Chapter 1015 - The Awaited One Arrives
"—...An estimate of roughly five times larger, is it?"
Southern Faction, before the war-time base [Knight's Royal Castle - El Faria]. Faced with a field possessing both the greatest simplicity and the greatest difficulty in history, a quiet sigh escaped.
The 'Queen'... or rather, Sotalm's strategist, Helena the [Lady-in-Waiting], remained remarkably calm.
"...Please continue mapping. Swiftly, but without rushing, and with accuracy."
"""Understood!"""
It was now, just after entry into the labyrinthine zone had become possible. Looking up from the map, which was still only about sixty percent complete, she entrusted her subordinates, who were giving their all, with a few words of confidence.
Players with the ability to chart the unseen 'beyond' without stepping into unknown territory—that is, those with abilities specializing in terrain exploration—were extremely rare in the virtual world.
In other words, they were undoubtedly the 'treasures' of the Southern Faction, and no one could criticize their skill and hard work... but—
"Ah, dammit...! I bet the East is already long done...!!"
"Focus, seriously, focus, don't think about anything else, focus...!!!"
"I really hate this, I hate [Insighter]s, Lotta-senpai is such a cheaterrr...!"
They themselves were not frustrated by their own shortcomings, but rather...
It seemed the endlessness of the 'abnormality' they looked up at made them infinitely impatient.
"...I concur."
Observing this scene from the side, Helena whispered to herself as she moved away from the area—Lotta, the Eastern strategist known as the [Insighter].
He was the right-hand man of the faction's de facto leader, Goldow the [General Commander]. Knowing full well that he was secretly responsible for half of her 'father's' thinking, she knew.
I dislike you too, she thought, letting a small smile slip as she voiced what she always, always felt.
"Iris."
"Yeah."
The [Lady-in-Waiting] went to the side of the princess she was to serve.
As she called out to the faction's master and standard-bearer, the gazes of the nine others who followed her—all except for the one who, as usual, had his eyes closed—turned to Helena.
"To all of you as well. Our premise has been overturned in an unexpected way, but this is business as usual."
"Right?"
"Seriously."
Affirmations from the boy (Uni) and the young man (Orin). As usual, they showed not a shred of tension, remaining calm and reliable. She nodded back to the high-ranking members.
"There are adjustments to be made, but the core of the pre-shared strategy will remain unchanged. First, we must stop the legs of [Haru the Acrobat]... Haru-sama, and in addition, Kanata-sama, or we'll get nowhere."
"The difficulty of our first objective..."
As she continued, a weary mutter escaped someone's lips.
"I'm counting on you, Natsume."
"I-I'll do my best, but still..."
The speaker was the girl with white hair, the [Thread-Weaver].
"I'll be with you. It's okay."
"W-well, you're the most dependable person in the world, Princess, but..."
Iris, who could momentarily match the speed of the [Haru the Acrobat] master and disciple, would be the 'legs,' while Natsume, who could capture them if they came within range, would be the 'cage.'
It wasn't so much a well-thought-out plan as it was a choice made by process of elimination because there was nothing else.
It was vexing to have a plan she couldn't truly call her own, but it was a stable move that couldn't possibly fail completely.
An unreasonable 'speed' could only be countered by an unreasonable response.
...And then,
"—The rest of you will, for a time, maintain a stance of absolute defense."
The trouble was that, in this Four Pillar War, they weren't the only ones who were ridiculously overpowered.
No, in fact,
"...First, we must ascertain how the [Sword Saint] will move."
She was the single greatest, supreme-class, unreasonable bomb in this war.
"Seriously terrifying."
"If I went one-on-one with her, I doubt I'd last five seconds..."
"Then I'd last three. Maybe even one."
When it came to a potential encounter with her, even the top-ranked members were like this. One-on-one was suicide, a slight numerical advantage was a drop in the bucket; it was a matter of whether all eight of them could even put up a fight.
It was as if our own [Sword Queen] had changed her form and come to attack us. The [Sword Saint], an equal of 'The Strongest' in her 'Supreme' status, was someone to be looked up to even by those who stood at the pinnacle.
If we were attacked, a desperate defense was inevitable.
This, too, was an unavoidable process of elimination with no other options—
"Helena."
"...Yes. You're right."
There was no point in just worrying about it.
No matter how unreasonably monstrous the opponents were... they themselves were also...
"—Let's move. We're heading out."
"Mmh..."
They, too, were in a position where they had to shine brilliantly at the summit.
From the command headquarters in the distance, she made eye contact with the three who continued to dedicate themselves to map creation. It was a signal that, while not complete, it was 'usable.'
Without a doubt, the 'enemy' was already on the move. Therefore, they had no time to hesitate now that their own preparations were complete—and so,
""""".................."""""
She issued the signal to begin battle, slightly delayed.
Before that, it was inevitable. ...It was simply inevitable, as the consensus of everyone,
"...It's been quite a while, but..."
Sooner or later, someone was bound to mutter the words,
"—The 'signal flare'... isn't going up, is it?"
That was the moment someone, somewhere, had let it slip.
"—! Mei!!"
"...! Defensive formation! All units, prepare behind the cover of the 'castle'!!"
It was the faction's master who shouted and dashed forward before anyone else.
It was the faction's commander who yelled out the order a split second later.
Thus, Iris ran, Helena commanded, and the [Castle Lord], whose name had been called, awakened, manifesting her fairy-tale 'castle' to instantly fulfill her role—
Right then, before the Southern Faction, Sotalm.
What appeared was a single figure of white and blue.
And 'he,' who had suddenly stepped into the void, began to chant.
"—Shifuu Ittoryu, Fourth Strike."
Holding a sword, wearing a smile, as if he had left all fear behind.
"[Hibachi]."
Drawing an unseen flash, the blade was unleashed.
"—————!!"
Intercepting it was the sword of a queen. In the festival night sky, two crescent moons.
A gigantic flash, impossible to believe it was born from such a small blade, clashed head-on. A tremendous explosion of energy erupted... —and one of them,
"...!?"
Tore right through the other.
The fragments of the sword flash, which had survived despite losing their shape, rained down all at once upon the 'castle' that stood tall to protect its people at its master's call.
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◇Status◇
Title: Haru the Acrobat
Name: Haru
Lv: 110
STR: 300
AGI: 300
DEX: 0
VIT: 0(+100)
MID: 350(+450)
LUC: 300
◇Skill◇
・Naraka Gandharva
[Mistlurade]
[Volcanate]
[Lumina Raygust]
[Ex Machina Altered]
[Greed's Precept]
・Starlight Magic Aptitude
[Aqua]
[Flood]
[Current Haken]
[Maelstrom]
[Laevateinn, Ten Thousand Calamities]
[Water Enchant]
・Active
[Raise Diaverte]
[Flash Traveler]
[Shadow Leaf]
[Eyes Oculus]
[Altera-Notis]
・Passive
[White Dragon's Blessing]
[Innocent King of Play]
[Assign's Fate]
[Rega-Lielta]
[Attentive Limit] ⇒ [Tempest Countdown] Up!
[Gigant Figure]
[Goma Soten]
[Talaria Record]
[Starlit Mine]
[Fatal Closer]
[Kaisei Futo]
[Dias Lunaria, Star Moon Guardian Hand]
[Root of Magic]
[Reject Sentence]
[Shadow Clearer]
[Four Pillars' Embrace]
[Water Spirit's Blessing]
[Four-Sided Blessing]
◇Arts◇
【Kesshiki Ittoryu】
[Flying Water]
[Striking Iron]
[Habakiri] New!
[Heavenly Snow]
[Karehomura]
[Ekou]
[Nanahoshi]
[Noboriame] New!
[Yuriarare] New!
[Hourai]
Secret Technique: [Yuikaze]
【Shifuu Ittoryu】
[Hayate]
[Shizuku]
[Kodama] New!
[Hibachi] New!
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Three consecutive chapter posts, one every hour.
And I still didn't finish.