BRAND NEW WORLD

Tiamat...

The one who had held the upper hand only moments ago was brought crashing down in the blink of an eye.

Satan had overturned the battle with terrifying speed.

One massive hand clamped around Tiamat’s throat before violently slamming her into the earth.

BOOOM!!

The ground trembled beneath the impact.

But Satan wasn’t finished.

He planted one foot firmly against Tiamat’s neck while pinning down one of her arms. Then, raising his clawed hand high—

SHLK!

He plunged it straight into her chest.

"AAARRRGGHH!!"

Tiamat’s agonized scream tore across the battlefield.

Black light began seeping from Satan’s buried hand.

"What the hell is happening?!" Kardol exclaimed.

"..."

"Big Sis! We have to help her!" Shana cried, horror spreading across her face.

I immediately activated my Analysis skill.

The information that appeared made my blood run cold.

"...It looks like Satan is draining Tiamat’s HP and MP."

"WHAT?!" Mbah Dukun shouted.

And then...

We saw the result.

The wounds covering Satan’s enormous body began closing one after another.

Even the arm that had been severed earlier started regenerating. Flesh writhed from the stump, rapidly forming muscle and bone until, within mere moments—

His missing arm had been completely restored.

Rima’s expression hardened.

"We need to do something. Now."

"..."

There was no other choice.

"Guys!"

I drew a breath.

"Buy me a few minutes!"

Mbah Dukun immediately turned toward me.

"You have a plan?"

I nodded.

He stared at me for a moment before giving a firm nod of his own.

"Alright. I’ll buy you as much time as I can."

"Don’t worry." Rima smiled. "Leave it to us."

"Mm! You can count on us!" Shana added.

I opened my dimensional storage and pulled out several bottles filled with blue liquid.

GLUG! GLUG! GLUG!

I emptied them one after another.

Almost immediately, mana surged back through my body, replenishing what I had lost.

I brought my hands together.

Closed my eyes.

And shut everything else out.

Slowly...

I focused on the mana flowing through every part of my body.

Then I began chanting the spell silently within my heart.

A moment later—

FWOOOSH!

A brilliant white-golden aura erupted from me.

Satan noticed.

His head snapped in our direction.

His mouth opened—

ZWUUUNG!!

A concentrated blast of black energy tore through the air toward us.

It was only meters away when someone stepped forward.

A staff swept through the air.

ZWOOSH!

The black energy stopped.

An invisible barrier had materialized roughly two meters ahead of the staff, completely blocking Satan’s attack.

Seeing his spell fail, Satan immediately summoned several spheres of black flame.

But Rima and Shana were already moving.

They stepped forward together.

Flames gathered before them.

Then—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Their fireballs collided with Satan’s black flames in midair, exploding one after another.

"Leave this to us," Mbah Dukun said with a grin.

"That’s right, Big Sis!" Shana shouted. "Just focus on whatever you’re trying to do!"

Rima said nothing.

She looked at me...

and smiled.

Then she nodded.

"..."

They were right.

I couldn’t afford to lose focus now.

Guys...

I’m counting on you.

I closed my eyes once more and returned my full attention to the spell.

Satan finally stopped draining Tiamat.

His attention had shifted entirely toward us.

The instant his claw withdrew from her chest, Tiamat transformed back into her Draconian form and immediately retreated in our direction.

Strangely...

Satan didn’t chase her.

He stood there.

Watching us.

"..."

For the next several minutes, spell after spell rained down upon us.

Black flames.

Dark energy.

Magic powerful enough to shake the surrounding battlefield.

Yet Mbah Dukun, Rima, and Shana held their ground.

Again and again...

They stopped everything Satan threw at us.

Until finally—

My spell was complete.

ZWOOSH!!

A pillar of light erupted from my body and pierced the heavens.

At the same instant—

My mana plummeted.

Ninety percent.

Gone.

"..."

The light surrounding me gradually disappeared.

And immediately...

My body became unbearably heavy.

"Haa... haa..."

My breathing grew ragged.

My vision blurred.

Flying required mana.

And with less than ten percent remaining...

I could no longer maintain my balance.

My body began falling.

Oh no!

I have to—

Before I could hit the ground...

Someone caught me.

"Oops. That was close."

"...?"

"Miss, you really should be more careful, you know?"

That voice...

I looked up.

And found Ringga smiling down at me.

"Ringga...?"

For some reason...

The moment I saw his face—

Thump.

My heart skipped.

Then began pounding wildly against my chest.

What...

What was that...?

"..."

A few moments later, I finally came back to my senses.

I quickly pulled myself away from Ringga and took out another blue potion.

GLUG!

Mana slowly began returning to my body.

But high above us...

Something had already begun.

Dark clouds blanketed the sky.

And from their depths—

A faint pillar of white-golden light descended upon the earth.

Straight toward Satan.

At first, it was no wider than a beam.

Then...

It expanded.

And expanded.

Until torrents of dense white-golden energy poured down from the heavens.

Satan’s entire body trembled beneath its radiance.

His teeth clenched.

His massive frame slowly sank lower, as though an invisible force had suddenly multiplied gravity around him.

He raised his hands.

Several magic circles appeared in the air.

Black spheres of lightning erupted from them and shot toward the enormous white figure above.

And then...

From beyond the darkened clouds—

she descended.

A magnificent white dragon.

Her immaculate scales shimmered beneath the heavens, while a radiant white-golden aura wrapped around her colossal body like sacred fire.

Soon after, Shana, Rima, and Mbah Dukun regrouped with us.

"Big Sis Luna!"

"Sis!"

"Lun!"

Shana immediately rushed closer.

"Big Sis Luna, are you alright?"

Worry filled her face.

"Yes. I’m fine. Thank you for worrying about me."

Rima released a small sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness."

Mbah Dukun, meanwhile, wasn’t looking at me.

His eyes were fixed on the sky.

"Lun..."

His expression slowly changed.

"Is that what I think it is?!"

I nodded.

"..."

Disbelief spread across his face.

"Ringga has Tiamat... and you..."

He couldn’t even finish the sentence.

A few moments later, Tiamat finally reached us.

Her clothes were in tatters.

Wounds covered her body, with the most severe injury centered around her chest.

"Tiamat..."

Rima immediately stepped forward.

"Let me treat you."

"I-I’ll help too!" Shana added.

I turned toward Ringga.

"Ga."

"If you’re here..."

"What about Kardol and Mang Pedo?"

Ringga’s expression twitched.

"..."

I let out a long sigh.

"Then let’s go help them."

"They’re probably having a hard time right now."

"But you—"

"I’m fine."

I smiled faintly.

"Thank you for worrying about me."

Ringga fell silent.

"I’ll come too," Mbah Dukun said.

"Alright, then." Ringga glanced toward the others. "Rima, Shana, Tiamat—you three catch up with us later."

"Yes! We’ll follow as soon as we can!" Shana replied.

And with that...

Ringga, Mbah Dukun, and I left.

Meanwhile, Elsewhere...

CLANG!

BAM!

SLASH!

"Damn that Ringga!" Kardol cursed. "He just runs off and leaves us here fighting his damn shadow!"

Kardol and Mang Pedo were currently fighting three opponents.

Their own shadows...

and Ringga’s.

Fighting themselves was already troublesome enough.

But now they also had to deal with a duplicate of Ringga—

one of the greatest players in TNWO.

"And his subordinates are too busy fighting their own shadows to help us!" Mang Pedo complained.

With three enemies pressing them simultaneously, the two had been forced completely onto the defensive.

Five Minutes Later

"Haa... haa... haa..."

Kardol’s chest heaved.

So this is the strength of one of TNWO’s greatest players...

Even as a mere duplicate, he’s this troublesome.

CLANG! CLANG!

Mang Pedo gritted his teeth.

Damn it...

His attacks are ridiculously heavy!

At that moment, Mang Pedo was being cornered by both Shadow Mang Pedo and Shadow Ringga.

Slashes.

Punches.

Kicks.

Magic.

Attack after attack crashed down upon him without pause.

"..."

Mang Pedo blocked another strike from his own shadow.

Then—

SHLK!

A blade suddenly pierced straight through Shadow Mang Pedo’s body...

and continued onward—

straight into the left side of Mang Pedo’s chest.

His eyes widened.

What?!

He stabbed his own ally just to reach me?!

Mang Pedo immediately tore himself free and jumped backward.

But the instant he retreated—

Shadow Ringga was already there.

Right in front of him.

The shadow’s sword flashed.

Straight toward his heart.

Damn it!

I can’t dodge from this position!

Time seemed to slow.

The blade drew closer.

So... this is as far as I go?

Mang Pedo closed his eyes.

The sword was barely a handspan away from his heart when—

CLANG!!

BAM!!

"Hey."

A firm voice cut through the chaos.

"This isn’t the time to sleep."

Mang Pedo froze.

Huh...?

That voice...

His eyes snapped open.

There, standing directly before him...

was a back he knew all too well.

Ringga...?

The corner of Mang Pedo’s mouth lifted.

"...You bastard."

Then he suddenly felt a hand press against his back.

He turned.

"Luna?"

I smiled and nodded.

White-green light gathered around my hand.

A moment later, the same gentle radiance enveloped Mang Pedo’s battered body.

His pale expression gradually relaxed as his wounds began to heal.

Meanwhile—

Kardol continued trading blows with his own shadow.

Then...

A crimson glow suddenly enveloped his body.

His eyes widened.

This is...

His movements accelerated.

ZRET!

ZRET!

ZRET!

Like a streak of lightning, Kardol tore through his shadow.

First the legs.

Then the arms.

And finally—

SLASH!

The neck.

Shadow Kardol’s severed body dissolved into nothingness.

Kardol looked upward.

"Took you long enough."

A figure hovered above him with an amused smile.

"Blame Ringga."

Kardol grinned.

"Anyway—thanks for the buff, Kun!"

Several Minutes Later...

With reinforcements finally on their side, the tide of battle changed completely.

One by one...

The remaining shadows fell.

And soon—

Everyone had gathered together once more.

Ringga swept his gaze across the group.

Then smiled.

"Good."

"Now that everyone’s ready..."

His expression sharpened.

"...it’s time to end this once and for all!"

"YEAH!!"

Everyone answered in unison.

Several Minutes Earlier...

After breaking free from the pressure weighing upon him, Satan unleashed countless spheres of black energy toward Ishtar in the sky.

Ishtar answered.

White-golden spheres of energy appeared around her.

Then—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Light and darkness collided across the heavens.

For the first time...

Satan’s expression changed.

The arrogance that had lingered at the corner of his mouth—

vanished.

But he wasn’t finished.

Black light gathered around his hand.

Beneath Ishtar, a gigantic magic circle spread across the ground.

Something began bubbling from within it.

A vast pool of pitch-black liquid...

thick like molten tar.

ZWOOSH!!

A gigantic pale hand erupted from its depths.

It shot toward the heavens with terrifying speed.

Ishtar was enormous.

But the hand was even larger.

In the blink of an eye, it swept behind the white dragon—

and seized her.

CRACK!!

Yet the fingers never touched her scales.

A faint, nearly invisible barrier shimmered around Ishtar’s body.

The dragon curled her massive body inward.

Then—

Her wings spread.

FWOOOOOSH!!

Blinding white-golden light erupted from every scale.

The gigantic pale hand shattered.

Ishtar’s gaze immediately locked onto Satan below.

The sky answered her will.

One...

Two...

Then dozens of enormous white magic circles blossomed overhead.

From each one—

A translucent white-golden cross descended.

BAM!

BAM!

BAM!

The earth shook beneath the relentless bombardment.

Satan moved frantically across the battlefield.

He dodged some.

Deflected others.

But there were too many.

BAM!!

One struck him.

Then another.

And another.

The radiant crosses drove into the ground around him, pinning his colossal body in place.

"..."

And then—

"NOW!!"

Ringga’s roar thundered across the battlefield.

High above...

A colossal sphere of light appeared in the sky.

Satan’s eyes widened.

He thrashed violently against the radiant crosses holding him down.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

But—

It was already too late.

The enormous sphere descended.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

It struck Satan dead center.

A cataclysmic explosion consumed the battlefield.

White light surged outward like an unstoppable tidal wave—

swallowing the earth...

the sky...

and everything within sight.

ZWOOSHHHH!!