Chapter 183: The Black Raven’s Sacrifice Excruciating pain exploded throughout Moon’s head and body, the agony so overwhelming he nearly collapsed to one knee from the self-inflicted injury. But Moon gritted his teeth and absolutely refused to fall. His Tenacity skill activated automatically, allowing him to endure through iron willpower. The Black Raven continued launching its relentless sonic attacks, but the guardian beast’s eyes visibly widened with shock at the sheer boldness displayed by the small creature before it. The sonic assaults were no longer as annoying or overwhelming. The attacks were still violently shaking Moon’s internal organs and literally scraping against his bones, but he could concentrate better and focus properly now. Moon summoned his staff back into his hands and immediately began channeling massive quantities of mana without any reservation or holding back. His most powerful Ignite construct began forming and growing progressively larger and larger, expanding bit by bit as Moon poured more and more energy into the spell. The Black Raven suddenly began to grow worried about the people it was protecting. It could see the direction where Moon’s eyes were looking, and it was the settlement. What made it confirm its thought was the massive smirk the human had on his face. As it recognized what Moon was preparing. The guardian beast began to increase its own attack frequency and power output, desperately using more of its precious reserves as it fully understood Moon’s terrible intention. The beast tried frantically to disrupt Moon’s spell from completion. But Moon’s ruptured eardrums had catastrophically undermined that strategy. Although maintaining spell coherence remained extremely difficult because of the physical pain and organ vibration, Moon was now able to concentrate sufficiently enough to preserve and complete his spell. The Ignite sphere continued growing to truly massive proportions, making the Black Raven increasingly desperate. — In the distance, Selene’s figure atop Mirage’s galloping form began to slowly arrive as they approached the settlement at maximum speed. The moment her eyes fixed on Moon’s bloodied back standing alone amidst absolute carnage, Selene’s expression shifted to pure shock and worry for Moon’s condition. ’Shit! We were too late getting back!’ Selene’s mind raced with terrible possibilities. ’How many lives does he have left in reserve? How many deaths did he suffer while fighting alone?!’ But when her gaze swept across the battlefield and landed on the dozens of Heretic brutally damaged corpses scattered across the blood-soaked ground. Selene couldn’t help but swallow hard with a complicated mixture of horror and reluctant admiration. Moon stood alone where nobody else remained standing. The sole survivor of what had clearly been an absolutely brutal massacre. Before him, the massive Black Raven floated warily in the air, the S-rank guardian beast maintaining the long distance while continuously unleashing its devastating screeching attacks. The creature’s behavior was obvious, it appeared afraid of closing distance for direct engagement. Then Selene’s eyes landed on the large fireball hovering and rotating above Moon’s staff, and her breath caught in her throat. She immediately recognized the flame color, and crackling. It was Moon’s strongest fire attack, one that could decimate anyone in its path. Ignite had grown to truly massive proportions for its use, easily two meters in diameter, with crackling flames so intensely hot they were visibly warping and distorting the surrounding air. Her eyes couldn’t help but glitter with awe despite the terrible circumstances. ’That’s... that’s easily twice the size of any Ignite I’ve seen him cast before,’ Selene realized with growing comprehension of just how much mana and focus Moon had committed to this single attack. "He’s gambling everything on one strike." Moon stood there bloodied, injured, clearly in agonizing pain based on the fresh blood streaming from his ears—but absolutely unbowed and unbroken. His back was perfectly straight despite the trauma. His stance remained stable and grounded. His expression, though she couldn’t see it from this angle, radiated the same cold determination she’d witnessed during his fights against the Crab King and Magma Queen. The battlefield told its own brutal story: Moon had faced approximately fifty Heretic warriors plus their S-rank guardian beast in solo combat. And Moon was still standing while his enemies were corpses or cowering in terror. Yara’s words from days ago suddenly echoed in Selene’s mind with new meaning: "The legends will speak of this day. Our children’s children will tell stories of the warrior who slew the mountain’s heart." But this... this exceeded even those legendary accomplishments. Moon hadn’t just defeated powerful beasts in their natural territories. He’d stood alone against an entire force backed by an S-rank guardian and annihilated them all with an unbreakable will. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮 Seeing him standing alone amidst the ashes of his enemies with that massive sphere above him while the supposedly guardian beast circled fearfully mad her body shiver for a moment. This was someone who refused to accept defeat regardless of circumstances. Someone who would break every rule, sacrifice his own body rather than fall. "He’s terrifying, not because of his power—though that’s formidable. But because he simply won’t stop. Ever. No matter what stands in his way." And in that moment, watching Moon prepare to unleash judgment on the Black Raven, Selene understood something profound about her teammate. Moon wasn’t trying to become strong enough to survive the apocalypse. Moon was trying to become strong enough that the apocalypse itself would need to survive him. "Mirage, faster!" Selene commanded urgently, knowing she needed to reach Moon’s position immediately to provide the support he might need. The white horse surged forward with more speed, hoping to help his master. Moon’s body swayed dangerously for a moment, his legs trembling as he struggled to maintain both balance and control over the absolutely massive fireball hovering above him. ’That’s my absolute limit. I can’t continue channelling anymore power without risking failure,’ Moon thought with dread, preparing to finally unleash the devastating attack that had consumed more than fifty percent of his total mana reserves. ’Otherwise, I might lose its coherence and it will backfire spectacularly.’