The line broke.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't dramatic.
It simply—
Ceased to exist.
Magumo exhaled slowly.
Then—
He smiled.
"…So you're just going to stand there?"
His eyes shifted toward Rio.
Sharp.
Interested.
"…Or are you planning to watch him lose?"
Rio didn't answer.
Didn't move.
Didn't react.
And somehow—
That silence irritated him more than any insult could.
"…Tch."
Magumo clicked his tongue.
Then—
Raised his hand slightly.
"…Fine."
A small gesture.
Casual.
But enough.
The men behind him moved instantly.
Sixteen players.
Elite.
Fast.
They spread out.
Encircling.
Closing in on Rio from every direction.
Fayzan's eyes widened.
"…RIO—!"
He moved—
Instinctively.
But—
He stopped.
His body froze mid-step.
Not because he chose to—
But because something—
Deep.
Primal.
Told him not to.
A presence.
No—
An aura.
It pressed against his instincts.
His senses.
A warning.
Don't get close.
Fayzan's breath caught.
"…What… is this…?"
He had fought strong players.
Monsters.
Bosses.
But this—
This felt different.
Not overwhelming.
Not explosive.
But absolute.
Like stepping into the domain of something you shouldn't touch.
His eyes shifted toward Rio.
And for the first time—
He hesitated.
The Burning Pride elites didn't.
They rushed in.
Blades drawn.
Skills activating.
"…Take her down!"
The command echoed.
Rio moved.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
She reached for her weapon.
The Imperial Saber.
Her fingers wrapped around the hilt.
Then—
She raised it.
And placed it in front of her.
Silence.
For half a second—
Nothing happened.
Then—
The blade changed.
Crimson.
A deep—
Violent—
Blood-red glow spread across the edge.
Not light.
But something thicker.
Heavier.
Like the blade itself had been dipped in blood.
Fayzan's eyes widened.
"…That's not—"
He didn't finish.
Because the sound came.
—Shhk.
Soft.
Then—
—Shhk. Shhk. Shhk.
Multiple.
Fast.
Too fast.
The elites froze.
"…What was—"
They didn't finish.
Because their bodies—
Stopped.
Then—
Split.
Clean.
Precise.
Eight of them.
Collapsed.
At the same time.
Blood didn't even spray immediately.
Their HP—
Gone.
Silence.
Heavy.
Unreal.
The remaining players staggered back.
Eyes wide.
Breathing uneven.
"…W-What…"
"…What the hell was that—"
Fayzan didn't speak.
Couldn't.
Because he hadn't seen it.
Not even a glimpse.
Just the sound.
And the result.
Magumo's grin—
Was gone.
"…What the hell happened."
His voice wasn't mocking anymore.
It was sharp.
Demanding.
"…That's impossible."
His gaze locked onto Rio.
"…Those were elites."
A step forward.
"…Six of them are in the top twenty of Burning Pride."
Another step.
"…There's no way—"
He stopped.
Because Rio moved again.
Three players.
Running.
Retreating.
Fear had already broken them.
Rio vanished.
No sound.
No wind.
Just—
Gone.
And then—
She was there.
In front of them.
Their eyes widened.
"…Wha—"
One of them tried to speak.
A flash.
His head separated cleanly from his body.
No resistance.
No struggle.
Just—
Gone.
The other two didn't even get the chance to scream.
Another motion.
Another silent cut.
Two more bodies fell.
The battlefield—
Went still.
Fayzan stared.
"…Monster…"
He didn't mean to say it.
But the word escaped anyway.
Because nothing else fit.
Not "player."
Not "ally."
Not even "top ranker."
This—
Was something else entirely.
Magumo exhaled slowly.
Then—
He smiled again.
Wider.
"…I get it now."
His eyes gleamed.
"…You're above them."
A pause.
"…Above everyone here."
He stepped forward.
"…Maybe even—"
He didn't finish.
Because—
Thud.
Something struck him.
His body jerked.
His voice cut off.
He looked down.
A dagger—
Embedded into his shoulder.
One of his own.
His eyes widened.
"…What—"
He looked up.
Rio was already there.
Too close.
Too fast.
Her leg moved.
A kick—
Connected cleanly with his face.
CRACK
Magumo's body lifted slightly—
Then slammed back into the ground.
Sliding.
Dust erupting around him.
Silence.
Rio stood where he had been.
Unmoving.
Her blade—
Still glowing faintly red.
Then—
The glow faded.
Returning to normal.
As if nothing had happened.
But everything—
Had.
Because now—
There was no doubt.
Not for Fayzan.
Not for Magumo.
Not for anyone watching.
Rio wasn't just strong.
She wasn't just skilled.
She wasn't even just dangerous.
She was something the game wasn't supposed to allow.
And for the first time—
Burning Pride realized—
They had picked the wrong battlefield.
Magumo didn't get up immediately.
For the first time—
There was hesitation.
His hand pressed against the ground as he steadied himself, the taste of iron lingering faintly in his mouth.
His shoulder throbbed—
The dagger still embedded.
And his cheek—
A thin line of blood traced down from where the earlier deflection had struck him.
"…Heh."
A quiet laugh escaped him.
"…So that's how it is."
He lifted his head.
And looked at her.
Rio.
Standing there.
Unmoving.
Unbothered.
Like nothing that just happened—
Mattered.
Magumo's grin returned.
But this time—
It was strained.
"…All units."
His voice cut through the silence.
Sharp.
Commanding.
"…Formation."
The remaining members of Burning Pride snapped into motion.
Fourteen players.
Each one pulling something from their inventory—
Imperial Rifles.
The metallic click of mechanisms locking into place echoed across the battlefield.
Fayzan's eyes widened.
"…Guns…?"
They spread out.
Perfectly spaced.
A circle.
Rio—
At the center.
Every angle covered.
Every escape sealed.
Magumo exhaled slowly.
"…Let's see you dodge this."
He raised his hand.
"…Fire."
"RIO—WATCH OUT!"
Fayzan shouted.
But Rio—
Didn't move.
Didn't raise her guard.
Didn't step back.
She simply—
Stood there.
The rifles fired.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Gunfire erupted from every direction.
Bullets tore through the air—
Fast.
Relentless.
A storm of steel converging onto a single point.
Rio.
And then—
She moved.
Not her feet.
Not her stance.
Just—
Her arm.
The Imperial Saber rose.
And the sound followed.
Clink.
A bullet struck the blade—
And was deflected.
Another—
Clink.
Another—
Clink. Clink. Clink.
The rhythm built instantly.
Precise.
Controlled.
Every bullet—
Met steel.
And was denied.
Fayzan's breath caught.
"…She's… blocking them…?"
Not dodging.
Not avoiding.
Blocking.
Each shot.
Every angle.
Perfectly.
Magumo's eyes widened.
"…That's—"
Impossible.
He didn't say it.
But it was there.
Clear.
Then—
One bullet—
Deflected differently.
It spun—
Changed direction—
And—
THUD.
Magumo's head jerked slightly.
A shallow cut formed across his cheek.
Blood.
Fresh.
Warm.
"…You…"
His voice dropped.
Low.
Dangerous.
"…Bastard."
His hand tightened.
"…Fire faster!"
The rifles roared again.
More shots.
Faster.
Denser.
A barrage.
But Rio—
Still didn't move.
Her blade danced.
Faster now.
The sound changed.
Clinkclinkclinkclink—
No pauses.
No gaps.
Every bullet—
Met.
Redirected.
Controlled.
And this time—
Returned.
A shot—
Reflected—
THUD.
One shooter dropped.
Another—
THUD.
Another body fell.
Confusion spread instantly.
"…W-What—?!"
"…He got hit—?!"
Panic.
They tried to adjust—
But it was too late.
Every bullet they fired—
Came back.
Perfectly angled.
Perfectly timed.
Perfectly lethal.
Bodies dropped one after another.
Some didn't even realize what hit them.
Others—
Tried to run.
Failed.
One man hidden above—
Concealed in the trees.
Silent.
Waiting.
Even Fayzan hadn't noticed him.
A shot fired.
Rio's blade moved.
A single deflection—
The bullet curved—
And—
THUD.
The man dropped from the tree.
Dead before he hit the ground.
Silence.
Heavy.
Absolute.
Fourteen players—
Gone.
The battlefield—
Empty.
Except for three.
Rio.
Fayzan.
Magumo.
Fayzan stood there.
Frozen.
"…She…"
His voice didn't finish.
Because there were no words.
Magumo exhaled slowly.
His grin was gone again.
Not replaced by fear.
But something else.
Something sharper.
"…Now that's…"
He wiped the blood from his cheek.
"…interesting."
Before anything else could be said—
Footsteps.
Fast.
Urgent.
Fayzan turned.
"…Ayame—!"
She arrived.
Breathing heavily.
But alive.
Odion behind her.
Still injured—
But standing.
And with them—
Two more.
A girl with long red hair.
Armor polished.
A white shield with red accents strapped to her arm.
A sword resting at her side.
And beside her—
A smaller figure.
Green hood.
Black facemask.
Brown hair barely visible beneath the shadow.
Silent.
Observing.
Reinforcements.
ELEO.
Ayame's eyes scanned the battlefield.
The bodies.
The silence.
Then—
She saw Rio.
Standing in the center.
Unharmed.
Unshaken.
And surrounded by the aftermath of something—
No one there could fully understand.
"…We made it…"
Odion muttered.
But Fayzan—
Didn't answer.
Because his eyes were still locked on Rio.
And for the first time—
Even he wasn't sure—
If she was still on their side.
The wind passed through the battlefield once more.
But now—
It carried something new.
Fear.
Not of the enemy.
But of the one standing beside them.