Soloing the Butcher of the Dead End

"Sam Li is dead. I got Sam Li killed..."

Everyone froze.

Nicole quickly turned to scan the area—she saw Anby, Billy lying on the ground, and the little girl... but no sign of Sam Li.

"Where's Sam Li? Didn't he escape with us?"

"I saw him ahead of Nekomatawhen I fell through the Hollow's exit. If Nekomata made it out, how could Sam Li not?"

"Nekomata, stop crying—what exactly happened?"

Nicole, Anby, and Billy all gathered around her, pressing for answers.

Faced with their anxious gazes,

Nekomatawas overwhelmed with both grief and guilt. Crying, she recounted what had happened at the end.

"The Butcher locked onto me... there was no way I could dodge. Sam Li jumped in and took the hit for me. He saved me. He was killed by the Butcher. It's all my fault..."

Her emotions were a mess—

sorrow, regret, guilt, self-loathing...

She had always seen Sam Li as her enemy—a cruel, heartless man.

But he had sacrificed himself to save her.

In that moment,

the beliefs she'd clung to began to falter.

Was Sam Li really a bad person?

Was Hare's House really the villainous organization the forums made it out to be?

Nicole grabbed her shoulders.

"Enough crying. Tell me—did you see anything else? Did the W-Engine activate?"

Still crying, Nekomataanswered,

"I saw... a golden light. It felt warm..."

Hearing that, Billy's eyes widened.

"Golden light? That's gotta be soullight! I heard when humans die, their souls go to the underworld... Sam Li's really dead—sorry, Brother Sam Li. I should've protected you."

They'd just become teammates—

and now he was gone.

Billy was heartbroken.

But before he could fully sink into mourning, Nicole smacked him on the head.

"Billy, stop spouting nonsense! That wasn't soullight. From Nekomata's description, it was the A-Class W-Engine—Guardian Angel—activating its skill. Good thing I bought it for Sam Li ahead of time, or he'd really be dead!"

Billy instantly switched tones.

"Boss Nicole, you're brilliant!"

Anby, however, frowned.

"But Sam Li isn't a fighter. Even if Guardian Angel blocked one hit, he's still no match for the Butcher."

With that,

she turned to leave.

Billy called out,

"Anby, where are you going?"

"To save Sam Li," she said simply.

Nicole stepped in front of her, unusually serious.

"Of course we're going to save Sam Li. But first, we need to figure out where we even are. Otherwise, how do we know where to go?"

They had just escaped the Hollows.

Right now, they were completely disoriented—no clue what district they were in.

As Nicole looked around,

Billy pointed ahead.

"Boss Nicole, look—over there. People."

He took a few steps closer.

Inside the ruins of what looked like abandoned buildings, hundreds of people were gathered—some upstairs, some on the ground.

Nekomata wiped her tears and finally took a good look at the surroundings.

"This is Canvas Lane."

Nicole's expression darkened.

"Canvas Lane? But this area was marked for demolition. I thought it was cleared out ages ago... News said Vision Corporation's about to start blasting here. Don't tell me—they're going to blow all these people up..."

She felt like she'd stumbled onto something huge—

and she didn't dare keep thinking.

Soon after,

Billy spoke with a few of the residents and gathered more intel.

As Nicole had suspected—

Vision Corporation, trying to cut costs, was planning to demolish Canvas Lane... with the civilians still inside.

Hare's House couldn't just walk away from this.

But now they were stuck.

On one side: Sam Li.

On the other: hundreds of innocent lives.

It was like the trolley problem you see in movies.

Save one, or save the many?

A choice no one wanted to make.

Suddenly!

Anby clutched her head in agony, as if reliving something.

"Save them... save them... what should I do..."

Billy panicked.

"Anby?! What's wrong?!"

Nekomata cried,

"Save Sam Li—no, save the civilians—no, save Sam Li..."

She didn't know what to do either.

Just then,

Nicole—who always talked big about Dennies—showed a rare moment of true calm.

Everyone quiet down. Nekomata, dry your tears. Take my Bangboo to the video store on Sixth Street — look for the proxies Belle and Wise. Tell them Hare's House needs help. Billy, you're coming with me—we're going back to the Dead End to save Sam Li."

Billy blinked in surprise.

"What about Anby? Isn't she coming? And what about the people here in Canvas Lane?"

Nicole replied seriously,

"Anby's not in a condition to fight right now. She stays here, gathers info on the civilians. Once Belle or Wise arrives, they'll help get everyone out safely."

There were too many problems and too few people.

With no other choice, this was the best plan they had.

Meanwhile...

Inside a ruined structure deep within the Dead End Hollows.

After shielding Nekomatawith the Jade Shield and ensuring Nicole, Anby, and the others had safely evacuated, Sam Li turned his gaze toward the towering Ethereal before him. Without hesitation, he summoned the Vortex Vanquisher from his equipment.

Facing the Butcher of the Dead End,

Sam Li could immediately sense the difference. This monstrous Ethereal was nothing like the ones he'd encountered before.

The lesser Ethereals had been mindless—zombie-like, attacking purely on instinct, slow and uncoordinated.

But this one was different.

It was aware.

After Sam Li blocked its previous strike, the Butcher didn't rush to follow up. Instead, it backed off, quickly creating distance between them.

Is it afraid of Geo energy?

Sam Li didn't care.

He wasn't here to speculate.

He just saw an opportunity—a chance to spar and push his limits.

As he raised the Vortex Vanquisher,

the Butcher let out a thunderous roar and hefted its machete, which looked more like a massive steel plate torn straight from a building.

ROAR—

Unlike its earlier wild leap at Nekomata, this time it stood firm. The Butcher lifted its blade high, muscles coiled, as if charging up for a devastating blow.

Then, with its massive frame barreling forward,

it brought the weapon crashing down on Sam Li.

But Sam Li didn't dodge.

He didn't even use his spear.

He simply raised the Jade Shield and held his ground.

BOOM!

The impact rang out like a quake, the force rippling through the ground. The building around them, already on the verge of collapse, couldn't take it any longer—concrete and debris came crashing down toward them.

Sam Li's expression didn't change.

"Is that all you've got?"

The attack hadn't even cracked the Jade Shield.

With one fluid motion, Sam Li stepped onto the massive blade and launched himself upward, dodging the avalanche of rubble.

The Butcher wasn't so lucky.

Sam Li's landing strike sent a shockwave down the weapon, staggering the creature. Its own cleaver slammed into the floor, and the collapsing building buried it beneath tons of debris.

...

But only for a moment.

The mountain of wreckage suddenly trembled—

the Butcher clawed its way through the concrete and steel, dragging its massive body back out.

Sam Li watched calmly.

"Your bite doesn't match your bark. Tough hide, though."

Still, the Jade Shield had yet to show any signs of cracking.

Without hesitation,

Sam Li lifted the Vortex Vanquisher once again.

This time, he wasn't going to wait.

He charged.

Bounding across the ruins, his every step exploding dust and rubble, Sam Li launched into a relentless assault.

Heavy strikes. Wide sweeps. Piercing thrusts. Another sweep—

Before the Butcher could mount any kind of defense,

Sam Li hurled his spear.

And as it left his hand, he spun and kicked—striking the airborne weapon dead center, launching it like a cannon shot.

CRACK!

The spear slammed into the Butcher's chest and sent the hulking creature flying dozens of meters through the air.

"Not bad," Sam Li murmured. "And that was just basic spear technique. If I had Rockspike mastery, I could boost my output several times over."

Right now, Sam Li only had a single combat style, one Vortex Vanquisher, and no additional gear or buffs.

Even so, with only 17% progress in his simulation, he was able to overwhelm a creature infamous across the Hollow—

the dreaded Butcher of the Dead End.

He'd already lost interest.

It was time to wrap this up and regroup with Nicole and the others.