One-way traffic

Kudo Asuka took the lead, heading straight into the newly opened path with everyone else.

Kakine Teitoku, on the other hand, slowly turned around and looked at the people behind him.

"What, do you want me to take you inside?"

"Is this a good idea? If I, a character who's practically a foul, are sent out, won't it be too easy for these little girls to win?"

"...You're the one who did it to that guy, so whatever decision you make is your own mess, you idiot."

Hearing Accelerator's unwavering tone, Kakine Teitoku had no choice but to follow him inside.

Only Izayoi Sakamaki, Accelerator, and Black Rabbit, who served as the referee, remained at the scene.

…By the way, Yao's pet and companion, the calico cat, also stayed with them.

"So, we just stay here and wait for them to come back?"

"What else can we do?"

"Seriously, you two...! This is the first 'Blessing Game' since the new members joined, can't you just stay put and watch until the end?!"

The thought that the two people next to her were genuinely and extremely problematic made Black Rabbit feel immense pressure.

"Hmm... According to the assessment from the central hub of the Little Garden, there is absolutely no problem with this Gift Game."

"Those ears are really versatile."

"Yes, Black Rabbit can use it to observe the entire situation of the Gift Game and thus judge the progress of the game between the two sides."

"Wow, that's amazing... I wonder if it feels good to massage such a functional ear."

"It should be really fun... Huh? Huh?! What kind of nonsense is that big idiot Izayoi-san spouting?!"

"Hey, it wasn't me who answered, it was Black Rabbit yourself."

Black Rabbit and Izayoi Sakamaki, who were beside her, once again fell into a noisy state.

However, the one standing at the very front completely ignored them.

He kept his eyes glued to the mansion in front of him the whole time.

Not right.

The fact that this mansion would turn out like this is already bizarre enough, but Accelerator believes that the bizarre things should be more than that.

He finally noticed something unusual.

For example—located slightly behind and directly above the mansion.

It seems there's something lurking over there.

"You two."

Upon noticing this unusual situation, Accelerator immediately set off.

"I'll go over there and check on the situation."

"what?"

As a result, just as Black Rabbit came to its senses, the number one's body had already flown out at an incredible speed.

They simply vanished right before their eyes.

"Wow, it flies really fast, it disappeared in the blink of an eye."

"That's not the point, you idiot! So, what exactly is that problem child planning to do?!"

Thinking of the fight between Accelerator and Izayoi Sakamaki, Black Rabbit didn't hesitate to follow.

If he does anything further that could affect this game of grace...

Asuka and the others might also be implicated.

"Mr. Izayoi, please stay here and do not move!"

"Are you kidding me? You all run off to have some fun on your own, and some interesting things might happen. Do you think you can keep me here?"

"Oh, really—then I'll just come along with Black Rabbit, but absolutely no unnecessary things!!"

"Who knows what will happen then?"

Boom! In the blink of an eye, the two of them rushed out of the area at an overwhelming speed.

"...What are you cats doing leaving this old man here?!"

This is what the only calico cat that stayed behind said after complaining in cat language.

————————————————————————————————————

This is the area located behind the mansion.

Accelerator flew through the air and landed directly in this area.

"Who is it?"

From the very first glance I saw that thing, no… it was a real person.

The first one squinted and scanned his surroundings.

A very strange aura is lurking inside the forest.

Judging from the direct sense of presence, the other party is not human.

Therefore, the first thing to do was very simple.

With your hands in your pockets, gently touch the ground with the toes of your right foot.

For an instant.

A pebble, just a few meters away, was sent flying as if it had been kicked by an invisible foot.

At a scale exceeding tens of times the speed of sound.

Bang——! !

With such terrifying acceleration, the pebble itself turned to ashes the moment it was launched, leaving only a pure shockwave.

boom----

Although the attack was extremely fierce, it failed to hit the opponent.

Accelerator could sense that just as he was about to be hit, the shadow seemed to dodge away at an instant.

interesting.

So, judging from this, the guy hiding in the shadows... should be considered to have a passable level of strength?

"Fine, since you refuse to come out no matter what."

The first person raised the corner of his mouth and slowly opened his left palm.

Several pebbles floated into his hand with this movement.

"Then I'll have to personally invite you to come out."

There are five pebbles in total, which correspond to the five fingers of the first person.

Each finger used a very gentle force to flick the pebbles.

This caused each pebble to shoot into the distance at a speed far exceeding that of a rocket.

That level of destruction went beyond mere probing.

Boom——! !

From the very first strike, it had already caused incredible and massive destruction.

Five pebbles bombarded the forest like missiles. The first pebbles instantly obliterated the entire forest, while the second pebbles even dispersed the clouds in the sky.

"Humph."

Accelerator slowly raised his head and looked towards the air above the bushes.

A shadow with wings had already appeared and was hovering there.

"Finally showing yourself? You like to hide in the shadows like a dead rat."

Ahead, suspended in mid-air, was a humanoid figure.

This is a blonde girl dressed in gorgeous clothes.

Her delicate blonde hair extended all the way to her waist, her upper body was red, and her lower body was dressed in a black dress.

From any perspective, she is a perfect and elegant mature woman.

…But then there appeared behind the girl, a pair of enormous, dark red wings.

No matter how you look at it, it presents a very eerie quality.

"So, it must be you?"

Even if the other party doesn't say a word, he has already figured out the actual situation.

"You did all of this yourself, didn't you, by turning this house into this state, letting so many vines spread everywhere, and changing the content of the Gift Game?"

--boom! !

The girl did not answer his question immediately.

Instead, he slowly raised his hand and grasped some kind of crimson fluid in it.

What slowly fused and took shape at her slender fingertips was an enormous spear, even larger than her body.

"So, you're one of the new members of 'NoName' now."

boom--! ! !

She instantly gathered that immense power at the very tip of the spear.

"Indeed, all the strange events that have occurred here were caused by my hand."

"Just as I guessed, but it doesn't matter. I'm not particularly interested in this kind of thing anyway."

Accelerator pursed his lips and then continued to look at the girl.

"So what do you plan to do? Are you going to silence me right here after I found out you were behind this?"

"That wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Oh?"

The first one raised an eyebrow, while the girl narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I prefer letting my prey experience the feeling of being toyed with rather than killed..."

That’s it for now.

The moment the words left her lips, the spear in the girl's hand shot out in a straight line with overwhelming speed.

bang————

That's already at the level of a meteor.

At such incredible speed, the spear broke the sound barrier the instant it left the hand, and crimson magic swirled around the very tip of the spear, transforming into the driving force that made it destroy everything in its path.

The spear was hurtling toward the white figure with terrifying acceleration.

However, the other party didn't even move a finger.

The white-haired, red-eyed human stood motionless, neither defending nor dodging.

It was as if the spear approaching him was merely an illusion.

“...What a stupid guy.”

The girl frowned in boredom; she couldn't understand what this guy was thinking.

Bang.

Then, the space was pierced.

Just a few dozen centimeters away from the girl's body, fragments of something slowly drifted down.

"--Varied?"

Her eyes widened immediately.

He turned his head to his right, but what he saw completely exceeded his expectations.