Facing the dark barrel of Yae Miko's gun, Valerius took a deep breath.
Not out of fear—but anger.
This fox actually dared to set him up.
"Have you thought this through?"
"Mm-hmm, I have."
Her eyes gleamed with excitement. If she eliminated Valerius, then no one else would be able to obtain powerful weapons.
Wouldn't that mean instant victory?
Her finger rested on the trigger.
"Did it ever occur to you that this might not work on me at all?"
"Of course it did. But you said you wouldn't take revenge outside the game."
"And what if I take revenge inside the game?"
"Hehe." She smiled even wider. "If you eliminate me, that would be unfair."
Well, well.
Valerius was both annoyed and amused. She had actually found a loophole.
But did she really think eliminating her was his only option for revenge?
"Fine. Go ahead and try."
"Gladly."
Without hesitation, Yae Miko pulled the trigger. A storm of bullets poured toward Valerius.
"Rat-tat-tat-tat—!"
Valerius didn't even try to dodge. Every bullet struck him, piercing his body—
And then he collapsed.
"…Huh? It actually worked?"
Yae Miko was genuinely surprised. She hadn't been entirely confident—Valerius was far too mysterious.
But now, he lay there motionless.
She slowly stepped closer.
His eyes were closed. No movement at all.
She reached out and checked his breathing.
Nothing.
"…Wait."
Something felt wrong.
Normally, when a player was eliminated, they turned into light and disappeared.
So why was his body still here?
"…Don't tell me…"
A terrifying thought crossed her mind.
"Hey… are you okay? Don't scare me."
"Say something!"
She shook him, but there was no response.
Now she was starting to panic.
She might be mischievous, but she never intended to actually kill him.
Who would've thought Valerius could be taken down by a simple gun?
"No… he must be bluffing."
She hurriedly opened the chat channel.
[Yae Miko: Valerius, come out! Stop scaring me!!]
[Bronya: ?????]
[Seele: What's going on?]
[Raiden Ei: Why are you looking for him? Trying to cheat?]
[Argenti: Can players contact Valerius directly? I thought he only handled sales.]
[Yae Miko: I… I think I killed Valerius…!]
[Bronya: What do you mean?]
[Shenhe: !!!!!!!!]
Yae Miko quickly explained everything that had happened, emphasizing that Valerius wasn't breathing.
[Bronya: …Miss Yae, are you sure you actually hit him?]
Bronya knew Valerius well.
Was he really the kind of person to take a loss like that?
Unlikely.
This looked more like he was messing with her.
[Kuki Shinobu: Miss Guuji… please calm down. You've revealed a lot.]
[Kamisato Ayaka: There's no way anything happened to Mr. Valerius. You're overthinking.]
[Ruan Mei: Noted. Yae Miko has a weapon—priority target.]
[Silver Wolf: How vicious. Trying to monopolize everything.]
[Shenhe: She must die.]
"…Wait."
Yae Miko froze.
Then her eyes narrowed.
"…You sneaky bastard, you're messing with me, aren't you?"
She had been too shaken earlier to think clearly. Now, with others pointing it out, she realized.
There was no way Valerius could be dead.
Someone who could control Emanators and even Aeons—killed by a rifle?
Impossible.
She closed the chat and looked down at him again.
"Hey… get up. Stop pretending."
No response.
"…You think this is funny?"
She checked his pulse again.
Still nothing.
Just as doubt crept back in—
A flash of red light.
Valerius's eyes snapped open. The bullet wounds on his body vanished instantly.
"Damn… that actually hurt."
He sat up, rubbing the spots where he'd been hit.
Originally, he had planned to dodge.
But then he remembered one of his Noble Phantasms—Twelve Trials—and decided to test it.
The results were impressive.
But getting shot still hurt like hell.
"…So… are you alive or resurrected?"
"Resurrected, I guess."
He turned to Yae Miko and patted her shoulder.
"You've got guts. Actually shooting me like that."
"…Hehe… I thought it was just a game."
Yae Miko looked aggrieved. How was she supposed to know death in the game felt that real?
She had only wanted to eliminate him—like players getting kicked out.
Clearly, that plan had failed.
"Heh. You've got quite the nerve. Now tell me… how should I deal with you?"
Her entire body stiffened. Even her fox tail popped out.
"Y-you said you wouldn't take revenge."
"I said outside the game."
"Then if you punish me in the game, that's unfair—it affects my condition!"
She clung desperately to that argument.
"Relax. It won't affect anything. Just a little pain."
Valerius walked over to a tree and snapped off a sturdy branch, testing its weight.
"…You—you—"
Yae Miko panicked. That look—he was definitely about to hit her.
She jumped back and raised her gun again.
"Don't come any closer! I'll shoot you again!"
"Go ahead."
Last time, he let it happen to test his ability.
Now? He wasn't worried at all.
In fact, remembering another effect of his Noble Phantasm, he didn't even bother dodging.
Step by step, he walked toward her.
"D-don't come closer… I'm serious!"
Seeing he wasn't stopping, Yae Miko gritted her teeth and fired again.
"Rat-tat-tat—!"
This time—
The bullets didn't penetrate.
They were deflected completely.
"…What? Why?"
She was stunned.
It worked before—why not now?
Valerius reached her and grabbed her collar.
"Twelve lives a day. And every time I resurrect, the weapon that killed me becomes ineffective. Pretty neat, right?"
Yae Miko wanted to cry.
This wasn't "pretty neat."
This was outright cheating.
Who could win against this?
Before she could react—
Whoosh!
The branch sliced through the air and struck her squarely on the backside.
"Ah! Wait—I was wrong!"
"Oh? What were you wrong about?"
"I… I was wrong for not beating you!"
Whoosh—!
The branch came down again.
"You really are asking for it."
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