The hand pushing up his glasses froze. On the holographic screen, Futayo Honda wielded the Tonbokiri, striking the massive frozen mountain range—and pierced straight through it.
"What's with that weapon? I remember setting that frozen mountain range to be indestructible." Kayaba Akihiko's eyes lit up. Now he was deeply interested in Futayo Honda's Tonbokiri.
The frozen mountain range's attacks proved useless. The Fairy Dragon abandoned such massive assaults, instead summoning endless ice spikes to pierce at Futayo Honda. However, Futayo's spear technique had reached the peak of perfection—none of the attacks could touch her. Ranged attacks were completely ineffective.
Roar! The Fairy Dragon once again chanted in Dragon Tongue. Space rippled. Man and dragon vanished into thin air. When they reappeared, they were surrounded by blazing magma—the fiery depths beneath a volcano.
Futayo Honda's HP bar dropped under the magma's searing heat. Yet, as she consumed potions, her body glowed with the light of the Divine Technique, continuing to battle the Fairy Dragon. Her clear eyes did not waver even slightly despite the change in environment.
"Oh my god! How high is Futayo's defense? She's balancing out magma damage just by using potions!" Although her endurance reassured the spectators, they were immediately left speechless by her defense.
"It's probably not her equipment—it's that blue glow. Kimi-nee has the Takane Flower Shield, so that blue light must be Futayo's Paladin skill." The discussions grew louder.
The battle continued. From sunrise to sunset, the fight remained perilous and breathtaking—no one could look away.
After staring for an entire day, everyone's eyes hurt. Yet they rubbed them and kept watching through the night.
No one could stop. The battle was too thrilling—as if victory or defeat might be decided at any instant. So everyone, their eyes misty with fatigue, watched through another night.
"I can't take it anymore." In the Town of Beginnings, players who had never left the town finally gave in, falling fast asleep.
They lacked strong willpower or a sense of the bigger picture. Watching for a full day and night was already their limit.
The Fairy Dragon kept shifting the battlefield—using spatial transfer. From magma fields to swamps, from ancient forests to deserts, none of these strange environments could hinder Futayo Honda.
Even above the sea, she needed no foothold. As one who lived in the skies, that samurai possessed the ability to stand upon air itself.
By the second evening, most guild players could no longer endure. Even the largest group—the "Army"—began sleeping in shifts, ensuring someone always monitored the battle.
After two days and nights, even the most determined members of the Crystal Guild started taking turns to rest. Their eyes and minds simply couldn't handle it anymore.
"Tora-nee, aren't you going to rest for a bit?" asked Beidou, the handsome young man, to the woman who called herself the Queen of Mixed Martial Arts—"Moemoe Tora."
"Haha! Futayo-nee's gallant figure—so beautiful!" With a manic grin, Moemoe Tora stabbed herself with her sword while gulping down health potions, even taking stimulants to stay awake.
"So scary!" Beidou shuddered, convinced he was looking at a fanatic cultist.
Three days and three nights passed. Within the Crystal Guild, Moemoe Tora's eyes were ringed with dark circles, her excitement reaching its peak.
In a mountain valley, a human and a dragon faced each other, both panting heavily. The Fairy Dragon's scales were shattered, its entire body dyed red with its own blood. Of its original one hundred health bars, only three remained.
Likewise, Futayo Honda's body was also drenched in the Fairy Dragon's blood—she looked utterly battered.
Though her outward appearance seemed fine due to her outer armor, much of her gear was already ruined—she had gone through countless sets of equipment by now.
Her HP bar glowed dangerously yellow. After battling for three days and three nights, Futayo had run out of potions to restore her health.
"Human... I never imagined that fighting a single human could be this exhausting." The Fairy Dragon finally spoke. After three days and nights—it spoke! The Fairy Dragon could actually talk!
Players were utterly dumbfounded. Yet Futayo Honda showed no reaction—her gaze remained firmly fixed on the Fairy Dragon.
"I can feel it! You've reached your limit. This battle will end before the fourth sunrise." The Fairy Dragon's voice was heavy.
Futayo Honda had taught the dragon through sheer combat what it meant to be a warrior. Now, the Fairy Dragon regarded her as its lifelong rival.
"Indeed. I am out of supplies, and my strength wanes," Futayo admitted. Yet, astonishingly, her spirit was stronger than that of the onlookers outside. Such inhuman endurance—after all, Futayo was a Heroic Spirit.
"But I will win." She reached a hand behind her head, brushing her long blue hair and the ornate headpiece she wore. For the first time, her normally tense face softened into a new expression—confidence.
"With my lord's forgiveness... and my lord's b-blessing, I will not lose. Not even slightly. I will win. Because my lord has commanded me to bring her victory and glory with my own hands. Therefore, I will win without fail!" Clutching her spear tightly, Futayo's face shone with boundless confidence.
"Hmph! Life and death are fated. Whether you slay me or I slay you—it shall be my life's greatest honor. This canyon is where I was born. It is only fitting that it becomes my resting place!" The Fairy Dragon, bleeding from every wound, gathered its final strength and charged at Futayo. Its once-beautiful rainbow scales were now stained entirely red.
"Even if this body burns to ash, I will achieve victory!" The blue light surrounding her intensified. The Divine Acceleration Technique exceeded its limits, and her yellow HP bar continued to drop. Futayo's speed doubled.
The Divine Acceleration Technique—so long as the body could endure it—allowed infinite acceleration. But exceeding one's physical limits caused the body to burn away under the immense energy. This burst of power was called Overclocked Acceleration.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Dragon claws clashed against Tonbokiri, sending fierce sparks flying. Blood rained from the sky, covering the entire valley. Her blue hair fluttered wildly, her headpiece glinting faintly under the dim night light—its flawless gleam breathtakingly beautiful.
Her delicate face flushed red from the overclocked strain, yet within that redness was a faint touch of bashful pink.
The Tonbokiri's blue glow became pure and perfect—beautiful beyond words. The spear cleaved through the dragon's claws and pierced deep into the Crystal Dragon's heart.
Time seemed to freeze in that instant. The Crystal Dragon's HP dropped to zero. At the same moment, Futayo's blue glow faded, and her HP bar stopped at a sliver above death.
"Hmph... born here, and to die here. This, too, is a beautiful end for me." The dragon's massive twenty-meter body fell from the sky, its pale-golden eyes still fixed on the warrior who had slain it.
"Brave, valiant... and handsome. You are... the most beautiful." A faint smile seemed to form on the dragon's face before its body exploded into shards of light. The entire valley filled with piles of treasure, glittering so brightly that they nearly blinded the spectators. Among them shone artifacts emitting a dazzling violet-red light that made everyone drool with greed.
On the 100th floor, within the Dragon's Valley, Kayaba Akihiko spoke with his hands tucked into his white coat. "Dragons are not meant to be slain. But if a miracle dragon-slayer appears, they shall earn eternal fame and fortune. That is the reward for a true hero."
Pulling his hand from his pocket, Kayaba adjusted his glasses. "However, heroes rarely meet good ends. And Miss Futayo, the god you serve is an exceptionally cunning one. I hope you're not too sweet—because the sweeter you are, the more painful your fall will be. Miss Futayo, I can already see it. The God of Time has dug you a magnificent trap."
"Perhaps she only did it to win your affection. But to drive you to death for such a selfish reason—isn't that the true nature of gods?" The gleam in Kayaba's glasses flashed sharply. He could already see the ending.
"My lord awaits my victorious return!" Little Futayo declared, turning with Tonbokiri in hand. She did not even glance at the mountain of treasure. What treasure could ever compare to her lord's approval? None. Not even close.
"Futayo-nee! You're too cool! If you don't pick up the loot soon, it's going to respawn!" A group of Crystal Guild players rushed past her into the boss chamber, brushing shoulders with Futayo. But she paid them no mind. Let it respawn—it didn't matter.
"My lord." Approaching Kurumi Tokisaki, Little Futayo's face was still taut, but her eyes shone with hope.
"Well done. Little Futayo, you were magnificent. A few more years of training, and you'll reach the level of the Eight Great Dragon Kings." Kurumi smiled warmly and reached out, gently patting Futayo's head with a soft touch.
In the past, she would often ruffle Futayo's hair playfully—but that was not suitable for her. Futayo could not handle overly passionate affection.
"Truly? I can reach my father's level?" For once, her tense face showed nervousness. Little Futayo only dropped her formal tone when asking questions of her own accord.
"Hehe~ Lord Honda is among the top-ranked Dragon Kings. When I say you'll reach that level, I mean you'll soon catch up to one of the Dragon Kings who isn't good at fighting," Kurumi said slyly, her crimson eyes narrowing.
"Ugh..." Futayo's shoulders slumped, disappointment written all over her face. "It seems this humble self still has far to go."
"Uu~ Futayo-nee's so cute! Can I pat her too?" cried Moemoe Tora, stumbling toward them with panda-like dark circles under her eyes, her expression utterly lovestruck.
Kurumi's gentle smile remained as she turned her head—but in the blink of an eye, it twisted into something dark and terrifying. Her wine-red eyes gleamed with a demonic brilliance, brimming with murderous intent. A blood-red aura radiated from her entire being.
"You. Can. Die." The killing intent coiled like a crimson serpent, devouring Moemoe Tora whole. The terrified girl burst into tears.
"Uwaaa! Kurumi-chan's so scary!"
Then, as she turned back around, all that killing aura instantly vanished—replaced by a warm, spring-like gentleness. Kurumi smiled serenely again, softly stroking Futayo's head.
"In the future, unless it's a matter of life and death, do not use Overclocked Acceleration. Promise me, my knight?" Kurumi's voice was soft and sweet.
Futayo looked troubled for a moment, but still nodded.
Behind them, Moemoe Tora stared blankly at Kurumi, dumbstruck. Who was that demon just now? And who is this goddess now? That instant switch was way too terrifying...