[Chapter 5 - Outplayed]

Selphonie stiffened.

"That's why you avoid them so much. You can freeze people in time, but you can't interact with them once they're frozen."

The realization settled between them like a crack of thunder.

Selphonie's lips parted slightly, but no words came.

Cydal grinned—not a smirk of arrogance, but a knowing, sharp-edged grin.

"And the students…" He gestured slightly around them. "The first time you attacked me, they had just barely started walking to class. But now?"

His gaze flickered across the courtyard, taking in the shift—the small, nearly imperceptible shift.

"They've moved quite a distance, haven't they?"

Selphonie's jaw tightened.

Cydal chuckled, rolling his shoulders as he steadied himself.

"I was right."

His voice was calm, unwavering.

"These people aren't just frozen—they're stuck in slowed time. Each time you attack me, they move. Just a little, but that's enough to conclude..."

"When you freeze people, you can't freeze your opponent at the same time."

Selphonie remained still, watching him like a predator assessing an opponent she had underestimated.

Her eyes twitched.

Cydal kept moving, shifting, forcing her attention to follow him. She was wary now—hesitant to step closer, to close the distance between them.

Because now, he knew.

Cydal's grin widened, sharp as a blade. He had her.

"You have to shift between targets—either freezing the crowd or me, but never both at once." He exhaled, tilting his head. "That explains why the students' positions kept changing every time you attacked me. Their movements weren't inconsistent. You were simply switching focus, over and over."

Selphonie's expression darkened, her lips pulling into a tight line. He was right.

She moved. Fast. Not wasting any more time!

Her body twisted through the air like a gymnast, legs tucking and extending, bouncing from one foothold to another as she lunged at him.

Cydal barely dodged, his body screaming in protest. He ducked behind the frozen students, weaving through them, forcing her to hesitate. She didn't want to touch them.

"What's wrong?" His voice carried a taunt, despite his labored breathing. "Resorting to hand-to-hand combat now?"

Selphonie's gaze sharpened, her movements growing more aggressive, but she still avoided the frozen bodies.

"What happened to your mana blasts?" she pressed, her voice sharp. "Earlier, you were using them to attack me, weren't you?"

There was no sign of physical contact—no wounds, no bruises—Only her pure mana that lingered on his body.

"I still don't know why you did it that way, freezing me, attacking me with your mana."

"Either you're not good with hand to hand combat?"

"Or your move's Accuracy isn't high, that's why you had to stop your target from dodging before attacking?"

"Whatever the case, Indirectly, you lucked out," he said, tilting his head. "Getting closer to me does you a lot more damage than you realize."

Her curiosity flared. "What do you mean?! Tell me now!" she demanded. Rushing to attack him.

But Cydal only chuckled, sidestepping just in time to avoid her sweeping leg.

"You don't seem to use your mana attacks on me now" His voice dripped with mockery. "What's the matter—can't risk freezing me? Because that would mean unfreezing this huge crowd… and letting them touch you."

Selphonie's expression darkened. Just for a second. Just enough for Cydal to know—he was right.

Selphonie's breath hitched for half a second—then she grinned.

"I don't need magic to defeat you."

Then, she struck.

Their battle reignited in a flurry of movement, her speed almost impossible to follow. She leaped from one spot to another, bouncing between frozen students, forcing Cydal onto the defensive. He barely managed to weave through the gaps, dodging at the last second, but she was faster.

Then, she caught him.

Her feet hooked around his torso, flipping his body mid-air before she slammed him into the ground. The impact rattled through his bones, and before he could recover, she was on top of him.

She straddled him, pinning him down, as if to dance on his body, she was gripping his collar and tie tight.

She leaned, her lips opened, like she would kiss him, then, she spoke, a little whisper in his ears.

"You were right, My mana attacks aren't accurate over long distances." Her breath was steady, unlike his. She wasn't even tired.

"That's why I only use them when my opponents are frozen."

Selphonie raised her hand, cursed energy swirling into her palm, forming a writhing mass of destruction.

"But here? At this distance?"

She smiled.

"I won't miss."

Cydal didn't budge, her words meant nothing to her.

Then—

A hand touched her.

Then another.

And another.

Selphonie's body stiffened, her pupils shrinking as her head snapped around. A dozen hands grasped her. Arms, fingers, shoulders—all belonging to the frozen students. The ones she had trapped in time, now fee and moving.

Her breath hitched. "What…?"

Her [STATUS SCREEN] flickered violently, red warnings screaming in her vision.

[WARNING: TIME-FREEZE ABILITY INTERRUPTED.]

[CONSEQUENCE: ALL STATS TEMPORARILY LOST.]

Her body glowed. Her energy drained within instant.

"No—"

Then, she exploded, the sudden drop of her stats was too much of a toll on her.

A violent shockwave burst from her, blasting away everything nearby.

Cydal gritted his teeth, bracing against the impact, his body skidding back as he shielded his face. The frozen students were thrown aside like ragdolls, the courtyard blanketed in thick dust and debris.

For a moment, silence.

Then, as the dust settled, there she was.

Face-down on the ground, her body steaming from the aftermath of her own magic.

Her once-pristine outfit was disheveled, her limbs trembling, too drained to even lift herself. She lay sprawled—her rear slightly raised, her fingers clawing at the dirt.

Her voice was weak, but laced with disbelief.

"How…? I don't understand, they were supposed to be frozen in time. Only I could unfreeze them!"

She coughed, her body barely responding.

"And how did you get them to touch me?!"

Her breathing was ragged, the weight of exhaustion pressing into her bones.

"Miserable insects like them should have been too weak to even come near me. Why… weren't they afraid of going against me, I could have killed them!"

A crimson screen flickered into Selphonie's vision, a sharp chime ringing in her ears.

[WARNING: OPPONENT'S ABILITY—"NULL" DETECTED]

[TIME FREEZE ABILITY HAS BEEN NULLIFIED WITHIN A CERTAIN RANGE]

Her eyes widened, a flicker of disbelief breaking through her composed mask.

Cydal chuckled darkly, watching the realization dawn on her face.

"You were so busy asking me about what your ability was," he mocked, tilting his head, "you didn't stop to think for a second what was mine?"

Selphonie clenched her fists, but Cydal only grinned wider.

"I didn't just hide behind the students," he continued. "I nullified your ability's influence on them. They weren't frozen anymore."

His grin sharpened, eyes flashing with satisfaction.

"I made them wait—wait for you to get cocky, to let your guard down… so they could attack."

He stood tall, his posture dripping with mockery, a lazy grin tugging at his lips.

Cydal stared down at her, unbothered. "You said you were sent to make me obey. And yet, here you are—failing. Lying beneath my feet."

His gaze darkened, voice steady. "Next is your creator. I don't care why he made me, and I don't care about his game."

A slow, deliberate pause. "I'll hunt him down. I'll kill him. And I'll take back my freedom."

As Selphonie's form flickered, glitching under the weight of her defeat, a new screen burst into Cydal's vision—

[CONGRATULATIONS, CYDAL!]

[VICTORY ACHIEVED!]

The notification flashed again. And again. Then it spammed relentlessly, stacking over itself in rapid succession—

[LEVEL UP! → LV. 12 → 18 → 24 → 30 → 34!]

[STATS INCREASED!]

HP: 320 → 980

MP: 150 → 650

STR: 25 → 82

DEF: 19 → 75

AGI: 32 → 90

INT: 40 → 100

[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: VOID NULLIFICATION – Can now cancel out magic in a wider radius!]

[NEW ITEM ACQUIRED: PHANTOM CLOAK – Conceals user's presence when standing still.]

[NEW ITEM ACQUIRED: ECHO BLADE – A sword that leaves delayed strikes in space, cutting enemies even after the initial swing.]

More messages filled the screen, his status rising so fast it felt surreal.

[RANK PROMOTION: NOVICE → INTERMEDIATE FIGHTER]

[UNLOCKED NEW QUESTS!]

Cydal exhaled, rolling his shoulders as his body adjusted to the sudden surge of strength. He flexed his fingers, feeling the sheer power flooding his system.

Screen once again flickered

[NEW OBJECTIVE: EXECUTE SELPHONIE]

[Kill her and claim her position.]

[Failure will result in a party member's death.]

[All levels gained in this fight will be revoked.]

His newly earned strength meant nothing if he disobeyed.

Cydal loomed over Selphonie, his shadow swallowing her whole. She lay sprawled on the cold ground, breath ragged, eyes wide—not in fear, but in disbelief.

His fist was raised, trembling. But there was no bloodlust in his gaze. No anger. Just something heavy. Something unwilling.

Selphonie let out a hoarse, bitter laugh.

"Oh, cut the act. I, of all people, know you don't care about our lives."

Her body trembled, but she smirked despite it.

"I heard a lot about you back then. Mostly bad things. But I was one of the few who didn't believe the rumors. I told myself—how can the villagers be so superstitious about a tiny little child?"

Her voice was empty, detached.

"Until that night."

Cydal's smirk faded.

"We saw the smoke first," she continued, her eyes distant, lost in memory. "When we arrived, the orphanage was already burning. And inside…"

Her fists clenched.

"All the children were dead."

Cydal exhaled through his nose, but his expression remained neutral.

"You killed them didn't you? And you were beating the Church Father to a pulp, he was burned, terrified, beaten half to death. I was there. I saw your fiendish form."

Her voice cracked.

"I wanted to burn you alive too, to avenge all the people you've hurt and the pain you've caused."

The words hit like daggers. She began crying, tears falling from her eyes.

"That same day, I buried my little brother. Because of you."

The flames of the past danced behind her hollow gaze.

"You really are the cursed devil. You torture the very people who care about you."

Her breath shook.

"If you hadn't been born, this town wouldn't be suffering. This game wouldn't exist. And I—"

She turned her head away, a horrid smile on her face as tears spilled freely.

"I wouldn't be like this, this soulless monster."

Her body curled inward, fragile, as if the weight of her past was crushing her from the inside.

Cydal remained silent.

Her fingers trembled against the dirt as she whispered, "I played so hard to win… to get my brother back…"

"But look at what I've become?"

Her voice was small now. A broken confession.

Cydal watched.

And then—

[WARNING: QUEST OBJECTIVE REMAINS INCOMPLETE.]

[FAILURE TO EXECUTE SELPHONIE WILL RESULT IN SEVERE PENALTIES.]

[FAILURE WILL RESULT IN A PARTY MEMBER'S DEATH.]

[ALL LEVELS GAINED IN THIS FIGHT WILL BE REVOKED.]

"No," he muttered under his breath. "She's useful. I can gain more from her if she's alive. I can learn whereabouts of the creator. That's why I am here."

The [SCREEN] flashed again, violently this time.

[ERROR. INVALID RESPONSE.]

[DISOBEDIENCE DETECTED.]

[RECONFIRM OBJECTIVE: EXECUTE SELPHONIE.]

The warnings stacked. Over and over.

His jaw clenched.

"Tch."

Cydal raised his arm, muscles bulging, veins surging beneath his skin like writhing serpents. His flesh darkened, shifting to a deep, unnatural green. His fingers twitched, nails elongating into razor-sharp blades, gleaming under the dim sun light.

Her screen screen buzzed.

!!WARNING!!

[Your opponent has activated his ability "Null."]

[Bloodlust detected.]

[Take defensive action or your existence will be erased!]

Selphonie turned away, her expression unreadable. Eyes closed, lips curling into a faint, almost serene smile. But the silent tears that slipped down her cheeks betrayed her..

Selphonie's vision blurred, her brother's fragile form playing behind her eyes like a cruel dream. He was so small, so breakable—skin stretched too thin over his tiny bones, his breath shallow, trembling in her arms.

He had clung to her, his frail fingers weakly grasping at her sleeve, tears slipping down his hollow cheeks. She had cried too, holding him tighter, willing warmth into him, willing the sky to open.

His voice was barely a whisper. "You said the rain would come… that we would see it together. But it never rained."

His dull, fading eyes met hers, searching, desperate. "Did you lie about it, Big Sis?"

She sang

A smooth, melodic sound, soft yet haunting, escaping her lips like a whisper from a forgotten memory.

"Little one, little one, don't you cry,

The sky is waiting, blue and wide."

"The rain will come, just close your eyes,

And we'll dance beneath the silver tide."

Her voice wavered, a breath of sorrow slipping through.

"But oh… the clouds, they moved too slow."

"Little boy couldn't see the rain…

And drifted away before the clouds."

Selphonie's voice quivered, her song carried away by the cold, uncaring wind.

Her eyes shut, her body limp. She wasn't resisting anymore.

Cydal's arm smoked, as if burning away the very fabric of existence wherever it moved.

It almost touched Selphonie, her shadows twisted violently, distorting into an abyss beneath her feet. she began to sink inside.

[WARNING: Unknown Player Approaching]

Cydal's instincts flared, but before he could react, a dark figure emerged from the shifting void—Shadow.

Without hesitation, he seized Selphonie, his grip firm yet effortless.

The darkness pulsed, swallowing them both.

And then—silence.

The shadows dissipated like mist, leaving nothing behind. Selphonie and Shadow had vanished.

The screen buzzed.

[QUEST FAILED!]

BOSS PLAYER SELPHONIE HAS ESCAPED!

[PENALTIES APPLIED:]

[LEVEL DOWN! → LV. 34 → 30 → 24 → 18 → 12!]

[STATS DECREASED!]

HP: 980 → 320

MP: 650 → 150

STR: 82 → 25

DEF: 75 → 19

AGI: 90 → 32

INT: 100 → 40

[WARNING!]

ALL NEWLY ACQUIRED SKILLS, ITEMS, AND PROMOTIONS HAVE BEEN REVOKED.

[SKILLS LOST:]

VOID NULLIFICATION – (Ability to cancel out magic in a wider radius has been removed.)

[ITEMS LOST:]

PHANTOM CLOAK – (Concealment effect removed.)

ECHO BLADE – (Delayed strike ability revoked.)

[RANK DEMOTION:]

INTERMEDIATE FIGHTER → NOVICE

[QUESTS REMOVED!]

All newly unlocked quests have been erased.

[SYSTEM NOTICE:]

You have returned to your previous state before battle.

But it wasn't over.

To Be Continued.