Just Logout If You Die~
"It's fine if you die~ But I had high hopes since you had that lizard's item... You're disgustingly weak."
"Urk... This is bullshit..."
—What's your connection to the lizard? Tell me the truth, and I'll ease your pain.
Haring spat up blood and crawled across the floor. Looking around, Hidni and Kazen were already out of commission from the black magic. NyaNya had died while half-frozen solid, leaving only Haring barely clinging to life, dragging herself along the ground.
It wasn't because Haring was stronger or luckier than the others that she'd survived.
'Why not just kill me already?'
That black skull floating in midair was holding off her death.
Players barely felt pain by default, but it wasn't zero. Having a gaping hole punched through your chest felt about like a sharp toothpick stabbing deep into your flesh.
'It fucking hurts!'
Haring took deep, ragged breaths as she pondered how things had gone so wrong. At first, she'd thought the ogre had revived, but no—it was still dead, decapitated, and the rewards had come through. The ogre had just been a puppet. The black skull hovering overhead was way beyond what players could handle right now. Even after taking down the ogre and getting stronger, Haring and the others hadn't stood a chance.
That left just one possibility.
'Something higher up.'
The being that had granted power to the "corrupted" ogre lord. The Demon King was dead, so something just a notch below...
"Le... gion... Commander..."
—Oh? You heard my name from the lizard?
"...Who the hell are you... you skull-fetish freak..."
—Insolent worm.
Legion Commander. A demon leading one of the Demon King's legions—the kind of foe they'd speculated would show up after the ogre. And here one was, revealing itself right after the ogre's death.
—I'll ask again. What's your connection to the lizard?
"......"
Haring looked down. The reason it had killed everyone else but kept her alive for a chat.
Clink.
"This damn epic weapon..."
The reddish sword in Haring's hand. Forged from an ancient dragon's scales, it was clear proof of her ties to Lea. No use denying it—the legion commander's eyes saw everything.
Haring sheathed the sword with resolve and lifted her head to meet the skull's gaze.
"You wanna know?"
—Speak. Then I'll kill you swiftly.
"Fine... but you first. Who are you?"
—You must've heard from the lizard.
"No clue... Never heard."
—Is that so.
The altar chamber, unscathed even by the ogre lord's sword beams, began crumbling as the skull unleashed its true power.
Haring watched the debris raining down endlessly and thought: Strong. Insanely strong. And this was just a fragment of consciousness or lingering will, not even the real body. How the hell were they supposed to beat something like this later?
'200 people? 300?'
The ogre lord had been a nightmare already. Taking down a legion commander on top of that? And if the Demon King revived someday?
—Fifth Legion Commander, Kadaver of Servitude.
"What a badass name... Got any cool titles too...?"
—Flattery won't save you.
"Yeah?"
Haring shoved her worries aside and grinned. The legion commander looked tough as nails, sure, but...
"The Demon King? Already got his ass kicked like a dog."
—What?
"You're just his lackey, right? Bet Lea-chan wiped the floor with you too."
—...!Insolent fool! Do you wish to wander the underworld eternally?!
"Facts? You're shaking—you can't even deny it."
With a mountain-sized shrug, Haring hit the glowing logout button floating in the air.
Would you like to log out?
You are in combat. Logging out will result in character death.
Death will cause EXP loss and penalties.
"Yup~ Death's no biggie. I've made bank already~"
—Hero...!
"Bye-bye~"
Black mana slammed into where Haring had been a moment too late—she was already gone.
Dimension transfer in progress...
＊
Outside the Ogre Den.
"Wh-what's that?!"
"Black smoke..."
"Battle stations! Something's coming!!"
Top rankers drew their weapons as the altar collapsed. Ogre lord defeated, sudden quakes, now the den crumbling. They didn't know the details, but this screamed major event incoming.
Hajin fell back, drawing his blue wavy sword matching his hair. Suinjoa transformed.
"...This is unexpected."
Yeoje gripped her holy-aura staff and floated into the air. The sky turned black. A massive skull apparition emerged, and rankers unleashed hell.
"Attack!"
"Everyone, pile on! Hidden boss!"
"Kiyaaah! What do we get for this?!"
"No sign of the raid party!"
"Even better! Kill it!"
Veteran raiders and fresh arrivals bombarded it. The skull twitched—heroes went wild, pouring on more DPS. But they froze.
"Uh..."
"Why's it powering up..."
"Huh?"
"This for real?"
The skull hadn't changed—it was just trembling with rage. Fifth Legion Commander Kadaver's red eyes gleamed.
—Heroes... This generation's heroes are arrogantly bold! Bolder than that Bahamut scum!
"...!"
"Sorry!"
"Run, idiots! This ain't the time!"
"Gomennasai!!"
—Pity this land still lies in the goddess's grasp. But I can at least curse you lot.
Kadaver traced a massive black magic circle with his dispersing will. Big enough to swallow the whole area.
Heroes scrambled to flee, but escaping a blast that could flatten ten ogre hordes wasn't easy. Logging out in the AoE meant death plus penalties galore.
One way out...
"Yeoje!"
"Yeoje-nim! We were good together!"
"Help! Open a gate, please!"
Heavenly Sovereign Yeoje—top ranker, hidden piece collector, wielder of Gate of Cataclysm. 7-day cooldown, short duration, but room for 100+ people.
Rankers swarmed her...
"She dipped already?"
"Real pieces of shit."
"Team? Same raid alliance?"
"Ditched us instantly?"
Heavenly had opened her portal and bailed before the cursing started. Looked like she was attacking from the air, but nope—portal prep. Remaining rankers gawked skyward or flailed attacks at the skull to no avail.
—Die.
Black magic crashed down.
＊
(Photo of central continent under raining black daggers)
＊
"Huumnya..."
Thump thump thump!
'Lady Lea~'
'Lady Lea, we're here!'
'Open door pleeease~'
Noisy outside. Finally getting some good sleep after ages, and now this racket.
'Hasn't even been a year yet.'
The heroes left at most two weeks ago, tops. Even stronger now, chopping the ogre chief's head in just two weeks? No way that made sense.
'Round trip alone would take two weeks.'
"Not opening... No way..."
Couldn't miss this precious nap. I'd sleep a year if I had to. I cranked up the barrier's soundproofing and curled tighter, but the noise didn't fade—it got louder.
After tossing forever, I finally depolymorphed and got up.
"...Better not be."
If they came back empty-handed 'cause they slacked off, I'd never let 'em in again...
"We got it!"
"Ogre head here. Couldn't grab the rest 'cause of the skull."
"You missed us too, right Lady Lea?"
"?"
Eh?