Delete
Linfel had thrown his trump card.
His body was swallowed by a brilliant blaze of light.
Skill — Sonic Spear: Attack speed increased
Skill — Demonic Strength: Attack power greatly increased
Skill — Double Attack (Comet Phase): Damage doubled — one use only
Skill — Seven Star: Critical rate and damage increased
A burst-damage buff rotation, the kind reserved for hunting the bosses of the Tower.
At the sight of it, Ryu Hwi understood exactly what Linfel intended to do.
His awakening skill!
A piercing attack that ignored defense entirely. No defensive skill, no piece of equipment, nothing could keep it out — an invincible spear that ran everything through. It was a skill he'd watched Linfel unleash again and again in his clearing videos.
He knew what was coming before it was even announced.
Sky Meteor Strike — Charging
"Hope you're ready for a funeral, Unknown!"
The finishing blow that had felled countless powerful foes. As the light of a meteor streaked across the curtain of the night sky, Linfel was certain of his victory.
And in that very instant, swords and shields, wooden puppets and toys, and miscellaneous objects of utterly unknowable purpose popped into existence in front of Ryu Hwi.
"What the hell is all this?! Are you kidding me right now?!"
There was no way that could stop Sky Meteor Strike.
Linfel charged to smash through the hastily thrown-up barricade and run Ryu Hwi straight through — but the mountain of junk robbed the attack of its rotational force, shaving away the spear's momentum with every piece it shattered.
And Ryu Hwi, seizing the weakened moment, caught Linfel's spear in both hands.
"You think that counts as blocking me?!"
Paying no heed to Ryu Hwi's reckless gambit, Linfel simply pushed on.
"You fool! You're going to die just like th──"
Crack.
A fracture spread across Linfel's Starlight Spear. A single hairline crack raced outward in an instant until it webbed the entire weapon from tip to haft.
"?!"
Before Linfel's very eyes, the Starlight Spear shattered into pieces.
World of Phantasm was not supposed to have a weapon destruction mechanic. So why on earth had his spear just broken apart?
Beyond the cloud of scattering fragments, he saw Ryu Hwi — the muzzle of the Gunsword aimed straight at him.
Bang!
A gunshot cracked through the air. The bullet tore through the drifting dust and punched clean through Linfel's left shoulder.
"Ghhhhaaaa?!"
Nerves searing as if set aflame, Linfel screamed.
"Nngh, aaaah, uuuugh."
"I was aiming for your heart, actually. Reacting at the last second like that — impressive, I'll give you that."
"You son of a……"
Gripping his bullet-torn shoulder, Linfel forced himself upright.
"What did you do to my Starlight Spear?!"
"You were rather fond of it, weren't you? How does it feel — one of the things you staked your whole life on, gone in an instant?"
Ryu Hwi was smiling, twisted with unmistakable delight. But his eyes were cold as ice.
"What kind of nonsense……. World of Phantasm doesn't have weapon destruction. You're trying to trick me with some kind of sleight of hand, that's all this is──"
"Do you like Random Boxes?"
The sudden, out-of-nowhere question made Linfel bristle, hackles rising. What is he talking about?
"Sure, it's garbage-probability gambling. But every once in a while, it gives you something beautiful. Like, say, the SSR-grade Random Box I pulled……"
After drawing UR YggON and diving into the Yggdrasil game labyrinth, this was the very first SSR Ryu Hwi had ever rolled. A trump card he had hoarded all this time — no, not merely a trump card. The secret weapon he had saved specifically for his revenge against Linfel and Linzea.
"This one isn't a 'skill.' And it isn't an 'item,' either."
YggON had classified it under neither skills nor items.
The category it belonged to was——
System.
"Still wondering what I've been saying this whole time?!"
Linfel was no longer in his right mind. For reasons he couldn't begin to fathom, the Starlight Spear had vanished from his inventory too.
"Let me tell you the name of the SSR I pulled."
Ryu Hwi wore the smile of a man at the height of his powers.
"It's called Delete."
SSR — Delete
Type: System
System interference authority.
Erases data belonging to the game labyrinth.
Activation: Maintain physical contact with the target for 5 seconds or longer.
Restriction: Usable 4 times per week in real-world time. Counter resets at midnight on Sunday.
Uses: 1 / 4
= SYSTEM OFF =
The power to erase data itself. It was this very SSR — Delete that had purged the witch's bug from existence.
"Linfel, I erased your Starlight Spear. It no longer exists anywhere in this game labyrinth."
"Don't you DARE talk out of your ass!"
Linfel refused to believe it. He simply could not.
"I don't know what trick you used to hide my spear from me, but it doesn't matter. Once you're down, everything sorts itself out."
Linfel drew a new spear from his inventory.
"Don't believe me? Then by all means — keep coming."
"You rotten bastard……!"
All reason had left him now. The ace of Linzea charged in like a reckless boar, heedless of everything before him.
Exactly as Ryu Hwi had planned.
"?!"
The instant his powerfully planted foot slammed into the packed earth, Linfel felt something strange beneath his sole.
BOOOOM!!
Before he could even wonder what it was, a violent explosion swallowed him whole.
"What the……?!"
Blindsided by the blast, Linfel scrambled backward. The damage was minor compared to the force of the explosion, but the sheer shock of it left him unable to gather his wits.
"Damn it!"
Through the swirling cloud of dust, Ryu Hwi came into view.
Finger on the trigger, Gunsword blade leveled at Linfel.
BOOM──!
"GAAAAAAAH!"
This time the shot tore through his stomach. Recognizing how badly the tide had turned, Linfel desperately tried to put distance between them.
"You really shouldn't move."
Keeping the Gunsword trained on him, Ryu Hwi let his gaze sweep the surroundings.
"This whole area is loaded with landmines."
"A gun…… and now landmines?!"
An R-grade item that had turned up, along with countless others, among the Random Boxes Ryu Hwi had rolled. The raw power was mediocre — but the psychological pressure of never knowing where one might be buried was enormous.
"I'm the one who chose this battlefield. I prepared all of this in advance — just in case 'Linfel Darius showed up.'"
"In case I…… showed up?"
"How you usually move, what attacks you favor. I watched your footage over and over and over, analyzed every frame of it. Then I tested it all in practice until I was certain I could beat you."
A chill crawled up Linfel's spine. What that meant was——
"Who would've guessed the guild's ace would come running the moment some nobody he'd never heard of taunted him? No — let me guess. It never once occurred to you that you might lose to me."
"……!"
"Thanks for coming."
The analysis was complete. Now it was time to hunt.
"You've always been the one toying with your prey, haven't you? This time, the role is mine."
"Don't make me laugh. The likes of you, daring to──"
"Shut up."
Ryu Hwi raised his middle finger toward Linfel and beckoned lazily, as if inviting him to hurry up and come already.
"Come at me."
Explosions erupted on all sides.
Thunderous roars swallowed everything around them as columns of dirt and dust shot toward the sky. Landmines detonated one after another, and Ryu Hwi kept herding Linfel onward, step by step.
Linfel strained with everything he had to avoid the traps — but every single move he made had already been read.
"Damn it!"
Wind-whipped dust blurred his vision. In that moment, Linfel spotted a shadow flickering beyond the haze.
"Die, you bastard!"
A charge using Instant Acceleration! His left arm wouldn't cooperate, but his right was more than enough.
The spear he hurled drove straight through Ryu Hwi's head.
"……!"
And in that instant, Linfel realized the sensation of the strike was all wrong.
"A puppet?"
It was a crude mannequin shaped like a human being.
"A dummy from another game labyrinth."
The voice came from behind him.
"Every move you make, I've already read. This is what happens when you look down on people."
Linfel whipped his spear around on pure reflex, meeting Ryu Hwi's descending Gunsword. His stance was ragged, but he gritted his teeth and held. Then — Ryu Hwi grabbed hold of Linfel's spear.
"Didn't believe in Delete? Then this spear's next. Five, four……"
"?!"
If his stance collapsed now, the blade would take him apart. Linfel convinced himself the countdown was a bluff. No — he needed to believe it.
"Three, two, one."
But——
"Zero."
Cracks spidered across Linfel's spear and raced through the entire weapon in the blink of an eye. Just like the Starlight Spear, it crumbled to dust before his eyes and was gone.
The instant the shield that had guarded Linfel vanished, Ryu Hwi pulled the Gunsword's trigger.
IGNITION──!
Every cylinder mounted on the Gunsword discharged at once. The explosively surging power tore straight through Linfel's body.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!"
Unable to withstand the combined force of a swordsmanship skill and the Gunsword(ygg)'s full-cylinder Ignition, Linfel was flung away with a single shriek.
"Ack, ugh, ghhhhh! Hah… hahk…"
Crawling as if to flee, Linfel's mind was scrambled beyond all comprehension. Then Ryu Hwi closed the distance and mercilessly ran him through with the Gunsword.
"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
The screaming wouldn't stop. Linfel thrashed desperately, but the blade didn't budge — if anything, it sank deeper into his flesh.
Any sane man would have flinched at those screams. Ryu Hwi's expression never changed.
"Kh… hack! Gah…"
As Linfel howled, his body began to blur and fade.
[I've blocked your logout.]
"So the great ace of the ages can't take a little pain and tries to run away through the logout screen."
Ryu Hwi drove the Gunsword deeper into Linfel's body.
Screaming under the torment. This — this was the sight he had yearned to see for three long years.
But it wasn't enough. This alone could not be the end.
Ryu Hwi deliberately wrenched the blade free.
"Get up."
Linfel hauled himself to his feet by sheer force of will.
"Hahk, hahk… ghh, ugh… you… what ARE you? What the hell are you?! What are you, you bastard?!"
Linfel started to reach for a weapon — then hesitated. He had watched 'Delete' happen right before his eyes, twice now. His mind kept insisting it was impossible, yet fear had taken root all the same.
After agonizing over the choice, the weapon he finally drew was a plain standard-issue spear — the kind you could find anywhere. He swung it with everything he had left, but his body refused to obey.
Ryu Hwi batted the strike aside without effort.
"The name 'Ace of Linzea' must be ringing hollow by now."
"Y-you f—ing piece of sh—!"
Linfel spewed profanity, as if hiding behind the curses might hide the fear.
"Pulling out trash-tier gear like that. What, you didn't want another weapon disappearing on you?"
"SHUT UP!"
A body already pushed past its limits could only manage swings sluggish enough to induce yawning. Ryu Hwi deflected them casually.
"Damn it! DAMN IIIIT!!"
Linfel flailed harder and harder, more desperate with each blow. The comet-light clinging to his spear looked pitifully dim.
"Look at yourself. Do you think anyone watching would believe you were the ace of Linzea?"
Ryu Hwi turned the spear aside with a light Parry. With the strength drained from his entire body, Linfel couldn't even withstand the rebound — he crumpled to the ground in a heap. And as he tried to rise, Ryu Hwi simply stomped him back down.
"Linfel Darius. Do you remember a name — 'Ryu Hwi'? He used to work as an analyst for the Linzea Guild."
"You think I'd bother remembering every nobody's name?!"
"Your rank was Gold, wasn't it?"
Ryu Hwi looked down at him with glacial eyes, his light-filled right hand shifting ever so slightly.
"That's right. I'm a body beyond comparison with an Unranked trash…… the likes of you."
"And what happens if you stop being a Gamer?"
"What?"
"One account per person — that's the iron rule of Yggdrasil access."
Connection accounts for Yggdrasil were generated only in limited numbers each year, inside Yggdrasil itself. Which meant that to become a Gamer, you either had to pass a brutal examination for a license or secure the recommendation of a powerful guild.
"Lose your account for any reason, and you can never, ever get it back."
"What are you…… planning to do?"
Linfel kept denying 'Delete' — kept denying it over and over. There was simply no way an item belonging to a game labyrinth could be forcibly 'erased' without its owner's consent.
He wanted so badly to believe that.
But……
When he saw the 'hand' drifting slowly toward his face, a thought rose in Linfel unbidden.
What if Delete is real?
What if it really can 'Delete' even 'account data' itself?
"Stay away."
Linfel scrambled to flee with everything left in him.
"Stay away! Stay away! I said STAY AWAY!!"
But his struggling was for nothing.
"Didn't you say you'd forgotten me?"
Ryu Hwi's hand came to rest on Linfel's forehead.
"You won't be forgetting me ever again."