Chapter 470: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 47

Author's Preface

A flawless lineup heading into the Gala while preserving Gachapin Mode and the 100-roll.

Amidst the wild dance of light and scattering destruction, the players gathered to overcome the final trial imposed by Siegwurm.

"So basically, you know the location of Siegwurm's Reverse Scale?"

『Yes!』

"I see..."

The player known as Akitsu Akane had been brought over by an inexplicably docile Pencilgon. Tracing things back, it was precisely because she had triggered the flag with Noirlind that they were even in this situation right now.
However... why was Noirlind nowhere to be seen, and why exactly did Akitsu Akane now look eerily identical to a black dragon?

"Uhh... where's Noirlind? Did he get defeated?"

『Noirlind-san?』

"Yeah, and more importantly, that appearance is..."

『Hmph, do you have some business with me?』

"............"

Psyger-100 and Arthur Pencilgon had a fairly long history together. While they weren't exactly at the level of telepathy, they could still roughly communicate their intentions through eye contact alone.
With her innocent expression from a few seconds ago completely vanishing to be replaced by an arrogant, tooth-baring sneer as she crossed her arms, Psyger-100's cheek twitched as she silently directed a questioning gaze at Akitsu Akane (?).

"Uhh... this right here is Akitsu Akane in Noirlind-san, having fused together using a Ninja Secret Art."

『I shall permit you to kneel and marvel in astonishment.』

"What is this? Did you impose some sort of rule where Wolfgang only accepts people who have abandoned their humanity or something?"

"No, Sunraku-kun is the only one who's completely out of his mind───"

Immediately after, flapping her flaming wings, Lustrous Feather [Suzaku]—with Rust piloting—landed from the sky, venting exhaust heat.

"...Everyone was gathering, so I came."

As an aside, considering that Kyougoku—who was currently being forced into an unexpectedly tough fight against Anju over at Skull Azuchi—was also racially divorced from humanity, Pencilgon quietly closed her eyes.

"Are we pulling something off? To be completely honest, my resources are totally tapped out right now..."

"I believed in you, Katzo-kun! You don't call yourself a mediocre fish for nothing!"

"Yeah, I'll fight you barehanded if I have to. Maybe I'll start with my PK debut?"

"I'll be using my holy spear, though."

"You little...!"

Setting that aside, Pencilgon tapped her holy spear against the ground with a clack-clack before pointing at Akitsu Akane and then at Siegwurm in turn.

"To be honest, this was news to me too, but since our little secret weapon here actually knows a way to stop Siegwurm's self-destruction and has apparently gone and fused or whatever... we're planning to leave the grand finale to her."

"Either way, unless we do something about that physical defense and the indiscriminate lasers, we're stuck anyway. Syl... no, Argent Owl took a direct hit and was brought to the brink of death in one shot, you know?"

It seemed that even the #1 player in the US couldn't quite handle a stray bullet scoring a direct hit while completely caught off guard. Though, the fact that she had managed to recognize it at all despite being entirely blindsided was truly a testament to her skill.

"As far as I can tell, the lasers are completely random, so we just have to pray. But as for that defensive barrier, I get the impression it has quite a few holes."

"PT Overwerke, huh."

"Yeah, I brought some of my guys and tried attacking it... but that defensive barrier probably requires Siegwurm to visually confirm the attack. There were times when attacks slipped through and times when they didn't."

"How reliable is that?"

"It was only about five minutes of testing, but we're talking about a simultaneous verification by hundreds of people, including players outside my clan, alright? I'd appreciate it if you trusted it enough to place a bet on it."

However, the physical barrier's defense was high enough to completely block out even a respectable amount of firepower, PT Overwerke muttered with a faint, strained smile.

"How strong are we talking?"

"It didn't even leave a scratch after getting hit by my trump card, 【Apollon Burst】."

"Complete nullification of a 【Violence Thunder】 class spell... it'd be wiser to give up on breaking through it entirely."

With the brief information exchange concluded, the operational policy was decided among the various clan leaders, including Pencilgon who had been listening in from the side.

"To sum it up, we're going to draw Siegwurm's attention with everything we've got so Akitsu Akane-chan doesn't get noticed. That's it!!"

"You're really asking for a lot considering how completely exhausted we are... PT Overwerke, what do you have left?"

"I'm fresh out of Aces, but I still have a Joker."

"What a coincidence, me too... Hey, what about over there? I'm well aware my little sister is currently useless."

"Rust-chan?"

"Five more minutes."

"Mold-kun?"

"I'm a support class to begin with... but well, barely."

"Katzo-kun?"

"Slightly more useful than a decorative ornament."

"From what I can see, Kyougoku-chan is still rampaging around the castle, and Sunraku-kun is..."

"Discovery (Found you) : This unit (I) has a message from my Contractor (Master)."

───I've got a flashy firework for you, but it's a one-shot deal.

"...Love it. Our little suicide bullet packs his own gunpowder into the detonator and misfires all on his own, so he gets the job done even if you just leave him be."

"That existence of his is way too dangerous."

"But his effective hit rate is like seventy percent..."

Furthermore, the message Saina delivered from Sunraku was an absolutely perfect fit for their current situation.

The time remaining until the activation of Siegwurm's final trial, the Core of Hegemonic Destruction [Buster Piece]... was exactly five minutes.

◇ 

"Listen up! Right now, Siegwurm is trying to self-destruct and take the frontline base down with him! We've come this far; if we don't stop him, the base is going to be blown to bits!!"

Psyger-100's voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Supreme, High, and Low-tier! Split into three teams based on the type of magic you can currently use! Anyone with Supreme-tier magic left, group up over here!!"

PT Overwerke's voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Just ignore Brockentried for now! We are concentrating our entire combat force onto Siegwurm!!"

Arthur Pencilgon's voice echoed across the battlefield.

Different instructions, yet all of them were uniformly targeting Siegwurm. As the scale of the indiscriminate lasers swelled larger and larger with each passing second, the combat-class players grasped their dwindling resources and stood tall, realizing that this was the moment to hold their ground.
The crafting-class players also shifted to assist roles, operating their various tricks and tools at maximum capacity as absolutely everyone locked their sights onto Siegwurm.

"The attacks are indiscriminate and completely random! It's pure RNG, so if you get hit, just give up! That thing defends based on visual recognition! We're gonna strike him in his blind spots and steadily rack up the damage... Mages! Fiiiiire!!"

Though noticeably fewer in number compared to the start of the Decisive Battle Phase, the hastily gathered magic painted the morning sky in a myriad of colors regardless.

『Nnuuun...!』

In response, the golden barrier deployed to protect Siegwurm caught and erased every last one of the spells.

"Physical squad! Slam him!!"

But exploiting that opening, the warriors closed in, smashing their weapons into Siegwurm from his blind spots.
Siegwurm's outer shell—already being damaged from the inside out—no longer retained its initial impenetrable sturdiness. The players erupted into cheers as they felt the distinct sensation of their weapons biting into his flesh... only to be violently blown away the very next moment by a shockwave unleashed from his golden body.

"Hah?! A sneak attack?!"

"No! That flinching motion was the telegraph!!"

"We can't freaking see that from down by his feet!!"

『Guh, nnu......... Not yet, hold together just a little longer, my body and soul...!!』

"Push, push, puuush!!"

『Guh, kuhaha, come then... However... you shall overlook my final death throes!!』

Mankind was sent flying like bowling pins as his tail swept out without an ounce of mercy or restraint. And as if to add insult to injury, the lasers danced wildly through the air...

◇◇ 

"Guh... d-damn it...!!"

"A Feng Shui Master... not to be underestimated...!"

"I'm sorry, Emi-Lii..."

"...Now then."

Now, in this moment, the fortress of corpses had a new lord.

◆ 

"───Ah, this is it. These are the coordinates."

"What exactly are you trying to pull here? It's just a regular beach."

"Well, apparently you can't just call the guy from anywhere... there's a specific 'place' you need to be to summon him."

Now, in this moment, a dragon-calling flute was raised to the sky.

And so, in two locations entirely detached from the main battlefield, actions were set into motion that would dictate the final outcome of the war.

Author's Afterword
Isana "YAAAATTA!!!!"