Crimson Moon

Artorius attached great importance to this battle, indeed, he valued it greatly.

Even though it was just a mere White Wing Lord and his so-called group of Dead Apostle Ancestors, Artorius still held this battle in high regard.

After all, the opponent was a creature that had been steeped in sorrow, anger, and madness for hundreds of years. With such emotions amplifying his actions, there was nothing he could do that would seem strange to Artorius.

As Trhvmn was still blabbering about his victory nonsense, Artorius was in contemplation.

What kind of creature would they summon as the final enemy? What sort of monstrosity would he have to face, what kind of dreadful nightmares, and irrational madness he couldn't possibly contend with?

The Dragon Emperor was deeply curious about this.

Would it be the so-called Velber or perhaps the so-called Alien God? Or would it be something unfamiliar to him, something he had never seen or understood, a completely new creation from their imagination as vampires?

Even if, as a result of their limited perspectives, they remained ignorant of these things, there were still quite a few terrifying entities among the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.

Monstrosities that far exceeded the level of Crimson Moon were not unheard of.

In the face of their summoning with the Chaos Holy Grail and its utilization of the wish-granting abilities, Artorius had speculated on how they might take advantage of this rare opportunity.

Would it be the 'Beast'? According to the ranking of the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, would it be the first-ranked 'Primate Murder'?

It wouldn't be the familiar Fou he knew of, nor the pet that crouched at the feet of Altrouge. It would be the complete and heavily enhanced Breed of Calamity—Beast IV. A horror on par with the King of the Demon Gods, Goetia, and the Primordial Goddess, Tiamat.

Or could it be some Ultimate One?

In the original story, due to humanity's ignorant mistake, the Ultimate One that landed on Earth, known as ORT, a monster that resembled a giant crystal spider was wrongly believed to be a Dead Apostle.

This was the Ultimate One summoned by Gaia from the Planet Mercury in the Land of Steel timeline. Different from Ultimate Ones of satellite-level planets like Crimson Moon, this was a genuine planetary-level Ultimate One, the mightiest entity of a planet, an agent of the planet's will. A terror capable of destroying a planet, quite literally.

When it descended upon Earth, it directly slew the fifth-ranked member of the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.

Thus, it took their place.

However, in terms of rank, these so-called Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors were just a laughable joke compared to the Ultimate Ones.

But even if they used the Holy Grail system to 'succeed' in summoning and reviving either of those beings, Artorius knew that the result would undoubtedly be an unimaginable and bitter battle for him and his empire.

But pitifully or maybe fortunately, all of that didn't happen.

Neither the enhanced Beast IV nor the summoned alien being appeared. Instead, they chose to resurrect and strengthen Brunestud of the Crimson Moon, also known as the Ultimate One of the Moon and Type-Moon.

This was the culmination of White Wing Lord's painstaking four-century calculation, the rejection outcome of the planned cooperation with the Dragon Emperor and the Empire.

With unparalleled beauty, magnificent and flowing golden hair, and blood-red eyes, Crimson Moon—the King of the Moon and King of Vampires, appeared in her full glory.

"That's it? What a scheme... Trhvmn, you truly succeed to disappoint me."

Artorius's mood was tranquil as he cast a look at the White Wing Lord as if viewing trash, leaving the latter bewildered.

This was not the gaze a beaten dog should exhibit.

According to Trhvmn's expectations, the Dragon Emperor should be fuming, desperate, and mad. The Dragon Emperor should mirror all that he had experienced over these four centuries, rather than looking at him as if he were trash.

No, even if the Dragon Emperor put on an extremely heroic facade, even if he remained confident and resolute, there was still an issue with this 'look of disappointment' on the Dragon Emperor's face. What did it mean to be so disappointed in him?

"We meet again. Don't you feel happy, O Dragon Emperor?"

"Well, not really, but I'm actually quite pleased."

As Artorius answered Crimson Moon's question, the latter exhibited a beautiful smile. She felt her power had been enhanced. Despite having just been resurrected, with the Grail's assistance and the millennia of gathering 'magical energy' by the vampires, her strength instantly rebounded to its peak.

Her magic sword, also known as 'Knight Arm' called 'Real of the World', remained intact. Her ability to manifest 'Marble Phantasm' also remained. Her 'Rainbow Mystic Eyes' glimmered with multicolored light.

The current King of the Moon was perfect, and this battlefield was shielded from the probing of the Counter Force. Neither Gaia nor Alaya could do a thing.

Therefore, the present Crimson Moon was equally overflowing with confidence.

She was convinced of her victory.

She was even willing to spend a bit of time, chatting with her archenemy.

After all, despite five hundred years of mutual slaughter, even after being defeated and crushed, Crimson Moon still 'existed'. Her soul remained; the full moon in the sky persisted, making it extremely difficult to annihilate her completely.

So, during the millennium of being shattered, her consciousness occasionally peeked through the eyes of her chosen vessel she had set her sights on, observing the world.

She even had some interactions with the Dragon Emperor through her vessel.

At first, she was cautious, even slightly afraid, fearing that the Dragon Emperor might discover her consciousness and obliterate her completely.

But he didn't.

This made her gradually bolder.

In a sense, Artorius was the person she had interacted with the most during the millennia of her imprisonment, perhaps even the only person she had communicated with.

If possible, she really didn't want to kill him.

What a pity, he rejected her advances.

"Let's begin."

After a moment of slight sadness, Crimson Moon made her decision.

Like back then, just as the Dragon Emperor had completely crushed her, she would now crush him and make him suffer the same fate as she had.

And then, she would tear apart 'Gaia', shatter the shell that covered the planet, and reveal the 'real world' beneath the planet's surface.

She would make Earth the most unique planet in the universe, completely control all of Earth's energies, and then build her empire around it.

That was the purpose and concept of her Knight Arm, 'Real of the World'.

"Let's continue the war from a thousand years ago, Artorius."

Crimson Moon raised the sword in her hand, inviting the Dragon Emperor to battle. Yet, something unexpected occurred.

On the other side, the Dragon Emperor only smiled and looked at her with a strange expression.

Such gaze made Crimson Moon uncomfortable, and she felt that something was about to happen.

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{T/N: I'll just imagine Crimson Moon's appearance as Archetype: Earth.}