First Event: Everything… Goes In Flames!

The man who held onto the top ranking position for more than two hours suddenly dropped from the rankings during the last two minutes of the event. If this isn't a huge scoop, what is?

In the first place, how did this happen? This is the question that's on everyone's mind at the moment.

They were baffled by the fact that Pain suddenly dropped on the rankings. The only explanation for this was that he died during that last two minutes, resulting in him losing a third of his points…

Well, let's go back a few minutes before this all happened.

It all started when the announcement during the last hour of the event blared and the top three's locations were given for every participants to see.

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At a cave deep inside the forested area of the mountains, three people could be seen chilling inside it, totally ignoring the competitive atmosphere of the event they are in. These three are none other than Mutsuko, Satania, and Rikka.

They already have enough points to enter the top 40 or so, that's why they are pretty chill about the whole situation. It's not like they could have the chance to have a lot of points anyway.

That's until they heard the good news that came from the developers.

"Current standings: Number one Pain! Number two Dread! Number three Maple! For the final hour, anyone who defeats these three will receive a third of their points! Their locations are all shown on your map! Good luck!"

This announcement immediately made the three perk their ears as they all knew that this is their time to get a lot of points. Not only do they have the chance to get a lot of points, they'll be able to pave the way for their friends to get into the rankings as well!

"Oh! It looks like our big moment has come!" Mutsuko shouted in jubilation.

Right after her announcement, Rikka and Satania literally jumped up from their original sitting position before striking a pose.

"Kukuku! That top one player will bow down in defeat with the power of my [Tyrant's Eye]!"

"You took the words out of my mouth, Rikka. I, Satanichia, the Queen of all Hell, shall put an end to that poser of a top ranking player!"

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go~! I wanna test out my newly made inventions to this top player."

And so began the three's adventure to assassinate the current top 1 in the rankings, Pain. With this kind of group gunning for his life, he wouldn't even know what'll hit him.

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Before they could hunt Pain, they'd need a plan. It doesn't need to be full proof. Just a general idea of what they'd have to execute should do.

"So, what do you think we should do in order to kill him?"

It was Rikka who asked this question.

'I already know that we have a great chance of killing Pain if he just stood in his position like a sitting duck and let Satania hit her with her fireballs but… That plan is too farfetched, isn't it?' Rikka thought.

"That's a great idea! We just need Satania-chan to charge up as many of her powerful spells as she can and then we can blind, silence, and stun him so that he couldn't escape! Don't you have that kinda skill?"

"I like how your mind works, Rikka. Even though you're a mortal, you have some devilish ideas in your mind. It's not as good as mine though! A-Hahahaha!"

It seems like Rikka didn't even notice that she said her thoughts out loud. In response to her idea, Mutsuko and Satania also voiced out their opinions about the 'plan'.

"Eh? Which skill are you talking about, Mutsuko-neesan? I don't ever remember having a skill that could inflict stun, silence and blind…"

"Ehh!? You don't remember the skills that you gained from that saintess!?" Mutsuko was visibly surprised by the revelation. However, upon further thought, she realized that it wasn't a surprise that she forgot about it.

This skill of hers is something that has multiple conditions that needs to be met before she could use it, after all.

"That other skill that you gained from the Saintess. You know? That [Light of Judgement] skill?"

At Mutsuko's response, Rikka immediately showed an expression that's as if she just remembered something.

"Ohhhh! I totally forgot! It's that skill that immobilizes 'sinners' while also applying stun, silence, and blind status effects onto them. It also applies physical and magic damage amplification onto the target who you choose as the 'champion' that would 'punish' the sinner, right?"

"Yep! That's it!"

"Eh, but doesn't that skill have a casting condition as well? 'The target should have committed more than 10 counts of any sin, right?"

This time, it was Satania who joined in the conversation.

"Uh-huh. The physical and magical damage amplification scales with how much sins the enemy committed, an hour before the skill was casted on them."

"What are you saying Rikka-chan? Isn't this a battle royale tournament where you get points by killing an enemy?" Mutsuko said as if she was a teacher trying to teach her student.

"You don't mean…" Rikka's eyes widened as she realized what Mutsuko was trying to say.

"Kukuku… A-Hahahaha! This meant that the top 1 player right now should have killed a lot of players by now!"

"Since his location is revealed, a lot more players should be diving headfirst towards him in an Hail Mary attempt…"

"""And that's the perfect moment for us to strike!"""

While Mutsuko, Rikka, and Satania are getting ready, the spectators are already ignoring the happenings in the mountainous area. To them, Pain already have this event in the bag.

✽✽[First Event Spectators]✽✽

Anonymous Spectator: Look at how players are just diving headfirst towards Pain. They didn't know that they're just making it easier for Pain to gather more points!

Anonymous Spectator: That's just them going for a Hail Mary man. You can't blame them. A third of Pain's current points would be huge.

Anonymous Spectator: But it's getting quite boring to watch, don't you think?

Anonymous Spectator: It is. It would be better if we just watch some other players.

Anonymous Spectator: Look! Something big is happening back in the plains! Tama-chan is going for Dread's head!

Anonymous Spectator: Oh! That's a huge scoop! Let's go and watch that! Pain's gonna be top either way.

Anonymous Spectator: Yeah. I'm pretty sure that Pain will get the top spot, no problem.

Anonymous Spectator: He's top at the level leaderboards for a reason man.

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Thirty eight minutes already passed since the announcement and the three girls are already on their way to Pain's location. Mutsuko is carrying a huge bomb-like thing behind her back as they walked towards the blinking red light on the map.

"By the way Mutsuko-neesan…"

"Yeah? What is it Rikka-chan?"

"I didn't get to ask you earlier but, what is that thing that you're carrying?" Rikka replied as she pointed at the thing on Mutsuko's back.

"Oh, this? This will help us concentrate Satania-chan's firepower. This way, all of Satania-chan's damage will all be focused in one area."

"Ohh! That's awesome! Why'd you make it though?"

"Well, aren't nuclear bombs a thing? That was my main inspiration in creating this. It will suck all of the magic power poured into it and will then release it in a form of explosion that has a wide area of effect. I'm still experimenting on it."

While they were chatting, they finally arrived at Pain's location.

"Alright. This should be a nice spot!"

"Equip this bomb Satania-chan. Use it like how you use your staff! Once you're ready, just tell Rikka-chan and she will cast her [Light of Judgement] on Pain. After that, you could just throw the bomb like you're throwing a spell at him. It works like a fireball spell so you wouldn't have a problem firing it!"

Once she was done explaining the plan, Mutsuko rushed out towards the battlefield and began throwing bombs and other projective weapons at the other players, making the situation even more chaotic.

"I just have to cast my spells on this, right?"

"Yep. That's what she said."

"Then after that, I just need to hit that Pain guy, right?"

"Uh-huh…"

"A-Hahahaha! Let's do this! I'm getting excited!"

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And so, this leads us to the current situation. With the bomb in hand, Satania waited for Rikka to cast her skill onto Pain and her.

In front of her, Rikka is on a kneeling position, with her hands clasped together as if she's praying. She's been in that position for about ten seconds now without moving so Satania is getting slightly impatient.

Thankfully, Rikka finally ended the ritual of sorts and began chanting the spell. As she continued her chant, Rikka's hair gradually became platinum in color while twelve golden wings with a pink ombre sprouted from behind her back.

"Oh, Goddess of Light and Justice, bring down justice upon this sinner in the name of the Holy Light, [Light of Judgement]!"

By the end of her chant, Rikka's appearance changed completely into that of an angel. After her chant, a huge beam of light landed on Pain, Rikka, and Satania.

Pain got shackled by numerous white chains, looking like a sinner waiting for his judgement, while Satania got covered in a platinum colored armor-like thing that's slightly transparent.

"You can fire that now, Satania-san!"

"This is the moment I've been waiting for! Eat this, the Ultimate Explosion from Hell!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOM*

The next moment, the trees, the rocks, the grasses, and even the players around the vicinity… Everything was engulfed by a loud explosion.

"And that's the end of our event! The final standings: Number one Maple! Number two Pochi! Number three Pain! Let's proceed to the awarding ceremony!"

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※~To be continued~※

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Author's Remarks:

※ Phew. I didn't think I'd feel exhausted writing this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it! As always, thank you guys for your continued support!