"Arghhhhhhh!"

With astonishing might, Nero struck down his sword, which was enveloped in a thick layer of azure-blue magical energy, and split a person in half.

"How dare you?!" the comrade of the soldier who was split in half yelled at Nero and rushed at him with his sword pulled back.

However, before the poor guy could even swing it, Nero formed a gun with his hand and pointed his index and middle finger at the advancing enemy.

"Lvae tormentorum!" he chanted a spell in High Elven.

Almost instantly, particles of light coalesced in front of the 'barrel' of his 'handgun' and…

Swaaaaa—!

Thud—!

A beam of light erupted from Nero's index and middle finger and blasted a hole in his target's head, killing him before his lifeless body fell to the ground.

"Haaa," letting out a short breath, Nero looked around him.

He saw limp and motionless corpses of his foes and friends alike. Their limbs were torn asunder, their cries of agony filling the atmosphere, a sight of a young woman clutching her exposed intestines spilling out from a wound on her stomach – if hell was real, then it would probably look like this.

It was complete madness, Nero thought.

What was the reason for this senseless battle?

A petty disagreement between two cadets?

How could the Queen, the Vice President, even allow such carnage?

Was she completely insane?

Sure, all of this was not real but Virtual Reality instead. However, the pain they were feeling– the pain they were making each other feel was all too real.

"Fuck!" Nero gritted his teeth and cursed out loud. It was too late for such thoughts. He could only do one thing now— move forward.

Once again, he took a deep breath and scanned his surroundings, his sharp eyes flicking over the gruesome scene before him as he searched for his comrades.

This time, however, he seemed a bit indifferent to the violence and gore around him.

A wave of relief washed over Nero's face as he spotted some familiar faces amidst the carnage and chaos.

Elijah was fending off two opponents, Grace had just now killed an enemy, Quinn had the upper hand against a troop, and Kent was catching his breath; no one was around him so he was momentarily safe from harm.

Just as Nero was about to let out a sigh of relief, something caught his eye in his peripheral vision.

He saw a blue-haired elven girl on her knees, about to be struck down by a swordsman.

A frown appeared on his face as the face of the blue-haired girl seemed to be familiar to him for some reason.

"Ahh!"

He remembered. He had seen her with Amelia a few times. She was her friend.

As the realization hit him, he found his body moving toward the girl.

"Die!" the swordsman who was about to thrust his sword at the girl, yelled fiercely.

The elven girl closed her eyes and her body quaked in fear as all she could do was await her end.

Cling—!

"…Huh?"

However, the attack she was waiting for never came.

Nero arrived right in front of her in time and deftly parried the attack with a swing of his sword, making the enemy swordsman stumble back in surprise.

"Tsk!" the swordsman clicked his tongue and jumped a few meters back before putting a hand on his ears. "I have found Nero Dekrauf! He's on me– Huh?"

Unfortunately, before he could even finish the transmission, Nero covered the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

Kuiish—!

Thud—!

Giving the enemy swordsman no chance to counterattack, Nero swung his sword at his neck and cleaved his head off.

With a low thud sound, the swordsman's body fell limp to the ground as his head rolled off.

"That makes four," he had slain four enemies in total till now. After making his kill count, Nero turned around and looked at the blue-haired girl.

"A-Ah… T-Thank you, Nero– I mean, Lord Commander!" the girl quickly bowed her head when she saw Nero looking at her and thanked him for saving her virtual life, flustered.

"No need," Nero extended a hand to the damsel in distress. "You're Amelia's friend, right?"

"Ah! Yes," taking her knight in shining armor's hand, the blue-haired elven girl stood to her feet. "My name is Aster Aquahart."

"Aquahart? By any chance, are you related to Captain Gandalf Aquahart?" Nero frowned.

"You know my grandpa?" Aster asked, surprised.

"Yes, he was called the 'The Sword Saint' and 'Kali's Winter Of Death.' He was one of the best Space Troopers, if not the best. He's the reason Helios Space Station survived that war against the Kali forces three years ago. He even denied promotions and stayed on the frontlines throughout his military career. Unfortunately, because of that, not many know his name."

"W-Wow, you know a lot about grandpa."

"Well, my master, Liz, made me study the biography of all the greatest soldiers that served in the United Military."

"I see. I'm glad to know people haven't forgotten his legacy and— BEHIND YOU!"

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by Aster's sharp shout, causing Nero to instinctively turn around.

His eyes widened as he saw a spear hurtling towards him, aimed directly at his face.

In a split second, Nero realized that he had let his guard down on the battlefield, allowing the enemy to sneak up behind him.

"Tch!" he clicked his tongue in frustration as he quickly raised his left hand to shield his face from the incoming attack.

Realizing it was too late to dodge the spear, Nero braced himself to let the spear pierce through his left hand, planning to retaliate and kill the enemy in one swift swing of his sword using his right hand.

Tannn—!!!

"Oh?"

However, right when the spear was merely inches away from him, several hexagonal water shields manifested in front of him, forming an instant barrier and stopping the spear in its tracks.

Without wasting a single moment, Nero pointed his index at the enemy who dared to snuck up on him and chanted in High Elven:

"Lvae tormentorum!"

A bright light flashed in the atmosphere and a gaping hole was blasted open in the enemy spearman's chest.

"Khuu! Khuuaaa!" the spearman violently coughed a mouthful of blood before his lifeless body fell back.