rose-pink luster and jelly-like texture, as if inviting a man to kiss them.
If one did not know her true identity, one might be deceived by her appearance.
But for so reason, he always felt that Crimson Moon was hiding sothing and not telling the full truth… At the very least, she was not telling the whole truth.
After all, the ssage Crimson Moon had been trying to convey could be sumd up in one point: she hoped he would cooperate with her.
But why?
"I feel sorry for you——"
In any case, there was no need to get involved with this woman.
The words of apology were about to slip out.
And as if sensing the young man's determination, Crimson Moon's smile faded slightly.
However, at that mont, the image of a certain blue-haired, slender figure who always liked to quietly tug at the hem of his clothes suddenly surfaced in Matou Yuu's mind.
"What is Tiamat doing right now?" he suddenly asked.
Crimson Moon was clearly surprised, and a faint look of astonishnt appeared in her eyes.
"You an… the Heroic Spirit you summoned before?"
Matou Yuu nodded. "Even though I died, the Imaginary Sea rift has been closed, and as long as Tiamat has a leyline beneath Snowfield City supplying her with magical energy, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
His words suddenly stopped.
The very next mont, Crimson Moon lightly raised her pale, slender hand and casually waved it.
As magical energy flowed in, an unbelievably clear image quietly unfolded in the void.
The instant he saw this scene, Matou Yuu couldn't help but gasp.
"What… is this?" he muttered in shock.
What spread before his eyes was a terrifying apocalyptic scene.
The planet that had once shone blue was now being swallowed by a vast purplish-black mud.
The black mud known as the Sea of Life had transford into a tsunami, rcilessly subrging cities, mountains, and plains.
The sky was dyed a sickly dark red, and at the very center of that apocalyptic storm, a terrifying monster with a body large enough to cover the sky and massive dragon horns raised its head, letting out a soul-tearing scream toward the shattered sky.
"Tiamat, the Goddess of Creation who gave birth to the entire world, was once abandoned by all her children. Yet even so, to avoid troubling her independent children, she voluntarily exiled herself and fell asleep in the cold Sea of Imagination."
Crimson Moon leaned languidly against her chair, her voice mixed with pity and mockery as it quietly reached Matou Yuu's ears.
"But afterward, in Snowfield City, a child appeared who tried to bring her back... even if only for a short while."
"For her, this was probably the first ti in such a long history that she felt loved. So it can be said that Tiamat concentrated all her love for the entire world onto you alone."
"After all, the so-called Humanity's Evil (Beast)... is essentially the deepest and most extre love in the world."
Matou Yuu remained silent, staring fixedly at the screen before him.
Tiamat, who had completely transford into a terrifying dragon, was no longer the innocent and lovely girl she once was.
The entire world trembled before her rage and power.
Crimson Moon followed Matou Yuu's gaze. Her beautiful red eyes were filled with unconcealable surprise. "This woman possesses an enviable amount of power... If she had not voluntarily withdrawn from the stage at that ti, even Gaia on this planet would not have been her match by now."
"Just like what she is doing right now."
"What is she planning?" Matou Yuu asked.
"To return…" Crimson Moon's voice was terrifyingly calm. "To return all existing life to the primordial sea and shuffle everything. In her current state of complete frenzy, I don't think there is anything on this planet that can stop her."
Reset the entire world and purify humanity?
Matou Yuu quietly stared at the colossal beast amid the world-shaking scene, listening to the sorrowful song that echoed across heaven and earth.
Despite possessing such terrifying, world-destroying power, there was not the slightest trace of cruelty in her cry—only overflowing loneliness and sorrow.
The world trembled before her power, and all things despaired at her return... Yet what Tiamat desired was neither to destroy the world nor to dominate it.
She was like a girl abandoned in the wilderness, lost on the way ho. Despite possessing power strong enough to tear apart a throne, the hardest dragon scales in the world, and the sharpest claws, all she had ever wanted was for soone to hold her hand without hesitation on a rainy day.
And then, the only person who would hold her hand disappeared.
So all she could do was roar like a mad beast, smash the world to pieces, and futilely search for that vanished frail figure amid the sea of flas and ruins.
She cried not because the entire world had turned its swords against her, but because the only young man who had ever smiled at her had left forever.
Matou Yuu remained silent for a long ti before slowly closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
The surroundings were enveloped in silence.
Crimson Moon had been watching the young man with interest, and when he slowly opened his eyes, she finally caught his expression.
As expected… he truly could not leave her alone in that desperate place.
He looked at the golden-haired woman and said, "Crimson Moon, I accept your offer… but you must take back to Snowfield City."
The woman was montarily stunned.
A rare look of surprise appeared in her usually languid and arrogant red eyes.
Then she hugged her own body tightly with both small hands, trembling all over as she burst into loud laughter.
"Interesting… You really are fascinating! Hahahaha… I generously offered you the honor of becoming the strongest lifeform on Earth, yet you firmly refused. And now, for the sake of a re woman who wants to destroy the world, you're willing to abandon the life you've always longed for and voluntarily return to that hell?!"
Looking at the almost pathologically beautiful woman before him, Matou Yuu's lips twitched slightly.
This woman's personality was truly insane... Just monts ago he had thought she was elegant and graceful... Faced with this ultimate pleasure criminal, Matou Yuu wisely chose to remain silent.
Finally, Crimson Moon gradually suppressed her irrepressible laughter of joy.
She slowly raised her face, her captivating red eyes reflecting the young man's handso face. "Very well, then the first transaction is officially complete."
"I'll take you back, but in exchange——"
Before she could finish speaking, her noble and elegant figure suddenly vanished from the spot.
Then she appeared before the young man like a ghost.
Her white, jade-like arms wrapped around the young man's neck, pressing his entire face firmly against her soft and supple chest.
The force was so strong that he felt a faint sense of suffocation, and a delicate fragrance filled his nasal cavity.
"Don't move…"
Before Matou Yuu could react, her glossy and soft red lips were already gently pressed against the side of his neck.
Warm breath carrying a mysterious sweet scent brushed against his delicate skin, sending a shiver down his spine and causing goosebumps that wouldn't stop.
Then she slightly leaned down and gently bit into Matou Yuu's skin with two sharp fangs.
"It's my first ti… so I won't hold back!"
BOOM—!!!
Bright red blood flowed down his throat and was slowly swallowed by the woman.
The very next mont, an indescribably terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from both of them!
It was not rely a magical storm, but a vibration originating from the planet itself.
Before this power, the entire bounded field of Marble Phantasm let out a fierce roar, as if even the laws of physics were bowing before the awakened King of the Moon.
An imnse sense of oppression spread like ripples, and an aura commanding submission to all things swept across the entire world in an instant like a tsunami.
…
Almost at the sa ti.
Deep within the Clock Tower in London, in the secret office of the Grand Marshal—a place overlapping with countless parallel world dinsions.
An old man who had been flipping through an ancient book suddenly stopped moving in midair.
He slowly raised his head, and his deeply aged eyes seed to pierce through all obstacles as he stared fixedly at a single point.
A solemn and complex expression gradually appeared on his aged face.
This aura…
Without a doubt, it was that man.
He was his greatest enemy, the one who had driven him to the brink of despair, turned him into a Dead Apostle, and nearly brought the entire history of humanity to an end.
"It seems my leisurely days are coming to an end."
After a long silence and a period of mutual staring, Marshal Zelretch slowly closed the heavy grimoire in his hand and quietly sighed.
"Crimson Moon… It's been a long ti."
…
…
PS: Support and read advanced chapters at patreon/AbsoluteCode
User Comments
0 comments from readers