Things were going way beyond control!
Soul-Devouring Hunters roamed the entire beginner area, snuffing the livings' lives out.
The Devil had somehow managed to break the shackles that Jack had put on it, and now it was just snowballing, becoming stronger by the second.
[World Corruption Has Increased To 86%!]
Jack couldn't help but click his tongue in annoyance. That damn % was rising even faster than the oceans' level! Even for him, it was impossible to do anything about it, not alone.
That's why they had called for reinforcements by using an archaic but effective method. He had unleashed the loud Village Chief!
"EVERYONE! GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE!!!!!" He'd bellow over and over as if a broken record. Heck, it was so freaking loud that it was torture!
It made anyone remotely nearby feel like their eardrums would shatter. Oh, and it was super fucking effective! In a matter of seconds, the first players were showing up.
They came running, chased by voracious, soul-devouring monsters!
There were unexpectedly a fair amount of survivors. After all, Jack and the Chief had been the primary targets for a while.
But even if they could go against the creatures using their tag-team, it didn't change a fucking thing in the grand scheme.
1. The defeated hunters had no doubt already respawned.
2. The Devil could simply hunt the regular players until it achieved 100% world corruption. There was no need for it to bother with them when it could just attack the weaker links.
Soon there was a sea of players around Jack, the I.R.L. and the D.L. groups finally meeting.
Many couldn't help but raise brows as the cultist group was nowhere to be found. What had happened to them?! Whatever…
They were many players, and they were united! Yet the Devil watched it all happen as it cackled:
"Hehehe, so what if you group together? You'll only be a bigger target!! Go on, try to protect them all!" It rejoiced at seeing this scene.
The Hunters were already circling the massive army as they listened intently to the Devil. They were tasked to grab a few braves at a time and retreat right afterward.
They were so fast and powerful that they could literally waltz in the legion, grab a snack and fall back. Sure sometimes one or two would get killed…but so what! They'd respawn!
Many couldn't help but shake.
"I.R.L. and D.L. at the same place… this won't end well…."
"Even with hundreds of us, we can't do shit!"
"Fuck! I shouldn't have come here at all!"
What many had thought would bring them safety turned out to be nothing more than serving themselves on a silver platter.
[World Corruption Has Increased To 89%!]
But that's when Jack shouted:
"Everyone, it's time to fuck this Devil's plan! Are you ready?!"
Instantly D.L. answered his call, cheering so loudly that the entire army shook. Of course, the Demon King would lead them to victory! They had been waiting for this moment.
But the other players weren't that enthusiastic. Why the fuck should they listen to that guy?! No matter how powerful he was, he remained one man.
"Any brave that doesn't participate will be banished from the village!" The Chief shouted a threat he couldn't even enforce anymore.
The players instantly gulped as they opened their eyes wide in shock. The Village Chief was going that far?! Holy shit! Now they definitely had to cooperate!
They listened to Jack as if the freaking messiah!
"Everyone! If the Devil wants to complete the corruption process, it will need to devour powerful souls! Everyone who's level 5+, follow my lead. We're gonna cut its food supply directly!"
Many unconsciously took a step away from him. Wait, what?! Cut the food supply?! Weren't they the food in this case?! What did he want to do?!
Jack grinned:
"Let's starve this bitch. To the dungeon!!!!"
It was as if lightning had struck them as many jumped in shock. Right, they could hide in the dungeons! There was no way that the hunters would catch them there!
Suddenly all of them moved as if a tidal wave!
"Give it your all! We'll be there soon!"
"Use all your mana and potions!"
"To the Dungeon!!"
They all rushed together, and they were unstoppable. Sure, many would get nabbed, but the vast majority survived since the hunters' specialty was guerilla tactic.
In the background, the Devil sneered at their efforts. It had already made sure that this place was isolated from the rest of the world! So what if they tried running away?
"Run all you want, but you're all getting eaten— W-what?!"
That's when the players started disappearing one after the others!! How the hell were they doing that?! It had to investigate the issue!
Then it understood.
It was another realm, one that was only connected to this place. This meant that they were now stuck in there, but this was still bad news!
As it saw Jack, it couldn't help but scream at him!
"Damn scheming human!! Demon King bastard!" But then it suddenly realized that it still had the advantage.
"So what if they hide, dumbass!! They'll have to come out at some point, and I'll corrupt everything!! I'll skin you alive. I'll fill your body with miasma, I'll—"
"Pfftt— Sure you will, hahaha!" Jack laughed heartily.
Wait, what?! The human was laughing?! Why?! Didn't he understand the situation?! Wait, no! This man was far too intelligent to miss something so obvious!
"You seem to be underestimating the adaptability of humans. So what if we're stuck in another world? I'm sure many will be happy to populate it."
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
"We'll establish new roots in there, live our lives and prosper. We'll even train and grow stronger by the day. It won't be too late to exorcise you in a few years."
"Anyway, take care, mister 'I corrupted a lifeless world'." Jack gently waved as he disappeared into the mouth of a chicken-looking statue.
Lifeless world?! The Devil turned its gaze toward the rest of the New Leaf.
The more powerful braves? All gone!
The other ones? Disappearing too!
Before the corruption, braves appeared every second in the village. But now, there were barely a few, if ever.
What?! Had they really given up on this world?! Devils grew stronger by stealing power from the living. A dead world was useless to it!
It had been so close too! Would it always see its "almost" success from now on?!
[World Corruption Has Increased To 96%!]
No! It couldn't accept that!
It would go after them, no matter what it took!
There was no way that it would let them get away with it!!!
━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━
While the Devil was doing its best to breach into the Dungeons, the players were already complaining.
"How long do we have to remain here?!"
"It's already been 5 minutes. This is getting boring!"
"We can hunt foxes for a while, but I'd rather do something else."
"…Bro, weren't you literally hunting foxes before the event began?!"
"Hey, there's a big difference between hunting foxes because I want to and because I'm forced to!"
Jack's bluff that they'd remain there for years? A day would be a freaking miracle!
It wasn't just a matter of it being possible or not. They'd simply never accept it! As if people would tolerate self-isolating for so long! Pfft— What a joke!
But, the Devil didn't know that, so it spent all its energy on breaking the barrier between the worlds.
This took all its attention….
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[A/N] Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! 🔥
Day 6: Time traveling like a Boss! ^_^v ⏱️ (4/4)