kscans

Chapter 153 - The Maiden of the Scales, Attended by a Thousand Blades - Part 3

"I knew this would happen, but...!!"

I'm completely preoccupied with controlling the magic swords, with no room to spare. And yet, the words that slip out are purely in response to my partner's (Haru's) utter absurdity.

—I can't hit him, I can't catch him...!!

I still have him completely surrounded, but I can't stop those legs that continue to run at a blurring speed. Not only that, but ever since he donned that armor of light, he's started to counterattack, knocking down my magic swords one after another.

If I dispel them myself before they take too much damage, nearly ninety percent of the MP used to create them is returned. But of course, if they're destroyed, the resources are lost entirely.

Still, as long as I'm not wiped out by a powerful area-of-effect attack, I shouldn't have to worry about running out of MP—so what is that person doing, taking down nearly a hundred of them in the blink of an eye, despite doing it one by one?

—And why am I smiling as I watch him do it?

Ah, this is just so—much fun, Haru.

I can feel it.

I'm certain of it.

More than anything, the way his eyes look at me tells me, "Of course."

He's affirming me, the me who was somehow able to stand firmly by his side.

—If that's the case, then I have to give him more.

"[Schwert Kreis]—"

Letting go of my conductor's sword, I raised my right hand.

"[Turm Riesig]!!"

Skill—[Optimize (Sword to Tower) / Alert (Blade to Pebble)], activate.

◇◆◇◆◇

"—Hah... So it's here!!"

It wasn't a metaphor; an abnormal presence suddenly swelled, shaking the very air. As I deflected yet another magic sword—I've lost count of how many—I turned to see it.

At the tip of Sora's right hand, held straight up to the heavens—was the form of a giant sword, like a tower, no less than ten meters long.

That is the effect of her special, broken skill, [Optimize/Alert]... Its effect is extremely simple: "Enlarge and shrink magic swords."

By infusing or extracting additional MP, she can freely change their size while keeping their shape—and well, as I was taught time and again in the battles against the [Dusty Worm, Great Serpent of Dust] and [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King]...

Big is strong. That is an immutable truth and principle.

Furthermore, its durability increases proportionally with its size, so destroying it isn't easy. Conversely, if I could just destroy it, I could drain a significant amount of Sora's resources, but—

"—Here I come, Haru!!"

"Hah... —Alright, bring it on!!"

With her right hand now clearly involved in its control, the tower-like giant sword came rushing at me with the same speed as a normal-sized magic sword—and of course, the barrage of countless other magic swords continued to assault me just as before.

There's the difference in trajectory and range between the large and small blades, and the sheer violence of its mass obscuring my vision. Just when I thought I'd dodged the giant sword by a hair's breadth, the vortex of a thousand blades would reveal itself from its shadow...

"Yeah, I knew this was impossible!!"

With this, where in the world do I have the time to smash that giant sword?

Her usual somewhat ladylike demeanor creates a staggering gap, but in combat, Sora is clever and cunning.

Her every move is a thoroughly calculated one, and those calculations naturally include the defense of the giant sword, which is both her ultimate weapon and her weakness.

If I could land a heavy counter, I could probably destroy it in one blow—but if I stop my feet from the recoil, I'll be turned into a beehive by the ring of magic swords that's already started to close in, just waiting for that moment.

It's a well-thought-out strategy—or rather, I helped her think of it. So of course it would be designed to be airtight, even against an opponent with my kind of freakish mobility...

—Wait, this is worse than I thought...!!

I repeat, being big is just plain strong, and honestly, it's unfair!

And what's more, being big and agile is just cheating. I'm over here desperately putting out ten to get ten, while she's putting out one to get a hundred. There's no way I can escape!!

Because of its broken property of having the same control strength regardless of size... the multiplication of volume, mass, and speed is just atrocious.

With just a flick of Sora's wrist, the giant sword's instantaneous speed easily approaches my maximum—and filling in the gaps perfectly are the countless magic swords.

"This is too airtight... Hah!"

"I'm not done yet!!"

Her right hand's control remained as it was, and then her left hand rose and moved—in that instant, the ring of magic swords underwent another change.

"—[Klein Blume]!!"

In that moment, the magic swords that had surrounded me vanished—or not. It was just that the gap between their previous size and their new one made me fail to reacquire them instantly.

If you look closely, you can see them—a swarm of extremely small swords, shrunk down to the size of pebbles, flying at me like a true sandstorm!!

"Gah-DAAAAMN!! Final boss, Sora-san!!"

Surrounded by a great horde of large, medium, and small projectiles, all with different trajectories and speeds, I could do nothing but scream and engage in a desperate escape.

I jumped to dodge the giant sword that swept sideways, stirring a gale, only for the waiting magic swords to race through the air. I dodged those with a switch-jump, only to see the dust of swords hovering at my landing spot, causing me to jump again in a panic—repeat ad infinitum.

Wait just a second...!! I wasn't underestimating her by a single millimeter, but experiencing her full power firsthand is far beyond my imagination!

And that thought control precision!! What in the world is going on inside Sora's head?! I don't think I could do that even if I had two or three heads!!!

Faced with such a tremendous storm of swords, a full evasion was nothing but a pipe dream. The armored shields of my [Luna Atiara] were stripped away in the blink of an eye—

"Damn it...! If it's come to this!!"

I had no intention of holding back from the start, nor was there any need to.

—In that case, it's about time I unveiled my second form, too!!

"[Blink Swit—...ch]!!"

As I dodged a follow-up from the giant sword, I summoned the black blade of the [Panga Fool] to my left hand. Then, I pulled the dagger's trigger seven times in a row—

Remaining HP, fifteen percent. Accumulated self-damage, eighty percent. Adjustments complete!!

"Forgive me if this looks weird!!"

"—Hah... I won't let you!!"

From the other side of the curtain of swords, it seemed Sora noticed my actions—but unfortunately for her, there's only one action left. Stabbing myself in the heart takes less than a second!

To think my first activation key—no, activation 'sword'—would be you, of all things. It's strangely fitting. I'm counting on you for the fake finishing blow, [Rabbit Dagger: Parabellum]!!

There's no room for hesitation now. Weaving through the rushing swarm of magic swords, I drew the crimson dagger with a sharp ring and aimed its point...

"Oraaa!!"

—Without a shred of doubt, I slammed it right into the center of my own chest.

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I have to adjust, otherwise the title effect nullifies self-inflicted damage and I can't die, you see.