Chapter 174: The Erupting Invader: Full Throttle

To be completely honest, Sylvia Goldberg was bored. And disappointed.

Stall tactic after stall tactic—she first noticed it thanks to No Name's bizarre movements, coupled with the glaring absence of Uomi Kei even right up until the moment Sylvia dove into the game.

(I'm sure there was some kind of accident, but really...)

Megumi Natsume's uncharacteristically clumsy attempt at playing the heel was—in hindsight—probably just another performance to buy time. Not that Megumi was even worth acknowledging purely in terms of mechanical skill, though she was a terrifying rival in a completely different sense. But Sylvia wasn't actually upset about that; part of the reason she even took this job was because she wanted a rematch with Kei. The true source of the disappointment weighing down her heart lay entirely with the player she was currently fighting.

Objectively speaking, Sylvia Goldberg is the strongest. That isn't just comparing stats on paper; it is an undeniable truth born from actually fighting and effortlessly crushing every formidable opponent in her path. And yet, starting with Kei, there are players who have genuinely pushed Sylvia to the brink—few enough to count on two hands, but they exist.

But among them, not a single one had ever challenged her using Cursed Prison. To Metius, Cursed Prison is a sworn archenemy, and above all else, her greatest rival. Because Sylvia pilots Metius better and stronger than anyone else in the world, she inherently cannot allow herself to pull any punches against Cursed Prison. Picking that character is a full-force declaration of war against Metius, and by extension, Sylvia herself.

But tragically, in Galaxia Heroes: Chaos, Cursed Prison's kit is universally recognized as a terrible matchup against Metius. And when that Metius is piloted by Sylvia, the matchup disadvantage becomes almost absolute. There is a specific condition that can flip this dynamic, but out of the countless Cursed Prison players Sylvia had faced, not a single one had ever managed to fulfill it.

(Ms. Jane Doe was actually pretty good, so I had my hopes up, but...)

The Mr. John Doe she had secretly held expectations for turned out to be nothing but a bluff. Now, how should she dispose of him? And more importantly, what kind of ideas would Kei bring to the table when he finally challenged her...?

Tucking away her expectations for a Villain truly capable of standing against her into the depths of her heart, Sylvia's mindset was already shifting toward her next match as a pro gamer—until she noticed it. Amidst the fleeing NPCs were several battered police officers, and the distinct lack of their signature helmets told the story of exactly who they were, and exactly what had been stolen from them.

"Oh, are you done changing?"

"Kept you waiting."

He must have absorbed about five of the primarily white motorcycles used by the police, judging by the number of front cowls incorporated into his armor-like plating. Setting aside the fact that there were tires plastered to his shoulders, legs, arms... practically everywhere, Cursed Prison looked almost like a pure-white heavy knight as he slowly but surely advanced toward her. Seeing this form, Sylvia let out a sigh of admiration in her heart.

In previous Galaxia Heroes titles, the coliseum-style battlefields inherently prevented many characters from fully expressing their appeal. For example, Clockfire, who used to be a character that just chucked bombs; or Cursed Prison, who was strictly limited to only three types of absorbable outer shells. But this new game stripped away those limitations, offering a level of reality that made you feel like you had truly stepped into the world of a comic book.

"Now then, shall we begin?"

"Yeah, but I've got one thing I want to say first."

"?"

"How did it go again... Oh, right."

Cursed Prison is so thoroughly locked inside his Prison that not a single inch of his skin is visible. And yet, Sylvia—Metius—was absolutely certain she saw a fearless grin flash across his form.

"Kick, your, ass."

Which translates to: "I'm going to beat the absolute shit out of you."

"Bring it on!"

She kicks off the earth and sprints. Running up walls, stepping on empty air, throwing in spins and backsteps to accelerate. And then, aiming a kick squarely at his wide-open back...

"Eh?"

Her leg was caught.

I grabbed her leg. It was a gamble half-reliant on pure instinct, but it looks like the Goddess of RNG smiled upon me this time.

"Weeeeelcoooooome!!"

If Metius is an offensive type purely specialized in speed, then Cursed Prison is an offensive type purely specialized in power. By all rights, he should also have abnormal toughness to match, but since this is a fighting game, they couldn't just give him infinite HP. As a result, he ended up getting pigeonholed into the "high firepower but terrible handling, making him competitively weak" character archetype.

But looking at it another way, that means his power alone is perfectly faithful to the original comics. Having absorbed five police motorcycles to become High-Mobility Cursed Prison, I used the tires equipped to my legs—just like my base gear in Round 1—and rotated them in opposite directions to perform a pivot turn. By spinning my entire body around, I intercepted the flying kick aimed at my back and caught her ankle from the side.

And keeping that exact momentum, I continue the pivot turn at full throttle! The exhaust pipes extending from my back like wings roar with the ferocity of a wild beast, spewing out thick clouds of smoke. Right now, I've got both the Goddess of RNG and the God of the Physics Engine holding my hands; Number One in the US can eat shit!

High-Mobility Cursed Prison is simultaneously the fastest and the slowest mode. Even if I omitted some unnecessary parts, I've still got the raw weight of five whole motorcycles strapped to my body—I can't even run with my own two feet. I can technically walk with heavy, lumbering steps like I have dumbbells tied to my ankles, but under normal circumstances, trying to fight in this state is impossible.

However, since this mode is literally packed with five motorcycles' worth of engines, it exhibits terrifying speed as long as the movements are simple and lack precision. For example, if I channel all my energy entirely into spinning the tires on my legs...

"Turn into a shooting star, why don't yaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

It makes a Giant Swing so violent it would rip a normal person's head clean off completely possible! Hurled with overwhelming force, Metius's body crashes through the front doors of a nearby building, plowing inside like a meteor. Though, I suppose the only difference from the usual Metius is that she's doing it against her will, completely at the mercy of a far greater force.

"Fufufu, kukukukuku........."

Nice, nice, this is really nice. In baseball terms, she's the heavy hitter pumping out home runs; in soccer, the fantasista effortlessly scoring hat-tricks; in horse racing, the legendary thoroughbred crossing the finish line three lengths ahead of the pack. And I just took that superstar pro gamer and yeeted her with everything I've got. Just you wait—I'm gonna go check if you're still making that same bored face right now.

"Fuhahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaa!! Whoops."

"Geh?!"

Surging into the building in high spirits, I instantly locked eyes with Metius as she vaulted out of the dust cloud. Just to clarify the situation: because my arms are currently completely cluttered with bike parts, I was "driving" in a posture with both arms spread wide open. Apparently, she didn't expect me to be charging at her with such insane speed, so she instinctively tried to slip past my side to avoid a direct collision, while I naturally adjusted my arm placement with a firm intent of not letting you get away.

"Looks like the hug failed! Uhahahahahahaha!"

"Gah?!"

As a result, maintaining the sheer acceleration of our high-speed collision course, I ended up absolutely leveling Metius with a lariat. And my hype levels definitely aren't low enough to let an opening like that slip by! Slipping my tires, I forcefully rotate my body on the spot like an ice skater.

The horrific kinetic energy of the impact detonating against her neck sent Metius spinning mid-air into a reverse somersault—which I instantly followed up by delivering a brutal shoulder tackle. Right now, there are police motorcycle tires mounted directly onto my shoulders. I probably don't need to explain what happens when human flesh meets rubber screaming and grinding at maximum RPM, right? For anyone who still doesn't get it, don't worry, I'll demonstrate it right now.

"Hahahahahahaha! Rejoice, it's a Kabedon!!"

Bursting out of the building, I bulldoze Metius straight across the street and slam her right into the outer wall of the building opposite us. The building's concrete wall, Metius, and a rapidly spinning tire... Quite the dangerous sandwich we've got here, but don't hold back, eat up until your HP hits 0.

Metius's health bar gets violently chunked down. I'm not naive enough to think this will completely drain her to zero, but as long as the damage keeps ticking, I'll shave off every last drop of health I can.

"Get... off!"

Metius drives a kick right into my gut, forcefully dismantling our murder sandwich from the inside. Following that up with three rapid bounds, she instantly closes the distance she just created and drives an accelerated roundhouse kick squarely into my medulla oblongata. But you're too naive! I've already stopped treating this fight against you as PvP. You're officially being categorized as a human-sized monster!

"Shoulder-Wheel Drive!"

"Ugh, gross!"

How rude. I just... right, I just twisted my body into a half-bridge posture using only one side of my body, aligning the tires on my left shoulder and left leg into a straight line to form an improvised motorcycle. This form is a highly logical tactic that allows me to simultaneously dodge her roundhouse kick, reposition myself, and repurpose my wake-up animation into a counterattack. Sure, it visually looks exactly like some absolute pervert sprinting at you in the Nirvana pose, but still.

Bending my body backward and intentionally tipping over my Nirvana pose, I replicate a motorcycle drift, using the centrifugal force to forcibly snap my body back upright. Thanks to that counter roundhouse kick aimed at me, she's currently locked in recovery frames! Those few seconds and frames before she lands are a massive opening! Eat shit and die!

Shifting from my left-side sprint into a beast-like four-legged dash, I roar my engines like a wild animal and charge. The precise millisecond Metius lands, I crash into her with a frontal tackle. Metius simply doesn't have the STR to block a hit like this, and having seized such a blatant frame advantage, even the most mediocre Cursed Prison player could easily start chaining combos...!

"This is for Round 1! This is for the fire engine you used as bait! And this is...! For the Yakinikuuuuuuuuu!!"

A tire-accelerated kick that actively gouges the earth. A punch using an arm turned into a lethal weapon via acceleration and centrifugal force by spinning my entire body like a tornado. A devastating tackle that corners the victim against a wall and crushes them alongside the debris. Every single one of Cursed Prison's combo attacks is a massive, telegraphing swing—and boasts absurdly high firepower.

Looking like she desperately wanted to scream "Why are you bringing up Yakiniku right now?!", Metius is violently launched down the main street the moment my combo ends. I must have abused the engines a little too much; the intense heat radiating from my entire body is actively distorting the air like a heat haze.

"Come at me, US Number One! I'll beat the absolute shit out of you!"

As if responding to my emotions, the engines covering my body roar, spewing smoke mixed with bursts of flame from the exhausts. Since she was blasted over ten meters away, I can't quite see what kind of face Metius is making as she gets up. But intuitively, I get the feeling she's smiling.

Looks like she's about to come at me for real...

Author's Afterword
An absolute pervert sprinting at you in the Nirvana pose... I mean, there's no way a protagonist like that exists, right, hahaha.

For High-Mobility Cursed Prison, it might be easier to visualize if you imagine a certain Roaring Invader [*1] painted entirely white.

Translator's Notes

• *[1] Roaring Invader: A reference to "Todoroku Shinryaku Redzone" (Roaring Invader Redzone), a famous flaming motorcycle monster card from the Duel Masters trading card game. Essentially, Sunraku looks like a white version of that.