Chapter 359: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part Twenty-Four
Looking at all the shelved setting material makes me want to write something new. That's a problem.
Three consecutive impacts. The shocks slammed into the shield drive my body back hard. But I won't fall. I won't bend. I won't break. As long as there's someone behind me to protect (much to my chagrin), Guardian Heart will never shatter!!
The skill Guardian Heart is a shield-type skill. When a party member is behind you, it grants stat bonuses to STR, VIT, and such when guarding. On top of that, it reduces stamina consumption and the scratch damage taken when blocking, giving it terrifying defensive performance. But if the shield breaks, the effect ends. From Dis Pater, Nether King’s Mirror Shield — its durability already worn down from repeated abuse — an unpleasant cracking sound rings out. But even so, I'll do it. This shield is the breakwater holding back those three death-tinged beams of light.
Sunraku: "Gh... ooooooohhh!!"
I don't need to look. The sensation through my hand tells me — Dis Pater has hit its limit. It's not fatally shattered yet, but if I use it to block one more time, the mirror will surely break.
Sunraku: ".........Counterattack."
But put another way: it held on at that razor's edge and definitely saw those attacks through. If so, proving that this cracked, battle-worn state is a proud result — that's my job. I drive Memento Mori into the ground. Instead, I thrust the bladeless knife embedded with crystals into my torso and thigh, and shout the words that activate the true power of Dis Pater, Nether King’s Mirror Shield.
Sunraku: "Conversion!!"
The red magic the mirror devoured transforms into flames. No — that's not quite right. Should I say the power, too vast to hold its original shape, changes into the form of fire? A woman in mourning dress — meant to be the one in mourning — wreathed in flames like a funeral pyre is quite a sight, but my body was already more smashed than damaged even before this stage, and it's crackling with electricity too. At this point, catching fire doesn't change much. Both me and the mirror shield are full of cracks. But if you think that means we're fragile, you're dead wrong. I mean, we actually are fragile, but all I have to do is land a hundred million damage on you before you can deal even one.
Deep Throater: "Hey, if you leave that going for a while, does the outfit burn off?"
Sunraku: "Turning your HP to charcoal's easy enough."
Deep Throater: "Oi oi, I was hoping for a passionate kiss and hug..."
Sunraku: "How about a hundred slaps."
Deep Throater: "That's a reward..."
Maybe one solid punch would've been the right answer. Whether it was because I paid attention to the idiot, or because it's pissed that I not only tanked its full-force triple shot but even turned it to my advantage — now, even the tail-head, which had been taking hits from Tottori and the others, forcibly turns my way. Nearly every head glares at me.
Great Red Devourer: "Qiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaa!!"
Its whole body flexes. A truly biological collision accident, achieved by putting every last muscle on that massive frame into full operation. Since it's deliberate, does that make it an incident instead? The red mass charges. Whether its initial speed is lacking or its overall velocity is trash, the pursuing "Scarred" shows no sign of catching up to the Great Red Devourer. I could dodge... but here's a thought. Why not take that charging power and make it my own? I lean Memento Mori, its tip stabbed into the ground, diagonally — like carrying it on my back. Using my back as a support, I angle the greatsword into a ramp with my shoulder as its peak. And then, a single rabbit sprints up that path and lands on my head.
Sunraku: "Emul!"
Emul: "Hai na! Full Counter Reflection!!"
A conditional absolute defense barrier is cast. The Great Red Devourer's charge — it must have seen the barrier — doesn't stop. Does it not understand? Or does it understand and plan to smash through everything, me included...? Naive. This isn't such a flimsy wall that a simple mass charge can break it. Right?
Emul: "This is actually pretty rough, wa—!?"
Sunraku: "Hey—! Hold your ground!?"
A thunderous roar. The Great Red Devourer's body, having slammed into a wall that shouldn't physically exist, distorts unnaturally. I mean, it's like crashing head-on into a mirror image of itself, in the exact same posture, at the exact same speed. Go ahead and writhe in agony from head to toe... We're fine, right? I'm acting all confident, but I'm not about to get run over, right? But it seems I've managed to avoid a gag-worthy death here. Still, the Great Red Devourer isn't just writhing in pain — its giant body simply rolling is a mass weapon in itself. And more than anything, after being made a fool of this badly, whether it has emotions or not, it's definitely coming to finish me off. But is that fine? Turning even your last head this way...
Sunraku: "You're late, Big Bro."
Deep Throater: "Hole-bros?"
Sunraku: "At least call it a bond."
"Scarred," having caught up behind the Great Red Devourer, sinks its fangs into the undefended tail. Since it's one body, the overall power output shouldn't change, but with three heads, its strength is probably higher. The Great Red Devourer, bracing itself, gets dragged along the ground.
Sunraku: "Alright."
I snatch up the discarded Areadbhair with my right hand, switching back to the warped dual-wielding style.
Sunraku: "Let's finish this here."
I raise the greatsword, swing it two or three times, then level its tip at the Great Red Devourer as it's being physically swung around by "Scarred." Did that get through to Tottori too? Rather than hold back and regret it, let's burn everything and regret it after. In any game... even if it's a trash game, the thrill of using up every last resource to the absolute bottom is the best. Without total consumption, the catharsis of victory can't exist!!
Sunraku: "Emul — and while we're at it, Deep Throater too — get your firepower ready. I'm gonna go inflict a major flinch on that thing."
Emul: "Hai na!"
Deep Throater: "Once you've said it, you can't take it back, y'know...?"
I stack my skills, raising the power of a single attack higher and higher. Countless acceleration skills enhance my body. Mobility skills turn the impossible into possible. The weapons I grip are clad in effects that blaze with multiple colors like fire.
Deep Throater: "Ah, hey, Sunraku-kuun..."
Sunraku: "What."
I turn. There's Deep Throater with a loose grin. With an air of complete nonchalance, Deep Throater asks me simply.
Deep Throater: "———Are you having fun right now?"
Sunraku: "You can tell just by looking."
I don't look back anymore. My feet, wreathed in black lightning, charge forward — if I let my focus slip, I'd trip from my own speed. But that's compensated by eyes that can see the "waves of attack" still scattering like explosions centered on the two monsters. Dragging behind me and carving a line into the earth, Memento Mori. In my other hand, Areadbhair Rebuild, whose flames seem to burn brighter — perhaps because this is the climax of the dragon hunt. Carrying both, a single human dives into the clash zone of two massive bodies.
Sunraku: "Not a dual-sword skill... a two-sword style skill."
Maybe because I'd been saving twin swords and Blade-to-Blade Swords as trump cards, the only two skills I know that use two swords are both usable in dual-wielding. So what? It means I can use them right now.
Sunraku: "Tag in, brother!!"
A super-thick combined breath attack from four bundled heads slams directly into "Scarred's" left head, sending it reeling backward. But blowing away something that tall means exposing a corresponding opening. The Great Red Devourer, frozen in its recovery frames, is already within my range.
Sunraku: "Allll... right!!"
Hecaton Edge, activate! Lead the charge, Areadbhair! One strike, one flash — a scorching line is carved into the Great Red Devourer's body, frozen after its big move. One strike, two flashes — the greatsword swings with just one hand. A heavy blow, belying its motion, scatters two hit effects across the red hide. One strike, four flashes. Eight flashes. Sixteen flashes. Thirty-two flashes... With Memento Mori, heavy effects befitting its weight burst forth. With Areadbhair Rebuild, dragon-kind-burning flames rage.
Sunraku: "Oi oi, a welcome with all your heads? I'm flattered..."
But you're too slow to catch me. I'll shake you off in an instant. Activate Limit Over Axel. Evolved from Formula Drift, this skill — for a mere few seconds — doubles the user's AGI and DEX. An off-the-scale acceleration multiplier. Using this in my current state could easily lead to a spectacular self-destruct, but... at my current level of hype, I can control it. I had that conviction. And I actually controlled it. Faster than the four heads can peck at me, I shift my position at godspeed and — riding that momentum — carve a horizontal line across its giant mouth in one strike... Sixty-four hits.
If only. If only the Great Red Devourer had been an AI equipped with cunning judgment. If only it had been a player capable of analyzing skill mechanics. Then it would have understood that the best response in this situation was to "take the next hit on an extremity." But tragically, the AI assigned to the Great Red Devourer is set to cold, simple logic. Its emotions, its pain — all surface-level recreations. That's the design. That's precisely why it chooses the worst possible move: "close the giant mouth to protect the weak point."
Sunraku: "Thanks for making it easier to break!"
Sharpening Completion: standing by to activate. I stab Areadbhair straight down into the ground. With my other hand, I kick up the belly of Memento Mori and "set" it onto the pommel of Areadbhair, standing as a launch platform. The two-sword style skill requires a sword in each hand. Therefore, even for a thrust, preparation is needed. A launch platform and a warhead... or rather, blade-head.
Sunraku: "Pierce through!!"
The heads are looking this way? Who cares. Escape is a tight bet? I'm not stopping. At this point, even if the cost is my death, I'm unleashing this attack. That pervert's recording it anyway, right? Just watching a video of someone taking on a raid monster solo would be entertainment for three days.
Sliding across the pommel of Areadbhair Rebuild, I thrust Memento Mori forward. Swinging a large board as-is meets air resistance. But thrusting toward a single point — the blade splits the air and pierces the enemy. The stamina spent to reach this point. The costs of every skill used to get here... All of it pours into the blade. With light, the tip slams into the point where the closed, warped fangs cross. In that instant, a heavy pressure loads onto the greatsword I'd thought so light. I tighten my grip against the blowback... and I see two things.
One: the giant mouth's fangs, shattered to splinters. The ribs that formed its framework. The exposed red orb, trembling as it sways in the open air.
And the other: the heads growing from its torso. The tail-head aiming at me from between its legs. Even the mouths on its wing arms — which until now had stuck to close-range physical attacks — all gathering red light.
I see. So this is what they call "I will absolutely never forgive you." Before the Inventoria fix, I could've managed... Well, fine. I got my single shot in. The rest is just... struggling.
Sunraku: "You're a raid monster, so you've got a next phase, right? I'll no-continue clear you then."
Deep Throater: "No — the no-continue is right now, Sunraku-kuun...!"
What—!?
Deep Throater: "Castling!!"
My vision switches. The Great Red Devourer, which I'd been looking up at from my perspective — now I'm looking at it from the outside. And in the spot where I should've been until just a moment ago, a figure holding a long staff stands.
Deep Throater: "Heh heh... you can fall for me, y'know?"
Sunraku: "You..."
No, that's where I was just... But before I can point that out, a thunderous roar echoes. Seven flashes erupt, kicking up clouds of dust.
Sunraku: "Gh... everyone, fire everything you've got!!"
There's a lot I want to say, but for now — call it revenge! Way to go, Great Red Devourer-kun! Nice kill!!