Chapter 554 - A Hero's Tale for You, A Hero's Tale for Another, Part X
The moment I landed between the fox demon's eyes like a bolt of lightning, a surge of azure energy erupted from the point of contact. A true peal of thunder echoed as it pierced and coursed through the massive shadow.
Its body spasmed violently—a clear sign the hit was effective. I'm not about to wait for a scream to confirm it!
I casually thrust my left hand against the fox demon's forehead, and the azure lightning flared once more. With each touch, the roar of thunder shook the very world. Then, my right hand flashed.
A single flash of the sacred cherry blossom. Scattering petals in its wake, the blade of the Sakura Memento sliced vertically through the massive beast's head—a head that could have easily swallowed a person whole... but...
...I see. So it's just a hollow shell.
Despite suffering what should have been a mortal wound for any normal creature, I didn't hear the shattering sound that had become so familiar. That meant one thing: this bloated shadow wasn't directly linked to the life force of Rep-La Nobody, the Black Stain That Slays All.
Alright then, I have a new plan.
I'll slice this thing to ribbons... and drag the real one out.
The creature itself couldn't react to my speed in the slightest, but its absurdly fast regeneration was still going strong. Even with my thought processes accelerated dozens of times over, I watched its head reattach at explosive speed. I grabbed it by the snout—
A flash of light. A clap of thunder. And the ground cracked.
Using my left hand as an anchor, I spun, twisting my body to drive a knee into the fox demon, slamming it to the ground. This thing was easily a hundred times my size, yet the ridiculous output of this magic let me treat it like a toy. A wry smile touched my lips as—
"Chaos Bloom!"
The keyword was declared. By releasing the memory of the sakura, the great tree's power blossomed, taking the mana—the life—I had fed it and giving it form.
A translucent, glowing pink 'sword' scattered into one exceptionally large 'petal'—and the countless blades that now attended me were all avatars of the sacred cherry blossom, each one a tool to annihilate my foe.
In truth, I could probably control each of them individually, much like Sora's magic swords, but I lack my partner's extraordinary talent for swarm manipulation...
—Let's go, you hear me?
About the only thing I can do with them is cloak myself in them and charge head-on.
My avatar, cloaked in the Starlight Magic [Lightning Gale], has taken on the properties of sky-rending lightning, granting me what is essentially the ability to walk on air.
I say essentially because it's not truly walking or running. It's more accurate to say I set a 'fall' coordinate and send my lightning-transformed body to that point.
In any case, it means I can now race across the ground and through the air without restriction, as long as my thoughts can keep up. Which means, for these few precious seconds...
Nothing can catch me.
And nothing can escape me.
Set coordinates. Lightning charge. Wielding the Sakura Sword, cloaked in a storm of petal-blades, and commanding the wind and thunder, I descended from the heavens and crashed down upon the master of shadows.
Outrageous destruction clashed with extraordinary regeneration, two opposing powers locked in a struggle.
"—... GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"
I carved my way deeper, and from within the cloak of shadows, the true nine-tailed fox finally showed its face, letting out a roar that was half-scream. The next instant, countless magic circles deployed around us, their muzzles glowing as they took aim at everything—including the fox itself.
—Too bad.
Another flash of the sacred cherry blossom.
The countless massive beams of black and purple light appeared only to dissipate an instant later, taking their muzzles with them. The lingering remnants of mana that now filled the space all began to converge on one point:
"That magic is just a snack for this sword."
Into the 'belly' of this law-defying blade, which only shone brighter with every spell it devoured.
Another deployment of [Chaos Bloom]. The sword spat out the immense magic it had consumed, and countless petals rode the gale, forming a true storm of sakura... Three seconds left. Time for the climax.
The raging storm of sakura blades negated the shadow cloak's regeneration, and with my lightning-wreathed left hand, I seized Rep-La Nobody by the neck and dragged it out. Yet another thunderbolt coursed through its body upon contact... but it seemed that still wasn't quite enough to break it.
Now that it was in what seemed to be its final form, the main body was even tougher than before.
Heh. Just as I'd expect from a monster tailored for me and A-she. It's got guts. That's more than welcome. In that case, I'll gratefully finish this with a flourish!
It's still just a crash course, but this is a martial arts combo taught to me by none other than the top-ranked players specializing in unarmed combat: Twin Fists and Sound Armor...!
"Iron Breaker!"—
A fluid, single-arm chain of strikes flowing from a punch into an elbow, a technique bestowed upon me by the napping warrior—I mean, the silent warrior—Gen-san. And from there—
"Rinne Special! UAAAAH!!"
A technique passed down from Rinne, the sole woman in the Tiger master-and-disciple duo and the (so-called) idol of the Northern Faction: a spinning, sky-piercing kick, followed by another rapid rotation for an instant two-hit combo.
An instantaneous four-hit combo of immense magical punches and kicks. I had no idea how tough it had become, but thanks to the lightning continuously piercing its body... I heard a single shatter.
The tables had completely turned; this was now a desperate struggle. It swung its claws like a cross-counter, slashing deep into my cheek and shoulder—
Too bad for you. It was judged as a physical attack.
An uninjured man, and a beast launched into the air, one of its lives extinguished.
I, the man, looked up. It, the beast, looked down. But whose position was truly superior—
"Heavenly Storm Release."
With legs that soared through the heavens, our positions reversed faster than a blink.
The keyword was declared. Activating Forced Release Final Form: Heavenly Storm Infinity. With this, [Lightning Gale] will end the moment I complete this 'final step.' An instant later, I'll pay a price just as absurd as the magic itself and be rendered truly unable to fight.
But that doesn't matter. Because this last step—a god-like pace that doubles my already lightning-fast speed—will guarantee my final attack connects.
Now. One second left.
"Phantom Cherry Blossom Fragment."
[Atiomart -Sakura=Memento-]: Over-Excitation Mode, activate. The pulsating Sakura Sword reabsorbed all of its attendant petals, sublimating them until all that blossomed forth was a single blade.
It shone with a brilliance that rivaled even the fierce lightning—the very embodiment of the sacred cherry blossom that once graced this world.
Wielding the greatest masterpiece and most wicked failure in the history of this virtual world—a weapon the greatest magic artisan of our time stamped with her guarantee, not as a boast but as fact, that it rivaled the [Sword Queen]'s own Extra-class equipment, the God-Given Vessel—
A standard grip on the hilt.
A reverse grip on the pommel.
The foundation I chose for my own path was the Second Strike, a technique inherited from my master.
A sword of power, where one grips the blade with both hands and, through sheer body control, becomes the sword itself—a sword that can shatter steel. In other words, the path I discovered for myself, my very own sword, is—
A sword that cuts by walking the blade forward, at a speed so immense a swing is impossible.
My body is magic, my hands hold a magic sword. This time, it's a special version loaded with cheap tricks, but the principle is the same. The technique I used to shatter the [Sword Saint]'s blade head-on the night before has already been named by her and made my own.
Then, let's go.
Trial First Strike—
Time to take a step that is truly my own.
"Hayate!"
A single flash of light that nothing could perceive.
The instant I took a step, my avatar's movement was already over, landing silently on the ground. The next moment, a roar rivaling a thousand thunderclaps echoed out, followed by two faint shattering sounds in my ears.
The eighth tail, and then the ninth.
At the same moment I was certain I had shattered every last one, the price for repeatedly invoking such lawless power came crashing down.
I felt every ounce of strength being utterly drained from my body. My seven seconds of invincibility were over. Returned to my mortal form, I collapsed onto the floor with a thud—
"...Well, zero lives left doesn't mean it's game over, right?"
Looking up, I saw its one true life, all that remained after its nine stocks had been destroyed. Its final life burned with rage, and the shadow of its distorted, explosively swelling body fell over me.
My final attack was meant to obliterate its true form along with the last two tails, but it seems I was just one step short. Now, my body was ensnared by the backlash, unable to move properly. At this rate, I'd be ground to dust in less than a second. The end.
So, yeah... I guess the only thing left to do is quietly accept my defeat.
After being so thoroughly thrashed, it was blindingly obvious the creature was incandescent with rage. As if it could see nothing else, the swollen Rep-La Nobody lunged, moving with a divine speed that defied its massive frame.
Just before it reached me.
With a hand I could barely move, I thrust a single 'blade' into the enormous shadow that completely enveloped me.
For Rep-La Nobody, a being that was in a sense 'shadow' itself, this was the ultimate counter. A gift from the boy who was both my senior and my junior, this small dagger...
...was named the [Shadow-Sewing Ritual Dagger], a blade that pierces shadow to bind its target.
Its creator, 'the Undying' himself, had confirmed it: the dagger exerts a powerful binding effect, a hard counter, against targets with strong shadow properties. If I could trust that the results Tetra personally verified would apply to this thing, then it would be bound for an unprecedented flat one second, even for a boss.
That should be more than enough time for you, right?
God, this is frustrating, but...
"Weave the world—"
The final blow.
I'll concede victory in the contest for the last hit to the Princess.
"—[Arcadia]!!"
She had been waiting for this very moment, her mind sharp even during those few seconds of rest. Now, she swung her sword.
A blade of pure aurora rose to the heavens.
Bound by a trump card hidden behind a trump card, the nine-tailed fox could neither escape nor resist the single strike that bore the name of this world.
The master of the black shadow, born of darkness, bared its fangs at us with fighting spirit and tenacity to the very end. And then—after the light faded, it vanished without a trace.
"—, —..."
"..."
And then, in the silence that followed, our eyes met. Without a word, we both broke into weak, exhausted smiles, all the tension draining from us at once.
"Alright, just wait a sec—"
"I won't wait...!"
A-she threw her staggering body forward, and I tried to catch her from where I lay on the floor... but failed. The instant I was mercilessly crushed and let out a groan—
◇You have conquered the [Shadow-Infested Arena]◇
・First Conqueror rewards have been granted—You have obtained [Nine Tail].
・Conqueror rewards have been granted—You have acquired the skill <
◇You have acquired Titles◇
・'Shadow Clearer'
・'One Who Steps into the Divine Realm'
・'Vessel of a Hero'
◇You have acquired Skills◇
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◇Skills have Evolved◇
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◇Your evaluation within the Eastern Faction, Istia, has been updated◇
◇The rankings of the Eastern Faction, Istia, will now be restructured◇
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A veritable flood of logs poured in from the system, notifying me of this and that.
But as I was being assaulted by the ridiculously over-excited princess—
"Stop, stop, wait, wait, wait! The recording! At least turn off the recording fir—!?"
"... Mmph...!"
In more ways than one...
...it goes without saying that I had more pressing matters to deal with.
A hero's tale, spun for someone, with you who was once all alone.
Chapter 4, Section 2, hereby concludes.
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◇Status◇
Title: Acrobat
Name: Haru Lv: 100
STR: 100
AGI: 200
DEX: 0
VIT: 0 (+150)
MID: 550 (+400)
LUC: 300
◇Skill◇
・Almighty Arms (Naraka Gandharva)
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・Water Magic Aptitude
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・Active
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・Passive
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◇Arts◇
【Kesshiki Ittoryu】
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Oral Tradition: <
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