After crossing the continent through the night, I was finally able to arrive near the mountain range.
Unlike the Sanctuary, where the snow had been blown away, the mountains were still covered in gray snow.
The dark energy raging in the skies above the range remained as well.
The Demon King was dead, but it seemed it would take time for the star to be purified.
As I drew closer to the mountains, flying through the sky gradually became difficult.
I landed at the entrance of the canyon where the magic tower stood.
At the canyon entrance, where I had expected no one to be, people had come out.
Magreta, Hanna, Sergeant Woo, Tom, and even Catherine.
They were waiting for me at the canyon entrance.
It seemed they had already been waiting outside for more than a day.
As soon as I landed on the ground, they ran toward me.
Clasp.
The first to reach me and wrap her arms around my waist was Hanna.
“Hyeon!”
Magreta threw herself on top of her.
Afraid the two of them might get hurt, I simply fell backward.
Lying on the ground and looking up, I saw my people.
Their faces were filled with gratitude and relief.
I said to them,
“Why are you all out here? You should have waited in the tower.”
At my words, Magreta grew angry.
“Because the connection to the Sanctuary magic tower was cut off!”
Since the entire tower had been blown away by the hydrogen bomb, it was only natural that the spatial movement connection had been severed.
But for those who had arrived ahead of me, they couldn’t help but worry.
Thwack.
“What kind of thing is that to say to people who were waiting for you!”
With a sharp voice, Magreta struck me in the side.
Urgh.
It seemed she had hit me quite sincerely.
Since I hadn’t put up a shield, the impact was considerable.
Still lying down, I apologized to Magreta.
“I’m sorry.”
At my apology, Magreta let out a sigh.
She sat up and said to me,
“Still, I’m glad you’re safe. You did well.”
At her gentle words, it finally felt as though everything was over.
I was about to smile and answer her when Hanna, who had been silently hugging my waist, suddenly lifted her head.
She checked my arms and legs, then stroked my stomach.
The places that had all been severed, and where holes had been pierced.
Perhaps because she was the Guardian of Earth, she immediately recognized the places where I had been wounded.
But it was fine. All the severed limbs had grown back.
It had taken more than half a day, but at this point, I could say I had grown again.
While I was pretending not to notice Hanna’s gaze, Catherine’s voice came to me.
“It looks like your clothes have changed. And your cloak seems different from before.”
There was no avoiding Catherine’s keen eye.
I had been relieved because my wounds had all healed, but I hadn’t expected her to notice that my clothes had changed.
I had changed clothes on the way back.
I couldn’t keep wearing clothes full of holes, with the arms and legs torn off.
“I changed on the way back. My clothes were ruined during the battle.”
At my words, Tom and Sergeant Woo nodded.
“Well, it was an explosion powerful enough to be felt from here. We felt the flash, the sound, and even the earthquake.”
As he said that, Tom shuddered.
“Since a hydrogen bomb went off, the Sanctuary must be a mess. It was an enormous ruin, but with an explosion of that scale, there must be nothing left.”
At Sergeant Woo’s following words, Magreta stared hard at me.
“If it was an explosion and battle bad enough to leave your clothes in that state, there’s no way your body is fine.”
“I’m fine. Look.”
I rolled up my sleeves and pants and showed Magreta and the others.
My arms and legs were intact.
Even those who had been suspicious confirmed my body and relaxed.
Hanna kept staring at that sight, but I pretended not to notice again.
After that somewhat childish welcome came to an end, we headed for the tower.
As we passed through the canyon covered in gray snow and approached the tower, a shout came from the upper floors.
“It’s Captain Hyeon! The Captain’s back!”
Just as my squad members had come out to the canyon entrance, the others had been watching the entrance from the tower.
In an instant, the tower grew noisy.
People rushed out from inside.
They ran toward me, shouting.
“Captain Hyeon! You’re safe!”
“Captain, did you succeed? You killed that monster, right?”
Now, everyone called me Captain, or Captain Hyeon.
Captain Hyeon was no longer a title referring to my position, but a form of address and respect toward me.
I waved at the people running toward me.
Seeing me, they relaxed.
Together with the people welcoming me, I entered the tower.
This magic tower was not small, but it was not large enough to accommodate all the combatants.
Even before we went to the Sanctuary, not everyone had been able to enter the magic tower, so they had gathered in front of it.
But now, everyone could come inside.
That meant that many people had died.
“So many really died.”
As I looked over the people welcoming me, many were missing.
The Koreans who had come with the later group, the advance party, and people from other countries.
More than half of the people I had seen when we left for the Sanctuary were nowhere to be seen.
They had all died in the Sanctuary.
The people who had died to let us enter the Sanctuary.
It was truly a heartbreaking sacrifice, but it had not been meaningless.
Their help had played a large part in enabling us to enter the Sanctuary and kill the Demon King.
As I looked around at the people, they also looked at me.
“I think you need to say a few words.”
Catherine’s voice came next.
Even if she had not said so, I needed to tell everyone.
I cast gravity magic and lifted my body slightly.
After floating as though I had stepped onto a platform, I spoke to everyone.
“Thank you, all of you. Thanks to you, we were able to eliminate the monster called the Demon King. This is all because of your sacrifices and your help.”
The actual battle had been fought by Soph and me, but that did not mean I could belittle their efforts or those of my squad members.
Moreover, the expressions of the people looking at me now held expectation, along with anxiety, worry, and the grief of having lost their comrades.
I could not tell them that their sacrifices had been in vain, nor could I tell them there was another trial ahead.
“By killing the Demon King, we have now made it possible to purify this contaminated star.”
I could only tell them of the achievement they had accomplished.
“As time passes, the gray snow on the mountain range will disappear, and the poison-filled swamps will vanish as well. The desert oases will expand, and the forests and vegetation that began from the lake will cover the plains, and in the end, they will cover this star.”
I had no choice but to tell them of the dreams and hopes ahead.
For this star to return to the way it had been before the monsters, as I had said, would take a long time.
But as long as there was hope, we could wait long enough.
I looked around at the people.
Their eyes sparkled as they listened to me.
I gave them a clear answer.
“We can now make this star our new place of rest. We have become the masters of this star.”
What remained was not something these people had to do.
That was something we had to do, something Soph and I had to do.
“Waaah!”
“Captain!”
At my words, the people cheered.
They shouted even louder as if to forget the sorrow of losing their comrades.
Amid the crowd, various voices could be heard.
“Then are we returning to the lake base now?”
There were people who immediately asked questions,
“Thank goodness. I can see my family alive.”
people who were relieved,
“I heard my family went to Paradise. I need to bring them here quickly.”
and even people making plans for the future.
As the inside of the tower grew noisy, I spoke to the people again.
“It seems we’ll have to change the destination of the spatial movement.”
At the sudden words, the commotion stopped abruptly.
The people looked at me with puzzled faces.
“Originally, I planned to move everyone in order over time... but I’ve changed that policy. This spatial movement won’t be to the lake base, but to the underground city on the Ice Star, to where your families are. Everyone is on vacation!”
“Waaah!!”
At my words, the people cheered.
They had not properly rested once since coming to this star.
For them, a vacation was quite an incredible reward.
Since everyone had suffered, it was not strange to give them a vacation.
The Demon King was dead, so there would be no problem even if they rested.
There was also enough food in the underground city to eat during their vacation.
My brother would be angry, but it did not seem bad to hold something like a festival in the underground city during the vacation.
While everyone was delighted like that, Catherine looked at me with a different expression.
Her face was filled with certainty that there was another meaning behind my words.
A chill ran down the back of my neck.
Since the Sanctuary magic tower had been destroyed, there were no coordinates left in the tower, but that was not a problem for me.
I held the people’s hands and walked the erased path toward the Ice Star.
A short while later, the people who arrived on the Ice Star were surprised by the scenery of the star visible beyond the ice, and surprised again by the vast underground cavern and city.
I, too, was greatly surprised when I saw the underground city.
Unlike the underground city I had seen until now, the city was incredibly lively.
Children ran among the mage’s flowers.
People ran across the fields to catch chickens and rabbits, while others harvested grain alongside golems.
There were even people doing laundry in the river formed by melted glaciers.
Unlike before, the city was alive and moving.
These were the families from Earth and the noncombatants who had been in the lake city.
Perhaps because they saw us coming down on the elevator, people gathered in the park.
The elevator settled down in the park.
The people welcomed the returning squad members.
Those who met their families embraced them deeply.
Among the families who had run over, there were some who could not find the people they were looking for.
They were the families of squad members who had died in the Sanctuary. The deceased members’ comrades approached them and offered comfort.
Gratitude and cheers, comfort and sorrow.
Amid the crossing of many emotions, we headed for the lodging.
“Welcome back!”
A spirit welcomed us in front of the lodging.
“……”
The group stopped dead in place.
Now, everyone knew just how much the spirit resembled Shamara.
And how that Shamara had sacrificed herself.
We could say nothing as we looked at the spirit.
The spirit looked at us with a puzzled face.
“We’re back.”
I greeted her on behalf of everyone.
“You worked hard!”
The spirit answered my greeting brightly.
We passed the smiling spirit and stepped into the lodging.
Once we gathered in the first-floor lobby inside the lodging, everyone’s gazes turned to me.
Magreta spoke first.
“Then tell us how you fought the Demon King.”
At Magreta’s serious words, Tom and Sergeant Woo joined in.
“I wanted to hear that too.”
“I’m curious as well. How a battle involving even a hydrogen bomb unfolded.”
However, unlike those two, who were mostly interested, Magreta was different.
“Tell us everything. How you fought, how badly you were hurt, and how dangerous it was.”
At her question, I turned my head and met Hanna’s eyes as she continued staring at me.
I turned my gaze away again.
This time, Catherine.
Before I could avoid her eyes, she opened her mouth.
“We do need to hear that too, but first, I think you need to tell us why you brought everyone here.”
As expected of Catherine. Once again, she struck at the heart of the matter.
I told them the truth.
“I evacuated everyone here in preparation for the possibility.”
“What? Was the Demon King not the end?”
“My God, then... what happens now?”
At my words, everyone was greatly shocked.
I raised a finger and pointed at the sky.
“There is one last thing remaining.”
If Soph was right, this would truly be the last.
“Lastly, we have to take care of the monsters on the half-destroyed moon.”
Soph and I had to go there and restart the magic circle.
In the meantime, I had evacuated the people here in case the monsters invaded.
“Fortunately, we still have time. I intend to go to Earth and bring back the necessary items.”
If Soph was right, there should be enough time to go to Earth and return.
I had to go to Earth, take care of urgent matters, and bring back the things I needed.
What I needed were things like the extremely powerful bombs we had used this time.
This time, I intended to force them to hand them over if necessary.
Since I had also evacuated the people here, there would be no issue with going to Earth and coming back.
Before I could even finish speaking, Hanna raised her hand high.
“This time, I’m going with you. This time, I absolutely have to go with you.”
Hanna’s eyes were shining white.
She was speaking now as the Guardian of Earth.
Even as she spoke, her eyes remained fixed on my back.
There was a backpack slung over my back.
A backpack containing a box.
Inside that box was the Demon King’s black stone.
It was contained in the box, but I could feel the energy of the black stone from behind me.
Moon (3)