It didn't take long before the intense battle resumed once more.
Rimuru, accompanied by Shion, tore through enemy after enemy with overwhelming power. Each kill made him even stronger, as if he were an unstoppable force of nature.
"Rimuru's on a quad kill!"
"Penta kill! Rimuru again!"
"Rimuru is godlike! Someone stop him already!"
Loud announcements echoed through the skies, ringing in the ears of every guild member still in the match.
"This is insane!" young Hermione gasped, covering her mouth to stop her jaw from hitting the ground.
"Let's just pray we don't run into him… or he'll rack up a quad kill on us too," Dumbledore muttered with a wry smile. The continuous alerts left them utterly hopeless—none of them believed they had a chance against Rimuru.
"How is he this strong?" Sengoku rubbed his chin, frowning deeply. "Did he get some rare gear? No... According to intel, there were only two special monsters carrying rare loot. One of them, named Kiana, snatched one, and the other… is with me. So, is it a skill then? It must be a buff-type that amplifies his stats. That's the only explanation for this kind of power."
In just a few moments, Sengoku deduced the reason behind Rimuru's dominance—no wonder he was known as the Navy's top strategist. His mind was as sharp as ever.
Elsewhere on the map, Otto, Karen, and Sakura found themselves facing a trio of powerful foes.
"Well, didn't expect to run into you lot here," Otto said grimly as he laid eyes on Veldora, Milim, and Ramiris. None of them were pushovers.
"Maybe it's fate then! Enough talk—here I come! Milim Kick!" Milim charged at them, eyes gleaming with excitement. Her foot glowed with a crimson light, aiming to launch them all skyward with one devastating strike.
"With that kind of violence, no one's ever gonna marry you! Void Fortress—Defensive Construct!" Otto reacted quickly, throwing up a barrier to block the incoming attack. He had no intention of becoming a boot print.
"Hmph! Milim Punch!" Milim growled, annoyed that she missed. Without hesitation, she threw a fist toward Otto.
To be honest, these skill names were absolutely ridiculous.
"You didn't think I was just here for decoration, did you? Falling Sakura!"
Before Milim could follow through, Sakura's blade slashed across her, forcing her to stagger back a few steps.
"Storm Dragon Roar!"
Veldora launched his own attack, spewing a massive beam of energy toward the trio.
"Divine Shelter!"
Karen, as beautiful as ever, proved she was far from just a pretty face. Known as the strongest Valkyrie in history, she summoned a golden shield that wrapped around the three of them, nullifying the damage completely.
"Ramiris, go full power! I'm taking on the pink-haired one! You two handle the rest!" Milim shouted, eyes burning with battle spirit.
"Okay, got it! Fairy Labyrinth—Activate!" Ramiris hovered in the air, summoning a dazzling magic circle beneath her. In an instant, the spell expanded outward and engulfed all six fighters.
"What the—?" Karen's pupils shrank in surprise as she and the others vanished from the spot.
"What is this place…?" Sakura stood, cautiously scanning her surroundings.
Walls surrounded them on all sides—there was no way out.
"This is the Duel Maze. Only one of us is leaving here alive," came Milim's voice from behind.
Sakura turned to find Milim smiling cheerfully at her. Shaking her head, Sakura sighed with a wry grin. "This ability is kind of annoying…"
Still, she took a battle stance immediately and launched the first strike.
Milim grinned wide.
The battle erupted.
Meanwhile, as the safe zone kept shrinking, more and more clashes broke out. Players who hadn't leveled up fast enough were quickly eliminated en masse.
For example: Himeko. She had powerful abilities but ended up getting distracted by a wine cellar she found… and proceeded to get drunk. In her weakened state, someone literally one-shot her. What a disgrace.
And even more embarrassing was Benimaru.
The guy turned out to be a total directionless idiot.
Not just any idiot—he managed to look at the map and still run in the wrong direction—straight out of the safe zone!
Honestly, that's just peak humiliation.
A few minutes later, of the original six combatants, only three figures remained standing.
"Looks like I'm the only winner here!" Otto said grimly. But facing the two remaining foes who now eyed him like prey, he knew there was no escape. Karen was gone, and now he might as well go join her.
At least he wouldn't leave her alone with that fox woman. Who knew what those two girls might get up to…
"Ramiris is out. Damn it, doesn't she know how to create decent combat skills?" Milim grumbled after dealing with Otto, then angrily punched a couple of trees in frustration.
"Let it go. In ten minutes or so, we'll hit the final zone. Ramiris wouldn't have lasted that long anyway," Veldora reasoned. Combat wasn't really Ramiris' strength. Just surviving up until now had been impressive enough for her.
"Yeah, yeah… Let's go! We'll win this thing for her!" Milim shouted with renewed determination as she and Veldora made their way toward the safe zone.
Cut to the center of the final safe zone—
A deafening explosion shattered the stillness.
"Borsalino! You bastard!" Sengoku was fuming. He looked at the fallen form of Kizaru (Borsalino) and nearly lost it. His anger turned to the four figures standing smugly before him.
"This is clearly a setup! Classic entrapment! Honestly, I don't even know what to say. Little Hermione's acting skills were way too convincing," Aokiji (Kuzan) said, rubbing his ears. He had no idea how to react.
Kizaru had seen Hermione and immediately made a creepy beeline for her—only to get blown sky-high by four coordinated magic blasts.
In this arena, elemental users had huge vulnerabilities. Physical damage was halved for them, but magic damage? It was increased by 50%. So Dumbledore and the others' spells hit like trucks.
"It's called tactics, ever heard of it? And let's be real—you guys are breaking the rules with your secret alliance too," Hermione snapped, glaring at Aokiji. Did he even know how creepy Kizaru looked when he came at her? She hadn't been acting—she was genuinely terrified!
"Hey Sengoku… why don't you just surrender and save yourself the trouble?" Dumbledore offered with a sly smile.
"Surrender? You think we'd surrender?" Sengoku scoffed. They still had Aokiji, Garp, and Commander Kong on their side.
Dumbledore smirked. "Take a look at these photos I just snapped. What do you think would happen if I sent these to the newspapers? Headlines: Admiral sexually harasses underage girl in public match. Think it'll make waves?"
He held up several pictures of Kizaru being a total creep toward Hermione.
"You…! Do you even deserve to be a teacher?! What happened to being a role model!?" Sengoku turned pale. If these photos leaked back to their world, the PR nightmare would be colossal. The newspapers weren't like before—now even the World Government couldn't control them completely. If this blew up, it'd be the death of them.
"So? Do you surrender?" Dumbledore asked again, grinning like a devil.
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