The D-Rank Guild Master of the No. 1 Guild

Lesia pointed a thumb at herself, exuding confidence.

And she had every right to be confident—there wasn’t a grain of sand left on the platform.

Even if Gio could hold off Siakan, I would have to face Lesia one-on-one.

Considering the natural characteristics, wind could fuel fire, but would that give me an advantage?

*[Output] A+

…No, she’s not an opponent I can beat in close combat.

Compared to Lesia’s output, my flames were nothing more than a matchstick, likely to be extinguished by her strong winds.

“…”

She could see my hesitation clearly.

If I were confident in victory, I would attack right away.

But my delay only reinforced their certainty of victory.

If this guild leader and her switch eagle attacked together, how long would it take for me to be torn apart?

Just a few seconds, probably.

At that moment, a muscular arm was extended in front of me.

Gio shielding me was a fresh shock.

“We won’t be eliminated.”

Gio’s voice was clear.

“Bring it on. We can dodge all your attacks. My feet won’t leave the ground!”

[Remaining Time: 6:22]

Blow your wind for six minutes straight. You won’t strip us of anything. Only the scorching sun can do that—

I was momentarily distracted by an old fable and quickly dismissed the thought.

Lesia was rubbing the pink eagle’s wing feathers, her gaze circling the air.

“You’re right. So it’s a draw then…?”

Lesia acknowledged that Gio wouldn’t fall off the platform. Even if it was artificial ground, he had minimal control.

Flying ensured she wouldn’t fall from the sky.

The match’s victory condition was to knock the opponent off the platform, making it a vague fight between sky and earth.

“Hahahaha!”

Lesia suddenly laughed heartily. The pink eagle half-closed its eyes and nuzzled its head against Lesia’s shoulder.

It seemed affectionate, but I thought it looked like the guild leader’s partner scolding her for laughing out of place.

“How about we both take first place?”

Lesia proposed cheerfully.

“Fighting would just waste energy. I’m not your fan to blow wind for six minutes straight. Let’s call it a draw without pulling each other’s hair!”

Lesia tousled her hair, though it barely got messy since it was cut short like a soldier’s. Then she turned to the eagle.

“Siya, our dear, show them your face!”

The round eyes of the pink eagle rolled to the side.

Ssshhh.

The eagle’s form was enveloped in mist, and as it cleared, a man’s figure emerged.

No wonder the feathers were pink.

The man had long, flowing pink hair that reached his waist. Despite his bushy eyebrows and sharp eyes, he looked rather delicate.

He wasn’t thin, but quite tall; however, next to Lesia’s impressive height, he appeared slightly shorter.

“Siya, transforming before the round is over…”

Despite his words, as soon as Lesia draped her arm around his shoulder, Siakan lowered his eyes.

His cheeks turned pink, and he leaned in slightly, closing his eyes as if expecting something.

Was this what viewers imagined when they thought of “Rudel and Unahar”?

No, not the kissing part… more like the guild leader riding the switch animal.

Every time a smacking sound was heard, Gio’s eyes twitched. He seemed utterly confused by the display.

“What are they doing? Stealing food from each other’s mouths—”

“Quiet!”

I had been proud of Gio all day, but now I was embarrassed. I quickly covered his mouth before Lesia and Siakan could hear.

Interrupting their kiss would be incredibly rude.

I wondered, ‘Why am I even watching this?’ but I held back and waited.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long. Even though Siakan looked at Lesia with regret as she pulled away, she turned her head firmly.

“…Can we state our position now?”

At my words, Siakan blushed. Lesia smiled without a hint of embarrassment, showing her teeth.

“Thanks for waiting.”

I checked the remaining time and raised my voice.

“Your proposal for a draw is tempting and reasonable. But… you haven’t heard my answer yet, have you?”

I placed my hand on Gio’s left shoulder, and together we faced them.

“A draw isn’t our style. We’re fighters to the last second.”

Siakan pushed his pink hair back and looked at me.

“Even if it still ends in a draw? Even if exhausting ourselves pointlessly becomes embarrassing later?”

It was the first time I had spoken directly to the pink eagle.

“Yes, even if it ends in a draw. And there’s nothing embarrassing about it.”

If struggling in vain is embarrassing, then I’ve always lived in embarrassment.

I struggled and barely managed to draw out my unique ability while getting beaten by Ispan.

And when I got beaten by the revived Ispan again, I barely managed to save Akata.

If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s fighting in the mud.

Sreung, Gio drew his sword, and its blade gleamed sharply. Siakan reacted immediately.

He shrouded himself in mist and quickly transformed into a large eagle, raising his wings high.

He was ready to either take flight or charge at us at any moment.

Gio.

Using the hand I had placed on Gio’s shoulder, I sent the pre-arranged signal we had set up before the start of the Death Run.

Gio acknowledged the signal with his hand.

“…!”

Gio suddenly threw his sword into my hand and raised his now-empty hands.

Desert sand, which had been swept away earlier, began to burst forth from Gio’s hands.

“…!”

They must have felt like they got hit from behind.

Seeing their shock gave me a strange sense of satisfaction.

Shooo!

A powerful sandstorm began to rage.

Our target was Siakan. Even though he had gained resistance by transforming into an eagle, it didn’t matter. We just had to push through.

“Siya!”

Gio stood firm and steadily increased his output. Sand clogged Siakan’s wings.

Screeeech…

Soon, the eagle’s claws began to scrape against the platform. Siakan couldn’t withstand Gio’s pressure and started sliding backward.

He flapped his wings desperately, trying to take off, but the sand had made his wings useless.

Lesia’s wind blew from all directions. I clung tightly to Gio, ensuring I wouldn’t be a burden.

Gio, with a slight frown, silently increased his output, pushing Siakan back with sand.

It was a fierce power struggle with Siakan caught in the middle.

Would Gio’s sand push Siakan away, or would Lesia’s wind protect her partner?

Screeeech…

The overwhelming energy was suffocating.

I told you, Gio is going to be ranked number one soon.

Caw!

The eagle screamed as Gio suddenly increased his output, launching a surprise attack.

Lesia’s wind barrier protecting the eagle was finally breached.

The eagle was pushed off the platform and fell.

A bead of sweat rolled down Gio’s forehead as he concentrated an enormous amount of energy in an instant.

“You could create sand? You’ve been hiding it to deceive me all this time…?”

Lesia, losing her composure, shouted.

I smiled, seeing her bewildered expression.

Operation success.

Lesia’s assumption that Gio couldn’t do anything on the platform was correct.

However, Anawing’s downfall was that Lesia’s thinking stopped there.

If you found our flaw, shouldn’t you have also thought about how we might compensate for it?

That’s why, from the beginning, I instructed Gio to store the desert sand in our inventory.

(Of course, sand, being a material, could be stored.)

Moreover, summoning items from the inventory and manifesting a unique ability from one’s hands look almost the same visually.

I secretly supplemented Gio’s power by adding the sand from my inventory.

Not only did we secure victory this way, but we also succeeded in hiding the flaw in Gio’s ability.

With a smile, I pointed upward with my finger.

Lesia reflexively looked up.

[Time Remaining: 0:04]

4, 3, 2, 1.

[Round End.]

We timed it perfectly.

Lesia was defeated without managing a single attack on Gio or me.

[Anawing’s Vice Guild Leader, Siakan, has been eliminated!]

[The winning guild has been confirmed!]

[2 survivors vs. 1 survivor, Agasa Guild is the final winner! Anawing Guild takes 2nd place!]

“Huh…”

Lesia let out a hollow laugh, seemingly in disbelief.

Perhaps I’ve just created another adversary who, like Yudirei, wants to take me down.

Well, the path to the top is always fraught with such challenges.

But even as she narrowly missed first place, Lesia just laughed heartily.

“Impressive, Agasa Guild Leader.”

She winked at me and then yelled,

“Siya! If you got hurt from that fall, I won’t let you sleep tonight~? See you at the fortress!”

With a loud shout, she exited first.