In the fourth round, the rule was that players could not use any offensive skills on The Mechanoids.

Rita had no way of stopping Mistblade at the root. Players could not use skills on each other; otherwise she would have let Nivalis use Worth the Wait on Mistblade and force all her skills into cooldown.

She had tried moving to Mistblade's side to intercept her attacks, but it was pointless. Those invisible, instantaneous spells were impossible to block.

The fifth round required players and their partners to run through all marked checkpoints within the area.

Mistblade ignored every checkpoint and focused entirely on avoiding the unfamiliar Mechanoids. After all, if she failed to knock Rita out in this game, she still needed to survive in the third stage.

Rita had no solution. She couldn't very well drag Mistblade to those checkpoints; the fox could slip away with a single Mist Arrival. She kept Hide-and-Seek running and shadowed Mistblade, preparing for the next round. To be safe, she also released B8017913, letting it conceal itself and track Mistblade from another angle.

The sixth round arrived. Match point.

The rule was that players and their partners had to wear clothing of the same primary color and maintain that for at least thirty seconds.

Rita stared. What kind of bizarre mechanic was this?

But she finally had a chance.

To ensure she had enough outfit choices after activating her disguise skill, she had stuffed dozens of outfits into her Magician's Wisdom Tooth and had taken the tooth out after the game began.

She glanced at Mistblade, who was dressed in red, and immediately began changing.

Mistblade seemed to sense something. She pivoted sharply and vanished. She hadn't used any spell; her agility alone gave the impression of teleportation.

Rita activated Overdrive, boosting her agility fivefold, and chased after her. With B8017913 supporting her from a second angle, she managed to keep up.

This fox was devious to the bone. Not only did she run—she kept changing outfits as she went.

Mistblade didn't bring a wardrobe with her like Rita did, but she flipped her red robe inside out, exposing the white lining and putting it on.

Moments later she stripped off the robe entirely, revealing black combat gear beneath.

Two streets later, she tugged off a thin black veil covering her combat suit, exposing a layer of silver-gray moon-silk inside.

Was this fox or a literal onion?

Rita was so exasperated she laughed. After confirming her speed could match Mistblade's, she stopped pretending. She canceled Hide-and-Seek outright and pursued openly. Whatever Mistblade changed into, she immediately changed into the same.

All the frustration she'd been swallowing since the game began finally erupted.

Mistblade exhaled helplessly.

The two of them sprinted across the district while changing clothes at lightning speed.

Under a coconut tree, MarmangCrab—with a tiny seahorse perched on her head—was talking to Dawn-Cicada about outfit colors. A translucent shield surrounded them, keeping the Mechanoids at bay.

Crab wanted Dawn-Cicada to wear red. Dawn-Cicada suggested Crab switch to a different shell.

They both suddenly fell silent. The seahorse also froze.

Together, the three of them stared at the absurd chase unfolding before them: Mistblade and BS-Rita running full speed, swapping outfits every other second, trailed by a pack of confused Mechanoids.

Rita shouted while changing clothes, "Go on! Keep peeling, why don't you! I brought my whole wardrobe! I have every color! Let's see how many layers you have!"

Mistblade's expression stiffened.

Even if she had multiple layers, she couldn't guarantee each inner layer was a different color. She was not a matryoshka doll.

She finally gave Rita one quiet, put-upon glance before slipping the red robe back on.

Rita, currently wearing two skirts and three long coats after choosing only to add layers and never remove them, snapped back, "You're acting like you're the victim?!"

Under the tree, the little seahorse whispered, "When will you be that impressive? Provoking a player four stages above you?"

Crab trembled. "I can't. I'm introverted."

"But BS-Rita used to look introverted too when we first met. How did she become like this?"

Rita was too far away to hear. Probably for the best.

Crab and Dawn-Cicada resumed their stalemate—until a small Mechanoid ran to them and declared to the seahorse, "She said it's all because Lania Kaia has bad feng shui."

Then it ran off.

The three players stared blankly for several seconds.

Rita had actually sent someone to deliver her comeback on her behalf.

Seahorse and Crab were speechless.

Dawn-Cicada wondered if she really liked this kind of person. And—wait—how old was BS-Rita, anyway?

Round six ended safely.

Rounds seven and eight were mechanics Rita couldn't influence.

As the ninth round approached, Rita grew tense. If things went south, she'd have to use her contingency plan: summon Nivalis, trigger Tail Tip, revert nine minutes, and leave the area before the game began.

Then the rule for the ninth round appeared.

Find your partner and state one event the two of you experienced together, something only you know but your partner does not. If your partner knows it, both players fail.

The instant she saw this rule, Rita's heart clenched. Everything now hinged entirely on Mistblade saying the wrong thing.

Rita vanished, fleeing across the district. She sprinted past the lake, past other players, while a thick mist spread over the area—Mistblade was searching for her.

As the fog crept closer, Rita muttered something to B8017913 on her shoulder, then activated a skill on herself.

Mysterious Fellow.

For this kind of task, for a partner actively trying to sacrifice herself to eliminate her, the only path forward was to erase her own presence completely—forget everything about herself.

So when Mistblade finally found BS-Rita, she saw Rita looking down at the ground.

"Go ahead," Rita said softly. "I knew this day would come."

Mistblade spoke with a tone like a sigh, yet her rhythm was crisp and decisive. "We once attended Moonlight Marsh together."

But the moment stretched on. No punishment appeared. Neither player was ejected from the game.

Only then did Rita slowly raise her head. Her eyes were clear, calm.

Mistblade felt a chill.

That expression. That sensation. Oh no.

Rita blinked once.

"Huh?"

Mistblade froze.

She understood instantly.

To avoid elimination, BS-Rita had straight-up turned herself stupid.

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