kscans

Chapter 941 - At the Apex of the Foundation Tree, Part Three

A tingling sensation made the hair on my skin stand up. Any player in Arcadia knows this isn't some psychological manifestation born from imagination.

In this world, fighting spirit, hostility, malice, and murderous intent are transmitted as palpable pressure. That’s why any player who feels that intense pressure on their skin has the same reflexive thought.

Namely—

“Crap!”

The change came instantly; the crisis unfolded in a flash. The moment the giant, featureless goddess statue before me offered a grotesque smile, the ten arms—five pairs—blooming from its back all vanished.

““—!””

To be precise, it seemed like they vanished. It was an absurd level of speed… No, more than simple velocity, it was the zero-to-hundred acceleration I was all too familiar with.

When caught off guard by that perfected transition from ‘stillness to motion,’ the human mind easily loses track of events. Being hit with the same bastardly tactic I usually employ myself, I found a moment to wryly reflect on my own misdeeds and think, so this is what it feels like—but of course,

“An=Re Galta!”

I’d save that reflection for later. Right now, I had to focus.

My golden right eye closed; my silver left eye opened. I switched my eyelids like a toggle, changing my thought process from acceleration to attack prediction, and simultaneously entered Full Armament with [An=Re Galta, True Theory: Armor Singing of the King's Key].

As my threefold thought speed vanished, my eyes caught the ten extending arms a split second after they started moving, now perceiving them at a threefold pace. …But it was no problem.

[Twaibolt Mirari]—thanks to the golden chain that connects our bonds and senses, my silver eye, now imbued with the power of Sora’s amber eyes, could follow even the Sword Saint’s blade without thought acceleration.

Threat approaching. Movements ‘memorized.’ Solution protocol, initiate.

“—AaaRAAAAHHH!”

Shield in my right hand, sword in my left. I swapped [Samidorizuki] for the greatsword form of [An=Re Galta] and charged forward, my full plate armor clattering as I went all out. I parried and slashed away the silently approaching arms, closing the distance to the [Apocryphate Vermicane] in one second flat.

And then, another zero-point-one seconds to drive the greatsword’s tip into its gut.

“Four Winds, One Sword—!”

And for good measure, one more push.

Standing atop the embedded An=Re Galta, I summoned [Samidorizuki] in turn, raised it high… and drove the jade blade deep, unleashing a multi-chain release of external rotational output.

“Echo!!!”

A penetrating strike delivered through the blade. While the earth-running transmission sword is one aspect of its true form, this was the other half of what I sought from the third strike. Linking together the multi-layered power of ‘Kai’ to amplify it through resonance, then slamming the whole thing into its ‘core’—this demonic act was its true purpose.

And thus—

“Hah.”

A quick glance to check the results. The HP drop still wasn’t huge, but compared to before, it was significant enough to be called a critical hit. Still, it was far from satisfying.

So, as always, stopping was not an option.

[Rocket] re-ignited. I remotely recalled the two weapons I’d left embedded in its massive frame and once again dodged the invisible something from the start of the fight by a hair’s breadth, deactivating my silver eye and [Altera-Notis].

I had the rhythm down. From here on out, the shared senses from Sora’s ‘True Eye’ skill and her ‘Uplooking Amber Eye’—both of which terrifyingly enhance one’s ‘eyes’ in a broad sense—would be more than enough.

—…Right, I should probably check off one more thing on my list.

Sayaka-san was spot on. Whether I crushed them or sliced them, the ‘arms’ regenerated in the blink of an eye as their remnants vanished, and they were already coming at me again.

So, against the one leading the charge,

“Heeeave—ho!”

I met it head-on with a straight punch.

In response, its ‘palm’ opened as if to welcome my armored left fist, and…

“Knew it…!”

My hunch was dead on. The instant my fist and its ‘palm’ made contact, the armor of my [An=Re Galta, True Theory: Armor Singing of the King's Key]—all of it, from one end to the other—was completely blown away.

“Hah—”

My ears picked up a gasp of surprise from a distance, but,

“I’m good.”

“—ru… O-Oh, okay.”

No need to worry; my escape was already complete. I had blinked from far to near, regenerating my gauntlets and greaves while giving a brief status report.

And then,

“Weiss Schwarz.”

“—Schwert Kreis…!”

She answers the call. When I do what needs to be done, my partner responds with a perfect score.

I have no idea what kind of sensory organs it possesses. The ‘arms,’ which had seemed to hesitate for two seconds after losing track of me during my rocket-powered withdrawal, reactivated.

Having fixed their target, they once again accelerated from zero to a hundred. They easily tore through the prison of a thousand swords… and ten of those ‘power-canceling palms’ closed in, silent and swift.

Alright, focus. The shield on my right arm makes things a bit awkward, but it doesn't affect my finger movements. If I can't pull off a performance of this level while humming a tune—

““Fifth Tail!””

…my senior, the kitten-lady, would laugh at me.

The ‘formation’ had already been laid in parallel with the infinite trajectory of Chusei. From there, it was simple. All I had to do was pull the ‘threads’ tight.

And so, the shadow threads of [Nine Tail], scattered in layer after layer across the floor, soared upwards. Ignoring both the stationary main body and its freely moving arms, they entangled their prey.

` `

Forming the points of a pentagram, evenly spaced.

Giant towers of magic swords erupted from the floor with a roar, acting as anchors to wind the threads. The unbreakable shadow chains instantly sealed and bound the [Apocryphate Vermicane].

And for the finale of our coordinated assault.

It wasn't me or Sora who charged across the field—it was a lone fist-fighter who leaped to the forefront.

“HRAAAAAAAAHHH—!!!”

The logic was brutally simple. If a punch that could obliterate a monster with its mere shockwave were to land a direct hit on its target, what would happen? The answer was provided by…

…a shockwave so intense I had to shield my eyes, and a devastating roar so cataclysmic it felt like a meteor had struck, threatening to rupture my eardrums. And in addition,

` `

Voiceless, expressionless. The eerie, transcendental being was subjected to a ferocious punch to the face, forcing it into a massive backbend.

And as the back of its head slammed violently into the floor, a great tremor shook the entire area.

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So I'll just note the shocking fact that a certain top-tier melee DPS surpasses even this.