Chapter 276: The Dragon's Calamity Endures, and the Wolf Howls ~ The Beast of Lightning and Fire Confronts the Sword Wolf, Part 6

Author's Preface

"Jyuubeeeeeeiii! Save meeeeeeeeee! My creative urge is going to explodeeeeeee!!! With a bang!!!!!"
"Do it yourself." (Image omitted)

To put it simply, that man was the strongest.

From a young age, he possessed instincts like a beast, sniffing out his opponent's movements before they even made them and crushing their initiative with a heavy blade. That was the extraordinary way he fought.
However, all living things deteriorate and decline. From the moment he realized his physical strength had dropped... even though he was still far stronger than any other swordsman his age, the man changed the way he fought.

By further sharpening the instincts he used to read his opponents—shedding his beast-like ferocity but retaining the experience he had polished and accumulated since his youth—he reached the absolute pinnacle of a master's art.
He would see through his opponent's movements before they even made them, responding with the absolute bare minimum movement required to strike their mask.

Those who fought the man, who monopolized the title of the strongest even in his old age, would suffer defeats that could only be described as: "It felt like fighting a ghost," "My bamboo sword just passed right through him," or "Before I knew it, I had lost." Yet despite this, they directed nothing but admiration and respect toward him.

Then one day, when the man began to feel his death approaching, he had the opportunity to face his granddaughter—the very granddaughter he had named, who had followed in his footsteps to walk the path of the sword.
The man was still human; he possessed the natural affection to dote on his granddaughter, but when it came to the sword, it was an entirely different story. The fact that his granddaughter's skill fell short and the idea of him holding back were two completely separate matters. Just as he always did, he attempted to read his opponent's movements, and... he realized it.

He realized that his granddaughter was looking straight at him, and that he hadn't even been looking at his granddaughter at all.

It was nothing profound. If he was pouring his heart and soul into observing his opponent's movements to perfectly control himself, it completely ceased to matter who that opponent actually was.
Even if he had been facing a dummy stuffed with meat wearing armor instead of his granddaughter, what the man did wouldn't have changed in the slightest.

He was looking only at the opponent's technique, not the opponent themselves.

Upon realizing such a simple fact, the man fell into terrible despair. He drowned himself in alcohol for the first and last time in his life... and then he picked up the very thing that had been delivered to him—the very thing he had once laughed off and tossed aside.

───It is far too late for me to change now, but if it can serve as an aid to those who follow...

Simply put, those feelings have yet to be noticed by the person he wanted them to reach the most.
However, after a bizarre series of coincidences involving a triple-and-a-half twisting detour, his wish would end up being displayed right in front of the man's granddaughter.

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

.........

......

Basically, the Ryuguin Fugaku Style is just a batting center. It's not a showdown between a pitcher and a batter; you're just constantly correcting your own form in response to the ball flying at you.
Not that I'm in any position of authority to say that's strictly wrong, but if that's the case, isn't it basically the same as beating up an NPC? Since we're going through all the trouble of a PvP battle, you should actually look at your opponent more.

That being said, it is a fact that this tactic is strong, because even just mimicking the outer shell is enough to let me deal with the chaotic dance of the Servant Swords.

"If you're gonna gang up on me, you don't have nearly enough swords for it, ora!"

The anti-gank response techniques I forged in the chaotic era of Bakumatsu and gang-up FPS games! Fundamentally, humans can't help but direct their gaze toward their true target!
Tracing Psyger-100's line of sight, I intercepted the Pega-whatever that came flying in an upward scooping trajectory and activated Single Thought, Rock Pierce. By landing a hit on the exact same spot, the Pega-whatever's blade let out a scream.

"You've got to be joking... Where did you learn that!?"

"Through a correspondence course!"

Well, it's not entirely wrong.
There's no point in playing around with flying swords forever. From here on out, it's my turn.

"You aren't the only one who uses all sorts of different weapons...!"

Weapon swap. Wreathing my fists in crimson Cestus. Despite its incredibly cool name, the Arctus Regalecus leaves an overwhelmingly pathetic impression of being casually poisoned or treated as a light snack. However, this Cestus crafted from its materials wraps so tightly around the fists that it won't come off unless a specific condition is met.
Well, in reality, it leaves exactly enough room to move your index finger, meaning you can just operate your menu window and unequip it normally, but hey, that's just a little charm. Let's respect the lore.

"Cestus of the Crimson Lotus Sea (Regalecus Cestus)."

Letting the excess straps wrapped around my fists flutter in the wind, I took my stance while maintaining the Roleplay.

"I'll be doing the exact same thing, but from here on out, I'm on the offensive."

"Then let me see it!"

Even if there are no hands gripping them, there is still someone moving them. Fixing my gaze on the flying magic swords and cat teasers, I swung my fists without a shred of hesitation.

The Cestus of the Crimson Lotus Sea has three abilities.
First, when attacking, it mitigates the damage to the user caused by whatever their fist strikes. In short, as long as I have this equipped, I get a damage reduction process even if I punch the sharp edge of a sword.
Second, if both the user and the target take damage, it fills up a "Gauge." In a sense, this weapon possesses a system very similar to a Counter-Blade Sword.

"Right! Left! Directly above!"

I punched the Pega-whatever, deflected the Super Cat Teaser, and the unnamed sword plunging down at me from above clashed directly with my crimson-wrapped fist.
A steel tip and a human middle finger. Two things that fundamentally shouldn't be able to contest each other collided, and my fist repelled the sword.

"Hahhaa! Strong feast!!"

And while I'm at it, equipment swap! Let me teach you the ABCs of PvP!

Having tossed aside my meager defense to become a Fish-Face, I instantly stepped forward.
Perhaps thinking I was still using the Ryuguin Style, a sword leaped in front of me to pin down my advancing step, but...

"Oi oi, what's the point of blocking the path I've already passed through...?"

Right now, I am half-naked with a fish mask, clad in a pure white cloak that holds the night sky within its lining—fully winterized half-nakedness! Pervert is an NG word, alright!
Wearing the Star Cloak of Lapistella, I can even become a mage. Ah, that's right. A distance of five meters is perfectly within my "Firing Range."

"【Apport】!"

"Wha!?"

Pushing the teleportation range to its absolute limit, I moved directly into the one-meter radius to the left and slightly forward of Psyger-100—the opposite side of her right hand, which was likely her dominant hand judging by how she held the Holy Sword. Her movements stiffened. It seemed she never expected me to use teleportation magic.

"Thanks to you using such high-quality swords, my gauge filled up real quick...!"

The third ability of the Cestus of the Crimson Lotus Sea.
By accumulating the gauge to its maximum, it can be activated. It is the Release of the straps binding my fists.

"Dealing with something of this level...!"

"Too bad, I'm still doing the Roleplay."

If you want to keep swords away from me, you're going to need an advantage that surpasses basic physical laws. Kyogoku's idea wasn't bad, but attempting it while her Servant Sword control was still perfect was a terrible move.
Doing things like this only after shaking the opponent up is the proper etiquette of PvP.

I dodged the horizontal sweep of the Holy Sword Excalibur by a hair's breadth. Honestly, it sent a slight chill down my spine, but I forced her to play her hand. Now, I can move faster than that quick-cast magic of hers.

"Consider this my business card. Please accept it."

Released as if bursting open, the Cestus of the Crimson Lotus Sea wrapped around my fists, making them look a size larger.
You could call them half-baked gloves made entirely of straps. They clearly didn't look like they could fully protect my fists, but judging things purely by their appearance is a hasty mistake.

"Oraaa!"

"Guoh...!"

The Cestus of the Crimson Lotus Sea wrapping the air around my fist clashed against Psyger-100's armor... ringing out with a hard, metallic clang.

The ability the Cestus of the Crimson Lotus Sea exerts in this state is, in a sense, extremely simple. It is the complete nullification of all damage routed through the fist.
In short, as long as it's in this state, whether I plunge my hand into magma, punch a block of solid poison, or get bitten by Lycaon... as long as the damage targets "from the elbow to the tip of the fist," all damage is entirely nullified.

No matter how hard the armor I strike is, or even if I catch the edge of a blade, my fist won't be scratched. Only the opponent takes damage.
Well, anything past the elbow takes damage normally, and its durability can still be shaved away by Weapon Breakers like that Pega-whatever, so it's not entirely omnipotent...

"Even so, this fist will not break! Just like that sword earlier!"

"Then I'll just aim for your torso!"

Yep, Roleplay.
My concentration is starting to run out, but since her Heroic Awakening is waiting for me after this, I want to whittle her down as much as possible right here and now.

Extreme close-quarters combat is the one and only distance weakness of a Sword Saint. If she carelessly uses her Servant Swords, they might end up stabbing her instead, so I maintained this distance and continuously attacked.
It sounds easy, but it's actually incredibly difficult. You have to pursue an opponent actively trying to escape while simultaneously dodging their interceptions without breaking the distance.

"【Surging Lightn—"

"That shoots from your hand, right?"

Then I just need to get behind you.
Activating Formula Drift, I used the accelerated slide to circle around to her back... Oops, this is as far as I go.

"You're really pushing it...!"

A Servant Sword wedged itself exactly between me and Psyger-100, practically grazing her back. If she messed up, she'd end up slashing her own back open, but she still pulled it off.

"I'm completely convinced now... You're the type that absolutely cannot be allowed to close into point-blank range, aren't you."

"I haven't even shown you ten percent of my hand yet, though?"

"There's no need to rush the conclusion... I haven't shown you everything I have yet either."

The Servant Swords vanished, and even the Holy Sword was stored away. Then, as if completely swapping out her lineup, a number of swords entirely different from the ones she used previously were deployed.

"Oi oi... Just how many weapons do you have stuffed in your inventory?"

"Fufufu... Thirty-five."

Seriously? That's way too much variety, oi.
Wait, why did she put the Holy Sword away? Is she not going to use Awakening? No, that's wrong, there has to be a merit to not using Awakening that justifies it...!?

"By the way, Sunraku, do you know of any weapons that 'demonstrate their true effects when used simultaneously'?"

"I don't really need a live demonstration—!?"

"Hahaha, no need to be modest... 'Imperial Five' activate!"

Yeah, this is a bit... I don't think I can afford to play around with Roleplay right now.

Author's Afterword
Normally, having your inventory completely stuffed would hinder your movements, but Psyger-100 resolves that issue using accessories.
Well, even so, heavy things are heavy, so she uses various buffs to allow herself to move. The Sword Saint, representing the absolute pinnacle of ShanFro, is built upon a steady, meticulous foundation entirely contrary to the elegance of her appearance.

Despite being the incarnation of coolness—turning into Spartan-style armor and becoming a weapon that absolutely protects the player's fists under specific conditions—the monster it was crafted from apparently gets eaten alive by predators in the deep sea.
Well, the deep-sea ecosystem is just too absurd. You've got an orca with half its flippers in the domain of spirits, an anglerfish that modifies any species into its kin and launches them like fighter jets, and a hermit crab that creates its own unique ecosystem on its back to manufacture dangerous creatures to fight for it. It's the ecosystem's fault.

By the way, regarding those three monsters: The orca can brute-force the anglerfish to death, but is weak to the hermit crab's counters. The anglerfish can steal the monsters the hermit crab creates, but is weak to the orca's brute force. The hermit crab can create monsters acting as natural predators to the orca, but if it fights the anglerfish, the monsters it creates get stolen, making it weak. Thus, it forms a rock-paper-scissors dynamic.