kscans

Chapter 481 - The White Star Wears Red, The Blue Star Wears Black, Part Seven

—Through countless eyes, I watch as the 'White' vanishes, buried in the starry sky.

The one who leads the flock of humans, the one who has felled many stars.

To swallow the legs that run faster than a shooting star, I lost innumerable pawns. Even the 'Dragon' that soars through the sky has bowed and sworn fealty to that one.

But I shall grant my blessing to my brethren who have found their master.

And so I shall sing my praise to the rare mortal who has been chosen by the great star-shadow.

Next, I shall have the actor who has finished their role exit the stage, and move my own pieces to test her.

To see if that one, the smallest of all, can find me—

A few moments of silence. And then,

In the deepest depths of the night sky—an inexhaustible 'White' flashed, along with 'Red'.

◇◆◇◆◇

Don't be so quick to dismiss this as some unreasonable bullshit game.

Sapphire's behavior after I brought it to our side is one thing, but basically, the enemies in Arcadia exist as if they were alive. They appear before us with such complex and detailed thought and behavior that I can't help but feel that way.

Even inorganic enemies like rocks or suits of armor are so thoroughly designed that they project a sense of being alive in their own inorganic way. It's the same with the NPCs in town; I'm sure I'm not the only one who can't see them as mere data clusters controlled by AI.

If you think about it that way, they naturally have their own perspective, regardless of their creator's intent... and when I consider that, the one person here who has the least right to utter those words is none other than me, the Acrobat.

I fly through the sky, dash around at subsonic speeds, and shoot off fireworks like crazy. From my own perspective, it's complete mayhem. If I were on the other side, I'd probably be screaming at the top of my lungs.

'What is that incarnation of unreasonable bullshit?!', I'd say.

Therefore, while I may be surprised, I'm not angry.

While I may be anxious, I'm not exasperated.

An unreasonable gimmick is perfectly fine. As someone who's been branded as 'special,'

"—[Reject Sentence]."

I'll simply take an even greater unreasonableness in hand and welcome it by trampling over everything.

At the very moment I was about to be crushed by the horde of Stardust Beasts pouring from the 'gate' deployed by the brute-force Trojan Horse, I swapped my jade blade for the crimson gun.

In my base avatar body, I pulled the trigger without a second thought for the backfire. The instant the match cord lit up with magical light, a massive firework exploded in my left hand.

The crimson wave of mana swallowed the starry sky that had gushed out around me, engulfing Sapphire as well—but we took no damage. Only us.

In the 'hole' that had opened up in the torrent, Sapphire flinched in surprise. I leaped onto its back, and my loyal star immediately understood its role and beat its great wings.

"Now then, I wonder what, and how much, will be taken from me..."

I don't need to worry about the time limit, but the aftermath is a little scary. Depending on the cost, I might be immobilized for a few days... well, that's fine, I guess.

If I think of it as an extension of my vacation, it's not much of a price to pay.

Right now, what's more important is—

"Round two... or rather, it feels more like the real show is just beginning."

As I had Sapphire escape into the sky, I looked down at the ground. The dark gate, spread out like a vast swamp, showed no signs of stopping its flood of stars.

Not only were the familiar faces present, but the six-legged horses, likely the standard version of the 'Trojan Horse' from earlier, had joined in, creating quite the parade.

Honestly, at this point, it's beyond our capacity.

If the only goal was for me to survive, I'm confident I could manage something. But if I'm to stick to my original goal of ensuring everyone survives... our current strength is not enough to handle a force of this scale.

—However, if we can reduce them to a 'disorderly mob' again, that's a different story.

We can handle just their numbers. My proud party members have shown plenty of guts in this survival scenario so far; they should be able to get through something like that.

So what we need right now is someone with special 'eyes' who has a chance, however slim, of catching the enemy 'leader' who has yet to show themselves.

Pushing her too hard might add to that mysterious counter against me, but I have no choice. I'll prepare a plan to get back on her good side with some lamb dishes, which she seems to like.

"—Alright, Sapphire!"

There's no time for long deliberations. Once I've decided, I just have to charge ahead. That's my usual way.

Perhaps a thought path has connected us, just like with my star sword. The dragon understood my order just from its name, and with a satisfying flap of its wings, it banked.

It headed straight for the wooden roof where three shadows stood.

"Guh..."

"Bwah...!"

"Hiee...!?"

A sudden gust of wind from Sapphire's powerful yet surprisingly quiet landing blew away the three magicrafters. The one I needed was the last one who had shrieked.

"—Nia! Come here for a second, I need a favor!"

Her blue eyes blinked under her fluttering blue hair, my partner frozen on the ground after falling on her butt—hey, this is no time to be lying around, get up, hurry, hurry!

"Wha-wha is it—w-w-wait, wait wait wait, what, whaaat!?"

I leaped off the dragon's back, ran to her, scooped her up, and rode Sapphire once more. After this two-second maneuver, Nia-chan, who had been abducted in the blink of an eye, started to panic long after it was too late to do anything.

"Ah, sorry for the commotion."

"...W-Well, do your best."

"Good luck, Nia-chan!"

I was about to wave to the other two, who were also staring blankly, but my right arm wouldn't move, so I just gave them a nod and took to the sky.

My left arm was already full, of course, but not just to prevent my partner from escaping.

To eliminate the strain of taking her into the air, I activated [Luna Nobody, Guardian of the Shimmering Moon], holding her slender body tight.

Yes, this is an emergency, so I have no intention of letting her go or letting her escape—

"Nooo-ahhh?! You idiot, idiot, idiot! No way, I can't, you moron-aaah!!!"

"I'll listen to all your complaints later, so just bear with me for now, please—hey, I'm really sorry, don't hit me, don't struggle, you'll chip away at my HP that's already in the red zone...!"

I'm sorry for the sudden request, but for now, I need you to give in quickly and cooperate.