kscans

Chapter 650 - After the Tremors Pass

To be honest, even though I had found 'proof' I could count on during our brief but intense exchange of blows, I was still relieved from the bottom of my heart that `Yamabiko` landed safely.

Throwing a vibration attack at an opponent who controls vibrations wasn't a moment of madness. After factoring everything in, I had judged it to be the most effective move against her.

Ultimately, the most troublesome part of Oubai Touri—Oume-san's—defensive arts is the instantaneous part-hardening from her unique title, `The Ground`. While her vibration dampening could disperse the power of my strikes, trying to attack with a blade would just be deflected by her steel-like body.

It was better to use blows, impacts, and vibrations that would, at worst, only be dispersed. The fact that they would work, even slightly, was proven by her reactions to my fists, which had landed countless times during our brawl.

The vibration manipulation of her unique title `Heroine`'s `Helios Tremblarea` naturally has a limit to both its amplification and dampening—so I decided to punch right through it from the front.

`Shinden Nishiki: Yamabiko`... and not just that. While clinging to a one-ton-plus anchor to withstand the violent torrent, I added a fully converged `Kai` for a three-hit combo.

On top of that, I didn't forget to reapply [Water Enchant] and the six-shot barrage of [Frezon Revolver], an utterly merciless, instantaneous storm of blows. It was unclear whether the limit of her vibration control depended on 'the magnitude of the force' or 'the number of vibration sources'... and that's precisely why.

To cover all my bases, I unleashed an overwhelming super-power, far too excessive for a single player, in the form of a rapid-fire combo—and then, on top of all that...

...the moment the logic of `Shinden`, which bypasses defenses, pierced the [Heroine]'s steel body, I had the damage type for all the vibrations and impacts completely overwritten into a slashing type.

[Reject Sentence]—a massive cheat that overturns the system's rules.

Hahaha... the 'cost' is terrifying, but when weighed against the massive achievement of defeating a ranker, it can't be helped. That said, there's one more thing I need to do first.

And just then, the person I needed to apologize to came running up to me.

"Whoa there... Sorry, Kanata. To be honest, I didn't have the luxury of worrying about you."

"N-no, no, no, not at all...!"

Even if that last one was the only max-output blast, I had clearly overused `Kai` in a short period. As a result, my body naturally crumpled backward, only to be caught by a pair of cool arms.

It was Kanata-kun, completely drenched from head to toe, who must have had a terrible time despite my efforts to shield him.

While juggling a dozen other things, I had instinctively activated [Nine Tail] and shot shadow threads behind me, wrapping him up in a protective cocoon, but it seems it wasn't quite perfect.

Still...

"You protected me...! And that move, you can use it like that...? More importantly, your decision to force a clash with [Flood] was to protect me in the back, wasn't it?! If you hadn't, I would've definitely been hit head-on and crushed—!"

"Calm down, kouhai. Your senpai is pretty wiped out from a series of deathmatches with monsters..."

Even including the exhaustion from before I arrived to help, a quick glance at my HP bar shows it's holding steady at just over fifty percent. Thanks to the magic resistance from my insane MID, I managed to survive the waterfall while deep in the red zone. Compared to me, he could be called unharmed.

And one more thing to tell him... or rather...

"Right, Kanata. Good job. You did well against a ranker. I'm proud of you."

"Huh...? Uh, no, I... you ended up having to save me, and I couldn't even make good on my declaration... I'm rather ashamed, to be honest...—"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

There is one clear, undeniable reason for praise. I need to make sure I put it into words.

"The Lady [Heroine]'s left leg wasn't moving properly, you know."

"What...? Huh?"

"You did something, right? The reason I could go head-to-head with her and hold my own might've been thanks to that. Her footwork was sloppy the entire time, Oume-san's was."

"... ..."

Honestly, how Kanata managed to hold his own against the [Heroine] is something I'll look forward to enjoying in the archives later. But thinking about it logically, I can't imagine anyone other than Kanata, who was in his first encounter with her right from the start, could be the culprit.

I don't know what he did, or if his plan succeeded completely... but Kanata's fangs had certainly reached the great [Heroine].

"So, in effect, this was an unexpected joint takedown. Be proud, Kanata-kun."

"...—!"

His limp back was still being supported. As he tilted his head back to look up at my upside-down face, I offered him a teasing smile—and then, wham.

"...Damn you, kouhai. What do you think you're doing?"

"S-s-s-so sorry!?"

Flushing bright red and panicking, the boy pulled away in what I assume was a reflex, abandoning me. My exhausted, near-dead avatar crumpled to the ground in a smooth motion.

...Am I the one at fault here? Ah, I see.

The floor is cold. It might feel just right on this avatar, which is still flushed even after a drenching.

◇◆◇◆◇

"—Now this is a surprise..."

In front of the Southern Faction's wartime base, the [Knight's Royal Castle - El Faria]. Leaning against the outer wall of the red castle, a man with his eyes shut—the [Poet], Yata—let out a voice of genuine astonishment.

"The first one eliminated is from our side, huh?"

"Oume-san... well, it wasn't exactly a favorable matchup for her, so I guess it can't be helped."

Next, Uni and Olin reacted to his murmur, sharing wry smiles of understanding and resignation beside him. And to conclude...

"What did you see?"

The voice of the [Lady-in-Waiting], asking for the details she saw to formulate their ongoing 'plan'. Unlike the somewhat laid-back men, the ever-sharp Queen (Helena) posed the question.

"It was an absolute shocker... My, my, I never thought she'd be taken down in a ground battle, in a straight-up fistfight... I really didn't see that coming."

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

"What did you say?"

And upon hearing Yata's answer, the ones who let out dumbfounded voices were, again, the laid-back men. This time, Fuji, who was next to Olin, joined in, making it a perfect trio.

"There were some strange and tricky moves mixed in, but it was basically a simple brawl. A bare-knuckle slugfest where neither side gave an inch."

And as Yata delivered his report.

"Huh... I heard he's gotten into martial arts recently, but..."

...said Uni.

"His 'walking armory' of skills was one of his strengths, and now he's become dangerous even with his bare hands...? Seriously, this is insane. Isn't his growth rate completely broken?"

...said Olin.

"At this point, I can't even call myself his 'nemesis' anymore. In fact, I don't want to. I just don't want to fight him straight up. Between the sheer number of cards he has and his raw skill, I can only see a future where he instantly kills me and my replicas in a hundred different ways. I give up."

...said Fuji.

As the three who had shared the battlefield with him strung together words that were ten parts exasperation, the [Poet]—who had been by Oubai Touri's side as she was eliminated, sharing her vision—however...

"But, well... just as planned, we've found our first promising hole. As expected of our top three PvP specialists. She didn't go down for nothing."

...under his hat, his wry smile turned into an amused one.

"And so, Helena-chan. Here's the first chink in the Prince's armor."

"Let's hear it."

He nodded, turning his 'eyes,' which were currently holding multiple scenes, toward the [Lady-in-Waiting].