VR- BATTLEFIELD
[FINAL ROUND]
The once vibrant grass plains had been reduced to a ruined battlefield. The earth had been gouged and cracked from relentless clashes of elemental spells and weapon strikes, scorched black in places, while other patches smoldered with residual lightning and fire. The wind howled across the open field, carrying ash and the faint metallic scent of blood.
At the edge of the devastation stood a lone figure—tall, lean, and silent—his black hair fluttering slightly in the wind. Alistair Vaelthorne. His black eyes remained fixed on the two distant combatants at the heart of the battlefield.
To any normal observer, the fight would be invisible—mere flashes of color, shockwaves, and sound. But not to Alistair. His senses, enhanced by the Abyssal Blessing and his own monstrous instincts, allowed him to follow every movement with disturbing clarity.
On one side, Ryu—The Heavenly Demon.
Crimson flames curled around him like a living cloak, red mana blades in both hands, purple eyes glowing with intense bloodlust. A villain of unrivaled power.
On the other side, the golden-haired boy with blue eyes closed, wielding a greatsword of condensed lightning. Leon.
The Protagonist of the game.
Each strike exchanged between them sent tremors across the broken plains. Ryu used Flickering Phantom repeatedly, appearing at odd angles with erratic attacks, his movements sharp, honed by endless battles. But Leon, his eyes still closed, countered or dodged with uncanny precision. His body flowed like water, each step, twist, or shift of his blade perfectly timed. He moved before Ryu's sword even reached him—as though his body knew.
And that was the reason Alistair hadn't stepped in.
It wasn't arrogance. He didn't believe fighting them was beneath him. No, it was curiosity. A need to confirm something deeper.
Was this world truly the same as the game he once played with Sophia?
Even with Ethan Kael's memories, even with his own as Alistair, there had always been doubt, as he watched Leon in this trance-like state, he felt something settle in his mind.
Confirmation.
The ARES' UNSEEN HAND'S.
One of the most broken cheats in the game.
Leon was supposed to unlock it during a critical moment where Selena and Evelyn were both on the verge of elimination. In the original script, his grief, rage, and desperation impressed the god of war,ares . Ares granting his authority to leon.
But Alistair hadn't intervened. He had let the script play out. Let Ryu brutalize them. Let them fall just enough.
He glanced slightly to his left.
Elaine was on her knees, trying to heal Kael and Lyria with her nature magic. Her hands glowed green, pressing against their wounds. Blood clung to her robes, and sweat rolled down her temples. But her expression was steady, calm—even serene.
In the game, Elaine was shattered by Alistair's death. She withdrew. She stopped smiling. But now she was here, strong, focused.
Selena, short blonde-haired and once a victim of bullying, was at Evelyn's side, channeling a healing spell through her seared body, her hands trembling.
Further beyond, Morganna knelt beside what remained of her severed leg, trying to reattach an undead limb in place of what had been destroyed. She growled curses under her breath, not showing any reaction of pain.
As if her chest didn't have an fist size hole where her heart was, her blood sucked away leaving her body pale.
Alistair's eyes drifted toward Veylen's corpse. His headless body lay still, regeneration failed. Not even his pure-blooded vampire lineage could grow back a head when it was obliterated.
Dian's unconscious form rested against a shattered boulder, blown there by the explosion. He hadn't Awaken.
Yes. Major events were the same, but subtle threads had already shifted.
His match with Rael and Lyria during the ranking exams, for instance. That had never happened in the game. And Ryu… Ryu had never lost a match. Now he had. Ryu had never encountered Lunara during the exams, let alone tortured her.
The butterfly effect was real.
But some things were inevitableLike Selena's bulling incident or this.
[ARE'S UNSEEN HAND'S]
In the game, the skill was described simply—an ability that let the body act without the mind guided by Ares himself. The muscles themselves possessing their own consciousness. An authority of God of war. Where Ares himself guides the body to move.
But in front of screen it was just a skill. That triggered at critical HP, surrendering control of the character to an AI. That AI moved the protagonist with inhuman precision using every ability or skill with maximum efficiency.
Alistair remembered playing the game as Ethan. Watching Leon move like a phantom. Efficient. Precise. Deadly.
And now he was seeing it live.
Leon's lightning greatsword blurred into a golden arc. Ryu flickered behind him, and Leon's blade was already swinging to parry. Each of Ryu's illusions were ignored. Each real strike was met with perfect movement. Even now, Ryu wasn't using his full strength—Alistair knew that. Ryu was using only around 50% of strength, he used against Alastair. And Alastair know, even against him ryu didn't show all his cards.
The Heavenly Demon. The undefeated villain.
There was a saying in the player community: "The Heavenly Demon is undefeated."
Even in the endgame, he could solo entire teams. Ryu was a one-man apocalypse.
Still, Leon was keeping up.
Alistair narrowed his eyes.
He looked at his hand. The black flame within his palm danced softly. Abyssal power. Forbidden. Hungry.
Leon was receiving boons from gods. He had Ares. Soon, more would follow. Just like the game.
And him?
He was exiled. Disowned. Blessed by devils and abyssal constellations.
And destinyed to die.
So what if Leon had ARE'S UNSEEN HAND? So what if the protagonist was getting power up?
Alistair smirked.
He will crush him or main cast, if ever they tried to stand against him.
Like his destiny, by killing the assassins and surviving the assassination.
All of them being dead instead of him.
And
Today had proven more than he had hoped.
It was real.
The world was real. And it was changing.
TO BE CONTINUE....
Warning! Author note
I decided on name Ares unseen hand for now, if I get better name I'll change it. And want to say please leave a review or comments. From last week the numbers of reader a decreased by a lot, if there is problem with story leave it in comment or review. It's really affecting by motivation.