Debuff Master

Upon getting struck by Touch of Death, the Savior was drawn into a warped space that swirled like a vortex. The Debuff Master’s skill was so powerful that it carried enough force to distort the very fabric of space and deal a lethal strike even to spiritual beings with no physical form.

However, the Savior was struck by Touch of Death upon materializing, so it could be said that he had no chance of survival.

“Sieg… Siegfrieeed!” The Savior shouted one final time before the vortex contracted into a sphere and engulfed him.

BOOM!

The sphere detonated afterward, disintegrating the Savior at a molecular level. He died without leaving a body behind.

It was like he had ceased to exist.

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

[Alert: You have leveled up!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 286!]

In the end, the Savior left behind an extraordinary amount of experience points that boosted Siegfried to the next level.

Just like that, the spirit who had once led the Church of Osric met his lackluster demise, and along with him, the wraiths he had summoned faded into oblivion while letting out one final eerie scream before being silenced.

“Ugh! I’m finally freed from whatever that was!”

“Geez!”

“What was that ridiculously powerful mind control skill?!”

The Head Crusher Guild members snapped back to their senses and regained control of their characters.

The darkened Iron Palace began to revert to its original form as the shadows dispersed and the wraiths vanished. The thick heavy fog and cold air that blanketed the palace melted away as well.

Meanwhile, Siegfried staggered after his strength finally gave out. He almost collapsed to the ground, but he managed to steady himself by using his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp as a crutch.

He was a complete mess right now, which was hardly surprising judging from how he had been relentlessly battered by the wraiths and had to force his body to its limits by using the third stage of Overclocking.

He also ran at reckless speeds and crashed into wall after wall. He had also pushed his concentration to the limits, and the exertion made him feel like his brain was on fire.

He was exhausted both physically and mentally.

“Ugh…”

Unable to hold himself up any longer, Siegfried’s legs finally gave up, causing him to fall down and sprawl on the floor.

“Kyuuu! Owner punk!”

“Oppa!”

“Tae-Sung oppa!”

“Hyung-nim!”

“Tae-Sung!”

Hamchi, Yong Seol-Hwa, Gosran, Seung-Gu, and Daytona all ran toward Siegfried without a hint of hesitation.

“I’m gonna take a nap. Handle the clean-up for me, guys,” Siegfried said while lying flat on the ground.

With that, he pressed the "Logout" button and logged out of the game.

***

As soon as Tae-Sung logged out, he chugged down a bottle of water to quench the thirst caused by the overexertion before quickly drifting off to sleep. 𝐫АＮÔ𝐛Ěŝ

This was the life of Han Tae-Sung. He'd collapse to sleep, as if he were dead, to recharge after a long day of gaming. He'd try to sleep as much as he could before logging back into the game.

“Uhhh…”

After a few hours of sleep, Tae-Sung finally woke up.

Still groggy, he prepared oatmeal and orange juice for a quick meal before reconnecting immediately to the game. Although he wanted nothing more than to keep resting, he still had a mountain of things to manage now that the battle was over.

Thus, he decided to tie up all the loose ends as quickly as possible before rewarding himself with a vacation.

[Zavala Kingdom: Iron Palace]

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes the moment he logged in. He looked around and found himself seated on the throne of the Iron Palace.

Then, he noticed a meeting was in progress, and Oscar was presiding over it in his stead. The military officials and high-ranking officials of the Proatine Kingdom had all gathered in the Iron Palace’s throne room for the meeting.

“We greet Your Majesty.”

The officials bowed as one and greeted Siegfried in unison as a show of respect.

“Oh, it looks like I walked right into a meeting,” Siegfried said awkwardly.

“Your Majesty,” Oscar knelt on one knee and greeted him. Then, she proceeded to brief him on the proceedings of the meeting, “The occupation of Feiogh is complete. Although there are a few pockets of resistance still remaining in the city, we expect them to be subdued shortly.”

“Good work, everyone. Please focus on stabilizing Feiogh for now. Execute any rebels without mercy, but offer amnesty to those who surrender. Also, don’t forget to take utmost care to prevent any civilian casualties,” Siegfried instructed.

“I will see to it that Your Majesty’s will is carried without delay,” Oscar replied, bowing deeply.

“You always have my gratitude, Dame Oscar.”

“It is my duty to execute Your Majesty’s commands.”

“Alright, more importantly, where is Frederick?” Siegfried asked.

“He has been confined to the dungeons, sire,” Oscar replied.

“Oh? Then I should go see him.”

After entrusting Oscar with the remainder of the meeting, Siegfried left to visit King Frederick. Although he had defeated the Savior, the remnants of the Church of Osric were still around.

Siegfried intended to uproot the organization entirely, and for that, he needed more information from Frederick.

The former king of the mighty Zavala Kingdom was imprisoned in a cell within the dungeon located underneath what had once been his own palace.

“How… are you holding up?” Siegfried asked.

“...”

There was a saying that words were a luxury for those defeated in wars.

Frederick remained silent, and his silence was understandable, as he had lost everything. The mighty Zavala Kingdom built by his ancestors over centuries had crumbled in a matter of few days due to his choices.

On top of that, his body, altered by the implantation of monster body parts, made him appear grotesque and hideous. He felt like a monster trapped in a cell, awaiting to be made a public spectacle and ridiculed.

He was indeed in the very depths of despair itself.

‘I should have just died at the hands of my ancestors’ ghosts… I shouldn’t have clung to life and groveled…’ Frederick wallowed in his despair.

Then, Siegfried’s voice interrupted his wallowing.

“Hey, I asked if you’re managing well down there,” Siegfried asked.

However, Frederick refused to respond to him.

“Have you gone deaf? Do you need help with your ears?” Siegfried threatened.

Finally, Frederick responded, “I will tell you everything I know.”

“Hmm?”

“So just ask what you wanna know.”

“Very well. Tell me everything about the Church of Osric,” Siegfried said.

“I don’t know much about them,” Frederick replied.

Siegfried grimaced, but Frederick smirked in response.

“It’s not my fault that I don’t have what you’re looking for. I merely rose to the throne with the Church of Osric’s backing, and I betrayed the Savior to save my own skin. Now, do you really think I have anything to hide about the Church of Osric?”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

“I was merely a prince when the Church of Osric reached out to them. With their help, I managed to seize the throne and ascend as king. But after that… I served loyally as their obedient dog.”

“So you’re saying you really don’t know anything?”

“I recently funded some of their operations.”

“Are you talking about the Arctic Pangea?”

“Yes, I did fund the resources for the Arctic Pangea. But there was another shipment after that.”

“There was another one?”

“A shipment of various items, construction equipment, and workers. It was only about a month ago.”

“A month ago? Hmm… Where was it headed to?”

“That, I’m afraid, I don’t know.”

“What? You don’t know?”

“The Arctic Pangea is so far south that it requires a lengthy sea journey. Given the nature of its location being so remote, it’s sort of obvious where it went. But I truly don’t know where the last shipment went.”

“Hmm…”

“You should be able to trace it if you tell your intelligence agents to check the records. That’s all I can offer you.”

“Got it. Then…”

“Go. Leave me be now.”

With those final words, Frederick faded back into the shadows in the corner of his cell.

“Rest as much as you want,” Siegfried said.

He did not see the need to taunt, harm, or execute Frederick. This was not out of mercy or anything of that sort. He simply saw that Frederick was already drowning in regret; the weight of his guilt and despair was tightening around Frederick's neck like a noose.

‘I guess I’ll trace the shipment for now,’ Siegfried thought and left the dungeon.

Thud…

Then, he heard the faint sound of something collapsing to the ground.

“Yeah, that might be for the best…” Siegfried muttered before walking out of the dungeon.

***

“Hey, Han Tae-Sung.”

“Ack! Jeez!”

Siegfried nearly landed on his butt when Cheon Woo-Jin suddenly appeared out of nowhere while he former was on his way to the throne room.

“Hey! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?! I told you to give me a heads-up before popping up like that!”

“S-Sorry, my bad. Haha…”

“Argh! Seriously…” Siegfried growled while calming his thumping heart. Then, he glared and asked, “What do you want? Why are you here?”

“I just wanted to tell you, good job.”

“What exactly did I do to deserve your ‘good job’?”

“You won the war, didn’t you?”

“Is that all?”

“Huh? Was there something else?” Cheon Woo-Jin asked while tilting his head in confusion.

“The leader of the Church of Osric.”

“Huh?”

“I killed him.”

“You what?! Y-You killed the leader of the Church of Osric?” Cheon Woo-Jin exclaimed, his eyes widening from shock.

“The Savior. You know who I’m talking about, right?”

“Of course!”

“I killed him yesterday.”

“...”

“I’m telling you. I really killed him,” Siegfried grumbled. Then, he sent a video recording of the battle to him.

“Whoa…”

“It was hella difficult, but I somehow managed in the end.”

“This is unreal… You actually… killed the leader of the Church of Osric?!”

Cheon Woo-Jin seemed to have a hard time believing it despite watching the video recording of the battle with his own eyes.

He had been in constant battle against the Church of Osric since he started playing BNW. In fact, the Guardians had been fighting them even before the official launch of BNW, as it was part of the game’s lore.

Their leader had fallen—what was believed to be impossible had become reality thanks to Siegfried.

“Is the Savior really dead? Are you sure?”

“As dead as a doornail.”

“Wow… Just like that? That’s all it took? No way… I can’t believe the Savior is gone just like that…” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered in amazement.

Silence fell upon the two for a few seconds…

“But… is it really over?” Siegfried said, breaking the momentary silence.

Cheon Woo-Jin blinked twice and asked, sounding baffled, “Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Doesn’t it seem… too easy?” Siegfried asked in response. He was sitting on a railing while gazing out at the rain falling over Feiogh.

There were dark clouds hovering above the decimated city, and the grayish downpour gave it a somber, ashen hue.

“I mean, does it really make sense for the leader of the Church of Osric to die so easily?” Siegfried continued.

“Well…” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered, at a loss about how to respond to the question.

“I’ve been thinking about it since I logged back in a while ago,” Siegfried said, furrowing his brow. Then, he continued, “The Savior called himself the leader, but honestly, I think that was a straight-up lie.”

“So you think it’s possible the Savior wasn’t actually the leader? But our records say he was, though—”

“Well, if someone claims himself to be something, then sure, you’d start to think he was what he claimed to be. But he didn’t feel like the real deal. It’s more like they’ve been putting up a fake as a front this whole time. You get me?”

“But according to what we gathered from a high-ranking member we captured a while back, the Savior was really their leader.”

“Perhaps they deceived even their people."

“Hmm…”

“I mean, it was just too easy. Yeah, I did run into him by chance, but nothing about him made him seem like their leader.”

“Okay, I get why you feel that way.”

“All I’m saying is, let’s not drop our guard just because the Savior is gone,” Siegfried said, his voice sounding firm. Then, he added, “Besides, even if the Savior was the actual leader, we still have plenty of his followers to deal with. If he has never been their leader, then we'd have an even bigger problem on our hands.”

“True, true…”

“I’m not stopping until I’ve hunted down every last one of them. I’m uprooting them, and I'm gonna make sure that there are no loose ends.”

“G-Good grief…” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered, trembling at Siegfried’s ruthlessness.

“Anyway, enough about that. Why are you here? Did you really just come to congratulate me?”

“That’s one thing, but I’m also here to start an investigation,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied.

“An investigation?”

“There’s been another surge of unusual energy.”

“...!”

“So I’m planning to search every corner for clues.”

“Alright, go for it. Searching for things is your specialty, after all.”

“We have to find it fast. The Fated Censer is becoming even more unstable, and Acheron-nim’s condition isn’t looking good.”

“Huh? What’s wrong with Acheron-nim?” Siegfried asked, looking concerned.