Season 4: Chapter 172. The Clash of the Peaks (3)

A few minutes earlier, Almond realized something odd. Black Pepper wasn’t attacking him. Despite firing arrows and using skills, nothing worked on her either. She didn’t dodge or block, yet every hit passed through harmlessly.

[Warning! The Avenger is immune to your attacks.]

That message flickered across his vision.

— Holy crap.

— That’s brutal.

— He killed her ten times; now karma hits back.

— What a perfect counter.

— Wait... can he even leave that space now??

Almond frowned at the notification.

“There must be a flaw somewhere,” he muttered, thinking aloud. “She isn’t attacking at all. Just laughing and running around.”

— Almondoyle has entered the chat.

— He’s analyzing mid-fight, LMAO

— Time for some Almond deduction!

— Does he read faces too or what?

His eyes darted around the space.

Then, with absolute seriousness, he said, “This... is a bug.”

— ???

— Excuse me, what?

— Your brain is bugged, bro

— Coding logic: unlocked

— Pixel detective turned debugger, lmao

***

When an Avenger cast Boundary, revenge was typically instant. The victim couldn’t harm the Avenger in any way, while the Avenger could freely strike back. This was meant to be an absolute counter.

“Just trap him. Don’t kill him. It’s better that way.”

That had been Shrimp’s order.

“Even if you kill him, he’ll just respawn anyway.”

Killing Almond inside the domain wouldn’t end him. He’d resurrect somewhere else and return to battle. The safest move was to seal him here to neutralize him.

‘Right. I’m just here to keep him locked down.’

It was a sound plan. After all, Almond had once razed the entire Paprika Village without any gear. Why risk letting that monster loose on the battlefield again?

“

Hahahahahahaha!

” Black Pepper cackled wildly and sprinted around like a lunatic.

[Boundary Shift]

Fwoosh!

[Boundary Shift]

Fwoosh!

She teleported randomly within the barrier and spammed the ability nonstop. Her goal was clearly to stall, confuse, and waste time.

‘As long as I keep this up, victory is certain.’

The Boundary could only end in two ways. Either one of them died, or Black Pepper lifted it herself. She had effectively sealed Almond indefinitely.

‘A perfect victory.’

She felt so giddy that she couldn’t resist bragging to her viewers.

“I’ve sealed this demon inside!

Ahahahahaha!”

— LMAO, that’s insane.

— She’s literally the final boss now.

— Ten deaths paid back in full!

— Justice served, sis!

Meanwhile, Almond kept theorizing.

“There are three possibilities. First, this is indeed a bug.”

A hopeless theory if there ever was one.

“Second, there’s probably a hole somewhere in this domain.”

— What??

— That’s even more bugged, bro.

— He’s speedrunning glitches now.

— He’s gonna clip through the wall, I swear.

— The scariest part is it might actually work, lol

“And third...”

Click!

Dramatic background music swelled as he pointed to the sky. “When enough time passes, it’ll naturally...”

BOOM!

Almond suddenly vanished mid-sentence. His armor clattered to the ground where he had stood. He had died, but how?

Ta-da!

[RubySword has donated a whopping 1,000,000 won!]

[Option 4: Bang!]

— NO WAY.

— THE QUEEN RETURNS!

— “Ruby the Fourth Batter” back at it again!

— She just sniped him out of existence!

— This is content gold.

Almond suddenly disappeared from the Boundary because a donation had killed him.

“

Hahahaha...

Huh?” Black Pepper kept laughing while spinning in circles until she realized he was gone.

Her grin froze, and confusion settled in as the realization dawned too late.

***

Moments later, Almond respawned in the Radish House.

“Wow.”

— LMAO, dying gets you kicked out, huh?

— Technically makes sense.

— So now what?

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

— Wait... he lost his bow??

He looked around with a sigh and bowed his head toward the camera. “Thank you, Ruby Sword. Your grace...”

Clack.

He opened a chest and grabbed a spare Obsidian sword, much weaker than his bow but serviceable.

“... will be repaid in blood.”

— LOL he means it.

— This man is ready to duel God.

— Ruby, you absolute legend.

— The Queen saves the war again.

Shrrk!

With his armor on and sword in hand, Almond dashed out of Radish House and sprinted toward the fortress once more.

***

The Great Arcade had become a battlefield. Team Rocket and the Knights clashed in the chaos of flame and steel.

“DIEEE!”

“

ARGHH!

”

“Strike! STRIKE!”

“You’re mine!”

Every skill flared out at once. Magic, steel, and screams merged into pandemonium. Without Almond, the balance tipped as the Knights faltered.

Shrimp shouted once again, “Domain Expansion: Magma Field!”

Lava swallowed the ground and cornered the Knights.

“D-Damn it!”

“What now, Sir Radish Servant!?”

Without the Guardian, Radish Servant became their leader.

‘I know...’

His sharp eyes locked onto a single opening, a fleeting chance to cut Shrimp down.

THWACK!

He leaped, blade flashing downward.

‘Now!’

The narrow seam between Shrimp’s armor plates... He drove his sword toward it.

“DIIIIE!”

“Too slow.”

CLAAANG!

The sword stopped cold.

“Huh...?”

Shrimp merely raised his shoulder. The armor shifted and sealed the gap, trapping Radish Servant’s blade in between the plates.

“W-What the hell!?”

Shrimp grinned with a hideously confident smirk. “

Hahahaha!

Do we still look like the same old Team Rocket, Sweet Radish?”

— Holy hell.

— That’s terrifying.

— He’s possessed or what?

— Bro’s got boss music on.

Radish Servant struggled to pull his sword free, but Shrimp kept it locked effortlessly. All Shrimp needed to do was stall.

[Lava Zone]

RUMBLEEEEE...

The molten field spread wider, burning everything except him.

[HP: 73%]

Radish Servant’s health began to drop.

“D-Dammit! What kind of neck muscles are those!?”

Shrimp laughed darkly. “You’d understand if you knew how many hours we’ve spent swinging pickaxes, mining ore, and living in the pits, Sweet Radish.”

[HP: 51%]

Radish Servant’s HP fell further. He decided to make a desperate move and let go of his sword.

Clatter.

Shrimp staggered back slightly.

Radish Servant opened his inventory with only one backup weapon left.

[Iron Sword]

It was of pitiful quality. Still, he raised it.

SPLASH!

A wave of magma splashed up and coated the blade, which melted instantly and dissolved like sugar on teeth.

Shrimp rose from the lava like a devil baptized in flame, laughing. “

Wahahaha!

What did you just pull out, huh, Sweet Radish?”

“...”

[HP: 31%]

This seemed like the end for Radish Servant. If he ran, he’d be cut down. If he stayed, he’d burn alive.

“Burn! Melt away, Cheese dogs! You’re

made

to melt!” Shrimp howled triumphantly.

“Sir Radish Servant! What do we do!?”

The rest of the Knights were collapsing under the lava field as well.

“Dammit, everyone, respawn and regroup! That’s all we can do!” He trembled, half in defiance and half in despair.

“

Hahahaha!

You think we’ll give you the chance this time!? We’re taking Zelo and... huh?” Shrimp turned toward the execution stage.

His grin froze.

‘What...?’

Radish Servant blinked and followed his gaze.

SHRRRING!

Something flashed through the air. A slash of pure wind tore through the ground.

“!”

It cleaved straight through Shrimp. A gust surged past like a great beast’s roar.

Whoooosh!

Radish Servant’s eyes widened.

‘What was that...?’

For a brief instant, he saw the form of a white tiger roaring with divine fury.

[Stance of the White Tiger]

“

Guh!?

” Shrimp looked down in disbelief.

CRACK!

His adamantium armor split wide open, shattered cleanly by a single strike.

“W-Who...!?”

Radish Servant didn’t need to reply.

His shaky voice echoed through the battlefield anyway. “That... that’s the Lord! Lord Almond!!”

— WHATTT?!

— HE’S BACK!!

— The goat returns!!

— Literal goosebumps!!

Almond had returned.

“A-Almond... how...?” Shrimp stammered, trembling.

He’d seen Black Pepper seal Almond away. The Guardian wasn’t supposed to be here.

Almond didn’t reply. He simply drew a spear instead of his bow.

CRACKLE!

Blue lightning surged along the weapon.

[Roar of the Azure Dragon]

KA-BOOOOOOM!

A blinding surge of blue lightning exploded outward.

Shrimp convulsed violently. “

GUAAARGHHHKK!!

”

THUD.

He collapsed, twitching.

[Increased damage against high-grade armor]

Lightning attacks dealt more damage the better the armor, making it the perfect counter to Adamantium.

THUNK!

Almond drove the spear through Shrimp’s chest.

[Shrimp has been slain.]

The Magma Field instantly dissolved.

“What!?”

“T-The magma field is gone!?”

“It’s over!?”

The Knights, moments from burning alive, had been saved. With Shrimp’s fall, Team Rocket’s army froze in shock.

Radish Servant saw an opening.

He marched forward, lifted Shrimp’s massive head by the hair, and shouted to the heavens, “The Lord has returned! The enemy general is dead!!!”

The battlefield erupted.

“What!? The Lord’s back!?”

“No way!”

“He killed Shrimp!!”

“THE LORD RETURNS!!”

For the Knights, a miracle had occurred. For Team Rocket, he was despair incarnate.

“

WAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

”

After the seismic shift in morale, the Knights fought like reborn men even with lesser gear.

Clash! Slash!

Steel met steel as they pressed their attack.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket stumbled in confusion.

“W-What!? Shrimp went down!?”

“Where’s Black Pepper!?”

“Even Adamantium didn’t save him!?”

Orange took command. “Focus! We only need Zelo! Head for Zelo!”

They only ever had one goal: to rescue Zelo and escape.

“Grab him and use the return scroll! MOVE!”

They surged toward the execution stage, but froze.

“Huh?”

SSSSHHHHHHK!

Fire crackled. The platform with Zelo was already ablaze. Beside him, Choco Shroom was tied up as well. This had all been Almond’s doing.

— HAHAHAHAHA

— Wait WHAT?

— Why is Choco tied too!?

— Bro went full chaos mode!!

“N-No! Stop it!!!”

BOOOOOOM!

The final fuse burned out, and a powerful explosion occurred. Zelo and Choco Shroom flew up into the sky like rockets.

FWOOSH!

They soared higher and higher, streaking flames across the night sky.

— OH MY GOD.

— They’re going to Mars!!

— He left beautifully

— Zelo’s final art performance, lmao

— New couple: Astronaut & Mushroom.

— Off they go, honeymoon to the moon~

At that very moment, the viewer count skyrocketed along with them. Zelo would later say that this was his favorite moment of all time.