Defense specialization and aurora.
"Impossible...!?"
Like Wilbert, Hinata grasped the failure of the strategy. Positioning to disrupt. Movement speed drops the moment they shift.
That was the plan.
Before Hinata’s skill declaration, Sally—protected from all effects by [Divine Concealment]—had already vanished beyond range in an instant.
The unnerving speed of her decision, cutting through precious defensive resources without hesitation, altered the situation entirely.
"Emergency Charge!"
Hinata, frozen in shock, was pulled back by Velvet’s voice.
A bolt of lightning descended from above, wrapping itself around Velvet once more.
Yet this was literal emergency use. It delayed the time spent suffering the drawback of [Excessive Charging], granting only a brief window to wield lightning.
"Electromagnetic Leap!"
Velvet leaps into the air, leaving behind a trail of lightning. The destination, guided by Hinata’s gravity control, is the sky.
A flying machine, piloted by Lily, approaches them through the darkness, trailing blue flame.
“Ray [Shooting Star]!”
Pain mounts Ray and surges upward into the air.
“Drop it! Ray [Breath of the Sacred Dragon]!”
“[Reproduction][Puppet Wall]!”
Ray’s radiant breath shatters the wall formed by soldiers summoned by Lily, who has switched her equipment, and smashes the platform machine.
“Gh…!”
“[Area Expansion][Luminous Sacred Sword]!”
Lily and Wilbart, thrown into the air, are met with an unbroken torrent of light.
At the instant the attack is about to strike directly—both are yanked downward by immense force, evading the blow.
“Not allowed!”
Hinata’s control over gravity pulled them downward, closing the distance between the four.
Amid the torrent of magic falling from above, Lily waved the flag in her hand.
“Formation change!”
The four vanished instantly.
This skill, akin to teleportation, disregarded even high outer walls or players surrounding them.
Kasumi and Crom exchanged a glance, then dashed straight toward the outer wall.
From above, Pain descended. Those present followed in quick succession.
Even with teleportation, they could only leave this place. The three who knew Maple’s Ark predicted that the formation change would not take them far.
Beyond the gate, scanning the field, Kasumi confirmed the blue flame belonging to Lily’s flying machine.
“Haku! Super size!”
“Let’s ride!”
Kasumi and Maple reacted swiftly. Ahead of them, Ray flew with superior speed.
“Good—closing in!”
“Ah! Even with the same machine, Maple’s flight is faster!”
The blue flame hovering in the night sky shifted angle and descended sharply toward the ground.
Ray lowered altitude as well, drawing near enough to clearly see all four.
“Truly fast, that’s for sure!”
A renewed clash. Tension tightened the air. The crackling sound of Velvet’s discharge shattered the silence.
“Output increase! Aurora!”
The ground expanded in a vast, radiant glow centered on Velvet.
Thunderbolt intensified. A white pillar, connecting sky and earth, surged forth with thunderous force, halting the three.
A few seconds passed. As the thunder faded and the pillar of light vanished, the four were no longer there.
“Only dizziness…!”
"Search! For some reason, detection seems repelled. Kasumi, block the escape route—please!"
Velvet and Hinata, who could follow her, were limited in how far they could go with Lilie and Wilbert.
If they vanished in a few seconds, they should be nearby.
Pain searched from above. Kasumi and Crom swept the ground, examining every shadow.
The reunited players joined them, and all searched thoroughly around the area.
The only certainty was that no one was present here.
Just before vanishing, the three who checked were Pain, Crom, and Kasumi.
"What is this? That can't be possible...?"
"We didn’t miss anything along the way. Then they must not have been there when we were searching."
"From above, nothing flew away. No suspicious effects were seen."
Then the aurora. The moment that pillar of light vanished. The four of them disappeared at once. There is no other way to interpret it.
"...Assuming some powerful means of retreat. That would explain Velvet and Hinata's reckless charge."
"True enough."
"Right. A safety net, even from inside the wall, with formation shift included."
"Used not when the plan failed, but when it wasn't needed. So that skill must have conditions."
Pain believes the escape was through a skill. Crom and Kasumi agree.
From the sequence of actions, it seems less likely they planned to run back, and more likely they had prepared the skill in advance.
"Managed well."
"Yeah. Can't help it. Thanks to Sally."
"An extraordinary reaction. Had she been watching this far?"
Consider the next strategy. It seems difficult to defeat them without risk.
With the central force relying on the overwhelming defensive capability of [Maple's Tree] and the group combat strength of [Gathering Holy Sword], the battle had increasingly taken a counterattacking form—blocking enemy strikes and returning them. Yet this allowed the enemy to gain the initiative.
Strike first. With Dread absent, [Gathering Holy Sword] found this harder. Still. Incorporate [Maple's Tree] into the plan. Pain searches for the next strategy.