Chapter 1322

C stared at the screen and muttered under his breath, “Quite impressive. I didn’t expect him to uncover the only strategy that can defeat the Creator...”

“Pardon me? What do you mean by that, Mr. Chairman?” Oppenheimer asked, confused by what he had heard.

“The final boss of the Fantasy Server, the Creator... is actually not an entity that can be cleared.”

“I-Is that so?”

“No matter how much the player struggles, no matter what means or methods they use, the Creator simply cannot be beaten. You saw it yourself, Oppenheimer. Even with the strongest stats and Universal items, Siegfried was utterly helpless against the Creator.”

“Yes, that was the case.”

“The outcome wouldn’t have changed even if he had used the item capable of reversing time. His odds of winning would have been less than one percent even if he had somehow managed to draw out the full power of that Universal weapon.”

“My goodness...”

“The Creator’s defense is simply too high. No matter how powerful the attack or if the skill caused instant death, it’s all meaningless against the Creator.”

“Then how exactly does one defeat the Creator?”

“Will and belief.”

“P-Pardon me...?” Oppenheimer muttered, looking completely dumbfounded.

C smiled and said, “Think about it. What do you think would go through a person’s mind if they couldn’t do anything against the Creator, even with all their stats and items?”

“Well, naturally... they would fall into despair.”

“Precisely,” C said with a nod. Then, he added, “Most would despair. And even if they don't fall into despair and refuse to give up, they themselves would start doubting if they could even win. Losing confidence and hope is inevitable.”

“I do agree. Not being able to think of a way to win will definitely discourage even the most tenacious of people.”

“Anyone would fall into despair if they couldn’t even deal one hundred damage after being armed with the ultimate endgame items in the game.”

“That is true.”

“But the final boss of the Fantasy Server, the Creator, is actually just a test.”

“A test?”

“Whether one can maintain hope even in the worst possible circumstances. If they can continue believing that they could win no matter how badly the odds were stacked against them, or if they would just fall into despair.”

“Ah...! So it is a test of will!” Oppenheimer exclaimed, finally understanding what C meant.

“The Creator can only be defeated by someone who possesses an unshakable belief in themselves, no matter how bad the situation they are in—someone whose will won’t break under pressure. That is why I called it a boss that can’t be cleared.”

“Why?”

“Because no one can keep hoping in such conditions...”

“Ah, I see...”

“But that young man... Han Tae-Sung is different,” C said admiringly while pointing at Siegfried, who was standing face-to-face with the Creator.

“Han Tae-Sung?”

“He died, and died, and died again. He died so many times that it looked as though his will was broken. However, he managed to get back up in such a short time and even succeeded in achieving his third awakening.”

“Ah, I see what you mean.”

“Which means that the boss battle now depends entirely on his resolve. His will has clearly surpassed that of the Creator, so the only thing left is to see if he can defeat the undefeatable.”

“Then that means...?”

“Stage clear. The Fantasy Server won’t need to be shut down after all,” C said with a smile.

“Hahaha...”

“All we need to do now is watch. We will watch how that young man defeats the final boss, the Creator.”

Even while saying those words, C watched the screen with eyes full of curiosity and anticipation.

***

Meanwhile, Deus was seated by the lakeside with his eyes closed.

He was meditating while Siegfried attained enlightenment, entered the realm of Arc Grandmaster, and reached Level 997.9 through the Forced Blooming infused into the armor set by the Coral Emperor.

Surprisingly, Deus was completely calm. There was not the slightest anxiety or worry on him, even as his disciple was locked in a battle that would decide the fate of this very world.

Deus had always been this kind of being. Having comprehended the principles of everything in the universe, he was able to remain steadfast no matter the situation.

Well, there was one exception—his granddaughter, Verdandi,

While Deus was sitting quietly with his eyes closed and deep in meditation...

Flash!

He suddenly snapped his eyes open.

“Just as I thought. You finally managed to do it,” Deus muttered, flashing a faint smile.

However, his eyes were not fixed upon the lake before him. Though he looked as if he was looking at the lake, he was actually looking elsewhere entirely. Using the Eye of Heart, he was peering straight into the Void.

“But if I can’t become stronger than you. If becoming stronger and winning is impossible... I don’t have to become stronger than you. I just have to make you weaker.”

Watching his one and only beloved disciple comprehend the teachings he had imparted was a joy beyond measure.

His work was finally complete. His disciple, Siegfried, had finally attained true enlightenment.

From the very beginning, Deus had taught everything to Siegfried, but guiding his disciples to truly understand all of it had been a challenge, even for an invincible being like him.

However, this was no longer the case. There was nothing else for him to teach, as Siegfried had reached the very pinnacle among the beings who were not bound by the law of causality.

It was not an exaggeration to say that Siegfried had become an invincible existence among mortals, as he had halted his growth right before ascending into the realm of godhood.

However, it did not mean Siegfried couldn’t defeat a god. If his opponent was a god, then all he had to do was drag them down to the same level as that of a mortal.

All he had to do was make the god weaker and win.

Deus had created the skill tree of the Debuff Master with the intent of turning the Debuff Master into that kind of existence.

The Debuff Master would not rely on any special abilities or tricks. They would simply weaken their enemy to the level where they could be easily defeated.

This was the secret of the power of invincibility.

Deus had spent his entire life trying to attain the power of invincibility, and this was the enlightenment he had attained. Rather than trying to become the strongest, all he had to do was weaken his enemies and defeat them.

This was the precise reason why Deus could look down at those who stood at the pinnacle of the universe.

***

Fwoooosh!

The roaring flames completely engulfed and burned away the Creator’s defenses.

But that was not all...

The Creator's power and abilities were burned away, too.

The Creator gasped and exclaimed, “W-What is this...?!”

For an omnipotent existence, being weakened was something unfamiliar and terrifying.

Who would have imagined that the being who had created all things in this world could be weakened?

“H-Has your will... surpassed mine...?!”

“Bingo. My will is stronger than yours,” Siegfried replied with a smirk.

“P-Propesterous! I am the Creator! The parent of all things in this world! How can my will be weaker than that of a mere mortal like you—!” The Creator suddenly stopped, unable to finish his words. “W-Wha—? I-I can’t... speak...?”

The Creator suddenly slowed down, as if being in a video played in slow motion.

The reason behind it was simple.

“Slow down.”

Siegfried had applied a powerful, slow debuff on the Creator. Just as he had done to every enemy he had faced until now, he slowed down none other than the being who had created the whole world.

However, there was nothing strange about it. After all, Siegfried was the Debuff Master, a class that specialized in debuffing his enemies.

Siegfried unleashed debuff after debuff.

The Creator grew weaker and weaker, but that was not all.

Shwooooong!

Siegfried unleashed a burst of dark aura and invited the Creator into a separate realm, one completely detached from the Void and ruled solely by the Debuff Master. If the Void was a realm ruled by the Creator, then the World of Despair was ruled by Siegfried.

Naturally, his debuffs were even more powerful in this realm.

“I... am... the... c... rea... tor...”

The Creator struggled, but it was futile.

Throughout Siegfried’s journey as the Debuff Master, he had always faced enemies far stronger than himself and overcame them, regardless of the gap in levels between them.

This was only possible due to the fact that he was the Debuff Master, and it was no different this time. There was no reason he couldn't weaken a Level 998.1 when he was currently Level 997.9.

Of course, it would have been a different story had the Creator had completely recovered their form. Unfortunately, the timing was not on the Creator’s side.

The Creator was still reassembling their form after being scattered across the world, so they couldn’t exert a hundred percent of their full power.

‘How should I kill him?’ Siegfried pondered.

The Creator had become extremely weak after being covered in layers of debuffs. With just a bit more time, the once-omnipotent being would surely become as frail as an ordinary human.

In other words, Siegfried could easily defeat the Creator. He could beat the once-omnipotent being senseless as much as he wanted, slap them across the face, break their limbs, or even piss on them afterward.

‘Is it payback time?’

Anger and vengeance welled up within him after recalling the dozens of times he had died.

However, he decided against it.

“Nah, that’s not it. This battle's already decided,” he muttered under his breath.

Woooong!

Immediately afterward, he gathered the authority of destruction around his right fist.

This was not the Touch of Death, nor was it Four Steps to Invincibility. This was a skill called Invincible, the ultimate form of Ten Steps to Invincibility.

This ultimate skill, the most powerful and catastrophic technique in history, was capable of killing any opponent in a single blow.

And this was how Siegfried had decided to end this battle...

He grinned after recalling what Deus had told him long ago.

“You just have to make them weaker than you, and then... Kill them in one blow. It wouldn’t look cool if you have to hit them twice, so it has to be in a single blow.”

That was one of the first teachings Deus had imparted to him.

“Yeah, Master was right. Two hits really would be so not cool,” Siegfried muttered with a smile.

He decided this was the moment to turn his master’s teachings into reality.

Why? It was all because he was facing a worthy opponent—the Creator.

To debuff such an enemy and kill them in a single hit was indeed the perfect finale.

‘Let’s go!’

Siegfried charged toward the Creator.

“...!”

The Creator hurriedly tried to flee at the sight.

Woooong...!

Unfortunately, the slow cast by Siegfried had rendered the Creator completely immobile.

Right now, even the creator of the world was nothing more than a sitting duck, one weakened to the extreme by layers upon layers of debuffs.

Wooooong!

Siegfried threw a punch, his fist shooting straight toward the Creator’s chest.

The Creator mustered every ounce of strength remaining to block the attack, but it was to no avail.

KABOOOOOM!

Siegfried’s punch landed, unleashing Invincible.

[Creator]

[HP: □□□□□□□□□□]

The Creator’s HP dropped to zero.

Weakening the enemy with debuffs and then killing them in a single blow...

At last, Siegfried had finally achieved it.

‘I did it,’ he thought and smiled.

It was then.

Flash!

A tremendous burst of light erupted, causing a massive explosion, and the resulting shockwave violently filled the World of Despair.

***

Rumble!

When the shockwave subsided, the Void began to collapse.

After being struck by Invincible and having their HP reduced to zero, the Creator crumbled and scattered into particles.

It was complete annihilation.

Even the Creator’s soul was dismantled down to the molecular level.

In other words, the Creator was truly gone.

With the soul erased, even attempting to reincarnate would be impossible.

“I offer my sincerest respect to your willpower.”

As the Creator faded away, they looked at Siegfried with awe and admiration.

“Perhaps you are the true god.”

“What do you mean by that?” Siegfried asked.

“This world was destined to be destroyed by me, its Creator. That was inevitable... and it was this world’s destiny. But now, that is no longer so. My death, the death of the Creator, means the disappearance of the predetermined end. Therefore, from this moment on, the fate of this world... rests solely in the hands of you mortals.”

“...?”

“From now on, it will be the will of mortals alone that determines this world’s rise and fall. Its continuation will solely depend on its inhabitants, and its destruction likewise will depend on them. That is—”

Siegfried finished the words the Creator had been about to say, “Our freedom. This world has completely regained its freedom from you, the Creator. The absence of a predetermined future means that a new future can be created.”

“Precisely so,” The Creator nodded with a faint smile. Then, added, “And that is why your victory carries even greater meaning. You have returned freedom to this world.”

“I appreciate it if that’s how you put it,” Siegfried said with a shrug.

“Please... may the mortals of this world... live up to your wondrous achievement... may they cherish this world... you have protected... their lives... and everything in it...”

“I hope so, too.”

With those words, Siegfried turned his back on the Creator, who was fading away, and left behind what little remained of the Void.

It was time for him to return to the Middle Realm, the Nurberg Continent, which was the main stage of the virtual reality game, Brave New World.

Ding!

A notification popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: Congratulations!]

[Alert: You have cleared the fourth main scenario of BNW!]