"They're going in," Miranda muttered, her gaze fixed on Mirabella and Carl, who had vanished into the skull-filled entrance without hesitation.
Before she could move, Ethan grabbed her wrist, pressing his fingers to his lips to shush her. Miranda stared at him, confused, as he turned to the six new members of their guild standing behind him.
"Okay, let's go. Three of you," he pointed quickly at Miranda, Alice, and Angela. "You three will stay back and keep watch. The seven of us will go and check it out."
The three girls exchanged looks and nodded. They had agreed earlier that rushing in after Mirabella was foolish. Though they considered her weak in combat, her mind was sharp—she had survived the entire Beginner Round alone, and her cat familiar was a known threat.
Ethan led the group of six toward the Devil's Grave entrance, taking the very last position in the line. The three girls hid, maintaining watch.
Some distance away, Mirabella and Carl stood hidden behind a massive boulder, observing the scene.
"Ethan is pretty smart, though," Carl commented, staring at the group entering the ruins. "Going in while leaving the girls outside to protect them. The Ethan I knew in school wouldn't even glance at others. Maybe Galaxy Fall changed him."
"You don't know Ethan," Mirabella said, slowly shaking her head.
"Ethan will never do anything that risks his life. He went inside to build his reputation with those three girls and led the new, weaker players to the ruins to take the risk," she explained, contempt coloring her tone.
"Didn't you notice he's walking last?" Mirabella lightly shook her head. "He is simply using those six fools as cannon fodder. The moment the Wraiths attack, he will be the first one to run out."
As if on cue, Ethan exploded out of the ruins entrance, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"GHOST!!!!"
"Watch," Mirabella gestured with her head back toward the entrance. "Did you see the six?"
Carl watched for a full minute. No one else emerged.
"He is really ruthless," Carl exclaimed, his face contorted in rage for the betrayed members.
"He is not ruthless," Mirabella corrected gently, rubbing Cupcake's head. "He is just trying to survive. I once thought they were simply wicked, but…" She exhaled deeply.
"Humans are annoying, yes, weak, and unpredictable, but they are also strong, possess immense will, and are always driven by survival. Even before Galaxy Fall, we humans are programmed to seek survival. We wake up, eat, work, reproduce, and sleep—that's the core programming. And yet, with all these advantages and disadvantages, we still have emotions. The strongest of them is Love, but right behind love, there is an evil lurking: Fear."
Her eyes narrowed, her gaze distant yet focused. "Once humans become consumed by fear, they act without thinking, doing anything without considering the long-term consequences. As long as they survive that moment, they deem it worth it. So, I don't really blame him or those three girls."
"They should keep on doing what they're doing. As long as they don't cross me, they'll have a long life." She turned to Carl, who was staring at her, absorbing her complex, detached philosophy.
"I will be back."
Before Carl could ask what she was planning, Mirabella vanished instantly, leaving an empty space where she stood.
____
Mirabella reappeared instantly at the entrance of the Skull's Maw, exactly where she had Teleported away with Jessica.
SCREECH!!!!
The Wraiths, alerted to her presence, rushed toward her, but as they approached, they slowed, then froze. Their spectral bodies trembled in terror, and they backed away from the Skull, creating distance from her.
Mirabella and Cupcake looked past the terrified Wraiths and saw the lifeless bodies of the six new guild members who had entered with Ethan, lying on the ground.
"Life is short," she stated coolly. "It is your karma for encountering me."
She directed the words to the knight, as walked inside the chamber, scanning the skeleton-lined walls, then the glowing sword, and finally, the colossal Devil's Personal Knight, which had returned to its original, passive stance.
Mirabella lowered her gaze to the etched line on the floor.
'Okay, guy. With my 2,000 base Attack, boosted by my Multiplier (x100), I deal 200,000 damage per attack. And now I have the World Boss Blade title, which doubles my base attack to 4,000, meaning 400,000 per hit! I can drain your 500,000 health and 1,000,000 defense in just a few hits. Let's see how your massive health pool holds up now.'
She decisively crossed the line.
Instantly, the Knight came alive. Its two red eyes glowed under the helm, fixing upon Mirabella.
"Hahahaha!!! You finally made it!!"
"....?"
Mirabella raised an eyebrow. She scanned the vast hall, searching for the source of the loud, mocking male voice, and then looked back at the Knight.
"The last Descendant of the Sun Family!! It's good to see you."
"....?!"
Mirabella was growing confused. Her lineage, had simply been assigned by Galaxy Fall. She had dismissed the Sun Family designation as mere flavor text, but now it seemed to be a significant, mysterious power within the game's lore.
"Good! Very Good!! Welcome!"
The male voice sounded again, and before Mirabella's eyes, an impossible figure appeared. A man with a long white beard and flowing white robe, adorned with intricate, golden designs, materialized in front of the legendary sword and behind the Knight.
"Okay… who are you?" Mirabella asked, raising an eyebrow, even Cupcake on her shoulder seemed stunned into silence.
"Oh, you will know that after passing your tests," the old man said with a cryptic smile.
With his words, the whole chamber began to tremble violently, almost throwing Mirabella off her feet.
CLICK!
Mirabella and Cupcake watched in utter shock as nine more Knights, all identical to the first in blood-red armor and sporting the same impossibly high stats, slowly rose from the ground. Now, she faced ten Level 90 World Bosses. Simultaneously, a solid wall of stone rose from the ground, sealing the chamber and locking her off from the outside world.
"You've got to be kidding me!!" she exclaimed, feeling the monumental, overwhelming difficulty of the battle now before her.