Ethan and Bella flew out of the breach zone, heading back toward the main battlefield and arriving before Valerie.

Ethan immediately took her hand, and applied his amplification trait. Valerie acted quickly, resuming the Rebind Sealing Spell at once as a large red magic circle manifested over the tear in reality.

The fractured space began to respond as cracks in the air slowly started knitted themselves back together.

It looked like shattered glass being carefully forced into alignment.

The spread of the alien world that had spread into the city suddenly halted its motion. After a short while, the dimensional break and fracture, sealed.

A collective breath of relief passed through the group.

"My job here is done." Albedo said, smiling and turning away. However, just before passing Valerie, she casually reached out to slap her fat ass.

But Valerie reacted instantly, moving her body forward in a clean reflexive dodge.

Albedo’s hand swiped through empty air as a surprise look appeared on her face. Then she laughed. "Oh? You’re getting faster."

Valerie straightened back into composure with proud expression on her face. This had happened too many times, so now she knew when to expect it, almost instinctively.

Ethan and Isabella both let out short laughs at the exchange.

Albedo clicked her tongue, shook her head amusingly, then vanished in a puff of smoke.

——

Most of the battle had reached its conclusion, with only a few hundred monsters remaining, and scattered in the distance.

The group slowly began forming into a cluster as Ethan glanced around and said. "Good job, everyone."

Then, he reactivated the Eyes of the Sage and extended his vision outward across the ruined city.

"...Three to four hundred left," he muttered. "Then we’re done here."

Hayley immediately raised a hand. "Least kill count starting now pays for dinner."

Then she bolted forward instantly.

Percival yelled, "Wait—that’s not fair!...Ugh! fine, you’re on!"

He wanted to protest cause now they were dealing with stronger monsters he wouldn’t be able to so easily.

The rest of the team began moving forward as well.

"What is this about?" Bella asked, looking almost confused.

"Don’t worry, It’s some silly thing we do. counting our kills competition." Ethan replied

Wilson adjusted his grip on his blade, pausing just briefly.

"So just to confirm," he asked, "is Ethan and Mr. Eduardo allowed?"

Ethan raised both hand in mild exasperation, while Eduardo simply smiled and shook his head.

Without further delay, the entire team rushed into rushed into the remaining cluster of monsters across Qeatol.

——

After a while...

The last of the monsters were finally taken down.

One by one, the team began regrouping.

Hayley stretched his shoulders, exhaling. "Alright. Kill count, let’s hear it."

They began calling out their numbers. Without factoring in the kills achieved by his summons, Ethan had 57, four short of Bella’s. Eduardo had the highest at seventy-one, and everyone agreed he was a cheat.

Then Ishtar raised a hand slightly. "Four."

There was a brief pause.

Even Percival was surprised. "Four...?"

He was certain either he or Aliyah would have the least

Ishtar nodded lightly, suddenly looking a little unsure. "I think... that’s it."

Then Hayley immediately clapped her hands together. "Well, looks like we’ve got our winner."

Ishtar’s eyes widened slightly. "Wait...but I don’t have money—"

She looked genuinely worried now. Hayley quickly leaned in and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, don’t worry," she said. "That’s why we’ve got Ethan."

Ethan gave her a funny narrowed eye look.

Hayley grinned and said, "Is she not your ward?"

Ethan sighed and rolled his eyes. "All right, all of you," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "Let’s just go."

He glanced ahead. "I’ll cover dinner. When we get back to Gritnia."

A few reward screens from the system appeared before his vision but it wasn’t anything he could focus on at the moment so he mentally willed them away.

Before they could move far, the sound of engines approached and a convoy of cars rolled in.

Vintage sedans lined the perimeter of the ruined road, forming a circle around the group.

The doors opened, and several men in suits and dark glasses stepped out. Then a taller, broad-shouldered man, without the same shaded lenses as the others, alighted after them.

He took a look at the devastation and his expression froze in disbelief.

"What in the world..." he muttered under his breath.

Then his gaze sharpened as he sensed the strong mana signatures amongst the group staring him.

He composed himself and quickly turned to them. "I am President Dwight of the L.D.A, Lohansburgh Defense Authority."

"I cannot begin to express our gratitude. What you’ve done here... you’ve saved millions of lives."

At first, the team had alarmed expressions at being surrounded like that. But on hearing that, they eased up.

His eyes narrowed slightly in recognition. "Wait."

He looked directly at Ethan. "Are you Mr. Ethan Stark?"

Ethan gave a nod. "Yeah."

Dwight immediately composed himself again.

"And not just me," he continued quickly, "but the Prime Minister of Lohansburgh would like to extend a formal invitation of thanks, to you and this group, Mr. Stark."

Ethan raised a hand lightly. "There’s no need for all that. We’re just tired and would like to head back."

Dwight hesitated for a moment, then spoke again. "If that’s the case... may I at least offer accommodation? The Grand Astel Hotel in the city. On the state’s behalf."

Hayley’s eyes lit up. "That sounds nice."

Percival backed her looking just as excited, "we’ll take it!"

A few others seemed to have been in agreement.

Ethan noticed and e exhaled, then looked back at Dwight. "Fine...Since everyone agrees."

Percival immediately pumped a fist. "YES!"

Ethan shook his head slightly, but didn’t argue further.

And with that, the team began to leave the battlefield behind, resolving to stay at this hotel.

——

Later that night in Gritnia...

Lady Audrey was seated quietly in her chamber, sipping tea. Esmeray stood behind her as always, silent and attentive.

Then, Audrey suddenly stopped as her senes picked up that energy signature.

A heavy thud struck the rooftop above them and the entire building trembled.

Before any of them could react, a thunderous dragon roar filled the whole vicinity.