“What do you mean by that? What happened?” Tae-Sung grimaced and asked.

— Those pillars of light that still haven’t disappeared.

“Yeah? What about them?”

— Something seems to have gone wrong. Those pillars of light did not disappear and instead started turning black. And then... a black hole suddenly appeared.

“What?!”

— And right now, the black hole is spreading as if trying to merge the four pillars of light into one. As soon as they combine... I'm sure they will form one massive black hole.

“I’m logging in right now. See you in the game.”

Tae-Sung cut the conversation short and immediately logged in.

After all, seeing it with his own eyes was far better than hearing about it a hundred times.

As soon as he logged in, the first thing that greeted him was none other than a system notification popping up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: The 4th Main Scenario of BNW has begun!]

[Alert: Main scenario, The End, begins!]

The content of the fourth main scenario was as follows:

[The End]

[I am omnipotent and omniscient. By my will, I shall descend myself.]

[Protect this world from the Creator!]

[Type: Hidden Quest/Main Scenario]

[Progress: 0% (0/1)]

[Reward: N/A]

[Warning: The world will be reset if you fail to clear this Main Scenario.]

The fourth main scenario of BNW had been waiting for his return from vacation.

“What the hell is this insanity...?” Siegfried muttered under his breath, completely dumbfounded.

He had gone through all the trouble of eliminating the remnants of the Illuminati and stopping the Creator’s descent, and yet now, the Creator himself was making a move to descend without the ritual.

Michael approached him and said with a grim look, “Siegfried... F-Father is...”

“He is planning to descend himself without the ritual?”

“...Yes. I can feel His will. He’s trying to return to this world using His own powers.”

“We have to stop him. We can’t just let him do what he wants,” Siegfried said firmly.

“B-But...”

“What? Are you going to sit around and accept your death?”

“That’s not what I meant. It’s just that... the Creator of all things is set on descending upon this world, so how can we possibly stop—”

“Let’s not despair just yet. Even if we will all die soon, we should at least try everything we can to survive, no?” Siegfried said, placing his hand on Michael’s shoulder.

“That is true...”

“I’ll go take a look around first.”

After saying that, Siegfried met up with Hamchi and headed toward the place where the black hole was forming.

“W-What the hell is this...” Siegfried gasped.

The sight before him was so shocking that he staggered backward.

Gwoooooooh!

Before his very eyes, space itself had been ripped open. The ground before it had completely vanished, and there was no way to tell which was the ground or the sky anymore.

It was as if a hole had opened in the world itself or a portion of the map had accidentally been deleted, causing a pitch-black cosmic void to occupy the space instead.

Whatever it was, the black hole was growing in size, devouring everything around it.

Ironically, the name of this black hole was none other than the Void.

[Void]

[A space filled with nothingness that devours the world around it.]

[It is not a real black hole, but it will continue expanding until it eventually consumes the entire world.]

[Dungeon Difficulty: ★★★★★★★★★★★★★]

[Recommended Level: 500 to 998]

[Entry Restriction: Level 299+]

[Warning 1: Upon entering this dungeon, you cannot come out of it until the boss is defeated.]

[Warning 2: Any Adventurer who dies in this dungeon will have their death penalty timer increased to 365 days.]

The recommended level going all the way up to Level 998 basically meant that this dungeon was indeed BNW’s final endgame content.

Ironically, it was hard to tell if it was meant to be cleared or not, as anyone could tell from the recommended level alone that this was not something that could be cleared.

Unless the Level 999 Hidden NPC, Deus, attempted it, no one would be able to clear the Void.

“The Creator is the final boss,” Siegfried muttered under his breath. He was certain that the boss of the Void and the final boss of BNW was none other than the Creator.

Otherwise, the recommended level of this dungeon wouldn't be up to Level 998, and there was also no need for such extreme penalties on entering and dying in the dungeon.

***

After seeing the Void with his own eyes, Siegfried immediately called for a meeting.

They had succeeded in stopping the ritual that would allow the Creator to descend by destroying the altars and censers, but there was no way for them to stop the Creator from descending through His own sheer will.

Now, there was only one thing left to do for the Adventurers and NPCs living in this world. They had to enter the Void and defeat the Creator.

“I think we should form a raid party and attempt to clear the Void.”

Siegfried gathered every Adventurer and NPC who had ties with him and made that announcement.

“...”

His comrades were at a loss for words after hearing that. To enter a place that was so dangerous and fight the Creator was, from their perspective, nothing short of absolute madness.

After all, there was a limit to breaking a boulder with eggs.

How were they supposed to defeat the omnipotent and omniscient being who created this world?

“I know it sounds crazy, but I think we have a chance. I mean, think about it,” Siegfried said. Then, he proceeded to explain, “A total of six pillars of light were needed for the Creator’s descent, right? We destroyed two of them and stopped the ritual, but the remaining four turned black and created the Void.

"Even if he’s the Creator, there is a high chance that his powers aren’t complete.

“Honestly, the fact that a supposedly omnipotent entity even needed a ritual to descend was weird. Also, don’t you think it’s strange that it’s taking so long for him to descend on his own, too?”

Siegfried’s reasoning made perfect sense.

If the Creator were truly omnipotent, then would there really be any need for such an inconvenient and complicated ritual just for him to descend?

“Besides, we have no other choice. We have to go into that thing and fight. So rather than despairing and giving up now, let’s hold onto hope and give it our all.”

Siegfried refused to entertain the thought of failing and erased it completely from his mind.

This raid was basically a bet with their characters on the line. If they failed to clear the Void, then not only would they lose their characters, but even the whole world would reset.

In other words, everything would be over.

Cheon Woo-Jin stepped forward and said, “I guess it can’t be helped. It’s not like this is our first rodeo going against what’s impossible, no? I’m in.”

After him, Chae Hyung-Seok stepped up as well. “I still have debts to pay. I’m screwed if the game ends here.”

The rest of Siegfried’s comrades all expressed their intention to participate in the raid.

“Do not forget about me.”

“I’m joining you on this one, little brother.”

“We are saying the world, so it’s only right for me to contribute.”

Draculis, Nanuqsa, and Shakiro also stepped forward.

And they were not alone...

Those who were confident of their combat ability volunteered to join the raid, too. When it came to saving the world—the game they all loved—they did not shy away.

Besides, Siegfried refused to be comrades with cowards who would choose to survive in a despicable manner rather than fight by his side anyway, so it was only natural that all of his comrades would answer his call to arms.

“We depart in three days. Finish everything you need to do by then.”

With those final words, Siegfried adjourned the meeting.

Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!

Gringore jotted down every word that Siegfried uttered, recording this moment into the annals of the Proatine Empire.

His Imperial Majesty rose firmly against the Creator who sought to destroy this world.

Heroes, comrades of His Imperial Majesty, answered his call to arms and vowed to advance alongside His Imperial Majesty into the Void.

His Imperial Majesty refused to give up on protecting this world, even if the enemy was the Creator himself.

Ah! Only His Imperial Majesty, Siegfried von Proa, is capable of saving this world!

The savior of the world! The very hope of the world!

Praise his name! Praise be to the holy hero!

Salvation

Siegfried von Proa I

Of course, there was no way of knowing whether this record would be passed down to later generations or vanish completely with the world.

Why?

If Siegfried's raid failed, then this record, too, would disappear along with the world.

***

For the next three days, those who had agreed to take part in the Void raid began their preparation. Some wrote their wills, some cleaned their homes, and others spent time with their loved ones.

Siegfried was among those people as well.

His heart was understandably heavy given the opponent he was about to face soon.

While he had a private save file of the game and could still meet the NPCs even if the game server were wiped, the mere thought that the game he loved for years could end up getting shut down made him feel suffocated.

Siegfried spent time with Brunhilde and Verdandi, sharing what could be their final moments together. They ate, drank tea, chatted, and did all sorts of things.

However, Brunhilde did not seem particularly worried.

“I believe in you. I know that you will return.”

Her faith in Siegfried was so absolute that it did not waver, no matter what kind of circumstances they faced.

“I believe in you, too, Father!”

Verdandi, too, encouraged Siegfried and helped him stay calm.

‘I really got lucky with my wife and daughter,’ Siegfried thought with a smile.

Even though this was all inside a game, he couldn’t help but smile after seeing just how loving Brunhilde and Verdandi were.

Time passed, and the day to challenge the Void finally arrived.

Among the raid members, the busiest was Yong Seol-Hwa. In the past three days, she prepared a mobile forge equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Nobody could exit the Void until the boss was defeated, so it would be a disaster if their gear got destroyed while they were inside. Thus, she came up with the plan to take on a supporting role for this raid and repair the equipment of her comrades.

After she was done with her preparations, she went to find Siegfried.

“I have something for you, oppa.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“This.” She took out a pure-white armor with a red cape from her inventory. It was an armor set she crafted using the Omnistone, and she was confident that it was the finest armor in existence.

“Even I don’t know what this armor’s rating is and what abilities it possesses,” she said.

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

“It has ridiculous potential. But I can’t see what the rating is, even though I crafted it myself. I’m guessing that should be telling enough, no?”

“Whoa...”

Siegfried flashed his Rune of Insight at the armor set to inspect it.

“W-What?!”

The armor set, named Siegfried’s Will Armor Set, had insane stats.

Its defense was triple that of his current gear, had special abilities that were yet to be revealed, and the ability to repair itself. While it was not a Universal-rated armor set, its stats exceeded any armor currently in existence.

“I always wanted to craft an armor set just for you,” Yong Seol-Hwa said, handing the armor set to him.

[Alert: You have obtained Siegfried’s Will Armor Set!]

The armor unfurled and automatically wrapped around Siegfried’s body.

It was a perfect fit.

Now, his gear setup was finally complete. With the Universal-rated weapon, Annihilation’s Grasp, and the new Siegfried’s Will Armor Set equipped, he finally had his endgame gear set.

“Thank you. I’ll use it well,” he said with a smile.

Then, he made his way toward the lake where Deus was fishing, as he wished to greet Deus before departing for the Void.

“What brings you here?” Deus asked, glancing back at him.

“Master...”

“Am I not going to see you ever again?”

“...Huh?”

“The way you were walking makes it seem as though you came to pay your final respects. Are you perhaps thinking that you will never see me again?”

Unsurprisingly, Deus saw right through Siegfried’s thoughts.

Siegfried hurriedly tried to deny it, stammering, “T-That was not what I meant—”

“You fool!” Deus roared.

Bam!

Deus’ fist crashed down on Siegfried’s head.