Maple Syrup’s gaze suddenly froze. That enormous glowing number—the "2" stretching through the entire library, made of countless points of light—something about it was different. But the next second, her vision cleared, and everything looked normal again. No. She wasn’t imagining things. She trusted her eyes. Time continued to slip forward. Eight seconds... seven... She had once defeated the Angler’s Alliance, which allowed her to retain her Keef Angel Fish trait. That meant BS-Rita must have kept her Blue-striped Bluru trait as well. And Maple Syrup remembered perfectly how BS-Rita, as the Blue-striped Bluru, could merge seamlessly into water. A golden thunder goblet formed midair and shot toward one of the glowing points within the massive "2." But before the lightning-filled drink inside could even condense, the goblet detonated. The light flickered, then shifted, vanishing instantly. In that single flicker of motion, everyone finally saw what that glowing speck really was—Orchid Mantis. Bathed in pale light under the gaze of the library’s all-seeing eye, she shone like a firefly. She had been hiding inside the number itself. The most obvious place of all—the one place everyone could see, yet no one truly looked at. Using her Blue-striped Bluru trait, she had blended into her surroundings again and again, surviving countless searches by the slimmest of margins. But now she had been found. In the instant the thunder goblet exploded, Rita slipped into the shadow world, evading both the blast and Motor’s activation of Protagonist Time. Time slowed. Maple Syrup was caught outside, locked out of the shadows. For everyone watching, those five seconds stretched on endlessly. Even for the spectators. From the moment Moonlight Marsh’s Rita had started hiding, they had watched everything from a god’s-eye view. They saw players tearing through every corner of the library, searching for her shadow—yet somehow always missing her by inches. And because of all their movement, the Librarians’ priority targets kept shifting away from that one quiet spot in the center—where Orchid Mantis was hidden among the numbers. Spectators switched between perspectives, feeling the thrill of evasion as Rita, the fear of being discovered, and then the frustration of the other players—Why aren’t you looking in the middle? It’s right there! Look at that Librarian on the third floor! He’s been winking toward the glowing number for ages. Just look already! He’s about to shout, "She’s right there!" Three... two... one... Even the longest Protagonist Time must end. On the white sails above, screen after screen shattered. The largest one—center stage—drew every eye. There, standing beneath the divine light, the tiny translucent Orchid Mantis raised her forearms high. The screen burst apart, and in its place, bright blue flames flared into words every Divine Game viewer knew well: [Moonlight Marsh, Rita] A roar of cheers and screams erupted—so loud it carried across half the desert to the nearest city. As the final card dropped, every remaining student was ejected from the game. In the glowing pillar of blue light, the small Orchid Mantis shimmered back into her true form. Her uniform was spotless now, her face clean and clear under the glow. She raised her dagger high and said, "Some of you might have forgotten my name." The audience fell silent. Everyone wanted to hear what she would say next. "But that’s fine," she said, her voice sharp and proud. "Because over the next few days..." She swung her dagger down, pointing straight at the blue flames forming her name in the sky. "It’ll remind you again and again." "The student of Lightchaser has returned." For a heartbeat, the world went still. Then the roar returned—deafening, ecstatic, overwhelming. The black cat leapt onto the blood elf’s head, waving its paws high. "Long live the student of Lightchaser!" The blood elf groaned. "Do you have to be this emotional?" The cat flicked its tail. "Wow, come on! Even now, she calls herself Lightchaser’s student instead of her own name. That’s real devotion!" Lightchaser covered her face. "Can you please keep your voice down?" The cat spun around, pointing toward the big screen. "Look! That’s the Lightchaser—the Lightchaser of the Lightchaser student!" Blood elf crossed her arms. "Perhaps you’ve all forgotten her name!" The cat shouted back, "But that’s fine!" Blood elf smirked. "Because I forgot too." Lightchaser’s expression went flat. "........." The cat exploded. "How could you mess up the line like that?!" Then it pounced on the elf’s hair, scratching and laughing as the two wrestled in the stands. "Where did Deceitful Bloom get sent?" "The cooking instructor really got done dirty this time! That was brutal!" "Seriously, poor thing. Just like that—gone!" "It’s fine. Someone saved the moment BS-Rita started crying during the time stop. Send it to Deceitful Bloom. That’ll cheer her up." "She doesn’t need it. She was right there watching. I was afraid she’d laugh out loud." "Did you see Foolishness’s face when BS-Rita won? She actually looked happy again." "And every time Drummer tried to wink and hint to the other players, Foolishness would roll her eyes at him." "So, did anyone find Deceitful Bloom?" "Yeah, she went back to her lab to make a new figurine." "What kind of figurine?" "You know, that one—BS-Rita standing all teary-eyed in front of Lania Kaia and Mistblade." "I asked—turns out it’s another sprinkler design. She’s going to use it to water her plants." "Unbelievable! I’m ordering one." Maple Syrup watched the glowing image of BS-Rita in the sky and pinched the bridge of her nose. If she could’ve blamed the earlier Divine Games on carelessness, this time she couldn’t. She had gone all out—even exposed her divine relic. Under the new rules, where divine relics’ shadows and voices could no longer be hidden, that was no small price. Everyone’s attention had been on which skill Rita might have borrowed. Not one of them realized she hadn’t borrowed anyone’s. She’d been hiding right in front of their eyes the whole time. Maple Syrup wanted to kill Captain more than anything, but she understood that mad god’s logic. He wanted her to rebuild the Forest Sea. So his warning—"If you wish to rebuild the Forest Sea, don’t let her get GodDraw77"—wasn’t a lie. If only the first match had been a team event. She could’ve kicked BS-Rita from the squad the moment the game began, forcing her to win the hidden mission solo. If that would stop her from winning again, Maple Syrup would gladly bear the title of villain. But now? It was too late. Rita would be wary of her. BS-Rita lowered her gaze and met Maple Syrup’s eyes. Under that silent connection, Maple Syrup pulled out a glass and raised it toward her. Then she drank it dry. Not a drop of the drink named [Forest Sea] remained. She didn’t even know why she’d held onto it all this time, never willing to finish it since regaining her memories. Read complete versıon only at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱 But now—now was as good a time as any. [Congratulations, player ■■ Maple Syrup, for awakening SSS-grade skill: Nemesis] [Congratulations, player ■■ Rita, for awakening SSS-grade skill: Nemesis]