The Menhera Menace

"No way, is that even a person?"

The next day, a streamer was suffering under a malicious viewer who kept sending donations under the nickname "." The streamer's broadcast nickname was Sukmin, a slight twist on his real name, Shin Sumin.

Anyway, Sumin had turned on his stream to take another crack at the boss he'd been attempting the day before.

"Hey guys." "No small talk today. Let's just get straight into it."

The last chat message got under Sumin's skin. He immediately snapped.

"No! I swear that was a dodgeable pattern!" "I even had a defensive angle, but the game just screwed me over!"

"Haa… Anyway, I'll start matchmaking right away."

That one chat about claiming he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could dodge but failing stuck in his mind more than usual. From his perspective, it had been a perfectly avoidable angle.

He tried to console himself by calling the game a trash game and waited for the match to pop.

The game he was playing, Bless Raider, began with its signature alarm sound.

"…Isn't that that bastard?"

While choosing his blessing and waiting for the game to start, he spotted a familiar username among his teammates. It belonged to the user known in the Bless Raider Gallery—shortened to BlessGal—as either "that bastard" or "that crazy bitch."

That user was on his team.

"Ah…"

"Should I just dodge?"

Dodging would incur a penalty, but since Sumin hadn't dodged recently, he was seriously considering it.

Those messages popped up right after he spoke. It looked like they had blocked the stream, but since there wasn't much you could do about it in this game anyway, he let it slide.

"They said they'd play properly? Is that person actually good?"

"Haa… Fine, I'll trust them this once."

The moment he finished speaking, more messages appeared.

He was curious what they had gotten yesterday, but didn't bother asking. Instead, there was one thing he absolutely had to say.

"That crazy bastard was blocking the stream after all."

Yeah, getting stream-blocked didn't actually hurt him right now. But still—

"Doesn't it still feel super weird though??" "That lunatic's been watching my stream regularly, right?" "That means they could snipe and throw at any time!!"

Before he could even react to the MenheraPsycho's message, the game started at lightning speed.

"Agh, shit! This garbage game only loads fast at times like this!" "If I ever catch your account, you're getting banned immediately."

*

"Puhuhu."

She burst out laughing while watching the stream. Sumin's reactions were always so on point—it was fun to troll him. And to think she'd run into that tanker again. Maybe this was fate, she thought as she grabbed her mouse.

"Time to test the weapon performance~"

As the loading screen ended, the boss's cutscene began playing. The sky turned pitch black, and a crack formed in the center. The rift grew larger and larger until it tore a massive hole in the heavens.

A voice echoed from within the hole. It sent chills down the spine, yet somehow stirred an involuntary sense of awe.

Crack—

A single tentacle shot out from the rift in the sky. Its deep violet hue gripped the edges of the tear and began prying it wider.

[Tremble before me.]

[For I, a god who shall erase your very existence, have descended.]

What emerged was a creature covered in dozens of eyes. It resembled an octopus, yet radiated an incomparably higher presence. True to its title as the god of erasure, every living thing around them crumbled into dust. Watching the world disintegrate, they drew their swords.

*

"Who the hell didn't skip the cutscene?"

"I know! I know! But it's still annoying as hell, so I'm complaining!!" "Haa… It's over now." "Time to actually play seriously."

Sumin muted his mic as he said that. The chat exploded with complaints about sound suppression, but he didn't care. More than anything, he wanted to clear this boss quickly, raise his fame, and move on to the next one.

Waiting with the tanker to see the boss's first pattern, Sumin held dual pistols. His class was Ranger—high burst damage but extremely fragile, demanding high skill.

While waiting with the tanker, someone suddenly dashed far ahead.

"Hey, what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is that guy doing—"

Forgetting he'd muted himself, Sumin cursed, then immediately shut his mouth. The boss's attack began, spawning massive red circles across the ground. Tentacles would erupt from those circles. The pattern was simple, but the tentacles moved fast, and some stayed to keep attacking.

"Whoa, shit!"

After dodging the circle under his feet, Sumin looked forward. The Sword Saint who had run ahead was weaving between the circles, slicing through any tentacles that got in the way.

"What the—"

Dodging ranged tentacle attacks while cutting down the ones in front, the Sword Saint reached the boss and immediately activated their ultimate.

One stroke carved a line across the sky. Two strokes formed a cross. The final stroke split the cross downward. All incoming attacks around the Sword Saint vanished as if they had never existed. Even the tentacles collapsed, covered in countless sword marks. The boss's body was likewise riddled with wounds.

Slashslashslash—!!

Blood erupted from every wound at once, carving away 25% of the boss's health in an instant.

"What the hell was that? Insane."

*

"Kya, this weapon's performance is crazy."

The moment the game started, she sprinted straight for the boss. After cutting through tentacles and reaching it, she unleashed her ultimate. Unlike greatsword users, a beautiful cross was carved into the sky without any dramatic lines. One final swing shattered the cross, erasing all nearby attacks. The surrounding tentacles died, and the boss lost 25% of its health.

Even though it was the previous boss's finale weapon, its performance left her speechless.

"Next pattern…"

[Kugh, how dare you…!]

Magic circles formed on eight tentacles, each with different effects. The first one to destroy was the healing circle. She dashed to the glowing green one and swung her sword.

Whoosh—!

Splash—!

Green blood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sprayed as the circle lost its light. Next was the annihilation circle. She rushed toward the dark-red one. Its tentacles had higher health than the others, so she used a skill the moment she arrived.

[Draw Slash.]

She sheathed her greatsword, then drew it in one fluid motion. Boom—!

Dozens of sword marks appeared on the tentacle as blood burst out.

"Huu."

The remaining tentacles had already been destroyed by Sukmin and the tanker. She cleaned up the nearby ones and charged the boss.

After signaling, the tanker's buff landed immediately. Receiving the Roar buff that increased damage, she used her skill.

[Flash Strike.]

Her character shot forward at incredible speed. Two tentacles in her path took massive damage and staggered.

She quickly typed and moved while dodging attacks. After avoiding everything, she sliced through one tentacle in front of her.

[Kaaagh—! Damn it—!!] [Your lives end here!]

After cutting the tentacle, the boss raged and used a skill. The ground tentacles vanished, leaving huge holes. The boss's tentacles regenerated and gathered in front of its face. A dark-red sphere formed where they met, and something began gathering around it. As the sphere grew, the surrounding trees and grass withered. Their health steadily drained until the sphere matched the boss's size.

"Huu…"

The only way to survive this pattern was to hang from the pits below.

Staggering the boss would interrupt the pattern and allow damage. Her ultimate was off cooldown too.

"It's a gamble."