Critical Moment!

Coreas finally unleashed his true power. From his wings, he released countless black spheres—dense orbs of gravity that warped the air around them.

I, together with Zetsumei and Tsukiyami, cut through those orbs, breaking them apart before they could crush us. Kurogane fired his machine gun relentlessly, while Tsukihana used her caster skills to counter Coreas’s attacks.

The rest of the faction members supported us from a distance, firing spells and arrows, throwing everything they had at this monster.

“For a bunch of pests, you’re far too irritating! Begone! [Graviton 100X]!” Coreas roared.

From his wings, he launched a massive sphere—one a hundred times larger and heavier than the ones before.

“ZETSUMEI! TSUKIYAMI!” I shouted, giving them the signal.

They nodded instantly, charging forward with their own abilities. Zetsumei activated his Ascendant EtherCode, Void Etherium, allowing him to absorb incoming EtherCode attacks within a certain threshold.

“O, great emptiness—swallow every attack raining upon us! Devour it all, everything I want destroyed!” Zetsumei chanted like a dramatic chuuni.

“SHUT UP WITH YOUR DAMN CHUUNIBYOU INCANTATIONS! YOU KNOW IT DOESN’T ACTUALLY AFFECT YOUR SKILL, RIGHT?!” Tsukihana snapped at him in frustration.

“Tch, whatever! Take this! [Void Absorption Slash!]”

Zetsumei swung his blades, tearing open a dimensional rift that absorbed Coreas’s devastating sphere of gravity.

“TSUKIHANA! KUROGANE!” I barked the next signal.

Kurogane was already prepared, aiming his massive plasma cannon. At the same time, Tsukihana invoked her high-tier Aether EtherCode spell.

“Burn in hell! [Aether Impact!]”

From the sky, a colossal burst of energy descended like a nuclear strike, crashing down upon Coreas.

“OH YEAH BABY! [PLASMA BLASTER FULLPOWER: PLASMA SHOOTINGSTAR!!]”

Kurogane fired his massive shot, unleashing EtherCode Volta in an enormous blast that engulfed Coreas completely.

BAM!!

Coreas staggered, clearly hit, though still floating midair. His gravitational barrier had minimized the damage.

“NOW, TSUKIYAMI!!”

Executor Number One—Tsukiyami—had already slipped behind Coreas unnoticed. With precision, he activated his finishing move.

“Fall into darkness! [Ascendant Umbra + High Executioner SystemCore: Thousand Darkness Slash!!!]”

A devastating critical strike ripped through the air. SLASH!

Tsukiyami’s blades tore into Coreas’s wings, severing them completely and sending the boss plummeting toward the ground.

“NOW, AYANE!!!”

The voices of Kurogane, Tsukiyami, Tsukihana, and Zetsumei rang out together.

I had been waiting for this moment—the one chance to finish Coreas with everything I had.

“IGNITE!! GOLDEN ASHES!! [SystemCore: Data Penetration Slash] + [EtherCode: Golden Fire Sword Barrage]!”

My SystemCore skill ignited, boosting my strike to deal 200% true damage. At the same time, I summoned dozens of blazing golden swords orbiting around me.

I leapt into the air, descending upon Coreas with merciless strikes.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Golden blades pierced and exploded across his body like a never-ending barrage of fireworks. Finally, Coreas crashed to the ground, charred and broken.

Silence fell.

Our raid members stood frozen in awe at the teamwork between the faction leaders. Then, cheers erupted—they roared, praising us, their voices filled with relief and triumph.

But my body was at its limit. My EP, ST, and CT were almost completely drained. I nearly collapsed, but Kagurazaka and Maiko rushed forward to catch me, while Izanami Ayaka quickly began healing.

Kurogane, Tsukiyami, Tsukihana, and Zetsumei regrouped with me. We barely had a moment to breathe.

“This isn’t over… everyone, don’t let your guard down,” I warned.

And then—Coreas stood again.

He rose slowly, his wings gone, his armor shattered. Only three HP bars remained.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I didn’t think vermin like you could push me this far. Looks like ‘he’ was right… you are truly entertaining toys!”

From his chest, Coreas ripped out his own gravity core, crushing it in his hand. His body erupted in black aura, sucking the battlefield into its pull.

“[Graviton Center: Primordial Blast!]”

He transformed into something terrifying—like a living black hole.

“THIS IS BAD!! KUROGANE! TSUKIHANA! AYAKA-SAMA! SEAL HIM, NOW!” I shouted through Threadweaver, enacting the backup plan we had discussed.

“The anti-gravity device is fully repaired. Activating seal mode—everyone fall back!!” Kurogane threw the device into place, its systems glowing.

Tsukihana and Ayaka formed layered barriers around Coreas, containing his eruption.

The battlefield stilled. His gravitational blast shrank. For a moment, we thought we had him.

But it was a fatal mistake.

Coreas absorbed the collapsing gravity, his form shifting. His body became humanoid, with insect-like horns, clad in sleek black armor, wielding a crimson spear.

He looked terrifyingly familiar—like the miniboss I had slain once before.

He sneered, raising his weapon. “Did you really think such a prison could hold me? I am Coreas del Insectoria, the Gravity Lord!!!”

With a single swing, his crimson spear shattered Kurogane’s device and tore through Tsukihana and Ayaka’s barriers.

BAM!

We froze in horror. This was no longer the same boss. He had ascended. He could kill us all.

Coreas slashed again.

“EVERYONE, GET DOWN!!”

SLASH!

We ducked, but nearly two hundred raid members weren’t so lucky. They were cut down instantly, erased in a single sweep.

“No way…” Tsukihana gasped in disbelief.

“Damn it! I lost dozens of my people!” Tsukiyami roared.

Zetsumei said nothing, his silence heavier than words.

“This is my fault… my device… I couldn’t…” Kurogane muttered, blaming himself.

I slapped him hard.

“GET A GRIP! That monster would’ve destroyed anything we threw at him! This isn’t your fault. Stop blaming yourself and fight with me, Kurogane!”

The usually cheerful Kurogane clenched his fists, eyes burning with resolve.

“…Everyone. I’ll use it. Buy me some time.”

“You can’t be serious, Ayane! That power will burn your HP nonstop!” Tsukihana protested.

“She’s right, Captain! Don’t be reckless!” Kagurazaka tried to reach me, but Maiko and Akutsu held him back.

“It’s the only way… I’ll follow your lead,” Tsukiyami said firmly.

“……I’ll clear the path for you,” Zetsumei added quietly.

“I’ll heal your HP as much as I can, Ayane-san. Please… let me support you,” Ayaka said with determination.

“…Thank you, Ayaka-sama. Thank you, everyone. Don’t worry—we’ll bring this monster down together!”

The choice was made. I would use my Exclusive Title’s power. I was the only one here with Level 8—the only one capable of wielding it.

It was strong enough to kill Coreas. But if I miscalculated, it would kill me instead.

Failure wasn’t an option.

Coreas marched toward us, crimson spear gleaming.

Kurogane rallied Machina Legion, raising mechanical walls and unleashing a storm of gunfire. Tsukihana led Lunaris Vale, bombarding Coreas with high-level spells.

None of it worked. His gravitational field bent every attack away.

Tsukiyami and Eclipse Reign ambushed from behind, but they were blasted back, many slain instantly. Tsukiyami pressed on, both daggers in hand, yet even his blades couldn’t pierce Coreas’s armor.

He was thrown aside, heavily wounded.

Gritting his teeth, Tsukiyami spent the last of his EP. “[Umbra Hellgrave]!” Dark chains of shadow erupted, dragging at Coreas’s limbs, slowing his advance.

“ZETSUMEIII!!” Tsukiyami screamed, giving the signal.

Zetsumei appeared from the front with Nihilwalker members, his aura dark and sharp.

“O god of the void, destroyer dwelling in the abyss—consume this insolent being! [EtherCode Void Etherium: Nihil Slash!] + [SystemCore Data Breaker: Defense Piercing] + [Ascendant Class, Dual Sword: Double Slash]!”

A deadly combo. One he had once unleashed against me when we fought for the Number One Player title in Abyss Code Online.

SLASH!

His attack landed clean, slicing straight through Coreas’s right arm and severing it completely. The boss roared in fury as two of his HP bars vanished in an instant, leaving only two remaining.

But instead of panicking, Coreas only smirked.

“EtherCode Void, is it? So that’s what you are… one of his lackeys, huh? HAHAHA! Then pass along my regards to that loner!”

I had no idea what Coreas meant, but Zetsumei just smiled faintly and glanced back at all of us.

Then, Coreas drove his spear into the ground. The entire battlefield quaked as he unleashed a massive, deadly area-of-effect attack.

Zetsumei turned toward us, his expression heavy. “Forgive me. No—forgive us. We’ve been lying to you all this time.”

He and his faction members threw off their cloaks, revealing the symbol burned into their backs.

It was the crest of the Meta World Company—the corporation that had created Abyss Code Online.

“No… no way…! You’ve been hiding here all along?! YOU’RE THE ONES WHO TRAPPED US IN THIS DEATH GAME?!” Tsukihana screamed in horror, her voice cracking with rage.

Even Kurogane and Tsukiyami froze in shock, their faces pale. The rest of the raid fell into stunned silence, disbelief and betrayal spreading like wildfire.