Defense specialization and feast.

Large guilds emerge in succession, encircling the realm of the Flame Emperor.

……All will perish. I will take as many with me as I can.

Miyi activates the Flame Emperor, steeling her resolve.

……I will do it. I will.

Marx rises with sluggishness, slaps his cheeks sharply to revive himself.

Come on… let’s go! Flare Accelerator!

The roar and explosion mark the start of battle. Magic hails forth in unison toward the Flame Emperor’s domain.

A coordinated assault from multiple large guilds. This alone may end it.

Holy Maiden’s Prayer!

Light descends from the sky through Mizari’s spell.

A skill that grants widespread, rapid automatic healing for a set duration. It consumes all MP, leaving none for three minutes.

The damage healed rapidly. As long as she did not take a full barrage, she would not fall.

Even if her MP recovered, she could not cast again.

She had no choice but to exhaust herself.

"Please!"

Mizari, already out of combat, could only entrust her safety to those she could rely on.

"Ah!"

Shin and Markus moved in the opposite direction from Mii. Even though the guild members knew they were at a disadvantage, they had no choice but to scatter.

"【Burning Flame】!"

Mii deflected the approaching spell with a bold sweep, moving with a grace no mage should possess, and charged a single group.

She struck the flame orb full in the face, forcing a geyser of fire from the ground, and crushed them.

Yet her MP dwindled at an alarming pace. Even if she used every potion she had, it would not be enough to bring down all of them.

"Still...!"

If she could take down even one more, it would benefit them all later.

There was no way to flee. Under these conditions, fighting to the absolute limit was all that remained.

Even so, the thing she feared most appeared.

On the open plain, from behind the large guild, a monstrous shape charged forward.

Had she not been in battle, she might have pressed her hand to her forehead and looked up at the sky.

“This… is hopeless…”

That was what Miya thought. Yet it did not come to pass.

The monster reached the rear of the large guild, tore through the rear guard, and began attacking the guild itself.

It was not reinforcement. But in this moment, that action was undeniably helpful.

“Still able…!?”

Miya steeled herself once more and resumed attacking the large guild.

The goal of Maple and the others was the destruction of the large guilds swarming 【The Empire of the Flame Emperor】.

At that time, it was agreed that the stronger players within 【The Empire of the Flame Emperor】 should be avoided if possible.

That meant Mii, Markus, Mizari, and Shin would be spared.

They would be spared because the four of them would inflict significant damage on the large guilds.

Mii would not interfere with Maple, who was attacking the large guilds.

Maple would not engage Mii.

This created an effective alliance.

"Keep moving forward!"

"Got it!"

The faces on her back hurled bombs, dealing damage. Maple drove through the large guilds, crushing players beneath her.

"Maple! Trouble over there!"

"Got it!"

Darkness was unsettling in its own way. But Maple in this bright light was just as terrifying.

Her presence was overwhelming—so great that the entire large guild focused their attention on her.

The large guild moved as one, without speaking, turning their blades toward Maple as if driven by instinct.

Something there must be destroyed, even if it meant abandoning the Empire of Flame.

"Oh... wow, she came!"

"Yeah...!? Maple! Protect us!"

Sally’s voice, strained and urgent, reached Maple.

At nearly the same moment Maple activated Love That Offers the Body, and the entire large guild was enveloped in light.

"【Brutality】 is gone!"

"But everyone’s safe... yet..."

What Sally had seen a moment before was Pain, standing in the shade, sword drawn from its sheath.

The large guild’s commotion had drawn her. She had waited in silence, watching for the moment to strike, should the guild be severely weakened.

She had chosen her moment precisely when Maple’s attention was fixed, and most players had frozen in place.

"Maple! She’s coming! So..."

Yes! [Dread]!

Even after yesterday’s [Dread] shattered, today’s remained.

Despair returns.

Further.

““[Phantom World]!””

The incantation shouted by Kanade and Sally.

A spell that conjures three duplicates of the target for three minutes.

Each of them drawn into Maple.

The monster form of Maple now totaled seven.

Approaching were not only Pain, but Drag, Frederica, and Dread as well.

Now that Maple’s form had returned, the moment for attack had come. One step forward.

“Getting weirder every time, damn it! [Crack the Earth]!”

Drag split the ground with familiarity and resignation.

No matter which Maple approached, all were dangerous. Must be held in place.

The light of the holy sword pierced the sky. The earth cracked. Flames erupted. The monsters ran.

Vines stretched. Magic veiled the sky. The sword danced. Illusions deceived the flesh.

Destruction repeated. The fading last light of the player painted the battlefield with a fleeting, fragile beauty.