Chapter 258: Desperately Coveting the Calamity Whirlpool

The breakdown of the Vorpal Bunnies' defense force is primarily composed of three troop types: Tanks who hold off Goldunine's kin at the very frontlines, Attackers who wipe out the halted kin and push the frontline forward alongside the tanks, and Carpenters who swiftly plug the side holes to secure safety.
Well, there seem to be other Vorpal Bunnies serving as medics or providing rear support, but the majority are centered around the roles of "Holding," "Striking," and "Plugging."

And my role is to slip into the sweep conducted during the initial stage of the operation to reach the enemy stronghold. To defeat the enemy general—the clone of Goldunine that exists as the source of the "Curse" eroding the Vorpal Bunnies.

By the way, Akitsu Akane is acting as a Ranger providing support to the attackers and carpenters as the situation demands, Emul is on rear support, and Ceecrue and Aydward are on the frontlines acting as tanks.

"Is it really okay for the general to be at the very front?"

"Standing further forward than anyone else is exactly what the Vorpal Soul is all about. Or so my father taught me."

From that perspective, isn't my Vorpal Soul maxed out? Well, whatever, I'll just carry out what I need to do.
That being said, there's very little advance information regarding Goldunine's clone. The number of Vorpal Bunnies who have actually seen the clone itself is small to begin with, and the survival rate of those eyewitnesses is apparently quite low.
The only things I managed to learn from gathering intel via Emul were "Its size itself isn't that large" and "It doesn't have the shape of a simple snake."

If it isn't a simple snake shape, there are various possibilities like a Yamata-no-Orochi type or a Medusa type... but if a Vorpal Bunny—which is close to the size of a real-life rabbit—says "It isn't that large," I'd like to believe it isn't the size of Lycaon or Ctarrnid.
If it's around the size of a Crystal Scorpion, well... no, wait, even that is about the size of a large passenger vehicle... And then there's the biggest issue of concern.

"I mean, it's obvious, but there aren't going to be any lights or anything, right?"

"Naturally. Aren't you Pioneers capable of seeing in the dark?"

True, what an NPC perceives as "pitch black" is bright enough for a player to perceive as merely "dimly lit," but it's still dimly lit. I won't miss attacks with flashy visual effects, but... there's a non-zero chance of taking a direct hit from subdued, stealth-oriented attacks.

"Should I update my respawn point just in case...? No, but the chances of being able to make another run aren't very high, so......... Well, whatever."

It'll work out somehow. I am currently a great master swordsman equipped with the Isana Togetsu, radiating the miraculous blessings of the Great God of Caffeine. I'm starting to lose track of what I'm even saying, you know?

"Ahem... Excuse me for a moment."

"Nn?"

After clearing his throat with a single cough, Aydward removed his glasses. Oh, this is the classic trope where the intellectual Yakuza-type character gets serious... In the next instant—

"Beranmeee!!"[*1]

"Beh..."

"Ranmee?"

I had vaguely expected it, but the sheer, sudden volume still caused both Akitsu Akane and me to widen our eyes in surprise. I see, so that fills in one of the blanks.
From top to bottom we have: Mobster, Intellectual Yakuza (Edokko), Hiroshima dialect, Gozaru, ?, ?, Kyoto dialect, and... The upper echelons of the Vorpal Bunnies are universally way too intense.

"Ou, ou, ou, ou, ya bastards!! Stop showin' me those dreary mugs and straighten up! We're gonna raid that damn snake!!"

With every hair on his body standing on end, Aydward let out a roar—going completely wild in more ways than one—causing the surrounding Vorpal Bunnies to prick up their ears.

"We ain't talkin' about some half-assed holdin' the line this time! We're gonna take all yer pent-up frustration, wrap it up real nice, and shove it straight down their throats!!"

Swords, axes, hand sickles, hammers. Coated in a Vorpal murderous intent, the rabbits raised their weapons one after another, the fighting spirit in the area skyrocketing exponentially.

"Magic Cannon Corps! Form up!!"

"Ah! I'll help out too! Please do your best, Sunraku-san!"

"Got it."

The Vorpal Bunnies equipped in mage-style gear lined up in a single row, with Akitsu Akane slipping in among them.

"Let's go, ya bastards!! Brace yerselves!"

With a shurari, the long Yakuza sword apparently called "Tanryu" was drawn. A tension-filled silence lingered for a few seconds, and then.

"Hey hey, this sounds like a massive wildebeest migration...!"

They're snakes, right? They're snakes, right? Why are they making a dododododo...! sound? Is the audio bugged?

"Whoops, I need to get ready too..."

I've been acclimating myself to the excessive movements of the Overflow state like a grade-schooler practicing for a footrace specifically for today. All that's left is to believe in the rabbits who will clear the path for me.
Smashing into walls, tripping and tumbling with so much momentum my neck bends in a weird direction, face-sliding, face-bouncing, crashing into a wall like a gag cartoon character, landing face-first after three and a half mid-air spins... Just how high do you think my death score is leading up to today? I'm completely used to moving around while suffering from death-penalty stat drops.

"Here they cooooome!"

As if praying, I struck my chest with the Levin Trigger: Hazard, wrapping myself in crackling thunder with a bachiri.
Assuming a crouching start position like a track-and-field athlete, I stared straight ahead, and finally, their figures came into view.

"Ou..."

Umm, you know about Nagashi Somen? It basically felt like a massively scaled-up version of that, except all the noodles were snakes. That's about it.

"Blast 'em awaaay!!"

A hellfire released all at once, swallowing them up, followed by a dragon's breath that trampled over everything in sight.

"Please do your beeeeestt!!!!"

A cheer cannon instead of an apology cannon, huh? But that's some awe-inspiring firepower. When the torrent of energy that consumed even our allies' attacks finally dissipated, what remained was a path forcibly torn open......... Ready, go!!

Fufufu, let me show you the footwork of a man who used a Cheetah alt in Gorilionline!
Though I did get completely crushed when I charged at top speed straight into a lion's cat punch that somehow had a mysterious vacuum hitbox... Gorilion is way too merciless.

With a step that already bordered on tumbling over, my body leaned further and further forward.
That first step became propulsion, and the second step brought further acceleration. Everything around me flowed backward as I charged straight down the path of destruction, where the remnants of Akitsu Akane's breath drifted as particles.
My target is Goldunine's clone. The gazes of the others weigh heavily upon my back.

............

.........

......

A flowing torrent of snakes. One misstep, and I'd be swallowed by the fluid mass and crushed to pieces.
Goldunine's kin pressing forward like madmen, crushing even their own kind to advance... I accelerated deeper and deeper, moving against the crashing waves of diverse giant serpents.
How should I put this... this is a sight that would mentally destroy anyone who hates reptiles... Since dragons are technically close to reptiles, my resistance to this sort of thing has been thoroughly forged through gaming, but even I'm slightly grossed out by this sight.

"Even if I step on them... the aggro... isn't... coming... at all...!"

I suppose it's a blessing in a way, but it feels like running backward on a violently warped conveyor belt; if I let my guard down even for a second, I'll easily trip and fall.
If I had run normally, I'd almost certainly have been minced and carried straight to the collision line where Aydward and the others were waiting. But right now, I'm a runaway express train that could easily keep running until I crash into a wall if I lose focus. In fact, having my speed appropriately dampened makes it feel much easier to run.

But seriously, what are you supposed to do here on a normal playthrough? Actually, in that case, you'd probably just push the frontline forward normally until you encounter the clone. I guess I'm the only one crazy enough to force a breakthrough through a bullshit tunnel like this.

"Yo, hup, lemme borrow your head."

Excessive movements and amplified momentum. To put it into perspective, it's like being a superball or a grasshopper. I landed on the head of a giant serpent that reared up in front of me, and jumped again, putting enough force into my legs to crush its skull.
Using Gravity Zero, I dashed across the walls and ceiling of the circularly bored tunnel.

Fufufu, let me show you the jumping sense of a man once called "The Thomson's Gazelle more ferocious than carnivores" in Gorilionline!
Though, for some reason, if you ever got caught by the lion's Death Roll—which somehow had better performance than the crocodile's despite it being a lion—you were guaranteed to take 100% damage... Gorilion is way too unjust.
Well, why these extreme evil tactics inexplicably didn't work on the gorillas is still considered one of the great mysteries of the Trash Game World (limited strictly to me)... Bring your thoughts back from the inside! It looks like I've arrived.

"...Don't tell me, it's that thing."

A mortar-shaped hole bored into the tunnel that, despite a few side holes, stretched straight on. In the center of that "hole," writhing and squirming in a state of chaos beyond description, was a single snake.
Its entire body was covered in pitch-black scales, and its grotesquely swollen abdomen looked vastly different from the standard image of a snake... Yep, I definitely know what this is.

"It's a Tsuchinoko!"

The clone of Goldunine, now dubbed the Black Tsuchinoko, was the only one directing its gaze toward me, burning with hostility while its kin continued to surge down the path I had just run across.

And then, as all the snakes writhing inside the hole vanished down the tunnel, the effects of Gravity Zero expired, and I landed to face the Black Tsuchinoko.

"A Tsuchinoko... Well, it clearly doesn't look like it has much mobility, but judging it purely by its appearaaanccceee!?"

Bazun! A massive, pale-blue palm clamped shut right where my face had been just a moment ago. If I hadn't instinctively bent backward, I'd probably be respawning at the Rabbit Mansion right about now.

"...My bad. My bad for judging you based on your looks."

But please, let me say this.

"That thing came out of there!?"

I delivered a full-powered retort at the "Arm" extending from the widely opened mouth of the Black Tsuchinoko... and readied my sword.
Looks like this is going to be a chewy fight.

Author's Afterword
Something similar to that one from the Curse-Rotted Greatwood.

Goldunine Reptica 3.
An individual formed when Goldunine's shed skin gains autonomous operational capabilities is designated as Reptica 1. An individual that has absorbed and accumulated magical power is designated as Reptica 2. An individual that has refined a physical body using that accumulated magical power is designated as Reptica 3.

Furthermore, an individual that reaches Reptica 4... Ah, who am I, and who are you? The fundamental norms held by all living things waver, and thus it hates humanity. It hates the rabbits that shelter Him.

Translator's Note

• [1] "Beranmee" & Edokko: Beranmee (べらんめぇ) is a stereotypical phrase associated with an Edokko (A native of Edo/Tokyo). Historically, Edokko were known for being hot-blooded, quick-tempered, and speaking in a very fast, rough dialect. The word itself is a heavily slurred version of "Baka yarou me" (You idiot/bastard). In this context, Aydward is essentially screaming, "Don't give me that crap!" or "What the hell are you on about!?"—instantly dropping his polite persona to become a hot-blooded, old-school mobster.