Chapter 212 - Poem of Red
“—Re... lease...!!”
“Guh, wha—?!”
As the long spear passed me, I unleashed a gale-force blast from the palm heel I’d driven into his chest.
He let out a cry of surprise as he was violently knocked back, pulling the spearhead that had gouged the very edge of my flank with him.
Instantly, a bright red damage effect gushed out like a torrent of blood… but in truth, it was a stroke of luck, a hair’s breadth from disaster.
If I hadn't sensed something in that split second…
If the defense of my [An-ri Galta (Prologue: The Wedge-Fragment that Sings of Eternity)] had been off…
Or if the effect of [Whirlwind] hadn’t still been active on the hand I used to swat the spear tip away… had any one of those been missing, I would have been run through the dead center of my stomach.
The spear thrust I’d managed to deflect still pierced my side, but in game terms, it was considered a grazing hit. However, for a build like mine—one that scoffs at conventional standards with a base VIT of zero…
Just for getting poked in the side, the damage was about forty percent of my total HP. Combined with the self-inflicted damage from before, my health instantly dropped below half and into the yellow warning zone—
“Gotcha…!!”
As if to deny me even a moment for reflection, the interval I was granted was less than half a second.
The long spear transformed into a javelin and was thrown. I neutralized the blade with the remaining gust of wind in my left hand, and Maru II, who had closed the distance, launched an even fiercer rush to overwhelm me for my blunder.
With his perception of time multiplied by ten, he naturally becomes silent. That, combined with his dispassionate assault, creates an immense pressure…!!
But that aside—I had a choice.
My decision to pick a fight with such big talk was, of course, made after considering all the risks that would arise. In other words, I had anticipated a scenario like this, where I’d be outmaneuvered and cornered.
And so, I have a plan to turn things around.
One option: swallow a single, massive risk to stage a grand comeback.
The other: fight through numerous smaller risks to claw my way back from the brink.
The difference between the two plans is whether or not I play my trump card here—
“—Tch…!!”
A dagger grazed my cheek. A longsword sliced shallowly into my shoulder. A mace batted away the Bullet I’d used to intercept. Each blow chipped away at my focus, already strained by my disadvantage.
My gaze met the piercing blue light staring straight at me—and right, I've made my decision.
I won't rely on the [Crimson Rabbit Hairpin (Joker)].
Instead—to the master who demonstrated a similar style but with superior tactics, I will now present the full, unbridled soul of the player that is me.
“Release!!”
I detonated the remaining wind blasts at my feet, kicking up a massive spray of water. At the same time, I forcefully created distance from Maru II, who had been sticking to me like glue, unleashing a relentless combo.
I am undeniably the one being pushed back, but he’s the one running out of time.
The clock on his [Roan Chronos, Eye of Deceiving Time] is ticking down, second by second. The moment it wears off, he'll be hit with a massive penalty and rendered combat-ineffective. In other words, as long as I retreat, he has no choice but to press the attack.
That's why creating distance wasn't a desperate attempt to buy time.
“Heh…!”
It was a calculated move, made with a certain expectation—and sure enough, I saw the whip-swords reappear in Maru II's hands, who clearly didn't want to waste time closing the gap again. Seeing my wish granted, I let out a small laugh.
The storm of blades he unleashed without a moment's pause was, as always, an inescapable enveloping attack, tracing bizarrely complex trajectories. But its movements were too complex.
Because it is so complex and irregular, it forces the user into meticulously predictable patterns.
A light outward twist of his right wrist as he brings his left hand down—in that case, the right sword sweeps at my feet, followed a beat later by the descending left sword.
Both arms open wide, then cross forcefully with the left arm over the right—in that case, it’s a pincer attack from both sides, or so it seems, until the left sword suddenly decelerates to throw off my rhythm.
His left arm pulls back, and his right arm swings straight up—in that case, a sharp reverse diagonal slash from the returning left sword is followed by the right sword leaping up from my feet with a writhing motion.
I saw all the patterns and quirks just now.
And in this world—once I see something, I don't forget it.
It was my first time seeing a fantasy weapon like a whip-sword, so I was certainly surprised earlier… but its uniqueness and strength are concentrated in how difficult it is to read.
To put it another way, if you have the eyes to see through its complex movements—then this thing is nothing more than a deadly jump rope!!
“Hey, wai—You can’t be serious!?”
“Haha!! This is what it means to be an [Acrobat]!!”
Even his shock, which to me feels like a second, is likely a ten-second display of astonishment from his perspective, which makes it slightly amusing… though this isn't the time to be laughing.
I might be able to read his moves now, but I'm far from comfortable. My stamina is severely depleted, and if any attack so much as grazes me next, I could be instantly wiped out.
—So, are you ready, my unruly rabbit dagger?
Come to think of it, from your very first debut, I introduced you only to break you again and again as the activation key for [Exploding Rabbit]… The one who always gets the spotlight is your child unit, the [Bullet].
You did land a monumental blow against my master, but even that wasn't a result of your own power.
It's about time all that pent-up frustration exploded, don't you think?
Then let's show him—[Rabbit Dagger: Parabellum].
“—‘The red is here.’”
I gripped the hilt of the crimson dagger at my hip, weaving through the net of blades that violently tore through the air—and softly sang a verse of offering.
“‘Look to the earth, the eye is there.’”
“Tch…—!!”
The shapeshifter facing me noticed it immediately. The storm of slashes grew even more ferocious, yet they failed to catch me by a hair's breadth.
“‘Look to the sky, the eye is there.’”
Once he determined it wouldn't work, his decision was instantaneous. I dodged the countless javelins thrown as a diversion, and ahead, I saw him kick off through the waterway, having switched his weapons to dual daggers.
“‘Defeat, downfall, despair, decay—yet stirring is the flame of devotion’!”
Activating [Fatal Read]—I forcefully evaded the shapeshifter's assault as he rushed to stop my incantation, all thanks to the power of the skill.
“‘Worship and revere, fear and kneel—the gaze of the red circle never fades’!!”
As I concluded the sacred words… the rabbit dagger pulsed with crimson light, spilling from the gap in its sheath, and housed within my body—a single, bizarre power.
Its name is…
“Awaken—[Rabbit Rapid, Crimson Brilliant Bullet].”
Q. The afterword comment section didn't touch on the incantation, did it? A. The system might judge an intentionally quiet voice as not worth picking up by the mic.