Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu

Three-Eyed Cat’s mask started glowing black, transforming into a full-cover helmet. Two cat ears appeared on his head, and gray cat whiskers also sprouted from it. Three red eyes on the helmet contained complex black runes within.

His jacket became black form-fitting attire instead, with gray runes on the wrists and legs. It looked like something out of a science-fiction film.

Right after he finished transforming, the insect-shaped players attacked!

Three-Eyed Cat immediately started shooting with his gun!

The bullets landed on the insect players’ bodies, but caused no apparent damage.

Karen dodged all the insect players’ attacks as her wings released a large amount of red mist, which then transformed into dark-red bees that attacked the insect players!

A fierce fight soon broke out on the platform.

Kaho merely stood there where she was and watched silently.

The insect players had insect armor on their bodies that was tougher than bulletproof vests! Guns and even grenades couldn’t break through their defenses. Only by shooting through the gaps would any damage be caused.

A horned rat-masked player whose body had been changed into a beetle form got closed to Three-Eyed Cat.

Three-Eyed Cat revealed sharp cat claws on his hands and tried to counterattack.

*Shing!* The insect armor that the bullets had been unable to pierce through was actually deeply scratched by his claws!!

This made Three-Eyed Cat realize that rather than guns and bullets, his new special power was stronger.

It would seem that he should abandon his gun and fight with his claws in melee. However, Three-Eyed Cat was no combat expert in real life. He felt that fighting against so many at close range when he was so inexperienced would be far too rash.

Seeing Three-Eyed Cat being surrounded and coming under attack, Karen sent a part of her bees to help him out.

These bees were capable of attacking and defending as a shield. The bees managed to block the insect players’ fierce attacks.

“Concentrate your attacks! Focus fire on one at a time!!” Three-Eyed Cat shouted after fighting for a while.

Karen understood and gathered her bees together rather than spreading them out. Her bees shot out a large number of black needles at a two-colored snake mask-wearing female player who had been transformed into a centipede form!

The snake mask centipede player was unable to dodge the attack and collapsed, seriously injured.

Three-Eyed Cat moved at high speed and avoided the other insect players as he approached the snake mask centipede player. He swiftly swiped at her with his claws!

He gave her a serious blow, thinking that this would surely finish off the insect player.

However, right the next second, the snake mask centipede player’s mask started glowing red. Her body swiftly started expanding and shot out a green mist!

Three-Eyed Cat hurriedly retreated. Not long after, a gigantic, long monster resembling both a snake and a centipede erected itself. Green mist covered its entire body, and countless tiny legs were squirming.

“Gagagagaga!” The monster uttered a strange sound that resembled scraping across glass. It was incredibly painful to hear.

“So these guys can still transform yet again… This is so bad.”

Before he even finished speaking, Three-Eyed Cat suddenly sensed tremendous danger.

He retreated at full speed. The next instant, the centipede

/snake hybrid monster shot out almost all of its legs like an arrow rainstorm, all aimed right at him!

*Tack tack tack tack…* The sharp insectoid legs stabbed into the hard platform.

Fortunately, Three-Eyed Cat had been able to use his catlike senses to dodge this attack in time. Otherwise, he would have become a hedgehog.

He didn’t have the time to be relieved as other insect players surrounded and attacked him.

If all of these insect players possessed the ability to transform into such monsters, then this battle… would have a foregone conclusion!

Three-Eyed Cat felt despair.

He then immediately thought it was strange. Just when had he gotten the mistaken impression that he could win?

No… it wasn’t that he felt he could win, it was that he still had hope.

But now, his hope had been snuffed out.

Unless this butterfly girl was able to utilize an even stronger power.

But even if the butterfly girl leveled up, it didn’t seem likely that they could win.

Three-Eyed Cat glanced over at butterfly’s younger sister, who still hadn’t done anything personally as of yet.

She seemed like she was simply watching… she probably didn’t think that she needed to personally do anything.

At this moment, Three-Eyed Cat suddenly felt like challenging and taunting her.

If he was going to die no matter what, he wanted to at least try challenging the final boss!

After making up his mind, Three-Eyed Cat ran around at top speed and found an opening to aim and shoot at Kaho.

*Tat tat tat tat* His assault rifle’s bullets shot directly at her.

Kaho didn’t move.

*Swoosh!* Something red suddenly spread out before her, forming a shield that blocked all the bullets.

The red object then curled up on itself and formed into something long and thick with many joints… it now resembled a gigantic scorpion’s tail!

This tail then whipped out at an astonishing speed, stabbing directly at Three-Eyed Cat!

Three-Eyed Cat did his very best to dodge. However, the scorpion tail was faster than he was. It cut him off from the front!

Seeing the pitch-black tip of the scorpion tail, Three-Eyed Cat had a feeling that if this tail stabbed him, he would die immediately!

Karen wanted to save him, but she couldn’t do so in time.

Three-Eyed Cat blocked the tail with his gun, but as expected, the gun was shattered.

Was that the end?

No, he still had his claws!

Three-Eyed Cat did his best to fight this thick tail off with his claws.

However, he knew in his heart that he was just struggling before his end.

That was the end result of challenging the queen.

*Schtick!!* The pitch-black tip of the scorpion tail pierced deep into Three-Eyed Cat’s chest.

His greatest efforts to block the scorpion tail had slowed it down for only a split second.

He felt an incredible pain as all the energy swiftly left his body. The scorpion tail lifted him up into the air after impaling him.

“Three-Eyed Cat-san!” Karen shouted, and sent most of her bees over in an effort to save her companion.

Yet, the centipede

/snake monster hybrid swung its own gigantic tail at the bees, breaking through the bees’ blockade and sending Karen flying backwards with a loud smack!

Karen crashed down near the edge of the platform, almost falling over.

The insects outside the platform seemed to be quite restive.

The insect players didn’t continue their attack.

“Agh…” Karen crawled up, only to see the giant scorpion tail bringing Three-Eyed Cat up even higher into the air.

“AHHHHH!!!!!” Three-Eyed Cat screamed out in incomparable pain as his body started twitching.

Karen felt really bad inside seeing him like this, and shouted to Kaho, “Let him go!”

Kaho didn’t respond. She still simply stood there quietly.

Three-Eyed Cat’s screams became even louder. His body began to distort strangely.

“He doesn’t have anything to do with our matter, let him go!!” Karen shouted again.

There was still no response.

Three-Eyed Cat’s voice became raspy, and strange sounds came from within his body, as if he was about to break completely or become something else—such as an insect.

This was a threat, Karen realized.

If she didn’t surrender here, Three-Eyed Cat would suffer even more right in front of her eyes… and it was highly likely that he would receive actual irreversible harm!

“Kaho…”

Karen now faced an incredibly painful decision.

If she gave up right now, she probably wouldn’t ever see her former sister again.

But if she didn’t give up, the innocent Three-Eyed Cat would…

Karen found it difficult to choose. She didn’t want to choose. It was impossible to choose.

However, she had to make a choice.

The incredible pressure almost suffocated her.

At this moment, there was a sound from the right.

Karen reflexively looked over, only to see two figures flying through the insect swarm!

*Pound!!*

They landed right on the platform.

Only now did Karen see them clearly as three people instead of two—one girl and two boys. There was a boy wearing an owl-shaped mask who was being carried by a tall boy wearing an angry demon mask.

When they landed on the platform, the angry demon mask boy put down the owl-masked boy while he whipped out golden-red flames in one hand, and burned all of the insect swarm that was chasing him!

So strong.

Karen sensed that this angry demon mask boy was really strong… and he also seemed somewhat familiar?

“Is that your companion?” The angry demon mask boy looked in her direction and pointed at Three-Eyed Cat.

Karen instantly trembled upon hearing this voice.

It was Harano-kun!!!

At this moment, her heart became filled with indescribable emotions.

If she had to describe them, she felt like a lost traveler almost about to freeze to death in the snow when she suddenly saw a house emanating a warm light up ahead.

She finally saw great hope in the most despairing of situations!

“Yes…” Karen’s tears poured out uncontrollably as she felt something welling up in her throat. She wanted to cry, she wanted to shout, she wanted to say so much, but was unable to say anything at all.

All she could say was the innermost desire in her heart.

“Help me…”

*Shing!*

A tall figure suddenly rushed over and sliced through the scorpion tail with a flash of the sword!!

“Understood,” Seiji responded as he saved Three-Eyed Cat.