— — — — — —
The break didn't last long before the battlefield erupted again.
Rimuru, dragging Shion along, tore through enemy after enemy, his absurd stats making him an unstoppable force. With every victory, he only grew stronger—practically invincible.
[Rimuru Tempest is on a four-kill streak!]
[Rimuru Tempest has got five in a row!]
[Rimuru Tempest is godlike! Somebody stop him already!]
The announcements echoed through the sky, ringing in the ears of every guild member.
"He's insane!" Hermione gasped, both hands covering her mouth as if her jaw might fall off.
"Let's just pray we don't run into him," Dumbledore said with a helpless smile. "Or we'll just be another freebie for his kill count." The steady stream of announcements was crushing whatever scraps of confidence they had left.
"What on earth makes him this strong?" Sengoku stroked his beard, frowning. "Did he get some kind of broken equipment? No, intel said only two special bosses dropped items—Kiana snatched one, and I've got the other. Then it must be his skills… Something that boosts his stats? That has to be it. Otherwise he wouldn't be this powerful."
He pieced it together in moments. As expected of the Navy's Brain, his deductions were sharp.
Meanwhile, in another corner of the map, Otto, Kallen, and Sakura stumbled upon trouble—three familiar figures: Veldora, Milim, and Ramiris.
"…Just our luck," Otto muttered, his face tightening. Not one of those three was easy to deal with.
"Call it fate if you want, but enough talk—time to fight! Milim Kick!"
Milim charged in, eyes blazing with excitement, her foot glowing with blinding red light as she aimed to kick the group halfway across the map.
"So violent. No man will ever marry you like that. Void Archives!" Otto reacted instantly, unwilling to eat that kick. A glowing barrier sprang up just in time to block the strike.
"Tch! Milim Punch!" Frustrated that her kick whiffed, Milim didn't hesitate, throwing a glowing fist his way.
Honestly, with names like that, her skills were begging to be roasted.
"Don't forget me!"
Before Milim could land her punch, Yae Sakura's blade slashed across her, forcing her to stagger back a few steps.
"Storm Dragon's Roar!"
Veldora joined in, unleashing a torrent of energy from his mouth straight at the trio.
"Sanctuary!"
Kallen's beauty didn't make her a pushover. She was the strongest Valkyrie in history, after all. A golden shield enveloped her allies, blocking Veldora's blast without leaving a scratch.
"Ramiris, just drop your ultimate already! I wanna fight Sakura one-on-one. The other two are yours." Milim barked orders, glaring at Sakura.
"Got it! Labyrinth Prison, activate!" Ramiris called, hovering above as a brilliant magic circle spread beneath her feet, swallowing all six of them in its glow.
"…What the—?" Kallen's eyes widened. Before she could react, the world blinked, and they were gone.
...
When Sakura came to, she found herself surrounded by walls on all sides—no exits, no escape.
"This is the Labyrinth. Only one of us walks out alive," Milim's voice rang from behind.
Sakura turned and saw her grinning challenger. She sighed, shaking her head with a wry smile. "What an annoying skill… But fine." With that, she slipped into a fighting stance and struck first.
Milim's smile widened. The duel erupted.
---
As the safe zone shrank, battles grew fiercer. Players who hadn't leveled properly were quickly weeded out.
Himeko, for example—she had great skills, but then she found a wine cellar… and decided drinking was more important than survival. Predictably, she got chopped down in one swing. Absolutely embarrassing.
Even more pathetic? Benimaru. The guy was a hopeless case of directional incompetence. He somehow managed to run out of the safe zone while holding the map. Rock-bottom levels of shame.
His death from misreading the map became a legend later.
---
In the Labyrinth Prison
Minutes later, of the six who entered the fight, only three figures remained standing.
"Guess I'm the last one left, huh?" Otto sighed, glancing at the two enemies still eyeing him like prey. Escape was impossible. With Kallen already gone, maybe joining her wasn't the worst outcome. Better that than leaving her alone with Sakura, because who knew what kind of yuri nonsense they might get up to.
"Ramiris is down? Damn it, couldn't she have come up with some useful combat skills?" Milim groaned, smashing her fists into a pair of trees in frustration.
"Forget it. Ten minutes and we'll be in the finals anyway. Ramiris surviving this long is impressive enough," Veldora said calmly. Fighting was never Ramiris's strong suit.
"Fine! Then we'll win this thing for her too!" Milim roared, full of energy, before charging off with Veldora toward the shrinking safe zone.
---
Cut to the very center of the map. A thunderous crash shook the area.
"Kizaru! Damn it!" Sengoku's fury exploded as he saw the Admiral sprawled on the ground. He had half a mind to curse out loud, glaring murderously at the four figures standing opposite them.
"This was entrapment, wasn't it? Fishing for suckers. And I've gotta say, Hermione's acting was top-notch," Aokiji said with an exasperated sigh, digging in his ear. He didn't even know who to blame anymore. Kizaru had spotted Hermione, immediately slunk over with a sleazy grin… and promptly got blasted sky-high by four simultaneous spells.
Logia users had a natural advantage against physical damage. But magic? Magic hit them hard. Against Dumbledore and company's spells, they were practically paper targets.
"Tactics, Aokiji. Ever heard of it? And besides, you're the ones breaking the rules with your illegal team-up," Hermione shot back, glaring. She hadn't been acting at all—Kizaru's leering face had genuinely scared the life out of her.
"Sengoku, why don't you guys just give up?" Dumbledore said cheerfully, smiling like a fox.
"Give up? Do you think that's even possible?" Sengoku snorted. They still had Aokiji, Garp, and Kong on their side.
"Well then, take a look at these photos I just snapped." Dumbledore pulled out a few pictures. "Imagine if I leaked these to the press. A Navy Admiral harassing an underage girl… Can you picture the headlines? I watched One Piece, old friend."
"You—you dare call yourself a professor?" Sengoku's face drained of color. If those photos ever hit the papers, the Navy would drown in public outrage. The new government couldn't silence the press like in the old days. The backlash might literally kill him from stress.
"So… surrender or not?" Dumbledore smirked.
.
.
.