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After using that opening to close in and kill the assassin, Crim’s body continued flying back and spinning in the air, so the leader of the Black Wolf Pack chased after her. But he quickly realized the mistake he made.

Crim’s eyes were actually tracking his movements, fully aware that he was getting close.

“Azrael’s Ring!!” Even though she was still in mid-air, she utilized her spinning momentum to throw her scythe.

Azrael’s Ring was the ability she obtained with 70 points in the Scythe Skill.

The scythe spun in the air violently as it flew backwards, sending the leader of the Black Wolf Pack flying into the air even though he managed to assume a defensive stance at the last second. But that did not stop the scythe, as it drew an arc in the air while carving a line into the ground, hitting the other two enemies and sending them flying as well.

The leader had managed to block the surprise attack though. And after flying back a distance he stood up again…

“?!”

…Only to see Crim in a low stance holding a katana, just before she lunged forward.

“…Rin!”
“Ghuh?!”

She accelerated and in the blink of an eye she struck the leader’s stomach with the hilt of her katana. Even though her body was small, the hit felt incredibly heavy, forcing the leader’s body to bend into an acute angle, and then…

“…Sha!!”

With her feet firmly planted on the ground, Crim quickly unsheathed her katana, quickly slicing through the leader’s neck, turning him into a third pile of light particles.

“Jed?!” One of the two remaining members of the Black Wolf Pack shouted the name of their leader, who had just been eliminated from the battlefield.

We can’t win.

They gulped loudly, realizing there was nothing more they could do.

Crim was ready to continue attacking, holding her black katana that seemed to suck out all the light around it, the blade aimed at the two survivors…and a moment later she vanished.

Something they had never imagined was possible was about to happen. They had overcome their preliminary matches, but now all five of them were about to be defeated by a single girl. They already knew how this was going to end.

“She’s a demon…a Demon Lord.”

One of the two survivors muttered that, losing all will to fight, and hearing him made Crim grin happily.

A few minutes later there was no trace of their guild left. They were the first team to be eliminated in the main match.

◇◇◇

Meanwhile in another part of the battlefield, where the rest of the Lua Cheia guild was located…

“Is she really going to be alright…” Lycoris muttered that out of the blue, as they searched through the northern district of the city for other guilds, while also being watchful of their surroundings.

“Don’t worry, she said she’d do it after all, so we just have to trust her.”
“Yes…that’s true. I’ll trust her.”

While her voice was filled with uncertainty, she bravely faced the challenge. Frey plopped his hand on her mechanical head and rubbed it for a bit, but soon stiffened up again.

“Then again, we can’t really afford to be worrying about Crim right now.” Saying that, he took hold of Lycoris’ shoulder and rushed her into nearby shadows.

Hinagiku and Freya, who had been watching over the other side, also slid into the shadows of buildings. They had seen a group of figures coming their way, who also kept looking around carefully as they walked.

They were five figures in total, all with different appearances and clothes. The only thing they had in common were armbands with a swallow emblem. A flying swallow was the emblem of a production guild called the Tokai Corporation Guild.

To participate in this event that required fighting expertise, they had hired various solo players as mercenaries to represent them. The average strength of each member was likely around the same as the members of Nord Glacier, so they were also one of the favorites to win the tournament.

“…It doesn’t seem like they’ve noticed us yet.”
“…Yes, it seems so.”

Lycoris watched what happened outside through a Magius Orb she sent out. Their opponents were still looking around and moving slowly, so they likely had not noticed them yet.

A greatsword, a fighter, two mages…and one who keeps looking around from a high location? Maybe a gunner?

Frey analyzed the team composition of their enemy. The most worrying one was a marksman that stood at a good vantage point while looking around, but at least he did not seem to have noticed the Lua Cheia guild.

That was a relief for now, and he made a signal to the other two hiding like him to just wait. Since only one of the two parties had noticed the other, they had the benefit of being able to make the first move.

“Everyone, don’t hold back any of your power. Do everything you can to destroy the Tokai Corporation’s mercenaries.” As Frey calmly said that, everyone got their weapons ready.

Soon the first fight for Lua Cheia without Crim would begin…

◇◇◇

At the same time, on yet another location of the map, in a place with many warehouses near the harbor, a different battle was nearing its end.

“Are you…a monster..?”

A woman lay on the ground and muttered that painfully while looking up. She was White Lily, the Guild Master of Lily Garden, and the person standing next to her was Sorleon, who led Nord Glacier.

Everyone else from her guild had already perished. Sorleon started the attack with a surprise hit on her, without any help from his guild. She had barely managed to block that first attack, but she was still sent flying away and rolled on the ground, leaving her covered in dirt.

Four of Lily Garden’s members quickly went to protect her from Sorleon, who was alone. Somehow she could not really understand what had happened after that. She just knew that he began swinging his two swords wildly, and her companions were helplessly turned to light particles one after another.

All four had been kicked out of the battlefield in the blink of an eye, leaving only White Lily alive.

It had taken Sorleon alone less than a minute to defeat four of them, even though they were the guild that had beaten all others in the preliminary matches.

That realization alone was enough to shatter any hope of fighting back for her.

“…I’m aware that you went around trying to collude with the other teams against me.”

The only response he got was a timid whimper from her. Then he very calmly held a sword against her neck, completely unbothered by her terrified reaction.

“So I hope you don’t mind…but I’ll have to take you out first.”

The pain mitigation system quickly kicked into high gear as White Lily left the battlefield, the lingering sensation of a cold blade passing through her neck still fresh in her mind…

“I won’t let anyone get in the way of my fight with her…”

…and those ominous words in her ear.