kscans

Chapter 908 - The Azure Star Dancing in the Fiery Banquet, Part 5

—So, when an enemy with unknown behavior and unknown abilities comes charging at you, what is the correct course of action for a person to take?

In most cases, the model of a wise player would be to calmly retreat, or rather, to brazenly execute a full-blown escape.

However, at this moment, I had a card I could play before resorting to that.

Activate new optional active skill: [Altera-Notis].

Instantly, an instance expansion of my sixth sense was drilled into my head. And so, I kicked away the slight sense of unease that came with this new, still unfamiliar sensation.

My gaze locked forward, tracking the crimson demon.

I 'memorized' the quirks in its body's movements as it charged, slamming one piece of 100% certain knowledge into a folder in my brain—

I entrusted myself to a flash of 'intuition' and initiated an evasive maneuver to match its brandished, flaming arm.

Retreating is bad, left and right are tight, and ducking means getting incinerated… Okay, then it has to be straight up.

In the instant I made that split-second decision, from what I could see with my eyes, it was still at a distance where it couldn't touch me even with its arm fully extended. But just like its kicking leg during the charge, the demon's elbow exploded, and in that regard, a crimson glow burst forth with magnificent speed.

And so, the phenomenon caused by that crude and violent swing was…

"—Huh."

…a shriek as a heatwave scraped the floor, and a momentary heat haze that formed in a wide, undefined area in front of it.

From directly above, I had a clear view. And upon seeing it again with a focused gaze, I felt like I was starting to get a handle on the true nature of the power it possessed.

—Whoa, getting all fired up all of a sudden, are we?

The alarm bells of 'intuition' rang, so I used [Rocket]. From the several destinations that popped into my head, I chose the one that seemed correct and, this time, landed in its blind spot as it swung its left arm after its right.

In other words, right behind it. And then, for barely a second…

"—————!"

Was it frustration at the pipsqueak who had vanished from its sight, or irritation at having to wastefully swing its arm because it couldn't stop the rocket thrust that had already ignited in its left elbow?

Consulting my 'intuition' once more, I had already pressed my left hand, equipped with the [An=Ru Galta (Hypothesis: The Wedge-Armor that Sings of the Royal Road)], against Volkidun's back while it was still in its attack motion.

"Hmm…"

My avatar, including my left hand, took no damage. After getting a perfect look at it unleashing its 'heat haze' in the wrong direction, I reignited my [Rocket].

And, while I was at it, I shut down my temporary sixth sense, [Altera-Notis].

"I've pretty much figured it out—it's probably heat materialization."

And with that, I leaped in a single bound back to my allies—the [Twin Fists] and the 'Three Laws' users—who were waiting in formation, and announced the hypothesis I had just tested up close.

And, in response to my concise and sudden words…

""I see.""

"So that's the trick behind that strange feeling."

"Well, as expected of you, Haru-sama."

Setting aside the praise from one person who seems to have a tendency to unconditionally affirm whatever I say, the three reliable men all voiced their understanding in unison.

Of course they would. They were all rankers, exceptional players.

Having witnessed my extremely blatant, body-on-the-line experiment, it was probably child's play for each of them to swiftly and precisely deduce the answer on their own.

Including Gen-san, of course.

He might have a cute side, but my martial arts instructor's combat IQ is naturally off the charts.

"Alright, so with that—!"

Our exchange of words and thoughts took less than ten seconds. In the meantime, the demon's attention had shifted to Sora-san, who had bridged the gap with a furious barrage of magic swords.

In that case, there was only one thing for me to do.

"Heeeave—!"

"Hh—ho!"

All I had to do was slap away the fiend trying to lay a hand on my precious, overly-heated partner. That creepy, grinning demon is strictly forbidden from touching cute girls, you hear me!

The scales tipped, and power surged into my dashing avatar.

And in that instant, Volkidun—who was gathering the same crimson glow in its right arm that it had aimed at me ten seconds ago—had its fiery face, which for this one moment was likely not that hot…

"Get the hell outta here!!"

…blown away by a single palm strike. A direct hit from my master's signature penetrating blow, [Shinden].

"And well, that's about the long and short of it."

"W-well, I-I get it, but…!"

If a few concise words were enough for Gen-san and the others, then for Sora, no explicit words were even necessary. That was my conviction. After finishing my attack, I gave my left hand a little wave and saw the demon go flying beautifully from the sideways blow it had taken mid-attack…

A smile crept onto my face at her hoped-for reaction to my deliberately casual explanation.

'Heat materialization'—in short, I suspected that all the flames the boss manipulated were transformed into 'things' with clear physical contact properties and mass.

The invisible 'armor' that had blocked our repeated attacks, and the 'fist' that had clearly struck the floor, creating a roar and a tremor—both made sense under that assumption.

And, most importantly, the chink in its armor was the fact that 'manipulated heat materializes.'

If all the heat radiating from a being made of fire was materialized, we shouldn't have been able to get close to it in the first place. Therefore, there must be some kind of rule for its power to take effect, and I was able to roughly grasp that by observing its attacks earlier.

To put it simply, the 'armor' it wears at close range is a passive, always-on type. And the 'hands' it extends by focusing its body's heat are an active, on-demand type.

It's a simple matter once you've figured it out, but it's a fairly powerful ability, especially since most of it is invisible. Just like a certain tiger, invisible fatal attacks are just cheating.

—And well, with that out of the way.

"So, that's the deal."

"I get it! But if you're going to put it into words, please say something other than just being casual about it!"

We've basically cracked its gimmick. So from here on, it's truly time for the conquest phase.

"Alright, we messed around in the beginning, so let's pick up the pace!"

"Um, really, please don't forget that you were in serious danger a moment ago, okay!?"

With my cute partner by my side, let's bring this demon down, and fast.