Chapter 296: Like Icarus Charging Full-Speed into the Sun's Curtain

The provisionally named X-Broccoli... From what I can see, its entire body is formed from magma or something equivalent to it. Its appearance clearly deviates from any living creature, but its behavior resembles the biological motions of a monster.
Its size is roughly around Bilac or Aydward's level... meaning about half the size of a tall adult male. The mysterious broccoli-like parts are probably feathers... or wings.

For now, taking a few steps closer wasn't an issue. Even shadowboxing on the spot didn't trigger any problems.
However, readying a weapon was an instant out. In addition, there were a few times my shadowboxing triggered its warning sound. When it switches to alert mode, its cry (?) changes, but if I simply halt any combat preparations and take a few steps back, the alert mode is easily canceled.

"Hnnn... Hellooo!"

"Fulululululu......"

There's a reaction, but no vocal response. The NPC theory is definitely looking thin. Is it safer to assume this is a non-active monster?
For now, "combat preparations" was confirmed as the definitive switch that triggers its alert mode. Next, I'll just try simply approaching it.

"Not scary at all~ Not scary at all~... Look at me, I'm obviously half-naked. I don't have any concealed weapons or anything, so not scary at all~..."

One step, two steps. I made up my mind and advanced several steps at once... Oops, slip damage.

"Hm...? Wait, I'm burningggggg!?"

I frantically jumped back, putting out the fire that had started on my Gazing Bird Mask. You've gotta be kidding me, its durability got halved... That was close.

"So this is a contact-out type... If that's the case, the strategy for fighting it is... No wait, in that case, the player would normally just die too, right?"

For a split second, the idea of somehow blowing open the ceiling and dropping the water on it crossed my mind, but since there's zero guarantee of the player's safety, I'd probably just be crushed to death before seeing the results.
Besides, I have this sinking feeling that attempting to solve this via combat is an absolute 'out', regardless of whether I win or lose.

『We came from the sky. The sky is our domain... There is no god in the heavens. God is down below...!』

A stepping stone, a mad scientist, the guy who gets killed in the opening sequence of a horror movie... Whatever the evaluation may be, the man in that recorded footage definitely said those words.
I'm not going to conveniently assume the X-Broccoli right in front of me is "God" and that I've somehow run into the final boss of the game way ahead of schedule...
But at the very least, the area where the entity described as "God" resides is underground, meaning it's far too early to conclude the X-Broccoli is completely unrelated to it.

"That being said, depending on the method to obtain the spark, entering combat might be unavoidable..."

The method I used to harvest Goldunine's "Curse" required, as an absolute prerequisite, slashing her with the Konsho. There's no way it's going to conveniently interpret me slashing it with a bladed weapon as a proof of friendship.

"For now, I'll restrict myself from drawing my weapons and just test a bunch of things."

Fortunately, there's no one around to see me, so I don't need to hold back.

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Trial 1: Dogeza.

"Could you please share some of your spark with me!!!"

A top-tier gamer doesn't just 'wait and see'. It's full throttle right from the very first move.
I directed a full-power Dogeza—one that screamed, 'This is the true Yamato Spirit!'—straight at the X-Broccoli. I kept my head bowed like that for about ten seconds, and although there was a reaction, it didn't specifically address the Dogeza.

"This is bad, I'm officially out of ideas."

What could possibly be a more effective method than Dogeza?

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Since I was quite literally out of ideas, I equipped an accessory with an HP regeneration effect that I had bought at Effuielle's shop. I found the exact distance where the slip damage and regeneration perfectly canceled each other out into zero net damage, and while letting myself get moderately roasted, an idea suddenly came to me.

"The reason why shadowboxing sometimes triggers its alert and sometimes doesn't... huh."

In short, I need to figure out exactly what makes the X-Broccoli become alert. I need to calculate its criteria.

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First, I just shadowboxed normally, casually thinking about how it's been a while since I've played a game while wishing I didn't have to go to school............ No alert.

Next, I shadowboxed while staring straight at the X-Broccoli, imagining myself charging straight in and punching it flyin— Warning sound!

"I had a feeling, but is the system actually reading the player's thoughts here...?"

I bounded backward while finalizing my conclusion on the conditions for it entering alert mode. If taking action with a desire for combat triggers its warning net... then hey, Broccoli Boy, take a look at my weapon! It's an anti-blade sword custom-made by Vysache............ Alright, warning net bypassed!
I see, so it'll overlook me drawing a weapon as long as it's not for combat. I'll probably trigger the alert mode the exact instant I change my mind, though.

"In that case, using the Konsho is out of the question after all... Meaning achieving my objective via an attack is pretty much impossible."

I slowly edged closer, pondering what to do. The ability of the Konsho requires a critical hit as a trigger. The possibilities were either "Find some way to use the Konsho" or "Find a way to obtain the 'Spark?' without using the Konsho."

"Folololololololololo........."

"The theory that its cry is actually some kind of Morse code cipher... feels way too plausible, so it's terrifying."

In that case, it'd be an impossible deciphering task for my IQ level. At worst, I might have to sell the info to the fake magical girl, but... Hmmm.

"Ahー, Mr. Broccoli, whose name I don't know."

"Folololololololo........."

I get the feeling that "sincerity" is a concept that generally only works on creatures of the same species or opponents you're somewhat superior to... but this is a strong enemy that didn't even respond to a Dogeza. Well, there's no harm in trying.

"Actually, the reason I came here today is because my Aniki... Ah, he's a hyper-Yakuza rabbit, but he gave me an order to bring back something called a 'spark?'."

I couldn't help but wonder what the point of talking was in an astounding zero-communication state where our mutual linguistic comprehension was 0%, but since the only other option left was resorting to force, it couldn't be helped.

"I won't attack, okay? ...And, well, as for what I'm going to use it for, it's for repairing? Or reviving? This thing..."

The exact instant I pulled out the Decayed Areadbhair—presenting it as a form of explanation to ensure it wouldn't feel any hostility—it happened.

"Vivivivivivivivivivi......"

"Ki........."

IT CAAME───!! I desperately suppressed the urge to scream and wildly swing the Decayed Areadbhair around, instead floating a massive, toothy grin beneath my charred mask.

Did you see that, you bastard!? I'm a man who survived the World (Galge) of split-second margins, and completely sold out my flattery to that Saint-Style Arrogant Idiot (Fair-kuso), oraーッ!!
So I can definitely execute a Perfect Communication even with a mysterious object, aahーッ!!

"That's right, good boy... Good boy... I, want, spark... You, give, spark... Good boy, good boy..."

Different from both its normal state and its alert state, the X-Broccoli floated as if staring intently at me and the decayed Tip of the Giant Spear (Areadbhair) I held.

Keeping my absolute awareness firmly locked onto the idea that Areadbhair was strictly an Ornament (Item) meant purely to be shown off and not a weapon, I moved closer and closer.
I unequipped all my armor, completely naked... No, wait, I have my un-equippable innerwear on, so I'm barely half-naked! Barely half-naked!
With every step I took while barely half-naked (self-proclaimed), the amount of damage I took per second increased. Fully aware of my HP aggressively chipping away, completely outpacing the accessory's recovery rate, I still pushed forward.

This was fundamentally different from the visual effects of the Mirror Shield of the Nether-King (Dis Pater) or Scorched Bone and Crushing Flesh. This was literally my physical body starting to burn.
Damage effects and real flames mixed together, my entire body crumbling away as I continued to step forward... and screamed.

"I don't care what it is, just give me the spark, pleeeeeease!!"

"Voooooooooouuuu......"

With a buwari, the X-Broccoli... No, because I had gotten as close as physically possible, I finally understood. That really was a crumpled up, massive, incredibly massive... "Butterfly" spreading its magma-colored wings.
As if scattering scales, but in reality, what the magma butterfly's wings unleashed was a scorching wave of hellfire accompanied by a shockwave───

"Buo."

Turned to cinders in an instant, I vanished like a cloud of dust alongside the death effect.
When I wake up next, if this was a pointless death, I'm seriously coming back here to punch you, so you better remember that...!

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To it, continuing to sleep at the bottom of the volcano for the "Time that is to Come" wasn't even a painful experience.
Pain is an emotion strictly tied to having a will. For it—whose Thoughts were closer to that of an insect or a computer—an intruder falling from a fissure in the canopy was something it truly, completely did not care about.

Even its response wasn't something it actively desired. To begin with, it possessed absolutely zero biological Autonomy (Character). It simply returned answer B in response to interference A. It was merely a system of reactions and responses that bundled such simple action patterns together to make it appear adaptable. That was the red ◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎, endlessly accumulating power in the depths of the earth.
Categorized alongside the other "Red," but fundamentally different in both principle and origin...

The monster named "Daisekishi [The Scorching Great Crimson Wings]" simply followed its reason for existence.

Namely, fulfilling its mission to "compensate for loss using the power it possesses."
Even if it meant unleashing a blast of hellfire with enough firepower to incinerate even a player specialized in fire resistance. Even if that noisy biological entity was blown away as a result.

Without feeling any particular emotion about the fact that it had successfully imbued its power into the steel that required its flames, the Scorching Great Crimson Wings simply returned to its original state.

The day when that entity—endlessly accumulating power within its cage in the earth's crust—would bathe in the light of the surface... was not far off.

Author's Afterword

• Daisekishi [The Scorching Great Crimson Wings]
  Another "Red," distinct from Daisekii [The Devouring Great Crimson Clad]. The Crater Lake of Rise and Fall is fundamentally not a volcano—its true identity is the "────" of "───", and the entity lurking in its deep stratum is the Scorching Great Crimson Wings.
  Just like the other "────", it possesses no clear will or emotions. It is effectively a system that merely fulfills its reason for existence. By the way, if you attacked it, it wouldn't have been strange for the Crater Lake of Rise and Fall to Erupt with Steam rather than magma.

Also, because its stats are tuned to a Raid Boss level, the shockwave-hellfire blast from earlier boasts such absurd firepower that even Josette—with her defense fully buffed—would only barely survive it half-dead. So yeah, paper-thin armor is obviously going to get turned to cinders... And it's an AoE attack, too.