Chapter 472: The Last Battle

They ended up playing another five rounds, and the results were surprisingly balanced.

Zack claimed one round with a triumphant flourish that was perhaps a bit too enthusiastic for someone who had only won a single match. Zoey secured two victories with a quiet determination that suggested she had been paying closer attention than anyone realized.

Stan managed to take one round for himself, a modest achievement that he accepted with his characteristic understated nod. And then there was Camilla, who won the remaining round without uttering a single word, her victory so effortless and uncelebrated that it seemed almost to have happened in a separate, quieter dimension of the game.

When Zack leaned back in his chair, the gesture carried the weight of a man who had just witnessed something profoundly unsettling. His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Camilla, who sat across from him with the same serene composure she had maintained throughout the entire session.

"I’m beginning to suspect she’s doing this on purpose," he announced, his voice carrying that particular tone of suspicious admiration that only hom could manage.

Camilla tilted her head in response, a gesture that was both innocent and calculated, as if she were genuinely puzzled by the accusation.

"Doing what?" she asked, and the simplicity of the question only seemed to deepen Zack’s suspicion.

"Making us look bad," he clarified, as though explaining something obvious to a particularly dense student. Camilla’s response was delivered with the same even tone she always employed. "I am simply playing."

Zack’s expression darkened. "That is worse."

Zoey laughed, while Stan shook his head. Zack had spent most of the evening trying to maintain his reputation as the group’s best gamer, only for Camilla to casually learn every game they introduced to her and start beating them at it. What made it even more frustrating was the fact that she never bragged. She didn’t celebrate excessively, tease anyone, or even look particularly proud of herself. She simply played, learned, and improved.

The attendant happened to walk past their station and glanced at the results on the screen. After seeing the exhausted expressions on their faces, he grinned.

"You should try the rhythm game."

Zack immediately looked suspicious. "Is it competitive?"

The attendant shrugged. "Everything is competitive if you have the right personality."

Zoey immediately pointed at Zack. "That’s definitely him."

Zack ignored her and followed the others toward the rhythm-game station. The game looked harmless enough. Compared to the intense shooting and racing games they had been playing, it seemed almost relaxing. The screen displayed colorful notes moving toward a timing bar while music played through the speakers.

They quickly discovered that appearances were deceiving.

For approximately thirty seconds, all four of them were terrible.

Zack missed notes so badly that his character’s score plummeted almost immediately. Zoey tried to compensate by tapping faster, only to lose track of the rhythm completely. Stan somehow managed to press the correct buttons at the wrong moments, resulting in a string of consecutive mistakes.

Camilla was struggling as well.

At least, she appeared to be.

Then something clicked.

Her movements became more precise, and her fingers began following the rhythm with increasing confidence. Instead of frantically pressing buttons whenever a note appeared, she started anticipating the patterns. One successful note became five. Five became ten. Soon, she was hitting nearly everything perfectly.

Zack stared at her screen in disbelief. "Of course."

Zoey was laughing so hard that she could barely continue playing. Stan, meanwhile, missed three notes in a row and glanced down at his controller with quiet frustration.

Camilla looked over at him. "You are off rhythm."

"I noticed."

"Try again."

Stan looked at her. "You sound like a teacher."

"You need instruction."

Zack immediately pointed toward Camilla. "She has become unbearable."

Camilla didn’t even look at him. "You lost to a rhythm game."

"I was distracted by the music."

Zoey finally managed to recover enough to speak. "That’s what the game is about."

"Exactly," Zack replied with complete seriousness.

That only made everyone laugh harder.

They played several more songs, and although Zack continued insisting that he had simply not yet found his rhythm, the truth became increasingly obvious. Camilla was once again adapting faster than everyone else.

Eventually, even she began laughing.

It wasn’t loud or dramatic. It was a brief, almost surprised laugh that escaped her before she could stop it. For someone who had spent much of the evening maintaining a calm and composed expression, the small moment stood out.

Stan noticed it immediately. He didn’t say anything. He simply smiled.

For him, that small laugh made the entire evening worthwhile.

After the rhythm game, they returned to their original station. Despite having declared multiple times that they were finished with Warzone, the familiar menu appeared on the screen again, almost inviting them to make another questionable decision.

Zack stared at it for several seconds before finally picking up the controller.

"Last game."

Zoey immediately shook her head. "You said that three games ago."

"This one is actually the last."

The attendant called from behind the counter without even looking up from what he was doing.

"You’ve said that four times."

Zack turned around. "Why are you counting?"

"Because I have to close eventually."

Zack looked at the clock and then back at the screen. "That’s unfortunate."

"It’s reality," the attendant replied.

Despite the warning, they started one final match.

As expected, it immediately descended into chaos.

They landed in a crowded area where several other teams had chosen to drop. Zack managed to separate himself from the group within the first minute, despite everyone’s repeated warnings to stay together. Zoey found herself without a proper weapon after another player looted the building she had entered, while Stan accidentally picked up an item he didn’t need and spent several seconds trying to figure out what he had actually collected.

Camilla, meanwhile, found herself alone inside a building with three enemies.

For several seconds, nobody knew where she was.

Zack eventually realized that she wasn’t anywhere near them.

"Where’s Camilla?"

"I don’t know," Zoey answered while searching another building.

Stan checked the map. "She’s somewhere east."

"Somewhere east isn’t exactly a location," Zack complained.

Before anyone could find her, an elimination notification appeared on the screen. Then another. Then another.

Zack stopped moving. "Wait."

Zoey glanced toward the kill feed. "What?"

"Camilla."

Another elimination appeared.

Zack slowly removed one side of his headset.

"How many people are in that building?" Camilla’s voice came calmly through the headset.

"Were."

Zoey burst out laughing.

Stan shook his head in disbelief. "She cleared them?"

Camilla didn’t answer. She simply continued moving.

The rest of the match progressed far more smoothly after they regrouped. Perhaps they had finally learned from their earlier mistakes, or perhaps they were simply too tired to make unnecessary ones. Either way, they reached the final circle together.

This time, nobody rushed. Nobody wandered off alone. For perhaps the first time that entire evening, they actually played like a coordinated team.

Stan took position behind cover and watched the surrounding area. Zoey maintained pressure from another angle, keeping the enemy from advancing. Zack, miraculously, resisted the urge to charge blindly into combat and instead waited for an opening.

Camilla remained beside them, quietly observing the battlefield.

Then the final enemy appeared.

Stan fired first, forcing the opponent behind cover. Zoey immediately followed up with suppressing fire, preventing the enemy from escaping. Zack finally saw his opportunity and rushed forward.

Camilla moved with him.

The enemy barely had time to react.

Camilla landed the final shots.

The screen flashed.

VICTORY.

For a moment, nobody said anything.

Then Zack suddenly jumped out of his chair.

"YES!"

Zoey burst into laughter.