“Endou, you’re a god at drawing buffs!”
Saori Saiyonji gave him a thumbs-up. “That Golden Light Buff was insane. I felt like my flames could burn through the sky!”
“Don’t celebrate too early.” Yuma Endou took a sip of water and reminded her, “The next round is the real challenge.”
“Yuki… definitely won’t be careless in the next round.”
Kaori Onishi stopped her movements, the smile on her face gradually fading. She looked down at her palms.
At the moment she killed Yuki Asahi earlier, her heart had actually trembled.
But just as she had thought before, since they were standing on opposite sides, she had to give it her all.
That was the greatest respect she could show Yuki Asahi and herself.
“It’s fine.”
Kaori Onishi clenched her fists, her eyes burning with fighting spirit. “The next round is the City Above the Clouds.”
‘That is my Domain.’
‘Even for Yuki, winning against me won’t be that easy!’
……
Special Response HQ Unit 1 1:1 Supernatural Force.
The City Above the Clouds was exactly as its name suggested—a fictional city floating above layers of cumulonimbus clouds. This was supposed to be Kaori Onishi’s home turf.
However, the course of the match disappointed the audience who were expecting a “one-kick kill.” The problem lay with the uncontrollable variable—Yuma Endou.
Perhaps he had exhausted too much luck in the previous round, for when the countdown hit zero, the heart-pounding Golden Light Buff did not appear on Yuma Endou. Instead, it was replaced by a comical pfft-pfft sound.
His hands had turned into two… Water Guns.
Other than that, there were no physical stat bonuses or any Ability Enhancement buffs for his teammates.
Pfft!
Yuma Endou tried pulling the trigger. A tiny stream of water shot out two meters away, failing to even wet the surface of Saori Saiyonji’s shoes in front of him.
On the battlefield, Special Response HQ Unit 1 clearly did not let this opportunity slip. Having learned their lesson from the previous round, Yuki Asahi did not hesitate this time.
Without the support of Yuma Endou’s buffs and without Makino Yuzuha’s freakish-level slowing control, the massive gap in the base stats of both sides was instantly exposed. The battle quickly evolved into a one-sided slaughter.
Kaori Onishi bit her lip, mobilizing the almost infinite water vapor around her. “Don’t underestimate me!”
Countless water snakes danced wildly, attempting to strangle Cuiyue, who was charging at the front. Cuiyue merely snorted.
An explosion of pale flames instantly evaporated the water vapor into scalding white mist. She passed through the mist like a ghost and appeared in front of Kaori Onishi in an instant.
At this critical moment, a flash of ruthlessness crossed Kaori Onishi’s eyes.
‘My Finishing Move! I still have my Finishing Move!’
‘Although I’ve never used it on a human before, there’s no way back now!’
[Stripping!]
However, the expected image of her opponent turning into a dried corpse did not appear. She felt as if she were trying to use a straw to drain a swamp.
The cells inside the opponent’s body seemed to be locked down by some powerful energy field, making them too heavy to move.
“How… is this possible…” Kaori Onishi’s face turned pale, and a nosebleed instantly gushed out.
Boom!
[Cuiyue defeated Kaori Onishi]
Next was a series of suffocating kill notifications.
[Cuiyue defeated Saori Saiyonji]
[Cuiyue defeated Makino Yuzuha]
[Cuiyue defeated Imai Yayoi]
A quadruple kill.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the battlefield, Yuki Asahi sent Yuma Endou out of the Vision World with a single punch.
As for the other three? They spent the entire time jogging behind, not even breaking a single drop of sweat—a perfect interpretation of what it meant to be carried to victory.
Special Response HQ Unit 1 snatched back a round in an almost tyrannical fashion.
……
“A one-sided massacre! The Supernatural Club has lost on their own map choice!”
“The score is now tied. We are moving immediately into the deciding round!”
[Two god-tier teams]
[Why didn’t they do this earlier?]
[Brother Wan, I don’t want the final payment anymore. Can you please stop making me stay in this live broadcast room to watch these two god teams tear each other apart?]
[Brother Wan, this competition of yours is honestly painful to watch. Is there a game recommendation where ten little people walk like zombies and throw a bunch of eggs to plant a bomb at a site?]
[Women…]
……
Deciding match map: Industrial Ruins No. 13.
Intricate pipes, massive rusted gears, dim lighting, and steam venting periodically—this was a typical complex terrain map.
Their respective spawn points were positioned so they couldn’t see each other, making it ideal for ambushes.
Yuma Endou took a deep breath and activated his Ability once more. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on him.
There was no golden light, nor the comical sound effect of the Water Gun.
A layer of black mist, as thick as ink, spread silently from beneath his feet. It instantly enveloped his form, making him look like an incorporeal shadow.
“It greatly increases speed and concealment. Attacks come with a backstab effect that has a lethality judgment.” Yuma Endou explained the ability to his teammates. “It’s an assassin-type ability.”
“A good draw!” Saori Saiyonji’s eyes lit up.
“But… the other side won’t just stand there like idiots waiting to die.”
“Leave it to me.” A smile appeared on Saori Saiyonji’s face.
……
The buzzer for the start of the match sounded.
Special Response HQ Unit 1 was preparing to advance. The vanguard, Cuiyue, had already closed in on Imai Yayoi.
However, in the next second, the space behind the three in the rear distorted like a shattered mirror. Saori Saiyonji and Yuma Endou appeared behind Special Response HQ Unit 1 with extreme abruptness!
“What?”
Kenichi Matsumoto’s reaction was already at its limit. He began activating his ability almost the instant he sensed the spatial fluctuation.
But while he was fast, someone was faster. A black phantom swept past silently, like a Death God’s scythe.
That was Yuma Endou in his “Shadow Assassin” state. At this moment, he was born for slaughter.
Thud! Thud!
Kenichi Matsumoto and Reina Hayami felt a chill at their backs. Even though it was a fist, it still felt like a blade entering their bodies. Their vision plunged into darkness.
[Yuma Endou defeated Kenichi Matsumoto]
[Yuma Endou defeated Reina Hayami]
The moment Yuma Endou finished his attack, Tsubasa Kubo beside him reacted. He suddenly lunged, grabbing Yuma Endou and using his full-body rotation to hurl him against a nearby wall.
Yuma Endou crashed into the wall — but instead of creating a crater, the wall swallowed his body as if it were a projection. Immediately after, Tsubasa Kubo pressed his fingers together.
A bizarre crushing sound rang out, followed closely by a kill notification — [Tsubasa Kubo defeated Yuma Endou].
At the same time, Saori Saiyonji, who had triggered the teleportation at the cost of losing both her arms, looked at Yuki Asahi as he whipped his head around.
“Let’s trade!”
Yuki Asahi felt his heart being gripped by a pair of invisible hands. Then, his vision went black.
He abruptly opened his eyes inside the medical pod of the Backtrack Backup System. In his ears was a deafening roar.
[Saori Saiyonji defeated Yuki Asahi]
[Saori Saiyonji has died]
A flash of panic crossed Yuki Asahi’s eyes. He stepped out of the medical pod and looked at the Supernatural Force’s medical pod nearby.
Only after seeing Saori Saiyonji walk out of it did Yuki Asahi heave a sigh of relief. The slight worry he had toward the Backtrack Backup System dissipated.
“An unimaginably fast exchange of lives! In just three seconds, only five people are left on the field! I can’t even tell what just happened!”
“Director, we need to see the replay!”
[Holy crap!]
[???]
At this moment, even the meme-posting trolls in the bullet chat were so shocked they forgot to spam.
Even later, when Cuiyue and Tsubasa Kubo regrouped and defeated the exploding Imai Yayoi, leading the remaining two to surrender after a hard-fought resistance, no one discussed it.
Everyone was still immersed in the lightning-fast assassin duel that had just occurred.
A duel between Superpower Users was sometimes like this. It was either you one-shot me, or I one-shot you.
……
Inside the private box.
Jiang Jian Yue gently swirled the empty cola cup in her hand, listening to the crisp sound of the ice cubes clinking.
“Splendid.”
She gave a brief evaluation. Whether it was Saori Saiyonji’s suicidal attack or Tsubasa Kubo’s rapid reaction, both exceeded her expectations.
Especially that tactic of “Space Displacement” plus “Life for a Life.” If not for the Backtrack System, that would have been a true mutual destruction.
“You seem happy?” Meiguan asked.
“Of course.”
Jiang Jian Yue stood up and stretched. “Although Yuki Asahi won this time, he died twice. This kind of frustration is the best nourishment for him.”
“And…”
She looked at the screen, where the two teams were shaking hands after the match. Although she had lost the game, Kaori Onishi was not crying. Instead, she laughed and punched Yuki Asahi, seemingly teasing him for how pathetic he looked when he was taken out by a self-destruct play.
Yuki Asahi scratched his head, a helpless yet relieved smile on his face.
“Isn’t this scene great? Even after fighting with everything they had, they can still embrace and laugh when it’s over. That’s the charm of a competition.”
On the internet, the discussion about this match had already exploded.
[Unit 1 was so close! They almost flipped the car.]
[Yuki Asahi died two times in this Bo3! Is this still the invincible captain?]
[Why does Yuki Asahi still refuse to use his own Ability! #YukiAsahiStatus]
[To be fair, the Supernatural Club’s tactics were dirty as hell, but I love it.]
[They lost, but it was a glorious defeat. To push the favorites to this point…]
[Saori Saiyonji’s self-destruct move was truly tear-jerking. So decisive!]
Inside the lounge corridor.
The members of Unit 1 were walking back. The atmosphere was a bit subtle. Although they had won, there wasn’t much joy in the victory.
After all, this win had been too messy. If not for Tsubasa Kubo’s final outburst that stopped Yuma Endou, they might have actually gone home in the round of thirty-two.
Although Cuiyue was strong, the strength of that usually quiet girl, Imai Yayoi, at the very end was not to be underestimated. In the first round, when her ability was buffed, she had actually shown restraint and hidden her strength, giving Cuiyue the illusion that ‘she must be weaker than in the first round.’
“Um…”
Yuki Asahi broke the silence. He looked at Tsubasa Kubo, who was walking at the very back. “Thank you for earlier, Kubo.”
“If it wasn’t for you…”
“Don’t thank me.”
Kubo kept his head down, fiddling with his headphone wire, his voice flat. “I just didn’t want to lose.”
“And…” He looked up, his dead-fish eyes scanning everyone. “If we have to rely on this way to win next time, then we’re not far from being eliminated.”
Having said that, he walked straight past everyone and headed forward alone.
“He’s really… strict, isn’t he?”
Kenichi Matsumoto smiled wryly and rubbed his waist. The sensation of being “backstabbed” earlier still lingered.
Yuki Asahi clenched his fists and took a deep breath.
“Yeah.”
“There won’t be a next time.”
On this GSAC stage, there were no absolute weaklings. Any trace of arrogance could become a fatal poison.
“Let’s go.”
“Prepare for the next round.”
Despite some hiccups, Special Response HQ Unit 1 still advanced to the round of sixteen.
On the other side, Kaori Onishi was collecting her rewards.