Chapter 502: It's an Anticipated Emergency for One Side

Author's Preface
From the ancient battlefield with love, it seems I might just make it back alive... By the time this update drops, the author might have already returned, heheh (Flag).

"I really wish you wouldn't nonchalantly jump the gun on what I was about to say... But Silver, what do you really think?"

"Hannya is wary of No Face's Cursed Prison, isn't she? That's why she wants to force him to use his gauge before she finishes him off. As for No Face... it might just be a guess, but I wonder if he's aiming for WΔ's 'Hexa-Ult' rule."

"Hexa-Ult?"

"It's a special rule in Triangle Trinity. When Ults are activated a total of five times between both players, an item called an Ult Crystal appears somewhere in the city."

"It fills the Heroic or Villanic gauge to 100%... Meaning you can fire off an Ult immediately, Eito."

"Ah, so it's a recovery item of sorts... Oh, is that why he used an Ult so early?"

There's no need to explain the usefulness of a mechanic that lets you bypass the gauge-building process in GH:C. And since its benefits are only granted to one person, it naturally creates a psychological tug-of-war.

"If both of them use their Ults here, that makes a total of three times. It's a number that makes you hesitate to just throw out Ults casually."

"Depending on the situation, if you're cornered and the opponent snatches the Ult Crystal, it could easily mean Game Over."

"The frequency of attacks from both No Face and Hannya has decreased... If anything, it looks like they're feeling out each other's movements while keeping each other in check."

Just as Eito commentated, the furious offense and calm responses from earlier had lost their momentum. While slowly chipping away at each other's health, their movements carried the stillness of athletes waiting for the starting gun.

"Cursed Prison only has two leg-guns left, and while they're falling into a stalemate, it doesn't look like No Face-san is actively aiming for them."

"Well, naturally. Cursed Prison's Ult is 'Prison Break'. It's much faster to force Hannya to pop her Ult than to painstakingly destroy the guns."

"Ah, so that's what it is..."

"However, Prison Breaker has incredibly powerful specs. Even Hannya might be putting the real Cursed Prison in check... No, never mind, it has nothing to do with Amelia Sullivan anyway, yep."

"Aren't you forcing it a bit too much at this point?"

"It's a front, just a front. Anyway, even if Hannya-shi is better at using Cursed Prison, it doesn't mean she gets weaker when she becomes Prison Breaker. That's why No Face is also being a bit cautious."

"Conversely, Hannya is also wary of Twinkle Pixie's Ult. Twinkle Pixie's 'Twinkle Phantom' is an action-type. If she takes even a single hit, her health will be instantly shaved down."

Twinkle Pixie's Ult, "Twinkle Phantom", is an action-type Ult—similar to Meteos's Meteor Strike—where once activated, everything proceeds automatically until the sequence ends.
Unlike Meteor Strike, which is basically just a simple flying kick, if we go by the original game, she scatters "Special Powder" on the opponent to seal their movements, spawns three clones, and launches a synchronized attack with a total of four fairies... Naturally, if the powder misses, the Ult fails to activate.

"A cracked-out Phantom is hard to dodge once you get hit by the powder... The main body becomes temporarily invincible too, and honestly, that powder is..."

"Stop! Stoooop! We are on prime-time television, Uomi-san! Please spare us the dangerous remarks!!"

"Ah, sorry... Anyway, right now they both want to take the initiative. Although for No Face, that might come with the prerequisite of making her flinch first."

If Twinkle Pixie could seize the initiative, the sluggish Cursed Prison wouldn't be able to keep up. But to do that, she needs to guarantee a hit with the powder, which leaves her wide open.
If Cursed Prison could seize the initiative, she could respond while in the Prison Breaker state, which comes with powerful Super Armor. But once the effect of "Prison Break" ends, the armor from the Mechanitan will naturally disappear.

The contradiction of a stalemate where neither side can easily attack while continuing a back-and-forth offense and defense. With one side waiting for an opportunity through calm logic and the other relying on accelerated intuition... if anyone were to break the equilibrium, it would be none other than a third party who was neither No Face nor Hannya.

◆◆ 

The moment I heard that, Amelia Sullivan and I activated our Ults at the exact same timing.

"Prison Break!!"

"Twinkle☆Phantom!!"

The legal powder was scattered, but the remnants of the mechanical armor that burst off her entire body held the powder back just slightly. Using that as a shield, I saw the Crimson step backward, creating distance from the powder's range.

I missed...!

Damn it! I got too absorbed in the High Torque style! I should have aimed for an opening much more carefully... Guh, no good, staying here is bad news...!!

"You pieces of junk... interrupting at the worst possible time...!!"

"Don't look away, you pest."

"Gunoh!?"

The face? You seriously aimed for the face of a small woman? Bring it on, you bastard! I'll snap your spine until it looks like a Σ!!

However, the situation wasn't as simple as just facing off against Prison Breaker. The presence of the third faction that had crashed the party was something even Amelia Sullivan—who had suddenly gained the upper hand—couldn't completely ignore.
The second Target Enemy, who had even brought that annoying piece of junk, the "Valkyrie", under its command...

"...'Colonel'!!"

Target Enemy "Colonel". The characteristics of this enemy, which possessed a military title, were simple and clear.
It placed surrounding "Mechanitan" under its command and raised their AI levels. The sheer annoyance of having the "Valkyrie"—one of the strongest solo units—under its command was absolutely not something that could be ignored.

"How annoying...!!"

While diving into the shadow of a building to deal with a missile that came flying in as if to support the gunfire of "Mechanitan"—which seemed to be mutated cars and home appliances—a curse reflexively slipped from my lips.
The Mechanitan placed under command started using predictive shooting and even took actions to shield allies taking heavy damage. The most troublesome part was that they started moving to protect the "Valkyrie".

The choices presented to me right now were two. The first was escape... or at the very least, hiding until Prison Breaker's "Prison Break" ended.
But given the characteristics of the "Colonel"... leaving Cursed Prison here of all places was a bad idea. An incredibly, unfathomably bad idea.

"Uooooh, don't look away, you half-naked bastard!!"

"You're gonna end up like this on your next character too!!"

Closing the distance in an instant, Cross Counter!! My arms can't reach, so eat this kick!!

"Guh."

"Goh."

No good, I'm completely losing in output. On her end, I landed a hit on her cheek but she only lightly flinched, but over here, I was blown clean away and my health was pushed down to thirty percent.
As expected, a head-on clash against Prison Breaker is a foolish plan... In that case!!

"Reverse TQC... 'Evil' Style!!"

There's no future left for me anyway, so I just have to rampage until I die! Uooooh, like hell I'll let you die, "Mechanitan"! I'm gonna Twinkie☆ all of you, oraaaaah!!!

Author's Afterword
Might as well reply to this here.

Q. Author, do you not use Twitter or anything?
A. I just can't bring myself to take the plunge. I've been meaning to do it for ages, but before I knew it, I always ended up holding a controller.
I'll take the plunge soon, probably. (Words of someone who will never take the plunge)