Shepherding Humanity

“The natives of this world are so simple and uncomplicated, they never stood a chance against the Internet Age’s Chicken Soup for the Soul!”

After pulling off his scam, Cerebral Bluff accompanied Saintess Linda down into an underground passage. It was a Victorian-style circular corridor, its dark and heavy walls decorated by exquisite stone murals and lined with flickering torches.

The further down they went, the more spacious it got.

An enormous chamber shrouded in darkness lay at the end of the passageway. Within was a skinless 100-meters-tall titan; the titan’s crimson muscles were exposed for all to see, and as it stood silently on the mud floor, it radiated an oppressive pressure.

“Great Pope… Is our ultimate weapon against the Evil Gods complete?” Linda asked while looking at the serpent of flesh beside her. This was the player “Learning is a Waste of Time”.

Cerebral Bluff was the Church of Light’s Holy Bible while Learning is a Waste of Time was the Pope. Behind the scenes, they used the Church to gather a great amount of resources for their secret research.

Hands Off and Akina’s Speedster were also present.

The good-aligned players had gathered to confer in secret.

Learning is a Waste of Time sighed and solemnly spoke: “Several of us got attacked just now. We keep losing more of our numbers and there are only 6 of us left after all these years, but we have also succeeded in plundering various kingless species from those PKers, enough to form 20 organs. Right now, with some effort, we’d be able to create a super-weakened version of the Evil God. This is our Church of Light’s final trump card!”

This difficult task was only possible since Learning is Waste of Time had originally designed the Evil God.

It had taken them a long time since they did not dare to ask for help on the net, since it would reveal their identity and location.

These lucky surviving players were divided into three teams.

All 6 of them were now Level Three Mages.

In one team was Cerebral Bluff and Learning is a Waste of Time, who had formed the Church of Light in secret, and were the ones deepest undercover. They were always on the move while staying hidden among the people. This team was the main force that they’d use to vanquish the Evil Gods.

The second team was Hands Off with his “ahoge” clan. He had turned the Tonsure Bird into a force to be reckoned with; the demonic beast had gained great infamy and was constantly being chased by the witches and the Church of Light.

The third team was composed of Akina’s Speedster and two other players, who engaged in guerilla warfare and caused trouble everywhere.

Akina’s Speedster slammed his hand on the table. “I’m so pissed off! We know for certain now that those seven are the vicious PKers! Even if we can’t win, we must drag them down with us! We must stop them before the entire Magic World, which the Emperor of Alchemy had taken such great pains to develop, gets destroyed! They did not come to this world for fun and games! They are plundering and destroying for their own selfish goals!”

In the past 8 years, they’ve gone from considering this world as nothing more than a game to treating it as real life.

It was inhabited by living and breathing people who wept when they got hurt.

It had parents who despaired when they lost their children.

Its mighty mages broke down when they lost their best friends.

This was a real cataclysm, taking place in a real world.

In the past 8 years, they had been bystanders who could only look on in silence while the horrifying war destroyed towns and cities. As they wandered the ruined roads and watched while those 7 evil PKers played with lives and massacred people with impunity, their hearts burned with outrage.

They’ve matured.

8 years was enough time for many things to change. For people to change.

It did not matter to them any longer whether this was a game, or if a game could be this realistic; what they had to do was clear.

They wanted to put an end to the destruction.

Learning is a Waste of Time gravely continued: “Among the players in charge of muscles, only Akina’s Speedster and I remain, but the two of us should be enough to control this giant! We will form the core of the titan, which I’ll place at the nape of its neck. In other words, if this part gets attacked, then that would be the end of us, no matter how strong our regeneration ability is!”

This was the first time that Hands Off had brought his Tonsure Bird to the conference. He looked up at the titan of crimson muscles and inquired: “It has regenerative abilities, along with a weak point on the back of its neck… You’re copying Attack on Titan?”

“Idiot!”

Akina’s Speedster shook his head while solemnly replying: “You’re too short sighted! Who are we? We're the Church of Light! So what does that make this giant? Let me show you!”

With these words, Akina’s Speedster took out a short Magic Staff, and lifted the improvised Transformer up high.

“Tiga Transformation! I will become the light!”

*Flash*

Brilliant white light burst from the Transformer.

As he ran towards the giant, his body broke into pieces and was absorbed into the giant’s body.

The alchemical gem on the titan’s chest glowed red, and the Giant of Light, Ultraman Akina’s Speedster, opened his eyes and slowly got up. Dust fell from the ceiling as the giant underground chamber shook from his movements.

The gathered players looked at one another and smirked; the solemn atmosphere was all but gone. “After being on the run while evading death these past few years, each of us has slowly matured, and become a leader in his own right. But Akina’s Speedster is still as crazy as ever.”

…

Meanwhile, on a busy street…

A tall and slender man in wizard robes was asking passersby for directions while listening to music. He wore earbuds, which were connected to an exquisite music box in his pocket through a wire that looked like a pulsing blood vessel.

His manner was very polite. “Could you please tell me if there have been any unusual incidents in the city lately? Or if any monsters have appeared in the close-by forest?”

After asking around for a while, he got the information he wanted, and silently marked a location on his map.

“So, there’s a weird creature in the neighboring desolate forest? Hopefully, I’ll get what I want… After all, if I don’t get you, then one of the others will sooner or later. If that happens, then this Magic World will truly come to an end!”

“As far as this world is concerned, they’re truly invading Evil Gods.”

“Those bastard invading powers will destroy this pristine land!”

Standing on the bustling stone-paved street, Longji sighed as he looked up at the blue sky. He’s truly grown attached to this land over the past few years.

“You guys think you’re only playing a game, but this could affect the fate of the entire world, affect tens of millions of lives!”

The Magic World was vast.

If someone tried their best to hide, then even people like him would have a hard time finding them. Furthermore, it was no coincidence that the players who remained had survived. They’ve all become masters at covering their tracks, and have disappeared without a trace.

Contrary to his peers, who chose to seize control of giant beasts with their muscles, Longji has shrunk over time, gradually taking the form of an ordinary human being.

At this time, a Third-Level Witch who was passing by paused and started sniffing the air in alarm. “This evil, nausea-inducing stench, could it be…”

She turned and looked back. The young wizard with the odd alchemical contraptions on his ears who had been asking passersby for direction was gone.

The witch had a somber expression on her face as she hoarsely murmured:

“That must have been the Evil God who’s hidden among the people, ‘The Nameless Mist’ Yog-Sothoth.”

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