kscans

Chapter 861 - Re: Two Swords

From the very first floor, it was designed to reject beginners (Lv. 1) based on sheer skill. By the tenth floor, a lineup of powerful bosses capable of defeating even high-level players was arranged… In such a Key Tree Maze, there lay the supposed final floor.

In short, it was the 100th floor, whose existence was considered a certainty due to the “level up with each floor cleared” system. Whether anything existed above that was an unsolvable mystery, so the most difficult predictions circulating in the world were almost exclusively about that very place.

Just what kind of ridiculous boss enemy was waiting? Was it perhaps a raid-class monster that a six-person party couldn't even hope to challenge?

Speculation, assumption, prediction, delusion, fantasy.

A discussion for killing time where countless thoughts mingled—both utterly meaningless and extremely meaningful. It would likely take some time before the answer was revealed to the world.

Why? The answer was simple.

"—Ui!"

"Leave it to me…!"

The Key Tree Maze 100th Floor Boss Enemy: [Apocryphate Vermicane].

It was because the duo of ‘The Strongest’ and ‘The Supreme,’ the first to have an audience with this ridiculous, tyrannical, and grotesque being, had no intention of revealing the spoilers to the world too soon.

Swung down from high above were ten back-arms, five pairs on the left and right—a quarter of a Thousand-Armed Kannon.

A mysterious substance, or perhaps a semi-material magical existence—hard, lustrous, yet with an uncanny biological feel that stirred a primal sense of unease. Its ‘weapons,’ made of a silver material with an indescribable texture, extended and retracted without a sound, closing in on its opponent at tremendous speed—

In response, a single ‘katana’ met the attack. Answering that unwavering trust was—

"«Seven—"

Unparalleled skill.

"—Stars»!"

Seven flashes in an instant. Over an hour into the battle, the [Sword Saint] still emotionlessly slashed away the lethal divine arms that attacked her, taking an additional step and pressing forward with the same momentum.

The offense and defense reversed. Waiting for her was—

" "

A goddess statue with a broken form.

A different kind of strangeness from the unknown they had faced half a month ago. Not only were its intentions and emotions unreadable, but its very ‘existence’ that could be perceived by sight and sense was faint.

A ridiculous scale, over ten meters tall. Even with its shocking design—a divinity that made one call it a “god statue” without hesitation, yet possessing deliberately monstrous traits like being ‘faceless,’ ‘many-armed,’ ‘one-winged,’ and having a ‘single leg’ of a tree rooted to the floor instead of feet—it was still just that.

An indescribable supernatural entity that caused reason to error and instinct to feel terror… but the time for being bewildered by the unknown or paralyzed by fear had been cut away an hour ago.

"The final strike…!—"

Instant regeneration. The remains of the severed back-arms vanished, and as if it were only natural, the attack was unleashed again, repeating the scene from a moment before. And so, as expected—

"—«Yuifu»"

Intercepting it was one of the two legendary swords of the virtual world.

A single, ultimate flash, followed by a chaotic storm of aftershocks. The moment the divine hand touched the blade, it was obliterated, and a gale of sword-wind erupted, slashing apart and blowing away everything the “enemy” sent at her.

A continuous annihilation executed in an instant. The grace period until the back-arms regenerated was just over six seconds.

And so… if a mere opening like that was all it took, the undisputed tag team of Arcadia's two great titans wouldn't have been dancing for over an hour.

" "

"Hngh—…!"

An emergency defense, holding her katana aloft.

The instant the [Sword Saint] read a pure, unparalleled ‘threat’—neither intention nor emotion—from the Pseudo-God Statue (Vermicane) that had smiled with its faceless visage, an invisible, immense force struck the raised tachi.

This was the 100th floor, meaning her accumulated status was the indisputable complete version (Lv. 100). Therefore, the small, supreme one's body was in perfect condition, lacking no power.

—In other words, the fact that her katana was so easily broken and she was sent flying was an undeniable reality that occurred even after she had exerted her full strength.

"Adorn a single swing…!"

How many blades had been broken to reach this point? Believing it an honor to fall on the battlefield, she offered a silent prayer of thanks to the ‘katana’ that had fulfilled its duty and summoned the next.

Her will to continue the fight was unclouded. Furthermore, she was—

"«Forte—"

Not alone.

"—Rouge»!"

The blue one ran down the path the [Sword Saint] had opened, turning red before the enemy. Then, the ‘sword’ housed a focused power, a small blade sufficient for a diminutive figure to challenge a giant, and it flashed—

" "

A flash at the neck. As long as it took a human form, no matter how broken its appearance and aura, there was hope that this spot was a weak point. The Pseudo-God Statue, deeply wounded in such a location, smiled…

"«Perfect…—"

The twirling ‘sword’ smiled back.

"—Espada»!"

A running flash of the sword, an eruption of golden light, and the sound of severing echoing across the battlefield.

And its HP bar had one segment left. With a smile lingering on its faceless head as it flew through the air, the statue's body moved as if nothing was wrong, reaching for the [Sword Queen] who was immobilized in post-skill lag.

Slowly, within an instant that was less than a second.

And indeed, Iris smiled—

"«Tengen»"

Entrusting the next second of her future to the invisible towering blade that rushed past her side, she landed lightly and unharmed on the floor. Raising her head… she saw the figure of [Apocryphate Vermicane] floating in the air in her place, its “roots” torn apart.

And so, she chanted,

"'In the name of the Sword King, I now display divine might here.'"

The one and only prayer that transcends miracles.

"Weaving the world… —[Arcadia, Ideal Land Embracing the Old Moon]!"

The manifested flash of the silver moon indeed dissolved everything into light.

◇You have defeated [Apocryphate Vermicane]◇

◇100th Floor cleared◇

◇Complete conquest of the Foundation Tree Road confirmed◇

And thus, another dazzling legend was written in the virtual world of Arcadia.

---

By the way, Vermicane's total HP was three large gauges, which is equivalent to thirty basic bars. Maybe I'll write the detailed capture scene from the protagonist's side someday.