Man: Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ
Liu Xiyue: (⊙o⊙)?
The two, who had originally been locked in a standoff, subconsciously turned their gazes toward the source of the voice.
With just a single glance, both of their expressions changed, revealing looks of astonishment.
Following their line of sight, they saw Silver Wolf reclining comfortably on a sloped rooftop, her hands casually resting behind her head.
She leisurely chewed a piece of pink bubblegum, occasionally blowing a round bubble, her entire demeanor radiating lazy indifference.
Shifting their gazes upward, they saw Firefly standing beside her. The icy, emotionless expression she had worn moments ago had already disappeared, replaced by her usual gentle demeanor.
At that moment, her brows were slightly furrowed as she watched the duel below with a look of nervous concern. Her hands were unconsciously clenched into fists, clearly invested in the outcome of the battle.
The two in the center of the battlefield stood at each other's throats, their clashing auras creating invisible sparks as the atmosphere grew unbearably tense.
Yet the other two, only a short distance away, were acting as though nothing unusual was happening. They leisurely watched the intense confrontation while casually pointing things out and making comments.
No matter how one looked at it, the scene was incredibly bizarre.
Seeing both of them turn to look at her at the same time, Silver Wolf lazily raised a hand and gave a casual wave.
"Don't stop. Keep fighting. We're just bystanders enjoying the show—don't mind us."
How could they possibly not mind?!!
The absurd situation before them caused both combatants to freeze for a brief moment.
Fortunately, their mental fortitude far surpassed that of ordinary people. After only a split second of hesitation, both reacted almost simultaneously.
The instant the man came back to his senses, he exploded forward with astonishing speed, charging directly toward the two girls.
Liu Xiyue's reaction was equally swift. The moment the man moved, she immediately sensed his intentions.
With a wave of her hand, a scorching fireball shot forward with a shrill whistle.
Immediately afterward, she herself transformed into a blazing fireball, pursuing him through the air, determined to intercept him.
A wave of scorching heat surged toward the man's back, but he neither dodged nor defended.
Instead, he chose to take the attack head-on.
The violent flames exploded against his body. His expression tightened instantly, veins bulging on his temples from the pain, but apart from that, he showed no signs of slowing down.
Instead, he used the recoil from the explosion to propel himself even faster toward the two girls.
The sight immediately caused Liu Xiyue's heart to tighten, panic surging within her.
To avoid accidentally injuring Silver Wolf and Firefly, she had deliberately reduced the power of her fireball.
She had never expected that moment of hesitation to become an opening her opponent could exploit.
At this speed...
She probably wouldn't make it in time!
The sprinting man had naturally realized this as well.
Although he was filled with confusion and couldn't understand how those two had appeared completely unharmed...
If the worst-case scenario were true...
Did that mean his other four companions had already been wiped out?
Originally, they had planned to catch a turtle in a jar.
Now, he had become the turtle trapped inside.
His only hope of survival was to take one of the two girls hostage.
Judging from his previous battle with Liu Xiyue, she clearly cared about them a great deal.
However, to guarantee success, his best option was to seize both of them at once.
That would completely tie Liu Xiyue's hands.
He knew perfectly well that if he missed this opportunity, what awaited him would likely be a combined assault from all three of them.
At that point, he would surely die without even a place to be buried.
Thinking this, he looked at the "prey" almost within his grasp, a sinister grin creeping across his face as he imagined himself successfully taking hostages and turning the situation around.
Silver Wolf: (ᗜ ˰ ᗜ)
Silver Wolf, who had intended to remain nothing more than a spectator, glanced at the figure rushing toward her at incredible speed.
She didn't even bother raising an eyelid.
Her expression remained just as calm and indifferent as before.
She leisurely lifted one hand and lightly tapped the back of her glove with her fingertips a few times.
Just as the man reached her, before his outstretched right hand could even touch his target, his entire body seemed to crash into an invisible portal.
Beginning with his extended hand, his body gradually decomposed into countless flickering multicolored particles, which slowly drifted through the air.
Almost instantly, those particles reassembled on the opposite side of the battlefield.
The man's body materialized once more, completely intact, although his face was filled with shock and bewilderment, clearly having never expected such a bizarre turn of events.
Waiting at the portal's exit, however, was Firefly.
She had already been standing there, fully prepared.
The man had only just finished reassembling. Before he could even see his surroundings clearly—let alone react—
Firefly's powerful leg swept through the air like a bolt of lightning.
With a sharp whistle, it slammed squarely into his waist.
Liu Xiyue Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ: "Eh?!!"
Thud—
A heavy, muffled impact echoed across the open battlefield.
The man felt as though he had collided head-on with a speeding truck.
Like a broken doll caught in a hurricane, his body traced a miserable arc through the sky.
Watching the blazing fireball rushing forward and the man flying backward pitifully through the air...
Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow before casually making a few quick inputs on a virtual interface.
In an instant, an invisible stream of data spread across the battlefield.
Both Liu Xiyue and the man rapidly dissolved into clusters of particles before disappearing completely, as though they had never existed.
In the blink of an eye, the battlefield was left with nothing but the ruined landscape, along with Silver Wolf and Firefly standing atop the rooftop.
Firefly showed no particular reaction to what had happened. She merely looked toward Silver Wolf with a curious expression.
"I know, I know. Don't be so impatient."
Silver Wolf casually pulled out a virtual display and tapped it a few times.
The contents of the screen immediately changed.
The translucent blue display flickered several times before beginning to play an entirely new scene, every detail perfectly clear.
Inside the virtual game world...
The man crashed heavily onto the ground.
Before he could recover, a gigantic fireball blasted toward him with pinpoint accuracy, moving far too quickly for him to evade.
Rumble—
...
"Cough... cough..."
The man curled up on the ground, coughing violently. Every cough carried the thick taste of blood.
Half of his body had been blown away, exposing pale bones and mangled flesh.
His appearance was utterly miserable.
Yet he still refused to fall.
Using his only remaining hand, he slowly pushed himself upright, struggling inch by inch until he managed to stand once more.
His eyes were vacant and unfocused, his mind completely overwhelmed.
The pain wracking every inch of his body nearly caused him to lose consciousness.
Everything that had just happened had been far too much for him to process.
After remaining dazed for a long while, he finally regained his senses.
His gaze slowly swept across the enclosed world around him—a place that resembled nothing less than a virtual game.
Only then did he realize his current predicament.
An indescribable feeling of sorrow and despair welled up within his heart.
Just then, a familiar mechanical voice echoed throughout the space.
[Cough, cough. Beginning a three-second countdown. The 1V1 Grand Decisive Battle is about to begin.]
[1]
Man (●—●): '*****.'
"Hmph. Is that so?"
At that moment, another familiar yet strangely unfamiliar voice sounded nearby.
It carried a subtle trace of mockery that instantly put the man on full alert.
He stared intently toward the figure slowly emerging from the nearby dust.
[2]
Strange...
Not only does the voice sound different... even the height seems different.
[3]
"You survived even after having half your body blown away?"
The next moment, Liu Xiyue slowly stepped into view.
No.
The one appearing before him now was no longer the cute little red-haired, red-eyed loli from before.
Standing in her place was a mature beauty with crimson hair, dressed in a blazing red gown that resembled living flames.
The fiery dress perfectly outlined her graceful, well-proportioned figure.
Her ruby-like eyes remained fixed on the man whose body was steadily regenerating, carrying both icy indifference and faint amusement.
At that moment, the man had absolutely no mood to admire her breathtaking beauty.
His face was filled only with terror.
His eyes remained locked on that all-too-familiar face as his body began trembling uncontrollably.
"Y-You're... you're actually the Witch... Flame Heart?!!"