Chapter 356: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 21

Author's Preface
The lesson learned from this arc: As expected, I really shouldn't write every single thing I want to write. It went over twenty parts...

As expected of a percentage-based recovery item. It seems to have thoroughly restored the HP of "Scar," whose exact total HP value is equivalent to who knows how many players combined.
Since it recovers 50% of maximum HP, it was essentially back to a half-dead state, but slamming one more Mystic Soma into it would bring it right back to 100%.

"「「「Karorororo......」」」"

"Whoops, the 'Favor' is the Sunraku Trading Company's most highly recommended product, and it comes with an exorbitant price tag. You can pay the bill with your battle results."

More importantly, dim as it may be, dark is dark. Lights on!

"Now let's hurry up to the surface and pay a visit to that red bastard........."

Securing a light source with the Magic Torch. I had figured that even though the walls were vitrified, the scenery would be completely made of dirt anyway so there'd be nothing to look at... But what in the world is this?

"Look at this, 'Scar.' Isn't this one of your ancestors?"

A fossil. Although it only had one head, the fossil of a T-Rex skeleton was perfectly exposed straight through the glass. The fact that the tip was slightly blown off from the blast was just a charming little detail.
Come to think of it, fossils were supposedly obtainable as items. Yay, fossil hunting desu wa〜... is what I'd like to do, but that can wait for later. Besides, there's something else that's bothering me much more.

"So this remained completely unscathed, huh..."

The entire space created by the internal explosion—that Muscle Impact—should have resulted in every single surface facing the blast being vitrified... That's how it should have been.
However, in one single spot, and only that one single point... there was a Thing that remained completely unaffected.

"...A pillar? A thorn?"

Even though it was vitrified, it wasn't as if the ground was completely transparent all the way down to its core. And exactly because of that, the mysterious protrusion extending upward from deep beneath the earth, piercing past the glass, completely defied common sense. Unlike dirt or stone, it somehow maintained its original material composition, giving off an overwhelming sense of incongruity.

It wasn't... rock. But it didn't exactly look like ore either... If I had to guess, maybe steel? While everything else in the vicinity had taken the full brunt of the Muscle Impact, the pitch-black thorn showed absolutely zero signs of having its current form altered by the blast.
Or rather, how the hell did I fail to notice something like this growing here... Or was it only exposed because the terrain got completely warped?

"...Still, this shade of black. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

Where was it again... Metallic, yet somehow organic... That exact texture you'd expect from a monster's outer shell... It's not Lycaon. That guy is hard, but it's fur... Hmm?

"Uoh."

What the hell, suddenly I feel like I'm floating... No, wait, this feeling of being suspended in mid-air... Wait, is it lifting my skirt!?
Struggling to turn around while dangling in mid-air, I was met with the lower jaw of the central head of the three gripping the hem of R.I.P.'s skirt, while the right head stared at me with completely unreadable reptilian eyes. Oh, and the left head was looking at me from the opposite side too.

"Kyaa, 'Scar'-san, you pervert... Wait, no, hold on a second. I have a ton of things I want to verify first, like whether I can harvest items from this or not..."

As if to say, "I don't understand human language," it began trudging heavily toward the exit. Naturally, since I was clamped in its mouth, I was dragged away from the black thorn along with it... W-Wait, is this thing treating me like an optional equip part!? What the hell is with that "Hurry up and follow me, good grief..." attitude!!

Ah, wait, at least let me get the fossil—!!

Thump, thump, its initial pace—seemingly checking its own condition—gradually gathered momentum, and before I realized it, it had accelerated to a speed that could only be described as a reckless charge.

"Wai—, hol—, gueh, ngh, n-gah!"

And due to "Scar's" physical structure, since I was dangling by my skirt from its jaws, I was violently jolted up and down with every single movement of its head, forcing weird noises out of my mouth purely out of reflex.

"「Gyooooooooooo!!」"

"Haaaaaaah, you're so damn louuuuuud!!"

What the hell is with this disgustingly high-spec surround sound!? Eh, what is this, some new type of sonic attack? Turn the volume dow— Gah, stop shaking me! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you, you goddamn lizard!!

While being violently jolted up and down in this absolute dogshit VIP seat, the Super Express Scar Train charged up the diagonally sloping tunnel with a sturdiness in its legs that made it impossible to believe it had been nothing but cinders just moments ago.

"Nngh, gueh, ouh, ahh."

Kuh, my vision is shaking... At least put me on your back or something... Dammit, because it's gripping my skirt, the centrifugal force is making the movements completely unbearable. Wait, at least let me change equipm— huh, with these stats... Ooooough.

"Stop it, honestly, this goes way beyond just a panty shot..."

Ah, the exit... gueh.

Due to the time, the moment we burst outside, my vision wasn't blinded by blinding light or anything like that. However, even so, the surface world—bathed in the light of the stars and the moon—was far, far brighter than the completely lightless underground... And it was a complete and utter Pandemonium.

I see. If a magic spell of that scale was unleashed and only the Devouring Great Crimson Clad managed to crawl back out, it's perfectly natural that their spirits would be utterly broken.
Especially since the monster pulled off a Muscle Impact, an act that visually stokes pure despair.

Which means the Forest-folks' battle lines have completely collapsed. If anything, the fact that there are still Forest-folks standing and fighting is almost more shocking.

"...That bastard."

And there was one more thing I couldn't overlook. A certain pervert who, despite making flashy movements, was blatantly Holding Back, and a certain Mr. Hero who was trying to simultaneously deal with both the Forest-folks and the Devouring Great Crimson Clad, ending up doing a half-assed job at both.

What's this, what's this? Are you looking down on the game? Well, the former is definitely looking down on it, so I'm going to punch her.

"Hey, 'Scar.' Just Understand the Nuance here."

Even while dangling in mid-air, I pointed my finger toward the sky.
I'm not asking you to reply with words. Answer me with your actions...!!

I wonder if it actually understood the meaning behind my gesture, or if it simply instinctively figured out how to use its new optional equip part.
"Scar's" necks—possessing enough physical strength to support the biological overload of having three massive heads—bulged as they gathered even more power.

Then, at the exact same moment the left and right heads spewed out the vomit-oil used for their incendiary attack—slamming it downward from above—the central head scooped its lower jaw upward from below, throwing me—hooked in its mouth—with a massive underhand pitch.

Ah, there goes the mourning dress... Why is it that every single monster treats me like a piece of candy or a ball? If you're going to kill me, could you at least show a little more consideration while doing it? Dying as a piece of equipment evokes some really complicated feelings... Alright, calculating the falling trajectory.

"It's your time to shine. This will be your gravestone... 'Memento Mori (Remember Death Without Parting)'!!"

Stored in the Storage Space (Inventoria) because keeping it in my standard player inventory would eat up far too much weight capacity, the monochrome, oversized greatsword caught the moonlight, gleaming dully.
My grip was tight, and the intent I poured into my swinging Arms was pure severing. Flipping in mid-air, the moment my head pointed straight down, I kicked the sky and accelerated downward. Stepping forward once more, I descended from above... Defining a perfectly vertical path and sprinting straight down it.

Even evolved, the Golden Team remains. Acceleration enhancement, action correction, aerial walking, gravitational direction control... By pouring all my resources into mobility, I forged an invincible "Path" that trampled over every single restriction... This wasn't falling, this was a strike delivered by sprinting straight downward.

"Wriggling around like that is just annoying. I'll split you in half, at the very least."

───Even the moon can be split, you know.

Vorpal Secret Art 【Sever and Divide】. Utilizing a sword forged with the wish to "Never be parted again" to "Sever" and "Divide" was quite the irony. Yet nevertheless, that blade perfectly bisected the Devouring Great Crimson Clad's four necks into left and right pairs, before continuing on to cleave the torso completely in two, straight through the massive maw on its chest.

"Hieh."

And the moment I landed, flames carrying the force to gouge the earth roared past me on both sides with an Explosive Roar, crashing directly into the sets of two heads I had just split apart.

Author's Afterword
It's not like a bond was formed between the dinosaur and the human or anything like that. It's simply because the center head didn't participate in the attack, allowing him to barely escape with his life.

Using Sever and Divide (a Straight-Sword skill) with the Grave Sword was not a mistake; it's a feature.