---

“······?”

What is going on?

While Luna was watching the battle between students, she blinked, and in an instant, she found herself in a different location.

No matter how she looked around, there was no one to be seen. Surrounding her was nothing but an impenetrable, pitch-black darkness.

“Luke?! Yui?!”

She called out to the two people who had been right next to her, but, of course, there was no answer.

Is this place even different? Maybe it feels that way even though it’s the same location. Or could it be that she has fallen into some sort of hallucination?

Honestly, this wasn’t the first time she had experienced something similar.

The dampness that pricked at her from all directions felt eerily similar to the demons that had once forced her to relive her nightmares.

It was certain that only a demon could possess such a filthy power to create such a situation.

But…

‘Luke said nothing would happen…’

Luke hadn’t mentioned anything about such a situation occurring.

Yet, here it was.

Even though Luke always behaved strangely and often made odd noises, he would never hide or lie if asked.

That would imply he was unaware of this event.

Regardless, being left alone in such a dark space was hardly a pleasant feeling.

What should she do?

While she was contemplating this…

[What are you worrying about?]

“······!”

A voice echoed in a space that had just moments ago been utterly empty.

Right after, somebody stepped out from the depths of the indistinguishable darkness.

Despite the darkness being so thick that she shouldn’t have been able to see anything, the figure was vividly clear.

Moreover, the reason Luna was taken aback included another factor.

While she had felt a hint of suspicion from the initial voice, seeing the figure confirmed it.

It… or rather, her appearance was unmistakably Luna herself.

The difference lay in the fact that where her sclera should be white, there was only darkness, and her irises shimmered not with silver like her own but with a purple hue.

Could it possibly be that this being looked similar to herself? She entertained that thought, but…

‘…That’s definitely me.’

How could she mistake her own reflection?

The being that looked as if it could be a twin seemed to project the image of Luna at the moment she became a demon.

[Stop thinking and accept it. I am you.]

“······!”

How did she know?

As for the answer to that question…

[You’re me, do you think I wouldn’t know what you’re thinking?]

“······.”

She had never become a demon, nor did she plan to. Yet, the notion of a demon claiming to be her was revolting.

It felt as though it was saying she would inevitably become like that. Regardless, if it was an enemy, all she had to do was take it down.

Luna swiftly drew the dagger at her waist.

[As expected! We don’t need any long explanations, do we?]

The demon, grinning as if it found this amusing, pulled out a dagger that looked just like hers.

Luna grimaced at that sight.

Despite not wanting to acknowledge it, it was undeniably similar to her.

Just like always, Luna charged forward, utilizing her magical power for physical enhancement and wind magic.

In response, the demon mirrored her every move in the same manner.

The only difference was that the color of the wind was purple.

But she didn’t care.

Her only desire was to kill quickly and escape this place.

Thus, after creating some distance, she charged again.

This time she intended to engage in close combat.

As she closed in on the demon, she swung her dagger.

There was a clang as their blades collided.

[Why do you think I can’t do what you can?]

“Ugh…!”

As Luna struck diagonally, the demon countered by drawing a line in the opposite direction.

When she sliced horizontally, it responded with a counter in the opposite direction; when she struck vertically, it came down on her.

[What’s with all this effort? You have nothing left to lose anyway. Nothing you want either.]

Luna was not as talkative as that.

Were their personalities not the same after all?

Throughout the battle, the demon kept talking.

[Vengeance? It’s over, isn’t it? The noble who gave the orders has faced judgment, and the mercenary was killed by Luke.]

Though Luna wanted to say something, she ultimately couldn’t voice it.

Everything the demon said was the truth, and since this one was a fake, arguing would be pointless.

Moreover, to argue with this demon that looked just like her meant confronting her own trauma.

In the end, it would just be spitting in the wind.

[Now that you have no family left and no reason to live, what makes you think you’re still trying so hard?]

Having already suffered from nightmares before, Luna didn’t take the demon’s trivial provocation bait.

Instead of wasting time responding, she saved her stamina to swing her sword even once.

Even after countless exchanges of blows, neither of them inflicted any damage on each other.

Each time she attacked, the demon countered with perfect symmetry in angle and force.

It felt like playing rock-paper-scissors in front of a mirror.

No matter how many times she attacked, her strikes were blocked, and no matter how many attacks landed, they were negated.

As this cycle continued, it became more unfavorable for Luna.

The demon showed no signs of fatigue, as if its stamina were infinite, while Luna’s stamina was not endless, and her magical power was limited, making her breath come in gasps.

Consequently, Luna purposefully created distance. It was time to catch her breath.

“Hah… Hah…”

[Oh, but I need to retract what I said about us being the same.]

The voice of the demon, which had claimed similarity to Luna earlier, now sounded entirely different to her ears.

Luna, who had never thought they were the same from the start, dismissed it lightly.

[Because I’m stronger than you.]

“······!”

With the demon’s sudden attack, Luna had no choice but to hurriedly brace herself.

Breath, movements, techniques—they were all the same, so she tried to block just as she did before.

“Ugh…!”

She failed to block and felt the side of her body cut.

The demon’s movements were ones she had never witnessed before, techniques she didn’t even know about.

The demon, standing upside-down in the void, slashed past Luna’s side.

Could this possibly be an expertly crafted illusion? Even though she held the thought somewhere in her mind throughout the battle, she was sure after that cut.

This was no illusion; it was reality.

If this were an illusion, then the one capable of creating it would be the demon god that Luke had spoken of.

The thought currently pressing hardest in Luna’s mind was:

‘…This is absurd.’

Demons or demonkind had never been honest, but until now, they had only shown her the same movements, and suddenly unveiling different techniques felt deeply unfair.

Techniques she could not even use herself.

[Absurd? What do you think Luke would have said if he heard?]

The demon seemed to know what she was thinking, speaking with a certain conviction.

If it were Luke… he would surely say it was her fault for being weak. He didn’t search for the reasons for defeat anywhere else.

Despite having traveled together, perhaps she had still been hunting comfortably in the cradle of Luke’s protection.

Maybe, as Luke had mentioned before, she had allowed her imagination to wither too.

[So, are your idle thoughts done now?]

This incident’s culprit would lose if it died; that would mean victory for Luna.

So, it should be urgent for the enemy, yet the demon seemed to engage in pleasant conversation as if no one was coming to rescue them and no one could escape this place.

The demon’s movements were unpredictable.

She danced in the air, stepping on nothing, and shot down from above as if hanging upside down from a branch.

“Ugh!”

One, two, three—wounds appeared.

Arms, legs, face—a series of crimson lines traced across her body.

There was no untouched spot left.

She had tried to block, but there were way more attacks permitted than those she could block.

With every attempt, her injuries only increased.

Now there wasn’t a single part of her body that remained uninjured. At this rate, she would surely die from excessive bleeding.

So, to survive, she needed to concentrate even more.

She completely shifted to a defensive posture.

It was essentially a declaration of her intention to give up on offense.

[Do you really think someone will come to rescue you if you hold on? Are you hoping Luke will solve everything for you again?]

She lightly disregarded the taunting remarks.

Even while defending, she kept her eyes wide open, reading the demon’s sword routes and the currents of wind.

Despite her defense, wounds continued to multiply.

Just when she felt she was really going to die, when her consciousness was pushed to its limit on the brink of death…

-Clang!

She was able to mimic the demon’s bizarre movements.

The dagger Luna held in reverse clashed against the demon’s dagger, creating a chaotic sound.

[······!]

For the first time, the demon appeared taken aback.

“Why do you think I can’t do what you can?”

Luna returned the favor for what had been done to her.

People awaken at the brink of death.

Wasn’t that what Luke always said? Only when faced with the possibility of dying does one grow.

Indeed, not a single word was incorrect.

After all, if that demon could use such moves, it implied that she could too.

While she didn’t possess the talent for imitating after just one sighting, it took her time to grasp it, yet she somehow managed to reach this point.

Creating a foothold with wind in thin air—a new technique she would call Moon Walk (월보).

[Right. I am you, and you are me. How could I have forgotten the obvious? But it doesn’t matter! You’re nearly out of stamina and in tatters! Ultimately, I’m destined to win!]

…That was decidedly true.

Her magical power was nearly exhausted. Her stamina was another issue; at this point, she might as well die from excessive bleeding.

Thus, to turn the tide in this situation, she needed something new, something that the demon wouldn’t know.

She thought back to everything she had experienced.

The confounding absurdity of being sucked into the demon’s space without any prior warning.

Thus, what Luna yearned for was the same kind of absurdity.

She envisioned a new image deep in her heart.

Creating her own space, trapping her opponent within it, and generating a scenario that was favorable to her while unfavorable to the opponent.

And there was a kind of magic that could make this possible.

What Luna intended to use was a barrier.

There are various applications for barriers: a barrier that blocks entry and exit from inside and outside, like the one set up at the academy; a detection barrier that seeks a specific target; combat barriers that are advantageous to oneself and disadvantageous to the opponent.

The barrier Luna intended to create was a manifestation of her heart (심상).

Transforming her heart into a barrier.

Creating a barrier was not difficult. All she had to do was spread a thin membrane with her magical power.

Her heart shape had already been envisioned.

At some point, the space Luna occupied was beset with bright light.

What rose in her thoughts was the moon.

Specifically, the full moon.

But… something felt lacking.

A shadow began to cast upon the white moon that had risen behind Luna.

Beginning from the left, the shadow gradually began to devour the moon until it entirely consumed it, reaching the rightmost edge.

Then it began to reveal itself again from the left side, but this time the moon’s appearance was not that of a beautiful moon reflecting the light of the dark but…

A crimson hue as if someone had painted it with blood.

A chilling red moon loomed behind Luna.

[W-what is this?!]

The demon was taken aback by the unprecedented technique.

However, Luna had no intention of replying.

She simply held her blade in reverse.

[You seem to still not understand very well! If you can do something, that means I can do it too!]

That was indeed correct.

Since she had done the same.

Thus, she wouldn’t allow time for observation and understanding.

What she was setting up was an illusion. The moon she created in darkness was the only light within the barrier.

By refracting the light cast by the moon in a different direction, she made it appear transparent to the opponent’s eyes through simple sleight of hand.

Though it wasn’t typically possible to create such an effect, this was within the barrier Luna had made. Within this space, the moon would move according to her will.

Luna walked forward silently. She was merely walking straight, yet her opponent didn’t notice.

Every step she took erased the sound of her footsteps and even the slightest hint of murderous intent.

[You think just holding on will—…].

The words never completed.

The demon’s head had already rolled on the ground, and an unpleasant purple blood spewed forth like a fountain.

“Hah…”

After the battle, she fell to the ground, resting with her sword sheathed.

The realization of victory alleviated her earlier tension.

As she sat dazed, she looked upon the crumbling darkness, pondering.

What should she name the technique she had just used?

Her contemplation didn’t last long. The image she wanted to demonstrate was evident in what she had done.

Lunar Eclipse.

Yes. That sounds good.

 

---