Chapter 265: Defeat Isn't the Only Way to Lose

Miss.
Hit.
Hit.
Hit.

The Goddess seems to be in a good mood today. Not only did I pull off a massive net-positive on the potion gacha, but to think I actually managed to snap about three consecutive death flags.

"My left arm... I wonder if it'll be usable in a bit?"

Even a mighty "Curse" doesn't seem to eternally repeat its resist loop. Throughout this escape sequence, most of the poison clinging to my left arm had flaked off. To think the day would come when I'd actually be grateful for this cursed Scar for something other than letting me wear clothes for three minutes.

"Though the situation is still the absolute worst..."

Following Aydward's instructions, the standard Vorpal Bunnies are evacuating to the rear, but there isn't a single tank here capable of holding off those four Nagas.

"My bad, I got tangled up with a really troublesome woman... Only she was a snake."

"..............? Ah, because she's a snake!"

Stop it, Akitsu Akane. Having my joke understood on a time delay actually hurts pretty bad.
That being said, being able to temporarily seal the Nagas was a stroke of luck. Plan B only assumed using one of them as an obstacle to slightly stall their movements; I never expected them to tangle themselves up entirely on their own.

"Um, I just hit her normally with my hammer, though..."

"It's fine, it's fine. If she died from something like that, I would've finished her off by myself."

In fact, she literally snapped her own broken neck back into place—the absolute peak of "monster behavior in a human form." If we're not careful, she might just keep rampaging as a headless torso even if we decapitate her.

"Aydward! If possible, I'd really like you to call for Aniki... Vash, but I guess that's impossible!?"

"I've already sent a messenger! But either way, we have no choice but to stop her right here, right now!"

He's absolutely right. It wouldn't even be a funny story if we went through all the trouble of pushing the frontline forward, only to be pushed even further back into the depths because of her.

"If this isn't an EX Scenario, it reeks of a forced-loss event, but..."

A forced-loss event doesn't necessarily mean just getting beaten down one-sidedly. The type where the battle ends once you whittle their HP down to a certain threshold is also technically a forced-loss event in the sense that you "can't win."

"It's not like Lycaon had a prerequisite scenario either. Maybe we can pull off a repel...?"

Wishful thinking. I'm exhausted, obviously, and both Akitsu Akane and Rei-shi are drained as well... By the way, I swallowed my questions and acted like it was normal, but why is Rei-shi casually here? Was it Ruluiath? Did she farm Vorpal Souls in Ruluiath? Kuh, to set up a delayed surprise attack, as expected of a schemer, Saiga-san...!

I have a vague suspicion Akitsu Akane leaked information, since with the weapon-less magic Enchant: Vorpal existing, it's hard to imagine a ShanFro hardcore player stuffing useless weapons into their limited inventory... No, maybe I'm overthinking it.

"Ufufu... Dragons, wolves, and the most unpleasant presence... Ufufufufufu, let's break them all, kill them all, and erase them all, Shou. Let's do that, Shou."

"From what I've confirmed, she forms the poison into a sword and shoots it at high speed! If you get hit, it seems you get cursed, so stay on guard!"

"Yes!"

"Understood... Yes."

Akitsu Akane might be fine, but this is a tough spot for Rei-shi... She's not exactly sluggish, but she's not agile either. Saying she got hit because it was outside her guard sounds like an excuse, but it's a fact that getting shot at unexpectedly makes it a very difficult attack to dodge.
Besides, recalling the self-proclaimed Goldunine's attacks, I can smell the distinct stench of additional effects being attached on top of the "Curse." Well, nine times out of ten it'll probably explode... Just please no homing. Absolutely no repeating homing attacks.

"Hieeeeee..."

Glancing to the side, for some reason, a Vorpal Bunny riding a boar is trembling violently along with the boar itself. Given that she's speaking, is she part of the Vysache Family, or a rabbit assigned to Rei-shi?

"Hey, you there, Bunny."

"Hyowa! W-Wawa! It's the Bird Person! Awesome, it's the real deal, Warthog!"

"Buii!"

"Ah, yes, that's right. I'm the Bird Person, also known as Sunraku. Hello."

What is this? She has black fur and doesn't look like Emul at all, but I feel an intense Emul-ness radiating from her soul or something.
She's smaller than Emul and gives off a younger sister vibe but... she doesn't look very strong.

"This place is about to become a battlefield. Evacuate to the rear."

I attempted a vain struggle to recover some MP... Oh, hit.

"U-Um, well, but..."

"Naaaaaaaaaaa........."

Hm?

"Aaaaaaaaaaare you doing desu waaaaaa!!"

"Fugeu!?"

Ooh, a splendid Aerial Murder Technique (Luchador)... Wait, you're a magic class, Emul.

"I thought you suddenly ran off, and now you're just standing around right in the dead center of the frontlines desu wa!"

"S-Sorry, Emul-nee!"

Emul is scolding her younger sister... she is her younger sister, right? Anyway, she's nagging her in a situation like this, but hey, calm down a bit. I haven't been able to join in because I'm busy recovering, but Rei-shi, Akitsu Akane, and Aydward are currently holding on for dear life against Goldunine, you know? Yeah, read the room.

"Well, anyway, Emul, I have a mission for you."

"Y-Yes na!"

"I need you to bring Vash Aniki here. Like, seriously... I mean it."

Currently, the only one with any actual chance of ending this battle is Vash. Us players will just revive if we die, but if Aydward dies, I can only foresee a disastrous future.

"I'm counting on you, Emul. This is a top-priority mission."

"Y... Yes sir!"

"S-See ya, Bird Person! Tell me your Heroic Tale later, okay! Hyah, Warthog! We'll become the wind!"

"Burururoooo!"

Watching the rabbit-on-boar—whose name I missed—gallop away, I chugged another potion in one gulp. It's not like it actually fills my stomach, but it's starting to get tough.

"Guhuu... Alright, go Emul, go go go!"

"Yes sir!"

.........Alright then. As long as I can evacuate Aydward, I can die with zero regrets, but I doubt it'll be that easy.

"Can't be helped, time to brace myself!"

Come to think of it, this is the exact same lineup from when we fought Lycaon, but let's see how far we can push this!!
Until my left hand fully recovers, holding a weapon awkwardly won't do any good. Gripping the Blue Predator solely in my right hand, I stood up.
Compared to my peak condition, I'm probably at about 40%, but it's not impossible!

"Alright, I'll make that face of yours cryyyy!"

And if I'm lucky, an EX Scenario might trigger!

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

.........

......

"Ah... Are you alive?"

"Barely..."

"I know it's a game, but it still hurts a little..."

Well, this time we got the nightmare formation of four Nagas thrown in as a bonus, so lasting five minutes is honestly a commendable effort.
That being said, my right arm was bitten off, Akitsu Akane lost her left leg, and Rei-shi took an impact to the stomach powerful enough to crack her armor.
The fact that Aydward still has all his limbs—even if he's near death—is practically a miracle... Good job, Goddess of RNG.

"Hey, Aydward, you run away by yourself."

"Guh..."

"Well, if I pull a suicide charge, I can at least buy you enough time to escape."

If I had the Enhanced Armor and the Tactical Mecha, I might have managed something, but since the reactor isn't on me right now, I can't use them.
Begging for things I don't have is pointless, but how should I buy time...? Should I gather aggro with taunt attacks? No, but if I do that, I'll probably take a curse to the face or waist... Going from half-naked to fully naked is painful in multiple ways. Both performance-wise and visually.

"Alright, you shitty snake! I'll flick your forehead again, so present that forehead, punk!"

As long as the system doesn't kill me, I'll keep moving even if I'm reduced to just a head... I'll move like crazy...! Honestly, if you make me serious, I can even overcome an absolute garbage-tier bug that seals all five senses except for one eye. Roar, my left hand, now is the time to unleash the sealed secret art "Forehead-Flicking Cherry Blossom Blizzard (Just thought of it)"...!

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

.........

......

"Hey Sunraku, maybe you folks are like that, but life ain't somethin' you treat so cheaply..."

"Ngea."

A weird voice leaked out. But more importantly, Vash Anikiiii!