Chapter 76

Urgency flashed in their eyes as they looked at each other. Jezenia’s totems were still protected. If Ord’s remaining totems fell and their boss crystal appeared first, the entire match could flip—Ord could lose everything.

This was no time to be fighting just Noquia. The newly unprotected totem had to be defended immediately.

Father and Holanghee stepped in front of Noquia, shouting toward Theo and Blaine.

“You two, go to the totem!”

Noquia turned sharply toward Theo and Blaine. Her anxious glare said she had no intention of letting them leave. Theo met her eyes, then nodded firmly and pulled Blaine with him as they sprinted off.

Behind them, the clash of weapons rang violently.

Thankfully, the unprotected totem wasn’t far. Allies and enemies alike were already rushing in the same direction—everyone desperate to claim control.

Pushed and trampled along the way, Theo barely forced his way through the chaos and reached the totem area. It was a complete battlefield. He told Blaine to support from the rear and charged straight in.

Enemies and monsters swarmed ahead. There was no time to distinguish friend from foe among the mess. Theo simply cut down anything blocking his path. Fighting tooth and nail, he finally made it close to the totem.

The area around it was pure madness. Fallen players and monsters littered the scorched ground—smoke rising in thick clouds, fire and debris everywhere. It was nearly impossible to see anything clearly.

But stopping wasn’t an option. Gritting his teeth, Theo pushed deeper into the crowd—until he disappeared completely from Blaine’s view.

Blaine stretched his neck, trying to cling to sight of Theo, but once he vanished behind the chaos, Blaine snapped back to focus and lifted his hand. His orb shot upward—and massive gravity fields slammed down around them.

Enemies running toward the totem crashed helplessly into the ground. Then, above them all, a huge astrolabe-like magical construct spun into the air—space tore open, and meteor showers rained in from every direction.

Screams, curses, and explosions filled the battlefield. Even while casting such spectacular spells, Blaine kept one hand anxiously tightening his cloak—refusing to let it get in the way.

Thanks to Blaine holding the chokepoint, fewer enemies were reaching the totem. The chaotic explosion of skill effects slowly became distinct—recognizable shapes emerging from the clutter.

And no matter how many effects crowded his vision, Blaine never lost track of Theo’s.

Despite the fierce back-and-forth, Jezenia held the advantage. The once-gray totem pillar erupted again in blue—claimed.

All five totems had fallen. A system alert flashed: Ord’s boss crystal has appeared.

Jezenia’s players cheered, victory all but guaranteed. Ord’s side stared blankly at the rising beam—shock draining the fight from their faces.

Like everyone else, Blaine looked up at the glowing column—then instinctively searched for Theo. He found him—by the totem, drenched in sweat, downing a mana potion.

“Hyung.”

Blaine called as he moved closer. Theo wiped his arm across his face and looked back—then spotted monsters and players scattering quickly to search for the boss crystal.

Theo passed Blaine, patting him on the shoulder.

“Let’s go find the crystal too.”

The moment they left the totem area, a chorus of direwolf howls erupted across the field—so loud it shook the air. A chill spiked through their skin. They turned to look—

A deeper roar ripped through the valley. Far stronger than any direwolf.

Every player around them clamped their hands over their ears and shrank down instinctively.

It was Ord’s cry.

A heavy thundering of footsteps followed. The earth trembled.

Ord was moving.

“If Ord finds the crystal first, we still have a chance.”

Blaine sounded noticeably lighter as he welcomed Ord’s intervention. Theo followed the tremors with his gaze and nodded.

“Yeah. Let’s hurry up and find it.”

“Yes.”

They moved through the camp, following the flow of players running in a certain direction. Sometimes they climbed onto tents to scout the surroundings. After who knew how long, a roar of cheers blasted from somewhere nearby.

The two instantly looked up, scrambled onto the nearest tent, and scanned the field. Not far away, a massive crowd was clustered together—locked in fierce combat. And towering inside that chaos was Ord itself.

“There.”

Theo whispered, almost enchanted—then leapt off the tent and sprinted toward the battlefield. Blaine rushed after him, a beat too late. Theo didn’t look back once.

“Hey!”

A sharp shout halted him just before entering combat range. He slowed, turning quickly. Father and Holanghee were running toward them—alone.

“Where’s Quia?”

Theo asked. Father clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“She escaped. She’ll probably come here.”

“Or she’s already here.”

Holanghee added while scanning the crowd. But in this sea of bodies, finding Noquia was nearly impossible.

“For now, forget Noquia. We protect the crystal.”

With that, Father barreled forward again, Holanghee, Theo, and Blaine diving into the mob behind him.

But even in the heart of the battlefield, Ord’s crystal was nowhere to be seen. It wasn’t small—so where the hell was it?

As they fought their way through, Theo noticed Ord’s monsters suddenly break formation—rushing somewhere in unison. At first he ignored it, but then it repeated. Again. And again. The monsters seemed to be defending something.

Everyone realized it at once. They exchanged brief glances—then grabbed onto the monsters charging past them.

The monsters roared as if this was exactly what they were meant to do—carrying the players through enemy lines with reckless momentum. Theo, Father, Holanghee, and Blaine clung on for dear life.

But even monsters struggled to blaze through this suffocating crowd. Weapons pierced into them again and again—until the beasts collapsed like fallen barricades. The four of them hit the ground, rolling across the dirt.

No time to recover. Attacks rained down instantly. They countered desperately—surviving by a hair—when another wave of Ord’s monsters stormed in from behind.

This time, other allies were riding too. The four grabbed the nearest free-backed mounts and held tight. The monsters howled ferociously as they surged forward.

Switching mounts again and again as each monster was cut down, they finally saw it—glimmering in silver. The boss crystal. Thankfully, most players surrounding it were allies.

They were almost there when something shot through the crowd at frightening speed—slamming directly into the monster Theo rode. The beast fell with a strangled grunt, and Theo was flung onto the ground.

He squeezed his eyes shut at the impact—then heard a voice at his ear.

“Hey there.”

A familiar voice.

A dangerous voice.

Theo’s instincts screamed at him as he snapped his eyes open. The first thing he saw wasn’t a face—but a dagger flashing toward him. He grabbed a bolt and intercepted the strike just in time.

Only after blocking the attack did Theo finally see the face of his opponent.

“Noquia!”

Theo shouted her name. Noquia smiled brightly—as if she were just happy to see him. Theo flicked her dagger away with his bolt and kicked upward, knocking her off him.

Noquia blocked the kick with her dagger and slid back. Theo scrambled to his feet. He heard three familiar voices shouting his name, asking if he was okay. Because his attention slipped for that brief moment, he didn’t notice Noquia closing the distance.

Her kick slammed into him with all her strength. Theo heard the dull thud before he even processed the pain in his gut.

A moment later, force hurled him backward like a missile. His back crashed into something hard. His vision immediately flushed red.

“Hyung!”

Blaine’s panicked voice cracked the air. Father and Holanghee screamed as well. Theo’s blurring gaze lifted upward—toward the towering silver crystal.

He had been kicked all the way to Ord’s crystal.

Coughing violently, he steadied himself by grabbing the crystal. He tried to pull a potion from his inventory—but noise erupted all around him. Slowly lifting his head, he saw Noquia charging forward like a bullet.

Allies who had been guarding the crystal rushed to intercept her, with Blaine, Father, and Holanghee breaking through the chaos to get to Theo.

A fierce melee broke out—everyone tangled together to keep Noquia away. Theo’s vision flickered. His ears drowned in a muffled hum like water rushing in.

He stopped trying to heal. He gripped his bow instead, and slowly looked around.

Every single person was throwing everything they had at just Noquia. No one was paying attention to him.

“Should we just end this?”

Theo murmured to himself.

And he swung his bow into the crystal.

A violent crack split Ord’s crystal—and in full view of everyone, it shattered into glittering fragments.

The world froze.

Every player stared at Theo, stunned.

Theo looked back with empty, emotionless eyes—then Noquia appeared at his side. Darkness rushed in, swallowing the two of them whole.

Jezenia’s information secured, Jezenia’s victory—brought by Theo.