Chapter 547 - A Hero's Tale for You, A Hero's Tale for Someone Else - Part Three
In that instant, the world reflected two simultaneous phenomena.
One was the result that actually happened.
The sight of me, my chest blown wide open by an invisible ‘cannonball’ moving too fast to see, scattering into light while cursing.
I mean, I exploded beautifully. It was a level of power so far beyond what my low durability could handle that it wasn't even relevant anymore. That familiar sensation of being taken out by overwhelming force.
A perfect, one-shot KO. I’m pretty sure that even if I’d managed to deploy [Twaibolt Mirari], it would have killed me right through my defense. That’s how effortlessly it pierced my body.
—And then, there was the present that remained as fact.
The sight of me, perfectly intact and still very much alive, scooping up Ashe, who was blinking at the glitch-like shift in her perception.
So, what in the world just happened? The reason for that is simple—
"Haru—"
"No problem! Let's get some distance first!"
It was all thanks to the power of the swaying [Aquamarine Rabbit Heart] in her hair doing its job perfectly.
Even the invincible princess seemed bewildered by this new trick, her voice tinged with a rare hint of shock, but I just grinned back at her, echoing her own confidence with a “No problem.” I held her body, which was as light as a feather in inverse proportion to her infinite reliability, and immediately kicked off the ground.
Then, I activated [Desperate Crimson]. Following the ‘death nullification’ that had just saved me, a new red blessing settled over my avatar, reinforcing my rabbit-like agility.
Above all else, I wanted to create distance. I had no clue about the trick behind it, but I was certain that something invisible and blindingly fast had flown at me and blown a hole in my chest.
Why was I so sure? Because I’ve been hit by something just like my Ruby Bullets more times than I can count, enough to die from it over and over again, of course!
Anyway, if there's a point of origin, there's a point of impact.
The farther apart we were, the more time I should have to react—
"—"
Again, my body moved on its own.
A few seconds after the first shot that pierced my chest, another cannonball must have been fired at us as we fled the ‘cocoon’ at full speed. An ominous pressure shot past me as I soared through the air, still holding Ashe.
Seriously, this was baffling on two different levels.
"Can you… see it?"
"Nope, can't see a thing! I have no idea what this is—is it a ‘hunch’…?!"
I couldn't see it, nor was I sensing some kind of aura. But I just knew. I knew something was coming, that I’d die if I didn’t dodge—that if I didn’t take a step right now,
"Tch…!"
…I would have been finished in that very instant, a future that was now a retroactive past.
Following the second shot came a third. This mysterious sixth sense that allowed me to evade an invisible instant-death bullet could no longer be dismissed as a ‘fluke.’ I really had no idea what was going on, but—
"Grr…! Later! For now,"
"—Mm… yes. Let's focus on what's necessary."
Everything was a mystery, but I could dodge. Wonderful.
When I thought about it, my avatar moving on its own wasn't anything new; it had been happening from the very beginning. Just as Ashe, now recovered from her shock, said, I needed to devote my mental resources to what was important right now.
So, what was that? The answer was obvious.
How to drag that utter bastard, who just hit us with a literal perfect blindside, out of its ‘cocoon’ and sentence it to be diced into pieces.
"…I'm starting to get it. The attack intervals are irregular, but there's always a gap of at least five seconds."
Ashe continued her analysis from within my arms as I put as much distance as possible between us and the ‘cocoon’ inside the arena—which was roughly the same size as the circular field where [Angalta] resides. It was spacious, but for my current self, it felt exquisitely cramped.
"Okay, should we attack then?!"
"First, we need to see if it’s something that will even respond when struck."
"Got it, what's the plan?!"
"I will strike."
"Timing?!"
"Next."
"Roge—… Understood!"
Just as she said that, another shot flew at me. The moment I dodged it by a hair's breadth, I released Ashe from my arms.
It goes without saying that I had released her from a full-on sprint boosted by [Desperate Crimson], but—of course, with a cool expression, the princess executed a perfect landing, her boot heels digging into the floor.
"…Hah—"
She took a faint breath, froze perfectly still, and narrowed her eyes slightly.
One second, two seconds, three—
"—Hmph…!"
The moment the ‘power’ she had accumulated in silence was unleashed with a slight exhale,
the blade of her ‘sword,’ swung at truly divine speed, manifested a power many times greater than the one that had once chased me across the world.
A lawless, certain-kill slash of sword pressure from the [Sword Queen].
"Hmph… Haru…!"
"—Leave it to me!"
A slightly pained voice kicked me in the back, snapping me out of the trance that had nearly stopped time itself.
Even Ashe must have been drained from unleashing such a ridiculously powerful technique. I scooped up her faltering body once more, and at the same time—
"Tch…"
"You've got to be kidding me…!"
First came the deafening roar of the immense sword pressure, visible to the naked eye, making impact. An instant later, another ‘cannonball’ was fired, still invisible and impossibly fast.
My reflexive dodge was successful, but as I soared through the air and cursed, I turned my eyes back—
"Hey, taking no damage from that is a bad joke…"
"…It seems it had no effect."
The ‘cocoon’ woven from shadow remained unchanged, without a single scratch on its eerily writhing surface.
It simply sat there, silent.
Alright, okay. So let’s recap, shall we?
That ‘cocoon,’ which I assume is the second phase, fires a ‘cannonball’ at a speed that even Ashe can't react to, roughly every five seconds.
I can’t react either, but that ‘mystery sense’ I’ve occasionally relied on since my virtual world debut is firing on all cylinders, allowing me to narrowly escape with my life.
So, since we can dodge, we might as well try to counterattack. The [Sword Queen] herself unleashed what was likely a full-power, reality-bending strike that could have vaporized any other final boss—and yet, that ‘cocoon’ is unscathed.
Right. So what are we supposed to do?
"…, ……"
See? Now even the princess has fallen silent, lost in a spiral of thought—and here comes another one! The cannonballs are still flying whenever they damn well please!
Fortunately, the dodging itself is being handled entirely by my ‘hunch’ and the boost from [Desperate Crimson], so there’s no issue with resources. However, I have no idea when that crucial ‘hunch’ might fail, so it’s like I’m jumping rope blindfolded.
I still have stamina—but without a way to break through, this is just a dead end.
"—…Haru."
"—Yeah…? What is it?! I'm listening!"
Even while being violently tossed around in a ‘cradle’ that made any roller coaster look tame, Ashe, who had calmly entrusted herself to me to think, finally spoke after a moment of silence.
"That was a special technique I wove together from several skills. In terms of power, it’s about the second strongest I can produce. The difference between it and my strongest isn’t that great."
"You can't use that first one again?! The Per-something!"
"[Perfect Espada] is more like an extension of my normal attacks, not a skill you can just tack on. Its main purpose is to increase my range of options, so its power is dependent on my own specs."
"What about a direct hit instead of the sword pressure?!"
"A skill that preserves its power is at work, so a direct hit and a ranged strike are the same."
I didn't understand what she meant in more ways than one, but I decided to just accept it for now.
"I used every power-enhancing skill I have, and that was the limit. So honestly… I hadn’t planned for a scenario where it wouldn’t have an effect."
"…, ……"
"…………"
"Umm… Ashe-san?"
"…………"
"You seem… more troubled than I expected?"
"…Yes."
If you just read the conversation, it might sound carefree, but right now my legs are still working at full capacity, engaged in a dance with death against the cannonballs from the ‘cocoon.’
This is a seriously bad situation.
"………………But… that’s just talking about the firepower I myself can produce."
Perhaps my own anxiety was getting through to her.
She rushed her words, uncharacteristically.
"If it's the ‘power’ my ‘sword’ can unleash—"
"It's way too early for the grand finale."
I cut her off with a suave-sounding line as she was about to voice her uncharacteristic desperation. Not that I could look cool in the slightest while continuing this ridiculous, hunch-based evasion act.
Anyway, I got it.
"Okay, understood. If you can't think of anything—"
And if she's saying she has no better move.
"I've got some ‘firepower’ I'd like to try. I need your help."
Then I guess it's my turn to play the hand I've been dealt.
If you're an incredibllllllllly sharp reader, with an incredibllllllllllly flexible mind, and an incredibllllllllllllly free imagination,
you might be able to deduce the full mechanics of the protagonist's unique nature, a secret that won't be revealed until the end of the story, based on the contents of this chapter.
Hehe.