BRAND NEW WORLD

As Radhimar, Daisy, Rania, and Bartasz wrapped their arms around me, time seemed to slow.

For a moment, nothing else mattered. All I could feel was the warmth of their bodies and the steady beating of their hearts so close to mine. Rima, Lusserina, Abiyasa, and Anandhita quietly left the room, as though deliberately giving us some time alone.

I didn’t know how long we remained like that.

But for the first time since learning the truth about my old world, my heart felt a little lighter.

My old life really was over.

The place I once called home was somewhere I could never return to.

And yet, the warmth surrounding me now was real too.

They were all real.

And perhaps...

This was my home now.

A few moments later—

GROWL!

A loud noise suddenly broke the silence.

Everyone released me and stared.

I froze.

They froze too.

Then—

"Hahaha!"

We all burst out laughing.

I lowered my head in embarrassment and held my stomach. Apparently, my body had decided there were more pressing matters to deal with than the emotional atmosphere we’d just created.

"Let’s get some breakfast," Ringga said with an amused smile.

Radhimar, Daisy, Rania, and Bartasz climbed off the bed and headed out of the room.

When they reached the doorway, they stopped and looked back at me one last time.

I returned their gazes with a small nod and a smile.

A few seconds later, they disappeared beyond the door, their footsteps gradually fading as they descended the stairs.

I turned towards Ringga.

"Thank you."

"Hm?"

"For always staying by my side."

Ringga’s face instantly turned red all the way to his ears.

"I-I just don’t want to make our children—erm... I mean, Radhimar and the others—sad. Especially Daisy."

Our children?

I stared at him for a moment.

Ringga hurriedly looked away.

I suppressed a smile.

"That’s exactly why I’m thanking you."

"R-Rather than talking about that, you should hurry up and get changed. You don’t want to make them worry, do you?"

"All right, all right."

Ringga quickly left the room and closed the door behind him.

I continued staring at the door for several seconds after he was gone.

That man, honestly...

Before I knew it, I was smiling again.

After changing my clothes, I opened the bedroom door.

"Ringga?"

To my surprise, he was still standing outside.

"You haven’t gone downstairs yet?"

"Shhh!" Ringga immediately raised an index finger to his lips. "Keep your voice down. The others might hear us."

I frowned and gestured with my hand.

Why?

Ringga stepped closer.

"Listen. We’re going downstairs together, and I’m going to help you walk."

"But I can walk by myself."

"Just go along with it."

Ringga immediately took my hand.

"Pretend you’re still weak, okay?"

I stared at him suspiciously.

This man...

What exactly is he planning?

The two of us then headed downstairs together.

As soon as we reached the ground floor, I found everyone already gathered around the dining table.

Every pair of eyes immediately turned towards me.

Radhimar and Bartasz shot to their feet.

"Mother!"

"Ma!"

Before I could say anything, the two of them hurried over and practically carried me to my chair.

I glanced at Ringga.

He merely smiled as though he had absolutely nothing to do with any of this.

So this was your plan?

"Mom..."

I turned around.

Daisy was looking at me with worry written all over her face.

"Are you still sick?"

Ugh.

Damn it, Ringga.

You’re making me lie to Daisy.

You’d better hope she doesn’t start doing anything strange because she’s worried about me.

"No, sweetheart."

I gently stroked Daisy’s head.

"I’m just feeling a little weak. After a few days of rest, I’ll be completely fine."

"Really?"

"Really."

Daisy finally smiled in relief.

A short while later, breakfast was ready and immediately served.

We all ate together as usual.

At first, Lusserina, Abiyasa, and Anandhita had always refused to sit at the same table as us because they considered themselves mere servants. But after Daisy repeatedly insisted, they eventually gave in.

Since then, eating together at the same table had become part of our daily routine.

I looked at the faces sitting around me, one by one.

The clinking of cutlery against plates.

Casual conversation.

Soft laughter.

In the past, I probably wouldn’t have given such ordinary things much thought.

But now, everything felt different.

For some reason, Adhama and Hawra’s words resurfaced in my mind.

My old world was gone.

But even so...

I still had somewhere to come home to.

"Ahh~ I’m stuffed!"

Radhimar leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach.

"Lu, Abi, Ana. Your cooking is amazing as always," Rania praised them as she wiped her mouth.

"Mm! I agree with Sis," Bartasz chimed in before taking a sip of warm tea.

Lusserina, Abiyasa, and Anandhita’s cooking truly was as wonderful as ever.

We chatted for a while before Rima, Radhimar, Rania, and Bartasz left to take care of their respective duties.

Meanwhile, Daisy went out to play in the back garden with Bamby, Arimby, and Griffa and Riffon’s children.

I sat on the rear veranda with Ringga, watching over her.

Daisy ran around laughing as several young gryphons chased after her.

A smile appeared on my face at the sight.

"Ga?"

"Hm?"

"By the way..."

I turned towards him.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"Cough!"

Ringga immediately choked on his drink.

He hurriedly put down his cup.

"I thought you weren’t going to ask."

"How long was it?"

Ringga fell silent for a moment.

"Seven days."

"..."

I blinked.

"Seven days?!"

My voice rose before I could stop myself.

Ringga slowly nodded.

My eyes widened.

It had felt as though I’d only spent a short while with Adhama and Hawra.

Yet my body had apparently been unconscious for an entire week?

"Then..."

I looked at Ringga seriously.

"What happened to the battle?"

Ringga fell silent.

His expression gradually changed.

Then he began telling me everything.

According to him, after I lost consciousness, they immediately carried out the final stage of the plan.

Four pillars stood around the battlefield, forming an enormous cage of energy. Tiamat, Ishtar, and Mbah Dukun then drove the Devil back towards the centre while preventing him from reaching the protective boundary.

After every attempt to escape had been thwarted, the Devil was finally pinned against Mbah Dukun’s spiked earthen wall.

And that was when—

the meteorite I had summoned arrived.

BOOOOM!!

The tremendous impact shook the earth, its tremors felt far beyond the epicentre.

A wave of searing heat swept across the battlefield.

Dust and shattered earth were hurled high into the air, blotting out the sky as a brilliant white flash overwhelmed everything in sight.

Those watching from afar could only stand frozen.

Some clenched their trembling fists.

Others squeezed their eyes shut.

A few embraced those closest to them.

But the blast they feared never reached them.

The greenish energy walls formed by the four pillars contained the heat wave and flying debris within the battlefield.

Not a single person outside the barrier was harmed.

A short while before Starfall was cast...

"I’ll explain the plan. Listen carefully."

Ringga’s usually carefree tone had become unusually serious.

Everyone turned their attention to him.

"As we all know, the Devil possesses an extremely troublesome regenerative ability. As long as he’s given the slightest chance to recover, wearing him down bit by bit won’t be enough to kill him."

Ringga paused.

"That’s why we need a single attack capable of inflicting an overwhelming amount of damage almost instantaneously."

His gaze shifted towards me.

"And that’s where Luna plays the most important role."

Every head immediately turned in my direction.

Kardol froze.

"...Don’t tell me you’re planning to use that spell?"

Ringga didn’t answer immediately.

A few seconds later, he nodded.

"Yes."

His expression remained grave.

"According to my calculations, it’s the only attack with a high enough probability of destroying the Devil before his regeneration can take effect."

Everyone swallowed hard.

They already knew which spell he meant.

Starfall.

Back on the battlefield...

The thunderous rumbling gradually faded.

Thick clouds of dust still filled the area beyond the energy walls.

Then came silence.

No one cheered.

No one dared assume the battle was over.

Everyone waited.

Three magic circles suddenly appeared not far from Ringga.

Rima, Shana, and Lusserina emerged almost simultaneously.

The moment they saw my unconscious body lying beneath a tree, all three rushed towards me.

"Luna!"

"Big Sis Luna!"

"My Lady!"

Lusserina immediately dropped to her knees beside me.

Rima checked my condition, her face pale with worry.

"Don’t worry."

Ringga continued staring towards the battlefield.

"Her life isn’t in danger. She depleted too much of her mana. She needs time to recover."

Once they confirmed that I was breathing steadily, the three of them finally relaxed a little.

Lusserina remained beside me while Rima and Shana approached Ringga.

"Well?" Rima asked. "Did it work?"

Ringga didn’t answer.

His gaze remained fixed on the cloud of dust trapped within the energy cage.

"Hard to say."

"Why?" Shana asked.

"It’s still far too hot in there. If I use thermal detection now, almost the entire battlefield will register as one enormous mass of heat."

Rima thought for a moment.

"What if we cooled it down with ice or water magic?"

"Hm..."

Ringga shook his head.

"Ice isn’t suitable. Rain, though, could clear the dust and lower the temperature at the same time."

He looked towards Rima and Shana.

"Can you do it?"

"Of course."

Rima and Shana moved several steps apart.

Both closed their eyes and began to concentrate.

Before long, magic circles appeared beneath their feet and slowly began to rotate.

Two pillars of light shot into the sky.

Dark clouds gathered overhead.

Thunder rumbled.

And then—

rain began to fall.

Droplets struck the still-smouldering earth.

Water that touched the scorching ground instantly turned to steam, but little by little, the thick dust obscuring their vision began to settle.

Several minutes passed.

Once visibility had improved, Ringga vanished from where he stood like a shadow.

A moment later, he reappeared in the air directly above the centre of the battlefield.

Tiamat, Randgris, Ishtar, and Mbah Dukun soon followed, hovering behind him.

They all looked down.

The ground had become a colossal crater.

Thin trails of smoke still rose from its surface.

And at the very centre...

lay the enormous meteorite that had obliterated everything around it.

"Search the entire area," Ringga ordered. "Look for anything. Footprints, remains, pieces of his body—whatever you can find."

Tiamat, Ishtar, Randgris, and Mbah Dukun immediately scattered.

A short while later, they returned.

"There’s no sign that he escaped, Ga," Mbah Dukun reported.

Ringga narrowed his eyes.

"Then everything went according to my calculations."

He looked down at the meteorite.

"Lift it."

Tiamat and Ishtar immediately descended.

Mbah Dukun transformed back into his golden dragon form.

The three dragons dug their claws into the enormous meteorite.

GRRRRRR...

The ground trembled.

The stadium-sized mass of rock slowly rose.

Little by little.

Until finally, something beneath it came into view.

A body.

Or rather...

something that had once been a body.

Its entire surface had been charred black beyond recognition.

There was no movement.

No regeneration.

No trace of mana.

Ringga stared at it for several moments.

Then he snapped his fingers.

FWOOSH!

Flames engulfed the corpse.

Within seconds, what remained of the Devil was reduced to ash.

The wind carried it away.

Only after every last trace had disappeared did Ringga finally let out a long breath.

The corner of his mouth curled upwards.

"We did it."

Tiamat, Ishtar, and Mbah Dukun slowly lowered the meteorite back into the crater.

Then they vanished from the scene along with Ringga.

Ringga reappeared beside my unconscious body with Tiamat, Ishtar, Mbah Dukun, and Randgris.

Rima immediately approached him.

"Well?"

Ringga smiled.

"We did it."

For several moments, no one spoke.

Rima and Shana released long breaths.

The tension that had weighed on their shoulders finally eased.

The long battle was over at last.

"In that case, I’ll return to Arvastan and inform the Kingdom of Moesram," Rima said.

"I’ll head to Nyrranthea and check on the situation there," Shana added.

Magic circles appeared beneath their feet.

In an instant, light enveloped their bodies before they disappeared.

Ringga then looked at everyone who remained.

"We should return to the Nuzantra forces’ camp as well."

He snapped his fingers.

Magic circles enveloped everyone.

And a moment later—

they vanished from the battlefield, leaving it silent at last.