Chapter 219: Boss is Back

Without any idea what the contract was for or what significance it held, Moon didn’t have time to waste thinking about it.

His faction had been waiting for him for long hours.

"Hey, Raiju... wake up." Moon crouched near the unconscious wolf and tried to wake him up somehow.

He spoke, poked, and shook him up and down to no avail.

Moon scratched his head. "At least you’re alive, I guess?" he said, proceeding to carry Raiju on his back. "THIS LIFE I’M SUFFERING!"

He shouted while lifting Raiju. "Don’t get angry when you wake up," he said before proceeding to run after the indicator.

Suddenly, "Ack!" Mishu landed on his head, making him feel uncomfortable while running, but he decided not to say anything lest he get beaten or waste more time.

Moon sprinted with the new weights he found himself carrying for over 2 hours, watching the scenery around him.

He was now running through a forest and soon would pass by a mountain near the exit.

The mountain looked almost crescent-shaped at the base of the side where Moon was approaching.

Moon was amazed by many things he’d seen but was too tired to express anything thanks to Raiju’s current situation.

The trees so vibrant under the golden sky were so much different from how he saw them on the first floor.

Flowers blooming, small animals, insects too that were colorful.

It was a different world entirely; even the mountain was interesting, for Moon had never once seen one that was crescent at the base before.

By the time he was at the end of the forest near the mountain—

Ba-dum~

Ba-dum~

His heart started palpitating.

A feeling so familiar that he hated how sure he was of it. Moon found his legs rooted still, looking under the groove of the mountain.

He stood still, breathing heavily, unable to decide.

But only for a minute, Moon gently put Raiju down. "Mishu, wait for me here," he said softly.

Mishu jumped off his head readily for the first time, which left Moon both grateful and glad.

Without a moment to linger, Moon started sprinting to the place that felt familiar, as well as ominous.

The soil under his feet gradually turned more rocky and harder. His steps started to get louder and louder, yet Moon didn’t pause.

Not until he was close enough to the source.

Moon lowered his stance and started approaching it slowly, and the closer he got—

Creak~

Tak-tak-Tak~

The more rattling he heard.

Moon swallowed hard. ’I shouldn’t be doing this,’ he reminded himself one last time before he took the final step.

Now at the edge of a cliff, everything below was hidden between the cliff and the crescent base of the mountain.

There, Death Echo was radiating like fog near the end, reaching right below the cliff.

And below.

Creak~

Tak-tak-tak-tak-tak~

Countless hollow skulls turned, staring at Moon.

"Dammit!"

An hour later...

"Where’s that brat?" Ed complained. Lucen said Moon was safe and on his way to Strand, yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of him for long hours.

"Found him." Samuel’s voice rang out, breaking the long, tense silence the Control Centre had been experiencing for the past few hours.

Lucen waved his hand; the screen Samuel pointed at was magnified many times.

Relaxed at last, Ed heaved a sigh of relief.

He studied the running figure in front of him. "What’s that?" Ed frowned. "Did that brat go hunting?" he said, and he came closer.

In front of them, Moon was running with a large blue beast on his shoulders. Moon held the front paws with his right hand and the hind paws with his left.

Lucen shook his head. "That’s one of the sentient beasts in his faction."

"Why is it like, ah— Is that Mishu?" Ed pointed his finger.

"Where?" Lucen frowned.

Ed pointed at the backpack Moon was carrying; there was a cat’s head there.

Mishu was watching the scene from the bag, one paw hanging out.

Lucen’s frown deepened, but was instantly wiped before anyone noticed it.

"I guess he’s safe now," Lucen said.

Ed nodded. "I guess." His gaze fell on Lucen again. "How’s Mishu there?"

Lucen gave Ed a long look, but he didn’t answer.

Ed and Samuel exchanged a suspicious look before they both looked at Lucen again.

"Don’t answer if you don’t want to; we’ll all get to see it soon anyway." Ed shrugged, going back to sit next to Uon. "Are you enjoying the show?"

Uon laughed dryly. "The trial didn’t start yet."

"I’m talking about the other show," Ed said with a sly smile.

"I don’t think I should be here," Uon said helplessly.

"Don’t worry, it’s going to get crowded soon," Ed said reassuringly. He turned to Lucen. "How long before he gets there?"

"Ten minutes or less," Lucen said; the trial countdown still had over 1 hour left, so Moon was arriving ’early’ in the new standard’s sense.

The sky went dark; night had fallen over the second floor.

Though for Moon, he was still following the indicator. The thick bushes turned into short grass, and off in the distance, the gate he once walked through with Ed was brightly lit on the horizon.

Huff~

Huff~

"Fuck my life, at last... Huff~" Moon panted as he came closer to the gate, noticing the crowds waiting outside the city.

"Holy... huff... how many are they?" Moon exclaimed. "They’re all on our side?... huff."

He started slowing down his wild sprint; it had been hours since he carried Raiju and started his journey.

Raiju was bigger than him, and also quite heavy. Still, the distance itself was huge to sprint, even without any weights.

Moon dragged his feet forward, trying to catch his breath while fighting the urge to drop Raiju, who got himself out cold in a reckless attempt to land a hit on Mishu.

"How did you survive in the wild, huff?" Moon whispered, knowing too well an answer wouldn’t come.

"Leader of wind and lightning, my ass." Moon exhaled sharply. "Though your wind and lightning are cool shit, not gonna lie."

"BOSS!" A cry sounded close to Moon.

Moon whipped his head to the source of the voice. "Basil," he called back.

"BOSS!"

"Basil."

"BOSS!"

"COME HERE ALREADY, YOU BASTARD. I’M OUT OF BREATH," Moon shouted.

"BOOOOOSSSS!" Basil ran at him. "Where did you disappear to, boss?" he ran on the verge of tears.

"Long story, very long story," Moon said bitterly. "I suffered and returned empty-handed."

"What’s that you’re carrying, though, boss?"

"Ah, that’s Raiju." Moon wiggled his shoulders, trying to loosen the tension he was under.

"Raiju... what’s that?" Basil didn’t take it for an answer, so he asked again.

Moon pursed his lips, but didn’t say anything.

Soon he would explain everything once and for all to everyone. "Let’s just move," Moon urged.

"BOSS IS BACK!" Basil ran ahead of Moon and started shouting to everyone, announcing Moon’s safe return.

Everyone suddenly stood, watching Moon approach with a passed-out blue wolf on his back.

"You’re finally here!" Dorbish said in relief.

"What happened?" Lexie said, gritting her teeth.

"We got transported here right away. What happened to you?" Nola asked in a worried tone.

"Did the transporter rift glitch or something?" Roran asked, avoiding making eye contact with Moon.

But the line he just said was exactly what Moon needed.