[Looks like I won't be able to update until around the twelfth... (stares into the distance) (the courage to sacrifice myself) (I couldn't beat the urge to sleep)]
Chapter 508: Resound, Grateful Legacy — Climax Burning
I've thrown away the hammer. It wouldn't be able to keep up with this fight.
No Face: "Shrimp are great..."
I have no idea what it was originally built from before it transformed, but finding a Machine Swarm unit modeled after a mantis shrimp was a stroke of luck.
No Face: "Are lobsters and stuff more popular where you're from?"
Hannya: "Fuck if I know. I don't like those bug-looking things with shells."
No Face: "Don't you dare disrespect crustaceans."
THUD!! The enormous mass of flesh smashes straight through the asphalt, growling sound effects mixing into its response to my question.
Zenoselgus. Even among the entire roster of GH:C, you'd struggle to find a heavier fighter. This superheavyweight is a living mountain of meat that might as well have thrown the dodge command in the trash during character creation.
Slow, heavy... and unbelievably tough.
Under the normal rules that include cubes, it's stuck in the lower tiers. But I've heard that when the victory condition is restricted to "knock out your opponent," its sheer nastiness rockets it into the upper tiers.
No Face: "Final round. Got any last words? I'll hear you out."
Hannya: "Then answer one thing for me... With that kind of skill, why the fuck have you been keeping yourself out of the scene?"
Why? Why, she asks...
No Face: "I'm not at an age where I can do whatever I want and devote my whole life to a hobby. That's all."
Hannya: "I see."
A suit of cursed armor draped in mechanical wreckage and hovering above the ground, and a monster supported by four limbs packed with nothing but muscle to hold up its slow, massive body, gradually close the distance between them.
A spark spits from the boosters mounted on Cursed Prison's sublegs.
Zenoselgus's muscles swell throughout its entire body as power gathers within them.
Somewhere, an explosion goes off.
No Face and Hannya: "DIE, ASSHOLE!!!"
We start at exactly the same instant, each striking with a fist. In terms of position and action, it's a dead-even exchange. But don't underestimate me.
Don't underestimate the mantis shrimp punch that's broken the fingers of so many amateur anglers!!
A jack like the hammer of a gun connects three points: wrist, shoulder, and elbow. Call it a Hammer Jack. It strains and creaks, storing power like a bomb that's about to detonate. That "arm," accumulating more and more force, impatiently awaits information from the "eyes" and "head"...
No Face: "In range."
A superspeed jab—a mantis shrimp punch! Let's cave in that nose of yours, you tub of muscle!!
The lock holding the Hammer Jack in place releases, and its tremendous store of energy bursts free all at once.
With a sharp metallic CRACK!!, my fist shoots out so fast the hand at its tip becomes a blur, smashing straight into Zenoselgus's nose.
Hannya: "Bghooh...!!"
No Face: "This time it's a proper bullet-fast one-two, huh?"
Hannya: "Like that shit's gonna work on me!!"
No Face: "Bgwah!?"
A blow slams into my left temple, and sparks dance across my vision. Well, of course. We're both huge, heavyweight fighters. Zenoselgus is taller, but the difference is negligible. Which means our effective ranges are the same...
And that means this is going to turn into a slugfest!!
No Face: "Hmph!!"
I lock the Hammer Jack back into place, knock an incoming fist upward with an uppercut, and land a hit on the face. But before I can lock the jack again, another attack comes flying my way. Bring it on, asshole! Face guard!!
No Face: "Guh!"
Jack reset! Mantis shrimp punch... FIRE!!
From there, strategy goes straight out the window. One moment my fist connects with my opponent's jaw, and the next my vision flashes from an impact coming sideways. While I'm waiting for the jack to lock again, I take a couple of enthusiastic punches to the shoulder and cheek. In thanks for those lovely gifts, I drive a sharp fist into my opponent's throat.
???: "OOOOOOOOOOH!!"
???: "OOOOOOOOOOH!!"
There's none of that naive bullshit about understanding someone through your fists. What's here is hostility rooted in fighting spirit, a situation changing every single second... and the light of victory that's still out of reach, no matter how far I stretch my hand.
Neither of us backs down from the exchange. My punches hit harder, but when it comes to stepping in—no, holding firm—my opponent has the advantage. And above all...
No Face: "You goddamn rough-skinned bastard...!"
Hannya: "Hah! You're losing your nerve, pumpkin!!"
It's Zenoselgus's special ability, Metamorph Cell. It can turn its own body into the same kind of material as an object it's kept in its sight for five seconds. Maybe it had already transformed into something when it arrived here, but at the very least, right now the bastard has copied the Machine Swarm material I'm wearing!
I got carried away and started trading punches on sheer momentum, but our HP ratio is...
No Face: "5:7... ngh."
Hannya: "You dodged."
Ah. Shit. I did it without thinking—
Regret is always waiting somewhere in the future. My opponent grabs me by the neck and lifts my body into the air, then seizes my waist in a ridiculously rough clinch. Before I can even fire my boosters, Zenoselgus's gauge move, Material Suplex, turns me upside down, and I'm falling—
No Face: "GBOAAAH!?"
A clean hit. Numbness and weakness—far too intense to be mere scratch damage—race through my whole body. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a huge chunk vanish from my remaining life.
Hannya: "Is that the end of you!?"
No Face: "Not a chance... I've got a special guest."
Hannya: "Huh!?"
That German suplex broke my sublegs. My mobility has dropped drastically, but I never expected them to last the entire fight to begin with. The important thing is that she made it in time.
Seriously... you're late, lady. Leaving me to put my body on the line all by myself. Now, time for a little payback!!
The next instant, as black smoke and fire spread throughout the city... a gust of flame-colored wind blew through.
Hannya: "Guh...!?"
No Face: "You probably know her already, but allow me to introduce the last one standing—Lady Valkyrie."
This is payback for what happened with Colonel. Let's have ourselves a fun three-way battle, shall we?
The Target Enemy Colonel died in battle. Commander was brought down too. Having lost both her superior officer and her commander, she's now pushing every part of herself beyond its limits, running wild while destroying herself. A truly desperate, self-destructive last stand.
All her stats have risen, and the restrictions on her armaments have been lifted. Now even a simple sweep of her lance sends out a shockwave that causes a slight stagger.
Hannya: "You half-dead piece of junk...!"
No Face: "Great line. Bet your Villainic Gauge is shooting through the roof, huh?"
Valkyrie says nothing. But the flames spilling from the cracks across her woman-shaped face look almost like tears of bitter regret.
Hannya: "So this is what you were after when you threw away your mobility just to come trade punches!?"
No Face: "Half of it was just getting carried away. But you can't leave one of the stars out when it's time for the climax, can you?"
As a rule, Valkyrie attacks both players. But the number of Target Enemies a player has killed adds to that player's aggro. In other words, it's one against one against one... except all that aggression is going to be focused on you.
No Face: "Here I come, asshole!!"
Hannya: "Bring it on!!"
Fortunately, the Hammer Jack is still intact. As long as I can plant my feet and punch, there's no problem at all!!
My step cracks the asphalt. I doubt she'd coordinated it with me, but Valkyrie fires a missile at the same moment, trapping Zenoselgus between two threats.
First, let's knock that HP ratio back down to even!!