Chapter 549 - A Hero's Tale for You, A Hero's Tale for Another, Part V
The instant I squeezed the trigger, an extraordinary flash of light and a thunderous roar exploded before my eyes and ears.
It wasn't a misfire due to me touching the trigger in my base form; the warhead had already shifted from an explosive to a piercing type.
That reality-bending boom was the normal report of the scarlet-linked configuration.
All I could barely make out was a single splash of crimson from the glittering fragments of the shattered [Mayhem Bunny]. I never saw the path of the fired ‘Woodpecker’ or the fate of the ‘cocoon’ it struck—
I was blown away by the hopelessly murderous recoil, amplified twenty-four times from the base [Ruby Rabbit Bullet] which could easily launch me into the air if fired mid-flight.
Whether I was flying straight or in a comical tailspin, the impact was so overwhelming that my vision whited out, stars literally scattering before my eyes, making any quick judgment impossible.
My entire body, starting with the right arm that pulled the trigger, felt like it was barely ‘connected.’ There was no way I could control my posture.
In the first place, this was an ace-in-the-hole that came with a special handling warning from its proud creator: “You’re supposed to fire it outdoors, pointing down. I’m sure you can handle getting launched into the sky, right?” So firing it indoors was a mistake from the get-go.
If I'd fired it without any safety measures, I would have been a stain on the wall in less than a second.
If I hadn't taken any safety measures, that is.
"—Tch…!"
"Guh—hngh…!"
My time alone in the air, senses and vision failing, lasted but a moment. A fierce impact—though merciful compared to the initial blast—tore through my midsection, and an involuntary groan escaped my lips as a breath, one that was becoming entirely too reliable, brushed past my ear.
As the white faded, my vision began to capture the world once more.
My eyes met those of the princess who had rushed to my side like a prince or a knight, and for a fleeting moment, I felt like we exchanged faint smiles. Was it my imagination?
"Hmph… ugh—!"
Ashe, having caught me as I was sent flying with the force of a giant’s slap, drove her ‘sword’ into the floor, tearing up a massive trench as she bled off speed and energy.
But then—the next instant, a sound far too violent to be called a mere crash rang out, a merciless, unrestrained explosion.
At the same time, Ashe, who had landed against the arena wall with enough force to shatter it, let out,
"—Ngh, ku… ah…!"
…a single, stifled scream.
An avatar belonging to a player with a properly built, sturdy status—unlike some fool with VIT: 0—has a body that is truly superhuman.
Which means that if you’re slammed into a wall or the ground with that much energy, this is the natural result. You become, quite literally, a cannonball.
And in the pain-free world of Arcadia, the thing that damages a player the most, not in terms of HP, is pure ‘impact’—I know from experience.
This doesn't hurt, but it really, really hurts.
Therefore, I do feel guilty for asking her to handle the ‘aftermath,’ knowing full well this was the most likely outcome. But I have no intention of regretting or apologizing for it.
As a man, it might be a terrible thing to do to a girl, but…
"Thanks, you saved me…"
"…I said ‘leave it to me.’ Don’t worry about it."
…as her friend in battle, any useless consideration would be a crime punishable by ten thousand deaths.
With a clatter of falling debris, Ashe stood up, smiling with a hint of satisfaction. And me, for a change, I was on the receiving end, currently being held in her slender arms.
Together, our eyes turned towards—
"…Hehe, a bullseye."
"Hah, I'd have no choice but to laugh if that just scraped the insides…"
Just as Ashe said, a large hole, visible even from a distance, had been cleanly punched through the center of the ‘cocoon,’ which was now scattering shadows from its once impossibly durable form.
Phase two, barely cleared… or so I’d like to think. But now…
"I've never seen anything like that."
"Right? It’s a true hidden bullet—well, more of a one-shot surprise trick. Something about the mechanism ‘glitching,’ so it becomes unusable for a full day after you use it."
So, with that one shot, all twenty-four of my [Ruby Rabbit Bullet] guns are temporarily kaput.
Actually, they stop regenerating altogether, so… depending on how you look at it, you could say it saves me from having my MP drained during this fight. Let's stay positive.
"I can still fire a lower-tier twelve-linked version, but… I doubt it’ll get a turn. Not against a monster of this class."
"I see. …Are you alright, physically?"
"Yeah, I can still go on—so, the stun’s worn off, you can put me down now."
"Too bad."
It’s not like I was willingly indulging in the embarrassing spectacle of being princess-carried by a princess. I was simply at the mercy of a hateful, blinking debuff icon.
She put me down with a faintly amused smile, and as my feet touched the floor again, I gave a light hop—no discomfort. It wasn't just bravado; my spirit and energy were more than sufficient.
In that case—
"It starts from here, doesn't it."
"Yes. I'm looking forward to it."
We stared at the ‘cocoon’ as shadows rose from it like smoke and it began to open.
While I tried to re-string my focus with a sense of tension, Ashe, overflowing with pure curiosity and elation, gave a reply so relaxed it was almost disarming.
As the shadow of the ‘cocoon’ dissolved into the air, writhing tails began to appear.
"…Be careful. No joke, this looks bad."
"Mm."
It was still wearing its kimono, still had nine tails, but the change was obvious at a glance. Not only was its torso, which we had severed once, naturally reconnected—
—the most notable feature was its limbs, which had clearly deviated from being ‘human.’
The shadow that trailed from its four limbs like bristling fur had changed its appearance drastically, now resembling that of a ‘beast,’ complete with sharp, massive claws.
After the immobile ‘cocoon’ comes phase three. Judging by its looks, I couldn’t expect any ladylike behavior—and then, looking at its swaying tails, I had a realization.
"…By the way, Ashe. About what we were talking about earlier, when did you hear that ‘sound’?"
"…When I… cut it?"
"I see. I heard it when I cut it."
"…Ah, right. So that's what it means."
In other words, the timing of the ‘death nullification.’ I had thought we’d managed to kill it once with our combined attack, but it seems I was wrong.
Looking at the two tails that had crack-like white lines running down them and were moving somewhat sluggishly… just as she said, it was probably ‘something like that.’
"Should I be happy we took out two so quickly, or despair that we have to do it seven more times…"
"If the number of tails equals lives and there are seven left, it might not be seven more times, but eight."
"You mean we have to kill it ten times in total? Seriously, couldn't they have capped it at five?"
"If you think of it as only needing to cut it ten times to win, I’d say it’s become considerably easier. As expected, your ‘weakness’ was the key to victory."
"Well, that's fine and all… my paper-thin armor being exaggerated and traced is one thing, but where is your ‘weakness’ showing up in all this?"
"……………………A weakness for you, perhaps?"
"For so many reasons, I can't even deny that, which is… something…"
As we exchanged words, our swords ready, never letting down our guard against the unmoving ‘shadow,’ Rep-la Nobody simply watched us.
From its mask-like head, which lacked even empty sockets, a colossal pressure of information was directed squarely at us.
A pressure so immense that goosebumps broke out all over my body, making me feel like I truly couldn't go on without cracking jokes—without exaggeration, the greatest I have ever faced.
""…………""
At some point, we both fell silent, waiting for that moment—the moment it would move.
Which also meant,
that the pressure emanating from the smoldering shadow before us was so far beyond the pale that it made not only me, but even the great Iris, hesitate to make the first move—
In that instant, that untouchable feeling flickered,
"—!"
"—, …!"
Almost simultaneously. Without warning, without a presence, without a sound, the master of shadows appeared before our eyes. Reacting a split second ahead, I was followed by Ashe as we swung our blades with reflexive speed—
‘—, —, —’
With what was undeniably a mocking laugh, it casually caught both my `Anima` and Ashe's `Extra-Class Equipment` between the claws of its left and right hands.
For a moment, at the sheer absurdity of the sight, time felt like it had stopped.
And then, in that time that hadn't stopped moving for even a fraction of a second,
‘—, ——————————!!!’
—with a monstrous roar that seemed to be not of this world, a torrent of countless magic cannons was unleashed from a multitude of magic circles that deployed at point-blank range,
and a flash of black, as if tearing space itself apart, filled the dimness of the arena with a blinding darkness.
Let's get this party started.