Chapter 446: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 23

Author's Preface
Hello, I have recently become Titan Katarina.

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"Oh man, MvM really is a spectacular sight, especially when it's dragons fighting each other."

"More importantly, Sunraku, your family member just got subjugated."

"B-Brotheeer!!"

"Pfft, fufu, fukukuku... wait, forgive me, have mercy..."

"Amazing, Mold is literally begging for forgiveness from the very emotion of laughter itself."

"...Um, I'm pretty sure Akitsu Akane-san and the others are falling too."

Well, they should be fine. Akitsu Akane might have boosted her magic instead of luck, but her stat build is similar to mine; in that case, she probably learned the skill "Hermes Boots" or something close to it, and even if she just threw herself into the air, Rust will catch her.

"Confirmation: Individual named Rust has secured the individual named Akitsu Akane."

So those two are safe for now. Which brings us to the real problem.

Looking up, black and gold had clumped together and were plummeting toward the ground.
The black bit into the gold's throat, the gold wrapped its arms around the black's neck, and they fell straight down to the earth, grappling tightly so as not to let go of each other.

And then,

"Whoa, what a sound."

"Sounded way too visceral..."

"It sounded like a mix of a smack! and a splat!..."

A game of chicken where neither side hits the brakes is basically just a double suicide if you ask me, and while we had been watching from a distance as Noirlind and Siegwurm crashed into the ground without decelerating—their massive frames bouncing before finally touching down on their second landing—we couldn't exactly just stand around spectating forever.

"Hey mastermind, what's the next order?"

"We're basically running on pure improv at this point, but let's go at it with the spirit of rolling up the script into a tube and beating them with it! Let's go smack Siegwurm around!!"

"I see, simple and easy to understand."

"Plus, it might be about time to have Kyougoku-chan make her move too... Hmm, maybe we split up! I'll go interfere with the anti-Noirlind faction, Katzo-kun, you just drag whoever's around into the mess and pick a fight with Siegwurm..."

"What about me?"

"Go do something about that sluggish mode of yours!"

"So it really has to be a Refresh (death)...?"

It was honestly a waste to throw away the R.I.P. buff... but on the other hand, getting locked at ten percent Stamina and Hunger was way too brutal. I was practically dying just standing still...

"Considering Siegwurm's gravity domain, I'd better die in a relatively cool way..."

"Scrutinizing your cause of death?"

"Do you truly believe a plebeian death like this could ever satisfy moi, good sir-madam?!"

"Should I bring a guillotine?"

Yeah, go ahead and bring one if you can. Wait, that doesn't matter right now.
Hmm... Hmmm... Hmmmmmm...

Alright.

"I-I'm saved..."

"...That was actually pretty nerve-wracking."

"Ah, perfect timing. Rust, could you take me up high into the sky real quick?"

"............Ehh."

Hey, hey, don't give me that annoyed voice, just do it real quick, yeah? Right, right, just lift me up to a height where I'll definitely die if I fall...

"...Where am I dropping you?"

"I considered Siegwurm, but charging in with zero chance of winning might get me slapped with a penalty, so drop me over by Bryreinyego."

"Heave-ho."

Hey, don't let go without warning.
I was falling headfirst, but of course, I wasn't about to do something as classless as simply free-falling into Bryreinyego.

"My stamina is garbage right now, but I can still take a single step...!!"

Activating Critical Speed[Bradyon]! Stomping on the empty air, one accelerating step!!

My gently accelerating body instantly hit top speed. In the blink of an eye, the ground and that white color approached; while recovering my stamina in midair, I curled up my body, corrected my posture, and... I'll show them the evolved flying kick I perfected by diving off the massive bodies of a Fortress Spider and a Train-Centipede over and over again!!

"Meteor Fall revised... Triple-Digit Skill!!"

『───Wh—』

Bringing both legs perfectly together, bending them, and thrusting the knees forward—an instant death if I miss—Twin Impact!!

"Die along with (me)!!"

『Hoguboa!?』

Its name is "Ground Zero Smite"! The demerit of taking massive damage from the recoil if it hits anything other than an enemy couldn't be ignored, but as long as it landed, it could generate physical impact damage over a wide area.
My knees sank right into the side of Bryreinyego's face as it reared back in a preparatory motion for what looked like a breath attack, and before I even had the time to savor the satisfying sensation of landing a critical hit, my body was violently repelled by the recoil of the impact.

Yep, makes sense. I've been at 1 HP this whole time, and my Critical Speed is still active for another four steps anyway...

"Mmph."

The ground I stomped on with both feet—the impact thrusting up from directly below blew my body away like a rocket launch, sending my uncontrollably spinning body dancing through the air.

"Nuaaaaaaaaaaaaaa............ aaaaaaaaaaaa!!?"

Goin!! With an impact straight to the crown of my head, a veil of silence fell over the players near the Ground Zero as I crashed upside down, planted into the earth like a javelin.
Wait, isn't this Siegwurm.

"...Please cut this part."

『Is it customary for a common human to expose their undergarments in such a manner?』

"Huh? Oh, right. Kyaa."

Never thought I'd get a lecture on morals from a Unique Monster.
And so, because I was perfectly upside down, I died with my drawers spread wide open for the world to see.

By the way, when I respawned, I had a "Massive VIT Down for a Set Time" debuff applied to me. Was the game telling me to put some clothes on? Too bad for you, my VIT is already trash to begin with.

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"Sunraku-kun, it's not fair to provide your own punchline〜"

"He flew off in a trajectory like the letter 'h'... Oh, the lowercase one."

Even so, it was at the very least an extraordinary way to go out. Whether it was what the man himself desired or not, the initial objective had been accomplished.

"Alrighty then, Noirlind crashing down over here makes things a bit inconvenient, but this is where the real show begins, everyone! Are you ready?"

"A bit late for that."

"It's important to double-check, right? Are you okay too, Emul-chan? Sunraku-kun scattered pretty spectacularly just now."

"It's much better than being used as a cannonball by a spider or dying by getting crushed in the joints of a centipede, plus I can fight perfectly fine on my own!"

"I'd really love to know where you were fighting monsters like that... well, whatever. Saina-chan got pulled away by Sunraku's respawn anyway... For now, let's have everyone present go pick a fight with Siegwurm!!"

"Yeah!" the traveling wolves roared in response, and the situation surged into motion.

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"Emi-Li! Customers have dropped in! What should we do!? Should we do 'em!?"

"Not yet, let's keep observing for now. If we don't distribute buffs to the Bryreinyego front as well, our lines might collapse under the sheer volume of enemies."

"And your honest thoughts?"

"It's regrettable that the plan to install full-scale offensive weaponry on Skull Azuchi didn't make it in time."

"Hyuuu! My bestie has turned into a Warmonger, but I'll follow you all the way to hell〜!"

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"Mumu! Has Akitsu Akane-dono descended as well...? Eei, though this is our first meeting, Lizard folks! We shall rush to Akitsu Akane-dono's side de gozaru!!"

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"Ahahahaha! Pfft, hii, my stomach hurts, he went flying off in a completely unexpected direction at the third cosmic velocity, Sunraku-kuuuun...! You really are the best!!"

"That being said... It's strange, he's using far too few skills. Sunraku-kun should have been utilizing many more skills... Did he choose not to use them? Or could he not use them?"

"............Hmm?"

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"I'm bored〜..."

Author's Afterword
Apparently, my work made it onto some ranking over there, and to think the day would come when my humble work would be listed in the same category as the King of Braves, even with these eyes of mine, Katarina of the Ocean, I couldn't see it!