This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 1160: Divine Game Quiet Mountain 43

—How do I escape gracefully in front of another version of myself?

This fleeting thought quickly vanished when Rita met QM Rita’s gaze. She extinguished the thought immediately.

She could use Absolute Freedom to leave, but not now.

She could accept losing to anyone—but not to QM Rita.

Facing QM Rita, she wanted absolute dominance.

But even though she wasn’t thinking of fleeing, the Quiet Mountain players were already anticipating it. The two long tendrils, resembling crab mushrooms, sprouting from Mojie’s head began to glow, summoning waves of water to rise up. The waves eventually gathered above their heads, forming an inverted half-circle that enclosed the area, effectively trapping them.

The atmosphere grew tense. Nivalis and QM Kessa had stopped fighting, or rather, the latter had kicked Nivalis toward SS Rita.

At that moment, it was as if an invisible line divided the battlefield into two halves—the left side where Rita and her dragon stood, and the right side, where the six Quiet Mountain players stood.

Nivalis, now back in her original form, stood behind Rita. Rita, holding both the white flower sword and the golden thunder sword, stood silently.

The petals of the flower sword were wilting, dying, and rebirthing, just as her body’s agility was slowing. Her attributes hadn’t changed, but she felt like a decaying piece of wood. Her movements were becoming sluggish, a result of Quiet Mountain Maple Syrup’s ability.

Even her thinking speed and battle instincts were hampered under QM Mistblade’s influence.

With a casual sweep, Rita dispersed her younger self and the Lightchaser sprites.

Facing her, from left to right, stood the Quiet Mountain versions of Kessa, Maple Syrup, Rita, Mistblade, Frenzied Shark, and Mojie.

Frenzied Shark and Mojie exchanged curious glances between Rita and QM Rita.

Rita tilted her head slightly toward Nivalis, who was nervously looking at her.

Nivalis spoke up, "Am I causing trouble by being here? I can leave."

Even though For Her Perfection temporarily synchronized her attributes with Rita’s, Nivalis could only guarantee her own survival against the Quiet Mountain players with similar attributes.

In that instant, Nivalis understood why most players didn’t keep pets. When Divine Game players reached a certain strength, pets were just companions—nice for company, but rarely of much help in battle.

Rita’s expression was neutral, and her gaze was no longer as warm or familiar as before. But her voice remained gentle as she said, "I want you to fight beside me."

She didn’t need Nivalis to fight for her. She needed to use Nivalis’s skills in a combined technique.

—Final Battle Moment.

The magical runes in their minds lit up simultaneously.

Nivalis’s eyes widened slightly, her gaze brightening the night.

Even if their memories had faded, they were still in tune with each other.

Nivalis had always been waiting for her. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

If Rita lost herself, Nivalis would follow the new Rita. If Rita regained her soft self, Nivalis would stay with her in her own Wrathful Moon. If Rita found her original self, Nivalis would be happy for her. If Rita wavered, Nivalis would give her a swing with her dragon tail.

After all, she was Her Dragon.

And for Rita, if there was anyone who would always walk beside her, it was Nivalis.

If every player had their own main quest, then Nivalis’s was to protect Her Dragon’s nest.

Rita didn’t lack weapons now—what more could she need? Yet, even if Nivalis was confused, when the magical runes lit up, she couldn’t help but feel a rush of joy as she turned into light and rushed toward Rita.

As the light enveloped Rita, Nivalis’s voice echoed in Rita’s mind.

"Deceitful Bloom said that if Dragon Island and Lania Kaia perish together, I might direct my anger toward you..."

"Don’t listen to a word she says. Dragon Island will not fall, because before Lania Kaia’s destruction, I’ll bring everything you care about back to BS. I have that power."

As the light dissipated, a pair of deep blue dragon wings, emanating a cold, icy aura, unfolded behind Rita.

The increased attributes and flight speed were secondary; most importantly—Time Skill: Tail Tip, Defense Skill: Crimson Dandelion, Exchange Skill: Vow Without Regret, and Worth the Wait—the skills Rita needed were now fully in her control. She didn’t need to command Nivalis to use them; they were at her disposal, essentially shortening her casting time.

To her delight, she had gained a portion of the dragon race’s most prized strength and mental power. The former helped slow the decay and sluggishness in her body, while the latter partially counteracted the mental confusion and weakening caused by QM Mistblade.

Although it didn’t fully negate the effects, even a 10% reduction was helpful.

From the moment Rita looked at Nivalis and activated the combined skill to the moment the dragon wings unfurled, only a few seconds passed. But the Quiet Mountain players were not the type to wait for the enemy’s opening move.

As the dragon wings opened, long swords, claw blades, and great swords immediately came slashing from all directions.

With a light movement of her wings, Rita nearly teleported out of the attack range.

She dodged Mistblade’s long sword and turned toward QM Rita, saying, "Permanent death doesn’t seem strict enough. How about I add a supplemental clause?"

—One-Person Party!

"I declare that within ’Midsummer,’ no resurrection skills can be used."

A 30-minute countdown lit up above the heads of all beings present.

In a way, SS Rita and QM Rita were truly the same person—they both liked to set rules. The latter’s demon talent was directly tied to setting and modifying rules.

Such boldness caused everyone’s expressions to shift.

Quiet Mountain Maple Syrup sighed, "Must we go this far?"

The next second, she froze in place.

—Moment of Reversal.

Her life force suddenly swapped with SS Rita’s, dropping to under 3% in an instant!

The white flower sword bloomed in front of her, and she immediately blew out a smoke ring.

One of the Demon Relic: Legacy of Pain skills, Slower, This Will Be a Problem with the Will, caused time to slow.

Everything around her seemed to slow down, and Quiet Mountain Maple Syrup quickly restored her life force, then turned to attack SS Rita.

Time may have slowed, but that didn’t mean the other players couldn’t act. As Rita sensed the slow-down in time and thought, only Maple Syrup was accelerating her movements. She immediately used Shadow of the Moon.

The process took a long time, but as her life force dropped to 23%, Rita successfully evaded into the shadow world.

In a matter of seconds, Rita had clashed with several players multiple times.

Seizing the opportunity provided by Moment of Reversal, she canceled Mystic Force. Unfortunately, she didn’t get the result she wanted.

SS Maple Syrup might be able to break her Mystic Force, but it was doubtful if the elite Quiet Mountain players here could do the same. Once Mystic Force was broken, Rita’s 3% life would not survive a single strike.