The crowd began to thin out as many were slaughtered without mercy. Mike started to worry about Ice and Hero, but deep down he knew they would survive. They would defend themselves if they had to. Yes. And besides, he would be reunited with them any second now.

The assistant moved forward through the ground. Mike had to push his way through the players, shoving them aside. After about a minute of forcing his way through, he spotted Hero. It was really him.

"Hero!"

Hero turned around and immediately ran toward Mike. He stopped in front of him. The expression on his face was tense, but that was to be expected in a situation like this.

"Mike! Ice was dragged off that way!"

Mike's eyes widened. He immediately ran in the direction Hero pointed to. He forced his way through the mass of people until a small circle formed, free of humans except for Ice and one other person.

Mike looked more closely. The man had a green snake around his neck, green hair, and a scar across his right eye. Mike realized instantly that Ice was being attacked.

Mike ran into the circle and shouted, "Hey you, leave her alone!"

He was about to draw his sword, but he stopped. He could not believe his eyes. The player with the snake around his neck raised his hands. A white aura surrounded both of them.

Mike could not process it. It had to be true. Another admin.

The snake player looked Mike straight in the eyes.

"And who are you that I should listen to you?"

Mike was about to answer, but suddenly the snake around the man's neck moved and shot toward Ice. It coiled around Ice's neck, squeezing tight. She could barely breathe.

The other admin laughed. His hair was blown back by the wind.

"I would hurry if I were you. She is dying. And fast."

Suddenly, the sand behind him was thrown up. Mike drove his hand straight through the green haired admin's body. Blood ran down from his lips.

"Wha what…"

Mike hoped it was not over yet. He wanted more. The snake around Ice's neck loosened and shot back, wrapping itself around its master again.

Mike violently ripped his hand out. A pool of blood formed beneath them. The admin stumbled back a few steps, swayed, and collapsed into the sand.

But his snake began to twitch violently. It writhed, then started to grow. Bigger and bigger. It crushed everyone in its path as it expanded. When it had become enormous, the growth finally stopped.

The giant snake took the admin into its mouth and swallowed him. Whether it devoured him or protected him, Mike did not know.

People screamed all around them. Hero ran over, lifted Ice up, and looked at Mike. Mike nodded to him. Hero ran off and disappeared into the crowd.

Mike now stood alone before the massive green snake. They stared at each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

This time, Mike had only his two hands equipped. He waited for the snake to attack, but then decided to strike first.

From the side, the five shadows that followed him appeared. They leapt onto the snake and hammered their blows into its thick scales. It probably hurt a little, but it did not deal serious damage. The snake twisted violently and crushed the shadows with its massive body.

That was Mike's chance.

He jumped and landed perfectly on the snake's back. It was already starting to turn again, so Mike had to be faster. While still in the air, he summoned his sword from his inventory and landed with the tip of the blade driven into the snake's scales. He took a few steps, then jumped off, dragging the sword with him and tearing open a large wound along the snake's body.

By now, several mages around Mike had joined in, hurling fireballs and various useless spells at the snake. None of it seemed to hurt.

Mike landed back on the ground and pulled his sword free. Despite its wound, the snake launched an attack. It leapt high into the air, trying to crush Mike with its massive body. Mike dove into the crowd of players. The snake slammed down and crushed several people instead.

Disoriented, the snake looked around, searching for Mike, but in vain.

Then shadows began to pour out of the crowd. From every side and every corner, many shadows rushed toward the snake. Some of them were armed with swords. Others grabbed weapons lying on the ground. The shadows stabbed into the snake again and again.

After many more strikes, the snake finally collapsed. Its body shattered into thousands of blue fragments. The green haired man fell to the ground.

A shadow darted forward, grabbed him, and carried him away.

The players looked around, confused. None of them understood what had just happened. Who possessed such overwhelming power?

But there was no time to think. A new distraction appeared.

High in the sky, glowing letters formed.

"3 million players will be teleported!"

When the other admin opened his eyes, he found himself in a throne hall. He was forced to kneel.

"What? Where? Where am I?"

The green haired man looked to his right. Shadow creatures stared at him with hostile intent. He knew that a single wrong move would mean death.

When his gaze shifted forward, he saw a black throne. Sitting upon it was a shadow, or so he assumed. It had red eyes mixed with a faint blue glow. Both of its hands shone white, and the aura pressing down on him was almost unbearable.

The shadow spoke.

"Tell me where your power comes from."

The green haired man wore a terrified expression and looked away, yet he spoke.

"I am one as well. Why are you so much stronger?"

Suddenly, the man tore himself free. A white aura appeared around his hands and he charged forward, ready to kill whatever sat upon the throne.

But a swift flash echoed through the throne hall, and the head of the green haired man flew.

Mike sheathed his sword back into his inventory and sighed.

"I was planning to ask more questions."

The shadows looked at him but said nothing.

Then Mike spoke again. "I am returning now and will finish this quickly."

He meant Aqua Kingdom and sighed once more. He wanted to get it over with as fast as possible.

So he left the shadows behind and opened his eyes. He found himself standing beside Ice and Hero.

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