Chapter 8: The Moment of JudgmentThree years ago.

  "There will be a dey between the moment a weapon makes contact and the final calcution of the judgment."

  A chat window appeared on the screen, followed by the sound of keyboard tapping.

  "What makes you so sure of that?"

  "Nothing concrete yet. I've been monitoring many PvP matches between top melee-css pyers. So far, I haven't seen anyone cheat the system's judgment process. But I have a feeling it exists."

  "Why? Keep in mind that the server transmits data at the speed of light. The moment a weapon makes contact, the system instantly calcutes the outcome. I can't think of any reason for a dey, not even a single frame."

  "Even the speed of light has limits, Ignis. Every speed in this world has limits. Every action causes a reaction, right? The event of weapon collision is an input data point, and that information needs time to be transmitted to the system where the reaction is determined. This is just my hypothesis, but if a dey exists, then it would prove another theory of mine."

  "And what theory is that?"

  …

  ===

  "The tide has turned, and the battle has taken an unexpected twist!"

  Helen disregarded the safety of her in-game character, rushing forward excitedly for a clearer view of the battlefield.

  "Compared to st year's World Championship, Henry seems even stronger! He doesn’t seem fazed by his opponent’s overwhelming skill. Before absolute power, all tricks are meaningless!"

  "So imbanced."

  "What does the judgment dey even matter? Henry’s attack speed is insane."

  "Human reaction speed has its limits."

  "No matter how strong he is, Ignis is still just human."

  "25 stacks of Valiant Heart, Radiant Spirit activated, plus all the stolen stats—that buff amount is beyond human reflexes."

  "Ignis Fmma underestimated his opponent."

  The st chat message suddenly caught Helen and many others off guard.

  Underestimated? This entire massive Esta-doom campaign, 14 relentless days of failing to breach Asterith, risking their Mighty Summoner, and now allowing a Padin to freely stack his buffs—was this truly a rare moment where the strategic genius, Zephrania's national treasure, had choked?

  "Henry is charging forward! His body radiates golden fmes, while his sword burns with eerie bck fire. Ignis’s HP has reached critical levels! Henry leaps—Valiant Judgment! The moment of judgment has arrived!"

  The hack & ssh skillsets of Padins and Warriors were designed for simplicity and effectiveness. Heroic Judgment was a high-tier skill that embodied the essence of accessibility: the user leaps into the air and delivers a downward sword strike.

  A straightforward but powerful move, its high damage compensated for the predictable and somewhat cumbersome animation. However, when awakened by Valiant Heart, the skill evolved into Valiant Judgment. The downward strike now carried additional effects depending on the weapon used and the user's status.

  Henry's Dark-element Devil Sword, imbued with 25 stacks of Radiant Spirit and 70 stolen Power, descended with overwhelming force, unleashing a pitch-bck sword energy that tore through the battlefield.

  "Valiant Judgment is unleashed! The terrifying sword energy surges forward, aimed directly at the Summoner! Ignis has no way to dodge—if he evades, the Summoner will take the hit! The dust is too thick, I can't see! Did Ignis avoid the attack? What happened to the Mighty Summoner?"

  The entire audience held their breath, waiting for the dust to clear.

  Grarghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

  Boommmmmmmm!!!!

  In the distance, Arcturus's roar and bombardment continued unabated, signaling that the Summoner had remained unharmed.

  Two figures emerged from the haze. Helen's eyes widened—Ignis Fmma's Sword Master had just driven a knee strike straight into Henry's Padin's stomach.

  "Ignis Fmma! He’s still standing! Instead of dodging or blocking, it seems he was waiting for Henry to use Valiant Judgment! No matter how fast the skill is, its jump animation is unskippable. Ignis seized that moment to nd a Flying Knee and send his opponent flying!"

  "Holy shit."

  "A Sword Master using a martial arts move?"

  "Speed buffs don’t matter if you just wait for your opponent to jump, then knee them mid-air. This is even easier than using Deter Cheat."

  "He had waited for this very moment!"

  "Henry unequipped Narhual, so he lost his Invincible buff when using skills."

  "A low-tier Flying Knee was enough to throw him off bance, and now his Judgment wave has completely missed its target."

  ===

  "That bastard!"

  Henry was furious. After all that struggles to reach these massive buffs, his opponent had just crushed them with a simple trap.

  Just one more hit and Ignis would be dead. He was right there. The buffs were still active for one more second!

  His APM exploded as he poured all his focus into a st-second weapon swap. The Holy Shield Narhual appeared, restoring his Invincible state. His Padin spun mid-air, swinging the Devil Sword from below—Valiant Rising Ssh!

  "Enough pying around."

  A cold message appeared in the chat.

  Ignis Fmma spun in the air and stepped onto Henry’s sword.

  Aerial Kick.

  Bop!

  Before the system could finish the determination, Ignis canceled his kick and backflipped away.

  To the spectators, it looked as though he had lightly stepped on the sword and retreated with ease.

  "Deter Cheat again!"

  "Henry re-equipped his shield, but his attack speed dropped significantly!"

  "He’s still mid-air, with an awkward swing—too easy to time against."

  "He fell into another trap!"

  "Damn… it!"

  Henry gritted his teeth, watching his enemy vanish from his screen. The monster named Ignis Fmma remained undefeated.

  A second ter, Henry’s screen was engulfed in Sniper attacks.

  "The Snipers are focusing fire on Henry! Four pyers in the escort squad swapped to Dragon Eyes—they can maintain a 1km range and use extreme zoom vision to snipe targets! Henry is still airborne, struggling to block with his shield, but it's too much. Both physical and magical abilities are raining down relentlessly. He has performed beyond all expectations today, but unfortunately, his opponent… is simply too strong."

  Ignis Fmma was too strong.

  "Ridiculously overpowered."

  "The Faker of Valia."

  "Someone, please, take this monster down just once!"

  "Ignis could’ve called for sniper attacks much earlier. He’s been soloing all this time, as if to send a message."

  "KOG’s team is being wiped out one by one. They fought bravely, but..."

  "This is true despair."

  "Asterith is falling. The st two Summoners are moving forward—are they pnning to release the Ultimates simultaneously?"

  Ignis raised a hand, signaling a halt.

  A Mage Sniper, ready to nd the final blow, switched to a crowd-control spell instead. Henry was rooted, his HP hanging by a thread.

  "Witness your insignificance, little Padin."

  Ignis sent one st message before ignoring Henry completely. Instead, he turned his gaze skyward—toward the three divine figures that had now gathered.

  Helen barely had time to process Henry and KOG's futile struggle—she hurriedly turned her camera toward Asterith.

  Arcturus, freed to wreak havoc, had nearly exhausted its Spirit Points from absorbing all the defenders' firepower.

  Then, the two remaining Mighty Summoned Gods of Zephrania stepped forward, shielding Arcturus with their bodies.

  Everyone knew what was coming.

  All three Gods were preparing to unleash their Final Ultimate Attacks.

  Arcturus, the Dragon God with the Frosted HellfireUltimate Cast: Frozen Abyssal Requiem

  Arcturus fpped its wings, unleashing a chilling wind that enveloped the battlefield. Cold mist condensed into an archway connecting to the frozen abyss, triggering the Abyssal Frozen effect. This effect reduced the stats of all pyers (both allies and enemies) and structures within a 500-meter radius: -20% Defense, -20% Special Defense, -50% Speed

  Arcturus then soared through the archway, transforming into an icy hellfire before crashing down and exploding. This unleashed 50,000 + 200% of its remaining Spirit Points as damage to all targets afflicted by Abyssal Frozen, while also inflicting Hellfire Burn for 10 seconds.

  Bhaeta, the Mountain-Shattering DeityA colossal being resembling an elephant, but with a massive horn in pce of a trunk.

  Ultimate Cast: Terror Crack

  Bhaeta gathered Force, shattering the space before it. Enemies in the affected area had a 50% chance of being stunned for 3 seconds.

  Five seconds ter, Bhaeta charged forward, transforming into an unstoppable Force vortex, pulling all enemies within range toward it. Then, Bhaeta morphed into a bck hole, sting for 5 seconds.

  Enemies caught inside suffered 1,000 + 20% Spirit Point damage per second.

  If they reached the center, they took 10,000 + 250% Spirit Point damage and were stunned for 5 seconds.

  Cerluva, the Flow of the Celestial WatersA mermaid-like deity, the embodiment of the celestial river.

  Ultimate Cast: Flow of Life

  Cerluva summoned a whirlpool at the target location, which expanded over time. All pyers caught inside lost 10% HP per second.

  The more pyers affected, the shorter the whirlpool’s duration.

  Upon ending, the total HP drained was absorbed by Cerluva and returned to the celestial realm.

  A divine rain then poured over a designated area for 20 seconds, dealing

  5,000 + 20% Spirit Point + 10% of the total absorbed HP per second

  20% chance to inflict Erosion (stackable)

  Enemies suffering from Erosion took 10% additional damage per stack.

  All three Ultimates were calcuted for maximum devastation, striking Asterith at once.