kscans

Chapter 720 - The Selfish White Who Smiles on the Silver Screen, Part Four

In one corner of my mind, I relentlessly copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste water magic. It's a massive cheat where I finish the mental drawing in an instant by dragging and dropping from my memory, not even bothering to sketch. While I keep up a barrage that's literally a rain of bullets, in another corner of my mind, I trace and execute the technique of my senpai that's burned into my virtual brain. My left hand conducts the magic, my right hand pulls the threads, and right in the middle, my combat thoughts are on full output to keep up with and sink my teeth into this supremely exhilarating hellscape—to put it simply,

"My head is, gonna split...!!!"

"Hang in there! But I get it!!"

The encouragement from behind is a great comfort, but this dual performance of unfamiliar skills is just too harsh on my brain. I don't have the extraordinary parallel processing limit of my cute partner. Just preparing and firing off dozens of barrages is honestly all I can handle, my head's completely full.

As usual, I'm making this madness a reality by fully utilizing my 'Gift,' operating in a semi-conscious, semi-automatic state, but this is no good. Frankly, I can't keep this up for long...!!

Forget the magic, it's my right hand, my right.

At this point, I have some serious respect for Nacchan-senpai. It's amazing how she can chatter away with a calm face while freely commanding dozens, even hundreds of times more 'threads' than this.

My 'thread' is about to snap, in more ways than one. About three minutes have passed since the battle began. It's about time to transition from the opening to the mid-game—

"Tch... Hinayo-san!"

"Haru-kun!"

Whether it was by chance or perfect timing, we called out to each other at the exact same moment. Because of that, we instantly understood each other's proposals and needed no further words.

Without turning back, without even making eye contact,

"—Bullet!!"

"'The destination of the lamp, the burning footprints, let the curtain of the flaming heavens fill the horizon—'"

We both played new cards, ready to advance the act and set our plan in motion.

◇◆◇◆◇

"Isn't that a bit too murderous!?"

The mood changed, the hands changed, the rhythm changed, and the field moved.

The countless daggers that manifested according to the spirited shout were bound together, and my partner, chased by the 'threads' whose lethality had been so simply amplified, couldn't help but scream.

Furthermore, [Scorching Gaze]... the chant Hinayo was reciting. A tactic from a comrade whose hand she knew reasonably well. Reciting that meant she was planning to make a move here.

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

I remained silent, not even thinking about what to do. Unwillingly, no matter how much I struggled, I, who had been burdened with the title of 'ranker,' had no choice but to respond.

It's not that I'm sulking.

I just think there are countless others more suited for this than me.

It's not that I'm angry.

I'm just fed up with being given an undeserved name that I don't want.

To think that in this virtual world I came to 'to spread my wings and be my true self,' I'd end up having to show a side of me I can't show to others...

Just like in reality, things just don't go my way. It's simply frustrating and sad.

"...—'The rippling earth pierces the heavens.'"

Watching the 'fun' heat up from the sidelines, the silver conductor sings a song. The resentment is directed at myself, a half-baked person who, in the end, couldn't stick to her own path and ended up setting foot on a stage like this.

"'The severed, multilayered veins, thus the sky is at the fingertips.'"

I can't even compare to someone like the [Sword Saint], who followed her own selfish path with such noble resolve. I just left on a whim and came back as I was carried by the tide. There's no comparison between her and me.

"'Untouchable, incommunicable, though the longing will never be fulfilled.'"

My will is weak, my resolve is lacking, and I don't have the spirit to see my own selfishness through. Just because I can't find another escape from my escape from reality, I'm just languishing in this virtual world. To someone like this...

"'Innocently reaching out, show the pitiful, reckless name.'"

Really, everyone—and that brilliance in my line of sight, too.

I just want them to realize that I'm not worth looking at with such expectant eyes.

◇◆◇◆◇

Quietly spun, a chant I barely recognized reached my ears. I shivered, wondering what kind of card it was, but my forward momentum—my full-on sprint—could not be stopped.

First, I'm going to take one of them down.

It doesn't matter which one I aim for; I know I can't take them down for free. To truly shift the situation, to truly awaken a game where we can enjoy ourselves from the bottom of our hearts, I first need to get Senpai-dono serious.

No matter how it turns out, showing my intent to close in is essential. Therefore, the one I presume to turn my eyes, my hands, my blade upon is—for now, the one who is closer.

Prepare yourself, vanguard (Tonic)-dono!!

"'The yearning drops vanish, the sprouting buds all burn and scatter.'"

Listening to the song at my back, I whipped my creaking thoughts into high-speed rotation, telling myself to hang on just a little longer.

While I chase Tonic-shi, who is simultaneously evading and causing a disturbance with a skill that I can only admire as amazing, with my 'threads,' I unleash water to counter the earth.

Between the former and the latter, if you ask which is more troublesome at this point, for me personally, it's definitely the former. He's the only one operating normally, free from [Screen]'s authority, maintaining his versatile fighting style, and he can casually dissipate my magic and return it twofold... and even more than that.

First and foremost, his positioning as a tag-team player is simply perfect.

As expected of someone who, whether as a joke or not, publicly declares his 'playstyle is that of a good neighbor.' It's not just his ability to read the room and be personable in normal times; his nature doesn't change in battle either.

He's the one receiving 'support' as we're divided into vanguard and rearguard, but if you look at the total picture calmly and objectively, he's the one who has been supporting and elevating [Screen] from start to finish.

To put it simply, he's a teamwork artisan. The way he finds the right timing for both offense and defense, the skill with which he creates a rhythm and leads their two-person dance without making it obvious—it's nothing short of brilliant. Because he's not influenced by anything and can be himself, he can form the best partnership with anyone.

As expected of one half of the previous Triangle Duo runner-up tag team... honestly, his mastery, embodying versatile skill in a teamwork sense, is nothing short of amazing.

And that is why—I'll have to resort to a ruthless, shocking plan without any mercy.

"'The life that bears heat, the death that shines without end, the arms that embrace are a merciful guide.'"

And so, the song is spun.

"'The eyes reflect and copy the fire, drawing the sun in the completed boundary'—!"

"Tch...!"

"Ah, this is bad—"

Of the three who heard the final verse on stage, two let out a cry. I leaped back with all the might my heavy-as-lead avatar could muster, and Tonic-shi, who had been desperately fighting against the fierce assault from the two Eastern Faction members, his face twitched...—in that instant.

"[Soleil (Crimson Sun World)]."

[The Disperser], who had been performing a grand spectacle, slipping through the pursuing 'threads,' batting away the surging 'water,' and scattering the biting 'flames'... in other words, at the very center of the stage, with Tonic-shi, the sole vanguard, as its epicenter.

The grand magic, which references the total 'heat' released by the caster during combat, amplifies it manifold, and turns it into a destructive force, further swallowed [Screen]'s song, and in the end—

It manifested as a crimson incandescence that was likely several times larger than the pillar of fire that had incinerated [Berumail] earlier.

—And, at that very moment.

"[Epitel (Earth Binding)]."

Simultaneously as my ears picked up the 'name' delivered by the system, a great jaw of earth rose up to stand beside the giant pillar of fire.

No, it was on a scale that seemed to devour even that. A true 'all-range attack' that surpassed [Scorching Gaze]'s grand technique was executed, and the upheaved field became a great wave of 'fangs'... and in the fleeting moment of猶予 that remained before it struck.

[Screen]-dono's counter was to go for a direct kill from the very first move, a move that flew past all expectations. The shiver and surprise that welled up reflexively... I swept them away in a single blink, exchanged a look with my partner,

Received a smile, left a nod,

"'Senzen (Thread Clad)'—!!"

Clad myself in threads, and took off running.

The scale and range were on a different level; evasion was impossible. However, that inescapable fact was based on the premise that our 'stats were sealed.'

Until the jaws of the earth close completely, it will probably be a few seconds. If I can somehow forcefully secure mobility, I can postpone the game set. Therefore,

I pull the threads wrapped around my body, my arms and legs.

With an output of MID: 700, it's decent. Specifically, with a horsepower that could just barely manage a tug-of-war with a brute force of STR: 600, I forcefully carry my body—and leap.

My HP is shaved away at a tremendous rate by the movement that doesn't match my body's strength, and a crown automatically manifests above my head due to the critical self-damage判定, but I completely ignore it. I step into the air, and the 'thread' I fired upwards from my extended fingertips catches the tip of the earth's fang... and a few seconds later, just as predicted.

A roar and impact that silence all sound shake the space, and one life (HP) disappears from the stage.

As for which one it was—the answer is the figure of Tonic-shi, who survived the hell below and is now coming towards me, who escaped death by a reverse bungee jump into the air.

Shining above his head is a crown that displays his 'name,' just like mine.

It's clear that the reason he survived in the midst of that situation is that semi-transparent, or rather, half-transparent crown, half filled with color and half filled with emptiness.

Furthermore, it's equally clear that he, who has just charged at me with his true full power, is aiming for the finishing blow—and that's why,

I reflexively reached for the hilt of [Samidorizuki] sheathed at my waist,

"—I won't let you!!"

Natural movement surpasses forceful movement. As if to allow no counter or struggle at this point, [The Disperser]'s hand-sword, which pierced the shortest distance, pierces my chest.

And, at the same time as an effect like fresh blood colored the air.

"—Huh...!?"

"—Hah."

In response to his confusion, a smile returned to my face, and above my head, alongside my crown, my 'ears' swayed.

[Stasis Rabbit (White Rabbit that Controls Time)] was already activated, so the damage is frozen. He, too, was forced to activate his crown, and rushed the match due to the time limit, and what's more, he fell for my bait when I, feigning desperation, reached for my sword instead of my magic or threads. That was his undoing.

Sorry, old timer. I'm not letting you go.

"Wai, wai—"

His arm, which should have been a fatal blow, was caught and held. Furthermore, he was instantly wrapped up with me in 'threads,' completely immobilized. As Tonic-shi, whose position was reversed in a flash, cried out in surprise, shock, and dismay... it was only natural.

"—For my partner's revenge!!!"

"Wait, that wasn't me—!?"

In mid-air. I had no hesitation in subjecting myself to a watery burial along with him.