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The ground quickly receded. My grip on the reins tightened unconsciously.

The skeletal dragon was more agile than it looked. With each flap of its wings, it accelerated, shooting up like a rollercoaster. It was so fast that the cold wind slapped my face, making it hard to keep my eyes open.

The dragons carrying us swiftly weaved through Valkyries and demons. I hadn’t expected much from undead dragons revived from corpses, but they were probably the fastest flying creatures around.

However, the higher we went, the more Valkyries outnumbered the demons. Naturally, our ascent drew their attention. But we ignored them and kept flying upward. With the dragons’ speed, we could easily outpace them.

“Count! The Valkyries…!”

Wendy, who had turned to look back, let out a small scream. Like a swarm of bees stirred from their hive, the Valkyries were chasing us fiercely. Their numbers were growing. If we left them unchecked, we might get surrounded.

Blanshe, seemingly thinking the same as me, wrapped herself in magical energy, ready to fight.

“Count, I’ll handle this…”

“No. Stay still.”

“Huh?”

I glared at the pursuers and pulled out an old emotion I had buried deep within—a burning rage that could consume everything.

“Disappear.”

My heart, filled with heat, flared up. The flames of the emotion I had suppressed for so long were intense. A fierce ‘wrath’ poured out toward the Valkyries.

“?!”

The Valkyries charging at us suddenly stopped as if they had hit a wall. This was the ‘wrath’ I had restrained through ‘patience.’ After being freed from the curse, I no longer needed to hold back my ‘wrath.’

-!!

The Valkyries, tasting boundless ‘wrath,’ began to scream silently.

“Huh? Why are they acting like that…?”

To others, it might have looked like the Valkyries were suffering on their own, but I could see it clearly. The flames of ‘wrath’ engulfed them, burning them mercilessly. The Valkyries, burned alive, spewed blood from their mouths, noses, and ears. They clutched their chests as if suffocating, then fell limply.

I had worried that ‘wrath’ might not work on them since they were security programs, but it was highly effective. Perhaps it was because the Valkyries had physical bodies here.

Whoosh.

The Valkyries burned in the flames of ‘wrath.’ Normally, such ‘wrath’ would have consumed even me, but now I could control it completely. The heat of ‘wrath’ subsided instantly, leaving me feeling refreshed rather than scorched.

Having stopped the Valkyries’ pursuit, we continued upward. Occasionally, Valkyries clung to us, but we either shook them off or dealt with them at the level of Bella or Blanshe.

With nothing left to stop us, the dragons’ speed increased. At this rate, we might reach our destination in no time… or so I thought.

“Count!”

At Blanshe’s shout, I immediately pulled the reins to change direction. That action saved my life.

Bang!

An explosion erupted in the space where my dragon had been about to ascend. It wasn’t a massive explosion, but if it had hit, I would have been thrown off the dragon. As the smoke cleared, the attackers’ forms were revealed.

“Those guys…”

Our attackers were, unsurprisingly, Valkyries. But these weren’t ordinary Valkyries. They had six wings and golden armor that stood out immediately. They were likely high-ranking Valkyries. If regular Valkyries were angels, these were archangels.

‘They’re not letting us go easily…’

I couldn’t see their expressions or eyes due to their blindfolds, but I could feel their gaze fixed on us.

This time, it wouldn’t be as easy as before. Sensing this, Bella and the other women were already prepared to fight.

“What a bunch of nuisances…”

Helga was the first to react. She created a sphere of lightning in her hand and hurled it at the Valkyries. The golden Valkyries dodged it effortlessly. But…

-! -!!

What seemed like a regular lightning bolt exploded repeatedly, like a nuclear fusion reaction. It seemed her magic had been amplified by the abundant magical energy of paradise.

Valkyries caught in the explosion staggered, while the remaining ones drew swords and spears, charging at us.

“Ha!”

Helga twisted her lips. She created another lightning sphere and threw it at the approaching Valkyries.

Chain explosions and lightning flashed.

“Die! You bitches!”

“W-wait! Helga! It’s shaking!”

“Hahaha! Die! Die! Divine punishment!”

“Eek! Gently! Throw it gently…! I’m falling!”

As Helga swung her arm, throwing lightning spheres, Wendy, holding the reins, let out a pitiful scream. She tried to counterattack, but with Helga going wild behind her, it wasn’t easy.

Turning my head slightly from the rampaging Helga and panicked Wendy, I saw a completely different scene.

Clang!

“Hmm…”

Bella effortlessly blocked the spears flying at her with her sword. These weren’t ordinary Valkyries but high-ranking ones, so their attacks weren’t simple. Judging by their movements, they had skills comparable to at least a knight commander. The Valkyries were accustomed to fighting in groups, using their flight advantage to attack Bella’s blind spots. But they had chosen the wrong opponent.

“Your spear skills are… disappointing.”

“!”

A flash of light erupted from Bella’s left hand. The shoulders of the Valkyries charging at her were cleanly severed.

“I had some expectations since you came at me with weapons… but I’m disappointed.”

Bella held a sword in her left hand as well. It was the dual-wielding style I had seen during our sparring. While dual-wielding usually prioritizes offense over defense, Bella seemed to master both. After all, her swordsmanship was the Izakhel style, passed down by the hero Alonso Izakhel, once called humanity’s strongest swordsman.

Bella’s swordsmanship had no weaknesses. While Helga unleashed relentless bombardment, Bella calmly took down one or two Valkyries at a time. Blanshe matched her rhythm.

“How pathetic!”

Blanshe carefully maneuvered the dragon to avoid being surrounded by multiple Valkyries. Even while doing so, she targeted their vital points, taking them down in one strike. She was truly a top-tier superhuman.

I couldn’t stay idle either. I continued upward, using ‘wrath’ to fight. The others followed me.

We soared into the clouds. Droplets wet my hands and forehead, but I didn’t slow down. I wouldn’t let go of the reins until we reached the deepest and highest part of paradise.

The dragons cut through the clouds. We defeated the Valkyries that pursued us into the clouds, but there was no end to the pursuit. Despite defeating countless Valkyries, the golden ones kept appearing, holding us back. Forget archangels; they were more like zombies.

“Ugh! So persistent!”

Helga, visibly annoyed, punched a Valkyrie in the face. That’s when it happened.

Thud!

A dull sound echoed, and the dragon I was riding shook. The shockwave from her punch reached us…

No. That wasn’t it. Something touched my head.

“…A magnetic field?”

Reaching out, I felt a transparent, jelly-like wall. Bella and the others felt it too.

“What is this?”

“It’s like a ceiling…”

Hearing Bella’s words, I realized it. This was the ceiling of paradise, our destination.

“W-what do we do? If we can’t go further…”

“We’ve arrived.”

“Huh?”

I stroked the ceiling, thinking. There must be an entrance somewhere. I felt magical energy in the jelly-like ceiling. Perhaps there was an entrance where magical energy was being poured into paradise. But the ceiling of paradise… the sky was absurdly vast. If I searched carefully, feeling the magical energy with my hand, I might eventually find an entrance beyond the ceiling. Yes, eventually…

“Tristan?”

“Stay away from the ceiling for now.”

I took a deep breath. There was no time to search for an entrance. Even now, the Valkyries were chasing us.

I placed my hand on the ceiling, focusing my magical energy. I wasn’t a sage or a grand magician, but my training had given me a decent amount of magical power. But it wasn’t enough.

“Count!?”

I ignited a fire in my chest. The flames of ‘wrath,’ ‘jealousy,’ ‘greed,’ and ‘pride’ burned one after another. My eyes turned bloodshot. As I concentrated all that power into one hand, the ceiling shook violently, as if it might collapse at any moment.

‘But it’s still not enough.’

Something crucial was missing. I couldn’t break the ceiling of paradise with this. To shatter it, I had to pour everything I had into it. The strongest power I could wield…

Remembering that, I chuckled. I felt like I might burst a blood vessel, but as the villain Tristan, I never lost my composure. With my usual arrogant expression, I muttered.

“Break.”

I activated ‘despair,’ the Demon Lord’s authority and trait.

“?!”

In an instant, the ceiling under my hand twisted. Space warped like a whirlpool. The ceiling crumpled like plastic, then cracked.

Crack…

“W-what’s this…?!”

“Everyone, stay back.”

-!!

The once jelly-like ceiling shattered like glass. Fragments of clouds and sky exploded.

The ceiling of paradise had been broken.

*

“Hey! Where’s the tutorial?”

“Where do I get weapons?”

“Does anyone know how to accept quests?”

On the long-awaited service opening day, the area near the summoning gate was bustling with players. The game company had anticipated a large influx of players and installed summoning gates in various locations. Despite this, every gate was crowded, leaving no room to stand.

Another World Online. As the name suggested, it was a virtual reality game that promised to show players another world. The players’ reactions were enthusiastic. The graphics, indistinguishable from reality, and the unlimited freedom, previously revealed in teaser videos, were just as impressive. That alone convinced players that this game would be a hit.

However, there were some complaints. The game was quite unfriendly. There was no tutorial for new players, a necessity. As a result, players exchanged information about leveling up, hunting grounds, and obtaining weapons—things that should have been covered in a tutorial.

Soon, players who aimed to help others began to appear.

“‘Eye of the Storm’ guild is recruiting! Join us, and we’ll help you adapt to the game!”

“Our ‘Wings of the Sky’ guild provides weapons, equipment, and hunts together!”

These were guilds. Formed around communities before the game’s launch, they took on the role of guiding players in place of a tutorial. Thanks to them, even clueless players could easily adapt to this world.

For now, players were too busy experiencing the graphics and sensations indistinguishable from reality or hunting monsters in the fields to voice major complaints. But…

Soon, many players began to notice something strange.

“Where are all the NPCs?”

“Huh? Now that you mention it…”

Looking around, there were no NPCs in sight. One of the most anticipated features of Another World Online was the highly detailed NPCs. They were said to be unique, not repeating the same lines like typical game NPCs. The game company had promoted them as being able to communicate like “living people,” with emotions fully realized.

Given that Stella Corp, known for the “Remina Project,” had already been praised for pushing the limits of AI, this wasn’t an exaggeration. But instead of such NPCs, only players were bustling about. Could it be that the NPCs were so realistically implemented that they blended in with the players?

The answer was simple.

“Ah, that’s because this area isn’t where the NPCs live. All the NPCs live beyond the castle. See over there? That’s the Meikhael Empire, the main stage of this game.”

One of the guild members pointed beyond the horizon.

The summoning gates were installed in various locations—barren plains with visible horizons, beaches, and even the middle of forests. The commonality was that they were all remote places where humans didn’t live.

“It’s just my guess, but they probably didn’t place the gates in the middle of cities to prevent players from disrupting the game’s balance. If a large number of players suddenly appeared in a city where NPCs live, they’d be shocked. After all, their emotions are fully realized.”

“Ah, I see.”

Even now, players were pouring in through the summoning gates. What was once an empty plain now bustled like a marketplace. It was fortunate that the gates were dispersed and located in remote areas. If the gates had been placed in villages or cities, those places would have been paralyzed.

“But is this message only visible to me?”

A player pointed to a message window floating before their eyes.

[Quest starts in 01:52]

“Ah! I almost forgot. It’s about time, so shall we go?”

“Huh?”

Looking around, players had gathered in small groups, heading somewhere. Their destination was none other than the summoning gate.

Amid the players’ eager anticipation, a countdown began.

3, 2, 1… 0!

Flash!

A bright light flashed like a flare. The light was so intense that players momentarily turned their heads. In the light, a woman in a pure white robe appeared. However, she was enormous. A woman over 10 meters tall floated in the air, looking down at the players.

Her hair, flowing beneath her robe, shimmered with a mystical light. Her faintly visible lips curved into a gentle smile, making her as beautiful as a statue. The same word popped into everyone’s mind.

Goddess.

The sight of a heavenly, noble goddess descending to the earth left the players in awe.

The next moment, the goddess opened her mouth.

-Welcome to this world, players.

The pure white goddess bowed respectfully. Her movement was accompanied by a crackling noise. Well, of course. No matter how detailed the NPCs were, they couldn’t have created such a massive goddess.

-You have been chosen as the heroes who will save this beautiful world.

The goddess began her explanation with a benevolent smile. The background of why the players were summoned, the state of the world, and so on… It was essentially the same old story of being summoned as heroes to save the world.

“She’s taking her time.”

“Yeah. Can’t she summarize it?”

“Yawn… No skip button…”

Some players expressed boredom, but they listened nonetheless. Whether they liked it or not, it seemed necessary to hear the goddess’s story to progress.

“Is it going to rain…?”

Suddenly, the sky darkened. The previously clear sun was nowhere to be seen.

That’s when it happened.

“Huh?”

The goddess, who had been speaking, fell silent. Five seconds. Ten seconds. Thirty seconds passed, and she still said nothing.

“…What’s this?”

“Is it lagging?”

“It just launched, how can it lag already lol”

As the silence dragged on, the players couldn’t hide their confusion and disbelief. A game company that had created such detailed NPCs making such a mistake? This would be mocked in the community for a long time.

Rumble…

In the distance, lightning struck the sky. The players didn’t know it was the sky of paradise.

Crackle-

The goddess finally spoke again.

-T-this world is crackle! currently under threat from an evil Demon Lord.

“Ah, here it comes.”

“Wow, is this horror?”

Unlike before, the goddess’s voice, filled with noise, sounded urgent. Not only that, but her hologram also seemed unstable, as if a bug had occurred.

-Please crackle! help us. Together crackle! defeat the Demon Lord.

The goddess smiled. She must have intended to smile benevolently, but with all the noise, it turned into a grotesque and eerie smile.

[An urgent quest has appeared!]

A new message window popped up before the players.

[Quest: Stop Demon Lord Tristan now!]

 

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