So… the totally innocent Shadyna has shattered the sun, explosively.

Whoopsie?

I didn't mean it, honest! Sure, I made all of my equipment hit the ground to create a big frozen crater in addition to my double [Luminous Icestorm], but it blowing up like a supernova was not the intended result! How was I supposed to know that? I could barely see the orange stuff turning blue at the time!

I'm pretty confident that Sateri was not in there either. I had dropped quite far down before the whole star scattered, so if she had been at the center, I would have spotted her using my [Detect Presence].

Confirm with my own eyes? Not happening with the orange-then-blue plasma wall forming around me during my descent!

[Condition fulfilled. Unlocked Title: "Stellar Breaker"]

[Condition fulfilled. Unlocked Skill: "Solar Radiance Lv.0"]

Nice~ But why did you judge guilty before giving me a lawyer, Sateri?!

Hmm… isn't this a bit too quiet? The [World Voice] spam has stopped, and even my guild chat is eerily silent. This night sky filled with tiny blue stars is not helping either. If anything, it has the atmosphere of an awkward confession scene that will pan upwards to the sky at the end as the characters inevitably get murdered by the serial killer.

Horror plots sure are filled with perverts huh…

_ Shadyna (Guild): Uh… Did my distraction work?

_ Nerin (Guild): What are you even… Oh no!

_ Hessy (Guild): What's the point of distraction if you are going to distract us as well?!

Don't ask me~

It looks like they are already back to business. It would be embarrassing if we lose because of my "help" so please do your best~!

_ Shadyna (Party): Su, , you two can turn off [Shared Fate] now. I will be fine from here on out.

_ Su (Party): *Sniffles* Our wife grows so fast…

There are so many things wrong with her statement that I am not sure if I want to start bashing it. Un, ignore ignore~

_ Helen (Party): In that case, I will reunite with my dear . Please take care of our love nest while I am away, okay~?

_ Elri (Party): There are children in this party, dammit! Get a room!

If we lose, the reason will definitely be these degenerates, un.

_ Su (Party): Leave it to me. I was about to throw those homewreckers off our lawn anyway!

Should I remind her of the artificial sun's current altitude? Throwing trespassers out is a valid defense, at 50 kilometers above ground is not, without parachute is just a guilty plea!

, you have doomed us all! How are we supposed to survive raids without the sun?!>

Wait what?

A-are we going to just pretend that the sun exploded due to whatever taking place in Tyrel instead of my doing?! I mean, there's no way anyone could have seen me, and I think the system messages appeared at roughly the same time…

Go for it, Su! I will get away with destroying public property for once, so I am not going to object!

It's no surprise that the scapegoat had no idea, because the sun exploding was not in the plan. Probably.

>

Somehow, the dark elven sisters are casually accusing the alliances of harassment?! And while I did not see the original system message, it's definitely not what they said! To begin with, it's [Enchant], not [Enhance]!

_ Hessy (Guild): Are you two out of your damn mind?! The whole player base will also shoot at us!

They were never sane per se, but I do have to wonder if they are even in the same reality sometimes.

My guild members are going to drive me insane one day for sure…

_ Choruse (Guild): Leader, you are already being assaulted from all sides as we speak. Any combatant pointing their sword elsewhere is an improvement.

_ Melodyn (Guild): Or~ Do you prefer it that way? Mera said you liked it a bit rough at times.

_ Mera (Guild): She really does~

…Although I'm obliged to remind them of the battle, it would be a lie to say that I am not interested in their discussion.

_ Hessy (Guild): I am going to murder all three of you after I am done with these pests!!!

Scary~

Okay, I've finished changing back to my normal gear. Time to make my move.

_ Shadyna (Guild): Everyone, could you…

_ Hessy (Guild): *Sighs* There goes what's left of the plan…

How rude~

____________

_ Maximus: , focus! They are trying to stall for time!

At the Goddess's statue, the battle resumed after a short pause caused by the massive explosion from above. It is to be expected, since not having a sun is kind of bad news for most players.

There's also the coming raid to worry about too. However, it is hard to organize a defense when the place is embroiled in a civil war. Minor guilds and unaligned players caught up in the initial blitz are now striking back at full force, and the rest are gradually joining in for various reasons, be it opportunistic sabotage or delusional hope of a lucky win in this race. While they lack the planning and coordination to be a serious threat, their constant attacks may weaken the alliances' encirclements, allowing to resume their advances.

Analyzing the possible courses of action they can take, concludes that the alliances' best shot lies in a quick win right here, right now. will take another minute or two at most, and they can prepare the defense after the infighting no longer has a reason to continue.

Now, if only the lolicon would actually work on the statue instead of engaging in a [World Voice] battle because people are saying that she prefers Sateri-chan to little girls!

Get a better reason to be offended, damn lolicon!

_ Vladina: Right! My ex-wife sure knows to hit where it hurts the most…

She probably doesn't, considering that she hasn't said anything after the initial accusation.

_ Maximus: …! GET DOWN!

*THWACK*

An arrow flew past as she was pulled away by the little girl in school uniform, hitting an invisible barrier around the statue before breaking into two. Had it not missed, it would have been fatal.

_ Girl in uniform: Enemy to the south! Every shield to , NOW!

Most buildings in Tyrel are private, so it is not possible to go through them without bulldozing the whole place, which is, to put it mildly, conspicuous, not to mention the now-open road accessible to all sides involved. On the other hand, if one has enough DEX and SPD, it is entirely possible to jump between rooftops using [Leap]. Coincidentally, archers who gain the most by having the high ground are more often than not the ones with the necessary DEX to pull these maneuvers off.

Like this bow-wielding waitress named , for example.

*WHAM*

_ Warrior: GUAH!

A warrior from jumped in to answer the little girl's call. As it turned out, the seemingly normal arrow was not safe to intake without a shield. He had one, but couldn't put it up in time, and even if he had, his chance of survival would have been flimsy at best.

_ Dead warrior: She one-shot my entire HP bar!!!

As lame as his death was, he bought others precious time to form a solid shield wall around the ' guildmaster, who is a bit shaken after two close calls in the span of a few seconds. At the same time, the magi charge forward to take the tanks' places as cannon fodder against the rampaging little girls and their murderous caretaker. They only need the body count to drown the enemies in their own virtual blood anyway, so this unconventional formation actually works, one way or the other.

and other archers are shooting back at to little effect. Their target is not immobile like a crafter doing their work, is faraway, and unlike the min-maxer, does not die from the slightest touch. If anything, she is most likely evading purely due to old habit. She won't die even if every arrow in a volley hits her anyway!

However, all is not lost for the alliances. Having some distance in between, their assailant cannot effectively destroy corpses to break the shield wall. The overworked healers will have no problem keeping up with the casualties, not more than their current horrible working conditions at least.

Actually, scratch that. 's attacks are so relentless, they are already struggling to maintain formation! With all of them being stationary, she can simply shoot arrow after arrow without aiming. If a gap appears, the degenerate guildmaster is done for, and so is the alliances' best chance at winning the event.

Meanwhile, the cavalry girls are still duking it out with the battle fetishists in the background. Unaligned players are also getting in the action, or caught up in it. Both types are being mowed down indiscriminately by major combatants either way.

As the fighting rages on all around them, the meat shi… tanky players surrounding brace themselves for the longest minute in their lives, as their friends and families are counting on them to win the war!

Or so they thought. Their friends are probably busy dying somewhere else in town so it is unlikely that many players know what the hell is going on here at the statue, let alone pray for anyone's victory.

The mood is still important though.

_ Terminator on a flower: [Deep Tunnel]!

Contrary to all expectations, the little terror on the gigantic flower opens up a bottomless pit on the ground for no apparent reason. She, along with her party, quickly jumps in and disappears from the battlefield as the pit closes up.

and everyone else stand dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events, then realize the cavalry party has also disengaged using [Recall]. Players from are just as puzzled, understandably.

_ Ignar: Did they… retreat?

Turning to the building where was garrisoning, the guildmaster of can't decide whether he should be sigh in relief or be terrified to see the waitress still standing there.

And she is waving. In the "Goodbye, it was nice knowing you" kind, to be exact.

It was at that moment, the might wielder of [ Blade of Unification] had a vague idea.

The battle has not been decided, so should not be pulling out. In other words, they had to because "something" made it dangerous for them to stay. "Something" that can meaningfully harm these OP players, warned them in advance, and made them forgo their goals when the alliances were so close to winning.

An image of a certain young girl grinning brightly flashes through 's mind. It is unfortunately not the rose-tinted delusions which appear when a harem protagonist is asked to close his eyes to find his one true romance option and dump the rest like old clothes, but the nightmarish memory that haunts a traumatized veteran for the remainder of his life instead.

*FLASH*

Before he could scream in horror and tell his allies to run for it, a [Recall] light had appeared above the shield wall. For the record, [Recall] does not work above ground, so that is definitely not normal.

From the light, she emerges. An innocent-looking girl cladded in black armor, her face covered by a half-opaque cloth of the same design. Her silver hair shines blindingly, not because the color, but the glowing liquid all over her armor instead.

Did she take a dip in a lava lake before coming here or something? Nevertheless, it is amazing how she is giving off a white and black glow at the same time.

Grinning like an idiot who cannot read the mood, waves at everyone cheeringly.

_ Shadyna: Hiyo~

Truly an idiot who cannot read the mood, at all.

*FWOOM*

is on fire.

is on fire.

is on fire.

Random players who just respawned are also on fire!

_ Everyone: WHAT THE HECK!!!

[Reinforcement progress reset]

____________

Players these days are soooo~ hard to please, I'm telling you.

Being a good guest, I gave them a warm welcome as I arrived, yet they are yelling in my face as if I am an arsonist who set the whole town ablaze!

Okay, I may have been doing that juuuust a teensy bit. When I rammed the sun, I expectedly got splashed with plasma again. I told my guild members to vacate the area before teleporting, so that only enemies and bystanders would be burnt by this whacky wet effect on me.

Sorry~

For some reason, the alliances are calling for a truce with the unaligned players. Are they going to be alright, blaring the whole negotiation with [World Voice] like that?

On an unrelated note, is it me or players are treating me as a whole new alert level? They are not, right? …Right?

_ Nerin (Guild): here, has cleared the area around the statue.

It is good news, but why did you sound like you had given up there, Nerin~? And cease that facepalming. I can see you from here you know~?

_ Elri (Guild): Nice job, !

_ Shadyna (Guild): Un! By the way, couldn't use [Deep Tunnel] and quickly throw out all obstacles?

Considering that they did the same thing to jump the line in the past, they should have no problem relocating this burning party below me to some alley on the other side of town.

_ Poltea (Guild): …Ah.

_ Fensen (Guild): …Oops. I completely forgot.

Or not. Guess abusing [Alpha Strike Power] can only carry them so far in combat huh. I suppose a training session to drill in their other skills is in order.

_ Elri (Guild): …Sorry, I was too occupied with that crazy woman.

And ma~ybe a little punishment for Elri too while I'm at it, as she was in charge of the two~

That's supposed to be my job? Little details~

_ Shadyna (Guild): It's fine~ I am going to [Enchant] the statue now. Is that alright?

_ Hessy (Guild): Go for it. Do you need our support?

_ Shadyna (Guild): Uhm… I am still a fire hazard to everyone in close proximity so no thanks.

Judging from how burnt out in roughly twenty seconds, this plasma is no joke. The lethality of the sun is even more immersive than I expected after the incident in our cafeteria…

_ Hessy (Guild): Alright. Nerin, cover guildmaster. Elri, , be on standby as close as you can, prepare to assault if the situation calls for it.

_ All (Guild): Roger!

I disable [Air Cushion] and land softly on an empty patch of land next to Sateri's statue, which is surprisingly hard to find in this corpse-ridden town square! At least there's no lack of screaming light sources to see around.

Meanwhile, my cute Lutena at my belt is still constantly healing me. I switched to combat gear so her support is needed to prevent my own plasma burns from killing me. It's probably not that bad since Gelly is still under [Shared Fate] with me, but it won't hurt to be careful.

_ Shadyna: Creati…

*THWACK*

Ouch! I haven't even started the skill and someone is already shooting arrows at my head!

I jump back out of reflex in response, barely in time to dodge the next volley. Knew it. No one does a single surprise attack then stops to gloat about their evil plans these days anymore!

Turning to the direction where they came from, I find and a bunch of other ranged attackers still firing at my general direction. is already confirmed casualty, and I think is somewhere in that pile of steaming dead magi. I wonder if the ill-mannered kidnapper escaped or was already outside of my range when I appeared…

And why were the magi further away while fighters gathered at Sateri's feet? Shouldn't their positions be reverse? Is this some kind of brilliant strategy they came up with for some weird reason? Their logic did not involve Sateri's feet in any way, shape, or form, right?

…Let's not think about it too much, un.

Because I am a pacifist who genuinely believes only diplomacy can achieve world peace, I begin walking towards them for a heartfelt conversation to resolve our differences, at full speed, while putting up my kindest smile I can muster.

For some unfathomable reason, they react by running away, and screaming, and shooting back at me, while running and screaming.

Why are you running? Hey, why are you running~? Didn't you shoot at me in order to get the attention of this (literally) hot (engaged) single (underage) lady in the neighborhood? You guys know that none of you can compete with my raw SPD, not to mention the skills and titles bringing it up to the next level right? You have my full attention now so stop running~!

They rushed into the crowd, trying to lose me in the sea of players. This former marketplace is way too packed, seriously. I need to be extra careful to avoid accidental collisions, which are not ideal for pacifism. Although I can fly, I prefer being on the ground this instance so they don't have clear line of sight to shoot at me.

And so starts the epic urban chase between the cute detective and the bad guys whose crime is bullying cute children of the neighborhood! Since I have tracked by [Detect Presence], he's not getting away without outrunning me. Good luck with that, commence laugh of questionable justice~

I dash in between unwitting players who were busy killing each other to gain control of the marketplace. Our dark elven sisters' provocation worked a little too well if you ask me. Most don't even mind us until I get close, mainly out of concern for being on fire. Dodging attacks, evading living obstacles, occasional [Leap] here and there, just your typical chase in a chaotic environment filled with innocent civilians, except for the trail of burning bodies behind us. Such a dangerous band of ruthless criminals, these guys are~

Jokes aside, I can catch up to and burn him in three seconds. However, these players here are not going to let me work on [Enchant] in peace afterwards, therefore I am deliberately having… difficulty closing the distance. By killing as many as possible, I effectively disrupt all planning and organization in the area. It's hard to organize an assault when the respawned players have more chance to be within arm's reach of their enemies than allies after all.

And since they would be fighting on their own volition, my pacifism is still going strong!

_ Nerin (Guild): Leader, guildmaster is on fire and setting players on fire, again.

_ Hessy (Guild): …As long as the victims are not buying patrons on our premises.

Harsh~ Also, no one cares about my wellbeing at all. Sad face~

…

By the time the plasma effect wore out, the town square had effectively turned into a free-for-all brawl. No matter how many I peacefully murdered, they still came back for a fight, and not necessarily with me. I muted the general chat and [World Voice] for some peace, but apparently the alliances and unaligned forces could not find a common ground to negotiate. As a result, the outer parts of Tyrel are now filled with raid monsters while everyone are distracted.

Face, meet palm. How the heck did you guys lose the walls in just a few minutes?!

_ Melodyn (Guild): reporting~ The walls are still standing. There were too few defenders so the monsters scaled them unobstructed.

They might as well open the gates if they don't intend to defend the walls, just saying…

_ Hessy (Guild): This is getting out of hand. , could you focus on finishing the event? Customers can't buy our food if they are broke.

I am about to do it regardless. Is it alright to treat our patrons like that though…?

Oh well, probably just my imagination~

_ Shadyna (Guild): You can count on me!

A [Deep Tunnel] opens up next to the statue, through which , and the whole cavalry unit come to my aid. I called them earlier to have some support during the crafting process, which leaves me defenseless and will be reset if someone happens to lit a fire in me in a literal sense, as demonstrated by earlier.

Un, no thanks to that.

Speaking of which, and disappeared after their parties got wiped and have not returned since. Did they give up or get stuck somewhere after respawn? Not that I would recognize them in this crowd if their whole gang aren't next to them in the first place…

_ Shadyna (Party): , , could you stand at Sateri's feet? Everyone else, please run around and skewer everything in sight.

_ Elri (Party): Are you sure? They might attack when we are away.

_ Shadyna (Party): It's fine. They will attack no matter what we do. I want you to make sure they can never concentrate enough force to cause us harm. Oh, and before you go…

_ Elri (Party): Hm?

_ Shadyna (Party): You should pull that arrow out of your head.

_ Elri (Party): …After they stop shooting at me, sure.

She sure had it rough huh. Good luck~

Without the big guilds' forces gathering in significant amount, our cavalry girls start their roaring stampede pretty much unhindered. Flat land combined with unorganized enemies are cavalry's ideal environment, so have fun dying, background victims~

As for the innocent children of the neighborhood… We are preparing for a siege. By that, I mean is giving her spare shields to . They are old equipment, and therefore not that powerful. Still, 's armors are more than enough to withstand most attacks, with or without our pets. What I am looking for is not attack power, but surface area.

_ Fensen (Party): ~, it's done.

I stop debuffing nearby players until they drop dead and walk to my apprentices. There was no reason to work on the statue since a stray arrow will ruin it anyway.

_ Shadyna (Party): Okay, we are going to do it like this…

Explanation in progress, please calmly wait and enjoy the gruesome background~

…

_ Shadyna (Party): Ready?

_ Fensen (Party): Un! Let's do it!

_ Poltea (Party): Uuu… This is embarrassing…

I told them the same thing, but their reactions can't be more different. Maybe I should be careful when they finally agree on something, for it might be the end of the world…

_ Shadyna (Party): Begin in 3… 2… 1… Activate Fortress Form!

_ Fensen (Party): Oh~!

_ Poltea (Party): O-oh!

With me in the middle, we pose like old-school superheroes whenever they make their entry. The pose itself is no special attack, or magic, or anything really. It's our menacing images that will strike fear into the heart of our enemies! They will be too scared to move and I will use that chance to [Enchant] without disruption!

…Judging from Nerin facepalming for the second time, 's dead fish eyes and everyone else's astounded expressions, I suppose the only thing that struck is utter confusion huh. Oh well, if it is stupid and it works~

Seriously speaking, I doubt anyone would fall for such a simple trick. We were simply killing time while the two girls bring their shields into position. seems to have been killed a bit inside as well though. Oops~

Shortly after that, the 14 shields they are wielding fly around us to form a cubic shield wall. Behold, the actual Fortress Form! Featuring 360-degree protection against all threats from all sides including above, the only way to damage its cargo (me) is to somehow kill the shield wielder through sheer brute force. Flanking and AoE are not going to get through when there is no gap in the defense either.

Now I can craft without being shot in the head, again!

_ Shadyna: [Creation]!

…Wait, I can't see anything out of these metal sheets!

_ Shadyna (Guild): Uh… Nerin, can you see any crafting sphere from over there?

_ Nerin (Guild): Using [Enchant] on the statue does not create one… But it's working. Why the heck is it working?! Crafting through an airtight box is cheating!!!

Welp, Nerin's broke.

_ Elri (Guild): W-well, at least this is something achievable by a few dozens of players?

_ Nerin (Guild): Don't encourage her, Elri!

Such a strict mentor, Nerin is~

Just as Elri said, a complete shield box can be done when there are a lot of players working together. I'm sure it is how Sateri planned for the event to play out, as the crafter must be protected from all harm until the [Enchant] completes. What we are doing here is just some cost-cutting due to lack of girlpower, so it's totally fine!

I think.

[Reinforcement progress at 25%]

*BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM*

As expected, someone is already knocking on the door. Sorry, but nobody's home~

_ Shadyna (Party): Want some candies?

_ Poltea (Party): Uhm… we still have to hold our main shield.

_ Fensen (Party): I am going to eat a lot after this fight!

I have Lutena go all-out healing on because that is one hell of a death flag she just raised for herself there!

[Reinforcement progress at 50%]

Since sitting in a dark small enclosed space is boring and not exactly good for one's mental health, I unmute the chat for a change.

_ Attempted trespasser #1: Get out here and fight you cowards!

_ Attempted trespasser #2: Let me out of here!

_ Attempted trespasser #3: Please come out, we have candies!

I mute the chat again.

_ Shadyna (Party): Su, how is our artificial sun holding up?

_ Su (Party): Worry not~ The raid ate their siege for breakfast. We lost one-fourth of the surface area however.

Good thing I [Blueprint] the whole thing in cases like this, isn't it? My wallet is still crying though…

[Reinforcement progress at 75%]

Almost there~

_ Mera (Guild): Ladies, we got them~

_ Su (Guild): Get them, we did~

_ Hessy (Guild): Finally! That bird was a pain to deal with!

_ Miel (Guild): Even though I was the one fighting it this whole time…

Looks like the battle outside is going well for my guild. The violent door-to-door salesmen here are not letting up unfortunately.

All in all, it is quite peaceful, relatively. I don't mind it in particular. It may be anticlimactic, but I'll choose that over being shot in the face every single time.

_ Shadyna (Guild): Hessy, what is the reward for this event?

Seeing how everyone is fighting like their lives depend on it, I guess it would be at least a full party's worth of [Artifact] material. At this rate my guild members will wear nothing but [Artifact]-grade equipment, won't they…?

_ Hessy (Guild): …I don't know.

[The Goddess's statue has been reinforced successfully. Congratulations.]

*FLASH*

I was spirited away before I could comprehend what Hessy had said. Sateri, you jerk~

____________

On the main street to the west of Sateri-chan's statue, the alliances are going for a final push. To say that the war is not in their favor is a massive understatement, so they are understandably desperate to turn things around.

At the back, the leaders of and are giving commands to the engaging players on the battlefield. It's only thanks to them that the alliances can still fight despite being hammered threefold by angry unaligned players, relentless raid, and worst of all, OP service workers.

_ Torenis (Party): We have drawn most of their force to the west, but even Etena won't be able to hold for long against them!

*Poke*

_ Cinrald (Party): If you have any idea on how to tear down these girls' defense, I'm all ears. I don't know if we are dealing any significant damage.

*Poke* *Poke*

_ Ignar (Party): I used all of my MP and they did not budge one bit!

_ Vladina (Party): Ram them with your body if you have to! We abandoned the raid defenses for this. You are not going to have a better chan…

*Poke* *Poke* *Poke*

_ Vladina: Cut it out! If you have something to sa…

Turning around irritated by the non-stop poking, the tiny guildmaster finds a suspicious smiling woman right behind them. Why suspicious? Because she is wearing a waitress outfit for one.

_ Torenis: HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET HERE?!

The two guildmasters are naturally freaked out by the sudden appearance of their nemesis. After all, their rearguards were supposed to prevent this kind of surprise! They had one job!

_ Vulkerzelianna Merashiel: Isn't it obvious, former guildmaster~? I got here on foot.

_ Torenis: You know damn well that's not what I asked for!!!

She does, and that's exactly why she gave that answer. is not known to be the person one should ask in emergencies, or in any situation really.

*FLASH*

Another suspicious person arrives on the disturbingly empty street via [Recall]. This time, it's the mistress of the teahouse, .

_ Sulien: …

And she does not look amused.

_ Vladina: W-wait! I can explain! This isn't what it looks like!

_ Sulien: Oh my, but I have not said anything? It is not of my concern to keep an eye on who my dear ex flirts with.

The cute proprietress is smiling, but her eyes are staring coldly into 's soul like a wife catching her husband's cheating red-handed.

_ Sulien: I will admit, however, that my intelligence gathering was… inadequate. Who could have predicted that you would not only get chummy with , but also as well? Well, you are done for either way.

The cheating (?) husband (?) is visibly distressed. Being accused of not staying faithful to little girls for the second time in just one day usually does that to a lolicon. That, and being in range of two insanely OP players, even if they are only healers.

_ Vladina: Ho-honey, please hear me out. You are a true pacifist. You shouldn't go around murdering people like little sprout, and…

_ Sulien: My dear …

Grabbing the massive paper fan from her back, snaps her weapon open in one fell swoop, revealing a luxurious oriental painting on its leaf.

_ Sulien: My [Pacifist] title is exactly why I will make you suffer without harming you. [Binding roots].

The guildmasters' screams of despair were lost among the countless other war cries around them. As he gets dragged to Sateri-knows-where after being tied up, can't do anything except for wondering if was screwing around or actually angry at during their whacky quarrel.

At this point, he's too scared to ask.