As the sun set, all Maple Tree members were assembled at their base.
"Maple crushed the bulk of the Flame Empire's traps, and it'll take them a while to
get back up to speed. That said, them running off with their orbs sure hurt."
"Sorry, Sally. We searched for a while, but no luck."
"Not a problem if Flame Empire are running wild to make up the points, but… we'll
see."
The reason Maple had targeted them in the first place was to provoke Flame Empire
into eliminating guilds that outranked Maple Tree.
If their guild was going to make the top ranks, they needed the big guilds to
devastate everyone else.
Small guilds were being eliminated faster than they'd expected, and there were a lot
of fights breaking out between midsize and larger guilds. They'd been using the
midsize guilds to shake up the field, but the effectiveness of that stratagem was
swiftly fading.
Maple Tree's goal was to land in the top ten.
The reward for doing so was the same regardless of whether you were first or tenth,
so they weren't being too ambitious.
Currently, they were in sixth place.
The rest of the list was invariably all large guilds, so they stuck out like a sore thumb.
"I mean, we knew it would be like this, but the sheer number difference—we just
can't keep up with them in a simple game of capture the orb."
"We're still doing better than expected. Honestly, I didn't think we'd be performing so
well."
But even with Sally back in peak condition, it was a long way to the top.
"It's only day two, so catching up is still possible. It's just… we can't let the gap widen
any more than it already is."
After discussing things a little more, they decided to leave Iz and Kanade on guard
duty and have everyone else out conducting night raids.
One team was Sally, Mai, and Yui.
The other was Maple, Kasumi, and Chrome.
A team with Maple would basically never lose. Chrome and Kasumi could safely rack
up points, while Sally could experiment and see how useful the twins were on sneak
attacks. They'd trained together often, so the three of them could coordinate well,
and Sally's skills were excellent for decoy work, keeping the enemy's attention on
her.
"See you later!"
"Have fun! Kanade and I will be waiting right here."
Everyone had a copy of Sally's map, and the plan was for each team to pick a guild,
attack it, and come straight back.
In the spectator zone, the topic of the hour was on just how many players had been
eliminated. Night raids and surprise attacks had been chewing through the event's
player base.
"Most guilds are gonna be out before we hit the halfway point."
"Totally possible. The small guilds are already running on fumes. Well, except Maple
Tree, obviously."
They were the sole exception. Everybody checked the ranks again.
"Think they'll really stay in the top ten?"
"Flame Empire's struggling, too. Some of the top runners are definitely showing
cracks here and there. The Order of the Holy Sword are stable, but I'm not so sure
Maple Tree are."
"Yeah, they crumble once and they're done. It's an uphill battle for sure."
"But with Maple's defense, will they ever crumble?"
The spectator who mentioned it'd be a tough fight no matter what made a face.
"Maple's strong if she and her guildmates can force a fight. Make it so their
opponents can't get away."
"Well, everyone's gotta defend their orbs, and if they lose 'em, they gotta at least try
to get them back… so that's a strong maybe?"
"It is Maple we're talking about here."
Once someone said that, everyone started nodding.
It was a phrase that always ended conversations.
"Other than that, it's a question of whether the numbers difference will carry the day
or not."
"They've come this far, so I hope they hang in there! If it's only big guilds, that'd be so
dull."
"I get that, but… they've gotta be running low on supplies."
"Good point. That really would be the end of the line for them…"
Ultimately, everyone was expecting the top ten to be all big guilds. Lots of eliminated
players were rooting for the guilds that took 'em out, which meant lots of cheers for
Flame Empire and the Order. And some were definitely still watching Maple Tree's
progress.
But despite the audience's predictions, back at the Maple Tree base, Iz was crafting a
ton of potions.
Sally's team were hiding in the bushes, waiting for their chance to attack their target.
While they'd been waiting for Maple and the twins to wrap up the Flame Empire
assault, Sally had sparred with Kasumi, trying to gauge how much her all-important
evasive capabilities had deteriorated due to fatigue.
The results had suggested she was almost back in full swing, so she'd deemed herself
ready to head back out.
"Hokay… go!"
Sally darted out of the brush, making a beeline for the orb.
"Enemy attack! Get some!"
"Okay…! I can see 'em!"
Sally dodged the incoming attacks, slicing players, moving closer to her target.
"Surround that thief! Cut off any escape routes!"
These people were organized. The defenders were quickly moving into position.
"Focus on me, and you'll miss the real threat…," she murmured.
That was when a shock wave hit a nearby player, shattering him instantly.
Someone else turned to gape, and Sally cut him down, forcing their attention back on
her.
Everyone knew there was something lurking in the underbrush—still, they had no
choice but to keep their eyes on Sally.
Naturally, they were slow to react when Mai and Yui popped out of the bushes.
Players facing away from them were hit in the back by the iron spheres the twins
threw, dying without even knowing what had hit them.
Everyone who saw this happen understandably freaked the hell out.
These attacks were every bit as mind-boggling as Maple's own and effectively shut
down organized enemy resistance.
"Oboro, Shadow Clone!"
Pile on another mind-boggling sight while they were still stunned and recovering
became virtually impossible.
By the time the defenders tried to do something about the clones Sally had
summoned, they were in range of the twins' hammers.
With a dull thud, their hammers sent multiple players flying into the air where they
exploded into shards of light.
"H-how…?!"
""Double Stamp!""
Mai and Yui were making swift work of the crowd.
It went without saying that even if anyone managed to strike back, they were
finished, but their minds were still reeling, and no one so much as tried. Anyone who
did make a move would have to turn their back on Sally, and she wasn't about to let
them do that unscathed.
Spotting players who were going after the twins was not a challenge for her at all.
Sally had kept the twins safe with an approach that couldn't be any more removed
from Maple's.
She and the hammer girls all had their Vitality at default values, meaning a single hit
would be the end of them.
But with the control of the flow of battle squarely in their hands, that would never
come to pass.
"Now we just take their orb… and try a few more iron spheres next time."
""Got it!""
They headed to their next destination.
Kanade and Iz were alone at the guild base with plenty of time on their hands.
"All the guilds near us have already given up, huh? That's a bit boring."
"It's always possible guilds far from home won't know who we are… Oh, here we go."
Speak of the devil. A group of players filed down the entrance hall.
And the player in front glanced at their gear and quickly identified them as a crafter
and back line support.
"We're good to go! They don't have any tanks or fighters!"
The attackers pressed forward, swords and shields at the ready.
"Shall we?"
"Let's."
Iz had a bomb in each hand while Kanade was flanked by bookshelves.
Maple Tree wanted to play aggressive, but they weren't settling by leaving these two
on defense.
They knew full well the two of them could handle anything.
Iz flung her bombs toward the advancing enemy, who could only watch as the
explosives multiplied in the air above them.
Blinded by explosions and flying bodies, the attackers ducked beneath their shields,
trying to weather the rolling shock waves…
But the extra bombs were merely an illusion Kanade had created.
The actual number remained unchanged, and the extras did no damage.
So why waste MP on this? Well, because Akashic Records had spit out that skill, and
Kanade had full use of it for the day.
No use being stingy with it. And he could always turn it into a grimoire later.
The other reason was simple—it bought them time.
After a short while, the explosions died down, and everyone could see again. They
raised their weapons, ready to retaliate. However, Kanade already had a crackling
white sphere floating in front of him.
"Whew… made it."
The sphere steadily grew smaller, falling in on itself. Sensing danger, the attackers
tried to take cover. Then, a blinding light burst forward explosively.
This skill was called Calamity Cannon.
It had a long start-up time and a limited range, but it was strong beyond belief. That
blinding light vaporized everything in front of him.
When it faded, the invading party was split in two—the spell had carved a path right
down the center of their formation.
"Iz, I don't wanna blow too many grimoires, so…"
"Okay, here you go."
She pulled a bottle out of her pouch, filled with a black liquid, and handed it to
Kanade.
This was another item New Frontier allowed her to create. It provided a massive
boost to MP recovery for a short time.
Kanade chugged it, and as their opponents staggered back to their feet, several new
magic circles appeared before their eyes.
It was a simple threat.
Leave… or die.
"Argh, to hell with this! Retreat!"
Shields up, they backed away down the hall, but more than a few of them were given
a swift funeral as the pending spells went off.
Their hasty retreat was ultimately a success, mostly because Iz and Kanade hadn't
given chase. If the twins had been there, by the time the attackers realized this guild
wasn't so vulnerable after all, they would've all been dead. Same if Maple had been
on guard duty.
"My supply of good grimoires is limited, so I'm glad they made up their minds so
fast."
Kanade had been diligently converting the daily skills Akashic Records offered into
grimoires, but those were generated randomly, and they weren't always what he was
after. There were plenty of spells with no clear use.
Naturally, he had several spells as strong as Calamity Cannon, but like he mentioned,
those were finite.
"There's always a chance a big guild like the Order will come after us, so I've gotta
keep the best grimoires in reserve."
This time, the enemy had turned around quick—but next time, they might not be so
lucky.
Still… as day two rolled on, many guilds were starting to worry about their mounting
deaths, which resulted in many deciding to play it safe and retreat.
Meanwhile, Maple's party were soaring across the skies on turtleback. Kasumi,
Chrome, and Maple had quite a large gap in terms of mobility, so if they were
traveling together, this was the best way for them to keep pace as a group.
"Lately, everyone starts using piercing skills the moment they see me…"
"I certainly would."
"Same."
Maple's reputation preceded her, and it had become a well-known fact that you had
to get past her defense if you wanted to do any damage.
This definitely made things harder for her (compared with the first event anyway).
Even if they didn't manage to take her down, her whole goal had been to not get hurt.
"If I'm surrounded, Pierce Guard alone won't do it… Any ideas?"
Pierce Guard could null piercing damage, but it didn't last long.
"I'd say spray poison around you to make them back off, but everyone's been
grabbing Poison Resist first chance they get…"
By this point in the conversation, they were nearing their target guild.
"Let's hop down!"
"…Sure."
"…Why not?"
Chrome and Kasumi each took one of Maple's hands and prepared to dive.
Maple's skill prevented them taking any damage from this, but it was still a stomachchurning drop.
"This doesn't faze you at all?" Kasumi asked.
"I wouldn't be able to do it in real life—but here, it never hurts!"
Hearing this, Chrome had one thought—
—he could never imitate the mindset that had earned Maple all her outlandish skills.
Anyone who wanted truly unique skills had to fundamentally think like nobody else.
And with that in mind…
The three of them plunged two dozen yards without a chute.
"Your orb is ours!"
With her Predators and party members guarding her, it was hard for piercing skills
to hit Maple.
But since her angel form was protecting Chrome and Kasumi, their opponents had to
take out Maple to hurt anyone.
"Huh," Chrome muttered. "Doesn't seem like there was anything to worry about."
Maple had been asking for advice on how to counter piercing damage, but she clearly
already had it handled.
Frankly, Chrome couldn't even imagine someone giving Maple serious trouble.
Many a player came after Kasumi and Chrome, but they dodged, blocked, or parried,
ending the battle with minimal pressure on Maple herself. It was a small guild, so
there weren't many players to begin with, and they wiped out the defenders too fast
for anyone to grab the orb and flee.
Once they were done, they hopped back on Syrup and headed to the next orb. Maple
kept increasing altitude, making it so her turtle couldn't be identified from below.
Their maps made the various base locations clear, so they didn't need to rely on their
eyesight. Before long, they were hovering over their target.
"Aw, there's no orb here," Maple said, peering over the edge.
Indeed, the pedestal was empty.
Nor were there any players. Either their orb had been stolen, or they'd been
eliminated completely.
"Guess we could search the area?"
"I'll join you."
Chrome and Kasumi carefully investigated the surroundings but found no players or
orbs.
"Nope, nothing. Guess we should head out."
"Yep, let's move on."
Three times they scanned camps from the skies above and didn't find a single orb.
Syrup's flight speed was hardly jetlike, so this had wasted a considerable amount of
time.
The fruitless search and travel took a lot out of them as well.
As they flew farther, Maple heard the sound of an incoming message.
"Hmm… Oh, it's from Sally!"
She had informed everybody her group was headed back to base, and if Maple's crew
wasn't having much luck, then they should come back, too.
Maple relayed Sally's suggestion, and they agreed to return home as well.
There were only a few hours left in the day, so it was about time anyway.
When they landed outside their base and tried to enter, they saw some strange
players fleeing the passage, looking over their shoulders the whole way.
Just as they thought they'd escaped with their lives, they saw Maple waiting outside
for them. Their faces crumpled as Chrome and Kasumi swiftly cut them down.
"We're under attack!"
"Yeah. Let's hurry!"
Kasumi took the lead, rushing toward their orb room. She burst in, katana raised,
only to find five familiar occupants, Sally included.
Mai and Yui were busy retrieving iron spheres. They'd clearly just finished wiping
out most of the intruders.
"You're all safe…," Kasumi observed, sheathing her blade.
Once Chrome and Maple caught up, the whole guild was back together.
Kanade and Iz were flopped out on the ground, worn out from defending while
everyone else was out.
"So tired… Without Iz's items, we would've been sunk…"
"I used a lot of bombs… I'd better start making more."
Iz could use her workshop anywhere, so as long as she had time to craft, she'd never
run out of items or ammunition.
"Hmm… Barely anyone even bothered coming close for ages. What changed?"
Like Maple pointed out, everyone had designated their base off-limits, so it was
rather strange to suddenly have enemies trying their luck.
"Did you get any orbs, Maple?"
"Uh, no, not really. Lots of guilds with no orbs. You?"
"Similar levels of devastation. Only managed to find two."
They put the orbs they'd found on the pedestal, and then Sally explained the
reasoning behind her earlier message.
"Dread said he'd be back, right? I'm sure the Order of the Holy Sword'll make another
run at us eventually. I figured they'd wait for night, but the pace of this event is faster
than I expected, so I figured our current approach wouldn't carry us much further."
She brought up the current rankings and scrolled down.
When all members of a guild reached the five-death limit, a mark appeared next to
their name, showing they'd been eliminated. Once virtually exclusive to small guilds,
the mark was now starting to spread through the midsize ones.
A number of guilds had been playing very aggressively from the get-go, and the
guilds that had lost their orbs were all on the warpath, drastically increasing the
overall fatality rate.
Few guilds could defend against a determined attack without sustaining casualties,
and as a result, most guilds weren't likely to last past the end of day two.
The survivors were guilds with players to spare—and exceptions.
With fewer guilds remaining on the map, there were also fewer orbs up for grabs.
Maple Tree was getting attacked because guilds were roaming so far from their
starting position that they didn't even know who they were up against.
Mai, Yui, and Maple were just too slow to roam the map in search of orbs at this
stage.
No matter how strong they were, they couldn't steal orbs that weren't there.
"I figured it would take a bit longer to reach this point, but if everybody's this fired
up… My plan depended on us earning a slew of points in the early stages, but we
didn't get as many as I'd hoped."
Sally had figured the midsize guilds would last for quite a bit longer, but with them
disappearing at an alarming rate, the overall orb count had decreased dramatically,
and the remaining guilds were all huge. It was clear chaos would reign.
"This is much earlier than I'd expected, but I think it's time we moved to the next
phase."
Everyone was on board with this, and they began going over their new roles.
Once she had a handle on hers, Maple turned to Sally.
"Now we just…?"
"Yep," Sally responded instantly, already way ahead of her. "Wait for the Order."
Maple gulped and began double-checking the skills and weapons she had available.
Ten minutes before the next day began, Maple Tree was deciding the roster for the
night's watch when the last visitors of the day arrived.
They tabled the discussion and brandished their weapons.
These foes could not be taken lightly.
Only fifteen players total, but four of them were the leaders of the Order of the Holy
Sword.
Pain, Dread, Frederica, and Drag.
There was no real need for them to target Maple Tree.
Taking out guilds that stood a chance of catching up to them was one thing, but the
Order had a commanding lead over the smaller guild.
Pain had brought all his best players here for one simple reason—they all wanted to
fight Maple Tree and win.
Every one of them wanted to face a worthy rival—a guild that had the potential to
surpass them.
Which was why they'd made sure everyone was assembled before attacking.
However, to convince the rest of the guild to approve this ultimately meaningless
assault, they'd been forced to choose the time of day when Maple would be at her
weakest. It went against their wishes, but that's just how guild politics went
sometimes.
That was why they were here at the tail end of the day.
"Yoo-hoo! We meet again!" Frederica grinned, waving at Sally.
Sally didn't seem sure what to make of that.
"You don't look too tense. You do realize we're about to throw down for real, right?"
Drag asked, drawing his big ax. He was clearly raring to go.
Cautiously, the Maple Tree members readied themselves for combat.
Dread was quietly focusing his mind, and when he saw the twins glaring at him,
clearly eager for some payback, he drew his dagger.
And at the head of the raiding party stood a man with gold-studded white armor and
a matching shield, blond hair, blue eyes, and a powerful presence—the man known
as Pain.
"Maple, I've been looking forward to facing you. And I believe I can win, so I'm here
to take you down."
He drew a longsword that glittered in the dim light, raising it and his shield together.
Even to Sally's keen eyes, his stance was flawless.
"Well, I don't like to lose!" Maple exclaimed as she popped a Doping Seed into her
mouth. "Martyr's Devotion! Predators!"
Angel wings spread wide as her twin monsters reared up—and so battle was joined.
"Multi-Hasten!"
Frederica started the battle off by buffing her guildmates' speed.
Dread, Pain, and Drag stepped forward.
""Farshot!""
"Won't work twice."
Dread easily dodged the twins' rapidly expanding shock waves.
He was far too good at evasion for them to challenge him head-on.
And his earlier death had made him very aware of how unusual they were—
important information he'd taken home with him.
This meant Mai and Yui had lost their greatest asset: the fact that nobody knew
anything about them yet.
No one here was foolish enough to block their instakill attacks with a shield.
And since the twins were the front of the party, Drag started with them.
"Ground Wave!"
He slammed his ax into the ground so hard it sent a shock wave running through the
earth, splitting it open and spraying bits of dirt like buckshot, battering Mai and Yui
with the debris.
Thanks to Maple, they took no damage, but Drag's Knockback Bestowal trait was
another matter.
It knocked Maple backward, leaving the twins outside the range of Martyr's
Devotion.
This was no coincidence. Drag and Dread were already lunging toward the twins.
All of Maple Tree had fought hard that day. Maple and the twins, in particular, had
shown a lot of their tricks in the battle against Flame Empire.
The Order's scouts had been watching that exchange very closely, without Maple
noticing.
So they all knew:
The angel form's weakness.
About Maple's weapon deployment.
And that her great-shield skill—Devour—had a use limit.
All these bits of intel had fed into their plan to claim her head.
"Like I said! We know we can win!"
"Cover Move!"
"Not on my watch!"
"Magic Barrier!"
Kasumi squared up against Dread, Chrome stood in Drag's path, and Kanade threw
up magical defenses all along the line of battle.
Even if Maple stumbled, Kasumi and Chrome were still top players.
They knew how to handle enemy attacks.
"Maple! Cancel it!" Sally yelled.
"O-okay! Will do!" Maple yelled, and the angel wings folded away.
If their opponents knew the skill's weakness, then it was safe to assume they were
also ready to pepper her with piercing damage.
In fact, the next several spells Frederica cast were all that type.
All of them were aimed right at Maple, forcing her to turtle behind her shield and
preventing her from moving.
While Drag and Dread kept four people occupied just by themselves, Pain surged
forward, headed right toward Maple, sword and shield in hand.
"As if I'd let you."
"Coming through."
Sally swung her daggers, and Pain parried one with his shield and deflected the
other with his sword.
She kept herself between him and Maple, fully focused, not missing a move.
"Dread!" Pain yelled.
But all three guild leaders responded.
"Godspeed!"
"Berserk!"
Dread's skill made him vanish while Drag's eliminated the post-skill delay.
And even as they busted out their big moves, Frederica's voice rang out.
"Multi-Transfer!"
This was the ace in her grimoire—a spell that took all buffs on her party members
and shifted them to Pain.
Pain's speed rocketed so high he vanished from sight.
"You're not getting through…!" Sally shouted, guessing his location and swinging her
dagger. But her attack was parried, doing no damage.
"Godspeed."
Then Pain got even faster and blew right past Sally.
She could guess where he was but couldn't actually catch him.
It came down to a difference in levels.
Pain's level was more than double Sally's, and his base stats were far higher.
In combat, she might be able to react and dodge better than he could, but that didn't
have much effect if he wasn't trying to fight. Sally wheeled toward Maple, alarmed.
"Wh-where is he?!"
Maple had her great shield raised and was searching for him, her attention focused
on her exposed side.
The shield was taller than she was, and she was certain it would protect her.
But that also made it a blind spot. She was shocked to hear a voice coming from the
other side of her shield.
"Holy Condemnation!"
For a brief second, Pain held a glowing blade above his head—then he swung.
That stroke held the combined might of his allies, all aiming for Maple's head.
"Um… ah…"
She'd only felt this a handful of times, and for a moment, she couldn't think.
Pain's blade cut through her summoned Predators, cleaved her shield in two, and
shattered her armor, gouging deep into Maple's body. She was flung toward the wall
with only a single hit point left.
The sound of Maple slamming against the wall and the realization that she'd actually
sustained fatal damage left all the Maple Tree members stunned and exposed.
The twins in particular were visibly shaken.
Chrome and Kasumi were hardly unaffected.
"Power Ax!"
"Gah…!"
Drag didn't let the chance slip by. His blade struck Chrome in the torso.
Frederica had been chain casting support spells from the rear, raising Drag's already
high DPS even further. Nobody could take a hit from that head-on and live.
Like it had for Maple, Indomitable Guardian kicked in, allowing Chrome to escape
instant death with a single hit point, but he was still in serious trouble.
He wanted to go back up Maple, but Drag wasn't about to let that happen.
So Chrome changed tactics. His job now was to keep Drag from reaching Maple.
That was when Drag saw Chrome's HP bounding back. His eyes went wide.
"Damn, you're pretty tough yourself!" he shouted.
But with all these spells flying around, Chrome also had to guard the twins. That
obviously wasn't tenable and wouldn't last for long.
Pain wasn't going to give Maple time to recover, either.
He'd hoped she didn't have Indomitable Guardian, but clearly she did.
Pain quickly gave chase. Drag's Berserk skill was active, canceling the delay after a
skill use, so he was already moving to close the gap.
"Smog!"
Kanade's magic obscured Pain's vision. Anything that might stop him from reaching
Maple was on the table.
Then Iz threw a bomb. The explosion was deafening.
"Holy Banishment."
A single swing of Pain's sword and the smoke vanished. His gaze turned toward
them.
"No time…!"
"I can still…!"
Kanade tried to grab another grimoire, and Iz readied a new bomb, but Pain was far
faster.
Without even breaking his stride, he cut down the back-liners and was only a few
steps from Maple herself.
"Holy Breach."
He was surprised to see Maple's equipment restored but, intent on making it the
final blow, quickly used an armor-piercing skill.
Pain was so focused that what happened next seemed to play out in slow motion.
Maple was slumped against the wall, her left side hidden behind her shield—but
then the shield toppled forward.
And the hand behind it… was a cannon.
Belatedly, he realized that the smog and explosions had disguised her
transformation.
"Not now…!"
Pain's skill was active. He couldn't dodge. All he could do was follow through with his
swing.
"Counter!"
This skill was the new trick Maple had acquired in the third event.
When she took damage, she could stack the force of that attack onto her own.
Faster than Pain's swing, light burst from her cannon, searing his body.
His strongest blow had been reflected back at him.
"Gah… I'm not finished yet…!"
Pain, too, was left with a single hit point. Once again, he lunged at Maple.
"Holy Schism!"
"Atrocity!"
Where Maple had just been slumped against the wall, black mist appeared, taking
shape.
And now she had the reach advantage. Pain's eyes went wide as her arms reached for
him.
"What the...?!"
He sliced off her first arm and blocked the second grasping hand with his shield.
He survived the first two attacks.
But his foe wasn't human.
"My haste has spelled my defeat."
A hideous maw loomed—and bit him in two.
But Maple didn't stop there. She kept going, bearing down on Dread and Drag with
terrifying speed.
"Seriously?! Is this real?!"
"Uh… how many forms does she have?"
And as they reeled with fear and confusion, the monster belched fire. They flinched,
and a hideous arm grabbed Dread even as the maw closed around Drag.
"Is it weird that I feel relieved? Go on, finish me."
Dread closed his eyes, resigned to death by devouring.
Seeing the Order's three top players downed one after another, the attackers
bringing up the rear knew they'd lost and wisely elected to beat a hasty retreat.
"I'm running, too! Multi-Hasten!"
But even as Frederica got the speed buff cast, Maple leaped over their heads, clinging
to the wall behind them.
Her head loomed over the exit, drool dripping from her maw.
The only way out was through… that.
It didn't seem remotely possible, but before she could think of a new plan, Frederica
heard the twins yell a skill name.
""Farshot!""
"! Multi-Barrier!"
Frederica threw out a spell… and immediately regretted it.
Defensive barriers were no use against Mai and Yui. In her haste, she'd opted for her
go-to defense—
But their shock waves broke right through all her barriers and turned her to light.
Keeping Maple's Atrocity a secret had secured them the victory.
Without that skill, Pain's last swing would definitely have finished Maple off.
The front line had been wavering, and their entire line of battle would have
crumbled in short order.
Sally would have pushed herself to the brink again, of course, but the Order of the
Holy Sword undoubtedly had the upper hand.
Maple chewed her way through the rest of the attackers that remained, and while
they waited for Iz and Kanade to revive, Sally picked up their orb.
"C'mon, Maple. Phase two."
"Oh! Right!"
The witching hour was approaching.
Her monster form melted into the darkness.
And seven more monsters rode upon her back, bent upon guild destruction.