A strange being had long been observing the players scattered across the world. It was his duty—to monitor the system, ensure balance, and oversee every anomaly. But today, something… unexpected happened.
Someone had appeared.
Someone without the system activated, yet their power dwarfed the other players still alive on the server.
“What is this…?” the being muttered, narrowing his eyes at the data stream.
To prevent imbalance, he swiftly activated his system on that player, forcing synchronization.
But the moment he did, the entire server shuddered.
The screen flickered.
[The System has been invaded by @@#####%$Y@*&]
"What the hell!?"
In a panic, he activated the emergency system backup. The firewall was deployed instantly, initiating purge commands to eliminate the intruder while preserving server stability.
“Haaa… I managed to save it,” he exhaled, slumping back in his chair. Sweat beaded down his temple.
“Monitoring this damn server is going to kill me someday…”
But his relief was short-lived.
[The #%^$&!^ has failed to kill the @@####%$Y@&]
Another warning. A fatal one.
“…Fuck.”
His eyes widened in horror as he watched the server spiral into chaos—the invader was taking control.
“If the boss finds out… I’m dead meat.”
In a desperate bid, he deployed a camouflage protocol—concealing the attack’s signature and masking traces of the breach.
“That should buy me some time… a little, at least.”
Without hesitation, he rushed to the massive magic circle embedded in the floor. Ancient glyphs flickered to life as he poured his mana into the ring. The symbols glowed white-hot, spiraling with intensity until they exploded in a flash of light—and he was gone.
He reappeared in the real world, cloaked in swirling particles of mana.
"Based on the last reading… the invader was sighted somewhere around here."
Suddenly—a sharp whistle through the air.
An arrow tore through the sky, aiming straight for his head.
He sidestepped, fast—but the arrow curved mid-flight, tracking his every movement.
With no other choice, he reached out and caught it, the shaft trembling in his palm. He crushed it to splinters, scattering fragments at his feet.
The wind howled.
A towering figure loomed behind him, casting a massive shadow. Without turning, he sensed the incoming sword—a deadly overhead slash aimed to cleave him in half.
He conjured a barrier behind him in the nick of time—the blade slammed against the magical shield with a thunderous clang. Sparks danced across the air as he leapt backward, trying to widen the gap.
But the enemy was relentless.
Every move he made, the figure pursued, swinging its greatsword with unyielding force. There was no room to breathe, no opening to escape.
Grimacing, he decided to retaliate. Slowly at first, small bursts of counter-attacks to force some distance—until he could charge up his magic.
Then, the moment came.
“Now it’s my turn.”
He raised both hands. Fire and wind fused together, dancing like serpents across his skin. The elements surged violently, spiraling into a raging storm of elemental fury.
A fire tornado burst to life, surrounding him—its temperature blistering, the winds howling like banshees. The inferno grew larger with every passing second, until the sky above began to darken from the sheer force.
But—
He paused.
A terrible pressure suddenly crashed over him. Something was coming—something monstrous, fast as lightning, heavier than a mountain.
He unsealed his limiter, magic surging through his veins like wildfire.
And then he saw it.
A blur—an abomination—rushing toward him.
Without hesitation, he hurled the tornado toward the approaching figure.
Boom!
The spell hit its mark—but it was useless.
The entity absorbed the fire, drank the magic greedily… and grew stronger.
He cursed.
“This is a bad match for me…”
Realizing he couldn’t rely on magic, he poured every drop of mana into crafting armor—solid black, jagged, and gleaming with runes. A longsword materialized in his hand, followed by a shield on the other. His body burned from mana overuse, but he didn’t stop.
He took his stance.
“Since magic’s not gonna work on you…”
He charged forward. His sword came down in a brutal overhead slash, followed by a horizontal arc that tore through the environment—trees split in half, the ground carved open like a blade through flesh.
But the enemy didn’t even flinch.
It tanked the blows, letting them hit, its body absorbing the force like stone against raindrops.
Then—it retaliated.
A massive kick to the face—he raised his shield just in time, metal screeching under impact. But the enemy vanished mid-attack, reappearing behind him in a blur. A heavy punch slammed into his back, cracking his armor and sending him flying.
He soared through the air before slamming into the dirt.
The enemy chased without pause.
It jumped, high into the sky, and brought down an axe kick like a meteor, aiming to end the battle.
But he blocked it—barely—and launched a desperate stab into its chest.
It worked.
The enemy staggered, just slightly.
He rolled to his feet, grabbed the dagger hidden on his back, and lunged for a finishing strike—
But then, shadows erupted from the ground, coiling around his limbs, locking his body in place.
His eyes widened.
“This fucker was baiting me…”
He struggled, muscles bulging, trying to break free. But the shadows were unyielding—not physical chains, but curses, meant to paralyze will.
The entity walked slowly toward him, locking eyes.
And in that gaze, he saw truth.
His body trembled.
"Impossible… you’re… you are—!"
The figure’s form shifted—no, unraveled—as if reality could no longer contain its image.
A god? A demon?
No.
Something worse.
A being so alien, so incomprehensible, that its very existence corrupted thought. Madness seeped into his mind as he tried to look, tried to understand—but he couldn't.
The entity opened its mouth.
It devoured him, body and soul.
His essence was dragged into a realm of endless torment, a place beyond time or space—a prison where pain never faded, and hope could never form.
"I have ended a threat. The Lord commands it. It must disappear now."
And then—
Silence.
The entity vanished, its presence wiped clean.
The land healed itself. Trees regrew. The wind calmed.
As if nothing had happened.
As if it was never there.