But how did Verdant-Windrush do it?

With their combat stats locked and only a handful of Player Relic skills available, how could anyone possibly kill a hunter?

Yet no matter how impossible it seemed, the chance to reroll the invading world was right there. Any player whose world was in crisis would never let that chance slip.

If one player couldn't do it, then the entire world's Divine Game players would gather and hunt together.

[Lania KaiaMistblade]: Desert map

[MarmangCrab]: Ice Cavern map

[Black SpringLoath]: Grassland map

[Yet OrangePomango]: Desert map

[Layered Peaks Ember]: Ruins map

[Porcelain Bloom Turmeric]: Volcano map

[MarmangLulumi]: Ice Cavern map. Crab, remember that thing I gave you for your birthday last year? I found something similar nearby.

Players who landed in the same map immediately began exchanging coded hints to confirm locations—after all, while gathering, they still had to watch for other players… and invading-world players.

A fresh wave of resource crates dropped from the sky. Rita and Y128 sprinted toward them in perfect sync.

Y128 asked, "Are you planning to cooperate with Lania Kaia?"

Rita's expression hardened as she shook her head. "Not for now."

Because this system announcement hid a trap.

If the invading world within an invasion sequence changed, would the top invader of that entire sequence also shift?

For example: the sequence "Dawn → Lania Kaia → BS-."

If Rita killed a hunter and rerolled "Lania Kaia" into "Marmang," then what would the new invasion sequence be?

"Dawn → Marmang → BS-"?

Or would it become "Nuclear Flash → Marmang → BS-"?

Her first priority was simply surviving long enough to win the wager. Fortunately, Y128's goals didn't conflict with hers—the longer it lived, the better its end-of-service rewards.

And thanks to Lightchaser's little sprite doing work across the battlefield—even with only half of Y128's stats and no weapon when she left—they kept hearing kill notifications credited to BS-Rita every few minutes.

With Lightchaser's sprite essentially grinding kills for her, Rita and Y128 fell into perfect rhythm: fight when possible, run when not, stretch survival above all else.

Her Player Relic skill set had always been designed for "Survive Until the End."

Mystic Force was already active, and On Repeat had been applied to Unchanged Fate.

The passive version of Unchanged Fate now had a mixed but overall advantageous change.

Unchanged Fate (SSS, Passive): Any attack or damage you receive has a 50 percent chance to be nullified.

With these two skills and Romantic Tourist, Rita and Y128 not only survived the first hour with ease—they had opened at least seven resource crates. Y128 now carried two random recharge cubes, and Rita had gained three additional pieces of miniature equipment compatible with their reduced size.

Then the prompt sounded—and their vision shifted.

Twenty-two maps merged into eleven.

Ten more hunters descended onto each map.

But that wasn't the part that chilled every player.

As if the battlefield weren't chaotic enough, a voice echoed across the sky along with the hunters' arrival.

[Have you ever doubted the truth of the game? Have you ever loathed the false mercy of gods, the laughable fairness they offer? What ignites the flames of war? Are the gods' blessings merely a cruel joke?]

[Players, before this round ends, find the method to awaken your Player Relic.]

[Your stories gave birth to your Player Relic. The method to awaken it lies hidden in your past.]

[At the end of this round, any player who successfully awakens their Player Relic may ask the gods one question.]

[Warm reminder: cherish your remaining time. "Hearthsmoke" burns for only one hour, and Player Relics can only be awakened while it burns.]

Rita turned toward the rapidly descending silhouette in the sky, her mind in complete disarray.

And one minute later, she finally heard the name she had been waiting for.

[Hunter Lightchaser has slain player Lania Kaia Bone Shade. Detected invasion sequence "Dawn → Lania Kaia → BS-." Dawn's invasion of Lania Kaia +2 percent.]

At the same time, a figure materialized in front of her.

A name that had made her tremble every single time it appeared during the past hour.

Ash Cinders.

And she was currently fighting a Mechanoid.

This wasn't the first time Rita had seen Ash Cinders' battle style. Nor was it the first time she had seen Ash Cinders fully armed—Rita had even used this exact equipment while traveling the timeline.

Ancient-tier equipment, named Death Law. Usually a simple silver bracelet, but when activated, it transformed into a massive sword and full armor set.

Its defining trait: it needed to lie dormant. Only when awakened did it burst forth with power far exceeding its tier.

But as far as Rita knew, Death Law had never awakened…

Just like Lightchaser rarely used her dagger anymore, Ash Cinders seldom used her true main weapon either. In Arisentna, she had no real opponents, so she spent her time training with secondary weapons.

Should they run?

They couldn't.

When Y128 tried to use Romantic Tourist, both of them received a prompt—the area was sealed.

Rita looked back.

A transparent barrier she knew all too well shot into the sky, its radius massive, covering nearly half the map.

Lightchaser's skill. The very skill she used the first time Rita met her in Kaladom.

Inside this barrier, all movement skills were disabled—and Lightchaser could sense every living creature within it.

Players from Isolated Isle could not see the miniature players on top of the Mechanoids. But players could still see one another.

Rita instantly recognized the Mechanoid Ash Cinders was fighting—Tiger EarQuex.

Tiger EarQuex seemed to have used some kind of skill that locked her health bar, but it was obvious from her unstable stance that once the effect ended, she would die within thirty seconds.

And the moment she spotted BS-Rita, she started running straight toward them.

That cursed woman!!

Rita and Y128 immediately bolted in the opposite direction.

As they ran, the kill notifications began flooding the sky—one name repeated over and over.

[Hunter Lightchaser has slain player Black Spring…]

[Hunter Lightchaser has slain player Crimson Zither…]

[Hunter Lightchaser has slain player Ground Cage…]

Rita sprinted while muttering nonstop under her breath—

"Oh no oh no oh no—"

"I'm dead I'm so dead—"

"She's coming she's really coming—"

Y128 snapped, "Can you run properly? Why does your side feel like jelly?!"

Rita shot back, "If you keep slandering me I'm going to get mad!"

Someone ran up beside her—before Rita could strike, the person spoke first.

"Why are you running like that, stumbling all over the place?"

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