Chapter 302: Intersection of the Moment

Author's Preface
A consecutive update to prevent the spoilers from the Afterword in Chapter 301 from showing up too early.

"........."

"D-Damn yoou!"

A strike where the tip of the blade was Reversed accurately and reliably aimed for my neck.
I forcefully slammed Aspiring Blades of the Hero (Duxram) into it, deflecting the blade meant to kill me, only to find that even that had been a decoy. A thrust aimed directly at the center of my chest... I barely managed to survive the bizarre weapon—which was essentially a tonfa turned into a slashing weapon—by mobilizing every single evasion skill I had.

"........."

"Damn it, my focus is already being chipped away as it is...!"

Running Roleplay: Ryuguin Fugaku at full capacity, completely Half-Destroying Duxram—a weapon that essentially grants invincibility as long as you land critical hits—and yet I was still at an overwhelming disadvantage.
The players who had been jeering from the sidelines were also beginning to emit an atmosphere of resignation. Damn it, I absolutely refuse to get killed over such... such an incomprehensible reason!

If I turn to defense, I'll die. I have to parry while attacking. Damn it, I don't have enough caffeine in my system, do your best, adrenaline!
She isn't exceptionally fast, but her ability to consistently trace the absolute optimal trajectory for her weapons is a completely TAS-level demon behavior, and her flashes of attacks danced around me, aiming for the kill.

With a spin, the tip faced backward. By returning it to its tonfa form, the enemy added "punches" to her options, making her attacks even more diverse.
But in that form, her effective range is basically the same as her fists... Thank god, it seems my path to survival hasn't been completely cut off yet.

"He recovered his stance!"

"Uwooh, awesome."

They're too noisy. If you're going to act as BGM, pay a little more attention to the melody. Mood-wise, I kind of want to listen to some rock music... Ah, no good. If I seal my hearing, I'll probably die.

"More importantly... Did I... even do anything... wrong!?"

Perhaps letting my guard down slightly to whine caused it, but I carelessly allowed Duxram to be deflected and knocked away.
In that case, while operating my window with the hand she forcefully emptied, I used my remaining one-handed sword to deal with the flurry of attacks attempting to reap my life.

The equipment deployment speed I normally never paid attention to suddenly felt so agonizingly slow it genuinely made me angry.
It hasn't been seven days, so I can't use the Exceed Charge, but even so, the Mirror Shield of the Nether-King (Dis Pater) is capable enough. Intercepting the Tonfa Edge's attacks with it, I stepped forward. Eat this, a one-man phalanx!

"........."

A hood pulled low over her eyes and a muffler hiding her mouth. I can't see her expression, but even after holding out against her for this long, her movements show absolutely zero trace of emotions like impatience or irritation.
Are you literally just an AI or what? I still have absolutely no idea why I'm being so intensively targeted, but after holding on for this long, just saying "Oh well, I can't win so I'll just lose" feels incredibly frustrating.

Is it because this is Firstia—the very first town where almost every player who starts ShanFro lands—and dying here means I'll respawn in a completely different town?
Or is it simply because I refuse to lose while a massive crowd of newbies watches me as spectators in this beginner's town?

The trigger can be whatever. Regardless, the impulse currently burning inside me is screaming, "I don't want to lose."

"Uooooo! I'm going to buy myself at least five seconds out of sheer stubbornness!"

Neither of these items are Unique anyway, and there's no reason to hide them anymore! I forcefully pushed back the completely suppressed battle situation for a single blank moment using a suicidal brute-force maneuver. Clenching my glove-covered right hand tightly, I slammed my fist into my chest.

"You're the one who picked this fight first! Don't you dare slap a kill penalty on me even if you get blown away, oraa!"

"............!"

Cloaked in pitch-black lightning, executing movements that surpassed even her optimal and fastest attacks, the enemy... Bounty Hunter "Lutia," trembled as if experiencing agitation for the very first time.

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

.........

......

Why am I being pursued with such relentless obsession? Why is she ignoring Gozmandragora-shi—who's just standing there amidst the crowd—specifically to target me? I want to scream at her to explain the reason, but the Bounty Hunter will likely just continue attacking me in silence. If that's the case, I'll go all-out too.

"Full throttle. I'll overcome the gap in technique with a gap in Stats!"

Activating Moment Sight. Within the slow-motion world, I exercised the privilege of being the only one accelerating, executing Plan B: "A relentless, overwhelming push."
Even if I have stamina, I can't fake mental fatigue. Since I don't have a caffeine boost, if I don't settle this in an extremely short amount of time, I'll be ground down. That's exactly why this is a short-term decisive battle. Stretching a single second to its absolute limit, I bet everything on a single moment.

"I'll kill y—..."

But conversely, that meant it was a double-edged sword that also scraped away the time I had to think. That was why I only just noticed a certain, incredibly simple "fact."

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

Our eyes met.
Amidst my accelerated thoughts, inside the slow-motion world, the Bounty Hunter's eyes were definitely tracking my movements.
Between the gap of her hood and muffler, her sapphire-blue "eyes" housed a light that seemed to shine like a star under its own power. I'm certain my eyes were emitting a similar effect.

It was an eye that captured a world where time was carved into increments. A gaze that refused to miss a single frame.
The simple fact that NPCs also use magic and skills. Lutia, who was under the effect of "Moment Sight" just like me, slowly moved her mouth.
Just a split second... before my attack reached her. With only a single Frame remaining, Lutia definitely muttered these words:

"───'Mach'."

A black flash of lightning and a sonic shockwave intersected, and............ sparks scattered inside my head.

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

.........

......

"............!!?"

You're kidding me, did my consciousness just black out!? Wait, I haven't... respawned! I'm alive!?

"...Buhaa!!"

It's no good, the thread of tension completely snapped.
Striking my chest with my barely functioning right hand, I deactivated the effect of the Levin Trigger: Hazard. My body, unable to even withstand the act of falling to its knees like a tower missing its support pillar, collapsed completely, landing on its rear like a mountain of rubble crumbling even further.

Turning around with a painfully sluggish movement full of openings, I saw the Bounty Hunter frozen in the posture of having fully followed through on a lethal strike, and...

The figure of the Vorpal Secret Art: [Fading Mirror], Torn into six equal pieces.

"I've gotta say, I did pretty damn well......... huh."

In that split second, the option my intuition and subconscious selected using all my available speed was aggro-separation. In other words, "shifting the blame."
I don't know if it was a skill or magic, but I managed to escape from that thing called "Mach," which—in terms of instantaneous speed alone—was equal to... no, superior to Levin Trigger: Hazard. Simply dodging to the side would still have resulted in me getting caught. Therefore, it seems my commercial-grade VR rig managed to read the decision my neurons fired off as they pushed past their limits in that single instant.

"Ahー no good. I can't move anymore."

My engine stalled. I could die thirty times over before I manage to reboot. Or should I trust in the RNG of a lucky endure proc and play a shitty game of Russian Roulette? I need to go grovel to the Goddess.

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

"...Ahー, how about we settle this with a settlement fee?"

It seems the Grim Reapers these days use tonfas instead of scythes. The Bounty Hunter, who looked perfectly fine despite outputting that absurd level of speed, stared intently at me, and...

Hyun!

"Wepoah!?"

A knife, thrown at a speed too fast for the eye to track, struck... not me, but the throat of Gozmandragora-shi, who had been watching my battle with Bounty Hunter Lutia with a completely dumbfounded expression. Perhaps he had forgotten to recover his HP, but Gozmandragora-shi's HP instantly hit zero from the single throwing knife, and he vanished amidst an explosion effect.
She briefly glanced at the items Gozmandragora-shi dropped and clicked her tongue... Yep, she definitely just clicked her tongue. It was the kind of tongue click that basically said, "What a pathetic haul, hey."

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

Having swiftly and brilliantly eliminated her target, Lutia pulled something out from inside her long coat... a card? Taking it out, she threw it at me while I sat collapsed on my rear.
Then, bringing her face close to my ear, she...

"...Cafe 'Serpent's Apple', the password is 'Invited by the Apple Blossoms'."

"Ah, I'm practically a regular there..."

Leaving behind a whisper that sent an electric shock down my spine—reminiscent of Pencilgon wearing multiple layers of masks—the Bounty Hunter whipped the hem of her coat.
Walking briskly, Lutia collected the items scattered by the late Gozmandragora-shi with a single snap of her fingers and then gallantly departed.........

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

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

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

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

Silence.

The chaotic noise of those unaware of the situation here felt distant, while those who had witnessed what just occurred remained completely silent, lacking any words.

Now then, what's my move? Even the slightest movement, or even just muttering the word 'bathroom,' would probably shatter this silence.

".........(Su—)"

Standing up, I gestured to the crowd, essentially saying "Well, calm down." Then, I accepted the muffler (which was currently losing its camouflage) from Tango-kun—who looked like his previously creeped-out gaze had been blasted away to somewhere else entirely—let out a small laugh, and...

"Ahー! Look over there, it's Lycaon the Night Raider!!"

I ran away at full speed.

I neeeeeeed some Girly Poweer!!!

Author's Afterword

• Skill: "Mach"
  A super-acceleration skill that strings together multiple acceleration and perception skills. In exchange for realizing an overwhelming speed, the user falls into a "Fatigue Rigidity" state for a set amount of time after use.
  However, there likely isn't anyone who can actually catch up to someone returning from the world of the speed of sound.
  By the way, Lutia-san is only the second fastest among the Bounty Hunters. The first? Well, that's obviously...

• Skill: "Three-Strike Six-Slash Cruelty"
  Bounty Hunter Lutia's trump card. It doesn't quite reach the level of the absolute technique "Tachikaze"... but it's still a three-hit combo unleashed at a speed that makes it difficult to even perceive. Its power is so sharp and fast that it will carve absolutely anyone into six equal pieces.
  The more "defenseless" the target is (it literally checks whether or not you have armor equipped), the more its armor-piercing power increases. Therefore, it has an incredibly high synergy with the aforementioned "Mach."