Defense specialization and final battle three.
Before the royal castle, Kanade stands guard. Black sparks burst forth, reducing every building in the vicinity to rubble, transforming the town below into a barren wasteland.
“[Scorch]”
“[Violet Lightning]!”
“[Hyper Acceleration][Slow Field][Destruction Cannon]!”
The disparity in speed, amplified by acceleration and deceleration. Kanade evades Mii and Velvet’s attacks, creating distance from the enemy vanguard attempting to pierce through the storm of calamity, and dispatches a lagging target with a white-glowing laser.
“Seriously, you’ve got everything on you, huh!”
“Yeah. Not everything, though. [Reaper’s Scythe].”
As Kanade speaks, a blood-stained scythe presses against Velvet’s neck.
“Gh—!”
“Not bad. Quick reflexes.”
Just before the scythe slices through Velvet’s throat, she leans back and evades the strike.
There is no way to avoid it if it cannot be predicted.
"Miss Mii. We can't keep going like this!"
"Velvet. If you press forward, I'll create an opening. What do you say?"
Hearing proposals from each guild member, the two decide to take the risk and launch a coordinated attack.
Kanade’s black sparks—how long they will last is unknown. There is little time to spare. They cannot fight Kanade indefinitely.
"Electro Accelerate!"
Velvet accelerates her allies around her. The group charges straight at Kanade in unison.
Mii rises into the air, riding Ignis.
"Great Nature! Tornado!"
Kanade is bound by massive vines, triggering a whirlwind. To stop would mean being scorched by black sparks. Yet the same holds true for Kanade. Opposing her is Velvet, who commands rain of lightning. Entering the range is to be avoided.
“Cover! Cover!”
Velvet shields the charging figure, engulfed by wind, her body igniting in black sparks.
“Saved me!”
Velvet bows briefly, then closes in on Kanade. To defeat Kanade—this is the only thing she can do to repay the player who shielded her.
“Dash! Supercharge!”
Velvet accelerates, drawing Kanade into the range of lightning rain.
“Grand Barrier! Grand Lance!”
“Parry!”
The barrier blocks the lightning, while a spear of stone thrusts from the earth to restrain Velvet.
Yet Velvet nullifies Kanade’s attack with skill, taking the final step forward.
“[Full Force Strike]!”
“[Blink]”
“Hnn?!”
Kanade vanishes, leaving behind an afterimage, retreating backward.
Velvet’s fist slices through empty air. Magic flares, closing in around Kanade, as if to trap her.
“““[Crimson Flame Wave]!”””
A wave of fire, befitting the Land of the Flame Emperor. The number of players has diminished to roughly a third. Yet some remain—strong enough to wield powerful magic.
Even so, the distance remains too great to avoid entirely.
She evades with ease. Amidst the lingering flames, Velvet’s lightning rain draws her attention.
“[Thunder Crash]!”
The pillars of lightning spreading from Velvet. Targeting the skill’s僵硬, moving through gaps with ease, burning the player who defends Velvet with sparks.
Velvet and the others understand victory cannot come without cost. Those who fell did so with resolve, sacrificed as strategy demanded.
“[Flame Prison]!”
“……!”
Distracted by multiple area attacks with no escape, her focus shifted from Mii, who had not attacked at all. The massive prison of flame, conjured moments before, encloses Kanade.
“Invincibility…… doesn’t exist.”
Kanade’s memory is not mistaken. She knows no skill can break this. Watching her body burn slowly, her HP dwindling, she lets out a faint smile.
“Hmm, if Sally could move this well, maybe I’d have won.”
“Then we’d have two of those annoying people!”
Fufu, that's true.
Still, time had been gained. Kanade fades away, trusting Maple and the others.
"Let's go!"
Velvet leads the way, racing toward the palace.
No one remains nearby. Kanade had established a domain no one dared enter.
"Mii! I want to strike first!"
"Understood. I'll incinerate the players inside the palace."
"I'll handle the ones in front!"
Players who had registered Kanade's defeat attempt to pin the others at a distance with magic attacks.
"【Overcharge】!"
By the time the next lightning strike can be cast, this event will be resolved. Above Velvet, who has unleashed her full power, lightning flares. Waiting for the moment when the power of the thunder god is unleashed.
"【Electromagnetic Leap】!"
Not a single chance will be missed. With that resolve, Velvet leaps forward.
【Thunder God's Mallet】!
A column of lightning connecting heaven and earth. As the player struggles to activate a defense, the guild members of 【Thunder Storm】 charge without hesitation.
Velvet’s strength, and the way she uses it in battle, is ingrained in her body.
Here!
That one—don’t let it escape!
Gh—!
Damn it…
The player swallowed by lightning loses sight, even if it survives. That moment is when Velvet’s partner, having endured unharmed, closes in and strikes.
When the light fades, no player remains. This is the nature of the skill, the nature of the coordinated attack. To dodge so cleanly the first time was a rare occurrence.
If they have fled beyond range, Velvet and the others cannot catch them. It matters not how they return. A player following behind, delayed, is no different than one already fallen.
"Excellent! You really are reliable!"
"No time to talk—move now!"
"Understood!"
Velvet and the others race up the stairs toward the palace. Mii, already atop the high ground on Ignis, wraps herself in phoenix flame.
"【My body to fire】...【Inferno】!"
Blazing flames surge forward, scorching the entrance, reducing the door to ash, spreading through the palace interior. No place remains to flee. Any within range is instantly reduced to charcoal.
Time for clearing is too precious now.
"Mii! I'm going in!"
"Right—shortest route!"
The castle’s structure is memorized. Running through corridors, passing staircases, turning corners.
At that moment.
“[Multi-Flame Burst]!”
“[Cover Move][Cover]!”
“Aaah, if only they’d fall down like that…”
In the center, a wide passage stretching toward the throne room, with multiple corridors branching left and right. Frederica waited there.
But she did not wait alone.
She stood with Crom and other shieldbearers positioned before her.
“Why are you here!?”
“Haha… a pleasant journey through the sky.”
Yui’s sphere struck precisely near the palace. Now, only time earned by Kanade remained—run without pause.
Thanks to Kanade’s endurance, they barely slipped into the final phase.
“Let’s keep going! Necro, [Burst Flame]!”
“[Multi-Flame Burst]! Notes [Amplify][Chorus]!”
““[Cover]!””
Crom and Frederica’s flames struck the enemy’s great shield, engulfing it in fire.
No space to dodge directly. But the same held true for Crom’s group.
“Cover!”
“Chaos Flame!”
“““Cover!”””
Flames and lightning filling the entire corridor. Not something one could endure head-on. To gain even a moment, one sacrifices themselves to shield another. The number halves with each attack, but this protects Frederica—their primary damage source—until the limit.
“Electromagnetic Leap!”
““Super Acceleration!”””
“Be careful not to slip through!”
They hold back the player charging in headfirst.
Crom stands before Velvet, shield raised, short blade drawn.
“Heavy Dual Strike—Chain Lightning!”
“Gh…!”
The lightning detonates upon impact with the shield, blasting Crom’s HP away.
““Crimson Wave!”””
"Flame Emperor!"
Crom!
"【Spirit Light】【Cover】!"
She negates the damage, shielding Frederica as she endures the wave of flame. Yet Velvet, piercing through the fire, strikes the moment her invincibility ends—her fist driving forward with sharp precision.
[Multi-Regeneration]!
...Luck’s against me.
Crom knocks Velvet back with a shield. His face tightens with bitterness. The first 【Dead or Alive】 does not activate. 【Unyielding Guardian】 is used instead.
Pushing in!
"Necro—weight of death!"
[Multi-Fire Bullet] [Multi-Wind Blade]!
Do not concern yourself!
Frederica’s magic cuts down many players. Still, the great shieldbearer who stands firm, striking back with magic, sinks one after another.
"Full-force strike! Discharge!"
If she crosses this point, it will be over. Velvet sidesteps Crom’s shield, strikes him with a heavy fist, and sends him flying. She follows with magic-based fire support, draining his HP in one burst.
Crom crashes into the wall. Velvet’s lightning strikes him in multiple hits.
Enduring through multiple hits via 【Dead or Alive】, yet Crom feels his vision dimming.
“Damn… she’s prepared well…”
As Crom fades from existence, Mizari’s fireball closes in on the remaining Frederica.
“【Emperor of Flame】!”
“T-that… 【Multiple Barriers】!”
“Got you!”
“Shi—!”
Velvet slides in behind Crom’s barrier, used to block Mizari’s attack. She strikes him from the side, sending him flying to the right.
Frederica, a pure-blooded mage, cannot withstand the attack. She freezes, motionless, along with the armor she bears.
Before her, a throne. Velvet, who led the way, charges forward without pause.