When Ren Kuroda's words reached Pest's ears, she visibly froze.
No matter how she turned it over in her mind, she had never expected her own Gift Game to drag another Demon Lord–class community into the chaos.
And not just any Demon Lord community, either.
They only had three members—yet every single one of them was either a Demon Lord or a former Demon Lord.
Setting Ren aside for the moment, both Algol and Leticia had once been infamous Demon Lords in Little Garden's past. Their names had shaken entire Outer Gates. They were nothing like a rookie Demon Lord such as Pest.
And yet… those two had willingly placed themselves under Ren's command.
Didn't that imply his strength surpassed even theirs?
Pest carefully weighed the gains and losses in her heart. Then she glanced at the battlefield—at the fallen plague, the broken ritual, her injured subordinates, and the unwavering trio before her.
Finally, she let out a slow, tired sigh.
"I hope you will honor your promise," she said, lifting her gaze to Ren. "The community GrimmGrimoireHameln concedes defeat in this Gift Game to the community Ghost Travel."
As the Game Master and leader of the host side, Pest's declaration of surrender carried absolute authority. The moment those words left her mouth, the Gift Game officially came to an end.
Black Rabbit's long ears twitched as Little Garden delivered the verdict.
The former members of GrimmGrimoireHameln—Pest, Weser, and Ratten—had lost the Gift Game. As a result, they now became subordinate members of Ren Kuroda's community, Ghost Travel.
When Pest launched her Demon Lord assault, she had forcibly dragged every community from Outer Gate 3999999 to Outer Gate 4000000 into the game.
Under normal circumstances, if the host side lost, the rights over Pest and her followers would have been impossible to divide fairly among so many participating communities.
But this time was different.
Pest had personally conceded to Ghost Travel.
She acknowledged that GrimmGrimoireHameln had lost—but only to Ghost Travel.
In other words, there was only one victor.
And naturally, Pest, Weser, and Ratten now belonged to Ghost Travel.
As the Gift Game concluded, the Black Death that had blanketed the entire venue receded, drawn back into Pest's control. The oppressive miasma vanished as if it had never existed.
The North District's Outer Gate erupted into celebration.
Contract documents descended slowly from the sky, shimmering with divine authority.
The people of the North didn't fully understand how Ghost Travel had managed to defeat a Demon Lord.
But one truth was undeniable.
The Demon Lord had been defeated.
And they had survived.
Once again, the name Ghost Travel resounded across the North District.
Of course, as one of the primary combat forces and the core group responsible for unraveling the mystery, No Name also gained tremendous recognition.
Ironically, the host community, Salamandra, had performed rather modestly during the Demon Lord's assault.
Still, as the North District's Floor Master, Sandora had stepped forward at a critical moment and single-handedly defeated the three-headed Sturm. That feat alone earned her the acknowledgment and respect of most communities in the North.
With the Gift Game officially over, the grimoire's "Town of Hamelin" gradually dissolved into nothingness.
And the one who had been sealed until now—Shiroyasha—was finally freed.
Having been immobilized in the arena for two full days, the moment her seal broke, she disappeared from where she lay and reappeared directly in front of Pest.
Her eyes glinted with icy menace.
A sun, once released from its restraints, was not something Pest could withstand.
Though she had shouted about revenge before, the instant she stood face to face with Shiroyasha—who radiated nothing but cold hostility—the first thing Pest felt was fear.
However—
Before Shiroyasha could take a single step forward, Ren moved.
He stepped between them and shielded the injured Pest behind his back.
It was a subtle gesture.
But to Pest, it felt unreal.
When she had chosen to surrender earlier, part of her reasoning had been concern for her two subordinates. Another part was that she knew her chances of victory had dwindled to almost nothing.
More importantly—
Compared to losing the Gift Game and falling into the hands of the person she despised most, Pest would rather accept Ren's proposal.
Until now, she hadn't truly understood him. She hadn't known whether he would keep his word.
But this small action spoke louder than any vow.
Perhaps he truly meant what he said.
Perhaps he genuinely treated every member of his community as a companion.
At this moment, Pest felt that Ren Kuroda was far more trustworthy than her former "Highness" and the others.
They had all been Demon Lords.
Yet unlike them, Ren had never treated Weser and Ratten as disposable pawns.
"Brat," Shiroyasha said coldly, her voice laced with restrained fury. "I still haven't settled accounts with you for threatening me in the East District. And now you intend to protect them?"
Truthfully, Shiroyasha wasn't overwhelmingly angry about the "Pied Piper of Hamelin."
What she felt was irritation.
She had been invited to the North as the ultimate safeguard—the final insurance.
Yet when a Demon Lord truly attacked, the strongest among them had been sealed uselessly in the spectator stands.
And from Pest's earlier remarks, it was obvious that although the incident had occurred during the North District's Fire Dragon Birth Festival, her true target had always been Shiroyasha herself.
Ren didn't flinch beneath that blazing pressure.
"The attack by the 'Pied Piper of Hamelin' on the North District communities," he said evenly, "was nothing more than a staged script directed by Salamandra to reinforce their authority as Floor Master."
"They simply didn't expect Pest and her group to come fully prepared. Nor did they anticipate that the White Night Demon Lord—the strongest Floor Master—would be sealed by the game's rules."
"If responsibility must be assigned, then Salamandra should bear the greater share."
He tightened his stance slightly, keeping Pest behind him.
"And since this spotted little brat has already surrendered to my community and joined Ghost Travel, she is now our companion."
"If you intend to continue this, we'll accompany you to the end."
His gaze sharpened.
"But I wonder… can this year's Fire Dragon Birth Festival withstand a second Demon Lord assault?"
His tone was calm.
His attitude, utterly unyielding.
Shiroyasha—Little Garden's most notorious problem child—was not someone who tolerated repeated provocation.
Her aura exploded outward in an instant, divine power surging like a solar flare about to erupt.
The temperature of the arena seemed to spike.
On Ren's side, there was no hesitation.
A pulse of power burst from his body as he activated his Half-Oni Transformation.
Dark markings crept along his skin. His pupils sharpened. His presence swelled violently, demonic energy coiling around him like living flame.
At the same time, Algol and Leticia shifted forms.
In a heartbeat, their youthful appearances dissolved, replaced by their mature, battle-ready incarnations. Regal. Deadly. Beautiful in a way that carried ancient terror.
They stepped forward to Ren's left and right, fully entering their strongest states.
Shiroyasha's strength was beyond dispute.
But in order to descend to the lower levels, she had sealed most of her power and assumed the Spirit Rank of a "Yasha." Compared to her true self, she possessed less than a tenth of her former might.
Even if she unleashed everything available to her now, at best she would reach the peak of four-digit strength—brushing against the three-digit realm.
On Ren's side stood two solid four-digit combatants and two peak five-digit powerhouses.
It wasn't as though they had no chance at all.
And even if they couldn't win outright—
With this lineup, withdrawing safely from the battlefield would hardly be a problem.
..
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