The Hour of Ruin
As Jojun’s party drew closer to the Crimson Zone, Han Yu-hye’s guild chat function flickered back to life. Dozens of messages from Eila, who had been resting after sealing Aram, flooded Jojun’s interface. The contents were grim: Han Aram had sustained heavy injuries, Lee Ju-ha had fallen into a coma, and Sora had been struck by a curse of petrification, leaving her entire body—save for her eyes—hardened into stone.
Reading the messages, Jojun felt as if his head were about to explode. "What the hell is this madness... At least nobody’s dead, but... damn it..." It was only the follow-up message—stating that they had captured one of the enemy’s subordinates and that the majority of their base’s forces, including Cheshire and the Jet-Black Cockroaches, were currently in pursuit of the enemy—that kept him from collapsing from a spike in blood pressure.
"So, they’re heading toward the Ruins of the Abyss... That must mean there’s a way to restore Nick there. If that’s the case, there’s no point in rushing back to the base. I’ll wipe out Nick and his lackeys right here."
Jojun realized that if he blindly rushed to the Crimson Zone and missed the Hero’s party, they might achieve their goal in the ruins and slip away. "We hunt them here. They’re walking right into our trap." With that, Jojun scoured the Ruins of the Abyss, waiting for them to crawl into his grasp. When they finally entered the ruins, he spotted Nick drinking from a spring and charged toward them.
"Found you!!! You sons of bitches!!!"
Nicholas and his party appeared in the distance, their faces etched with clear panic. "Three of them are NPCs like Cheshire or Eila... fighting them head-on is going to be a pain." Having received the enemy’s intel from Eila, Jojun immediately pulled out his trump card. It was a nightmare he had hoped never to unleash, the very existence that had provided him with the greatest pleasure of his entire life. It was also the only means to suppress Michael’s eyes.
"AINAX!!!!"
The Ruins of the Abyss trembled. The ceiling cracked, spewing forth an indescribable light.
"Ah... my husband..."
A writhing horror descended from the sky, accompanied by colors that defied description. Michael, having paid the price for trying to see the unseeable, felt his eyes burst.
SPLAT!
"GAAAAH!!! HOLY!! SHIT!!"
"Damn it!!! Michael!! Fuck..!"
Caesar panicked and cast a vision-distortion debuff on his party. It was a desperate measure to protect them. "Keep your heads down!! You must never look at that with a clear mind!!! It’s a mental attack of the highest order!!!"
Just by glimpsing the form of Ainax and the colors of chaos, Caesar realized what the cultist had summoned. He trembled, thinking, "That crazy bastard...! What did he offer as a sacrifice... you heretic scum!" Unaware that Evil Gods usually paid for their summons, Caesar couldn't fathom how a mere human had managed to call forth a fragment of an Evil God. It was fortunate that the entity’s true will wasn't fully anchored; if a physical manifestation imbued with Kashnakas’s true intent had been summoned, he doubted anyone would have survived.
For the record, Ainax was not currently under Kashnakas’s interference, unlike during the Forest of the Missing. Unlike that time, she had emerged with an independent ego. If Kashnakas had faced Jojun directly in reality again, she surely would have been unable to resist pinning him down to milk him to death. That was why she exercised restraint. Besides, she had already been thoroughly filled with Jojun’s seed in the Forest of the Missing, so there was no need for another session. Even though Jojun’s sperm had been rendered inactive by the effect of the *Sense Push*, such drug effects meant nothing to a god.
Regardless, Michael became dead weight in an instant, and the rest of the party suffered vision issues. At this rate, defeat was certain. And if they lost here, the Manma-jeon’s victory would likely be cemented. That meant the end of the story. It meant the end of the universe.
"It contradicts the Prophet’s revelation... That can’t happen... Victory belongs to the Pantheon...!"
In the end, Caesar had to make the decision of a lifetime. "Dante!!! Killian!!! Hold them back as long as you can!!! Alex!! Roy!! Anna!! Take Michael and Nick and flee to the base!!"
Caesar prepared for death. Among the NPCs Nick had brought, Caesar was the one most deeply entrenched in the Good faction, and he was ready to sacrifice his life to protect the players. "We’re just ghosts who lost our right to participate in the game anyway... mere chess pieces. So..."
Caesar pressed his palms together.
CLAP.
"I offer myself."
VROOOOM...!!!
Light erupted from his clasped hands, burning his body away. Finally, the long-standing mission of the Heretic Hunter was over. Through the form of self-immolation.
"Begone... monster of another world..."
With those final words, his flesh vanished into nothingness.
[KRAA!! NO!!]
Caesar’s body turned to a handful of ash in an instant, and Ainax’s summoning was pulled back as if played in reverse. The nightmare was being banished. The closing rift of chaos widened for a moment, and Ainax was sucked back in.
"Guh-ack...!!!"
The recoil of the forced banishment slammed into Jang Jojun’s body. Kashnakas intervened in a hurry, but significant damage had already been dealt to Jojun’s physical vessel. Jojun collapsed, vomiting blood, and in that moment, Henry swung his sword at Dante, who had lunged to kill the cultist.
BOOM!!!
Dante’s fist and Henry’s sword collided with a deafening roar. Merhere quickly hoisted Jojun onto her back to pull him away from the fray.
BANG!!!
A single magic bullet fired. "Kyahhh!!!" Kang Hwa-young took the bullet meant for Merhere. Her stomach was pierced, but vampires didn't die easily. Scooping up her spilling entrails, Kang Hwa-young glared at Killian. "You son of a bitch!!!"
Killian tried to reload, but Seong Ha-rin lunged at him with her hidden claws bared. The Beast Hunter and the Blue Moon Beast clashed. And into that mix, a frenzied vampire intervened.
"You bitch-ass whores!!!"
Killian missed his window to reload. He drew his hunting dagger and hand axe, engaging Kang Hwa-young and Seong Ha-rin simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Michael, having lost his sight, was carried on Alex’s back. Anna swung the Yokai King’s sword to seal Lee Eunji, then tried to bind Han Aram—who was about to swing her bastard sword—with chains of light. However, having used too much mana to seal Lee Eunji, the chains were loose and failed to bind Han Aram properly. Anna panicked at the fatal mistake, but it was too late to dodge completely. Han Aram’s sword energy was already flying toward her face.
SLASH!!!
"KYAAAA!!!"
Blood sprayed from Anna’s shoulder. She collapsed in pain. Han Aram, having shattered the chains, rushed in to decapitate the fallen saintess. If left alone, the saintess would die.
"A, Anna!!"
Nick, who had been struggling with conflicting memories, finally regained his focus when he saw Anna in mortal danger. 정리ing his jumbled memories wasn't the priority; protecting his comrade from the enemy was.
"The Holy Sword...!"
He reached to draw the Holy Sword to kill the approaching Han Aram. But... "The, the activation chant... I can’t remember... No... there’s too much coming back, I don’t know what’s what..." Perhaps because of the jumbled memories, dozens of activation chants for the Holy Sword flooded his mind. Furthermore, bizarre, unrelated memories kept surfacing, distracting him. They looked like men who, for some reason, resembled him... perhaps they were the memories of past wielders of the Holy Sword...
With no way to identify the correct chant, he drew a different sword and clashed with Han Aram.
SHING!!! SLASH!!!
"Ugh...!!"
"This...!"
Nick’s arms were slashed, and simultaneously, Han Aram’s shoulder was pierced. Their swordsmanship was evenly matched. For some reason, Nick’s sword was sharper than before he lost his memories. It was as if the experiences of the other Saviors had melted into his body. Thanks to that, he was able to block both of Han Aram’s swords while piercing her shoulder in return.
"Can I kill her...?"
Nick adopted a combat stance that felt strangely familiar. If he swung his sword a few more times, he felt he might really get the hang of it. Just then, Roy shoved him aside and stepped forward.
"No time!! Just follow Alex!! Anna!! Stop crying and get up and get out of here!! I’m staying behind!!!"
Roy held something in his hand. It was a box created by a skill. Roy threw the surprise box directly at Han Aram, who was about to swing her sword. "RANDOM BOX!!!"
Han Aram instinctively struck the flying box, and it exploded, triggering an effect. Roy didn't know what would happen; he only hoped for a result favorable to them.
BOOM!!!!
"Ugh!!"
Han Aram’s position was teleported directly in front of Dante. Caught between Dante and Henry, Han Aram became the target. Dante, who had been about to punch Henry, changed his target to the suddenly appearing Han Aram.
CRASH!!!!
"Guh-ack!!!"
Henry pulled Han Aram back and crossed his swords to barely block Dante’s fist, but he couldn't fully negate the impact and was pushed back, vomiting blood. Meanwhile, Roy, having exhausted all his mana, felt dizzy and followed the fleeing party.
"Ugh... you sons of bitches..."
If Nick were allowed to escape, the only ones left on the field would be the Beast Hunter Killian and the Giant Slayer Dante. Jojun gritted his teeth as he watched them flee.
"Jojun!!!!"
Cheshire appeared, firing her laser rifle at the fleeing group, leading tens of thousands of cockroaches and Awakened.
"GAAAAH!!!"
"My, my legs!!!"
Alex, covered in a swarm of cockroaches, and Roy, his leg pierced by a laser, wailed in agony. Nick and Michael were trapped within Anna’s barrier, with nowhere to go. Michael looked around with his left eye, the only one that could still be treated by the saintess. Enemies were everywhere. The moment the barrier broke, they would surely be killed by the Mushroom Men, Parasitic Trees, and Jet-Black Cockroach hatchlings. It was time to make a decision.
"Nicholas..."
"Uh... uh?"
"This is all your fault, you asshole. Die!!"
Michael drew his dagger and slit Nick’s throat. There was no way they were getting out alive. Since they were doomed, it was better to die than be captured by the enemy. That way, their classes would return to others...
Having killed Nick, Michael immediately stabbed Anna, who had been praying, from behind.
"KYAAAAAA!!!!!"
"I’m sorry!! Anna!!! Die!!! It’s better to die by my hand than to become a sex slave to that monkey bastard!!!"
"No, no!!! I’d rather!! Be a sex slave!! Guh-ack...!!!"
Michael climbed on top of her and repeatedly stabbed her chest. Anna screamed until she finally collapsed. Anna’s vitals faded. With this, the Saintess and the Hero were dead.
The Great Sage Michael raised his middle finger toward Jojun, who was rushing toward him, shouting in an unintelligible language. "Suck my dick, you monkey bastard!!! I won't become a slave to an Oriental like you!!! I won't let my comrades become slaves either...!!! I am, we are!! Great white men!!!"
Slitting his own throat, he laughed hollowly. Even in his final moments, Michael was a goddamn racist.