A Village Appeared on My Desktop

---

Chapter 188 – The Savior (8)

“What now, did something else happen?”

As I stared at the screens, all geared up but unable to just munch on the water or candies I had prepared, I pondered when and how I should use my power.

I frowned at the faint sound of sirens. Nowadays, the air raid sirens that I thought I’d only hear during civil defense drills were ringing way too often.

“Aren’t we supposed to evacuate? The alarms are going off.”

“We’re far enough away, it’s fine. This place is… safer.”

My younger sibling knocked, so I stepped outside for a moment. They peeked outside, looking anxious at the sound of the sirens.

But after a brief hesitation, I shook my head. I couldn’t leave my post right now. Besides, even if something did happen, I could fight back or, if necessary, open a portal to escape, so being home felt safer.

“What about Mom and Dad? The attacks are increasing.”

“Didn’t you hear the announcement? Now Seoul is more dangerous. If you weren’t in school, I’d have sent you down.”

Despite being only 20, my innocent sibling was immensely serious at that moment, clearly feeling the fear.

According to the government’s announcement, the bugs were increasingly targeting urban areas, causing more and more damage.

Thanks to that, I worried less about our parents in the countryside, but my face stiffened at the bugs’ cunning actions.

Our losses would continue to accumulate, and the civilization we enjoyed would slowly sink. Even if we didn’t die, for us, who were used to modern technology and international exchange, losing that was severe enough.

“Hang in there.”

I even felt resentful towards the users whose faces I didn’t even know. Given my past experiences facing bugs, it felt particularly lacking.

Until now, it was the local Earth forces spearheading the fight against the bugs. The guardians nurtured by the users were still too few and not effective.

If this continues, the bug swarm will only grow larger. They’re like cancer cells that need to be killed off early, and honestly, watching what they do so far was a bit nerve-wracking.

“Someone will show up, right? Every user must have at least one main fighter.”

“They must be out there. But that’s not entirely in the users’ hands.”

Noticing my sibling stomping their feet in frustration, I smiled bitterly. I realized again, while observing another world, that heroes are not made; they’re innate.

Heroes are born with the qualities of a hero. When a crisis strikes, it’s those who awaken and show up to save people who already possess that qualification from the start.

The only reason I could push the bugs more easily was thanks to the innate hero Riena’s appearance.

For this reason, I understood how crucial the users’ insight is. Most users, including Lee So-Yeon, agreed with that statement.

“Where’s Earth’s Riena right now?”

After dragging my sibling back into the room and settling down, I blankly stared at the screens.

I hoped that Riena, engaged in what I’d like to consider the final battle, was standing at the forefront, piercing through the enemy’s defenses alongside countless comrades.

*

“Don’t you feel something? Their strength is running low now.”

“Is that so? It looks to me like they’ll charge at me to the end even if one of them is left.”

In the fierce battleground, Riena shook her head at Rakum, who fought alongside her. She too recognized that the enemy’s momentum was gradually tapering off.

However, it was more due to the realities pressing down on them, rather than the bugs hesitating, as they charged head-on without any reservations. For them, that was as natural as breathing.

“That’s why we have to crush them this time for sure.”

She gritted her teeth at the heaps of enemy corpses. Among those piled up corpses were not few of her own allies.

The Allied Forces had bet a lot on this battle. They needed to sever this bitter tie before it grew deeper.

“Everyone, duck!”

At that moment, a grand magic was cast, and countless fire arrows descended from the magic circle that had risen in the sky. There were even two such spells cast simultaneously.

Those waiting for the right timing made their decision to strike.

“They’re falling!”

“The ones still standing are variants. Warriors, hurry!”

The grand magic that could strike a wide area was highly effective against the densely packed enemies.

Just like the bugs scattered poison to prevent clustering, they too had a way to punish the clumped-up foes.

“This time for sure.”

Riena tightened her grip on her sword, seeing the brief opening created by the magic’s effects.

What lay ahead was the biggest nest of the bugs. She thought they could win if they captured it and killed the leader inside, thus she began charging forward again.

“Follow me! Just follow the Saintess, and we’ll get there!”

“Don’t hesitate over scratches. Look at that light; just being near the Saintess will heal your wounds.”

Leading the way, she became everyone’s beacon. No matter what enemy appeared, she sliced through them, and her divine presence was so strong that anyone injured near her would heal.

“Could such a war even be possible?”

Rihar, the mage hailing from the Kingdom of Baruk who had joined the Allied Forces, marveled unconsciously at that sight.

Even from their first encounter as enemies, the war the Arin Tribe was waging against the bugs shattered conventional understanding of warfare.

The artifacts and skills brought from the world of games truly demonstrated miracles on the battlefield.

“That person also wants to fight. Let’s go!”

“Don’t you fight alongside trusted individuals? These won’t retreat.”

Not only that, but a translucent machine gun burst through the hazy sky, and miraculously began gunning down the bugs blocking their path as if it had been waiting for this moment.

Seeing the bugs getting turned into mush, the Allied Forces, after reining in their wavering hearts from the death of comrades and the coldness of monsters, managed to recharge their morale and continued charging forward.

Rihar groaned silently as he gazed at it all. The bugs, moving under the cold and mechanical control of the neural body without personal instincts or desires, were being overwhelmed by heated fighting spirit.

Those who realized this couldn’t help but be inspired. It felt like unlocking a high potential hidden within them.

Amidst the clear intersection of each other’s advantages and disadvantages, the residents who had grown with Jun-Young’s assistance ultimately claimed victory.

“You must be mistaken. But I won’t give you another chance to find the answer.”

Riena’s eyes glimmered as she effortlessly split a variant that charged at her with a sword. Whether they understood her warning or not didn’t matter.

Though her body ached, she needed to scream to relieve her boiling heart.

Step by step, without dodging the fiercely resisting enemies, she continued to advance, slicing them down mercilessly.

“It feels like it’s finally the end!”

“Don’t let your guard down. Is that creature still not appearing?”

How long have we fought? Honestly, without the intense adrenaline gripping their heads, the majority of the soldiers would have collapsed from exhaustion.

Riena, who’d blocked the strongest enemies at the forefront, was also breathless. Thankfully, comrades like Shura helped push forward, allowing them to persist.

“I’ve nearly killed them all. Can they not even escape now?”

Watching the scene unfold on the screen, he swallowed dryly as he observed the quiet bug nest. He kept switching to other screens, worrying they might open a gate to flee again.

But this time, the bugs didn’t retreat. Whether they couldn’t or wouldn’t, the neural body still resisted and maneuvered its troops deep within the nest.

“Ugh…”

Realizing that, Riena ignited her resolve to the last breath. With the mindset that if she fell, everyone would fall, she raised her sword and cut down the enemies.

Even getting smashed by the self-destruction attack of an enemy that threw itself at her and having bones broken, even with gaping wounds, she stubbornly recovered to stand in front again.

“Lady Riena!”

Those watching couldn’t help but cry out in anguish. He couldn’t bear to look and squeezed his eyes shut.

Yet she stood up, fought, and finally opened a path into the nest.

“…”

From the bugs’ standpoint, it was surely grotesque.

No matter how much she was struck or wounded, her endurance to swallow pain and regenerate, all the while breaking through the gates, was downright revolting for her enemies to watch.

“We can’t stop either. Hurry, follow me!”

Rakum, staggering against the variants, gulped down a potion to stay upright. Now that they had come this far, everyone shared the determination to see it through.

Though they knew they’d collapse if they fought any longer, they couldn’t back down now. They had seen too many sacrifices and shed too much blood.

“Finally found you.”

At last, Riena, heading toward the deepest part of the nest, could face the creature.

A massive brain connected to the surrounding nest via tentacles. The neural body could be considered the leader of the colony, but in reality, it was merely a computer that existed for a single purpose.

Without a sense of self, it repeatedly ran calculations only to eliminate her.

“Why, is it that you have run out of ways? Or is it that you cannot accept defeat?”

But no matter how hard it calculated, all possibilities had been discarded. The evidence to support them was lacking. Seeing that, Riena smirked, as if she could see straight through it.

“Lady Riena…”

“Oh my, what on earth is that?”

The latecomers gasped in shock at the grotesque sight of the colossal brain-like neural body. Meanwhile, as she gathered her breath, Riena raised her sword as if the moment had come.

Despite standing on the brink of a crucial moment, she felt no will to move her body; in other words, the guardian deity entrusted everything to her.

“Now, disappear, you vile beast.”

She knew he was watching, and slowly raised her sword.

And right after, the slash emitted from her sword cleaved the calamity that had pushed this world into the brink of destruction and had caused countless deaths in an instant.

[Achievement Unlocked: Extermination (1)]

“Did we catch it!?”

That was when he inhaled sharply as he watched the scene unfold in silence.

With the collapse of the neural body, a great achievement recognized by the Master Program was accomplished.

A village appeared on my desktop. 189!