BRAND NEW WORLD

[A few moments earlier, in the arena]

Gale stood in the center of the arena, facing a man wielding two daggers in both hands. This was the infamous Twin Daggers—the same man who had previously defeated Lynn, and whom Gale had stopped when he tried to kill her.

"This time, I'll settle the score with you," Twin Daggers thought to himself.

As soon as the whistle blew, Twin Daggers' lips moved as he chanted something. Moments later, his body slowly turned translucent and vanished from sight.

Everyone gasped in surprise—including Gale. Yet his face remained calm, like still water. A moment later, Gale swung his sheathed sword to the right.

CLANG!

The sound of clashing steel rang out. Twin Daggers reappeared as Gale deflected his attack. Sensing an opening, Gale struck forward with his wind-cloaked palm, hitting his opponent squarely in the chest.

Twin Daggers was hurled backwards several meters, rolling across the ground before falling to his knees, gasping for air.

"Cough! Cough!"

He coughed up a mouthful of blood. Then, after chanting again, he threw a dagger at Gale. Mid-air, the single dagger multiplied into dozens.

Seeing this, Gale chanted a spell of his own. His body was immediately enveloped in a glowing green aura. The daggers flew toward him, but Gale merely shifted his body—leaving behind a faint, semi-transparent afterimage. The daggers passed straight through it.

For several seconds, Gale continued dodging the incoming daggers. Once he had evaded them all, he sheathed his sword again and took a stance. Three seconds later, he drew his sword with lightning speed and slashed upward.

From his strike, a crescent-shaped wave of energy burst forth and shot toward Twin Daggers.

Startled, Twin Daggers quickly threw himself to the side. But before he could recover, he saw another wave of energy heading straight for him. Still out of breath, he had no choice but to brace for impact with both his daggers.

The energy slash struck. Though he managed to block it, the force was relentless. Sweat dripped from his forehead down his cheek—panic clear in his eyes.

Eventually, he managed to deflect the attack. But behind it, Gale was already there, launching a punch toward his stomach.

Unable to dodge, Twin Daggers was sent flying into the coliseum wall—where he lost consciousness.

For a moment, the entire arena fell into silence—until a wave of thunderous cheers shattered it.

"Oops... I might've gotten too carried away," Gale thought.

"The winner is Gale, the Wind Swordsman!" the announcer shouted.

"With this victory, Gale sets a new record—21 consecutive wins and six consecutive years as tournament champion!"

After Gale's victory was announced, Luna, Rima, and Lusserina returned to the VIP podium, while Elise and the others remained in the contestants' lounge.

Prince Hasby's father, King Armett Shadid, entered the arena to personally present the championship trophy to Gale. He was accompanied by a large, dark-skinned man clad in white armor and robes, with a partial head covering. At his waist hung a massive sword resembling a talwar.

King Armett proceeded with the award ceremony, presenting the golden trophy to Gale. Just as Gale took hold of it, the ground began to tremble, followed by a loud, ominous rumbling that shook the entire stadium.

An earthquake? Luna thought, alarmed.

Then came the sharp toll of a bell—loud and urgent.

TENG! TENG! TENG! TENG!

A warning bell?! Rima's mind raced.

"A bell?" Luna asked aloud.

"That sound only rings in cases of major disasters—or when there's a high risk of one reaching the capital," Rima explained grimly.

At once, panic erupted throughout the coliseum.

"Come on, Lun!" Rima called.

She swiftly flew into the air above the arena. I followed with Lusserina close behind. From above, Rima focused her gaze on a point beyond the capital. Luna, curious, activated her search spell to discover what was happening. At first, nothing appeared—until something finally registered on her magical radar.

Several sandships were approaching the capital at high speed. On board were individuals who looked remarkably like the desert pirates who had once attempted to hijack the ship Luna had been aboard. But they weren't the actual threat.

The real danger lay behind them: hundreds of sandworms, churning through the dunes in a relentless swarm.

A swarm of Sandworms?! Luna was stunned.

She glanced at Rima—who was already staring back. Their eyes locked. No words were needed. They nodded in unison, instantly understanding each other.

"I'll alert King Armett," Rima said, then dove back down toward the arena.

As Rima descended, Luna heard a voice calling out to her. Looking down, she saw Gale standing on the arena floor, waving her over.

Luna and Lusserina descended to meet him.

"Hey, Miss! Do you know what's going on out there?" Gale asked.

"Yes. A swarm of sandworms is chasing a group of desert pirates—and they're heading straight for us," Luna replied.

"Sandworms?" Gale blinked.

"Yes… and the bad news is, there might be hundreds of them," Luna added.

"HUNDREDS?!" Gale shouted.

Just then, Rima returned.

"Lun, as much as I'd like to wipe them all out, that would only make things worse for you. People would start praising you… even worshipping you," Rima warned.

The idea made Luna's skin crawl.

"Eww! I don't want to become some goddess… (Even if I technically already earned that title.)"

"Exactly. So let's hold them off until the royal army arrives to help," Rima concluded.

"Let's go!" Luna responded.

The three—Luna, Rima, and Lusserina—took off, flying swiftly toward the direction of the incoming sandworms.

"H-Hey, wait up!" Gale called out, left behind.

Sigh…

He muttered in resignation, then dashed after them by leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

[Elsewhere]

"H-h-hurry! I'm not going to die getting eaten by some damn worm!" shouted a fat man frantically.

"Shut it! I've already pushed this ship to its limit!" barked a bald man at the helm.

They, along with a handful of others, were aboard several sandships being pursued by a wave of monstrous sandworms.

"Faster! We have to make it to the city—they can't possibly breach the walls!" yelled a skinny man.

From their vantage point, the capital city of Arvastan was becoming clearer by the second.

[Back to Luna]

High above one of the city's gates, three elven women hovered in midair, gazing into the distance. Their feet seemed to rest on nothing, yet they stood as though on solid ground.

"How far, Lun?" asked Rima.

"Three kilometres," Luna answered.

"That gives us about three minutes," Rima calculated. "When they're one kilometre out, Lun, cast your protection spell to shield the capital. I'll prepare a high-grade offensive spell to wipe out the swarm. Lu, your job is to make sure not a single worm gets through or disrupts us."

"…"

Two minutes passed. The sandships were now clearly visible, still fleeing desperately with the sandworms on their tails.

"Lun, now!" Rima shouted.

Luna and Rima began chanting their spells. At the same time, Lusserina pulled her twin kujang from her spatial storage and immediately shot downward, engaging the sandworms one by one as they emerged from the dunes.

Luna clasped her hands together, channelling radiant energy. A massive, semi-transparent golden barrier rose around the capital, shimmering at the surface like divine armor.

Can these worms tunnel beneath the sand and bypass it from below? Luna worried silently.

After Luna finished, it was Rima's turn. She raised one hand skyward, and a green light burst forth above her. Moments later, a massive tornado materialised behind the horde of sandworms.

Though it formed a full kilometre away, the sheer force of the winds could be felt even from within the city walls.

The tornado roared across the desert, pulling everything nearby into its vortex. Countless sandworms were sucked in—then shredded apart in the storm's fury.

The few that remained—those that hadn't been pulled in—were swiftly slain by Lusserina, who danced across the sand like a lethal shadow, striking with deadly precision.

After a few minutes, the tornado began to weaken, and the skies grew calm again.

But just as the tension began to fade, one last sandworm suddenly burst from the ground—leaping straight toward Luna.

"Milady!"

"Luna!"

Rima and Lusserina screamed in unison.

By the time Luna noticed, the creature was already close, its gaping maw filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

It was mere meters from reaching her—

SWOOSH!

A flash of green energy flew through the air, slicing the sandworm clean in two. Its body fell back to the earth, twitching, then stilled.

Luna turned to see where the slash had come from.

There stood Gale atop the capital's outer gate, his sword lowered.

"Miss, are you alright?" he called out.

Gale? Luna thought.

"Yes. Thank you for saving me," she replied.

"You're welcome," Gale said with a small smile.

Rima and Lusserina quickly flew over to Luna's side.

"Are you hurt, Lun?" Rima asked, concerned.

"No, I'm alright."

"Thank goodness, Milady," Lusserina sighed in relief.

The trio looked down below. The sandships that had been chased were now safely docking at the city's harbor.

"Thank goodness… There were no casualties," Luna said.

"Yes, that's a relief," Rima agreed.

But just as they were preparing to return—

BOOOMM!

Something enormous exploded out from beneath Luna's feet.

A giant sandworm tore through the surface, its enormous mouth wide open, ready to devour everything in its path. It was several times larger than the others—its size perhaps rivalling that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The Sandworm Queen?!