"Half-dragon! You won't escape!"
The Waning Moon Priest strode forward atop rippling moonlight, closing the distance with alarming speed. In his palms, two crescent moons condensed into existence—then he hurled them with force!
The twin crescents spun like high-speed halos, slicing through the air as they hurtled toward Kurose Akira.
"Tch—troublesome!"
Akira clicked his tongue. His eyes flared as beams of destructive energy shot forth, instantly shattering one of the crescents.
At the same time, he kicked backward, barely evading the second.
But the remaining crescent seemed to possess a tracking function—missing its target only for a moment before flipping midair and curving back toward him.
Akira twisted sharply, firing another beam from his eyes and obliterating it.
Yet when his gaze snapped back to the Waning Moon Priest—
Two more crescents had already formed in the priest's hands, ready to be unleashed again.
"Human! He wields the Law of Moonlight!"
Mare Rhein's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
"The Law of Moonlight? Is he a Grand Sage?" Akira asked immediately.
"No! He is not a Grand Sage—but he can indeed wield the power of laws, something only demigods should possess!" Mare Rhein denied his guess.
"Then why—"
Before Akira could press further—
A brilliant golden light burst forth, blazing like the sun itself, instantly erasing the priest's moonlight magic.
"The power of the sun?"
The Waning Moon Priest looked up in shock.
A golden beam descended from the heavens, engulfing him before he could even react.
"You alright?"
Lucia stepped lightly upon a golden lotus, arriving at Akira's side as she asked with concern.
"I'm fine." Akira shook his head. He hadn't suffered any serious injuries.
"That's good."
Lucia gave a slight nod. Beneath her white veil, her golden-red eyes turned cold as they fixed on the distant priest.
"The warriors of the Moon God Empire possess a unique power," she said softly. "They can draw upon the Law of Moonlight—and that power grows stronger alongside their own strength."
"Every single one of them?" Akira asked, stunned.
Didn't that mean… everyone was essentially a Grand Sage?
But even as the thought crossed his mind, he understood—there had to be limits. The strength of that "law" still depended on the individual.
If the amplification were truly that overwhelming, the Moon God Empire would have long since dominated the entire Magic Continent.
"Mm."
Lucia continued, "Though the empire has only two demigods, the remaining three priests are all beings who stand infinitely close to that realm. That is their foundation."
"I see…"
Akira committed the information to memory.
Even the weakest among the four priests—the Waning Moon Priest—was far stronger than others of the same level.
"If we fight together, we still have a chance," Lucia said softly, a Sun Scepter materializing in her hand.
"Right."
Akira nodded, his gaze locking onto the priest still engulfed in golden light.
"I didn't expect to find someone from the Sun Church among a group of adventurers… what a pleasant surprise."
The Waning Moon Priest's voice echoed out as the golden radiance began to fade.
When the light finally dispersed, his twisted grin came back into view.
Excitement surged through him. Silver-white radiance erupted from his skin, and behind him, a crescent moon manifested in the night sky.
His voice turned eerie and hollow.
"Now then… sink into this endless moonlight!"
The moment his words fell—
The crescent moon flared brilliantly, breaking apart into countless white motes that rained down upon Akira and Lucia.
"I'll block this wave. Find an opening," Lucia said.
At the same time, she slammed her Sun Scepter into the air.
Golden radiance surged like dawn, forming a barrier that intercepted the falling moonlight.
"Haa…"
Akira took a deep breath, spread his wings, and shot forward toward the crescent moon.
While Lucia held the priest back, he had to find a way to break the stalemate.
"Human!"
Mare Rhein's voice rang out again.
"I have a breath attack—give me your body! I'll deal with him!"
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Without hesitation, Akira relinquished control, trusting her completely.
The moment the Destruction Dragon took over—
His five-meter-tall half-dragon form swelled instantly, expanding into a massive twenty-meter crimson dragon.
The dragon opened its jaws.
A torrent of scarlet dragon breath, infused with destructive power, erupted forth like a raging flood, surging toward the Waning Moon Priest.
"Hmph!"
The priest scoffed disdainfully, raising a hand to conjure a moonlight barrier that blocked the overwhelming attack.
"This bastard's mana is insane!" Mare Rhein grumbled. "But that's only because you're too weak, human! If it were me at my peak, one spit would've killed him!"
"You might want to shut up."
Akira's cold voice cut in.
This idiot dragon was starting to overstep.
Still, Mare Rhein's breath had forced the priest to focus entirely on defense.
And in doing so—
He failed to notice the true danger creeping in.
"Even with the power of destruction, this dragon breath is still pitiful before me," the priest sneered, his gaze shifting toward Lucia. "But you are not my priority target."
As his words ended—
The crescent moon in the sky glowed brighter, tinged faintly with red.
The falling moonlight transformed into arrows, raining down with even greater ferocity upon Lucia's barrier.
"Now! Cantelia!"
Akira shouted.
"Got it, got it!"
Cantelia's figure appeared silently behind the priest, a wicked grin on her lips.
"Leave it to this true progenitor!"
"When did—!?"
The priest's heart jolted—he hadn't sensed her at all!
But before he could react—
Cantelia's hand, glowing crimson like a blade, pierced straight through his heart.
Pain twisted his body, distorting it as if it might collapse into nothingness.
"You damned insect!"
His eyes burned crimson with fury.
Raising his hand, the crescent moon in the sky transformed into a colossal blade hundreds of meters long, its edge gleaming with chilling light.
"Die!"
The massive crescent blade fell with unstoppable force, cleaving toward Cantelia.
"I dodge!"
In an instant, she transformed into a tiny bat and zipped back onto Akira's back.
And just like that—
The target of the attack shifted to Akira.
"You're all going to die!"
The priest roared, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
"Shit!"
Akira's expression darkened. He immediately reclaimed control of his body, reverting to his half-dragon form—and ran.
He didn't know why the priest's power had suddenly surged, but one thing was clear—
The man was ready to drag him down in a fight to the death.
He even seemed to have forgotten his original objective: retrieving the Key of Moonlight Truth hidden within the Moonlight Witch's clone.
Akira dodged frantically, but the crescent blade was devastating.
Each swing sent out arcs of pale moonlight, impossible to fully evade.
Even with Mare Rhein's enhancement, he couldn't avoid being struck.
A streak of moonlight carved across his dragon-scale armor, leaving behind a pale wound.
The pain burned like frostfire, forcing him to grit his teeth.
"You can't escape!" the priest laughed madly, pouring more and more power into the crescent blade.
At the same time, Akira noticed—
The wound in the priest's chest was glowing white, healing rapidly.
The Moonlit Dream was amplifying him.
Within this domain, units of the Moon God Empire gained immense enhancement.
"Lucia, get out of here!"
Akira sent a telepathic message, intending to buy time with his body.
Lucia, however, did not move.
"Hold on one more second," she replied calmly.
"…?"
Before Akira could understand—
A figure appeared silently in front of him.
Facing the incoming crescent blade—
A single tiger claw crushed it into dust.
"…Huh?"
Only now did Akira realize—
The Moonlight Witch's clone—the giant white tiger—had already defeated the adventurers surrounding it.
"Thanks…" he said instinctively.
The tiger ignored him.
Instead, it lunged straight at the Waning Moon Priest.
"Damn it! Those adventurers are useless!" the priest cursed.
But before his words could fade—
A claw tore through space itself.
And along with it—
His body was ripped apart, erased into nothingness in an instant.
"…One-shot?"
Akira blinked, surprised.
The priest had been monstrously strong—even after having his heart pierced, he could regenerate.
Yet now…
He had been erased in a single blow.
Still, Akira noticed something.
Anyone struck by the white tiger seemed to be forcibly expelled from the Moonlit Dream.
The same had happened to the adventurers.
At this point, only members of the Xianfei Guild and the Soufflé Fantasy Guild remained.
As Akira analyzed the battlefield—
The giant white tiger suddenly appeared before him.
Its towering form loomed like a mountain, radiating overwhelming pressure.
Akira froze for a moment—
Then found himself appreciating it.
That fluffy white fur…
It probably felt amazing to the touch.
Man and beast stood facing each other in silence.
Behind him, Lucia and the others gathered, preparing for the final battle.
But the situation wasn't ideal.
"Its injuries… they've completely healed."
"This is bad… can we even defeat it ourselves?"
"It'll be difficult—but not impossible."
"Let's wait for Guild Master Akira's command. He'll lead us to victory!"
"…."
Despite everything—
They still believed in him.
No matter how dire the situation, they trusted him completely.
Akira, however, simply said calmly,
"Wait here for a moment."
Then—
He flew forward alone.
As he approached, his dragon-scale armor dispersed, leaving Mare Rhein and Cantelia behind.
The white tiger grew wary, pawing the ground, staring at him with fierce vigilance.
"Ahem…"
Akira cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not here to—"
"ROAR!"
The tiger's deafening roar cut him off, like a gale crashing into him—complete with a spray of saliva.
Fortunately… it didn't smell.
"…."
Akira wiped his face with a handkerchief.
He was about to recite the spell the Moonlight Witch had taught him—
But suddenly—
A wave of embarrassment hit him.
Imitating a cat's meow… was just too humiliating!
After a moment of thought, he turned back toward his guild members.
Lucia and the Dark Elf Queen were too sharp—he couldn't fool them.
Cantelia and Mare Rhein… weren't exactly reliable.
In the end—
He called Loserine over and taught her the spell.
"…Understood."
She didn't question him in the slightest.
Her trust in him was absolute.
Walking up to the white tiger, she leaned close to its ear—
And in a completely emotionless, cool voice, said softly:
"Meow~"
Despite her cold, queenly tone—
The sound was surprisingly vivid.
Akira gave a satisfied thumbs-up.
And at that moment—
The white tiger seemed to have a switch flipped.
Its eyes became clear and lively.
Its massive body began to shrink—
Until it transformed into a normal white tiger, just over five meters long.
It rubbed its head against Loserine's armor affectionately, drawing a displeased hiss from the snake spirit attached to her.
"…Is that it?"
Akira let out a long breath.
That had been… unexpectedly smooth.
Wait—
They still hadn't obtained the Key of Moonlight Truth!
Focusing on the tiger, he asked, "Hey, little one… can you give me the Key of Moonlight Truth?"
The tiger let out a low growl, as if signaling them to follow.
Akira immediately did so.
After traveling for some time, the tiger led them into a grand palace.
But the moment they stepped inside—
Everyone froze.
Before them—
Inside the resplendent crystal palace—
Countless female bodies were laid out.
Each one bore the same breathtaking face.
Dark-blue wavy hair.
Moonlight robes.
The unmistakable identity—
The Moonlight Witch.
"How can there be…?"
Akira swept his gaze across the hall.
There were thousands upon thousands of them.
"…That many Moonlight Witches!?"