Chapter 380 - The White Journey Unburdened, Part Four
"…Would you call this… smooth sailing?"
"For now, in form only, at least…"
Surveying the state of the battle, the two of them stopped to exchange words.
Hinayo, lowering the muzzle of her gun, which was shrouded in a heat haze from firing, murmured her thoughts. Irori, striving to maintain his composure, replied with a nod as his white sword dissolved into the air from his hand.
Including the one whose head they had successfully taken off with help from their junior, the total kill count was already at eight. The remaining two were being handled by the Sword Queen, backed by the support of surrounding players, and the tag team of Goldow and Genkotsu, who were moving in for the kill.
Neither group needed them to rush to their aid.
The second phase, which they had attempted to break through with an all-out blitz, was coming to a close with an almost anticlimactic sense of success.
Yes, it was going smoothly, very smoothly—in form, at least.
The greatest difficulty of this phase, the one that had led to their narrow defeat a year ago, was that the forced teleportation would activate while the ten divided white figures were still rampaging, making it impossible to avoid an 'accident' immediately after, no matter how they struggled.
That wasn't limited to just the general player base; it was the same for the rankers. Just as Hinayo had been put in a perilous situation moments ago, the longer the rounds went on, the higher the probability that their own forces would be whittled down.
Hence, the all-out blitz.
They disregarded exhaustion. By suppressing the divided bodies at full speed, they would blow past the phase without letting them do a thing—and their plan had succeeded.
But it came at the cost of significant fatigue among key members and several of their trump cards.
Following the white sword that had vanished from his left hand like melting snow, the ice crown that had manifested above his head cracked with a sharp ping and shattered.
The disappearance was due to his Anima and the enhancement effect of his special title reaching their time limits.
In Irori's case, he could use it again after the cooldown, but several other cards—including a certain someone's 'ultimate attack'—were one-and-done.
In order to instantly kill the splintered bodies that should have been flying and leaping all over the place, they had been forced to pay a steep price.
He wanted to believe it was better than losing key members. After all,
"From here on out…"
"Yes… it's unknown territory."
In the distance, the last two bodies collapsed with a tremor—and with all ten defeated, what awaited them was something no one yet knew.
◇◆◇◆◇
"—Isn't getting three kills a bit much?"
"You took down two yourself."
"Nah, I had a ton of support."
"If you're going to say that, then I was helped a lot, too."
Seeing one of the figures getting pummeled by the four fists of the General Commander and Twin Fists, I had rushed over to the Princess who was bravely fighting the massive creature alone, but… well, I knew she didn't need any help either.
The last one collapsed the moment I arrived. Ashe, standing with a cool expression before its 'corpse,' smiled without a hint of fatigue.
As expected, I suppose… To be honest, while I wasn't about to collapse, I was already a bit out of breath.
—In any case,
"Now then… what's next?"
"I don't know."
As we voiced our questions and uncertainties, the gazes of every player here were surely fixed on one thing.
None other than—the ten white corpses that remained on the battlefield, slashed, beaten, and crushed, yet refusing to disappear even after they had stopped moving.
If I could be greedy, I'd appreciate a short break in this dead silence, but… it seems that's not going to happen.
Bzzzt—my vision, the world, began to blur and waver again.
A new kind of tension rose up, completely different from before, when we had been allowed to prepare. An indescribable shiver ran down my spine, and a mix of heat and cold swirled in the back of my mind.
The third stage of the Tsarkalv of the White Throne, something no one in the world had ever seen before.
As the challengers held their breath in preparation, the distortion encroached upon their vision, accompanied by a ground tremor that seemed to cling to their bodies from their feet up… and it began to move.
"……, …………"
"What is that, what's happening…"
The splintered bodies of the White Throne, which could only be described as 'corpses' as they lay motionless.
With their torn limbs and tails still detached,
With their severed heads still lying where they fell,
In a manner unlike any living creature… the torsos of the massive bodies that had been lying on the ground began to rise, as if being pulled by something.
Watching the unsettling sight, the word that came to mind was 'strings'—the same kind of 'puppet strings' I needed to replicate my master's techniques.
As I, having envisioned the 'strings' attached to the corpses, let my gaze drift upward, Ashe, standing beside me, was staring intently at the center of the white figures.
More accurately—
"…………Something…"
Beyond that—inside that.
"—Something's inside."
The moment she muttered those words and tightened her grip on her 'sword.'
The backs of the white figures split open, and 'red' spilled out like fresh blood.
All ten corpses. The ones with crushed heads, the ones with severed necks, the ones missing limbs—all of them. As the 'red' gushed out and swarmed over their surfaces, the massive bodies began to twitch grotesquely and swell.
"……………Ugh… Come on… Arcadia, really…!"
In short, a horror movie. Simply put, grotesque.
Sigh… I thought, and when I looked off into the distance, just as I'd expected, I could faintly see Sora-san watching the event unfold, her face pale with dread.
She's gained some experience and a certain level of tolerance, so I don't think she'll react like she did before… but my partner isn't the only one looking pale right now.
"…You okay?"
"…………I-I'm fine."
Oh wow, that's the first time I've ever heard Ashe stutter.
Well, yeah, I get it. A few of the guys around us are grimacing, and even for me, who has a decent tolerance for gore and horror, this is pretty rough.
Shouldn't this part have a higher age rating? And what makes it so nasty is…
"Sorry, but you're going to have to tough it out, Princess… This looks really bad…!"
"I know…!"
We were right in the middle of a one-shot raid attempt.
In other words, losing our will to fight or calling for a 'time out' wasn't an option—no matter how scary or disgusting it was, we had no choice but to brace ourselves and face it…!
My vision blurs.
Static runs through my senses.
The telltale sign of a forced teleportation, a raid gimmick I've experienced many times now. So what's it going to be? A simple powered-up version of the second phase, or a hardcore mode with a mountain of new gimmicks?
Even though we can't avoid improvising on this first look, we're not stupid enough to tackle this without a plan. We've devised and shared strategies for every conceivable pattern, and I'm prepared to push through my exhaustion and start running again.
If I could make a selfish request, I'd love to be lucky enough to get teleported right next to Sora on the first go. I don't know if I'll have the time, but I'd at least like to offer a word of encouragement—
"————"
Tingle. A sensation like something snapping at the back of my neck.
It was a confusing situation, just as it looked. Why was 'red' gushing out from inside the 'white'? There was no time to ponder that question.
There was probably only a little time left before the forced teleportation gimmick activated. The world was growing more distorted and………………………………………………wait, hold on.
This… might be bad.
"Tch—!!"
"H—ah…!?"
Whether it was intuition or a premonition borrowed from a thought that hadn't even fully formed, my body kicked off the ground on its own… but by then, it was probably too late.
Right now, what was distorting and wavering wasn't our vision—that is, our avatars—but the space itself, surrounding the monster that was a mix of white and red.
I'd been so taken aback by the bizarre spectacle that my brain hadn't been working properly. It was probably the same for Ashe, who let out a cry of alarm the moment I changed course.
This was a precursor to something else, something different from the forced teleportations up until now.
The Tsarkalv of the White Throne governs 'boundaries'—a trial brought by a being that manipulates space wasn't necessarily limited to just 'teleportation.'
And yet, I was a step too late as I desperately reached out. I felt like my eyes met my distant partner's… and at that moment.
CRACK—a strange shattering sound echoed across the battlefield,
And from each of the ten splintered bodies, cliffs of pure white space rose up.