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Volume 3
Chapter 34: Judge Siva
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Volt was having trouble.
He was against a heavy swordsman, three assassin-like players who can vanish on sight, and a mage who troubled him with variations of ICE and WIND magic.
When he heard that monsters were approaching, his initial thought was that Siva snapped again.
Using his slight hesitation and wandering attention, his attackers grouped up on him and attacked all at once.
He could barely even make up the other fights happening just a few tens of meters away from him. A slight spark and a few dashing arrows and bullets could also be seen from where Hawkeye and Samara was.
Thankfully, the two was together and they can work it out if they focus their attacks.
He used all his might to dodge and parry their attacks but a few hits still connected and caused a chink on his precious armor. Even causing him to back off because of a certain amount of damage.
Of course he felt so irritated with this sudden betrayal but he was more concerned on another fight not too far away.
When he saw Agatha running earlier, two assassins went after her that he dealt with them and made them his enemies too. He did that to balance out the enemies that was focusing on Siva but he ended up putting more enemies on the girls far away.
He clicked his tongue and couldn’t do anything about it since right now, staying alive from being outnumbered was also costing him his full attention and more.
Then he heard the monster roars stopped.
He wondered why and was about to lean back when he saw an orange light coming from the south horizon, from the sky, diving down towards the girls’ side.
Following that was the pause on his attackers and they all had their heads pointed down in front of them.
This prompt him to think that there was something on their visions, just in time for him to hear monster roars coming from the other side.
“Ah, it’s Siva!”
As he exclaimed in delight, a series of loud explosion came that was followed by blue and sparks and a few lightning strikes.
Then came clouds of smoke and another flash. It was bigger, louder, and the explosion it caused was enough to even reach his side like a giant earthquake. It rattled the ground, the whole place itself shook like a quake.
After a few seconds, also from the southern horizon, came an assassin clothed player with a wounded body and a broken arm running as fast as he could.
Condition wise, he wasn’t good, even on the very first sight of his broken body.
He was shouting towards Volt’s enemies and the Mage ran at him, tending to the man while sending a glance at his direction.
Volt saw this as an opening and started to prepared his own set of spells. Call it unethical or even a dishonorable conduct but he was outnumbered and they were betrayed in the first place. Attacking them in this opening can also be said as a proper opening.
And just when he was about to release his attack, he heard what the assassin had to tell.
“Run.”
That was all.
And what came next was a loud roar of thunder that came from above. He remembered that this place had Lapis Lazuli in it and that there was also the loud roar of monsters not too far away.
It’s Siva’s ability, no doubt.
He concluded.
But he wasn’t prepared to what came next. From the sky came a sight of fire. Round and bright, like a meteor it was falling.
Orange colored, blazing fire, falling down ever fast. He could hear faint sounds of explosions and the wind being cut like a plane. As if a real falling bomb, the sound of mortar was fired from above.
He looked up and felt his nape tingling. He jumped away from the enemies and abandoned his notion to unleash a preemptive attack.
It wasn’t even that long since he heard Samara calling, from behind him he looked back and there came the sound of impact.
The ground rattled, shaking every corner of his being, a straight line of lightning bolt came down from the sky.
He covered his face and braced for a rattling tremor as the clouds of smoke and debris flew all over the place.
Through the clouds of smoke came the screams of the fallen, the members of Helium cried grunts of pain. As embers of the explosion scorched in place, the whole area was engulfed in the lights of their flames.
“Aaaaaaaahh…!”
But that scream was louder, echoing throughout the noise of destruction. Volt guessed immediately that it was Siva who was screaming but what he found odd is the intensity of its tone.
He sounded like he was letting out a fist full of stress, or perhaps it was a scream that said everything about his frustration in this event.
But nonetheless, it was understandable.
It was a scream that meant to release the heat of anger.
“Did he snap again?”
Volt asked when Samara and the others reached him.
This line alone was enough to cause worry to all their faces. Remembering the story about his health, the way he snaps out of his sanity and dives down into the deep well of violence, this part of his personality is both a bit worrying and also fearsome.
Fearsome to the fact that perhaps this tendency might also affect his real world thinking.
Or perhaps it can even be said that he was a frightening man both in and out of the game.
“He took down all of them?” Volt asked in disbelief, “Alone?”
As Samara was the one in front of the girls, wounded as she is, and Hawkeye even chasing her breath, she took a step forward and stood side by side with Volt, seeing the unfolding fight with wide astonished eyes.
“I can’t believe it too. Karim looked like a specialist in martial arts, adding the fact that he had with him heavy swordsmen who survived being S-ranked hunters.”
Agatha was healing Hawkeye and she let out a sigh as soon as she was done.
“I saw how Karim fought.” Volt and Samara looked at her. “Matt, he’s stronger than you. I don’t mean to make you feel bad but that’s how I saw all of them.”
Volt looked like he was having a hard time processing that. But it wasn’t because of what Agatha said, or is it because she addressed him by his real name to define the gravity of her words. It was because what she said was actually what he himself had presumed when he crossed swords with the enemy.
The assassins, the grunts, and the Mage who went against him were all strong and used a variety of skills to take him down.
If not for his extensive experience in PVP against the aggressive contestants on their adventurer profession, he wouldn’t be able to dodge and avoid being taken down.
And he could all say the same with his friends, except for Agatha.
Thanks to that, they all managed to escape being overpowered and taken down.
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But to think that Siva managed to defeat them. Then he even went after all the members that was fighting them head on…
Siva, no, Dex, just how deep was this deal that he had signed with his guardian that he would risk his life on repeating that near-death experience in just a week?
It was crazy.
No ordinary human could actually do that except if his reason for being inside this game was really that heavy.
Or not just heavy, perhaps it’s actually a reason enough to cross the boundary of life and death.
Even worse, perhaps it’s like he’s ready to die.
When this thought entered Volt’s mind, he gasped and recalled the words he heard from Dex.
He was doing it all for his brother.
“My god.” The girls felt surprised and they glanced over their shoulders to see Volt trembling.
“Volt?” Samara was the one who reached out first.
He faced her and opened his mouth, but as soon as he was about to say something, he remembered the people that was inside Dex’s house that day.
Those modern equipment, those black clad people, the circumstances revolving around the reason why they’re banned to visit his house again, Dex’s first days when they met, his current condition, his attitude regarding their meeting in Aarun for the first time, everything…
—everything…
His trembling lips closed and Volt bit his lips.
Everything they knew about Dex and perhaps even his identity, the way he apologized a few days ago, the way he wanted to take on every dangerous tasks alone so that he won’t feel indebt to them, the way he forcefully completed his quest, his reluctance to go and rely on them, and then there’s Siva’s fighting style that seemed to only portray his desperation and end each fight quick and fair…
Volt bit his trembling lips, eyes swell and almost about to cry. He did his best not to collapse in pity as he finally understood the circumstances surrounding the poor Dex.
“We have to help him.” He said as he knelt down on his knee and stabbed his sword on the ground. “Aren’t we his friends?”
The word ‘friend’ even felt deeper this time.
And he wasn’t actually asking that question to the girls, he actually wanted to ask that to Dex himself.
For normal people, a friend is someone you hang out with, spend time laughing out together, and share your secrets and some personal information to.
A friends is someone you can trust, and for a special friend that you feel that you can actually rely on, there are even circumstances that you will protect his dignity against all odds.
That’s his definition of a friend.
But what Dex did, if what he thought was right, was to protect them from the people he said were working with his ‘guardian’.
Those men in black clothes, those doctors, that day when he saw Dex being treated from a near-death incident, they aren’t just men working on a certain area in the current society.
If what he thought was right, Dex is in a deal that he can’t turn his back on.
And if he thinks about it, with that reason as the ground, he could finally put a pin to the reason why Dex was acting weird in that way.
But the fact remains, they were weak.
Weak not in the manner of strength as measured in Terroa, no, weak as in the significance of their existence in the real world.
And perhaps it’s also connected as Volt was feeling so tired right now, he could collapse.
At this point, he was already mentally exhausted. Volt could feel his throbbing temple from outside the game world and it was making his focus dull.
He can’t put up a proper fight against them. Also, if he dived in on Siva’s fight right now, he’d just serve as a distraction instead of a help.
And he could even say the same with his friends. All of them are already tired.
That’s the reason why he collapsed on his knees as he felt so useless.
Useless to help a friend who was trapped in a world he can’t tell them. He was useless, unable to help Dex to at least lighten up the weight dragging him down.
Despair hugged him, he can’t tell these things to the girls, especially not to his sister.
Those people, he was sure, is part of some sort of an underground society. Like a mafia, their influence is enough to put them in silence as to not hinder their plans. Perhaps that’s also the reason why they were banned to get close to Dex.
Maybe, just maybe, it was the beginning and end of it all? These people have Dex in the neck.
Now he understood why Dex was reluctant. Or at least these things in his mind created that intuition.
He could only watch Siva’s wild fight, as he flew from one side to another, switching weapons in mid-flight or during an attack, a masterful way of using «Paradigm Shifting», not giving his enemies a moment to think.
“…but we can’t.” Volt finally uttered and the puzzled ladies could only glance over watching him fight.
Blazing fires surrounded the forest, lighting up the dull greenish ground. Blue sparks and Ice Magic flew, red colored hazes dodged, black clad shadows flying, it’s both a beautiful fight and a suspense on its own.
Being outnumbered makes Siva even stronger.
He was using their coordinated movements against the flow of their attacks, countering with an unpredictable way of switching between his weapons.
Then finally, he caught the black clad assassin in the face, summoning a spark on his hand that rendered him blank. He was alive but not moving, there was only a look of him that seemed he was electrified before Siva summoned his gun and shot the assassin on his head.
With the invisible pest gone, the Mage and the last heavy swordsman was left.
The Mage prepared a powerful spell, his Manna doing a circular visible form on his arms. For high ranked players, this sight was enough to send the message that the Mage is a powerful caster.
And the heavy clad swordsman made a pose to defend his comrade, he lowered his center of gravity, making a stolid stance on his ground.
Siva walked on and dropped his last victim, firing another bullet on its head as soon as it landed on the ground, without a glance.
His eyes behind the mask could be felt like a blazing red dagger, bringing the Mage to a trembling sensation paired with tears. But he continued to cast his magic, the swordsman bracing for an attack.
The masked man walked on, stepping over branches, his quiet gentle stride creeping terror to their skin.
With his sword, the last warrior on their group, braver than the Mage for he had faced monsters closer than anyone on his guild, clicked his tongue as he lowered his sword on waist level.
His big blue sword lined with mechanical details hung in a still, firmed position, slowly taking his left foot as a stepping shaft.
His sword pulled back, ready for an attack, invited the masked target for a last sword clash.
The Destroyer summoned his black weapon, reverse grip on his right. It seemed that he accepted the challenge of a sword duel. He saw this and the warrior surmised that he was in an advantage.
With the sizes of their weapons alone, adding the weight and his art, he was confident that he would win if they clash together.
So what he did was to attack first, a grave mistake.
As within the blink of an eye, the masked target was already at him. His black sword gone, replaced by a golden large maul.
No moment to even feel surprised, the swordsman’s swing hasn’t even begun. All he saw was the golden large hammer, made of unknown grade, with its eye catching magical design.
There were details of its intricate make, its arc facing off his body. He felt the impact shatter his bones, his feet lifted off the ground. Seconds felt ten times slower, the impact of an explosion rattling his mind. He felt the numbness crept under his skin, horror and shock, with fear and awe.
He knew he was hit but not from the front where he saw the hammer. But instead it was from behind, like a giant punch from a giant’s hand.
And there were the pain, the wind, and the feel of the ground on his face. Then he felt it on his chest, his leg, then finally on his back.
He didn’t even know where is the left from the right.
All his senses were disturbed, his mind panicked. Was it an attack from behind, or was he thrown from an angle that he didn’t know?
Is there an ability used? Magic? Or was it just the full momentum swing from the hammer he saw?
When he stopped moving he was already upside down.
He can’t feel his body, his legs, nor his arms. All he’s capable of his breathing, or perhaps understanding the position where he was.
The sword he proudly wielded ever since he became an S-rank hunter, was lying in the ground a good twenty, thirty meters away.
Dumbfounded he was, he saw the trail he made.
He went through several trees, rocks, and bushes. The power of that one attack shook his logical core.
He do remember seeing a message:
[You are inside the Killing Zone. Your defenses are down by 70%]
But he don’t understand what it meant.
He was wearing top-class armor, made from S-ranked monsters, superior in durability, heavy in weight. His job in a hunting party was a vanguard so just how was it possible that he was thrown that far away?
From his upside down vision, he saw his Mage friend kneeling down in front of the man as if begging for his forgiveness.
The fires that surrounded created a waving yellow and red background. He could see their faint shadows, his Mage friend’s silhouette distinctive by his mage garb.
But the masked target was standing there and he was pointing his guns at him. The swordsman tried to call out but only a painful moan escaped his mouth. His senses damped, he was as good as dead.
Is this it? He wondered, defenses were down by 70%?!
As much as he can’t believe it, he realized too late the terrifying message of that ability.
When this thought entered his mind, he also realized that his team had already been wiped out. If he had this ability, then it’s no wonder that he was able to defeat even their esteemed Karim.
Assault Commander of the Main Assault Division, the human dome Karim whose specialty skill is not making his enemy land in the ground.
His blows were hard, enough to lift one’s foot of the ground. Even Grand Commander Jack said that he was having a hard time countering Karim when he started.
But for him to be defeated by a single man, not to mention that he do remember splitting up with the rest of his heavy sword team.
Just when he thought that they were all wiped out, the horror of this man suddenly dawned on him.
Now, what he wanted to say to his Mage friend is just to run or log out. It’s alright to suffer losing his current equipment due to the penalty, at least, that way, their avatars would remain alive.
But then he saw The Destroyer lean back, summoning his giant hammer, and the cowering Mage drew back in horror as he was crushed like a pumpkin on a rack.
As his gore level was set to the minimum, what he only saw, or what his Neurolink Device permitted him to see, was just a shattering of red pixilated boxes when the hammer the man.
That’s all.
And yet, in his mind, something else was embedded.
Watching that scene, there was something else that he realized.
The way his Mage friend was executed isn’t something that a player would do. His execution was tinged with a sense of brutality, beyond a gamer’s rationale, defying any virtual gamer’s sense of morality.
It’s just so cruel, crushing a person like that.
Only those whose hate surpassed that of the border of reason, someone who’s shackles of restraint had been lifted off, could do that to a person.
He rattled. The inverted swordsman planted on a tree like some decoration could only cry in fright.
RPG: Terroa is an alternate reality 90% real to the human senses. Everything was made to copy reality in a degree that you could even mistake it for the real world. But despite it all, there was one thing, one most crucial and important thing that this world doesn’t have that makes The Destroyer frightening.
Because outside this game, killing someone is a crime.
In this world, killing someone is considered part of the game.
Despite that, though, gamers had a simpler way of ending another gamer’s avatar. They could just quickly end them using a single slashing strike.
At least in a gamer’s perspective, as with the very sense of paying a game, that’s way cooler and more artistic than crushing a person like an ant like that.
Him, this man, The Destroyer, he was brutal.
The way he crushed his friend was tinged with the feeling of hate. This hate became a wind and that wind reached his senses. He could feel his hate crawling up his skin, he could even smell his wrath oozing out of his body in the form of an orange smoke aura.
It was an orange of a dessert smoke, redder like charred wood. It was flowing out freely, going in all directions.
Maybe it’s just him but he interpreted that aura as the man’s murderous intent.
He will be murdered.
Brutally, just like his mage friend.
Whenever this thought entered his mind, he would just feel his body tremble.
The tears was a sign of his despair. He don’t want to die in the hands of this man so he prayed to the God up above that he mistake him as dead.
He played the role, he closed his eyes. He stopped his breathing, he didn’t move an inch or a muscle.
While The Destroyer looked around and finally saw him on the tree, the unmoving image of the man gave the impression that he had already died.