kscans

Chapter 824 - Show Your Radiance, O Chosen One. Are You Worthy of Being Entrusted with Love? Part Eight

Sora's Anima, [Cradle of Sword-Craft], gained two new abilities upon evolving to its Third Tier.

The first was something called 'Twin Magic Attendant (Elden Grad),' which allowed her to use two magic swords of different attributes simultaneously. The second was 'Magic Sword Fusion (Integrate),' which generated even greater power when using those dual attributes.

The former was a simple expansion of utility—though being able to handle two attributes at once was actually a much bigger deal than it sounded. But putting aside its straightforward nature…

…the latter was the one that was ridiculously, absurdly powerful. In my opinion, acquiring this ability boosted Sora-san's overall combat power by at least fifty percent.

Fusion, or rather, Integrate. The characters were different, but the meaning was the same: the ability to mix two magic swords to create a single, more powerful one. There were supposed weaknesses, something about the integration efficiency of magical power and the unavoidable output diffusion from attribute collision, but…

…by relying on our partner rings, we could use the brute force of our stats to completely solve the power problem, just like that.

What remained was a demonically powerful weapon that combined the merits of each sword into a best-of-both-worlds package. In the case of this 'Sand x Flame (Terravelme),' it possessed the versatility of sand's 'half-physical, half-magic' damage, which worked regardless of the opponent's nature, combined with the 'defense-piercing' property of fire.

Needless to say, it was completely broken. To the point where it wouldn't be strange if people said Sora-san was all that was needed. And on top of all that, what made it even more insane was—

"…Hey, I don't want to believe it, but…"

"Yeah."

As she stared blankly at the sea of blue phosphorescence that filled the horizon, where the horde of monstrosities had been completely bisected from end to end…

…Itsuki-senpai, who had witnessed my partner's all-out swing, asked with a slightly trembling voice.

"That just now… was that a normal attack…?"

Her eyes then shifted to the girl's hand.

The blade had extended like a flash of light, reaching far beyond the range of a normal 'sword' for only a moment. She stared in a daze at the radiant sword that remained in its master's hand as if nothing had happened.

If that was the case, there was only one answer I could give.

"That's right—whoa!?"

At that moment, an avatar's body went limp and fell onto me from the side. Dispelling her fire, extinguishing her crown, and putting away her threads, Natsume-senpai looked for all the world like she had completely checked out…

"So it was stupid of me to worry… Roger that. Break time. I'll leave the rest to you. I'm at my limit too."

…and with that, she promptly used me as a pillow and switched off.

Seriously? I wanted to say, seeing as I was also at my limit, but considering she was likely still maintaining control of her 'threads' remotely, I couldn't really complain.

As someone who had effectively retired from the front lines, it was my duty to gladly support my senior, who still seemed to have a role to play.

—And so, with that…

"Sora."

I called out to the small, slender back of my partner just ahead.

The brief moment of silence was broken as the horde of boss enemies began to multiply once more. The girl, who had been calmly watching a sight that would instill nothing but despair in any normal person, turned…

"…!"

…gave me a small smile, and then ran off without a hint of hesitation.

As if to say that words were unnecessary.

◇◆◇◆◇

"—And that's the story. One KIA and two effectively out of action."

"Great work…!!!"

"Well, that's a massive success with no room for complaint, wouldn't you say?"

And so, leaving the battlefield to Sora alone, we made a swift retreat. Leaving a young girl behind to pull out of the fight might sound like the work of a complete scumbag on paper… but including Nia and Kagura-san, who praised and supported my decision, no one here condemned it.

Seeing the 'one' who was, even now, trampling the 'many' in the distance, it was only natural.

If that was the case, we should be more concerned with our situation here.

"So, how's it looking—ah, sorry, am I distracting you?"

"Not at all. A little chat is no trouble at all, you know."

"Not at all. A little chat is no trouble at all, y'see."

"Are you two best friends or something?"

Two people answered my question. The current and former top artisans, with their dazzling crimson hair, had responded in perfect sync. I guess this means…

…seeing the rather desperate looks on the other artisans' faces, including Nia's, that these two are just on another level. Is that the right way to see it?

"Thanks to your hard work, we've already secured a decent amount of magic power. I'm not sure what this thing is trying to do, but we're at about twenty percent of the required output, I'd say."

"Twenty percent after all that?!"

"Your standards are all messed up… You should properly recognize the insane fact that just four people have made twenty percent progress on content that should be challenged with an over-raid, you know?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so."

"Also, your partner is completely and utterly broken in every way."

"Yes, I'm very aware of that."

Even without looking, I could still hear the screams of monsters in the distance.

Enra-shi, part of the circle surrounding the laptop, was multitasking—deploying formulas, chatting, and even peeking over at my partner's heroic feats with a look of awe. I couldn't bring myself to retort with something like, 'Isn't that rude?'

After all, the fact that everything about Sora-san was completely broken was a pure and simple truth I had been aware of since the very beginning.

"At any rate, this phase is stable. She's not even going all out yet, is she?"

"Yeah. We went all out at the start, but…"

As we spoke, the effect of [Eternal Diamond of the Heart's Bond Connecting Heaven and Earth] wore off.

Our integrated MID returned to its original value. With the resulting drop in power, Sora-san, considering MP efficiency, unhesitatingly dispelled the dual-attribute radiant sword into the void.

But, however, even so.

"Well, as you can see."

""Whoa…""

In its place, a hundred towers of sand materialized. The super-massive blades, freed from her hands, soared through the air, wreaking havoc with just as much, if not more, ferocity than the glass sword.

The crimson-haired artisans' reactions were understandable; it was the work of a demon lord or something. Natsume-senpai had even given up watching, choosing instead to lie flat on the ground and escape reality.

I probably shouldn't mention that that too is a type of normal attack…

"Putting that aside."

And so, after we breezed through the information sharing and status check, thanks to the grace of the 'Maiden of the Scales,' the [Crimson Arm] spoke up, his gaze and voice turning serious.

"Securing magic power and output isn't a problem. Leaving it to the little lady should be more than enough, and reinforcements led by the [Sword Saint] should be arriving any moment now."

"The problem is over here."

My personal Magicrafter followed, her tone changing as well.

"This is a little tricky. I see why Nia is making that face."

"I'm not making a face…!!"

Ignoring the blue-haired girl, who apparently still had enough energy to react to being teased…

"What do you mean, tricky?"

It wasn't my intention to keep distracting them with questions, but this was a task that would be necessary for sharing information with the others who would join later anyway. Since they themselves had said it was 'no problem,' I figured there was no need for me to be overly considerate.

So, I asked for details without hesitation, and received two nods.

"Just as Nia probably told you… to put it in mechanical terms, all the circuits are completely shredded, and most of the functions are gone without a trace. We can see the final destination, but we have to rebuild the path to get there step by step."

First was Kagura-san. Then, perhaps to distribute the burden despite saying it was fine, Enra-shi spoke next, alternating with her.

"In short, we're basically reconstructing the system, but… there's some weird thing, like a strange bug, that's taken up residence in there."

"A bug?"

"Details unknown. Can't explain it. We don't know if this is what's causing the problem, or if the problem caused this… but anyway, there's something we don't understand nesting in the foundation."

Just as they said, it must be some 'thing' that's difficult to summarize. I glanced around, and Nia, Balast-shi, and Shizuku-chan-san were all nodding in agreement.

"So, when we start messing with the system, that thing will almost certainly react."

"Basically, it's highly likely that we'll shift to the next phase. That's why we're currently splitting the work, thoroughly analyzing and understanding every nook and cranny of the system so we can respond smoothly to whatever happens next… all while being hindered by that 'strange thing'."

"I see, so that's…"

I understood what they meant by 'tricky.' In that case, for now, thanks to Sora-san's efforts, it seemed we weren't pressed for time—

Clink.

"…"

"…What's wrong?"

Of course, the first one to notice the abnormality was me.

And based on 'past experience,' a bad feeling instantly swelled within me. Naturally, Kagura-san was the first to notice the change in my expression.

Clink, clink.

"…Hm?"

Next, following my lead, Enra-shi noticed the 'sound' and tilted his head.

"""…"""

The three of us, myself included, silently looked toward my lower back—where, untouched, my rabbit dagger was moving on its own, its scabbard rattling. The crimson blade that housed the color 'Red.'

Next, my gaze shifted.

"""…"""

The other two followed, and their eyes, along with mine, landed on… my right middle finger. The star sword's ring, emitting a faint glow. The soul-bound ring that housed the color 'White.'

I had far too many memories of this. Not just me, the one who had experienced it firsthand, but from their reactions, it seemed the other two had also seamlessly connected this to memories from video footage.

Their abnormal reaction that occurs during a raid against a 'Colored Monster.'

Which meant that right now, there was only one thing I should be pleading to the world for. And in the next moment, as I opened my mouth—

"Wait a min—"

—the answer that cut me off was nothing more than a single, playful 'transition.'

---

Just to be clear, the rabbit dagger and Stella were just warning him, "This is bad," it's not like the protagonist caused this or anything.

Anyway, we're heading into the climax from here, but I'm almost certain to be posting in bursts. It's hopeless, just give up.