Chapter 264: Tag While Battered and Bruised
Sunraku: "Uwooooh!?"
The self-proclaimed Goldhuneenay taught me with her own body... that if that thing catches you, you die. I mean, anyone could see that coming, so the uselessness of her death stings, but it felt like one of those forced story events, so I hope she rests in peace.
CLANG! The sound of fang striking fang — not a noise any snake’s jaws should ever make — rings out right behind me.
I had a vague feeling things were looking pretty hopeless, so taking off Lapistella Cloak as a precaution was the right call. At my current position, if my cloak had been flapping around, I'd definitely have been bitten.
Sunraku: "Ah, you idiot — don't cut me off up ahead! That'll get me killed, dammit!"
Timing the position just right, I fire a crystal bullet while running just before the fist crashes into the ground. By moving forward between the shot and the impact, I shift where the fist comes down so it strikes exactly the spot where it can trigger the crystal bullet.
I leap onto the crystal pillar and jump. A dragon serpent charges at me from the front, mouth gaping wide to swallow me whole — I dodge by activating Flit Float in midair. The moment my feet touch the wall, I activate Gravity Zero, and with Overflow kicking in too, I launch into a run at blistering speed.
Sunraku: "Shit, did I mess up...?!"
I accidentally ran toward the Rabituza side. If I'm gonna die anyway, should I have run toward Goldhuneenay's side to gather intel? No, wait — if I can make it all the way back to Rabituza, won't things work out somehow?
The one invading Rabituza this whole time was the self-proclaimed Goldhuneenay — the offshoot. Since the real one is currently in the middle of chasing me, there doesn't seem to be any rule that Goldhuneenay can't enter. So why did she leave the invasion to her offshoot all this time?
Ah, of course. Vash is in Rabituza. Ten to one, the Unique Monster Vysache is there. That was probably acting as a deterrent.
Actually, looking at Ctarnidd's Tome of Truth and Goldhuneenay... uh... "Tombguard," "Nightslayer," "Sky Ruler," "Abyss," "Doom Echo," "Inexhaustible"... so would Vysache be "the Undying"?
Sunraku: "Gahhh, that was close!?"
Dammit, bulldozing through with toughness as absurd as it looks...!
I dodged a dragon serpent that smashed face-first into the wall by using Formula Drift on the wall surface — that much was fine. But since I was already speeding up and basically made myself accelerate even more, it turned into less of a drift and more of a full-on skid.
Sunraku: "W-Whoa, whoa, whoa... Oof!?"
For an instant, my body goes completely out of control. But if I panic here, I'll wipe out hard. Stay calm... Oh, hey. Perfect timing — there's a path.
Sunraku: "Borrowing your back, snake bastard!"
The moment the cooldown ends, I restart it without a moment's pause. The leaping power boosted by Possessed by the Great Asura King — which I've been running ragged nonstop — launches me from the ceiling toward the ground.
The instant both feet leave the surface, gravity — corrected from the warped direction caused by the skill — yanks me straight downward. But right beneath me is a dragon serpent raising its head... Dammit, they all look the same, so I'm getting mixed up. I twist my body midair, do a flip, and ride down sliding along the dragon serpent's back.
Shit. Even that landing would've failed if I hadn't used Moment Sight. I need to save it for when things are truly dangerous, or the cooldown could screw me over... Oh? Well, hello there — a poison greatsword coming from behind.
Sunraku: "Uguh!?"
Store Gilta Brille! Damn it, my left arm is done for!
Like the self-proclaimed Goldhuneenay, that poison seems to be a "curse." Lycagon’s Contusion has been resisting the poison like crazy this whole time, but because of it, my left arm won't stop feeling like there's an electric current running through it.
The damage... did I manage to survive it thanks to Luck, maybe? My last safety net just got burned. Hell, the real one can throw poison weapons?! That's cheap as hell!
Goldhuneenay: "First, the left arm... Fufufu. Now, weep and wail as you flee, little mouse?"
Sunraku: "You little shit..."
I oughta give her another flick to the forehead. But what now? The resistance is blocking a fatal debuff, but like this, my left hand is completely useless.
Sunraku: "I can't even figure out the clear condition to begin with..."
I beat the self-proclaimed Goldhuneenay... well, technically she got beaten. But whatever, let's leave it at that. So what the hell do I do about this one, who's currently giving me the chase of my life? If this is a forced-loss event, then so be it. But since the scenario is called "Rabituza Defensive," it's way more likely that it only counts as cleared once this massive battle is over.
Which means either way, unless I do something about Goldhuneenay, this won't end — and I can't end it.
Three choices: run and survive... fight... or choose death... Oh? Lights? Ahh, right. They said they were pushing the front line forward. If the Vorpal Bunnies' defense succeeded, then they're close to where I was fighting the self-proclaimed Goldhuneenay... Isn't that really bad?
Sunraku: "Everyone ruuuun!!"
What I'm doing right now is basically a monster train, isn't it?! Shit! Plan B!
Goldhuneenay's spawn fell into chaos. The cracked curse that had been eating away at the Vorpal Bunnies vanished.
That meant the one who'd leaped into the enemy's midst, far beyond the front line, had defeated the source of the curse.
Some had half their faces cracked. Others had abdomens nearly shattered. The worst cases had cracks all over their bodies — one wrong move and they might break apart entirely.
And this poison was contagious, like a sickness. Because of that, the rabbits couldn't return from this dark cave, couldn't see their families.
But that all ends now, in this moment. The Vorpal Bunnies' weapons surged with strength as they leaped for joy. It was overflowing with hope. The confused spawn of Goldhuneenay being swept away completely was not a distant future.
Then the last one — a cobra-like serpent with multiple heads — had the final drop of its HP shaved away by a great hammer and a great scythe, sinking to the ground. A strange silence spread.
The Vorpal Bunnies all turned their gaze forward. There, a Vorpal Bunny carrying a long-bladed knife that anyone could tell at a glance was a fine weapon (rare weapon) slowly raised the hand holding it.
Aydward: "Our... vict—"
Sunraku: "Everyone ruuuun!!"
The atmosphere, just starting to relax, was crushed under a wave of tension. Because the echoing warning had reached their ears. And because, at the same time, their instincts screamed of the sinister presence closing in.
Akitsu Akane: "Wh-What?! What's going on?!"
Sunraku: "Soooorry! I kinda brought something really bad with me!"
An apologetic-sounding voice rang out from the darkness. Along with it, a roar — like the sound of a monk’s sack stuffed with meat being dragged across the ground, multiplied thousands of times over — grew louder and louder, its noise and vibration swelling... until, at last, the torchlight placed by the Vorpal Bunnies exposed them.
Sunraku: "Uwooooh, Plan B!"
A half-naked human dashes through like greased lightning. The man, wearing a mask shaped like a bird, is being hunted by four dragon-like serpents. Though his left arm hangs limp, shockingly, he's nearly unscathed as he moves to a corner of the tunnel... to a spot where the four dragon serpents bunch together into a single cluster. He moves his right hand, tracing something in the empty air.
The next instant, he readies a pure-white mantle and jet-black gauntlets that materialize from nowhere. Without a trace of fear before the surging dragon serpents, he cocks his fist back.
Sunraku: "All remaining reserves... seventy-five percent! Exceed Charge — Reject!!"
An iron hook punch, baring hidden gold, catches the dragon serpent square in the side of the face. For the briefest instant, silence — as if everything had stopped. Then, the next moment, the dragon serpent is blown sideways by the burst of a colossal amount of energy.
The falling domino passes its collapse to the next. The dragon serpent, struck directly by a seventy-five-percent-power Reject hook from the revived super-technology, reels backward as if blasted away. The sudden motion of its massive bulk tangles up the three dragon serpents right beside it, their bodies coiling into knots...
And the one who, with a single move, temporarily disabled all four dragon serpents?
Sunraku: "At times like this, the goddess of RNG really smiles way too hard, doesn't she...?"
Goldhuneenay: "Clinging so stubbornly to life... Truly disgusting."
Sunraku: "Ah, I know this one. It's the 'head gets crushed like an apple' one."
No one had noticed that one was right beside them. Just as a snake hunting its prey creeps silently across the ground — the pure-white snake girl grabs the head of the human she has decided to kill... Sunraku... and lifts him up.
Her expression holds no hesitation, no sentiment — exactly like when she trampled the life of the offshoot that had tormented the Vorpal Bunnies.
Goldhuneenay: "Now then, shall we make a blood-red flower bloom?"
Sunraku: "E-Even if you take me down, a second, a third Sunraku will...!"
Crrk. A damage effect seeps from Sunraku's head...
THOOOM!!!
The next instant — a great hammer strike loaded with skill effects slams into the pure-white girl. She may possess monstrous strength, but her delicate body still conforms to the average weight of a petite girl. Because of that, the pure-white snake girl is sent flying with ease. Her hand loosens involuntarily, and Sunraku’s head is freed.
Psyger-0: "You're... an enemy, right? It's fine if I call you an enemy... right? ...You're an enemy."
Sunraku: "Saig— no, Rei-shi. I'm swallowing about a dozen questions, but... good job..."
Akitsu Akane: "A-Are you okay?! Um, Sunraku-san too, and the one who got dramatically blasted away too!"
Sunraku: "If that was enough to kill her, neither me nor the self-proclaimed Goldhuneenay would've struggled so much... That's the genuine Goldhuneenay."
As if stretching her body after waking up, the pure-white snake girl straightens her neck, which Psyger-0's full swing had bent at a disturbing angle.
Goldhuneenay: "Aah... How disgusting."
Execution → Doubt → Confirmation → Self-Resolution.
A woman who thinks after she swings — Psyger-0.
Grudge Poison