"You bastard—!"
Rushing in from the right side of the defending player was the heavily-clad tank, who stomped with the sound of metal grating like a stomping tank.
["Sleuth"]
[Barrett] [Level: 87] [Class: Heavy Paladin] [Affiliation: Black Moon Assassins]
'A heavy at that level with the bard's buffs can be dangerous. That hammer is a lethal weapon right now,' Zero thought.
Taking a quick backstep, Zero evaded the slam of the paladin's hammer, which fell with the force the weight of a mountain as an unseen weight crushed the marble in its landing.
"Get him!" The commanding shout came from the woman standing at the back, away from the heat of the battle.
["Ethereal Binding Chains!"]
Together, two mages from the guild casted from opposing sides of the solo player, commanding chains forged of glowing, azure steel to manifest from spiraling gateways.
Amidst evading the paladin's hammer along with soaring fireballs and arrows from the others, Zero found himself taken by surprise by the chains.
Each set of bindings whipped around to Zero, wrapping around his torso and squeezing tightly. They held him tightly like the embrace of a spiteful giant.
"Hmm–?!" Zero grunted as he looked down, trying to move his arms that were bound by the tight chains.
Yumeko yelled out from afar, "Crush him, Barett!"
Dashing forward with a powerful front step, the tall, burly paladin gripped the staff of his black-and-silver warhammer, rearing it back as it became engulfed in crimson energy.
Zero was locked in place by the mages' chains; a sitting duck to the fiery-red aura that flowed from Barett's mighty weapon as it swung towards him. The blunt side of the hammer was large enough to encompass the entirety of Zero's body, closing in with bone-breaking intent.
"Hyraaaah–!" Barrett roared out as he slammed his weapon against the bound player.
The impact released with a blazing shock wave, rustling the flowers in the surrounding garden. Silence followed the attack as the entire guild stood and watched with wide eyes; even Yumeko observed, looking at the man who was on the receiving end of the giant paladin's wrathful hammer swing.
"Did he get 'em…?"
"Don't be stupid! Barret's got the highest attack out of all of us! Well, except for Mis–"
–The ethereal chains were abruptly shattered as the hunted player flexed his body, raising his arms as his glance was brought up to the paladin as well.
"You–!" Barrett reacted.
Before any further noise could escape the helmed tank's mouth, a sharp impact launched against his chin, like a flash of volatile force exploding against Barrett. It was imperceivable to the surrounding players; Zero produced a lightning-fast uppercut, sending the giant figure flying upward towards the ceiling.
Barret groaned out before plummeting back down, falling like a dense meteor. Below the crashing tank, two members of the guild looked up as a shadow was cast over them, seeing the figure rapidly approaching from above.
"Oh crap…!" One panicked.
"Barrett! No–!"
The landing of the heavily-armored player alone crushed the two players into non-existence.
"You took off a few HP there," Zero remarked with a confident smile, "Not half bad, for your level. But it's not even close to mine."
[HP: 28000/35000]
[HP: 31000/3500]
[...]
[HP: 35000/35000]
In the span of a few short seconds, the meager amount of health that had been diminished from his health bar restored itself. It was a dreadful sight to the members of the Black Moon Assassins, who witnessed the futility of one of their most revered comrades.
Zero looked straight past the others, locking his eyes onto the woman who looked on the verge of bursting a vessel, "Hate to break it to you, but your guild is fucking garbage."
The reality of the situation became abundantly clear to the gathered players as they looked upon the sole figure, dressed in sleek, black armor with a bored look in his eyes: this was the number one player in Abyss Online.
Yumeko clutched her microphone-augmented sword, holding it close to her chest as she dropped to her knees.
'...Can we beat him? Is it possible for a guild of our level? This is the player who cleared the game–he did it alone. I've heard about him–"Zero"--the guild wiper. Why did I think we ever had a chance?' Yumeko thought.
Despite the mind of the guild leader being swallowed in unconfidence, the dutiful members of the Black Moon Assassins stood in front of her with their bodies as her sword and shield.
"Miss Yumeko! Please stand up!"
"It's not over yet!"
Like a force of nature, the peerless player swept through the forces of the guild as he made his way towards the leader herself. The blade he used single-handedly tore through their defenses, erupting with abyssal energy that exploded through the garden.
"Gah—!"
"Aeeeugh!"
—Another pair of players were erased from the virtual world as Zero continued his unstopped approach.
Every bit of the encounter was being broadcast to the outside world, clear to Zero through the virtual drones that kept their distance. That very reason had an effect on how the esteemed player held himself, upping the theatrics as he placed his boot atop the back of one of the fallen players.
Raising his hand, Zero taunted the guild leader and her subordinates, gesturing for them to come to him, "Come on. I'll end your crappy guild right here and now."
Yumeko was at a loss for words at the crassness of the enemy, though it wasn't as if such an insult could be denied: half of the guild had already been vanquished, with another portion of its members being on the brink of elimination.
"...Miss Yumeko, please! Don't give up yet! The fight isn't over yet!"
The guild member with a red bandana urged the leader, squeezing his fists shut, which were covered in bulky, bronze gauntlets.
While Zero stood there with his cape flowing nefariously behind his back, embodying the very role he had inherited from the game, a figure lunged at him from behind, casting a large shadow.
"--Don't turn your back on me, cocky asshole–!"
Barrett had jumped up with his hammer raised above his head, coated in a gravitational force that crushed the wind around the weapon's blunt side, preparing to slam it down upon the black-armored man before–
"You're getting annoying," Zero quietly said without turning to face the paladin, raising a single hand.
["Summon: Hellhound"]
A quickly-bubbling darkness swirled up the solo player's arm, casting from his hand as it expanded and gained mass, shaping itself as if unseen hands molded it into a new being. The swift darkness lunged at the approaching paladin, intercepting his rush and tackling him as its form was revealed: a hound forged from malevolent shadows, resembling a black mastiff with hollow eyes, void of mercy.
"Arrrgh…! Get off! Get it off!" Barett yelled, pinned down by the beastly summon as it clawed and snapped its jaws at him.
It seemed as though none of those cries for help reached the ears of Zero, who kept his eyes on the guild leader and the last few of her subordinates that guarded her.
"What's wrong? Not going to help your friend? That's pretty messed up, if you ask me," Zero said, looking towards the trembling players to the left of the leader, a pair of black-cloaked mages.