Chapter 22: Last fight

Nova stood on a two-meter-high stage built by the government to manage the portal from which he had emerged upon arriving in the city. He had no armor on, aside from his footgear. From his vantage point, he could see a massive line of people stretching for kilometers, each sitting and holding a candle.

Beside him, a government official noticed his arrival and made a call. Nova ignored it and leapt in a single bound to the rooftop of a ten-story apartment, cracking the stage and leaving a crater behind. He used a gust of wind to give himself a slight boost and adjust his direction mid-air.

He landed with a smooth step on the rooftop. From that vantage point, the long line of red candlelight transformed into a glowing grid of red lights stretching across square kilometers of roads below.

The door on the rooftop opened as Nova stood there, relishing the scene. Lyn appeared.

They spoke afterward, catching up on what had happened in the world during his absence, and what Nova had done in his time away. They discussed many things, but the most pressing topic was the online-planned suicides of thousands people. People who once feared the afterlife had now found the courage to act, having gathered others who shared the same despair.

"Are there still no new Severers, Lyn?" asked Nova, his eyes fixed on the sea of glowing candlelight. His thick facial hair swayed gently in the cool night breeze.

Lyn shook her head in response.

"There's no helping it, huh?"

…

After that, Nova spoke with the government and successfully made a request.

“Why are you doing this, big brother? Didn't you say you would only prepare? Even if your leg isn’t injured this time, the boss still has strength similar to the one that killed you before,” asked Lyn, climbing the short stairs toward the stage the government had prepared alongside Nova.

“There’s nothing I can do, right? In the end, I’m the only one who can do this… and if I don’t, I—and the people I love—will die after all,” said Nova as he arrived at the center of the stage, standing before the camera that would broadcast his words to the entire world.

“Now go! I need to focus,” he added, closing his eyes. Lyn stepped aside, moving to the corner of the stage.

He tried to steady his breath, calming the unease and grogginess that weighed on his heart before he spoke.

A few moments later, the broadcast began. Nova channeled a massive amount of energy into his bracelet at once. From it, a holographic letter "S" appeared, glowing in a brilliant orange hue.

The crowd around the stage—and viewers across the globe—erupted into a fracas.

In response, Nova leaned into the microphone and shouted, silencing them all.

He then said, “As you’ve just seen, there is still hope...”

…

This was the first time he had ever spoken for so long—pouring his heart out in hopes of rekindling the flame of hope in everyone hearts. He touched on everything—from psychological struggles, emotional wounds to heartwarming, tragic, and deeply moving stories. At one point, he even acknowledged the suicide.

He proposed that they die together in one place, rather than through online meetings. Since it would be their final moments in the world, he suggested they make something memorable—a video capturing thousands of people dying together. The idea was to create a coordinated visual, where each person’s recording would align to form a larger image, an implicit message meant for future generations of Earth, should the planet survive. Each small rectangular video within the larger image could be clicked, revealing the moment someone leapt freely from a rooftop.

Somehow, their suicides were postponed. In the end, they all agreed to end their lives together at the final stage—at the exact moment the boss appeared.

…

Six days had passed. Fifteen days remained until the end of the world.

It was afternoon. Nova stood on the rooftop of a skyscraper, surrounded by a group of people prepared to take their own lives. On nearby rooftops, more groups stood by, waiting in silence.

Down on the ground, the remaining Severer candidates were gearing up for battle, not far from where Nova stood.

Recording the scene, a helicopter with a television presenter and camera roamed the sky, broadcasting and explaining it.

The helicopter then drew closer to Nova, its propeller thundering and stirring a wind so strong it whipped his clothes and short, trimmed hair.

“Excuse me, I heard the last Severer is here. Can I ask where he is right now?” the presenter shouted toward the group of people where Nova stood.

“I’m Nova,” he shouted back to the man in front of him, who hadn’t recognized him simply because his facial hair was gone.

The presenter, the cameraman, and even viewers around the world were stunned. What they saw now was a strikingly handsome man, with a face fit for a celebrity.

“O-oh, so you’re the last Severer who will decide the future of Earth. Please join us for a brief talk before the battle begins. I heard you allowed these people to commit suicide, and strangely, neither the government nor the other severer candidates tried to stop you. Are you really going to let them do it? What exactly are you planning?” asked the presenter.

Nova glanced at his wristwatch just as the question was asked. Around him, others who had chosen to end their lives also checked their phones or watches.

He took a single step forward, now standing right at the edge of the skyscraper.

“It’s time,” he said calmly. “I’ll answer your question—so listen carefully.”

He leapt off the building. “It’s for fun!” he shouted as he fell.

One by one, the others followed. They sprinted toward the edge and jumped, chasing after Nova. They didn’t forget to turn on their camera phones to record their suicide.

The sight of thousands of people leaping from the skyscraper was extraordinary. Like a paintbrush stroke, a black wave swept across the canvas—the building. For a few moments, they plummeted—then, suddenly, they stopped mid-fall and began to levitate, hovering in the air. The helicopter jolted, then shot upward, spinning out of control. The sudden movement caused the cameraman and the presenter to tumble out, suspended in midair. The camera slipped from the cameraman’s hands and was swept away by a strong gust of wind.

From Nova’s vantage point, he could see countless objects below—cars, motorcycles, buses, trucks, chairs, tables, flower pots, and more—all floating just above the ground.

People's eyes widened. Faces that had remained calm even as they fell from suicide had now turned pale with shock. The atmosphere was silent with awe. It was a surreal scene, where the only sound was the wind sweeping past the suspended objects.

Nova began to channel his energy. He wrapped his arms and body in wind, which quickly expanded, weaving between the skyscrapers and coiling around each of the thousands of people. The wind enveloped each person in the shape of a massive knife, with their head forming the tip. It all happened in less than a minute.

The thousands of people, the Severer candidates below, and those watching the livestream across the world—all stared in shock. Their mouths hung open, unable to utter a single word at the astonishing scene Nova had created.

Afterward, the boss appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the city, surrounded by skyscrapers. It emerged to Nova’s right—a levitating, rhombohedron-shaped creature roughly thirty square meters in size. From each of its six faces, it unleashed multiple types of attacks: fire, wind, thunder, water, earth, and sound.

A jolt surged through the bodies of the thousands present and the people watching all around the world.

The current theme seemed to be that of an unbeatable boss—one with no weaknesses, wielding every type of attack, each of which could also serve as a form of defense. On top of that, its energy output and sheer power were undeniably at boss level. Calling it “undefeated” was no exaggeration.

But that was only true if the Severer was weaker—or merely equal in strength.

Nova began moving the thousands of levitating people toward the boss, surging his wind through them and slowly pushing them. The thousands of wind knives wove between the skyscrapers, drifting steadily toward the boss. Nova followed behind, levitating atop the swarm of knives.

By now, the people had begun to regain their senses. Thousands of them looked around in awe, unable to believe how their bodies were being carried by wind-shaped knives—and just how massive and powerful the last Severer's skill truly was.

Meanwhile, people around the world were switching their streaming channels, trying to find a better view of what was happening. When they found the best one—Nova’s camera, now levitating above the thousands of wind knives—they were left dumbfounded once again, their eyes and mouths wide open. The breathtaking sight of thousands of knives weaving slowly through the skyscrapers toward the boss—like a living wave—was something out of a dream.

“The world is so fascinating—so many unknown marvels exist. This world is just… amazing. I’m in awe of its beauty,” said Nova, looking around at the levitating people and objects. "So, I want to explore it… to go on an adventure through it.”

As Nova spoke, he surged the first wave of hundreds of knives—hundreds of people—forward at high speed. Some panicked inside the wind-formed knives, but others understood that with power on this scale, as a Severer, Nova could be trusted. The wind knives weren’t just weapons—they were shields protecting them.

The hundreds of knives swept in from the right side of the boss, then veered sharply to the left, targeting its front. Like an endless train, each knife sliced into the boss’s body in rapid succession.

The boss fought back, scorching the knives with wind-enhanced fire while trying to repel them—but the people pressed on, and the knives advanced relentlessly. Bit by bit—centimeter by centimeter—the boss’s front was whittled away. By the time the wave of a hundred knives ended, three meters of flesh had been cleaved off like tofu—without a drop of blood.

Nova continued his speech once he was done using all the hundreds of knives. “Look at how fun this is, even though it’s a boss fight. There are so many possibilities in the world, ways you can use your skills in beautiful and exciting ways. Would you really think of dying when there’s so much out there, so much to explore, like this?”

Another batch of hundreds knives surged forward again, this time coming from the left side of the boss. The boss tried to repel them with lightning, sound, and earth, but the elements didn’t matter, as Nova’s energy was stronger. The knives sliced through again, and the boss's front side was reduced by another three meters.

"If you’re terrified of fighting, you don’t have to. To enjoy this beautiful and exciting world, you can explore it and go on an adventure. Why die now? Can’t you wait a little longer? Believe in me for at least this first and last time. You can die afterward, but wait until I defeat the boss, or I die fighting."

Again, hundreds of knives, hundreds of people surged forward. In response, the boss concentrated all its energy into a single lightning strike aimed at the advancing knives. But once again, it was futile—its power still fell short compared to Nova’s. The hundreds of wind knives kept advancing, surging from below, slicing through the boss another three meters thick.

"Think about the world after we win," said Nova, his voice firm. "With all the exciting things out there—hope, peace, tears of joy, and cheerful days waiting for us. Don’t you want to see it?"

Nova shot forward, propelled by a surge of wind at his back. He moved closer to the boss, knowing from Lyn’s regression experience that the core was about to appear.

He sent another wave—hundreds more people—to slice through the boss again. But by now, all of the boss’s hands had already been used up. From this point on, the boss could only accept its fate of being cut apart.

The boss continued to use every skill it had to repel the attacks, but it was useless. The knives kept advancing, slicing its flesh little by little. In the end, another three meters were carved away.

"As for me, I want to live. I want to experience all the excitement this world has to offer. I want to witness every great thing it holds. For those of you who still want to have fun like this, for you who haven’t given up on fighting, for you who still want to live… lets just have fun together, in this new, exciting world!”

The final batch of hundreds of knives surged forward, slicing into the boss.

Nova knew this final slice would be different. But that was fine. According to Lyn’s words, the last layer of the boss’s flesh was tougher than the rest—dense and solid. However, beyond that final meter of hardened skin, the core would appear.

So Nova kept slicing, even as each cut shaved off less than a centimeter. He pressed on, undeterred, even when nearly all his knives had been spent—yet still, the core did not appear.

But as the final slice was made, the core—two meters in diameter—finally appeared. Nova surged forward alone to finish the boss, conjuring a massive wind knife ten meters long. He accelerated—faster and faster—driving himself forward with every skill he had.

But before he could finish the boss—just as he got close enough to land his strike—a small, fifty-centimeter-wide object dropped from above and sliced the boss in half with a single strike.

The object crashed into the ground, creating a massive crack across it. Dust billowed out, covering the surrounding area. But soon, a powerful gust of wind swept the dust away. A person stood there, swinging his arms with incredible force—the wind generated by his motion was enough to clear the entire cloud of dust.

People were cheering in their hearts, happy that the boss had been defeated. But somehow, a troubling thought crept into their minds—this might not be over yet. They wanted to see what exactly had taken the boss down first.

Upon closer inspection, the one who had defeated the boss turned out to be a humanoid alien creature. It was a man, as he had a flat chest. He wore a black full-body armor with a tribal design, but no helmet. His head was a sleek, white, oval shape with no mouth.

Everyone watching, including Nova, saw that it had a humanoid shape but also alien features—and they all instantly came to the same conclusion. "It’s one of the real alien bosses—the true culprit behind this year-long nightmare."