Moon's Labyrinths

Because of the impact, the ground started to crack, and the magical energy flowing underneath the surface fluctuated. The labyrinth below broke apart, and monsters became collateral damage. They screamed as they died.

The confusion surrounding the tower resolved itself after a short amount of time. The magical energy swirling in a violent manner started to find order. The flow of magical energy created holes through the ground, and these tunnels crisscrossed each other to form an enormous magic diagram.

Magical energy calmly flowed through the magic diagram. The entire Mage city shook once again as the ‘stake’ activated.The magical energy flowing through the magic diagram started to greedily eat the magical energy in its surroundings. Then it flew to the center of the magic diagram where the stake was.

Pah-ah-aht!

Since the city had flipped over, the floor of the city had become the top, and this top released magical energy. The magical energy surging into the air resembled a fountain dispersing water into the air. It looked as though someone had unfurled a large umbrella in the air.

A thin but strong flow of magical energy spread out over the Moon before it was sucked underground.

Just like this, the flow of magical energy encircling the Moon became complete.

“We’ve received a report! All the portals leading to Earth have vanished!”

Everyone in the situation room let out a cheer.

The Mage city wasn’t done.

The magic diagram, which had formed below the tower, started to lurch and send more magical energy to the tower. The flow of magical energy here was different than that of the magical energy encircling the Moon.

A blue light started to gather around the top. It was a great spectacle, but regular humans with no magical energy couldn’t see it. The Connectors felt an electric sensation crawl across their skin.

The blue light swirled up from the tip of the tower and reached the base to create a foundation. Then, it started climbing up toward what used to be the floor of the Mage city. The light gathered at the highest point of the rocky formation.

Pah-aht!

The magical energy shot forward into the air in the form of a powerful beam of light. Its destination was Earth, and it lit up the dark Space in its path.

Puh-uhng!

After the magical energy arrived on Earth, it spread across the atmospheric layer. A light show occurred above Earth. The radiant light in the sky was more beautiful than any natural phenomenon the people of Earth had ever seen.

“It's the light from the magical energy.”

“It’s very pretty.”

Russell and Bruce gawked as they watched the magical energy extend out from the tower.

“Is that how it's sending magical energy towards Earth?”

“I guess so.”

Russell didn't even turn his head as he replied to Bruce, who was also standing there gaping at the spectacle.

“Report to the Mayor. Looks like the plan is a success.

***

When Russell’s report reached the situation room, the cheers turned louder.

This time, the Mayor didn’t stop anyone. The plan had been a complete success. However, he still did his best to push down on his excitement.

“What about the Knight and his party?”

The safety of the Knight, the person who had contributed the most to this plan, was a priority.

“I’ll check right now!”

His subordinate quickly moved.

The Mayor closed his eyes and tried to be calm and collected, but he couldn’t stop his heart from being overwhelmed by emotions.

He kept his emotions in check and planned to do so until he received news of the safety of Sungyoon’s party.

***

“It stopped.”

“I guess so.”

Sungyoon had been ready to open a portal at any moment. However, he gave up on doing that when he placed his hand on the pillar. He could feel the great stream of magical energy through his hands. It was like touching a bellow pushing out magical energy.

“I think it was a success.”

The party reacted in a variety of ways.

One cheered. One sighed. One sank to the ground in relief.... Everyone reacted in different ways, but they all displayed similar emotions: happiness and relief.

“Let’s check what happened outside the city.”

Sungyoon led the way as he retraced his steps through the tunnel. Then, they climbed the tower. Since they had exited the tunnel, their surroundings became devoid of air. They jumped down to the floor, which had been the ceiling before, and saw the view outside through the tower's entrance.

Everyone’s eyes turned round. If there was air, one would have been able to hear the exclamations.

Sungyoon was also in awe. All the buildings that had been rooted to the floor were hanging upside down on the ceiling. They looked like stalagmites protruding from a flat ceiling.

When the party looked below, they could see Armstrong city and its dilapidated buildings. However, the enormous size of the city displayed its splendor. The city was too large to take in all at once.

The Connectors near Armstrong city had made improvised defensive positions in Armstrong city, and they were all looking up at the tower and the Mage city.

‘We succeeded.’

Sungyoon knew the plan had been a success through the magical energy he felt on his skin.

He unconsciously clenched his fists and shook them.

***

Armstrong city once again came back on line. As the generators started working, light returned to the city. The construction materials had been transported to the Moon through the portals beforehand, and they were used to seal the holes in the outer wall.

After that, weapons were mounted on the outer wall. The workers were more meticulous in building a stronger defense.

A spaceship landed in Armstrong city. It was the first spaceship to land in the city after monsters had taken over the city. Following it, a continuous procession of spaceships landed at the airport. In just a while, the Aldrin spaceport had been fully occupied.

The spaceships unloaded all the supplies brought from Earth. Numerous portals had been opened next to the Aldrin spaceport and the excavated Mana Knight had been stocked. The spaceships were reloaded with Mana Knight and moonstones. After that, they left for Earth.

“Stability is starting to return to Armstrong city.”

The Mayor looked tired, but unlike before, his face was full of life. Even the dark circles under his eyes shone.

“There are still no signs that they intend to launch a large-scale attack. Some monsters are roaming near the city, but I don't believe we have to activate the defense system for them. It’ll be enough to send out a couple of Connectors. It seems our initial plan of luring out the monsters and crushing them was highly effective.”

“That’s great. If we had failed in that plan, we wouldn’t have been able to recapture Armstrong city. The more problematic part, in that case, would've been the countries' hesitation to cooperate with any plans we would've made after that.”

The entire world had been threatened, and every person urged for unity. However, that unity had been scratched and clawed together, so it was fragile.

If such a large-scale plan had failed, the naysayers within each country would've gained a platform.

Moreover, for the sake of this plan, Earth had taken too much damage in pushing back the monsters' counterattack.

“We can't let our guard down. They’ll start a large-scale attack at some point. That's why I plan on building a Mana Knight munitions factory here. It’ll allow us to continuously upgrade our defense. Also, we have one more task to accomplish. It’ll be as important as defending Armstrong city and the spike of the Mage city.”

“You're referring to Kevil.”

“That's correct, Ms. Plu-El.”

“I wholeheartedly agree with your plan.”

“As magical energy continues to fill Earth because of the force field, Kevil will start regaining its original strength. We have to kill him as soon as possible.”

“Then our next mission is to exterminate the rat that's living on Earth.”

Everyone laughed at Sungyoon’s words.

“That’s right. We built up a defensive wall, and now, we just have to catch the rat hidden in our home.”

***

It was decided that Sungyoon's party would be returning to Earth. Sungyoon could use the source of magical energy, so he had the capability to contend with Kevil if they came across each other. Therefore, Russell, Sungyoon, and Sungyoon's party members decided to return to Earth. Bruce was left behind in Armstrong city as a backup.

To see off Sungyoon, the Mayor, Bruce, Plu-El, and Aruwen had come out to the spaceport.

“Please take care of Soyoung, Son-in-law Woo.”

Plu-El was a bit more comfortable interacting with Sungyoon now.

“Of course, I’ll look out for my sister-in-law.”

Sungyoon smiled. The people leaving for Earth said their goodbyes to the people they knew. They were about to move toward the spaceship when they had to stop.

“Wait a moment.”

Aruwen stopped them.

“What’s wrong, Aruwen?”

Aruwen wasn’t close to any of these people, so Plu-El had been wondering why he had come here. It seemed she was about to find out the reason.

Aruwen didn’t answer Plu-El. He approached Sungyoon’s party. His eyes swept past the party, starting from Sungyoon. He turned his gaze toward Emily, Grace, and it finally came to a stop at Tim.

“What... what’s wrong?”

Sungyoon was used to dealing with Aruwen, but Tim still felt awkward in Aruwen’s presence.

“You're the warrior of Mr. Woo Sungyoon’s party. Am I correct?”

Tim eyed Sungyoon, Emily, and Grace. Then he looked back at Aruwen.

“What?”

“I asked if you're the warrior of Mr. Woo Sungyoon’s party.”

Tim looked at Sungyoon once again.

“Y... Yes. Mr. Sungyoon and I are the warriors of our party.”

“Mr. Woo Sungyoon is good at using spells too. You're the only pure warrior in your party.

"Since he has the Royal Gem, he's out of the question. Are you the warrior of Mr. Woo Sungyoon’s party?”

“I… I am.”

The exchange left a bad taste in Tim’s mouth, but he still answered Aruwen.

“What’s wrong?”

Plu-El asked the question once again, but Aruwen didn’t say anything. He just tossed something toward Tim.

“Uh?”

Tim quickly caught the item, and everyone focused their attention on the item in his hand.

“It's the Warrior Gem.”

Aruwen calmly spoke as if he had given Tim a stone he picked up on the side of the road.

However, everyone else lost their cool.

“Wait a moment! Are you out of your mind?”

Plu-El had assumed Aruwen thought of the Warrior Gem as a substitute for the Royal Gem he lost. Moreover, everyone familiar with him thought the same.

However, Aruwen felt differently. He had handed over the Warrior Gem to Tim as if it were nothing.

“What do you think I am doing? I am handing over the Warrior Gem to someone who’ll get the most out of it.”

Aruwen looked at Emily and Grace.

Emily flinched, while Grace tilted her head in puzzlement.

“In fact, this is a good opportunity. Let’s use this opportunity to gain some clarity.”

Aruwen turned his back toward Tim, who had no idea what was going on. Looking at Plu-El and Russell, Aruwen spoke.

“Both of you should hand over your special Gems to them.”

He pointed at Emily and Grace.

“Aruwen. You know I trust you, but you still have a terrible personality. At the very least, you should give us an explanation.”

Plu-El let out a sigh as she scolded him.

“It isn’t anything amazing. It isn’t anything extraordinary. It's something that should make sense. I’m saying we need all the special Gems in one place.”

“Give me the specifics.”

Plu-El crossed her arms.

Everyone knew Aruwen had a reason for saying this, so they waited for him to speak.

“The other special Gems are starting to awaken, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Royal Gem is the most important. And the other special Gems can bring out the full extent of their power only beside the Royal Gem. I’m sure about it since this information was passed down through my family.”

“You want to keep the other special Gems close to the Royal Gem?”

“Exactly.”