The bird's claws transformed into blades, shooting towards Leah's unsuspecting nape.

"Linda?"

The figures that had been erased from memory are becoming increasingly clear.

It's like a piece of black and white paper being repainted with color.

Leah could already see the sparse stubble on his chin.

"Linda!"

Leah was startled and stood up abruptly.

She remembered.

How could I forget that teammate, companion, oath-taker, the most important person in my life, etched deep in my memory?

The surrounding space shattered, revealing a pitch-black, boundless world.

Inside, there was a densely packed array of twisted clocks, their ticking deafening.

The emerald bird swooped down, only to crash headfirst into an invisible barrier.

Even with her divine power, she could not excessively interfere with the future.

Seeing that this "future" was about to collapse, the bird panicked and cried out in fear, "No, stop, stop!"

But Leah couldn't hear it at all. She clutched the pocket watch tightly, her fragmented memories rapidly filling in the gaps in her mind.

"Linda!"

Click!

The rate of spatial collapse is accelerating.

One by one, mirror-like shards fell.

It was as if the paper castle had been burned down, revealing the real world outside.

"Stop! Stop right now!" the emerald bird cried out, its eyes blazing with fury.

"Linda, Linda, Linda!"

Leah screamed the man's name with all her might.

The battle is not over yet, and the Demon King has not been defeated.

This is not the "future" she should be in!

Boom!

Space is broken.

Leah stood on the scorched earth.

Ahead lay the Demon King's castle, ablaze with lightning and thunder, the air thick with turbulent magical energy.

She was still young, with flowing red hair and a fiery fighting spirit.

...

"You idiot, Lia, what's wrong with you? This is a battlefield!"

Aiko shouted anxiously, waving her staff and conjuring a giant cone of light to repel the demon that had ambushed her.

Krona rushed over, yelling, her heavy armor covered in blood. She said angrily, "What's going on? After all these years of adventure, you still make such a basic mistake."

After they finished speaking, the two noticed Leah's strange behavior.

Aiko asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Leah didn't answer. Clutching her pocket watch, she stared blankly ahead.

A black crack appeared in the void.

There are many strangely shaped clocks inside.

A black-haired adventurer emerged from it.

Lia pursed her lips, her eyes brimming with tears.

Linda hugged the red-haired girl: "Thank you, Leah, for remembering me."

Leah: "Idiot."

"It feels like a lot of things have happened that we don't know about?"

Echo and Chrona looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What exactly happened? Weren't you fighting the Demon King?" Eko asked, puzzled.

"The Demon King will appear soon."

Linda drew the magic sword Filo. "This is an unprecedentedly fierce battle. I cannot defeat her on my own. Leah, Eko, Chrona, everyone, I need your strength."

Lia rubbed her eyes and said, "Of course I'll help you, but where is the Demon King?"

"Watch out, it's coming!"

Linda looked towards the Demon King's Castle as if facing a formidable enemy.

The city gates burst open with a roar.

A surging, powerful force poured out like a tidal wave!

Both adventurers and demons stopped what they were doing and looked at the Demon King's castle in shock.

A gigantic woman, ten meters tall, wearing a long emerald green dress, with her right arm fused to a wooden sword, slowly walked over.

"Let the final battle begin."

Linda said solemnly.

A line of blood-red text popped up in the lower right corner of the field of view:

[System notification: The final boss, Tricia, the World Tree Goddess (Level 100), has appeared!]