Tonight, we steal the moon!

Kai had been so concentrated on repairing the many cracks that had built up on his soul that he hadn't even noticed anything strange going on around him.

If he would have, he would have noticed that Failure was struggling much, much more than he was previously. His armour was now decorated by near a dozen dents and many more chips in the hard wood than Kai hadn't even felt.

Even when Failure attacked, his style had gotten sloppy. The attacks that used to have the Demon defensive and on edge now just served the purpose of buying time, not really posing any real threat.

It was like Failure had suddenly started fighting with a massive boulder on his back.

But Kai didn't have any time to pay attention to that, after all, his soul was still falling apart. With countless cracks adorning the pale gray orb, he had to keep concentrating.

At least, he had been concentrating, until that horrifying crack that rang out.

At first, he thought he was going to instantly die because he assumed the crack had come from his soul. He thought that he had pushed himself too far. He was still only level twenty two after all, he wasn't even sure how much of a miracle a Miracle Bead could produce. It was already a miracle that they had made it this far.

But no, his soul was fine-

Well, not fine, it was still doing terribly, but there was no crack on it that could have made for that sort of noise.

No, the crack came from outside the wooden dome Failure had created.

But what the hell was outside that could have created that sort of explosive noise, what could have possibly-

Then, Kai froze as a new notification rang in his head.

Warning...

Kai's eyes widened as he read the text before his eyes.

It was then he realised the true purpose of the wooden dome.

Of course, it had offered incredible utility throughout the fight. Failure had absolute control over everything present, nowhere was safe for the Demon as Failure's wooden creations were able to attack it from all sides no matter what.

But there was another function of the massive wooden structure, one Kai hadn't even thought of in the first place.

While the dome offered its own kind of offense, its main purpose was something else.

To keep the Demon distracted and don't give it the oppurtunity to see what Failure was planning.

The roof of the wooden dome slowly started to retract, letting an abundance of moonlight slip in.

It's not like the roof was actually needed for protection, the Demon was immune to the effects of the curse and Failure's resistance to it was extremely high, so much so that it even protected Kai as he gazed up at the big ball of rock above.

... Well, two balls of rock.

Failure stared down at the Demon, who currently had a look of insurmountable rage on its hideous face, and spread his arms as the moonlight warped around the wooden armour wrapped around his body.

"Demon, I did tell you that I would be the one to kill you.

And I always stick to my promises."

Failure closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steeling his nerves.

"I am Sir Constance, oathsworn of Princess Ethania of Roroark.

I am Sir Constance, ire of a gods wrath and lives to tell the tale.

I am Sir Constance, progenitor of the Forest of Ethania.

I am Sir Constance, protector of Aldred the full moon beast.

I am Sir Constance, eternal guardian of Ethania's will."

Failure's, no, Constance's eyes glowed a dark green as his hands clenched, as if gripping onto two invisible ropes.

"I am Sir Constance, the one who will end this farce once and for all."

Closing his mouth, Failure gritted his teeth and yanked his hands downwards, as if he really was pulling on something.

Of course, Kai knew that he actually was pulling on something, and he wasn't sure if he should be horrified or awestruck at what the charismatic man he knew and loved had actually done.

Behind Failure, rising far above into the sky were five monstrous, ginormous wooden tendrils that resembled the tentacles of a primordial horror that Kai wished no one would ever have to encounter.

Each tendril was about as thick as a skyscraper, but each of them were much, much taller. They continuosly rose further and further into the sky until they eventually kissed the boundary of space.

But they did not stop there.

The tendrils had continued their journey, even in space, so they could reach their target.

And they successfully had.

The horrible moon that Kai had only caught a glimpse of before, yet that had been enough to turn him into a writhing, screaming mess, gazed down at them.

The curse was still active, there was no doubt about that. Kai could still feel the effects of it gnawing at the back of his mind.

But now, there was something much worse than the curse.

On the moon's horrible body was five gargantuan holes, which the tendrils had dug into.

And that was when Kai realised why Failure was struggling previously, why it was like he was fighting with a boulder on his back.

It was because he basically was.

In between all five of the tendrils was a gigantic chunk of the moon that had been pulled out of the massive space rock and was currently heading straight for the planet they were on.

That's what the notification Kai had received earlier was about.

Warning!

Imminent destruction of tutorial zone twelve

Due to unforseen circumstances, participants will be allowed to exit the tutorial early while still retaining any and all items received and all war efforts they obtained

Rewards will be calculated when the tutorial officialy ends

Participants may leave before the timer runs out

Time remaining before destruction of tutorial - 3 minutes and 57 seconds

A giant chunk of the moon was currently coming right for everyone in the forest. In less than four minutes, the entire area around them would be no more than a crater.

"Failure, what the hell?! Does this not go against litteraly everything you're doing this for? I know you want revenge, but this will also kill Aldred and the moon beasts-"

"Kai, its fine. I trust Aldred, he'll know what he has to do. He always does, he is a very wise being after all, even if he is a wolf.

Of course, this was another reason I had him gather all the moon beasts in one place.

And besides, this forest is just a replica.

Of course, It's a very exact replica. It even replicated all my weaknesses and the Corroding, but once the tutorial is over, any moon beast who survives will be brought back to the real forest.

Still, those who died won't be brought back, they will sadly stay dead."

Kai couldn't even understand what Failure was talking about. How the hell was Aldred meant to stop all the moon beasts from perishing when a literal meteor was about to exterminate them all.

And the timer was still ticking.

Then, another notification rang in Kai's head.

Exit tutorial?

Yes/No

"My dear Kai, I thank you for everything you've done, but you've done enough. Leave this tutorial, I should be able to make sure the Demon dies when that chunk of the moon hits."

Should.

That one word was the only one Kai heard from all that. Failure was relying on should.

He should be able to hold the Demon back, sure, but it wasn't absolute.

And if Failure failed to make sure the Demon was dead, then what? Would the Demon just kill everything and complete the goal set by Eye of the Moon?

Kai wasn't sure.

And there was also the fact he could just leave right now if he wanted to, to just be over and done with this forest and this stage of the tutorial. In his mind, it sounded like a very plausible choice.

But he wasn't sure.

He wasn't sure if it was the best choice he could make. What if he missed out on something incredible?

Of course, these doubts were sown by the little warnings he had received over the course of his time in the forest.

And of course, the main one was the one The Ever-changing said after his first meeting with the innocent and naive Kai.

Maybe you should trust the forest a little more.

Kai thought that his master had just been referencing the forest in general, like how it guided him to find Noelle and Umbra when he was running away from Rashik and his little gang with an injured Sofia around his shoulder.

But what if his master meant something other than that?

Of course, the forest was all around them. But what was it that controlled the forest.

Kai sighed. He knew what he had to do as he reminisced about his first meeting with Failure, how the attractive man just sat on a rock and admired the scenery.

Kai hadn't really been listening, to be honest, he had thought Failure was just a crazy guy. But even so, he remembered what he had said before he disappeared.

"You've got to use all the time you're given, all of it."

"What?"

Kai sighed once more.

"You've got to use all the time you're given, that's what you told me the first time we met. God, why does everything have to be so cryptic?"

Failure remained silent for a moment, but then chuckled softly.

"I see, I did say that, didn't I?"

Failure then sighed as he shook his head, gazing blankly down at the Demon.

"Well, it seems that were doing this. Honestly, I don't think ever forget you, my dear Kai."

Kai snorted.

"I would hope not, I'm way too memorable for anyone to forget me."

Failure chuckled once more and gripped the wooden blade in his hand for possibly the last time.

"Well then, times ticking away so no point wasting it."

And with that, Failure looked down at the Demon while Kai spectated through his own eyes.

And after watching a chunk of rock be ripped out of its God's precious creation...

The Demon was not happy.