Chapter 96…
‘What the hell!?’
Regardless of how she felt about Lee Jin-hyuk personally, Lunetta was utterly shocked.
‘He broke through that!?’
She was so stunned that she couldn’t even react when Jin-hyuk’s hand closed over her face. That was how much she had trusted her spell, <Moonlight Prison>.
‘That’s impossible. Completely impossible.’
Craaaack—!
‘Under these perfect conditions, <Moonlight Prison> can restrain even a high-ranking Ranker! How the hell did he—’
Crunch!
The moment Jin-hyuk’s hand crushed her face, Lunetta’s body scattered like smoke.
“As expected.”
Hissss—
The smoke reformed in the distance, turning into a poisonous mist.
“……”
Lunetta’s form reappeared some distance away.
Sizzle…
“Poison doesn’t work on you either, huh,” she said.
The mist clinging to Jin-hyuk’s hand was laced with lethal toxins, but, unsurprisingly, it had absolutely no effect on him.
He clenched his fist around the mist, eyes fixed on Lunetta.
“So, that was the first one?”
“……!”
For a brief moment her face twisted, then she let out a dry laugh.
“Right. You know me far too well.”
“Of course.”
Her escape skill — <Poison Phantom>, the ability to turn her body into poison mist and flee.
At her current level, she could only use it three times.
‘It’s a broken skill — guaranteed evasion and leaves poison behind.’
If this were Tang Soweol in her prime, before regression, she could’ve used it ten times.
But now, she was not Tang Soweol — she was Lunetta.
The fact that she’d already wasted one use in a panic, right after <Moonlight Prison> shattered, showed how far she’d fallen from her peak.
‘She’s a lot weaker and sloppier now.’
After rolling his wrist once, Jin-hyuk raised <The Emperor’s Sword> again.
The opponent didn’t know his exact strength — but he knew hers.
Though Lunetta was a mid-to-high-tier Ranker, Jin-hyuk possessed the power of the Constellations.
He might not be strong enough to kill her outright — but…
‘I can suppress her. Enough to make her listen.’
Because the witches’ power — Lunetta’s and even Majuron’s —
was something he had a perfect counter for.
[Skill <Sacred Flame Dragon> activated.]
Fwoooosh—!
White fire wrapped around Jin-hyuk’s sword as he lunged forward.
Over his <Eternal Rune>, countless scales appeared, layering over his armor.
Already a mythic-grade item, the dragon scales made it even more resistant to magic.
Thud! Boom!
Tree roots and glowing magic circles struck him repeatedly — but their power barely reached him.
“What kind of armor is that?” Lunetta muttered, dumbfounded.
‘A mythic-grade item, huh?’
Everyone knew that Aikran the Dwarf had forged a mythic artifact —
but even so, she hadn’t imagined her own enhanced lunar magic could be blocked this easily.
‘Of course…’
But there was something she didn’t know.
‘I strengthened my magic with moonlight,’ she realized too late.
She didn’t know that Jin-hyuk had planned this environment himself.
Moonlight — light.
When Jin-hyuk chose “Light” as the element for his <Eternal Rune>, he had already nullified her advantage.
Because moonlight is just reflected light — and light was his domain.
That meant:
Every spell she cast, empowered by moonlight, had its power reduced by 90%.
‘No wonder it’s not working…’
Normally, lunar amplification boosted magic by about 20%.
That was a huge buff — under normal circumstances.
But now, with the <Eternal Rune> blocking 90% of incoming damage… her attacks barely scratched him.
Slash.
Without much effort, Jin-hyuk cleaved through trees and incoming spells as he advanced.
‘Urgh…!’
All Lunetta could do was dodge around on her broom, desperate to create space.
<Moonlight Flare>
<Moonlight Strike>
<Aqua Poison>
<Moonlight Cutter>
<Moonlight Lightning>
She cast spell after spell as she flew — a rain of elemental attacks enhanced by moonlight.
Dozens, hundreds of spells filled the air, supported by countless magic circles etched into the ground.
Her strategy was simple: overwhelm him with sheer quantity and target his weak points —
the armor’s seams, or his exposed head where no helmet covered.
If she couldn’t overpower him, she would grind him down.
Crackle—!
It was a perfect plan — in theory.
Jin-hyuk staggered slightly under the silver light — for a moment.
Then—
Slash.
Like an immortal being, he tanked every blast, white fire burning bright as he closed in.
“Damn it…”
She couldn’t waste another <Poison Phantom> use, so she kept hurling spells instead.
Even basic attacks were deadly — after all, she was a Ranker, and every spell carried lunar amplification.
The air shimmered with destructive beauty.
<Moonlight Harmony>
Her spells began to resonate — fusing in perfect elemental synergy.
Water blended with lightning for maximum destruction.
Fire intertwined with wind to expand its range.
Lava and frost alternated, throwing off Jin-hyuk’s balance and temperature.
Tree roots surged around him as every spell reinforced another.
Anyone else would’ve suffocated under the assault.
But Jin-hyuk…
‘Still standing?’
He gritted his teeth.
‘How!?’
[Skill <Star-Extinguishing Sword> activated.]
Fwoooooosh—!
The white flames around him gathered onto his sword —
the divine blade of the Constellation of Dawn and Purification.
Slice.
With a single swing, he cleaved through her trees, her spells, and the moonlight itself.
Lunetta bit down hard on her red lips.
‘Damn it!’
‘He’s not just blocking my spells — he’s cutting through them! How!?’
She knew he’d recently reached the rank of Sword Master and acquired <Aura Blade>,
but even so — this was ridiculous.
No ordinary Sword Master could slice through lunar-enhanced magic with a single swing.
Only a Grand Sword Master might achieve that.
But Jin-hyuk? He’d barely been a Sword Master for a few months!
A complete novice — yet already capable of this?
It was beyond absurd.
‘I thought I’d seen everything from him…’
She’d traveled with him, seen countless surprises — but this?
Even she couldn’t have predicted it.
He wasn’t just confident. This wasn’t arrogance.
Gulp.
‘It’s certainty.’
BOOOOOM!
Jin-hyuk’s blade split her magic, her trees, and the moonlight itself clean in two.
If those forces represented the world, then in that instant — the world itself was divided.
“This guy’s supposed to be a novice player!?”
She couldn’t even laugh anymore.
‘Fine. Then I’ll use my last resort.’
Shrrrk—!
The world split open.
‘As expected.’
Watching it, Jin-hyuk’s eyes gleamed.
[Skill <Cosmic Vistara> activated.]
‘This vision helps more than I expected.’
<Cosmic Vistara> revealed everything —
Lunetta’s power source, the moon, and the invisible threads connecting her spells.
By slicing through those threads of moonlight, Jin-hyuk nullified every spell at once.
They had grown powerful through harmony — but that same connection was their weakness.
‘If this were pre-regression Tang Soweol, she’d have summoned four or five moons.
Right now, there’s only one.’
Which made disabling her magic much easier.
‘In the end, her power still comes from the moon.’
The moon —
In the outside world, before the Tower, it wasn’t considered a star but a satellite.
But inside the Tower, any celestial body that emitted light was called a star.
And the Star-Extinguishing Sword specialized in destroying stars.
That’s why his attack tore through her lunar magic so easily.
In other words…
Jin-hyuk smirked as he approached the distant Lunetta.
Light-based attacks? 90% reduced.
Moonlight-based magic? Easily severed.
He was, quite literally, her perfect counter.
‘Even if she’s strong — the matchup is hopeless for her.’
“Going somewhere?”
Whoosh—!
Jin-hyuk thrust his sword.
<Star-Extinguishing Sword Technique>
Form 1: Shattering Star Flash (破星一閃)
The thrust — aimed precisely at Lunetta’s heart —
was imbued with the power to erase stars.
‘Ugh!’
Craaaack!
‘That much force, from that far away!?’
<Eclipse: Union>
<Moonlight Spear>
In response, Lunetta unleashed her strongest spell.
She drew all her remaining mana, condensing the moonlight into a single, devastating point.
Moonlight blazed across the field, the two forces colliding head-on.
Flash—!
The Sacred Flame met the Moonlight Spear —
divine fire and lunar radiance clashing violently.
Elementally, Jin-hyuk had the advantage — but in raw power, Lunetta surpassed him.
Under normal conditions, she would’ve won easily.
But there were two variables.
First — Jin-hyuk’s <Eternal Rune> and <Star-Extinguishing Sword> were far stronger than she expected.
They weren’t just legendary — they were mythic, designed to obliterate celestial bodies.
Second — Jin-hyuk himself was far stronger than she realized.
His stats, level, divine flames, and high-tier skills all exceeded her imagination.
‘No… it can’t be…’
Crack—!
Her moonlight shattered like glass.
The backlash sent her crashing into the ground.
Thud!
From behind, an egg — the companion that had been hiding — smacked into the back of her head.
“……!”
Though it was “just an item,” the egg held Hestia’s Blessing and the power of dragon scales.
Against a Ranker drained of mana, it was more than enough to stagger her.
‘No—’
BOOM!
Jin-hyuk burst through the broken moonlight, closing in.
[Skill <Primal Fear> activated.]
Wooooooo—!
To prevent her from escaping, he unleashed a wave of pure terror, pressing her face into the ground.
[Skill <Nightmare Lightning> activated.]
Crackle—!
“Now then…” Jin-hyuk said coldly, lightning gathering in his hand.
“Why don’t we have a little talk?”
