"First of all, I'm not a kid..."
Kazuma Satou tried to stall with conversation while gesturing for Mahiro Oyama to move over there.
Mahiro Oyama swallowed, but ultimately chose to trust him and ran toward "Medea."
"Hehehe... Without your magical Craft Essences, you're nothing but ordinary people. What use is coming over here?"
Kazuma Satou continued buying time.
"Ordinary people? Maybe."
"I'm quite interested in the Craft Essences you're wearing. I want to study them. Why can't I find them? Where did you hide them..."
"How about searching a little more?"
"Forget it..."
"Medea" watched Mahiro Oyama walk between the three of them without stopping her. Certain of victory, she smugly stroked her hair.
"What a shame. I'm no longer in the mood to keep playing around with you. It's time to say goodbye."
"Will it really end?"
Seeing Mahiro Oyama reach Shido Itsuka's side, Kazuma Satou shouted.
"It's time!"
"Come on—Exchange! Let's make a trade!"
In an instant,
it was as though an electric current flashed through Shido Itsuka and Mahiro Oyama's minds. They understood everything at once!
"Medea" froze for a moment before realizing what had happened.
"Lord Soichiro... Please kill them—"
"Souichirou Kuzuki" had already thrown his punch before "Medea" could finish speaking.
It shot straight for their heads. His reaction had been swift enough.
But it was already too late.
Mahiro Oyama had placed her hand on Shido Itsuka and instantly completed the Craft Essence exchange.
The two of them activated each other's Craft Essences and Noble Phantasms at light speed!
Unbelievable!
Even after swapping, they had an excellent degree of compatibility using them!
This was—the tacit understanding between cute girls!
"Ughhh! Rationality Evaporates!"
"Damn it! Alluring Warden Uniform!"
Shido Itsuka and Mahiro Oyama once again donned their shameful female outfits. This time, it was even costume-swap play!
They suddenly raised their heads, with no shame left to speak of!
Their eyes burned with nothing but an overwhelming desire for victory!
To avoid their "ultimate social death,"
they would wager everything!!!
"Ahhhh! We absolutely have to win!!!"
"This is our final war—Date!!!"
A Self-Sacrificing Sword Strike
Sakura Tree Path: "Why does this feel kind of hype? Is it just me?"
Naruto Uzumaki: "Dattebayo! Holy shit, this is hype!"
Sasuke Uchiha: "What's hype about it?"
Sakura Haruno: "Where are the people?"
Shendu: "Are there still humans?"
"Hmph, it's just changing into... female clothes. If I can beat you once, I can beat you a second time!"
"Medea" was startled by their desperate appearance, but once she calmed down, she realized nothing much had changed.
"Lord Soichiro, please... Wait?"
Shido Itsuka held a little whip with his fingers posed delicately. He wanted to die inside, but under the Craft Essence's influence, he could not help imitating a queen's laugh.
"Of course, I've... been charmed by this queen! Hahahaha!"
Sob, sob, sob.
They should have realized it from the beginning. Among their standard starting sets,
why had there been something of such a vastly higher grade than what Kazuma Satou and the others had received during their first test?
All they could say was that borrowed power always came at a price.
Then again, since he had already paid with his manhood and dignity, he might as well use this power to the fullest!
Shido Itsuka temporarily cast aside his dignity and pointed "Souichirou Kuzuki" toward "Medea."
"Go! Attack her!"
"Souichirou Kuzuki" lunged forward and threw a punch.
At such close range, "Medea" had no time to fully pull away. She could only barely use High-Speed Divine Words at the last moment to shift herself from her original position.
Yet the fist still grazed her side, making her spit out a huge mouthful of blood on the spot.
As a fragile Caster Class Servant, taking that punch had basically cost her half her health bar.
"Damn... You really deserve to die!"
"Medea" said hatefully, her expression extraordinarily human.
Akihiko Kayaba: "Did this update greatly improve the characters' intelligence?"
Akihiko Kayaba: "To save computing power? A game like this shouldn't lack computing power..."
Tet: "This is a real world, merely covered by the Game Rule. The characters' intelligence and logic should be the same as in reality. There is no question of saving computing power, especially once combat begins."
Kirito: "It adds combat depth and makes battles no different from reality while retaining the fun of a game. In short, four words: I super want to play!"
A-Xiu: "I super want to play!"
Maple: "I super want to play!"
Akihiko Kayaba: "I see. Learned something. I can definitely put it to use next time."
"Dispel enhancement..."
"Medea" raised her hand, wanting to remotely remove the enhancement spell on "Souichirou Kuzuki."
But Kazuma Satou unreasonably fired an arrow at her.
It grazed "Souichirou Kuzuki's" forehead, and only failed to pierce him because of his magical enhancement.
Then Kazuma nocked another arrow, aiming at "Souichirou Kuzuki," who was not resisting at all.
?!
"Medea's" hand froze in midair as she fell into a dilemma.
The instant she dispelled the enhancement, "Souichirou Kuzuki" would return to an ordinary human's defenses and be killed by that shady little brat.
"..."
She understood that at this point,
she had already lost.
With her Master controlled by the enemy, she, as a Servant, had no possibility of victory.
All she could say was that the enemy were all third-rate magi at best. They had not even noticed the Command Spells on "Souichirou Kuzuki's" hand.
If they had used them correctly, she would have died before even being able to use Rule Breaker.
Yet these people were exceptionally troublesome, especially that "green rat" constantly interfering from the side.
If she had another chance, she would definitely kill that green-clothed mage first.
He looked the most inconspicuous and weakest, but he was actually the most troublesome one and had the greatest impact on the battle.
If not for him, she would have won several times already.
"Phew..."
"Medea" lowered her head and exhaled, then made an unbelievable move. She slowly raised her right hand.
"I... surrender. I can help you transfer the Command Spells, but on the condition that you spare Soichiro..."
"Caster, it's too early to surrender."
A deep male voice interrupted her.
This... had actually come from "Souichirou Kuzuki's" mouth?!
The muscles all over his body trembled violently, and a great amount of sweat immediately poured out. This was the ultimate form of the killing art he had cultivated—Art of the Viper.
"Souichirou Kuzuki" had cultivated it to the extreme, capable of enhancing his physical abilities by up to tenfold! At this stage, he could control most of his body, including its internal workings.
He could even manipulate his metabolism. He was accelerating the digestion of the alcohol in his body and expelling it as sweat!
"Lord Soichiro?!"
"Medea" cried out in delight and withdrew her intention to surrender.
Originally, she had intended to become the Servant of these foreign magi in exchange for their sparing Lord Soichiro.
But there was no need now. Rule Breaker had still taken effect, removing most of the control effects. As a result, her Lord Soichiro could now barely resist the small amount of Noble Phantasm influence remaining in his body.
Kazuma Satou fired an arrow, but "Souichirou Kuzuki" forcibly twisted his head aside to evade it.
Another arrow came flying in.
"Medea" turned her head. Her purple eyes glimmered faintly as she drew upon immense magical power and fired an overpowered Magic Bullet, shattering the arrow.
"Kid, didn't anyone ever tell you? Your habit is—REALLY! FUCKING! BAD!"
"Guys! Give him another cup! The effects of the previous drink are about to wear off!"
Kazuma Satou paid no attention to Medea's words. He emerged from the grass where he had been hiding, dodged the incoming barrage of Magic Bullets in a disheveled state, shouted to Shido Itsuka, then vanished again.
Why listen to a Boss barking? They had started with beginner gear and were already fighting such an absurd Boss. If they did not use their brains, how were they supposed to play? Were they supposed to just hand her the win?
"Ah... sigh."
In just two words, Shido Itsuka conveyed both utter bewilderment and extreme unwillingness.
But to avoid social death, he had no choice but to harden his heart, close his eyes, and chant that utterly humiliating Noble Phantasm invocation.
"Become the lover of all good men of the past, present, and future! For them... serve up My Beloved Honey Wine~"
Ahhhh, I want to die so badly.
"Bang—!"
"Medea" raised her hand, and the Honey Wine was shattered the instant it was summoned.
Shido Itsuka tried several times in succession, but still could not summon the Honey Wine.
It was not because he had made an error, nor because Mahiro Oyama had failed to protect him.
It was because "Medea" had truly gone mad. She was firing magical energy at them as if her life depended on it, attacking in almost carpet-bombing fashion.
Whenever she saw that seductive Noble Phantasm about to appear,
the enemy's attack frequency and intensity would increase wildly.
Before you continue