The blinding moonlight forced everyone to shut their eyes.
In the next instant, the light vanished, replaced by orchestral music drifting in from nowhere.
The music was ethereal, making people feel as though they were floating high in the sky, carried along by moonlight and starlight, as if they had become part of the night itself.
Then the laughter of children rang out, one after another. Woven between those innocent giggles came the soft humming of a woman.
It was an unfamiliar nursery rhyme. The adventurers couldn't make out the meaning of the lyrics—there were only a few short lines that kept looping over and over—yet from them, they felt a tenderness unlike anything they had experienced before.
It was the boundless, all-encompassing love of a mother for her child. The voice was so gentle that listeners felt light and warm all over. Unable to hold back their curiosity any longer, they opened their eyes, only to find that their vision had been completely overtaken by an image—when exactly, none of them could say.
Everything they were hearing was coming from within that scene.
Before them lay a bedchamber lined with books, swallowed in darkness. Then the air went still.
The lullaby cut off abruptly, and the silence that followed was absolute—deathly and suffocating. That jarring contrast sent unease creeping into every heart.
And at the moment when that silence became most unbearable, a sharp, piercing burst of laughter stabbed into their ears, driving the anxiety to its peak.
The adventurers' hearts lurched. They looked down instinctively—and found that shadowy human figures had somehow crawled out from beneath their feet. The laughter was coming from them. Some people stumbled backward in fright, nearly falling, but the image was seared into their vision; closing their eyes did nothing.
They were a group of children dressed in mage apprentice robes. Strange smiles hung on their faces, and their lower bodies seemed incapable of standing—they could only lie on the ground and writhe about.
The scene was deeply unsettling, even outright horrifying. Everyone watching felt goosebumps rise across their skin and fear tighten around their hearts.
Then all the children turned their faces toward them at once.
Dozens of pale, doll-like "pseudo-human" faces stared directly at the adventurers in unison. In that moment, every last one of them had the overwhelming urge to be a coward and run.
But right then, the humming resumed. Candlelight flickered to life inside the bedchamber, pushing back the dark.
The viewpoint shifted upward. The adventurers' eyes went wide. A translucent golden cocoon floated in midair, and inside it was the figure they had glimpsed before in the painting—the "Lunar Queen," Renella.
She was cradling an amber-colored egg in her arms, humming the lullaby with a peaceful expression on her face. She looked like nothing more than a devoted mother. Where had the imposing queen from the portrait gone?
The earlier eeriness was swept away entirely. No one wanted to shatter this quiet, serene atmosphere—none of them could bear to. The adventurers thought that if this scene had appeared in front of them in real life, they would have turned around and walked straight out.
The softly hummed lullaby pulled them deeper and deeper in, until they had forgotten all about the horror that came before. An inexplicable longing welled up inside them—a sudden, irrational desire to return to the womb.
Without realizing it, they had already been mentally affected.
But it was at that moment that a mysterious figure made his entrance.
The doors of the bedchamber were flung violently open. A figure clad in armor, radiating a murderous aura, strode inside.
Stella's eyes snapped wide, because she recognized him—it was the spirit who had appeared before Thops' portrait in the red-heart room of the classroom area. The spirit whose armor resembled that of a white wolf.
Was he going to attack the Lunar Queen?
Under the watchful eyes of the adventurers, the man moved through everyone in the room. He cut down the crawling children one by one with casual, ruthless efficiency—slaughtering them like weeds—blood splattering in every direction. He then shattered the queen's protective shield. The moment Renella fell to the ground, he delivered a clean, decisive execution.
Just what kind of powerhouse was this? The Lunar Queen had no power to fight back against him whatsoever.
Nobody thought about the fact that he had shattered the peace. They were all too stunned by his sheer strength to care.
The scene shifted. The bedchamber gave way to a cold, glassy expanse of water. A full moon rose from its surface, and the queen's figure reappeared—but this time, there was no trace of the earlier gentleness. She was cold and merciless, a true monarch through and through.
Had the mysterious figure's attack snapped her out of it? Something felt off, though. The queen's shift in demeanor was far too drastic, carrying a strange, unsettling quality—as if an entirely different person now inhabited her body.
Countless spells—devastating and breathtaking in equal measure—poured forth from her, leaving the onlookers dazzled. The queen's overwhelming power was on full display as she launched one cold, calculated attack after another at the mysterious man, who simply walked forward at an unhurried pace.
The image went dark. Then came the sound of flesh being pierced, and the queen's voice, faint and weakening:
"Ranni, my beloved daughter… walk toward your own night…"
The adventurers' eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. There was no mistaking what those final words meant—the queen had lost.
Just who in the world was this mysterious person? Even the queen of the magic academy had fallen before him…
Wait. If the queen was already dead, then who were they supposed to be fighting?
God above—it couldn't be this mysterious man who defeated the queen, could it? Please. Anything but that.
But the image wasn't over. The darkness lifted again, and the viewpoint returned to the bedchamber. The queen, completely unharmed, sat on the ground cradling the amber egg, while the mysterious figure bowed respectfully to her before turning and walking away.
The queen remained seated. Time flowed on. New children were born and died. After an unknowable span of time, the mysterious figure returned.
This time, he had brought someone Stella also recognized—the "Lunar Princess," Ranni.
Together they took the queen away. Before leaving, Ranni paused, glancing back at the bedchamber, and set down a small, plump silver-white creature inside.
The creature squirmed and shifted continuously, before finally taking on the shape of a silver-white Lunar Queen.
"Guard the place where Mother once slept. Do not let outsiders disturb it."
That familiar voice. So the words they had heard when the door was pushed open had been spoken by the Lunar Princess all along.
Who was that mysterious person? Why was he with Ranni? Why had they taken the queen away? Questions piled on top of questions, but at that moment the image finally ended.
Moonlight washed across everyone's faces. The adventurers could see one another again—and that was not good news.
It meant the battle was about to begin. And after everything they had just witnessed, not a single one of them felt ready for it.
An immense surge of magical power rolled in from ahead. The mages, most sensitive to such fluctuations, stiffened and slowly looked up, and finally saw clearly what they were up against.
The water rippled quietly beneath the full moon. The Mimic Tear modeled after Lunar Queen Renella raised her Carian scepter and aimed it at them.
Boss "Lunar Queen" Mimic Tear has appeared!
"[Magic Perception]!" A bold mage cast a spell that could read magical reserves—and immediately bent over retching.
"Blegh—! This thing's magic power… blegh—!" He lost all will to fight on the spot. He tried to run, then realized there was no escape inside this world bathed in moonlight.
"How are we even supposed to fight something like this…"
"Is she really that strong?"
Stella gripped her bow tightly. Watching the mage fall apart like that had shaken her own confidence. She really could have used her shield and spear right now—nothing matched the security they gave her.
But Auntie was here. The Professor was here. The Sword Saint was here. And so were elites like Leon, Darrick, Luluwo, and the rest. Surely they couldn't lose with a team like this?
Even back when they had raided the Undead Legion of Farron, they had never assembled a group this formidable. Come to think of it—could this team even have beaten the Undead Legion back then?
Gapar glanced at the mage who'd lost his nerve and didn't even bother to mock him. He drew his sword.
Leon looked out at the rest of them. "What are we still hesitating for? Haven't we come all this way just for the final clear? The goal is right in front of us—what reason do we have to back down now?"
Drew and Ais, as if they had rehearsed it, cast group-wide morale buffs simultaneously. Meanwhile, Stella and the other Warriors of Sunlight in the group raised their weapons high and released the golden radiance of the Sacred Oath.
This was a miracle granted to those who had offered thirty Sun Badges at the Sun Altar.
The surge of power reignited everyone's resolve. With a wolf's howl, Darrick and the giant wolf beneath him activated their wolf blood together. He charged forward first, intent on testing the strength of this Mimic Tear for everyone else.
The opening scene hadn't diminished the queen's image in their minds in the slightest. If anything, it made the thought of facing her—even a simulation of her—far more daunting. They could not afford to be careless.
The "Lunar Queen" didn't open with the legendary spell the real queen would have used in the game. Instead, she swept her staff and sent streams of glintstone meteors arcing toward Darrick as she floated lightly backward.
Darrick broke from his wolf in an instant. The giant wolf drew the meteors' attention, then launched him skyward. Riding that momentum, he unleashed a Wolf Leap with more than a passing resemblance to Artorias' signature bound.
A miserable howl tore from the wolf below. Those seemingly small meteors punched straight through its belly—their power impossibly deep for their size.
"My ally, the dragon!"
The queen's voice rang out loud and clear. A massive surge of magical power followed, and a high-pitched dragon's roar erupted—blasting Darrick clean through the air.
He spun and righted himself, then looked up to see an illusory glintstone dragon materialize behind the queen, wings beating as it charged toward the crowd.
She could summon allies.
"Some of you deal with the dragon! The rest, surround the boss!"
Leon and Luluwo made the same call at the same time. They looked at each other. Leon, having experience fighting dragons, took a team to draw its attention. Luluwo, whose command instincts had been sharpened through countless group battles, took the others and moved to encircle the queen.
"Cut off her retreat! Dodge every magic attack! Mages, get the acceleration spells up now!"
The tactical assignments were made after a single exchange, though the frontline fighters didn't wait to be told. Gapar's sword light cut off the queen's retreat. Wienma split her vines apart and raised several vine giants. Set's Swift Wind spell boosted everyone's speed by half, and Tursey transformed her barrier into something closer to a domain—a semi-circular shield enclosing the adventurers and the queen alike.
But the queen simply waved her staff. In a flash, she reappeared outside the barrier. Miriam's Vanishing.
As the queen of Caria, Renella naturally commanded far more spells than anything in the game.
"My ally, the giant!"
Another surge of magical power. Summoned troll knights crashed into Wienma's vine giants. There were more trolls than giants, and the overflow turned on the adventurers.
The illusory creatures felt no pain and fought without fear. Each was strong enough to qualify as an elite in any other part of the academy, and together they instantly fragmented the fifty-person group across multiple battlefields. Only a stubborn handful kept their eyes on the queen and refused to let up.
"Solar Flare!"
A violent flash erupted. The intense light Gapar unleashed had no effect on the queen, but it half-blinded the adventurers around him and nearly caused a disaster. He grimaced. His momentum faltered, and the queen's five consecutive Comet spells drove him back. He tried to cut through the last one directly—and succeeded—but his sword sent him a warning. Durability had dropped sharply.
He stopped showing off.
By the time he recovered his footing and gave chase, the queen had already drifted upward. He slashed out a wave of sword energy after her. Alongside it, a cascade of multicolored spells flew up from the mages around him.
Several of them exchanged surprised glances. Casting felt remarkably fluid this time, as though something had cleared their minds. It was Hades—his presence was working through them.
A faint golden shield lit up around the queen. She didn't dodge a single incoming attack. The spells barely scratched her shield; Gapar's sword energy left clear marks. Was that the difference between magic resistance and physical resistance in action?
The queen turned her gaze toward Gapar, and he felt a chill settle in his chest. She lifted her hand and the sky bloomed with magical light—Founding Rain of Stars and Scattering Crystals, released at once.
Magic and crystals rained down like a monsoon. Adventurers already tangling with summons suddenly had to split their attention to dodge or guard. The battlefield chaos surged again, and more than a few people were injured or cut down because of it.
"Bubble Shields—use them!" Luluwo shouted. Her experience fighting the Crystalians told her exactly what to reach for against aerial bombardment.
Gapar's figure cut across the battlefield in a blur, covering the mages long enough for them to get Bubble Shields up on everyone. Then he drove his heel into the glintstone dragon's skull. It reared back with a shriek of pain, and off that recoil, Gapar launched himself upward and slashed at the queen.
Clang——
The shield shattered like glass—but before his next strike could land, the queen vanished again. Miriam's Vanishing.
"Great Tree Monument!"
Wienma poured out a tremendous surge of magical power, raising several massive vine-and-tree monuments across the battlefield.
For a moment, no one understood what she was doing.
In the next second, the queen blinked into existence near one of the monuments—and it immediately collapsed inward, wrapping around her like a fist closing shut. A powerful sealing-type spell.
"I've been dealing with that move for a long time now," Wienma said.
Her ongoing love-hate relationship with Miriam had stretched on for weeks. There had been entire days she spent doing nothing but playing cat and mouse with Miriam on the second floor, until Miriam's Vanishing had become almost second nature to her—she could even anticipate the landing positions.
The success rate wasn't high. So she simply attacked all the likely positions at once.
As long as the adventurers hadn't skipped content in the lower floors and had genuinely learned the bosses' and elites' patterns, fighting the queen would be noticeably more manageable. She was, in essence, the academy's final exam.
Now that the queen was bound, the next step was—
The sky suddenly filled with countless glowing magical swords. They fell like volleys from invisible archers. Bubble Shields shattered on contact, and bodies were run through in an instant.
Wienma threw herself aside. From within the great tree monument, the queen's voice rose clearly.
"My subjects—Blaidd!"
A wolf howl split the world open. The great tree monument was severed in an instant by an unstoppable force, and the queen broke free.
Blaidd—the Half-Wolf. The strongest summon.
The moment he appeared, his presence swallowed every other summon on the field. Even the glintstone dragon was nothing by comparison—and that dragon had already been taken down by Leon, the first elite summon to be subdued.
But Leon had no time to catch his breath before Blaidd was already on him. The Half-Wolf's greatsword was impossible to resist outright—every blow sent someone flying.
Terl was caught completely off guard and took Combat Art: Wolf Assault straight through the chest. The burst of ice mist that followed froze him solid in place, a vivid ice sculpture.
Leon's frown deepened. If Swift Slash were still available, he could use his mobility to dance around Blaidd—but there were no "ifs" here. How were they supposed to handle this berserker right now?
They couldn't let him reach the crowd. If he did, it would be a massacre.
By this point, the troll knights and wolf packs had been cleared out, and more and more adventurers were breaking free to converge on the queen. She wove between the water's surface and the sky, releasing radiant spell after radiant spell with each sweep of her arm—each one capable of claiming a life.
This had stopped feeling like a battle. It was a magic exhibition. Every spell the adventurers had ever seen, and a great many they hadn't, appeared in sequence. It was genuinely beautiful, an overwhelming spectacle that fed the eye even as it terrorized them.
Up to this point, the queen's strength had been enough to suppress the adventurers—but it wasn't an absolute domination. The fight swung back and forth, which felt exactly like how a final boss should be.
"I'll take him. Get to the queen." Gapar stepped in against Blaidd and pushed Leon and the others toward the queen.
They could only find openings between the magical barrages. Magic, as the primary source of ranged damage, was performing terribly against her—nobody had accounted for this kind of magic resistance when putting the team together.
Surprisingly, the highest ranged damage output on the entire field was coming from Stella, quietly and relentlessly putting arrows downrange. Wienma's ability to anticipate the queen's movements kept creating openings and restricting her at the same time.
Barring something unexpected, this fight was going to drag on—and the outcome remained genuinely uncertain. Both sides had a real chance of winning, though the queen's edge was slight.
Everyone was giving everything they had. No one was willing to lose.
Seconds stretched on. Then, one by one, the summons on the field began to vanish—their duration exhausted.
When even Half-Wolf Blaidd finally dissolved, the entire group turned their focus onto the queen at last. Full coordination became possible for the first time. By now both sides had spent roughly half their strength. Who would come out ahead was still anyone's guess—could the adventurers actually clear this on the first try?
A bad feeling gnawed at Luluwo. The fight had gone on too long. Every monster in the academy shared a common trait: the longer a battle dragged out, the more likely they were to pull out something catastrophic.
She was right.
The queen's final move had arrived.
The "Lunar Queen" ascended into the sky, curled her body inward, and began to condense an amount of magical power unlike anything that had come before.
The adventurers watched a second moon rise.
[Renella's Full Moon]