"Enemy attack!"
The Level 3 leader dropped dead, a hole blasted through their forehead, collapsing mid-sprint. The remaining nine froze in shock, but one quickly shouted, scattering the group.
The attack was lightning-fast, a Level 3 adventurer felled without resistance.
Biubiubiu!
From the right forest, rapid-fire shots erupted. Beams of light lanced out, turning three of the nine into sieves. Though the Uzi's raw power was modest, its magic stone bullets packed far greater penetration than standard rounds.
Three more Level 2 adventurers fell.
"Into the left forest! Ambush!" The survivors cried, desperate to flee. They hadn't even seen their attackers, and the unseen onslaught was too much.
But as they veered left, a purple figure charged them.
"What, ?!"
A flash of purple filled their vision, followed by a glint of steel.
Shlick!
The leftmost adventurer's throat was slit, collapsing as they clutched their neck.
The purple figure, Saeko, didn't pause. She surged toward the next target, activating her magic. "Thunderclap!" Purple lightning crackled around her feet, propelling her forward. She sheathed Murasame mid-sprint, then unleashed a draw-cut slash.
The second adventurer blocked with their weapon, but Saeko had infused her scabbard with lightning magic. The electrified draw overwhelmed their mediocre weapon, cleaving it and severing their arm.
"Get away!" The wounded adventurer screamed, ignoring the pain to shove Saeko with their remaining hand.
Saeko's high agility let her dodge effortlessly, countering with a backhand slash that lopped off the other arm. As the armless Amazon staggered, a beam from above pierced their forehead.
Saeko ignored the falling corpse, already charging the next target. Purple lightning danced among the survivors, punctuated by precision beams from above and sporadic bursts from the right forest.
In under twenty seconds, all ten were dead, their bodies littering the ground.
The War Game was called a game, but Altair treated it as war, his goal was annihilation, leaving no survivors.
While Saeko, Kayo, and Tina wreaked havoc, Altair strode down the road's center, never breaking pace or slowing, his smile serene as if on a leisurely walk.
The carnage stunned the Ishtar Familia on the walls and left Orario's spectators and gods agape.
"No way! Ten people, ten, all at least Level 2, slaughtered like livestock?"
"Watch it! You insulting us Boaz? Lord Ottar's one of us!"
"I didn't mean it like that, you're Boaz, not pigs."
"Ten wiped out like that? It's insane. Two didn't even show themselves. That sword demon's really Level 2? She took out four Amazons, battle-hardened warriors!"
"The scariest part? That Demon Sword Knight hasn't even moved, just keeps walking!"
"This is bad. Ishtar's crew might choke. I bet my whole fortune on them!"
"You bet everything?"
"It was a sure win! Ishtar's an old-school powerhouse, how could they lose?"
No one anticipated this turn.
"Let's keep watching. Hopefully it's a fluke. Ishtar's got a Level 5 leader. Once she moves, that Level 3 Demon Sword Knight's done."
The gamblers pinned their hopes on the un-deployed Level 5.
On the battlefield, Altair continued his steady march. After eliminating the ten, his team resumed their roles: Kayo and Tina vanished into the forest, while Saeko returned to his left-front, guarding him.
Aisha, watching from the walls, was dumbstruck. Her ten-strong squad, gone so easily?
No time for shock. "Ranged attacks! Kill the woman beside him first!" She ordered.
The Amazons drew their bows, aiming skyward.
Biu!
A beam from afar dropped an archer dead.
"Enemy attack!" Another shouted, only to be felled by another beam.
From her tree 200 meters out, beyond bow range but close for her heavy sniper, Tina shifted her aim to the next target. Unconcerned with hiding, she fired at will.
Biu!
A third archer fell.
Panic gripped the wall's archers. They ducked, cowering, Aisha among them, too afraid to stand lest they be sniped. Her Level 3 had died without a fight, standing was suicide.
"Damn it, what are these weapons? Back at their base, they had those traps, now this!" Aisha cursed, recalling the mine that blasted her. She didn't know its name, only its incomprehensible power. These ultra-fast, long-range attacks were clearly more of their bizarre arsenal, practically cheating!
"We can't see what's happening below." She growled.
Tina, with one sniper rifle, pinned down the entire wall. She didn't need to outmatch them, just make them fear death if they peeked. After three kills, none dared rise. They could overwhelm Altair with arrows if they all fired, but no one wanted to risk their life.
"Get everyone here!" Aisha barked. She couldn't sit idle, Ishtar was watching. A poor showing would spell trouble, and losing was unthinkable. Why am I even thinking of losing? That's impossible. I'd die!
Shaking off the thought, she sent runners to summon the other wall's defenders. With the enemy at the front, consolidating was logical.
But the runners, unaware of Tina's sniper, were picked off en route, thinning their numbers further.
As the survivors gathered, Altair reached within ten meters of the wall.
Kayo burst from the right forest, pulling a grenade launcher from her spatial bracelet and firing at the gate, blasting it open. Satisfied, she swapped back to her Uzi, activated her anti-gravity device, and took flight.
With Altair and Saeko entering the fortress, Kayo and Tina could no longer shoot through walls. To continue, they needed aerial vantage points.
Under Orario's gaze, both lolis soared into the sky, leaving spectators stunned.
"They're… flying! They're actually flying!"
"Is that magic? Flight magic?"
"No way! They're Level 1, right? Level 1 with flight magic? That's absurd!"
"Must be equipment, like that ultra-long-range weapon."
"Exactly! Hestia's Familia has insane gear!"
As the crowd watched, the lolis advanced toward the fortress.
The Amazons on the walls, focused on Altair and Saeko entering, missed them entirely.
"Take them out!" Aisha roared. With walls blocking external attacks, she unleashed her forces on the duo.
Altair didn't glance at them, continuing his stroll, unfazed.
Saeko reignited her magic. "Thunderlight!" Lightning wreathed her limbs, and she flashed a bloodthirsty grin at the charging courtesans.
Before melee began, beams rained from above, mowing down a swath of attackers.
"The sky!" Aisha shouted, spotting the floating lolis.
Kayo dual-wielded Uzis, spraying the ground mercilessly, while Tina, hefting her sniper, was flanked by floating rectangular drones firing in volleys.
In seconds, beams fell like rain, piercing the courtesans. Death or grievous wounds decimated their ranks. From over a hundred, they dwindled to single digits in half a minute.
A hundred-plus fighters, pigs would take longer to slaughter! Aisha thought. This wasn't war; it was a massacre.
After thirty seconds, the light rain ceased. The courtyard was pocked with craters and littered with corpses. The few survivors, the fastest runners who'd dodged the beams, reached Saeko, only to be cut down by her blade.
The Ishtar Familia was reduced to Phryne, their Level 5 leader, and Aisha.
"Impossible!" Aisha slumped on the wall, despair overtaking her. Her army of Level 2s and 3s, wiped out like trash? Even if they won, the Familia was ruined. As commander, Ishtar would have her head.
Her voice drew Tina's attention. Swiveling her rifle, Tina aimed. Aisha's survival instincts kicked in, but Tina's drones were faster, blasting her right foot. As she fell, a beam pierced her skull, killing her.
Only Phryne, guarding the flag indoors, remained of Ishtar's forces. Aisha hadn't planned for her to fight, but now she had no choice.
Altair maintained his strolling pace toward the central building. Saeko entered first, confronting the hulking Level 5 leader, Phryne, seated like a monster.
"Hm?" Phryne frowned at the unfamiliar woman. "What's this?"
"Are you the final enemy?" Saeko asked, sheathing Murasame and taking a deep breath.
"So, you're an enemy." Phryne growled, annoyed. "Aisha, that useless fool, let you get this far. No matter, you reaching me is your greatest misfortune. I'll tear you to shreds!"
Phryne rose, her nearly three-meter-tall, two-meter-wide frame towering like a true monster.
"Let thunder purge all evil!" Saeko fully unleashed her magic, purple lightning enveloping her, ghost-like horns sprouting on her forehead. Her "Thunderlight Ghost" magic was at its peak.
With it active, she could use the gear Altair crafted for her. "Ghost Armor!" From her spatial bracelet, two armored mechanical arms materialized, mimicking her movements as they clasped together.
Gripping Murasame's hilt, Saeko fixed Phryne with a steady gaze. "You're the strongest foe I've faced. Out of respect, I'll use my ultimate attack."
"Ultimate attack? Trash like you? Show me, then! Fail, and you die!" Phryne roared, charging, her near-invincible physique shrugging off most attacks. She planned to tank Saeko's strike and crush her.
But Saeko didn't flinch or retreat. Closing her eyes, she crouched slightly, hand on Murasame. The Ghost Armor's arms conjured a ten-meter-long tachi, wreathed in purple lightning, its scabbard crackling with high-voltage energy.
Six meters from Saeko, Phryne closed in. Saeko's eyes snapped open.
"One slash, end all!"
Purple lightning erupted. The giant tachi shot from its sheath, tracing a massive, fan-shaped arc of violet light before Saeko.
"Urgh…" Phryne's monstrous form froze.
In Orario, the spectators fell silent, staring at the screens. A gaping horizontal gash stretched across Phryne's chest, slicing through to her back, nearly bisecting her.
Not only that, the building itself bore a matching gash.
Boom! Crash!
Phryne's colossal body collapsed, followed by the building, reduced to rubble despite its weathered sturdiness.
Amid the ruins, the flag stood untouched. Saeko, at the center, sheathed Murasame. The Ghost Armor's tachi retracted into its scabbard and vanished into her bracelet. Her magic faded, the lightning dissipating.
Altair sauntered in, his pace unchanged, never hurried, never faltered. Crossing Phryne's corpse, he reached the flag, plucked it from the ground, and raised it high before tossing it aside. From his spatial bracelet, he produced the Hestia Familia's banner, planting it firmly.
Kayo and Tina descended, joining Saeko behind him as he looked skyward.
"This War Game belongs to the Hestia Familia!" He declared.
***
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