Chapter 214 - Crimson Brilliant Bullet
—First, one move.
I slammed my left hand, clad in the knuckle-like shield, into the gut of Maru II as he tried to pivot by kicking off the great axe that blocked his path.
He doubled over, letting out a pained gasp, and immediately tried to counter with his dagger. But by the time he began his swing, I had already vanished from his sight.
It was a strike delivered as I passed him. The impact, converted from my excessive speed, pierced through him completely. The young man floated slightly in the air, and behind him—on the wall of the field generated by [Engage]—I had already landed, turned on a dime, and locked onto his back.
—Two moves.
Even if he couldn't react to what he saw, his thought acceleration skill boasted the most overwhelming performance among all player-held skills. It was no surprise that he could launch a counterattack based on prediction.
He twisted his body in mid-air, throwing a dagger past his own side as a diversion, but… unfortunately for him, I have a rule-breaking eye of my own ([Fatal Read]).
I dodged the blade that traced the pre-displayed red line—then bent my knees sharply, ducking under him, and unleashed a kick.
A somersault kick, delivered from a STR of 300 and packing the full inertia of over five hundred kilometers per hour, slammed into his wide-open torso…
“—Ggh, fff…!?”
The immense impact forced the air from Maru II's lungs in a violent spray, and his body shot straight up into the air.
“[Ignition].”
—Three moves.
I instantly replenished the energy I had just unloaded into my target. In parallel, I summoned the [Demon Horn Spear: Crimson Valor] and launched an upward thrust with its butt end. Then, I overtook the spear I had just thrown and leaped above Maru II.
—Four, five, six, seven moves.
Down, side, up, down. Kicking off the walls of the field that were supposed to be my cage, I mercilessly shredded his airborne body with the crimson blades of my Bullets.
In the midst of it all, I delivered another jab to him, then snatched the falling Crimson Valor out of the air…
“[Include].”
The crimson cloth fluttered away, and my body was buffed once more.
My avatar, now wrapped in layers of crimson light effects, pressed on—eight moves.
It may look like he's just being toyed with, but the fact that he's still alive after taking such a one-sided barrage is, frankly, insane.
His skill in maneuvering his body in mid-air where he had no freedom of movement, constantly shifting to avoid fatal blows, was nothing short of brilliant.
But…
“[Blink Switch]—!”
From bottom to top, the [Giant's Hand Axe] was thrown with a ferocious speed that defied all logic. Before he could even react, Maru II met it with a greatshield, a desperate look on his face. I dashed past his side.
My feet touched the very ceiling of the field's wall, and I pivoted.
Simultaneously—I drew the crimson dagger my right hand had kept suppressed in its sheath.
Now, are you ready, shapeshifter?
You probably won't even see the remaining moves.
Now, are you ready, [Rabbit Dagger]?
Your first time at full throttle—take everything, hold nothing back!!
The misshapen dagger, released from its sheath, was already impossible to see. Its bizarre form was gone.
The torrent of magical light that had roared to life the moment it was unsealed converged—forming a massive, brilliantly shining crimson sword.
—Nine moves.
“[Totsuka no Tsurugi]—”
“—Kuh…!!”
Seeing the great blade of light, whose edge and sheer pressure were incomparable to the original dagger, Maru II instantly abandoned the option to evade and created layer upon layer of greatshields—
Watching him from within them, I placed my hand squarely on his back.
“————, wha—”
“My bad.”
The tenth move was already done.
As I took his back with two consecutive, hyper-accelerated pivots, my HP scattering wildly, the shapeshifter was at a loss for words…
In that stretched-out moment, I felt the strength drain from the back I held.
—I give up. Do it. Make it quick.
Was I just imagining that unspoken message, or not?
If I could hope for one thing, it would be that the expression I couldn't see on the other side of that back was one of satisfaction. If so, I could ask for no greater honor.
Then, I'll make it quick—a great flash of heatless flame erupted.
“—[Enrei Kagura].”
The crimson blade, brought down in a straight, vertical slash from above—bisected my rival's avatar without a sound…
The lingering remnants, which had scattered into crimson phosphorescence, were utterly devoured.
As the crimson light dissipated, the blade drank them all down without a trace.
—And with that, I slid the rabbit dagger, which seemed to carry an air of satisfaction as if to say, “The job is done,” back into its sheath.
“————————… Haaaaah…!!”
I tumbled into the waterway, my thoughts numb from extreme hyper-focus… letting out a voice like a dying man as I watched the barrier of [Engage] dissolve.
—Ah, geez… I'm super tired, but that was super fun and I learned a ton. Let's do it again sometime, Maru II.
“From the bottom of my heart, good game—”
“—An opening!”
SPLASH!!
SLASH!!
WHOOSH!!
TSSSSSS!!
Huh?
“Hwah?!”
As I gazed up at the moon, my face a picture of accomplishment, a flood of information beginning with an unfamiliar girl's voice erupted beside me in an instant.
I felt a 'pressure' behind me for a split second, and was buffeted by an immense wave of heat that must have instantly evaporated it. I stumbled forward, and when I turned around with a dumbfounded look on my face…
“So hot—!!!?”
What leaped into my vision—or rather, what assaulted my entire body, including my face—was a vortex of explosive, superheated steam.
Of course, there was no actual pain, but the borderline-scorching heat combined with a numbing sensation made me reflexively imagine a burn-level temperature.
I yelled and shielded my face with my arms. Thankfully, there was no dam—… oh, yes there was. One wrong step and I would've been dead…!!!
—Hey, kid.
And so, as I trembled at that sudden glimpse of death, the exasperated voice of the General Commander echoed in my mind.
Sensing the chiding tone in his voice… I ran through the situation with the same speed I used in combat and managed to grasp the general idea.
Or rather, it was less grasping and more, don't you forget, you idiot.
It wasn't that I was one wrong step from death. It was that the 'heat ray' that had just tried to kill me had, in fact, saved me…
It's not 'good game from the bottom of my heart.' I get the gist of what happened, but don't you dare let your guard down just because you took care of the opponent in front of you.
“Ha, haha… My sincerest apologies.”
In short, just as Maru II and I were settling things… who was it, Rinne-san? A surprise backstab from her was intercepted—or rather, blown away—by this older sister figure, Hinayo, which saved my life… Ah, so much to reflect on, ahhh…………
Fortunately, I was let off with a simple scolding of, “But your results are still impeccable.” I was wedged between two kind older figures, blushing with shame.
Meanwhile, a pillar of light, signifying the defeat of a ranker, rose brilliantly. But there were three pillars.
One battlefield's curtain had closed—but the stage was still in the midst of countless frenzies.
Rinne-chan's moment to shine, after being tsss'd, will have to wait until the next chapter.
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This is a long one, so brace yourselves.
・[Rabbit Dagger: Parabellum]
Creator: Kagura. Category: Dagger.
In addition to its ability to generate clone daggers, [Parabellum Bullets], it can trigger a simultaneous detonation of all generated Bullets by destroying the main blade.
Furthermore, it shares a characteristic with its base material, the [Ruby Rabbit Demon Horn]: its durability locks above a certain speed. This is a passive effect also present on weapons like the [Demon Horn Spear: Crimson Valor]. The Bullets have it too.
Incidentally, this equipment's durability is '1/1'. This is the result of Kagura getting excited and thinking, “If it has a trait like this, I might as well gut its durability and pour all the resources into fun effects, hehehe.” Even a punch from Nia could easily snap it.
・[Rabbit Rapid, Crimson Brilliant Bullet]
This is the main power of the weapon, a unique effect that was added on its own, independent of the creator's intent.
The ability's details are as described in the story: an 'update of maximum speed' with no upper limit. The effect is canceled the moment it senses the user is chickening out on speed, rather than needing to continuously mark top speed.
It's a 'limit-breaking ability' rather than a pure 'physical enhancement ability,' and because it enables movements that exceed the avatar's stat limits, it incurs overload damage. This damage is treated as slip damage and is not processed as self-inflicted damage.
The overload check begins at a speed of roughly Base Stats x 1.5.
・[Totsuka no Tsurugi], [Enrei Kagura]
This is a unique assault skill that begins charging simultaneously with the activation of [Rabbit Rapid, Crimson Brilliant Bullet]. Since this skill came attached to a power that manifested on its own, it wasn't the dedicated artisan (Kagura) who named it after herself.
The excess speed accumulated through the limit updates is converted directly into power, and the blade grows in size according to the amount accumulated.
In addition to being a finishing move, it also serves to 'vent speed' instead of heat. After a certain amount of time has passed since unsheathing or upon making an attack judgment, the effect ends along with the power of [Rabbit Rapid, Crimson Brilliant Bullet].
Also, if the user lets go of the hilt, the weapon gets sulky and ditches the enhancement effect, effectively locking one hand until the final blow is delivered.
As for the question of why the broken main body heals on its own, it will be touched upon in the story eventually, but the secret lies in the 'sheath'. If I mention that the sheath is made of wood... perhaps the Arcadians who have been reading my work from the beginning will understand.
Then again, I dropped that info over 150 chapters ago…
There's still more to explain, but there will be scenes that touch upon it later in the story, so please be patient.