I thought I was replying as usual, but A-chan admonished me, and I was caught off-guard and shouted out loud reflexively.

On the other hand, Rou didn’t pay attention to us at all; her attention was focused on something else.

“Until a while ago, I couldn’t even get in… fufu, so this explains why only those people could pass.”

When Rou says she couldn’t get in, I think she means that the area’s barrier repelled her while killing those 50 people.

That also means that there was already a party challenging the moon wolf.

Possibly, the player Rou had been killing earlier were the players who were waiting their turn.

Rou had set traps around this zone beforehand and then slaughtered the unlucky players with her paralyzing poison and concealment skills to remove the extra baggage.

“Maybe they won?”

“No, they won’t.
I could have killed that whole party by myself if I wanted to.”

“Oh, that’s impossible then.”

Since Rou claims she can kill the whole party by herself, they won’t be strong enough to defeat a level 150 Named; the likely outcome is they would be killed instantly because of their status difference.

“It’s normal for Rou to say something like this… but apparently Sukuna is pretty ruthless as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it takes a lot of courage to call a weak person weak.”

“?”

“You honestly don’t understand, huh…”

I tilted my head at A-chan, who sighed in as if she had given up and stopped thinking about it because it had become something bothersome.

And it’s almost time for our battle against a Named; there’s no point in wasting time thinking about something like that.

I don’t understand myself, but… I feel rather calm right now.

It’s not because of the distraction, because I could tell that I am the only one who feels this way; I could see my other party member is rather tense right now.

☆

After a short walk inside the realm of the Moon Wolf, I came across an artificially made staircase.
It was a staircase of hundred steps.
It was like a staircase leading to the precincts of a shrine or temple.

The Lost Forest’s terrain is mostly flat, but the area beyond these stairs is clearly higher.

As if to agree to my thought, there’s a red torii{tln} gate illuminated by the moonlight in front of our eyes.

The place where the Moon Wolf awaits is definitely beyond that gate.

Perhaps feeling the same as I am, the air surrounding my party tighten, and we proceed without making any conversation from this point.

“…There are an unusually large number of challengers this evening, aren’t there?”

The moment we passed through the shrine gate, a woman standing in the center of the entrance garden looked at us and said those words.

“Today’s challenges were too fragile; even though I want to enjoy this beautiful night, they are far too weak to entertain me.”

The woman stared at the full moon in the sky with a languid expression.

She had long, lustrous silver hair and a golden iris that looked like a painted full moon.

A pair of beast ears on her head and a magnificent tail on her hips.

Although it takes the form of a person, it is Nocturne, the Moon Wolf of Beyond.

“You there, Oni child, you must come from my village.
Why are you invading this territory?”

The woman’s golden eyes narrowed as she glared at Hisui, who knelt down and calmly told her why she had come.

“I have come with an offering for the plea we had before the fight begins.”

“Hou, an offering? Ah, I see, about the red one there.”

“The red one……”

After hearing Hisui’s words, she stared at us for a few seconds; she then called me a red one and walked toward us.

I wondered why? is she could identify a player who has the moonlight jewels.

When I first saw her, I didn’t think much of her features because she was quite a distance, but now I got closer, I could see that is quite tall.

The woman in front of me was at least 190cm.
I got quite surprised because it’s not often that I see a woman taller than Touka-chan.

“The deadline for the offering was originally three months from now, so you must be hoping for something in return.
Though I have a pretty good idea what you want, do tell me in your own words.”

“I want you to lift my curse…”

“Oh, it really just that? Well, that’s easy.”

The woman listened to my wish with a slightly bored yet happy expression on her face.

By the way, Hakuyo said that the moon wolf has an eye for moonlight jewels.
And if you give her the Moonlight Pearl, she’ll gladly heal you with no question asked.

The woman made a bowl with both hands and held it out to me.

“Pay for it first.”

“Will you heal me properly?”

“There is no merit for me to lie.
Just give it to me.”

“It can’t be helped then… here you go.”

In any case, she seemed to desire the Moonlight Jewel because I could see her tail that was moving slowly, now picking up its pace, which I must add, that it looks adorable.

Some part of me wants to tease her since it looks fun, but then again, I will feel sorry for her later, so I decided just to give it normally.

The woman received the glittering jewel now wagging her tail at full force, and the tense atmosphere in the place became softer.

“It’s been years since I’ve seen anything with this quality.
I’ll give you my praise.”

“Wha… um, thanks?”

The woman patted me on the head, and I couldn’t help but let out my voice.

The patting session lasted for about ten seconds, and then she waved her hand lightly to open up a hole in space.

After carefully tucking the Moonlight Pearl into the hole, the wild swishing of her tail finally stopped, and she turned her calm eyes toward me.

“Mm, stand there then.
It’s a curse with a nostalgic presence, but if that’s the extent of it, it can be lifted without difficulty.”

“Around here?”

Standing at the designated spot, the woman nodded in satisfaction and then snapped her fingers.

At that moment, the world around the two of us is repainted.
We are now in a space where all colors are to be reversed.

“Wow…”

“This is the [Moonlight Sanctuary], a part of the world where I originally lived.
Being in this space will allow me to display my full power.
Since it is a curse associated with that Shuten, I would need to use every precaution I have, or else I won’t be able to repay for that jewel.”

“How do you know it’s the curse of Shuten?”

“How can I not know? she’s an old acquaintance of my Lord…”

The woman had a bit of nostalgic emotion in her eyes as she said this.

I see.
It is almost certain that the woman in front of me is Nocturne, the Moon Wolf, and Nocturne is a member of the Wolf King Requiem Kin, which means that… Shuten and Requiem knew each other?

Maybe that’s also the reason why the Wolf King is the one guarding Shuten’s seal.

“Okay now….., it’s time to break the curse.
Don’t move from there.”

The woman said and opened her arms wide.

As if the light of the moon were gathering, three blades of light were born at the tip of the woman’s hand.

The woman declares the name of her technique.

“Haja no Soukoku.” {piercing evil claw}

And slashed my body with the blades of light.

**SLASH**! A clear slashing sensation passes through my entire body.

I was told not to move, so I didn’t, did my body just turn into rings?

Holding that thought in my mind, I put my hand on the area where I had been cut and found that, strangely enough, there were no wounds or even damage effects.

“…… Thank God, I’m not cut into rings.”

“Of course not.
The only thing I cut through was the curse that was eating away at your body.
Just check your status.”

“Um… I’m healed! everyone, I don’t have any black cracks running through my body anymore, right?”

When I saw that the curse had disappeared from the status column, I couldn’t help but get excited.

I turned around and checked with everyone, and all four of them nodded.
It seemed that the curse visual had been lifted as well.

“Thank you!”

“No need to thank me.
You’ve already paid for it.”

When the woman heard my words of thanks, she said cooly.

But her tail was still wagging a bit, which made me think that she didn’t mind accepting my gratitude.

“Then… With the exception of the Oni child from my village, I would usually have to kill you for invading my territory.
But now I am in a very good mood.
If you don’t want to fight, I’m willing to let you go.”

Perhaps it was because she was so happy to receive the Moonlight Jewel the woman offered us a choice.

The choice was to return to our village or to fight.

The spell was lifted more easily than I had expected, and my own goal was already achieved.
But.

“Are you kidding? Of course, we’re going to fight.”

“…Fufu, it seems you have no fear at all.
It’s not surprising if considering that you’re the one who defeated that Red, but that’s the extent of your dare.
I’d like you to show me enough power to distract me from tonight’s boredom.”

The woman smiles and quietly watches us draw our weapons.

–[Lv 150 – Nocturne, Moon Wolf of the Beyond]–

As soon as the name tag appeared, a tremendous sense of intimidation covered the entire zone.

“My name is Nocturne.
I am the one who protects the night of the world beyond the moon… Get ready, warriors.
Stay alert, stay focused, and don’t let your guard down even slightly.
Otherwise… the battle will be over in an instant, you understand?”

The next moment, the being that bears the name Nocturne disappears.

The attack I swung down almost reflexively, and the kick that was about to be swept me collided with a thundering sound.

===*

The four of them silently watched the conversation between the two in the background.

Everyone knows how to roleplay, after all.

By the way, Hisui is not roleplaying; she’s just herself.

And so, the Nocturne battle finally begins!

TL note:

a bit overwhelmed by chapters 189-190, not only that shit was massive, but it’s also highly technical.

I want to take a little break, but that’s kinda impossible since we are in the best part lol.

I don’t want to become the thing I hate the most, the cliffhanger maker!!

so yeah, worry not, I just want to rant a little bit, just the usual me.

and as usual, please give your support to my patreon or ko-fi, I won’t lie, looking at those number goes up give me a massive boost in my spirit.