A red eye opened in the sky.
It hovered silently behind Kay… watching.
Unblinking.
---
Somewhere far beyond the jungle—
A dark and terrifying place existed.
The air itself felt heavy.
Thousands of holographic screens floated in the void, each showing different parts of the Unreal World.
Every movement.
Every player.
Every death.
All of it… monitored.
At the center of it all—
A massive throne stood.
And on it…
Someone was sitting.
Zifarax.
His face was hidden in darkness.
Only his presence could be felt.
Cold.
Dominating.
Absolute.
Suddenly—
A figure rushed in.
"Sir! Great Future King—!"
SLASH!
A red beam flashed.
Before the words could finish, the minion's head separated from his body.
It shattered into particles of data.
Silence returned.
Zifarax slowly turned his head.
"Future King…?"
His voice was calm.
But terrifying.
"I am not a future king."
He stood up.
Dark energy flickered around him.
"I am the real king."
He raised his hand slightly.
Data gathered in the air.
In the next second—
A new minion formed.
Kneeling.
Trembling.
"Report."
The minion's voice shook.
"S-Sir… There's a disturbance in Sector: Virtual Senior Secondary School…"
He waved his hand.
A holographic map appeared.
A red dot blinked inside a jungle.
"Code name… Dark Creature Jungle."
Zifarax's gaze locked onto it.
"A virus has appeared in that area."
The minion hesitated.
"Not just that… Someone has hacked the system."
A pause.
"…and rewritten the code."
For a moment—
Everything went silent.
Then—
Zifarax let out a faint laugh.
"Rewrite…?"
His eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.
"How interesting."
The minion lowered his head.
"Should we deploy the Elite Guards?"
Zifarax turned away.
Uninterested.
"No."
His voice was calm again.
"Don't waste resources on an insect."
"He's just struggling to survive."
The screens around him flickered.
Players dying.
Monsters hunting.
Chaos spreading.
"This world was designed perfectly."
He raised his hand.
Every screen froze.
"Keep monitoring all sectors."
"I don't want a single flaw in my creation."
"Yes… my king."
The minion disappeared into data.
---
Back in the jungle—
The red eye in the sky narrowed.
Locked onto Kay.
A system message flickered for a split second.
TARGET LOCKED.
Kay suddenly felt it.
A strange chill ran down his spine.
"…What was that?"
He slowly turned around.
Nothing.
Just darkness.
But far above—
The red eye glowed brighter.
Watching.
Waiting.
And then—
A new message flashed.
ELIMINATION PROTOCOL… INITIATED.
Chapter 3 end