BRAND NEW WORLD

A Few Moments Earlier...

After many of the players had already departed...

"So... who are we beating up?" Kardol asked with a wide grin.

"You seriously think you can take them on alone without Luna’s healing and buffs?" Mang Pedo mocked.

"No... hehe." Kardol scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.

Mang Pedo could only let out a long sigh.

"So, what’s the plan now, Ga?" he asked.

Ringga remained silent for a brief moment.

"Until Luna and the others arrive, we’ll hold them off for as long as we can."

"Do you two still have Luna’s buffs?" Ringga asked.

"Yeah, but they’ve only got about ten minutes left," they answered simultaneously.

"Good. Tiamat will keep Satan occupied. The four of us will engage first. Once Satan summons his subordinates and starts fighting us, that’s when you two join the battle."

Mang Pedo and Kardol nodded.

"All right, everyone... move!" Ringga ordered firmly.

While they were speaking, Satan dug his sharp claws into his own arm, tearing open his flesh.

Six drops of black blood dripped onto the ground.

CLACK!

The instant the black blood touched the earth, it began to writhe and coagulate before gradually taking the shape of humanoid figures. Their bodies were completely black, as though carved from living darkness, standing motionless without a sound.

"Doppelgangers..." Kardol muttered.

"Tiamat, now!" Ringga shouted.

Tiamat immediately retreated several meters and lowered his stance.

A massive magic circle spread beneath his feet.

A dark violet aura erupted from his body, distorting the surrounding air until his silhouette became hazy.

Moments later, a towering pillar of black light burst from the magic circle.

Two pairs of enormous wings unfurled within the darkness.

A long tail covered in obsidian scales slowly emerged, followed by a pair of crimson eyes glowing faintly behind the curtain of light.

As the radiance gradually faded...

A colossal black dragon stood proudly upon the battlefield.

Its overwhelming aura radiated pure terror, enough to send chills down the spine of anyone who laid eyes upon it.

RRAAAARRRGGHHH!!

Its deafening roar echoed across the entire battlefield.

The moment Satan realized Tiamat had transformed into his dragon form, he thrust both hands forward.

A black magic circle materialized before him.

An instant later, numerous skull-shaped masses of dark energy shot toward Tiamat.

ZWOOOSH!!

Tiamat did not move.

Not even an inch.

The skull-shaped projectiles slammed directly into his massive body—

POOF!

—and vanished without leaving so much as a scratch.

For the first time...

Shock appeared on Satan’s face.

"..."

"Huh? Magic immunity?" Kardol exclaimed in disbelief.

"Ga... did you give him the Cursed Skull Necklace?" Kardol asked.

Ringga merely smirked.

"...This is insane," Mang Pedo muttered, shaking his head.

"Good thing he’s on our side."

"Couldn’t agree more," Kardol replied with a relieved sigh.

"All right, move!" Ringga shouted.

Without another word, everyone charged toward the doppelgangers.

...

When each of them came within twenty meters of their respective targets, the doppelgangers’ bodies suddenly began to swell.

Their forms twisted unnaturally before rapidly reshaping themselves into perfect replicas of the warriors standing before them.

The only difference...

Darkness continuously seeped from their bodies like black mist.

The battle became inevitable.

Lalu, di sisi lain...

Satan charged straight toward Tiamat.

Each thunderous step sent tremors rippling through the ground.

With astonishing force, Satan leaped into the air, raising both massive arms overhead.

Seeing the attack coming, Tiamat twisted his colossal body and swung his enormous tail.

Unable to evade—

BAM!

Satan’s gigantic body was hurled dozens of meters away.

BRUGG!

A tremendous crash shook the battlefield as he slammed violently into the ground.

...

Satan slowly rose to his feet before spreading both arms wide.

The giant eyes embedded along his muscular arms snapped open.

Their pupils darkened into pitch black.

A heartbeat later...

They unleashed concentrated beams of black energy that shot directly toward Tiamat.

Heh... Magic won’t work on me.

Confident in his immunity, Tiamat remained exactly where he was.

The black beams struck him head-on—

—and instantly shoved his enormous body backward hundreds of meters.

What?!

That’s... not magic?!

Tiamat’s eyes widened in shock.

A Few Moments Earlier...

High above the forest canopy, Randgris hovered silently, watching as the doppelganger below began to transform into an exact copy of her.

Once the transformation was complete, Shadow Randgris slowly lifted its head.

Its black wings spread wide before carrying it into the sky, stopping directly across from Randgris.

The two stared at one another.

Neither moved.

Neither spoke.

Only silence filled the air.

A few seconds later—

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Both figures vanished simultaneously.

An instant later, flashes of steel erupted in midair as their blades collided.

• • •

The moment the doppelganger transformed into Aul—the werewolf warrior—

Shadow Aul lunged forward without hesitation.

At the same moment, Aul burst into a sprint.

Both swung their claws, releasing three crescent-shaped waves of black energy.

ZWOOOSSHH!!

The two attacks collided head-on.

A violent shockwave exploded outward, whipping fierce winds across the battlefield.

• • •

Azrail faced his own shadow.

Neither of them moved.

They stood there, staring at one another in complete silence.

...

Suddenly—

CLICK!

Both snapped their fingers simultaneously.

A black magic circle appeared before each of them.

From within those circles emerged two enormous fireballs.

The blazing spheres shot toward each other—

BOOM!!

The collision erupted into a tremendous explosion.

The resulting blast generated a violent pressure wave that swept across the surrounding battlefield.

• • •

"Haa..." Ringga let out a weary sigh.

"Of all things... why did it have to be doppelgangers?"

Clad in nothing but leather armor and carrying no weapon whatsoever, Ringga slowly walked forward.

Once he reached a certain distance...

The doppelganger’s body jerked stiffly like a malfunctioning puppet.

Its form rapidly swelled before molding itself into Ringga’s exact appearance.

"All right..."

The moment Ringga finished speaking—

He vanished.

Like a ghost disappearing into thin air.

Seeing this, Shadow Ringga disappeared as well.

BAAM!!

The two reappeared at the same instant.

Their fists collided with tremendous force.

The impact rippled through the air itself.

Without pausing, both vanished again.

A heartbeat later, they materialized elsewhere—

This time, their kicks smashed into one another.

BAAM!!

• • •

After being blasted backward for hundreds of meters, Tiamat finally managed to stop himself.

As the concentrated black beam faded away, thin wisps of smoke rose from the dragon’s chest.

...

Seeing that his attack had actually worked...

Satan fired another black energy beam.

Realizing what was coming, Tiamat spread his enormous wings and launched himself into the sky.

ZWOOOSH!!

The black beam narrowly missed, streaking beneath his feet.

Once airborne, Tiamat slowly opened his jaws.

A sphere of dark violet energy rapidly condensed inside his mouth.

...

"Everyone! Get away from Satan!" Ringga shouted after glancing toward Tiamat.

The others immediately ceased fighting their respective doppelgangers and retreated at full speed.

Meanwhile, the sphere within Tiamat’s jaws continued to grow larger...

And larger...

Until it had become a miniature star of condensed destruction.

Once it reached its limit—

Tiamat unleashed it.

ZWOOOSH!!

A massive beam of dark violet energy roared toward Satan.

Already prepared, Satan answered with his own torrent of black energy.

The two devastating attacks collided in midair.

BOOOOMM!!!

The impact triggered a catastrophic explosion powerful enough to erase everything caught within its path.

The doppelgangers, unable to escape in time, were consumed by the blast.

Their bodies burned away before crumbling into ashes...

Then vanished into nothingness.

A Few Moments Earlier...

In a small desert settlement on the western frontier...

"Shaman! Everyone’s ready to evacuate!" Rhadyt shouted.

The entire population had gathered in the village square—or perhaps it was more accurate to call it a small oasis village.

Fear was etched across every face.

Young and old alike.

"Honey... are we going to be all right?" Rhadyt’s wife asked anxiously.

"Yeah," Rhadyt replied, forcing a reassuring smile.

"We’ll be fine."

Moments later...

A colossal black dragon appeared on the distant horizon.

"A dragon?!"

Several people cried out in alarm.

Could that be the Black Draconian from before...?

The village shaman narrowed his eyes.

"Everyone... get ready!" the old shaman ordered.

Just as he was about to begin chanting—

The ground suddenly shook violently.

From the far distance...

A streak of black energy tore across the sky at terrifying speed, heading straight toward the village.

Damn it!

Without a moment’s hesitation, the old shaman slammed the end of his staff against the ground.

A transparent protective dome instantly enveloped everyone.

At the same time, massive earthen walls erupted from the ground, forming layer after layer of defense.

The black energy crashed into the walls.

One after another—

The barriers shattered.

Finally...

The attack struck the protective dome.

The old shaman’s hands trembled as he struggled to maintain the barrier.

Inside the dome, terrified villagers clung tightly to one another while the devastating energy raged outside.

Even so...

The old shaman never loosened his grip on the staff planted firmly into the earth.

Fragments of the black energy slipped past the collapsing walls, obliterating nearby buildings.

Sand exploded into the air.

A thick cloud of dust swallowed the village.

Only after everything finally became still did the old shaman resume chanting.

Gentle magical light enveloped every villager.

One by one...

Their bodies dissolved into countless particles of light before disappearing from the village.

• • •

"Miss Rima!" Prince Hasby called out.

The moment he spoke...

A massive stream of black energy streaked across the western sky in the distance.

Everyone instinctively froze.

Far beyond the horizon, they saw an enormous black dragon locked in battle against a torrent of dark energy.

Even from this incredible distance, they could faintly feel the earth trembling whenever the dragon was hurled backward.

Moments after the first attack...

Another beam of black energy shot toward the dragon.

This time, the colossal black dragon spread its wings and soared into the sky, narrowly evading the devastating blast.

Wait... that direction...?!

Rima’s eyes widened.

Even from this far away... the shockwaves can still be felt.

Prince Hasby immediately raised his voice.

"Everyone! We have to evacuate at once!"

Sultan King Armett slowly shook his head.

"With power like that... no matter where we run, there won’t be anywhere safe to hide."

Prince Hasby placed a reassuring hand on Sultan Armett’s shoulder before turning toward Rima.

He gave her a silent nod.

Rima snapped her fingers.

A teleportation spell instantly enveloped Sultan Armett, Prince Hasby, Princess Zeba, and several of their attendants, transporting them safely back to Arvastann.

One by one...

She sent the remaining soldiers back as well.

Only after confirming everyone had returned safely...

Rima spread her wings once more and flew straight back toward the battlefield.

Meanwhile, on the eastern side...

I was helping everyone pack our belongings when sudden cries erupted all around us.

"A dragon!"

"There’s a dragon!"

"A giant dragon has appeared!"

I turned toward the commotion.

Sure enough...

A colossal black dragon dominated the distant sky.

Oh?

So Tiamat finally decided to reveal his dragon form.

"THAT’S—!!" Deva shouted.

He pointed toward the distant black dragon with trembling fingers.

"H-Hey, Lun... isn’t that Tiamat... the Level 500 raid boss?" he asked.

I nodded.

"W-Why is something like that here?" Deva muttered in disbelief.

"Relax."

"He’s on our side."

"...Huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"He’s become Ringga’s familiar."

"WHAT?!" Deva shouted.

"A familiar? Since when can a raid boss become someone’s familiar?" Ares asked, utterly stunned.

"It seems they can."

"After all..."

"I have one too."

"...Huh?"

"You have a raid boss as your familiar too?" both of them exclaimed in unison.

I nodded once again.

"My familiar is a Holy Dragon."

"A Holy Dragon?" Deva asked.

"Which one?"

"The Crystal Dragon, Ishtar."

The moment they heard that name...

Both of them fell completely silent.

...

"WHAAAT?!"

Deva’s scream echoed across the camp.