This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 1221 Divine Game: Divine Instruction 35

Rita’s eyes had been glowing gold since the start of the game. Now the color slowly faded into black.

Golden rain began to fall. It pierced through the drizzle circling her and spread outward, covering both her and Kessa.

But Kessa had no intention of surrendering so easily. She had learned quite a few tricks from Mischief.

The rain around her suddenly transformed. The droplets hardened into snow carrying a biting frost.

Rain and snow descended together over the clock dial.

Just like the moment she had used a combo skill with Dawn Cicada before, fragments of memory flashed through Rita’s mind.

She saw the Kessa she had read about in the Midsummer World Sigh.

Kessa stumbling out of Divine Game covered in wounds, sitting on a sunlit rooftop as her people cheered for her.

Kessa nervously announcing her plans, only to see cautious faces staring back at her through the falling snow.

Kessa walking away beneath a quiet drizzle, leaving Midsummer behind with a soaked back and no farewell.

Then came scenes Rita had never seen in the Midsummer records.

Kessa wandering through Divine Game and encountering SS players drifting between worlds. She stood alone in a corner, unsure where she belonged.

She secretly helped Celestialkin who represented Midsummer.

She finally found a world willing to accept her. Overjoyed, she moved in and settled down in a lively district.

The new home shattered in war.

Kessa packed her suitcase and moved again.

It didn’t matter. Outside Midsummer, every world felt about the same. As long as she could open a window and hear the sounds of life, that was enough.

Still, it rained above her head from time to time.

Her hair was always a mess. It got soaked several times a day. She would dry it with a skill, rake it once with her fingers, and call it a hairstyle. What happened to it after that depended entirely on chance.

The final image showed her standing in Tiger Ear.

She leaned forward with both hands on a long table made entirely of golden lightning and spoke to the figures across from her.

"I want to die on the battlefield, not under the tolling of a bell."

At the same time, several scenes flashed through Kessa’s mind as well.

Every one of them centered on BS Rita.

Rita standing above ruins, watching one of her people be reborn in flames.

Rita looking down on the world from the sky, shouting, "For the next four years, GodDraw77 will begin because of me."

Rita facing the leader of Lania Kaia again and again under the gaze of her people, sometimes looking far more battered than she would ever admit.

Rita staring at the distant war cruise ship, raising a golden page in her hand.

Rita trapped inside a watery prison, standing alone against ten Quiet Mountain players.

Rita sitting on a rooftop, flipping a coin into the air over and over as she stared into the distance.

In that brief instant, Kessa witnessed fragments of Rita’s life.

Then the rain and snow vanished together.

White frost exploded outward from where they stood. The sound of pages turning echoed through the air.

Sad Comedy.

"If my life were written into a book, I wonder whether the reader would close it with admiration, or with a quiet sigh."

A massive froststorm erupted from the caster’s position. Everything was frozen solid. All players caught in the storm lost their ability to fight and were trapped within the memories they found hardest to face.

The duration depended on attribute differences but lasted at least thirty seconds and up to five minutes.

Anyone who took damage would immediately break free.

The skill consumed no resources. However, after each use, the caster’s elemental companion would be unusable for five minutes. That cooldown could not be shortened by any means.

The entire fragmented battlefield was swallowed by frost.

The spherical wall of water froze into solid ice.

Players both inside and outside the barrier closed their eyes and sank into silence.

Rita and Kessa ran together toward the frozen wall without saying a word.

As they passed Maple Syrup, Dawn Cicada, and Fury Prayer, they casually shattered the ice binding them. Each of them also received a quick punch to break them out of the illusion.

Ignoring the dark looks their classmates gave them, the two kept running.

They reached the edge of the frozen prison first.

Both reached out at the same time and pressed their hands against the ice.

A crack opened.

The barrier slowly parted, revealing a narrow gap. They slipped through immediately.

Maple Syrup and the others hurried after them, riding the opening to escape.

They had barely cleared the perimeter when the Captain tore himself free from the memory trap.

His face turned dark with anger.

The ice melted. The waves returned, rushing inward again to sweep up players who had not escaped the prison in time.

Rita glanced at Dawn Cicada.

"You’re not allowed to say I owe you anymore."

Dawn Cicada turned her face away and refused to respond.

Rita took that as agreement.

She then looked toward Maple Syrup.

Before she could speak, Maple Syrup turned her head aside with a perfectly blank expression.

"How did I get out here?"

Rita sighed.

Fine. She hadn’t expected much anyway.

Fury Prayer looked between Rita and Kessa with a strange expression.

"You do realize we’re opponents, right? We’ll definitely face each other in the elimination rounds."

The meaning was obvious.

In theory, they shouldn’t have helped them escape.

Rita suddenly thought of that year’s GodDraw77. She thought of Maple Syrup’s stubborn and almost ridiculous persistence.

She glanced at Maple Syrup and smiled.

"That’s fine. I’ll just defeat you again myself."

Kessa clearly felt the same.

She watched the battle raging inside the water barrier and spoke casually.

"Call it courtesy between classmates."

She paused.

"Though that might sound like I’m flattering you. But if the situation were reversed, you’d probably throw us a punch and drag us out too, right?"

Dawn Cicada said, "I’d punch BS Rita and then pull you out."

Maple Syrup nodded.

"I’d punch her twice."

Rita stared at them.

"..."

...

Demon Tavern.

Bitter Cup said, "That skill is vicious. Good thing my projection wasn’t assigned to their platform."

The drummer poured an iced drink for the Captain, who was sitting across from him with one hand supporting his forehead.

"You alright?"

"I’m fine," the Captain said. "I’m just wondering why Deceitful Bloom hasn’t crushed BS Rita yet. Maybe I should go remind her."

As he spoke, the tavern door opened.

Two heads peeked inside.

Boiling Orange and Ashveil.

Boiling Orange asked, "Is this place accepting two homeless refugees?"

The drummer laughed.

"Who did you offend this time?"

That was clearly permission.

Boiling Orange and Ashveil stepped inside immediately. As they passed the bar, they casually grabbed drinks like regulars.

Boiling Orange said, "We offended Deceitful Bloom and Foolishness."

Ashveil added, "Because Boiling Orange pointed out they were helping each other save face. And I laughed."

The Captain blinked. He seemed to guess something.

"What face?"

Several seconds later, the Captain, who had been sulking earlier, burst into loud laughter.

He slapped the table, jumped to his feet, and headed for the door.

"No. I have to go laugh at them in person."

Boiling Orange and Ashveil both reached out instinctively but grabbed nothing but air.

"..." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

That big-mouthed idiot was going to get them killed.

Not long after the Captain left, the tavern door was blasted open by an unseen force.

Two vines shot inside.

They wrapped several loops around the perfectly quiet and well behaved Boiling Orange and Ashveil.

Then dragged them straight out of the tavern.