Defense-oriented and imprisonment.

Maple flew through the sky alone on Shiroppu.

The pursuers aren’t coming at all. Sally seemed to have had a difficult time with them.

While Sally had stolen it, Maple had struck it squarely and shattered it, seizing the orb.

No fool would chase after such a Maple.

Yes, even if six guilds were destroyed.

Sally’s schedule is ahead of the orb’s gathering—there is leeway.

Maple lies stretched across Shiroppu’s shell. From below, the sound of swords clashing reaches her.

Maple looked down at the edge of Shiroppu and saw several guilds fighting over an orb.

Guilds that had lost their orbs after meeting stronger foes gathered in numbers.

Are they fighting…? Ah! That orb— it’s the one I was set to claim next!

If one knew an orb lay in a battlefield where magic clashed and blades shattered, they would leave it behind and move on.

Sally would have done just that.

But Maple plunged without hesitation into the center.

A calamity fallen from the sky rose beside a monster at the battlefield’s heart.

“That orb— it is mine!”

That was not certain.

Yet the possibility that her words would become truth was very high.

“[Poison Dragon (Hydra)]!”

A torrent of poison struck downward, rebounding from the ground and falling in a deluge.

Around Maple, the poison erupted like a fountain, consuming players nearby, one by one.

The poisoned ground also served to keep other players at a distance.

Stopping an opponent’s thoughts for a moment with unpredictable action— that was Maple’s strength.

Who could possibly fight while thinking of Maple descending?

But when Maple looked toward the pedestal, the orb was already gone.

The quick-witted had seized it without hesitation.

Yet Maple could not tell who had taken it.

"Ah?... What now...! Right! Shiroppu—Great Nature!"

Maple stood on open ground where trees grew in moderate numbers.

She quickly used vines to isolate a sizable area, scanning the surroundings.

Assuming the player who had taken the orb had not yet fled far, Maple erected a vine prison, capturing many players.

"Sally’s note... 'If you can’t take it, destroy them all.' Understood!"

If she did not know who held the orb, she would destroy them all.

It is not something easily done. But for Maple, giving her all would make it simple.

Yet at this moment, Maple still bears chains. She cannot fight at full strength.

Thus, she walked, poisoning the ground, cutting off the player’s range of movement, leaving no choice but to destroy them all at once.

But now, the players who had fought moments before suddenly united, turning their efforts toward survival. To the slow-moving Maple, no one could be caught.

—Uuu… Impossible! Shiroppu!

Maple ordered Shiroppu to enclose her within vines.

A sphere formed from vines was swiftly hoisted above the prison.

【Cannon Deployment】

A weapon extending from Maple’s body—same as the one used to rescue Sally.

Yet this time, more persistent, more thorough.

【Attack Commences】

No player here could dodge the lasers falling one after another toward the ground, avoiding the poisonous earth within the limited space.

One by one, players were swallowed by danger beneath their feet or above their heads.

The poison sea, which should have failed, now exerted overwhelming force.

“Perhaps it’s time… to descend.”

As Maple searched the ground for survivors, she found a poison-drenched orb.

“Ah! It’s still standing. Good….”

She picked up the orb, released the prison, and returned to the sky atop Shiroppu.

“[Poison Dragon (Hydra)] might be best left alone for now… but I can’t reveal the machine’s form yet. If I must act as I did before… hmm.”

It was still morning on the second day.

Maple could not spend another day outside, waging relentless assault, for reasons distinct from Sally’s.

One more… or perhaps two? Yes, that will do.

She chose her target orb. Once it was complete, Maple decided to return home briefly.

The defenders stationed at the base of [Maple Tree] did nothing at all.

Only their own orbs remained. No one came to reclaim them.

By the first day’s end, attackers had become an extremely rare occurrence.

Sally remained asleep. Izu was crafting Kasumi’s blade.

Kasumi fidgeted, pacing uneasily around Izu.

Now was the moment to strike [Maple Tree], yet reconnaissance had ceased entirely—perhaps because the impact of the first day had been too great.