The first thing Gabriel saw was Sophie standing in front of him, arms shaking. Before her stood a man with a white-glowing blade.
Andrew’s Deletion Edge rested against the barrier. A thin white line slowly cut through it like a hot wire.
"Step back," Andrew said. "No one needs to die except him."
"Shut up," Sophie hissed. "Just shut up!"
Behind Andrew, Garth and Ragnarok were still trading blows. Ragnarok looked rough — bruised, breathing hard — but still laughing like a maniac.
Cassie had a cut on her cheek and a torn sleeve.
Most of the natives and players had been killed; a few had chosen not to go back inside, following Ragnarok99’s instructions until further notice.
As such, there weren’t many people present on the floor at the moment.
Samantha’s skeletons were gone again, erased. She was forcing out raw necrotic blasts that fizzled at the edges under Yumi’s suppression.
Yumi herself stood near the doorway, face tight. She looked more conflicted than the others, but she kept the field active.
Gabriel pushed himself up quietly, supporting his weight with one hand. His mana channels felt heavy for a moment, but that was only his mana — not his physical strength.
Sophie didn’t turn, but her shoulders relaxed just enough.
Andrew’s gaze moved past Sophie.
Their eyes met.
Gabriel stood.
He rolled his neck once; the sound of horns cracking in place could be heard. Then he spoke in a firm, deep voice that was low but somehow traveled through the entire floor. "You again."
Andrew blinked once. "Oh? You remember us?"
Gabriel dusted some stone fragments from his clothes. "It’s quite hard to forget people like you... especially when you’re different from the other otherworlders."
Andrew, Garth, and Yumi’s expressions changed when they heard this.
He knew? Could this bug know about their world?
However, the surprise lasted only a second; they put on their indifferent, cold faces a moment later.
Ragnarok laughed from the side despite his bruises. "Leader, these guys tried to delete us while you were sleeping."
Cassie added, "That fat one... she has an ability that can suppress our magic attacks."
"That explains that feeling from earlier." Gabriel simply nodded; he wasn’t surprised at all.
There was reason why the Deleters struck fear into the hearts of everyone in Realm of Ascendency.
It was precisely because of their strange, powerful abilities that were hard to counter.
Anna didn’t say anything, but a small smile of relief appeared on her face.
Andrew loosened his grip on the Deletion Edge slightly as he held Gabriel’s gaze.
"This is going to be tedious," he said. "But at least we can skip introductions. You’re Broken Heaven — a flagged anomaly. Bad habit of ruining controlled events... which means we have to get rid of you."
He spoke matter-of-factly.
Gabriel’s expression didn’t change.
He took a step forward, moving beside Sophie.
"How long was I out?" he asked.
"About 30 minutes," Sophie said. "We got visitors few minutes ago."
"It felt as if I was there for more than an hour," Gabriel said, scratching his cheek briefly and taking his gaze from the Deleters, which caused a slight vein to throb on Garth’s face.
However, there was no change in Yumi and Andrew’s expressions; they were already informed of Gabriel’s confidence, which bordered on arrogance.
Ragnarok cracked his neck again. "Leader, just give the word. I don’t care what System toys they have — I’ll break them."
Cassie gritted her teeth and spoke. "We’re still under suppression. If we fight head-on, we’ll be at a disadvantage."
"We already are," Anna added.
Samantha bit her lip, then forced herself to speak up. "I... still have one thing I can try, though, if you’ll allow me..."
Gabriel listened to all of them. Then he exhaled slowly.
"Relax," he said. "I’m not planning to die here."
He looked at Andrew.
"You’re here to delete me," Gabriel said flatly. "Because I stepped out of the ’script’ too much."
Andrew shrugged. "You’re affecting world variables too strongly. We’re here to reset you. It’s not personal."
Sophie, Cassie, and the few natives were slightly confused, unable to understand what the two sides were talking about.
Gabriel smirked faintly. "In that case... I’ll treat you like any other raid boss."
’Becayse of the vampire boss and those three knights, I can’t blow everything here. But I have to be quick if I want to catch up with the others.’
He shifted his gaze to the weapon in Andrew’s hand. Gabriel narrowed his eyes.
That was Andrew’s strength... without it he was nothing.
Then he looked at Yumi.
She... she was only capable of affecting skills that required mana, which was very powerful; however, her ability could only do so much.
It was still a theory, but Gabriel had an idea to overcome it.
Gabriel raised his hand slowly, palm open.
"Step back," he said. His tone was calm, but the words carried weight. "All of you. Now."
No one moved at first. The air felt heavy, like the whole room froze in place.
"Leader, what are you—" Ragnarok99 tried to protest.
"Back," Gabriel repeated, sharper this time. "Now."
That was enough. They didn’t move because they doubted him — they moved because his voice left no room for argument. Even the air felt colder after he spoke.
Sophie blinked, eyes wide, then tugged Cassie’s sleeve and started pulling the others away. Cassie muttered something under her breath but obeyed. Anna hesitated.
Gabriel nodded again before she stepped to the side, slipping behind a half-broken pillar, her chains coiling like snakes around her arms.
Ragnarok stayed a moment longer, staring at Gabriel with a stubborn grin. Then he sighed and stepped back as well.
Andrew’s lips twitched into an amused smile.
"Cute," he said. "Should I step back as well?"
"No," Gabriel said. "I don’t want to go through the stress of squashing a fly, so remain at your position. I’ll make it quick."
***
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