Chapter 713 - Castle Lord
"Where do we attack from?"
"Straight ahead, of course!"
"Roger. Embrace it—"
Just as his partner took a step forward, the [Undying] nodded once in response to the concise answer to his concise question. He tapped his own shadow with the tip of his shoe and whispered.
"[Grimnote, Black Sky Roc Wings]."
The other self he had awakened through [Trance]. The transformation it brought converted his Luck (LUC) into Mind (MID), and the further focused and enhanced power gave rise to a Mana (MP) pool that could easily surpass a pure mage's.
A specialized form dedicated entirely to back-line support, achieved by sacrificing a certain characteristic of the [Undying]. The moment Tetra, who had resigned himself to being a 'fuel supplier' as requested, connected his shadow to his partner…
In his alternate form, reversed through [Trance], the figure of the renowned [Adamant], the very symbol of a pure Strength (STR) power build—vanished.
Only one thing was able to react to the anomaly.
In that instant, it wasn't the announcer, who obviously couldn't keep up. Nor was it the audience, who would likely struggle to comprehend what happened even after several seconds. And it certainly wasn't the [Peerless] samurai, who might have been the only one on the stage with the ability to perceive it… much less his partner, who remained with her eyes closed.
It was the one and only thing that reigned supreme in this virtual world.
"—Hah, well, of course…!"
And so, the thing that stopped Auerin's greatsword right in front of Irori, after he had dashed forward in a straight line at a speed that could, without exaggeration, rival the [Acrobat]'s, was…
A single, shining white castle wall.
A deafening roar tore through the air, and a shockwave erupted. But the floating 'fragment' didn't shatter. Appearing from the void, it took the full force of the mighty blow that could have split the very earth, wavering but holding firm.
"…I'm glad you're awake."
"Haha, my bad. Looks like our sleeping beauty is giving you a hard time—whoa!?"
And so, through the 'wall' that was just transparent enough to see through, the [Peerless] and [Adamant] exchanged nonchalant words, looking exasperated for various reasons.
Suddenly, a giant pillar of black wood manifested and fell upon the latter, forcing him to make a last-second dodge. The resulting impact shook the ground, and the immense aftershock sent his body flying backward.
And still, it didn't stop.
"…Mhm."
A listless voice, more than just a breath, now carried intent as it made the air tremble—and what poured forth were countless 'parts,' enough to fill the vast stage.
"Whoa there… Seriously, what are we gonna do about this…!"
"…You steeled your resolve, didn't you? Do your best."
Auerin, who had been knocked back to his starting position, muttered with a wry smile, while Tetra looked up at the insane spectacle and replied with a sigh.
Floating before them were walls, floors, roofs, and not just those obvious things, but also tables, chairs, beds, closets, and even small trees and suits of armor—a chaotic jumble of objects with no apparent unity.
However, they were all originally part of one thing.
Arcadia's unofficial Anima ranking, number one in the armor category, the Sixth Tier Anima, [Fairy Tale, Castle of Chalk and Blackwood]—its true form was…
the entire royal castle that existed in a single girl's imagination, freely manifesting into the real world.
In other words, it appeared with a single thought, flew through the air with a single thought… and at times, even automatically protected its master's other self without her conscious will. An entire massive structure of unquantifiable mass.
"Fwaah, mmm…—Alright then… let's do our best… I guess…"
That was the shield and spear of the innocent young girl who let out a carefree yawn on the grand stage while rubbing her eyes.
◇◆◇◆◇
"—Seriously, no matter how many times I see it, that Anima is like something out of a joke…"
Watching the truly lawless spectacle displayed on the screen, a mixture of exasperation, admiration, and awe escaped my lips. The sight of the freely divided 'castle fragments' soaring through the air was a fantasy that defied all logic, in the most extreme way possible.
Of course, I was surprised by the super-high-speed maneuver Auerin showcased with his transformed body, but… as expected, when you see it in real-time, even through a broadcast, it's just… something else.
As I thought, no matter how you struggle, your attention is inevitably drawn to that.
"The South's one, two, and three, in no particular order, are no joke… To be honest, it's Uni at number two who's the weird one. Being sandwiched between this and Ashe…"
"That's true… In a way, Mei-chan is the embodiment of Arcadia's greatest talent."
"To think she can do this without any effort…"
Well, in a way, she has put in more effort… or rather, has more 'experience' than any other player in Arcadia, but let's set that aside.
"But Tetra-kun and Auerin-senpai are amazing, too. They're still managing to put up a fight."
And Mr. Tonic's words were true.
Tetra, for his part, still wielded power on an absolutely massive scale. The seemingly infinite 'shadows' and 'darkness' he produced had the potential to be a countermeasure with resources that could rival the [Castle Lord]'s 'castle.'
Auerin, too, was genuinely surprising. I wasn't sure what the trick was, but he had been maintaining that super-speed maneuver, rivaling my own, for over a minute now, resisting the torrent of mass.
What's more, he hadn't given up on attacking and was even showing some nice guts, occasionally slipping past the castle walls to get right in front of his two opponents. He was by no means losing in terms of spirit and skill.
He wasn't losing, but—
"…Yeah, that's impossible."
They weren't just facing the [Castle Lord]'s 'castle'; the [Peerless]'s 'ice,' manifested with an output rivaling grand magic, also formed a layered defense, obstructing their assault.
I was genuinely cheering for my cute junior and good senior, who were fighting with all their might, but… with sincere regret, unfortunately…
"…………Looks impossible, huh…?"
"The matchup is just too bad…"
"I wonder what kind of combination could actually beat that tag team…"
Including myself, Hina-san and Mr. Tonic as well. We couldn't help but agree with the words of the [Screen] member, which had seemingly just slipped out—
And so, a little over three minutes after the match began.
"Aaaand—th-that's it! The winners are the [Peerless & Castle Lord] pair!"
The applause and cheers for both the [Undying] and [Adamant], who lost after an undeniable great fight, were unstinting. As for the two who had achieved a perfect game…
"…………Forgive me, Tetra. This was a complete bracket accident."
"Mmm… good work… good nigh…zzzz…"
They were polar opposites. One wore a look of genuine discomfort, while the other had a sleepy face, seemingly unconcerned by anything, as they stood side by side, unscathed—correction.
One was standing, while the other was sinking into a bed floating in mid-air.
In terms of ability alone, she's currently No. 3.