Chapter 545 - A Hero's Tale for You, A Hero's Tale for Someone Else - Part One
The moment the battle began, we vanished from each other’s sight.
This was partly because we were simply following one of the opening gambits we’d anticipated, immediately splitting left and right.
It was also because we were honoring our pact to act as if the other would survive without any support, never looking back.
But more than anything, it was because—with a force that blew all those trivialities away—a merciless, simultaneous volley of “orbs” erupted from the countless magic circles that had deployed across the entire arena.
Were there a hundred? A thousand? Blackish-purple ‘turrets’ covered every surface, not just the walls but the floor and ceiling too, blotting out the view. The volley of matching blackish-purple magic bullets they spat out was the nine-tail’s number one countermeasure against me.
A barrage of low-speed, basketball-sized projectiles scattered in a chaotic, limitless torrent. Their contact effect wasn’t instant death damage—but a debuff that limited my maximum speed.
In other words, not technically instant death, but it might as well have been.
I had a mountain of personal complaints—like how it was so damn unfair the boss itself could just float right through them, or how the debuff grew progressively worse with each hit, slowly killing my legs, a truly nasty hobby for a monster to have, you bastard, but—
"—‘Behold the earth, for the eye is there’!"
When a wicked mage casts a wicked spell, you just have to cut it down with a holy sword and delete it from existence.
"‘Behold the sky, for the eye is there’!"
My right hand was glued to my sheathed [Rabbit Short Sword: Parabellum], and on top of that, I was chanting, running, and swinging my sword. A mere five seconds in and I was already in a frantic scramble, but if I didn't give it my all, I'd just die. There was no other choice.
I quickly left the floor—a disgusting mess of geometric patterns that defied description—and used the countless floating rocks, so conveniently placed it was like they were saying, “Here, use these,” as footholds, slicing through one magic bullet after another as they came for me on a direct course.
Ever since the Four Pillar War, I’d felt the need to prioritize learning about anti-magic measures. To put it simply, Arcadia was the type of game where ‘you can cut magic with a sword,’ so it was still merciful in that regard.
Though, there was the small caveat that it had to be a magic sword. In any case—
"‘Defeat, downfall, loss of… heart, decay… yet what stirs within—Hah?!’"
Even if my sword, imbued with [Water Enchant], could intercept them, I probably could have held my own for a little while solo if that was all it took.
Which meant the reason I’d been forced to give up so quickly was….
"‘Flame of Reverence’—EAAAGH!"
…the sheer, mind-boggling volume of the barrage, enough to make me snap just seconds into the fight.
Seriously, I can’t even see what’s in front of me, you idiot!
"Tch—!"
Prototype first strike… the water one. I activated [Matoi] repeatedly while spinning in place.
The extraordinary centrifugal force from a rotation absurdly fast even by virtual world standards extended the water blade on my sword, transforming it into a flash of light that mowed down the surrounding magic orbs in one clean sweep.
"—…‘Worship and revere, fear and kneel’!"
Well now, I’m over here fighting for my life in what feels like a rehash of my solo attempt… but on the opposite side of this arena, buried under a tasteless barrage, I wonder what kind of face she’s making?
Is she already humming a tune as she goes about her ‘work’?
Is she swinging her sword with that usual emotionless yet cheerful expression?
Or perhaps, is she worried about me while casually dealing with the barrage—wait, I can’t picture her struggling in the slightest, can I?
Hah, what a relief to have someone so dependable.
"‘The gaze of the red circle never fades.’"
My warm-up is over—I’m coming to pay my respects in a second!
"Wake up—[Rabbit Rapid]!"
An oath to a contract: never stop your feet.
The power it grants: to go even further.
"————————————————Right."
I took one second to observe.
Trajectory set, movements plotted, ready—
"Here I go."
BOOM.
From one floating rock to the next, I cut down countless demons with every line I drew and severed.
Laughing at the familiar, full-circle sensation of ‘not even being sure how I’m moving,’ I carved a path through the kill zone, which was packed as tight as an eraser with magic orbs.
One step, faster.
One step, faster still.
One step, even faster, onward, forever.
With my limitless, sky’s-the-limit rabbit legs, I brandished my magic sword and raced unimpeded. I trampled over the ‘speed-killing orbs,’ my natural enemy, all while storing even more demonic brilliance in my hidden blade.
…But that alone was fruitless. To change this hellscape that made me want to scream, “What kind of game is this?”, one more action was absolutely necessary.
Therefore, knowing full well that this next move would awaken an even greater hell,
"First one down."
The moment my [Alv Stella], which I swung without hesitation the instant my feet touched the floor for the first time in a while, sliced through a blackish-purple magic circle—a sound of pure death landed right behind me as I took my next step.
I know, I know. I know that destroying a magic circle makes the main body fly into a rage and fire some kind of ultra-fast, super-thick beam of destruction. I know because I’ve been vaporized by it a double-digit number of times, dammit!
"You better keep firing as long as you can—from here on, you’re working overtime, you hear me?!"
My tongue ran wild, fueled by one part frustration and nine parts adrenaline. A beat after successfully activating [Rabbit Rapid], I finally had the leeway to listen closely.
While dodging the magic orbs that continued to rain down and destroying magic circles one after another, I desperately fled from the thick laser beam—the kind you see in anime—that was chasing me, trying to gauge the situation on the other side by sound.
Right, right… ah, I see… so it seems she’s already in even higher gear than I am, and the boss is absolutely livid with her… Hah, just as I’d expect.
Well then—I suppose it’s time to end this little sideshow…!
I’d destroyed about forty percent of the magic circles. They’ll just regenerate over time anyway, so there was no point in cleaning them all up. As long as the sheer number of projectiles was temporarily reduced and I could secure a path to hit the boss—
"—Ashe!"
There was absolutely zero reason to hesitate with the attack call.
Instantly, as if responding to my voice, or perhaps having anticipated it beforehand, the [Sword Queen]—who I knew was in perfect health, both on my status bar and in my heart—sent her reply.
With her voice?
No, of course not—with her sword.
Amidst the blackish-purple that filled the battlefield like a swirling vortex or a crashing wave, a streak of ‘blue’ shot through like a meteor, ramming into Rep-la Nobody (The Black Stain That Slays All) at divine speed before it could even react.
It must have thought this was all just a ‘prelude.’ The master of shadows, who had been sitting smugly in the center of the arena without moving, showed some kind of reaction—be it anger or surprise—
"[Fort Rouge]."
As if to say she couldn't care less, she changed her outfit, and a golden light effect shimmered on her sword.
"[Perfect—"
Her left hand at its throat, her right hand on her sword. Without letting go of her prize or her weapon, the princess drove her blade deep into the ‘shadow,’
"—Espada]!"
…and with a level of killing—no, fighting—intent I’d never seen from her before, and with a skill I was seeing for the first time, she delivered a blow that could only be described as a merciless, certain-kill finisher.
—And don't you dare think that's the end of it.
She was sent flying by the mysterious skill that slashed again while the blade was still embedded.
The moment our eyes met—though I couldn't be sure it even had eyes—and Rep-la Nobody bared its fangs, well, it was only natural that I’d already finished my take-back.
That was the whole point. I got the ‘pass’ from Ashe, after all!
"[Enrei—"
‘—, ————’
"—Kagura]!"
Unleashed from its sheath, a great sword of zero-heat exhaust seared its trajectory through the air. A single, horizontal flash from the draw struck the flying ‘shadow’s’ torso dead on… as if to burn right through it.
Leaving behind a sickening sensation, it bisected the nine-tailed fox, and at the same time—crack.
A familiar cracking sound faintly reached my ears, then vanished.
The warm-up is over.
I have a lot I want to explain, like the whole “you can cut magic with a sword” mechanic and Ashe’s mysterious new skill, but my temperature is 38.5°C, so I can’t.
I’ll get to it someday.