Guild Rank Battle ③

— This is a scene just before the start of the battle.

During the waiting time before the battle, Crim was teaching Hinagiku like a true master.

“You know in a battle royale, there’s a possibility that multiple guilds will attack us all at once…right?”

“Yes, I understand. It’s a tactic, and my mother smiled when she told me about it.”

“…I still can’t help but wonder who Hinagiku’s mother is…but anyway. For example, two guilds could team up and attack us. In that case, how many people will be in the fight?”

“Huh…wouldn’t it be 5 against 10?”

“No, it’s just two sets of 5 against each other at the same time.”

“But…isn’t that the same thing in the end?”

Hinagiku tilted her head in confusion, not understanding why she was asking such an obvious question.

“No, they may team up to eliminate us, but as soon as they do, they become enemies again.”

After all, only one team can advance to the final round, which is only natural.

“Then…how can they easily win after eliminating us?”

“Oh, I see. They would be happy if their trading partner is exhausted during the battle with us!”

Hinagiku smiled and nodded.

“That’s right. Their interests align with each other in defeating us, but in reality, they are still enemies.”

It’s hard to trust people who could attack from behind at any moment. It would be difficult to respond to sudden situations if the ad hoc tag was too crowded.

“So, Hinagiku, I’ll teach you two things to be careful of when facing opponents with higher numbers,” said with a smile like a boy showing off his mischievous plan, as she spoke to Hinagiku.

And so, while watching the ten approaching players from afar, he muttered to himself, “Well, since I said something like a boastful teacher, I have to show it in practice.”

Currently, the guilds heading towards them were two groups dressed in green and blue. If they were to clash head-on, they would have no chance of winning.

“… Frey, I’m going ahead,” said Crim, as Frey sighed and replied, “Yeah, well, make sure you leave some action for us too.”

With Frey’s exasperated voice behind her, Crim began to run.

(Don’t stand on the enemy’s turf.)

At this point, trying to synchronize their steps would be a bad move. Due to the numerical disadvantage, they would have no chance of winning if the fight turned into a long-range battle.

…So, get in close and stir things up.

Crim threw her shadow dagger with all her might, using her entire body. It pierced the shoulder of a green-clad guild member who was slightly ahead and casting a pre-emptive strike spell from a long distance away.

The enemy camp was thrown into chaos by the unexpected long-range attack.

Although the power would be greatly attenuated at this distance, it didn’t matter as long as it could intimidate them and make them drop their weapons.

Without hesitation, Crim ran at full speed and received the system support of [Sprint] which made her accelerate greatly. Then, she used the momentum to fly up into the air by taking a jump start from the cliff towering over her left hand.

[Shadow Light Weapon]!

Once again, a jet-black short sword appears in Crim’s hand. At this moment, the effect of [Sprint] as a weapon-equipped state starts… However, while maintaining the acceleration from the system assist up to this point, she retains the inertia of jumping through the air.

This is a technique that Crim discovered by chance during the battle with the [Strongest Magical Beast] and is close to a cheat. After repeatedly verifying it, she has acquired her own so-called “not-system-assisted skill”.

Even if she picks up a weapon in mid-air, the momentum of [Sprint] will continue until she lands. At the moment of landing, if she uses a high-speed movement martial technique with perfect timing…

“[Kami]!”

With the start-up motion as she lands, Crim kicks the ground and at that moment, her figure blurs like mist.

This martial technique is boosted by the [Sprint] system correction. With the acceleration multiplied by [Sprint] and [Kami], this charge technique moves at a speed that even Crim can barely control, closing the gap of 200 meters between the two enemies in an instant.

“Huh?”

Without even understanding the situation, the lead magician lets out a dumbfounded noise, only to have his head sliced off by Crim. The two enemy guilds only notice Crim’s presence, which is already in close range, after the first victim, the magician, has turned into countless shards of light and floated in the air.

“Do not let the opponent take the initiative.”

“Th-there! The enemy is standing out alone, surround them together…gahhh!?”

The commander, who seemed to be the leader of the green-clad guild, was quick to regain their composure. They jumped towards the enemy’s neck, wrapping both legs around it tightly like a snake, choking the commander’s airway and causing them to struggle for words.

But then…

――Break them!

With the momentum of their jump, the girl suddenly added her weight onto the commander’s shoulder and embraced his head to her chest. She then accelerated, using the man’s neck as a pivot and spinning around once with incredible force.

The sound of shattering objects and the hair-raising noise echoed around them, causing both guilds to pause their movements.

“…Huh? Th-the Tennen Rishin!?” (Bersleid: Here: て、転蓮華)

“No way, that’s not a technique a girl would use!?”

“What was that sound just now? What was it!?”

The green-clad guild was shocked by the move that resembled a cruel technique from a certain manga. At this point, the distinction between front and back lines had completely crumbled, and coordination was no longer possible. Then…

“Amazing, sensei! I won’t lose!”

“Huh… What!?”

A small figure flew in, kicking off the wall with a slight delay. That figure was Hinagiku, the Iaido user who was holding the rear of the group. She aimed for a blue-clothed mage who was most likely a healer, and attacked from above like a cuckoo.

“Slash!”

Hinagiku swung her sword like a spinning top in mid-air, creating a slash effect that traced a path of light from the healer’s right shoulder to left waist.

“Ugh, h-help…!”

“I don’t hold a grudge against you, but as my teacher taught me, ‘kill the priest first if possible’!”

The healer, who was somewhat separated from his comrades due to his retreating posture, was isolated by Hinagiku and reached out to his companions for help.

However, as soon as Hinagiku landed, she swung her sword horizontally, creating a cross-shaped slash effect. The priest, who had been left with little HP due to his separation from his comrades, was dealt a finishing blow by the attack and disappeared into a vanishing light.

“Wait, Hinagiku, I didn’t teach you anything that violent or with murderous intent, did I!?”

Crim protested against Hinagiku’s statement, as she was upset with her words. However, even as she said that, she herself had just turned the enemy priest into fragments of light at the end of the green-clad group, so she had no persuasive power. (Bersleid: Both of you are brutal, but Crim is not even aware of it…)

…Lost.

As half of their members were defeated, unable to move due to fear of friendly fire, the two guilds were convinced that they would lose against just two girls.

The panic gradually spread among the enemy guild, robbing those around them of their calm thoughts…

“Ah, aaahh!”

“Idiot, don’t shoot, you’ll involve everyone!!”

One of the blue-clad members, who had fallen into a state of panic, spun out magic while another panicked member tried to stop them. (Bersleid: There’s no need to be calm, keep your panic…)

Destructive magic lvl 70, [Lightning Sword].

A wide-range, straight-line attack magic with unparalleled power and penetration capability.

It was originally supposed to be used from the front row when the enemy was far away, but it was a dangerous attack magic with a high potential for friendly fire.

“Don’t come over here! [Lightning Sword!]”

“Everyone, get down!”

That was all the leader of the enemy guild member in the blue attire said.

The flash was not released as if chasing after the fleeing Crim and Hinagiku.

Just before that, Crim had penetrated deep into the formation of the blue guild and had just lifted the arm of a young mage who was about to cast a spell, and at the same time had been stabbed in his neck.

While grabbing the arm of the man who was about to release a destructive lightning attack and forcing it upward, Crim charred his left hand black.

“… If you do that, the boss won’t be able to stay in the guild anymore, you know?”

“…Ah…!”

Crim gently whispered to the young man to calm him down, grimacing at the loss of three-tenths of his HP from the lightning strike and the red flashing missing part on the edge of his vision. The young man, who was still pierced in the neck, had a startled expression on his face at Crim’s voice. (Bersleid: Heck if I know what happened here…)

“Th-thank…you…”

The young mage, shedding tears of gratitude towards the girl who had jumped into the enemy camp and forcefully redirected the magic he was about to unleash… disappeared into a residual light.

The battlefield fell silent.

Everyone understands that if Crim had not jumped into the dangerous situation and killed the young mage earlier, both the blue and green guilds would have been wiped out.

“Master, your arm!?”

“Haha, I was a bit reckless… but it’s nothing serious, Freya will come and heal me.”

Saying that, Crim patted the head of Hinagiku, who was frantically worried and flustered by her side, with her uninjured hand and smiled, reassuring her.

“Well then… should we start over?”

“Why would you do that?”

This was a great opportunity to drive the two guilds out without any effort. The young werewolf-like man, who seemed to be the leader of the blue-clothed guild, was astonished by Crim’s carefree laughter, even though she had ruined that opportunity herself.

“Well, I don’t really want to be a guild crusher. I don’t want such a bad taste in my mouth even if they are villains.”

“…I agree. If that had been released, we wouldn’t have forgiven the one who caused it even if it was friendly fire.”

He sighed deeply and then smiled wryly, lowering his weapon. And so did those around him.

“Let’s admit it, we lost. We surrender. Is everyone okay with that?”

At the guild master’s words, the members of the same guild nodded.

“Then… I, resign.”

The moment the leader announced it, the blue-clothed guild members disappeared from the battlefield, reducing the number of remaining guilds on the edge of sight to ‘4’.

“So, what about the two of you who remain?” Crim directed her gaze at the two remaining members in green attire: a male dwarf warrior and a female elf archer.

“Both the leader and the rear guard have fallen. I don’t think we can win against you two, who have emerged unscathed, but…” Despite saying they couldn’t win, the dwarf warrior’s eyes weren’t lifeless, as he readied his weapon, a battle axe.

Likewise, the elf archer bit her lip and stood her ground.

“However, we owe our lives to you for saving us. At the very least, it’s proper etiquette to not retreat in vain and to burn ourselves out until the very end, even if it’s just the two of us!”

“Well said!”

Moved by their determination to face them with their weapons at the ready, and their words, Crim quivered with excitement and readjusted her short sword with her remaining arm, a smile of joy that she couldn’t hide spreading across her face.

“Then, let me, Crim Lua Cheia, be the one to take your lives this time! Come at me!!”

With that, he declared to them, and both sides simultaneously kicked off the ground.

About ten minutes later, with the momentum on their side, Crim and her team defeated the remaining two opposing guilds in an instant, resulting in the Guild Lushaishea’s complete victory in the third qualifying block.

At that time, footage of Crim’s outstanding performance, where she was swept up in the moment and did a “Demon King Move,” was recorded and later saved in the official archives as a “Qualifying Highlights” reel. Crim had no idea that the uncut footage of her excitement would be broadcasted at that time.