Hindsight was 20/20. Knowing how things would end up two weeks after Acclimation, would she still have sided with the Human Empire?

Evangeline wasn’t actually sure.

It was obvious that the way things had played out was less than ideal. Of course, she could blame circumstances, luck, even the gods themselves—but while she was rarely honest with others, she at least took pride in being honest with herself.

Every Hell Mode Challenger had the opportunity to align with and receive power from a god. Dawnbreaker had chosen Mira, the goddess of hope. Liling had chosen Halgriva, the goddess of death. Abelino had refused all of the gods.

Evangeline had chosen Akrin, the god of assassination.

And she had a standing quest to kill as many of the Hell Mode Challengers as possible. Each kill would reward her with a C-rank void skill or spell.

Most people in the world were selfish, Evangeline was just more honest with herself about it.

The world was falling apart, and the deity offering the greatest rewards came at a cost that she was willing to bear.

This was a world of survival of the fittest, and so survival meant being the fittest.

So she chose to be an assassin.

She was obviously biased—as an assassin targeting the strongest defenders of Earth, of course she would want to ally with the invaders. The incentives clearly lined up.

But even if she weren’t an assassin, even if she were still in good standing with the New World Government, she would still want to join the Human Empire.

Aligning with the Human Empire was the natural choice that nobody else seemed to accept.

Evangeline had been skeptical, at first. But there were truth serums available in the Merchant Faction stores, and the scouts that she had captured from the Human Empire had been willing to testify.

What they revealed had been troubling. There were virtually no unaffiliated planetary governments. Nine out of ten planets were conquered within the first two months of Acclimation. Planets conquered by the Fey clans or Metan alliance faced the worst fate, forced to extract the resources of their own planet, required to meet unreasonable quotas, unable to level effectively. Humans would have no say in the government, in the laws, and they would have next to no rights. It was, in essence, enslaving the population of the entire world.

Even for the planets that conquered the World Boss, and formed ties with one of the factions that didn’t invade other planets, the prognosis was rough. The factions that didn’t invade other planets were far weaker than the invaders, so joining such factions was a losing battle.

Evangeline had spent thousands of coins on information missives from the Merchant Faction to confirm this information.

And she concluded that surrendering to the Human Empire was the best option, independent of her own situation. The Human Empire didn’t provide the same level of freedom as the factions that didn’t invade other planets. But it was better to be on the winning team, with less freedom, than the losing team, because all the freedom in the world would only last until your world gets captured again.

Of course, there were also the personal benefits. The Human Empire was as close to a true meritocracy as possible—and the merits behind a virtually bloodless takeover of the planet would be incredible.

Everyone would have the chance to level up, they would still have relative autonomy, and the naturalization process was incredibly straightforward for humans who never fought back against the Human Empire. The people of Earth would be welcomed with open arms.

Yes, school would look more like military training camps. Yes, they would be joining a faction that creates wealth by expanding and conquering other worlds. But that was the nature of reality, now.

Even if her Hell Mode compatriots were able to kill the World Boss, and even if whichever faction they invited onto Earth was as reliable as they claimed, allowing them to fight off the invasions of the Human Empire, the Fey clans, the Metans—in the long run, they would be tied to the side of a losing war.

There was a reason Dawnbreaker’s goddess—likely the goddess of the faction that her Hell mode compatriots would run to---was the goddess of hope. If you’re losing, then you’re hoping for a long-shot chance at victory.

Hell-mode companions and the one wanna-be.

Evangeline watched from a safe distance as Jarek Novak stabbed his sword into the scaley hide of the Ice Dragon.

The aim, timing, and positioning of the attack was perfect. Half the challenge that Abelino, Dawnbreaker Jarek, Liling, Absame, and Renshu faced was that thick layers of ice coated the dragon. So it took a blast from Abelino’s Aviaton, followed by a beam of golden light from Dawnbreaker’s sword, for Jarek to be able to stab the sword into dragon’s hide.

They seemed to be going for one of the muscles or tendons that controlled the wing.

The ice dragon roared as its blood froze before it could touch the ground.

How Jarek Novak kept up with the others was a mystery to her.

“You said Jarek was the one who made the Aviaton?” Sett asked from beside her.

There were two imperial scouts with her, ready to help her defeat the Hell Mode Challengers.

Sett was a support-type. He could reset cooldowns, and he had created the invisibility barrier that kept anyone from noticing them. He also could teleport people long distances.

It was his teleportation ability, combined with his ability reset, that had brought them here in time to interfere in this battle against the Ice Dragon.

Sett himself wasn’t much of a damage dealer—that’s where Gladius came in. The two of them were clearly used to being partners. Sett could teleport Gladius into close range, and Gladius’ close-range abilities were lethal.

With Evangeline filling out the long range, high damage abilities, they would make a good team.

Jarek dodged the Ice Dragon’s angry, retaliatory swipe by inches, catching the force on his blade and using that force to propel him away from the irate dragon even faster.

His unisuit was a strange one—tentacles reaching out from his spine somehow functioned as multi-directional thrusters, allowing him to fly around with incredible precision.

“He made the Aviaton, he earned Death’s Defier, and he is a D-rank Mana Modulator,” Evangeline recapped.

It was Death’s Defier that irked her the most. Evangeline’s assassination track record was abysmal. Death’s Defier was a broken skill.

But it wasn’t nearly as broken as trying to assassinate a lich.

If she could go back in time, would she make the same decision to side with the Human Empire?

Probably. Because she would know to kill Liling before she hit level 50, and to kill Jarek twice. From a distance.

Even the other Hell Mode Challengers from Europe—she had thought she could backstab them in the battle against the Sandman, but she had been forced to run from the illusions, leaving two Hell Mode Challengers in the Sandman’s grasp.

So many missed opportunities.

“He probably is either possessed, or he overcame possession,” Sett concluded, as he watched Jarek fight. “He’s too good at using his abilities. And the Mentalist Cooperative was supposed to control North America anyway, which clearly didn’t happen. They were probably the fodder that helped him grow into this.

“Don’t target him first,” Sett continued. “His reflexes are far too good, and he likely has some kind of danger sense to get this far. There is no value for you in targeting the lich, likewise for the duplicator. And the golden girl’s armor might tank your first hit.”

“I know,” Evangeline said. The Imperial Scouts had a habit of treating her like an ignorant girl. The frustrating thing is that she often was when it came to the Schema. “Absame is too tanky as well. So Renshu first.”

Renshu was flying on the undead wyvern with Liling and Absame.

“Wait for the dragon to make its move,” Sett said. “Once Absame’s shield and Renshu’s portals are under pressure.”

Evangeline sighed at the micromanagement, but said nothing.

Absame was using his martial energy to shield the whole undead wyvern, and Liling was maintaining a constant spell that seemed to be siphoning off the dragon’s huge mana reserves. Evangeline’s Mage Sight showed vast portions of ice-attributed mana being converted into death-attributed mana, which was reinforcing the undead wyvern’s body. With how the wyvern was quickly becoming faster and stronger, Evangeline guessed that, given enough time, Liling could turn her undead wyvern into a beast that could rival the dragon.

The ice dragon had a three-fold attack. It created massive blizzards which would hamper the movement and visibility of anyone nearby. It had never-ending supplies of icicles that constantly battered its enemy—some were the sizes of needles, and others were the size of streetlights. And of course, it used its own body—claws, jaws, and tail, primarily—to try to shred through its enemies.

Renshu’s job was to keep the battlefield as clear as possible. He was rapidly vanishing the snow and ice around the undead wyvern.

The undead wyvern, along with its riders, was surrounded by a massive sphere, which Renshu had created. Any snow or ice that crossed the sphere vanished, as if it had never existed.

It was an incredibly effective defense against the dragon’s ranged attacks, and the unbelievable part was that Renshu had been keeping it up for several minutes already, with no signs of flagging.

“Don’t count on your Void Bolt to break the sphere,” Sett said. “Give it a minute. A World Boss wouldn’t die this easily.”

Evangeline waited.

Abelino and Dawnbreaker scored another wound against the dragon. Abelino’s shot landed on the dragon upper chest, and Dawnbreaker’s beam of light followed immediately after, in exactly the same spot.

Then, as Jarek flew towards the dragon, it happened.

From Evangeline’s perspective, it seemed as if time froze. Everything around the ice dragon gained a white sheen, locked in place.

Mage Sight showed a latticework of ice crystals forming a massive dome around the ice dragon.

The undead wyvern was motionless in the air, wings frozen mid-beat.

Jarek was motionless just a foot away from the dragon, his sword locked in place.

It was mystical, beautiful, and terrifying.

Only Abelino’s Aviaton was out of the dragon’s range.

He fired the mana cannon towards the dragon, but the mana fizzled out as it travelled towards the dragon, impacting on layer upon layer of ice crystals. By the time it reached the dragon, the only sign of its existence was an icy comet lingering in the air.

“Ice Domain,” Sett whispered, in awe. “Get ready.”

The dragon ignored Jarek, flying directly towards the undead wyvern.

It threw its body against Renshu’s spherical barrier and the barrier popped like a soap bubble.

Absame’s Martial Energy still provided an additional layer of defense, but with a single swipe of a claw, Absame’s energy field vanished.

A claw headed for Absame. A flurry of icicles shot towards Liling. The dragon’s tail slapped towards Renshu.

Evangeline felt a moment of panic. If the dragon killed them, then that would be three C-rank skills she would miss out on.

But if there was anything she had learned so far, it was that you shouldn’t underestimate Hell-Mode Challengers.

A weak, flickering Domain spread from Liling. Death-attuned mana fought the ice-attuned mana, and the riders of the undead wyvern burst into action.

Absame’s Martial Energy coated all three of them just in time to defend against the dragon’s attacks.

The flurry of icicles turned Liling into a porcupine. Absame’s shield actually blocked the claw that swiped at him.

The tail slammed against Renshu, and he went flying into the air, off the wyvern, Absame’s Martial Energy flickering around him.

Void Lock.

Void Bolt.

Void Bolt.

Evangeline’s three skills were nearly instantaneous, thanks to her triple-casting ability. Void Lock trapped Renshu in place, freezing him even as he fell towards the ground. Then, two Void Bolts landed. The first shredded any remaining shields around him, and the second left a three-inch hole in his head.

It was blatantly unfair. Renshu’s abilities required time to manifest, and between the double lock down, he never had a chance to defend himself.

“Done,” Evangeline said, after receiving the experience.

Abelino’s Aviaton was turning towards their location, but Sett had been waiting.

With a flicker of mana, they teleported to a new location.