Defense specialization and full team.

Ah. The hundredth episode.

Sally returned to the Maple Tree, as she had decided in her heart.

"Welcome back—"

Sally arrived just as Yui and Mai were lifting the iron spheres.

Maple had tried to help, but remembered she could contribute nothing in battle, and gave up.

The spheres were barely within Kasumi’s reach to lift—Maple could not possibly lift them.

"Ah! Welcome back, Sally!"

"The orbs are here—four of them!"

"Oooh!!"

A cheer rose from the three who had been preparing.

If they hold firm, the points will accelerate once more.

Hearing the cheer, Crom and Kanade emerged from the depths.

Shortly after, Kasumi and Izu returned from their recon mission.

Eight orbs had been seized.

Three had already been returned to their original positions after successful defense.

The first two orbs were taken by Sally, Kasumi, and Crom. The other two were seized from a mid-sized guild through Sally’s stratagem.

The orbs returned by Kasumi and Izu. The orbs Sally brought back.

Five in total must be defended. The situation remains tense.

Yet the shield defending them is the strongest in the game.

Even if a player breaks it, one hand’s fingers would suffice.

“Ah, right! I only stole one orb, so they’ll probably come back to reclaim it. Just small guilds, though.”

“Seriously… I still can’t believe we keep doing this.”

Kanade murmurs.

“Ah, speak of the devil.”

Crom draws his weapon, eyes fixed on the entrance. Players pour in, clearly more than one small guild.

Even as small guilds falter, an impromptu alliance forms.

There is no benefit in betrayal this close to the end. They will use one another only until the moment they seize the orbs.

Six orbs met the eyes of those who charged in.

Eight players.

Fifty in total, though the makeshift alliance coordinates poorly. Overwhelming numbers.

The treasure before them raises morale. Some already consider slaying their own allies after defeating the enemy.

Ah, how fortunate they are.

To claim all six orbs by defeating just eight.

Such a chance may never come again.

All shout and charge forward.

Magic arcs through the air. Dust swirls.

In contrast, the eight stand calmly.

Eight of us fighting together—this is the first time, isn’t it?

First time all eight engaging in combat. Izumi-san, for example.

Maple, as always, I’m counting on you.

Crom speaks. All understand immediately.

Maple’s role in this event has been singular, so far.

“Ryōkai! Love That Offers the Body!”

“Yes, Heal.”

Mai’s HP recovers instantly. No opening.

The seven advance in step with Maple.

Frontline clash. Blades meet.

Yui and Mai take blows from all sides. Neither falls.

“Double Stamp!”

The impact hurls a player backward. Axes and blades strike those who have stepped away.

“Hraa!”

“Fh!”

Those who endured and evaded the twin attacks, aiming first for the orb, were shrewd.

From the range of the glowing ground, a rain of bombs fell upon those moving toward the orb.

"Ah, naughty child? To aim only at the orb."

Iz, with Maple beside her, was no different from a combatant.

A threat beyond measure.

Those who forced their way through were duly invited to Kanade's library.

"【Paralyze Laser】"

Kanade's low-power, high-probability paralysis laser swept horizontally through space.

No complaints, except for its narrow range due to the strength of its secondary effect.

Still, a player would arrive to clean up the aftermath, even if Kanade did not fall.

"Gh... gah!"

"Ku... damn it!"

The player struck by the laser groaned, attempting to flee, but movement was sluggish.

"Bye-bye."

The one who stole the orb from them.

The player, frozen by Kanade at Sally's command, is being escorted back to the guild.

Even as this happens, fighters fall one after another to the vanguard's assault.

The alliance collapses. Those whose spirits break first begin to retreat.

Yet among them, one still seeks to strike back.

"【Leap】!"

The player dives through the space between Crom and Kasumi, already certain of death.

A sword raised, holding the feather of an angel, aiming to strike down the player holding the front line.

"【Defense Break】!"

"【Pierce Guard】"

The full-force blow, swung with words and steel alike, is met with a merciless declaration—its power nullified, deflected away.

The last thing the player saw, feeling the looming presence of two great hammers behind, was the face of the other player—hood pulled low, indistinct, blurred.

"Maple...? Damn it."

He murmured, resigned, as the hammer struck him full force.

The remaining players could not touch the orb.

Complete defeat.

Ah, yet how fortunate they were.

They had witnessed and experienced, for the first time in history, a battle of eight.

They would boast of it when the event ended.

That they had faced the most terrifying party in the game's history.

As they spoke, the sky darkened, and the first night arrived—filled with night raids and assassinations.