Chapter 122: Coronation

Sylvie, the Knight of Anomalies, faced me in the deepest layer of the tower.

Wait wait. Who was she again?

That name and title rang a bell. Wasn't Sylvie the one that, uh, tricked us into a fake "pacifist match" when we first arrived in Gold? No, that was Sylvia, with an A. Wait…

…You gotta be kidding me.

Dionysus, whose voice held death itself captive. Doublerift, ruler over the Liberation's Call Syndicate. Sylvie, the Knight of Anomalies. 6E12, nemesis to existence. Alice, the Witch of Roses.

Before me stood one of the five Legends. One of the five players who had beaten the death game, yet forsook their chance to return home, and instead ventured even further beyond.

"...Y-you can't fight me!" I blurted out. "Six months! That's how long we need to wait –"

"I'm here for Anastasia," she interrupted me. "No one mentioned you."

I froze. Did that mean we didn't have to fight?

"Did you see Anastasia's Ultimate?" Sylvie asked. Nervously, I shook my head.

"Embodiment of Victory," Sylvie told me. "For ten seconds, she will make no mistakes as a warrior."

My racing heart settled slightly. It sounded like she didn't come here just to wipe us out.

"Anything that can be done right," Sylvie continued, "will be done perfectly right. She'll predict your every move without fail, avoid every attack avoidable. Her bladework becomes so precise, she could shave the hairs off a mite. I challenged her to a duel of ten seconds. Yet twice she chickened out. Told me she wasn't ready."

Sylvie paced around to the back of the couch, and gave me an empty glance from the corner of her eye.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Coward 'til the end," she spat.

"Well," I managed to speak. "I'd avoid fighting you too, if I was her."

"You think she could've stood a chance?" Sylvie asked.

"No."

Sylvie sighed out loud. "Shame."

She looked over at the bounty hunters that surrounded us in the dim room.

"Quit slaughtering your strongest," Sylvie ordered. "Pisses me off, the lot of you. All we've gotten in Platinum have been dogwater monkeys."

And then she turned to me.

"Don't waste your potential. You've got one more match before you get to Platinum."

I had no idea how she'd know that. But I wasn't gonna question her judgment.

"You'll protect me?" I ventured. "From, like, assassins trying to usurp me?"

She paused for a moment.

"Fend for yourself," she told me annoyedly. "And you too," she said to Mr. Atlas and Reens. "You better do something about these degens," she said, gesturing at the crowd around us.

With a moody groan, she heaved her great sword and slashed through air. A tear opened in space, black with a white glowing trim, and she stepped in as though through a portal. The tear closed behind her and vanished.

Sylvie was gone.

Well, that wasn't how I had expected things to go. But I wasn't complaining. The crowd around us broke into hushed, tense whispers. I guess this was it then? I was now the leader of the Bounty Hall, alongside Mr. Atlas and Reens. Somehow this didn't feel as victorious as I thought it would.

"Speech, speech," a lone voice in the crowd chanted. Might as well.

I cleared my throat, and the crowd fell silent.

Hey. That actually felt kind of cool.

"Look, we're the leaders now," I announced. "Killing is on hold until further notice."

I waited for a reaction, but they just stood silently and stared at me. Crap. This felt so awkward. I don't even know any of these people!

"Tanin, uh, are you here?" I asked. I searched the room for him, but didn't find the man.

"He's outside," a stranger informed me.

"Oh," I said. "I'll talk with him later. But yeah, in the meantime, no killing."

What do I say now? Atlas? Hello?! Can you say something?

When I turned to him, he simply returned an encouraging smile. Thanks a lot.

"So," I forced myself to continue. "If you hurt us, Sylvie's gonna come after you with a vengeance, so don't do that. Thanks."

The crowd remained silent, but at least Reens clapped for me.

And she continued to clap for me, alone.

Clap clap clap clap clap.

Finally, the rest of the room joined in, crescendoing, until applause drowned out all other sounds.

Heh. I could get used to this. How long did I have until the next Seasonal Challenge, and having to ascend to Platinum? Three months? Might as well try out being an autocrat in the meantime.