Chapter 469: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 46

Author's Preface

Well, at the very least, finishing this in four chapters is impossible (an extremely rational judgment).

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"Friend, you look terrible... Are you alright?"

"Yeah, piece of cake, piece of cake... Uguu."

"You don't even have the energy to fake it... So, which way?"

"Thaaat way."

Leaning on the shoulder of Araba, whom I'd bumped into completely by chance, I pushed forward, aiming for a specific location. It seemed the Mermen had also joined the Decisive Battle Phase, mostly running logistics in the rear. Though apparently, Araba himself had been actively fighting on the absolute frontlines.

Ah crap, I feel as sluggish as I do when I pull two all-nighters grinding laps in a game. I remember getting a pretty serious lecture from Takeda-shi about that back then... Man, that brings back memories... I mean, the RNG was just awful, it couldn't be helped! Though, I suppose Takeda-shi wasn't exactly much better, offering up shady-as-hell advice like, "When that happens, just turn off the power and switch the RNG table, my good sir!"

"...I am certain you are about to do something completely absurd... but what exactly are you planning?"

"Hmm......... gonna make a little house call."

"???"

I think it was right around here... Oh, it's ringing, it's ringing.

"Wait, what even is that? A weapon?"

"───A flute, I guess."

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The time limit was rapidly approaching. Having made a grandiose declaration of self-destruction, almost every player on the battlefield was now attempting to attack Siegwurm.
However, no matter how much he was slashed, pierced, burned, or punctured, Siegwurm did not yield. Even though he desired to be defeated, he exposed his majestic form as if to provoke them, practically daring them to try and defeat him, while the sphere of light into which he poured his everything swelled up until it rivaled the brilliance of the sun itself.

"───The Reverse Scale."

『The Reverse Scale, you say?』

"When I got this scar on my face... it was a complete accident, but my attack hit Siegwurm-san's Reverse Scale... and when it did, Siegwurm-san himself told me."

He said his Reverse Scale was the keystone of his flowing mana. While piercing it wouldn't kill him, it would cause the mana flow throughout his entire body to temporarily stop.

『I see... But what will you do? Can you slip past that and get into point-blank range? You, of all people.』

"That's... um, with guts..."

『Even if you might be able to do it someday, if you cannot do it now, then no matter how much you struggle, you cannot do it. Frankly, give up.』

"But..."

It was sound logic. However, Akitsu Akane was exactly the kind of person who "doesn't want to be given up on". Noirlind stared intently at the downcast Akitsu Akane... and then offered a proposal.

『With me in my current state, could you not use that?』

"Eh?"

『That. You know, that thing you were whining about, saying you didn't understand the conditions to use it.』

"How to use it... Ah! You mean that!"

Much like her growing trademark, 【Dragon Breath】, it was a magic bearing the title of "Secret Art" within the Ninja skill tree.
Upon unlocking the level cap, a new Secret Art had appeared in the item "Secret Scroll: Tiger," which she possessed as a Ninja.

It was an ultimate technique of... metamorphosis, uniting the body and mind of the Secret Art's user with a non-human entity with whom they had achieved mental synchronization.

"But that's... Huh? Eh? I can use it?! Why!!?"

It wasn't simply a matter of becoming friendly with a monster.
It required a hidden parameter... a "Wildness Value" that indicated the player's level of influence over the monster.

That was exactly why it was a "trump card" that could only be unlocked in the midst of actual combat.

"Um... is it really okay for me to do this?"

『The more you hesitate, the closer his self-destruction approaches.』

"Wah, you're right... Then, here I go!!"

There is no incantation for the Ninja Secret Arts. She simply touched the target (Noirlind), formed a simple hand seal with only her index and middle fingers raised, and shouted. That alone was enough to activate the technique.

"Ninja Secret Art...!!"

Was it coincidence, or inevitability? At that exact moment, a laser was fired from the sphere of light created by Siegwurm, hurtling straight toward Akitsu Akane and her companion. As the players who had been making way for the bizarre duo scrambled to dodge—knowing a direct hit would be fatal—they witnessed Akitsu Akane standing perfectly still, making no attempt to flee...

"【Super Metamorphosis】!!!"

An explosion.

"A direct hit...?!"

"No, I think she just barely dodged to the side."

"Either way, she's probably dead..."

"No, wait!"

The cloud of dust swirled. No, that was wrong. It gained momentum until it could only be described as a tornado, mixed with what looked like black petals... before bursting open from the inside out.

『…………』

Standing there was... what used to be a single young girl.
Her skin wasn't just pale blue; it was blue itself, and scales covered her four limbs and chest like armor. The fact that her skin was exposed only at her cleavage, navel, and a portion of her thighs couldn't help but evoke the feeling that some creator's wicked desires had been involved, but at the very least, a normal human wouldn't grow scales.
Furthermore, a jet-black "tail" and "wings"... and even "horns" had sprouted, radiating a presence that was clearly inhuman to everyone around her.

『…………』

The eyes that slowly opened had the colors of their sclera and pupils seemingly inverted, and peering out from her open mouth were "fangs"—likely the result of all her teeth transforming—along with a "tongue" that was split at the tip.

Well, so, to summarize.

『.........Ah, I can't fly like this!』

An entity that could only be described as a "Dragonewt" that retained the human charm of a woman was standing there, displaying the Player Name "Akitsu Akane".

『Umm... Ah, there's a window............ Hmm, maybe I should just move around and learn by doing!!』

Akitsu Akane pointed her finger at the empty air, operating something for a while, but eventually—having seemingly opted for practical, hands-on learning—she kicked off the ground with a loud BANG! Flapping her wings, she leapt into the air with terrifying momentum.

"...What the hell was that just now?"

"Transformation magic? No, fusion magic?"

◇◇ 

Her body felt incredibly light. Akitsu Akane already possessed above-average leg strength even in real life, but her sprint—which now incorporated leaps so massive they could be called flight—made her feel a rushing wind she could never experience even in the long jump.

『E-Excuse meeee! Coming through!!』

"Wh-What the?!"

"Ooh, a black sclera, blue skin, demon-type dragon girl, huh..."

"How the hell did you see all that detail...?"

"I mean, she's actually slower compared to Tias-tan, y'know."

"............Wait, what the?! You guys are the Dress-Up Squad!"

"Wahahaha, leave your heads and your lives behind!!"

Landing in the empty space of the noisy crowd, she leapt once again. Closing the distance to Siegwurm in a single burst.

『Wow, I can even double jump in midair!』

No reply came. Akitsu Akane felt a slight pang of loneliness at that...

『───I'm here.』

『My mouth is moving on its own?!』

From a third-party perspective, Akitsu Akane's expression shifted into something incredibly "cheeky"—as if her entire personality had changed—and her mouth formed words completely on its own.
Those words were unmistakably Noirlind's...

『It seems you hold the initiative. I was finally able to interject only when you let your guard down.』

『Um, only my throat gets tired, so is it possible for us to converse without actually speaking out loud?』

(Like hell I can do that!!)

She could.
Akitsu Akane just learned that if she used the Ninja Secret Art 【Super Metamorphosis】 with a monster capable of conversation, telepathic communication was entirely possible if they felt like it.

『It worked!』

(Ngggh... More importantly! Hurry up and pierce his Reverse Scale! This form won't last forever!)

That was true. 【Super Metamorphosis】 had a set time limit based on the strength of the monster the caster "fused" with. However...

『But I can fight for about ten minutes like this, you know?』

(...Ten, is that considered long?)

『Um, quite.』

The secret behind that lay in Noirlind's current form.
"Remote Emote"—which originally worked by having the core rapidly body-hop between multiple generated clones to cause confusion—operated by placing a bare core inside a body made from the absolute bare minimum amount of cells.
In other words, it possessed the typical fragility inherent to this type of "mobile main body" setup.

Maintaining the prestige of a Raid Monster while possessing abysmally low stats—this very contradiction made it possible to have a completely adequate combat time limit, even when fused with "The Black Dragon, Noirlind".

『Looks like my voice will reach Siegwurm-san pretty soon. Do you have anything you want to say? Want to switch?』

(Hmph... Let's see...)

"Eh, wait, could it be Akane-chan? What's with that! A transformation? Big sis has never heard of thi──"

『......Hah? The hell do you want.』

"Hyoeeh!"

Arthur Pencilgon, as it turns out, was actually completely and genuinely terrified.

Author's Afterword

A junior who shines a light on highly niche fetishes (and got a little corrupted in the process).

The hidden parameter "Wildness Value" is a separate stat from Affection. A relationship similar to Sunraku and "Scar-red" is an example of a high Wildness Value state.
Image-wise, it's closer to Ninjitsu Art of Super Transformation rather than Super Polymerization.