[A perfect festival setup: saving Gachapin Mode and saving the hundred-pull.]

Chapter 470: O Dragon, O Dragon! We Race Toward the End of Our Longing — O Dragon, O Dragon! Part Forty-Seven

Amid a storm of light scattering destruction in every direction, the players gather to overcome the final trial imposed by Siegwurm.

Psyger-100: "So you're saying you know where Siegwurm's reverse scale is?"

Akitsu Akane: "Yes!"

Psyger-100: "I see..."

Arthur Pencilgon, strangely subdued for some reason, has brought along a player named Akitsu Akane. Trace everything back far enough, and the current situation exists only because Akitsu was the one who raised Noirlind's flag in the first place.

But then... why is Noirlind nowhere to be seen? And why does Akitsu Akane look so much like a black dragon?

Psyger-100: "Uh... where's Noirlind? Was he defeated?"

Akitsu Akane: "Noirlind-san?"

Psyger-100: "Yeah. And more importantly, what's with that form...?"

Noirlind: "Hmph. Do you have some business with me?"

Psyger-100: "............"

Psyger-100 and Arthur Pencilgon have known each other for quite a while, one way or another. They are not so perfectly in sync that they can read each other's minds, but eye contact is enough to get the general idea across.

The innocent-looking expression from only a few seconds ago is gone. Akitsu Akane (?) folds her arms with her fangs showing and wears a haughty, arrogant look. Psyger-100's cheek twitches as she silently questions Pencilgon.

Arthur Pencilgon: "Uh... this is Akitsu Akane in Noirlind-san, fused together by a ninja secret technique."

Noirlind: "I permit you to kneel and be awestruck."

Psyger-100: "What is this? Did you make some rule that only people who stop being human are allowed into Wolfgang?"

Arthur Pencilgon: "No, Sunraku-kun is the only one who's insane—"

At that exact moment, Rust—Glosswing Suzaku—lands from above, beating blazing exhaust-flame wings and venting waves of heat.

Rust: "...Everyone was gathered here, so I came."

Come to think of it, Kyogoku is still locked in an unexpectedly rough fight against Anju at Skull Azuchi, and if you want to be technical about it, her race is also pretty far removed from human. Pencilgon quietly closes her eyes.

Oikatzo: "Are we about to pull something? Because honestly, I'm basically out of resources..."

Arthur Pencilgon: "I knew I could count on you, Katzo-kun! You don't call yourself a mediocre fish for nothing!"

Oikatzo: "Sure. I'll fight barehanded if I have to. Maybe I'll make my PK debut while I'm at it?"

Arthur Pencilgon: "I'll be using the Sacred Spear over here."

Oikatzo: "You little...!"

Putting that aside, Pencilgon taps the ground with the Sacred Spear, then points first at Akitsu Akane and then at Siegwurm.

Arthur Pencilgon: "Honestly, this was news to me too, but our little secret bullet here knew how to stop Siegwurm from self-destructing, and on top of that she's gone and fused with something... So as far as we're concerned, we're thinking of letting her handle the grand finale."

Unidentified raid leader: "Either way, we can't do anything until we deal with that physical defense and the indiscriminate lasers. Syl— no, Argent Owl took a direct hit from one and got dropped to near death in a single shot, you know?"

Apparently even America's number one cannot handle taking a stray beam completely by surprise. Still, the fact that she managed to perceive it at all despite being caught entirely off guard is impressive in its own right.

P.T. Overwerke: "From what I've seen, the lasers are random. All we can do is pray. But that defensive barrier looks like it has quite a few holes in it."

Unidentified raid leader: "P.T., huh."

P.T. Overwerke: "Yeah. I took some of my people and tried hitting it for a while... I think the defensive barrier only activates if Siegwurm visually recognizes the attack. Sometimes our hits went through, sometimes they didn't."

Unidentified raid leader: "How reliable is that?"

P.T. Overwerke: "Only a little over five minutes of testing, but we had several hundred people checking it at the same time, including players outside the clan. I'd like you to trust it enough to put some money on it."

That said, even attacks with fairly serious firepower are stopped by the physical barrier, P.T. Overwerke adds with a strained grin.

Unidentified raid leader: "How serious are we talking?"

P.T. Overwerke: "My ace, Apollo Burst, didn't put so much as a crack in it."

Unidentified raid leader: "So even Violence Thunder-class firepower gets completely blocked... Giving up on breaking through it is probably the smart move."

After that quick exchange of information, the various clan leaders—including Pencilgon, who had been listening from the side—settle on their strategy.

Arthur Pencilgon: "So the conclusion is simple: we do absolutely everything we can to keep Siegwurm's attention off Akitsu Akane-chan. That's it!!"

Psyger-100: "Easy for you to say when we're all this drained... P.T., what do you still have left?"

P.T. Overwerke: "I've used up my ace, but I've still got a joker."

Psyger-100: "Funny. So do I... Hey, what about you? I already know my little sister is useless right now."

Arthur Pencilgon: "Rust-chan?"

Rust: "Five more minutes."

Arthur Pencilgon: "Mold-kun?"

Mold: "I'm a support class to begin with... but, well, barely."

Arthur Pencilgon: "Katzo-kun?"

Oikatzo: "A little more useful than a decoration."

Arthur Pencilgon: "Kyogoku-chan still looks like she's going wild in the castle, from what I can tell. As for Sunraku-kun..."

Saina: "Found: I have a message from my contractor—my Master."

Sunraku (message): "I've only got one shot, but I've got one hell of a firework."

Arthur Pencilgon: "...Nice. Our human cannonball goes around loading his own detonator with gunpowder and blowing himself up without us even asking, so we can pretty much leave him alone and trust he'll move."

Unidentified raid leader: "His very existence sounds way too dangerous."

Arthur Pencilgon: "Yeah, but around seventy percent of his shots are effective, so..."

And the message Saina brought from Sunraku could hardly have fit the current situation any better.

Siegwurm's final trial, Supremacy-Destroying Core: Buster Piece. Time until activation... five minutes.

◇

Psyger-100: "Listen up! Siegwurm is trying to blow himself up with the entire frontline base caught in the blast! After coming this far, if we don't stop him, the base is going to be wiped off the map!!"

Psyger-100's voice rings across the battlefield.

P.T. Overwerke: "Top-tier, high-tier, low-tier! Split into three teams based on what classes of magic you can still use! Anyone who still has top-tier magic left, over here!!"

P.T. Overwerke's voice rings across the battlefield.

Arthur Pencilgon: "Forget Blockentreed for now! We're throwing everything we've got at Siegwurm!!"

Arthur Pencilgon's voice rings across the battlefield.

Different orders, but every one of them points toward the same target: Siegwurm. The longer time passes, the larger the indiscriminate laser barrage grows. Knowing this is where they have to hold the line, the combat-class players grab whatever little they have left and force themselves back to their feet.

The production-class players throw every trick and technique they possess into supporting them, and every last person turns their eyes toward Siegwurm.

P.T. Overwerke: "His attacks are indiscriminate and random! It's pure RNG, so if you get hit, accept your fate!! He's defending through visual recognition! Catch him by surprise and keep stacking reliable damage... Magic classes! FIRE!!"

There is plainly less magic than there was when the decisive phase began. Even so, everything that can still be scraped together paints the morning sky in a flood of color.

Siegwurm: "Nnngh...!"

In response, the golden barrier spread around Siegwurm receives every spell and erases them all.

P.T. Overwerke: "Physical team! Get in there!!"

But while the barrier is occupied, the warriors who have closed the distance slam their weapons into Siegwurm from his blind spots.

His outer shell, already being damaged from within by his own body, no longer possesses the overwhelming toughness it had at the beginning. Weapons unmistakably bite into him. The players erupt in cheers—and in the next instant, a shockwave bursts from his entire golden body and sends them flying.

Unidentified frontline player 1: "What the hell!? A surprise attack!?"

Unidentified frontline player 2: "No! His movements when he's in pain are the tell!!"

Unidentified frontline player 3: "Yeah, well, you can't see that from down by his feet!!"

Siegwurm: "Ggh... nnngh... not yet. Hold together... body and soul...!!"

Unidentified frontline commander: "Push! Push! PUSH!!"

Siegwurm: "Ggh... hahahaha, come then... But at least let me struggle against death!!"

His tail sweeps through without the slightest restraint, sending humans flying like bowling pins. Then, as though to finish them off, lasers begin dancing through the battlefield once more...

◇◇

Unidentified defeated combatant: "Ggh... what bitter regret...!!"

Unidentified combatant: "A Feng Shui Guide... is not to be underestimated...!"

Anju: "Sorry, Emilia..."

Kyogoku: "...Now then."

And thus, Skull Azuchi has a new lord.

◆

Sunraku: "—Yeah. Here it is. These are the coordinates."

Araba: "What exactly are you trying to do? This is just an ordinary stretch of coast."

Sunraku: "Well, apparently you can't call the guy from just anywhere... There's a specific 'place' you need in order to summon him."

And here, the Dragon-Calling Whistle is raised toward the sky.

—

And so, at two places far removed from the battlefield itself, actions are set in motion that will determine how the battle ends.

—

Isana: "I DID IT—————!!!!"