Villain Origin : Every Crime I Commit Helps Me Level Up-Chapter 34: Moonlit Duel

The cut on André’s cheek burned with an unnatural coldness, the wound glowing with a faint silver light. Blood trickled down his face, but the pain wasn’t what concerned him—it was the realization of how close he’d come to death.

’If it wasn’t for my ability to sense danger, my head would be rolling across this floor right now,’ André thought, his mind racing to process what he’d just witnessed. ’What the fuck was that? Some kind of energy weapon?’

Victor remained unnervingly still, his posture relaxed as if they were having a casual business meeting rather than a lethal confrontation. The moonlight streaming through the warehouse’s broken windows seemed to cling to him, casting strange, elongated shadows that moved slightly out of sync with his body.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

> Opponent Analysis: High-Range Combatant

> Recommendation: Close-Quarter Engagement

> Caution: Unknown Energy Manipulation

André’s eyes narrowed as he processed the system’s warning. The moonlight blade had appeared without warning, from a distance. Victor hadn’t even moved. The implications were clear—the longer he stayed at range, the more vulnerable he was.

’I need to end this quickly,’ André decided, confidence surging through him as he recalled his recent level-up. ’He caught me off guard once, but he won’t get that chance again. Whatever this moonlight trick is, it won’t help him when I’m crushing his windpipe.’

Victor tilted his head slightly, studying André with clinical detachment. "Vessel or not, you’re out of your depth here. Walk away while you still can."

The warehouse fell silent, dust particles dancing in the thin beams of moonlight that streaked through the ceiling. André didn’t respond. Instead, he began to activate his Ghost Network ability, his presence slowly fading as he stepped sideways into the shadows.

His movements became whisper-quiet, each step calculated to produce no sound. The urban camouflage aspect of his ability kicked in, making him blend with the warehouse’s dark corners. To an ordinary person, he would have seemed to vanish completely.

Victor remained motionless, his expression unchanged. ’He really believes something like this would work against me?’ he thought, amusement flickering across his features. His eyes—now glowing with a subtle silver light—tracked André’s movement despite the near-perfect camouflage. ’Amusing, but ultimately futile.’

André circled wide, using the warehouse’s abandoned machinery and stacked crates as cover. His heartbeat slowed to a controlled rhythm, muscles coiling as he prepared to strike. Twenty feet away. Fifteen. Ten. Each step bringing him closer to Victor’s exposed back.

Just as André prepared to lunge, Victor’s lips curled into a cold smile. "You think you can just hide and attack from anywhere?" he called out, not bothering to turn around. "What you’ve failed to understand is that I’m the worst person to try that with."

Victor raised one hand toward the ceiling, fingers splayed. "Let me enlighten you."

The moonlight streaming through the broken windows suddenly intensified, multiplying a hundredfold. The beams converged on Victor’s upraised hand, then exploded outward in a blinding flash that illuminated every corner of the warehouse with unnatural brightness.

André threw an arm up to shield his eyes, momentarily disoriented by the sudden loss of shadows. His camouflage advantage evaporated instantly, leaving him exposed less than ten feet from Victor.

’Shit!’ André cursed internally, blinking rapidly to clear his vision.

That moment of vulnerability was all Victor needed. With a casual gesture, dozens of gleaming silver blades—each formed of concentrated moonlight—materialized in the air around him. They hovered there for a heartbeat, spinning slowly, before launching toward André with impossible speed.

André’s Keen Instincts screamed a warning. Despite the disorientation, he twisted his body, the system’s danger detection allowing him to narrowly avoid what would have been certain death. One blade sliced across his bicep, another cut into his thigh—each wound instantly glowing with that same eerie silver light.

"Not bad," Victor remarked, sounding genuinely impressed. "Most would have been turned into a pincushion."

André fell back, putting distance between them. The cuts burned like ice against his skin, and he noticed with growing concern that the wounds weren’t clotting normally. Silver light leaked from them like glowing blood.

"System, what is he?" André demanded under his breath, eyes never leaving Victor.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

> Entity Identified: Vessel of Selene

> Selene: Goddess of the Moon, Night, and Magic

> Known for power over illumination, dreams, and lunar energy

> Caution: Vessels of celestial entities possess enhanced capabilities during their deity’s domain hours

> Current Condition: Night/Moonlight Present – Vessel at Enhanced Capacity

André processed this information as Victor began to pace, moonlight swirling around his hands like liquid silver. So his opponent wasn’t just another vessel—he was empowered by a goddess. The revelation should have been intimidating, but instead, a surge of adrenaline coursed through André’s veins. This was a real test of his new abilities.

"A goddess, huh?" André said, straightening his posture as he reassessed his approach. "And here I thought you were just another corporate thug with a fancy trick."

Victor’s expression darkened slightly. "Your ignorance is profound. Selene isn’t just a goddess—she’s the embodiment of the night itself. And tonight," he gestured to the moonlight streaming through the windows, "she’s especially generous."

André watched as the silver glow in Victor’s eyes intensified. The moonlight around him coalesced, dozens of crescent-shaped blades forming in the air, each humming with barely contained energy. His shadow on the wall behind him moved independently, stretching and writhing like a living thing.

’Stealth won’t work. Keeping my distance is suicide,’ André thought, weighing his options. ’Time to change tactics.’

André rolled his shoulders, activating his Vessel’s Strike ability. Energy coursed through his muscles, enhancing their already superhuman strength. His mind raced with possible approaches—he needed to get close, but doing so would require perfect timing and movement. No room for error.

"Let’s see what your goddess can do against someone who doesn’t fear the dark," André challenged, adopting a fighting stance that would allow him to close distance quickly.

Victor’s eyes narrowed. ’Interesting. Most vessels try to run when they realize what they’re facing,’ he thought. The moonlight blades surrounding him pulsed brighter in response to his curiosity. ’Perhaps this won’t be as boring as I anticipated.’

"Brave words," Victor replied, his voice eerily calm. "Let’s test that courage."

With a subtle flick of his wrist, Victor sent the first wave of moonlight blades hurtling toward André. They moved with blinding speed, leaving trails of silver light in their wake. André barely had time to react, his enhanced reflexes letting him dodge the first few, but there were simply too many. One sliced across his shoulder, another grazed his side.

André moved with precision, his Keen Instincts warning him of each blade’s trajectory a split second before it arrived. He weaved through the deadly barrage, each movement deliberate and economical. He wasn’t faster than the light weapons, but his ability to anticipate danger gave him just enough of an edge to evade them while analyzing Victor’s attack patterns.

Victor frowned slightly, seeing André’s calculated movements. He summoned more blades, doubling their number, and sent them in a crisscrossing pattern designed to be inescapable. The air filled with silver streaks as dozens of blades converged on André from all directions.

André’s Keen Instincts went into overdrive, his body twisting and contorting in ways that should have been impossible. Despite his extraordinary evasion, the sheer volume of attacks was overwhelming. Three blades broke through his defense—one scoring across his back, another slicing his calf, the third cutting a shallow line across his cheek parallel to the first wound.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

> HP: 92/130

> Warning: Lunar Damage – Reduces Healing Rate by 15%

But André didn’t stop. Each step brought him closer to Victor, who continued to maintain his distance while launching wave after wave of moonlight blades. The barrage was relentless, the air singing with the sound of energy cutting through space.

"You’re persistent," Victor called out, genuine curiosity in his voice as he created yet another ring of blades around himself. "But persistence alone won’t save you."

The next volley came faster than before, the blades no longer flying in straight lines but curving and changing direction mid-flight. André’s instincts screamed constantly now, his body moving on pure reflex as he continued his advance.

Silver light flashed all around André as he darted between attacks, his movements becoming more desperate with each wave. Despite his extraordinary reflexes, the warehouse floor was becoming increasingly difficult to navigate as Victor intensified his assault. André’s focus remained absolute, eyes locked on Victor, who was carefully maintaining the distance between them.

’He’s not engaging in close combat,’ André realized, dodging another blade by millimeters. ’Which means he doesn’t want me to get near him.’

This realization spurred André to formulate a plan. He needed to create an opening—some way to cross the final distance without being shredded by the moonlight blades. Victor’s attacks were precisely controlled, each one aimed to keep André at bay while maintaining enough distance to react to any approach.

Victor’s expression remained confident as André attempted to close to within fifteen feet. The moonlight blades continued to materialize and launch at incredible speed, forming an almost impenetrable barrier of silver light. André weaved and ducked with superhuman precision, but for every foot he gained, Victor would create a new volley that forced him back.

"Impossible," Victor muttered, backing up faster now and nearly stumbling over debris. "No one should be able to—"

André surged forward in a final burst of speed, Vessel’s Strike flowing through his muscles as he crossed the last few feet separating them. Victor hastily created a barrier of spinning blades around himself, but André pushed through it, accepting the cuts as the price of reaching his target.

’Got you,’ André thought triumphantly as he finally came within striking distance of Victor.

Victor’s eyes widened in genuine alarm, the silver glow intensifying as André’s fist drew back, ready to deliver a crushing blow. The warehouse air crackled with tension as the two vessels faced each other at point-blank range—one surrounded by moonlight, the other covered in glowing wounds but unbowed.

André struck, his enhanced strength turning the blow into something beyond human capability. Victor, unused to close-quarters combat, barely had time to react...

But as André’s fist connected, he felt only the resistance of air. Victor’s form rippled like disturbed water, then dissolved into wisps of silver light. An afterimage.

"Impressive approach," came Victor’s voice from behind him. "But ultimately predictable."

André spun around, Keen Instincts screaming a warning. Victor stood a mere three feet away, smiling with cold amusement. The moonlight streaming through the warehouse windows swirled around him more intensely now, casting multiple overlapping clones that moved independently of his body.