Chapter 154 - The Maiden of the Scales, Attended by a Thousand Blades - Part 4
A faint cracking sound echoed—pakin.
At my neck, the [Ruby Rabbit Hair Ornament] that had been holding back my hair—which was longer here than in the real world—shattered into pieces. Eh, ah, what? So it’s that kind of thing? My neck is ticklish!
The fragments, and everything else, erupted into a torrent of red magical power. It swirled into my now-untied hair and coursed through my entire avatar. With the `Fatal Damage Nullification` trigger, the gem's special effect, Desperate Crimson, activated.
Simultaneously, another icon, this one resembling a cracked crown, appeared on my status bar below Desperate Crimson—Crown Crown had activated as well.
I would have to resolutely ignore the fact that a decoration that could not possibly suit me had just appeared on my head. I'm trusting you on this one, Sora, when you said, “It doesn’t look that weird”…!!
――――――――――――――――――
◇Status◇
Title: Acrobat
Name: Haru Lv: 100
STR (Strength): 300
AGI (Agility): 350 +175
DEX (Dexterity): 100 +175
VIT (Vitality): 0 (+50)
MID (Spirit): 0 (+350)
LUC (Luck): 300
◇Skill◇
・All Weapon Aptitude
《Blink Switch》
《Flip Stroke》
《Gasty Lim》
《Exchange Voltate》
Greed's Precept
・《Reflect Blowal》
・《Tremble Slide》
・《Ignition》
・《Floating Leaf》
・《Foreknowledge Eye》
・Embodied Protection
・Combo Accelerate
・Awakening Blow
・Heavy Attack Manipulator
・Adamant Sky Dash
・Rabbit Run
・Fateless Jumper
・Rhino's Heart
・Trickery Precept
・Guardian's Cradle
・Telepathy
――――――――――――――――――
The effect of Desperate Crimson gave me a cheat boost equivalent to thirty-five levels in both AGI and DEX. On top of that, thanks to Crown Crown, I could now use Ignition indefinitely, and all my skill cooldowns were halved.
This was truly my second form, Haru Ver2.0EX. Alright, Sora-san, are you ready?
My stats now surpassed my old, insane agility value of 500, and my body was enhanced with skills and equipment far beyond anything I had back then.
—From here on out, this is uncharted territory for me, too!
"—[Panga Fool]."
I summoned the black dagger, now transformed into a simple, risk-free acceleration device.
My appearance must have been bizarre, wreathed in crimson phosphorescence, a cracked crown on my head, and multiple enhancement effects swirling around me. I could see Sora tense up slightly in the distance…
Hah…!
Her amber eyes remained unwavering. Seeing the girl smile to steel herself, I wanted to applaud from the bottom of my heart.
"H-here I go—Soraaa!"
"—I won't… lose!"
Ignition—and the entire world dissolved into lines of light.
◇◆◇◆◇
"Tch—!!!"
Haru's form vanished.
Observer's Eye—no, that's useless!
"Ende!"
There wasn't even a split second to spare. In that instant of judgment, I chose to dispel all my magic swords and prepared my next move.
"Schwert—"
And of course, I wasn't fast enough.
His body, now a crimson gale, was already right in front of me—but I knew that would happen!
The attack will definitely come from the right, and considering his patterns…!
"—Ngh, ugh…!!"
"Tch—!"
He's holding the crimson dagger—which means I can block it with this sand sword!
I created one sword in my right hand and layered two more floating in the air, managing to hold my ground despite being pushed back with tremendous force.
"—Kreis!!"
He must not have expected me to react to his very first move. I smiled back at his wide-eyed expression as I finished the incantation.
"Rivert Blume!!"
My armor of magic swords, what could be called my anti-Haru trump card, deployed around me.
"Oh, crap…!!"
"Neun!"
It was a semi-automatic offensive barrier, created by combining Optimize Alert and psionic control to keep a swarm of minuscule magic swords constantly orbiting my body.
Haru himself, the one who devised this technique, knew better than anyone just how terrible the matchup was between this sword-armor and his own abilities.
To press the advantage against the anxiety in his voice, I lunged forward with the sand sword in my hand, launching a follow-up volley—but,
"Wha, ugh…!?"
He vanished. It was a disappearance so sudden it could only be described as annihilation. I frantically searched for him, only to find my partner standing at a distance with a wry smile.
"Hey, Sora-san… reacting on the very first hit is a bit much, don't you think?"
He looked utterly defeated, a sentiment that, for me, was the highest form of praise.
"Tch… Y-You're one to talk, Haru! What was that? I couldn't see you at all!"
I desperately fought to keep my cheeks from breaking into a smile as I retorted. He found something amusing in my reply and laughed heartily.
"Haha, I was surprised too. Seriously, I can't see a thing while I'm moving like this. That's why I was even more shocked that you reacted, you know?"
"There you go saying incomprehensible things again…!"
How could his movements be so precise if he couldn't see anything?
My partner's innocent smile as he casually pulled off another outrageous feat began to sap my fighting spirit, but a feeling of “give me a break!” was also welling up inside me.
"Really, honestly…!!"
"And yet, you're smiling, Sora-san."
"Thirty Strikes!!"
"What a sharp comeback!"
Leaving behind a joking voice, Haru vanished again, slipping through the barrage of swords—I know, he's behind me!
"Whoa, hey!?"
"Even if I can't follow you with my eyes…!!"
—I can read your thoughts just fine!
Hey, did they just start flirting?