By the time Ruko returned to the bottom lane, the battlefield had already changed.
The kill notification from moments earlier was still displayed on the side of the screen.
Risa has been slain.
Beneath it, Inori's name continued to dominate the scoreboard.
Four kills.
Ruko.
Hikari.
Kana.
Risa.
Four members of Seishin Academy had already fallen to the same opponent, and every elimination had given Inori another injection of gold and experience. Her advantage was no longer something that could be ignored. The additional gold had already been converted into stronger equipment, making Yamashiki considerably more dangerous than she had been at the beginning of the match.
Inori was no longer simply ahead.
She was becoming the player around whom the entire battlefield had begun to revolve.
Ruko understood that the moment Estan returned to the bottom lane.
Across the battlefield, Yamashiki was already waiting.
Inori noticed him almost immediately.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"So you came back."
Ruko didn't answer. He had learned enough about Inori during their previous exchanges to know that wasting even a second could cost him an opportunity. His attention remained fixed on Yamashiki's position, watching for the weapon she would choose.
The answer came almost immediately.
Yamashiki's weapon shifted, transforming into the long rifle Ruko had become painfully familiar with.
Beta.
The sniper.
Inori fired the instant the weapon was ready.
The projectile tore across the lane with frightening speed, but Ruko was already moving. Estan shifted sideways, and the shot passed just beside him before disappearing into the distance.
Another projectile followed.
Ruko stepped backward.
The attack narrowly missed.
A third shot came from a slightly different angle, forcing him to adjust his movement again. He remained underneath the protection of the outer tower, carefully maintaining enough distance from the structure to avoid being forced into a dangerous position while also refusing to give Inori the opening she wanted.
Ruko narrowed his eyes.
"...She's doing it again."
Inori fired once more.
Ruko dodged.
Another shot followed.
He dodged again.
The pattern was familiar.
Inori wasn't trying to dive him immediately. She was controlling the space around him, forcing him to remain beneath the tower while gradually restricting the directions in which he could safely move. With Beta's range, she could continue applying pressure without entering the tower's effective attack radius.
It was the same kind of pressure she had used before.
But Ruko wasn't the same player he had been several minutes ago.
He was beginning to understand the rhythm behind it.
Then Yamashiki's weapon changed.
The long rifle disappeared, replaced by two pistols held tightly in both hands.
Delta.
Ruko immediately recognized the difference.
Inori accelerated forward.
The twin guns began firing in rapid succession, filling the lane with a stream of attacks. Unlike Beta, Delta wasn't designed to dominate the battlefield from extreme range. It was built for close and mid-range pressure, allowing Inori to overwhelm an opponent once she had successfully forced them into a more confined space.
Ruko stepped backward.
Inori advanced.
Another burst tore through the lane.
Ruko retreated again, remaining just inside the tower's protection.
Inori continued pushing.
She wanted him to panic.
She wanted him to step too far backward.
She wanted him to leave the safe zone and give her the opportunity to finish what Beta had started.
But Ruko refused.
Every time Inori moved forward, he repositioned.
Every time she attempted to force him away from the tower, he adjusted his distance.
He didn't chase.
He didn't retaliate recklessly.
He simply refused to give her the opening.
Inori's smile became slightly wider.
She understood.
Ruko had learned from their previous encounter.
He knew she wanted him to chase.
He knew she wanted him to abandon the tower's protection.
So Inori stopped attacking.
Yamashiki slipped into the nearby bush.
Ruko immediately lost sight of her.
His eyes narrowed.
"...Where did she go?"
He waited.
Nothing happened.
The lane remained strangely quiet.
Then the enemy minion wave began moving forward.
Ruko cleared it while keeping his attention on the bush. He expected Inori to emerge from the darkness and resume the fight.
She didn't.
Instead, something else changed.
The movement of the enemy team.
Ruko noticed it almost immediately.
His eyes shifted toward the center of the map.
Inori had rotated.
She wasn't returning to the bottom lane.
She was moving toward Mid.
Ruko's expression became serious.
"...Mid."
He understood what she was doing.
Inori wasn't simply searching for another opponent.
She was creating an opportunity.
Mid Lane had become the next target.
Hikari and Kana had only recently returned after respawning, and neither had forgotten what Inori had done to them earlier. They were more cautious now, keeping their positions relatively close together while clearing the incoming wave.
Neither of them realized that Inori was already approaching.
More importantly, Inori wasn't approaching alone.
The enemy roamer, Shae, was already in position.
Shae's hero was Atlantean, an initiation-focused roamer designed around one purpose: forcing opponents into fights they didn't want to take.
Atlantean's first skill slammed the ground and released a mist around him. Any enemy caught within that area would be stunned, making it difficult for them to escape once he reached them.
His second skill was a long-range dash, allowing him to rapidly close the distance while slowing anyone caught along his path.
But his ultimate was what made Atlantean particularly dangerous during tower dives.
Atlantean raised one hand toward the sky, marking an area around him. A brief moment later, a powerful force would pull every enemy within the designated radius toward the center before slamming them into the ground.
It was an initiation tool designed to turn positioning into a weapon.
And Shae knew exactly how to use it.
Inori's Yamashiki entered the area.
Shae glanced toward her teammate.
A small emoji appeared above Inori's character.
It was a simple signal.
I'm ready. Set one up for me.
Shae understood immediately.
Atlantean moved.
Hikari and Kana were still clearing the mid lane when the enormous figure suddenly accelerated forward.
His second skill activated.
Atlantean surged beneath the tower.
Hikari's eyes widened.
Kana immediately recognized the threat.
"Incoming!"
But the warning came too late.
Atlantean crashed into them.
The slowing effect immediately took hold, making it difficult for both players to reposition.
The tower began firing.
One shot struck Atlantean.
Then another.
The damage began tearing through his health, but Shae didn't retreat.
She had already committed.
Atlantean raised his hand.
His ultimate activated.
A powerful force surrounded Hikari and Kana.
Both characters were suddenly dragged toward the center.
"Got them!"
The two Seishin players were pulled together before Atlantean slammed them into the ground.
Stunned.
That was all Inori needed.
Yamashiki moved into position.
Her weapon shifted.
The twin guns appeared.
Delta.
Inori activated the weapon's ultimate.
The two pistols erupted with rapid-fire attacks, sending a barrage across the battlefield.
Hikari couldn't move.
One attack struck.
Then another.
Her health disappeared almost instantly beneath the relentless barrage.
Hikari has been slain.
Kana survived.
Barely.
Her health bar had dropped deep into the red, and she immediately began retreating from the fight.
Inori didn't chase her.
She didn't need to.
The tower continued firing at Atlantean, while Kana attempted to create distance from the remaining enemies.
Then something caught her attention.
The tower began radiating a blue glow.
Kana's eyes narrowed.
"...Arrival."
Someone was teleporting toward Mid Lane.
Kazuha.
At nearly the same moment, Kana noticed another character approaching from the opposite direction.
Ruko.
He was rotating toward Mid as well.
Kana's thoughts sharpened.
Kazuha was arriving.
Ruko was approaching.
Inori was still positioned farther away.
Shae was underneath the tower.
Kanjo, the enemy mid laner, was nearby.
The situation was suddenly becoming complicated.
Kana saw the opportunity.
Her expression hardened.
Counter set.
She immediately activated her teleportation spell.
Her character disappeared from the lane.
A moment later, Kazuha arrived.
Her character materialized beneath the tower, and she immediately attacked.
The stun connected with Atlantean.
Shae froze.
The tower continued firing.
Kazuha had arrived at exactly the right moment.
The initiation that had been designed to eliminate Seishin Academy's players had suddenly become a trap for the enemy team.
Kanjo moved forward to help.
Kazuha turned toward him.
Her attack connected.
Kana recovered from the earlier stun and immediately joined the counterattack.
Her own attack struck both enemies.
Another stun.
Shae's health was already critically low after absorbing the tower's attacks.
Another shot from the tower struck him.
His health reached zero.
Shae has been slain.
The audience erupted.
But Kanjo was already attempting to retreat.
Kazuha chased.
She continued attacking, refusing to give him enough distance to escape.
Kana joined her.
Together, the two players continued pressuring him until Kanjo's health finally disappeared.
Kanjo has been slain.
The crowd erupted even louder.
Seishin Academy had completely reversed the tower dive.
What had begun as a coordinated initiation had turned into a disastrous exchange for Ishika High.
Two enemy players were dead.
Hikari had been lost.
Kana was barely alive.
And Kazuha had successfully turned the fight around.
But Inori was still there.
She had been waiting.
Yamashiki moved into position.
Her weapon changed again.
Beta.
The sniper.
Inori immediately activated the weapon's ultimate.
The rifle began charging.
Kana's health was already dangerously low.
She noticed the weapon.
Her eyes widened.
"...No!"
The shot fired.
A concentrated projectile crossed the lane.
Kana attempted to move.
She was too slow.
The sniper round struck directly.
Kana has been slain.
The venue exploded.
Inori had done it again.
Even after losing her roamer and mid laner, she had secured another elimination.
The kill counter increased.
Inori — Killing Spree.
The announcement echoed throughout the venue.
Inori had become unstoppable.
But from the edge of the battlefield, Ruko wasn't watching the scoreboard.
He was watching her weapon.
Beta.
His eyes narrowed.
Then he stopped.
He didn't attack.
Not yet.
Inori didn't notice him.
Her attention remained focused on the battlefield. She had just eliminated Kana, and although her team had lost two players during the exchange, she had once again found a way to turn the chaos into another kill.
The sniper remained equipped.
Ruko understood what that meant.
He remembered Yamashiki's mechanics.
Gamma.
Beta.
Delta.
Alpha.
Every weapon had its own purpose.
Gamma provided one kind of pressure.
Beta controlled long-range engagements.
Delta excelled when Yamashiki entered closer combat.
Alpha had its own role within the weapon system.
The strength of Yamashiki came from the fact that Inori could move between them according to the situation.
But there was one limitation.
The weapon-switch cooldown.
Ruko had noticed it earlier.
He had simply lacked the right opportunity to exploit it.
Now, that opportunity was standing directly in front of him.
Ruko hadn't rushed into the middle of the fight.
He hadn't attempted to interrupt Inori while she was dealing with Kana.
He hadn't revealed himself simply because he had returned to the area.
He had waited.
While everyone else had been focused on the chaos unfolding around Mid Lane, Ruko had been watching one thing.
Inori's weapon rotation.
He watched when she changed.
He watched how long she remained on each weapon.
He watched what she did immediately after switching.
And now he understood the pattern.
Ruko's eyes remained fixed on Yamashiki.
"...There."
For the first time, the battlefield looked different to him.
The weapons were no longer four separate tools.
They were a sequence.
A cycle.
A pattern.
And every pattern had a moment when it became vulnerable.
Inori suddenly sensed something.
She turned.
Her eyes widened.
"What—?"
Ruko appeared from the side.
Estan was already moving.
He had waited until Inori had committed to Beta.
That was the key.
Beta was devastating from a distance, but it was far less effective when an opponent managed to close the gap.
Normally, Inori could solve that weakness by changing weapons.
That was what made Yamashiki so difficult to fight.
But she had just switched.
The cooldown was active.
She couldn't immediately change again.
For the first time during the match, Ruko had deliberately created a situation where Inori couldn't simply choose the weapon she needed.
Inori attempted to retreat.
Ruko followed.
She tried to create distance.
He refused to give it to her.
Yamashiki fired.
The sniper shot missed.
Ruko continued forward.
The distance disappeared.
Inori attempted another shot, but Estan was already too close.
Ruko activated his skills.
The first attack struck.
The second followed almost immediately.
Yamashiki's health dropped sharply.
Inori attempted to move away.
Ruko anticipated the direction.
He had seen her escape patterns too many times.
Another attack connected.
The health bar reached zero.
The screen flashed.
Inori has been slain.
For several seconds, the entire arena seemed to shake.
Then the crowd erupted.
"RUKO!"
"HE GOT HER!"
"INORI IS DOWN!"
"THE KILLING SPREE IS OVER!"
Spectators rose from their seats.
Some shouted Ruko's name while others stared at the screen in disbelief.
After everything Inori had done, after four consecutive kills and a seemingly unstoppable run through Seishin Academy's lineup, someone had finally stopped her.
And Ruko had done it without overpowering her.
He hadn't won because Inori had suddenly forgotten how to play.
He hadn't relied on a random mistake.
He had waited.
He had studied.
He had recognized the limitation within Yamashiki's weapon system and waited for Inori to place herself inside it.
Then he had attacked at exactly the right moment.
It was the same kind of thinking that had once made Ruko a tactician.
The same ability to recognize a pattern hidden beneath the chaos of a match.
Only now, instead of using that knowledge to construct a strategy from the beginning, he had used it to dismantle the strategy of someone who had once fought beside him.
Inori stared at the screen.
For a moment, her expression was completely still.
Then she slowly smiled.
"...So that's what you were waiting for."
The realization came quickly.
Ruko had been watching her.
The entire time.
While everyone else had been focused on the mid-lane battle, he had been observing her weapon rotation.
He had waited for Beta.
He had waited for the weapon-switch cooldown.
He had waited until she was committed to the long-range configuration that was weakest against an opponent who could reach her.
And then he had attacked.
Inori leaned back slightly in her chair.
Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.
"...You've changed."
Across the stage, Ruko remained silent.
The crowd continued cheering around him, but he barely seemed to hear it.
The scoreboard had changed.
The killing spree was over.
For the first time since the match began, Inori had been the one caught off guard.
More importantly, Ruko had proven something to himself.
He could still read the battlefield.
He could still recognize patterns.
He could still find the opening.
But this time, he hadn't simply reacted to Inori.
He had prepared for her.
He had set the counter before she even realized she was walking into it.
The two former Nerva players were no longer simply exchanging attacks.
They were beginning to fight on the level where experience itself became a weapon.
And Inori had just discovered that Ruko's experience had never truly disappeared.
It had only been waiting for the right moment to return.