kscans

Chapter 379 - The White Journey Unburdened, Part Three

In the corner of my vision, I saw a small sun suddenly appear and incinerate one of the 'white' ones.

I couldn't help but remember. That day, still seared into my memory, that brought a 'heat' still churning in the pit of my stomach.

The storm of reports announcing a ridiculous battle record.

The scoreboard counter, ticking up points as if it had gone mad.

And the countless pillars of light that repeatedly struck the canopy.

—Ah, here we go again, without learning a single lesson.

Again, it's truly… truly, truly, truly, truly, truly—

"You just can't get enough of this, can you…!"

In a corner of the battlefield that the white and blue shadow had passed through ten seconds ago.

A single young man, having created a stalemate far away, possessed a combination of 'speed' and 'power' that would make a pure power fighter like me want to cry about having 'no place to stand.'

My new friend, who continued to paint one spectacularly flashy picture after another. Once his switch was flipped, he'd cast aside all complexities and reach for ecstasy.

Friend and foe alike—he was a poison swamp, pulling you in before you even realized it.

Our friendship was still new. We'd only had a handful of chances to talk, barely enough to get a faint grasp of his character.

And yet, just standing on the same battlefield with him was enough to do this.

His flashy fighting style inevitably catches your eye, and then you're hit with that intense smile that seems to scream, 'This is the most fun I've ever had!'

He was undoubtedly the same kind as the 'Princess' I looked up to—in other words, a natural-born charmer.

In the most positive sense, of course.

Ah, I can't help but get fired up, wanting to join in—he was a natural and supreme agitator.

"Hold it down, [Insighter]!"

"—Ngh, one second!"

"That's plenty!"

While taking the lead on the front lines with a sword in hand, he was also keeping a healing spell on standby. As someone who could only do something as simple as charge in and punch things, his versatile, all-around performance was something I could only admire.

I dashed past the red-robed figure who was putting on a magnificent display, one worthy of his title as the [General Commander]'s right arm. Our communication was instantaneous.

My build isn't specialized for agility; I've only allocated the bare minimum of status points to AGI. So while I might be able to keep up with the main body before it split, there was no way I could follow the movements of the avatars, which had gained agility by reducing their mass.

So, I'll just have to stop it.

"Open—[Akasha]!"

The former seventh seat of the Eastern Faction, the [Insighter], opened his eyes.

From green to jet black. His onyx-like eyes, which swallowed all light and glimmered without shining, captured the 'white' one's avatar—

『—, ————』

The massive body, which had been about to swing its tail to sweep away the approaching 'tobi-iro'—the color of a hawk's feathers—froze unnaturally. As if it had been struck by lag.

And that would prove fatal for that one unit.

"Engrave—[Emblem Trigger]!"

[Adamant], who had vaulted his ponderous body with brute strength instead of agility, got above the 'white' one. A greatsword, nearly as tall as he was, was unleashed from his back and swung with both arms.

The black wrappings came undone, revealing a double-edged blade covered in unreadable glyphs. And so, the strike from the Southern Faction's fifth seat, who boasted the highest strength stat in all of Arcadia, was drawn unerringly toward the top of the 'white' one's head—

The greatsword was repelled with a light clink before shattering into a thousand pieces the next moment.

"Game set—or is it too soon to say that?"

Paying no mind to his disintegrating weapon, Orin, who had latched onto its head, thrust one hand into the 'white' one's surface and bared his teeth in a grin.

To the uninformed, the result of that strike would look like not just a misfire, but a catastrophic failure—two anomalies occurred.

One was a magic circle that spread across the 'white' one's surface, centered on the point where the greatsword's blade had touched.

And the other… was the crimson aura that now blazed from the limbs of [Adamant], shining the same color as the crest.

The Fifth Tier Anima, [Emblem Trigger]—its hidden ability was to force a bare-knuckle brawl.

Any target touched by that blade as its name is called is forced into a contract with the user—and their unarmed attacks against each other are fixed to their maximum possible damage.

In other words—whether it's a full-power straight punch or a light flick to the forehead, as long as it connects, it's transformed into a guaranteed killing blow.

"Sorry, but this is first come, first served… yeah!"

A single right fist from a mounted position.

The fast blow, thrown with little force, caught the 'white' one's forehead, and the dragon's massive body was slammed into the ground as if it had been hit by a mass bomb.

Naturally, Orin, who was clinging to its head, stumbled from the impact—

Even the light taps he delivered to its forehead again were converted into devastating blows, mercilessly beating down the 'white' one's avatar.

And as he landed attacks in sequence—right hand, right foot, left foot… the crown of countless blades floating above his head began to glow.

The enhancement effect of the unique title 'Adamant': [Zel-Ex Destra].

Its power was to grant a slashing attribute to his own limbs. And the moment attacks from both hands and both feet all landed—it would trigger a follow-up attack on the target, equal to the sum of all four hits.

"Well then… that makes three."

The Southern Faction (Sotalm)'s fifth seat, [Adamant] Orin—also known as 'Top Melee DPS.'

The descending left fist lightly tapped the 'white' one's brutally caved-in forehead… and with a sound like a thunderclap, he completely sundered its massive head.

The dragon stopped moving, cheers erupted from the surrounding players, and when he met the [Insighter]'s gaze, he was met with a shrug that seemed to say, 'You're terrifying'—

But Orin just let out a wry smile atop the corpse.

"Ah… no, wait. Was that five?"

He caught sight of [Peerless], who had taken the head off the dragon he'd been fighting just a moment before Orin delivered the final blow. Furthermore, on the opposite side of the battlefield, he saw the 'Princess' who had just scored her second kill almost single-handedly… and he amended his own words.

And then,

"Ahhh… seriously, this brings back memories."

A streak of white and blue shot across the battlefield, and a gleaming white sword flashed—a sixth one fell.

That figure he had seen in the archive footage that day, toppling one Pillar after another and taking the virtual world by storm… it was truly, from the bottom of his heart, irresistible.

"Hey, Rotta-san."

"What is it, Orin-kun?"

"I wonder how old that guy is."

"…That's rather out of the blue. What are you talking about?"

The second phase, which just a moment ago seemed to be drawing to a close, was over in a flash, as if the crushing defeat of the last challenge had been a lie. Looking over the battlefield, he judged that there was no point in running out now… and as the two men chatted idly, their eyes were fixed on a single young man frantically flying about.

"Well, I was just thinking it'd be fun to have a drink with him."

"Ah, that… yes, that does sound like fun."

Sharing a stifled laugh, they, like the dumbfounded players around them… became engrossed in chasing the star that ran across the ground and sky alike.

Because that figure, who challenged a mighty foe with a constant smile, full of life and knowing no fear, overlapped so perfectly—it was almost comical—with the superhero he had admired as a child.