Apophis had finally succeeded... He'd killed a demigod!
It was an incredible feat, especially considering the difference in power between a Rank B and Rank A-. The Federation had believed that Apophis had killed Regnier back on Cronos I—though that had, of course, been a ruse. There was no way Apophis could have killed a demigod like Regnier back then.
But now he really had done it! He'd triumphed over such a tremendous threat.
After a few moments of savoring his victory, it was time to loot DungEater's corpse.
Apophis collected the 128,000 GC which had dropped. Quite a lot of money indeed! Then he examined the item which had also dropped.
╔══════════════╕
╟─╼ Item
╟─╼[Name] Fragment from the Slaanesh Tablet.
╟─╼[Rarity] Artifact
║ ╰╼[Fragment: 1/5]
╟─╼[Alignment Required]: -10,000
╟─╼[Effect] ???
╚═══════════════╛
Apophis picked up the object with some trepidation. He had mixed feelings about this. To be sure, he was quite happy to have obtained an object of Artifact rarity—that is, the highest rarity available in Horus.
Yet, he was also rather suspicious of this item with its unknown effect.
"Fragment" items were objects of incalculable power, ones with absurdly high negative alignment requirements like this one. This object had some of the power of an evil god sealed inside it… and for items like that, that often meant there were severe consequences for anyone who used them.
But Apophis would worry about that later. For now, he put the item into his inventory. It was time for him to leave so he could rejoin his guild and leave this accursed planet.
But only moments after he put away this item, five strategic bombers flew overhead at high speed!
Apophis followed them with his eyes, flinching as they suddenly bombed an area and then flew on. The boom of their explosions cracked through the air and sent a mild blast of hot air over his face, even though they were so far away.
"A land battle!" he said aloud. The Federation had landed on the planet's surface and must now be fighting the Imperials. Laser fire, tanks, artillery, and assault mechas would be blasting each other into pieces while aircraft tried to assist their armies from above.
The ultimate battle for control of Terra had just begun and would be an unimaginable slaughter.
For players in the Federation camp, this would be a good way to earn EXP and GC quickly, especially for those who had recently lost levels.
But for Apophis, who was Level 42, it would be a real waste of time. He estimated that it would take several weeks of fighting to gain even one level, so there was truly no point.
He quickly opened his area map. Since he was still in the same Raid group as his guild, he could track their position back to Warehouse "Souley." However, something was clearly wrong.
They hadn't answered the call for help he'd made at the beginning of his fight against DungEater.
***
Warehouse "Souley"—A few seconds after the announcement of Lucifer's defeat.
After the Imperial forces had been wiped out by the catastrophe of the stellar dragon's birth, all the surviving players had watched a live replay of the incredible fight between Apophis and Lucifer's body.
Server Announcement: Congratulations to the player "Apophis" who has won his duel to death against the player "Lucifer" with 1 second left on the duel timer!
Server Announcement: The player "Apophis," by killing the player "Lucifer," has won an award of 200,000,000 GC.
Server Announcement: The player "Lucifer" has just died in a PvP battle. He has been removed from the Bounty Table and will receive a 100% EXP penalty for 60 days.
The entire Eclipse guild exploded with joy! Lotus, who had just recovered from being mutilated by Lucifer, said, "Bitch, you paid for it!"
Hulk said jokingly, "200,000,000 GC?! Hell, if he throws a million of that my way, I'll vote for him to take over as guild leader again!"
But there were others present who weren't so happy… all the SuperGuild players who had betrayed the Raid. They had watched breathlessly as the duel progressed, but now turned menacingly back to the Eclipse players as they all stood in the ruins of the warehouse.
Zelda said, "I think, when you understand the situation, you'll be a bit less happy."
Just then, everyone in the guild chat saw a single message:
Apophis: Help!
That single message was enough to terrify everyone! What kind of danger could Apophis be afraid of? Apophis, who had wiped out a whole planet with a single Skill?
Lotus said, "What the..."
Hulk said, "I have a bad feeling about this! We need to go help him!"
Joker steps forward with a dark expression on his face. "You're not going anywhere! The duel is over, so the non-aggression contract made by Apophis and Lucifer has expired!"
Lotus made a frustrated gesture towards her newfound enemies. "I don't understand! Isn't your goal to get revenge on Apophis? He is not even the guild leader of Eclipse! Why would you attack a guild that is part of your own coalition? One that came here to help rescue your own people?"
Joker smiled. "Apophis? Coalition? I see you're still just a silly little girl who's been appointed leader without understanding how the real world works. Our guilds are only a visible shell over the true world consortium. Friends, allies, brotherhood… These words mean nothing to us. Only the words 'interest' and 'profit!'
"The Coalition was only created to allow Lord of War, Renovatio Imperii, and Toxic to take the first available star system of the game from the Federation! Now we don't need it anymore! We're organized and powerful enough to take any star system we want—and to crush anyone we want!"
Then he turned and addressed the other Coalition members. "Capture them!"
Mario said with a sneer, "I'll take care of Lotus!"
Everyone got into fighting positions and the air grew impossibly tense.
Hulk muttered, "What do we do, Lotus??"
She replied with firm determination, "There's no way we're giving up without a fight!"
Mario sprang into action! He teleported behind Lotus with his ~Flash~ Skill, but Hulk reacted in time, stepping in to protect her.
At the same moment, Joker used a Skill to call forth thousands of tiny black bugs from his body to attack the Eclipse players!
With the non-aggression pact ended, all the SuperGuild players swarmed Eclipse, and a savage battle began.
***
Though they fought bravely and fiercely, the forty or so Eclipse players simply couldn't resist the nearly one hundred elite SuperGuild players. In a short time, all the Eclipse players had been defeated and captured.
Joker called out, "How many players did we lose?"
One of the fellow members of his BlackJack guild replied, "Two from us, three from Renovatio Imperii, four from Hyrule, and zero from Lord of War."
Joker nodded. "Fire the two of our people who lost and begin prisoner transportation."
Hulk, who was tied up like the others, shouted, "You bastards! You'll get what's coming to you a hundred times over once Apophis gets back!"
The SuperGuild players ignored Hulk completely. They complied with Joker's orders, throwing the Eclipse players over their shoulders and preparing to leave the area.
But suddenly, a furious voice called out, "No! That's enough, Joker!"
Joker was puzzled. He turned around, and his expression became one of disbelief. "Ceasar?!"
