HACKED 121

“Why? This shouldn’t be happening… H-how?”

The fake master spluttered, having fallen back onto his rump. He didn’t exactly have eyes, but if he did, they would have been wide enough to look pathetic.

In truth, thinking rationally, the situation wasn’t life-threatening. Even if the sword wielded by <Mountain Hero> had scored a direct hit, a catastrophe like his head flying off in one strike wouldn’t have occurred. This was because he possessed a ‘fragment of the key to the door leading to another dimension.’

‘Key to the door leading to another dimension.’

An item capable of forcibly opening a hyper-dimensional gate by ignoring all physical laws of time and space, the probability of the world, and the distortions and cracks of dimensions—it was truly the essence of over-technology developed by the White Paper Legion.

Of course, since his rank was still low, he couldn’t possess the complete key. What he had was a mere fragment. However, this item exerted a powerful effect even as a fragment.

When combined with the White Paper Legion chip implanted in his brain, this key functioned as a shield artifact. It worked by creating minute dimensional cracks only at the point where an attack touched, nullifying the strike. This was the reason he hadn’t taken a single bit of damage when <Mountain Hero> swung his sword during their first meeting.

Naturally, having a shield didn’t mean the impact of being struck by a sword vanished entirely. A shield ‘blocks’ a direct hit; it doesn’t ‘evade’ the attack itself. However, even then, the impact was only at a level a regular person who hadn’t undergone physical training could endure.

Furthermore, he was currently registered as the master of this Pantheon within the system. Therefore, every time an attack toward him was processed as a ‘direct hit,’ <Mountain Hero>’s status as an Incarnation would be whittled away.

In that sense, it was better to just take all the hits. He could definitively weaken his opponent while receiving zero damage himself. However…

‘If I let him whittle away his status too much, isn’t this bastard going to die?’

<Mountain Hero> was a precious research sample. Not only had he immediately realized he was a fake, but didn’t he also harbor doubts about the system itself and even possess metacognition regarding himself as an Incarnation? If he brought him to headquarters, he would surely receive a handsome reward.

‘I have to keep him alive.’

He was a researcher belonging to the White Paper Legion. While he praised himself for having a brilliant intellect and shining judgment, and although he had a chip in his brain that allowed him to use all sorts of superpowers, his physical stats were no different from a commoner.

If he took all the hits, the guy would die; if he tried to dodge every single one, his body couldn’t keep up. It was a dilemma. He grew anxious.

Kiiiiing!

A blade pierced the air right above his head.

“Ugh!”

His train of thought was cut short. He rolled across the floor, barely managing to dodge the attack.

Despite failing the attack twice in a row, <Mountain Hero> showed no agitation whatsoever. He simply raised his sword again with an expressionless face. A pale face with black blood dried in various spots. In the center of it, only his pupils were emitting a chilling light.

Kang!

A sound like pieces of iron clashing rang out. This time, he failed to dodge, and the sword landed squarely on his shoulder.

“Aaaargh! Ah, that startled me. For a mere nothing like you.”

Thanks to the shield function, he didn’t actually sustain an injury. However, his whole body throbbed. It was the same principle as wearing a bulletproof and stab-proof vest—even if you’re fine after being shot, you still feel the impact of the bullet hitting your body.

“…”

<Mountain Hero>’s upper body slumped. He lowered his head and coughed up black blood.

But that was only for a moment. He silently wiped his mouth with his sleeve and straightened up again. He was like a machine programmed with the single command: ‘Kill the opponent.’

“Seriously, did you get rabies?!”

The fake master shouted, huffing and puffing. He was backed into a corner so much that he couldn’t even recall that tigers aren’t part of the canine family, but he tried to bluff, unwilling to admit it.

Excluding the shield, he was no different from an ordinary human. Dodging the first two attacks had been pure luck. Once his pace was disrupted, he was pushed back helplessly.

However, the more that happened, the one taking damage was <Mountain Hero>. Every time he attacked his opponent, a pain as if his soul was being torn apart followed. It was a completely futile act.

It wasn’t just his soul that was breaking. His body was also becoming tattered.

Every organ, muscle, and nerve was rotting from the inside. Dark tears pooled beneath his bloodshot eyes, and blood mixed with pieces of necrotic internal organs surged up from his throat.

“This guy has completely lost his mind. I need to request help from the Legion. Where was the emergency call function? Damn it! What the hell is that bastard <Nameless Star> doing in a situation like this? He never shows up right when you need him!”

The fake master prattled on desperately. However, <Mountain Hero> couldn’t hear him at all. He just mechanically swung his sword, and swung, and swung again.

There was only one goal in his head. He had to kill the thing right in front of him. He had to kill that disgusting fake and drag <User Name 808>, who had abandoned him, back here.

It didn’t matter if the place where <User Name 808> resided was a different timeline, a different spatial line, or an entirely different world. Even if he had to sacrifice all his remaining divinity, even if he had to burn away this very life… no matter the cost, he would bring him before his eyes. He felt as if he couldn’t endure it without confirming the reality of that Compiler—if a reality even existed—with these two eyes.

After that, he intended to kill even <User Name 808>. Having murdered two Compilers, that would surely be the moment <Mountain Hero>’s breath would also cease instantly.

And so, his life as an individual known as an Incarnation would finally end. He would put a full stop to this dreadful unrequited love and this dreadful one-sided hatred.

He did not know exactly what happens to an Incarnation who has lost all their status and dies. He only knew that they would be severed from their Origin, becoming like a kite with a broken string, and even in death, they could never return to their original narrative.

To use a metaphor related to humans, specifically the Eastern concept of the afterlife, it was similar to having one’s name erased from the Register of the Dead held by the Grim Reaper. One would be alive yet not among the living, and dead yet not among the deceased.

An ending where one meets their demise together with the one they loved so much—a lover’s suicide. A de facto execution disguised as suicide.

The ending waiting for him at the finish line would be worse than hell. Yes, hell would actually be better.

‘Still… it doesn’t matter.’

Despite that, the tip of his blade of blind faith pointed straight ahead without wavering.

‘If only I can escape this bondage.’

This was, more than anything else, the proof of pure love.

˙✧˖°🎮 ⋆｡˚

The self-harm of <Mountain Hero> disguised as an attack continued.

Thump! Thump, clang!

The noisy sounds produced by the collision of the shield and the blade echoed through the command room.

<Mountain Hero> obsessively aimed for the fake master’s neck. He didn’t know that the fake master had turned the key fragment into a necklace and was wearing it around his neck because it was hidden by his clothes. However, his instincts were telling him to aim for that throat.

So, he struck the opponent’s neck again and again. Even when blocked by the shield, even when blood poured from every hole in his face, and even when the blade became chipped here and there.

“Gasp, argh! Ack! Uwaagh!”

The fake master had now given up all resistance and was only screaming. The shield function was working perfectly, but it didn’t block the impact transmitted through his five senses, so he was in a state of daze.

Clack, thud!

Meanwhile, the sword suddenly flew out of <Mountain Hero>’s grip. It wasn’t that he dropped it on purpose. His arm, which had undergone necrosis after necrosis, had finally lost its function.

One of his arms was completely rotted away, barely attached to his torso. It wouldn’t have been strange if it fell off entirely at any moment.

“You… you crazy… crazy bastard…”

Regardless of what the opponent said, <Mountain Hero> only rolled his eyes to look at his sword lying far away. His sword was spinning weakly on the floor with its edge chipped.

He walked with heavy thuds across the floor splattered with black blood. Then, he picked up the sword with his other arm, which was in slightly better condition.

“You stupid fool. Fine, die, just die! Research sample or whatever. It’s a waste, but it can’t be helped. I’ll report to the higher-ups that you committed suicide while self-harming… cough!”

Kang!

Before his words could finish, the blade flew diagonally toward his neck.

The fake master flinched reflexively but soon felt relieved. After all, it would be blocked by the shield and wouldn’t be able to deal any damage. Just like the hundreds of attacks that had been launched until now.

“Uh…”

But… something was strange.

“…Huh?”

Into the shield that he thought would protect him perfectly forever, the blade was ‘stuck’ about a finger’s joint deep.