kscans

Chapter 940 - At the Apex of the Foundation Tree, Part Two

And then, an unpleasant sensation.

I’d felt it during our initial exchange, but this time, the feeling was so unnerving it could drain the blood from your face—a bizarre, utterly grotesque sensation for a virtual world.

To put it into words, it was like…

“Sora—!”

“I’m… I’m okay!”

…like actually cutting through flesh.

The feedback was so realistic that I instinctively worried for my partner as we passed each other. It was nothing like the usual Arcadia experience, where the ‘impact of battle’ is conveniently lightened for gameplay purposes.

Her reply, tossed back from a distance as we swapped positions, was an affirmation, yet she couldn’t hide the wavering shock in her voice. But of course she couldn't.

Even I was spooked. Coupled with its indescribable appearance and overall aura, this thing was clearly more than it seemed—

“—!”

An instinct flared in my mind, and my right hand and both legs moved on pure reflex.

Deduction reflected, memory synchronized, route constructed, aim complete. Both launched. With a stomp of my foot, I propelled my body off the floor; with a flick of my arm, I shot a “Shadow Thread” from my fingertips. I fired it, ran with it, and let it fly.

First, I dodged. Evading the something that had tried to crush me.

Then, a moment later, I felt the impact. A fraction slower than my own movement but still as fast as a bullet, the tip of my [Nine Tail] touched the hand of my partner as she hung suspended in the air.

“Hmph!” “Ngh…!”

Our movements were almost perfectly synchronized. The “Shadow Thread” stretched taut between us like a rubber band as we yanked with all our might, pulling Sora’s body toward my grounded position.

And second, we dodged again. Evading the something that had tried to crush Sora mid-air.

What was that?

Seriously, I have no idea.

Catching her avatar, retreating, and communicating without a word—all in one motion. The only thing we both knew for certain was that we had successfully weathered the first threat sent our way.

There had been a faint, almost imperceptible sense of wrongness in the space around us. It was a subtle premonition, but one that both Sora and I were attuned enough to notice.

But the power was on another level.

That something that just shook the ground and made the air tremble—a direct hit would have likely meant instant death, or critical condition at best. This bastard was going all out from the very start.

In other words, we had to do the same.

“—Ngh!”

A tidal wave of fists filled the void. A barrage from the “Twin Fists” surged forth with enough pressure to warp the air, hammering into the goddess statue, whose mind might be moving but whose body remained utterly still.

The absurd power would have easily staggered an average half-raid boss… but…

“…I see. There’s some kind of trick to it.”

“It seems so…”

We fell back slightly to observe. Even under the assault of more than twenty soaring punches, the visible sign of its life force—its HP bar—had barely budged.

…No, it was worse than that.

“—Okay. Looks like we don’t have time to leisurely observe, huh!”

“I’m with you!”

Little by little, it was moving in reverse. In other words, its HP was continuously regenerating.

—Functionally and emotionally, that’s the one thing you should never give a boss enemy. It was a sentiment I, a long-time gamer from before Arcadia, shared with Sora. And so, with a shared, wry smile, we kicked off the floor once more.

And in that very instant.

““—Crossing!””

The twin shields already on our arms split apart with a sharp clang, and a golden chain shot between them.

Mine on my right arm, Sora’s on her left. The partner-exclusive equipment, [Twaibolt Mirari]—its latent abilities were the integration of our STR stats and the sympathetic resonance of some of our senses.

Then, a familiar and reassuring phosphorescence enveloped Sora’s avatar, boosting her abilities even further.

[Scareless] activated.

Now, let us begin.

““—Kensei Itto…!””

I drew [Samidorizuki] with my left hand—[Rocket] and [Ignition] activated in parallel with Matoi, creating a pseudo-Shukuchi. Kesshiki Ittoryu, Seventh Strike Kai: Kiraboshi…

And I’ll modify it even further!

““—Chusei!””

[Eyes Oculus] opened my golden right eye, tripling my acceleration. Route constructed, movements set, resolve complete.

Now, leap.

A thousand blades deployed all at once. They formed a perfect sphere of magic swords around the enemy—orderly, precise, without a single motion out of place. Into this sphere, I, a meteor, plunged, becoming a ricocheting ray of light that never touched the ground.

Through our repeated joint training, I had memorized the movement of every last magic sword.

I had the confidence that my feet would never miss their mark, and the trust that Sora would manipulate her swords with unerring precision. With both in ample supply, there was no hesitation in my legs or my blade.

And there was more.

This celestial sphere of magic swords was not merely a ‘prison’ that was meaningless against a stationary opponent.

Every time the star drew a line, the stardust it left behind became a chain of follow-up attacks. Every sand-sword that transitioned from foothold to blade was tethered to my soaring form, never straying from the enemy.

Haru-Sora Combination Art, “Kensei Itto,” Part One: Space-Dominating, Infinite-Chaining Sword—Chusei.

—It was less a technique and more a ridiculously brutish display of force that pushed our respective talents and blessed equipment to the forefront. It was, to be frank, not what you’d call a refined strategy…

But one thing was certain.

A monster that could take a hit like that and still keep a straight face—

` `

…well, you wouldn’t find many of those, even in Arcadia.

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The Haru-Sora combination art is `Kensei Itto` (Sword Star One-Sword). The Sora-Haru combination art is `Cradle Alter`.

As usual, the latter was named with the protagonist's penchant for cool-sounding German, but the former… That one has been in planning & training for a long time, conceived as a way for the two of them to reach their master, Ui-sama, the Sword Saint. So the name is a nod to her.

A shooting star (Haru) and a magic sword (Sora), first joining hands to catch up to the Sword Saint (`Kensei`).

By the way, `Chusei` had poor compatibility against the Sword Saint, so she broke through it on her first look.