After sending that message, Rita ran even faster. Who knew whether the Lania Kaia players would choose to kill the hunter first or kill her first?

She had no intention of staying put.

If Lania Kaia could kill a hunter and replace Dawn in the invasion chain, that would be ideal.

If not… fine. Nothing was more important than winning the wager and helping BS- survive Lania Kaia.

She had barely left when Maple Syrup arrived.

She stopped a few meters from Mountfuse. One glance was enough—

This wasn't Captain.

Very similar, but definitely not.

Once she confirmed that, she stopped hesitating.

But the next second she abruptly retreated.

The supposedly dying Mountfuse sprang up with terrifying force, hurling a spear straight at Maple Syrup.

[Thunder's Grace]—Captain's personal skill, and the compensation he once left for Mountfuse.

A trap.

[02:51] — [52]

Rita glanced up at the numbers again.

Had nobody found targets?

Or was something else going on?

The player count hadn't changed at all.

But she quickly had no time to think about it—

because she ran into Ash Cinders.

Ash Cinders was being surrounded by several players.

Mute, Pine Bloom, MarmangCrab, Layered Peaks Ember, Winter Sea Whalebright.

All five had abandoned their The Mechanoids forms and reverted to their true bodies—an effect from the second-phase mini-game rewards.

The countdown in the sky wasn't just the hunters' final time limit—

it was the players' last chance to change their invasion worlds.

Players from four different worlds now fought side-by-side.

This was the final opportunity.

Whoever landed the last hit would get the reward.

Rita charged in without hesitation.

On the way she activated her own reward—five minutes of direct participation in the game.

Y128 vanished temporarily.

True-bodied Rita reached Ash Cinders and intercepted Mute's bone scythe with the dagger she'd looted earlier.

Ash Cinders didn't waste breath.

She turned her greatsword and swung at the players on her other side.

Seeing BS-Rita, Pine Bloom raised her right hand—the one clad in a black dragonscale glove. Her fingers closed in a gripping motion, and a translucent dark-green dragon claw manifested, wrapping around Rita's body. A similar claw gripped Ash Cinders.

Only then did Rita understand why Ash Cinders had fallen into disadvantage.

Pine Bloom's skill forcibly drained fifty percent of her attributes.

Ash Cinders was under several player relic debuffs at once; her combat strength was probably less than a tenth of what it normally was.

This must be Pine Bloom's Player Relic ability.

Whenever she used it, her owl-feather wings transformed into deep green dragon wings—unnervingly similar to Lidian's.

Rita activated one of her sealed relic abilities: [Sin of Arrogance].

Her stats surged until they reached 80 percent of Pine Bloom's.

Even so, the pressure of five attackers was overwhelming.

Her only option was to use her Mystic Force state to shield Ash Cinders from lethal attacks until the hunters arrived.

Pine Bloom, who had studied BS-Rita's behavior patterns, kept increasing her attack speed.

Mute—who had never personally dealt with Rita—was nearly exploding with rage.

They were finally about to kill a hunter and change Lania Kaia's fate, and then BS-Rita showed up, ruining everything.

And somehow she couldn't even be killed.

Mute roared, "Are you seriously trying to join Dawn?! If you don't care about joining Dawn, then why were you crying in the temple earlier?!"

Rita roared back, even louder, "When did I cry??? Don't just make things up without evidence!!"

Ash Cinders, at 5% HP and still blocking attacks, had the audacity to join the conversation:

"I thought you only cried when you were little."

"I DIDN'T CRY!! She's slandering me!!"

Layered Peaks Ember said, "But when I was watching the scene, I saw you close your eyes."

Rita snapped, "Maybe I was sleepy??"

Winter Sea Whalebright: "Then what, the things you said to Dawn-Cicada were sleep-talking?"

Mute: "Makes sense. Otherwise why show up NOW and stop Lania Kaia from changing the invasion sequence?! Oh no—so 'Lania Kaia' was just part of BS and Dawn's flirting arc!?"

Winter Sea Whalebright: "Blessings."

Layered Peaks Ember: "Blessings."

Rita: "I thought you barely talked before?"

Pine Bloom: "She was training new skills. You can't talk while training."

Rita: "Can she maybe train a little longer?"

MarmangCrab: "Sorry, I was sharing gossip with Seahorse just now. So exactly how many people have you cried for?"

Rita: "…I bleed, I don't cry, thanks."

As if cursed, Rita's presence turned a deadly battlefield into a chaotic gossip forum.

A cold voice suddenly cut through the chatter behind her.

Lightchaser.

She stepped in, deflecting Pine Bloom's hammer with a swift knife strike.

A warm white glow fell upon Ash Cinders, bringing her HP back into the safe zone.

But Lightchaser didn't continue attacking.

She merely stood with Mistake beside Ash Cinders, quietly watching the countdown in the sky.

[01:48] — [50]

The number finally changed—

and then froze at 50.

Rita stood beside Ash Cinders like an outsider, absorbing the meaning.

She recalled the divine answer:

The hunters must kill all The Mechanoids within three hours to avoid war.

What about after three hours?

Players had a final battle in the fourth hour.

Isolated Isle likely had their own version.

The player count barely changed.

Even when Lightchaser arrived, she didn't kill Pine Bloom's group.

They were already preparing for the next stage.

This meant one thing—

Isolated Isle knew they would enter the invasion chain.

They saw no point in struggling anymore.

And then Rita thought of Wail.

Was this how Wail had felt back then?

I didn't do anything wrong, did I?

But everything still collapsed because of me.

Her thoughts spiraled until Ash Cinders nudged her.

Softly, she murmured into Rita's ear, "After the countdown ends, every Mechanoid we kill buys Isolated Isle one Starsea month of delay."

Rita blinked.

Her first reaction was purely practical:

"…Why didn't you just rest for three hours and kill everyone in the fourth hour? Delay a few hundred thousand months. Maybe all the worlds would burn down before then."

Ash Cinders sighed. "We tried. But the game gives us dozens of binding rules. Like requiring each player to achieve a certain number of kills, kill players from a set number of worlds, and maintain a minimum kill ratio on each map…"

Lightchaser added, "And entering the fourth phase with too many players triggers tiered penalties."

"Right. That too," Ash Cinders said.

"If we fail any rule, we get punished. Fail enough, you die. So we can't cheat the system. Our best option is ensuring exactly fifty players remain."

A horrifying KPI.

Rita nodded vigorously.

Then asked, "Can I run for thirty seconds before that starts?"

Before they could answer, she turned and bolted—

but was immediately yanked back by the collar.

Lightchaser held her up like a misbehaving cat.

Rita glared, forced up onto her toes. "What!"

Lightchaser asked, "Who bullied you?"

Rita's eyes lit up. "You'll avenge me? A god did it. A very evil god!"

Lightchaser: "…"

She silently turned Rita around, set her down, and patted her shoulder.

"I permit you to run for sixty seconds."

Was that yes or no?

She had no time to interpret it.

The moment Lightchaser released her, Rita sprinted away at full speed.

Even so, she didn't escape the follow-up conversation drifting clearly behind her.

"Lightchaser… you're much gentler now that you have a student."

"Huh?"

"Mm?"

"…That wasn't you telling her to get lost?"

"Mm."

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