Maids VS Apocalypse
Chapter 135: Twelve Hours.

Chapter 135: Twelve Hours.

Red. River of red. Carved with my spear. Filled with the blood of beasts.

Day after day. The sun rises, the beasts awaken, we fight, fight, fight, fight, and fight some more. Some days were unlike the others and no monster would show at our door, but those were rare. Far too rare.

Ever since I donned the cape of the Benevolent Moon, all I did was fight, fight, and fight again. The beasts were endless. No matter how many we slay, more would come charging the next day. It was tiring.

The fear was gone, and so was the thrill of each threshold I climbed over. The Souls I harvest were no longer enough. Even if I were to keep killing, keep slaying, my life would end before I reached my next Ascension. Even if I were to Ascend one more time, what about the next?

I despised the beasts. I loathed them. I desired the power to eradicate them. To erase them from the face of the world. Maybe if that were to happen we would no longer be forced to hide. We would be able to walk under the sun, enjoy its warmth, and savor the freedom.

That’s why I still fought despite everything. I fought, and fought, and fought. My spear had pierced their hides and ripped their flesh more times than any human could count. Killing beasts was all that I lived for. But no matter how many fall to my spear, more will always come.

I asked the priest why all of this was happening. Why we have to live our lives hunted. He had no answer. This is how things were. This is how things are.

Is this how things will always be?

The question was foolish, that’s what the eyes he looked at me with seemed to say. Of course, it won’t always be. As long as we believed in the Benevolent Moon, the day when all of us are saved would surely come.

Those words might have comforted me in the part, but now? Now I feel nothing. No. Nothing was what I felt in the past. Now I feel anger. I feel frustration. I feel indignation.

If we believe in the Benevolent Moon, we will be safe. If we pray for her, the sun will one day be defeated, and we will get to walk the land and attain our freedom. Lies. All of it was lies. I found myself thinking that one day, and even as fear sank its claws into my heart, I found myself unable to turn away from the blasphemous thought.

Will the Moon truly save us?

Save us from what?

The Sun?

Was the Sun truly evil? If so, why does life seem to flourish only when the day comes?

The thoughts kept brewing in my head, day after day. Slowly but surely, the desire to venture out and seek the truth filled my heart. If I were to find where the beasts spawn, I might be able to end their incursion. I might be able to liberate my people, free them from the delusion that the Moon will one day save us all.

My heart was set on going before I realized. I chose the day and bid my parents farewell. Once the night fell and the beasts retreated, I would trace their tracks and find their lair. I would slaughter them as they slept and rip whatever womb that spawned them.

Alas, that day was different from the rest. It was one of the few where no beast showed its face. Hours passed and night soon fell. The Benevolent Moon rose to the sky and brought with it the Veil of Darkness and the Evil Banishing Stars.

The one day I chose to embark turned out to be safe. Still, I wasn’t about to delay. Even If the beasts didn’t show, surely those that came before left some tracks.

The knights guarding the night climbed the towers while I descended. I collected the traveling rations I had previously prepared and made my way to the stable. A horse was necessary to traverse the vast lands and I wasn’t about to let guilt stop me from stealing. That was when I heard it; the alarm.

The bell tower only sounded its chime when the time for fighting arrived. In the silence of the night, the horror it brought far surpassed anything we have come to know. The sun was gone and so were its spawn. The Benevolent Moon had taken to the sky and so its grace should have protected us. Never did it happen before. A beast showed at our door under the Veil of Darkness.

~[ ]~

[You have unlocked the Constellation: Spear Arts.]

~[ ]~

Mark woke up to find his entire body drenched in sweat. His heart thumped uncontrollably and his shoulders rose and fell with labored breaths. He stared at nothing for a few seconds, and once everything settled, he held both hands to his face and heaved a long sigh.

’A dream...’

It was different, but also familiar. He had seen similar dreams before, only this one felt much more vivid, and the memories lingered instead of fading like usual.

’The Benevolent Moon...’

A story soon began to form in his head. People driven underground by vicious beasts, forced to live in the darkness their entire. The only time they could emerge was when the moon was in the sky and so it became the deity they worshiped, while the sun was the devil that gave birth to the monsters that sought to end their lives.

In the dream, Mark was a knight who fought those monsters day and night. Most of it came to him as fleeting images, indicating that he had gone through the experience countless times. He wielded a spear imbued with the power of the moon. It allowed him to slay beasts no normal weapon could harm, and after doing it for who knows how many years, his skill had become unmatched.

’A Battle Art practiced by an ancient order of knights.’

The thought flashed in his mind and he quickly reached for his imaginary controller, opening the Player Menu and entering his Status screen.

[

Name: Mark White

Race: Human

Rank: Awakened

Stats:

Level 02

HP: 100/100

MP: 64/100

Strength 7

Endurance 6

Agility 6

Dexterity 11

Focus 16

Mind 151

Soul 117

AP:

0/30

Equipment:

AR-15 (00/30)

Abilities:

Force Field.

Lunar Arts (Novice)

Spear Arts (Novice)

]

[Ability: Spear Arts.

Grade: A

Proficiency: Novice

Description:

A Battle Art practiced by an ancient order of knights.]

After staring at the screen for some time, he closed his eyes and rubbed them a little, only to be reminded that he could still see the System interface.

A new ability had been added to his arsenal, and this time there was no denying the reason.

A light click severed his line of thoughts and caused him to dismiss the System interface. It was only then that Mark got a look at his surroundings. The room was familiar but he couldn’t tell where he had seen it before. The door had just opened and the one entering was a gorgeous silver-haired maid.

"Master." Lara’s ruby eyes twinkled a little, though her expression remained largely the same. She observed him in silence for a few seconds then heaved and suddenly bowed her head. "My apologies. I had to leave your side due to some personal business."

Mark was confused by her actions, but only for a second. He remembered that the maid couldn’t leave his side without asking for permission first. He already gave her the liberty to move as she pleased yet she still felt the need to apologize.

"Don’t worry about it." He said. "Am I right to assume the battle is over?"

"Yes." Lara straightened up and answered in an even tone. "Everything had been resolved."

"How long have I been asleep?"

Mark was already in the process of taking out his phone to check when the maid answered.

"About twelve hours."

"Twelve hours!!!?"

His eyes were wide open for a second before he raced to open the System’s Journal.

[Time until Complete Dimensional Collapse: 10:06:56:54]

The panic that overtook him turned into deep displeasure as he watched the seconds go down. With how much time they had wasted in Stonegate it didn’t make sense for him to worry about the countdown, but that’s not the reason for his reaction.

All it would take is for a Rift of a sufficiently high category to manifest and half of the remaining time would be gone. The Peace Keepers were on the lookout for such events and fixing the tears in time could buy back some of the lost time, but seeing how miserable their failure to protect the shelters in Hope’s End he doubted that they would always be at their top game.

"Did anything happen while I was out of it?"

This was his second concern. Twelve hours was a long nap to take when the world was nearing its end. A lot of things could have happened in that time.

"Reinforcements from the headquarters arrived and the enemy was forced to retreat," Lara answered. "Dr. Goodman is here as well. She wishes to give you an examination."

"I see."

Mark waited for her to add something, but apparently, that was all. He got off the bed and stretched his limbs while considering what he would do next.

’Should I go see Rebecca first?’ He thought. ’Oh, I would be meeting Kobayashi, too. Maybe I should get the doctor’s appointment out of the way first...’

"Master..."

"Hm? What’s wrong?"

Mark noted that the maid’s gaze had dropped at some point. Her usually stoic expression was replaced by a troubled one as she contemplated something. His mind immediately went to the one problem that could make her like that. Nevertheless, what she had on her mind was entirely different.

"Master..." Lara looked up and locked her gaze on him. "Where did you learn the Lunar Arts?"