Chapter 498: One-Two Bullet Knuckle

Author's Preface
Yay! Plot collapse yay!! (Too many things I want to write about.)

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"Oh, and Hannya-san and No Face-san have encountered each other! Including the 'Valkyrie', we have a three-way deadlock right from the start!"

"Man, I didn't think they'd encounter each other on the first move. That said, this isn't exactly a favorable board state for either Dust or Display."

While looking up at the scenery of Chaos City projected via AR, commentary was provided by Eito, who was getting into the swing of things, and Kei.

"Display's character performance is somewhere between a Seeker type and a Fixer type, so even fighting 1-on-1 is a disadvantage to begin with. Well, Ame—ahem! Hannya-shi might be able to manage somehow with her player skill... but it's a fact that a brawl involving a 'Valkyrie' is undesirable."

"On the other hand, the player using Dust would also want to avoid a chaotic fight that involves heavy bullet consumption... is that how it is?"

"Hmm, this is an extreme take, but Dust can actually sustain a fight for a while just by punching the Villain while attacking the NPCs. However, while the bullets' power is high, his melee attacks are weak, and the fact that it's hard to build up the Bullets of Evil that are effective against the 'Valkyrie' and Display makes it rough."

Because Dust was a character with two gauges—and because he possessed bullet replenishment methods corresponding to them—he had to perform both good and evil deeds. One could also say he could perform both good and evil... but No Face's Dust, who was facing two entities that were villanous in attribute, was short on ways to resupply Bullets of Evil.

"Dust is a character who was added in an update very recently, so efficient gauge-building actions haven't been clearly figured out yet〜... In the source material, he's a character who doesn't care about his surroundings in order to judge evil, so it's not like he actively commits crimes either..."

"Oh, the situation is moving! ...Wait, where did Silver Mask-san go...?"

"Sounds like she's getting a lecture backstage."

"Ah—..."

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Dust's basic strategy boils down to "earn ammo at all costs and spray it everywhere."

If the bullet replenishment method had been gauge-dependent, he definitely would have been a trash character, so the separate ammo count is a blessing—but even so, fighting continuously without thinking is impossible.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?! Can't do jack unless you're playin' Cursed Prison?!"

"You're a restless one...!"

Despite her rough tone, her actions were calm and troublesome.
Since every single one of the three attackers in WΔ—the so-called "All-Fighter" setup—constituted a point of military strength, losing one meant, by simple calculation, your power would be shaved by a third.

However, Amelia Sullivan's composition was "Top Display," which placed Ms. Play-Display (aka Crap-TV) at the front to take board advantage... her true trumps were the two characters waiting behind, meaning she could treat Crap-TV as a disposable pawn.

While responding to an offensive that didn't fear taking damage, I clicked my tongue beneath my mask.
In reality, the tactical value of Dust and Crap-TV was equal, but in terms of mental leeway, Crap-TV—who had already fulfilled her role—could fight without restraint. It wasn't something I could fix just by being aware of it, and above all, since there was a pro gamer inside, this Crap-TV was demonically strong!!

"Are those guns toys or something?! If they're jamming, just throw 'em away!!"

"Shut it."

"Guh!?"

I'll treat you to the bullets you wanted; shatter along with your screen, Crap-TV.
I'm not saving them; I'm just being frugal while remaining ready to fire at any time. Of the two bullets released, the first bypassed the guard and hit Crap-TV's torso, but the second was blocked by her arm.

"Hand over the turn; I'll punch you nice and gently."

"With a punch from a Crap DPS weakling like you?"

"A one-two like a bullet!"

"It is a bullet!!"

After a few seconds of deep thought, I changed the chart; I abandoned the original "Meathead Fighter Strategy" and went on the offensive all at once. Thinking about the later stages, I needed to drop Crap-TV here no matter what.

Frugal living is a virtue—in that case, get erased by the pure wealth accumulated from my frugality, Crap-TV.
Perhaps she didn't think I would go full-burst with my bullets just from a light provocation; Crap-TV chose to weather the black-and-white, good-and-evil bullets with defense rather than evasion. But more than fighting me, not moving in this situation is a crime.

"An interrupting upper like a missile!"

"It is a missile... damn it!!"

Tell your complaints to the "Valkyrie." The missile, aimed at burying both me and Amelia Sullivan together, impacted and exploded; even though she had reinforced her guard, Crap-TV was sent flying by the direct hit. I also took the knockback from the aftereffects, but there's no way I took more damage than she did.

"Good 3, Evil 0... Tch, talk about lighting a fire on my fingernail."

The remaining ammo was far too meager to serve as a weapon for continued combat; the accumulation of Bullets of Evil was slower than I'd thought. That said, he wasn't the type of character who would wither the moment he ran out of bullets.

"Oh, nice timing!"

Hi there, policemen. I'm a bit short on explosions and firearms to execute justice, so treat me to some.
Taking advantage of the dust cloud generated by the "Valkyrie's" missile attack, I disengaged from the spot and dove toward a group of patrol cars while the "Valkyrie" was adding follow-up attacks to Crap-TV.

"W-Who are you?!"

"Just a citizen concerned about the public order of this city. You think you can win with a pea-shooter like that? Confiscated! Confiscated!"

"Gwah!"

I grabbed the cop by the lapels and delivered a headbutt, then "borrowed" the pistol held by the conveniently unconscious officer.

"Scram. If you want to join this shitty party, a pistol won't even count as a tip. Come back when you've got a rocket launcher."

Oh, one Bullet of Evil was charged. Should I knock out about five more people to celebrate? Whoops, I guess you won't let me be that free.
A visualized sonic attack hit the taxi I was hiding behind, and the metal body began to creak with a nasty sound. No need to say what would happen a few seconds later; I roughly tossed the cops I'd knocked out away and disengaged from the spot... or tried to, but I didn't quite make it in time and took the knockback from the explosion again.

"Come out, No Face!!"

"What an impatient one... Fine, let's do this."

Four guns; the first condition was cleared. The "Valkyrie" is in the way, but... can I do it? No, no, what is there to fear? Right now, I'm in a Mix-Accel-Joint state; with the protection of the Great Deity of Caffeine, I feel like I could pull off even these acrobatic-looking actions!!

"Hey, Hawkeye! Let me tell you this first: I'm not as hungry for victory as you are."

"Hah?"

Playing around? I won't confirm it, but I can't deny it either. However, I'm standing here passively as it is; I'm raising my own tension in my own way, so I've got no reason to take complaints from you.

"I'm just going to do what I want to do until the end..."

So, don't go dying on me halfway through.

"Have you ever seen 『Dance Guns Duel』?"

"What the hell is that...?"

I see. Well, it is a Japanese game.

"In that case... enjoy seeing it for the first time."

A Trace of behavior from the gun-based fighting game Dance Guns Duel, where every appearing character possesses some kind of firearm! I'll show you the Quad Bullet Dance (Four-Gun Martial Arts)!! [*1]

Author's Afterword
Q. What are you here for today?
Amelia: "To fight No Face."
Sunraku: "To recreate actions from other games and make a smug face."

Kaaah! I didn't have much intention of winning, but if I end up winning as a result, it can't be helped, kaaah!!

By the way, he's the type of protagonist who bites his lower lip if he loses.

Translator's Note

• [1] GunZ and Bayonetta? Seems really plausible to me.