The battles began simultaneously.

The player force had divided itself into ten groups, but Gi-Gyu’s creatures weren’t caught off guard thanks to Rohan’s intel and attacked ferociously. They had arranged their allies depending on the power level of the enemy players in each group, but there was one problem.

The identity of the mysterious figures sent by the Iron Guild and the Caravan Guild was still unknown. All Gi-Gyu’s creatures could do was guess what battle formations would make fighting with them the easiest and assemble accordingly.

Hwang Chae-Il’s hands flashed over various screens. He could watch every battle within Eden from the Sephiroth Tree. His job was to support their allies.

“There are a total of 300 demons, and…” Hwang Chae-Il mumbled. Currently, all communication lines were open. After Gi-Gyu had become an Ego Master, communicating with each other became easy for his Egos.

Hwang Chae-Il continued, “I still can’t tell exactly who they are, but 200 of them are as strong as the demons.”

“And three as powerful as hell kings, and as for those holding the Seats of Power…”

Hwang Chae-Il became rigid as he whispered, “There are 13 of them.”

The situation was worse than he had predicted. Lou and Eden’s other major figures had assured him everything would be fine; objectively speaking, it wasn’t looking good. Their enemies were much more powerful than they had anticipated.

But, Hwang Chae-Il’s mission wasn’t to battle them. He was here to provide the best support he could. He needed to change the terrains to create advantageous routes for their army and devise strategies that could lead them to victory.

He murmured, “Good luck, everyone.”

All of Gi-Gyu’s creatures inside Eden were willing to protect this place with their life. He could return today, tomorrow, or after this war, but they would be here until then, protecting his home.

Crackle.

As he worked tirelessly, angry flames danced on Hwang Chae-Il’s hands and face.

***

“Haa… I guess we’re getting close to the end?” the Timer Guild master looked around and muttered. The Timer Guild was one of many Korean guilds that had agreed to participate in this battle.

He was surrounded by countless remnants of skeleton soldiers and griffins. His group had succeeded in defeating their enemy unit.

“Hyung! Are you okay? Something’s wrong,” Do Hae-Min, this guild’s deputy guild master and guild master’s cousin, asked.

Do Hae-Min was young and had a relatively low level, but he had an unusual ability to assess the situation accurately. He was very sensitive to different energies, which was why he was here.

The guild master, Do Kyung-Su, quickly covered his cousin’s mouth and said, “I know.” Something didn’t seem right to him too.

Do Hae-Min whispered, “The magic here is too strong and irksome. I feel like throwing up.”

Their group had been on the brink of annihilation a moment ago. Despite the many rankers in this high-level guild’s group, they had difficulty handling the skeletons and the griffins.

Back then, Do Hae-Min had abruptly pointed at someone. A hood hid that figure’s face. No one knew the figure’s identity, but everyone stared at him.

While nearly a thousand players had been struggling to defeat the monster group, that man had suddenly made his move. With a single attack, he had demolished every monster nearby. Moreover, he had rushed in without showing the slightest hint of wariness toward his foes.

Do Hae-Min trembled and said, “Something’s very wrong. Just watching him makes me think he will devour me alive.”

It wasn’t the battle that made him afraid. Do Hae-Min was unusually sensitive to magic, and the hooded figure's magic was enough to make him shiver.

Do Kyung-Su mumbled, “What the hell is he…?”

Nothing made sense. Such a powerful player being unknown to the world was strange enough, but even more shockingly, the Caravan and Iron guilds had dispatched numerous like him.

And…

‘There aren’t many fatalities on our end.’ Do Kyung-Su looked around. Even though the monsters were exceedingly strong, not many in his group were dead. It was as if…

“Doesn’t it look like the monsters let us live?” Do Hae-Min asked.

Do Kyung-Su nodded. The monsters treated everyone associated with the Caravan and Iron guilds as their mortal enemies, but when fighting them, they had only tried to restrain their guild’s players.

Something very odd was going on here.

“What an interesting thought,” said the hooded man.

Do Kyung-Su jumped when he heard the unfamiliar voice. He was a powerful ranker, yet he didn’t sense the hooded figure approach.

The hooded man who had obliterated a monster army was standing right in front of him.

The mysterious figure ordered, “Say that again.”

His voice was nonchalant, but it was enough to make Do Hae-Min tremble. Do Kyung-Su quickly hid his cousin behind him.

The hooded man questioned, “Are you taking those monsters’ side?”

“Of course not! We’re just confused about the situation. It’s so strange…”

“You know what’s stranger? You having so many questions,” the hooded man replied. It was obvious he was being unreasonable. The situation was so strange that many other players asked the same questions as Do Kyung-Su and Do Hae-Min.

Do Hae-Min’s shivers intensified. Do Kyung-Su used more of his energy to protect his cousin, but it wasn’t working.

“What a sensitive boy you are.” The hooded man showed off his teeth. All of them gleamed, but one was exceptionally bright.

Suddenly, the man’s hand reached past Do Kyung-Su to grab Do Hae-Min.

“W-what the!” Do Kyung-Su quickly tried to grab Do Hae-Min but failed.

Boom!

The mysterious man moved so fast that Do Kyung-Su’s mind couldn’t even register it. The hooded figure threw Do Kyung-Su in the air with one hand and strangled Do Hae-Min with the other.

The man mumbled, “Your eyes… They are annoying me.”

“Ugh.” Do Hae-Min’s small body flailed in the air.

Another figure in a similar hood announced, “That’s enough.”

The newcomer was another one of the bizarre soldiers sent by the Iron Guild and the Caravan Guild. He continued, “You mustn’t cause any trouble.”

Plop.

Do Hae-Min fell to the ground when the hooded figure released him. “Haa…” He now had a red handprint on his neck and was barely breathing.

The first hooded figure asked, “Are you saying I need to follow his order?”

The second hooded figure remained quiet.

The first man clicked his tongue, “Tsk.”

Finally, the first hooded man turned around and left the scene. He wasn’t afraid of the one who had sent him here, the one behind all of this.

“If I’m patient, will I become reunited with Lucifer?” the first hooded man muttered. What he truly feared was never seeing Lucifer again.

Suddenly, a strange silence fell. The 900 surviving players all turned to one place. They hadn’t even felt the intruder’s presence, but they could see him now.

While picking his ear, the young boy with white hair mumbled, “I guess I don’t have to hold back anymore.”

The first hooded man yelled, “Lucifer!” The unconscious blast of energy from him created wind strong enough to push his hood away. When his face was revealed…

“Ki-Kim Dong-Hae?” a player whispered.

Many recognized Kim Dong-Hae of the Morningstar-Child Guild because he was one of many who had been defeated during the last Eden expedition.

The white-haired boy stretched his arms and replied, “I really didn’t want to see your annoying face again, Leviathan.”

Slowly, the boy’s body began to grow.

***

“The battles have begun,” Tao Chen mumbled. He wasn’t allowed to enter Sephiroth Tree, but being a high ranker, he could sense all the energies accurately.

Tao Chen closed his eyes and concentrated. He could sense massive energies crashing into each other. The Eden forces couldn’t simultaneously take on the ten groups, as Eden just didn’t have enough manpower to handle 10,000 players.

Tao Chen could tell that at the moment, the Eden forces were busy with just five enemy groups. As for the rest, Gi-Gyu’s creatures were keeping them at bay with small but effective surprise attacks and traps. The goal was to hinder and tire them out, all while buying some time.

Gradually, all the enemy groups were pushed into an open field Hwang Chae-Il had prepared in advance. The final battle would occur here. This was Hwang Chae-Il’s ultimate plan.

“This won’t be an easy victory,” Tao Chen thought aloud. They knew much about their enemy army thanks to Rohan, but defeating it would still take their all. The traps and strategies they had prepared in advance would help, but defeating a 10,000-player-strong army would still be challenging. Moreover, 500 of those 10,000 were some of the strongest players in the entire world. Eden had all the preparations, just not enough human resources.

Tao Chen offered, “Are you sure I shouldn’t go out there?”

The two men standing next to him replied with silence.

Tao Chen asked again, “I believe we should help them.”

One of the men, Heo Sung-Hoon, finally answered, “For now, we must wait and watch. If they breach Eden, then… We have to live to fight another day. As long as we have Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu, we can rebuild.”

“Hmm…” Tao Chen sighed.

The second man, Choi Chang-Yong, muttered, “So it all comes down to one man.”

Choi Chang-Yong, the Blue Dragon Guild’s master, was also here. The Caravan Guild had requested him to help with the war, but he had refused. He had given the excuse that he and his guild were still recovering from the last expedition.

Of course, this was a lie. He was here, watching everything unfold.

Tao Chen whispered, “Just one man… Kim Gi-Gyu.”

He mumbled for a bit before closing his eyes.

***

“If you leave now, you’ll live,” a beautiful woman warned.

Two gorgeous women stood before a 1,000-player group.

Shin Yoo-Bin announced to the enemy players, “If you cross this line, I can’t protect you.”

When she closed her eyes, a long, thin line appeared between them and the 1,000-player army.

“Isn’t she the Gypsophila Guild’s master?” a player whispered.

“Shin Yoo-Bin, right? She looks different, but it’s definitely her!” another enemy player replied.

“So the Gypsophila Guild is against us?” a high-ranker at the front muttered.

The players admired Shin Yoo-Bin’s giant barrier while chatting loudly among themselves. She looked different from before, which shocked everyone.

“How is this possible?” another high-ranker wondered.

Shin Yoo-Bin was a fairly well-known player. She was a pretty woman with girlish features and a powerful ranker. She was a famous up-and-coming rookie, so almost every player here recognized her.

And here she was, fighting on Eden’s side. It appeared that she had become exponentially powerful too.

Yoo-Bin tried to warn the army. “I repeat. If you leave now—”

“Bitch! You think you’re something, huh? Just because you got some weird power now, do you think you can take down 1,000 players?!” one of the high-rankers from the army roared.

The group's confidence stemmed from their number. After all, the 1,000 of them were facing just two women.

In the end, Shin Yoo-Bin closed her eyes. The day she had decided to work with Gi-Gyu and synced with him, she realized this day would come. A day when she would have to fight humans rather than monsters. She had never done this before, so coming to terms with it took her some time.

“Thankfully, I don’t think anyone here would be a tough opponent,” she declared, making several players flinch.

Suddenly, one figure from the group stepped forward and asked, “How is it that I can feel Asmodeus from you?”

The figure looked human but exuded demonic energy.

“So, are some of you demons?” Shin Yoo-Bin whispered. As expected, some players here were demon players. Worse yet, she could detect five Seats of Power holders in the group.

Yoo-Bin closed her eyes and called out, “Grandma. Please help me maintain control.”

“Of course. Don’t worry about a thing, Yoo-Bin,” Lim Hye-Sook, in her beautiful and youthful form, assured. She stepped back, making the demons and the Seats of Power holders frown angrily.

They became silent, realizing Shin Yoo-Bin planned on taking them on alone.

A demon yelled angrily, “You may have Asmodeus’s power, but that doesn’t mean you can fight all of—”

He was interrupted by Yoo-Bin’s high-pitched laugh, “Kyahaha…”

To the players’ shock, Shin Yoo-Bin was giggling while covering her mouth. Her eyes were wide open, and every strand of her hair rose, oozing sorcerous energy.

Lim Hye-Sook watched Yoo-Bin in concern. El had used her part of Asmodeus’ Ego to regain her purity. Shin Yoo-Bin, on the other hand, had accepted Asmodeus’ power.

“There are so many delicious things here to make me happy!” A scary smile appeared on her lips.

Yoo-Bin became an extension of Asmodeus; his demonic instinct awakened deep inside her.