Chapter 1317

The boss monster of the eleventh stage was someone Siegfried knew all too well.

He was the second Executor of Destiny, the one who staged a coup and dethroned Michael from the seat of Chief Archangel, the one who corrupted the angels, and the one who hated the Father of all things, the Creator.

He, from the Celestial Realm, sought to destroy the world by manipulating the Illuminati—all just to see the Creator again.

In the end, he was defeated by Siegfried, who managed to transform and use the Demon King’s full power by achieving the Divine Demonic Vessel Fusion.

He was none other than the former Chief Archangel, Lucifer.

“It has been a while,” Lucifer said calmly. His expression remained blank and did not show a hint of emotion.

“Hello, Lucifer,” Siegfried replied, clutching his weapon and preparing for battle.

Defeating Lucifer had been nearly impossible even with the Demon King’s power. Had Siegfried not achieved the Divine Demonic Vessel Fusion at that time, a power he could no longer use, he would have lost the fight.

Just as he had feared, Lucifer reappeared in the Void.

Siegfried sharpened his focus. ‘A single mistake and I’m dead. I’ll barely win even if I use my full strength.’

Surprisingly, Lucifer looked extremely calm, unlike Siegfried. Lucifer was not projecting even a hint of killing intent, and in fact, he did not seem willing to fight at all.

“Do you truly wish to confront Father, Siegfried von Proa?” Lucifer asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? He's the creator of this world, but I won’t let him destroy it just because he wants to,” Siegfried replied.

“I see...” Lucifer muttered. Then, he said, “So your will has finally brought you here. To stand against Father.”

“...?”

“O Savior.”

“...What the heck?”

Siegfried was so shocked to hear those words from Lucifer. He had never expected Lucifer to utter such a thing, let alone say it to him of all people.

“Did you just say s-savior?”

“That is correct.”

“And you called me that?”

“Indeed.”

“Did I hit your head a bit too hard last time...?”

Siegfried was completely dumbfounded.

The Lucifer he knew was a ruthless being with a heart colder than ice, and the only thing that existed in him was his endless hatred and fury toward the Creator. However, the Lucifer standing before him felt different.

For some reason, he was not hostile and seemed to be favoring Siegfried as well.

‘What’s this? Is it another test? Is he going to stab me in the back later?’ Siegfried wondered.

A strange situation like this was bound to make anyone skeptical.

However, that was far from the truth.

“O Savior. I once hated my Father. He cherished the creatures of the Middle Realm more than us angels, His own children. And that made me jealous.”

“And...?”

“I resented Him after He abandoned us, His very own children, when the creatures of the Middle Realm revolted and slaughtered those who worshiped Him. So I decided to wipe out those creatures He cared for, along with the demons. By destroying everything He loved, I believed I could force Him to return to this world.”

“Well, yeah. You did throw a tantrum like a brat,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

From Siegfried’s perspective, Lucifer’s rebellion really did look like a dramatic, edgy teenager’s tantrum.

Of course, Lucifer himself would not agree with that.

Lucifer said, “I simply cannot understand.”

“Can’t understand what?”

“My Father loved your species so much that he would abandon us, His own children. But...”

“But?”

“But why does He now seek to annihilate you all?”

“T-That’s true...?”

“I cannot comprehend why He suddenly wants to exterminate those He once cherished.”

“Hm?”

“Perhaps... To Father, His creations are nothing more than toys...”

“Toys, huh...”

“O Savior.”

“What is it?”

“I wish to stand against Father’s will,” Lucifer said with a faint smile. This was the first time Siegfried had seen Lucifer smile—no, this was the first time Lucifer had smiled since the dawn of creation.

“Though I was brought back to life here in the Void by Father, I will not obey Him. I refuse to continue existing as His puppet... or a mere toy.”

“...!”

Lucifer stepped aside and said, “Go. I will not fight you.”

“...”

“In all honesty, I believe our struggle is futile. But it is still worth trying, isn’t it?”

“Are you really going to let me pass? Just like that?”

“Don’t you think we should take our chances even if it looks bleak? We don’t have anything to lose,” Lucifer replied with a shrug.

“Hahaha...” Siegfried laughed in disbelief.

He couldn’t believe that the worst enemy he could meet in the Void would be the one to just open the path for him.

“I-I’m not complaining, but this feels weird... Hahaha...”

It was then.

Ding!

A notification popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: Congratulations!]

[Alert: You have cleared the eleventh stage!]

[Alert: Prepare yourselves!]

[Alert: You will soon enter the next stage!]

The eleventh stage was really cleared.

***

Before moving on to the twelfth stage, Lucifer looked at Siegfried as if he had something to say.

“I heard stabbing others in the back is your specialty,” he said.

“W-Who said that?!” Siegfried screamed in a fit of rage. His face turned red, making it obvious that his pride was deeply wounded.

After all, the one who just insulted him as a backstabber was none other than one of the Executors of Destiny who tried to destroy the world.

“I am not like you. I do not stab others in the back. Letting you go is a decision I’ve made without malice.”

“Okay, okay! I got it, so just stop!”

Lucifer looked intrigued as he added, “And I want to see whether a creation can defeat its creator.”

“I’ll stop you right there. I’m not a creation,” Siegfried replied while walking forward.

“Hm?”

“I’m a being from another world, so I’m not a creation.”

“Ah, that’s right. I forgot about that for a moment.”

“But even though I’m someone from another world... I don’t like the behavior of this so-called creator. Anyway, this isn’t a fight between creator and creation. It’s a fight between the Creator and an Adventurer from another world.”

“Understood,” Lucifer replied with a shrug.

“I’m going,” Siegfried said as he walked away. Then, he turned and suddenly said, “Green Frog.”

“Hm? Green Frog...?” Lucifer muttered, tilting his head.

“It’s a saying from my world. A long time ago, a green frog lived. When his mom told him to go to the mountain, he went to the river. When she told him to go to the river, he would go to the mountain. He never listened to anything she said.”

“...?”

“But one day, the mother frog became sick. On her deathbed, she told her son to bury her by the stream.”

“...Why?”

“Because her son never listened to her, she couldn’t bring herself to say that she wanted to be buried in a nice sunny place. She purposely said to bury her by the stream, hoping that the son would do the opposite and bury her in a sunny spot.”

“And?”

“But do you know what he did instead?”

“What?”

“He decided to pay tribute to her memory by listening to her—for the first time ever. Lo and behold, he really buried her by the stream. And one day, her grave was completely washed away by the rain.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m just saying that I don’t know if you’ll still exist even after this Void disappears. But if you’re given another chance at life, I really hope you'll live a happy life. Don’t let yourself be trapped in pointless anger or jealousy. Ah, make sure you listen to your parents, too.”

With those words, Siegfried vanished from the eleventh stage.

“Green frog....”

Meanwhile, Lucifer mumbled as he repeated the story in his head.

***

The twelfth stage appeared.

[Void: Fate]

A notification displaying his current location popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

“Oh?”

The scenery of the twelfth stage was exactly like the arena stage called Murim, which was often used for one-on-one battles.

A bamboo forest with a cool breeze and gentle sunlight.

This was indeed Murim, the stage created purely for one-on-one duels.

And the boss of the twelfth stage was none other than—

“Hey, Han Tae-Sung.”

Lee Geon suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“...!”

Siegfried flinched in shock the moment he saw him.

Lee Geon lost in their duel, where they wagered that the loser would delete their character, so his account was deleted. In other words, Siegfried had never expected him to appear here.

‘No. It’s not him,’ Siegfried shook his head and regained his composure.

One of BNW’s core systems was the Doppelganger Algorithm, which analyzed a gamer’s way of speech, gestures, mannerisms, and personality to create an NPC.

Thus, the Doppelganger Algorithm of BNW could generate a clone of Lee Geon. Which meant that this Lee Geon in the Void was an NPC, not the real one.

‘Damn... I got scared for a second,’ Siegfried thought, letting out a breath of relief.

All three Executors of Destiny had appeared in succession.

The tenth stage’s boss was Acheron, the eleventh was Lucifer, and the boss of the twelfth stage was none other than Lee Geon.

‘Almost there now.’

Siegfried was confident that the boss of the thirteenth stage was none other than the Creator.

Once he defeated the boss of this stage, he would finally face the final boss of this server, the Creator.

‘I’m going all out from the start.’

Siegfried expected a brutal fight against Lee Geon, as he was the last opponent before he faced the Creator.

Lee Geon was by no means weak, even though Siegfried had beaten him in their live match last time. A buffed version of him was guaranteed to be a tough fight even for Siegfried.

However, Lee Geon stepped aside and said, “Go on.”

Following Acheron and Lucifer, even the third Executor of Destiny, Lee Geon, went against the will of the Creator and allowed Siegfried to proceed uncontested to the final stage.

“What...?” Siegfried muttered, doubting his ears.

He couldn’t help but think that he was clearing the final stages of the Void way too easily, and it made him nervous.

“Did you shit in your ears or what? I told you to go.”

“Eh?”

“Sigh... You’re still whining even though I’m just letting you through.”

Siegfried was sincerely impressed by the Doppelganger Algorithm.

How did it copy Lee Geon’s personality so perfectly? The Lee Geon before him was exactly identical to the real one!

“Hey, Han Tae-Sung. I really hate your guts, so I’m going to say this once. Since you beat me, you'd better destroy the Creator.”

“Huh?”

“Clearing the final boss of this game should be nothing if you’re really the world’s best gamer, no?”

“Ah, so that’s what this is about?”

“Anyone who beats me should be invincible. That’s how it should be,” Lee Geon said with a nod.

Siegfried scoffed and sneered, “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m invincible whether you like it or not.”

“Hm?”

“Thanks for opening the way. Now watch me take down the final boss of this game.”

And just like that, the twelfth stage came to an end.

Ding!

[Alert: Prepare yourself!]

[Alert: The final stage will begin in 5 minutes!]

Siegfried now stood before the thirteenth and final stage.

***

Meanwhile, Siegfried’s raid of the Void was being broadcast live to the entire world.

The developer and distributor of BNW, Hive Games Entertainment, had linked a monitoring program to Siegfried, making it possible to livestream his gameplay footage on its official channel.

Naturally, the number of viewers had reached hundreds of millions, as this was a live broadcast of the world’s best BNW pro gamer challenging the final boss of the Fantasy server.

The Vice President of Hive Games Entertainment, Oppenheimer, was also watching the livestream from his VIP hotel suite in Seoul.

“What do you think of this, Mr. Chairman?” Oppenheimer asked the man beside him.

The Chairman of Hive Games Entertainment was someone shrouded in complete secrecy. This individual was only known as C, and he was the founder of the beehive as well as the developer of the Doppelganger Algorithm.

Both the recently launched Murim server and Urban server were also planned and overseen by C. However, C dropped everything to watch the final boss fight in the Void.