The castle hall was a graveyard of smoke and ruin.
Walls cracked like spiderwebs. Chunks of stone hung loose from the ceiling. The ground trembled beneath every breath the survivors took.
Sylen coughed, brushing dust off his armor. Around him, Twilight's finest crawled from the rubble, battered but alive.
He had expected the castle to collapse entirely under Beyth's last blast.
It didn't.
The structure still stood—scarred but unbroken.
Only the cracks ran deep, bleeding faint traces of mana like veins in dying flesh.
'That's… not normal.'
Sylen's eyes narrowed. The building wasn't just standing—it was resisting.
Something unseen was holding it together, as if an ancient force refused to let it die.
And beneath that realization came another feeling—cold and suffocating.
Someone, or something, was watching.
Every movement. Every breath.
He clenched his sword tighter.
Then, the dust parted.
Beyth emerged through the haze, towering, unscathed.
The previous wounds on his body were gone—devoured by the black mana swirling around him. His fanged grin gleamed like a crescent of malice.
The Beast Lord spread his claws, his killing intent flooding the room like a rising tide.
"Round two…"
He disappeared.
In a blink, he reappeared in front of a spearman dragging a fallen comrade.
"First… down."
The claws came down like guillotines—
—but a burst of flame struck him across the face.
"Not happening."
The fireball exploded, forcing Beyth back. Smoke hissed off his hide. His head turned toward the source—Elya, her hand still outstretched, eyes burning bright.
"Good shot," Sylen called out, his tone tight but sharp. "Let's move. We keep him busy till the formation resets!"
Elya nodded, already dashing forward.
Beyth's grin deepened, smoke curling from his mouth. "Ah… you're the problem."
He vanished again.
Sylen's instincts screamed.
"SHIELDS—UP, NOW!"
The backliners obeyed without question. Mana shields flared into place—just in time.
The next instant, Beyth slammed into them with the force of a meteor.
The hall thundered. The shields buckled. Mana screamed.
Cracks spidered through the barrier.
The beast's claws dug into it, tearing it apart like wet paper.
"Damn it!" Sylen cursed, watching the support line crumble. Intelligent beasts were the worst—calculating, patient, knowing exactly where to strike to end a fight.
"Elya, back to me. We take him together."
She didn't argue. The moment she fell into step beside him, Beyth's hand whipped through the air, flattening a nearby wall. Screams echoed.
The team was breaking.
One strike from the Beast Lord sent a knight flying. Another shattered a tank's defense, crumpling him to the ground.
Each motion was brutal elegance—raw savagery wrapped in intelligence.
Sylen's jaw clenched. He'd built this team with years of trust and discipline. Seeing it crumble this easily clawed at his insides.
"Enough."
His voice was low—but it carried across the hall like thunder.
Everyone stopped. Even Beyth turned.
A pale moonlight began to rise behind Sylen.
The air cooled.
Dust froze mid-fall.
Elya's eyes widened. "He's using that…?"
The glow spread, coating Sylen's body in threads of silver mana. His sword hummed, singing a sharp, haunting melody.
"I told myself not to use this," he muttered, voice calm yet dangerous. "The toll's too heavy… but it looks like I don't have a choice."
He raised his blade, pointing it at the Beast Lord.
"Elya. Fall back. Take the others with you."
"Captain—"
"Do it."
The tone left no room for argument.
Elya clenched her teeth but obeyed. "You heard him! Everyone, retreat to the backline! Unless you want to die in that crossfire!"
The team scrambled back.
Sylen's aura flared. His sword turned white, its light almost divine. The crescent emblem on his chestplate pulsed.
"I'll show you," he said softly, "why they call me the Moonlight Swordsman."
Beyth's grin returned, his fangs glinting.
"You… feel different now." His voice rumbled like thunder. "Good. I was getting bored."
He pointed a claw toward Sylen. "Show me this new power of yours, human~~~~~."
Sylen smiled faintly. "You talk too much for a wolf."
He moved.
A single slash—smooth, effortless.
Silver light cut through the air, carving a path of death straight toward Beyth.
The beast sidestepped with inhuman speed, but his grin faltered when the wall behind him was cleaved in two.
Stones. Even the vines that had held the castle together—sliced cleanly apart.
For the first time, Beyth's eyes widened.
That wasn't a sword strike. That was pure mana precision.
"You…" he growled, voice trembling with excitement. "You're worth showing… my true face."
He raised his clawed hand—then, to everyone's horror, plunged it into his own chest.
"Wha—?"
Blood poured out, splattering the floor, but Beyth didn't flinch. His grin only widened.
He dragged his claws through the air, smearing crimson light into glowing runes that floated in the air, burning with ancient energy.
"What the hell is that…?" one support whispered.
Sylen's instincts screamed. "Stop him! NOW!"
But it was already too late.
The runes merged into a circle—dense, ancient, alive.
Beyth's voice dropped to a growl that vibrated through every bone in the room.
"<Spirit Seal: Wraith of the Dark Moon>"
The circle detonated.
A black orb engulfed Beyth entirely, swallowing him whole.
The light in the room vanished——and the true nightmare began.
The black orb pulsed like a living heart.
It wasn't just covering Beyth anymore—it was feeding him. Mana twisted around the sphere, thick as tar, swallowing even the faintest light in the ruined hall.
Sylen steadied his breathing. His instincts screamed at him to destroy it before whatever was inside finished transforming.
He poured every drop of silver mana into his sword and slashed.
A crescent of moonlight carved across the air, slicing straight into the dark orb—
—but instead of shattering it, the light vanished.
It was absorbed.
Sylen's eyes widened. The air around him grew heavier. The energy inside the orb flared even stronger, the hum turning into a low, thunderous growl.
"Damn it…" he muttered, feeling his right arm go numb from the mana strain. "It's not defending—it's evolving."
The orb began to rise.
And from within it… something emerged.
Beyth stepped out, no longer the same beast they had faced.
His fur shimmered in streaks of black and silver, the gray completely drowned out. His eyes burned like twin eclipses—two dark moons reflecting a void no light could touch.
The energy leaking off him was suffocating. Even the air distorted around his claws.
And above him, the floating black orb remained—glowing faintly like an inverted moon.
It radiated a twisted aura that sapped the team's strength while feeding Beyth's power endlessly.
Sylen gritted his teeth. "A curse and a buff in one…"
Beyth raised his head and let out a howl that split the air apart.
The castle walls shook. Shadows rippled from every corridor—dozens of wolves spilling out like living darkness, eyes glowing red, claws tearing through stone.
Each one pulsed with the same corrupted mana. The Black Moon strengthened them.
"Now…" Beyth's voice came out deeper, clearer—almost human. "Let's see how your numbers compare to mine."
Sylen's lips curved into a smirk.
"Don't underestimate my team."
He pointed his blade forward.
"Twilight! Show these beasts who owns this battlefield!"
"YES, CAPTAIN!"
The hall erupted into chaos.
Mana flares burst everywhere. Steel clashed with fangs. Screams, roars, and spells collided in a storm of destruction.
The wolves were relentless—stronger, faster, smarter—but so was Twilight. They moved in perfect sync, their coordination sharper than ever.
While the team tore into the pack, Sylen faced Beyth alone.
The two warriors didn't move at first. They just watched each other through the smoke and fire, their auras colliding invisibly.The next moment, both vanished.
A flash of silver and black tore through the hall.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Each impact sent shockwaves through the debris. Sparks of moonlight and shadow collided like dueling comets.
To the naked eye, it looked like flashes of light clashing midair—too fast to follow.
Even Elya, shielding the healers, could only glimpse fragments of the fight.
Sylen's blade danced like a phantom. Beyth's claws met it in perfect rhythm, each strike testing, adapting, learning.
For every hit Sylen landed, Beyth struck back twice as hard. But the swordsman's movements were sharper—too fluid, too precise.
He was adapting faster.
And what Beyth didn't realize was that the cursed moonlight affecting everyone else was empowering Sylen.
The silver glow in his eyes brightened. His steps grew lighter. His strikes hit deeper.
He didn't know why the Bloon moon favored him—but he wasn't about to waste the blessing.
The hall became a storm of claws and light.
With each passing moment, Sylen pushed the Beast Lord further back, his slashes carving deep lines into Beyth's armor of fur and muscle.
The tide had turned.
Beyth glanced around, realizing his wolves were falling one after another. The once-endless pack now lay scattered and broken across the hall.
His control slipped. Rage took its place.
"You… pathetic… humans…!" His voice cracked into a growl.
Sylen smirked, lowering his stance. "Getting desperate, aren't we?"
He feinted left, then sliced right—leaving a deep gash across Beyth's chest. Blood splattered across the floor, sizzling as it hit the stone.
Beyth roared, his fury overflowing. His claws swung wildly, tearing through walls, tearing apart his own wolves.
Sylen saw his chance.
"Just die already!"
He lunged forward, silver aura blazing like a second moon behind him. His sword cut through the air—aimed directly at Beyth's throat.
The impact rang through the hall.
Dust exploded outward.
Then—silence.
Sylen's eyes widened. His blade had stopped mid-swing, frozen inches from Beyth's neck.
Not by armor.
Not by mana.
By something else.
"What…?" he breathed.
Beyth's grin was wider than ever—mad, triumphant.
And then the light shifted.
Something moved behind him.
Something that shouldn't exist.
– To Be Continued –
What did Sylen see in that final moment?
A hidden power... or something far older stirring beneath the black moon?
The answer lies in the next chapter.
Add this to your library and be ready—because the real battle hasn't even begun.