Chapter 20: Glitches in the God Program
Location: The Battle Grid – Map: Ruined Cathedral
The digital rain fell in torrents, soaking the cobblestones of the cathedral square.
At the North Gate, the European Battle Academy team had entrenched themselves. Five towering knights in silver nano-plate armor stood shoulder-to-shoulder. Their energy shields overlapped, creating a hexagonal dome of translucent blue light—the "Hex-Barrier."
It was the ultimate defense. It could withstand a tactical nuke.
Arthur, the European Captain, peered through his visor. "Hold the line! They have a fast team. They will try to flank. Do not break formation!"
"Captain!" A scout shouted. "Incoming! Twelve o'clock!"
Arthur looked up.
A golden comet was tearing through the rain.
"DRAGON FIST!"
Long Ao roared, slamming into the Hex-Barrier with the force of a freight train.
BOOM.
The barrier rippled violently, turning red at the point of impact. The shockwave blew the rain backward, creating a mist of steam.
But the barrier held.
"Reflect!" Arthur commanded.
The shield pulsed. The kinetic energy from Long Ao's punch was multiplied and fired back.
BANG.
Long Ao was blasted backward, skidding across the wet pavement. "Damn turtles!" he spat, wiping digital blood from his lip. "Their shell is too hard!"
"Flanking maneuver failed," Gu Jian reported over the comms. He appeared in a blur of motion on the left flank, but a secondary shield wall blocked his path. "They are boxed in tight. 360-degree coverage."
"It's a stalemate," Bai Ling noted, freezing the ground beneath the knights to try and destabilize them. "If we can't break the shell, we lose on time."
"Who said anything about a stalemate?"
A voice came from the sky.
Arthur looked up. Perched on the very tip of the cathedral spire, stood Jiang Chen. Lightning flashed behind him, illuminating his silhouette.
Jiang Chen raised his hand. His eyes were glowing a terrifying, deep purple.
[System Override: Grandmist Authority.]
[Local Physics Modified.]
[Parameter: Gravity.]
[Target Area: North Gate.]
[Value: 50G.]
Jiang Chen clenched his fist. "Down."
CRUNCH.
It wasn't an attack. It was an atmospheric collapse.
The five European knights instantly collapsed. Their nano-armor groaned under the sudden, crushing weight. Their knees smashed into the stone. The majestic Hex-Barrier flickered and shattered because the projectors were being pressed into the dirt.
"What... what is this?!" Arthur gasped, struggling to lift his head. It felt like a mountain was sitting on his neck. "System error! The gravity... it's broken!"
Jiang Chen jumped from the spire.
He didn't fall. He descended like a meteor.
"Grandmist Art: Comet Drop."
He landed directly in the center of the formation.
KA-BOOM.
The impact was cataclysmic. The cobblestone square disintegrated. The five knights were launched into the air—ragdolled by the shockwave—and then slammed back down by the 50G gravity.
Jiang Chen stood in the center of the crater, untouched.
"Formation broken," Jiang Chen dusted off his shoulder. "Feng Xi, clean up."
"Aye aye, Captain!"
From the rooftops, Feng Xi appeared. She pointed her staff. The tip glowed with the intensity of a collapsing star.
"Solar Art: Orbital Ray."
A beam of pure white light descended from the clouds, sweeping across the paralyzed European team.
[Player Eliminated: Arthur]
[Player Eliminated: Joan]
[Player Eliminated...]
One by one, the knights dissolved into digital pixels.
[Match Complete.]
[Winner: Imperial University.]
[Time: 2 Minutes, 14 Seconds.]
Scene: The Viewing Deck
The crowd in the station went wild.
"Did you see that?!"
"He manipulated the game physics!"
"Is that even legal? Gravity magic shouldn't be that strong!"
General Iron crossed his metal arms, a rare grin on his face. "Brute force is one thing. Changing the rules of the engagement... that is true warfare."
In the corner, the Academy of Silence watched without moving.
The Bandaged Boy (Subject 01) tilted his head.
"The Origin... bends reality," he rasped. "We... must... break it."
Scene: The Battle Grid – Match 2
Map: Cyberpunk Slums (Night)
American Hunter Institute VS Academy of Silence
The map loaded. It was a neon-lit maze of skyscrapers and dirty alleyways.
The American team spawned in the center. They were loud and confident.
"Let's hunt some ghosts, boys!" The Captain, a massive werewolf mutant named Butch, loaded his heavy Gatling gun. "Spread out! Use the thermal scopes! If it moves, turn it into Swiss cheese!"
The five Americans moved tactically, securing the high ground.
But something was wrong.
Usually, the simulation had ambient noise—traffic, wind, distant sirens.
But this map was dead silent.
"Contact!" A scout yelled. "Sector 4! I see... wait, what is that?"
Butch looked through his scope.
Standing in the middle of the street was a single member of the Silent Academy. A girl with long black hair covering her face. She was just standing there, twitching.
"Open fire!" Butch ordered.
BRRRT!
The Gatling gun roared. Hundreds of high-caliber rounds shredded the girl. She fell apart, turning into grey mist.
"Target down," Butch grinned. "That was ea—"
[System Error.]
[Target Not Found.]
"What?" Butch blinked. "I just killed her."
Suddenly, the grey mist didn't dissipate. It swirled. It expanded. It seeped into the textures of the buildings, turning the neon lights grey.
The "dead" girl reformed. But now, there were two of them.
Then four. Then eight.
"It's a virus!" The scout screamed. "They're multiplying!"
From the shadows, the Bandaged Boy stepped out. He wasn't walking on the ground. He was walking through the digital walls, glitching the graphics as he passed.
He pointed at the American scout on the roof.
"Disconnect."
The Bandaged Boy clenched his hand.
In the real world, inside the simulation pod, the American scout started screaming.
In the game, the scout's avatar didn't just die. It glitched. His body stretched infinitely, textures tearing, polygons exploding.
[Player: Scout - CRITICAL FAILURE]
[Bio-Feedback limit exceeded.]
"What are you doing?!" Butch roared, terrified. "This is a game!"
"Is it?"
The Bandaged Boy appeared behind Butch.
He touched Butch's neck.
Black corruption spread instantly. Butch's avatar began to rot. His skin turned grey, his eyes melted.
"The Void... is the only reality."
Butch tried to disconnect.
[Logout Failed.]
[Logout Failed.]
[Logout Failed.]
"NO! LET ME OUT!"
The screen went black.
[Match Complete.]
[Winner: Academy of Silence.]
[Time: 4 Minutes.]
[American Team Status: 5 Casualties (Comatose).]
Scene: The Simulation Deck - Reality
The pods hissed open.
Jiang Chen stepped out, feeling refreshed. His team was celebrating their easy win.
But the celebration died instantly.
Across the room, the American pods opened.
The students didn't step out.
Medics rushed in. "We have seizures! Heart rates are spiking! Get the crash carts!"
Butch was convulsing, foam leaking from his mouth. His veins were black.
Jiang Chen walked over, pushing past the medics. He looked at Butch.
[Grandmist Perception]
He saw it. It wasn't a biological virus. It was a digital curse that had traveled through the neural link and attacked the soul.
"They brought the Void into the server," Jiang Chen whispered.
He looked across the room.
The Academy of Silence students were standing by their pods. They looked perfectly fine.
The Bandaged Boy looked directly at Jiang Chen. He slowly raised a finger to his masked lips.
'Shhh.'
Then he dragged his thumb across his neck.
Jiang Chen's eyes went cold. The Grandmist Core in his chest spun violently, reacting to the threat.
"General Iron," Jiang Chen said loudly.
"What is it, Jiang Chen?" The General looked stressed, watching the medics work.
"Cancel the rest of the matches."
"What? We can't just cancel—"
"Cancel them," Jiang Chen drew Nightfall, the purple blade humming in the real world. "Or I will kill them right here."
He pointed his sword at the Academy of Silence.
"That wasn't a match. That was a feeding ritual."
The Bandaged Boy laughed. It was a dry, rasping sound.
"Too late, Vessel. The link... is already open."
RUMBLE.
The entire space station shook.
Outside the window, the massive Black Hole pulsed.
A tear opened in the fabric of space—right in the middle of the Welcome Hall.
[WARNING: VOID BREACH DETECTED.]
[STATION INTEGRITY COMPROMISED.]
From the tear, a massive claw emerged.
"The Tournament is over," Jiang Chen said, his aura exploding outwards. "Mo You! Feng Xi! Combat Mode!"
"Finally," Mo You materialized, dual daggers drawn. "I was tired of playing video games."
"Let's dance," Jiang Chen snarled.
[Arc 2 Climax: The Battle for Station 9.]