29 - The Price of Power

Moon was falling apart.

His breaths were ragged, shallow, and uneven. His body trembled as he stood barely balanced, swaying slightly in the blood-soaked battlefield. His vision had gone blurry long ago. Everything around him now looked like a fogged painting smeared in red. Shapes moved, sounds echoed distantly, and pain pulsed through every fiber of his being.

His left arm dangled uselessly—broken. His skull had a deep fracture, and blood was leaking down from his hairline. His right thigh was torn open, the muscles shredded and exposed. His ribs—he could feel them, like shattered glass piercing his lungs. Skin was flayed off in several places, leaving red, raw patches. And yet, he fought on.

He had to. There was no other option.

Even when the body breaks, something inside refuses to stop. It screams. It rages. It survives.

But fate is cruel.

As Moon staggered forward, trying to swing his sword again, a massive Taurus—struck from the side. The blow sent him flying. His body smashed into the trunk like a ragdoll. He coughed blood. Still conscious. Barely.

The he used his last ounce of clarity. He wedged his Nichirin sword into the trunk , and let his body hang from its handle. Blood dripped. Muscles twitched.

Below him, a pit full of Taurus beasts waited. Their horns glowed. Their hooves stamped. Blood covered the ground beneath them. Moon stared down. He could no longer tell what was real. His eyelids grew heavy.

Suddenly, a blast echoed.

From the opposite direction, water exploded.

Moon can sense it , a heat and then just after coldness .

Moon heard it faintly—waves crashing, trees breaking, something massive approaching. His lips parted slightly, a whisper escaping.

"Is this... the end...?"

He closed his eyes.

And then—

> System Alert: Energy reserve nearly depleted.

Defense Mechanism Activated: Vajra Body [Partial]

Moon's eyes fluttered open weakly. What did that mean? He didn't remember activating anything. But the system had taken over.

Explanation: The system recognized Moon's critical condition. He hadn't yet learned to control the Vajra Body—the defensive state locked within him. But at this point, his survival mattered more than permission. So, the system forced it into activation.

It came at a cost.

Because Moon had no mastery, the system would permanently drain essence points to maintain this state. It was an emergency defense protocol, a last resort. But in this moment—he didn't care.

Because the transformation had begun.

A surge of energy erupted through his broken form.

His green eyes turned into glowing pure white. Not silver. Not light green. White—as if stars themselves lit within. Arcs of electricity danced out from his irises, zapping across his skin. His entire body glowed.

He wasn't just healing.

He was becoming something more.

Moon reached for his Nichirin sword—then take that sword back into a storage ring.Then In a blink, faster than any step he had taken before, he disappeared from the edge of death.

And reappeared next to Kai and Ruby.

They didn't even react.

Because they couldn't.

In less than a second, Moon's glowing body slammed his fist into Kai's chest—not to kill, but to push him out of the way. Ruby was next. She flew back from the impact, her eyes wide. Before any of them could speak, Moon broke the tree trunk beside James and Minji and hurled it like a spear.

Boom.

A cloud of dust and lightning exploded.

When it cleared, Moon was standing atop the half-burnt trunk.

The sky turned dark.

Lightning—massive, ancient, raw—summoned itself.

And then it fell.

A heavenly bolt crashed down.

In one strike, nearly 200 rookie-level and 30 fighter-level essence creatures were reduced to death.

The ground steamed. Blood boiled. Fear spread.

The remaining Taurus beasts hesitated.

And then—

They ran.

Moon's system rang again:

> 150 Rookie Points and 34 Fighter Points deducted for Vajra Activation

But almost instantly:

> You have slain Taurus x187

You have slain Taurus x30 (Fighter)

His points, mostly, returned.

He didn't stop.

He summoned lightning again.

This time, the storm extended 400 meters in every direction. Lightning spears rained down, destroying trees, burning beasts, electrocuting the ground. Thunder roared louder than before.

Kai, James, Minji, and Ruby—still recovering from the first blast—stood frozen. Their eyes wide. Their legs trembling.

Ruby whispered, "What... is he...?"

Kai exhaled sharply. "We need to move back. Right now."

James looked confused. "But shouldn't we help—"

"No," Kai said firmly. "Right now... he doesn't need us."

They ran.

Several kilometers away, they stopped atop a tall ridge. From here, they could still see the storm. They could still smell the fire.

Moon kept summoning lightning. Again. And again. And again.

Six times in total.

Each time, more Taurus were slaughtered. Nearly 3000 essence beasts were reduced to scorched remains. The air smelled of cooked flesh. The ground had turned to black glass. Trees became charred skeletons. And Moon—he stood in the center like a fallen god.

Finally, the body gave up.

He collapsed.

His system blinked one last time before darkness took over:

> Rookie Points: 150/150

>Fighter Points: 18/150

>Professional Points: 2/150

> King: 0 /150

>Saint: 0/150

Moon had broken into Fighter level.

---

Kai couldn't sit still. Even at this distance, he paced, hands clenched. His face pale, chest tight.

Ruby sat quietly. Her fists gripped the earth. Her eyes were red.

Minji noticed Kai's shaking hands. She walked over and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey... he's alive. Don't worry."

Kai didn't respond.

Minji tried to hug him.

"It's okay, Kai. He'll—"

"Just sit down," Kai snapped.

Minji blinked, hurt flashing across her face.

But she understood.

She nodded and walked back to Ruby.

Kai stared at the battlefield.

His heart twisted.

He still remembered the first time he lost Moon. The screams. The burning flesh and inner organ of him due to that green liquid The helplessness.

They had come back from death. But how many times could they do that?

Would Moon survive next time?

Would he?

Would any of them?

The storm ended. The sky cleared.

Kai couldn't wait any longer.

He sprinted forward.

James, Ruby, and Minji followed.

They reached the battlefield—now a graveyard. Burnt bodies. Melted rocks. Smoke.

And there, on a glowing red trunk, lay Moon.

His body was covered in burns and cuts. Blood crusted over every limb. His hair stuck to his face. He was... naked.

Kai ran to him, ignoring the heat. He used his hydro element to cool the glowing trunk.

Then, gently, he dressed Moon in a black pants and lifted him.

Minji rushed forward. She checked his pulse. Her hands glowed with light.

After a minute, she exhaled. "He's alive. Just passed out from exhaustion. He'll wake up in 10 days. Maybe less."

Kai finally breathed.

Everyone around him sighed in relief.

But as Kai was about to lift Moon again, he noticed something.

The ground was filled with Taurus meat.

He turned to James.

"How many storage rings do you have?"

James blinked. "Uh—six?"

"Use them. Store everything. We're not wasting this."

James nodded. The others helped.

As they worked under the burnt sky, the battlefield behind them remained silent.

But in that silence, something had changed.

Moon had evolved.

And the world would never forget this massacre.

To be continued.