Being in the middle of a scene where the crowd roared like a mountain’s call made every drop of blood in one’s veins feel like it was boiling, leaving one feeling lightheaded.
Only the two idols fared slightly better; the other three were more or less in a state where they were “not listening to anyone.”
Standing on the grand stage, Kaori Onishi looked at Yuki Asahi on the opposite side, wanting to offer a greeting. However, after glancing at the teammates beside him, she decided against it.
Saori Saiyonji turned her head to look at Yayoi Imai, whose calves were trembling. She noticed the girl’s face was fluctuating between flushed and pale.
“Are you okay?”
“I… I’m fine…”
On the other side, Cuiyue’s expression was also somewhat uneasy — though it was hidden behind her face mask. She was actually quite a shut-in herself.
The BP phase proceeded as they had predicted. The Supernatural Force chose “City Above the Clouds,” while the tournament organizers randomly selected the “Industrial Ruins No. 13” map.
Amidst the thunderous sound of drums, the ten people, having completed their backtrack backups, stepped through the gates. The first round of the match began!
……
A vast, boundless ochre-red wasteland stretched out before them, with fierce winds whipping up dust and sand.
Several heavily weathered boulders were scattered across the land, resembling the skeletal remains of giant beasts.
The sky was an orange-red hue, like an eternal twilight, oppressive and vast.
On the other side, the streamer commentating from home began to grumble in a low tone:
“Special Response HQ Unit 1, one of the biggest favorites to win this year. Their captain is Yuki Asahi, and their Vanguard is Cuiyue. They’ve been flattening everyone throughout the group stages like a damn bulldozer! Opponents want to forfeit the moment they see their IDs!”
“The three in the back? It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember their names; just call them the extras. This team is highlighted by being simple and crude, you know? They’re pure Count of Numbers!”
The five members of Special Response HQ Unit 1 appeared at one end of the map. Yuki Asahi and Cuiyue stood at the very front, while the three behind them quickly retreated according to their established tactics, putting distance between them and seeking cover.
Their only task was to “stay alive.”
“The high school students are being very cautious, five people huddled together. Yuma Endou is sitting in the middle…”
The home commentator watched the boy with glasses on the screen. Suddenly, a dazzling golden light erupted from his body.
That light wasn’t offensive; instead, it spread rapidly like ripples, instantly enveloping his four teammates.
“Yuma Endou is using his Roll Ability at the start. Let’s see his luck today… Holy crap! He hit gold, brothers! Look at those special effects!”
The two sides encountered each other beneath a massive dragon bone fossil.
Yuki Asahi took the lead. Though he was facing his friends, he seemed determined to settle the battle quickly.
He made no fancy moves, simply throwing a straightforward punch aimed directly at Kaori Onishi in the front.
However, his movements suddenly slowed down significantly. Despite his original extreme speed, Yuki had to exert all his strength just to maintain his pace.
‘What?’
Yuki was startled. He remembered that Makino Yuzuha’s ability was supposed to be ineffective against him! Why was it working now?
On the other side, Cuiyue, who was moving at high speed, also suddenly changed her expression. Her red eyes looked as if they had seen something terrifying, and she came to a sudden halt.
In the next moment, withered hands reached out from the ground, grabbing her calves.
“Yuki! It’s coming!”
The two large water bottles Kaori Onishi carried on her back instantly shattered, and water surged out.
The water transformed into countless thin, high-pressure water blades, swirling upward around Yuki’s arm like pythons strangling their prey.
“What is this? Water Prison Jutsu? No! These are high-pressure water blades!”
“Wait, brothers, could it be…”
The home commentator patted Toyokawa Sakiko’s head. “Yuma Endou rolled a teammate ability enhancement! Kaori Onishi didn’t have this much power before!”
Yuki wanted to retreat, but it was already too late. Under the enhancement buff from Yuma Endou, those water currents possessed terrifyingly high pressure, instantly slicing through even his specially-made combat suit.
“It’s over. Special Response HQ is going to pay the price for their carelessness!”
Splat—
On the screen, a flower of blood blossomed. Yuki’s neck was enveloped by the water, which then forcefully crushed it with immense pressure.
The judgment light of the Backtrack System lit up, and Yuki’s figure dissipated into points of light.
[Kaori Onishi defeated Yuki Asahi]
The entire live broadcast chat suddenly exploded with comments. The home commentator jumped straight out of his chair, nearly knocking over his microphone.
“Less than one minute after the start, the absolute core of Special Response HQ Unit 1 has been taken out! The Supernatural Force did it! On the map Special Response HQ chose, they tore through the myth of the Count of Numbers in the most violent way! Yuma Endou’s enhancement is worth its weight in gold!”
On the field, the situation reversed instantly. What was originally a two-on-five situation suddenly became a more desperate one-on-five.
Only Cuiyue remained standing on the spot, facing the aggressive five-person team of the Supernatural Force.
Meanwhile, the remaining three members of Special Response HQ were still in a pile of rocks nearly 1,000 meters away.
“It’s over, it’s all over. Cuiyue must be cursing them out right now. Where are her teammates? Her teammates are in the back playing cards!”
Cuiyue clearly realized the severity of the problem as well. The opponent’s overall abilities had suddenly increased several times over.
Her usually half-closed eyes snapped open, and she retreated violently, trying to break free from the ghost hands and pull away to wait for support.
But it was too late.
“Trying to run? It’s not that easy!”
Makino Yuzuha pressed her hands down, and an enhanced version of her delay ability instantly shrouded the area where Cuiyue was.
Immediately after, Saori Saiyonji spat out golden flames from her palms, which transformed into a fire dragon that swept forward.
With a fire dragon in front, a delay field behind, and a predatory water god Kaori Onishi on the side…
“A dead end! This is a complete dead end!” the home commentator shouted. “If Cuiyue doesn’t reveal her hidden trump card, she’s dead for sure!”
As if to validate his words, a trace of violent red light flashed in the eyes of the cornered Cuiyue.
“Get lost!!!”
A sharp screech echoed across the wasteland. In the next moment, a heart-stopping pale gray flame erupted from her body.
Those flames carried no heat, yet they possessed an aura of total destruction, instantly swallowing the approaching golden fire dragon whole.
The pale gray flames circled around Cuiyue, making her look like a descending demon god.
She no longer retreated, transforming into a gray afterimage as she lunged toward the support in the back row — Yuma Endou.
As long as she cut down this person, the buff would disappear!
“What?”
Makino Yuzuha’s expression changed. She hadn’t expected that while her enhanced ability worked on Yuki Asahi, it would be ineffective against Cuiyue.
“What a play! This is what you call capturing the leader to defeat the rebels! Cuiyue’s logic is very clear. If she kills Yuma Endou, this fight is still winnable!”
However, the moment Cuiyue’s flames were about to touch Yuma Endou, the girl who had been timid and barely noticeable until now suddenly looked up. There was no fear in her eyes, only determination.
Hum—
The air vibrated violently.
In the void behind her, a black rift suddenly tore open. Several physical entities of massive, blue-faced, long-fanged, muscular Evil Spirits roared as they rushed out from the rift!
Thud!
The Evil Spirit at the very front grabbed Cuiyue by the waist. Although it screamed in pain as its arms melted under the pale gray flames, it refused to let go. Then came the second, the third…
Countless Evil Spirits piled up like a human pyramid, pinning Cuiyue down and constructing an insurmountable Wall of Sighs with their flesh and blood.
With her footsteps hindered, Cuiyue completely lost her chance to turn the tables.
“It’s over,” Yuma Endou said coldly, pushing up his glasses as he delivered the verdict.
No matter how domineering the pale gray flames were, they couldn’t withstand this kind of endless attrition. Ten seconds later, the gray figure also dissipated into light.
By then, the three remaining teammates from Special Response HQ had just reached the edge of the battlefield.
Facing this group of high school students who were already seeing red and still had their buffs, one could imagine the fate of those three. They were practically delivering themselves like takeout.
The chat in the live stream was moving too fast to read.
[??????]
[What a joke of a match.]
[God-tier team.]
[Yuki Asahi: Can we just archive the record of the carry choking in key matches?]
[Playing as the carry, but the rooftop is so cold.]
[@Desperate Murphy: Can this match end any faster? Honestly, does any match other than the art team’s have any value for analysis?]
“Special Response HQ Unit 1 lost this round too hideously. Seriously, just too hideously. Not only did they lose the match, but they also showed everyone their weaknesses.”
“The most ridiculous part was that tactic. They had absolutely no intention of respecting their opponents.”
“Yuma Endou’s buff is indeed ridiculous, but that’s no excuse. This was pure arrogance!”
“This is getting interesting. Special Response HQ lost the map they chose. The next map is City Above the Clouds, which is the Supernatural Force’s home turf.”
“If Kaori Onishi shows off again on that map… Special Response HQ might actually be taken out 2-0!”
[I get what you mean.]
[Kicked to death.]
Inside the rest area for Special Response HQ Unit 1, the atmosphere was cold enough to freeze the air.
“I’m saying, even though the ability the opponent rolled this round was quite powerful, the tactics and map selection were also issues, right?” Cuiyue sat back in her chair with her arms crossed.
Yuki Asahi sat with his head bowed, his hands tightly clenched together. He didn’t argue. Because Cuiyue was right.
He had underestimated the enemy. Furthermore, the distance between the spawn points and the combat zone in Dragon’s Wilderness was indeed a bit too far.
And then there was… subconsciously, he felt that the Supernatural Force was still the club that needed his protection, still just a group of high school students who only knew how to fool around.
He hadn’t expected Yuma Endou’s random ability to provide such a massive boost. Even more, he hadn’t expected Kaori Onishi to act so decisively, so… ruthlessly.
The experience of death just now — that agony of having his neck crushed and shredded by water currents — still lingered in his nerves.
“I’m sorry.”
After a long silence, Yuki spoke in a raspy voice.
“The next map is City Above the Clouds.”
Cuiyue’s voice sounded a bit off. “That girl’s home turf. She could take you out even in a place like Dragon’s Wilderness without any water. The outlook isn’t optimistic.”
“We won’t lose.”
Yuki suddenly looked up. He had also realized that Yuma Endou had rolled an ability to enhance his teammates.
In the next round, there wouldn’t be that frustrating delay ability, and Kaori’s water manipulation wouldn’t be as strong.
“In the next match, you’ll act as the vanguard and release your full power. The rest of you, follow me.”
……
Compared to the low pressure over at Special Response HQ, the Supernatural Force’s rest area had become a sea of joy.
“We won! We actually won! Hahaha!”
Kaori Onishi excitedly hugged Yayoi Imai and spun her around. “Heyo-chan, you were amazing! Those Evil Spirits were so cool!”
Yayoi was spun until she was dizzy, her face turning bright red. “Ka… Kaori, put me down quickly…”