Chapter 211: Together Under Heaven — Part Seventeen
The black and white spiral crashes into Ctarnidd. It was a blow that had slain Lycagon—even if that Lycagon was only a duplicate. Even Ctarnidd would... but things aren't that simple.
Eight towers... no, that's wrong. Eight massive tentacles, each dozens of meters long, wrap around Armageddon, smothering it.
Obviously, Armageddon isn't something you can just touch. And yet, the eight tentacles envelop the effects of Armageddon, grinding and squeezing, even as the attack eats away at their own substance.
Psyger-0: "No... way...!"
And then, with a weak pop, the effects of Armageddon are crushed out of existence by Ctarnidd, far too easily given the attack's intended power. Did he disperse the damage? Have the tentacles take on the informational load of Armageddon to reduce the damage to his main body?
But even Ctarnidd didn't come out of that unscathed. The eight tentacles lie limply on the ground, crushing the colosseum's seats as they collapse, and Ctarnidd's main body is clearly worn down.
But Armageddon wasn't enough to defeat Ctarnidd. He's not dead. He still has strength left.
Sunraku: "Put me down, Araba! You go get Rei-shi!!"
Araba: "Me!?"
Sunraku: "You're the only one who can drag that heavy knight out of there no matter what!!"
This is bad. Really, really bad. I'm pretty sure that move of hers has a drawback—something like being unable to use skills after using it, regardless of success or failure. Having our main attacker benched in this situation is honestly a problem. A huge problem.
Sunraku: "Everyone fall back! Put some distance between us!"
We need to regroup. Not even having time to heal, I put distance between myself and Ctarnidd with only 1 HP left.
I look back and see Araba swimming toward us, dragging Rei-shi, who's now in her earthen-colored armor and wielding her sword.
Sunraku: "Strategy meeting!"
Before Ctarnidd can recover from his flinch animation, we retreat to the outside of the colosseum.
Psyger-0: "I'm sorry... Those tentacles just... appeared out of nowhere, and my aim... got thrown off..."
Sunraku: "...Forget that. What we need to do is think about what comes next."
I can't blame Rei-shi. At that moment, she was the only one on the front line. And anyone would panic if massive tentacles suddenly unfolded right in front of them—hell, even I would. If anything, we should be praising her for not missing completely.
Sunraku: "Alright, let's be blunt. Tell me the condition of everyone's weapons and items. How worn down are you?"
Rust: "...My magic bow's almost done too. Maybe twenty shots left."
Mold: "And me... I can still buff Rust a few more times on her own, but..."
Mold and Rust are at their limits... They're returning players, so they might not have stocked up on that many items to begin with.
Sunraku: "Akitsu Akane?"
Akitsu Akane: "Um, well... I've almost used up all my Blade-Hiding Art... I-I'm so sorry!"
Sunraku: "I'm not mad, and I'm not blaming you, so it's fine. Just tell me what you can still use."
Akitsu Akane: "Yes! If I use up all my recovery items, I can still fire off Dragon-Might Breath!"
Sunraku: "I see... Listen, Akitsu Akane. Rei-shi and I have both used our trump cards. Rei-shi is severely weakened from the blowback, and I used up all my items healing up..."
Akitsu Akane: "Th-this is a huge pinch, isn't it..."
Sunraku: "Yeah. A huge pinch. Well, I still have one ace up my sleeve... but right now, you've probably got the highest damage output out of all of us."
Akitsu Akane: "M-Me!?"
Sunraku: "Stay. Calm down. Alright, deep breath in... There. Calm now? Yeah. Your trump card is a trump card, especially after you leveled up from fighting Lycagon and all that."
Akitsu Akane: "Th-That's a huge responsibility!"
That's right. It's a huge responsibility.
The NPCs are about where I expected them to be. If I had to mention something, I discovered that the odachi Araba carries is a special weapon that can restore its durability by consuming MP.
A few of the players were eyeing Nereis pretty intensely (myself included).
And finally, there's Rei-shi, who's a shadow of her former self.
Sunraku: "Honestly... how are you?"
...I'll be honest. Right now, Rei-shi is nothing but dead weight.
The penalty for failing to meet Armageddon's conditions. Not only are her skills sealed, but even her magic is locked out. Her stats are all debuffed, and she can't even remove her current gear, which has pathetically low stats.
Sunraku: "I hate to say it... but at this rate, I don't think you can even act as a shield."
Psyger-0: "......I... am aware."
As a hardcore player, Rei-shi knows this too. That's why she's silent for a moment before answering.
Psyger-0: "I can... still fight..."
Sunraku: "Got it."
It's not an exaggeration or a cover-up. I'm not about to doubt a reply backed by solid reasoning. If one of SLF's top players says she can do it, then she can do it.
Just then, the already loud sound of destruction grows louder. It's been playing as background music since the start of our strategy meeting, and now it's finally getting close. That means what you think it means.
Sunraku: "Alright, the Ctarnidd elimination operation is finally in its last sprint. No 'win or lose' bullshit."
Because NPCs don't respawn? That's part of it.
Because we might not get another shot at him? That's also part of it.
But the main reason is more fundamental. We have every right to be angry.
Sunraku: "He dragged us to the bottom of the ocean and kept us trapped for seven days. We need to make him pay, expenses and all. Even if I have to beat him with my bare hands and bite him to death, we're winning this...!"
"Right!" A chorus of agreement and resolve echoes through Ruluiath, loud enough to rival the sounds of destruction.
I turn around and see Ctarnidd approaching, swinging his eight tentacles at anything within reach. Using the tentacles as legs, his massive body is practically floating in the air. The ring of bones seems larger than when we first saw it, probably to accommodate the tentacles...
Sunraku: "...Leonardo da Vinci's..."
Akitsu Akane: "...Ah! The painting of that weird old man lying spread-eagled!"
Akitsu Akane: "Pfft! Snrk, hehehe... Oww! Rust! Thrusting your hand into the gap between my ribs is not funny, it hurts!"
Are you guys okay...? I don't feel any anger coming from you...
Eliminating unforeseen circumstances as much as possible is the mark of a pro. But unforeseen circumstances will never be reduced to zero.
You can't eliminate probabilities that are less than one percent. Even if you corner your opponent with overwhelming superiority in both quantity and quality, there's always a gag-like possibility that a meteor will suddenly fall and cause massive damage to only you. We're not omnipotent; we can't eliminate that.
That said, that's a discussion for reality, where "what ifs" are around every corner. In a game, where events that aren't implemented can't occur (unless it's a bug), a perfect strategy is possible.
But... yes, but. This is SLF. In this world, built on a reality that's a muddy mix of the developers' obsessions with other, darker elements, unforeseen circumstances emerge as a danger that must be accounted for.
Psyger-0: "I'm... splurging...!"
- Glory of the Lion King [Regulus Gloria]: Greatly raises all stats.
- Countless Resurgences [Leover Wake]: Grants stat buffs proportional to the number and severity of status ailments.
- Great Courage in Small Hands [Exaggeration Brave]: Greatly raises all stats when fighting an enemy larger than oneself.
- Spirit's Reward [Fairy Ward]: The more consumed stats (HP, MP, stamina, etc.) are depleted, the more non-consumed stats (STR, etc.) increase.
It's like watching stacks of money being thrown into the air. No, that's an illusion. What I'm actually watching is a massive number of Magic Scrolls—disposable magic media—being used up in quick succession.
I see. The limitation from Armageddon only applies to the "activation" of magic and skills. But Magic Scrolls don't involve Rei-shi casting magic. She only provides the MP; the one doing the actual casting is the parchment... the parchment?
Psyger-0: "It's... my final resort... for when... all else fails. It won't... last long... but I can... fight."
Akitsu Akane: "That looks clearly expensive... How much did it...?"
Psyger-0: "Eight... figures..."
At least ten million mani, ladies and gentlemen. Guess it really was stacks of money flying around.
The rust-colored knight, now wreathed in an obscene number of magical effects, rises powerfully to her feet.
The restrictions mean Rei-shi can't take off her armor or let go of her sword. But true to her hardcore nature, she apparently didn't bother putting her sledgehammer into her inventory—she just left it lying out.
By the game's judgment, Rei-shi is equipped with her greatsword. In this case, the sledgehammer she left out isn't treated as a weapon, but more like an object. It's possible to use it as a weapon, but you can't use skills associated with that weapon type.
But that doesn't matter to Rei-shi right now. Since she can't use skills at all, a hammer with a higher damage multiplier—even if skills are unusable—is more useful as a weapon than a greatsword with a reduced damage multiplier.
Sunraku: "Alright..."
Rei-shi joins the front line. Araba and Ceecrue take the role of front guard, while Akitsu Akane and Mold hide to avoid drawing aggro.
Rust is moving around with Emul on her head, waiting for a moment where she can guarantee a hit since she can't fire many arrows.
So what am I doing? I'm off to the side, fiddling with my menu.
The key to this plan is a single blow from Akitsu Akane, honed through battles against numerous powerful foes like Lycagon—her Apology Cannon... Dragon-Might Breath. And to ensure it lands, we need to make Ctarnidd flinch, to stop him in his tracks.
Not just any flinch. A massive flinch that'll keep him immobilized for ten seconds.
And in our worn-down team of Fugutaiten, I'm the only one who can make that happen.
Sunraku: "I'll knock Ctarnidd out in three minutes. Huge responsibility... This might be rough because of Lycagon’s Contusion, but I'm counting on you."
Let's make that dream from the other day a reality.
Sunraku: "No holding back on the energy. Time to go wild... [Seiryu]!!"