Chapter 434: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 11

After the crossing.

Siegwurm spun his golden frame right where he was, bleeding off the acceleration of his charge, and came to a stop while remaining suspended in the air.

Sunraku had separated Pale Sheen... Having fully swung "Konsho," he remained completely motionless in a stance with "Meiki" resting at his hip.

『───I am astonished.』

In the midst of the Dragon Calamity, in a single sector of the battlefield that was surprisingly quiet, only Siegwurm's voice echoed.

『My Jazzy-Zone is a skill-killing domain that drives the inner mana of you humans mad. Even with your vision stolen and your legs weakened... you managed to cut!! Me, of all beings!!!』

"............Damn it. I expected the skill seal, but... an interrupt activation is just unfair.........!!!"

In an instant, everything from Sunraku's left eye down to his right hip burst open, and at the exact same moment, Siegwurm's left horn and left wing shattered.

『What incredible power! Just a graze and it did this!!』

"Completely... killed off right on entry...!!"

Watching Sunraku fall to his knees, Siegwurm—whose left half of his face and left wing had "crystallized" where Konsho's tip had traced them—still laughed.
As if to say nothing could make him happier, as if to say, Well done.

『My gravity field praises none other than heroes! Sunraku, warrior scarred by the wolf!! This great me shall permit you to leave some final words!!』

"So dying at zero HP doesn't mean instantaneous death, huh. In that case........."

On his knees, beneath the True Gaze Bird Mask that had lost its left half to a slashing tear, he searched for something with eyes buried in damage effects... and slowly pointed his index finger.

Lying at the end of that point was Noirlind, who had recovered his posture and retreated to the sky, and Akitsu Akane, riding on his back.

"───You guys... are the main characters..."

『A magnificent display!!』

The damage effects leaking from Sunraku's body vanished. All strength drained from his body, and just before his face slammed into the earth, his entire body shattered and disappeared.

『Oh, humans. Pioneers. Well did you shine, well did you stand against me! What about the rest of you? Show me your radiance, stand against me! If you cannot even surpass me, how can you ever hope to stand against the Awakening of Genesis!!!』

No one in this place could say, "I'll take you on next," to the Golden Dragon King, who had not only neutralized their magic but even nullified their skills, leaving them completely immobilized.
It was partly because they knew there was no chance of winning. But more than that, they simply lacked the confidence to show him anything better than that.

『......Very well.』

As if saying his interest had been thoroughly killed, Siegwurm averted his gaze from the paralyzed players and floated a ferocious smile, fixing his eyes on Noirlind and Akitsu Akane.

『If so, let us see the radiance... of these so-called main characters.』

The crystals eating away at the left half of his face and his wing shattered, revealing an almost entirely unblemished Gold.
The battle between Pitch-Black and Gold resumed once more.

The cost-effectiveness of that exchange ended up being completely out of balance, but whatever.

"...Alright."

Use the Chalice, change gender, put on clothes...

"Hey, you there!"

"E-Eh, me!?"

"Listen, I heard the infamous Arthur Pencilgon has been rampaging around lately... Do you happen to know where she is?"

"Eh, ah, um, I think I heard she was near Brockentried...?"

"Thank you!"

Wink! Leaving behind a wink passed down directly from the pencil herself, I dashed out of Skull Azuchi and pondered my next move.
For now, I had pinned down the location of Pencilgon, who was guaranteed to stand out the most, but picking out OiKatzo or Rust from this massive melee was going to be a bit of a pain...

"Hmm........."

Ah, right.

"I just need to reverse my thinking."

Like standing an egg on its end.
If I wanted to stand out the most... Hmm, Bryreinyego, I guess.

"It's practically a raid battle anyway, no point in sneaking around."

In that case, I might as well rampage as flashily as possible.
Kukuku, prepare to witness the full power of the newly and massively updated New Sunraku...!

That being said, if I want to stand out completely, having just one main character is a bit unreliable.

"Emul, Saina. Hide-and-seek is over. From here on out, it's our stage."

Pyokon, Emul stopped hiding on my head and stood up, and Saina, who had been having an intelligently deep sleep inside Inventoria, was summoned.

"...I'll ask just in case, but what exactly are you planning to do, desu wa?"

"I'm going to rampage flashily and become a landmark myself."

"While it can only be described as a highly barbaric action, since it is based on an intelligent motive, this unit (I) shall support it as well."

There you have it. Above all else, let's exercise violence intelligently.
Now then, while I was doing all that, it seems we've entered the combat zone. So that's the Mini White Dragon I've heard so much about... I see. Looking at the bizarrely massive abdomen and the token horns growing on it, its silhouette is completely that of an ant.

"Then without further ado, New Weapon Number One!"

Imron vs. Bilac, Weapon Performance Competition Entry Number One... A longsword crafted by Imron, its name is "The Crystal Sword of Brave Radiance (Glitter Grit)"!! As expected of a weapon crafted by the pinnacle of player blacksmiths, the level of perfection is incredibly high.

Yes, the level of perfection is high. It's not like it's actually useless, and you can tell just by looking at it that Imron poured everything he wanted to do into it.

But still, hmm...

"Now on sale: DX Glitter Grit, 6980 yen... or something..."

Is it the coloring? The gloss? No, I'm sure the design itself plays a part, but what the hell is this overwhelmingly "toy-like" aura!

No, I get it. The base materials are red and green, which are colors that fundamentally clash. If one was just used as an accent it would be one thing, but when you incorporate them into the design at a 50/50 ratio, it inevitably becomes... yeah, I understand how it ends up looking like Christmas colors.

But the design! The coloring! The gloss! Everything harmonizes so perfectly that it just looks like a flawless toy!

However,

"The one that seems better for pulling off evil schemes is this one............"

No, let's be blunt. In terms of pure performance superiority, Bilac's weapon is better.
But lately, there's a clear trend in her crafting where she churns out weapons with hyper-specialized stats, basically saying, "Well, you should be able to use this, right?" Demanding stats at min-maxed levels, and creating a shield that possesses a self-destruct risk if you fall short... How the hell does that function as a shield!!

Considering that, this sword, which only requires you to fulfill the conditions of "HP below a certain threshold (As usual)," "Accumulating a gauge (It'll fill up eventually)," and "Voluntary MP consumption (I'll turn a blind eye to this)," completely wins out in terms of versatility.

"...Alright, my policy is not to sweat the small stuff!"

Now then, let us begin. First move: self-mutilation!!
Using "Scorched Bone and Crushing Flesh," I temporarily nullify the Scars on my torso and legs. Adding the time limit until the curse of the dagger itself breaks down... 480 seconds. That is my "First Operational Phase."

"The new armor I prepared for this very day..."

A full-body set crafted utilizing an abundance of materials from the Alexand Scorpion! Female-exclusive Alexand Scorpion armor, its name is the "Empress's Supreme Treasure Armor (Tsarina) Series"!!

Dyed entirely in deep crimson due to the nighttime environment, its appearance was so elegant that—save for the full-face helmet—it wouldn't look out of place at a formal party.
Perhaps because Tsar-Beryl Emperor Treasure Crystals and Alexand Scorpion materials were used everywhere, the entire suit looked like a sculpture of a woman wearing a dress carved from jewels. While its beautiful radiance exuded femininity, it also projected a formidable aura of absolute defense that seemed ready to snap any clumsy blade in return.

"Maybe it would've been better to use this weapon while playing a male avatar..."

Well, that's just part of its charm. Now then, let's go. Not with words, but with actions and results, I will scream to the clan members scattered across this battlefield.

I! Am! Right here!!

Author's Afterword
Where on earth is this protagonist trying to go...