Chapter 523: An Orchestra For You, Part 5
Author's Preface
I'm struggling so much to beat the final boss that I'm turning into Tatsuya Fujiwara. [*1]
Why...? Why does every single one of them casually use projectiles...?
I did beat the secret boss, though. (I literally danced when I beat him.)
This play will drag on forever if you don't meet the conditions, but the moment you do, Orchestra rushes straight to the end...
Carried in the mouth of the center head of the reproduced "Scar" that I had fed with recovery items, we climbed up the slope formed by the theater, which was warping its shape in a frankly nauseating way, and returned to the restored Coliseum. And waiting for us there was the reproduced Devouring Great Crimson Clad, already in its final phase with a red tornado on its back...
『───Dash through, the path, of flames!!』
"Napalm Road is open for business!!"
I remember this part. I dashed through the path created by the napalm flames bursting on my left and right, closing in on the reproduced Devouring Great Crimson Clad... hammering attacks into the massive mouth on its chest that had gone into defense mode.
If I recall correctly, back then I used the Brilliant Scorpion Gauntlets like this to... huh? No, wait, that's wrong. Back then, I'm pretty sure I...
『───Two forms, clad in darkness, the maiden carrying a gravestone mourns the dead...』
"Gaaaaah! Crap!!"
I was deceived by my own memories! The one I dealt massive damage to with the Brilliant Scorpion Gauntlets was Bryreinyego! H-Hold on, time out! Ah, no good?
"Don't mess with me!!"
Using the massive mouth I'd been relentlessly punching as a foothold, I jumped. Then, jumping again in mid-air, I used the Chalice to swap my gender. Landing on "Scar's" back with my now significantly slender legs, I operated the window again, equipping disposable female-exclusive gear while activating R.I.P.
"Transformation complete...!"
I took out the gravestone carried by this form—the Remember Death Without Parting—and readied it... so heavy!! Eh, why is it so heav... ah, I haven't racked up any kill score for it!!
"Whoa, hold, wai—"
And another careless mistake. Memento Mori has an ability that reduces the weight experienced by the user. In other words, even if I feel it's light and swing it effortlessly, to anyone other than me, it remains a colossal greatsword that would be nearly impossible to lift with human strength. While that translates to the benefit of massive damage against the target being attacked, in this specific instance, it became the massive detriment of suddenly dropping an ultra-heavy weight right onto "Scar's" back.
"Scar" shook his body violently as if to say it was annoying. Naturally, my body tumbled off his back, and I ended up rolling around frantically just to escape his Jurassic tap dance.
"Hey—"
Claws right next to my face! Dodge this way!
"Gueh."
If I had been one tempo faster, my upper and lower body would have bid each other farewell! Dodge this way!!
"Hiek."
Dear Father and Mother, thank you for birthing me as a man. If I'd had any resistance to spreading my legs wide open, my lower half would have been turned into a pressed flower... Retreat, retreat, retreeeeat!!
"T-That was way too close..."
Who said I wanted to experience what a floor feels like while being tap-danced on? But this is a problem... there's no way I can dodge while holding Memento Mori, which means if I've dropped it, I have to go pick it up. And there's yet another problem.
If I remember right, back then I fought using a dual-wielding style with Areadbhair Rebuild and a Memento Mori that had been lightened enough to handle with one hand... In my current state, I can't wield Memento Mori one-handed. I have to rack up a kill score somewhere, and if Orchestra has the property of forcing situation reproductions, there must be a hint or a lifesaver of sorts somewhere. After all, this is strictly a solo fight.
"Is it that tornado, as expected?"
The true nature of the Devouring Great Crimson Clad is a swarm of locusts. If its properties are being perfectly reproduced, then the tornado rising from the main body's back essentially contains a massive amount of hitboxes and mob entities.
Amidst the wild dance of explosive flames and magical light, I build a strategy chart that, while improvised, is solid enough to give me confidence. Pick it up, move forward, slash... alright, now all that's left is to execute it! As long as there are no mistakes, the fastest run is an RTA, after all!!
"Here goes the theoretical best!!"
I move forward. It hasn't been trampled, but that doesn't mean picking it up will be a walk in the park. Besides, there's no guarantee it won't get trampled, which means the only viable option here is to pick it up via the shortest, fastest route possible!!
Closing the distance in a flash, I slide to evade "Scar's" tail—which could easily blow me away just from the shockwaves of its movements—and as I stand back up, I grab the hilt of the now-reachable Memento Mori with both hands and hoist it onto my shoulder.
"Tch!"
Damn you, even as a reproduction, the tail-head is still aiming for me! But you're naive! This is the fastest chart, so I have the initiative! Next turn is also mine! Hand over the extra turn and the kill score, you bastard!!
"Kinetic energyyyy!!"
A full-power throw! I dodge before even watching where the launched Memento Mori ends up!
The annoying thing about multi-headed monsters is that each head has its own independent eyes, while simultaneously operating as a single entity. Unless you completely slip out of sight of every single eye, breaking their line of sight is fundamentally impossible. Even if you dodge once, as long as they've got you locked on, they'll chase you, and since its attacks are beam-types, they'll just home right in on you!
"But as long as I evade them, it's fine!!"
All I want is enough time to make my next move. Operating the window, I pull out the Mirror Shield of the Nether-King and tilt it to parry the beam. It's a simple science experiment. Let's reflection!!
"Got a response!!"
My HP recovers, which means the Memento Mori I threw just scored a kill. When the weapon secures a kill, the armor answers. Keeping my round shield raised, I break into a sprint to retrieve the colossal greatsword that had fallen to the ground.
The Mirror Shield of the Nether-King can block the breath attacks, but it requires planting my feet in place, which means a time loss. In that case, evasion is the safest bet. I intentionally close the distance toward the reproduced Devouring Great Crimson Clad!
"I'll be borrowing your back, Crimson Clad!!"
Am I unintentionally trying to complete a collection of monster backs here? No, that doesn't matter. The important thing is that the tail-head won't fire its breath attack at me while I vault over the main body's back—or strictly speaking, around its rear... its lower back?—pressing my shield against it as I roll. After all, it would end up hitting itself, right?
I snatch up the fallen Remember Death Without Parting. Nice, I can lift it with one hand now. The conditions have been met, now all that's left is to close it out.
I'll reproduce that heroic epic exactly as you wish, Orchestra!!!
◆
The Devouring Great Crimson Clad collapses, melting away. The only difference from back then is that the locusts didn't vanish into dust, but unraveled into threads of light.
And in this place, I am the only real thing. Naturally, the reproduced "Scar" fades away as well.
"Thanks, brother."
Now then... I'd really like to see the finale soon. Does an orchestra really play ten or twenty pieces? Since this is a boss rush, I'd appreciate it if it stopped at around five or six.
『【The Tale Spun by Sunraku】 Fourth Movement... "Revising the Tragic Finale, Post-Mortem"』
"Hm."
R.I.P. was deactivated? Or rather, I'm back to being a guy? That's ridiculous, it shouldn't deactivate until I die......... Wait, don't tell me Orchestra is overriding it at the system level? Also, I was bracing myself for whatever came after the Devouring Great Crimson Clad, but that title... The difficulty isn't scaling in phases? In that case............
A phenomenally bad premonition just flickered through my mind, but this is no time to worry about that.
"I definitely remember the strategy for this one, though..."
For now, it's probably best to blitz through this bonus time.
Author's Afterword
Writing BBS chapters to take a break from the main story, and writing the same Tome of Truth stuff from the main story to take a break from the BBS chapters.
An infinite loop...!!
Translator's Notes
- [1] Tatsuya Fujiwara: A famous Japanese actor known for intensely dramatic, over-the-top acting and screaming, particularly in survival games and high-stakes thriller roles (e.g., Battle Royale, Death Note, Kaiji).
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