Chapter 506: Super Alloy Mobile Iai-Fist

Author's Preface
The man who got cold feet after remembering a dangerous parody song.

Elsa〜! Let's play Apex〜! You be Gibraltar!!
An update so good I can't help but sing it out loud.

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There is an organization known as the Cursed Prison Academic Society.
Cursed Prison's selling point isn't just his post-prison-break super performance. In fact, since the majority of battles are fought in the form of his Cursed Armor beforehand, voices naturally rose up demanding to test the capabilities of the Cursed Armor running on the ShanFro engine.

And so, in order to approach the deepest secrets of the armor, countless acts of destruction were carried out by numerous Cursed Prisons... and one truth was discovered.

"A form without two arms and two legs... A Special Form, huh."

"The condition is equipping 12 engine units from specific Mechanitans. It's a Special Form discovered right before this program started."

Cursed Prison generally absorbs destroyed objects around his base armor. But as an exception, if he absorbs a specific number of specific objects, he can take on a non-humanoid form.
That eight-legged Cursed Prison from earlier was probably a Special Form I didn't know about either. Its mobility wasn't that high, but it excelled at long-range attacks whether manual or auto. I think absorbing all three types of Mechanitan Target Enemies also resulted in a special derivative.

In that case, I will discard armament expansion and defeat you with a Special Form specialized in mobility and horsepower.
I am a man who always rides the cutting edge of the times, and fueled by this multi-stage high of energy drink power, I will shake off everything and accelerate!!

"Hah, can you even handle it?"

"Would a lion ever forget how to use its own claws?"

I'll show you the soul of a raging Thomson's gazelle. Fuck lions.

"Yo, kid. Keep your head down and stay hidden over there."

"Stop acting so damn smug!!!"

The current her has absorbed the "Colonel" and the "Commander". In WΔ, there are a fair number of characters who can turn Target Enemies into their own sustenance, and all of them boast powerful capabilities. On top of that, there's the Target Enemy subjugation bonus. If I underestimate her just based on her remaining health, all the big talk I've spouted so far will become a shame that lasts for generations.

But,

"I can just dig up shame and regrets from the past later!"

If I feel ashamed of the future, I won't be able to do anything! Charge!!!

The muzzle of the "Colonel" she's wearing as armor covering her right shoulder to her arm begins to gather a vicious spark. A charged particle cannon. A direct hit would probably blow away 20% of my health, but... don't underestimate zero expandability and full-investment mobility.
This bizarre four-legged posture, looking like a half-broken kneeling position with two sub-legs extending from hovering knees, operates in a constant hover state thanks to absorbing bird-type Mechanitans!

With a booming roar, an explosive propulsion force as if the lower half of my body had detonated propels Cursed Prison's body forward. And yet, with a smooth movement distinct from a simple straight trajectory, I close the distance in an instant.

"Get crushed!!"

But the opponent is the US #2. In other words, a fierce warrior who has fought against the US #1, the very incarnation of mobility. The blast fired from the perfectly aimed muzzle slams into my body.

But,

"Only ten percent...?!"

"Ul-tra-Hea-vy-Ar-mor! The Mobile Fortress (Moving Fatty) is here!!!"

"Guh!!"

This 12-engine form normally would have allowed for a few more armament options, but this armor worn over the form that realizes irregular mobility is my true trump card.

"...The hell is that armor!"

"A bank vault door."

A security shield capable of repelling even missiles. The moment I learned Amelia Sullivan was using a heavyweight character, I vaguely envisioned this battle style.

Cursed Prison's equipment ability has a capacity limit. He's a character that requires a lot of brainpower for things like relaxing weight limits, but that doesn't matter right now. I crushed two slots' worth of remaining capacity that normally would have allowed me to pack about three weapons, and equipped this ultra-massive metal chunk even at the cost of shaving off nearly 40% of my original mobility... Mass is power! Heat is energy!!

"This single strike is the wisdom of physics!!"

"Guh... Ohh!!"

It reminds me of the bike-equipped lariat from when I fought Sylvia Goldberg, but this time, it's several times heavier and faster.
My body, charging in while leaving scorch marks on the asphalt, closes in on Amelia Sullivan. My extended arm is slammed horizontally into her neck... Yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure it looked something like this in the video, right?

A lethal lariat combining my own acceleration and centrifugal force, slamming my arm into the opponent's neck to lock it... and spinning one full rotation along with the enemy to smash them into the wall. The name of that move is...

"Mortal Lariat!!"

Striking a pose while ignoring the 1P color who was blown away through the building's glass as if she had taken a throw. If I'm going to imitate another game, I might as well nail the pose too.

"I'll drag you straight to hell..."

"...Mortal Teddy from Death Match 4? You got the wrong game, No Face."

"We've got the exact same faces punching each other here. Don't start whining over something as trivial as me bringing in a reference from across the fourth wall now."

Besides, I still have plenty of material prepared.

"Eat this and die! Take as much as you want!!"

This form has one weakness. Because it's fixed in a posture that looks like an endless knee-buckle, it can't brace its legs. That point can be solved by the sub-legs extending from the knees—absurd parts that are basically bird-type Mechanitan wings with jets attached straight to the legs—but... as a result, there is a fundamental problem: this Special Form cannot back up or retreat.

That's exactly why, in this situation with no retreat, I step in even further. Humans have the most fun when they're hovering right on the edge of death!!

"Don't get cocky!"

"But I'm riding the high right now!?"

A cross-counter. It seems she's also made up her mind and isn't afraid of death. Her instinct to chip away at the opponent and her thought process to protect herself perfectly aligned, causing the fists fired from both sides to clash.
I can't brace myself, so I have no choice but to advance. I intentionally break the equilibrium of our fists from my end, changing my clenched fist into an open palm and grabbing her arm. If the principle is the same, can I call it the same move? Mimicry (Fake) revised into Unique Modification (Arrangement)!!

"Irregular 'Tidal Rush'!!"

If the mimicked "Tidal Rush" was a one-arm shoulder throw via horizontal rotation realized by my own body's high-speed mobility via wheels, then this is an ultra-high-speed Giant Swing via vertical rotation brought about by boosters...!!

"Fly beyond the rushing tide!!"

"It ain't in my nature to just sit back and take a beating, ora!!"

Clank! The mechanical wings—parts from the other Target Enemy "Commander" she absorbed—are forcibly activated.
They are wings without flight capabilities, but if you asked if they were just for show, the answer is obviously no.

"I don't plan on making them last long anyway... Get blown away!!"

Their true identity is high-output laser-firing turrets shaped like wings. Seven muzzles per wing, making a total of fourteen atrocious lasers for the pair. The recoil from the bombardment forcibly pins her massive body in place, preventing her from being blown away by my Irregular "Tidal Rush" (Horizontal Spin Throw).
Then, the wings indiscriminately firing beams of light twitch, attempting to converge their aim solely on me... No, taking a direct hit from all of those would be bad. In that case, there's only one option to take: forward.

But the impending threat of the lasers is right on top of me. What should I do? Bakumatsu Reference Iai-Fist! I'll borrow this, "Zeninari-shi"!

"Tempo Strike!!"

"Kuh... What!?"

I drive my fist forward as if to strike... only to stop it inches away, pause for a split second, and snap my fingers!
Clang!! A sound far too imposing for a finger snap rang out, with a volume incomparably louder than a normal snap.

This is incredibly convenient. In Bakumatsu, it's mostly full of people who would normally deal with it after the third time or so, but since it forcefully creates a "Pause (Opening)", it has high synergy with the Iai-Fist style.

"Spacing out for a whole second is way too leisurely, don't you think?"

"Guh!!"

The Iai-Fist style is also viable against armed opponents! Everyone should start using it!
By the way, the entry requirement is defeating the Stage 1 boss in the "Benpi" Story Mode—the 3x Speed Splitting Nail Bat User (Bugged)—without taking any damage. It's fine! Up until Stage 3, the bug exploit "Astral Projection," which moves your hitbox behind you, is effective. And even taking that into account, Stage 2 and beyond are even more hellish anyway!!

Close in, create an opening, grab the base of the mechanical wings, and twist them up. The equipment Cursed Prison wears are destructible objects! There's no problem if I break them before they hit! Then, I hook my rotationally boosted sub-legs—eat this forced leg sweep!
Did you see this beautiful combo? I call it Iai-Fist: Bakumatsu Install... Let's keep accelerating until our brains boil, Amelia Sullivan!!

"Your neurons are running out of breath! Is it bedtime already!?"

Iai-Fist is the strongest style that transitions into Grapples, Submissions, punches, kicks, German Suplexes... absolutely every single technique!!

Author's Afterword

• Various things before WΔ's implementation.

GH:C Production Company: "...We want to implement it with these kinds of rules."
Tsukuyo: "Why are you asking me that?"
GH:C Production: "Hey genius, there aren't any brains for sale anywhere that can handle the system we bought from you!"
Tsukuyo: "No, that's not what I mean."

Tsukuyo: "Why don't you ask the server?"
GH:C Production: "???"
Server-attached AI: "OK, I roughly get it. I'll do the map like this... How about these added elements referencing the data input for each character? I've put in the general data for the new enemies, so character designs are in your hands."
GH:C Production: "???????"

It's roughly like this. They built a whole new building for it, so it's amazing! Tsukuyo-san's technical prowess is entering the realm of fantasy, but considering the motifs (the source material of her models), it doesn't feel out of place, so I'll have her stick with this super technology.