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The man sprinted toward the lake.
Behind him, the other players followed, each one loading their bullets as they ran. No one needed to say anything—they all seemed to understand his intent.
I am this world's "Back".
There was no need to hear more.
BANG!
The bullet fired in an instant—snapping straight toward the creature's head.
But before it could even make contact, it vanished.
'Just as I thought. That won't work. Next...'
The creature turned its gaze slowly toward him, and the weight of it sent a chill through his spine. There was a density to its killing intent—something primal and suffocating.
But this was only the beginning.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Gunfire erupted from the players now in position.
The man reloaded swiftly.
BANG!
This time, there was a difference.
Subtle, but unmistakable.
He caught the slight reaction, didn't miss a beat, and began loading the next round.
You… you, you… who, who dares… how dare… how dare… create… this—
The creature's eye trembled violently. Its entire body swelled grotesquely, as though it were about to rupture.
It was a bizarre sight—hardly fitting for something that had wielded the power to erase anything and everything.
The man looked down with cold indifference and muttered,
"Shut up. You antivirus bastard."
BANG!
With the echo of that final shot, the creature—"the vaccine"—was erased right before their eyes.
Gone.
The special power embedded in the bullet had done its work.
The man let out the breath he'd been holding and turned around.
There, standing at a distance, was Kyle.
"…Mr. Jhin?"
"…Yes?"
"A pleasure to meet you. Didn't expect to cross paths like this."
Jhin frowned slightly. But there was no way he could recognize the man.
They were meeting for the first time today.
"Do you know me?"
"Of course. You're Kyle, aren't you?"
"…How do you know that?"
"You're kind of famous."
Then the man extended a hand forward.
"I'm Captain Michael of Ark's Intelligence Division."
Captain Michael.
He'd never seen the man's face before—but he'd heard the name.
Jhin met his eyes, recalling what Pete had told him.
'He was the one who commissioned the request to find Captain Adonis, who went missing at Bey World… right?'
And that wasn't all.
The rescue team from Ark he had met in the rolled-back version of Bey World—their leader had also been Michael.
"How did you end up here? What happened?"
"It's a long story."
Michael glanced around, then pulled out his smartphone and checked something.
"The fanatics are coming back. This isn't the time to talk. Would you like to move together?"
Jhin nodded immediately. He would've followed even if the man were a stranger—this just made it easier.
"I'll take you to our city."
"…A city still exists?"
"Let's call it another Ark within Exodia 1. It'll be safer than staying here, at least."
Michael led the group east, toward Black Ground.
To someone who had only just escaped that place, it was mildly overwhelming—but Jhin didn't complain.
Before long, they stood once again at the edge of Black Ground.
Aurora murmured under her breath.
"Suitable one… I'm getting déjà vu."
"Be quiet."
Whatever their reasons, if they could walk into Black Ground so confidently, there had to be a good one.
At the very least, these people had survived longer than he had in a world that had already ended.
You don't dismiss the words of the experienced.
And as expected, they had already prepared a method to survive the disaster completely.
"Follow closely. And remember the route—you might need it again."
They headed for the farthest edge of Black Ground.
There, where the region met the borders of the Alon Empire, Michael led them carefully along the boundary.
"There are no monsters in the less-disastrous border zones. They've all fled into Black Ground to avoid the vaccines."
Jhin nodded in agreement.
Since escaping Black Ground, he hadn't encountered a single monster.
All that time spent anxious, bracing for a high-level threat… it now felt almost silly.
Monsters couldn't leave Black Ground.
Michael's tone turned bitter.
"The monsters here in Black Ground are likely the last ones still surviving in Exodia 1. Outside this zone, there are none left."
Where had they all gone?
There was no need to ask. He already knew the answer.
"By the way… what are the fanatics?"
"Ah, you mean those NPCs."
"Yes. It looked like they had some particular reason for attacking players."
Michael gave a faint shrug.
"They're the unfortunate ones."
"…What?"
"The ones abandoned by the world."
The fanatics.
Among the NPCs left in Exodia 1, they were the ones who had submitted to the system in order to survive.
Their logic had been reduced to one core principle:
"They're just doing what they must to stay alive. Offering players to the system… begging it to let them live."
No one knew who started it.
But now, NPCs captured players and turned them over to the vaccines. They believed—wholeheartedly—that the system would spare them in exchange.
Michael had tried to reason with them, more than once.
But it had never worked.
"If you ever run into them, Jhin… be careful. Best to take them down before they summon the orb."
Then he stopped walking, took a breath, and looked back.
"Let's head to the city now."
"…From here?"
"Yes."
They'd arrived at the edge of the boundary trail—facing a cliff overlooking the open sea.
The edge of the world.
This was the easternmost ocean of Exodia. But there was nothing around. No sign of any city.
Where was it?
Michael took a single step toward the empty air and said,
"Do you know Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?"
"…Excuse me?"
"I'll see you there."
And then—Michael vanished before his eyes.