Six years in real time—this was the amount of time the high rankers had devoted themselves to Satisfy. It was not a short amount of time. It was enough to have unforgettable memories and experience nightmares they would never forget.

“What is this...?”

The high rankers lost their voices when a shadow was cast and then devastating meteorites started to pour down on the city. They had seen countless disasters but they never saw a city destroyed in an instant.

——!

Was this the second coming of Belial? The high rankers recalled the appearance of a great demon who first appeared before humanity as the constant screams deafened their ears. The high rankers had been at the scene of her disaster when Belial dropped hundreds of meteorites. They thought they would never see a disaster like this again...

At this moment, they were witnessing the same catastrophe.

“...No, it is more than Belial,” a magician ranker murmured.

They saw it—the dozens of meteorites falling toward the city were ‘real.’ It was unlike the meteorites that Belial ‘formed’ using magic. No magic power could be felt. This was the extreme physical force that couldn’t be offset by magic power.

“Stars pulled from the universe... this is the real Meteor.”

Duguen! Duguen! Duguen! The hearts of dozens of magicians were pounding. Their eyes and detection magic searched everywhere. The greatest magician in history—they noticed that the legendary magician Braham, adored by all magicians in the world, was here in Chiaotzu.

“...!”

The eyes of the magicians were wide as they tracked Braham with their magic power. They simultaneously shouted, “Someone is coming!”

This was the signal. In the midst of the meteorite bombardment, the rankers took out their weapons and their shields, taking a fighting posture in front of the square building that was unharmed. They truly were experienced. The disaster didn’t disperse their concentration and their judgments and actions were swift.

“Intercept!”

Archers with ‘Hawk’s Eye’ captured the location of the next intruder that appeared after the magician. They carefully pulled back the bowstring while assessing the distance of the rapidly approaching intruder. The bowstring was pulled back in an extreme manner. The paladins’ buffs had increased the strength of the archers.

Hundreds of arrows fired from dozens of archers pierced through the aftermath of the explosions that occurred everywhere and flew toward the target. Some arrows flew in a curve while others were shot in a strong line or some moved along the ground.

Flash!

The hundreds of arrows that already flew far away were filled with a variety of magic power. The magicians added secondary attribute damage to maximize the power of the arrow.”

“There!”

The intruder got close enough for the tanks and close-ranged damage dealers to see with the naked eye. This meant they were close to the intruder. Hundreds of arrows pierced the intruder’s body. They were perfect shots. Not a single one of them missed. The archers who fired the arrows once again drew back their bowstring while the spells of the magicians were completed.

“Ohhh! Oh?”

The tankers who used the charge skill to rush to the intruder came to a halt in a flustered manner. The intruder maintained his original momentum despite being turned into a hedgehog by the arrows.

“Are these toy bows?” The rankers clicked their tongues as they felt disappointed by the power of the archers and set up their shields.

“Chain Strike!”

The sword singers behind the tankers used their capture skills. Dozens of stems of sword energy extended like chains to wrap around the intruder’s arms, legs and neck. The intruder’s body tilted forward. He was forcibly dragged into the tanker camp.

“A big fish!”

The damage dealers had smiles on their faces as they prepared their stun skills. They would stun the intruder who would soon be dragged nearby and then beat him to death.

“I don’t know what transcendence is but it is nothing in front of us!”

“Keep calm! There have been reports that Braham is watching Dante’s back!”

“I am calm now! No matter what, we have to beat Dante first!”

Many of the damage dealers were aggressive. They were like batters waiting for the ball and aimed their swords and spears at the approaching intruder.

‘What?’

‘This bad....? Gasp!’

The sword singers felt a chill as the chain strikes pulled the intruder in. They noticed that the intruder hadn’t been brought in but flew here himself. As the intruder turned, the chains around his neck and limbs were torn apart. The heavy blows of the damage dealers only hit empty air.

“What?!”

The eyes of the hundreds of rankers saw the face of the ranker they thought was Dante. The rankers expected the appearance of a white-haired old man.

“Who is this?”

The intruder wasn’t an old man. He was good-looking and it was hard to tell if he was young or middle-aged. The blond hair shining brightly with a lemon color gave off a beautiful feeling.

“Kuek...!”

The tankers raised their shields. It was intended to prepare for the attack of the blond intruder. It was pointless.

“...?!”

What was the most powerful defensive equipment? Most people thought it was armor. There was no equipment that protected as many areas as armor. However, reality was different. The most powerful defensive equipment by far was a shield. The shield was a barrier that blocked an attack before it hit the human body. No matter how powerful the attack, it was possible to absorb the shock without any damage as long as the shield was raised.

This was why the tankers claimed ‘there must be a shield, even if there isn’t armor.’

The tankers’ faith in the shield was absolute and it was almost like worship. At least, until now...

“Keeoook!”

Penetration—the tankers, who raised their shields to prevent the intruder’s attack, had their bodies pierced along with their shields. The shield was small to ensure ease of movement but it couldn’t handle the intruder’s sharp sword.

“This is why the big and thick shields are the best!”

These guys weren’t tankers. Katan, fourth on the guardian knight rankings, clicked his tongue and came forward. His gaze was directed over his square shield toward the intruder’s shoulder. ‘Now!’

It was perfectly timed—Katan aimed for the moment when the intruder swung his sword and he set up his shield precisely then, blocking the intruder’s sword with his shield. Unlike the small shields of the tankers who were greedy for the role of damage dealer and tanker at the same time, Katan’s thick square shield completely blocked the attack of the intruder.

However, the weight that followed couldn’t be handled.

“...?”

It was like a flying cannonball. Stone thorns soared from the intruder’s sword and Katan’s thick square shield shook. Then Katan flew dozens of meters away.

‘Is this a charge that defies defense and resistance?’

Kata’s eyes shook as he flew into the square building but the light in them didn’t go out.

‘Not yet!’

The 300 people here weren’t colleagues or friends but they were reliable. They represented the best power of two billion people.

“Endure well!”

Magic exploded all over the place in response to Katan’s urging. The magic of different attributes took many forms and struck the intruder. The intruder was unprepared. Then there was a surge of sharp attacks from damage dealers who rushed forward ahead of the magic.

“I don’t know who you are but...!”

“You can’t pass through here!”

The rankings were a measure of valuation. It was the world of rankers where one rise or fall in the rankings would change their value. All the rankers who participated in this quest were desperate. They didn’t know where this familiar blond intruder came from but they wouldn’t just stand still.

“Asmophel! It is Asmophel!” The rankers shouted after confirming the identity of the blond intruder. One of Grid’s Four Heavenly Kings, Asmosphel had a low reputation compared to the other knights, but he wasn’t lacking in strength at all.

“Shit! Is this related to Grid?”

For the first time, the momentum of the rankers softened. They were even more afraid of becoming hostile to Grid than the penalty of losing four levels. Grid’s influence was enormous.

“Sigh...”

The blond intruder, Asmophel—to be precise, Grid borrowing Asmophel’s appearance—opened his mouth for the first time, “I have no problem with you so get out of the way.”

The reason why Grid took off the Slaughterer's Mask on the way here was because he discovered the existence of the rankers. There were no players who didn’t know the Slaughterer's Mask so Grid was forced to take it off since he wanted to hide his identity.

“I’m only curious about one thing. What is in that building? I will step back as soon as I confirm this.”

He was serious. Grid had no intention of confronting and harming the players who came here due to some circumstances. If they insisted on staying then he would cut them without hesitation but he wanted to avoid a war as soon as possible. It was because today’s Grid didn’t have the bad taste of bothering the weak.

“Eh?”

The faces of the rankers stiffened as they saw the square building that Grid pointed to. They found that the original white color of the building had become a dark grey color. It was a dismal and sinister color. Then the cries of a beast were heard. It was the piercing and deep cry.

The third ranked paladin, Majo spoke in a trembling voice, “The building... the building has absorbed the aura of death.”

“...?!”

The gazes of Grid and the rankers moved in every direction. The moans of the soldiers dying in the aftermath of Meteor were rising. As the moans grew louder, the color of the building became darker. Grid’s vision flashed red.

[Death is coming!]

The square building completely blackened and released poison. Next was the appearance of a giant snake head and tail. The identity of the existence bigger than a mountain was none other than the black tortoise.

“This is sick!”

“Shit!”

Grid and the rankers shouted with one heart.

***

At the deepest part of Chiaotzu Castle...

Bondre was stunned when he was ushered into a mysterious room filled with clear water. He found the Black Tortoise Jewel floating in the water.

“Was the building outside a trap?”

“No, there is a Black Tortoise Jewel there as well.”

“...?”

“It is impossible to contain the duality of the black tortoise who helps with the birth of life while also being the god in charge of death. Thus, they can’t be placed in one vessel.” The beautiful woman sitting in the bathtub, Areum, ordered the stunned Bondre, “Freeze the water here. You will give birth to the complete god of death.”