Chapter 441: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 18

I can say this with absolute certainty: right now, I could solo Lycaon the Night Raider (Shadow). I was min-maxed and buffed to the absolute limit, so much so that I even harbored that level of absolute conviction.

"One lAst minUte... lEft i i i!!"

Keep it alive, don't kill it, but stand out as flashily as possible. In that case, this remaining one minute, built up over the previous four, is the climax.
The time limit for the Third Form is five minutes—strictly speaking, it's six, but for me, it's five. And now that four minutes have passed, it's about time I wrap up farming these trash-mob Small Dragons.

"Aiming for the mAin CitadeL! I'll dye thAt white one in bLoOod oooAAAA!!"

『What is that, what the hell are youuu!!』

Fuhaha, be afraid, why don't you—I've racked up over 100 kills just getting to this point, you know... Memento Mori, which is supposed to be stupidly heavy, now feels as light as a feather. It's so light that it's honestly starting to feel a bit hard to use.
As time passes since activation, my body, encroached upon by the red skull, steadily increases its monstrous nature.

The red liquid that had covered my entire body from the top down, which was originally supposed to be something like a hood, was now acting exactly like flesh, pulsating with a red, sinister glow every time I swung my arm, every time I thrashed my tail, and every time I crushed something in those jaws.

"Cliiiiiiimaaaaaa... X...!!"

That Red Dragon is in the way... It's been trying to use Bryreinyego as a shield for a while now, but every single attempt is just so petty, that bastard.
I kick off the ground with a thud and break into a sprint. But this is just a run-up; midway through closing the distance to the two dragons, I assume a throwing stance, taking all the acceleration, inertia, and physics calculations as pure propulsion to hurl Memento Mori as hard as I can.

"Hell yeAH ORAAAAA AAAA!!!"

『Gyaoaaaah!?』

Even if it feels as light as a feather to me, to everyone else, it's an ultra-greatsword far more lethal than a solid block of iron. Accompanied by a tremendous wind-cleaving roar that sounded like a Boom! or a Vow!, the pitch-black blade pierced straight through Dreadhowl's shoulder.

"FeeliNg gOooOOd... gEtting iNTo iT... I'll uSe a trUmp cArd oN yOu n..."

Roar, Areadbhair! Burn, Areadbhair Rebuild!!
Having reached the stage of Rebuild and acclimated to its new wielder, the  Champion's Weapon (Grateful) awakens a yet-untold Secret Art (Skill) when it truly acknowledges its master! by Vysache!!

The brightly blazing, scorching sword incinerates the slow-footed small fry still standing in front of me, carving open a path.

"It iS the imPosSible spEar, fragMents woVen tO foRge a ficTitiOus rAdiaNce ki!!"

Legend has it, even though that spear is a massive titan among The Big Leagues of Fantasy Spear Names right alongside Gungnir and Longinus, the name was actually just arbitrarily made up in Japan.
If so, then it is an illusory spear that does not exist. Yet Areadbhair defines the absolute victory and light it surely wields as flames!!

A scorching sword roaring and devouring the atmosphere as it blazes; the entire blade is now emitting red, yellow, and white light, radiating so much heat that it threatens to slowly scorch even me, its wielder, to ashes.

I strike my chest hard with my right fist and summon a massive, far too massive and sluggish shield into my newly freed left hand.
Manifest Wall Shield of the Empress Castle (Vauban Gargantula)—an ultra-heavy tower shield made solely from the armored shell of a Fortress Gargantula, far too heavy in both mass and required stats, but for this one instant, it transforms into a mass-based weapon of diabolical performance.
Holding an ultra-heavy shield up with one hand while advancing with unyielding speed—forward, forward, a forward march that has completely forgotten the word "retreat" much like a centipede. Small Dragons are run over, swatted away, and sent flying. I feel like there was a weirdly-shaped Small Dragon in there too, but what was that just now? Was it trying to charge—or rather, nuzzle—into the shield? Are you underestimating me? Turn into mincemeat.

Boasting top-tier physical and impact resistance, the Manifest Wall Shield of the Empress Castle is less of a shield and more of a literal wall, and since that very wall is currently bull-rushing forward... well, obviously they're going to get sent flying like bowling pins.
Ah, the players evacuated quite a while ago. I've ended up stealing their prey quite a few times now, so I really did something inexcusable. But when I stare at them with teary eyes filled with the sincere intention to apologize, they all look away for some reason... Communication sure is hard.

"AcCeleRating sU aaaaaa!!"

The annoying cluster of Small Dragons has cleared out; there's no way I'm letting this chance slip by... I rally myself alongside the black lightning and sprint through. Trash mobs aren't even obstacles anymore; my Quantum Gaze finds a clear path through the accelerating world.
One step to run, two steps to plant my foot, and on the third, I leap. Bryreinyego, you noticed Dreadhowl was the one being targeted, didn't you? What an incredibly blatant placement of Small Dragons; no matter how you look at it, it practically screams, "Please use these as stepping stones to beat the crap out of Dreadhowl!"—so I mercilessly stomp on them and jump.

『Wh-Wha...!?』

"ReaCtioN's... tOo sLow!"

I ready a thrusting stance mid-air, the tip of the sword... no, wait, that's wrong, that's completely wrong. Right here, right now, what I'm holding is, without a doubt, a spearhead. Reeling in absolute victory, the fourth spear that forms the legend of a non-existent weapon. Thus, the name of the Secret Art unleashed by "Areadbhair" is.

"——'Fourth Radiant Spear Hypothesis (Brionac): Incineration (Kjal)'!!"

The moment the incandescent spearhead is plunged into Dreadhowl's shoulder, right into the wound carved out by Memento Mori,

"Lookin' liKe crAb lEgs ya... tEar 'Em oFf!!"

An overwhelming deluge of flames bursts forth from Areadbhair's blade as if a dam had broken, forming a massive "spearhead" even larger than my own body. And carrying the momentum of the thrust straight through, the destructive energy of detonation and incineration blows one of the Red Dragon's arms clean off.

『M-My aaaaarm! My aaaaarm!!?』

"Oh o... As exPecTed... of an Anti-DrAgon WeapOn (Areadbhair)"

Can its arm be severed as part of standard part destruction right from the start, or did Areadbhair's sheer murderous intent toward Dragons make it possible...? Dreadhowl-kun! You can manage just fine missing a single arm!

『Foolish Red Dragon! Wither and writhe in agony right there!!』

"YoU tOo."

『Hwa...?』

I stow away Areadbhair Rebuild, which is currently blowing out thin streams of black smoke with a pssh-pssh sound having temporarily lost its heat, and in its place, I transform both hands into fists of steel and crystal.

"【Exceed Charge】!!"

It's an all-out blowout giveaway!! The armor on both gauntlets slides back, exposing the internal gold and silver crystals. The radiance compresses, leaving the trigger for its release entirely up to me, the user.
You fool, you absolute fool! The moment you deflected the aggro of the Small Dragons onto me to get Dreadhowl killed was the moment your luck ran out! You think jumping me now is going to be anywhere near in time?!

At this point, I don't even need visual assistance for something on this level. Using an Overflow step, I close the distance right into Bryreinyego's chest. I will offer up the last ten seconds of Brood=Krone and the entirety of my Gilta Brille's durability straight into its stomach.

"——'Reject'!!!"

『.........G-Gaha...!!?』

Pierce, solidify, and shatter into pieces.
Through these three processes, Bryreinyego's abdomen is literally pulverized.
At the same time, a tremendous recoil assaults me, as I am closest to the epicenter and currently wearing the very cause of it on my hands.

"Ghnnaaaaaaaah...!!!"

Even with this body, double-buffed by two effects triggered by my kill score, I can't fully suppress the recoil.
Gari, Gari—the R.I.P. shoes, which barely prove that the thing inside them is human, carve two lines into the ground as I'm forced backward.

Ah, crap. I'm falling backwards.........

"NuaaaaaaAAAAA!!!"

I lean my body forward as if taking a bow, and firmly plant the completely shattered Gilta Brille into the ground, barely avoiding falling flat on my back.

"Sa—..."

Safe. But before I could completely declare it,

Five minutes passed.

Author's Afterword
Teary eyes filled with the sincere intention to apologize (Staring intently with six eyes)

Fourth Radiant Spear Hypothesis
Thrust -> Flames erupt -> Becomes a giant spearhead -> The flame spearhead fires off like a Spetsnaz knife

In truth, Areadbhair's original Radiant Spear Hypothesis is much smaller in scale and boasts even higher piercing power.
Because some idiot shoved "WildFire.zip" into it when making it a Rebuild, the Rebuild's Hypothesis turned into an AoE attack. In reality, the Rebuild-style Hypothesis cannot pierce Naga scales.