A New Judgement at The Harbour

(While Luna was treating several wounded people on the street, the sound of galloping hooves and screeching wagon wheels suddenly echoed. A horse-drawn carriage appeared, accompanied by a dark-skinned man with horns on his head, clad in black armour, standing at the rear. Moments later, a group of riders in silver uniforms passed by—led by a black-haired elven woman.)

(A demon? And… Raisya? What in the world is happening in this city…?)

After tending to the injured, Luna dashed in the direction Raisya had gone.

Warm wind brushed against her face as she sprinted at high speed—sometimes on the ground, sometimes across rooftops. While trying to track Raisya, she heard cries of pain. From a distance, the demon hurled people aside with a single strike. When only Raisya remained, Luna quickly ran toward her. The demon approached Raisya, who was frozen in place. Just as he swung his sword at her—

CLANG!

Luna deflected the blow just in time and knocked the demon back a few steps.

"Are you alright, Raisya?" Luna asked.

Raisya, who had given up all hope, opened her eyes to find Luna standing before her with a long golden staff.

"Grandma?!" Raisya exclaimed.

Seeing Raisya unharmed, Luna felt a wave of relief.

"Why are you here, Grandma?" Raisya asked.

"No time to talk. Heal your teammates with this," Luna said, handing her a yellow potion.

Reflexively, Raisya took the potions, staring at them in confusion.

"Go now!" Luna urged.

"B-but what about you?"

"Don't worry. Leave him to me."

Raisya hesitated—torn between helping her comrades and not wanting to leave her grandmother.

"Be careful, Grandma! Please hold him off…" Raisya shouted as she ran to her team.

"You're quite the woman," the demon smirked.

Using her analysis skills, Luna confirmed the demon's level—269. Raisya was only in the 100s, making her no match.

"Are you the leader of the bandits?"

"And if I am?" he replied with a slight grin.

"Do you even realise what you've done? You've killed so many people!" Luna snapped.

"What's wrong with some PK to earn EXP?" the demon replied.

(PK?! EXP?! He's a player?! And that blood-red sword... It absorbs HP based on damage dealt. Don't tell me…)

"You think this is a game?!"

"Of course. Everything is just a game," he said.

"Enough talk. Let's settle this—with weapons," he added.

With that, the demon charged at Luna, blood-red sword in hand. Their clash began immediately—blow for blow.

"That armour… It's resistant to magic, isn't it?" Luna asked.

"Heh… you figured that out? You must be a player too," the demon replied.

"..."

Luna planted her staff into the ground and began chanting.

"It's useless… magic won't work on me."

"True—targeted magic won't. But not when I use the environment."

As Luna finished speaking, light glowed beneath her. A rumble shook the ground as a nearby building collapsed—crushing the demon beneath it.

BRUG!

Moments later, the demon emerged from the rubble.

"Hey! That's cheating!" he shouted.

"Cheating? What are you, a child?"

"So what if I am?! Is that a problem?!" the demon snapped.

(A child?! He's a child?!) Luna thought, shocked.

While Luna was deep in thought, a shout rang out.

"Boss! Let's go!"

"Tch, lucky you," the demon muttered before flinging debris at Luna.

"Wait! You think you can escape?!" Luna yelled, chasing after him.

"Grandma!" Raisya called out.

But the debris halted a meter before hitting Luna. As the dust cleared, the demon had vanished.

"Grandma… are you okay?" Raisya asked.

"I'm fine. What about your team?"

"Everyone's safe—thanks to you," Raisya replied.

"Good. I'm going after that demon. He can't be far."

Before Raisya could respond, Luna took off toward the docks.

"Grandma! Wait!" Raisya shouted.

[At the Dock]

Several bandits, gasping for breath, were about to board a ship.

"Where's the boss?" one asked.

"He said he'd hold them off," another replied.

"Idiot! That's what underlings are for, not the boss!" shouted a robed man.

"But the boss insisted," the other replied.

"Are we waiting for him?"

"No. He said to sail immediately."

"Then you heard him! SET SAIL NOW!" the robed man bellowed.

YEAH!

At once, everyone scrambled into position, and the ship began to sail. Just a few meters from the dock, the demon leapt across rooftops—landing aboard.

"Boss!" the bandits cheered.

"Good work…" the demon muttered.

But just then—Luna arrived at the edge of the dock.

"Damn it! That woman again!" the demon cursed.

Luna stood tall at the edge.

"Too bad. You won't catch us," the demon taunted.

"Yeah, you can't get us now!" another bandit jeered.

"Is that so?" Luna replied calmly.

A bluish-white aura briefly flashed around her before vanishing. Then—Luna stepped into thin air. A ripple formed where her foot landed as she ran through the sky.

The bandits' faces turned pale.

"N-n-no way…"

"What do we do, boss?!"

"Use it," the demon ordered.

"...Roger."

A robed man pulled out a blood-soaked branch from a chest and raised it skyward.

(A Blood-Soaked Death Branch?!) Luna thought, shocked.

It glowed white—then vanished. A massive magic circle rose from the ocean—big as a stadium. From it emerged a colossal squid—Kraken. It crashed into the sea, sending waves smashing into the bandits' ship. The ship rocked violently. Some crew fell overboard. Luna paused.

(A Kraken? Seriously… this just got worse.)

Eventually, the boat stabilised. Seeing Luna stop—

"Boss! You did it! She's scared!"

"With this summon, Movento will fall!" one cultist shouted.

Their ship neared the mini-boss. Suddenly, Kraken lashed out—destroying their boat instantly. Bandits and cultists were flung into the water; some were hurled ashore, including the demon.

Seeing this, Luna shouted, "Langit!"

Langit soared toward her.

"Distract that creature. Don't let it near the docks or escape."

Langit obeyed, darting toward Kraken.

Luna summoned a spell. A bubble formed around her—fish swimming inside.

"Save them. Bring them to shore."

The fish darted to rescue those in the water while Luna flew toward the crashed demon.

"Ugh…!" the demon groaned.

"So you can feel pain," Luna said, floating with her golden staff.

"You!"

The demon's anger turned to fear.

"I-I'm calling the police!"

"There are no police here… no Game Masters either. That's reality."

Panic spread across his face. As Luna raised her staff—

SWOOSH!

An arrow flew past her. She turned—Raisya and her royal unit stood ten meters away.

"Grandma! No! Please… don't kill him!"

"He's a bandit. A murderer. He's harmed so many…"

"I know. But let him face the law of this kingdom."

Raisya's face was tense. Sweat trickled down her comrades' cheeks. Weapons drawn, ready to intervene.

"Very well. I leave him to you. (Not like I planned to kill him anyway.)"

Relief swept over Raisya and her squad, though they remained alert.

Luna stored her staff. As she turned to leave—

"Oh, right…" she said, pulling out a collar made of leather.

(Never thought I'd use this item.)

She clasped it on the demon.

POOF!

His armor vanished—replaced by undergarments.

"What did you do?! My armor?! I can't access my inventory!"

"Take him away. But don't remove the collar. I'm off."

Luna shot back into the sky.

"Let me go! I want to log out!" the demon yelled as Raisya's team dragged him away.

[At Sea]

Langit fired fireballs from above. Kraken, massive and furious, swung its tentacles—but Langit dodged with ease. For minutes, the chase continued. Kraken launched water blasts—Langit dodged and retaliated.

Then Luna arrived.

"Thanks for holding it."

HIHHEEE!

"Let's end this."

She raised her hands. A huge magic circle formed overhead. A massive ice pillar emerged—slamming Kraken into the sea.

Luna clasped her hands. The sky turned dark. Thunder rolled. From the clouds, a yellow lightning dragon emerged—gazing at Kraken's last known location.

Then—

BOOOOM!

Thunder cracked. A blinding flash lit the sky. A charred Kraken corpse floated to the surface, smoke rising from its body.

Cheers erupted from Movento's citizens.

Luna's cheeks flushed slightly, but she kept her composure. She was a guardian—not a hero chasing applause.

Suddenly, she felt something.

(This feeling… Oh right, the ring!)

She pulled out a glowing blue crystal ring.

(It's glowing brighter…)

Luna raised a hand, chanting:

"O Great Creator, shield us from evil and grant me the strength to erase it from this world!"

The ring shone intensely—

"…"

Seconds passed.

(Huh? Nothing happened…?)

Beneath her, a shadow in the ocean grew darker and wider.

WOOSH!
PLOP!

A massive jaw surged from the deep—swallowing Luna whole.

Without a word, she vanished into the abyss.