kscans

Chapter 641 - By the Skin of His Teeth

“—No way, you’ve got to be kidding…!?”

That [Knight], brought to her knees without being able to do a single thing.

Faced with a truly unprecedented and abnormal sight, the “junior” couldn’t help but let her thoughts freeze in astonishment. Who could blame her—that responsibility, of course,

“Don’t stop!”

“Hk…—!”

—was held by the other senior, positioned five steps behind her.

As if jolted by Record’s voice, which could no longer hide its own desperation—no, she was literally struck and jolted by the scolding itself. Shame flushed the girl’s cheeks as she reflected on her own hesitation.

But, even so, she was a Ranker. The time it took to clear her jumbled thoughts and emotions was but an instant, a near-nonexistent moment before her ten fingers were once again flying—

And in another near-nonexistent moment, blue eyes framed by white hair were right before her.

It was an invisible stride, approaching or even surpassing the speed of sound, completely incomparable to his movements from moments before. Despite having been stopped for a split second, the threads that had certainly filled the gap were all slipped through. The [Acrobat] flashed a mischievous grin and,

—“Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do.”

“————”

He struck at the [Thread-Weaver]’s core, something only a very few knew about, and once again bound Natsume in place.

And then, before she could even blink her stunned eyes, in the twinkling of an eye, the artificial yet masterfully crafted beauty vanished from her sight—

“………………………………………………Well, it can’t be helped.”

Turning around at the gentle… resigned and exasperated voice that struck her back once more, she saw the [Long Legs] standing alone, his great staff put to sleep and his magic dispelled.

When she looked forward again… the monstrous warhammer had vanished without a trace, and the [Knight] was sluggishly pushing herself up, perhaps due to the lingering effects of the massive impact.

And the [Acrobat] was nowhere to be seen—

“He got away with a win… but the fact that he didn’t press his advantage is proof that he doesn’t underestimate us. Let’s be happy about that.”

With Record’s compromise-like excuse,

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! I didn’t get to do anythiiiiing!!! I didn’t get to show off a single cool thing!!! It makes no sense, I couldn’t do anything at aaaaall!!!”

—the cry of the former newest Title Holder, exploding with shame, frustration, and a myriad of other emotions, was followed by the voice of the one who had been humiliatingly flattened for failing to react in time.

“Haha, same here. That monster prince, he’s really something else…”

“I feel like I took the most damage here, striking a big pose only to be lightly brushed aside. Is that just my imagination? …Let’s just say it’s my imagination.”

And as the wielder of the great staff soothed his quivering, dissatisfied partner, his sigh—

—brought a poignant end to the encounter that had begun and ended like a storm.

◇◆◇◆◇

“I thought I was going to die!!!!”

“Being surrounded by four of them at one point, I was thinkin’ you might actually bite it… but what’s the deal with you? How in the world did you manage to survive that?”

“Hey, where’d all that trust in me go?!”

There are many kinds of ‘wins,’ and successfully breaking through an encirclement and making a run for it is a magnificent victory in its own right.

The three on the other side weren’t going all out either… The [Thread-Weaver]-senpai was saying things like “full power” and “crush you,” but her tendency to let strong words slip out when she gets carried away is well-known. So, in the end, it was mutual.

It was just a scouting mission disguised as a greeting, and I managed to withdraw without revealing my hidden gems and other trump cards, so I’d say it went swimmingly. That Crimson Valor thing wasn’t a hidden gem, more of a dead card, so it’s fine.

Anyway—

“They’ve completely marked me… Sorry, but it looks like it’s impossible for me to fulfill my role as a runner.”

“With you, even a side job will probably be more effective than one person’s full effort, right?”

“I can’t tell if you have a lot of faith in me or not…”

“Despite what you say, I was kinda hopin’ you’d light a signal fire or somethin’.”

“That’s asking way too much, you know?”

He must be talking about the pillar of light that marks the defeat of a Ranker. I shot back a deadpan, calm retort to Gossan’s voice, which sounded neither playful nor joking.

No, seriously, that’s impossible.

I landed a perfectly executed `Tsuzumi` followed by a crush from [Gravidon] and a finishing blow with [Ignition], and she still endured it with just over fifty percent HP remaining. What is up with that [Knight] anyway?

Deciding that I couldn’t push any further and immediately opting for a retreat was, in hindsight, a brilliant decision on my part.

Realistically, if that group came at me seriously, it would be impossible for me to push through even if I fought back with everything I had. The only one I could say I have a decent matchup against is the [Long Legs]; the [Knight] goes without saying, and even the [Thread-Weaver]-senpai is pretty tough.

Especially when I’m in this transformed body, her ‘serious mode’ is just one step short of being the worst possible matchup. The moment the [Knight] showed her intent to get serious, my option to continue the fight vanished.

“Heh heh, just kiddin’—well, do your best, Senpai.”

Just as his teasing tone came through the telepathy.

“You’ve been outscored by your kouhai, you know?”

“I’m so proud of my excellent student. My nose is so high it might pierce the heavens.”

I looked up at the pillar of light from the destroyed ‘Pillar’ that had just shot up, and retorted with half sincerity, half competitiveness. I had noticed it happening several times since he engaged Tiger, but it seems Kanata is working hard in my place while I was being spectacularly delayed right from the start.

“Oh? I thought you weren’t gonna be his master or teacher?”

“Forget I said that. I’m proud of my excellent junior. My nose just pierced the starry sky—Don’t worry about me, Lord [General Commander]. I’ll take a quick breather and then start running again.”

“Yeah. Go on and raise hell to your heart’s content.”

In a corner of a passage thick with the ‘web,’ I stopped for a brief moment to calm my mind, which had been considerably drained from the successive battles with Rankers. Realizing I shouldn’t waste the busy commander’s precious time with idle chat, he seemed to sense my consideration and snorted, “Hmph…”

“Besides, your life this time around will only last until the Princess comes to get you anyway.”

“You just said something absolutely outrageous, you know that?!”

Whether he was serious or not, he left me with an infinitely unnecessary truth, and our playful banter was abruptly cut short.