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The forest was bewitchingly illuminated by the full moon at night, while five figures sprinted through the trees as though being pursued by something.

“Hey, Guild Master, what are you going to do? We’re definitely being led into something!”
“I know, but what the hell am I supposed to do… Hyaa!”

One of the figures in the front shouted back, sounding half-desperate with a rough tone that didn’t match the girl’s melodic voice. Suddenly, a fireball flew towards them, seemingly aimed to snatch their heads.

“Eek, sorry for being slow on my feet.”
“Don’t worry, she has a plan to deal with them.”
“That’s right, but more importantly, move your feet!”

While I was motivating the woman with the slower pace and shouting at the young man running beside me, a sudden sight caught my eye. In front of us was a cul-de-sac, enclosed by steep cliffs, with a massive rock looming in the center.

“Damn it… everyone, flee into the darkness for cover!”

Despite the potential risks, there was no other option available. Following the lead of the small figure, the group of five swiftly dived into the shadows of the rocks. However, in the blink of an eye, they were surrounded by the silhouettes that had been pursuing them.

―Destiny Unchain Online, a full-dive Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, or VRMMORPG for short.

This new game gained a lot of popularity for being made by a group of developers who once worked on Worldgate Online, an aged and forgotten game, who started up a new company.

The game’s most significant feature was the complete abolition of the level system. Instead, the game adopted a complete skill system reminiscent of the early days of net games. Players could freely choose and develop skills within a predetermined proficiency limit, allowing them to create unique and unrestricted character configurations for a truly personalized gaming experience.

To achieve this, the game was intentionally designed to be difficult, making it impossible to progress solely based on level differences, even if a player was ahead of the curve in terms of training. The skill structure and, above all, individual skill, became the key to success in this game.

“I can see two on the cliff and three at the entrance. Looks like all the enemies have gathered here, and we’re completely surrounded.”

The young man who had been scanning the area for enemies sat down with a grim expression. As for the rest of us who were trying to escape, it was clear that the situation was much worse than we had anticipated.

“We’ve finally cornered you, Scarlet Demon Lord! Today is the day we will bring you down from your throne and make you ours!”

The enemy guild members are closing in on us, declaring loudly and with great enthusiasm. Their high morale shows how much they have been looking forward to this guild competition, which takes place every two weeks and consists of a five-on-five battle.

Their elaborate planning and pre-survey of our team members demonstrate their dedication to this event. It’s clear they have taken many steps to lead us to this point.

“Being a celebrity can be tough, you know.”
“Seems like we’re stuck in this cul-de-sac with no way out. What do we do?”
“I guess I’ll just have to face them head-on and smash them!”

The girl who was being addressed earlier confidently declares her name and leaps onto the large rock where she had been hiding with just the strength of one hand.

“Kuu, fufu, kuhaha! You have done well, mere mortals!!”

The young girl known as the Scarlet Demon Lord puts on a show for the audience, speaking in a haughty tone as part of her role-play.

In this game, titles are given to the top-ranked players, and the title of “Demon Lord” is reserved for the guild masters of the highest-ranked demon players. The Scarlet Demon Lord is one such player, despite her petite size.

Her pure white hair floats in the air as she speaks, and when she sits quietly, she appears as delicate and lovely as a doll.

Perched atop a large rock, the girl, clad in a lovely gothic lolita-style costume with many frills and a red lotus cloak, had her arms folded and her crimson eyes blazing in the darkness of the night. She laughed loudly, showing no sign of dejection or sadness at being cornered. Instead, she exuded confidence and the dignity of a monarch of the night, to the point of arrogance and insolence.

“Very well, if you wish to go that far, I, Crim Lua Cheia, master of a crimson more intense than darkness, that which can only be called Noble Red, will slaughter you myself.…!”
“She has low resistance to fire! Attack her all at once!”
“Wha… huh? Ah, hot hot hot!”

As she ascended to a moderate height on the rock and began to speak, a barrage of flaming arrows rained down on her without mercy.

Crim, who was inherently vulnerable to fire due to her race, was engulfed in flames and flailed about in a panic, eventually seeking refuge in the shadow of a nearby rock.

“Huff… huff… I thought I was going to turn into ashes! Hey, Frey, are you sure this will work? Can we really become popular?”

Tears streaming down her face and smoke billowing from her entire body, she managed to make her way over to the young man she had been hiding with.

“Hahaha, don’t worry. Most of the viewers are expecting to see the cute little you screwing up and getting into trouble, anyway.”

With a calm chuckle, Frey, a young man with long blonde hair cut at the shoulder blades, reassures her. And in actuality, in the spectator chat running at the bottom right of the screen…

The audience seemed to be very pleased.

Yes… the battle is being live streamed by the official channel, and all the chaos is now being witnessed by a massive audience. The game’s video streaming feature, which is a common feature in modern games, enables users to earn points for their guild based on the number of views and likes they receive, which can be used to make purchases and upgrades.

As a result, gaining popularity is just as crucial as winning the guild competition, as it directly affects the guild’s ability to earn points and make purchases. While there have been instances in the past where guilds earned revenue through monetization and advertising, it often led to conflicts over money, prompting the banning of such practices altogether.

“No, that’s not right… You guys are definitely calling me ‘Little Kitty’ instead of ‘Demon Lord’…”

In VRMMOs, emotions are often expressed in a slightly exaggerated manner compared to real life, which makes the system pick up on the character’s sadness in an over-the-top way. As a result, the viewers were even more thrilled to see a pretty girl with half-teary eyes.

“Kuu, why do I, a top ranker referred to as the Demon Lord, have to play such a mediocre role?”
“Ah well, everyone loves Crim because she’s strong, cute, and sometimes clumsy, making her approachable and friendly!”

The girl who had fallen behind during our earlier escape was now healing me with recovery magic. She smiled and gently laughed as she worked. Freya, with her golden hair, had a relaxed manner about her as she comforted me, just like the young man whose shoulders were quivering beside me.

“However… I’m assuming you’ll make it up to us in a bit, right, Guild Master?”
“Ugh, even Freya is getting pushy with me now…!”

That was no consolation, she was demanding something even crazier.

The barrage of fire magic was still ongoing, and Crim’s vulnerability to fire due to her race characteristics meant that if she were rash enough to go out, she would be grilled to a crisp in no time.

As the cliff top encirclement moved slowly towards both sides, the other side had exhausted their magic. In a matter of seconds, they would be within range to target them from above.

“Yes, yes, I will do it, alright…!”

With a half-desperate gesture, she raises her small hands in front of herself. The darkness beneath her feet contorts and twists, gradually taking the form of a single devastating scythe.

―Shadow Magic and Transformation.

The power of Shadow Magic allows weapons to be formed by manipulating shadows, which can be increased in size through Transformation depending on the user’s skill level. Since it requires two skill slots to prepare a weapon, this skill is not widely used, but Crim had an advantage in this regard and preferred to utilize it. The end result was a massive scythe made entirely of pitch-black darkness.

Crim unleashes a massive swing with her scythe, which has been inflated to its maximum size using her highly trained Transformation skill. She puts her entire body into the motion, delivering a devastating blow.

“Both of you, stay low…!”

A blinding flash followed the scythe’s enormous swing, and in a matter of seconds, everything around the weapon was sliced through as if cut from the middle of a landscape photo.

Although the enemy leader managed to dodge in time, the two men behind him were caught off guard and unable to avoid the attack.

“Damn… you sliced through every obstacle like a monster!”
“It was because you caught me off guard… now my clothes are slightly burnt.”

The enemy leader gnashes his teeth as he looks at the particles of light floating behind him, that was all that remained of his allies whose life was reduced to zero.

Crim strikes a haughty pose as she looks down at the defeated leader while sitting on the rock, which is now half its original height.

Now she looked full of confidence, her earlier agitation completely gone as if it had never existed.

“Moreover… you’ve been so focused on me that your backs are left exposed, right?”

As his eyes widened in shock, Crim’s demeanor suddenly turned ice-cold. With a sly giggle, she quickly raised her small hand and in the next moment, two screams rang out from the surrounding cliff tops. The two rear guards of the enemy guild, who were supposed to be chanting a new magic, fell and disappeared into countless shining shards before hitting the ground.

Standing behind each of them is a member of Crim’s guild, Lua Cheia.

Satisfied with the successful elimination of the rear guard who had been hiding and acting separately on the cliff, Crim nodded and focused her attention on the remaining opponent in front of her.

“Impossible…! We had the five of you driven into a corner…!”
“Ah, this?”

As soon as it’s safe to do so, four figures emerge from behind the rocks alongside Crim. Among them are the twins, Frey and Freya, but the other two are also dressed in black, with silhouettes similar to Crim’s.

“That’s a branch of Shadow Magic called Shadow Squire.”

At the snap of her fingers, the shadowy figures dissolved into darkness and disappeared. This defensive magic, called “Shadow Squire,” serves as a substitute to protect the master from attacks by following the practitioner. However, the enemy guild leader had dismissed the possibility of Crim using this magic since she was the first to appear among the figures.

She proudly puffed out her chest in response to the praise flowing through the spectator chat room.

“So sorry, but everyone has been at my mercy all along.”

Even though it seemed like I was backed into a corner, it was all according to plan.

“Kgh… It seems I have been too focused on you alone, ‘Scarlet Demon Lord’…!”
“Well, yes, your meta-tactics against me were quite effective. I will be waiting for your next attempt.”

―Slash!

As the last enemy guild leader fell to the ground with a small sound, he immediately crumbled into countless shining polygonal fragments, as did the rest of his companions, which fluttered in the air.

―Guild Lua Cheia WIN!

With a fanfare, the words announcing victory danced before her eyes.

“Haa… It’s not easy to live up to the expectations of playing a highly popular character.”

‘…In fact, claiming to have had everyone at my mercy is a bold statement, and now I’m breaking out in a cold sweat.’ Crim muttered under her breath, making sure to keep her words away from the camera and microphone. Finally, she relaxed her shoulders…