Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 113 - Desperation

All of the previous information begged the question...

Why is one here!?

This makes no sense. Even if it was for Rena, in the previous timeli-

"MARCUS!" Jin screamed, rushing toward the fallen mage. His severed arm lay meters away, blood pooling beneath him as he writhed in agony.

"AUHHHH!!!!" Marcus couldn’t contain his screams. His stump was visibly corroding, but more importantly, his eyes had lost their luster. "AHH!!!!"

"Stay with me, buddy!" Jin forced a potion down Marcus’s throat, but there was no reaction at all.

"Marcus!"

Marcus gave no response at all other than screams, no acknowledgement of Jin at all.

The Elite Guard descended slowly, its feet touching the ice without sound.

[??? - Level ???]

Lumi’s mind finally caught up. I need to log out. NOW.

Lumi’s hand and mind moved to logout, as a silent apology to the Knights formed in his mind. They would all die here. He couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t even stay to fight to the end with them.

Players respawned, yes.

But an Elite Guard operated on a different level entirely.

It wasn’t at Second Rank, which was one tier above him. It wasn’t even at Third Rank. At minimum, at the absolute luckiest minimum, this thing was at the start of Fourth Rank.

More than likely, he was near the middle or end of Fourth Rank, however.

The Fourth Rank spans more power differentials than all three ranks before it combined. The difference between someone at the start of Fourth Rank, and someone halfway through it, was the gap of a bottomless chasm. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The reason Lumi couldn’t stay wasn’t just about levels or ranks. It was about what such a powerful strength represented when used by one of the Dark One’s Elite Guards.

When it came to such powerful masters, especially those who practice evil and darkness, they could easily deal damage to the soul. Direct, irreversible destruction of the essence that made a person who they were.

If that thing hits me, it won’t just kill my character. It could destroy my actual soul and I will be no more.

The players in Masteria respawned because their souls remained intact even when their bodies were destroyed. Therefore, the system would automatically recover the body and heal it, and that would be a ’respawn’.

Therefore, Soul Damage would bypass the body entirely and strike at the player behind the screen! Elite Guards, as extensions of the Dark One’s will, were inherently capable of such destruction.

Log out.

...

Log out! LOG OUT!

Lumi desperately pressed the button with everything he could, but nothing happened.

What?

Panic clawed at his throat.

Why was it preventing log-outs?

WHY!?

The system was fundamentally a simple AI, designed to manage the ’game’ and facilitate the Dark One’s plan. It wouldn’t consciously choose to trap players in a death scenario, leaving players feeling completely violated after a log-out was prevented. That would defeat the purpose of building an army.

Then... how can the system be connected to this attacker? It’s nearly guaranteed the Elite Guard doesn’t know about players or the system, and even if he did, then he wouldn’t have control over it.

His mind flashed through various possibilities, instantly rejecting countless until he finally arrived at a plausible explanation. It was nothing special, just a regular protocol.

An Elite Guard is obviously of more importance to the Dark One than a random player. To prevent any mission a Guard is carrying out from being interfered with, the system prevents log-outs when one is nearby.

But why was one here? Why now? The question repeated itself through Lumi’s mind even as his body began moving on pure instinct. What could possibly be so important that the Dark One would send one of his Elite Guards to this frozen wasteland?

Rena, obviously Rena, but in my past life-

The Elite Guard moved.

Lumi’s instincts kicked in before conscious thought. To begin with, he was already channeling Light Shift at all times, then canceling it at the last moment. It was something he would never be able to do without having acquired the Core Skill back at Herene.

The Elite Guard could move faster than he could cast a spell. He had to constantly be in the middle of channeling if he wanted the possibility of dodging! His body dissolved into light just as a blade of pure darkness carved through the space he’d occupied.

The attack continued past him, slicing through solid ice like air. The wall behind him bore a perfectly smooth cut extending countless feet deep.

If I’d tried to react to that visually, I’d be dead.

"DEFENSIVE FORMATION!" Valeria roared, her body flaring up with as much energy as possible. The air around her shifted to a starry purple as she burned her life force channeling all her buffs. "Ranged fighters, create distance! Jin, Zara, with me!"

Lumi immediately opened his inventory, and activated two communicators. The Crystal to contact Grand Tactician Azir, and the ID Card from Merath.

"Emergency!" he shouted into both devices simultaneously. "Elite Guard! Dark One’s Elite Guard at Mora! I need immediate assistance! Sending coordinates!"

His instincts ordered him to dive aside as another dark blade severed the air like light, one not even aimed at him.

Would any of them arrive in time?

The responses came back almost instantly. Two overlapping voices filled with shock and alarm rang out.

"By the Empress, how did it find you? We’re mobilizing everything!"

"My student, survive! I’m coming myself!"

But even as help was promised, Lumi knew it wouldn’t arrive in time. They were in the middle of nowhere, some frosty island without a teleport formation in the middle of nowhere. Even if they managed to arrive in ten minutes, whatever this thing was here to accomplish, it would be done long before any reinforcements could reach them.

The Elite Guard turned its attention from Lumi to the rest of the group, and Valeria stepped forward without hesitation. Her entire life’s work culminated in this moment. A situation where she knew she would die, and she would give everything in one final defiant fight.