Chapter 557 Defense Specialization and the Victory Celebration

The scene shifted to 【Maple Tree】’s guild home.

Excitement from defeating the Demon King still lingered heavily in the air, as the guild members gathered around tables filled with sumptuous dishes prepared by Iz, exchanging their impressions of the fierce battle.

“This is delicious! But preparing all this food so quickly can’t have been easy.”

“She must’ve prepared ahead of time. Meaning, Iz believed we’d win from the very start.”

“Of course. With a party this strong, and since we only had one shot at it, I thought we should be ready for the victory celebration.”

Drag and Dread nodded in agreement with Iz’s confident explanation.

Indeed, assembling a stronger party than the one Maple had gathered today would’ve been near impossible. And the fact that everyone had managed to clear their schedules and come together on the same day was nothing short of miraculous.

“Still… the skill and magic nullification really is a challenge. 【Kingdom of the Flame Emperor】 has many magic users. Opponents like that Demon King inevitably put us at a disadvantage.”

“All we can do is adjust our party composition. Wilbert and I face the same problem. Skills are fundamental to this game. If they’re sealed, everyone is weakened significantly.”

“From now on, we’ll probably see more enemies like this. Perhaps the developers are hinting at what’s to come. The original Demon King also had skill cancellation, though not as extreme as this version. 【Congregation of Holy Swords】 has many members who prioritize raw stats and passive skills like 【Fortress】, but whether that’s sufficient depends on the enemy we face.”

The appearance of the Demon King’s true form had forced each guild master to reconsider their future plans. Of course, not every future monster would match this standard, but the Demon King would remain etched in their memories whenever they confronted powerful bosses.

Skill nullification, defense penetration, teleportation, instant-death attacks, repeated damage that could bypass skills like 【Indomitable Guardian】—the Demon King had been loaded with abilities no player would ever wish to face.

Eleventh floor, twelfth floor—the bosses would only become tougher. Though the battle had originally been to help Maple, every guild had greatly benefited from the experience.

***

Eventually, conversations began to wind down, and the excitement of the victory celebration gradually faded.

Maple slipped away from the vibrant room, stepping out onto the balcony to quietly reflect on today’s battle.

“I’m really glad we won…”

Maple herself had invited everyone here. Before the fight began, she was the most worried whether or not they could actually win.

“Maple!”

“Ah, Sally!”

“Taking a break?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“That Demon King was pretty tough, wasn’t he?”

“Super tough. If we’d made even a tiny mistake, it could’ve ended badly.”

“Right? We might’ve been wiped out at once. And… Maple, you really wanted to win without losing anyone, right? Winning without a single casualty—that’s incredibly difficult.”

Though they had the safety net of 【Resurrect】 this time, every attack from the Demon King had been lethal. To achieve victory without losing anyone was indeed the best possible outcome.

“All that’s left now is the event.”

“…Yeah.”

The upcoming event would be Maple and Sally’s final festival.

Scheduled as a concluding celebration for the tenth floor, it was a relaxed event—simply participate, earn some medals, and enjoy. They didn’t have to aim for the top or stress themselves out.

Yet, Sally’s heart remained unsettled.

Having conquered the tenth floor, gathered the Demon King’s Hearts, and ultimately defeated the Demon King itself—

The time had finally arrived.

“Hmm…what should we do next…”

“…”

“What’re you two doing out here!?”

“Wah!? V-Velvet… Jeez, you startled me!”

“Haha, sorry about that!”

“We were just discussing the event.”

“Ohh! So what are your plans, Maple?”

“Hmm… I’m not that great at PvP, so unless there’s a special reason, I was thinking PvE with everyone.”

Velvet suddenly clapped her hands and grabbed Maple’s shoulders with excitement.

“That’s it! Exactly that!”

“Eh? Wh-what!?”

“I came here to convince you to join PvP, Maple! I’ve always wanted another chance to face you.”

Velvet’s eyes were serious as she spoke. Although the last event had been faction-based, Velvet and Hinata had directly fought Maple and Sally—and lost. Maple, who had been indifferent toward choosing PvE or PvP, was swayed by Velvet’s unusually earnest request.

“Hmm…maybe I could join PvP with Sally, then?”

“Yes! Exactly that!”

“Eh!? Wh-what now?”

“Hehehe, but this time I want to fight one-on-one! Think of it as repayment for helping you defeat the Demon King. What do you say?”

“Mmm…when you put it like that…”

Maple hadn’t promised any particular reward for helping her with the Demon King battle. Yet all these players had gathered thanks largely to Maple’s charisma. Thus, when Velvet phrased it as repayment, Maple found it hard to refuse.

“Well, if it’s a bother, I won’t force it. But if you’re still undecided… it would make me really happy if you agreed!”

“Hmm… What do you think, Sally? If I join alone, we won’t be able to participate together…”

“A-ah…well… Then I’ll participate alone too, I suppose. I mean, I was kind of leaning towards PvP anyway.”

“You are really good at PvP, Sally!”

“Yeah. Well, yes…”

Faced with this unexpected scenario, Sally uncharacteristically hesitated in her response.

“Well, if we’re not doing PvE together…if Sally’s okay going solo too…alright! Let me check with everyone else! Velvet, wait right here!”

“Got it!”

As Maple quickly ran back into the guild home, Velvet finally spoke after making sure Maple was out of sight.

“You owe me one, Sally.”

“……!”

“Haha, that’s an unusual expression for you. Maybe I was a bit pushy, though.”

Sally knew Velvet’s true intention all too well. Velvet hadn’t intended to push Maple into PvP or even to fight Maple one-on-one herself.

Her real purpose was to create a situation where Sally and Maple would each enter PvP separately—thus providing Sally a direct chance to challenge Maple herself.

Because Velvet understood Sally’s hidden desire.

“It’s okay to be unsure. But regret from hesitation isn’t good, Sally. I think you should be a little selfish sometimes.”

“…Yeah.”

“If this is your first and last chance, letting it slip away by doing nothing would be a shame.”

“…Yeah.”

Sally’s eyes met Velvet’s, now filled with unwavering resolve.

“I’ll go defeat Maple. I’ll stake everything I’ve built so far on this one fight.”

What had she built everything for? What had she long desired?

Sally could no longer deny her true feelings.

“Haha, looks like your mind’s made up! You better tell me how it goes, okay?”

“I will. Thanks, Velvet. But if you try to take Maple from me, I’ll be mad.”

“Haha! I wouldn’t dream of it!”

“Kidding. But seriously…I’ll be the one to defeat Maple. And if anyone’s going to defeat me, it’s only going to be her. No one else can have that—ever.”

All her previous hesitation had transformed into a burning flame within Sally, brighter and more intense than ever before.

“We should head back. But fix your expression first, okay?”

“Oh, right…yeah. Thanks again, really.”

“No problem. But… I really hope you two get your chance.”

“Yeah, I’ll do my best.”

With renewed determination, the two of them returned to the lively room, holding within their hearts a secret Maple had no idea existed.