The cannon's runes pulsed brighter and brighter until the chamber shook with restrained force. The leading battle mage's hands steadied against the control arrays, and then the weapon roared.
A blinding arcane shot erupted from the barrel, tearing through the air like a falling star. Its trail of burning light cut across the battlefield, crossing human flanks and abyssal lines alike. The very sound of it shook the sky, a deafening hum that made soldiers and demons alike look up.
All eyes followed its path. Human warriors shouted in sudden hope. Abyssal demons scoffed with cold laughter. To them, this was nothing new. Again and again, they had seen the humans aim their cannons at the abyssal crystals that powered the gates. Again and again, they had watched those attacks dissolve against barriers woven by Tier 9 abyssal lords. To the demons, this was just another futile attempt, another desperate strike that would fail like the rest. Their mocking grins carried the certainty of experience.
But this time was different.
The shot streaked toward the great crystal embedded between the gates. The demons braced themselves for the sight of the familiar barrier flaring to life a shimmering wall of abyssal protection. But no barrier appeared.
The laughter froze on their faces.
The beam struck the crystal directly, and a tremor rippled outward. For the first time in this war, cracks spiderwebbed across the black surface. Faint lines of light bled through, glowing brighter with every heartbeat.
The abyssal demons nearest to it stumbled back in shock, their mouths open, their confidence turning to disbelief.
"This… impossible," one of them muttered, though his voice carried no sound within the illusion.
The field itself seemed to hold its breath.
Kaito's eyes gleamed. "Do not stop," he barked. "Fire again. Keep firing!"
The leading battle mage snapped out of his daze. His hands tightened on the controls, his heart pounding. This was history being written and he was at the center of it. For years he had sat at this station, firing endlessly at enemies, watching comrades die, never once believing they could strike at the heart of the abyssal gates. And now, with a single command from the Viscount, it was happening. He knew the greatest merit would fall to the noble who had given the order, but even to be part of the execution filled his chest with pride. With such credit, he could exchange for rare materials, rise in rank, and finally step onto the battlefield where he longed to fight.
"Power the cannon!" he commanded.
The four mages at the base responded with renewed vigor, their palms pressed hard against the glowing runes. Mana surged through them in thick streams, their veins lit with faint light as they poured everything they had into the device. The cannon's arrays flared, lines of golden power spinning faster around the barrel.
The leader was not the only ones excited. The powering mages too felt their hearts racing. To damage a crystal was unthinkable, yet they had seen it with their own eyes. Their names would forever be recorded in history for this. Even if they gained only a fraction of the merit, it would be enough to raise them far above their peers. They pushed harder, ignoring the sweat streaming down their foreheads, ignoring the trembling of their limbs. Their mana poured like rivers into the cannon.
Kaito stood behind them, his arms crossed, watching every second. He reminded himself again that this was just an illusion. None of these men were real. None of their dreams would survive outside this fragile world. And yet, despite knowing that, his chest tightened with emotion. They looked so human. Their determination was no different from that of soldiers who had once fought with their lives. For a moment, Kaito felt sorrow press against his heart. Even an illusion could stir something real.
Behind him, Mei Rin, Suzune, Raven Blade, Nina, Kaede, Lucien, and Aika stood silently. None of them spoke. Since entering this illusion, they had followed him without question, overwhelmed by the sheer scale of what they had seen. The battlefield itself was a living nightmare, more vivid and more terrifying than any dungeon they had ever cleared. They had seen sacrifices, bloodshed, power beyond measure all crafted so perfectly it could almost be real.
Mei rin's bow hand twitched, her knuckles pale. Nina's lips were pressed tight, her normally calm eyes shaken. Kaede and Lucien kept glancing at the towers and the gates as if afraid they might vanish. Even Suzune, always steady, looked shaken, as for Aika she already had tears glistening in her eyes. This was no ordinary dungeon. It was a vision of a war that once shook the world, and the Mist Queen Demon had forced them to step into it.
They had fought with Kaito before, faced bosses far above their levels, survived by following his orders. Yet nothing compared to this. If not for him, they would have been lost a hundred times already. If not for his calm voice, they would never have even made it this far.
Even though they had seen similar things in other virtual reality games, Glory was different. Its full realism made everything sharper, more majestic, and more overwhelming than any game before it.
At that moment, Kaito's voice broke through their awe. He turned to his team and spoke calmly. The leading mage had already fired the second shot toward the abyssal crystal, and Kaito was certain this one would destroy it. "As soon as the illusion collapses, be ready," he told them. "The Queen has likely already revived her Wraith Royal Guards and may even be healing herself, thinking we'd die in here. Once we're out, you focus on the guards while I finish the Queen. It won't take long."
His words carried weight. He wasn't guessing, he knew. In his past life, the guide he had studied had recorded every detail of this dungeon, including what would happen based on how quickly players broke the illusion. The Queen's arrogance had kept her from killing them directly. She trusted her illusion to finish them, as the system itself allowed. If they failed here, they would die inside it and suffer the heavy penalty. But if they escaped, they would face her again.
As Kaito spoke, the second arcane shot burst from the cannon, streaking like lightning across the sky. The ground quaked with its power. Every eye on the battlefield turned toward it, closing in on the abyssal crystal. The Abyssal Demons, who had scoffed before, now stared with alarm. They remembered how the first shot had already cracked the crystal. If this one landed, the crystal would shatter. That meant their gate would fall, and their advance into the Glory world would be broken.
Panic spread across their ranks.
The colossal demon that towered over the field let out a furious roar and swung its massive arm, trying to intercept the shot. But before its hand could rise, the three battle mages opposing it moved in perfect unity. They unleashed a combined spell that hammered the giant back, forcing it off balance. The demon's attempt to stop the beam failed.
Other abyssal creatures scrambled, clawing at the air, spitting curses, rushing forward as if they could somehow catch the unstoppable sphere of light. Human soldiers saw their desperation and redoubled their own efforts. Bursting with courage, they unleashed their strongest skills, cutting down demons that tried to reach the shot. The battlefield turned into a storm of blood and light.
The arcane blast did not falter. It cut straight through the chaos and slammed into the abyssal crystal.
This time, there was no resistance at all.
A blinding explosion erupted.
Light burst outward like a second sun, white-gold energy tearing apart the crystal from within. Cracks split open in every direction, shards of dark stone shooting out like meteors. A shockwave rippled through the field, sending demons sprawling and humans staggering back. The ground itself split, jagged lines racing outward as if the land screamed in pain.
The gates shuddered violently, their abyssal energy spiraling out of control. Streams of darkness spewed upward, twisting and writhing before shattering into nothing. The two circles feeding the gates flickered and collapsed, their power undone.
The explosion painted the battlefield in stark brilliance. For a moment, it looked as if dawn itself had risen against the abyss.
The humans raised their weapons high, roaring in victory. Shouts filled the sky, echoing with triumph and relief.
Kaito watched silently. The sight was magnificent. This was how history should have been written, he thought. Humanity standing together, shattering the abyss.
But the feeling did not last.
The world around him began to fracture.
The victorious soldiers faded first, their bodies breaking apart into glowing shards that drifted upward. The great demons vanished piece by piece, its roars cut short as its form dissolved. Even the leading mage, whose face was lit with excitement as he turned to Kaito, began to crumble into fragments of light. His words never reached his lips.
Kaito's chest tightened again, but this time he forced it down. He could not afford to waver now.
"Be ready," he said, his voice firm, carrying to Mei rin and the others. "The fight is about to begin."
The illusion collapsed around them, shards falling like glass, until only the throne room remained.