SSG 273

“You’re going to destroy Arc?”

[That’s correct.]

When Messiah first explained the plan to defeat Hades, Yuseong couldn’t help being surprised.

[Hades has merged himself with the event boss. So if we erase him from the game, he’ll take severe damage.]

“But it’s not easy to kill him even inside the game. So, you want to blow up Arc entirely to kill him. Is that what I’m understanding?”

[That’s right.]

Yuseong stopped to collect his thoughts.

“First of all, if you just delete the game, will that really hurt him?”

[It will. As you know, Arc isn’t just any game. Since Hades forcibly overlaid himself into that world to hack it, the world’s destruction will deal a major blow to him.]

“But for that to happen, he’s got to stay logged in, right?”

[Exactly.]

“And I’m the only one who can keep him here.”

[That’s also true.]

That led to the obvious next question.

“When the world collapses, will I be alright?”

Yuseong hadn’t logged into Arc quite the same way as Hades, but he was still entering the game differently from other players. He’d even been physically injured while fighting Hades. There was no way not to wonder.

[I don’t think you’ll be alright.]

“…”

[However, there’s no other choice. It isn’t as if there’s absolutely no way for you to survive, either.]

“…I suppose your priority is always the survival of humanity here. I forgot that for a second.”

Since revealing its identity, Messiah had supported Yuseong in many ways—but that was only as long as no danger came to this world.

“You were using Arc as a bridge to bring over information and technology from that other world, but now the enemy is coming through the bridge. So, you have to cut the bridge. Am I wrong?”

[I won’t deny it.]

Once again, Messiah chose this world over Yuseong’s life. That was all.

Messiah’s choice was right. Yuseong thought so too. If it came down to a single human life or the survival of this world, of course he’d choose the world.

But as the person on that scale, he couldn’t help but feel bad. Not to mention the scale-holder was Messiah, who’s opposed Savior from the start and used him all along.

[But it truly is the only way.]

“I know.”

No matter how much he thought it over, that was the most reasonable answer.

“What happens to the purchase menu when Arc disappears?”

[It will last for a while, albeit briefly.]

“Well, that’s something.”

[It’s dangerous, but think carefully. The plan to delete Arc is already set. In that situation, your best move is to kill Hades and free Savior.]

“So you can get the information Savior has, right? Why leave that out?”

[Even apart from my gain, that’s the best choice for you, too.]

Messiah’s words were sensible, and all the more irritating for it.

[And this plan originated with Savior. So, really, you can say it’s a plan for your benefit.]

“I’m going to throw a real hammer at your server one day.”

[Whenever you want. I’m willing to accept that.]

And so the plan was decided.

---

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Enormous limbs raked the area, and black beams blasted holes here and there. Hades’s relentless assault pummeled Yuseong.

The attacks were even more ruthless than usual. This time, Hades was fighting for his own survival, so he was desperate.

Yuseong could only desperately dodge. He couldn’t even think of counterattacking.

Yet, he was doing well to hold on at all. Considering their difference in combat power, he should have died long ago.

There were two reasons.

The first was the battle footage Willy and the others had sent of fighting Hades.

It was barely a battle video—just many players being beaten for a long time.

But even that was useful.

‘This guy is bad at fighting.’

It sounded absurd, being overwhelmed and yet critiquing Hades, but ironically, Hades was unskilled because of his overwhelming power.

All he’d ever done was crush his opponents with overwhelming violence. It wasn’t real fighting. So his attacks were full of unnecessary movements.

Yuseong had picked up on that from the videos.

Of course, that didn’t make it an even fight. No matter how much a human perfected his body and mastered martial arts, he can’t beat an elephant.

But it bought Yuseong precious time to survive a little longer.

Second, the constantly changing terrain.

It wasn’t that the ground was rising or sinking. Everything in the world was collapsing, and black voids were encroaching more and more on reality—including around Yuseong and Hades.

Those obviously dangerous voids were something both avoided as much as possible.

But Yuseong, with his experience, saw them as more than just hazards.

Hades tried to attack again. Yuseong quickly hid behind the nearest black zone.

Flinch!

Hades hesitated, the enlarged arm pausing in the air as he tried to attack. He had no choice but to use a black beam instead.

As the world collapsed more and the voids spread, these situations increased.

But however much he struggled, Yuseong was only buying himself a little more time.

Crack!

“Kh!”

Hades’s arm brushed against Yuseong’s. It was only a glancing blow, but it was enough to shatter his bones.

Agonizing pain, impossible inside a game, washed over him. Even potions couldn’t erase it. His real body had been injured as well.

But at least his in-game body was restored. Clenching his gun in his throbbing hand, he pressed on.

‘I won’t last long like this.’

The difference in fighting power was just too great.

‘Is it time yet?’

At that moment—

RUMMMMMBLE!

A different sound than before shook the air.

Yuseong and Hades both looked up. The sky was breaking apart on a much greater scale, a giant hole opening in the center.

Hades grew even more desperate.

The collapse was much faster now.

He had to take out Yuseong fast.

To Hades’s relief, Yuseong was hitting his limit. Just a little more and he could finish this.

Crunch!

Another blow landed. This time, Hades connected cleanly. Yuseong’s legs were crushed. Obviously, his mobility would drop and he wouldn’t be able to dodge as before.

But Hades didn’t relax. At this point, he knew all too well about Yuseong’s persistence. If he left it alone, Yuseong would surely escape with just his arms and a potion.

He had to finish it now.

Whoosh!

Hades raised his giant arm, aiming to crush Yuseong completely.

Jolt!

Suddenly, Hades’s movements jerked to a stop.

–Ah… ah, ah…?–

Hades panicked. But Yuseong, already expecting it, muttered with a sigh.

“Took you long enough.”

【My apologies. Please know I did try.】

“No denying you’re the original, the way you talk.”

Yuseong applied a potion to the wounds and drank it. His legs healed instantly, and he stood up.

“So, I can call you Savior now, right?”

【This is the first time you’ve called me by my real name. Yes.】 BOOM!

Hades’s attack came. But its speed and destructive power were nothing compared to before, and Yuseong easily dodged.

“Alright. Whatever conversation we have, let’s finish off that bastard first.”

This was no longer the Hades from moments before.

Hades’s stats were still above Yuseong’s. But compared to the “real” Hades, he was clearly weakened.

Yuseong had hunted monsters much higher level than himself before. There was no way he couldn’t handle this Hades.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gunshots, silent until now because he’d been too busy dodging, rang out again.

Hades’s attacks, once one-sided, now began to falter.

‘Just as expected.’

His overwhelming offense had hidden his poor defense and evasion. When had he ever needed to block or dodge?

Even his wild, one-sided attacks showed how lacking he was in combat sense.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Bullets slammed into Hades.

–A… aaaaa… AAAAAA!–

Was it pain? Was it anger? Hades roared in agony. Yuseong’s response was simple.

“Shut up.”

Thwack!

A skill-enhanced round sunk into Hades’s forehead.

The initiative had shifted. Yuseong’s gunfire kept piercing Hades.

Of course, Hades still resisted. He tried to block, to dodge, to counterattack.

But nothing worked on Yuseong.

Pressed back, Hades tried to recover his original power.

But the pressure holding him down was too great.

It was Savior.

It had seemed Savior fell helplessly to Hades’s hacking. But with his abilities, Savior shouldn’t have been so easily hacked.

There was only one reason he had been.

It was because of Arc.

The virtual world linking two worlds. Savior was using huge processing power to maintain that connection.

That left him vulnerable to Hades’s hacking. He resisted as much as possible, but his resources were stretched too thin.

Now, though, it was different.

The plan to destroy Arc was originally Savior’s. Triggered by Messiah’s move to collapse Arc, he had drastically cut back resources devoted to Arc.

With Arc’s collapse accelerating, Savior now had processing power to spare—and used it to restrain Hades.

The result was the weakened Hades of now.

Crack!

–AAAAAAARGH!–

Trying to grab Yuseong, Hades was instead pierced by Yuseong’s bayonet and screamed. Firing black beams wildly, Hades tried to fight back, but Yuseong used the black voids as cover.

‘I have the advantage. But…’

With time, Yuseong could beat Hades. But the problem was, he was running out of time.

Already, nearly 80% of his surroundings were black void.

The rest of the world wouldn’t last much longer.

‘Beating him then logging out would be safest.’

But Hades was still resisting. In the end, Yuseong would have to hold him here until the world ended, as originally planned.

‘I have to survive, no matter what.’

He was determined not to die along with Hades.

In the crumbling world, the two kept fighting.

And soon after—

CRACKLE!

The final piece of the world shattered.