Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!-Chapter 93: Fall of a Depraved King (4)

Currently, two questions were floating in my mind.

One was about how King Meyers, despite fulfilling the conditions of Cassandra's ability, remained completely unaffected by her command.

She had ordered him to take his own life, yet not only did he resist—he even fought back!

And two, was about that very moment—his attack.

His range was supposed to be just 50 meters around him. We were well beyond that distance—several meters outside his effective zone.

Yet, without a doubt, the thing that sent my right arm flying was his ability.

Confusion surged within me—but strangely, so did a weird sense of calm.

As soon as I gave the command to retreat, Eva reacted immediately. She grabbed both me and Cassandra before bolting out of the bridge.

Meanwhile, the brainwashed soldiers stayed behind and opened fire, attempting to finish the job—or so they thought.

*SHING!*

We witnessed something bizarre.

All energy-based projectiles—even physical bullets—were sliced into nothing the moment they reached 50 meters from King Meyers.

Even lasers, which were pure energy, were cut apart—vanishing mid-air as if they had never existed.

A sight that defied all common sense.

It wasn't hard to guess how he did it—he was using his ability to cut.

"So... he can cut even intangible things...!"

I wondered for a moment. Could he cut through ghosts too?

...Probably, yes.

"Hey, snap out of it, bastard!"

*SLAP!*

Eva's shout—and the sharp sting of her palm slapping my right shoulder—jerked me back to reality. Pain rushed in, burning through my nerves like white-hot fire.

At the same moment, my suit's safety mechanisms activated, cutting off the blood flow to my wounded limb.

Eva's casual slap had triggered it—not out of malice, but to help me. Within seconds, the bleeding stopped.

But that didn't change the harsh reality—my arm was gone.

I could still see it, lying on the ground inside the Eclipse Sovereign's bridge.

Given enough time in a medical pod, I could regrow a limb or two...

...But still.

"Sorry," I sighed, gritting my teeth through the pain.

"I let my guard down for a moment. Cassandra, you're fine, right?"

Hearing me say her name, Cassandra flinched.

Her eyes remained locked onto my bleeding stump, her expression pale.

"Y-Yes, but..." she stammered.

"I... I don't know what happened. Father's ability is..."

I shook my head gently, trying to calm her down.

"I know. He must've hidden something about his ability—a trump card..."

But more than that...

I turned my gaze back toward the bridge, quickly analyzing the situation.

King Meyers remained standing, his furious gaze fixed on us.

We were now over 150 meters away, well outside his usual range—yet despite being stationary, none of the attacks fired at him were landing.

The moment anything entered within 50 meters of him, it was erased instantly—as if his ability to cut had evolved into something even more terrifying.

It no longer just cut things—it was practically a power to delete.

His pompous stance.

His derisive gaze.

His rage-filled expression.

Every detail was clear as day—and in that moment, something clicked in my mind.

"... I see." I exhaled. "So he can't move while activating his ability?"

"...!"

Both Eva and Cassandra gasped, immediately looking at him more closely. After a few seconds of observation, they both nodded lightly.

"It does seem that way..." Eva murmured, crossing her arms. "But what if he's bluffing again?"

"Right..." Cassandra agreed.

"Our abilities have strict conditions, but not being able to move at all is too extreme."

Cassandra, more than anyone, understood this.

Her ability required her target to have shown submission to her at least once in their life.

Her brother, Prince Leobert, could only use his mind-reading ability within 3 meters of his opponent.

But King Meyers...?

"No, I'm sure of it." I inhaled sharply, gripping the stump where my arm used to be.

"But to be exact, it's not a drawback of his ability itself—but a weakness while activating it."

Unlike Cassandra or Prince Leobert, King Meyers had to use his ability continuously.

If he let his defenses drop for even a fraction of a second, the lasers raining down on him would tear him apart instantly.

"While activating his ability, he can't move—even for a brief moment."

I narrowed my eyes.

"I estimate it lasts about 200 milliseconds per activation. But since he's activating his ability hundreds—no, thousands—of times per second, that 200 milliseconds keeps refreshing, effectively locking him in place."

This... was the concept of skill activation lag.

Right—TSO had skills for players, just like other VRMMOs.

Most were simple actions—shooting, swinging a sword, roll dodging—all considered "skills".

But activating a skill always came with a slight pause—an involuntary delay where the body, the user's avatar, locks up, unable to act. And the stiffness typically lasted between 100 to 1000 milliseconds depending on which skill was used.

Cassandra wouldn't notice it, since her ability didn't require movement to activate.

But Eva...

She would definitely understand.

And as I expected—

"Right," Eva nodded immediately, arms crossed.

"It's like whenever I attack. Every strike has a built-in delay—a short pause I can't do anything against."

Her voice turned almost casual.

"But I trained until my 'lag' was just 50 milliseconds—so it's barely noticeable in battle."

"...The fuck did I just hear?"

I stared at her, stunned.

'50 milliseconds?!'

That was three times faster than my own reaction speed!

I shook my head.

'No.'

Now's not the time to nitpick Eva's inhuman abilities.

"Anyway," I sighed, bringing the topic back on track. "Knowing this, we now have an easy way of defeating King Meyers."

Since he couldn't move while activating his ability, all we needed to do was keep him locked down until he died—whether from hunger, thirst, or sheer exhaustion.

"If we install some artillery here and keep it trained on him, we just have to wait him out. Easy, right?"

But the real problem was time.

The soldiers didn't have infinite ammo cheats or anything.

With their energy packs, they could sustain nonstop firing for another three minutes at best—and that was if their weapons didn't overheat or break down first.

Factoring in risks, we barely had two minutes to act.

Within that time, we needed to set up everything—

"... No."

—Or so I thought.

But Eva didn't seem to agree with me.

"King Meyers might be dumb, but he isn't an idiot. Before that happens, he would definitely escape."

She sighed.

"If he includes the floor in his cutting range, then even without moving his body, he can slip away easily."

"..."

I missed that point.

Damn. So we're back to square one?!

"I..."

Just as I was lost in thought, scrambling for another solution, Cassandra raised her voice.

"I think I have a plan," she announced—though her voice wavered, shaking with fear.

"...Though I'm not sure if it will work."

"Tell us, and we'll judge," Eva nodded, her gaze firm and filled with trust.

Despite her apprehension, Cassandra began to explain her plan...

And I was shocked.

This time, her strategy was meticulous—something no one would believe she thought up on the spot.

"With this, we should have a 50% chance of winning!"

I grinned.

---

In the middle of the Eclipse Sovereign's bridge, King Meyers stood still.

Rather, he couldn't move—just as Arthur predicted.

The soldiers around him didn't give him a chance to counterattack, leaving him completely on the defensive. Their endless volley contained not even a second-long gap!

'Just a bit more...!'

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

But as expected of a King, he understood his own troops' limits.

The energy packs in their blasters and lasers were running low—within one minute, they would be completely out of ammo.

Once that moment arrived, the tables would turn.

'Cassandra, you bitch...! Just you wait...!'

Yet despite his hatred and anger, his entire being was coated with anxiety and fear.

His surprise attack earlier—aimed at splitting Cassandra in half—had been thwarted by Arthur. It was an impossible moment, not something explainable by just simply "fast reaction speed." It was close to precognition.

Thanks to Eva's insane speed, they had escaped his range before he could reactivate his hidden ability—an ability that required one full second of downtime between activations.

Right—King Meyers' power wasn't just about cutting everything within 50 meters of him.

He had an upgraded version too—one that doubled the range but narrowed the cutting field to the exact width of his weapon.

These two abilities combined made him the ruler he was today.

And yet—

"Father..."

As he was carefully observing the situation, a voice called out. His eyes flicked toward the speaker—none other than Cassandra herself.

"This is as far as you go," she declared. "Give up, and I'll spare your life."

Her words carried a mercy that was almost unbelievable, given everything that had transpired between them.

But instead of relief—

King Meyers' fury exploded.

"ARE YOU LOOKING DOWN ON ME, YOU BIIIITCCH?!"

His growl rumbled through the bridge, a howl from the depths of hell.

"WHO NEEDS YOUR PITY?! AS SOON AS THESE DOLLS OF YOURS RUN OUT OF AMMUNITION—YOU'RE DEAD!!!"

Cassandra's lips trembled.

She bit down on them, as if holding back a deep, seething pain.

Slowly, she lowered her head—her posture radiating shame and frustration.

"...So you'd rather die than be pitied?" she whispered, her tone dripping with anger and ridicule.

Then, she raised her head.

Her usual kindness? Gone.

Instead, her lips curled into a derisive grin, her eyes filled with mockery and apathy—as if a crazy woman reveling in someone else's suffering.

"As if I'd let a vermin like you live anyway~!"

"..."

For a moment, King Meyers' mind went blank—as if his brain refused to comprehend what he was seeing.

Then—

His face twisted red—like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"YOUUUU BIIIIITCH!!!"

And the moment his furious roar echoed through the bridge—

—the artificial gravity vanished.