Chapter 511: Aster Sky

Author's Preface
Chuunibyou isn't a matter of logic, it's instinct, so changing it from English to Greek isn't embarrassing at all. (lol)

What put a halt to the scales that were gradually tipping in Xenoselgus's favor was the Valkyrie, who had previously only been lightly swatted away for being an outsider.

Flinching from taking a hit from the [Gun Hand], the crack on her left cheek where she took the bullet begins to spread even further from the inside.
The self-destructing mechanical maiden gains a certain special action after a set amount of time passes.

Gi, gigigi, gachichichichit!!

"!!!"

Where my cornered eyes looked... Seeing the Valkyrie's right arm twisting unnaturally and swelling from the inside all on its own, information, thoughts, and a conclusion raced through my mind like lightning.

"U-Ooooooohh!!"

Slipping past a grab unleashed by Xenoselgus—who had returned to her hardened body after fulfilling some condition while I wasn't looking—I close in on the Valkyrie in a full-speed dash.

"Take this passionate hug!!"

Kicking away the assault lance gripped in her left hand, I kick the Valkyrie, whose total weight had been lightened, straight towards Xenoselgus!!

"Wh—gh, you idiot! That won't even serve as a smokescreen!!"

"Actions and the body are two different things...!!"

Detonation. The Valkyrie's limited action: "Part Overload." Put simply, it's a self-destruct move that triggers a high-firepower explosion in exchange for losing parts in stages.
But Xenoselgus is currently in an invincible mode. Naturally, she won't take any damage; if anything, I'm just depleting my already low health even further by being caught in the blast, but...

"Do you know the results of Prison Breaker's physical strength verification?!"

"Gh, what... ?!"

An imitation sumo-style tackle! Super Armor is powerful, but it doesn't unconditionally block everything. Right, for example... if you have the STR to throw even Xenoselgus's massive frame, then no matter how sturdy she is, you can just throw her right out of the building!!

"Fall—"

Fifteen seconds left! Yo, bird of prey.

"Do you know who this sky belongs to?!"

"What are you... what did you just say?"

Heh, so she has an idea. That makes things quick.

"Sorry, but this is my limit for reproduction. I'm going with a double connection of 'Sky-Fall' and 'Sky-Strike' without 'Sky-High'!!"

I'll show you the results of my intense practice!!!

◇ 

The scramble for the Ult Crystal, the Valkyrie's overload, and then Prison Breaker's "movements" triggered by Xenoselgus's fall... Realizing their true nature, Masked Silver forgets even her words and instinctively stands up.

"...Master-Sky."

As that single word spilled from her lips, Kei's eyebrows shot up in a mixture of astonishment and confusion.

"...Seriously?"

"Omitting Sky-High, and connecting Sky-Fall and Sky-Strike... that's definitely that move..."

"U-Um, wait, explanation! Please explain!!"

A few seconds after saying that, Eito realizes this isn't the time for explanations.

On the screen ahead, Prison Breaker, having thrown himself upside down in mid-air, kicks off the empty space to accelerate straight down.
Catching up to Xenoselgus—who is falling at free-fall speed—in an instant, Prison Breaker crashes into her with his knees thrust out.

"A knee drop connects! Right down to the ground like this... eh, it's not?"

"A perfect reproduction is impossible... no, that's why he needs the building's wall."

"A mid-air jump to return to the building's surface, leaping off while running down to match Xenoselgus's altitude, attacking, returning... Um, this is!"

"Sky-Fall, a twenty-hit continuous aerial assault connecting hits while falling from top to bottom..."

"What exactly is that... oh, there's something in the comments... 'The Legend of Master Sky'?"

Once upon a time, there was a game called Justice Versus.
In that game, not only could you create a character from scratch, but you could also create special abilities, gauge moves, and even "Special Move" with your own hands.

When that game circulated through the world and reached its golden age... a single player appeared.
That player's name was "Master Sky," and there is a certain "legend" derived from the character he or she created.

Its name is a Multiple Trick (Composite Special Move) called Master-Sky (The Strike that Rules All Skies), derived from the names of two techniques created by the player "Master Sky" and the name of a certain special move.

First, Sky-High (Ascension), an attack that uses a grab as a starting point to launch the enemy high into the sky along with the user.
Then, Sky-Fall (Falling Sky), a twenty-hit mid-air combo technique that seamlessly links exactly seventy-eight different motions together using bugs while falling.
Finally, Sky-Strike (Stormy Sky), the default Special Move that burns through the gauge earned from the previous two tricks to completely deplete the opponent's health.

Although limited to unrestricted rulesets, the Master-Sky—the only Round-start Touch of Death (100% to 0% combo) recorded in JustVer's history—is constructed from a staggering three hundred and fifty-two motions.
The unprecedented precision, utilizing every single mechanic in Justice Versus to craft a spectacle without compromising even the visual effects, was praised as "Art."

This technique would later birth many derivatives, such as Buster-Sky (Striking Sky), which was downgraded to a more practical performance; Majester-Sky (Majestic Sky), which conversely prioritized purely visual flair; and Tempester-Sky (Stormy Sky), which intentionally omitted the initial launch to focus entirely on triggering the combo in mid-air... However, due to its overwhelmingly complex movements, it was considered impossible to reproduce outside of Justice Versus...

At least, until today.

The deployment of Prison Breaker, the complete superior version of Meteor, who boasts top-class mobility among all characters in GH:C.
A pseudo-Sky-Fall, repeatedly jumping and landing on the building's wall as a foothold while running parallel to the enemy and raining down attacks.
And finally, landing the flying kick special move Sky-Strike would complete the reproduction───

However, with only a dozen meters left before hitting the ground.

"No, it's not a flying kick!"

Prison Breaker's movements exhibit an even further, irregular deviation.

◆◆◆ 

No damage! No damage! No damage!
Damn that invincible mode! Because of it, my stress and tension have completely shattered the critical point!!

"But!!"

Right here, a further arrangement! Instead of finishing with a Sky-Strike (Flying Kick) like I'm supposed to... I'll change it!
It's just bits of knowledge I picked up, but they say Master Sky—the person who devised this entire instant-death combo—was someone who almost never spoke up publicly aside from posting combo videos... but a few sparse comments, little more than mutters, were left behind.

I found that comment while researching information to learn the Master-Sky... The words "Master-Sky is a compromise." The true "Finishing Move" that couldn't be implemented even while utilizing bugs; ten years later, right here, right now! Prison Breaker and I will make it a reality!!

"One second! You're short by exactly one second for that!!"

"I figured!!"

Exactly, a Sky-Strike won't work. I know because I practiced it like crazy; even if I kick in using the shortest straight line, it'll land in time while Xenoselgus's "Cell Burst" is still active.

In that case!!

"The true finishing move is... a galactic strike!!"

The name of that technique is "Universe Tail"! Because it was a special m in JV triggered from a ground throw, it couldn't be connected from the aerial assault of Sky-Fall. So, I'll force a reproduction of it using the building's wall and mid-air jumps!!

"Savor it carefully."

I grab the ankle of Xenoselgus as she falls through the air, stepping off the building's wall and the empty space, drawing a circle with the thrower and the thrown. Carrying that momentum, I hurl Xenoselgus toward the ground, kicking off the wall and kicking off the air for one final acceleration!!

As expected, games are the best. There's a dream to be found in physics engines.

"Master-Sky, revised!"

A forward somersault in mid-air, concentrating all my accelerated falling energy into the single point of my heel, and within my completely disorienting field of vision, I distinctly catch sight of the Meat Daruma completely devoid of visual effects.

"My personal reproduction... Aster-Sky(Starry Sky)!!"

Impact.

Author's Afterword
Foreshadowing isn't something to brag about, but the video I was watching before I provoked Zappi was the Master-Sky combo video.

Sudden Settings Dump
・Physics Engine
The physics engine, a piece of computer software that simulates classical mechanics laws, is naturally implemented in Shangri-La Frontier as well.
And, just as naturally, Tsukuyo built it herself, but she intentionally dramatized the resulting physical phenomena.
For example, mobs taking an explosion get blown away extremely flashily; a person used as a ball in a ball-game tournament gets rallied back and forth in an excessively beautiful trajectory; and posture control in mid-air is much easier than in reality... This is because when Tsukuyo tested it on a "prototype," she judged that making it too true to reality would actually make it boring.
And since the GH:C server—which had a massive amount of money poured into its production—also has the same physics engine installed, Sunraku was able to pull off some seriously disgusting movements like bouncing off the wall, grabbing his opponent's leg, swinging her in a giant circle to throw her, and then following up with an axe kick... His experience of being turned into a ball by the scorpions probably came in handy.