kscans

Chapter 547 - A Hero's Tale for You, A Hero's Tale for Someone Else - Part Three

In that instant, the world reflected two simultaneous phenomena.

One was the result that actually happened.

The scene of me being pierced through the center of my chest by an invisible 'projectile' of indeterminable speed, and scattering into light while cursing.

Yes, a beautiful explosion and scattering. It was a familiar sensation of being taken out by a power of a different dimension, where my low durability compared to the general standard was no longer relevant.

It was a complete, one-shot out. I probably would have been one-shotted through my defenses even if I had managed to deploy [Twaibolt Mirari]. That's how effortlessly it pierced my body.

—And the other was the present that remained as fact.

The scene of me, who had connected to life as if it were a matter of course with all my limbs intact, scooping up the body of Arshe, whose perception was glitching and blurring as she blinked.

Now, how did this happen? That's simple—

"Haru—"

"No problem! First, let's get away!"

It's for no other reason than that the authority of the [Aquamarine Rabbit Heart], swaying with my back hair, did its job perfectly.

Even the invincible princess was bewildered by the trick she had never seen before, and she let out a flustered voice, but I followed her lead and laughed back, "No problem." I held her body, which was as light as a feather in contrast to her infinite reliability, and immediately kicked off the ground.

Furthermore, I activated 'Desperate Crimson.' Following the 'negation of death' that had just saved me, a new red protection宿d in my avatar, reinforcing the agility I had inherited from the rabbit.

At any rate, I want to get some distance. I have no idea about the trick, but I'm certain that an invisible 'something' flew at me and opened a hole in me.

Why am I certain—because I've been hit by the [Ruby Rabbit Bullet] a countless, deadly number of times before!!!!!

Anyway, if that's the case, then there's a point of origin and a point of impact.

The farther we are from each other, the more time we should have—

"—"

Again, my body moved on its own.

A few seconds after the first shot that pierced my chest. As we were全力で distancing ourselves from the 'cocoon,' another projectile must have been fired at us. A vicious pressure shot past me as I flew through the air, holding Arshe.

No, this is doubly incomprehensible.

"Can you, see it...?"

"No, I can't see it, I can't see it!! I don't know what this is, is it a 'hunch'...?!!"

I can't see it, nor am I sensing some kind of presence. But I know. I know that something is coming, that if I don't dodge, I'll die—if I don't take a step now,

"Tch...!!"

...the future, a past that would have ended in that instant, would have come to pass.

A third shot followed the second. The mysterious extrasensory perception that had allowed me to evade the unseen instant-death bullet was, at this point, hard to dismiss as a 'fluke.' I really don't get it, I don't get it, but—

"Tch...—Later!! For now,"

"—...Mhm, let's think about what's necessary."

It's all a mystery, but I can dodge it, great.

My body moving on its own is, if I think about it, nothing new; it's been happening from the very beginning. As Arshe, who has recovered from her shock, says, I should focus my thought resources only on what's necessary at this moment.

Now, what is that—it's decided.

It's just about how to drag that bastard, who gave me a complete and utter first-time killer, out of its 'cocoon' and sentence it to be chopped into pieces.

"............I'm starting to get it. The attack interval is irregular, but there's always a gap of at least five seconds."

To compare it to a similar-sized stage, it's about the same as the circular field where [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King] resides. It's spacious, but for me now, it's exquisitely cramped. While maintaining as much distance as possible within the arena, Arshe, held in my arms as I dodged the projectiles, continued her analysis.

"Okay, then let's exploit that!?"

"First, we should see if it's something that will react when we hit it."

"Got it, what do we do!"

"I will strike."

"When!"

"Next."

"Copy...—that!!"

As we were speaking, I dodged what must have been the umpteenth shot by a hair's breadth and released Arshe from my arms.

It goes without saying that this was a release from a full-speed dash with 'Desperate Crimson' active—but of course, with a cool expression, the princess landed beautifully, though her boot heels gouged the floor.

"...Tch————————————————"

She took a faint breath, stood perfectly still, narrowed her eyes slightly,

One second, two seconds, three seconds—

"————————————————Hmph...!!"

The 'power' that had been accumulated with the silence was unsealed the moment a faint breath escaped.

In that very instant, the blade of the 'sword,' swung at divine speed, manifested a power in the world that was many times greater than the one that had once chased me.

A lawless and deadly flash of sword pressure from the Sword Queen.

"Tch............Haru...!"

"—Tch, leave it to me!"

A slightly pained voice kicked my back as I was about to stop time with my breath.

Even Arshe must have been exhausted after unleashing such a ridiculously powerful technique. I scooped up her stumbling body again and at the same time—

"Tch..."

"Are you serious, you...!!"

What flew at us was, first, the roaring sound of the massive sword pressure, so large it was visible to the eye, making impact. And a moment later, a 'projectile' was fired, still invisible and super-fast.

I managed to dodge it at the last second, but as I flew through the air, cursing, I turned my eyes—

"Hey, it's a bit much to joke that it's unscathed after that...?"

"...It didn't seem to have an effect."

The 'cocoon' woven from shadow remained unchanged, without even a scratch on its eerily writhing surface.

It just sat there, silently.

Okay, fine. Let's summarize the information, shall we?

That 'cocoon,' which is probably the second phase, shoots out a 'projectile' at a speed that even Arshe can't react to, at intervals of roughly five seconds.

I can't react to it either, but the 'mysterious sense' that has occasionally helped me out since my virtual world debut is working like a charm, allowing me to evade it by the skin of my teeth.

And if I can dodge, then let's counterattack. So we launched a counteroffensive. The Sword Queen herself unleashed what was probably a full-power, off-the-charts attack that could have vaporized any normal last boss—and yet, that 'cocoon' is unscathed.

I see, so what am I supposed to do???

"..., ............"

See, even the princess has fallen silent, lost in a whirlpool of thought—and... the projectiles are still flying around as they please!

Fortunately, or perhaps I should say, the evasion itself is being completely handled by my 'hunch' and the enhancement from 'Desperate Crimson,' so there's no resource problem. However, since I don't know when that crucial 'hunch' will disappear, it's like jumping rope blindfolded.

My stamina will still hold—but without a breakthrough, we'll eventually be checkmated.

"—...Haru."

"—...Talk to me! I'm listening!"

Even while being violently shaken in a 'cradle' that was more than just a thrill ride, Arshe, who had quietly entrusted herself to me and was deep in thought, finally spoke.

"That was, for the record, a special technique woven from several skills. In terms of power, it's about the second most powerful I can produce myself. The difference between it and the first isn't that great."

"You can't add that first one on top of it?! The Per-something!"

"[Perfect Espada] is like an extension of my normal attacks; it's not an additive skill. Its main purpose is to increase the range of my options, so its power itself is dependent on my specs."

"What about a direct hit instead of the sword pressure you sent flying!?"

"A skill that preserves power is active, so there's no difference between a direct hit and a long-range one."

I don't understand what she's saying in many ways, but I'll swallow it for now.

"That's the limit with all the power-enhancing skills I have. So honestly... I hadn't considered what to do if it didn't have an effect."

"..., ............"

"............"

"Uh... Arshe-san."

"............"

"You're more troubled than I thought, huh?"

"............Yeah."

If you just extract the conversation, it sounds carefree, but at this very moment, my legs are working at full capacity, and I'm in the middle of a touch-and-die dance with the projectiles fired from the 'cocoon.'

This is a seriously bad situation.

"........................Tch... This is just about the firepower I can produce myself."

Perhaps my impatience was transmitted to her.

She spoke hastily, unlike her usual self.

"If it's the 'power' that my 'sword' can produce—"

"It's way too early for the finale, isn't it?"

I stopped her, who was about to speak with uncharacteristic haste, with a cool-sounding phrase. Even though there was no way I could look cool while continuing this 'hunch'-based evasion drama without understanding anything.

Anyway, I get it.

"Okay, roger. If Arshe can't think of anything—"

And if she says there's no move better than this.

"I have some 'firepower' I'd like to try. Help me out."

Then I, for my part, will play the cards I have.