Day six of this nightmare, I mean, glorious MMORPG survival event, dawned with a blood-red sky that basically screamed "last arcs incoming." Five guilds left. Five. Out of thirty-two.
And somehow, I was still here. Babysitting a flag with Leonhart's abs, auto-slash, and a digestive system that wanted to betray me every other hour.
The leaderboard floated above my vision like an execution notice.
Flame Heart: 10 flags.
Shadow Reapers: 10 flags.
Black Vultures: 10 flags.
Rank 5's guild: 1 flag.
Rank 6's guild: 1 flag.
Everyone else? Extinct, scattered into respawn hell or freeloading as rogues.
The only upside? At least I wasn't dead. Yet.
Keiji's voice snapped over comms, calm but sharp. "Stay sharp, Leonhart. Today isn't babysitting anymore. It's survival."
Translation: my day was about to suck.
The Shadow Reapers moved first. Of course they did. Kael, rank three, assassin class, absolute nightmare in human skin, led a stealth raid on Rank 6's base. I didn't even see it happen, I just got the aftermath notification:
[Guild: Rank 6 eliminated. Flag seized.]
[Leaderboard update: Shadow Reapers 11 flags.]
A full wipe. Every single member slaughtered in silence. Their cries didn't even echo across the battlefield. One second they were on the board, the next, deleted.
I shivered, hugging the flagpole like it was my emotional support object. "Okay. Cool. Stealth kills. That's not terrifying at all. Love that for us."
Luna gave me side-eye. "Try not to puke again."
That left four. Four big names, four sets of rankers.
Flame Heart had Zeref, the rank one player. The living, breathing cheat code. And backing him up? Rank nine and rank ten. Three monsters, one guild. Their entire strategy was hunt down everyone else. No defense, no waiting. Just pure extermination.
Shadow Reapers, led by Kael, were riding their assassin high. Eleven flags under their belt now. They smelled blood and weren't about to stop.
Rank 5 was somehow still alive, defending their last flag like stubborn cockroaches. Their leader was an archer, backed by rangers who turned their base into a medieval porcupine. Knights and brawlers held the line while arrows rained from the heavens. Honestly? Respect.
And then there was us. Black Vultures. Keiji, rank four. With one healer, some bruised survivors, and me, my very own Leonhart, ranked 2, trying very hard not to die of anxiety.
°°°°°°°°°
The battlefield erupted before noon.
A war horn blared across the plains, and Flame Heart descended like vultures on rogues. I watched from the map as little blips blinked out one by one.
Lone wolves who thought they could steal a flag? Gone. Parties without backup? Slaughtered. Zeref's guild wasn't hunting flags, they were hunting hope.
Meanwhile, Shadow Reapers kept creeping. They ignored rogues, ignored Flame Heart, and went straight for the next fortress: Rank 5.
I saw it happen.
The archers lit up the sky, volleys of arrows falling like a second rain. Rangers had traps strung everywhere. Knights formed walls of steel, brawlers roared and charged. It should've worked.
But Kael slipped through like a shadow. His assassin squad bypassed the frontline and gutted the archers before they could loose a second round.
I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion.
One by one, Rank 5's members screamed, flailed, and fell. Their leader fired three arrows into Kael's chest and he just, vanished. A puff of smoke.
The next second, she was bleeding from a slit throat, body hitting the ground as the Shadow Reapers' banner rose.
[Guild: Rank 5 eliminated. Flag seized.]
[Leaderboard update: Shadow Reapers 12 flags.]
Luna whispered under her breath. "Monsters."
I clutched the flag tighter. "Oh my god, we're next. We're snacks. We're on the dessert menu."
Flame Heart and Shadow Reapers finally turned on each other.
It was… anime. Like, full shonen arc finale anime.
Zeref charged in, fire exploding around him, every spell a miniature apocalypse. His allies, ranks nine and ten, carved through the field with ridiculous combos.
On the other side, Kael's assassins darted through shadows, each strike a one-hit kill.
The sky was red, the earth cracked, and in the middle of it were two guilds ripping the world apart just to own more flags.
"Shouldn't we...." I started.
"No," Keiji cut me off. "We wait. We let titans kill titans. Then we clean the bones."
Cool. Great plan. Except my stomach disagreed violently.
We held defense, gripping our precious flags while the map updated like a stock market crash.
Flame Heart lost members, but Zeref never fell. Shadow Reapers lost assassins, but Kael refused to die. Their guilds clashed over and over until the battlefield looked like the end credits of a tragedy.
And then suddenly, they both pulled back.
The leaderboard froze:
Shadow Reapers: 12 flags.
Flame Heart: 10 flags.
Black Vultures: 10 flags.
Three guilds. Just three.
Keiji exhaled, firelight still sparking at his fingertips. "Now the real war begins."
I wanted to scream. My legs shook inside Leonhart's massive boots. I stared at the flag and whispered, "Okay. Day six and I'm still alive. Miracles are real. Now please, universe, don't make me puke again."