Liar, Liar - Volume 4 - Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3

Hell’s Priestess and the Demigod Dictator

“Welcome back, Master.”

The fourth day’s lunch break had arrived. I’d reunited with the rest of Team Eimei, and we were hanging out in the conference room we’d reserved on the second floor of the Shiki Island Grand Hotel.

Himeji bowed deeply to me and gave a soft smile. She fixed me in her clear blue eyes and spoke with a touch more spirit than usual.

“Of course, I always believed you’d return to us, Master. I assumed you would storm through MTCG and make it look easy, but I never thought you’d set a record for the fastest win in the process… It was a great surprise. You constantly exceed my wildest dreams, Master.”

“Well… Libra helped out this time. But I am the Seven Star, you know. I’d lose my reputation if I couldn’t back up what I said.”

“I agree, but living up to your word every time can’t be easy.”

A carefree little grin floated across Himeji’s face. Then she gave me a quick recap of what had happened in ASTRAL while I was away.

“There have been no major events today, Master. There was only one battle to speak of. Two players attempted to attack us, but we easily repelled them. They likely belonged to the United Force. Regrettably, they fled before we could finish them off.”

“That’s fine… It’s enough that we didn’t lose anyone. I know not having a Commander dropped everyone’s Action Levels, so it must have been tough. Good job.”

“Not at all, Master. I merely did what I had to as your teammate and maid. Also…I was hardly the only one fighting to keep things in order for you.”

Himeji threw a glance over to her side. Standing there was Noa Akizuki, whose twin ponytails perked up a little when she noticed my eyes on her.

“We waited forever for you, Hiroto! You stupid late idiot! Making someone as cute as me wait for hours… If it were anybody else, I’d never forgive them!”

“…What’re you upset for, Akizuki? It only took a little while. I set a speed record.”

“I don’t care about that! I was lonely! None of that matters when I’m lonely!”

Akizuki lowered her head, trying to hide her wavering voice and watery eyes. Surprisingly, Shinji Enomoto praised her.

“Let me just note that while you were gone, Akizuki was every bit the ‘ace of Eimei’ she claims to be. You can be sure of that.”

“Indeed,” Himeji agreed. “In particular, the way she read and exploited the male players’ behavioral psychology and used it to trap them with very few Spells was masterful. I’m sure Ms. Akizuki, the Little Devil of Eimei, has traumatized more than a few people in this Game.”

Wow… I dunno whether I should be upset I missed that or glad.

I winced internally. Akizuki’s exploits (whatever they were) had kept the United Force’s invasion at bay. That much was clear. While I was petting Akizuki’s head (she demanded I do so as a reward), Asamiya cleared her throat. She played with a lock of her vivid blond hair with a few fingers as she glared at Enomoto.

“You’re being weird, Shinji. I know Noa-chi did some great work and all, but the rest of us did our best, too. Why are you only praising her? You’re not secretly in love with her, are you, Shinji? You trying to put the moves on her?”

“Why would you jump to that conclusion??”

“Oh, really? Hee-hee-hee! Well, thank you!   I don’t exactly hate you, either, President… But, mmm, I don’t really see you as boyfriend material. I’m faithful to my man!  ”

“I’ve already been dumped?!”

Enomoto folded his arms, his irritated expression worsening at Asamiya’s scolding and pouting. Akizuki happily played along with that devilish smile of hers. Enomoto mumbled to himself, saying, “I swear…” and so on with a sour look on his face. After a moment he lifted his head.

“…Looking back, I suppose Nanase wasn’t completely useless. Her contribution is likely trivial compared to mine, but on a scale of zero to one, I think she’s earned a one.”

“! Th-thank you… Wait, no! What the heck?! That’s the worst praise ever! If I’m a one, then you’re a negative fifty billion! You owe all of us big time for carrying you!”

“I said on a scale of zero to one, didn’t I? Don’t tell me your memory skills are zero, too?”

“Quit…messing…with…me!”

Asamiya leaned forward to get in Enomoto’s face as he continued to needle her. This was routine for them at this point. Akizuki watched the scene with a smile on her face. I guess there was no point in getting worked up.

“All right… Let’s take a look at our current situation, then,” I said, keeping my voice calm. I hoped to shift the conversation back to a serious discussion about ASTRAL.

I’d shared the general plan with everyone during that call to all the teams not under the Chameleon, but I’d skipped the details since there was so little time. This felt like a good time to clue in Team Eimei on the specifics.

“Just before the end of the first half today, I contacted all players who haven’t joined with the enemy. I pretended that was a new feature of my Ghost job, but really it was only possible with Libra’s help. Our alliance of six teams is made up of Suisei from the Second Ward, Ohga from the Third, Eimei from the Fourth, Ohmi from the Tenth, Murakumo from the Thirteenth, and Soken from the Nineteenth.”

“That’s right,” Himeji said. “And adding up the number of active players on each team, we get a total of twenty.”

“Twenty, huh? Hey, how many players are in the Chameleon’s United Force, Shirayuki?” Asamiya asked.

“Fourteen, including the Chameleon herself. I’m not sure that the teams involved matter much anymore, but in addition to Seijo, Shinra from the Seventh Ward, Otowa from the Eighth, St. Rosalia from the Fourteenth, and Tsuyuri from the Sixteenth have all joined the United Force. Originally, their side was a bit larger, but three teams have dropped out of the Game, so the enemy has a rather modest-sized group.”

“Yeah. Nothing modest about their fighting power, though.”

I had to agree with Asamiya on that point. Threats like Kugasaki and Kururugi definitely counted as more than one average enemy team member each.

And there was one other thing we had to take into account, too.

“Before we go any further, I need you all to understand that the Chameleon, Tsumugi Shiina, is just an illegal player. She’s not some special enemy the Game’s managers inserted. She broke into ASTRAL using illicit means and made herself the strongest in the Game. Given that we’re working with Libra, I thought it was best not to make that public for the time being.”

“True. If people learn that the Chameleon’s an illegal player, the whole event could come crashing down, and Libra would take the blame. That’s far from the ideal resolution,” Himeji remarked.

“Exactly. No matter how you slice it, Shiina’s still way too strong. She has the highest Action Level, the quickest Spell resupply, all the positive aspects of every job in the Game, and the whole map’s been revealed to her from the beginning… And as if that wasn’t enough, her maximum LP is nine hundred and ninety-nine.”

“Nine hundred and ninety-nine?!” Akizuki was taken aback. “I—I think even I might have trouble beating someone that overpowered.”

“This goes beyond difficult. It’s actually impossible, isn’t it? She’s basically invincible,” Asamiya said, frowning.

Akizuki and Asamiya didn’t seem too hopeful. Enomoto, meanwhile, had his arms folded, looking the same as usual.

“No, Nanase,” he replied. “Being invincible and having nine hundred and ninety-nine Life Points are two completely different things.”

“Huh? How? There’s no way we can whittle down that much LP.”

“Correct. We can’t. However, Hell’s Priestess is participating in ASTRAL. If the Chameleon truly had infinite LP, she would be unstoppable, but she doesn’t. There’s a very good chance that Senri Kururugi’s One-Shot Kill can defeat the Chameleon.”

Asamiya’s eyes widened a bit. “Oh…”

“Yup. That’s what I was thinking, too.” I grinned widely, and internally, I praised Enomoto for his clever observation. “With Senri Kururugi’s One-Shot Kill, we stand a chance against the Chameleon. Honestly, it’s our only hope. That means our first mission is to capture Kururugi—to separate her from the United Force.”

How would we go about it, though? Persuasion or intimidation? Kururugi undoubtedly held a grudge against us. It wouldn’t be easy to sway her at all, but we couldn’t let that stop us. We needed her cooperation. Members of the United Force could leave whenever they wanted, as long as they were okay with finishing in last place. Friendly fire was permitted in ASTRAL, so there was no mechanical issue with teammates turning against each other.

Finding a way to exploit Himeji’s Replace skill could work as a plan B, but meeting the required conditions for One-Shot Kill will be a challenge, to say the least. I guess I can talk to her about it, but we’d best save it for a last resort.

While I thought that over, Asamiya nodded in agreement with what I’d said about winning over Kururugi. “Hmm… I guess that would work. But there are more than a dozen people in the United Force, right? It’s gonna be really tough to convince a single one of them to betray the rest…”

I opted to reply to Asamiya’s anxious comment in the most matter-of-fact way possible.

“Yeah. That’s why what we need to do is wage an all-out war. Trying to single out Kururugi and get her to attack Shiina is pretty unrealistic. Her followers will definitely get in the way. However, our side has more players. And most of the Chameleon’s territory is in the center of the Game map, while we’ve been pushed out to the edges on the north and south. If you think about it, we’re set up perfectly for a pincer attack.”

I launched a projection of the ASTRAL Game map as I spoke. The center of the hex-based chart was filled in with black, Seijo’s color, from east to west. Six different colors marked scattered territories above and below. It really did look like six teams poised to strike from the top and bottom.

“According to Libra, the United Force is working in three groups. For simplicity, let’s give them names. On the right side of the map we have Team A, led by the Chameleon, Tsumugi Shiina. To the left is Team B, led by Hell’s Priestess, Senri Kururugi. Finally, Team C stands in the middle of the map. That’s where Kirigaya and Kugasaki are.”

“I see. Each one sounds pretty tough,” Himeji said.

“Definitely,” I agreed readily. “And now that the United Force has lost a few members, the remaining ones are basically all nothing but top-rank players.”

Honestly, if Himeji and I didn’t have Akizuki, Asamiya, and Enomoto, I would’ve been losing it by now, laughing nervously nonstop. We were up against a merciless illegal player, a one-shot killer with a supremely unfair Ability, the Phoenix, who was beyond obnoxious, and the Six Star Demigod Dictator. There were monsters every way I looked.

We had no choice but to face them, though.

“So we’re going to attack all three of these teams at the same time. I’d prefer if we had the time to really work out who will take each group, but we’ll have to work with our current positions.”

“In that case…it’ll be the Third and Thirteenth Wards against Team A on the right side of the map, the Second and Nineteenth against Team C in the center…and then it’s us and the Tenth Ward against Team B on the left,” Himeji explained.

“Right. But like I said, we can’t do anything against the Chameleon unless we’ve got Kururugi on our side. So we’ll need the Empress—really, all of Ohga and Murakumo—to fend off Shiina’s advance and keep her from generating fakes elsewhere in the battle. While that’s going on, we’ll get Kururugi. Meanwhile, over in the center, we’ll need the Second and Nineteenth Ward teams to stop Kirigaya’s group in its tracks.”

I couldn’t ask them to beat Kirigaya. He led a powerful group, for one, but the Second Ward’s Suisei School was also somewhat infamous for not deploying its best players for events like this one. In fact, there weren’t any third-year students playing for that team. Suisei would be paired up with Soken School, which occupied the bottom half of the school rankings, so asking them to defeat Team C would be unfair.

“Once we successfully recruit Kururugi, all we have to do is have her use One-Shot Kill on Shiina. Then our task will be complete, and ASTRAL should return to normal.”

“Hmm… Are you sure we’ll be okay, Hiroto? Not that I’m doubting you, but I feel like we could have teammates drop out or sabotage each other…,” Akizuki said.

“Ah, I think we’re good on that front, probably. Truce or not, we’d normally have to be on the lookout for that…but no matter how we feel, it makes no sense to betray us right now.”

She cocked her head. “…? Even if someone wants to finish a little higher in the ranking?”

“Sure. The way the United Force works, if the Chameleon finishes first, all the teams affiliated with her finish second. In other words, unless we beat the Chameleon, we’re all guaranteed to lose stars. Nobody has any choice but to side with us. They have to ally together whether they like it or not because there’s no other way to beat the Chameleon.”

“Oh, you’re right…! Heh-heh! You really are the coolest, Hiroto!  ”

Akizuki squirmed alluringly as she sighed the words. Enomoto and Asamiya didn’t offer any disagreement, and when I looked to Himeji, she gave me a nod and a slight smile.

“All right. The second half of ASTRAL’s fourth day will feature all-out war with the Chameleon’s United Force. Our six teams will break down their firepower, and then we’ll have Kururugi attack the Chameleon with One-Shot Kill,” I declared.

“Right, right.” Akizuki bobbed her head.

“Team Eimei’s job is to take down Team B, led by Kururugi. We’ll work with Ohmi School from the Tenth Ward and take Kururugi as soon as we can. We’ll have to be fast; otherwise the center of the front line will break, and we’ll have to deal with Kirigaya. Or the Chameleon might defeat the Empress. Honestly, we’ve got the most important role. If we fail, it means the end of the Game.”

I looked to each of my teammates in turn as I laid out the facts.

This is it. This’ll decide everything. Shiina’s enough trouble, but considering that Kurahashi’s backing her up, dragging this out would be a terrible idea. I really want the Chameleon out of the picture quickly, before we see any more external meddling.

To be exact, I wanted her gone by the end of today. Fully defeating Shiina so Kurahashi wouldn’t try messing with us was really the ideal resolution. I continued as boldly as I could, a smile on my face.

“Let’s go, guys. This time, we’ve got to give it absolutely everything we have.”

The moment the second half of ASTRAL’s fourth day began, several battles broke out immediately.

“We…we—we’re seeing monumental events here, folks! Meeowww!”

Suzuran Kazami, commentating for Libra, was already worked up, and no one could blame her. After all, twenty players across six wards had joined together for a tandem uprising. It was a coordinated assault featuring every single player who hadn’t joined the Chameleon’s United Force. This gamble of a full-on clash would determine if we stood any chance at beating the Chameleon.

“N-no one could’ve seen this coming! An allied force has been hastily put together to stop the Chameleon’s rampage! Who could have engineered such an insane turn of events in the midst of this battle royale?! Perhaps that’s a silly question, because only one person could ever be capable of something like this, meow!”

Kazami’s commentary was heating up with every word. Her enthusiasm was infectious as it poured itself into the devices of everyone watching the stream, exciting them all. After bringing a finger to the microphone part of her headset, she let out a cheer from the bottom of her heart.

“Hiroto Shinohara, the invincible, all-powerful transfer student, has crawled back up from the abyss of death! The world’s fastest Seven Star, the man who made the Empress taste defeat, is now attempting to take down the greatest threat he’s ever faced!!”

She hyped Hiroto up as much as possible, doing everything she could to attract the eyes and ears of her viewers. At the same time, Hiroto Shinohara’s stats appeared on the ITube video display. His territory, Spells, percentage of the popularity vote…everything was either dead last or close to it. And his ragtag allies didn’t fare much better. He’d left ASTRAL at one point, only to speedrun his way through the toughest route of MTCG and work his magic behind the scenes of not one but two Games at once. There was no doubting his potential genius any longer.

Stirred by Kazami’s commentary, viewers on ITube sent in comments at an astonishing pace.

Huh? Shinohara?

Really? He planned all of this? And he’s got Ghost as a job now, too… I didn’t know you got a bonus job going through MTCG!

This is way too exciting! The best in the Academy really lives up to his name!

Whooooooooa!! Can he really come back from last place?! Is that even possible?!

Not all of it was high praise, of course, but a large number of viewers had grown fed up with the Chameleon trampling everything in her way. The battle hadn’t actually begun yet, but already the vote counts were starting to shift.

Please, meow. Please…

Watching the numbers change by the second, Suzuran Kazami prayed quietly.

This is about all I can do for you at this point, meow. Shinohara…it’s all up to you now, meow!

The northwestern section of ASTRAL’s AR world was mostly occupied by Ohmi School from the Tenth Ward. To the south was Eimei’s small territory, with Seijo School’s land dividing them horizontally.

My group would have to protect this region, facing off against the Chameleon’s Team B, which had four members. The Libra database told us they were made up of two Soldiers, a Mage, and a Guardian. One of the Soldiers was Senri Kururugi herself, and the other three were all from the Seventh Ward’s Shinra School.

“I don’t know why Kirigaya is off somewhere by himself, but his Shinra guys are enough of a handful already,” I remarked as we made our way toward Team B’s base. Shinra School had come third in last year’s school ranking, and it had a rep for being extremely aggressive and belligerent in Games like this. It was home to Toya Kirigaya, the Demigod Dictator, so perhaps that was to be expected. Our opponents were no exception to that rule. Their Ability loadouts were geared heavily in favor of offense.

“They have a Mage with Expand Range, which gives them more reach, and Eagle Eye to give an attack near-perfect accuracy. Meanwhile, one of their Soldiers has Disperse, which lets them damage foes across a wider range. They’re both suited for long-distance attacks, and the Guardian’s probably meant to support them. Her Abilities are all about defense and enemy recon,” I said.

“Hmm… Yeah, that’ll make them a little tough to approach.” Akizuki pouted as she reviewed our enemies’ data. She was right. That Mage had enough range to make long-distance combat a bad idea. However, blindly charging in would let the Soldier’s wide-reaching attacks destroy us. Between that and the support Guardian, this would be a tough wall to break down.

Plus, even if we broke through that trio, we’d have Senri Kururugi from the Sixteenth Ward’s Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute to contend with. She was just as good as the Empress in group battles. Everyone knew to run from the One-Shot Killer.

But…she’s the only player with any chance of defeating the Chameleon.

I swallowed nervously just as Team B’s base came into view. Undoubtedly, the enemy knew about our declaration of battle by now and was on high alert. A small girl and two guys all had devices in their hands, and they stood in a triangular formation to meet us. Senri Kururugi, sporting her trademark ponytail, stood in the center of the defensive grouping.

“Ah, I see,” Himeji whispered from beside me. “It’s a classic intercept formation. They have no interest in moving at all. Their only mission is to watch what’s going on and counterattack as needed.”

Asamiya hummed. “Yeah. You’re definitely right about that… Hmm. Hey, Shino, do you know their Action Levels? Am I still way below them?”

“No, not at all,” I replied. “They ought to be about the same, even counting their territory and poll ranking bonuses… Kururugi’s going to be a bit tough, though. Even with Abilities, we can’t match her.”

“Shoot…”

Asamiya brought a hand to her hip and sank into thought. She clearly didn’t think we stood much of a chance. Her core Action Level was better than our opponents’, but being in enemy territory put her at a significant disadvantage.

“We can make it work,” I said. “This is only bad for us because we’re in Seijo School’s territory, right? We can just overwrite the hexes and take them for Eimei.”

“Huh? Yeah, but… You make it sound so easy, Shino. You’re not starting to lie to my face just ’cause I’m not very smart, are you?”

“Of course not. Listen, Asamiya. We’re in Seijo territory right now, but if we move north we’ll be in Ohmi’s, our ally’s. If its members let us take one of their bases, we’ll claim all the hexes south of us.”

“Oh… Right, yeah…”

Asamiya seemed taken aback at first, but then nodded emphatically. A team’s territory in ASTRAL was every hex within the area of their bases. Eimei’s and Ohmi’s territories were bisected by Seijo’s, so if Ohmi allowed Eimei to take a base, it would claim the land between them.

“But, Master…” Himeji’s face was stoic as usual, although I thought I saw a little doubt. “Someone will need to run across Seijo School’s area to reach and claim an Ohmi base. They’ll likely get hurt if they’re discovered, and that Shinra Guardian is equipped for support and enemy detection. Won’t they find whoever goes rather easily?”

“Yeah, probably. But finding someone sneaking around has gotta be tough when there are other enemies right in your face.”

“Oh, I see. You mean a distraction?”

Himeji only needed a second to get my gist. She bobbed her head, causing her silver hair to sway. Just as she said, we would employ a bait strategy. First, a few of us would confront the Shinra group and hold their attention. In the meantime, our other members would cast Stealth and make their way around to take an Ohmi base.

“Yeah. Distraction or not, though, one of us still has to walk through Seijo territory. We’ll need to send our Spy, who can detect Traps. That means Akizuki. And Enomoto should go with her, I guess,” I said.

“Leave it to me!   Hee-hee! I’ll do my very best for you, Hiroto!  ”

Akizuki took a step toward me, speaking in her alluring tone as she looked up at my face. Not a moment later, Enomoto voiced his thoughts.

“Wait. What’s the point in sending both of us? With the Ohga and Murakumo teams keeping the Chameleon occupied, and our distraction for the Shinra group, Akizuki going alone is better. One person is less likely to be noticed.”

“What’re you talking about, Enomoto?” I replied. “You’re critical to the plan. I need you to go with her to be the negotiator. Temporary or not, we’ll be claiming an Ohmi base. We have a truce going, but the Ohmi team will still be reluctant to give up their land. If talks go poorly, there might even be some infighting in our alliance. That’d be bad news for us.”

“Then why don’t you negotiate? Hmm. Actually, I suppose that wouldn’t work. The distraction needs to look like a serious threat, and without the Academy’s strongest present, Team B might not take the bait.”

“That’s true, but honestly, I think you’re a better mediator than I am, Enomoto.”

“Hmph. If you want to flatter me, you should at least address me as ‘Mr. Enomoto,’ you know.”

He maintained his usual grumpiness but cast Stealth on himself before I could say anything more.

“Huh?!” Akizuki exclaimed. “Wait, President! Leaving me behind is so mean!” She, too, quickly turned herself invisible.

I nodded as they left. “Okay. The rest of us should get moving, too. We’ll be the bait, and when the Seijo territory becomes ours, we’ll go on the offensive. Keep in mind that the territory bonus will make the Shinra students vulnerable, but not Kururugi. I think we’ll need you to take care of her, Asamiya.”

“You got it!” she replied. “It’ll be revenge for yesterday.”

“Thank you, Ms. Asamiya. I will do my best to support you,” Himeji said.

“You’re such an angel, Yukirin… If only Shinji had a hundredth of your kindness…”

Asamiya frowned a bit but remained in high spirits as she nodded at me.

It was time for us to spring into action. Walking as confidently as possible, we approached Team B’s base and stood just out of range of its Mage.

“Huh?”

Team B had kept a careful eye on the surroundings, so its members naturally picked up on our presence pretty quickly. The Seventh Ward students—a Mage with black hair, a Soldier with brown hair, and a female Guardian—all looked our way. Kururugi did the same.

Hmm…?

I couldn’t help but sense that something was off. Kururugi looked weird to me. She watched while surrounded by her three teammates, but her eyes weren’t the sharp daggers they’d been during our encounter yesterday. Her gaze felt somehow cold. I had to assume she had a grudge against us, yet she didn’t show much hostility.

Is she not going to hurl Attack Spells at us? Maybe she can’t? Someone might have gotten her with an Ability that negates Spells during a fight, but there hasn’t been any combat this session.

I shook my head to dismiss that idea.

Their whole formation is weird. Having the Shinra students surround Kururugi just blocks her from attacking. Do they not want her to fight? Are they keeping Kururugi from using Spells?

Normally, there’d never be a reason to shut down a fighter as powerful as Senri Kururugi. Not everyone in the United Force was bound to agree on all points, though. Perhaps they weren’t on the same page. Team B’s formation certainly suggested as much. Three students from Shinra school surrounded Kururugi, yet their leader, Toya Kirigaya, was conspicuously absent. It looked very intentional.

The first person to speak up as we approached was the dark-haired Mage standing in front of Kururugi.

“Yo. Based on what I’ve heard, you’ve gotta be the Eimei team, right? What’s up? Don’t tell me you’re hoping to join us.”

“Join you? Wow. Will you let us in if I ask nicely?” I said.

“Of course not. Are you kidding me? Our United Force already has over a dozen people. If we let in any more, there won’t be anyone left to lose. This isn’t intramurals, you know. We need someone to crush.”

The Mage sneered at me. Kururugi’s eyebrows twitched a little, but she said nothing. She grabbed her left arm with her right hand, as though trying to hold herself back. Clearly some kind of restriction had been placed on her.

I grinned as I watched her from the corner of my eye. “Ah, well, that’s fine. Want to know why we’re here? I guess it’s pretty obvious, right? This is a battle royale, so we’re here to beat you.”

“Yeah, I suppose you are. Hate to break it to you, Seven Star, but we’re Team Kiri. We were specially selected to represent Shinra School in this Game. Our group is designed to ward off attacks so that our powerful leader, Kirigaya, can use his skills to the fullest. He’s not here right now, but our defense is still perfect.”

“Oh? You seem pretty confident about that. What about the elusive Chameleon, then? Why’d you bow your head to her?”

“You know…I really don’t like you. You think talking down to people is fun, huh? Laugh while you can, dumbass. It doesn’t matter how we do it, we just want him to come out on top. If you can’t understand that, then feel free to brag to the empty stands all you want!”

My taunting was ticking him off, but he wasn’t a high-ranking student for nothing. The dark-haired Mage stayed strong, never moving out of position. I did succeed at getting him to focus entirely on me, though. With a feint from Asamiya here and there, I made sure their attention never strayed from me for a moment.

While the Mage clicked his tongue irritably at our back-and-forth…

“Huh?”

“!”

“Wha?!”

…all three Shinra members reared back a little, surprised. Anyone else would’ve done the same had they not seen what was coming. After all, the entire territory, including the hexes they were standing on, had changed from jet black to a vivid green.

That was fast! Damn, that guy’s good!

Outwardly, I played it off like I’d been expecting this all along, even as I mentally praised Enomoto. That guy hadn’t become student council president without winning plenty of battles, and this proved it. He’d secured the territory transfer five minutes earlier than I expected.

“Damn… Did this shit have to happen now?!”

The Shinra Mage was cursing up a storm, clearly ruffled by this sudden shift. Behind the Shinra group, I saw someone hurrying to join us. It was a Mage from Ohmi. Presumably, he was the advance charge while Enomoto secured our new area. He launched a surprise attack at the Shinra Mage’s back.

“…Behind you!”

“Huh? I see ’em!”

Shinra’s Mage reacted swiftly to the Guardian’s warning. (Despite looking so frail, she was good at detecting opponents.) The Mage spun and immediately fired a Magic Missile. He and the Ohmi student had the same job, but the Shinra guy had Expand Range, which gave him superior reach. One shot, two shots, three—he used his high Action Level to launch a trio of projectiles. In the blink of an eye, the Ohmi Mage had been defeated, leaving only the visual effect that confirmed as much. None of the Shinra Mage’s attacks had missed. He’d defended expertly.

And things didn’t stop there.

“…!”

The moment Shinra’s Mage defeated Ohmi’s, the brown-haired Soldier seized upon the disarray and closed in on us, swinging his device in the air. He was casting a short-range Sword Flash, yet with the Disperse Ability also active, the area of effect was significantly broadened. Asamiya nimbly jumped away in time, but anyone with an average reaction speed would never have been able to evade.

Huh? Whoa! Hold on!

“Too slow!”

Just as it seemed the attack was about to do me in, Shirayuki Himeji, my Guardian, intercepted, her silver hair billowing. She held out a white-gloved hand as she created a Defense Wall, wholly stopping the Soldier’s attack.

“That was very close, Master. Are you hurt at all?”

“I’m fine. Thanks, Himeji.”

“A maid’s duty is to protect her master,” she stated with an easy smile. Then she turned back toward the enemy. The clash had ended as quickly as it had begun, and now each side was back to staring the other down.

Right…

We’d captured this territory, and although I wanted to engage in a close-quarters fight, we had a problem. Shinra’s formation was clearly designed for defense, and the team was obviously dedicated to it. Undoubtedly, it had placed a bunch of Traps to keep us from moving in. Akizuki, our Spy, was still absent, but I hardly needed her to confirm there were Traps.

It doesn’t really matter whether there are Traps around or not. They’re single-use Spells. Setting them off is as good as defusing them.

I took out my device and sent a message to Enomoto, who was likely on his way back. After quickly changing apps, I contacted Libra. I was answered by a girl—I didn’t know her name—who served as my contact while Kazami was busy commentating, and I asked her to do something for me.

Not long after, Enomoto and Akizuki showed up on the far side of the Shinra students, accompanied by a Spy from Ohmi. The Shinra Mage exhaled sharply, and although he kept his device ready, he waited, gauging our moves before attacking.

“…Hmph. I’d hoped to wrap this up cleanly. Don’t hold this against me,” Enomoto said. He approached the Shinra students without any hesitation, only stopping as he neared the Mage’s range.

After asking Akizuki and the Ohmi student to step back, Enomoto raised his device to cast a Spell. He was out of range, so naturally, the attack didn’t hit anything. A ray-gun-like streak of light struck the ground near the Shinra trio, right where they’d presumably placed a bunch of Traps. No one took any damage.

But…

“Huh?”

…the moment Enomoto’s Magic Missile landed, a system message appeared that stated the Trap on that hex had been activated. Before the Shinra team had time to react, Enomoto released a volley of Magic Missiles. Each one set off another Trap that had been laid with careful calculation. Each exploded without affecting anyone.

The Shinra Mage watched in disbelief. “Wha…what’s going on here?! You can’t just set off our Traps!”

“You’re right,” came Enomoto’s voice. “Traps in ASTRAL don’t go off unless a player steps on them. It’s up to the Game’s programming to decide when that happens, though… That means an Ability can trick the system into misfiring, detonating Traps no one has touched. The system thought a player touched all your Traps, not Magic Missiles.”

“Some kind of system tampering? Are you using a Block Detection Ability or something? Damn it…”

The Shinra Mage gritted his teeth. Enomoto smiled at his irritated gaze.

It was all an act, of course. Enomoto didn’t have Block Detection or whatever. We’d just asked Libra to redefine the conditions necessary for a Trap to go off. The truth of it didn’t matter, though. Our opponents believed that Shinji Enomoto the All-Seeing had brought Block Detection thanks to his incredible foresight.

“Hfff…”

Nanase Asamiya inhaled and sprang into action, her dazzling blond hair dancing in the air as she ran across the former minefield, dashing for Team B.

“Heh… We’re not done yet, you little bitch!”

The Shinra Mage launched a Spell using Eagle Eye to ensure a hit the moment he saw Asamiya’s charge. The enemy Soldier similarly launched another wide area-of-effect attack. However, Asamiya used a Defense Wall to neutralize the Mage’s strike with ease and then ran right through the Soldier’s, not bothering to dodge. Suffering a little damage to get in close was a worthwhile trade.

“My name’s not ‘little bitch,’ you know. It’s Nanase Asamiya. Remember it.”

“…!”

With a boost from her job, Asamiya blew away Shinra’s Mage with a Sword Flash. Her cooldown timer reset in a blink, and she bounded gracefully for the Soldier next. It was quite the show.

“Heh…”

I don’t know if she wanted to rest for a moment or just act smug, but Asamiya paused to watch Senri Kururugi and the Shinra Guardian with a hand on her hip.

“So that pretty much guarantees we win… What now? Wanna surrender?” she called.

““…””

Our two remaining opponents met Asamiya’s question with silence. Kururugi kept eerily docile. The Guardian, meanwhile, seemed to be agonizing over something. She bit her lower lip, then pointed her face up, trying to shake away her self-doubt.

“…R-releasing the Binding Thread!”

Nothing happened right away, not that I saw. Something about Kururugi changed, though. It was all in her eyes. The atmosphere around her was different. She’d been freed from something.

“Kirigaya’s lust for the limelight really is a pain sometimes,” she said. “He’s part of the United Force, yet he saw fit to lock me up to hog all the glory.”

“…‘Lock you up’?” I asked.

“Yeah. Toya Kirigaya is running the United Force for the Chameleon. He ordered me not to use my Attack Spells. He had that Guardian use Binding Thread, an Ability typically for capturing enemy players. I don’t know if he was afraid I’d turn on him or if he just wanted all the prestige. Actually, I’m almost positive it was the latter. Anyway, I was locked out of doing much, but now I’m free.”

Kururugi’s ponytail bobbed as she quietly took out her device. With a twist of her right hand, the Ohmi Spy, who I guess was unlucky enough to be just within range, was instantly defeated by a Magic Missile. That was One-Shot Kill—the Ability that immediately took out anyone she attacked. The Tenth Ward was now completely out of the Game, and Seijo had that much more territory.

I know it sounds mean, but…it didn’t really matter. Not for us, anyway.

“Phew…”

Kururugi brought her device to her waist, as though holstering a pistol. She turned her sharp gaze to me. The girl cut a completely different figure from earlier. The real Senri Kururugi, Hell’s Priestess, the girl who had almost taken out Eimei, was back.

“I owe nothing to Toya Kirigaya…but now that I can do what I want, I think I’ll have a little fun. I owe you guys, and I’m going to pay that back with interest.”

“Y-you owe us? Interest? Um, I don’t know what you mean…but sure, let’s do it!”

Asamiya was perturbed by Kururugi’s sudden change, but she raised her device regardless. Shinra’s Guardian moved to intercept Himeji and me, making it harder for us to back up Asamiya.

“…!”

It was Nanase Asamiya, a girl with superhuman perception and reflexes, versus Senri Kururugi, who could kill anything in a single hit, alone. Enomoto was nearby, giving Asamiya the edge in fighting power, but that hardly guaranteed a win.

Enomoto and Asamiya… Kururugi’s scheme took both of them out of the Game yesterday. They’re a poor match against her, and she definitely knows that.

“…Heh!” Kururugi snickered as though she’d read my mind. “Shinji Enomoto and Nanase Asamiya, huh? I have to hand it to you—I never thought the pair that sabotaged themselves so gloriously in the past would ever team up against me. It’s pretty funny, actually.”

“Huh? It’s no joke. And that was last year!” Asamiya shot back.

“Did you forget how you ran for your life against me yesterday? You two are no threat. I’ll finish you off quickly to take on Hiroto Shinohara. Burying him is all I care about now!”

“Ugh…” Asamiya was obviously irritated by Kururugi’s calm dismissal of her and Enomoto. She slowly raised her device. “Shinji… I’m gonna do my own thing. Back me up, okay?”

“I see that even now, you’re still crazy, Nanase. That’s not a valid strategy, nor do I have any reason to listen, but…fine. Do what you want.”

“Roger!”

Asamiya took off, firing a barrage of Magic Missiles and heading straight for Kururugi. With the territory bonus, her Action Level was two against Kururugi’s four. Asamiya was physically faster, too, so she could easily overwhelm her foe. Hell’s Priestess wasn’t about to let that stop her, though.

“Stepping right into my range? How foolish!”

Right as Asamiya’s rapid-fire attack died down, Kururugi whipped her device out like a quick-draw artist and cast Sword Flash. With One-Shot Kill in effect, it was deadly on contact, forcing Asamiya to go on the defensive.

“Dodging really isn’t my thing…!”

“Huh?!”

Rather than evade, Asamiya kept attacking, not letting up for a minute. It was an off-the-wall, crazy choice, one that took Senri Kururugi entirely by surprise. Still, her Sword Flash connected and drained Asamiya of all her LP. At least, it should have.

“?!”

The Sword Flash visual effect twisted around to fly into empty air instead of striking Asamiya. The change of direction was so abrupt it nearly seemed someone had grabbed it and spun it around. Out of everyone present, only one person could’ve pulled off something like that—Eimei’s student council president Shinji Enomoto, the All-Seeing Six Star.

“That’s Lightning Rod, a support Ability. It forcibly makes me the target of an attack in progress. I’m out of your range, so it obviously couldn’t reach me,” he stated.

Kururugi looked dumbfounded. “Wha…? Why would you bring an Ability like tha—”

“Isn’t it obvious? Because I have a partner who charges her enemies like a freight train, no matter what they might do. I’d be foolish not to take an Ability that can save her.”

“…!”

“…Ohhh? Is that how you see me, Shinji? I’m your partner, huh? Hee-hee…”

“! …Come on, Nanase. Quit with that eerie, disgusting grin.”

“You’re supposed to tell me I’m cute when I smile, you idiot! I hate you!” Despite Asamiya’s complaining, she was beaming. Enomoto’s support had helped her to finally land an attack, and Kururugi’s LP dropped by three.

“Ngh… I’m not done yet!”

Hell’s Priestess turned gracefully and leaped away before Asamiya could land another Sword Flash. She shifted targets from her to Enomoto.

“The best way to deal with a supporter using Lightning Rod is to defeat them first. Based on that damage, Nanase Asamiya must be a Soldier. She doesn’t have any Spells to protect her teammates. Which means she can’t help Shinji Enomoto!”

Asamiya’s expression tensed. “…!”

“Heh… You did all right. But teamwork doesn’t mean much against me.” Kururugi sounded confident of her victory. Asamiya ran to stop her, but she had already reached Enomoto. Kururugi’s ponytail danced in the air as she slashed horizontally with her device.

“You fail to see how we’ve grown. That’s why you’ve lost.”

Kururugi’s attack never activated. Judging by the visual effect, it looked like a Magic Missile had struck her. A quick check with Sight Mode confirmed that all but one of the crystals indicating her LP had shattered.

Kururugi slowly turned her gaze back to Asamiya. She was clearly struggling to understand what had happened. “You… What did you do? How did you land an attack from that distance?”

“Huh? I obviously used an Ability. It’s called Cornered Mouse. It lets me specify a player, then it boosts my stats whenever they get in big trouble. It probably detected that Shinji was in trouble, since you’ve got One-Shot Kill, so it boosted my attack range.”

“You made Shinji Enomoto the Ability’s target? You wanted to protect him if he got in trouble?” Kururugi was incredulous.

“Ah… Um, y-yeah. Is that a problem, or what? It’s not like… I mean, I don’t care what happens to Shinji, but it’d suck if I lost a supporting teammate… That’s all…”

“You two have grown quite intimate with each other… I didn’t expect this…”

“We’re not intimate!!” Asamiya violently shook her head, her cheeks red. She approached Kururugi slowly and took both of her hands, restraining them.

“…What are you trying to do?”

“Don’t you get it? I cast Magic Missile on you. Had I used Gunfire instead, my job bonus would’ve killed you. I chose not to.”

“I see… This is one of Hiroto Shinohara’s schemes, then?” Kururugi sighed a bit, her sharp eyes going to me. Now that Hell’s Priestess was all but defeated, Shinra’s Guardian had given up the fight. Akizuki, who’d been lurking around undetected, had already eliminated her.

With Kururugi’s ability to attack now physically shut down, I decided to approach, with Himeji joining me. Asamiya held Kururugi’s hands behind her back, making her look like an actual prisoner. It did nothing for Hell’s Priestess’s indomitable spirit, though.

I grinned as I spoke to her. “Hey. First time we’ve met since yesterday, huh, Kururugi? How’s it feel to lose to a pair you looked down on?”

“It’s awful. Maybe it would’ve been different had I beat you first, at least.”

“I guess. But I don’t think you stood a chance with that Shinra team.”

Kururugi averted her eyes a bit. Team B had never been set up to make the most of Kururugi. In fact, it had been devised to shut her down. It was no wonder she’d lost.

“Listen, Kururugi. You really are a powerhouse. One-Shot Kill’s an unbelievable menace. Even without it, you’re one of the biggest threats among all the Five Stars. That doesn’t change the fact that you lost, though.”

“…Your bragging means nothing, Seven Star. Your team outnumbered mine.”

“It did, yeah. But I remember you mentioning that you’re stronger when you fight alone. I think we played fair.”

“…!”

Kururugi fell silent. She couldn’t refute her own words. One-Shot Kill only worked if all of her teammates were out of the Game. That’s why she was at her strongest fighting alone.

“You know…I think you made the wrong choice, relying on your Ability. That much is clear between yesterday’s battle and today’s. You were much stronger when with your friends from Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute.”

“No, you’re wrong… That’s not possible. The Tsuyuri team was built to be a one-person force from the start. The other members were just there to fill out our roster, and they knew that. They didn’t want to get involved with all this. That’s why I always have to work my hardest…even when I’m alone. It’s the reason Tsuyuri wins.”

Kururugi seemed to be talking to herself more than me. I gave her a light smile.

“You think they don’t want to pitch in? I’m not so sure. When I left ASTRAL to join MTCG, I ran into a Tsuyuri student in the Game area. We talked about you a little bit and… Well, she was kind of angry, actually.”

“…Angry?”

“Yeah. She wasn’t upset with how the Game was turning out. She was more frustrated that you gave in to the Chameleon. She told me she was upset her leader felt like she had no choice because her teammates were so weak. And she mentioned that she wants Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute to get stronger collectively, so it won’t all fall on you next time. This whole ‘go it alone’ attitude kind of sounds like you’re oblivious to those around you.”

“…!”

Senri Kururugi’s eyes opened wide. To her, this was probably like taking an unexpected punch. She was known as a top contender in group events, but the spotlight almost never shone on any of her teammates. Kururugi was just too dominating. There wasn’t room for any of her schoolmates.

A random squad chosen just to fill out the numbers would never have gone as far as the Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute’s team. If Kururugi’s strength were all that mattered, she wouldn’t have made such a name for herself in group events. Whenever she won, her teammates were always right there with her.

“Oh…”

Kururugi’s ponytail swayed as she lowered her head and bit her lip in frustration.

“So…I was wrong? Was I only able to become Hell’s Priestess because of everyone’s support?”

With those words, it felt safe to assume Kururugi had lost the will to fight. At the very least, I didn’t think she’d take orders from the United Force anymore.

Once Kururugi calmed down a little, she said, “Can I ask you a favor, Seven Star? Please defeat me and…end this. The next time I challenge you, I want the entire Tsuyuri team with me.”

“Heh. You’re not making this easy for me,” I replied, smiling. “Unfortunately, I can’t do that. I need your help with something.”

“…?” Kururugi raised an eyebrow at me.

It was time to bring her into the plan.

Meanwhile, on the east side of the ASTRAL map, the joint force formed from the Ohga and Murakumo teams, part of Hiroto Shinohara’s alliance, was fighting to survive.

“Oof…”

Sarasa Saionji, Ohga’s leader, leaned against a pillar, wincing.

She hadn’t let her guard down. Not for a moment. Rather, her group was facing the squad of the United Force led by the Chameleon, the greatest threat of all. Sarasa had known going in that she couldn’t beat the Chameleon, so she’d hoped not to overexert herself or her team. Holding her own until Shinohara’s secret plan paid off would’ve been enough.

Unfortunately…

That faker is just too unfair…

…the Chameleon was firing on all cylinders today. Right after the alliance clashed with the United Force, the Chameleon instantly wiped out Murakumo. The strategy they worked out during the lunch break had vanished, forcing Sarasa into a chaotic struggle she didn’t want to be in. And now there were only two players from Ohga School remaining.

Ohga School had taken the top spot in last year’s rankings, and for good reason. Its battle formation during this Game was perfect. It had maintained a comfortable lead this year, too, until the Chameleon got in the way.

What can I do against a foe who doesn’t go down no matter how much I hit her? Her LP, her Action Level…every stat is ridiculous. Shinohara was right to paint her as some kind of admin-inserted enemy. Anything else would’ve made it obvious that she’s breaking the rules. Kurahashi must have predicted that Libra would feel obligated to cover for the Chameleon…

Sarasa gritted her teeth.

“Wh-what are we gonna do now, Miss Sarasa?!”

“Well…”

Momo Asuka, Sarasa’s last surviving teammate, was all but clinging to her. Sarasa folded her arms. She didn’t need much thought to reach an answer.

“It’s obvious. We need to keep our distance and stall for time. Make sure she doesn’t catch us from behind, but keep her in your sights.”

“…?! A-are you serious? That’s impossible! We should run! We’ll both be knocked out if this continues! She’s too strong!”

“Maybe…but that’s why we can’t give up. The Chameleon is too strong. We need to work together to beat her. That’s why we’re out here. If we fail now, we might never get another shot at taking her down.”

“Er…I—I know that, but…”

“Heh-heh! Don’t worry, Momo. I don’t think we’ll have to keep at it for much longer.”

Sarasa Saionji did her best to keep a lid on her own worries, flashing a sweet smile while using an investigation Ability to gauge the Chameleon’s distance from her and her teammate.

“He’ll be here with reinforcements soon… Let’s hold out for him.”

“Hahhh. Wow, what a waste of time.”

Suisei School and Soken School had launched a pincer attack on the center region of the Chameleon’s territory…only to be fully repelled. With no one else on the way to replace them, the fight was a resounding victory for the United Force.

The group Hiroto Shinohara had dubbed “Team C” was packed with talent. First among its members was Toya Kirigaya. He held his hands behind his head as he yawned in evident boredom. He was a third-year student at Shinra School in the Seventh Ward and had earned the nickname the Demigod Dictator. Many had expected him to be a deciding factor in how this Game would turn out. As a Six Star with a special color star, he was by far the best Shinra School had to offer.

Yet for all that, he sounded utterly disinterested in ASTRAL.

“The Nineteenth Ward’s full of amateurs, so I never expected much from them, but wasn’t the Second Ward ranked fourth last year? Why did they put up such an awful fight?”

“…Good question,” Seiran Kugasaki replied listlessly. He was another Team C member and leader of the Otowa School team from the Eighth Ward. The Five Star known as the Phoenix let his trademark black cloak flutter in the air as he offered his thoughts. “I heard that Suisei prefers to keep its main talents ready in reserve. Some schools aren’t all that interested in putting their very best into these team events. Amanezaka School in the Seventeenth Ward almost always plays first-years, for example.”

“Tssh. Yeah? Man, I hate that more than anything. It’s like a built-in excuse for losing…or maybe they think they’re better than us? What do you think, Phoenix?”

“Ha-ha! So long as I win, it hardly matters to me. Now, if my opponent and I have a history, that’s a different story…”

Kugasaki brought a finger to his silver-framed glasses, pushing them up a bit.

“Besides…you said they didn’t put up a fight, but it’s not like we emerged unscathed. We started with six people, and now we’ve got three.”

“Haah…”

Another teammate, an inconspicuous-looking girl, sighed a bit when Kugasaki mentioned the losses. Her name was Shizuku Minami, a Four Star from St. Rosalia Girls’ Institute in the Fourteenth Ward, and while she didn’t exhibit the kind of flashy plays that had earned Kirigaya and Kugasaki their nicknames, she had still managed to survive this long in ASTRAL. She looked downright depressed about it, though.

“This sucks,” she groused. “I can’t believe I’m the only one left. I only joined because they said I could watch on the sidelines. Now it’s like I’m a main character. Ugh…”

“…Are you serious, Rosalia girl?” Kugasaki replied. “Don’t you have a color star like us?”

“And now boys I’ve never met are calling me ‘Rosalia girl’… This suuuuuucks… I wanna go home.”

“Hey.”

Minami sighed, ignoring Kugasaki. She’d never wanted this. Minami kept herself as a Four Star to avoid attention. She never revealed that she held a Unique Star and always tried to present herself as a nice, average girl. Yet somehow, she’d become one of the final survivors. She had no interest at all in hanging out with two hardcore players like Toya Kirigaya, the Demigod Dictator, and Seiran Kugasaki, the Phoenix. It just wasn’t her thing.

Despite Minami’s wish to remain unnoticed, Kirigaya had his pompous, curious eyes fixed on her.

“Yeah, you were pretty good, weren’t you? You never stood out, but used your Abilities and Spells better than most others. Depending on how things go, I might fall in love with you.”

“…Oh yeah? Sorry, I…um…yeah, I only like girls, so…”

“Hya-hoo! Nice! Now I’m into you even more!” Kirigaya’s expression twisted ferociously.

Minami responded with a gloomy groan and turned away from him.

Rebuffed but not deterred, Kirigaya returned his attention to Kugasaki.

“Anyway… Yeah, we lost three pawns, but we also beat seven guys from the Second and Nineteenth Wards. Seven kills for three deaths. That’s not a bad ratio at all. Plus, we still have the perfect lineup and tons of resources. We can’t possibly lose.”

“Oh? I’m not sure if that’s a bluff or you really are that confident,” Kugasaki replied. “Remember that we’ll be taking on the Empress and the Seven Star.”

“I know, I know! It’s the perfect chance for me to climb higher than ever before!”

Kirigaya beamed as he tossed his device into the air, catching it without looking. That little tool held all the data for the United Force. The Chameleon wasn’t issuing the direct orders. Kirigaya had that responsibility. He managed formations, the state of battle, and how Spells were distributed.

“That’s why I used the Shinra guys to nerf Senri Kururugi. She’s like a living catastrophe. If we let her go all out, I wouldn’t get any attention at all. Man, I’d be so humiliated if she beat Hiroto Shinohara. I’m the only one that deserves to be the star here.”

“Heh! Those Shinra guys certainly were the right choice to get that done for you. In that case, how about we go hunt down Eimei?” Kugasaki suggested.

“Hya-hoo! Good idea! That’s what I wanna hear!”

Kirigaya quickly grew excited, emboldened by the offer. Seiran Kugasaki matched his bold smile, although he was not nearly so cheerful internally.

He wants to grow his legend, huh? He’s already plenty famous enough. He doesn’t need any dirty tricks to climb higher. Toya Kirigaya, the Demigod Dictator of the Seventh Ward, is the one guy I’d never want as an enemy. He beats his opponents so terribly they never join Games again.