Chapter 278: The Dragon's Calamity Endures, and the Wolf Howls ~ The Beast of Lightning and Fire Confronts the Sword Wolf, Part 8

Author's Preface
"For scenes like this where a character's emotions flare up or the battle gets heated, freshness is everything (Meaning unknown)"

"Yeah, my core nature really just isn't suited for counter-style fighting at all!"

"He's accelerating even further...!? Impossible, just how many buffs has he stacked—"

"If specs were the only thing that determined everything, players would never be able to beat Lycaon, now would they!!"

A resounding, uproarious laugh. A complete shift into an ultra-rushed offensive strategy, the exact opposite of his previous fighting style based on observing and reacting.
The sight of flames billowing from a body riddled with cracks, combined with his Spartan-like appearance, made him look like something that was once human but had discarded its humanity—evoking a sense of unnatural horror born specifically because it had once been human.

Everyone present—even the members of his own clan—was witnessing for the very first time the player data named "Sunraku" fully opening his hand with his entire body and soul. They were genuinely repulsed (horrified), and each reacted in their own way.

"Hey, isn't that the guy who was calling Momo-chan a Boss character just a minute ago?"

"Who's the real Boss character here, huh... 'You're the one with a Second Form!' is what I want to say."

"Pencilgon-kun! Hahaha! Truly, he is magnificent! I will pay whatever amount is necessary, so please, by all means, consult with him on our behalf to provide us with information!"

"Aaah! That annoying geezer caught fire too! Zero-chan, go fetch Massive Dynamite-san for me!"

"E-Eh? Um, well..."

Some were exasperated, wondering exactly which mouth he used to casually call someone else a Final Boss.
Some rejoiced, realizing that the plethora of hidden information he was revealing made him not just a gold mine, but a mountain of treasure packed with rare metals.
Some randomly gave impossible orders to the newcomer just to mess with her because the annoying geezer started doing an annoying hustle, and some were just completely bewildered by it.
Some pondered how they should move moving forward, now that he was revealed to be a player holding several times more value than anticipated.
And some thought with a completely straight face, 'Since it's come to this, I wonder if he could just quickly gender-bend and fight with his boobs bouncing all over the place.'

Ten people, ten different colors. As the player Sunraku revealed his true nature—a hand he had kept hidden because he almost exclusively played solo until now—everyone present displayed various reactions. However, there was one person utterly dominated by an emotion of sheer astonishment so profound it rendered her mind completely blank.

"............"

Speechless. Dominated by an astonishment where no other word could better describe her state, the player stared at Sunraku, who had abandoned his roleplay and returned to his original playstyle. Yet, her mind was entirely overwhelmed by the incredibly familiar fighting style he had been using just moments prior.

"What... Eh? Why............ Why?"

His footwork, the way he swung his sword—everything about it was... crude, not even worth comparing to that. His movements practically screamed, 'I just moved using what an amateur considers the optimal solution.' There was absolutely no flow representing the path of the sword.

And yet.

And yet.

The movements Sunraku displayed were more "Ryuguin Fugaku" than anyone else's, even her own. There was no trace of the Ryuguin Style's form in his movements, yet his movements were unmistakably those of "Ryuguin Fugaku." More than herself, who had observed the movements of her late grandfather closer and longer than anyone else—it was as if her grandfather had possessed his body. No, that wasn't it. Those movements were undeniably his own. Meaning, he had made the style of "Ryuguin Fugaku" his own...

I
Don't
Under
Stand
At
All.

"Um, well... Kyo-Ultimate...-san?"

"Tch!"

That is why, when she was nervously called out to, Kyogoku's brain—pumped full of endorphins and whatever else—operated at an unprecedented level. Having slammed out a conclusion, she immediately grabbed onto the person who had spoken to her... Rei Saiga (Psyger-0).

"Tell me! You know, don't you!? Who he really is!"

"E-Eto..."

"Tell me! You know! Hey! He's not one of our disciples! Who is he!? Hey!!"

"P-Please calm down... calm down, Kyogoku-chan...!"

".........Tsu, ah.........! .........Tsui!"

An emotional overflow. Kyogoku shook Psyger-0 as if she were suffocating because the words she needed to vomit out were stuck in her throat. The system, reading the player's emotions, even caused tears to stream from her eyes. Her sudden transformation—completely shattering the impression she had maintained thus far—drew the attention of those around them, wondering what on earth was going on between the two.

"Um... First of all, he... has absolutely no connection to Ryuguin..."

"Hah?"

Like hell that's true. Are you making fun of me?
Though unspoken, the words were clearly written on her face, and an emotion that could only be described as murderous intent flared up, aimed squarely at Psyger-0. Despite facing a look that seemed ready to grab her neck and strangle her at any moment, the armored knight did not flinch, taking it head-on.
Because her emotional impulse, surpassing reason, told her she must not hesitate to prove it.

"He... um, hasn't ever... practiced any martial arts. It's the truth."

"As if...!"

"It is the truth."

A declaration.
A declaration laced with such absolute confidence—implying that even if the universe suddenly started revolving around the Earth right this very moment, that fact alone would remain immutable—managed to bring a slight sliver of calm back to Kyogoku's emotions.

"Then how do you explain that!? His footwork is sloppy, and the way he handles a sword is an absolute mess! Oh, yes, exactly! He's practically an amateur, yet he is the exact spitting image of Grandfather! What is the meaning of this!?"

Even in the face of Kyogoku's howling words—a fury that would have showered her in spit had this been reality—Psyger-0 did not retreat.
If she backed down here, she wouldn't just be degrading herself, but him as well... A strange conviction she herself didn't fully understand supported Psyger-0. That is why the knight did not waver. As if declaring through her actions that as long as he stood strong like a raging fire, she too would not fall.

"That's... probably something he learned... from a game, I think."

"............Hah?"

She had no solid proof. But if you gathered the circumstantial evidence, that was most likely the correct answer.

"Do you know of the game supervised by Fugaku-ojiisama?"

"...What do you mean, 'do I know'? I cleared the whole thing."

Well, that's strange, Psyger-0 tilted her head in confusion. The game recommended to him by an older female acquaintance featured an NPC modeled after the great swordsman she also knew, serving as the hidden boss. It wasn't strange at all that Kyogoku—a relative of their greatest collaborator—had a copy of that game. But if she had cleared everything, why was she questioning this?

Because Kyogoku's current reaction wasn't "There's no way you can learn that just from a game," but rather...

Why is there any need to bring that topic up now?

"Um... well... did you know you can fight a Trace AI of Ryuguin Fugaku as the hidden boss... Don't tell me, you didn't know?"

Speechless. Updated. An emotionless expression transcending nothingness, as if her very soul had slipped away. Seeing her in a state that genuinely made Psyger-0 worry if her actual physical heart had stopped from sheer astonishment, she hurriedly shook Kyogoku.

"A-Are you okay...?"

"I don't know......... I, didn't know anything about that........."

The revealed truth. The wish left behind by the genuine "Sword Saint" who was no longer in this world. Truth is stranger than fiction. Through a chain of coincidences so bizarre one couldn't even begin to guess how many had to perfectly align, the Sword Saint's granddaughter finally learned of her grandfather's wish.

However, the two fighting in the arena had no way of knowing any of that.
The clash between the digital "Sword Saint" and the digital "Cracked, Flaming Mercenary" was flaring up even higher.

Author's Afterword
Josette, never change.