At that exact moment, as the debris of the world settled, Aryan's mind was screaming in pure brainrot terror. "Vro, oh hell nahhhhhhh! It's actually wraps for us!" He watched the monster's shadow loom over them like a death sentence.
But then, the temperature didn't just drop—it plummeted into a frozen hell.
A massive, glowing Ice Sword materialized out of thin air, falling from the heavens like a spear of the gods. It slammed into the monster's leg with such force that the ground cracked for miles. The sun was beginning to bleed over the horizon, but it provided no warmth—only enough light to see the gargantuan scale of the beast, its head still lost among the clouds.
THWACK! A second blade, just as colossal, impaled the other leg, pinning the beast to the earth. The monster's blood—thick and dark—sprayed across the ruins of the Kingdom. The creature let out a scream that wasn't human or animal; it was a distorted, ear-piercing glitch in reality. It roared in a forgotten, ancient tongue, its Rage Mode peaking as it struggled against its icy shackles.
Then came the finishers. Two more giant swords spawned, tearing through the atmosphere. One buried itself deep into the monster's gut, and the other pierced its heart. The impact sent shockwaves through the Kingdom, making the very foundations of the earth tremble in fear.
The monster's death throes were violent. A half-collapsed skyscraper, weakened by the battle, began to tip. It was falling directly toward the spot where Vikas, Nakamu, and the other hunters lay broken.
Aryan's body moved before his brain could even process the danger. He dashed forward, his silhouette flickering with Shadow Piercing and Dark Magic. He stood right under the shadow of the falling titan of concrete, unleashing a void that was supposed to erase light itself.
He punched and kicked, trying to use his skills to disintegrate the building, but the gap in power was too wide. The concrete didn't vanish.
Beside him, Vikas was fading. Blood leaked from his lips, and his vision was a blurry, crimson mess. He looked at Aryan one last time before his eyes rolled back, and he slumped into unconsciousness. Aryan didn't stop. He pushed his stamina past the breaking point, his muscles tearing under the pressure. He managed to deflect a massive chunk of the debris, saving the others, but he was spent. The rest of the building was coming down, and he was right in the center of the "Game Over" zone.
Just as the shadow was about to swallow him, everything went silent. The falling building didn't crush him—it turned into a statue of glinting ice mid-air, freezing the moment it touched the ground.
Through the frost and mist, a figure appeared. It was a woman, draped in pure white, her skin as pale as marble and her hair a flowing river of snow. a natural aura of frost turning everything around her into a winter wasteland.
She looked at the thrashing monster and calmly raised her hand. High above, a Final Sword began to form—a blade so massive it made the previous ones look like kitchen knives. With a single, cold gesture, the sword descended. It didn't just hit the monster; it shredded its chest, passing through its heart and anchoring itself into the ground. In an instant, the monster's entire body was flash-frozen into a mountain of ice. The threat was deleted from the server.
She walked past the carnage toward the King, her presence making the air crackle. "I am glad you are okay," she said, her voice like the winter wind. "Next time, guard your Kingdom better. This was sloppy. I'm leaving."
Aryan stumbled toward the King, his lungs burning. "King... who... who was that? Is she a literal cheat code?"
The King let out a breath he had been holding for a lifetime. "That... is the Queen. My wife. She has been away at the wa-
"Guys... the others..." Rei's voice broke the silence. He was limping, his illusion magic completely drained.
Aryan's remembers. He sprinted toward the spot where Ayush and Vikas had fallen. He found Vikas first; his knight armor had taken the brunt of the shock, but he was alive. Then, he found Ayush.
Aryan fell to his knees, vomiting blood as the adrenaline left his system. Tears blurred his vision.
Ayush was... Almost died. One arm was missing, torn away by the sheer atmospheric pressure of the monster's earlier kick. His face was a mask of dark blood and grime. A massive, horrific mark sat on his chest where the impact had landed, and his leg bone was sickeningly visible through the torn flesh.
Aryan looked around. The "Victory" felt like a lie. Some hunters were mangled; others—those who took the direct hit—were simply gone. Static. Dead.
The sun was now fully up, shining off the frozen corpse of the monster. Aryan looked at the creature that had wiped out an army, now nothing more than an ice sculpture. "To kill something that strong... in seconds... is that even possible? Is that the real ceiling of this world?"
Aryan's vision began to flicker. The world tilted, his legs gave out, and he collapsed into the blood-stained snow, sinking into a dark, dreamless void.
HELL NAH, WE REALLY ARE COOKED.
As Aryan hit the frozen, blood-slicked ground, the world began to pixelate and fade into darkness. The adrenaline that had been keeping his heart beating was gone, replaced by a cold, crushing weight. He could see Ayush's mangled form just a few feet away—the missing arm, the visible bone, the stillness that looked too much like death. He looked at Vikas, unconscious and pale in his shattered armor.
He tried to reach out, his fingers clawing weakly at the crimson-stained snow. His throat felt like it was filled with broken glass.
In a final, desperate move, he triggered his Regeneration Skill.
He pushed his soul past the breaking point, burning the very last of his life force to keep the spark alive. But the cost was instant. The strain fried his nervous system, and his heart skipped a beat. He didn't even have the energy left to breathe.