Chapter 285: Even Without That One, the World Moves On
Kyogoku: "...‘Young shoots, west and east—hone yourselves, step over fallen leaves, and bloom into great flowers.’ Hm."
Read only at face value, they were words of encouragement from the Sword Saint to those who would walk the path of the sword from then on. But to Kyogoku, they were nothing less than the feelings her grandfather had left for his granddaughter.
Kyogoku: "...‘The Fugaku style reduces mistakes by refining your own movements. Because of that, it does not look at the opponent’s humanity.’ Hm."
That was the true nature of the “sword” taught to her by someone she had met in a digital world—someone who was not her grandfather, yet had reproduced her grandfather’s sword before her eyes.
Only now did Kyogoku realize that this must have been why her grandfather had told her, “Don’t become like me.”
Surely it was a truth Kyogoku ought to have discovered for herself. A truth she might—or might not—have reached only after tracing her grandfather’s sword all the way to its end.
That was precisely why she still could not challenge the copy of her grandfather waiting as the true boss of the game he had left behind.
Only after surpassing, with a “sword” of her own, the despair her grandfather had reached in his final years would she have fulfilled her duty as his granddaughter. That was Kyogoku’s conclusion.
Kyogoku: "As for the name... well, ‘Kyo the Ultimate’ should be fine."
It was the sort of name acquaintances would very likely respond to with, “No, there’s no way you read it like that,” but Kyogoku was utterly convinced it was the height of modern chic.
Grandfather praised it too, after all.
She created her avatar and made data whose written name was simply her real name. Then Kyogoku descended into the world of a game that player Sunraku had recommended with an extraordinarily suspicious grin: “If you’re that desperate for slash-and-stab PK, there’s a game I’d absolutely love to recommend, you knooow?”
The game was Tsujigiri Capriccio: Online.
Kyo the Ultimate: "So basically, it’s a versus game where everyone splits into two factions?"
From what she had researched, it was a game designed around PK from the ground up.
That certainly did sound suited to her. Its controls were somewhat inferior to SLF’s, but not enough to interfere with swinging her sword.
As a place to train before challenging the copy of her grandfather—the opponent she had sworn she would someday surpass, though not yet—it seemed more than adequate.
But Kyogoku did not know.
She did not know that the player called Sunraku was an omnivorous gamer mocked as a “trash-game hunter.”
She did not know that the official site and strategy sites alike, as if they had coordinated it, were lined with text and screenshots practically proclaiming, “All the players get along wonderfully!”
And above all, she did not know that Bakumatsu—the game mocked as having a “shogunate in terminal condition”—was nothing remotely that sweet...!
Kyo the Ultimate: "Hmm. For now, I guess I’ll start with the tutorial—"
???: "WELCOOOOME DIVINE PUNISHMEEENT!!"
Kyo the Ultimate: "Huh? Ah—"
Slash. A diagonal cut from shoulder to waist.
Kyogoku had only just started the game and was still a ronin in starter equipment. There was no chance she could survive a blow from an intermediate player spawn-camping for a title.
???: "Forgive me, newcomer. But this is Bakumatsu..."
???: "Afterglow Divine Punishment!"
???: "Ugyobe."
The last thing Kyogoku saw was the player who had killed her getting his skull split open by a Helmet Splitter from another player who had crept up behind him. Then her vision cut out...
Kyo the Ultimate: "Spawn-camping, huh? You’ve got some nerve—"
???: "I’m just a little short on EXP, so make-up Divine Punishment!"
Kyo the Ultimate: "Wai—"
Shhk. Her throat was cut. Death.
???: "All right, level up. Later!"
???: "What do we do? Wanna divine-punish—kill him?"
???: "Surround him and beat him down. We can take him if we get enough people."
???: "Fine, I’ll buy us time... Don’t use the human-shield method, got it!? Uoooooh, DIVINE PUNISHMEEENT!!"
As her vision faded, Kyogoku watched the players who had been attacker and victim only moments ago surround and rush the player who had just said “later” and tried to leave...
Kyo the Ultimate: "Ahh, so that’s what kind of game this is! Fine, bring it on... Huh?"
Thunk. For some reason, a sword fell out of the sky and stabbed into her chest. The blade punched all the way through and buried itself in the ground, pinning her there. Death.
Why had it fallen from the sky? As that question consumed her, the players in front of Kyogoku erupted into panicked screams.
???: "Wait, this is Sword Rain’s—gweeeh!"
???: "Come to think of it, yesterday Sword Rain and Go-Kart went all-out after Zeninari got Divine-Punishment’d the other day..."
???: "They came here to restock because they ran out of sword ammo!? Run! No—use whoever’s carrying rare swords as bait!"
The players who had just been beating and being beaten immediately joined forces and began trying to turn some other player into a scapegoat. Kyogoku watched them as her vision blacked out again...
Kyo the Ultimate: "Su—..."
Her face twitching, Kyogoku screamed at the man who had almost certainly known all of this and played innocent anyway, rage mixed with just a little bit of joy.
Kyo the Ultimate: "SUNRAKUUUUUUUUUU!!"
Sunraku: "Shut up! Rookies keep quiet and die! That’s what we call proper manners around here!!"
As a matchlock shot blew through the back of her head, Kyogoku thought:
That bastard. What am I going to do to him?
At a certain company, on a certain café terrace.
A woman was enjoying afternoon tea with a dignified air that seemed to say the envious looks from men and women alike were only natural.
Momo: "That level of relaxation is impressive as ever... or something."
Towa: "Oh, Momo-chan. Finished with work?"
Momo: "More or less... And give me a scone."
Towa: "Hey, hey, hey, hey. Weren’t you ever taught that taking the last one is a mortal sin?"
Momo: "I received more or less the same upbringing as you, and this is the first I’ve heard of it."
Towa: "Tch... melon woman..."
The newcomer who took the empty seat was Momo Saiga. She snatched the scone Towa Amane—the woman carrying herself as if she were the center of the world—had left behind, took a bite, and only then finally relaxed her shoulders.
Towa: "Nfufu. Still, it’s good we managed to drive Rebu-kun and his group off nice and neatly, just like planned, isn’t it, Saiga-san?"
Momo: "Don’t phrase it so maliciously. We merely split into a ‘New Land expedition group’ and a ‘Lycagon raid group.’ I have no interest in Siegwurm. While their hearts are stolen by him, we’ll defeat Lycagon."
Towa: "You’re making it sound cool, but you yanked out the whole group of executives who actually run the clan, and yet this mouth of yours still..."
Momo: "I refuse to hear that from you of all people."
Momo said it without the slightest shame, but both of them understood.
For better or worse, Rebellius and the others could do nothing but fight, and eventually they would stop being able to keep things running. But Rebellius would never turn to Psyger-100 for help. His pride as “one of Schwarz Vulf’s two leaders, entrusted with the clan” would get in the way, and he lacked the nerve to climb down from the palanquin being carried by the players who had followed him.
Towa: "Still, are you sure that was okay? There’s a level-cap-unlock event in the New Land. You could’ve gone before challenging Lycagon."
Momo: "Hmph. It’s already been proven—not in theory, but in actual practice—that Lycagon can be defeated at level 99 alone..."
Towa: "He’s kind of a special case, though... The more you hit him, the more information you never knew falls out. He’s like a dust-covered tatami mat."
Crumbs from the scone scattered down and piled on Momo’s prominently thrust-forward chest. Towa watched with eyes carrying an extremely dense negative emotion, then drained the last of her tea.
Towa: "Now then... Momo-chan."
Momo: "Hm?"
Towa: "That U-ni-que Sce-na-rio... how’s it going?"
This was a secret pact between the leaders of Schwarz Vulf and Wolfgang... no.
It was a conversation between fellow owners of Wished Weapons—a secret agreement one layer deeper, exactly as Sunraku had suspected.
Momo: "Ah. We’ve already satisfied the condition on our side, but... nothing in particular has changed. Apparently repeated clashes don’t affect the next condition."
Towa: "Then thanks to you, I’ve entered the same phase as you and your group too?"
Momo: "Probably."
The Unique Scenario Trials of the Courageous required possession of a Wished Weapon as its fundamental prerequisite and was divided into several phases.
One of those was “engage in battle between Wished Weapons.” The moment Psyger-100 and Arthur Pencilgon faced each other, the objective had already been fulfilled regardless of who won or lost.
Towa: "I’d heard about it before, but... I guess it really does mean what it sounds like?"
Momo: "Probably... Come to think of it, it was strange that there were weapons but no armor."
It was a conversation with its subjects omitted, comprehensible only because both women possessed the same Unique. Now that they stood in the same phase, the next step of the Unique Scenario after Wished Weapons had clashed became common ground.
Momo: "...‘O valiant one, swing your trusted partner and open the crustal gate guarded by golden hands. Beyond it lies armor that overcomes all creation.’"
Towa: "If it follows the naming convention... I suppose you’d call it Sacred Armor—Seigai."
A new power indicated by the sacred weapons. For whom... and for what purpose had it been prepared?
No one knew yet.
But it would become clear when the voices of the dragons fell silent.