“Kuak!!”

Ricky was holding back the darkness by pushing it out with all his strength.

However, it was too much after the fight against Blazer.

Even blocking it didn’t work. At least, thanks to the people with whom he had been fighting on the battlefield, they were able to slow down the darkness a little.

‘Just a matter of time.’

The other side seemed to be holding up a little better because of the Gods, but it was a very dangerous situation.

Even when the three major races and the humans joined forces, it wasn’t enough with just one holy power.

He didn’t know if it would end fine, but it had the power that he couldn’t even do with half of his body’s strength.

“Please lend me more strength…!”

Freedom was right in front of him, so he couldn’t die in vain now.

He wanted to see his younger sister get married and see his only friend happy. He wanted to create a world where the people who had been sad until now could walk around with smiles or even fight at times but be honest with each other.

Goddess Pyro entrusted all her authority to him and left her will before disappearing.

‘Ricky, please do my part to benefit the world. I am really sorry for putting this burden on you.’

He remembered her voice and sad look at that last moment, so he accepted it.

“Please…! Please give me a little more strength!!”

Ricky’s power surged to the point where blood streamed down his face. There was no point in trying to make it go wild because he had already used too much of his power, but he still had to do it.

He put everything he could feel in his body into the barrier.

‘I have to hold on somehow until Jamie finishes everything. Even if my life ends!’

“Ahhhh!!”

Ricky shouted, and that was when the darkness wriggled. The nape of his neck tingled as he wondered what was happening.

If the darkness pushes forward again, the entire land would be enveloped in darkness in an instant, and it would be the end of the world.

It was when his worries skyrocketed that…

“…the darkness is going away.”

The darkness that once wriggled began to fade away. Its scale shrank as if it were sucked into the sky, and at some point, it disappeared as if it never existed.

In the sudden situation, Ricky wondered if something else was about to happen, but the sunset sky was peaceful.

“Is it over?”

He still wasn’t sure, but the darkness couldn’t have just vanished, so Ricky turned and looked at the humans on the ground.

They were also silent and didn’t know what was going on, and then…

“WE WON!!!”

“WE WON!!”

“WE DROVE THE 12 GODS AWAY!!”

“FREEDOM. FREE. FREE!!!”

Occasional cheers could be heard, and soon after, the people began to shout so loudly that it shook the entire battlefield.

They all cried out in joy, and Ricky was shocked.

‘Is this the end?’

Tens of thousands of years.

No, maybe even for a longer time than that, the humans were enslaved. Every 10,000 years, in the name of the World Reset, mankind is destroyed and made up again. Each time it happened, the bodies of humans would crumble and turn into slaves.

Those tenacious and terrible years were a hell that never seemed to end.

And that was all over?

Ricky looked up at the sky as he heard the cheers ringing in his ears.

“Jamie, are we done?”

Tears flowed from his eyes as painful memories ran through his mind.

That agonizing feeling he had felt all this time made his heart ache.

Then Ricky laughed as he grabbed his chest.

“HAHAHAH!!”

It was all over.

“Priests, treat the seriously injured first! No one should die anymore!”

The moment it was concluded that it was all over, those from the Black Tower acted to heal the wounded. Even if they weren’t able to help the soldiers who died, they could help the ones who were dying.

“There were quite a few suicides on the enemy side, but most surrendered.”

“Runaways?”

“In pursuit. They have lost all of their holy power, so they should be caught pretty soon.”

“Right. Those who surrendered should be treated in a humane manner. Don’t let anyone get hurt.”

“I understand.”

The commanders were busy passing orders from the tower to their subordinates. The battlefield was quickly organized.

And Ann looked at the battlefield with a tired face.

Just a while ago, they were all desperate to kill each other, but now the atmosphere has changed to the point where it all feels like a dream.

It was her first time seeing a battlefield where the war ended, so Ann felt odd.

“You went through a lot.”

Darius approached her. As commander, he threw himself headfirst into the battlefield.

He was worried about what would happen if she were attacked by the enemies, but luckily, she didn’t seem to have any major injuries.

“You worked hard too, Commander.”

“It really ended.”

Darius crossed his arms and looked around.

As a blind man, he couldn’t see, but he felt how the flow of the land changed.

“It is amazing how a battlefield that had been full of killing intent can vanish like this.”

“Right? Like a dream.”

“Huhu. A young one like you should be able to feel it a lot.”

Then Darius patted her on the shoulder and left.

Now left alone, Ann sighed shortly. She had nothing to do here.

Rescuing the wounded and transporting the prisoners was the job of those who were better at it than her.

Ann called the aide who was closeby and said,

“Let me know when everything is over. I will be resting for a bit.”

“I will report if anything happens.”

“Sorry for leaving first.”

“You deserve to.”

At the words of the aide, Ann smiled lightly and walked to the barracks that had been set up. She sat down on the simple chair and tried to think as she looked at the empty wooden round table.

She wondered if the ones leading the battlefield also felt like this. But when the tension in her body was released, the strength in her body dropped.

“Ann.”

Just then, the barracks door opened, and Lennon entered.

“You did well.”

Ann didn’t even have the strength to raise her head, so she said,

“You did well.”

“Why are you looking like a drained doll?”

“I am releasing the tension, so I have no strength left in my body.”

“It must have been a lot.”

Lennon laughed and took a seat next to her.

While putting his hands on the backrest, he said,

“It is all over, right?”

“Uh.”

“Really?”

“Right.”

And with that, the two didn’t talk and stared into space until both of them burst into laughter at the same time.

“Puah!”

“Uhahaha!”

They didn’t know why they were laughing, but the two were grabbing their stomachs and continuing to laugh, and the two said at the same time,

“Let’s go meet Teacher!”

“Let’s go find Teacher!”

They had slightly different meanings, but in the end, they said the same thing, so they laughed more and got up.

Then, as Ann almost stumbled, Lennon quickly caught her.

“You alright?”

As Lennon looked concerned, Ann looked him straight in the eyes, and the two stared at each other without saying anything.

Their distance was short enough to see the faint flicker in their eyes and the breath on their skin.

Ann was the first to close her eyes.

Lennon was taken aback by her sudden action, but the woman gave him permission, and it was a man’s duty not to ignore it.

He slowly brought his lips to Ann, and they stayed like that for a while.

“…D-do we stop?”

“Uh.”

Lennon and Ann stood with their backs to each other, and their cheeks flushed as if they were embarrassed. They were swept away by the atmosphere and did something they had never done before.

Lennon rubbed his lips with the back of his hand and glanced to the side.

Ann stood still with her hand touching her lips, perhaps in the same manner.

Lennon was the first to speak.

“L-let’s go. Teacher should be coming soon.”

“Uh? Ah, right.”

The two of them couldn’t think of anything but to get out of the barracks as soon as possible.

So they went to the entrance and saw two shadows standing outside.

Lennon felt a bit disappointed.

The tent was slightly opened, and Siegfried spoke in a slightly awkward manner.

“I did not peep, but… you did it quite seriously. My son is all grown up.”

“I will have to prepare a ceremony as soon as I return.”

“Father! What ceremony…?!”

Hearing Simon from behind, Lennon called him urgently, but he had already left.

After seeing that Simon had disappeared, Seigfried apologized to the two and left.

“Have a good time.”

“No, wait!”

After Siegfried disappeared, the two of them looked at each other and then hurriedly turned their heads. The atmosphere turned awkward because the two adults said unnecessary things.

Lennon cleared his throat once and held his hand out to Ann.

“L-let’s go.”

Ann looked at Lennon’s hand, then smiled and squeezed his.

“Yes!”

It was at that moment that a great light poured down from the sky. They wondered what was happening since it was such a bright light that they couldn’t open their eyes, but they couldn’t feel any hostility from it.

Rather, the energy was familiar.

Ann spoke,

“Teacher is back!”

“Yes. I feel it too.”

It was their teacher who had gone up against Ra.

Jamie Welton had returned to the land.

“I am fine, so go.”

Galakios said to Sarah with a tired look.

“Will you be fine alone?”

“I can just sleep through it. I just overdid it a little.”

Sarah’s worried tone made Galakios lie down on the ground as if he looked tired.

With the wounds from the Flame Emperor still on his body, he looked tired. However, it wasn’t like there was anything wrong with him, so he just rested.

“If you keep doing this, I can’t sleep.”

“Hmm.”

Sarah felt uncomfortable leaving a sick person alone, but she felt sorry for him.

“Your brother is waiting for you. Go now.”

“I will ask Brother to send help.”

“Do what you want. I will just sleep.”

“Rest.”

Galakios opened his eyes, noticing that Sarah was walking away, and turned to see where she had left.

He couldn’t even see her back since she moved so fast, but he could feel the warmth making him get up, and he scratched his chin.

“Family, huh.”

He didn’t know what it was or if he even wanted it. Born alone and living alone, he never formed a bond with anyone.

He always struggled alone, so even when the Demon Lords died, a new one would recruit him, and he always answered with murder.

He thought that family, friends, colleagues, lovers, and everything else were useless.

He thought that they were all just weaknesses.

“Maybe not.”

Looking at Sarah made him a little curious about what a family was.

Galakios rose from his seat.

It wasn’t just what Sarah said that made him comfortable.

When he thought about it, he burst into laughter.

‘Consideration? Me?’

He never cared for anyone in his life. He never thought of it. But this time, for the first time, he was considerate of someone.

The demon thought and said,

“Feels new.”

Something changing within him didn’t feel so bad.

It was such a wonderful day for a new world to start.

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