Rita pushed off with the tip of her foot, spun midair, and bolted in the opposite direction. In the sa motion, she shifted into her hunting form and shot away at full speed.
Maple Syrup was already losing patience. She didn’t understand why Mistblade had dragged her upstairs instead of just starting the match. "What’s wrong with her? I need to go grab so numbers."
She’d forgotten again. She’d actually forgotten again.
Mistblade’s face darkened. She grabbed Maple Syrup by the wrist and pointed her blood-mist blade at the retreating Orchid Mantis form sprinting across the shelves. "That’s her! Don’t you rember? We agreed to take her down together! Don’t you want to rebuild Forest Sea?"
Maple Syrup shook her head. "Not at all." She didn’t even rember any such agreent. When had she ever made plans with Mistblade?
In the blink of an eye, the Orchid Mantis vanished from sight.
Mistblade pressed her blade to the ground, spreading layers of blood mist across the floor. Even without her full arsenal of skills, her battle instincts were too sharp to fade.
Found her.
She turned toward Maple Syrup, about to call her over—only to see the red-haired girl already fighting other students for glowing numbers.
Mistblade froze. "..."
She dashed forward, yanked Maple Syrup back by the collar. "What are you doing?"
Maple Syrup blinked, genuinely confused. "Playing the ga," she said, pointing toward a nearby student with a glowing number above their head.
Mistblade ground her teeth. "Weren’t we supposed to go after... that one?"
Maple Syrup gave her a helpless look. "When did we—Fine. Just tell who you want dead, and I’ll help."
This damned skill. It had turned Maple Syrup into a forgetful idiot.
Mistblade exhaled slowly, forcing a smile as she released her grip. "Go do your thing. When I need help, I’ll call you. Take soone’s skill with [Temporary Betrayal] for . Call it a favor owed."
She’d barely finished speaking before Maple Syrup was gone again, tossing a single line over her shoulder. "See? Was that so hard to say?"
Mistblade stared after her. "...Unbelievable."
anwhile, Rita was still darting across the floor with her glowing number hovering above her head. She had locked onto a student she’d identified during the ti-stop—a perfect target carrying a skill she needed for her plan.
Even though she’d successfully separated Maple Syrup from Mistblade, the problem wasn’t gone. As long as Mistblade still rembered her, she wouldn’t stop hunting her. One would play the ga, the other would hunt.
Rita twisted aside to dodge another crimson slash, keeping one eye on her target. "What is it with you? Why do you want dead so badly? Do I have sothing else that belongs to the Moonfox clan?"
Honestly, Pine Bloom’s nonsense was starting to make sense. She had to be soone important—why else would these two chase her like this?
Just a few seconds of clashing told her what she’d already suspected: Mistblade’s combat technique outclassed Maple Syrup’s.
Rita imdiately cast [Nebula Bubble].
The blood-mist blades struck harder and faster, each one sharper than the last. Mistblade’s voice was calm, almost gentle. "You won’t truly die. I just can’t let you succeed. I want us to be allies."
Rita actually stopped mid-motion for half a second, dumbstruck by the audacity. "You’re trying to stop from activating GodDraw77, trying to kill —and you want us to be allies?"
She threw her a look that clearly said, do you even hear yourself right now?
Mistblade smiled faintly. If BS-Rita beca Lania Kaia Rita, they would be natural allies.
With Rita’s rapid growth, Lania Kaia’s ascension to a Great World wouldn’t be a dream for long. One day she could face Nuclear Flash and shatter it completely. Then Mistblade could finally reclaim the last fragnt of Snowland.
Every invasion Lania Kaia had launched into other worlds, she’d been searching for players with extraordinary potential. No one wanted Lania Kaia to grow stronger more than Mistblade did. It was the only way to bring that day closer.
If BS-Rita managed to rge Lania Kaia into BlueStar, turning her into BlueStar Mistblade, so be it. But for now, it was far easier to break BlueStar than to rge with it.
There were no eternal enemies—only shifting positions. She’d prepared countless ways to reconcile, just like back during Forest Sea.
Even Maple Syrup, a creature of pure love and hatred, had found a way to cooperate with her again.
Of course, when BlueStar finally shattered, Mistblade intended to hold the final fragnt of Forest Sea herself. Otherwise, if BS-Rita ascended while Maple Syrup fell, all her effort would be wasted.
The thought drifted for a mont, and she wondered if Maple Syrup had already guessed her intentions. Was that why she’d wanted to kill Rita alone? To make sure the divine relic didn’t fall into Mistblade’s hands?
She cut off the thought and pressed her assault, faster and faster.
Her blade struck the sa point on the bubble again and again—ten tis, twenty—until [Nebula Bubble] shattered in a burst of energy.
Before Mistblade could strike again, Rita shifted back into her Orchid Mantis form and bolted for her life. Her health plumted rapidly, dropping to a single percent.
She’d used that damned skill again.
Mistblade shouted, "Maple Syrup!" She needed her partner’s [Temporary Betrayal].
Rita heard it too. She knew exactly what those two had agreed on, knew that using [Mystic Force] would make them converge again—but that was fine. She’d been waiting for this exact mont.
Lulumi, the sea squirrel she’d been tailing, finally used her signature ability: [Buy One, Get Three].
The mont the Orchid Mantis landed and reverted to human form, Rita’s hand was already moving. A tiny snowman appeared in her palm.
She sealed [Cri Simulation] inside the snowman and replayed the scene of Lulumi using [Buy One, Get Three].
That ability—once used in a fourth-year team match—allowed a single-target skill to affect three targets simultaneously.
Rita turned toward Mistblade and Maple Syrup closing in fast.
Light flared across her forehead—the sigil of School Rule No. 801—and with [Buy One, Get Three], she cast [The Mysterious One] again, this ti hitting all three of them: Maple Syrup, Mistblade, and, as a bonus, NightFury a few floors away.
The mont the spell landed, Rita shifted back into her hunting form and fled upward through the library.
When she reached a new floor, the glowing "5" above her head finally dimd—the ten-minute pickup period was over. The number solidified, dropped into her hand, and she opened her little book to place the "5" neatly into the empty square where it belonged.
She looked up. Above her, Mistblade and Maple Syrup stood at the railing, both wearing the sa dazed, lost expressions.
The ga had only been running ten minutes, but her plan was complete. Both of her greatest threats had forgotten her existence.
And only now, with the board reset and the field finally level, did her solo match truly begin.
Victory wasn’t guaranteed—but the path was hers alone.
Now all she had to do was finish her Sudoku before they did.
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