kscans

Chapter 654 - The Raging Wind Never Ceases

Later, the words used to describe that 'instant' would be rich with countless colors.

For example—"I was so dumbfounded that everything, my command, everything, just flew out of my head right in the middle of the battlefield," were the words of the [General Commander], who had watched his back from closer than anyone.

For example—"You wouldn't want people to think that's the standard for an Eastern ranker, right? Compared to him, I'm at a proper human level, aren't I?" were the words of the [Undying].

For example—"I think he's an idiot," "Feels like he's reached the end of the line," "Being rigorously trained by two samurai probably knocked a few screws loose," were the words of the 'Eastern Wings.'

For example—"Well, I expected at least that much from him," were the words of a certain 'samurai.'

For example—"It was far beyond my expectations... or rather, I think I'll just give up on trying to predict anything about him. I'm done," were the words of the [Lady-in-Waiting].

And for example—"I just laughed," "A literal monster," "If anything, he's the nemesis," "Scary," "How is that my only kouhai...?!" "So very Istia," "I'm at a loss because there's nothing to learn from that," "Isn't he basically playing a different game from the rest of us?" "All rankers are playing a different game, period," "You can barely see it even in slow motion, lmao," "Can see it but can't understand it, rofl," "I've come full circle and the grass has withered," "Haru-chan is cute," and so on, an overflow of words from other 'rankers' and regular players alike...

And the one who likely drew the most attention, the only one who reacted in time and managed to return a 'sword' strike, the [Sword Queen]... spoke with a mix of joy, frustration, and affection.

—"That's just unfair," was her short and final comment.

And so, of all the opposing forces who spun their thoughts to act—be it through prediction, intuition, or reflex—only a few dozen players even reached the point just before reacting.

His figure, which had been holding a sword, vanished in the distance.

Those who moved, those who succeeded, were a mere three people standing at the head of the over-four-hundred-strong North-South alliance raid. And of those, the only one who made it in time...

...was not the [Knight] who tried to block it,

...nor the [Heavy Tank] who tried to bind it,

"—!"

...but the lone sword princess who had once burned the image of the 'heavenly storm' into her eyes.

In that instant, the divine-speed 'storm' blew past the intercepting silver flash—a boundless 'wind,' accompanied by 'water,' raged forth, outrunning sound itself.

So, what exactly happened?

"""—..."""

The scene they saw when they turned to look back.

The vast amount of 'red phosphorescence' that filled the space, so numerous that they couldn't even be bothered to count how many 'bodies' it had originated from, told the entire story of the event.

◇◆◇◆◇

"—...Dammit, I was off course."

Having walked—no, run—no, sprinted through, my first thought.

I'm glad to be alive after that single step, but my faint hope that a whole bunch of light pillars might have shot up by some mistake seems to have been in vain.

On the contrary, I slightly miscalculated my trajectory and veered off course.

I have a feeling that's actually why I'm still alive right now, but considering it was a trade-off for the results I wanted, it's hard to say if I should be happy about it.

I crushed the straight line in an instant and ended up at a wall. Not just the passage leading to the maze at the base, but I flew straight into the dead end. The 'nets' and all the 'people' and 'things' packed tightly into the maze area were sliced and sent flying—

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

Hundreds of eyes stared at me as I stood on the wall, unharmed, scattering golden light at the endpoint.

With the obstacles gone, the line of sight is physically clear, but the sheer volume of death effects makes it hard to even see the 'starting point'... I'd say the kill count is around a hundred or so.

Well, what a shame.

Defeating a ranker was asking too much, but honestly, I unleashed that strike with the intention of wiping out all the regular players. My `Yui no Tachi: Seiran` is, in essence, a `Shizuku` that moves at the speed of `Hayate`.

When augmented with [Water Enchant], the maximum range of `Shizuku` is just under ten meters. Imagine something like that spinning at super-high speed and tearing through a long distance in a straight line. In other words, `Seiran` is an instantaneous straight-line massacre-mixer.

Let me be clear: if it had hit properly, no 'horde' could have withstood it. That's why it's so frustrating that my course veered upwards and only grazed the front of the raid.

As the 'blades' went further back, their density at the lower levels thinned out, eventually becoming mere glancing blows. The casualties were likely concentrated among the vanguard, excluding the rankers.

"I guess you can't expect a spur-of-the-moment move to go perfectly every time..."

Gravity caught me, and my body began to fall.

I twisted in the air and landed on a high pile of rubble. This was none other than the wreckage of the 'nets' I had sliced through along with the victims.

More accurately, it was the wreckage I had sliced up and then forcefully blasted away with my 'shield.'

[Echtulus Aurum]—the sole ability of the battle garment [Sakura Hanaori] crafted by Nia, and a limited-use, instantaneous defensive ability shared with my partner's [Dress of El-Clelia].

It's excellent when used for its intended defensive purpose, but as you can see, it works just as well on offense. In fact, since I can time it perfectly myself, it might even be more user-friendly this way... but if I say that, the creator will probably get mad at me for using it strangely, so I'll keep quiet.

Anyway.

Regardless.

My second objective was missed, but my first objective was completed successfully.

Just because you got lucky and survived my blunder doesn't mean you can just stand there gawking, you know.

"—And with that, the pincer attack is complete. It's a bit lonely with just me on this side, but... I wonder just how much of a threat you all think I am?"

Hey, you guys in the back, look at my right hand. What I'm taking out is—

"[Ruby Rabbit Bullet]."

"—Sh... this is baaaaaaaad!!?"

""Ah, death...""

""""Wait just a sec—"""""

Like hell I'll wait. Here, boom!