"Monitor the movements of all the rankers in real time and report them."
"Yes, Master."
"We need to pinpoint the location where the 'King of Dimensional Rifts' appeared first. It would be better to kill one king than to kill the small monsters from minor rifts."
"I will keep that in mind, Master."
The warriors began to move in unison.
In the midst of this, the Master rubbed his furrowed brow, which refused to smooth out.
'Something is being tackled in a place I donât know about.'
The forces spread across the world are not just warriors.
There are many groups that cooperate with him.
Even the U.S. government is no exception.
Real-time information from all over the world is being reported to his eyes and ears.
But there is no news of monsters appearing through dimensional rifts anywhere.
Unless someone is tackling it in a place I donât know about.
'I must find it.'
He couldnât afford to miss this opportunity.
This golden opportunity, which he had been preparing for years to be the protagonist.
*
Gracia tilted her head at the rooftop railing of the Jamsil Lotte Tower.
"Strange."
A rift had clearly opened in the sky.
On the ground, South Korean soldiers and players were preparing for the invasion.
With a collision imminent, the actual enemies had not invaded.
'The progress is rising rapidly. Someone must be tackling it.'
But who?
Phantom flashed by for a moment, but that was impossible.
No matter how great Phantomâs skills were, he had only been a player for half a year.
It was impossible to become that strong in just that time, even for Phantom.
'I thought the owner of the Hydra would appear when the invasion began.'
The reason Gracia was still in South Korea.
To find the player who possessed the soul of the Hydra.
He had appeared in the previous two invasions, so she was confident he would show up when the rift opened.
The rift opened as expected, but the problem was that the invasion was not taking place.
Whoosh!
Swords lined up around Gracia.
"If I touch it, there will be a reaction."
Muttering to herself, Gracia shot the swords one by one at the rift.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Rumble!
But the swords could not pass through the rift.
They bounced back upon contact.
Even when she shot the swords together, it was the same.
'The indestructible Warp. It wonât disappear until the tackle is complete.'
If it didnât budge even under such an attack, it meant it had the indestructible option.
Of course, even an indestructible option can be broken with something like the 'Hammer of Destruction.' But it would be too wasteful to use it just to destroy this Warp.
{'The King of Dimensional Rifts has died.'}
"......What?"
Gracia was startled.
Even Gracia, who usually remained unperturbed, couldnât help but be surprised by this.
The King of Dimensional Rifts had suddenly died.
She had no time to figure out where or how he died.
{'The King of the Dead, Ahram, is reviving.'}
{'Phase 2 has begun.'}
{'Progress: 20.5%'}
"......"
......Was it a revival pattern?
Phew. She breathed a sigh of relief. If the tackle had been completed suddenly, it would have been a terrible feeling.
Meanwhile, the progress had surpassed 20%.
'Ahram?'
But, Ahram.
A boss monster that reveals its true colors only after dying once.
The name Ahram was familiar.
'He was definitely the gatekeeper of the first hell in the Underworld.'
She hadnât participated in the Grand Expedition, but she knew all about it.
The King of Dimensional Rifts being Ahram.
Had they not tackled it properly back then?
'Knight King Wilhelm sacrificed his soldiers to advance. He failed by being greedy and trying to kill the Demon King without proper preparation.'
And now, the gatekeeper of the Underworld is alive and trying to invade Earth.
In other words, Wilhelm didnât kill Ahram properly.
In the end, the Grand Expedition failed, and the Underworld and the Demon King are targeting Earth.
'Tsk, should I have been the one to kill the Demon King?'
The reason Gracia didnât participate in the Grand Expedition was simple.
'......I had to eat a star.'
At the time, she was in the process of transcending.
She eventually succeeded in transcending and gained even greater power.
Now, she could probably defeat Wilhelm.
She could kill the Demon King that Wilhelm couldnât.
'Finding the soul of the Hydra will allow me to complete the Unique-grade sword.'
Finding the soul of the Hydra here will complete everything.
There is already one Unique-grade sword, but obtaining the other to match it will make me invincible.
No one in Panginea or on Earth will be able to oppose me.
Even if Wilhelm were to return, it would be the same.
However.
There was one thing she couldnât understand.
{'Progress: 24.1%'}
"......A bug?"
*
Is this what it feels like to lie in a comfortable bed?
People often say 'Iâm on the bus' when a teammate leads the game to the end in team games.
It was exactly like that.
I was definitely on a high-speed bus...... no, a stable jet.
Guaaaaaa!
Ahram screamed.
The Giant of Annihilation rampaged across the battlefield, crushing everything in an instant.
Though he died pointlessly, Ahram revived.
'Phase 2.'
The Phase 2 of the revival pattern.
Ahram, who had absorbed the power of the star, became stronger after reviving.
âI am...... immortal......!
Kuaaaaaa!
When Ahram shouted, a black wave surged, pushing back the Giant of Annihilation.
Pouring out a terrifying black flame, he raised his greatsword, causing the Star Guardians to tense up.
'I canât just stand by.'
After all, this is the main quest.
'They said the rewards would be given based on contribution rankings.'
But I am the only player here.
Even if my contribution is low, the structure ensures I will be first if I complete the tackle here.
I need to contribute a little to gain some contribution.
Looking at the formidable Ahram, I raised my hand.
Kwa-ching!
It was the moment the 'Mystery' of the terrifying black flame disappeared.
â......The power bestowed by Annihilation......!
Ahram was taken aback.
With the black flame that blocked access gone, the Giant of Annihilation went berserk again.
Every time he swung the Annihilation club, the terrain collapsed, and Ahram was flattened.
{'The King of the Dead, Ahram, has died.'}
{'The Hybrid Fusion Ahram is reviving.'}
{'Phase 3 has begun.'}
Ahram, who had revived twice, began to absorb the hybrids.
Tens of thousands of hybrids were sucked into Ahram, repairing his body and forming a massive shield.
Bang!
The shield even blocked the club of the Giant of Annihilation.
âKha-ha! All...... sink into the abyss!
The Giant of Annihilation began to hammer the shield madly.
The Star Guardians and the Four Seasons were also overwhelmingly overpowering the hybrids in the swamp.
It was a magnificent sight, but the White King was just watching with his arms crossed.
"Why are you just watching, caw?"
"I promised to only watch, after all."
What a remarkable fellow.
I didnât expect him to really just watch in this situation.
On the contrary, the Four Seasons were actively moving.
They were actively dealing with Ahram and the hybrids that appeared in the underground of Kramdel.
The White King asked,
"Why arenât you intervening actively? It would end much more easily if you did?"
"I said I would only destroy the Mystery, caw."
"......So you were only destroying the Mystery."
The White King burst into laughter.
When I destroyed the 'First Wall,' the White King began to believe my bravado to some extent as 'truth.'
A Unique-grade Mystery.
Destroying it meant I could bend the rules.
"Itâs almost over."
The White King said, looking at the Giant of Annihilation and Ahram.
Creating a shield with absolute defense by absorbing hybrids, it only bought time in front of the Giant of Annihilation.
âThis monstrous creature......!
Like the saying 'a tree will fall if you hit it ten times,' the shield began to crack as the club relentlessly pounded it.
It was pitiful to watch.
{'The Hybrid Fusion Ahram has died.'}
{'The Black Star Ahram is reviving.'}
{'Phase 4 has begun.'}
Already Phase 4.
At that moment, the progress surpassed 60%.
In Phase 4, the power of the Black Star began to devour Ahram in earnest.
"Hmm......"
The White King murmured.
When Ahram absorbed the Black Star, his entire body began to explode with mana.
"Itâs dangerous."
Everyone, including the White King, sensed the danger.
Ahramâs mana was not ordinary.
Eventually, the White King turned without hesitation. Drawing his claw, he cut through the space, creating a hole in the field that had turned into the 'Swamp of the Dead.'
The White Kingâs claw could cut through anything with just a swing.
Soon, all the Four Seasons gathered around the White King.
Only the Giant of Annihilation was close to Ahram.
"You should come with us."
The White King casually said to me.
Now that we are family, he wanted me to go with him.
I looked at the distant Star Guardians and said,
"Are you leaving the other Star Guardians and the Giant of Annihilation behind, caw?"
"Thereâs no choice. When he explodes, this space itself will collapse."
Itâs dangerous if you donât escape.
It was a sign of a dangerous explosion that even the White King felt threatened.
The Star Guardians and the Giant of Annihilation were already too far away.
If the White King left, everything that couldnât escape in time would be annihilated.
'The ability to detect danger is divine.'
The White Kingâs danger detection ability was unparalleled.
He could move as if seeing the future.
If he retreated, the destruction of the Star Guardians and the Giant of Annihilation was certain.
'Dramut, Andasar......'
The problem was that Dramut and Andasarâs heads were among them.
Dramut is a Star Guardian who is relatively friendly to humans.
Even if I had become the master of the stars, he wouldnât have followed my orders so closely without some coercion.
Andasarâs head, thinking of Priest Andrew, had to be taken.
"Do you plan to stay here? It doesnât seem like a good idea."
"I will block the explosion, caw."
"......The explosion of a star?"
How could he block the explosion of a Black Star?
He looked at me with a hint of disbelief.
Because the explosion of a Black Star couldnât be blocked just by being strong.
Regardless,
I slowly took out a strand of hair from my pocket.
{'Using the hair of the Nameless Throne.'}
After clearing the main quest 5, obtaining a Mystery, the thrones offered a hundred rewards.
Among them, I chose this: 'hair.'
'The only throne to offer a part of its body.'
It was a body part, not a tool.
Even if it was just a strand of hair, I believed it had special significance.
And my choice was successful.
Gingoa
'Unacceptable.'
The Giant of Annihilation could not tolerate the existence that had turned the star black.
Not just the Giant of Annihilation.
All the 'Star Guardians' here could not tolerate it.
Even if it wasnât their own star, the star itself was a symbol of the goddess.
How could they stand by and watch as the 'evil' that dared to taint the symbol of the goddess with evil?
'It must be destroyed.'
It must be eradicated without a trace.
The Giant of Annihilation stepped forward to face Ahram.
He couldnât just stand by and let the servant of Annihilation taint the star.
But Ahram kept reviving.
Finally, after three revivals, he absorbed the power of the Black Star.
"Arrogant......!"
The Giant of Annihilation poured out all its strength.
But Ahram, who had absorbed the Black Star, only wanted to annihilate his enemies.
âDie......!
It was a self-destruct.
He intended to obliterate everything along with the star.
A terrifying mana gathered around Ahram.
Like a black hole, it was about to explode, drawing everything in.
The Giant of Annihilation and the other Star Guardians did not expect Ahramâs self-destruct.
If it exploded with the Black Star, the entire space would disappear.
It was too late to escape. The force drawing everything in was too strong.
If this continued, over a dozen Star Guardians would die at once. The remaining stars would also be in danger.
"I wonât let that happen!"
The Giant of Annihilation embraced Ahram.
He intended to minimize the damage of the self-destruct with his anti-magic power and skills.
"Giant of Annihilation!"
"Do you plan to sacrifice yourself?"
"What a foolish act!"
The Star Guardians shouted in shock.
Zuaaaaaa!
Even as they shouted, Ahramâs and the Black Starâs mana continued to expand, ready to explode.