Chapter 446: Twelve Divine Moons (6)

A thousand years of life.

An eternity beyond mortal comprehension.

Yet, for the first time since his birth, Scarlet Summer Moon felt something utterly foreign... bewilderment.

What... is this?

A joke?

A trick of the gods?

Punishment for the idle life he had indulged in for so long?

If so, it needed to stop immediately—

Because if it didn't, he just might burn this human's soul to ashes.

"Ridiculous."

Looking at Baek Yu-Seol, who pointed that moonlit blade at him, Scarlet Summer Moon let out a self mocking laugh.

"I may have been careless... but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine a mere human brat would mock me."

The Twelve Divine Moons were not just legends in Aether World.

They were gods. Saints. History itself.

Immortal. Unyielding. Unreachable.

To defy them was to defy the heavens.

Even if he had been negligent, no human should be capable of challenging his authority without trembling in fear.

And yet—

"Hah! That's right... Now that I think about it, there have been others."

Scarlet Summer Moon let out a low, scornful laugh.

"Other lunatics, just like you."

They were rare, those reckless souls—

Heroes. Or perhaps villains. Those who dared to shake the heavens with nothing but the strength they were born with.

And what became of them?

"I burned them all to ashes."

Some of them may have been great heroes, capable of changing history itself—

But Scarlet Summer Moon erased them.

Not a single line about them remained in the records of history.

To defy him was to vanish without a trace.

Heroes were meant to leave their names behind for future generations.

To be erased from history—that was the cruelest punishment imaginable.

"And you will be no different, Baek Yu-Seol."

For the first time, Scarlet Summer Moon allowed himself to acknowledge it—

Baek Yu-Seol was unlike any human he had ever faced.

Even someone as prideful as him couldn't deny it.

After all, even Fawn Prevernal Moon had shown interest in him.

But so what?

In the end—he was still just a human.

"Perhaps you'll even become a celebrated hero before long."

Scarlet Summer Moon didn't need a prophecy to see it.

Within five or ten years, Baek Yu-Seol would undoubtedly become the greatest mage—

No. The greatest hero in the world.

"If you had quietly handed over the Princess of Flames, I might've allowed you to leave your name in history."

But—

"Now, my patience has run out."

WHOOSH!

Flames erupted violently.

Above them, chains rattled, lifting Hong Bi-Yeon high into the air.

RUMBLE...!!!

Baek Yu-Seol didn't move an inch.

Instead, he lifted his head, his eyes fixed on the scene before him.

Five massive, circular structures interlocked in the air, forming a burning altar.

At its center, a golden chalice wrapped in chains rose upward, completely restraining Hong Bi-Yeon's limbs.

Scarlet Summer Moon ran a hand through his flame-like hair, its embers flickering and fading.

Then—

A dark blue tide surged, swallowing the space like a living, breathing abyss.

Fire and water.

Two elements that should never mix, and yet—

This was Scarlet Summer Moon's domain.

'The Abyss of Sea King AAlamanca.'

A world of contradictions.

Though it was set deep beneath the sea, its vastness eclipsed even Stella Academy—

No, it dwarfed the entire Arcanium itself.

Gravity was defied here.

Buildings twisted into impossible shapes, rising and bending like dreams given form.

Dozens of waterfalls poured endlessly, each flowing in different directions—

Some flowed west to north, others flowed upward, and some poured downward to the east.

The cascades intertwined, spiraling toward the altar's chalice, where blue flames flickered and danced with eerie hunger.

"Ugh..."

Hong Bi-Yeon winced, her body trembling as the flames brushed against her skin, leaving no burns yet searing her with pain.

"This is the mental world created by the Princess of Flames. But at the same time, it is also a world that I have shaped. No human could ever create such a space within their own mind."

Scarlet Summer Moon looked down at Baek Yu-Seol with a cold, dead expression.

The sheer scale of the city-like construct he had built within this mental realm was enough to prove why he was called one of the Twelve Divine Moons.

'Human.'

Scarlet Summer Moon called out, but Baek Yu-Seol's gaze remained fixed not on him—but on Hong Bi-Yeon.

"Can you create something like this?"

Yet Baek Yu-Seol neither answered nor even acknowledged him.

Unable to hold back his rage, Scarlet Summer Moon exploded with flames.

"I'm asking if you have the power to challenge me!"

BOOOOOM!!!

A blazing sphere erupted in the depths, a miniature sun born from chaos.

From its center, a colossal red skull emerged, radiating flames in all directions.

It was enormous—its size and presence rivaled Dusk Soil Moon, who was said to have reached the World Tree.

This red skull was none other than Scarlet Summer Moon's true form.

The skull opened its gaping jaws, as if to devour the altar whole, and fired a red laser from its mouth.

SLASH!

The beam split the ocean, slicing through the world like scissors cutting paper, and rushed at Baek Yu-Seol.

The sea parted, exposing the void beneath, but—

The red skull was unsatisfied.

'... Gone?'

There was no impact. No sense of victory.

Scarlet Summer Moon quickly turned his head—

And there was Baek Yu-Seol, already standing in a different position with his moon-lit blade raised high.

"I may not be able to create—"

'I have to dodge!'

Without hesitation, Scarlet Summer Moon immediately generated new leg bones and leaped high into the air.

Despite his massive size, his movements were surprisingly agile, allowing him to retreat a great distance.

CRASH!

The moment he leaped away, a brilliant white flash descended, slicing cleanly through dozens of towering structures that had risen high into the sky.

The severed towers floated in midair, their edges smoothly cut as if by divine precision.

"How...?"

How could Baek Yu-Seol unleash this kind of power?

In a mental world, one's abilities were always mirrored from the real world—

Abilities here should have reflected reality.

While there were rare cases of beings recovering lost powers in a mental world.

Baek Yu-Seol wasn't supposed to be one of them.

He was just a foolish child—

Barely 20 years old.

Compared to Scarlet Summer Moon, who had lived for over a thousand years, he was nothing more than an insect.

"Thank you. I've always wanted to cut you down, and now you've prepared the perfect stage for me."

Scarlet Summer Moon's thoughts scattered.

There was no time to reflect.

Baek Yu-Seol was already closing the distance, his sword raised for a decisive strike.

Was it just his imagination?

'Slow.'

To Scarlet Summer Moon's eyes, Baek Yu-Seol's attack looked slow—

And yet—

'... Heavy.'

A weight pressed down, like the slow fall of a meteor.

Slow—but inevitable.

If it hit, it would end everything.

— KRAAAAAHH!!

No.

It couldn't end here.

Absolutely not!

Scarlet Summer Moon instantly generated two more arms, summoning a blazing sphere that resembled the sun.

It was like a red-hot iron orb versus a blue needle—

To anyone watching, the iron orb seemed invincible.

But—

SLASH!

The needle pierced through the iron orb, splitting it apart—

Then it sliced Scarlet Summer Moon's body into two halves.

But it wasn't over.

'Fool!'

Above Baek Yu-Seol, another blazing sun had already formed and was falling straight toward him.

As Baek Yu-Seol's gaze was momentarily drawn to the falling sun, Scarlet Summer Moon quickly regenerated his severed body using flames and then swung his palm with tremendous force.

Despite his massive size, his arm moved faster than the speed of sound, aiming to strike Baek Yu-Seol—

Or so it seemed.

'He's gone?!'

His hand cleaved through empty air.

Panic twisted his face as he leaped back, narrowly avoiding the blue-white blade that carved through the space where he had just stood.

'That human again...'

Right—

Now that he thought about it, wasn't one of Baek Yu-Seol's abilities the power to bend space and move freely using the spell [Flash]?

Ridiculous.

That can't be all he has, can it?

His sword might have been sharp.

His Flash might have been quick.

But that was it.

A sword cannot cut through fire.

And Flash couldn't keep up with Scarlet Summer Moon's movements.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Scarlet Summer Moon landed, his feet striking the ground like meteors.

He then dashed forward at full speed, igniting flames in all directions.

The ground melted into molten lava as the heat consumed everything around him.

Amid the roaring inferno, Scarlet Summer Moon sneered.

He knows his Flash's weakness.

Its range was barely 10 meters.

And after each use, there was a delay before it could be cast again.

In other words—

Scarlet Summer Moon's agility, as he zigzagged between buildings at breakneck speed, made it impossible for Baek Yu-Seol to catch up.

Once, Fawn Prevernal Moon had said—

'For Baek Yu-Seol, spatial distance means nothing.'

But seeing it now—

Scarlet Summer Moon scoffed.

'What a foolish claim.'

Foolish Fawn Prevernal Moon! How can someone who manipulates space not understand something so simple?

If Scarlet Summer Moon could simply move farther and faster than Baek Yu-Seol's Flash, he would win easily.

A flawless victory.

Scarlet Summer Moon clenched a fistful of flames, molten and seething, and slammed it toward the ground.

"And with this, I—"

CLANG!

"Gah?!"

His words shattered as pain flared through him.

Before his blazing hand could touch the earth—

Something struck his ankle.

No—

His ankle had been severed, leaving him unable to run!

'What... When did he—?!'

Still on the ground, Scarlet Summer Moon slammed his fist down, triggering a volcanic eruption beneath him.

Baek Yu-Seol didn't even flinch.

His form blurred, and in an instant, he appeared tens of meters away, effortlessly avoiding the explosion.

'What the hell are you...?'

Something was wrong.

This wasn't the Baek Yu-Seol that Scarlet Summer Moon knew.

'Who... What are you?!'

Baek Yu-Seol's image blurred again.

He appeared right in front of him and swung his sword.

SLASH!!!

"Agh!"

Scarlet Summer Moon staggered as his ribcage shattered into ash.

His head remained intact, flames swirling around it defensively.

His skull - his core - was the key to survival.

Focusing all his defenses there, he regenerated in an instant and leaped backward—

Only to see Baek Yu-Seol already there, swinging his sword again.

'This is wrong.'

Scarlet Summer Moon roared, summoning a wall of flames to block the next strike.

He quickly created a miniature sun with his other two arms and hurled it—

But Baek Yu-Seol's figure blurred again.

'Now!'

Scarlet Summer Moon knew that Flash had a delay.

Anticipating Baek Yu-Seol's movement.

He opened his mouth wide and fired a laser—

'... Gone?!'

As expected, Baek Yu-Seol completely ignored the cooldown of his Flash and appeared even farther away than before.

Scarlet Summer Moon had anticipated this much—

So he whipped his head around with all his strength and swung his laser like a sword.

SLASH—!!!

The entire upper half of the city was sliced in two and the debris rose into the air.

But still—

It didn't touch Baek Yu-Seol.

'Why...?'

He was too fast.

Unreasonably so.

Baek Yu-Seol's movements seemed to have no range restrictions.

No directional limits.

And his speed—

It defied logic altogether.

SLASH!

"Kraaaagh!"

Scarlet Summer Moon's legs were severed again.

But they regenerated.

His ribcage was sliced apart—

But it regenerated.

His arms. His spine. His knees. His fingers.

Baek Yu-Seol carved through his body like a sculptor shaping clay, relentless and precise.

And yet, Scarlet Summer Moon could only focus every ounce of his regeneration on shielding one thing... His skull.

This... this is—

It felt less like battle and more like—

A slaughterhouse.

A human butchering livestock.

Humiliating.

"KRAAAHHH! STOP! STOP IT!!"

But deep down, Scarlet Summer Moon knew.

Baek Yu-Seol had been capable of killing him from the very beginning.

The difference in their strength was undeniable.

Why... Why did I realize this so late?

This gap in power—

He should have seen it from the start.

He felt this once before—

When he stood before the Progenitor Mage.

Awe toward an unbeatable foe.

And—

Humiliation.

Baek Yu-Seol... is strong.

Far stronger than him—

And yet, Baek Yu-Seol still hadn't ended the fight.

With that kind of power, he could have split Scarlet Summer Moon's skull in half with the first strike.

But he didn't.

"Just cut me down already! If you're a hero, a mage...!"

Scarlet Summer Moon roared, his voice echoing through the abyss, sending waves of flames surging outward.

"If you're a knight, then grant me the honorable death of a Divine Moon!"

"Who said you get to decide that?"

For the first time, Baek Yu-Seol spoke.

Scarlet Summer Moon stared at him. He was now right before his face—

Yet he couldn't move.

He couldn't even raise a hand.

Because if he did—

It would all be over.

"You pushed me this far and you think you deserve an easy death?"

Baek Yu-Seol's cold smile burned with rage far hotter than Scarlet Summer Moon's flames.

Scarlet Summer Moon trembled, his jaw half-open.

What could he say?

What words—

Could possibly earn forgiveness?

Time slowed.

Every second felt like a thousand years—

An eternity spent in helpless silence.

And then, finally...

Scarlet Summer Moon made the only rational choice he could.

"I... I was wrong..."

It was the best he could manage.

Baek Yu-Seol smiled in response—

But it wasn't a satisfied smile.

And Scarlet Summer Moon couldn't smile along.

"You were wrong?"

"I... I was..."

"What exactly were you wrong about?"

"Huh?"

"You can't answer in 1 second?"

Baek Yu-Seol raised his sword again.

"Then I guess I'll beat you until you figure it out."

"...Ah."

In that moment, Scarlet Summer Moon knew—

Even after a thousand years—

Tonight would be the longest night of his life.