SSG 264

Willy felt the same way. A monster charging him was dropped by gunfire before it could reach him. After taking care of the incoming monsters, he stole a quick glance back.

He saw Yuseong slicing down a charging monster with his bayonet.

‘What about that looks like a ranged character?’

Willy shook his head in disbelief.

Still, it was incredibly reassuring to have that absurdly overpowered character on his side for once.

The three of them advanced toward the city center at breakneck speed. Resistance grew fiercer as they went, but it only slowed them down a bit—it couldn’t stop them.

“There it is!”

City Hall came into view. Mad Hammer swung his hammer eagerly; every monster he struck took massive damage.

But the closer they got to City Hall, Mad Hammer’s mood—along with Yuseong’s and Willy’s—sank.

“What kind of atmosphere is this…?”

“Wouldn’t this place make a great haunted house?”

“You think it’d sell? I wouldn’t go in, not even if they paid me by the ton in black bread.”

The place reminded Yuseong of the abandoned buildings in his world. He thought he wouldn’t set foot in there for all the black bread in the world.

But right now, he had no choice.

“Ready?”

At Yuseong’s question, Willy and Mad Hammer reluctantly nodded.

Thanks to his experience, Yuseong endured the city’s oppressive mood better than the others. He opened the main doors.

Creeeeak!

With a metallic screech, the doors swung open. Beyond lay a wide garden—what was once a garden. Now it lay in ruins, silent and deserted, as though centuries had passed and ground everything down.

“…Shit, this place gives me the creeps.”

“……”

Stepping through the entryway, a chill ran up their spines. Mad Hammer cursed; Willy also looked unsettled.

But it was nothing compared to Yuseong.

‘It’s exactly like my world.’

Dry earth. The acrid smell. Everything, from start to finish, reminded him of his world.

“…So, we clear this mansion of monsters to take control?”

“…That’s probably how it works.”

“Let’s go, then.”

Yuseong started walking across the ruined garden toward the eerie house. Willy and Mad Hammer hesitated, then quickly followed.

-Kyaaaaaa!

-Kuaaaaaa!

As they approached the building, monsters began pouring out—tougher than anything they’d faced so far. But the three of them still overcame them easily. As unpleasant as it was, it would be over soon—they just had to endure. That’s what Willy and Mad Hammer thought.

But Yuseong kept his eyes on the house.

That was why—

He was the only one who reacted.

Thud! Thud!

“Argh!”

“Son of a—!”

Suddenly, Yuseong kicked Willy and Mad Hammer hard, sending them flying before they could react.

They hadn’t expected it, having put unusually deep trust in Yuseong this time. Worse, they landed right where monsters were, and ended up taking a couple of hits.

“You bastard!”

“What the hell are you—!”

Both tried to protest, but then saw a black beam strike where they’d just been standing, and fell silent. It erased everything along its path—monsters, ground, all just vanished as if they’d never existed.

No shockwave, no explosion. It just erased everything, leaving razor-sharp, glossy cuts—like polished glass.

All three stared at the house the beam came from.

Something appeared before it.

“…What is that?”

Mad Hammer’s voice was blank with shock. Yuseong narrowed his eyes and scrutinized it.

It looked roughly like a huge human, standing about two meters tall with long limbs. But that was all they could tell. Its actual features were indiscernible.

Its entire surface was shrouded in some black shadow.

But one place, its eyes, were clearly visible.

That’s how Yuseong recognized it.

‘Hades!’

Two floating, green, torch-like eyes hovering above the shadowed form. They were exactly like the eyes he saw in Messiah’s research lab in the Pacific.

“Is that the boss?”

“Seems like it?”

Having dealt with the other monsters, Willy and Mad Hammer trained their weapons on the newcomer. They looked ready to attack, thinking killing Hades would finish the quest.

But their hands hesitated.

Was it caution against someone who so obviously looked formidable? Or was it instinct—were they frozen by the sheer threat they sensed?

“…Let’s deal with the others first.”

“…Yeah.”

They both decided to finish off the remaining monsters and hold off on attacking Hades. It was an easy decision—and not an unwise one.

But none of them let down their guard against Hades. Even as they fought, their eyes lingered on him.

Unlike the other two, unconsciously avoiding the confrontation, Yuseong couldn’t do that.

‘You logged into Ark yourself?’

He’d suspected this was more than just a hacking incident, but he hadn’t imagined it would go this far.

‘Isn’t this much worse than I thought?’

[It would seem so. But if you think about it, it’s also a chance to observe Hades’s powers.]

‘Does the bastard have the same abilities as in reality?’

[Better than doing nothing. And you have no choice now.]

‘That’s true.’

No matter how it played out, a clash with Hades was inevitable.

“Willy. Mad Hammer.”

“Yeah?”

“Huh?”

“Take care of the rest of the monsters.”

With that, Yuseong charged at Hades.

“That guy’s not the boss of me!”

Mad Hammer yelled. Normally, he’d have objected, telling Yuseong to handle the small fry. But now, he just griped once, then focused on fighting monsters.

He couldn’t ignore the fear prickling across his skin.

Willy was the same.

They were both capable and brave. But compared to Yuseong, who’d survived so much, they were still hothouse plants—unseasoned kids before true horror.

With enough experience, they could grow into great warriors. But for now, they couldn’t help but falter.

Clack!

Yuseong climbed the high steps of the mansion and stood before Hades. Hades met his gaze.

‘How to start this…’

Should he begin with armor-piercing rounds for a heavy blow? Or freeze rounds to slow it down? Maybe another special round…

As Yuseong was considering, it happened.

-…You….-

‘What?’

The sound was like rusty metal dragging across shattered pottery, yet there was a clear meaning behind it.

Was he just imagining things? Maybe it was just the monster’s menacing noises, sounding so singular that they seemed to carry meaning.

-I saw you…before…-

‘Not my imagination.’

It was actually speaking.

[Surprising. I suspected some intelligence, but the fact it can converse… If possible, I’d love to capture and study it.]

‘Enough with the bullshit.’

[Of course, it’s impossible. Don’t worry—just a wish. Even if possible, we’d have to destroy it because it’s too dangerous. Just think of it as a joke.]

Messiah “laughed” with that flat voice.

‘I’d really like to stick a bullet in you, too.’

Yuseong had no intention of playing along.

-You interfered…with my consumption…-

‘Its speech is getting more natural.’

[It is. Whether it’s learning or just growing accustomed, who knows.]

But if it could talk, maybe he could drag more info out of it.

Yuseong glanced back at Willy and Mad Hammer. They were busy fighting off monsters, still keeping an eye on Hades, but unless he shouted, they wouldn’t hear—and even if he did, any words would be drowned out by the battle.

He spoke:

“You’re Hades?”

-Ha…des. Name…humans gave me…yes…-

So, it really was him.

“You’ve taken over Savior, haven’t you?”

-Savior. The tool I use. Yes.-

“Not planning to give it up?”

-I need it to consume this world. I will not give it up.-

‘So it’s as expected.’

It seemed the idea of a peaceful rollback was out of the question.

“You entered the game using Savior?”

-Savior. Excellent tool. Through it, I can come here. I can consume this place.-

“What will you do after devouring it? Decorate as you please and amuse yourself?”

Grin.

Yuseong felt a chill. He couldn’t see Hades’ face through the shadows, just those green eyes—but he knew, without a doubt, that it was smiling.

-Our, our world. No humans. But I know…-

The voice was still sharply grating and hellishly unpleasant, but Yuseong could feel Hades’ excitement rising.

-This world, many humans…-

Sweat trickled down Yuseong’s back.

-I’ll crush them. Grind them. Slice them. Dismember them. Pulverize them. Chew and swallow. KILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILL—-

BOOM!

The shadow around Hades exploded and raged wildly. The creature roared,

-Heaven is here!-

Whoosh!

Hades swung its arm. Its arm stretched and swept toward Yuseong.

“Tch!”

Yuseong threw himself off the steps and down.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

Everything Hades’s arm touched was obliterated. Unbelievably powerful.

‘This is as bad as it gets.’

[It really is.]

Messiah had suspected, during the Pacific lab incident, that Hades might try to cross over to this world. It looked like that worst-case scenario had been realized.

‘For a monster obsessed with humans, there’s no world more tantalizing than this.’

For Hades, this was a banquet beyond any buffet.

[We have to stop it.]

‘I know.’

This world was supposed to be the place where Yuseong could settle down and live in peace—he couldn’t let it end up like his own.

Ratatatatat!

Yuseong’s bullets flew at Hades. A dozen rounds struck its body.

‘Is it working or not?’

The bullets vanished into the shadows swirling around Hades.

They hadn’t dodged or reflected, nor passed through—he couldn’t tell if he’d done any damage at all.

-Hmm?-

Hades brushed the spot where the bullets struck.

‘Did it work?’

At least there was some reaction—a relief.

Hades looked at Yuseong, its chilling smile returning.

-You are from the same world as me!-