CHAPTER 19: A NEW FAREWELL AND LEGACY

[Yesterday]

After the storm had passed, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Though fear still lingered on their faces, none dared to speak of it. Once the tornado vanished, Griffin delivered Roc’s corpse to Luna—but was immediately scolded for casting a large-scale spell that devastated the surroundings. Griffin could only hang his head like a child being scolded by his mother.

"But... good job. You didn’t let him escape," Luna said.

Griffin lifted his head with a cheerful expression and rubbed it affectionately against Luna.

QURURUU!

"Good boy, Griffin..."

Still, calling him "Griffin" all the time didn’t feel right. She needed a real name.

"..."

After a moment of thought, Luna smiled.

"Griffa! Yes, from now on, your name is Griffa. How’s that?"

Griffa roared gleefully into the sky.

Her fur felt soft and gentle as it brushed against Luna. Though she appeared tame, her presence made everyone—both the Black Iron Spears and the bandits—stay on edge.

"Lady Luna..."

It was Ekin calling out. He wanted to approach, but hesitated because of Griffa’s presence. Seeing the anxiety on everyone’s faces, Luna reassured them that Griffa was tame and wouldn’t attack without reason. Still, their worries wouldn’t disappear so easily. Luna ordered Griffa to sit and walked over to Ekin and Tarma.

[The Next Day]

After breakfast, Ekin called Luna to discuss something while the others packed the tents.

"Good morning, Ekin, Tarma."

"Good morning, Lady Luna," they greeted her.

"What did you want to discuss?"

The two exchanged glances before Ekin began to speak.

"First of all, about the griffin you summoned yesterday. Will you be bringing it to Bhorneo?"

"..."

That question reignited the thoughts Luna had buried. Why were Summon Beasts different from Summon Elementals? Why didn’t they vanish after being summoned?

In the game world, such creatures came from another "realm." Once summoned, they would appear briefly to help, then return when dismissed. But now they were alive. The game system was gone—and there was no place for them to return to.

"Secondly, we’d like to borrow Griffa’s strength to help reopen the main road," Ekin continued.

"And this..." Tarma added, pulling out a crimson staff with a fist-sized crystal on its head.

"That’s... the staff carried by the robed man?"

"Yes. We believe he was part of the Cult of the Goddess of Destruction," Tarma said with a grave expression.

That staff—it was an instant-cast magic item. In the game, anyone who wielded it could launch a level 5 Fireball. Seeing it now, Luna felt more certain than ever: there must be another player involved.

"Do you know what kind of staff this is?" Tarma asked.

"It’s a magic staff that lets anyone cast a Fireball."

"Anyone?!" Ekin and Tarma were shocked.

"Yes. As long as they have enough mana."

Their expressions grew serious.

"Such a dangerous item..." Ekin muttered.

"Of course, the caster’s magical strength still affects how much damage it does," Luna explained. "A powerful mage could wreak havoc. But someone weak might barely scorch anything."

"Still... It’s dangerous regardless," Ekin said.

"So, what should we do with this staff?" Tarma asked.

"Should the Black Iron Spears keep it?" Ekin suggested.

"No way! I’m not keeping something from a radical cult. People might think we’re involved with them," Tarma rejected.

The two fell silent for a moment before turning to Luna.

"W-What? You want me to keep it?"

They nodded with innocent smiles.

"...Alright. I’ll keep it," Luna said with a long sigh.

Once everything was packed, the group continued its journey. Griffa helped lift the fallen trees blocking the road, while the TBH members and Ekin’s workers cleared the dirt. Incidentally, Griffa turned out to be female.

After hours of clearing debris from the main road, the work was finally done. Yet through it all, Luna kept thinking about Griffa and the other Summon Beasts. Now that they were alive... they deserved the right to choose their paths.

"Griffa, where were you before I summoned you?" Luna asked.

"Quruuru?" Griffa tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand.

Maybe she didn’t remember—or couldn’t go back.

"Griffa, I know we just met. But if you want to fly free, to go wherever you wish... You can. I won’t force you to stay by my side. You deserve to be free. And don’t worry—you’re always welcome to return. After all, summoners often share a bond with their summoned creatures."

Luna felt her chest tighten with emotion as she spoke. Griffa looked at her as if she understood—and hugged her tightly. After a few seconds, she stepped back and slowly rose into the air.

QURUUUU!

Griffa flew toward the western sky. Luna watched her disappear into the distance.

"You did the right thing, Lady Luna," Ekin said, gently patting her shoulder.

"He’s right," Tarma added.

Yes... I’m sure we’ll meet again.

Just as Luna wiped away her tears, the sound of hooves thundered in the distance, and everyone became alert. Soon, a group of armed soldiers on horseback appeared.

"State your identity!" shouted the front man—clearly the commander, judging by his uniform.

Ekin and Tarma stepped forward to speak with him. After verifying their identities, the tension subsided.

"They’re city guards from the nearby town. With the recent bandit attack, they’ve been on high alert and thought we might be more of them," Ekin explained.

"They’re asking us to come with them to speak with the city’s leader about what happened," Tarma added.

"What do you think?"

"I think we should go. No harm in making connections with influential people," Tarma said.

"Yeah. We helped them with the bandits. I doubt they’d do anything bad," Ekin agreed.

Luna nodded. They followed the soldiers into a city not much different from Barqa. But the streets were nearly empty—everyone had taken shelter due to the storm. Some had even packed and fled to other towns.

It was a good decision to let Griffa go.

After several minutes, they arrived at the city mansion. Luna, Ekin, and Tarma were taken into a room where two people were waiting—the city’s ruler and his aide.

There, Ekin and Tarma recounted everything that had happened. Luna said little. When asked about Griffa, they feigned ignorance.

Once the explanation was complete, the ruler offered them lodging. The next morning, they continued their journey toward the capital—Bhorneo.

Their travels went smoothly from then on. Though bandits had delayed them, they arrived at Bhorneo on the twelfth day.

Bhorneo—the capital—sat high on a cool plateau, surrounded by hills and mountains. Along the road into the city, pastures and farmland stretched as far as the eye could see.

After getting off the carriage, Luna accompanied Ekin to report the bandit incident to the authorities. It took several rounds of explanations to different officials.

"Whew... finally done," Luna sighed.

"Yeah. That was exhausting. Thank you for your help, Lady Luna," Ekin said.

"No problem, Ekin."

"Oh—who was the letter meant for again?"

"A man named Rama, from Lemurian."

"Lemurian?!" Ekin gasped.

"What is it?"

Lemurian is the largest trading company in the country. They sell everything—from food and household goods to weapons and armor. The goods we brought are for them too. That’s amazing, Lady Luna—you’re connected to them?"

"It’s thanks to Rania. She’s the one with the connection."

They walked toward the market district while chatting. Once there, the scenery changed drastically. Men wore traditional attire, while women donned kebaya. Eventually, they reached Lemurian.

"Master Bima!" Ekin called.

A young-looking elf with black hair turned around. After a short exchange, Luna handed over the letter.

Bima opened and read it. His face quickly paled, as if he’d seen terrible news. Without a word, he led them inside.

Luna and Ekin exchanged a look. According to Ekin, he had never seen Bima act this way.

They were led to a room and told to wait.

A few minutes later...

TUG TUG TUG TUG

ZREEETT!

A black-haired elf burst into the room. He appeared to be in his 30s or 40s, but given his race, he was surely much older.

"Lord Rama," Ekin greeted.

"Ekin...?"

The elf returned the greeting and looked at Luna, breathing heavily. Then he inhaled deeply—and bowed.

"Respectful greetings to Grandmother!"

"...?"

"Wait—what did you just say?!"