The Return of the New Moonlight

"You only need to hold off its child. Leave the rest to me," said a woman.

Hearing this, Deva and Ares turned to see who was speaking. It turned out to be a black-haired elf woman in a servant's clothes, floating in the air with two Griffins and a fire-winged horse behind her.

"Miss Lusserina!" Deva called out.

"Commander Deva," Lusserina greeted.

"You know her, Dev?" Ares asked.

"It's a long story, but it looks like we'll be saved now that she's here," Deva replied.

"Are you planning to party without me?" another voice asked.

The three turned immediately and saw that it was Zetya, the Guild Master, who had spoken.

"Guild Master Zetya!" Deva exclaimed.

"Commander! And... Miss Lusserina," Zetya greeted.

Lusserina nodded in return.

"So, what's the plan?" Zetya asked.

Deva immediately looked at Lusserina.

"I once read in Lady Luna's notebook that this monster is called Behemoth—a creature from ancient times symbolizing destruction. Wherever it steps, it brings ruin. It usually carries its 'child' when it hunts," Lusserina explained.

"Its child? But I haven't seen it at all," said Ares.

"Yeah, I haven't seen it either," Zetya added.

"…"

The four of them sank into thought...

Quruu! Hihee!

Suddenly, Langit, Griffa, and Riffon growled while looking in different directions.

"…"

"Don't tell me they're scattered around?!" Deva exclaimed as realization hit.

The three exchanged glances and took off in different directions pointed out by Langit, Griffa, and Riffon.

"Are there more of them?" Lusserina asked.

The three nodded.

"Then I'll leave them to you," Lusserina said.

Receiving the command, they dashed away in different directions.

Deva sped toward the location indicated earlier. After a brief search, he found his target. A two-meter-tall mini Behemoth was chasing a young woman carrying her child.

The woman trembled in fear, frozen in place as she stared at the creature.

Seeing this, Deva immediately slammed into the mini Behemoth. It was thrown several meters before crashing into a building.

"Are you alright?" Deva asked.

"C-Commander Deva?! Y-Yes, I'm alright. Thank you for saving me," the young woman stammered.

"Good. Now evacuate through the east gate. Tell others if you meet anyone. Leave the rest to me," Deva said.

"T-Thank you, Commander," the young woman replied.

She then left Deva. Moments later, the Behemoth emerged from the rubble, roaring and glaring at Deva with hostility.

"Since there are no witnesses now, I no longer have to hold back," said Deva.

The Behemoth charged at Deva like a raging bull.

"You want to test strength? Fine, I'll show you you're nothing," Deva said.

He chanted a spell, and his body began to glow golden and grow slightly larger.

As the Behemoth attacked, Deva caught both of its horns with his hands. The Behemoth came to a sudden stop while Deva remained unmoved, not even an inch.

Having caught it, Deva lifted and threw it with all his might. The creature was flung away again. This time, Deva drew his sword and unleashed a slash of energy shaped like a crescent moon, cutting across the ground toward the Behemoth.

SWOOSH!

A scream echoed from the Behemoth. But Deva wasn't done. He jumped toward it, swinging his golden-glowing sword downward.

BRAK!

An explosion rang out, and a cloud of dust enveloped the area. When it cleared, the Behemoth's body lay in two pieces, scattered left and right.

Elsewhere in the city, Ares, Guild Master Zetya, Langit, Griffa, and Riffon also found and killed their targets. Afterward, they all rushed back to Lusserina.

[Back to Lusserina]

From a space, Lusserina drew twin kujang blades and chanted a spell. Four giant thunderballs the size of boulders appeared and were launched toward the Behemoth.

BOOM!

A deafening roar followed Lusserina's attack. The Behemoth turned toward her and slashed with its claws, but she easily dodged it.

For a while, the Behemoth kept attacking, but Lusserina evaded each strike while countering with her swords. Frustrated, the Behemoth jumped with both fists raised and slammed them into the ground.

BOOM!

A shockwave erupted with the Behemoth at its center. Lusserina was flung dozens of meters away. Buildings around her were leveled.

She crashed into several buildings but managed to keep her stance. Though breathless and flung far, her eyes still burned with determination.

Soon, Deva and the others returned to her.

"Miss Lusserina! Are you okay?" Deva asked.

"I'm fine. Why are you here?" she responded.

"Why? Because we've killed its children," Deva replied.

"Are you stupid or deaf?! I told you to restrain them, not kill them!" Lusserina yelled, frowning.

"Ah… yeah… we heard you say that, but… isn't it better to kill them?" Deva said.

"If you kill them, the Behemoth will just summon them again elsewhere!" Lusserina shouted.

Everyone fell silent. A magic circle appeared beneath the Behemoth, and it vanished into thin air.

Langit, Griffa, and Riffon, who had fallen silent from being scolded, suddenly turned in a direction.

"It's summoning its 'children' again," Lusserina said.

"You've got to be kidding…" muttered Ares.

"How are they still alive if we already killed them?" Zetya asked.

"Because they are part of the Behemoth. It's like it splits itself into pieces. When it summons its offspring, its power is divided among them as well. That's how Lady Luna's notes described it. That's why I told you to restrain them—we never know where they'll appear again," Lusserina explained.

"Damn it!" Deva cursed.

"Then I'll go find them," he added.

"Yeah, I'll go too," Ares and Zetya replied.

"Langit, Griffa, Riffon—please help them. Restrain the children," Lusserina said.

Quruu! Hihee!

Everyone left, leaving Lusserina alone once again.

"What would Lady Luna do in a situation like this?" she whispered.

[A short while after the Behemoth appeared]

A soul-shaking roar echoed across the capital city. Panic spread everywhere. Rania, who was at the academy, immediately instructed all teachers, staff, and students to evacuate away from the Behemoth.

Radhimar and Bartasz did the same, leading people to safer areas.

The three of them met up again after completing the evacuation efforts.

"Brother, Bartasz, what exactly is happening?" Rania asked.

"I don't know either..." they both answered.

"What about the civilians?" Rania asked again.

"I've ordered everyone to evacuate toward the east gate. If things get worse, I told them to head to the Sacred Lake," Radhimar said.

"Same here. What about you?" Bartasz asked.

"I said the same thing. By the way, what about Mom? Any news?" Rania asked.

"I went to the Adventurer's Guild just now, but they said she left town yesterday," Bartasz replied.

"Have you contacted her?" Rania asked again.

"We have, but there's no response," both of them said.

"Damn it... What should we do now..." Rania whispered.

As they were discussing, a dark purplish-black energy ball shot toward them. They tried to dodge it, but it moved faster than expected.

(Mom, hurry back! There's a giant monster in the capital!) Rania screamed in her heart.

Just ten meters before the energy ball hit them, a silhouette appeared in front of them and sliced the energy in two. When the smoke cleared, the figure was revealed to be Lusserina.

"Lusserina!" all three shouted.

"Are you all alright?" Lusserina asked.

"Yes, we're fine. What about you?" Rania replied.

"I'm fine," Lusserina answered.

But the exhaustion on her face and the torn parts of her clothes told a different story.

"Let me heal you," said Radhimar.

He approached her and cast a healing spell. Lusserina's body glowed with a soft greenish-white light.

"Thank you, young master. Have you contacted Lady Luna?" Lusserina asked.

"We did, but no response," Rania answered.

"What about Lady Rima?" Lusserina asked again.

"Mom Rima didn't respond either," Rania added.

"Maybe they're on their way here..." Bartasz said.

"Yeah, I hope so," Rania replied.

"In that case, I'll go again to buy some time," Lusserina said.

"But the healing isn't finished..." Radhimar protested.

"It's alright. Someone needs to distract it so it doesn't destroy the whole city," Lusserina replied.

"But—"

"Don't worry. Just help protect the people and get them to safety. I'll go now," Lusserina said.

And in a flash, she was gone—like a shadow leaving behind hope in the middle of destruction.

"Be careful, Lusserina," the three of them whispered.

Two hours had passed since the battle between Behemoth and Lusserina, and the others began. Although it was only two hours, to them it felt like an entire day. That was how hard it was to fight such a formidable opponent. By this point, everyone, including Lusserina, was growing exhausted.

(Fighting this thing alone is truly exhausting...) Lusserina thought.

Since they couldn't kill it, all they could do was dodge to conserve their energy.

"Haa... haa... hah... (Lady... forgive me...)" Lusserina whispered, panting heavily.

The Behemoth, still towering strong, launched a punch toward Lusserina, who was catching her breath. As the fist was just ten meters away, a massive chain emerged from the void and bound its arm.

"(!) My Lady!" Lusserina gasped.

[Moments earlier]

Luna had just finished skinning a bear with antlers when she received a telepathic message from Rania. Upon hearing it, she rushed back to the capital.

Flying above the city, Luna was chilled to the bone by what she saw—a quarter of the capital had been reduced to rubble. Amid the destruction, a massive blue-skinned monster raged.

As Luna prepared to advance, she paused. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a figure. Turning her head, her heart pounded wildly—a wave of nostalgia and longing swept over her, tightening her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

The figure before her was a silver-haired woman who bore a striking resemblance to her. Her build was identical, except this woman had emerald-green eyes.

(Rima!) Luna cried in her heart.

Rima met Luna's gaze, seemingly feeling the same emotion. Just as they were about to approach each other, a roar from the Behemoth drew their attention.

They looked toward the Behemoth. Realizing what needed to be done, they exchanged looks and nodded, understanding one another without words.

Rima chanted a spell and waved her hand forward. In the city, the Behemoth's attack suddenly halted. Its arm was bound by a chain emerging from a void. More chains appeared, binding and sealing its body.

Seeing this, Luna took out an artifact from her storage—a large crescent-shaped object that floated behind her. She raised one hand, summoned a chunk of ice the size of the Behemoth, and hurled it down, pinning the creature.

Rima cast another spell. A red magic circle appeared beneath the Behemoth, now pinned beneath the ice. From it emerged a pillar of flame in the form of a Chinese dragon soaring into the sky.

Following Rima's attack, Luna brought her hands together. The sky turned black. Thunder rumbled over the capital. Moments later, the head of a dragon made of lightning emerged from the storm clouds above. After locking onto its target, it dove at high speed and struck the Behemoth.

Upon impact, the Behemoth's body disintegrated into nothingness—like paper set ablaze and scattered by the wind.

Cheers erupted throughout the capital. Sunlight broke through the clouds, shining once again on the city.

Just as Luna was about to turn around, Rima tackled her mid-air. Off-balance, they both fell to the ground. When they landed, their clothes were a bit messy, with leaves stuck here and there. But they only laughed—then looked into each other's eyes once more.

"I'm home, Rima," Luna said.

"Welcome back, Luna," Rima replied.