kscans

Chapter 549 - A Hero's Tale for You, A Hero's Tale for Another, Part V

The moment I squeezed the trigger, an extraordinary flash of light and sound erupted, as if my eyes and ears had just exploded.

Since the warhead had changed from a standard explosive to a piercing type, this wasn't a backfire from touching the trigger in my base form.

That deviant roar was the normal report of the Scarlet-Thread Linkage form.

All I could barely make out was a single crimson gleam from the sparkling fragments scattered by the shattering [Mayhem Bunny]. I couldn't see where the fired 'Woodpecker' went, nor could I witness what happened to the cocoon it struck—

I was blown away by the hopelessly murderous recoil, amplified twenty-fourfold from the already-powerful kickback of the [Ruby Rabbit Bullet] that could easily launch my body into the air when fired mid-flight.

Whether I was flying straight or in a comical corkscrew, my vision, which had whited out from the sheer impact—not metaphorically—was useless for making any snap judgments.

My right arm, which had pulled the trigger, felt like it was barely attached, and that was about all I could be sure of. There was no way I could control my posture on the fly.

The weapon's proud creator gave me a ridiculous handling warning, saying, "You're supposed to fire it outdoors, aiming down. I'm sure someone like you can handle getting launched into the sky, right?" Firing it indoors was a mistake from the start.

If I'd fired it without any sort of safety net, I would have been a stain on the wall in an instant, not just a second.

If I hadn't set up a safety net, that is.

"—!"

"Guh—ugh…!"

I was alone in the air for only a moment, my vision and senses failing me. A violent impact, which I suppose was merciful compared to the initial blast, shot through my abdomen—and an agonized groan escaped my lips as a breath, far too reliable for its own good, brushed past my ear.

White faded, and my vision began to capture the world once more.

My eyes met with the princess who had rushed to my side like a prince or a knight. Was it my imagination, or did we exchange faint smiles in that fleeting moment?

"Hah… ugh—!"

Alicia, who had caught me as I was sent flying with enough force to look like I'd been slapped by a giant, drove her sword into the floor, tearing a great gash as she bled off speed and energy.

But then—the sound that echoed in the next moment was far too brutal to be called a mere crash. A single, merciless explosion.

At the same time, Alicia, who had landed with enough force to shatter the arena wall, let out…

"—Ugh, k… ah…!"

…a single, stifled scream.

Unlike someone with a ridiculous build of VIT: 0, the body of a player who has properly invested in durability stats is genuinely superhuman. In other words, when you get slammed into a wall or the ground with a massive amount of energy, this is what happens. You're like a cannonball, no metaphor intended.

And in Arcadia, where there is no pain, the thing that deals the most damage to a player—not in terms of HP—is pure 'impact'. I know because I've experienced it myself. It doesn't hurt, but it really, really hurts.

Therefore, I do feel a pang of guilt for asking her to handle the 'aftermath of pulling the trigger', having predicted that this was ninety percent likely to happen. However, I have no intention of regretting or reflecting on it.

As a man, doing this to a girl might be questionable…

"Thanks, you saved me…"

"…I said 'leave it to me'. Don't worry about it."

…but as her comrade-in-arms, such useless consideration would be a crime punishable by ten thousand deaths.

Alicia stood up amidst a clatter of rubble, a somewhat satisfied smile on her face. And then there was me, currently cradled in her slender arms, a rare reversal of our usual roles.

Together, our eyes turned toward—

"…Hehe, bullseye."

"Hah, I'd have to laugh if it somehow passed right through the middle…"

Just as Alicia said, it was a clean shot through the center. There stood the cocoon that had boasted such exceptional durability, now sporting a gaping hole large enough to be seen from a distance, its shadow dissipating.

Phase two, barely cleared… or so I'd like to think. Now what?

"I've never seen anything like that before."

"Right? It's my hidden bullet, you could say—well, it's a one-shot trick. The mechanism bugs out or something, so however many you use become unusable for a full day."

So, with that one shot, all twenty-four of my [Ruby Rabbit Bullet]s were temporarily out of commission.

Actually, they just stop regenerating entirely… so, depending on how you look at it, you could say I'm saving MP for the rest of this battle. Let's be positive.

"I can still fire a twelve-unit linkage, a lower-tier version… but I doubt it'll get a turn. It's not something that would work against a monster of this class."

"I see. …Are you okay, stamina-wise?"

"Yeah, I can still go on—so, the stun wore off. You can put me down now."

"A shame."

It's not like I was willingly indulging in the embarrassing act of being princess-carried by a princess. I was simply at the mercy of a hateful, flashing debuff icon.

She let me down with a faintly amused smile, and my feet touched the floor again. I gave a light hop or two—no issues. I wasn't bluffing; my spirit and energy were still high.

If that's the case—

"This is where it really begins, huh."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it."

We stared at the cocoon as shadows rose from it like smoke and it began to open.

While I was trying to refocus and steel my nerves, Alicia, overflowing with pure curiosity and excitement, gave a reply so relaxed it was almost disarming.

As the cocoon's shadow dissolved from the edges as if melting into the air, a swaying tail came into view.

"…Be careful. No joke, this looks bad."

"Mhm."

She still wore the same kimono and had nine tails, but the change was obvious at a glance. The torso that had once been severed was, of course, reconnected, but—

—what stood out most were her hands and feet, which had clearly deviated from a 'human' form.

Her four limbs, from which shadows billowed like bristling fur, had transformed drastically. Their shape, armed with sharp, massive claws, was undeniably that of a 'beast'.

Phase three, following the unmoving cocoon. Based on its appearance, I couldn't expect any graceful behavior—and then, looking at its swaying tails, I had a realization.

"…By the way, Alicia. About what we discussed earlier, at what point did you hear that 'sound'?"

"…When I… cut it?"

"I see. For me, it was when I cut it."

"…Oh, right. So that's what it means."

So, the timing of the 'death negation'. I had thought we managed to kill it once with our combined attack, but apparently, that wasn't the case.

Looking at the two tails that had white, crack-like lines running through them and seemed somewhat sluggish… she was right, that was probably 'how it was'.

"Should I be happy we took out two so easily, or despair that we have seven more to go…"

"If the number of tails equals lives and there are seven left, it might not be seven more times, but eight."

"So we have to kill it ten times in total? Seriously, couldn't they have capped it at five?"

"If you think of it as only needing to cut it ten times to win, I think it's become considerably easier. Just as I thought, your 'weakness' was the key to victory."

"Well, that's fine and all… but while my paper-thin armor being exaggerated and traced is one thing, where is your 'weakness' showing up in all this?"

"…A weakness for you, perhaps?"

"For some reason, I can't deny that on so many levels…"

As we held our swords at the ready against the unmoving 'shadow' and exchanged words without letting down our guard, [Rep-la Nobody, The Black Stain That Slays All] just watched us.

From its noh-mask-like head, which lacked even empty sockets, an immense pressure of information was directed at us.

It was a pressure so intense, without exaggeration the greatest I'd ever faced, that goosebumps covered my entire body. I had to keep making lighthearted remarks just to stay sane.

""…""

At some point, we both fell silent, waiting for that moment—the moment it would move.

And that, in turn, meant—

—that the pressure emanating from the thing smoldering in the shadows ahead was so deviant that not just me, but even the Iris, hesitated to make the first move.

In that instant, that feeling—of something you can't touch even if you reach for it—flashed through my mind.

"—!"

"—…!"

Almost simultaneously. Without warning, without presence, without sound, the master of shadow appeared before our eyes. A split second ahead, I, followed by Alicia, swung my sword in a momentary reflex—

—, —, —

It laughed—clearly, certainly, amusedly—and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, it caught the blades of both my Anima and Alicia's Extra between the claws of its left and right hands.

Time seemed to stop at the sheer absurdity of the sight.

And then, within that time that had not, in fact, stopped for even a fraction of a second.

—, ——————————!

Along with a monstrous roar that seemed not of this world—from a myriad of magic circles that deployed at extreme close range, a torrent of countless magic cannons was unleashed.

Black flashes, as if tearing space itself apart, filled the dim arena with a blinding darkness.