After QM Deceitful Bloom gave the order, QM Lynx Duke and QM Howl responded imdiately.
They sneered, "Don't treat like your subordinate," and "Are you ordering ?"
But their actions were swift.
One devastating area attack after another exploded throughout the tavern.
The Starsea gods stopped pretending.
At this point, playing dumb would be an insult to QM Deceitful Bloom's intelligence. Anyone familiar with her knew that once she made a decision, she would not change it based on others' reactions.
Even if Starsea pretended not to care about the bottles, QM Deceitful Bloom would not waver.
Layers of defensive skills surged outward. Light covered the bottles in protection.
These defenses could shield the bottles, but they could not anchor them in place.
Under the impact of the attacks, the neatly arranged bottles along the walls were blasted loose, flying wildly through the tavern.
Rita did not act imdiately.
Cat's Ideal could not be destroyed. She let Nivalis activate Crimson Dandelion to protect them, then calmly observed the situation.
The SSS skill Absolute Freedom could only take her to places she had already been.
Since entering the tavern, Cat's Ideal had only passed a few tables. Most were simple straight paths.
But one table was different.
The very first table they had encountered.
Because Deceitful Bloom and Foolishness had ssed with her using cups, fruit, and even a sock, she had been forced to weave around constantly.
That ant Cat's Ideal had covered the most ground on that table.
If she wanted to grab a bottle in the chaos, that table offered the best chance.
A bottle was currently flying toward it.
The landing point was clear. Right at the center.
If she used Absolute Freedom to get there, she could easily catch it.
Nivalis glanced at Rita anxiously several tis.
But Rita, holding the helm, looked grim.
She could go.
Even if Absolute Freedom still had twelve seconds of cooldown due to How Co Dinner Isn't Ready, she could bypass it using Flower of Deceit's racial trait.
But could she co back?
The greatest strength of Absolute Freedom was that nothing could stop her from leaving.
Except gods.
And right now, everyone in the tavern except her and Nivalis qualified.
The thing she could not ignore most was what QM Deceitful Bloom had said.
If it were soone else, Rita might not overanalyze it.
But it was Deceitful Bloom.
She was too smart. Too decisive.
If she wanted sothing done, she could do it herself.
So why say it out loud?
Rita scanned the five dark-skinned cats.
Their positioning was flawless.
Without speaking, they had spread across the tavern, eliminating all blind spots.
More importantly, their gaze was not on the Starsea gods.
It was on the bottles.
Rita exhaled silently.
QM Deceitful Bloom had done it on purpose.
She had deliberately said she would destroy the bottles.
She was baiting her.
Waiting for her to take the risk and reveal herself.
Should she wait longer?
But how many bottles would remain?
Rita did not expect the tavern to replenish supplies.
Divine Ga followed strict fairness.
Order Clock would not allow sothing that blatant.
Ti passed.
She was not in a hurry.
But others were.
Starsea group chat:
Captain: Did she fall asleep?
Bitter Chalice: No, she's staring at QM Deceitful Bloom
Ashveil: Understandable
Crispfang: I told you we'd get along, but you always tell to get lost
Ashveil: Please, your taste can't compare to mine
Crispfang: %@#@￥… spit!
Foolishness: I think she's analyzing QM Deceitful Bloom
Boiling Orange: What's there to analyze? Just grab the drink
Foolishness: If soone tricks you enough tis, you develop a reflex
Deceitful Bloom: She's finally thinking
Rita took one last look at QM Deceitful Bloom.
Too dangerous.
Better to change approach.
Ti-based skills were disabled in Graveyard of Bones.
Her Waste Guide and Nivalis's Tail Tip were completely unusable.
Yet both she and QM Rita could summon alternate versions of themselves.
Her Undead Wildfire.
QM Rita's Extra Chapter version.
Did that an these abilities did not count as ti manipulation?
Or that tilines were simply different possibilities rather than true ti alteration?
Either way, it ant she had another option.
She took out her upgraded Lynx Duke tier Wrathful Moon and looked at the dimd skill Temporal Stroll.
It was partially sealed.
Before upgrading, it had been completely unusable.
"Return to the past, travel to the future, reach other tilines."
The unsealed portion clearly involved tilines.
Rita sent Nivalis back into pet space.
Then she called out, "Cover . I'm using Wrathful Moon to go to another tiline."
Absolute Freedom's wave effect was subtle amid the chaos.
Wrathful Moon was not.
Its divine manifestation was impossible to miss.
Every white hairless cat in the tavern inhaled deeply at once.
Then they all exhaled.
Darkness fell over the entire tavern.
Rita activated Temporal Stroll.
In her mind, a shimring doorway appeared, like rippling water.
Beyond it, she saw another world, like a mirage.
Her heartbeat spiked.
She saw hundreds of threads.
Each one connected to a different possibility.
She could access every existing tiline.
This was the true terror of Lynx Duke tier Wrathful Moon.
She forced herself to stay focused.
If traveling to another tiline worked like returning to the past, then when the lantern lit again, she would appear in another version of Demon Tavern.
At the mont darkness fell, bottles shattered across the tavern.
Each explosion locked down the surrounding space.
A few seconds later, the lights returned.
The black hairless cats exchanged looks.
They all understood.
They had failed.
The white hairless cats sat elegantly, tails swaying.
Starsea Deceitful Bloom licked her paw and smoothed her silver hair, clearly pleased.
"Your tricks are crude. Don't call yourself my copy when you get out."
QM Deceitful Bloom looked away silently and leapt off, resuming her bombardnt.
The ga had just begun.
As long as they caught the player before ti ran out, they would still win.
Starsea Deceitful Bloom blinked, then muttered, "Why so grumpy?"
Foolishness happened to pass by and stopped.
"Probably afraid you'll lick sowhere worse after that paw," she said.
Starsea Deceitful Bloom: "…"
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