Chapter 40: Forever By Your Side | Monsters Are Coming
More and more players surged in from all directions.
Surrounding the Evil Spirit warrior layer after layer.
Taking advantage of the brief openings when players with the Taunt soul took turns controlling the Evil Spirit, the already semi-conscious Broken Star was dragged away from the battlefield by a group of players.
Under player escort, he was carried far from danger.
The rest of the players continued to attack the Evil Spirit in waves, preventing it from pursuing the God of Wealth any further.
The Evil Spirit warrior's analysis panel was also shared by players in the regional voice channel:
[Dinian – Evil Spirit (Commander Class)]
Hunt Level: 63
Target Analysis: An intelligent Evil Entity born from the Black Tide, possessing advanced combat awareness and fighting skills.
—
Despite being surrounded by countless players, the severely weakened Evil Spirit warrior remained unstoppable.
A casual strike could still slaughter groups of players, while their attacks couldn't even scratch its armor.
The only advantage the players had was sheer numbers, an endless stream of reinforcements arriving from all directions.
"Anyone else with the Taunt soul? We can't hold much longer. This thing isn't something we can beat by numbers alone."
"Anyone with Taunt, type 1 in the regional chat. I'll pull you into a team to rotate Taunt and buy more time for the God of Wealth."
Players with the Taunt soul were scarce, and soon gaps in the rotation appeared.
But to the players' surprise, the Evil Spirit warrior didn't chase after the departing God of Wealth. Instead, it turned into a streak of black light and soared into the northern sky.
With the crisis averted, players finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling they had managed to save the God of Wealth.
Elsewhere on the Blood-Soaked Plains, Broken Star remained unconscious, his rune armor dimly pulsing like breath.
Black death energy had spread throughout his body, further worsening his injuries.
At death's door, Broken Star's blurry consciousness saw his deceased father.
The man who had given his life for him.
Memories from when he was seven surged forth, his childhood filled with endless pain.
In those memories, the Black Tide had seeped into his body through a mark on his left chest, gradually corrupting his heart over time.
The last time he saw his father, his awareness was already fading, but he still remembered his father gently patting his head with a smile:
"Star, do you want to have strength like your father?"
"I do… if I have strength like yours, I can overcome the corruption… one day I'll join the Anti-Tide Legion like you and become an honored warrior."
"May you stay strong on the path ahead."
"Father, where are you going?"
"I won't leave. I will always be by your side, witnessing your growth."
At that moment, his consciousness slipped into sleep.
When he woke, his father was gone, and so too was the corruption within his body.
His once failing heart now beat powerfully. Looking down, he saw a new energy core connected to his heart embedded in his chest.
At that moment, he understood his father's choice, this was the 'forever by your side' his father spoke of.
His decaying heart had been removed, replaced by his father's strong heart.
Through the priests' teachings, Broken Star learned that the energy core on his chest was a seal to control the immense power of the heart, which his frail body could not withstand. The energy core acted as a regulator, unlocking power with each twist.
A final trace of his father's consciousness lingered as the heart and energy core perfectly synchronized.
"Each time the core turns, I will fight alongside you."
—
The memories churned in Broken Star's mind as his body grew weaker. The Evil Spirit's injuries continued to worsen his condition.
The invading death energy was rapidly destroying his organs. Only his heart kept raging, barely sustaining his fading life.
As his consciousness slipped further, Broken Star hazily saw his father standing ahead, smiling as he reached out his hand.
"Follow me."
Holding his father's hand, Broken Star walked toward a faint light. At that moment, the surrounding darkness no longer seemed frightening.
Meanwhile, the players outside were growing increasingly anxious.
Through Guide's feedback analysis, they learned that the God of Wealth was in a near-death state and could perish at any moment.
Many players chose to step forward and help.
"Earned 800 sacrificial power from you, so I'll return this 50 sacrifice points healing pill as thanks," one player said painfully, shoving a green pill into Broken Star's mouth.
"God of Wealth, you can't die!" another player poured a 10 sacrifice points low-grade healing potion over him.
"I'm a doctor, step aside and let me check… never mind, I don't understand any of this. Just buy more medicine!"
—
With the players applying healing potions and his heart fiercely beating, Broken Star was slowly pulled back from the brink of death.
His wounds began visibly healing.
Seeing this, the players surrounding Broken Star erupted in cheers.
"Look at Guide's feedback, his 'near-death' status changed to 'weakened.' We did it!"
"Since we succeeded, we better run. When the God of Wealth wakes up, he'll definitely come after us. He's terrifying."
"Run, run! The God of Wealth slaughters without blinking. If he sees us here, we'll end up in the penalty zone for sure."
—
As Broken Star's condition improved, the players quickly dispersed, not daring to linger.
Though they held some fondness for him, they also knew full well that Broken Star harbored no fondness for them. Every encounter so far had ended with him wielding his twin blades.
Not long after the players left, Broken Star slowly regained consciousness.
Opening his eyes, he glanced down at the energy core linked to his heart, then looked around.
He didn't understand why he was here or where the Evil Spirit he fought had gone.
With confusion, he activated the rune armor's combat data storage. Countless recorded battle scenes flooded his mind.
He saw himself near death, and then these mysterious creatures risking their lives to rescue him, dragging him away from the Evil Spirit, stalling for time while fighting to the death.
The final recordings showed these mysterious creatures healing his injuries.
After watching the entire recording, Broken Star's hatred toward these beings turned into gratitude.
He couldn't understand why they did it, but he knew he was only alive thanks to their sacrifice.
No amount of previous hatred could outweigh that debt.
Sitting up, he retrieved a thumb-sized rune seal from his arm guard.
"The trial has failed. It's time to return."
With his obsession resolved after this battle, he decided to abandon the trial.
With these mysterious creatures interfering, he simply couldn't gather enough black crystals to pass. And after everything, he no longer wished to kill them.
"I will repay this kindness when I become strong enough."
With those words, Broken Star soared into the sky.
An hour later, Broken Star arrived at the crater where he had first landed, preparing to insert the rune seal into his shuttle to summon the examiner.
But as he looked down, he was stunned to discover the shuttle was gone.
Frowning, he tried activating the rune armor's locator system but found he couldn't detect the shuttle's location, not even a fragment of data remained.
His heartbeat suddenly spiked, blood pressure rising. His eyes turned fully red.
One possibility came to mind.
The power to make something disappear completely… who else could it be but those mysterious creatures.
—
Half a day earlier.
Player Forum.
[Brothers, I hit the jackpot! Found a machine at the bottom of a huge crater. Sacrificed it at the altar and got 38,000 sacrificial power! This is better than winning the lottery, Monster World really is full of opportunities. Guide never lies!]
[T/N: Did anyone expect this? Honestly this sent me, lmao.]