Tactical Chaos, Tactical Ex-Fiancee

There are two kinds of people you never want to piss off:

Your ex when she still has your bank passwords.

A highborn elven princess with a millennium of pride and a bow kissed by the gods themselves.

Guess which one I pissed off?

Yup.

The wind chilled.

The ground froze.

The air screamed in ancient elvish — you know, the kind of language that makes your ears bleed just from being in the room.

And at the center of it all, wrapped in divine fury and moonlight murder?

Seraphina Loire.

Her violet eyes burned like twin novas. Her hair braided with silver threads lashed in the wind like celestial whips. In her hands? A bow carved from the bones of a divine stag, glowing with righteous vengeance.

"You dare insult me through a goblin messenger? You pathetic worm."

"Technically, he was off-script—"

"I will erase your bloodline."

"Overreaction? Much?"

BOOM!

A massive tree behind me exploded into ash. Splinters sliced past my head.

"Aurelia! Tactical retreat!"

"That means run, right?!"

"RUN!!"

We bolted through crumbling ruins, ducking divine judgment.

One arrow singed my coat. Another turned a stone wall to powder.

"You can't outrun me, Ashen Crimson!" she screamed. Her voice cracked the sky.

"I'm not outrunning you! I'm buying time!"

[System Notification: This may be a bad time, but she's still single.]

"SYSTEM. SHUT. UP."

We dove behind the cracked bones of a fallen cathedral.

I dropped to one knee, wheezing. Aurelia stared at me like I had grown a second head.

"You poked a sleeping goddess, and now you want a plan?"

"Step one was chaos. Step two is improvising while bleeding."

"And step three?"

"Profit."

Meanwhile: The Top Battlefield

Rin moved like he'd been drawn by five different anime studios with a limitless budget. He deflected Nyx's shadow daggers while parrying Cecilia's frost-laced sabers.

"Where's Seraphina?" Cecilia asked, glancing around mid-combo.

"She should've been here by now," Rin replied, frowning.

Nyx narrowed her eyes.

"She's not stalling. Something went wrong."

Back to Me: The Dumbest Smartest Plan

Seraphina landed in front of us, surrounded by swirling winds and divine fury.

"No more games."

"You're right," I said. "Time for some divine-tier trash talk."

I activated Shadow Echo.

Ten copies of me flickered into existence, forming a snarky circle around her.

"Surround her. Taunt Formation—go."

All ten shadows, in unison:

"Seraphina Loire? More like Seraphina Bore."

She fired immediately.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Shadows exploded one after the other.

I whispered to Aurelia behind me, "When she targets the real me, you hit her. Hard."

She nodded, lightning gathering around her hands.

"You can't hide forever, Crimson!" Seraphina yelled.

"True," I replied. "But I can annoy you forever."

She stopped.

Her gaze locked onto mine.

"You're the real one."

…Damn.

She fired.

"NOW!"

Aurelia surged forward.

Lightning Blade: Stormpierce.

The bolt struck Seraphina from behind. She gasped, falling to one knee.

"You… cheated…"

"Thank you. I try."

[DING! Side Quest Complete: Stop Seraphina from Joining Rin's Harem]

Reward: Passive Skill Unlocked – Tactical Manipulator (B)

[DING! Seraphina – Heavily Injured. Forced Retreat Triggered. Remaining Players: 6]

She dissolved into divine mist.

Aftermath

I leaned back against the cathedral wall.

"Well… that happened."

Aurelia gave a crooked smile. "You're insane."

"Correct."

"…And kinda brilliant."

"Also correct."

We fist-bumped like two disaster children accidentally taking down a raid boss.

Viewing Deck – Crimson Estate

The screen shimmered in the great hall.

Selene Crimson sipped her wine, raising an eyebrow. "He really is my son."

Regus Crimson chuckled.

Lucielle, my ever-smug little sister, just said, "Took him long enough to unlock a real skill."

From a floating palace in the distance, Eliora Nyx narrowed her eyes.

"That bastard… He's stealing my screen time."

Meanwhile: Rin, Nyx, and Cecilia

They paused mid-battle as the system announcement rang out.

[DING! Seraphina Eliminated.]

Nyx blinked. "Who could've taken her down?"

"Was it the twins?" Cecilia asked.

"No," Rin muttered. "Only one person would try something that stupid."

He turned toward the east quadrant.

"Ashen Crimson."

His eyes darkened.

Back to Me: Plot Momentum

I was enjoying the post-chaos silence when:

[DING! New Side Quest: Prevent Rin from bonding with any female characters. Harem Blocker Protocol – Level 2 Activated.]

"He's escalating…" I muttered.

Aurelia frowned. "What now?"

"We split up. You draw Rin's attention. I… do something else stupid."

In the distance, a nuclear-tier spell lit up Sector Zero.

And as I stepped out into the light—

"Ashen!" Aurelia cried out behind me.

I turned. She was glowing… and then—

Fading.

[DING! Aurelia has been eliminated.]

"What—?"

I looked up.

Standing over her, elegant and terrifying, was a woman in black leather armor laced with crimson thorns. Her pale blue eyes glowed like frostfire.

Her voice? Ice and venom.

"Long time no see, dear ex."

My blood froze.

"It's not even been half a year," she said, walking forward. "And you've already moved on? Hanging out with a new toy?"

She smiled darkly.

"As your ex-fiancée, Ashen… I believe you owe me a punishment."