Defense specialization and a grand deviation.

The third event lasts one week.

On the fifth day, Maple reached the skill she sought.

"Good—Counter acquired!"

Many players must have feared Maple gaining this skill.

Yet, no effort could stop it.

Maple steadily filled her own weaknesses.

But her surroundings had begun to counter her strongest attack—poison—rendering it ineffective.

If one considers only Maple, this Counter is a significant enhancement.

And now, Maple has achieved her goal.

There is little gain in aiming higher. She ceases her full effort toward the cow hunt.

She lacked motivation, too.

Maple nearly completes her cow hunt.

This leads directly to her free time.

Some players, upon learning this, will speak of the virtue of toppling the ox with all their might.

Maple might be surrounded.

Yet no player surrounded Maple at that moment.

"Shiroppu? Where shall we go?"

She speaks, though there is no reply.

There was no longer any purpose to be had.

The guild reward meant they did not stop searching entirely, but the points earned by Sally, Kasumi, and Crom were already sufficient.

Something isn’t here… a really large cow, isn’t there…

Below, the forest begins to spread.

Maple halts her aerial reconnaissance and descends.

This place… was the forest where the great angel’s fragment was obtained? I don’t remember clearly yet.

Sally was said to learn the map quite quickly.

There may be some familiarity to it as well.

Maple had joined the ranks of the strong, yet her playtime remained that of a beginner.

This place was unsuitable for searching for cows, so it was quiet.

Maple’s task was monotonous—occasionally felling the cows that appeared.

As she walked, Maple reached a building she recognized.

"That church from before."

Maple entered the church, which she had not explored much last time.

Having retrieved the Fragment of the Archangel and left quickly then, she decided this time to examine every corner.

"All in ruins... but perhaps there’s a book somewhere?"

She searched for a book that might hold a clue, like the one from the second event.

Maple combed through every inch, from beneath the bench to the wall, but found nothing of note.

"Then... only one place remains."

Maple headed toward the spot where the Fragment of the Archangel had fallen.

Where a small vial should have been, crimson characters were inscribed upon the floor.

Maple could not read the characters while standing, so she lowered herself onto her side, tracing them with her finger as she read.

"Um... [Summon]?"

The moment Maple murmured that.

The church floor began to glow red.

The glow intensified, staining the walls and ceiling crimson.

"Wha—wait!?"

Maple instinctively tried to flee the spot, but before she could move, her vision filled with red light.

After a moment, the light faded. Maple opened her eyes, still dazzled.

"…………Huh? What?"

Before her stood the same interior as the church, yet entirely repainted in gray.

An unsettling place.

"Where... am I?"

If the event here prolonged, returning would have to be considered.

If that is the case, logging out would suffice. Whether one could return here again is uncertain.

Judgment must be made with care.

Maple stepped outside the church.

"Uwa... It's terrible."

The gray world was the same outside.

The green forest had vanished. The land stretched gray and endless to the horizon.

As if time had stopped, debris floated in midair, suspended in place.

"Sally would hate this place..."

Maple muttered, walking through the wasteland.

She had a destination.

In this gray world, Maple had spotted one thing that was not gray, far away.

Maple walked toward it.

Maple reached the object that was not gray.

It was a pitch-black sphere.

The pitch-black sphere reacted as Maple approached. Its surface began to bulge and rise in uneven patches.

Then, suddenly, the sphere split open. Something fell out, accompanied by a black, coal-like liquid.

A tail extended from tattered robes.

On its head, curled horns like those of a sheep.

It spoke, head still lowered.

“Food has arrived…”

Maple tensed at the words. She raised her great shield.

The creature lifted its face. It looked at Maple. Something registered.

“Ah? You’re that one… the angelic power mixed in… this one’s lucky… I’ll devour you and ascend as a demon. I was defeated at the temple, but here—here I can give it my full strength!”

The demon roared.

No reconciliation possible.

A fight was inevitable.

Before fear, before the decision to fight, Maple thought of one thing—about the demon’s words.

Eat?... Perhaps I should do that too?

Maple spoke the uneasy words and entered combat stance.

The track ahead, diverging from the third event, extended just as it should toward the abnormality.