Before the lingering peal of the bell had fully settled,
the meeting chamber was already silent.
Seats arranged in a circle.
Lamps were placed along the walls at regular intervals.
The light did not flicker.
There was nothing in the center.
The empty space
created a weight instead.
The echo of the bell still remained in their ears.
Bido drew in a breath,
then slowly let it out.
The circular seats were all the same height,
but the weight of those sitting in them was not the same.
The sword slung across her back touched the chair’s backrest,
making the faintest sound of friction.
Even that small noise sounded loud, and Bido straightened her back.
Bido was seated at the outermost edge.
Miryeong stood with her arms crossed, her back to the wall,
and Gareun had his head lowered, both hands clasped together.
Muryeong’s eyes were closed,
and a few unfamiliar faces were merely sensing one another’s presence.
Everyone gathered here was combat personnel.
They had not come together to talk.
A single set of footsteps
headed toward the center, then stopped.
It was Rangnan.
He did not take a seat.
For a brief moment,
he simply looked around the meeting chamber.
His gaze was neither fast nor slow.
Then he spoke in a low voice.
“The night of No-Moon.”
A short silence passed.
“We will capture the Moon Demon.”
The moment his words fell,
gazes shifted.
Someone drew in a breath.
There was no commotion.
But the stillness was different from before.
Gazes moved.
Briefly, toward one another,
then back to Rangnan again.
“On No-Moon…”
A low voice drifted out.
It was not loud.
Nor was it a protest.
“If it is the Moon Demon…”
The one who spoke did not continue.
Someone lowered their head ever so slightly,
and someone clasped their fingers together and cracked them.
No-Moon was not a “day without rain,” but a “day of severance.”
A night when the flow of Arkin dried up
and ordinary calculations collapsed.
That was why the Silver Moon Order had always avoided No-Moon.
The rule that the night must be avoided
was the first thing being shaken here.
The meeting chamber became quiet again.
That silence was different from usual.
The Silver Moon Order was, by nature, an orderly group.
Even when there were opinions,
voices were not raised.
It was the same now.
After a brief silence, one person opened his mouth.
His voice was low.
“Lord Rangnan.”
Everyone’s gaze gathered at the center once more.
“If the Moon Demon is the one I know… then it is Mirkin.”
The end of his words dropped low.
“Is it not?”
Those words were not a challenge.
They were closer to confirmation.
But the meaning contained within them was not light.
Mirkin.
That power twists rules.
And on a night when there is no moon to regulate those rules,
it becomes even fiercer than usual.
Bido unconsciously clenched her hand.
It was only that someone had spoken aloud
what most already knew.
Rangnan nodded and said,
“That is so.”
It was a short answer.
As soon as those words fell,
the air inside the meeting chamber trembled subtly once more.
Breaths mingled low,
and one chair shifted ever so slightly.
There was no commotion.
But thoughts were moving.
“If it is No-Moon,”
another person quietly continued,
“then the creature will grow stronger.”
This time, it was a clear concern.
Rangnan did not avert his gaze.
“It will grow stronger.”
Rangnan did not deny it.
But he did not stop there.
“However, Mirkin is not the only power the Moon Demon possesses.”
The air settled again.
“It possesses the spiritual power of the moon.”
At those words,
several expressions stiffened.
“On No-Moon, the moon’s spiritual power also loses strength.”
Before Rangnan could continue,
the gazes in the meeting chamber scattered for a moment.
Without anyone being first,
they had all drawn the same picture in their minds.
On No-Moon, the moon’s spiritual power weakens.
But Mirkin’s “distortion” grows fiercer.
After a short silence, Rangnan spoke again.
“The creature’s most dangerous power is not Mirkin.”
Those words were the conclusion of a calculation.
The lamplight trembled ever so faintly.
At last, as if summarizing, Rangnan said,
“No-Moon is the only night on which we can bind it.”
Now the problem was clear.
No-Moon was that demon’s weakness.
And yet—
“Even so,”
someone said in a low voice.
“It is still Mirkin.”
Several heads moved faintly.
Rangnan did not deny it.
“Yes.”
And then he added,
“That is why we do not intend to face it with our strength alone.”
Rangnan’s gaze slowly swept across the meeting chamber.
“The Fire Demon will join the battle.”
As soon as those words fell,
the name itself burned the room first.
Fire was not warmth, but an omen.
Uncontrolled heat,
an unceasing spread.
To the Silver Moon Order, “Dragon’s Fire” was less a target of cooperation
than the name of a disaster to be avoided.
Someone swallowed,
and someone drew their chin deeper down.
Trembling fingertips were revealed beneath the lamplight,
and a fist clenched as if to hide that tremor.
The longer the silence was maintained,
the clearer the discomfort became.
The atmosphere sank heavily.
Though the lamps did not flicker,
the air had changed.
Someone clenched a hand,
and someone lowered their gaze.
There was no commotion.
But the discomfort could not be hidden.
“The Fire Demon is an existence outside order.”
This time, it was a definite reaction.
Rangnan did not let those words pass.
“I know.”
“But our strength alone is insufficient.”
And he concluded in a low voice.
“And the Fire Demon possesses it.”
“Can we be certain that power will not be turned against us?”
This time, the concern was not concealed.
“He is far too dangerous.”
The meeting chamber remained silent.
But the question had been clearly raised.
Just as Rangnan was about to open his mouth—
Yun spoke first.
“He is dangerous.”
It was a brief acknowledgment, without hesitation.
Gazes gathered on Yun.
She remained seated.
Her posture did not waver.
“Fire is, by nature, a power difficult to control.”
“However, it is also reality that we lack the physical force needed to bind the Moon Demon.”
The gazes moved toward Rangnan, then returned to her.
“The calculations are complete.”
“We will accept the risk.”
Her voice was low, but firm.
“I approved this operation.”
As those words fell,
there was no further stir.
The Silver Moon Order did not follow Rangnan blindly.
But they trusted Yun’s judgment.
The meeting chamber aligned itself once more.
In the brief silence,
a young man seated on the right lifted his head.
It was Kallen.
Neat attire,
a posture without exaggeration.
He did not rise from his seat.
“I understand.”
His voice was low, and there was no tremor in it.
“But one thing remains.”
Gazes gathered at the center.
“Why must we be the ones to capture the Moon Demon?”
This question was not meant to quarrel.
For a moment, gazes gathered on Rangnan again.
Rangnan spoke first.
“In this world, there are those who bear fragments of the moon they never wished for.”
His voice was low.
“Even now, they are being sacrificed to the Moon Demon.”
A short silence passed.
“If we bind it, those sacrifices will stop.”
There was no emotion.
Only fact remained.
Yun continued.
“The Moon Demon is scattering fear across the continent.”
“If fear lingers too long, order collapses.”
Her gaze slowly swept through the meeting chamber.
“We will not leave that unattended.”
“And the moment we bind the Moon Demon—”
“the continent will see what our Silver Moon Order is capable of.”
The sounds of shifting in seats stopped.
When Yun’s words settled,
Rangnan raised his gaze again.
“The night of No-Moon.”
Rangnan spoke low.
“We cannot count on Arkin.”
It was something they already knew.
Yet merely confirming it again
changed the weight of the air.
Rangnan paused for a moment.
“From now on, I will call the names of those who will take part in this operation.”
Then Rangnan called the names one by one.
“Aslo, Gareun, Muryeong, Miryeong, Kallen, Yeonhwa, Taejin.”
Each time a name was called,
no one answered “Yes.”
Instead, a breath cut off briefly,
or a gaze hardened once more.
Aslo did not lower his head,
and Gareun clasped his hands more tightly.
Muryeong’s eyes remained closed.
Miryeong did not uncross her arms.
Kallen lifted his head,
and Yeonhwa and Taejin did not look at each other.
Among them,
Bido did not hope that her turn would not come.
She simply
did not have any certainty that she would be called.
The shallow breaths of those named brushed past.
Rangnan did not stop there.
“And,”
“Bido.”
The meeting chamber became still by the faintest degree.
Yun slowly lifted her gaze.
“We will set the name of this operation.”
She let out a short breath.
“Eclipse.”
Bido unconsciously opened her palm.
Even if light was obscured,
it did not disappear completely.
That single word
settled quietly.
The lamplight flickered.
A night when the moon vanished.
A moment when light was briefly covered.
Yet a night when it was not completely extinguished.
“We will cover the moon.”
Yun’s voice was low.
“And take it back.”
Bido said nothing.
As the air in the meeting chamber slowly settled,
she looked down at her own hand.
Her sword hung across her back.
Her hand had not stopped.
But it was not fully moving either.
Eclipse.
When that night came—
she did not know if she would be able to stop.
The meeting chamber became silent again,
but now its direction had been decided.