The Serpent’s Tears (IX): Confronting the Silent Moon

Volume: Book Two

Title: Chapter 142: Serpent of Weeping Tears (IX)

A pall of inky mist, dark as the deepest night, descended, shrouding Ewan’s vision entirely.

He cast his gaze about, yet found nothing but an expanse of pure, deathly black, utterly devoid of any discernible features.

His senses reached out, only to be instantly dispersed by an unseen force, leaving him unable to perceive anything at all.

“This is… the true Dark Moon Mist?”

Ewan murmured the words instinctively, but no sooner had they left his lips than he froze, startled by his own action.

He couldn’t hear his own voice.

Since stepping into this abyssal mist, he had seemingly entered a realm of absolute silence.

His vision was sealed. His hearing was sealed. His perception was sealed.

There was no need to even attempt his sense of smell. Despite the numerous deaths here, he couldn’t detect the slightest extraneous scent.

Even his sense of touch…

Ewan tried taking a few steps. This area should have been an uneven, open space. Yet, he felt as though he were walking on an absolutely flat plane, devoid of any reference points to ascertain his position.

All five senses, along with his perception, had been utterly sealed.

‘Is this truly the Dark Moon Mist, rumored to sever all connections?’ he mused. ‘No wonder it’s said that even a Crowned One would become lost within if they ventured in rashly.’

Within the realm of human experience, encountering such a situation would likely leave anyone utterly helpless.

Indeed, they would soon be overwhelmed by the dread of this eternal darkness, driven to madness, and ultimately fall into permanent oblivion.

‘So, if I’m not panicking in the slightest when faced with this pure darkness, does that still count as being within the realm of humanity?’

Ewan pondered this, a faint twitch at the corner of his lips.

Then, a crimson flame abruptly ignited in his palm.

As the scarlet fire burst forth, the black mist immediately churned violently, as if encountering a natural predator. The darkness before Ewan was instantly dispelled… for a mere meter.

‘Only this much?’

Ewan couldn’t help but frown.

This one-meter radius was continuously shrinking. For a dark mist of unknown vastness, it was truly insignificant, let alone enough to find a way out.

‘Should I use more flame?’

No, that would likely only be a waste of stamina.

After all, this was not the trivial mist conjured by the Siren, which vanished with a mere flame. This was the Dark Moon Mist personally deployed by the Silent Moon to ensure a smooth descent. How could it be entirely dispelled by the divine grace within his own body?

Though the Silent Moon’s actions thus far had been rather contemptible, it was still an evil god, a peer to the Withering King. Its power, like the Withering King’s crimson flames, belonged to the same tier; there was no absolute counter-relationship between them.

He needed to devise another method.

‘Another method…’

An idea sparked within Ewan. He tapped Elizabeth’s hilt with a bent finger and silently walked a short distance forward.

‘Black Tome.’

Ewan softly called out in his mind.

The Black Tome surfaced in the depths of his consciousness, slowly opening.

However, Ewan wasn’t seeking answers this time. He was after the Black Tome’s most fundamental ability: its absolutely ‘objective’ record-keeping.

The pages rustled silently, arriving at the entry that chronicled Ewan’s current movements.

[Ewan Campbell took three steps forward, four steps to the left, six steps to the left, five steps to the left, ultimately returning to his original position.]

‘Returned to my original position…’

‘But I’ve been walking straight ahead.’

“So that’s it. As expected, this mist can also interfere with my movements to some extent,” Ewan quickly realized.

Having lost all five senses, he was likely no different from a puppet on strings, manipulated at will within this mist.

Yet, it was probable that even the Silent Moon had not anticipated that someone would still be able to find a guiding reference point within this Dark Moon Mist.

Ewan took one step forward.

[Ewan Campbell took one step forward.]

Ewan took another step forward.

[Ewan Campbell took one step to the left.]

Ewan retracted his foot and changed direction.

[Ewan Campbell took one step to the right.]

He changed direction again.

[Ewan Campbell took one step forward.]

‘It works!’

Ewan’s eyes lit up.

In this manner, guided by the Black Tome, Ewan continuously corrected his direction, moving steadily and directly forward.

The dark mist suddenly surged violently once more. This time, Ewan didn’t use his crimson flames. Yet, he could distinctly sense the agitation and unease emanating from the endless black mist.

“It seems I’ve arrived.”

A smile curved Ewan’s lips, and he abruptly burst into flames!

Infinite crimson flames erupted from within him once more, carrying supreme light and heat, forcefully tearing open the final layer of the Dark Moon Mist!

The dark mist dissipated.

The sky brightened.

Pure moonlight poured down, adorning everything as if it were a sacred realm inhabited by fairies, as told in legends.

Without a moment to appreciate the breathtaking beauty, Ewan’s gaze immediately fell upon the center of the collapsed altar.

The girl in purple, eyes closed and brows slightly furrowed, floated serenely beneath the pristine moonlight. Her skirt fluttered, like the dancing wings of a butterfly.

“Senior…”

Ewan whispered her name.

But in the next instant, his pupils involuntarily constricted, and his heart nearly stopped.

He saw the serpent scales covering Anna’s skin, and the thick, long serpent tail extending from beneath her skirt.

“This is…”

Anna, at this moment, had clearly transformed completely into a lamia, a symbol of the Silent Moon’s眷属.

Ewan inexplicably recalled the Siren’s earlier words:

[Ewan Campbell, perhaps letting you see her current appearance with your own eyes will be even more thrilling.]

This was the Siren’s malice. To see the girl he loved transformed into this ugly, barely human form—anyone would feel their heart torn apart, struggling to maintain composure.

“But what does it matter?”

Ewan took a deep breath, suppressing all the rage that threatened his reason deep within his heart.

“No matter what Senior becomes, no matter if the serpent sickness can be cured, I will save her. I don’t care who stands in my way.

Therefore—”

Ewan looked up, gazing at the enormous blue moon that filled his entire vision, visible so clearly only from this space. His face contorted in a ferocious roar: “Silent Moon, take your filthy hands off Senior!”

Ewan’s roar echoed with exceptional clarity through the desolate space.

But his only reply was still a deathly silence.

The moon did not even deign to cast a fleeting glance his way.

Indeed, even if Ewan had pierced through layers of dark mist, in the moon’s eyes, he was merely an ant, imbued with a touch of special power by an arch-nemesis.

And how could an ant be worthy of Its personal presence?

Ewan seemed to hear a disdainful scoff.

Beyond the altar, the blood pool suddenly began to churn.

One emaciated corpse after another crawled out of the blood pool, imbued with endless hatred and suffering, blocking Ewan’s path.

“Is that so…”

Ewan lowered his gaze, saying nothing more.

Nor did he show any anger at this blatant contempt.

He merely tightened his grip on Elizabeth, and then… he charged directly into the surging tide of corpses!

Perhaps in the Silent Moon’s eyes, he was just an insect.

But this lofty deity likely didn’t know.

Even an insect’s bite can sting!