"Let's hold hands to expand our Detection Range, so we can locate Anastasia," Dark Luna said, determination sharp in her voice.
Meanwhile, Anastasia was preparing the powerful spell Astrum Solus Vincula Frangere—the incantation needed to unseal Leo.
Lucy, Dark Luna, Ken, and Luna clasped hands.
They closed their eyes, feeling the heavy, flowing mana in their bodies.
They were ready to begin the incantation for a massive mana detection spell.
In unison, they chanted:
"Per quattuor manus… per unum vinculum…
Convergite manam nostram, ultra fines extendite…
A subtle vibration rippled across the entire Solar System.
"Quadrant Mana: Omniscient Domain!"
In an instant, their senses exploded. They could feel the motion of every being, from distant planets to the tiniest creature on Earth. Mana flows, thoughts, movements—they perceived it all.
The spell's range now spanned the entire Solar System.
They immediately detected an enormous concentration of mana in Russia. Without hesitation, the four teleported toward it.
But before they could reach their target, Anastasia began her incantation:
"O astrum clausum… audi vocem meam…
Per animam, per manam, per voluntatem meam…
Vincula frangere… et surge iterum!"
Thunder roared and lightning split the sky simultaneously.
"Astrum Solus Vincula Frangere!" Anastasia shouted.
It was as if the Earth's atmosphere had been pierced. A massive magic circle, the size of the planet itself, appeared.
From it, a magic-charged laser beam shot toward the Leo Constellation.
Lucy immediately rushed toward Anastasia to cancel the spell.
But her Nullum Arcanum, a spell capable of erasing other magic, had no effect.
She struck hard with her Divine Magic Sword, only to find Anastasia protected by an invisible barrier.
Ken quickly drew his Scythe—a weapon capable of destroying anything it touched.
He shattered Anastasia's barrier.
In perfect coordination, the four of them unleashed a massive laser beam at Anastasia.
The light converged, blinding and unstoppable. In a heartbeat, Anastasia was obliterated.
The magic circle imploded. The seal-breaking laser dissipated into harmless sparks. Relief washed over them. Leo would remain sealed. Disaster had been averted.
Afterward, Lucy decided to repair the destruction across the world.
She soared high into the sky, her body glowing as she raised her hands.
She formed four massive magic circles, visible from different parts of the globe.
She spoke the incantation:
"Per lucem aeternam… per vitam renascentem…
Omnia fracta, omnia perdita—
Orbis Restauratio!"
A cold wind blew.
"Orbis Restauratio!"
The surroundings blazed with dazzling light.
Floating fragments of stone and shattered infrastructure slowly returned to their original places.
The wounded were healed.
Buildings and roads restored themselves.
The three watched Lucy, smiles of admiration on their faces.
Meanwhile, all the pages of Crescent opened, pausing a spell that Luna needed.
Rising from the ground, Luna lifted her Crescent staff and cast a large-scale spell:
"Memoria Oblivio"
In an instant, everyone's memories of the strange events and sights were erased.
Lucy descended to the ground.
"Let's go home," Ken said.
"Good idea," Lucy replied.
As they walked, Ken groaned, exhausted:
"Ugh… this is so tiring. I just want to sleep."
"You didn't do anything earlier except run wild, making it harder for us," Luna teased.
"Come on, sis," Ken muttered, laughing.
"What about you, Dark Luna? What are you planning to do now?" Luna asked.
"Hmm… my work here is done. I have nowhere to go in my timeline anymore. Everything's destroyed," Dark Luna replied.
"If you want, you can stay with us for now," Ken suggested.
"Uh… I don't want to be a burden. I'll just look for work," she said.
Luna hugged her.
"We still want to get to know you. There's so much we want to learn, and you've sacrificed so much—from your timeline and this one. Without you, I wouldn't have met the Kuronuwa family or Lucy," Luna said with a smile.
"By the way… why haven't you returned to your true form, Dark Luna?" Ken asked.
"Uh… ehh," she blushed.
"All right," she added.
When she returned to her original form, she was naked. Ken's gaze caught her beautiful, flawless body.
Blood gushed from his nose, and he appeared to lose consciousness.
Lucy quickly cast a spell to cover her.
She glared at Ken.
"Hmph! You're such a pervert," Lucy scolded, dragging him away.
The two Lunas laughed.
"By the way, Dark Luna… how old are you?" Luna asked, her curiosity laced with caution.
"I'm only 26," Dark Luna replied calmly.
"26? Wait… does that mean you're only two years older than me?" Luna's voice trembled with surprise.
Dark Luna's eyes darkened with the weight of her past. "Yes. History… it changed so drastically. When I was your age, the Zodiac had already destroyed the world. The devastation was total. I had to travel to the past—to rebuild, to create… two families that would ensure the survival of the child carrying the seeds of the two sacred trees."
She paused, her gaze distant, as if seeing centuries of events in her mind. "Then I traveled to the future, where I learned that in the year 2007, the two special children would be born. That's when I returned the two Gods to this world… to protect it."
Dark Luna's voice softened, almost whispering, but filled with resolve. "I only traveled to the future again to help you… here, now."
"But now… I can no longer use the spell that lets me travel through time. So… I'll just live here, in this timeline, for now," Dark Luna added.
"Great… you'll be with us then," Luna said.
Dark Luna smiled.
"I don't want you to call me Dark Luna, so just call me Lara," she said with a playful grin.
They all smiled.
"That's a beautiful name you've chosen, Lara," Lucy said.
"All right, then. Let's teleport to the house," Ken said.
Meanwhile… 17 stars in the Leo Constellation seemed to dim, as if whispering of something yet to come.
Had everything truly returned to normal? With the Zodiac Fragments gone, was any danger still lurking… unseen?