Defense Specialization and Revenge 4

After they wrapped up their strategy meeting, the two called over Payne and stood side by side facing him.

“It seems you’re ready.”

“We’re ready!”

“Yes.”

“I’m looking forward to this. If your unknown combo actually beats me, I’ll have to grill everyone in the spectator seats for a full recap.”

Payne and Ray, Maple and Syrup, Sally and Oboro.

Three players and three familiars spread out and dropped into fighting stances.

“Let’s go! Ray—【Blessing of the Holy Dragon】【Sacred Aegis】!”

“Maple, same as always!”

“Leave it to me!”

At the start signal, Payne and Sally burst into motion. For Payne, this was exactly as planned—and ideal.

The only thing that could one-shot him was Maple’s 【Devour】. He had no reason to let her anywhere near. From that distance Maple couldn’t pressure him without risking friendly fire on Sally, which meant he could focus on the duel with Sally—

—or so it should have gone.

“【Full Armament Deployment】【Commence Attack】!”

“…!”

Payne’s eyes widened. A hail of bullets fanned out from behind Sally.

Just from risk and reward, Payne’s instincts balked. A single hit to the back would be fatal—yet the risk Sally carried didn’t match the payoff Maple might get. Such a huge flaw in Maple and Sally’s plan sent static through his thoughts.

“Surprised?”

Sally closed the gap and twisted her body. With perfect timing, a round flashed past her spine and drilled Payne in the gut.

Compared to the clean shot she once landed on Velvet, it was a sliver of damage—but the instant of shock was real. Sally pressed in with a slash—Payne parried smoothly.

“Ah…! To think this doesn’t count as risk!”

Trading blows with Sally, Payne still kept Maple in the corner of his eye. Every time Sally turned, bullets came as if it were natural.

Could you really call this only “trust”?

Maple was firing with zero restraint on the premise that Sally would dodge 100% of the time. If even one shot touched Sally, it was over—by any normal metric, the risk and return didn’t match.

But if—however unbelievable—Sally could truly avoid everything, Maple’s barrage was rational.

“In that case—! 【Holy Sword of Radiance】!”

“【Leap】! 【Icicle Pillar】!”

Payne’s holy blade blazed, flooding the path ahead with seamless light.

Sally sprang high, throwing up pillars of ice to slip the beam. But Payne’s aim was elsewhere. Sally might cope instantly; Maple wouldn’t. Maple’s spread fire hemmed in Payne by scattering shots wide. If Sally left the ground, off-tempo rounds would nail her on the way down—that was the real plan.

“I’m in good form today.”

Midair, Sally twisted and flicked both daggers. As if expected, two bullets pinged off the blades at once, banged into an ice pillar, ricocheted—and then curved back toward Payne like they were drawn by a string.

“Astounding…!”

Payne caught one with his shield and chopped the other from the air—now sure the rebounds were no accident.

“You can lose yourself in this. I’ve got more to show.”

Sally ran with a dancer’s spin under Maple’s cover. Of the bullets behind her, one always threaded for Payne; the rest she slapped into hungry ricochets that hunted him like living things.

“Is this even possible…?”

“Yes. As you see.”

A human technique beyond belief—something you’d doubt without seeing. Whether Payne stepped or lunged, the ricochets met him like they foresaw his future, and Sally’s daggers cut in.

Honed to a terrifying edge, her art reached a height even Payne couldn’t touch. She was cleanly handling the offense of two people at once—and turning half of it into her own attack.

Against Payne, one of the strongest players alive.

“Ray, 【Breath of the Holy Dragon】!”

Ray’s breath forced Sally off for a beat. Reading it fast, she shot a thread to the ground and yanked herself back at high speed—still angling Maple’s bullets into ricochets that pelted Payne. They struck home, stacking damage—yet Sally’s eyes narrowed. She flashed Maple a sign to cease fire.

“So, you’ve noticed.”

“Yes. I’m a bad matchup against you, Payne.”

A round hidden by her own body.

A bullet redirected as a ricochet.

A dagger slipping in through a gap.

Even with Sally landing every hit in a one-sided flow, Payne’s HP had only fallen by about thirty percent—and even that was already regenerating. Sally’s hit-and-run was precise; he still couldn’t counter.

Superior skill—crushed by raw stats.

Payne wasn’t hiding Maple-like, bug-level tricks. His strength was sky-high attributes and a mass of passives that boosted them further. Sally could deal damage—but she couldn’t finish him.

Cut the flesh to break the bone.

In Payne’s style, dodging ranked low. He’d take the hit and return a heavier one. With his build, the risk was minor—once you came close, he paid you back more than he took.

With a body of overwhelming stats, Payne shattered almost every damage trade on the field. That was his unique strength—unrivaled and uncopyable.

“And yet you’ve already shocked me twice—and you’re still holding cards.”

“Who can say? I’ll make it so you can’t look away.”

One 【Heal】 and Payne’s HP bounced to full. The cleanest art Sally had polished with everything she had—crushed by numbers. Simple, and therefore absolute.

Just like Sally batting Maple’s bullets without fail, there was an “always” here too.

Which is why Sally felt where Payne’s focus kept tugging—his one real losing line: Maple’s 【Devour】. He never stopped watching to ensure she didn’t close the gap.

Of course Sally knew. She stood here precisely to drive Maple’s 【Devour】 into Payne.

“Resetting… Let’s go!”

“Yes. It starts now.”

As Maple’s shooting resumed, Payne and Sally blurred forward again.

“Haa!”

“Hup!”

Steel rang—keen, repeating. Sally danced, bending Maple’s shots to her will; Payne slashed back, fully aware of his stat advantage. Ten, twenty trades—Payne searched for the seam to crack her guard.

“【Poison Dragon】!”

“【Path of Water】!”

“I see…! 【Holy Sword of Exorcism】!”

Maple’s poison dragon hit Sally’s water path and came under her control—a tide that shoved poison with the water in bulk. Even with 【Poison Immunity】, Maple’s venom couldn’t just be tanked. Payne canceled with 【Holy Sword of Exorcism】, tearing the poison tide apart, but Sally’s pressure didn’t ease.

“【Wave Ride】!”

A towering wave hid Sally’s figure. Circling for his next push, Payne coolly chose to absorb it while he repositioned.

“【Ancient Weapon】!”

“What—!?”

A thin blue laser knifed through the swell and blew a gaping hole with its aftershock. Maple had reshaped 【Ancient Weapon】 into a sniper rifle—and tagged Payne’s path on the far side of the surf.

“Through anything, are we?”

“Yes.”

No—Payne saw the trick. Sally moved on the hidden side as Maple’s mirror—and Maple shot at Sally. Sally dodged even that blinding beam as a matter of course. If Maple aimed at Sally, she could also aim at Payne.

Trust, beyond trust—verging on faith. Maple didn’t doubt Sally’s execution by even a grain. Her movements declared Sally’s failure simply did not exist.

Maple pierced the wave; Sally slipped through the fresh-cut hole.

“【Double Slash】! Oboro, 【Foxfire】!”

Sally’s blades flared red; Oboro spat flame. Payne knew Maple’s snipe wasn’t fatal and met the daggers with composure. He’d already assumed her 【Double Slash】 wasn’t truly a simple double strike.

As another skill tugged his attention, Sally played her next hand.

“【Flash Flood】!”

Payne checked his feet—right as Sally’s dagger extended to longsword length, veering off the expected arc of 【Double Slash】 and stabbing deep into his shoulder. The call was a feint—its substance was 【Shapeshift】, a sudden reach-up that caught him off guard.

“【Holy Sword of Ruin】.”

Payne didn’t care. He stepped in—his blade detonated with ruinous light.

“【Step to the Underworld】!”

A massive forward cleave—Sally slipped it by a hairsbreadth and took the air above him. Maple’s second sniper round landed at that exact instant.

All offense, all defense—perfectly timed. Maple and Sally hounded Payne in a seamless dance. Dodge everything; land everything. Their flawless string dropped Payne below fifty percent HP—

“Ray, 【Light of Regeneration】.”

Light wrapped Payne. His HP surged back to full.

“Of course…”

A perfected “one.” Not Sally’s kind of singularity—but a singularity all the same. Payne leapt to meet her in midair, swinging the chase.

“【Crimson Wave】【Holy Rain】!”

No need for fancy tricks. Any solid hit was lethal to Sally. Flame surged from the ground; light poured from his sword in the sky—forcing her to cope where she was weakest.

Normally Maple would have to mind every shot for Sally’s sake—and this time she couldn’t use 【Self-Offering Love】. Through the wavering heat, Sally turned—then fled upward.

“Oboro—【Black Smoke】【Spiriting Away】!”

Her form vanished into black smoke. It was a perfect pincer, yet Payne only forced her to burn 【Spiriting Away】.

Even so, making her spend one precious safeguard was plenty. Compared to Payne, who could soak it with a simple heal, the gap was stark.

“So she slipped away after all.”

“Naturally… 【Partner’s Aid】.”

Sally reset 【Spiriting Away】 for a second use.

Payne didn’t know the exact inherited skill, but judged this the likeliest—and raised his guard for it, blade ready.

“It’s about time I press this through.”

“Could you wait until I chip off the other half? Ah—and no healing.”

“A request I must refuse.”

“I figured.”

“【Hyper Acceleration】!”

“…! 【Hyper Acceleration】!”

Sally matched his burst—but with her 【AGI】 sagging from all the midair footholds from 【Step to the Underworld】, Payne’s speed still edged hers.

“【Poison Dragon】!”

“【Water Dragon】!”

“【Holy Sword of Purging】!”

He ripped the mingled torrent open and never slowed. Sally back-stepped again and again, trying to stretch the gap.

“【Wind Cutter】! 【Fireball】!”

“【Immovable】.”

He read the 【Disguised】 【Flash Flood】 and set 【Immovable】 early, stepping through the burst to bring his sword down on Sally.

“Tch…!”

“【Crimson Wave】!”

“【Icicle Pillar】!”

He wove magic in, blanketing her in area pressure. Sally juggled it—up, down—leaning on superior vertical mobility to keep breathing.

“Ray—【Gigantify】【Sacred Lightflame】【Torrent of Light】!…【Holy Dragon’s Lightblade】!”

“Again and again—! 【Path of Water】!”

Ray soared, vomiting radiant fire; Payne unleashed a giant tide of light. With this much AoE crossing, millimeter dodges were impossible—no gaps, no escape.

Payne was already there as she landed, eyes fixed on the death he could nearly see.

“Kh…!”

“Hah!”

“Not yet!”

“Ray—【Chain of Holy Flame】.”

With her agility dulled by all the footholds, Payne’s offense overwhelmed hers. After a brief flurry, a sharp clang sent one of Sally’s daggers spinning—and the balance shattered.

“【Holy Sword of Purging】!”

Even if she popped 【Spiriting Away】, he’d carve through it. With 【Chain of Holy Flame】 adding chase damage, even plans for the post-i-frame window wouldn’t fly.

“Got carried away, did you?”

“【Cover Move】!”

Her words rang louder than they should—and then a brutal hit smashed him from the side. His HP flatlined—then a survival trait clung on with one point.

Payne whipped toward the impact.

For a heartbeat, his focus had drifted.

No—he’d been made to drift.

There stood Maple, shedding transparency like she’d melted out of the air.

Invisibility—an unbelievable, unknown skill from Maple. 【Cover Move】 shouldn’t reach from this far; and even if it did, how had she flown to anything at this range?

His thoughts snarled. Payne filed the confusion away and moved to reset anyway—

“Ray! To me! 【Heal】!”

“【Rampart】!”

“…!”

Sally cast 【Rampart】—not as a wall for herself, but as a prison, boxing Payne in with them and cutting Ray off. Inside that ring of stone, Payne finally saw the whole trick.

“Syrup, Oboro…!”

“Oboro—【Spiriting Away】!”

“Syrup—【Great Nature】!”

Perched on Sally’s shoulder, Oboro answered Maple—shrouding Maple as she sprinted in, shielding her from everything. Clinging to Maple’s other shoulder, Syrup answered Sally—vines surged, sealing Payne’s exits.

The two 【Bridge of Bonds】 links had been swapped before the fight. The familiars riding each shoulder obeyed the other master. Sally’s 【Black Smoke】? A smoke bomb. 【Foxfire】? A 【Disguised】 【Fireball】. And that earlier “【Spiriting Away】”? Sally’s precision—she had simply dodged the lot, making it look like the skill.

【Cover Move】 triggers on an ally. Even if Maple couldn’t fly to Sally, she could fly to the Oboro on Sally’s shoulder.

Sally hogged every ounce of aggro and fought to the brink. In the instant Payne cut Maple out of mind, Maple chained 【Flashstep】 into a self-blast dash—and then 【Cover Move】—landing within reach of Oboro on Sally’s shoulder, exactly as planned.

Maple had been told only this secret plan.

So Maple waited.

She didn’t overattack. She watched only her distance to Sally, biding and biding—until the one beat, the one strike, when she would vanish from Payne’s mind.

So Sally lured.

She tanked with evasion, drew all eyes, let Payne believe Oboro was hers, hid that 【Cover Move】 still lived—and tied everything to that single, true finisher.

“Yaaaaah!”

Buffed by 【Spiriting Away】, Maple closed. Payne had no means to stop her. Untouchable, she stepped in and swung her greatshield full-force.

“Grh…! Ha-ha-ha… I see. I’ve gained another priceless lesson.”

The shield slammed home. 【Devour】 triggered—and chewed into Payne.

“Let’s do this again.”

“Yes!”

“I won’t lose next time.”

Leaving only that, Payne faded with the satisfied smile of someone who’d just witnessed something wonderful.

***

True to his word, the moment he fell, Payne warped to the spectator area to debrief with the members of the Congregation of the Holy Swords who’d watched the fight. Only Maple and Sally remained on the field.

Before they realized it, the sky had mellowed into a lonely sunset, as if the event field itself sensed the end drawing near—the clouds-stained crimson. With nowhere else they needed to go, they sat down on the ground and began to talk.

“Haah… nice fight, Maple.”

“Yeah! I’m so glad it worked…”

“Really, really. If you hadn’t cut in there, I would’ve died.”

At the very end, acting alone wouldn’t have pulled Payne any further. The smell of real death had to be there. Sally chose to clash head-on, knowing she’d lose, and lured Payne past the point of no return. If Maple hadn’t dived in, only death waited.

“Did you get a lot of matches in, Maple?”

“Mm-hm! I fought Mii, too!”

“Seriously?… How’d it go?”

“It was close, but I won! Um, her 【Flame Prison】 was—”

Sally listened, nodding with a bright grin, as Maple chattered about the event. Even with just this one event, they had endless stories. Maple kept going—this thing, that thing—smiling the whole time.

“I’m glad you’re having so much fun, Maple.”

“Mm! It was way, way more fun than I imagined!”

“Heh… yeah.”

“Ehehe.”

They looked at each other and laughed for no reason. Maybe because the end was near—the memories just spilled out on their own.

“I never thought I’d keep playing a game this long.”

“Same. I joined a little late, asked around, and everything was already wild.”

“Ahaha, right? Who would’ve thought.”

“No one, I bet.”

“We went on so many adventures, met everyone, saw so many places—and ate lots of tasty stuff!”

“Completely satisfied?”

“Of course!”

“First time one of my recommendations turned into a massive win.”

“Once you dive in, you start to see what’s great about it.”

“Oh? Full-fledged veteran now?”

“Eeh? Not even close!”

Small talk—not much on paper, but for the two of them, nothing mattered more.

“I owe you, Sally. Thanks for inviting me into something this fun!”

“I think you made it fun… but I’ll take it. You’re welcome.”

“Hey, what do you want as a thank-you? One thing… no, three! Sweet desserts? I can help with homework too!”

“Oooh, three? Generous.”

“Let’s not say ‘big-bellied,’ please.”

“Ok—lavish treat.”

“That one!”

“But… you don’t have to make a fuss.”

“Even if you don’t need it, I want to. For all the fun you gave me!”

Maple beamed and looked straight at Sally.

“If you’ll put it that way… then—one request. May I?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Sally closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and then met Maple’s gaze.

“Will you fight me?”

She put everything she’d felt into those words. At last spoken, they rang through the quiet dusk.

That day, the two of them finally caught up to a dream they once saw.