The Most Effective Way To Save The World (8)

"Damn it... where did Matthew go?!" Stella muttered softly as she moved through the dungeon, her eyes darting around in search of him.

She'd only told Matthew she'd handle the monsters on the left side, and when she turned back, he had already disappeared!

"That bastard...!" she sighed heavily, furrowing her eyebrows.

Stella has been searching for Matthew for a while now, but she still hasn't found him. She even ended up defeating a random mini-boss along the way, but there was still no sign of him.

[Ding!]

[The Volcanic Cave's boss has been slayed!]

[Slayer: Matthew Arcadia!]

—THRRRUM!

The notification barely had time to register before the entire dungeon began to shake violently. The ground beneath her feet trembled, sending loose rocks crashing down from above.

It was as if the entire volcano had come alive!

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Stella cursed aloud, trying to keep her balance.

The heat around her grew unbearable, and an intense wave of warmth surged from deep within the volcano.

— Swish!

Without wasting another moment, Stella activated her mana wings, a faint blue glow wrapping around her back, and shot up into the air.

"Please don't let this be what I think it is..." she muttered as she flew upward. 

Under her eyes, a small group of people also escaped, and sure enough, just after a few minutes...

— BOOOM!

The volcano erupted spewing lava high into the sky.

Molten rock rained down in a fire shower, and the hot lava began to pour down the volcano's sides, flowing down towards the nearby forest.

In seconds, the fully green forest was engulfed in flames.

However, some notifications started ringing in Stella's ears...

[Your partner has killed a Level 40 Great Monkey!]

[Your partner has killed a Level 40 Great Monkey!]

[Your partner has killed a Level 45 Viper Serpent!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

"Don't tell me... it was Matthew who caused this?" She instantly realized upon looking at the notifications in front of her.

They kept coming in as the forest was slowly engulfed by the lava!

She looked everywhere, desperately searching for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

But, just as she was about to give up on searching for him...

— Swoooop!

A sudden beam of pure, dark energy shot out from the volcano's entrance, tearing through the air with incredible speed.

"Agh...!" A female voice that was familiar to Stella cried out in pain.

"That's... Stacy..." Stella murmured, her eyes locking onto the figure sprawled out on the ground before she landed next to her.

But before she could even catch her breath...

— Swoooop!

Another beam of dark energy flew towards them, faster and more intense than the last one.

Stella's eyes widened, and with a quick flick of her wrist, she erected a protective barrier in front of them.

The barrier shimmered in a golden light, holding strong for a moment...

— Crack...!

Unfortunately, it wasn't strong enough, and it immediately cracked upon being hit by a beam of energy.

Seeing this, Stacy gritted her teeth, extending her hand and overlaying Stella's barrier with a radiant Holy Barrier, glowing with a soft, white light.

Finally, the powerful beam ended, and the two women sighed in relief.

"Huff..." Stella took a shaky breath, turning to Stacy.

"What the hell was that?!"

"It's... it's Matthew," Stacy replied weakly, catching her breath.

"Matthew?" Stella snapped her head towards the source of the attack, feeling her heart start to beat faster.

And there he was...

Matthew strolled out from the entrance of the volcano, his hands casually tucked in his pockets.

His black robes rippled with a life of their own, moving like shadows around him as he walked with a carefree yet arrogant demeanor.

From his eyes, faint wisps of dark purple smoke drifted, swirling and curling as he stared coldly at both of them.

Seeing his eyes, Stella instantly felt a chill run down her spine, and her heartbeat even increased.

"What happened to him... those yes..." she muttered to himself.

"I-I don't know," Stacy replied with a soft yet trembling voice. "He was fine until... until he suddenly blacked out."

"What do you mean?" Stella asked, her brow furrowing.

"We were fighting the boss... well, actually, he was the one fighting it...," Stacy began, her eyes darting toward Matthew for a second.

"He defeated it. But right after, he just... collapsed. And when he woke up, it was like something inside him had changed."

Stella listened intently, her fists clenching at her sides.

"He put a scythe to my neck, and demanded I break my contract with my constellation."

"Let me guess... you refused?" Stella asked softly.

"Yeah..." Stacy nodded.

"And then he started attacking me. He didn't even hesitate, Stella. It was like he didn't care about me at all."

After hearing Stacy's words, Stella felt a pang of sympathy towards her. Because she also could relate to that kind of situation.

Sometimes Lilian was very kind to her, and then other times, she acted like she didn't care about her at all.

"Matthew... can we just calm down for a moment?" Stella took a step forward, asking with an unusually soft tone.

Hearing her words, Matthew's glaze flickered towards her. Then, his lips curled into a faint smile, but there was no warmth in it.

"Tell me something, Stella..." he spoke, staring directly into her eyes.

"What do you value more?"

"Uh... what?" she blinked in confusion.

"This world," Matthew repeated, taking a step closer, "or the contract with your constellation?"

Hearing his words, Stella didn't think twice...

"This world, of course. But why are you even asking that?" She tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.

"Ah... nothing. Then, if you'd be so kind, could you move aside? I still have some unfinished business with Stacy." he turned to Stacy, giving her a cold smile.

"Matthew..." Stacy's voice trembled as she instinctively took a step back.

Step...

"Look, I don't know your problem with Stacy... but if you want to hurt her, you must go through me first." Stella brought out two pairs of daggers, and took a step forward, putting herself between Matthew and Stacy.

Matthew didn't react at all, if anything, he was surprised to see Stella taking two pairs of daggers as weapons because he only had seen her using a sword.

"Alright... you asked for it." Matthew's eyes started glowing ominously...

And with that, the darkness around him burst out and wrapped around him like a living, breathing entity.

He lifted his hand, and the shadows around him twisted, forming into a long, menacing scythe.

"Ready whenever you are," Matthew smiled faintly, spinning his scythe effortlessly.

Stella didn't waste a second. She dashed forward with incredible speed, her daggers aimed straight at his chest.

— Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal echoed as Matthew blocked her attack with the shaft of his scythe.

Sparks flew, and Stella gritted her teeth, pushing harder.

"Just as I thought... currently, you're too weak," Matthew muttered before swinging his scythe with one swift motion.

"Stella, watch out!" Stacy yelled as Stella narrowly ducked under the blade.

With the scythe passing just above her head, Stella took the opportunity to jab her daggers at Matthew's side.

— Slice!

Matthew twisted his body at the last moment, the blade only grazing him. But his smile didn't falter.

Instead, he spun around, and his scythe extended, aiming straight for Stacy.

"Not so fast!" Stacy shouted, her hands glowing with light.

She summoned a magical barrier just in time, the dark scythe clashing against it with a crash!

— Crackk!

But the force was too strong, and cracks spread across the barrier.

"Your tricks won't work," Matthew sneered.

— Plop!

With a flick of his wrist, the scythe shattered the barrier completely. Stacy stumbled back, gasping, but Stella jumped in, landing a kick to Matthew's chest.

— Thud!

Matthew staggered back but quickly regained his balance, a dark aura wrapping around him.

He immediately slammed his foot down, and tendrils of darkness shot out from the ground, aiming straight for both girls.

"Move!" Stella yelled as she grabbed Stacy and pulled her to the side.

The tendrils missed them by inches, but one managed to wrap around Stella's ankle.

"Ah!" Stella cried out as she was yanked off her feet, dragged toward Matthew.

"Stella!" Stacy screamed.

Her hands lit up again, and she sent a blast of holy light straight at the tendril.

— Boom!

The tendril hissed and retreated, releasing Stella.

"Thanks," Stella panted, getting back on her feet.

"Yeah, that was a close one..." Stacy nodded.

They charged together this time, Stella going low and Stacy attacking from above.

Matthew blocked Stella's daggers with his scythe, but Stacy's light magic slammed into him, sending him stumbling back.

"Hmph, impressive," Matthew uttered with a calm tone, before adding with a faint wry smile, "But it's not enough."

He vanished.

"What?!" Stella gasped, looking around frantically.

"Behind you!" Stacy shouted, but it was too late. Matthew appeared behind Stella, his scythe already mid-swing.

— Slash!

— BAAM!

Stella barely managed to block with one of her daggers, but the force sent her flying, slamming into the wall.

She coughed, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.

"Stella!" Stacy cried out, running toward her, but Matthew was faster. He appeared in front of her, gripping her throat and lifting her off the ground.

"Let… her… go!" Stacy struggled to speak, her hands glowing as she tried to summon her magic.

But Matthew squeezed harder, her light dimming.

— Boom!

Suddenly, a bright flash of light exploded in Matthew's face as Stella used the last of her strength to send a bolt of lightning at him.

He growled, dropping Stacy and taking a step back, momentarily blinded.

"Annoying...," Matthew muttered as he wiped a bit of blood from his lip.

"It's best to make this quick..." he added, cracking his neck.

Stella could barely stand, but she gripped her daggers tightly, her hands shaking. Despite her condition, she was still trying to fight against him.

"Then, let's finish this," Matthew growled, raising his scythe high above his head.

Stella and Stacy exchanged one last look, nodding to each other. They charged together, one last desperate attempt.

Matthew brought his scythe down.

— Clang!

Stella blocked with her daggers, but the force shattered them into pieces.

"No!" she screamed as Matthew's weapon pierced her shoulder, pinning her to the ground.

"Stella!" Stacy yelled, summoning all her remaining magic, forming a spear of light. She threw it with all her might, aiming for Matthew's heart.

— Thwack!

Matthew caught the spear with one hand, his eyes never leaving Stacy's.

"Not bad... too bad though," he said softly before snapping the spear in two.

"N-no…" Stacy whispered, falling to her knees.

Matthew stepped forward, towering over her. He raised his scythe, ready to deliver the final blow.

"Goodbye..."

However, before he could swing—

[Ding!]

A sudden notification rang in his ears.

[The open world has been destroyed!]

Matthew froze, as his eyes widened. "What...?"

[An early ending has been achieved!]

"No! I'm not done yet!" He shouted, turning back to finish off Stella and Stacy.

[Transporting all players to the main hall...]

The ground beneath them began to glow, the air shimmering with strange energy.

"Fuck...!" Matthew looked towards both of them.

'Fucking hell! Now that I decided to fucking kill everyone in this damned novel, they escape on their first try?! Damn it!'

Stella and Stacy, both heavily wounded, looked up at him, breathing heavily but relieved.

They didn't know what was happening, but they knew they had been saved—for now.

And with one final flash, they were gone.

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'Seshat... I know that you probably didn't want me to save the world this way... but it's the most effective idea...'

'After all, they are the "core" characters of the world...'

'I'm sorry.'