Sora's expression darkened as he felt the link with Sixty-Nine break. A tremor ran through his Soul, giving him a sensation of permanent loss.
'Sixty-Nine died before reaching level 50… Damn it!'
A mix of frustration and sorrow welled up inside him, but he forced himself to remain calm. He had to focus because his other Alter Egos still needed guidance and help.
"Retreat to a major city. We've sabotaged their raid and that's enough for now."
"Everyone, be careful. The enemy is covering most of North America, waiting for you to revive so they can kill you again. If you die, choose to revive after a month. If you're close to New York City, consider forming groups and heading there together."
He repeated the message to each Alter Ego that respawned, but with every death, the pain in his chest deepened.
'Eight Hundred-Twelve…'
'Ninety-Two…'
'They're all fighting to the death while I'm holed up here, hiding behind city walls.'
His anger toward himself burned hot. His brothers were sacrificing everything, and all he could do was watch. The thought of sitting idly any longer made his blood boil. However, as if sensing his thoughts, multiple messages flooded in from his Alter Egos, stopping him before he could act on impulse.
[Thousand: Don't be in a hurry to die. Today, our main goal was to save lives. You need to grow stronger so we can avenge our lost brothers.]
More messages followed, echoing the same sentiment. Sora exhaled sharply, pushing down his frustration. He couldn't waste their sacrifices. It wasn't the time for him to move. Not yet.
His mind raced, analyzing the mistakes of the day. As his resolve solidified, he swore to himself, 'Next time, it will be an overwhelming victory.'
-----------------------------------------
Twelve sprinted westward at full speed, the wind blowing past him as ten enemies pursued him through the sky. A furious voice rang out, amplified by mana.
"YOU KILLED MY LITTLE SISTER!! TODAY IT'S YOU OR ME! THERE'S NOWHERE FOR YOU TO HIDE!"
Twelve glanced back and spotted a young Dark Elf closing in, his eyes burning with rage.
He sighed and shot back, "Who told you to step into enemy territory?"
As he approached a vast body of water, he leaped into the air, soaring above the lake's surface.
'This should be Lake St. Clair, right?' he mused, flying further from the shore. Reaching the lake's center, he stopped abruptly, raising his shield and multiple layers made from [Soul Power] in preparation.
'They better be ready soon…'
His pursuers wasted no time. The Dark Elf appeared in front of him, a mace clenched tightly in his hands. Just as he swung down, ready to crush his target, a heavy blow slammed into his chest.
Twelve smiled as he stopped feigning weakness, and activated [Soul Ban]. The Dark Elf's body froze in mid-air and his soul left his body. Twelve lifted his shield, prepared to finish him off—only to be interrupted by three arrows flying toward his face from different directions. He twisted his body, narrowly dodging one and blocking the other two with his shield. Forced to take a step back, he watched in frustration as his first opponent's soul returned to his body.
"Almost got you," Twelve muttered, changing his stance just in time to raise his shield against an overhead strike.
Looking up, he spotted a female Dwarf wearing plate armor, gripping a sword taller than she was.
Twelve chuckled and said, "I can see your panties."
The Dwarf instantly blinked away, vanishing from his range as she frantically checked her armor. Twelve grinned at her reaction before scanning his surroundings, eyes sharp and calculating.
"Ten players just for me? I am flattered." He said, an irritating smile plastered on his face.
As the players closed in from all sides, even above and below, Twelve remained calm. Instead of panicking, he reached out to his brothers through telepathy.
"Is everything ready?" he asked.
The reply came quickly. "Stall for one more second, there's someone still outside the perimeter."
Twelve frowned. "Don't be too greedy. Lock the area!" he ordered before cutting the transmission.
Raising his voice, he taunted, "Come at me! I, alone, am enough to deal with all of you, trash!"
Still seething from earlier humiliation, the female Dwarf and the Dark Elf jumped at him from opposite sides. Twelve fought fiercely, deflecting and countering their attacks, all while enduring mental assaults from a Spirit and a barrage of arrows from a Demon player. However, in the distance, a Werewolf remained still, sniffing the air.
Twelve was too occupied to monitor every opponent, but a message popped into his mind.
"The Werewolf to your left has noticed something. Distract him. We need time to add a hundred more layers of barriers and make them sturdy."
Twelve gritted his teeth. "Are you kidding me? Don't you see me drowning here? I won't hold for much longer!"
Despite his complaints, he still complied.
"YOU SON OF A DOG!" he shouted toward the Werewolf. "Yes, YOU! Why are you sniffing the air? Smelling your own farts?!"
However the Werewolf didn't react. He didn't even turn around.
Twelve panicked, 'Without proper barriers, Detroit's surroundings will be hit. I don't know exactly how many people are left there, but we weren't able to evacuate everyone everywhere. We can't rush this and gamble with their lives.'
But what he feared eventually happened.
The Werewolf suddenly bellowed, "THIS IS AN AMBUSH! LEAVE THE AREA!"
At his command, the group of enemies instantly stopped attacking and began retreating.
Unwilling to let them escape, Twelve grabbed the closest player and activated [Soul Ban], making them defenseless before smashing them with his shield. The female Dwarf died instantly.
With the enemy on the verge of breaking free, Twelve gave everything to stop them.
Thinking they were escaping the "ambush," none of them were prepared for what came next—barriers. One after another, they slammed into the invisible walls. Some noses broke. Others had their foreheads bruised. Panic set in as the attackers frantically battered against the barriers, unleashing a barrage of rapid strikes.
Twelve moved fast, cutting off an archer's escape and forcing him to retreat. But before he could land a blow, the archer teleported away, reappearing in the middle of the lake. Satisfied by the result of his action, Twelve repeated the maneuver, intercepting another player, pushing them away from the barrier, delaying their retreat for as long as possible. But before he could attack a third player, he felt something unusual.
A piercing force struck his back, freezing him mid-air. Before he could adjust, something heavy slammed into his head. Feeling the threat of the combo that was targeting him, he tried to lift his shield. An energy beam was aimed at him, and he placed his shield as quickly as possible to deflect the blow. However, before the impact a powerful kick sent his shield flying from his grasp, leaving him completely defenseless.
The beam struck him directly.
Twelve's breath stopped as he looked down to see a gaping hole in his chest.
'Boys… don't let my death go to waste…' he thought as his body began to disintegrate.
--------------------------------
The Dark Elf, holding his mace tightly, had eyes red with anger. Even after avenging his sister, his rage refused to subside.
"That trash will come back to life..." he murmured. Turning toward a Spirit who had managed to phase through the barrier, he said, "Tejo, inform the Spirit Commander, Pukk. Add this guy to the list of targets to eliminate."
But Tejo didn't respond. His gaze was locked on something behind the Dark Elf, his expression frozen in shock. Noticing his raised hand, the Dark Elf turned around—and his eyes widened in horror.
An immense crack had appeared in the sky above the lake, radiating a blinding light.
"What is—"
He barely got two words out before an explosion of energy engulfed him. His body was thrown through the air, his limbs were shredded, his flesh was torn apart by the force of the blast. With what little remained of his focus, he channeled his mana and life force, desperately clinging to survival. After enduring the attack for several agonizing seconds, his momentum slowed, and he began falling toward the water below.
'If not for my focus on body forging, I'd have died over and over again... Damn, what kind of sociopaths are these guys? Luring enemies and self-exploding? Who does this?!'
His vision flickered as his eyes regenerated. Blinking rapidly, he looked up and saw Tejo, an immense surge of energy gathering in his hands.
'He's trying to avenge me?' He thought to himself, feeling slightly moved by his comrade's rage.
An instant later, the Spirit unleashed a massive blast toward the humans.
'That bastard has such a powerful innate skill... I wish I had an innate skill too.' He thought bitterly before following the trajectory of the attack.
But when he realized where the beam was heading, his heart dropped.
'That direction... THE HUMAN CITY?!'
Panic set in as he remembered the first golden rule of the alliance.
'Please tell me it's empty... Please tell me that human evacuated everyone...'
A cold chill ran down his spine as a series of system notifications appeared on his panel.
[10% of the New World Kingdom's citizens have died.]
[The New World Kingdom is now protected for a duration of thirty days.]
[You will be expelled from the kingdom in 10 seconds.]
[The number of safe areas in the New World Kingdom has been reduced from thirty to twenty-five.]
[Waging wars against the New World Kingdom is now possible through the War System Panel.]
[Citizens of the New World Kingdom are allowed to leave their territory and enter unprotected kingdoms.]
His fingers which had just healed clenched as a dreadful realization sank in.
'We just fucked up beyond repair…'
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