Defense specialized. After the fierce battle.

Land of water and nature. Deepest chamber of the crumbling castle. In the throne room, Lily summons soldiers for the final defense.

Creak. Crack. The wall breaks open, revealing a monstrous form—sound that should not exist.

Pain leads. Sally follows. To defeat even the next monster is impossible for Lily.

“[Judgment Sacred Sword]!”

“[Hyper Acceleration]!”

No need for further detail.

Pain blows aside the summoned soldiers. Sally charges forward.

“[Reproduction][Puppet Wall]!”

Lily creates a physical barrier, seeking just moments more.

“[Haze][Divine Concealment]!”

Sally vanishes entirely through Haze’s skill, slipping past the wall. If only she could strike with this flag.

Lily grips the flag tightly. She knows it is impossible.

“[Awakening][Power: Cataclysm]!”

Lily stumbles forward, filling the narrow space with flame. Even Sally cannot avoid it without room to move.

“[Leap]!”

Before the flames spill over, Sally leaps.

She slips past Lily’s head, heading toward the throne.

“That’s…!”

Flames consume the surroundings. If Sally were not real, she would have burned and died.

Gathering her strength, Lily thrusts the spear forward.

“[Change of Form]!”

“Wha—!”

The girl in black armor takes her place. Lily’s spear strikes true, piercing the chest.

Yet no damage is dealt.

The body, built for defense, rolls forward with the momentum of the thrust and comes to rest against the throne.

Moments later. The fanfare, ringing out after the fierce battle, announces Maple’s victory.

“Just one step short.”

Velvet taps the barrier just short of the throne with a sharp knock.

It stands as a wall, halting Velvet for a single instant as she tries to rush through.

In Velvet’s eyes, the sight of Frederica lies on the ground, HP at one, her staff raised.

"Why are you still alive?"

"Haa... haa... maybe it’s just my luck. And Crom’s help."

"Mmm... so you really were stubborn, huh..."

At the moment of his disappearance, Crom passed one skill to Frederica through a messenger dove. It was Dead or Alive. A skill that allowed Frederica—normally unable to withstand even one hit—to endure.

And Frederica, relying on that skill, moved with the motion of her armor, concealing the skill’s activation.

A single moment, born of luck and every ounce of effort, tipped the balance of battle.

With the conclusion of the event, all were enveloped in light and transferred back to the normal field.

"Regrettable, but a fine match. I shall aim to win next time."

"Next time, Dread and Drag will have to do more work—"

"It was fun! But I really wanted to win..."

Thoughts would come later. The light enveloping the players intensified, and they vanished from the event field.

On the other side, Maple, weary from the battle, slowly rose from her throne.

"A fine match. I was strong. My mistake was letting everyone fall."

Lily, drained from using her 【Power】, spoke to Maple as the alien form faded from sight.

"I tried to use 【Love That Offers the Body】... but you told me to stay on this side..."

"Ah... if you'd stayed on this side, I might have won..."

"Maple, nice one!"

Nice move. Well played.

Ah, Sally! Pain-san!

Maple-chan, you did it so well!

Yui too! Hehe, I tried my best!

The light here gradually grows stronger. The thoughts on it will have to wait until another day.

I should train until I can use my [Ability] properly by then...

Uu, please be on my side when that time comes.

Haha, yes. Let's think about it.

After exchanging words with Lilie, Maple's vision was swallowed by light.