The One Who Saved the Sun
Sophia's eyes went wide.
The axe had been falling toward her—seconds from its destination, seconds from sending blood spraying into the air. And yet the axe hung motionless in empty space.
It had not stopped on its own. A chain of staggering thickness had come flying from somewhere, and that chain had arrested the axe in its tracks.
Before anyone could even process what they were seeing, a rasp of metal on metal split the air, and the axe's owner vanished from sight. He went sailing through empty space and slammed into the wall of the abandoned building hard enough to shatter the old masonry to rubble.
Then, from beneath the wreckage, a figure emerged. Accompanied by the heavy scrape of dragging chains, a man walked toward them.
Sophia and Olivia's faces went blank at the same instant. They knew that face. They had thought they would never see him again—but the encounter had been far too recent to forget.
A heavy silence settled over the abandoned building. The appearance was that unexpected: for the ones who had been saved, and for the ones who had been interrupted.
Yu Jinhyuk.
Sophia repeated the name of the man who had appeared. He hadn't gotten off at Roze Station. He had stayed on the train, bound for the next stop. That was what should have happened. So how was he here?
The group that had been hunting Sophia was the first to break the silence.
"Y-you son of a bitch!"
"Who the hell sent you?!"
The classes skilled in close combat drew up their abilities and kicked off the ground. The non-combat classes pulled firearms from inside their coats and trained them on Jinhyuk.
No matter how much this world ran on awakened abilities, guns were still among the deadliest killing tools around. It wasn't even uncommon for promising players to meet an unceremonious end to a bullet.
"Kill him!"
The ones aiming at Jinhyuk pulled their triggers.
Click. Click. Click.
The bullets didn't fire. Question marks bloomed across their faces. After gunning down the Golden Knights, they had reloaded and even cleaned their weapons. There was no reason they shouldn't fire.
With practiced motions, they checked their magazines at speed. And they could only stare in horror.
"W-what the hell is this?!"
What filled the magazines wasn't ammunition. It was some unidentifiable white modeling clay. They were looking right at it, and they still couldn't make sense of the situation.
"Everyone check your magazines and reload!"
It was chaotic, but there was no time to dawdle. They pulled out fresh magazines and swapped them for the ones packed with clay.
That instant, a deafening blast erupted from the magazines, swallowing everyone nearby. Some among them had classes skilled in support or defense. But an explosion at that close a range made reaction impossible. Half of the people who had been chasing Sophia were simply vaporized.
The ones who had charged Jinhyuk first were at least free of the explosion, but their ending wasn't much different.
"Gaaagh!"
A chain whipped around a man's leg. He was dragged down and slammed into the floor. After that, several more were snatched up in turn and rammed into the walls and debris of the abandoned building.
"I'll stab you to death!"
Those who had survived the chain attacks all raised their weapons. Each weapon was wrapped in its own ability—if they could just close the distance, victory was certain.
And yet.
"...?"
When had that happened? A sword was in the interloper's hand. For people who had assumed his weapon was obviously the chain, it was bewildering.
Whether he registered their confusion or not—
Nazeber-style Quick Draw, 1st Sword
Blue Aura gathered along Jinhyuk's blade.
Night Raven Hunt
The aura scattered through empty air in a helpless spray.
Reaction was impossible. It was a draw so absurdly fast that those who were cut never even realized they'd been cut.
In the end, the weapons they had raised never got swung.
"Ah..."
A quiet gasp, and then they sprayed blood. Their scattered bodies tumbled across the floor of the abandoned building.
Silence returned.
Jinhyuk let out a long, slow breath through it. Then he rose and wiped the sweat from his brow. It wasn't from the fight just now. He'd arrived so close to the wire that it had broken out.
He glanced toward the upper floor of the abandoned building. Seira was concealed behind a pillar.
He tossed her a wink—nice work. If she hadn't carried him here through the air, he would have been too late.
"Jinhyuk."
Sophia, supporting Olivia, called out to him. Jinhyuk approached and bowed.
"You're both unharmed, I hope?"
"How...? You didn't get off the train."
"I jumped off along the way."
The two of them looked even more stunned. Sometimes an honest answer only bewilders people more.
Olivia wiped the blood from her lips and stared at Jinhyuk's arm.
"That chain... Don't tell me?"
A player who fought with chains in a style bordering on acrobatics. There hadn't been any need for acrobatics this time, but as far as Olivia knew, there was only one player like that in the world.
"Runner."
Jinhyuk didn't deny it. He didn't make excuses. He simply offered an awkward, sheepish smile.
"Ah! Charles is outside...!"
"It's all right. He'll be fine."
Jinhyuk turned his gaze toward the old parking lot. He would have arrived in time. That friend of his was a lot faster than he was, after all.
Charles's eyes went wide.
He didn't know who it was. A man had suddenly inserted himself into the fight, splitting the space between Joypin and Charles.
A man with his white hair swept back coolly smiled at Charles. And the moment he tried to say something, a dozen or so épées punched through his body.
An enormous spray of blood burst out. A sneer leaked from Joypin, standing behind the man.
"Did you think I'd wait around just because you made a surprise entrance? What are you, an amateur?"
Joypin kept driving épées in, as if determined to finish him completely. He might look casual about it, but he was a professional. There was no telling what variables a sudden appearance might create. He chose a fast, unhesitating elimination.
An épée punched through the heart and came out the other side. Joypin took a couple of steps back and flicked the blood from his blade.
"Not even a single scream. Impressive. Can't feel pain, is that it?"
Thanks to that, he'd gotten a good show. A corpse standing on its feet, of all things.
Charles stared at the man who had taken the blades in his place.
"Who on earth are you..."
He didn't ask if the man was all right. His heart had already been pierced. The man's life would fade any moment now.
In that instant, wonder filled Charles's eyes. Far from writhing in pain, the corners of the man's mouth were climbing.
"I was just about to ask if you were all right, actually."
He even spoke. With his lungs, liver, and heart all run through.
"I look like hell, don't I. Still, since I'm here anyway, might as well ask. You okay?"
"I-I'm all right."
Charles had taken several épées himself, but he had avoided fatal wounds. His life wasn't in danger.
"That's a relief."
"But..."
"I'm fine."
Charles's eyes went wide again. Anyone could see those were fatal wounds. Injuries that should have meant dying on the spot. He clearly knew that, and yet at that single I'm fine, Charles found himself feeling relieved without meaning to.
"What the hell are you?"
Joypin, sensing something off, frowned.
How is he even standing?
This wasn't a matter of willpower or mental fortitude. Enough time had passed that he should have been dead twice over.
"Me?"
Darc turned his head back.
"What's the modern phrase for this? No fucking manners, was it?"
"Ha? You're a funny one."
"Funny?"
Darc tilted his head, asking as if he were genuinely curious.
"Do the prey usually say that kind of thing?"
Darc turned fully around and started walking toward Joypin.
An inexplicable chill washed over Joypin's body. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head hard. For a fleeting instant, the Darc walking toward him had looked impossibly, impossibly huge.
"A shredded wreck putting on airs!!"
He started thrusting his épées again. Same as before, Darc didn't dodge. He took them with his body and kept walking.
The ease vanished from Joypin's face. Something was wrong. He was clearly the one attacking one-sidedly. So why was he the one growing terrified and backing away?
"You monster bastard!!"
Joypin clenched his teeth and drove an épée in with all his strength. Or rather, he tried to.
Darc casually reached out and touched Joypin's arm. Then, with a dull crack, the frozen arm dropped to the ground.
"Uh... huh?"
Why did that fall off?
The situation was so unreal that Joypin wore a bewildered smile.
"You're a cheerful one."
Darc reached out. Both of his thumbs pushed into Joypin's mouth. That was the end of it.
In an instant, Joypin's body tore apart and scattered.
Darc casually dusted off his hands and shrugged.
"Guess I'll have to throw this out too. Or maybe not? I think I heard vintage is in fashion these days."
Muttering something he'd seen on TV, Darc looked back at Charles.
"What do you think? Should I toss this outfit?"
Charles couldn't answer. He was far too normal a person to keep up with a situation and a conversation this far beyond common sense.
"Let's go with throwing it out."
Darc flicked the clothes off and tossed them aside. Surprise filled Charles's face once more.
There are no wounds...
He had clearly been stabbed by épées dozens of times. There wasn't a scar—not even a tiny scratch.
Darc came right up and crouched down. Then he looked Charles in the face.
"Charles, was it?"
"Yes. That's correct."
"Grateful I saved you? The two who were with you are safe as well."
Only then did Charles collect himself and start to move, intending to show proper courtesy.
"Don't bother. Save the thanks for the person over there. You'll know the face."
While Darc chuckled, Charles managed to bow his head.
"You have my deepest thanks for saving me."
"Ah, and if you're grateful—"
A smile formed on Darc's lips.
"Forget...?"
"I was never here. Think of it as a midsummer night's dream, that's what I'm saying."
He didn't know the reason. But Charles understood at once and nodded.
"Quick on the uptake. I like that."
"You are..."
The moment he tried to ask something more, Darc vanished. As if he had never existed in the first place.
A truly dreamlike situation.
Charles rubbed his eyes and slowly looked around. All that remained was Joypin's tattered corpse and the unidentified man's discarded shirt.
Footsteps.
At the sound of approaching presence, he turned his head. A man with a familiar face was walking toward him, supporting Olivia with Sophia at his side.
You'll know the face.
Charles quietly watched the man drawing closer—Yu Jinhyuk.
He would need to commit that face to memory. The benefactor who had saved the sun of Britain.