Paul, three days after his encounter with the boys, ventured to explore the vicinity of the abandoned Avolvido village. His innate ability, the 'radar eye,' flared to life, painting the surroundings on the azure monitor affixed to his forearm. Anomalous traces, the telltale signs of a glitch's presence, pulsed on the screen, each ping a data point relayed instantly to his superiors. Following the most erratic signals, Paul found himself before the crumbling facade of an ancient, deserted castle.
As he investigated the castle's perimeter, a desperate cry for help pierced the stillness. Paul's admin instincts kicked in, propelling him towards the source of the sound. He found a player sprawled before the castle's entrance, his lower body gruesomely absent. Agony contorted the man's features. "He… he's a demon, a monster," the player choked out, tears streaming down his face. "He slaughtered ten players right before my eyes, and now… now he's coming for me." A heart-wrenching sob escaped his lips, cut short by a sudden, searing beam of energy from the sky. The player disintegrated in an instant, his very essence spiraling upwards, absorbed by a shadowy figure perched atop the castle's highest, broken tower.
"Are you the glitch known as Bruhsuperdoom?" Paul's voice was steady, betraying none of the grim scene he had just witnessed.
A chilling laugh echoed from the tower. "So, an admin stands before me. It seems my reputation precedes me. Yes, I am Bruhsuperdoom. And yes, I was the one who reduced that pathetic village to dust. The only silver lining was the delicious energy I devoured from those players. They dared to challenge me, but their efforts were futile. I extinguished them, one by one! Haha!"
With a disconcerting agility, Bruhsuperdoom leaped from the towering height, landing silently before Paul. Instinctively, Paul drew his azure blade, its surface shimmering with latent power, and adopted a combat stance.
"I started as a low-mid tier," Bruhsuperdoom sneered, a strange luminescence flickering in his eyes. "But thanks to the succulent life force of those players, I've comfortably settled into mid-rank! Haha!"
Paul's gaze remained fixed on the glitch. "Standard procedure dictates at least three low-class admins to subdue a mid-rank glitch. High-class? At least four. And to eliminate a demon-level threat like you… only the Supreme Admin himself, or the elite Anti-Glitch Special Squad, stands a chance. They are the four most formidable admins, second only to the Supreme Admin." With that pronouncement, Paul shifted his weight, his grip tightening on his sword.
The pale moonlight cast long shadows, illuminating the tense standoff. The clash was inevitable. With blinding speed, Bruhsuperdoom lunged, a blur of motion. Paul reacted instantly, sidestepping the attack by a hair's breadth. He retaliated with a swift sword strike, but the blade glanced harmlessly off Bruhsuperdoom's unnaturally hardened skin. A brutal elbow slammed into Paul's side, sending him crashing against the rough bark of a nearby tree.
Ignoring the jarring pain, Paul sprang back to his feet, his 'radar eye' activating once more. This time, the glitch's form was overlaid with a network of glowing weak points. With a burst of speed, Paul unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes, his blade dancing across Bruhsuperdoom's body, leaving only superficial scratches. In response, Bruhsuperdoom delivered a powerful kick, sending Paul hurtling through the air. Before he could regain his footing, a heavy fist slammed into his chest, sending him sprawling on the ground.
"The disparity in our power is evident," Bruhsuperdoom gloated, his voice dripping with arrogance. "Surrender, admin, and embrace your demise!"
Paul pushed himself up, his breath ragged. "In the honor of every admin, I will never yield! Prepare yourself, glitch, for you are about to witness the true might of an admin! Admin mode: install!"
A vibrant blue aura erupted around Paul, his eyes blazing with an ethereal azure light. Even his sword pulsed with the same celestial hue, crackling with raw energy. "This," Paul declared, his voice resonating with power, "is the strength granted to all admins by the Supreme Admin himself!"
Bruhsuperdoom charged again, but this time, Paul moved with impossible speed. His blade flashed, slicing across Bruhsuperdoom's flank. A viscous, grayish fluid, like corrupted blood, oozed from the wound. A manic laughter bubbled from Bruhsuperdoom's throat. "I never expected to be wounded so deeply! It seems I must finally take you seriously!"
With a roar, Bruhsuperdoom unleashed an immense crimson aura. His form began to twist and contort. The patches of white on his body vanished, replaced by an all-consuming blackness. Countless red lines snaked across his skin, and his eyes and mouth glowed with a malevolent red light. "Prepare to face a true mid-rank glitch!" he snarled.
He lunged, a fist slamming into Paul's chest with earth-shattering force, sending the admin hurtling into another tree. This time, Paul slammed against the trunk but managed to stay on his feet. He launched another lightning-fast attack, his blade aimed at a critical point, but only managed to graze Bruhsuperdoom, the wound instantly regenerating.
Bruhsuperdoom spun and delivered a brutal kick, sending Paul crashing to the ground once more. Yet, the admin refused to stay down, staggering back to his feet.
Gathering every ounce of his remaining energy, Paul took a stance, his azure aura flaring. He dashed towards Bruhsuperdoom, his blade aimed at another vital point. The attack connected, and Bruhsuperdoom spat out more of the viscous gray fluid, but a twisted smile stretched across his transformed face. He retaliated with a relentless barrage of punches, each blow landing with sickening force. Paul stood his ground, swaying precariously, blood dripping from numerous wounds.
"You were a decent morsel, admin," Bruhsuperdoom hissed, his red eyes burning with dark glee. "As a final reward, I shall reveal my singularity to you. It is… destruction! I will tear this world asunder! It is my sole purpose! And now… die!"
Just as Bruhsuperdoom prepared to deliver the final blow, a familiar chorus of voices echoed through the night. Saland and his companions had heard Paul's distress call and had finally arrived. Seeing them, Paul, battered and bleeding, tried to shout a warning. "Run! You have no hope aga—"
A blade of pure black energy erupted from Paul's chest, piercing him through. Behind him stood Bruhsuperdoom, his transformed appearance sending a chill down the spines of the newcomers. "Now that he's gone," the glitch cackled, "I can finally absorb his energy! Haha!"
Rage surged through Saland. He activated his Elf Dive, his form shimmering with emerald light… but something was wrong. A bolt of black energy, mirroring the one that had struck Paul, slammed into Saland. A horrifying transformation gripped him. His vibrant green hair turned a stark black, his skin shifted to a sickly gray, and the aura of his Elf Dive pulsed with a malevolent black energy. With a guttural roar, Saland, consumed by a dark fury, lunged at Bruhsuperdoom, his corrupted power managing to draw a scratch across the glitch's hardened skin.
Bruhsuperdoom recoiled in surprise, but his shock was fleeting. He unleashed a barrage of crimson energy blasts at the corrupted Saland. With a speed that belied his transformation, Saland teleported, the energy blasts dissipating harmlessly behind him. In the chaos, Haytham, cloaked in invisibility, attempted a stealth attack, but Bruhsuperdoom, with an uncanny sense, dodged the strike and delivered a powerful punch. Shimmon followed with a rapid-fire assault of his own, but Bruhsuperdoom effortlessly parried each blow. Marty unleashed a massive explosion, engulfing the glitch in a fiery inferno, yet Bruhsuperdoom emerged unscathed. Christa, wielding her protective umbrella, tried to engage, but Bruhsuperdoom swatted her aside. Just as his fist was about to connect, Saland teleported in front of her, his corrupted blades crackling with dark energy. He unleashed a combined strike, forcing Bruhsuperdoom to stumble back, a twisted smile still plastered on his face. The glitch retaliated, conjuring an enormous sphere of crimson energy, threatening to obliterate the heroes. But just as all hope seemed lost, a figure descended from the sky. Benamoth. With a single, outstretched hand, he absorbed the cataclysmic explosion, the raw energy swirling harmlessly around him. His voice, calm and resolute, cut through the tension. "From now on… it's my turn."