Chapter 73: Dedicated to a Moment Part 20

Using the Vorpal Blade Art [Water Mirror Moon] to wipe my aggro, Pencilgon jumped out to switch places with me, bathing Wethermon in what appeared to be magical fire. Since she said she would do it, all I have to do is prepare for the final moment.

"Togetsu preparation complete. Fifteen seconds left. Since you talked big, you better endure it, Pencilgon...!"

"Ah, crap."

Oi, you didn't even last five seconds. Grabbed by Wethermon the Tombguard, Pencilgon was slammed into the ground and scattered into polygons. I threw a resurrection item and danced out in front of Wethermon the Tombguard once again. Well, even if it was just a few seconds, if I consider it time spent shaking off the tension, it wasn't a waste.

"Stay back, Pencilgon!"

"Ah, sorry!"

"Can't be helped!"

If you aren't used to seeing instant-death attacks to some extent, the accident rate increases dramatically; actually, I've died quite a few times myself. Confirming that Pencilgon had retreated, I challenged [Seiten Taisei] once again.

(Ten seconds left, eight... six... four...... one.)

"Alright!"

With this, the adjustments are complete. If I can just endure for thirty seconds, all the preparations will connect and be complete.

"Alright, bring it! From here on is the genuine climax!"

Dodge the blade, evade the pillar of fire, parry the palm. Come to think of it, for a battle that started only thirty minutes ago, I'm adapting remarkably well. Is it the power of energy drinks? The thirty seconds feel incredibly long. Jumping over the cloud arm, running through the rain of lightning, and dodging the blade again. Just a little more, ten seconds left.

"[Hai-fubuki] (Ash Blizzard)."

"Five seconds left!"

Four. I slip through the gray encirclement network.

Three. A super-speed Iai slash is released; I crouch to avoid it.

Two. Wethermon the Tombguard's movement stops for an instant. Here it comes...!

One. I also take a stance to intercept. The pair of blades becomes a single blade. I reactivate the skill that just finished its cooldown after enduring and enduring...!

Zero.

"H-Huh?"

A sense of despondency, like the air leaking out of me. This sensation is the feeling of swinging at empty air when trying to activate a skill that hasn't finished its cooldown... In other words, the skill isn't activating. In front of me is Wethermon the Tombguard, his katana raised high. Togetsu has already finished combining, but with the weapon type changed, the current Togetsu cannot parry in time without the buffs from [Climax Boost] and [Hunger Wolf].

"No way..."

Did I mess up the second management? Did I skip a few seconds somewhere? Ah, I see. No.

"I haven't whittled down his HP enough."

"[Tensei] (Sky Clear)."

"Ah... I screwed up."

Activation failed because conditions weren't met. To make such a basic mistake... I'm done for. There's no way to prepare for self-resurrection from here. The blue blade is swinging down, and I can't respond to it. Even for me, doing something from this state is impossible...

"Oi, you woman-crying Wethermon!"

In that instant, Wethermon the Tombguard's movement stopped completely, albeit for a split second.

".........Ah."

It was because Pencilgon, who had retreated to the back, and OiKatzo, who had reached his destination while crawling, had destroyed the grave of "Setsuna of the Distant Day" and provoked Wethermon the Tombguard. It was because Wethermon the Tombguard completely shifted his consciousness away from me due to that. What exactly Pencilgon said to Wethermon, or the fact that the character Wethermon prioritized his lover's grave over the enemy in front of him—right now, in this moment, none of that matters to me...

"Hey Wethermon, taking your eyes off your opponent? That's some nerve you got."

In terms of time, it was barely one second. But those 60 frames were what I sought more than anything...!

From a pair of twin swords, the pommels combined, and Togetsu became a single-edged greatsword... With Togetsu [Twin Moon], I sliced open my own stomach. The self-inflicted damage shaved away my HP, the numbers approaching 0 in the blink of an eye. But I know. One of the contents of the major update implemented exactly thirty minutes ago. A single sentence that was definitely in the game magazine I read at the convenience store that day.

—In this update, we will change the activation conditions for "Guts/Endure" based on Luck. Specifically...

"Limited to self-inflicted damage and recoil damage, with Luck over 50, you are guaranteed to survive with 1 HP!"

The HP depletion leaves a sliver and definitely stops. My side itches with a numbing sensation, and my body feels heavy, but I paint over all of that with fighting spirit and skills. I activate [Climax Boost], devour the increased stats, and layer [Hunger Wolf] on top of it.

Everyone seems obsessed with that NPC (Setsuna); it seems even Wethermon the Tombguard couldn't resist those feelings. But what I am obsessing over is this momentary setuna (instant), the single checkmate for victory. [Seiten Taisei] refers to the sequence of actions that concludes with [Tensei]. In other words, unless you unleash [Tensei], you cannot end (.....). Neither the action of [Seiten Taisei], nor the long, long Tombguard's oath!

"On behalf of our boss, I'm going to put you to sleep even if I have to knock you out... [Vorpal Crescent]!"

".........[Tensei] (Sky Clear)!"

The ability set for Togetsu [Twin Moon] is very simple. The weaker you are compared to the enemy, the slower you are, the more frail and fragile you are... The more inferior your parameters are, from HP to Luck, the more the Critical Damage and Critical Success Rate increase. Against Wethermon the Tombguard, who surpasses me even after I've raised my stats with doping and buffs, the released Togetsu combined-form exclusive skill [Vorpal Crescent] encompasses a guaranteed critical success and maximum critical damage to intercept the blade Wethermon unleashes. My brain, spinning at full throttle with the conviction that the recoil will be terrible later, sees everything in slow motion. Beyond my gaze, the [Twin Moon] blade strikes the side of the blue katana—which is charged with the power to bring all manner of death and destruction—as if to avoid its edge. Pushing the blade that was swung down with terrifying physical strength from the side with the firepower of a fatal critical hit, I swing through without relaxing my power until the very tip of the blade completes its arc...

"An instant-death blow... Conquest complete."

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

The katana Wethermon swung; its tip smashed into the ground right next to me without touching me.

In the silence, I exhale with all my might. Since this is in-game, I don't know if CO2 is actually being expelled, but I struggle to resist the sense of collapse that threatens to drain the strength from my body along with my breath.

".........Splendid (Appare)."

The katana is pulled out. I instinctively take a combat stance, but Wethermon the Tombguard merely stands there quietly without slashing at me.

"[Seiten] turns to my Ultimate [Tensei], words shift to [Iwai] (Celebration)......... It is [Appare] (Splendid). You have seen through my Ultimate well."

"Is that a pun..."

It was too much to say in this situation, but the sudden pun made the words slip out of my mouth unintentionally.

"Haha... Setsuna often... said that, to me, as well..."

"........."

I felt a little bit of affection for the character Wethermon. But the scenario proceeds without mercy. Sounds of cracking and creaking echo from Wethermon the Tombguard's body. The blue flames that were spewing from various parts of his body have vanished, leaving only thin, wispy smoke rising like a dying ember.

"Once again, it is splendid (Appare)... Descendant of the 'Pioneers'..."

Wethermon the Tombguard... No, the arm of what had become just Wethermon, having finished his long oath and duty, fell. His legs crumbled, and the moment his torso hit the ground, everything began to collapse.

"My body... rots away... to sleep... Ahh, Setsuna... Now... to there..."

Saying that at the end, Wethermon's head tumbled from his torso. Even the thin smoldering smoke ceased, and the armor that had been so sturdy crumbled away.

"Is it... over?"

"If there's a consecutive battle from here, at least I'm going to cry, okay?"

"Surely that won't happen..."

However, as long as the display saying we cleared the Unique Scenario EX doesn't appear, it's certain that there is still something left. OiKatzo, Pencilgon, and I looked around the area while remaining cautious of what might happen next... and at that moment, a change occurred in the field. The cherry blossom trees, which had been blooming with unnatural beauty even during the battle, rapidly withered, taking on the same appearance as the dead trees in the Secret Garden before entering the inverted world. And standing quietly beside them, though we didn't notice when she appeared, was a translucent woman.

"Arthur, and also OiKatzo and Sunraku... You accomplished it."

"Set-chan..."

"Thank you all, truly. My... no, the wish that 'Setsuna' held in the distant past has been fulfilled here."

Hm? That's a strange way to phrase it. It sounds as if she isn't Setsuna herself.

"Set-chan... or rather, isn't Setsuna you?"

"No, Arthur... I am certainly 'Setsuna.' But I am different from the Setsuna herself who died that day... I am the remnant of her created by Setsuna's wish: 'If my lover is to be trapped by my death forever and ever, please, I want him to stop.' In a sense, I am like a manuscript that perfectly reproduces even the handwriting. An existence that disappears once its role is finished..."

"Ah, that's why it's Setsuna of the 'Distant Day'..."

Not Setsuna herself, but a past remnant formed by the wish of the real Setsuna from long ago. In short, a being that was copy-pasted and reproduced? Noise runs through the figure of Setsuna, who wears a fleeting smile just as her words implied.

"Set-chan..."

"Don't be sad, Arthur. The moment the world answered her wish (......), it was decided that this would happen eventually."

Setsuna, who was beginning to disappear from her feet up, changed her expression from a fleeting smile to a serious one and looked around at the three of us.

"You are the Pioneers. The descendants of the Second Plan, those who 'Open' the world... If you wish to know your own roots, the truth of the world, then seek 'Bahamut'."

"Bahamut?"

"Don't you know, OiKatzo? It's a fish that's generally treated as a dragon."

"I know that much... Pencilgon, do you know what Bahamut is in this game?"

"No, unless players named something that, there shouldn't be a monster called Bahamut... Set-chan, what do you mean by that?"

"Fufufu, please find out for yourself from here on. After all, that is what it means to carve open the future, right?"

Switching from a serious face, Setsuna showed a mischievous smile; she was already mostly faded away.

"...Ah, lastly. Arthur, this is a word from 'Me' personally, not as 'Setsuna'."

"Huh?"

"Thank you for always coming to see 'Me'. I love you, Arthur."

"Eh, ah... Me too!"

With those words and a full-bloom smile as her last, the NPC "Setsuna of the Distant Day" completely vanished. The few remaining polygons shattered like bubbles and disappeared, and this time, complete silence dominated the area.

"Hey, Pencilgon."

"Sniff... I'm not crying."

"I haven't said anything yet."

Rubbing her face vigorously with her hands before saying that line carried zero persuasive power. Still, to think there were special lines depending on affection levels... what a monstrous AI. I want to brew a tea made from the dirt under this AI's fingernails and force-feed it to that trash fairy who won't stop talking about memories no matter how much I punch, kick, or burn her.

"That's not a denial, it's basically a confession, isn't it?"

"So Pencilgon had a function to shed warm tears."

"T-This feeling... Is this, a heart...?"

"That joke is repetitive! That's enough, I'll strangle both of you to death!!"

"Crap! Since she has no weapon, the kill method is getting visceral!"

"I refuse to get PK'ed at a time like this!? Die in my place, Sunraku!"

As we were making a racket, a window finally appeared. Pencilgon stopped chasing us, straightened her posture, and spoke.

"Anyway, thank you both for going along with my selfishness. Thanks to you, we were able to reach the scenario clear."

"What's with the formality? We participated because we wanted to do it, no need for thanks."

"Yeah, yeah, just the title of being the first Unique Monster subjugators since Shangri-La Frontier service started is enough."

"Is it... fun... to piggyback on someone else's Unique...? Ah, stop aiming precisely for my solar plexus, my solar plexus!"

"If you say that, you're the same! I'm seriously gonna send you flying!"

To me and OiKatzo making noise, Pencilgon declared with a smile that was neither her model smile nor her fearless villain smile, but a heartfelt smile.

"Now then, you bastards, let's get stylish and check the rewards!"

『Wethermon the Tombguard has entered an eternal sleep』

『Setsuna's Remnant has finished the wish of a distant day』

『You have cleared the Unique Scenario EX "From the Mortal World to the Pure Land with Love"』

『Acquired Title 【One Who Watches over the End】』

『Acquired Title 【One Who Thinks of the Moment (Setsuna)】』

『Acquired Title 【Certified by the Ancestor】』

『Acquired Accessory 【Inventory Key: Inventoria】』

『Acquired Item 【Seiten Style Secret Arts】』

『Acquired Item 【Tome of Trurth "Tombguard Edition"】』

『Unique Scenario EX "Epic of Vorpal Bunny" has progressed』

『World Quest "Shangri-La Frontier" has progressed』

Author's Note:

• Unique Scenario: A story revolving around a specific existence. In the case of "From the Mortal World to the Pure Land with Love," it is the "Story" until watching over Wethermon and Setsuna.
• Grand Quest: The objective of all players. The "Goal" to pioneer the unexplored world in cooperation with NPCs.
• World Quest: The world itself advances to the next stage. A "Transition" where changes occur in the world at each stage.

It was long... I finally finished writing the Wethermon the Tombguard battle... Once I reach the epilogue of this arc, I would like to take a break from updating for a while. Specifically, about a week to stock up on writing and gather Salmon Roe... mumble mumble.

Translation Notes:

• Wethermon's Pun: Wethermon makes a play on words with his skill names. Seiten (Clear/Blue Sky) turns to Tensei (Weather/Nature/Sky Clear), which shifts to Iwai (Celebration). The final Tensei (written as Sky Clear) is read as Appare (Splendid/Bravo).