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After restraining Reinhard and immobilizing Cheval, Shao began chanting again. Seeing that, Reinhard’s countenance changed as he desperately gave an instruction to his companion.

“Lueger, stop him…use your ultimate!!”

The air of the battlefield seemed to shift in an instant.

As soon as that order was given, Lueger interrupted his fight with Hinagiku and turned around to run at Shao. Hinagiku also identified the new target instantly and ran alongside Lueger.

“Shao, how are you here..?!”
“Ahahaha, sorry for not telling you sooner. I’m actually not a human, I’m more like this.”

Saying that with a relaxed voice, Shao undid the disguise magic he usually had active on himself, revealing inky black skin, and a set of three red eyes. He was a Shadow Demon.

“I’m actually not a human, but a type of Demon, a Shadow one to be specific. And what do you know, we have this Shadow-walking trait. I can meld into shadows and hide there. Quite straightforward for a rare species, wouldn’t you say?”

The chant was proceeding automatically, so Shao spoke with a relaxed voice, though he did not exactly address what was bothering Reinhard.

“I mean…just how are you still alive?!”
“Hahahah, you did kill me, alright. But it just so happens I came back to life.”

Reinhard raised his voice, even though he was still restrained on the ground, and Shao casually revealed the secret.

An automatic self-resurrecting ability. Abilities like that were common in many games, though it was the first time it showed up in DUO, which was a PvP focused game.

“That can’t be possible, not even I obtained an ability like that…”
“Oh well, that just means I’m better than you, doesn’t it?”

Even as Shao taunted him, Reinhard could not say anything back.

Reinhard was the member of Nord Glacier who focused entirely on magic, and he had already gained more than 90 Points in Recovery Magic, but he had not obtained a self-resurrect yet, leaving only one possible explanation.

“…Just how much of a no-lifer are you?”

Reinhard was almost impressed at that realization.

The rate at which Skill Points were obtained dropped considerably at 70, and became sluggish past 90, and somehow there was a player here who had already maxed at least two Skills in the short time since the game came out, and that player was Shao.

Gaining 100 Points in a given Magic Skill would grant the player that Skill’s ultimate ability, which consumed all MP when used. Basically once Reinhard used his ultimate ability, Shao anticipated he would be killed by it, so he made sure to have his self-resurrect active.

Shao had been busy recovering MP since the fight between Nord Glacier and Lan Canglong had ended, waiting for this very moment. He had hid himself in the shadows after Chaos Flare ended, looking for the right time to strike back.

Reinhard knew that the destruction of Chaos Flare would not even leave Remain Light behind, so he had not suspected anything. Shao’s surprise attack had been flawless.

Everything had gone according to Shao’s plan. He had Reinhard right in the palm of his hand.

Reinhard knew this was a losing battle, and respected it as such. But he also would not let himself fall so easily. Gritting his teeth, he began to consider just what he could still do now.

◇◇◇

While Nord Glacier dealt with that…

Reinhard’s instructions to Nord Glacier had not just been heard by them, but also by Frey and the rest of Lua Cheia, who instantly went to work. Interrupting Shao’s spell, however, seemed like an impossible task. And Shao had probably already anticipated that.

With that in mind, Frey knew what he had to do.

“Freya!”
“Yeah, I know!”

With that short exchange, Frey and Freya began to run at the same time, in the opposite direction from where Shao stood. They did not believe they could run away though, they were trying to accomplish something else.

Frey was nearly out of MP. And Freya would not be of much use if she was the only survivor. So their best bet was to trust that the girl behind them would be able to wring out a victory.

◇◇◇

“Heheh, ahahahah! Good bye, Nord Glacier and Lua Cheia!!”

Shao held his palms forward as a circular rift opened in the air. A torrent of magic power gushed out of it, glowing brightly.

“Shaooooooo!!”
“I won’t let you..!”

Lueger leapt at Shao with a terrifying look in his eyes. Barely a moment later Hinagiku also desperately swung her sword at Shao. But…they were just a moment too late.

“Cheval, at least you should-!!”
“Reinhard, what are you-?!”

Reinhard looked ready to give his life in exchange for that last spell. And as if to mock his determination, Shao’s magic activated fully a moment faster.

“Ahahahahah!! Unlucky for you, but I won. At least you’ll get to witness it first-hand, this is my ultimate magic, Dimension Sword..!!”

The rift opened in front of Shao spread and warped reality, turning into an enormous and powerful sword.

Lueger and Hinagiku were just inches away, but they were caught up in the attack, together with Reinhard, as well as anything that was nearby, vanishing into a blinding flash of light…

◇◇◇

Once everything settled, revealing a large expanse of bare ground with just Shao standing in the middle, he took deep breaths and looked down at his own body.

“Oh man… That’s so dumb, I didn’t think I’d miss that…”

There was a large hole opened into his chest.

Looking ahead again, he saw a spot in the distance, around the size of a child’s body, where some terrain still remained. That quickly changed in appearance, as if a translucent curtain was lowered, revealing a young girl.

She looked damaged though, almost like a pile of scrap metal barely holding itself together. Still she had managed to live for long enough to shoot a hole through his chest.

Even now she was holding her gun to her eye, the sight trained straight at Shao.

“Well, I guess it is what it is. Congratulations girlie, it’s your victory.”

He said with a forced smile, and a moment later another bullet pierced his head, taking away all the HP he still had. After nearly destroying two guilds, the young boy finally turned into light.

◇◇◇

Her sight was bathed red. Countless notifications alerting her of missing body parts lit up in her vision. Her HP was decreasing each passing second, and soon would reach zero.

But ignoring all of that, Lycoris kept her eye focused on the scope, watching how the person who caused all of this looked at the hole in his chest, filling her with irritation.

I still have one shot in me. I can still move.

Frey and Freya had used all their Strengthening Magic on her to keep her alive. Her lower body was essentially gone, the large wounds causing her to lose more HP each moment, but she was still alive.

So she still could be of use to those two who had let her live, she had to…and she wanted to. “I’m not…dead…yet!” Her body creaked and sparks flew everywhere as she forcefully propped herself up, readjusting her gun and looking through it again.

“Frey…Freya…Hinagiku…I’ll avenge…all of you!”

Before her life was consumed, she used all her remaining strength to pull the trigger. She could only create the weakest type of bullets now, but it was a bullet nonetheless.

At the same time, the continuous damage ticked away, eating what remained of Lycoris’ bright red HP bar. The static in her vision grew stronger as she saw how the boy’s head was pierced by a streak of light.

She watched with bated breath for a second, and a little more.

Having seen that Shao had turned into Remain Light, she sighed in relief…but then she spotted a different figure in the distance.

It’s not over yet.

She felt a cold chill run down her spine. There was still more work to be done, which became a nagging feeling in Lycoris’ mind.

Please…just one more shot..!

That wish would not be granted though, as her body would not move anymore without HP. Not to mention that her mechanical arms were already starting to turn into light.

“I’m sorry…Crim…”

All she could do was apologize to Crim, who was likely still in the middle of her own fight. And so the girl completely turned to light, leaving the battlefield.