Time: May 8, 2032. Noon.
Location: Tokyo National Arena. (1 day after the Victory).
Though the smoke and the scent of blood from yesterday had dissipated, the excitement in the stadium had not faded.
But today, there would be no battle here. Today was the Press Conference.
This wasn't just a press conference; it was the announcement of the "Greatest Shift in Human History."
All the world's leading TV channels—CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera, and others—were broadcasting live. Millions of people had gathered outside the stadium, while inside, thousands of journalists waited, trembling with anticipation.
A temporary podium had been erected on the stage (in place of the Government Box that was destroyed yesterday).
Behind the podium stood 500 "Neutron" Warriors—clad from head to toe in gleaming Atlantean armor, holding plasma rifles, frozen like statues.
Above them, casting a terrifying and majestic shadow over the stadium, floated the Atlantean Airship. This was a show of force. No one dared to make a joke.
Kenji stepped onto the stage.
He was no longer wearing tattered combat gear, but a black, modern, and formal suit (though it still had a cape). Beside him stood Aira (in a white dress, as the "Symbol of Light"), Odin (as the Minister of War), and Rynna (as the Technological Advisor).
Kenji approached the microphone.
The whole world held its breath.
"Hello, Planet," Kenji said. His voice was calm, slightly tired, but confident. "My name is Kenji. My in-game nickname is Shadow."
Cameras began to flash.
"What you saw yesterday was not a coup d'état," Kenji continued. "It was simply 'Pest Control'."
"The Japanese Government lied to the people for years, enslaved players, and committed crimes to maintain their power. We have stopped this."
A journalist (American) raised a hand and dared to ask a question:
"Mr. Shadow! Are you declaring yourself the new Dictator of Japan? Other nations may not recognize this 'Illegal Government'."
Kenji smiled.
"Dictator? No. I hate that word. I think the title 'Guild Master' fits better."
"As for recognition..." Kenji pointed a finger at the sky, toward the floating Ship. "Yesterday, we destroyed 20 nuclear submarines in 5 minutes. If any country 'does not wish to recognize' us, we can have a similar 'conversation' with them."
The journalist sat down. It was a clear threat and a warning: "Don't touch us, and we won't touch you."
Kenji continued:
"We are not closing the borders. We are not stopping trade."
"But from today onwards, all Dungeons, Towers, and Mana Resources in Japan are under the control of the 'NEUTRON' guild."
"We will use these resources not for war, but to protect humanity."
"Because..." Kenji grew serious. "The real war is still ahead. There are many things we do not know."
Time: 2 days later.
Location: Tokyo. Tower 4 (Neutron's New Headquarters).
Kenji lay with his head on the massive desk in his new office.
Piled high on the table were mountains of papers, tablets, and hologram reports.
" 'Slime problem in the Tokyo sewers'... Signed."
" 'Guild member salary schedule'... Signed."
" 'Fuel consumption of the Atlantean ship'... Damn it, do I have to answer for this too?!"
Kenji yelled and threw his pen at the wall. The pen embedded itself in the plaster.
"I said I would 'Save the World'! I didn't say I would become a bureaucrat!"
"Zero! Odin! Where are you?! Save me from this hell!"
The door opened, and Zero (Shiro) and Odin walked in.
Zero was cool as always, adjusting his glasses as he looked at the tablet in his hand.
"Don't complain, Captain. You said 'New Order.' And order... starts with paperwork."
"By the way, China and Russia are proposing trade agreements for 'Mana Crystals.' They saw our power and decided to be friends."
"Tell them to get in line," Kenji said, waving his hand. "Or tell Rynna, let her decide. I am a warrior, not a politician."
At that moment, Sato (Iron Barrel) and Grom (Berserk) entered the room. They had returned from "guerrilla work," their faces beaming.
"Oho! Is our King working?" Sato laughed. "We built a training hall downstairs. We're fighting the new 'Prisoners' (new recruits). It's a blast!"
Kenji looked at them with envy.
"Fun for you. And here I am, filling out 'Tax Declarations'."
Rynna's Laboratory (In the basement of the same building).
While laughter and jokes filled the room upstairs, Rynna (The Admin) was busy with serious work below.
She had hacked into the Government's "Black Box" servers (The Prime Minister's private archive).
On the monitor before her, old video logs and reports from two years ago opened up.
As Rynna read the data, her eyes grew wider.
[TOP SECRET FILE #001: "THE ALIEN"]
[DATE: April 12, 2030 (The day the Game arrived)]
The report read:
"We could not control the Game. Because we did not start it.
From the first Portal that appeared in the center of Tokyo, it wasn't monsters that came out... It was a Man.
His name was KAIROS.
He alone destroyed the entire Japan Self-Defense Forces in 3 hours.
Then he brought his Army.
But 1 week later... he vanished. His army was left leaderless and scattered across the country."
Rynna played the video.
In the grainy footage, a young man stood atop a Tokyo skyscraper, wearing a black cloak, the universe reflected in his eyes.
He smiled at the camera and said:
"This world... is too small. Not enough for a test."
Rynna slumped back in her chair.
"So," she whispered. "The things we've been fighting until now... were just Kairos's abandoned 'toys'."
"The Government didn't defeat him. He simply left."
"If he returns... or if his 'True Army' is still hidden somewhere... our current strength is nothing."
She immediately messaged Kenji.
When Kenji entered the room, Rynna was staring at the monitor, frozen. There was no fear on her face, but rather deep amazement and an inexplicable longing.
"Rynna?" Kenji said. "You said there was a problem."
Rynna turned slowly.
"Not a problem, Kenji. History."
"I hacked the government's deepest, encrypted archive. They called it 'PROJECT: KAIROS'. This isn't just a report. It's... a video."
Rynna pointed to the file size on the screen: [DURATION: 38:42:15].
"38 hours?" Kenji whistled. "What is this, a TV series?"
"These are events from before 'Black Day'," Rynna said in a serious tone. "I don't know who recorded it, maybe the system recorded it automatically, but it shows exactly how Kairos appeared. We need to watch this, Kenji. To understand the enemy, we must know his roots."
Kenji pulled up a chair and sat next to Rynna.
"Play it. Let's see where this 'Genius' came from."
Rynna pressed the "Play" button.
VIDEO LOG STARTED. Date: 5 years ago. Game: "Eternity". Location: "Abyssal Sovereign" Dungeon, Final Boss.
The screen brightened, and an image appeared. The first thing sensed was pressure. The game designers had created this dungeon not just to be hard, but impossible. The walls were built of black, light-absorbing "Void-Crystals" that sucked away any magical light. The air was heavy, toxic, and dense. An ordinary player would lose 10% of their HP every second here and die in ten seconds.
But for the Four who entered this place, it was just a light breeze. The camera tracked four figures. They walked side by side, in perfect unison. Each possessed power equal to an entire army.
Kael — The Iron Fist King, in the front. Over two meters tall, instead of heavy armor, he wore light combat gear named "Titan Slayer" that radiated red lightning. On his hands were the "Wrath of Jupiter" gauntlets. They ionized the surrounding air, emitting the sound of thunder with every movement.
Orryn — The Crown of Relics, on Kael's right. Possessor of the server's only "S-Rank+ Set"—the "Heavenly Fortress" armor. His radiance pushed back the dungeon's darkness. He held no weapon, but twelve colored protective spheres floated and rotated around his shoulders.
Zeyrad — The Great Genius, in the center. He wore a long white cloak, holding an inscribed sword. But his eyes... the Rune Eyes were burning. He didn't just see the world; he analyzed codes, elemental structures, and weaknesses.
Syren — The Shadow Assassin, on the left... or everywhere. Her body was covered in translucent smoke, and in her hands danced "Cosmic Threads" that could cut even diamond.
They entered the "Throne Room" at the center of the dungeon. At the back of the hall, on a massive throne made of bones and black energy, sat Drauveth.
This was no ordinary AI. The admins had created him specifically to destroy this quartet. He had a deep learning system—getting stronger with every hit, adapting to his opponents. Drauveth looked like a five-meter-tall angel with torn wings, his body made of liquid darkness, faceless, with only two eyes burning like violet stars.
He didn't stand up; he simply moved a finger.
[BOSS SKILL: ABSOLUTE DARKNESS].
Sticky fog covered the hall in an instant, not only limiting vision but draining the players' mana and slowing their movement.
"It begins," Zeyrad said calmly. "Orryn, light it up."
Orryn stepped forward, activating the yellow sphere on his shoulder.
"Holy Field: Sunrise!"
A blast of light filled the hall, forcing the fog back.
Drauveth roared in annoyance, stood from the throne, and struck the ground with a finger. Thousands of shadow spears materialized and flew toward Orryn. He didn't move.
"Weak," he said, activating the blue sphere. A wall of water swallowed all the spears, freezing and shattering them.
"My turn," Kael said. He planted his feet, gathering power.
[SKILL: LIGHTNING STEP].
Moving faster than the speed of sound, Kael appeared in front of Drauveth in a second.
"Hello, ugly," he said, pulling back his fist.
[ULTIMATE: ATOMIC STRIKE].
The explosion shook the hall. Drauveth flew backward, shattering the throne. A hole opened in his chest, but he laughed.
"Physical damage analyzed. Adaptation: 100%."
He transformed his body from liquid darkness into solid diamond. Now, physical attacks would not affect him. He lunged at Kael, his speed even greater than before.
"Kael, fall back!" Zeyrad said. "He adapted to you!"
Kael leaped back, but Drauveth's claw grazed his shoulder. HP dropped by 20%.
"Damn, this thing is using cheats," Kael said.
Zeyrad stepped forward, holding a sword made of pure mana.
"He adapted to physics? Then we change the physics."
He drew a rune in the air with his sword.
[SKILL: 12 ELEMENTAL RESONANCE — CHAOS THEORY].
Fire, Ice, and Wind elements combined. Opposing energies exploded; Drauveth's body froze on one side and melted on the other. A crack appeared in his armor.
"Syren! Now!"
Syren descended from the shadows, wrapping her threads around Drauveth's joints.
[SKILL: PUPPETEER'S THREADS].
"Got him," she said through gritted teeth. "But he's strong, my threads are snapping!"
Black rays shot from Drauveth's body, beginning to burn the threads.
"Magic analyzed. Adaptation: 50%..."
"Don't give him time!" Orryn shouted. "Combination Seven!"
The four players moved simultaneously.
Orryn combined all spheres and applied "Gravity Press." Drauveth was pinned to the floor.
Syren saturated her threads with poison mana, halting his regeneration.
Zeyrad created an "Elemental Cage," locking down the space.
And Kael leaped into the sky, his body covered in white fire.
"Starfall!"
He crashed down like a meteorite. The explosion tore the hall apart. The screen was filled with white noise for several seconds. When it cleared, the throne was gone, a massive crater lay in the ground, and in the center lay Drauveth's body. HP 0%.
Kael stood up, catching his breath.
"Is he dead?" Syren asked from the ceiling.
Zeyrad looked at the crater. "Wait for the system message. The 'Boss Defeated' text hasn't appeared yet."
At that moment, Drauveth's remains stirred. A crimson heart appeared in the midst of the black liquid, leaking admin codes.
Drauveth's voice changed.
"Adaptation complete. New Phase: God Slayer Mode. Objective: Delete Players."
He was now in human form, clad in black armor, holding an anti-mana sword. Above his head, instead of a "Boss" tag, there was now a "Admin Status" label.
"They tricked us," Zeyrad said. "This isn't a dungeon boss. This is a purge program designed to force us to quit the game."
Kael clenched his fist.
"So the admins want to play with us. Fine, let's show them. Round Two."
The video continued. The battle had only just begun.