"Run! We have to run!" a player screamed, turning to flee back toward the dark corridor they had entered from.

Sensing the fleeing prey, the giant took a single, heavy step forward. The stone floor shook violently under its massive boot, sending dust and small pebbles cascading down from the cracked ceiling.

SLASH!

The giant swung its massive, double bladed battle axe in a wide, low horizontal sweep. The massive blade cleaved clean through the escaping disciple’s waist. The speed of the cut was so clean that the disciple took another step forward before his upper torso slid off his legs, crashing to the floor in a horrific spray of crimson.

Another tried to climb over the rubble to escape, but the giant brought the heavy axe down in a vertical chop.

CRUNCH!

The heavy blade flattened the disciple into a horrific mess of shattered bone and iron plates. Because they were native cultivators, there was no clean data fragmentation, only the brutal, bloody reality of a violent death.

Immediately, the blood pooling on the stone floor began to ripple. It did not pool naturally; it was being physically pulled into the ground.

As the blood entered the ground, the gravity in the chamber doubled once more, pinning the remaining survivors flat to the floor.

"Damn... damn it..." Ragnarok growled, his knees sinking deeper into the stone. His health bar was now at 1 percent. He couldn’t even lift his greatsword anymore; his arms were completely numb, the bones in his shoulders dislocated from holding the giant’s axe.

With a casual flick of its wrist, the giant guardian kicked Ragnarok99’s greatsword away. The heavy weapon clattered across the stone, sliding into the darkness. The giant then kicked Ragnarok99 in the side, the heavy blow sending him crashing across the floor to slide near Ares, and he dissolved into data fragments.

Now, there was no one left standing.

The proud geniuses of Tianlan, the top tier players of the world’s strongest guilds, were all scattered across the blood spattered stone floor, broken, bleeding, and entirely powerless. The air of the chamber was thick with the scent of fresh blood.

The giant guardian stood in the center of the carnage, its massive axe dripping with dark red blood. Its crimson eyes slowly turned, scanning the broken crowd before finally settling on the far corner of the chamber.

There, Cassie and Bunny were kneeling, their bodies trembling violently under the crushing gravity. Between them was Sophie.

To the Core Suppressing Spike, the World Tree’s energy was the ultimate delicacy. It was a high quality, pure source of natural vitality that would reinforce the seal on the dead god for centuries.

The giant guardian began to walk slowly toward the three women.

Scraaaaape.

The heavy, metallic blade of the axe dragged behind it, leaving a deep, bloody groove in the stone.

Scraaaaape.

"No... please... no..." Cassie sobbed, shaking Sophie’s shoulders, but the vice leader of Broken Dawn remained completely unresponsive. Her face was pale, her breathing so faint it was almost invisible.

"Cassie, run..." Bunny whispered, her voice cracking as she tried to push Cassie away, but her own legs were so weak she couldn’t even crawl. "Take Sophie and run... please."

Bunny knew she could survive this as a player, though she would lose a lot of levels, but Cassie and Sophie... if anything happened to them, they were gone for good!

"I can’t..." Cassie wept, her fingers clutching the cold stone. Her mana pool was at absolute zero, and her physical strength felt as though it had been cut by ninety percent. She couldn’t even lift Sophie, let alone run.

The giant stopped directly in front of them.

Its massive, iron clad shadow fell over Cassie, Bunny, and Sophie, completely blocking out what little light remained in the dark chamber.

It slowly raised the massive, blood dripping battle axe with both hands, bringing the heavy silver blade high above its head, aiming directly at Sophie’s chest.

The air around the descending blade shivered with physical pressure. This was not a quick swipe; it was an execution strike meant to crush everything beneath it.

Cassie looked up at the descending blade. She knew her health bar would be obliterated in a fraction of a second. She knew there was no hope, no salvation, no miracle.

But instead of closing her eyes or trying to run, Cassie threw her own body over the unconscious Sophie, wrapping her arms tightly around her best friend’s head as she braced for the impact.

"Sophie... I’m sorry..." Cassie whispered, closing her eyes as the cold wind of the descending axe began to tear at her hair.

The giant brought the massive, heavy battle axe down with terrifying, crushing speed.

FWOOOOOOSH!

CLANG!!!!!

An ear splitting, metallic screech rang through the chamber, so loud and violent that it made the dust on the ceiling explode outward in a massive cloud. A shockwave of raw, physical wind blasted across the floor, clearing the dust and forcing Cassie and Bunny to open their eyes in shock.

Standing directly in front of them, his back turned to them, was a figure.

He wore a dark, wet coat that fluttered violently in the wind of the impact. His white mask was completely calm, and his left hand was tucked casually into his pocket.

With his right hand, he held two twin blades.

He had parried the giant’s massive, two handed execution strike with a single hand, his boots perfectly still, not a single crack appearing in the stone beneath his feet. He hadn’t budged even an inch.

Beside him, an armored figure stood in a defensive stance, sword drawn, the dark visor of the helmet facing the giant.

The entire chamber fell into a stunned, absolute silence.

Liang, Evelyn, Ares, Jack, Arie, IceQueen, and the remaining survivors stared at the masked figure in complete disbelief. They were all pinned to the ground, unable to breathe, yet this man had walked into the absolute center of the suppression field and stopped the giant’s full strength blow with one hand.

Gabriel slowly turned his head slightly, his calm eyes looking back at the crying Cassie and Bunny and then Sophie. Unknown to anyone, a brief glint of concern passed through his eyes.

"You’ve done well to hold out," Gabriel said and then turned his gaze back to the mini giant guardian, a cold, sharp glint appearing behind his mask.

"Now, let me handle this."