Defense specialization and the final event two.

Maple is unleashing all her skills without restraint, ravaging the battlefield. Sally is also trapped within the battle royale zone.

"Fast...! Didn't even hit me!"

Sally dodges the descending great maul, slicing open her abdomen. Each evasion amplifies the damage from Sword Dance, and the short sword’s strike grows heavier.

"Fireball!"

"Such a thing... ahh!?"

Water erupts from beneath, lifting the man into the air. The mechanism behind Sally’s skill Disguise—altering the appearance and name of a skill—remains unexplained.

In truth, the second unique series capable of freely changing appearance is known only to the members of Maple’s Tree.

This is not a technique that could be uncovered by a player facing it for the first time.

"Point-Target Attack!"

"Ku... that..."

The man vanishes, pierced through by Sally as he is launched into the air and falls, defenseless.

A victory without peril. As it should be—Sally’s focus has risen to an unprecedented height, nearing the reach of Kasumi’s 【Mind’s Eye】.

The time Sally has staked today differs utterly from that of any other player.

The opposing player does not know this, but Sally’s will has pushed her ability beyond its limits.

It has reached the same level as Maple’s defense.

To use a skill without penetration against Maple—there is no point in attempting to avoid an attack that, in theory, should be avoidable by the current Sally.

An absolute evasion, equal to Maple’s own, yet one that should not exist.

“Must not… look…”

Sally decapitates one player and searches for the next. To end the battle royale, every player within range must be defeated.

Searching, however, does not mean seeking the vague presence of other players.

She seeks only Maple.

Sally has cleared only the first hurdle. If she cannot meet her in this vast field, she will not proceed further.

"Good, two more...!"

Sally finds an unknown player and moves straight toward her. Two female players, a bow user and a greatsword wielder, notice her and raise their weapons.

"【Fast Arrow】!"

A super-fast arrow, loosed while still at distance. The bow user hesitates, unable to think past the impact, as the arrow passes through Sally without effect.

"Wha—!?"

The arrow’s trajectory, more precise than the archer had anticipated, was not a matter of evasion but of barely shifting her head while moving straight forward, the arrow passing through space she had already vacated.

“[Leap]!”

Sally leapt forward, closing the distance before the archer could draw again.

“Don’t be careless!”

The greatsword wielder would not overlook this. Not even if it were possible.

Indeed, Sally exposed a wide opening—yet to stop it was certain to prevent a fatal blow to her partner. There was no choice but to counter.

At the instant the greatsword swung and struck, Sally vanished. The longsword pierced through the greatsword wielder’s back, emerging from the chest.

“Gah… hah!?”

They had expected a perfect defense. Instead, they sustained heavy damage. Unable to comprehend the situation, the archer hastily raised her bow toward the suddenly appearing Sally. Before she could fire, a torrent of water surged forth.

“【Water Dragon】!”

A mass of water shaped like a dragon struck the ground, thrashing violently and engulfing both. In the torrent’s fury, maintaining posture was impossible. Aiming and firing a proper arrow was beyond reach.

“What… is this…!?”

“What’s happening!?”

“【Cannonwater】!”

The greatsword wielder, already weakened by a prior strike, was lifted by a surge of water from another direction.

“【Ice Spire】!”

Sally erected a column of ice along the greatsword wielder’s trajectory. She anchored it with a thread, closed the distance, and severed the neck before the man could move.

“【Spread Arrow】!”

While focused on defeating the greatsword wielder, Sally twisted in midair to deflect only the arrows that would strike her body, repelling the spread arrows launched from the recovered archer.

“Lies…!?”

She had never faced a player who missed entirely. No vision of how any attack could land comes to mind.

Both the rapid arrows and the spread arrows were perfectly countered.

The movement did not appear accidental. Every skill she possessed flashed through her mind—yet each one declared itself useless.

“How…!?”

“Sorry. Can’t stop now.”

She deflected the final arrow with merciless precision, then drove her dagger forward, ending the life.

“Mustn’t linger. Hurry.”

A firm will drives Sally’s feet forward.

Sally ran forward, eyes scanning the sky where red light still lingered.

Even events have their end.

Time is not infinite. It flows still.

She pressed her foot forward, gathering strength—there would be no second chance.

“Hoo—!”

“Gah!”

“Go—!”

“Damn it… can’t push through…!”

“Changes form endlessly!”

The battle royale had repeated again and again. In the center of the shrinking field, Maple was surrounded by many players. They saw her as the common enemy to be dealt with first, their weapons raised.

A battle royale should be one against many. But this was inevitable.

Maple spreads six wings at the center of the plain. She fortifies her defense with the combo of [Annihilation Field] and [Love That Offers the Body], scattering sustained damage across a wide area. While shielding [Demon King] and [Predator], she presses forward long-range attacks from [Ancient Weapon], [Machine God], and [Poison Dragon].

To advance is hell. To stay still is hell. If left unchallenged, Maple will close in and swallow each one individually into [Annihilation Field].

[Acid Rain]!

A downpour of acid spreads across the field. Players who endure it, unharmed compared to other attacks, grow complacent. A few moments pass. Then, without warning, they die—erased.

What?

You mean to say... there's no such thing as a gentle attack...?

None of this works. Not the Hundred Demon Night Procession, nor Brutality, nor Rebirth's Darkness, nor Gluttony.

Despair folds upon despair. It feels as though it could not have come from the same player frame. Still, it is not invincible. It can be felled with proper strikes. Effective attacks exist.

The issue is merely this: delivering those strikes is extraordinarily difficult.

"Attack Initiated!"

Maple detonates, accelerating rapidly toward the player group.

Maple's mobility is not particularly high. Yet, in straight-line movement, she can achieve explosive acceleration through detonation flight.

"Invitation to the Abyss!"

"Ah..."

From stillness, Maple suddenly reveals her fangs—her five tentacles snapping open wide, like the maw of a great beast.

The player, engulfed, is instantly erased by Gluttony.

"Strong...!"

So strong...!?

One more time, let's go!

Maple flies toward another group, leaving behind a trail of flame. Soon, the player facing Maple realizes the difference between this form of Maple and her usual self.

Yaaah!

Using Gluttony, she eradicates five more. Then, with a follow-up strike from Ancient Weapon, she sweeps with a laser. The aberration summoned by Annihilation Field and Demon King takes the final life.

Maple is defeated. In large-scale player-versus-player battles, whenever the guild discussed strategies, the first proposal was always the same: to put Maple’s skills into cooldown.

A Maple who can use everything is unmanageable. But a Maple with limited-use, long-cooldown abilities weakens gradually if one manages the rhythm of offense and retreat.

Only when each method of attack has been stripped away one by one can she finally close the distance and strike with a defense-piercing assault.

This is the fundamental truth in conquering Maple. There is no obligation to fight a fully powered Maple.

This time, however, it is a festival event—designed so all may fight with full strength, again and again.

Maple, when encountered, is typically at full capacity. Defeating her would bring the highest honor. Simply put, her output is monstrous.

Damn, this won’t do...!

The top class of the top guild—truly, beyond compare...

Loss yields no change in reward. Rather, witnessing a full effort in battle, confirming the new skill 【Demon King】, and having a tale to tell—this is sufficient. To die here is no more than to shift, to respawn, and return to the field of combat.

A fine thing was seen. With those words left behind, the player was torn apart by the predator.

"Got it! This time worked out perfectly!"

The difficulty of facing a full-powered monster was proven again and again by the relentless barrage of lethal skills, as Maple demonstrated.

"Phew... That was quite a fight!"

Win after win.

She had crushed dozens, no, hundreds of players, and now, as the crimson light signaling the battle royale momentarily dimmed, she stretched her limbs and settled onto a large stone nearby.

"Getting used to using skills, I see... So many of them."

She brought out a blue panel and checked her status. The defense-focused stats unchanged since the game began, and a noticeably increased number of skills compared to when she first started.

Maple closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the times she had acquired each of these skills.

A journey remembered as clearly as if it were yesterday.

Memories so vivid, she never thought they would multiply so greatly within the game.

"Lonely, isn't it."

The end was already decided. Maple gazed upward at the distant sky, lost in quiet melancholy, when she noticed a figure approaching from afar.

"…Ah, Mii!"

The approaching figure was Mii, her familiar crimson-accented gear unmistakable.

"Maple! How’re you doing?"

"Pretty good! I won."

Maple gave a V-sign.

Indeed, in this battle royale so far, Maple had won every match. Not a single blow had touched her—perfect victories, each flawless.

"And you?"

"I’m still standing. As Guildmaster of the Flame Emperor’s Realm, I can’t afford to look weak."

Maple paused. Mii, too, was strong—no less so in the chaos of a battle royale, where many players clashed.

Because Ignis controls the skies and excels at wide-area, high-damage attacks.

Maple knew Mii’s strength well. That she had never died once was not surprising.

“So, well… I’ve been searching for you, found you, and—want to fight a rematch?”

“Eh!?!”

“After all, I’ve always lost in PVP! That’s frustrating! And then you left the game, right? I thought it might be impossible, but if I found you, I’d fight.”

“I see…”

“How about it? No refusal?”

“Sure!”

“Alright, great! Then one clean match—no grudges!”

“Got it! Okay, I’ll do my best!”

“Then let’s begin in duel mode. This allows us to disable spectator cameras, seal off areas from others, and set time limits.”

“Hmph. I haven’t used it much, and didn’t really plan to… Mii, you decide?”

“Hmm, got it. Then let’s settle it in one match!”

“Yeah! Hehe, kinda nervous now…”

“Haha, me too. But once it starts, no holding back, okay?”

“Alright!”

Thus, whether by chance or fate, the duel between Maple and Mii was set to begin.

Elsewhere, Sally raced through the woods, searching for Maple’s location.

Sally’s detection range and mobility were high—within the limits of player skill and stats.

She could not fly, nor did she possess special tracking abilities. She could only locate her target by running steadily.

It was she who found the other first.

“Ah! There you are!”

“…That voice…”

Sally stops dead, waiting for the voice’s owner to arrive.

Then, Frederica emerges from the undergrowth, rustling through the branches.

“Hey—just in time, huh?”

“Is that so?”

“Mmm-hmm! You don’t even have to say it. I know what you mean. Let’s do it on the wider side.”

“I didn’t say yes.”

“Eh!?!”

“Huh… kidding. Fine. You’ve been my opponent plenty of times. Well, I’ve been the one doing the opposing, really.”

“That part doesn’t need fixing!”

The duel with Frederica had indeed been enjoyable.

As Sally said, there had been truth in the fact that she had been the one being opposed.

“Anyway. If we’re doing this, let’s do it.”

“Then this way.”

Frederica leads Sally across the plain, tapping the panel with practiced ease, setting the rules of the duel.

The rules are as always—exactly as they have been in countless duels before.

"Is it alright to choose a favorable field?"

"You know I’m not the kind to win just by being clever. And fighting from even a slight advantage is basic combat sense, isn’t it?"

"That’s true."

"I won’t allow a victory escape. I’ll mark you with one black star before I’m done!"

Frederica has lost every previous battle. Yet, victory in this one would make the triumph all the sweeter—far beyond any past defeat.

"Winning will be yours to boast of."

"You’re quite confident, aren’t you? I don’t recall you saying that before."

"Yes. Today, I am stronger than ever. Try to win, if you can."

At the same instant as those words, Frederica felt Sally’s presence shift—like the air thickening, the weight of her stance changing. Her hand paused mid-motion, her eyes drawn to Sally.

Frederica, who had fought duels countless times, understood this.

An intensity of focus sharpened beyond reason. A pressure so great it whispered, if even a moment of weakness showed, a dagger would pierce the throat. A presence so overwhelming it made retreat seem inevitable.

In every duel, in every event before, she had never felt such fear from Sally.

Clearly unnatural. Unnaturally so. As Sally said, the creature before her was undeniably the strongest she had faced. Appearance unchanged. Yet Frederica knew it.

“F-fufu… you really worked hard on this… okay, okay! It’s better this way—more satisfying to defeat, and the joy of finally beating you will be greater… f-fine… I won’t lose.”

“I intend the same. I will not lose today. No white star will be granted.”

Frederica and Sally, who had maintained a long rivalry, also decided to settle their matter here.

Before the blade-like precision of Sally, Frederica shook off a momentary fear and raised her staff.

As declared, she had no intention of allowing Sally to escape with victory.

"Here I go—!"

"Let's settle this!"

Thus, the curtain fell on their duel.