January 12th. The final match of the Divine Game was about to begin.
Every student planning to compete in the solo round had their eyes locked on the crimson card suspended high in the air.
The Bike grabbed Rita's arm. "You're really joining the solo match?"
Rita gave him a puzzled look. "Yeah. Why?"
In the fun match, she hadn't lasted all that long—fewer than a tenth of the participants had even managed to converge on her. Plenty of stronger players never got the chance.
Some hadn't had a way to strip others of their wealth, some couldn't get there in time, others never found her location.
And besides, the fun match tested creativity more than raw power—brute force alone didn't guarantee a win.
The solo match, though, was all about power.
The rules changed every year, but the core was always the same: combat strength above all.
"You know you can't possibly win, right?" the Bike said.
"I don't know that," Rita replied flatly.
