0.01 Second Sword Master

198

0.01 Seconds Swordmaster Episode 198

“What, what is this…?”

The administrators existing within the ‘Ella Bihak’ game.

They were each managing their assigned games under the name Rahal, diligently fulfilling their duties.

But what they faced was,

“Aslan. That madman has destroyed everything.”

A world in ruins.

Aslan, having gained the authority of an administrator, roamed through hundreds of game worlds, killing all the administrators there and annihilating every character and world that opposed him.

So the administrators banded together to confront him, coming to the last place he was seen.

But unfortunately, it was already too late.

Aslan was nowhere to be found, and the surroundings had turned into a sea of flames.

“Then where did he go?”

“Could he have gone to raid another place?”

One of them dipped his finger into the blood of an administrator lying decapitated and brought it to his tongue.

Seeing the final scene contained within, he widened his eyes.

“Oh no!”

“What? What is it this time?”

“This fool ended up spilling everything to Aslan.”

“What?!”

“It seems he has crossed over to the other world.”

“Is that even possible? We can’t cross over to the other world ourselves.”

“Right. We’re not from that world to begin with. But Aslan is a player. It might be possible for him.”

The expressions of the administrators turned pale.

“Then, what happens now? Does that mean he can never come back?”

“I don’t know. He might escape from that hellish world in no time…”

They could only hope that Aslan would never return.

* * *

“This place…”

I walked through the portal into a dark corridor.

I tried to light it up, but nothing was visible.

Only an endless darkness filled the corridor to greet me.

“Did I come in the wrong way?”

Should I try to open the portal again now?

I raised my hand to create a portal.

But,

“Huh?”

The portal wouldn’t form.

“Uh-oh?”

No matter how many times I tried, the portal wouldn’t appear.

“Crazy.”

So, am I trapped here?

“I’ve been played by that b*stard.”

The curse rose in my throat, threatening to spill out.

[So, this is how it ends.]

Startled by the voice that echoed from somewhere, my body straightened up again, and my face returned to the arrogant and haughty Aslan.

I faced the hazy figure of Rahal that appeared before me.

It was the very Rahal I had killed the first time.

His name was… V, wasn’t it?

“How are you still alive?”

[Heh. I am different from the other administrators. I had no choice but to deceive you and the others above me as well.]

“What are you talking about?”

[You know it too. Administrators have the power to reset the world. Yet, I chose not to reset and died by your hand. In doing so, I naturally transferred the authority of the administrator to you.]

Does that mean that b*stard deliberately let himself die by my hand?

[I wanted to receive the dark powers from you for that very reason. I believed that you would surely kill me with your magic devouring.]

“How dare you toy with me?”

[Well, I never dreamed you would grow this much. So, I devised a new plan, believing that you would change the world we are trapped in.]

Change the world we are trapped in?

[This game world called Ella Bihak. And the administrators trapped within it, forced to repeat the game infinitely. Not to mention the characters living without knowing their purpose. I brought you here to end that moment of disillusionment.]

As he spoke, V opened a new portal before me.

[If you pass through here, you will be able to move on to your world.]

I gazed into the brightly lit portal, then turned my head to V.

Is this b*stard really trying to deceive someone by throwing in everything, even his own life?

Does he truly believe I can help?

“Do you really think I can free you?”

[Honestly, I don’t know either. I don’t understand how you can free us, or why those above us force the people from the other world into the game. But one thing is certain: there is no player as strong as you.]

It seemed even V didn’t know what the outside world was like.

Nor did he know who was forcibly putting players into the game and for what purpose.

Then.

“I have no choice but to go find out myself.”

And if possible, I planned to shove those b*stards into the game as well.

With a truly horrifying difficulty!

[Good luck.]

I stepped boldly into the portal.

Suddenly, a blinding light enveloped me,

“······Huh!”

As I opened my eyes, a new landscape unfolded before me.

“I’m, I’m back!”

This was the room I had been living in.

—

But why is there so much dust piled up like this?

Moreover, it seemed like there had been an earthquake or something, as everything on the shelf had fallen down.

“How many years has it been since I came back?”

It was clear that this place hadn’t felt a human touch in at least a few years.

I got up from where I had been lying flat.

With a thin body lacking muscle, and my vision so poor that I absolutely needed my glasses.

It was not Aslan’s body, but my real body.

“Something feels off.”

I tried to look outside through the window, but the thick dust that had accumulated made it impossible to see. On top of that, the door was so stiff that it wouldn’t even budge.

“Damn. What the hell is this?”

How could a place be so untouched by human hands?

And this was a place I was renting.

Had the landlord really left it like this for so long?

There were more than a few suspicious points.

“Should I at least go outside?”

I cautiously opened the front door.

This was a 15-story officetel building, with rooms lined up like a chicken coop on each floor.

So when I stepped into the hallway, I could see the rooms stretching out on both sides,

“······?”

What greeted me outside was a building that had been sliced in half.

“What, what is this?”

Had it been hit by a missile strike or something?

How did the building end up like this?

I couldn’t help but be shocked at the sight of the collapsed structure, as if a box had been forcibly torn apart.

What was even more astonishing was the view beyond.

“Did, did a war break out?”

This wasn’t a metropolis, but it was still a place where apartments had been built and there was a decent population. Yet the ground was cratered as if it had been carpet-bombed, and buildings lay in ruins.

Moreover, the entire world was tinted with an orange smog, reminiscent of an apocalyptic game.

“Is this what they were talking about?”

The administrators’ words suddenly came to mind, that the outside world would be even more hellish.

—

And as they said, the world was truly hell itself.

“When I was trapped in the game, a war breaks out.”

Should I call this luck?

Wait. If a civil war really did break out, can I just stay like this?

“Aren’t I going to be exposed to radiation?”

Thoughts of all kinds raced through my mind.

“Kyieeek-!!”

“······?”

A wailing sound echoed through the desolate city.

It was a monster’s cry, one that was hard to hear in the real world, something you’d expect to hear only in a game.

Sure enough.

Thud- thud-

Looking down, I saw monsters prowling the streets, striking the ground with their long, sharp tails like whips.

“What, what is that?”

How could such a thing exist in this world?

“Am I, am I still in the game? Or is this a dream?”

It was a reasonable suspicion that I had somehow shifted from one game to another. But to make matters worse, those creatures heard the sound of my gasp.

“Kyieeek-!!”

They quickly climbed over the rubble of the collapsed buildings and rushed toward where I was.

“C-crazy!”

They were so fast, they ascended this high floor in no time.

“Grrr-.”

Drooling with venom, the monsters slowly approached me.

This is insane. How long has it been since I returned home for this to happen?

Am I really going to be torn apart by those things in a place like this?

‘If I had known this would happen, I should have just stayed away!’

But it seems there’s no law saying I have to die yet.

Tatata-tang-!!

With gunfire echoing from afar, the heads of the monsters began to explode one by one.

“Kyieeek!!”

In an instant, the group collapsed, and the remaining one turned to look back, bursting into tears.

Skwak-!

But that didn’t last long.

A mysterious man wielding something like a lightsaber flew in and cleanly severed the creature’s head.

‘I… I’m alive.’

The joy was short-lived.

The man thrust his sword toward me.

“What are you? This is no place for civilians. Are you perhaps a demon?”

At that question, I quickly waved my hands in denial.

“No. I’m just a person.”

He stared at me for a moment.

A red glint flashed in one of his eyes, and then he brought his hand to his ear, conversing with someone.

“Captain. There’s a civilian here. Yes. Not a demon. What should we do? Ah, yes. Then I’ll take them for now.”

He sheathed his sword and spoke to me.

“Follow me for now. We’ll investigate the details at headquarters.”

Then he grabbed me by the collar and jumped straight down.

“Ugh!”

Is he really insane?

Fortunately, the flying device from this man’s suit slowed our descent, preventing us from crashing to the ground and dying.

“You can walk, right?”

“Uh… Yes.”

“Then follow me.”

I glanced around and trailed behind the man who was leading the way.

“Um… by the way, what year is it now?”

“What? You don’t know that? It’s 2044.”

2044?!

Fifteen years have passed?!

“Looks like you really lost your mind.”

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and continued moving.

“Won’t monsters swarm in like before?”

“It’s okay. There are only D-class monsters here anyway. I can handle it on my own.”

I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems that monsters have grades too.

“This is a place where high-grade monsters don’t appear, so as long as you follow me closely, it should be safe······.”

It was right then.

Beeeeep-!!

A sinister warning sound came from the watch the man was wearing.

The man’s expression twisted as he confirmed the warning.

“W-what is this?”

At the same time, his voice trembled.

“Why is an S-class here······!”

And before us, the air seemed to tear apart, and something emerged through the gap with a massive, sharp black hand.

“Gah!”

The man gasped in shock and raised his weapon to fire ahead.

But the monster, no, that demon, which seemed capable of crushing even a tall building, was not harmed at all.

“T-this is insane. How can an S-class demon appear here!”

The man was babbling like someone almost gone mad.

It spread its black wings wide, opening the gap fully.

And with a wicked smile, it let out a sinister voice.

[Aslan.]

The moment I heard that voice, my heart sank.

[So you were here.]

Right at that moment.

“Ugh-.”

My blood began to boil, and my heart, which had been heavy, started to race rapidly.

“W-what’s wrong with you? Hey!”

I felt myself gasping for breath, gradually losing my grip on reality.

Something was bubbling up from my lower abdomen.

Yes. This is exactly······.

“How dare you—”

I opened my closed eyes.

The fear that had once frozen my body had long since vanished.

I stared directly at the demon before me, its wicked grin curling at the corners of its mouth beneath a fluttering red cloak.

“To utter my name from that filthy mouth.”

I slowly drew the sword that hung at my waist, a habit ingrained in me.

“Die.”

And I swung it toward the massive demon ahead.