With Kujou Sara eliminated, Keqing revealed a knowing smile.
She found it amusing. Kujou Sara was a bit too straightforward. Everyone knew she was a tengu with wings—did she really not question why no one tried to stop her?
The rules had already made it clear: all players were treated as ordinary people, and the only abilities allowed were items obtained from previous games.
Those wings of hers—how were they "ordinary" in any sense?
Suppressing a laugh, Keqing walked over to Himeko and lowered her voice. "How about we make a deal?"
"What kind of deal?"
"You take first place this round, and I'll take second. Sounds fair?"
"Heh." Himeko smiled and shook her head. "Not at all. Liyue already has eight points."
That single sentence shut Keqing down instantly. With Xiao's earlier victory, Liyue had already climbed to eight points, tying with Sumeru and Fontaine. Letting them gain even more points now? Not a chance.
"Then… I'll take third?"
"No. I'm not giving you a single point."
Belobog was currently behind across the board. This was their chance to catch up—there was no way she'd hand points to anyone else.
"Why are you even negotiating with her? She's not guaranteed to win," Eula said, clearly displeased. Himeko didn't look particularly strong. Why assume she'd take first?
"…"
Keqing sighed and stepped aside. If Himeko wasn't going to play nice, then she'd better keep her distance. Who knew what she might pull next? Glancing at Navia, who was still warming up, Keqing almost wanted to shout at her—stop warming up and jump already, or it'll be too late.
At that moment, Himeko made her move.
She pulled out an object and placed it on the rooftop.
A flash of light—
Freedom Gundam appeared.
"…What is that thing?"
Miyabi Hoshimi had never seen anything like it. She froze in shock.
"A Gundam!"
"Oh right, Himeko has a Gundam!"
"That's cheating! Completely unfair!"
As Himeko grabbed onto the landing gear and entered the cockpit, everyone's expressions darkened. What was even the point of competing now? Might as well surrender.
"Vrrrr—"
With a low hum, the Freedom Gundam's eyes lit up, and it raised a beam rifle.
"Wait… she's going to eliminate us!"
Panic spread instantly.
"You… you wouldn't dare!"
"Yeah! If you do that, I—I…"
"Heh." Himeko's voice echoed from inside the cockpit. "Go on. If I fire, what are you going to do?"
"I… I'll remember this!"
Eula looked like she was about to cry. What kind of nonsense was this?
What else could she do? Hold a grudge.
"Come on then! Who's afraid of you?"
"Yeah, I bet that gun isn't even loaded."
"Try it! If I dodge, I lose!"
"Heh."
Himeko couldn't stop laughing at the scene below.
Such bold words—but then why were they all hiding behind Valerius?
At that moment, everyone had gathered behind Valerius, using him as a shield. The message was clear: if you dare shoot, you'd better be ready to deal with him.
"Hehe, did you forget what happened to Seele?" Sparkle chimed in, completely unafraid. "Go ahead and eliminate us. But next round? Let's see how your team survives."
"…Right."
That gave Himeko pause.
She could eliminate everyone here, sure—but Seele's fate was still fresh in her mind. Seven people ganging up on one.
If she fired that shot, Belobog's next participant would absolutely be targeted.
In the stands, Belobog's players were on edge.
"Don't do it, Miss Himeko!"
"Please don't shoot!"
They had no interest in ending up like Seele.
Meanwhile, Inazuma's players were cheering her on.
"Do it!"
"Fire already!"
As long as she wiped everyone out, Kujou Sara would at least secure second place.
After a long hesitation, Himeko lowered the beam rifle.
Sparkle was right. If she fired now, her teammates would pay for it later. Not worth it.
Instead, the Gundam's thrusters ignited, lifting her into the air as she flew toward the finish line.
"Whew… that scared me to death."
Navia wiped the sweat off her forehead. Being targeted by that gun just now had nearly made her collapse.
"Relax. She wouldn't dare shoot."
"Hmph. Good thing she left fast, or I would've dismantled that thing."
"Yeah, just a piece of junk. What's there to be proud of?"
The moment Himeko left, everyone started talking tough.
"Funny how none of you said that while hiding behind me," Valerius said dryly. "Your legs were shaking earlier, weren't they?"
"…Ahem."
They all shot him annoyed looks. Easy for him to say—he'd just been enjoying the show.
"Just jump already."
With no poles left, jumping was the only option. Keqing dashed forward and leapt.
The others had no choice but to follow. Even if they couldn't take first, getting second was still something.
Among them, Miyabi Hoshimi displayed the best agility, leaping farther than anyone before her.
Elimination notifications rang out one after another.
Valerius glanced at Sparkle, who was still standing calmly. "You're not jumping?"
"Oh, I am."
Sparkle skipped to the edge and reached out—
Pulling out a hidden pole.
"Wait, what?!"
Valerius's eyes widened. So when she said she threw them all away, she'd secretly kept one?
"Hehe."
Carrying the pole back to the starting point, Sparkle took a running start and launched herself forward.
With the pole's assistance, she became the only one to reach the second rooftop.
"Nice. Let's see how far you can go," Valerius said, intrigued.
"I'd rather not."
Sparkle turned back and gave him a playful look, then spread her arms—
And jumped straight down.
[Notice: Player Sparkle has been eliminated.]
"…Seriously?"
Valerius was speechless. He'd been looking forward to seeing her performance, and she just threw herself off.
[Himeko has cleared the stage. 3 points awarded.]
[Second place: Sparkle, 2 points.]
[Third place: Miyabi Hoshimi, 1 point.]
With that, the scores updated once again.
Mondstadt: 5 points.
Liyue: 8 points.
Inazuma: 5 points.
Sumeru–Fontaine Alliance: 8 points.
Xianzhou Alliance: 7 points.
Penacony Coalition: 6 points.
Belobog Alliance: 6 points.
Zenless Zone Zero: 4 points.
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