Chapter 352: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 17

Author's Preface
Correction: The evolved skill of Blood Battle Principle was not Bloodburn Burst, but Full Spirit Evocation. I have slightly altered the text to reflect this.

Even if it's an insignificant, tiny little insect, if its body is armed with the mandibles, poison, and stinger of a hornet, then you must treat it with the exact same caution as a hornet... Isn't that right?

The Devouring Great Crimson Clad apparently decided that my current self—relying entirely on the terrifying borrowed authority of R.I.P.—was an entity worthy of its hostility.
The red tornado writhed as if expanding from within, giving birth to a red bull loaded with an excessive amount of muscle. Letting out a roar that sounded as if an inherently inorganic existence was desperately trying to fake organic movements, it launched a charge aimed straight at me.

"Considering how densely packed with meat you are... you'll make the perfect punching bag."

Activating Hekaton Slash, I slammed Areadbhair Rebuild into the red bull, whose very muscle fibers were likely pitch-red.

"First, one hit!"

Following up with a full swing of the Blue Predator, two hit effects burst open on the red bull's outer hide.

"It's only going to keep multiplying, you know!!"

Areadbhair Rebuild's second slash yielded four hits, and the returning thrust of the Sea Devouring Sword yielded eight hits. Continuing on to sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four. The cap is one hundred, so it wouldn't reach one hundred and twenty-eight, but... the very next slash was guaranteed to be a completely non-standard attack unleashing a hundred hits in a single swing.
But I won't use it yet. The true value of this skill is only fully realized when combined with another specific skill. At the very least, I'm fully convinced of that.

"Come on, bring it. The matador is waving his little cloth, you know?"

I pinched the hem of my skirt and waved it flirtatiously. It seems it was quite effective as a provocation. The red bull's entire body began to expand further, as if it were being pumped full of air, and using that internal tension—which looked as though it might burst at any moment—as a detonator, the red bull charged right at me.

Its speed was fast enough to catch even me off guard, despite maintaining my distance and remaining completely vigilant... Feeling surprised that it could generate that much speed in This Slowed-Down World, I dodged with room to spare and moved in for the "Checkmate."

Quantum Gaze possesses specs almost completely identical to Moment Sight, but of course, that isn't all it does.

"It's not exactly future sight... but!"

A crimson "wave" reflected in my vision. To use an analogy, it looked as though the wind had been dyed with color—a wind of hostility blowing from the red bull's hind legs straight toward me. That was the "Wave of Attack" visualized by Quantum Gaze.
Simply put, it allows me to see the exact range and scope of an attack launched by an enemy, albeit only moments before it actually hits.

Considering the attacks will kill me whether I can see them or not, it might seem like a somewhat meaningless additional effect, but against simple physical attacks like this, it could functionally be called a slightly delayed form of future prediction. I've decided not to care about the exact mechanics behind how this skill works.

"Now then... Look over here. I'm going to turn you into a Skewer."

My stamina had depleted to an appropriate level, and the effect of Hekaton Slash was still dwelling within this sword. And there is a specific thrust that shines brightest precisely in this very instant!!

The red bull turned back toward me, its eyes—being entirely red—devoid of emotion... which is exactly why it likely feels no terror in its final moments of death.

"Lethal Finishing Touch!!"

The evolved skill of Single Thought, Rock Pierce: Lethal Finishing Touch. While its un-evolved form increased its power through consecutive thrusts, this skill functions on the principle that the closer the user is to the end of their action... meaning, the lower their stamina is, the higher the firepower scales.

Now for a question: What happens when you slam a 100-hit combo pushed to its absolute maximum power directly into the head of a bull all at once?

Let's find out in practice.

A single, perfectly honed strike pierced the red bull's forehead. In that instant, damage effects bloomed into a massive flower centered around the point of impact.
The fact that it had just turned around, leaving it in a stance with very little bracing power, likely worked against it. As if crushed by an immense unseen force, the red bull's muscular, massive body was literally blown backward, its head completely buried beneath the damage effects.

"That's what happens when you underestimate the importance of dodging, you know?"

It seemed its HP ran out mid-flight, as its body collapsed into something resembling a red mist for a split second. But without stopping there, the mist vanished entirely alongside an effect distinctly different from standard damage.

And in that instant, my hypothesis turned into conviction.

Simply put, the Devouring Great Crimson Clad is a swarm monster, exactly like the Crazed Ultramarine.
The definition of a swarm monster's HP varies depending on the game, but in most cases, defeating the main body causes the surrounding trash mobs to die alongside it.

However, the name of this game is Shangri-La Frontier. In a game that refuses to show even a sliver of compromise to a truly disgusting degree, there's no way they would Dilute one of their major pieces of content—a Raid Monster—with a game-logic compromise like that.

In other words. That massive swarm monster known as the "Devouring Great Crimson Clad," every single one of those insects making it up... Or even if that isn't the case, the clones it generates should logically possess their own individual "Death Hitboxes," shouldn't they? And the activation of R.I.P.'s effect just proved exactly that.

"I'll revise my evaluation of you. You're an incredible piece of gear, R.I.P. ...!"

Due to the nature of ShanFro, I can secure an absolute advantage in battles against swarm monsters. Yes, for example, right this very second!!

"Bring out the next one, oraaah! This is nowhere near Enough!!"

R.I.P. applies a stat correction based on the kill score. Even though my base stats like STR had been raised by becoming Level 136, I still needed to kill another ten... no, seven... six more of them.

"Or... if I crush that head over there, will it count toward the kill score? Hmmm?"

Well, well, well, if it isn't Mr. Tail-Head... I haven't paid you a visit to express my gratitude yet, have I...!!

"It's time for some thinning out!!"

I'm going to hack that tail right off like a lizard!!

I sprang into action to close the distance created during my fight with the red bull.
Kurama Tengu Secret Tradition, whose cooldown had finished. Limit Maximize, evolved from Riot Accel. Wolfate Sign (Wolf Omen of Destiny), evolved from Managarmr Pride (Pride of the Moon Wolf). And Atlas Toughness, the higher-tier version of Melostic Foot, all activated in rapid succession.

To summarize, it puts me in a state where "I become super fast and super strong, but my HP drains with incredibly horrible fuel efficiency." I see, so it's basically Normal (No Risk) for me!!

"Ssha!"

Matching my steps to the attacks of "Scar"—who was already seriously climbing the ranks of my best bros—I pushed forward. As always, the tail-head seemed desperate to dispose of me... Fine by me. I'll come right to you.

"Slow, slow, slooow!!"

In the end, whether it's a laser or a bullet, it's nothing more than linear motion! If it doesn't ricochet or reflect, I can dodge it just by tilting my head. After all, I've seen your attacks more than enough times by now!

"Your patterns, your timing... I can see right through all of it."

That is exactly why I intentionally take a glancing hit. My base defense is trash, but by adjusting the chip damage using R.I.P.'s defense value, I can activate Full Spirit Evocation.
The higher-tier skill of Blood Battle Principle, Full Spirit Evocation, is an utterly insane skill where the numerical value of the HP lost from taking damage is directly added to either STR, AGI, or VIT in its entirety.

In other words, since my current HP is 80, if I take 79 points of damage, one of those three stats will temporarily receive a +79 boost.
That being said, because it's random, it's constantly shadowed by the specter of bullshit RNG, and the higher the added value, the shorter the duration... Which conversely means that accumulating small amounts of chip damage can serve as a highly effective buffing method.

"Gu... Ssha, AGI proc!!"

The crimson light scorched my left cheek. But the bloody damage effect that burst outward was instantly converted into the effect of Full Spirit Evocation, granting me even further acceleration.
One-fifth of my total HP—further whittling down the health constantly draining from Limit Maximize's demerit... Meaning a value of roughly 16 was added to my AGI, providing an additional burst of speed pushing my back forward. Ten meters remaining!

It seems my threat level was finally updated at this point... But what an idiot. Diverting your aggro toward me while leaving "Scar" unchecked is the absolute height of foolishness.

"Yo."

The distance had already dropped below five meters. We were both within striking range, and in terms of speed, I was faster.
Here's a piece of advice for you. Listen closely, Devouring Great Crimson Clad.

"It's going to happen in an instant."

Tap, the amber struck my right chest.
The attack skill—saddled with a lengthy cooldown as compensation for its overwhelming burst firepower—had its recast time halved by the power of my Arcanum.

And within that single instant, I layered and activated several skills one after another...

The very next instant, my figure was already located Behind the Devouring Great Crimson Clad, and the Devouring Great Crimson Clad's entire body erupted with damage effects as if detonating.

"Doing it blind on the first try... I can't get enough of this thrill."

With a smile on my face, fully exposed as the veil was blown back by the wind, I spoke to It.

"The climax starts now, but I'm going to need you to die first."

Saying that, I plunged Areadbhair Rebuild straight into the tail-head—still directing its murderous intent at me despite being severed from the main body by a hundred-hit combo.

Well then, seeing as everyone else here is a rearguard class, I suppose I have no choice but to handle the tank role all by myself.

Author's Afterword
Decapitation (The Ass).

Next time, Yamcha (Tottori) POV.

What did the protagonist do?
In principle, it's almost identical to the logic behind Lutia-san's Three-Strike Six-Slash Cruelty. A hyper-three-dimensional, 227-hit crossroad killing executed from an state of absolute initiative.