Chapter 32

**Caduceus** (ケーリュケイオン *Kēryukeion*) is the thirty-second chapter of Oumi Noko's manga series S Rare Soubi no Niau Kanojo.

## Summary

At a cafe, Rikoha tries to comes to grips with the fact that Grimzelia monsters are real. On Daigo's phone, she sees that Pleiades is almost completely out of HP. Since she has no items, Rikoha pays for a full recovery to heal her. However, Pleiades's "Infected" status remains.

Back inside Shogakukan, Honoka recovers and her equipment regenerates. She correctly deduces that Rikoha has healed her. However, she is still weakened as she suffers the Infected status. Honoka recalls receiving the status from Hellfrogger when she kissed her and, upon reliving such a grotesque memory, Honoka faints.

Elsewhere, Daigo and Rieco flee from a swarm of monsters. Daigo sees that they are all low-level monsters and asks Rieco is she can use her SS Rare weapon to attack them after he amplifies it with his Apocalypse staff. Rieco seems unsure, but agrees. Daigo activates "Birth Cry of Anubis" and Rieco attacks the monsters. Daigo is frustrated as she just uses a standard attack, but he is surprised when the attack instantly destroys all the monsters. Rieco brags about her victory, but Daigo is still confused as to how such a weak attack could defeat all the monsters. Daigo asks Rieco how long she has been playing Grimzelia. Rieco says four years, but her answer lacks conviction.

The two then happen upon an empty and Daigo is immediately struck by a large iron ball. The wielder of the ball, Princess Titan, appears and expresses her disdain for pretty girls. Although Daigo's HP is almost depleted by the attack, he is instantly healed. Daigo realizes this is because of Rikoha and he panics as he realizes she is spending his money. Daigo asks Rieco to defeat Princess Titan and Rieco happily complies. Rieco strikes the monster with her staff as she had done with the other monsters, but the staff has no effect. Princess Titan then strangles Rieco with the chain from her iron ball and then uses her "Chomp" skill to bite down on Rieco's head and mutilate her face. After Princess Titan spits her out, Daigo is horrified by Rieco's appearance, but Rikoha heals her, returning Rieco's face to normal. As she gets back up, Rieco lashes out at Daigo as she thought this was all a game and was unaware that there would be actual danger. Daigo tries to calm Rieco down and asks what her weapon's skill is, but Rieco admits that she doesn't know because she's using someone else's Grimzelia ID.

A flashback shows that Rieco had a friend (the "real" Rieco) who was hospitalized and asked her to do a daily login on the game for her. She agreed to do it and, while logging in one day, she received the recruitment from Riho. Although she didn't know anything about the game, she decided to respond and help out in Rieco's place.

Back in the present, Daigo thinks back to how "Rieco" had always used her Barrier skill during training. Princess Titan attacks, but "Rieco" uses her Barrier to block it. Daigo then makes a realization and declares that they will win.

Meanwhile, Rikoha laments that she has taken the boring and exhausting duty of healing people on Daigo's phone. She expresses her desire to take part in the action and help Haruka, but she is suddenly attacked by two girls who have been possessed by monsters. Rikoha flees, but is pursued by the two monsters into the subway station. The monsters state that if she gets on the train they will win.

Back in Shogakukan, Princess Titan is irritated by Daigo's declaration of victory and attacks once again, but she is again blocked by "Rieco's" barrier. "Rieco" asks Daigo how they will win and he tells her to just keep blocking attacks with her barrier. Daigo then begins to taunt and insult Princess Titan, angering her and making her attack them again. "Rieco" is baffled by Daigo's actions, but he assures her that he will protect her. "Rieco" joins Daigo in provoking Princess Titan, resulting in her unleashing her ultimate "Meteo Quintet" attack, but "Rieco" is able to block it. Daigo recalls that, during the training, despite "Rieco's" objections, the other Rankers confusedly pointed out that using the Barrier was the best use of her SS Rare weapon, Caduceus. Daigo then orders "Rieco" to attack once more. She does so and, after an initial hit, Princess Titan appears to be struck multiple times and is knocked down. "Rieco" celebrates, though she is confused as to what just happened. Daigo explains that her Caduceus has a charge effect that accumulates the power of all the attacks she blocks. She was previously able to destroy all the low-level monsters with one shot due to the power she had absorbed during their training. "Rieco" is touched by Daigo's attention to her skill and is further moved when he identifies her as his comrade. "Rieco" confesses that her real name is Saori Kashiwagi.

However, Princess Titan suddenly revives and tries to attack Saori. Daigo pushes her out of the way and is grabbed by Princess Titan instead. Princess Titan attempts to crush him, but, suddenly, Daigo reverts back to his male form; his phone's connection has been lost due to Rikoha getting on the train. However, after seeing his male body, Princess Titan releases Daigo and bows to him, identifying him as the Second Demon King.

## Key Events

* After being healed by Rikoha, Honoka faints
* Daigo and Rieco battle and defeat Princess TItan
* Rieco reveals her name to be Saori Kashiwagi
* Princess Titan submits to Daigo, identifying him as the Second Demon King

## Character Appearances

* Rikoha
* Honoka Kusunoki
* Saori Kashiwagi
* Daigo Seko
* Princess Titan