# Chapter 27: The Moon's Kiss and Hiroshi's Choice

  ## 1. The Tension of the Triangle and Luna's Innocence

  The City of the Moon, with its Elven architecture and the silver light that bathed its streets, served as a stage for the group's growing emotional tension. The imminent mission to the Golden Capital hung over everyone, but it was the dynamic between Hiroshi, Luna, and Zark that took center stage.

  Luna, at sixteen and with the innocence of someone rescued from misery, saw Hiroshi not just as a hero, but as the savior who pulled her from a destiny of slavery and death. Her affection was pure, a deep gratitude that turned into adolescent love.

  In a moment of vulnerability, under the soft moonlight, Luna kissed Hiroshi on the cheek.

  "Thank you, Hiroshi," she whispered, her eyes moist. "I would be a dead body in some hole, but you saved me and took care of me. I am grateful and would give my life for you."

  Hiroshi felt the warmth of the kiss. To him, Luna was a little sister, the personification of the humanity he was fighting to protect. The kiss was a reminder of his promise to Bella: to protect the innocent.

  "You won't give your life for anyone, Luna. You will live," Hiroshi replied, stroking her hair.

  "**The girl is your anchor, boy. The last remnant of your humanity. Don't lose her**," Kerchack hissed, with a tone of warning.

  ## 2. Zark's Confession and the Night on the Ship

  Zark watched the scene from afar, leaning against the mast of the *Sea Vengeance*. She smiled, a complex smile that mixed happiness for Luna's purity and a pang of envy. She remembered her own youth, how she cared for Orpheus and her difficult times. She understood that Hiroshi needed Luna to stay human.

  However, the attraction to Hiroshi was undeniable. They shared the same pain, the same thirst for revenge against Yuzuki.

  That same night, Hiroshi was in his cabin on the ship, the window open to the night breeze. He turned and found Zark.

  She was leaning against the window, wearing only panties and a transparent white shirt that barely covered her body. Her long, dark hair was loose, and her green eyes shone with a dangerous intensity.

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  "I can't sleep," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "The mission... the tension..."

  Zark approached, and the tension broke. She seduced Hiroshi, and they kissed with a repressed passion. The night was consummated on the cabin floor, an act of raw intimacy, a momentary escape from the imminent war.

  The act was not just physical. It was a union of wounded souls, a silent promise that, no matter what happened, they would be together.

  ## 3. The Final Training and the Orb Dilemma

  The next day brought the reality of the mission. Hiroshi, Luna, and Zark trained together, now with stronger emotional bonds. Luna, with the weapon **Soul**, demonstrated her new strength, healing and protecting with impressive speed. Zark, with her espionage equipment, taught Hiroshi and Luna infiltration techniques.

  The focus of the training was the **Quaza Orb**.

  "The King is building the Quaza weapon in the Golden Capital. It's a magical engineering project that can only be deactivated by a Quaza weapon of opposite polarity," Zark explained.

  The dilemma was moral. The **Quaza Orb** swallowed Quaza energy and self-destructed. It could be used against the King's weapon, but the weapon had too much Quaza, enough to blow up the Capital.

  Hiroshi listened to the advice. Zark and Orpheus were in favor of the explosion. They wanted to see the Empire burn along with the nobles. Luna trusted Hiroshi and his decision.

  Kerchack, surprisingly, was the voice of reason.

  "**Even if the humans deserve it, boy, it's too radical an ideal. The Capital only has corrupt people, murderous bourgeoisie, and racist slavers, but the children have nothing to do with it. My revenge is against the King, not against children**," Kerchack hissed.

  Hiroshi remembered Bella being crucified for refusing to sleep with a disgusting Imperial captain, of her village corrupted by the petrification disease. He just wanted to leave this world and save Bella's village. He needed to enter the King's castle and get the cure and information.

  The decision was difficult, but Hiroshi knew he would have to choose in the moment.

  ## 4. The System's Mission: The Cost

  In the middle of his reflection, Hiroshi's LitRPG system flashed, presenting a new mission.

  > **MISSION UNLOCKED: THE COST!**

  >

  > **REQUIREMENT:** BLOW UP THE CAPITAL and kill 1000 bourgeoisie.

  >

  > **REWARD:** **LEVEL 5 TECHNIQUE: TOTAL ECLIPSE.** (A total eclipse forms, Hiroshi's power increases absurdly, and with Kerchack's power, everything goes dark, a *hit kill* attack with no blind spots.)

  Hiroshi felt a shiver. The system wanted him to commit a massacre in exchange for power. It seemed the system wanted him to choose this path at all costs, gaining a gigantic technique in exchange for an inhumane action.

  The next message from the system was even more disturbing.

  > **SYSTEM WARNING!**

  >

  > **If you do not complete the mission THE COST, penalty: you will lose a friend.**

  Hiroshi froze. What was happening? Had his entire path been manipulated by the system? The doubt hung over him, but the threat was real. He had to choose between humanity and power, between the lives of innocents and the life of a friend.

  The journey to the Golden Capital was not just a mission of war, but a moral test that would define who Hiroshi truly was.

  ***

  **END OF CHAPTER 27**