Chapter 211 - Ever-Changing
The moment our blades crossed as we leaped at each other, sending up a massive spray of water—an immense sense of wrongness shot through the right arm holding my [White-Flawed Straight Sword].
It's too heavy. I was supposed to have blocked a dagger, so what was this impact, like being smashed with a hammer…? My momentarily confused brain processed it a second later.
What had struck my Anima was not a dagger, but a one-handed hammer that perfectly embodied that description.
Weapon switching at the moment of impact—while my heart leaped with excitement, his right hand, a beat later, swung its dagger.
Almost by reflex, I tilted my neck.
"—Whoa, that was close!?"
Following my 'hunch,' I instinctively dropped to my knees. A blade, its reach transformed into that of a longsword, whistled past over my head… and of course, it didn't end there.
Yeah, that's right. That's what I would do.
[Ever-Changing] locked his sights on me as I lost my balance and raised his left hand. The one-handed hammer he brought down naturally changed its form mid-swing.
—Activating [Floating Leaf]. I let myself fall backward from my crouch, manipulating the vector of my descent to launch into a desperate knee-slide forward.
I dove into the water, sliding under his full-powered swing. The shockwave from his attack passed over me, and the weapon he wielded revealed its power by exposing the floor of the waterway.
What had shattered the ground wasn't just a greatsword; it was a colossal blade over two meters long… and it only existed for an instant.
Maru II used the recoil from the impact to flip forward into a somersault. Upside down, he brandished the throwing knives he now held in both hands.
In that sliver of time, stretched out by my own extreme concentration even without thought acceleration, our eyes met, his burning with a blue flame.
"—My turn."
You're not gonna let me have all the fun, huh?
Brake, followed by [Ignition], followed by [Whirlwind]—I swatted down the throwing knives with my storm-wreathed arms and closed the distance on him as he hung in the air.
I swung the black blade of my [Panga Fool]. The moment Maru II reacted… it was time for a little payback. `[Blink Switch]`.
I summoned the [Giant's Hand Axe]. The excessively heavy blade I swung without an ounce of mercy let out a deafening roar, as if smashing into a solid block of steel, and—
"…Impressive, as expected."
His avatar was sent flying in a dramatic spray of water, yet the HP bar above his head remained intact. What emerged from the clearing water vapor was a massive chunk of steel—a tower shield large enough to completely conceal his body.
Straight sword, dagger, one-handed hammer, longsword, giant sword, and even a greatshield.
All of these numerous weapon forms, crafted with the same design, were the very embodiment of the player named Maru II and his title, [Ever-Changing].
Weapon forms… yes, they were not separate, individual weapons.
[The Dictionary]—its true identity was an amorphous Anima that allowed him to freely switch between a variety of registered forms.
…I'm fully aware that a thousand massive boomerangs are about to come flying back at me, but I have to say it: that is just completely unfair. Changing not just the shape, but the number and mass at will? That's picking a fight with the laws of physics.
Ahead of me, Maru II emerged from behind the greatshield as it warped and changed shape, creating two daggers in his hands once more. Perhaps he read the look on my face, the one that screamed I had something to say.
While still gripping the hilts, he raised an index finger in a gesture of silence—yeah, I get it.
"There's no time for idle chatter, right?!"
Of course I understand, Lord Ever-Changing. And of course, now that I've picked this fight, I have no intention of running away from this situation.
I drew the [Rabbit Dagger, Parabellum] from my waist and layered my avatar's output. The movements of 'Matoi'—guaranteed by the Sword Saint herself to be something even a ranker couldn't easily react to… were met, as if it were obvious, by the gaze of the young man with the blue-glowing eyes.
[Roan Chronos, Eye of Deceiving Time]—it was the enhancement effect of his unique title, 'Ever-Changing,' and the secret behind the form changes of his Anima, which put even 'All Weapon Aptitude' to shame.
The true nature of that power was a long-duration, constant thought acceleration effect lasting a full one hundred seconds.
Furthermore, while typical thought acceleration skills usually have a two-to-three-times multiplier, the acceleration boasted by [Roan Chronos] reached an astonishing ten times.
Before the fight, Maru II had mentioned a "hundred-second brawl," but only I would experience it as one hundred seconds. Against my one hundred seconds, he had a thousand.
That difference in thought processing was what allowed him to easily handle even my pinball-like strategy of ricocheting off the walls.
"Tch…!!"
—This is bad. I can't break through.
Every strike from my crimson dagger was parried, and what's more, he was landing a fair number of counterattacks. With my absolute superiority in agility, it wasn't hard to stop him from moving, but forcing him to plant his feet and brace was giving him openings to counter.
But if I eased up on my barrage… yep, the tables would turn instantly. Knew it!
The moment he sensed me slowing down, Maru II switched his Anima's form and unhesitatingly went on the offensive. He could think for ten seconds in the span of one; there was practically no lag between his actions—and what is that awesome weapon!?
"A snake sword!?"
My eyes widened at the extending slashes that shot out from both his hands. I scrambled to evade, but the unfamiliar and erratic movements were impossible to read.
Fatal—
"Not yet!!"
I crushed the cowardly part of my mind that had reflexively flinched, and charged forward.
Using a summoned and thrown Bullet as a foothold, I raced through the air, dodging the blades by a hair's breadth, and leaped above his head, out of the sword-storm's reach.
Activating [Flip Stroke]—and then Bullet, Bullet, and more Bullet!!!
Using the maze walls and [Blink Switch] jumps in tandem, I circled above him like a hawk, unleashing a continuous hailstorm of crimson blades.
He had probably never been subjected to an attack like this before.
Even Maru II, who was likely ten times calmer than me, would surely show a look of surprise at this—or so I'd hoped!
"Damn you, you turtle…!!"
Against this skilled fighter who had calmly and composedly constructed a dome-shaped barrier and hidden himself away, I opted for a direct assault. It was a shame my acrobatics were seen through, but if he was completely immobile, it was an opportunity.
Even if his thought speed was ten times faster, his avatar's action speed remained the same.
If he could perceive it,
"[Ignition]!!"
Then I just had to blow past him with a speed he couldn't possibly react to!
[Exchange Voltate] activated. The count was far from max, but the weapon itself was overkill for PvP.
Besides, this prized weapon of mine has a track record of shattering a certain high-tier Anima in the past—I'm coming at you with no mercy, [Ever-Changing]!!
I summoned the massive form of [An-ri Galta (Prologue: The Wedge-Fragment that Sings of Eternity)]. Now, to chant the key phrase for my ultimate attack.
"Manifestation Releas—"
—I'll be honest. In that moment, I was getting full of myself.
Not in a bad way, but to say I was getting carried away would be an understatement. The high of being on this grand stage for the first time must have messed with my excitement levels.
So, well, if I had been even a little bit calmer, I probably would have noticed.
Noticed, or at least suspected.
A defensive dome you can't see inside, and water hiding his feet.
Now then—is the enemy really there?
In that instant,
"Ngh—"
Following the 'hunch' that zipped through my mind, I instinctively swapped places in mid-air with the greatsword, its release canceled.
Immediately after, the body of [An-ri Galta] that I held up collided with the long spear he swung as he burst from the water behind me—
The tip of the spearhead bypassed my defense and cleanly pierced my poorly armored avatar.
I announced it on X, but due to being busy in real life, my update times will be irregular for a while. Daily posts will continue, so please bear with me… I should have a lot more free time starting around the middle of next month.