FFF Class Auto Hero: The Weakest Class Turned Out To Be The Strongest?-Chapter 37: Radiance and Ruin [Gift Bonus]

"As expected of him," another said. "He could not dare let such a monstrosity bathe under the brilliance of his light."

Selene knelt among them, her crimson eyes wide with adoration, but her attention shifted to Lilith.

The High Priestess suddenly stood silent, her lips pressed into a tight line, offering no words of praise.

Selene’s brow furrowed, and she rose slightly. "High Priestess... why do you not speak of our lord’s glory?"

Lilith’s hands clenched into fists, her teeth gritting audibly as she turned her blindfolded face toward Selene.

"All that energy... all that divine power..." she hissed, her voice trembling with anger and hurt.

"He consumed a dream, didn’t he? Why didn’t he take what he wanted from me? That is my sacred duty!"

Her voice rose; it was so fierce, almost possessive frustration.

"I am his High Priestess! I belong to him! It’s my purpose to sustain him, to offer him the dreams collected, to offer myself to his hunger! Did I not make myself worthy? Must I crawl into his bed tonight and force him to accept my love? No, no, no, no, I’ll bind him to me if I must—he cannot deny me this!"

With each word, she stomped her heeled foot into the earth, the force of her rage sending cracks rippling outward, forming a small crater beneath her. The ground trembled with each impact, dust rising around her as her tail lashed furiously behind her.

The other priestesses shrank back, their eyes wide with a look of fear and awe at her outburst.

Lilith’s fury was intimidating.

Selene swallowed hard, stepping back slightly but keeping her gaze on the High Priestess.

The air grew intense as Lilith’s tantrum subsided, her chest heaving as she glared blindly toward the sky where her lord hovered before the realm eater.

Its grotesque tentacle thrashed against the night sky, exuding a miasma that twisted the air around it. As he gazed upon the creature, a faint ripple of unease stirred within him—not from fear, but from an instinctive sense that something was amiss.

He could feel it: a mortal soul, distorted and warped, trapped within the monstrous body, its essence melded into the abomination before him.

Guardian’s voice echoed through his thoughts.

『Anomaly detected. Target is not a natural realm eater—artificial construct confirmed. Threat level unchanged. Eradication required.』

Lunareio’s grip tightened on his phantom moon spear, its surface glinting as he held it aloft. His mismatched eyes narrowed, a flicker of pity passing through them before his expression hardened.

"I am no god of salvation or reincarnation," he said. "Nor do I currently possess the power to perform a miracle. All I can offer you... is release."

『Skill synthesis complete. New ability generated: Luminous Radiance. Single-target eradication protocol optimized.』

Lunareio raised his spear skyward, the tip pointed toward the moon hanging full and luminous above.

His body began to glow brightly, and a massive white magic circle appeared above him.

He began to speak an incantation:

"Beneath the silver veil of night,

Where shadows bend and stars ignite,

A soul ensnared in dark’s embrace,

I call the light to grant you grace.

As the one who watches over the night,

Eater of dreams yet pursuer of balance,

I do hope you may find eternal rest beneath my lunar embrace."

His eyes flared brightly as he swung his spear downwards.

"Luminous Decree: Radiance."

The moon flared blindingly bright.

A massive beam of pure, silvery light erupted from its center, streaking downward like a divine judgment.

It struck the realm eater dead-on, enveloping the creature in a pillar of brilliance that pierced the earth itself.

The artificial monstrosity writhed, its form disintegrating layer by layer, erased by the unrelenting force of the light.

The tentacle dissolved into ash, the trapped soul within released in a fleeting shimmer before fading entirely.

Far below, the priestesses watched in utter awe, their eyes wide.

The beauty of the cascading light reflected in their gazes.

Lilith, standing at their forefront, swayed her hips unconsciously, her blindfolded face tilted upward.

"It... It gets me so excited to see him like this," she purred. She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging her body tightly as a shiver ran through her. "I almost can’t control myself—his power, his brilliance... it’s intoxicating."

Across the land, cities bathed in the night turned their eyes toward the horizon. The pillar of light was a beacon, visible from miles away, as if to silently announce the moon god’s return.

When the beam finally faded, a massive, gaping hole remained in the earth where the realm eater had stood, its edges smooth and scorched.

Guardian’s voice sounded once more.

『Guardian: Threat eliminated. Objective accomplished. Disengaging auto-mode.』

His left eye returned to its normal cosmic blue color.

Lunareio floated downward, his feet touching the scorched edge of the massive crater as the last echoes of the Luminous Radiance faded into the night.

He twirled his phantom moon spear absently, then planted it into the ground with a soft thud. A faint grimace crossed his face, his eyes narrowed as he thought to himself:

’Guardian... What was that nonsense you had me spouting? That incantation—"beneath the silver veil of night"? I sounded like some pompous poet trying to impress a crowd! Shit! And that smirk I had plastered on my face... what was I, some kind of self-righteous bastard? And that manner of speech earlier... calling myself a god and all that crap. I sounded like a kid with eighth grand syndrome!’

’Fuuuuck, I’m going to die of embarrassment!’

He rubbed a hand across his jaw, his brow furrowing as he replayed the battle in his mind.

’And back then... For a moment there, I thought that black shadow guy might actually kill me. That explosion too... my heart practically leapt out of my chest when his puppet went up in flames. So why was I so calm then, standing there like it was nothing, and now I’m a mess just thinking about it? How did I even know it was a puppet?’

Guardian’s voice chimed in.

『Auto-mode functionality includes temporary personality adjustments. When engaged, the system hijacks the host’s cognitive and emotional responses, optimizing them to align with mission directives philosophy in your mind with necessary information from system database. This ensures maximum compliance and efficiency. During auto-mode, your demeanor was altered to exhibit confidence and decisiveness, suppressing extraneous emotional fluctuations such as fear or hesitation. Post-disengagement, your natural personality resumes, including its capacity for reflection and doubt.』

Lunareio blinked, then let out a dry laugh, shaking his head.

’So you turned me into some unflappable warrior poet because it made me more likely to listen to you? That’s... unsettlingly clever. I guess you aren’t a shitty system after all.’

『Thank you. See, host? You can be nice if you try.』

’Wait... did you sound smug just now? The hell, don’t you dare rub that in because I’m still pissed at you for turning me into some sort of dream-sucking monster!’

He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he glanced at the spear beside him. "I suppose it worked, didn’t it? That realm eater’s gone, and I’m still standing. But next time, maybe skip the flowery poetry—I felt like I was auditioning for a bard’s troupe."

『The system only adjusted your personality host. The action was still technically yours.』

"Shut up!" He immediately said.

He paused, his gaze drifting to the horizon where the sun began to rise.

"Still," he muttered, "it’s a bit humiliating to think I wasn’t entirely myself back there. Though I can’t argue with the results."

With a faint smirk—one entirely his own this time—he yanked the spear from the ground and slung it over his shoulder.freewebnoveℓ.com