Former Hero Streamer – Chapter 167

**Chapter 15: The Food of Gods**

The guardian’s new model stumbled forward before leaping straight towards Friede.

His left arm, resembling a cannonball shot from a cannon, gleamed with a blinding light.

– Clang!

It wasn’t flesh and muscle, but rather the sharp clang of cold metal that echoed.

A unique glint flashed in Friede’s eyes.

That stance wasn’t for swinging a sword; it was closer to one for loading it.

‘Interesting.’

This core was something else, and to see him wielding such a unique weapon—well, he certainly put in some effort.

With a flick of her alluring red lips and a slight protrusion of her tongue, Friede prepared to face the charging guardian.

Let’s see how it reacts. Let’s talk about the rumored performance of that core.

From a position close to her body, her arm’s mechanical blade swung back like a pendulum against the horizon.

The curve of the blade attached to the prosthetic drew a grand trajectory as it arced through the air.

“Oh.”

Admiring the subtly delayed strike coming at her, the Holy Sword reflected the moonlight, its edge glinting.

– Clang!

A clear metallic sound burst forth as the two swords scraped against each other, and in that split second, Friede’s body took on a new rhythm.

Tensing her back and waist muscles, she hardened her body like forged steel that wouldn’t yield to anything. Her arms, gripping the Holy Sword, braced themselves firmly on her steady legs as she swung the sword high into the sky.

Thud!

A coarse impact sound that differed completely from the previous delicate noises rang in the ears of the two gamers.

Observing the guardian’s stance faltering as his prosthetic arm was pushed up, Friede, as always, prepared to parry before setting up a powerful follow-up attack.

But…

!?

Recovering her stance, the prosthetic blade thrust straight forward.

“…”

Even considering the extra stamina drain she was undertaking, the seed of doubt blossomed within Friede’s mind as she canceled her strong stance and blocked the attack with the blade of her Holy Sword.

That last attack from the guardian had indeed been a vicious strike that gathered all his power, so if it was parried, the backlash should have hit hard.

Given the equipment she guessed he was wearing, it shouldn’t have been strong enough to disregard that parry. But how?

[Huh? Why isn’t he staggering?]

[With the limitations on his prosthetic’s durability, he should absolutely stagger from that!]

[Does that infinite durability core apply too?]

[What’s “infinite durability”? LOL, that’s just dizzying!]

[That speed isn’t normal either. I’ve used a prosthetic model, and with that guardian’s gear, he shouldn’t be pulling off that speed!]

[There’s nothing to counterattack. He’s like a nuclear missile itself!]

[Looks like the guardian has become a nuclear bomb! LOL]

It seemed the viewers were just as perplexed as I was.

If a phenomenon impossible by system standards kept appearing, it made sense for it to be that stimulating.

Before she could secure the stance of her blade that was blocked, Friede flicked the Holy Sword as if to whirl it around, causing the guardian’s stance to waver.

However, just for a moment, his body, which should have been forced into submission, remained unharmed again.

Unless he was an absolute fool, there wouldn’t be a need to willingly take a third parry.

She thought of fighting as if he were an opponent who completely disregarded parries. Well…

‘No problem.’

Taking a small breath, Friede relaxed her muscles and mind, her eyes shining as they widened.

Then, shifting every gear to the maximum, her completely relaxed muscles rapidly contracted, pulling her bones and skin together.

The blood coursing through her veins surged like a steam engine fueled by an endless supply of coal, heating up and ready to erupt.

In this game, having unleashed her maximum potential with a body scanned from virtual reality,

– WHOOSH!

Friede disappeared from her spot, and launched an attack.

“Ugh?!”

In a burst of speed that surpassed anything physical, the guardian’s prosthetic arm was yanked backward, struggling to control the sudden force.

This was dangerous. As panic set in, the guardian attempted to roll out of the way, but Friede, with her body still crouched and the sword poised, lunged towards the point where the guardian would land, extending her Holy Sword.

– SWISH!

Her sword sank deeply into his right side, a flashing red indicator blinking in her vision.

Stamina drained in an instant. The guardian dropped to one knee, his head bowing toward the ground.

“Shit….”

Had it not been for the core program’s power, he’d be in a state of limbo by now.

Through the partially filled green stamina bar displayed beside her, Friede glared at him.

Why can’t I get through?

The resentment against her opponent not succumbing, even with the use of the core, only grew stronger than her frustration about using it herself.

Gritting her teeth.

The strangely palpable pain in her head felt all too real, echoing painfully.

Fueled by that pain, the guardian’s thoughts simplified to a single determination.

No matter what happened later, you will—

“I’m going to take you down.”

Operating the console, he clicked the last unlock button.

The performance attached to an email that warned her to avoid using it if possible.

However, the more warnings there were, the more she felt compelled to utilize it—such was human psychology, and in this crumbling moment, the guardian had no room for consideration.

– WHOOSH!

A dazzling effect of red blood pooled around the guardian like fireworks going off.

It was overwhelming, even for a core program.

[Whoa! These days cores give that much bang for your buck? LOL]

[Lol! This is wild!]

[Awakening the Black Flame Dragon in my hand now!]

[I can hear the sound of his butt clenching from here!]

The aura of decay and blood surrounded the guardian’s body, vividly displaying how intoxicated he was by the forbidden power of the core.

Naturally, the reactions of the viewers, witnessing the spectacle, had no reason to resist the dazzling display.

They assumed it was merely an extension of the customization available in the shop, but Friede’s expression as she witnessed it first-hand turned extremely cold.

Because what stood before the guardian now was…

“A curse?”

It was undoubtedly a force that couldn’t exist on Earth.

* * *

How was I supposed to process this right in front of me?

This was beyond anything I had anticipated, and even as I stood with the upper hand, I hesitated.

Why was such an aura surging from an ordinary person? If this came from the core program, where was that program distributed?

In a flurry of thoughts colliding against each other, a singular idea took shape.

“RRRAAAAAAGHH!”

As the power drained into the guardian’s body, he unleashed a roar that shook the entirety of the labyrinth’s structure around them.

[OMG! Ear terrorism, fuck!]

[The 15-year-old earwax defense crumbled to dust!]

[Yo, but why’s he acting like that? Wasn’t he just fine?]

[He might’ve panicked after getting wrecked against the admin despite using a core! That could’ve scared the heck out of him!]

[At this point, calling him Cerberus is the academic consensus!]

You guys in the comments are the true jokers.

It wouldn’t matter if I vented to the audience watching from afar.

For now…

“Let’s take him down.”

As she readied her stance, the guardian dashed towards her like before.

– CREEK!

That guttural sound erupted like a demon’s wail as he swung the blade from his prosthetic.

Admittedly, it was as fast as before, but not fast enough to evade entirely.

“…!”

A warning bell rang in her mind, commanding her to withdraw her sword.

Why? It seemed like just a normal strong attack.

What would normally be brushed aside as mere intuition suddenly bore weight as she spotted the traces left in the fabric of reality.

Thinking she had evaded it, she found—

– SWISH!

“Wait…”

She was sure she had dodged it, but blood continued to drip from the tip of the empty sword of the guardian’s prosthetic.

The wound across her chest deepened as time passed.

Her armor, now stained with blood, looked neater than it had during the entirety of Soul Warfare—had it ever been in such a state?

Ah, this was my sorry state. It wasn’t until things had unraveled this far that I realized my predicament.

“Ah…”

The guardian let out a grotesque grin.

“I’ve lived like a cockroach.”

His once vibrant eyes now revealed the muddied depths of a human soul that had become irreversibly tarnished.

‘I finally understand.’

Why, when fighting against core users, she could parry simultaneously while cutting down regular users coming from opposing sides.

That simple strong attack stance of his had a trick—it struck to any point within her perception, overlapping in as many layers as necessary.

No matter how much one dodged, even wildly swung slashes would count as valid hits.

Avoiding became impossible, particularly for a regular user.

Even with core programs, there are limits. This wasn’t power masquerading as a core.

‘Are we seriously doing this in a game with spatial realm abilities?’

Why was he coming at her with high power in a low power zone? This was some seriously crap gameplay.

It thrived off the dark inclinations of humans, burning fiercely.

At that point, even she could barely restrain her cursing.

‘Let’s stay calm.’

There was no use fuming to herself here.

To strike back against the one who created this program, she had to keep moving now.

She checked the stamina bar at the side of the screen.

* * *

“Sister!”

The shout that stood no chance of reaching her engulfed the room in despair.

A-jin, who was managing the chatroom to broadcast, widened her eyes and stomped her feet.

She had been cut. And not just barely.

The legendary Friede herself.

Had it simply been a game, she would have harbored disappointment rather than urgency.

The reason A-jin felt such terror was clear.

“Could it be that something like that even works in a game?”

Friede’s health bar continued to dwindle. Would this really be the end? Was her sister all right?

Only that worry had her biting her nails while she kept her eyes glued to the screen.

And then…

– FLASH!

It was when Friede’s health finally dropped below 10%.

Having had her stamina continually drained down to 4%, the trap skill that everyone had mocked as a slot waste finally activated.

A blinding light, far surpassing any color known to humans, enveloped Friede’s body.

Supernova.

As if embodying a sun that burns and consumes everything, the light warrior descended.