Only after she put enough distance between herself and Mistblade did Nivalis and B8017913 finally stop staring holes through Rita's skull.

Their silence was louder than any accusation.

Rita raised a finger in warning.

"From now on, let us stay quiet."

Neither pet spoke, but they didn't look away either. They simply sat on her shoulders, left and right, gazing at her with wordless judgment.

Some emotions didn't need to be voiced.

They just pressed down on her like a heavy blanket.

Rita slowly lowered her raised finger and closed her fist.

She sent both pets back into the pet space.

Instant relief washed over her.

Breathing felt easier.

The trading zone had changed. There were no stalls left at all—Mechanoids roamed freely, each seeking out a player worth following.

Just as she could form stories with Mechanoids, so could other players. Some interactions left deep imprints. Others had been patched or overwritten.

A Mechanoid might recognize a player from repeated tales or rumors… but that didn't mean it would like them.

Only true events—encounters charged with emotion—ever carved themselves into a Mechanoid's program.

And Rita strongly suspected L12185511 had tampered with something.

Not because she was narcissistic.

But because every Mechanoid, without exception, avoided crossing her path.

Whenever she stepped sideways, all nearby Mechanoids also shuffled sideways—to get farther from her.

To test her suspicion, Rita watched a small Mechanoid distracted by a player it seemed fascinated with.

At the perfect moment, she slid directly in front of it.

The Mechanoid sensed someone blocking its route.

Its cube head rotated upward—it wanted to see which player was in its way.

One second.

Two seconds.

Then—

A piercing mechanical scream ripped through the street.

The Mechanoid froze, looked down at its foot brushing against hers—and screamed even louder before sprinting away in absolute terror.

Rita stood motionless.

"...…"

B8017913's suspicion suddenly felt very justified.

If Y128 had really approached 7777… perhaps it had been deleted instantly.

But—she and 7777 had made up!

Hadn't they?

Should she go hunt down L175246?

Or… had 7777 already made some other arrangement?

A cold voice rose behind her like a ghost whispering at her ear.

"So. You've already infiltrated the Mechanoids' ranks? Quite the trick."

Rita's eyelids twitched.

"…Can you not monitor me this much?"

Dawn-Cicada replied lazily, "I'm waiting for that event loot gift pack that always circles around you."

Rita froze.

She turned slowly to face Dawn-Cicada, her expression blank with confusion.

Dawn-Cicada smiled a thin, sharp smile.

"Not admitting it?"

"No," Rita said honestly. "I just want to ask… which one you mean?"

Silence.

Dawn-Cicada stared.

Then—

"Is this human language? How is she still alive after saying that?!"

That voice wasn't Dawn-Cicada's.

It sounded like a private thought suddenly leaked into the world.

Dawn-Cicada blinked.

Who?

Who just said what she was thinking?!

Rita blinked too.

Did everyone suddenly understand BS-language overnight?

Wasn't this supposed to be a niche Divine Game tongue?

Both of them dropped their gazes.

Between their boots stood a tiny seahorse.

It stared up at them, completely bewildered.

Two seconds of silence passed.

Rita and Dawn-Cicada turned around and walked away at the exact same time.

The tiny seahorse: "???"

What did that mean?!

Why didn't they even say a word?

Why was the psychological damage so high?!

...

[Gods-and-Demons Group Chat]

[Bitter Chalice]: "Is this human language? How is she not dead?"

[Drummer]: "So who was Dawn-Cicada talking about?"

[Bitter Chalice]: "Impossible to guess. @Deceitful Bloom, thoughts?"

[Deceitful Bloom]: "You first. @Foolishness."

[Foolishness]: "Get over here. @Captain."

[Captain]: "…I'm not even in the painting."

[Hearthsmoke]: "Know why this big group is so quiet?"

[Graffiti]: "They're all laughing in the small group."

[Mischief]: "Meanwhile we laugh in the big group."

...

[Game Start!]

[Round Mechanic: You and your partner must remain at least 10 meters apart while escaping Mechanoids]

Rita took a few steps—and just like before, all Mechanoids avoided her as if she were the plague.

But before she could relax, the thread of light around her wrist jerked hard again.

She didn't need to guess who it was.

She looked forward.

Mistblade stood two meters away, staring straight at her.

—"Sorry."

They faced each other once again.

And once again, Mistblade apologized.

Except this time, the apology was different.

It wasn't about tears.

It wasn't about embarrassment.

It was a warrior's courtesy.

An apology offered before the strike.

Mistblade intended to eliminate her from the game—right here.

It didn't matter whether BS-Rita's Player Relic could match the veterans.

Mistblade had no intention of letting her find out.

She would force an exchange.

Knock Rita out in return for her own elimination if necessary.

Never again would she leave Rita free to act as she pleased.

Before Rita could reply, Mistblade stepped aside, dodging a lunging Mechanoid, then dissolved into heavy fog and vanished.

A gust of wind swept past.

The lingering fog hit Rita's shoulder—

only to be wiped clean instantly by the golden rain curtain.

Outside Card Swap, Mistblade had no need to use Endless Autumn on the Chessboard.

And Rita was long past being emotionally shaken by these things.

She dismissed the rain curtain and calmly activated Hide-and-Seek.

Three task failures in a row would eliminate her from the battle royale.

But she wasn't there yet.

The 60-second timer ended.

A new rule descended.

[Round Mechanic: Flight is forbidden]

Rita: "..."

She lifted her gaze.

Up in the air, Mistblade hovered, scanning the ground for her.

Even if the task was solo, auto-assigned partners shared punishment.

Rita immediately received the task-failed notification.

A rectangular pane flashed twice in front of her.

Two red Xs.

She was officially stressed now.

One agonizing minute passed.

The third-minute task appeared.

[Round Mechanic: For at least 30 seconds this round, you and your partner must remain in physical contact while escaping Mechanoids]

Rita didn't waste a single second flying up to find Mistblade.

Instead, she invoked a lesson learned from the Divine Game's magic theory course—

a method of blending into elemental currents.

She merged into the golden rain curtain.

Originally used for sensing lightning, inverted it became another form of Mist Arrival.

In a blink, a shimmering downpour of gold covered the entire game zone.

Mistblade extended a hand into the glittering rainfall.

A few sparkling drops fell into her palm—

and vanished instantly.

Clever.

Very clever.

Even as mist, she had nowhere to hide.

And that elemental trick… absolutely met the game's conditions.

Because in the area where Mistblade stood, the rain thickened dramatically—

pouring down on her like a full-body drench rather than a gentle shower.

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