1.
Veil of Shadows
A sinister truth that governs the entire story from behind the scenes, never revealing itself openly.
In this story, <Babylonia>, the leader of the <Black Wolf> Mercenary Corps, ‘Black Wolf’, was the most fitting embodiment of that word.
His name alone shook the world. His subordinates were nightmares incarnate, and when he appeared in person, the entire area would freeze in terror.
Once again, ‘Black Wolf’ was the perfect match for the term ‘Veil of Shadows.’
However, Nahan was now possessed.
A 25-year-old ordinary young man from Earth, Nahan, had taken over the body of a mysterious man with the same name.
Thus, Nahan pondered.
Who am I?
Is my ‘Black Wolf’ truly the Black Wolf?
Could the Nahan from Earth become an overwhelming mastermind like the Nahan in <Babylonia>?
The answer to that question was—
‘No? Absolutely not.’
It was impossible.
‘I am merely acting as the Black Wolf, but my emotions and his emotions are separate.’
He could imitate him, but he could never express those emotions as the Black Wolf.
But then, he wondered.
‘…What if.’
What if, just hypothetically—
If the Nahan who had possessed ‘Black Wolf’ were to experience an intense emotional upheaval in this state—
Would I be able to unleash his full power, like the enraged Black Wolf himself?
The answer to that question was…
.
.
【Sharing <Black Wolf>’s emotions.】
【Due to temporary synchronization, Stage 3 – <Method> is activated with limitations.】
【You are now Black Wolf.】
He could draw it out.
【<Veil of Shadows (EX)> is activating.】
【Absorbing a portion of the <Force (EX-)> within this space through the <Sword Specter’s Necklace>.】
【<Veil of Shadows (EX)> manifests at full capacity.】
From the center of the raging, all-consuming killing intent, the awakened Black Wolf issued a warning.
“Get away from Luna. Right now.”
Before I tear you to pieces.
2.
Wandering Troupe – Loss.
Beneath a tattered tent that had long since lost its form, three shadows moved.
“…Ah, damn it…”
A hulking figure, stumbling as if trying to grasp at something in the air.
“…Why… what the hell did we do wrong…?!”
Ruby trembled in the corner, curled up amidst a pile of flesh-like dolls.
“…Rose.”
Dalan, standing straight with his head lowered, like one offering silent prayers before a grave.
Was it because they had fallen victim to something from Luna… no, from <Mother>?
“…Ah, damn it…”
“…What did we do wrong…?”
“…Rose.”
Like headless skeletons, the three continued to wander aimlessly inside the dust-laden remains of the troupe’s tent, repeating the same words over and over.
Then—
—Click.
Luna removed her mask, her face hidden in the shadows, and approached them.
Tap, tap, tap…
Her footsteps,
The rhythm of her breathing,
The aura she emitted—
None of it belonged to Luna anymore.
Everything was closer to ‘Mother.’
With careful steps, Mother gathered the lost three and lined them up beneath the moonlight that seeped through.
“Smile brightly, that way you’ll survive.”
“That’s right, smile a little more.”
“Brighter, as if your mouth might tear apart.”
“That way, you’ll survive.”
With each repetition, the forced influence of the mask strengthened.
They could feel the drowsiness creeping in, yet resisting it seemed impossible.
“Don’t tremble, that way you’ll survive.”
“When it gets too hard, cry behind a mask.”
“Keep trying, and trying again.”
“Someday, you’ll be able to smile even with the mask on.”
As the murmurs continued, the fading consciousness of the troupe members finally faded into nothingness.
Completely Defenseless.
“…”
As Mother gazed at the three fallen members, she stepped forward into the moonlight.
In that moment, the face that had been hidden all along was finally revealed.
A stiffened smile.
A grotesquely twisted smile.
As if the corners of her mouth had been pulled upward and stitched in place with thread.
Even the dust floating in the air recoiled from the eerie, artificial grin.
Yet, Mother whispered.
“Smile.”
She grabbed the corners of the fallen three’s mouths and pulled them up.
“Otherwise, you’ll die soon. …No. I will kill you.”
At times, she furrowed her brow in rage.
For a long while, she murmured as she caressed the cheeks of the fallen, but—
There was no way they could smile.
“…I said you’ll die.”
At last, she slid her fingers into their mouths, about to tear them apart—
【<Veil of Shadows (EX)> is activating.】
【Absorbing a portion of the <Force (EX-)> within this space through the <Sword Specter’s Necklace>.】
【<Veil of Shadows (EX)> manifests at full capacity.】
Gulp!
“…!!!?”
Her insides twisted so violently that she couldn’t even scream.
“Ugh…! Uweeeh!!”
Splatter.
With a sickening sound, black, unknown energy erupted from her along with dark red blood.
“…!”
For a moment, Mother writhed in agony before realizing something was wrong—her inner world was malfunctioning.
She quickly tore open a fracture in reality.
Crack!
Like a shattered glass pane, reality broke apart, revealing the layer beneath—her mental realm exposed in full.
Mental Realm – Disappearance.
The world Mother had once inhabited, now recreated as her own personal domain.
【Antagonist – <Mother S-> is withdrawing some of her influence from the real world!】
【Progress: …50% (35%↓)】
At the moment she pulled her influence back from reality and returned to her domain—
“Step away from Luna.”
A suffocating malice wrapped around Mother’s entire body like a vise.
“…!!”
She tried to step back, but it felt like she was sinking into a swamp—immobile.
Mother quickly assessed the situation.
In her left hand, a bag of money.
In her right hand, Luna’s soul.
One was a fleeting illusion of repeated memories.
The other, the truth hidden behind an illusion.
The man before her wasn’t enraged at the illusion.
His fury was directed at the truth.
Luna.
Danger.
The Man.
Matching these words to the current scenario, Mother reached a singular conclusion—
‘Death.’
If she held on to Luna any longer, she would inevitably die.
Influence.
Further withdrawal.
…Still death.
She thought of struggling somehow, but it was no use.
Like a human facing an incoming natural disaster, she understood—resistance was meaningless.
…Clench.
Just as she tightened her grip on the bag and Luna once more, she lifted her head to ask a question—
“What is it that you wa—”
“Shut up.”
Crunch!
The malice that had only tormented her mind now manifested with weight, pressing down on her entire body.
Step. Step. Step.
With unwavering strides, Black Wolf advanced.
His gaze fell upon Mother.
And he thought—
‘She must die.’
The woman who had driven countless children to death was now trying to kill Luna.
Step. Step. Step.
…Halt.
Stopping in his tracks, Nahan looked down.
And he knelt on one knee, deep in thought.
‘Whose emotions are these?’
It was true—seeing those who trafficked and slaughtered children filled him with rage.
It was true—he had grown fond of Luna, and that made him even angrier.
But—
Would he have been the kind of person to pass judgment with his own hands?
Would he have decided to execute someone like this?
Perhaps he was being consumed by Method.
‘…Am I truly Black Wolf right now?’
Am I still Nahan?
Unlike his overheating mind, his actions remained simple.
Sssk.
Black Wolf lowered himself to Mother’s eye level, then, as if drawn by instinct, reached out and wrapped his hand around her throat.
“Ghhhk…!!”
Like the children before her, she was lifted into the air, choked into helplessness—yet she still smiled.
Clatter!
Even as his grip tightened, powerful enough to shatter, she only dropped the money pouch. Her other hand, however, remained tightly grasping Luna’s wrist.
“Khh…!!!”
Mother’s bloodshot eyes flickered toward the unconscious Luna lying on the ground.
Golden hair.
A face scarred by torment.
An expression finally at peace now that she had passed out.
What was she thinking as she looked at her?
“…!!!”
【Warning!】
【Antagonist – <Mother(S-)> is fully withdrawing her influence from the real world!】
【Progress: …0% (50%↓)】
【Antagonist – <Mother(S-)> has increased in rank within the Unique Domain – <Disappearance> to <SS+>!】
Even with her rank skyrocketing, even as she attempted to struggle free—
“Solar Annihilation.”
【<Yellow Dragon (EX)> Skill 1 – < Solar Annihilation (EX)> is activating!】
【—Flash!!!!】
Chhhhk!!
“!!”
A blinding golden strike erased the very space itself.
“…!”
A clean diagonal slash, from her right hip to her left shoulder.
The overwhelming impact shattered Mother’s mask completely.
Splurt.
Like molten tar, her severed lower half melted away.
“…!!”
Her mouth opened and closed, gasping like a fish out of water.
But she made no sound.
Seeing no reason to hold on, Black Wolf dropped what remained of her upper body.
Sssk.
Only then did he kneel and gently cradle the fallen Luna.
A child once more, fully in his arms, as he whispered into her ear—
“Wake up, Luna.”
That moment.
“?”
Stirring from the veil of shadows, Luna blinked blearily, her unfocused gaze settling on Black Wolf.
Then, she murmured—
“…Brother held my hand?”
Black Wolf nodded.
At his solemn affirmation, relief washed over Luna’s expression. Slowly, she looked around.
Tattered tents.
A ruined stage.
Empty seats.
Still on the stage.
“Ah…!!”
Startled, she tried to sit up, but Black Wolf stopped her, speaking firmly.
“It’s over.”
“…Huh? What do you mean?”
“The auction. The filth. Everything is gone.”
“Ah… So I’m still dreaming, huh…?”
Still dazed.
Click.
As if dismissing it as a dream, Luna gave a drowsy smile.
Black Wolf picked something up and handed it to her.
“It’s over.”
It was Mother’s mask.
The very thing that had controlled her.
The very thing that had once belonged to her oppressor.
For a moment, Luna’s emerald eyes reflected it—clear, like a sky free of clouds.
Then—
“…Mom?”
Luna’s face contorted.
“Where is she?”
“…? Where is who?”
“Where is Mom?!”
Like a cornered beast, she thrashed, her panic escalating.
Nahan, caught off guard, hesitated as he glanced toward Mother’s corpse.
‘…What?’
Mother was dead.
Luna was awake.
‘Subquest 2: Fully understand Luna. Subquest 3: Mother’s Rest. Both should be completed, right?’
Then why—why wasn’t the quest completion notification appearing?
As doubt tangled into doubt, a red system window suddenly appeared before him.
【Subquest – <The Face Beneath the Mask> has failed.】
【In a few moments, <Luna(S)> will go berserk.】
‘What?’
I barely had time to process the message before snapping my head toward Luna.
“…Too cruel.”
She clutched Mother’s upper body tightly, her head turning toward him as she whispered.
“…I trusted you.”
The warmth I longed for—
Even with these filthy, grime-covered hands of mine, you—
-…So warm.
-That’s a relief.
You held them without hesitation.
“I truly believed in you.”
Drip.
“……Yeah. This must be a nightmare. Something like this couldn’t possibly be real.”
As Luna erased her smile and put on Mother’s mask—
【4th Unit – <Luna(S)>’s 1st Skill – <Masquerade (SS+)> is activating.】
The sight before me—the very same thing I had seen on the Gardners’ mansion rooftop.
At that moment, Nahan realized—
‘Something is seriously wrong.’
But even if he realized too late—
“【…I want to wake up from this dream.】”
【Warning.】
【Unique Domain – <Disappearance> is merging with a portion of the real world.】
【Antagonist – <Han-Ryang (A+)> has been overtaken by the mask and elevated to <Han-Ryang (S-)>!】
【Antagonist – <Luna (A+)> has been overtaken by the mask and elevated to <Luna (S)>!】
【Antagonist – <Dalan (A+)> has been overtaken by the mask and elevated to <Dalan (A++)>!】
Nothing else changed.
Nahan exhaled slowly and looked at the others.
“…Was this some kind of trendy mask or what?”
The moment he muttered that—
“…Ah, damn it…!!”
“…No, stop, don’t come…!!”
“…”
The three mask-controlled members lunged at him at full speed.
3.
Meanwhile, at the backline of the battle—
“…Kh-hk!”
Luna coughed violently, blood spilling from her lips as her lifeforce drained away from excessive mana depletion.
But she wiped it away as if it were nothing, lowering her head carefully.
“…Mom.”
What she held in her arms was all that remained of <Mother>—the upper half of her body, severed by Nahan.
To Nahan, it was nothing more than a black, melted mass.
But to Luna’s eyes, it was still Mother, dying but intact.
“…Lu…na.”
“No. Don’t speak, okay?”
Her trembling hands clutched Mother’s smaller, weakened fingers, holding on desperately.
Despite the searing pain twisting through her insides, Luna pushed through—forcing what remained of her lifeforce to slow the bleeding.
Kh-khk!
Kh-hkk, khhhkk!!
Blood surged from within, pouring violently from her mouth.
An unbearable, gut-wrenching agony tore through her, and yet, Mother’s form only continued to wither away.
“Please… Please….”
Luna’s dull, lifeless green eyes shimmered as she begged.
“Please don’t die alone, Mom.”
If you were going to die like this—
“Then at least kill me first before you go…”
…Please, Mother.
