BRAND NEW WORLD

[A Short While Earlier...]

After successfully defeating Shadow Kardol and Shadow Uncle Pedo, Aul, Azrail, and Randgris also managed to defeat their respective shadows. The only one left now was Shadow Ringga. Naturally, with the advantage of numbers and Ringga’s brilliant strategy, Shadow Ringga was ultimately defeated without much difficulty.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Haah..." Kardol let out a long sigh. "Finally, we’ve defeated all the shadows."

"But I didn’t expect him to sacrifice the other shadows just to kill me," Uncle Pedo interjected.

"Whether it’s a shadow or the real thing, it’s apparently the same," he added.

Grandpa Shaman and Kardol nodded in agreement with Uncle Pedo’s statement.

"..."

"Ahem! A-anyway, let’s focus on how to defeat the Demon," Ringga said awkwardly.

"Do you have any ideas, Ga?"

"I do, but..." Ringga replied, trailing off.

Ringga fell silent. Everyone else fell silent too.

"What exactly is the plan?" Kardol asked.

Ringga then explained his plan.

"..."

Everyone fell silent after hearing Ringga’s explanation. Though his tone was light, his eyes betrayed a seriousness he couldn’t hide. We stared at each other for a few moments. No one said it aloud, but we all understood that this would be the final round of this long battle—and the deciding factor for the fate of this continent.

"Lun, are you sure you’re alright?" Rima asked, worried.

"Yes, I’m fine."

"Big Sis Luna, don’t push yourself too hard, okay?" Shana said.

I nodded with a small smile.

"Then, let’s go crush that Demon and bring peace back to this world!!" Ringga declared firmly.

"YEAH!!" everyone answered.

✦ ✦ ✦

SWOONG! SWOONG! SWOONG!

The Demon fired a barrage of magical projectiles at Ishtar in the sky. Ishtar maneuvered up and down to evade the Demon’s magic. Ishtar also retaliated with her own spells. The booming explosions echoed in all directions as the two magics collided. As they exchanged blows...

Crack! Crack!

A spatial rift formed in the sky. Seeing this, the Demon and Ishtar immediately halted their movements.

SHATTER!!

An explosion occurred, followed by a sound like shattering glass. The previously cracked space now opened wide. Before long, a large black sphere appeared. Ishtar and the Demon watched this event warily.

From within the black sphere, a pair of black wings and a black tail emerged. Its scales were pitch-black and glossy, like polished obsidian. The black sphere then burst apart, spreading outward like ripples on water. A black dragon could be seen soaring through the air, radiating an aura of annihilation. Seeing this, Ishtar’s gaze shifted to the black dragon hovering in the sky.

"..."

"Ga, are you sure about letting them meet? They’re sworn enemies..." Grandpa Shaman said.

"Don’t worry... that’s just backstory from within the game," Ringga replied.

"Besides, Tiamat is my ’familiar,’ and Ishtar has become Luna’s ’familiar,’ so they won’t fight each other to the death," he added.

"Even so..." Grandpa Shaman said, trailing off.

"..."

Ishtar, who was hovering in the sky, then turned toward me. I gave her a signal with a nod. Ishtar also nodded before shifting her gaze to Tiamat. Feeling the gaze, Tiamat turned to look at Ishtar. The two flew in silence, staring at each other before turning their attention back to the Demon. The Demon’s expression grew more serious than before as both stared at him.

The three of them then resumed their battle.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Alright, let’s begin," Ringga said.

"Stay safe over there, everyone."

"You stay safe here too," Rima replied after hugging me.

"Big Sis Luna, take care of yourself!" Shana said, hugging me.

"Please take care of my sister, okay?" Rima said to Ringga.

"I’ll protect her with my life," Ringga replied, his face serious.

Hearing this, my heart pounded wildly. I also felt something flutter in my stomach.

After that, we all embraced each other.

"See you later, Luna! Ringga!" Kardol said.

"Yeah, after this, let’s have a feast," Uncle Pedo said.

After saying our goodbyes, everyone left. Only Ringga and I remained.

"..."

"Then, I’ll begin."

Ringga responded with a nod. After that, I took out the crescent moon artifact that floated behind my back and began to hover in the air. I closed my eyes and focused on feeling the mana within my body.

I felt a warm current flowing inside me. Then, I began to chant my spell.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

Grandpa Shaman stood alone on an empty field, watching Ishtar and Tiamat battle the Demon in the distance.

"Huuuhh..." Grandpa Shaman let out a long breath.

"You can do this. It’s just like practice," Grandpa Shaman murmured.

Grandpa Shaman stored his staff into his spatial storage, then closed his eyes. He began to feel the mana within his body. After a few moments, Grandpa Shaman began to chant his spell.

"..."

The moment he started chanting, the mana within his body began to flow at an incredible speed.

Grandpa Shaman’s body began to heat up.

Heat haze shimmered around his body.

And thin smoke rose from his body.

Before long, Grandpa Shaman opened his eyes and muttered...

"TRUE DRAGON TRANSFORMATION"

After saying that, an explosion of energy burst from his body, and a pillar of energy shot into the sky. This event forced the Demon, Ishtar, and Tiamat to pause briefly and shift their focus toward the energy pillar.

Grandpa Shaman’s body was enveloped in a sphere of light.

The sphere of light then began to expand.

It kept expanding.

And expanded further until it towered over the surrounding trees.

The sphere of light then formed a silhouette.

As the light spread and faded like ripples on water, a golden-scaled dragon stood on four legs.

Grandpa Shaman then opened his eyes, flapping his wings and swaying his tail.

RRAAARRGGHHH!!

Grandpa Shaman’s roar echoed across the entire area. Grandpa Shaman glanced around his own body.

Phew... thank goodness I was able to transform smoothly without any issues— Grandpa Shaman thought.

Grandpa Shaman then gazed at the Demon in the distance. He opened his mouth, and mana began to gather within it. Seeing this, the Demon swung his arm forward, about to unleash a spell, when his body suddenly knelt, pulled toward the ground by gravity. From space, a massive black chain emerged and locked the Demon’s movements.

Thirty seconds later...

PHOTON BLAST!

SWOONG!!

Grandpa Shaman unleashed a golden-white energy beam that shot rapidly toward the Demon.

The Demon struggled to break free from the chains and the gravity holding him down, but his efforts were in vain.

ZAP!

The photon blast struck his left arm. A few seconds later, as the blast subsided, the Demon’s left arm was gone, and burn marks covered his left shoulder.

It seems I missed slightly. The recoil from firing it was much greater than expected. Not to mention maintaining stability and staying still. This is harder than I anticipated— Grandpa Shaman thought.

After that, Tiamat, Ishtar, and Grandpa Shaman continued to rain attacks down upon the Demon.

"..."

"Now!" Ringga shouted.

After his shout, Ringga produced a massive pillar as tall as a tree and slammed it into the ground. With a signal from Ringga...

"Upon the expanse of sky where the tree of light grows, open your gates wide, destroy the darkness!"

"Spirits cloaked in divine light, race like arrows across the sky and pierce the flesh of my enemy!"

"Avatar of light, descend upon me from the twinkling stars!"

"Wrath descends from the throne above, lightning and thunder, light of judgment, strike down my foe!"

"Harness the power of dragons that soar across the heavens, bringing down stars from the heights above, burning everything to the ground!"

STARFALL!

After the final words, I opened my eyes, and a pillar of light shot into the sky from my body. The pillar of light ascended, slowly carrying the mana from within my body. As my mana was completely drained, my vision began to blur. My veins felt like they were burning. A high-pitched ringing filled my ears, while a cold sensation crept from my fingertips. Slowly, everything went dark.

✦ ✦ ✦

After the last pillar of light left Luna’s body, her body went limp and began to fall. Quickly, Ringga caught Luna’s body and landed on the ground. For a moment, Ringga gazed at Luna’s face in his lap. Then he laid Luna down on a mat beneath a tree.

"Please watch over her," Ringga said. His tone was gentle, yet carried a firm resolve.

"Yes, my Lord!" Aul replied, bowing his head slightly forward.

✦ ✦ ✦

The pillar he had planted earlier then released walls of energy that shot left and right. Energy walls also came from both directions, then merged.

Five minutes later, a point of light appeared in the sky. At first, it was small, but gradually it began to grow. The point of light then turned red.

Realizing that something was falling from the sky and that the energy walls on the sides were rising higher, the Demon grew increasingly ferocious. He tried to flee toward one corner, but not far ahead, a large black sphere appeared, and from it, Tiamat shot out and slammed into the Demon’s body, sending him flying several hundred meters. However, the Demon quickly got back up.

After getting up, the Demon ran again. This time, the Demon was bombarded by dozens of massive light spears from the sky. Once again, the Demon’s movements were hindered. Even so, the Demon managed to dodge the light spears with his agility.

After escaping the light spears, the Demon felt optimistic because there was nothing else blocking his path—until a massive earthen wall suddenly rose before him, covered in sharp spikes. The Demon immediately stopped. He turned to the side. But after just a few steps, a massive wall of fire appeared. The Demon stopped again and turned back. This time, when he had taken only a few steps, a tornado of wind suddenly appeared. The Demon halted once more. As he ran, he was shocked to see Grandpa Shaman in the distance.

In the distance, Grandpa Shaman had already opened his eyes, and a blue magic circle formed in front of his mouth. Before long, a high-pressure water cannon shot toward the Demon. The Demon then created an energy barrier to block the water cannon.

SWOOSH!

The barrier successfully held back the water cannon. But it didn’t last long.

Crack!

A crack formed at the point of impact. The Demon was shocked. Before he could react...

SHATTER!

The barrier shattered instantly, and the water cannon struck his body, pushing him back several hundred meters until...

THWACK!

The Demon’s body stopped as it slammed into the earthen wall with spikes from before. Black blood dripped from the spikes piercing his body. Now the Demon was impaled upon the wall, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Seeing this, spatial rifts formed. Ishtar, Grandpa Shaman, and Tiamat entered the portals and vanished. Before long...

The sky turned red.

A massive shadow covered the battlefield.

The temperature rose.

The air vibrated.

Trees burst into flames before the meteor even touched the ground.

The Demon, pinned to the wall, looked up. For the first time, his arrogant expression cracked—replaced by pure terror. He tried to scream, but the roar of the meteor drowned out his voice.

BOOOMM!!

A stadium-sized meteor came hurtling down and struck the Demon directly. A cataclysmic explosion erupted. Shockwaves radiated from the point of impact, spreading across the entire area.

VWOOSH!

However, the shockwaves and the explosion did not spread far, as they were contained by the energy walls.

✦ ✦ ✦