The One Luna - Chapter 79 Intelligence Found Through Kindness

The next day, there was a huge commotion at the Korean Faction. News of Jihoon’s death spread like wildfire.

“I swear it wasn’t me! When I woke up, he was already dead! Please!” The young woman who was previously on Jihoon’s bed pleaded for her life. Unfortunately for her, she would be used as a scapegoat for this unexplained death. In the eyes of the people in power, this young girl’s death would be nothing more than a statistic.

“I’m sorry, Lily.” One of the guards felt apologetic, but there was nothing they could do. Their faces were wracked with guilt. Lily used to be one of the most upbeat personalities in their community. This nineteen-year-old green-eyed half-Korean, half-American brunette was looking forward to a successful modeling career before the new world.

“No.. no way. Haven’t I gone through enough yet?” She murmured to herself. There was no use in trying to reason with the guards. She knew it would be pointless. She looked back to why she was even in the Philippines, to begin with. She was supposed to film a show on several tourist spots, and then the new world happened.

***

Nighttime.

Within one of the jail cells. A young, gorgeous woman with eyes filled with despair sat on the floor.

Suddenly, she heard muffled sounds of someone trying to scream but had their mouth covered. One of the guards lost consciousness as a man clad in advanced looking armor with a rather peculiar mask on appeared outside of her cell. She tried to scream but no sound came out.

“Shh.” The man put his finger on the “lips” of his smiling mask, signaling her to stay quiet.

“Wh-who are you? Have you come to kill me off? I swear I didn’t do it!” She whispered quietly, not wanting to do anything that she thought might aggravate this masked man.

“I know. I’ve come to give you a choice.”

“A choice?”

“Yes, a choice. You could choose to stay here and be used as a scapegoat, or you can come with me and live.”

“What’s the catch?”

“That catch is that wherever I bring you, you’ll have to follow the rules. But don’t worry, the rules work in your favor. I can guarantee that whatever injustice you’ve experienced here will never happen there. Instead, we will allow you to become stronger, so no one can take away your choice ever again. Now, choose. Our window of escape is closing fast.”

Multiple thoughts and scenarios ran through Lily’s head, but in the end, she merely said, “What’s the worse that can happen? I get taken advantage of again or I’ll die anyway.”

Feeling as though she had nothing to lose, she nodded, accepting the man’s proposal.

“Good.” The man stepped forward and bent the metal bars as if they were made out of clay.

The two escaped smoothly. As soon as they were out of Emil’s territory, she was finally able to leave his Nation. The moment Emil got the notice, it was far too late for him to react. Not that he cared for whatever happened within the Korean faction.

Soon, the two arrived in front of what looked like a family. A father, a mother, a daughter, and a long-eared Grandfather. All four seemingly had a peculiar and domineering aura about them. Lily couldn’t quite decide what part about them should shock her more. What was more attractive to her, was the meat they were roasting. It was the most appetizing thing she had ever smelled in her life.

The masked man knelt in front of the “father” as he spoke, “Lord Luna, she’s safe and sound as you ordered.”

“Thanks, Paco. You may return to your post for now.”

“Yes!” Paco gave a salute, took one more glance at Lily, then left. He would go back to the Rangers that were under him and tell them about the state of Emil’s nation. Initially, they were all indecisive about defecting. They were, after all, previously members of the Philippine’s Special Forces. After much consideration and convincing from Paco, they decided that the way Emil ruled, was not in the best interest of the people.

“Your name is Lily, correct?”

“Y-y-y-yes, sir! Luna! LORD! Lord Luna, sir! I-I mean..” She was scared that she couldn’t even respond properly.

“Sigh. You can just call me Luna.” He replied as he tossed her a bottle of water which she fumbled for a bit before actually grabbing it and chugging the whole thing. “Would you like something to eat, Lily?”

“Yes, please!”

Luna handed her a plate as she gorged on the mutant beast meat.

“SO GOOD! This is the best I’ve ever had in my life!” She said as tears of joy and relief flooded her eyes.

Sura looked towards Luna and smiled. She knew who this girl was since he already informed them beforehand. She was proud of him for doing the right thing and not treating Lily’s life as if she was another statistic on a political agenda.

Luna knew that this girl would be implicated because of what he did. But if he took her that night, she would still have been suspected, and she would not be as grateful as she was now. The only way to make her join them completely, was if there was nothing left for her but suffering on the other side. He was no saint, but he wouldn’t ignore her either. Especially when there was something that he could do about it.

As soon as she finished licking her plate clean, Lily turned towards Luna and bowed her head, “Thank you! For saving me and for the meal!”

“You’re welcome. Now, did Paco explain to you the conditions of joining our side?” Luna asked.

“Mn! He explained it to me on the way here. The rules, responsibilities. I had a hard time believing him.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“I dunno.. Maybe because the moment this new world came to be, all I’ve ever seen was evil. It’s hard for me to believe that in this world that might as well have been the ‘Wild Wild West’ would have a Nation such as yours.” She quietly answered.

“And yet here we are, young one.” Elder Aran spoke up as he revealed a gentle smile. The features of the Elves, even at such an old age, were still quite pleasing to the eyes.

“If it is as you truly say, then I will repay you with the very life you saved,” Lily replied.

“No need to speak of sacrificing your life so lightly. You control your fate. Whether you become strong or weak. That choice will be entirely up to you. What I need from you is information. Jihoon took advantage of you in every way possible, but he also did something else.” Lily tightened her fists. The only thing she regretted was that she wasn’t the one who actually killed that man. “He spoke about crucial information even in your presence, because he was absolutely confident that he was in full control of you. Is that correct?”

“Ah! Yes! Although I don’t know too much, I just know of who he would speak to.”

“That’s more than enough. Do you know who these people are?”

“Yes, I do! They’re the people under him, and they’re incredibly crucial to his influence. That was why Miss Ha-eun could only do so much to keep him at bay. The Korean Faction would be so much better for everyone if she had full control.”

“I wouldn’t count on it too much. You can never guess what people’s hidden agendas are sometimes. Would you be able to point these people out if you saw them?”

“Mn! I can!”

“Good! But don’t worry about it for now. I’ll assign you to your team in a little bit. Report to Paco for now.” Luna said as she sent an invitation to her. “Welcome to the Sovereign Nation, Lily.”

“I gladly accept!” Lily thought out loud as she chose the option.

As she was on her way to Paco to get herself situated, Luna called over Yu-jin and the rest to head North. Initially, he didn’t want to but seeing as travel time was barely 45 minutes, he opted for it anyway. He felt that having a fellow Korean speak to her regarding their experiences would make her feel even more committed.

“Is eliminating those individuals truly crucial, Luna?” Sura asked.

“A bit. It would save me the trouble of having to root them all out later. But the weaker the opposition is, the better. It doesn’t matter how confident we are of our chances right now if it means fewer risks for our men, later on, I’m willing to do it.” He held her hand gently, as he added, “Besides, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

Sisa and the rest were living examples. Yes, it’s one person, but that’s one more person who is motivated enough to grow stronger than the rest.

Sometimes, the strong might not turn the tide of a war, but if they fought fiercely and bravely, the morale they brought along with them would.

In an upcoming war where they had no idea what was coming for them, Luna was willing to take even the smallest advantages he could get and compound them all into a formidable force. Even if it is against the void.

“Now, while they wait for the summit. We continue our conquest.” Luna declared, as Sura, Maxene, and Elder Aran all nodded in agreement.

It was time to push past Boracay Island and pillage the resources of the territories surrounding Emil right under his nose.