Debuff Master-Chapter 1068

Chapter 1068
Hive had always taken a strictly hands-off approach when it came to the game. All they ever did was watch from the Hexagon without getting involved in it. However, there was one thing they were especially cautious and vigilant about, and that was when NPCs started showing interest in the real world.
Thus, Hive had implemented a built-in filtering system designed to prevent NPCs from becoming curious about the real world in the first place.
An example of the filtering system would be when a player told an NPC that the in-game world was actually a virtual world, the NPC wouldn't be able to understand it. The filtering system would make the NPC interpret that statement as something completely random, such as “the weather is really nice today,” and be dismissed.
As a result, the NPCs couldn’t learn anything about the world where the Adventurers actually lived. At best, they would overhear a few fragmented bits of information, but they would never come to know the full picture.
Thus, NPCs naturally lacked any real interest in reality.
But now, these NPCs were suddenly actively collecting information about the real world.
This was a problem and a very dangerous one at that.
“Could this be... Don’t tell me this is a sign that the Fourth Wall is starting to crack...?” Oppenheimer muttered under his breath.
What the Fourth Wall referred to here was the moment the NPCs began to grasp the truth, the realization that they were nothing more than bundles of data, and that the world they inhabited was nothing but a fake world.
No one could predict how the game would unfold if the Fourth Wall shattered. There was no telling how the NPCs would react, and in the worst-case scenario, a total mental breakdown of the NPCs could lead to the collapse of the game itself.
This was precisely the reason Hive had gone to such lengths to filter out any perception of the truth, ensuring that the Fourth Wall would never break.
“Form a task force team and investigate why these NPCs are gathering information about our world. And I want real-time updates from them. Don’t miss out on ing even the smallest thing.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hive was not capable of monitoring the game around the clock perfectly.
Why?
It was all because BNW had been designed to block any form of admin intervention from the very start, so even monitoring the game was not easy. As a result, Hive was forced to adopt a method of dispatching monitoring agents into the game world itself.
In other words, there were very clear limits to what Hive could actually do.
‘
What were they thinking when they designed the game to be like this...?’
Oppenheimer grumbled inwardly.
Running BNW was quite simple, as all they had to do was observe and submit a .
But what if something went wrong?
That was when things would get messy—real messy.
Hive had nothing to worry about most of the time, but the problem was that whenever an issue appeared, they would have no way of intervening or resolving it.
Since the whole concept of BNW had already been set in stone with no way to alter the algorithms, the only thing Hive could do was watch and hope for the best.
“Send in the Hexagon Team as well.”
“Even the Hexagon Team? Are you certain, sir?”
The executive was shocked by Oppenheimer’s decision.
Why?
It was all because the Hexagon Team was composed of the most elite operatives among all of Hive’s administrators. Their primary mission was to eliminate NPCs who sought to uncover the truth and preserve the stability of BNW.
From Hive’s perspective, the NPCs who tried to learn the truth were nothing more than bugs or anomalies that threatened the order of the game.
Thus, they had to be eliminated or, in this case, deleted, just like tossing unwanted files into the recycle bin.
***
Siegfried spent a passionate night with Brunhilde.
It had been quite a while since they shared such passion, so the two of them were especially fervent this time. Their passion was so intense that practically no one inside the Proatine Imperial Palace was unaware that they were making love.
It was not intentional, but still, they had practically broadcast it.
Still, no one seemed to mind it at all.
Why?
It was all because everyone already knew just how loud things could get when Siegfried and Brunhilde were together, so they simply accepted it.
And after the storm of passion had passed—
“I love you, darling,” Brunhilde whispered, nestling herself into Siegfried’s arms.
Siegfried pulled her into a warm embrace and replied, “I love you, too.”
“And also, I just thought of something, darling.”
“What is it?”
“That other world...”
“...!”
“You have your life in that other world, too, don’t you, darling?”
Siegfried was so stunned and shocked that Brunhilde, an NPC, was showing concern for his life in the real world.
Of course, it was not all that strange from her perspective. Her husband, Siegfried, was someone who had descended from another world, so it was not odd for her to feel curious about the real world.
However, he did not expect that she would bring it up like this, out of the blue.
“Why are you suddenly asking about that, darling?” Siegfried asked.
“It’s just that... You and I have tied the knot here in this world, but I know it can never be truly complete,” Brunhilde replied, smiling gently.
“Dear...”
“There may come a day when you can no longer return to this world. But just having lived this life with you is enough for me... That alone is meaningful enough, so please take care of your life in the world you truly belong to.”
Siegfried felt like he had been struck in the head with a hammer.
Why would an NPC suddenly worry about his life in the real world?
“But—!”
“No,” Brunhilde shook her head, cutting him off. Then, she added, “I don’t want your life in that other world to fall apart because of the time you spend here.”
“B-But...”
“I know it won’t be easy, but I hope you can do that for me. In return, I want you to love me and only me while you’re here in this world.”
“Ah...” Siegfried let out a low gasp after finally understanding what Brunhilde was really trying to say.
She was trying to understand that Han Tae-Sung had his life outside the game and was trying to accept it, but here, in this world, at the very least, she wanted to be the only one he loved.
“I promise,” Siegfried replied.
He made a vow that he would only love her in this world.
This was not something he made just to reassure her, no, he meant it. Even though he had started dating Yong Seol-Hwa in the real world, at least here in this world, he would only have eyes for Brunhilde.
***
Siegfried managed to find some inner peace from his deep internal conflict thanks to Brunhilde’s deeply heartfelt words and, at least for that day, spent his time with his family without any worries.
But that peace did not last long...
“I will be back soon.”
“Yes, my love.”
Once again, Siegfried left Brunhilde behind and departed from the Proatine Empire.
He wanted to spend just one more day with Brunhilde and Verdandi, but he had no time for leisurely pleasure when Zerachiel had already massacred tens of millions.
Thus, Siegfried left the Proatine Empire and made his way to the Pallas Fortress, where the Allied Forces were stationed.
The first to greet him upon his arrival was none other than his soul companion, Hamchi.
“
Kyuuu!
Welcome back, owner punk!”
“Hey, how are you holding up? Are you all right?”
“Kyuuu! I ate a bunch of mana stones, so I think I’m finally getting better!”
“Good job.”
Siegfried patted Hamchi on the head, and then he immediately convened a meeting.
The war between the Allied Forces and the Holy Alliance had entered a lull due to a once-in-a-century strong blizzard.
With the lack of any major battles taking place, both sides were using the time to reorganize their armies in preparation for when the snow would clear and war resumed.
“We need to commit a massacre,” Siegfried said.
“May I ask why a massacre is necessary, Your Imperial Majesty?” Hansen asked.
“Because I have to kill.”
“P-Pardon, sire...?”
“Don’t ask why. Just tell me where I can go and kill hordes of enemies.”
Siegfried did not bother explaining the mechanics behind his skill to the commanding officers.
Why? Because there was no need to stir up trouble by talking too much.
“I need a place where I can kill around... ten thousand people. I need to pull that off somewhere and still make it out alive. Do we have any potential battlefields like that?”
“And I presume the targets will be—?”
“Enemy soldiers, of course. I won’t be going after civilians,” Siegfried replied before Hansen could finish.
He was not some madman crazed with bloodlust on a rampage. Even if the citizens were still technically enemies, he had no intention of taking innocent lives. He already had enough blood on his hands, so killing innocent noncombatants might bring about some grave misfortune down the line.
Moreover, he already felt bad for having to take so many lives, regardless of whether they were enemy soldiers or not, so he did not really want to add any more guilt to his conscience.
“In that case...” Hansen muttered, examining the map. Then, he pointed at a specific location and said, “I believe this location would be most suitable, sire.”
“Where is that?” Siegfried asked.
“It’s a training camp. More specifically, a facility used by the Holy Alliance to train new recruits. It houses quite a lot of troops, but those troops are very poor in terms of quality.”
“
Oh?
”
“If this place is destroyed, then... Not only will Your Imperial Majesty massacre tons of enemy soldiers here, but you will also delay the enemy’s ability to replenish their forces for quite some time.”
“Then that is the place.”
Siegfried was one hundred percent satisfied with Hansen’s answer.
Of course, killing new recruits was no different from slaughtering defenseless baby chicks, so it did not exactly sit well with him.
However, those trainees would eventually leave that camp and join the fight against the Allied Forces, so he couldn’t afford to let them live, no matter how bad he felt about killing them.
In addition, as Hansen had mentioned, the camp was an easy target with weak soldiers in it, so it was the perfect place to harvest the soul energy he needed to use Demon Lord’s Descent.
In other words, there was simply no reason for him not to attack the training camp.
“Let’s go, Hamchi.”
“
Kyuuuu!”
Siegfried received the coordinates from Hansen and immediately made his way toward the warp gate that would take him to the target location.
***
Upon warping, Siegfried headed straight for the training camp. Roughly a hundred thousand conscripts undergoing underground training were packed into the camp, but their numbers didn't faze Siegfried in the slightest.
Unless the Fallen Angels descended en masse, one hundred thousand conscripts posed no threat to him whatsoever.
After all, a whale would have no reason to fear a swarm of minnows.
That was why Siegfried did not bother sneaking in like a rat this time, nor did he use his favorite infiltration route—the underground sewers.
He marched boldly straight for the front gate of the training camp.
“Halt! Who goes there?!”
“State your identity!”
The sentries standing guard at the gates raised their weapons when they saw him..
It was the dead of the night, so they would naturally be alarmed by a random person walking unannounced to their gates. One of the guards pointed his rifle at Siegfried and shouted, “I said, halt! State your identity or I’ll shoot you!”
“Siegfried von Proa,” Siegfried answered calmly.
The guard blinked in disbelief, thinking he must have misheard, and muttered, “Siegfried von... what?”
“I said, Siegfried von Proa.”
“If you’re Siegfried von Proa, then that would make you the...”
“The Emperor of the Proatine Emperor, Siegfried von Proa.”
“What kind of nonsense is—”
Boom!
At that moment, Siegfried swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp and unleashed Splitting Heaven and Earth at the gate. The skill erupted forward in a fan-shaped arc, obliterating both the gate and the guards in an instant.
Baaaam!
The entire gate crumbled, sending rubble flying everywhere.
Thud... Thud... Thud...
Siegfried walked forward at a leisurely pace, as if he were simply out for a midnight stroll while sirens blared across the camp.
However, Siegfried did not quicken his pace in the slightest.
“Intruder!”
“Kill him!”
The Holy Alliance soldiers charged at him. Their numbers started in the dozens before quickly growing to the hundreds, as more and more soldiers rushed in from all directions.
Still, Siegfried remained calm and showed no signs of panic.
Sseuuuu...!
Instead, he activated the skill, Green Hell Magno, sending out a cloud of green radioactive mist to pour out from him.
Siegfried became the Grim Reaper. None of the soldiers stationed in the training camp was capable of stopping Siegfried, much less when Green Hell Magno was already active.
Thus, death descended upon the Holy Alliance’s training camp, as Siegfried von Proa began his massacre.