Chapter 102: The Death of Peace of Mind

Rachel grimaced as her emotions returned to normal levels, giving her a new perspective on the Blood Moon; her spirit left Hades and reentered her body. The results were a hard pill to swallow.

You know, I’m sure my mom is going to love you, Nia. We’ll talk about it later. And—our time in the spotlight is over.

Her environment shifted to the VIP box as Dionysus didn’t even recognize her fight, opting to move right to introducing his champion again, not that Rachel particularly cared... Okay, she did, a little bit, she admitted to herself, but despite the Blood Moon’s phenomenal power, it came with a disturbing price.

Eostre gave her an encouraging smile, likely thinking things were going way better than she thought, but Rachel’s gaze was on Nike’s blinded, bloodied form.

Rachel’s blood-pumping vibes of active combat didn’t so much as whimper once throughout the exchange under the Blood Moon. There was no rush or surge to push beyond her limits. She had been beyond any kind of power she had dreamed about exercising, a demigod, yet no thought of achievement or joy had filled her due to her lost spirit, only cold action and thought.

The Blood Moon really is the mind of the frigid night... Selene’s mournful, longing love for the immortal monsters as she unsettles their prey... The death of peace of mind for all those not embraced by her light, she whispered to Nia, biting down on her now-normal nail. There was a...feeling in her chest. Agitation? She didn’t like it; it left no satisfaction, like the goddess who personified it.

Rachel watched the gears turn as Dionysus returned it to the first Challenge Rating since they were now beyond the easy first round; it would only ramp up from here, and she could see Conner’s frigid stare from across the stadium. Who wouldn’t be intimidated after seeing that kind of power? And she had some of it locked inside Nia.

It was only 21% of a single one of Nia’s two separate Lunar Pools used for storage, kept isolated and pure, unlike the mixture of the slight Black and Blood Moons tainting Rachel’s normal White Moon’s lunar energy in her single Lunar Pool. Still, Conner would be gunning for Nia, and it would only get worse once it was her turn. Rachel was beginning to get a better picture of what these Seeds were inside of them, though.

All of this was a giant machine to push the legend’s spirit and refine them to a higher level, which these deities wanted a ride on. Her lingering serene mind helped to ground [Strategic Mind], and it made her wonder why legendkin needed this complex system while mythickin didn’t.

Selvaria, Fiona, Maria, Astra, and Scarlet—probably—were all mythickin, yet there was only one legendkin, Anthony, who had been near her when she’d turned. Coincidence? If there was one thing she’d learned since she changed, there was no such thing as coincidence.

There was a convoluted network of competing interests that she was playing between, and Anthony had to be a part of that in some way. Why would he be the one close by that she would connect with unless she needed his Greater Seed?

Whatever the reason, they could work off each other to grow faster; a myth and legend were better unified than competing. And what if multiple mythickin taking part in quests multiplied the effect? If so, you only needed one legend per group.

Resting her elbows against the stone barrier, she folded her fingers together and rested them against her nose, returning Conner’s stare; it was an interesting thought experiment, nonetheless, and Conner was the perfect candidate to test her theories before implementing them in Anthony’s Greater Seed. What if she could pull his Seed away at the end to feed Anthony? There was a question.

Nia’s pained giggle followed her internal ponderings. "I’m glad to see you are quite the schemer, Major. I’m sorry I can’t be of further help... I can feel my mind slipping with every insufferable second Dionysus blows air."

It will work out... I just need to get you a bit of medicine. It looks like it’s our time to roll again.

Teleported to the middle, Rachel snatched her die up without wasting any time and tossed it into the box. Conner did the same, seemingly not so amused about her previous performance with Nia, who shared a portion of her lunar connection to show two demigods in action.

A giant shark over twenty meters long appeared from the crowd, now a lot larger than his shrunken stand size. Water surged from his gills, a low rumble from deep within his body shaking the stadium as he spoke in his weird language. The liquid twisted around the die, holding it like hands, as Dionysus laughed and responded to the sea entity.

"Absolutely, Lord Neptius! Your home stadium would be a fantastic choice for a sea-based contest with the ever-shifting tides."

The twenty-sided die swirled in the pool before being tossed lightly into the box, but Dionysus withheld his throw for a few more seconds while showing a thoughtful look. Yet again, the whimsical and insane lesser party god changed the rules again.

"I think we can all agree that, heh, while the effects these Unique Moons can have on our sweet lunar hare are exciting, they can also bring...complications! We will give my champion a chance to show off his unique attributes before returning to the standard rules. What do you say, should we see how the lunar hare fares without the crutch of these moons?"

Rachel wasn’t surprised at the cheers the offer got. He’d pushed the first round as hard as it could go with her using the Blood Moon and had still been thwarted. She half believed Dionysus was close to outright trying to kill her, and after her next selection, she was sure he would be out for her tail.

"Then it is settled—ah-hah, twenty, and two...again?! Maybe you should cut off Moongmor’s foot to use as a good luck charm. Haha!"

Rachel’s wide field of vision saw the still-grieving rabbit jump in fright and grab his big bottom feet. Nia grunted at the comment.

"I can’t wait until he messes up and gets slapped by the System."

Agreed.

Rachel waved her finger in the air with a dull cheer. "Wooh. You’re hilarious. Can we get on with it? I’m getting bored."

Dionysus gave her a glare that said, ’She was the one supposed to be entertaining him.’

Conner: 9

Rachel: 2

Dionysus: 20

Crowd: 18