Chapter 635: Howling Typhoon Action
Author's Preface
To everyone taking the National Center Test, studying is important, but make sure to take proper breaks too.
Also, get enough sleep. If you wake up in the morning and down an energy drink, you'll become a splendid rioter too (Deadpan).
Special State 【Declaration of Murder】. In short, it means aggro is permanently fixed until death... It seems it's a state where the demon, which was already a massive lump of killing intent, undergoes a further "specialization."
"Kuoooooh... Accessories unlocked!!"
What burst out from the cross-section of the severed arm's stump was, to be blunt, a tentacle. And it wasn't an octopus leg or anything from an R-18 setting; it was a tentacle dripping with extra killing intent, looking like wires bundled and twisted together into a thick rope. The type where if a girl got caught by it, she'd let out a death agony scream before she even had a chance to moan.
Four of them, at that. And with its two remaining arms gripping and manipulating the ones extending from its flanks, the demon's movements had become even more optimized. At the very least, I seriously doubt Orcelott-kun or the wannabe Magic Swordsman-kun had any whip skills, meaning the demon was operating those tentacles using its own innate techniques... No, whatever, that doesn't matter right now.
The problem was that the "claws" growing from the tips of those killing tentacles were far harder to deal with than I expected. Plus, because the enemy shifted to mid-range combat, my attacks could no longer reach. And on top of that, its already sturdy super armor had now evolved into a perfect super armor that might as well be called complete immunity.
Do you know the alternative name for perfect super armor? It's called practically being in invincible mode, goddammit.
"Do your best, Sunraku-kun〜"
"Just because it's not your problemmmmm!!!"
What the hell are those "claws" on the tips of the tentacles!! They're tough as shit so I can't break them! The super armor effect extends all the way to the tips so I can't parry them! And the fact that an RPA player who got caught instead of me nearly died from a near-instant-kill crush means that if I take a hit, it's a guaranteed instant death for me!!
Hasn't the bullshit level of this fight gone up!? Believing it was an endurance test, I kept running while the others continued their assault, but it wasn't showing any signs of flinching or going down, not even from the consecutive attacks of Pencilgon's holy spear. It wasn't just me; an atmosphere of "Wait, isn't it in an invincible state right now...?" was starting to drift among the other players too.
"Destruction attribute is a no-go too! It doesn't feel like it's working at all!!"
"Ah... At worst, this thing might just stay in an invincible state until Sunraku-kun dies..."
"If it comes to that, I'll keep fighting it for three days and three nights if I have to!!"
I refuse to be a self-sacrifice. True victory is only achieved when you force the sacrifice onto your opponent...! The fact that the Orcelott-face looks somewhat delighted is seriously pissing me off. But if there's one piece of good news, it's that even in its invincible state, Demon-kun's speed still can't catch up to mine.
The tips of the tentacles aim for me as if they have a mind of their own, but their homing performance isn't all that great, and the "claws" are only about the size of soccer balls. Doing repetitive side-steps while double-jumping, accelerating mid-air, then spinning to leave the aggro behind, spinning, spinning, spinning, jumping, accelerating, spinning...
"Tsuchinoko-san, aren't you getting dizzy〜?"
"I'm used to ittttt!!"
The forced rotational motion of the Scar of the Raging Storm Emperor・Extreme can turn you into an instant-death spinning top depending on how you use it, but it can also be used for evasion. If stepping forward makes that foot the axis for the rotational motion, then as long as I move on that pivot foot, I can keep moving while maintaining the spin. It's like playing hopscotch way back before elementary school... like, in kindergarten, I guess? It requires movements I've rarely experienced, but the resulting motion is a completely new sensation.
"You're becoming more and more disgusting as this battle goes on, Sunraku-kun..."
"It's like, a spinning top rampaging 360 degrees all around the inside of a sphere."
"Isn't it more like a ricocheting bouncy ball doing gyro-spins?"
"How is he even controlling that...?"
I wouldn't be able to control it under normal circumstances, obviously, but I have the Eye of True World Observation to delay my perceived time and the Astral World Guideline skill. By using these and intentionally employing attacks as a means of movement, I'm tracing the optimal route. Also, as one of the fruits of my practice, I figured out that stomping both feet down simultaneously stops the spin, making it a lot easier to use... (Compared to my previous self).
Since I'm dizzyingly switching between spinning and stopping, I'm starting to feel so sick I might actually throw up, but VR is essentially a world of imagery, so it's not like my actual brain is getting shaken up. Being able to compartmentalize that fact is the absolute minimum requirement for performing acrobatics in Full-Dive VR...!!
"Is there no solutiooooonn!!"
"You could try dying once!"
"Rejecteeeddddddd!!!!"
I dodged a "claw" with a counter-clockwise spin, toggled off the Scar of the Raging Storm Emperor・Extreme, and accelerated with the foot that didn't generate a spin. Stepping on the tentacles, I closed the distance. Is it really super armor? If it's come to this, it's a bit risky, but I'll test it out.
"Futon ga futtonda." [*1]
Zugon! Zugan!! Zudan!!!
The wannabe Magic Swordsman-kun face spamming nothing but stupid jokes was starting to get really annoying, so I pumped Aguacate's magic bullets directly into it to shut it up. Come at me, Demon of Slaughter, I'm standing completely still just like you wanted... You're starting to get a little peckish around now, aren't you?
"Slaaaaaaaauuugh............Teeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!!!!!"
I see. The Devouring Great Crimson Clad had a twisted shape where it repurposed a wound on its ribs as a mouth, but this guy's chest looks like it was designed with the premise of being operated as a "mouth" from the very beginning. I see, I see... Too bad, Demon of Slaughter. Let me teach you what happens when you pick food off the floor and eat it without prepping it properly first.
"I was watching, you know. The inside of your chest isn't infinitely expansive... It properly stops at your back, doesn't it?"
When the wannabe Magic Swordsman-kun was attacking, I saw his thrust stop midway down his magic blade against what you could call the inside of its back... Anyway, I saw the thrust stop. In other words, if I extend my arm, I can reach the back. Which means... I can punch it.
"This time it's full power! If you can plant your feet in mid-air, then let's see you try!!"
Skill: "War-Shattering Amber Display". My target is the absolute deepest part of its open chest... and my fist's trajectory is an uppercut.
Thrusting my hand into the absolute deepest depths... Hit! Whether it's the spine or a blade, who gives a shit! Go far away, into the sky!!
"Blow awaaaaaaayyy!!"
Touching gently to violently blow them away—the contradictory effect of "Warphan," which requires you to seriously hold back in order to trigger the maximum knockback, exploded from my fist the moment it squelched against the deepest part of the demon. Instead of blowing it backward, I launched it upward... Unable to plant its feet in the sky, the demon's body was sent flying, floating about five meters into the air.
"Slaaaaaaaauuugh!!?"
"Wait, is this..."
Maximum knockback means the damage shouldn't be that high, yet it's suffering that much............ Whoops? Did I just happen to catch a glimpse of it? The thing known as a strategy...!!
In that case, this is the only place to play my trump card. Come to think of it, I've never tried aiming "straight up" before.
"Your invincible mode is only on the outside, and your weakness is on the inside, huh! 【Overload Mechanism】!!"
Output at Full Power! Behold, masses! This is the resurrected wisdom of the Divine Age... The one-hit-kill Super Rejection!!!
Author's Afterword
Plan A: Rejected due to the appearance of the Demon of Slaughter.
Plan B: Currently going well; successfully made it "stand out" more by having RPA guide them. If I had to point out an unexpected factor, it's that the movements of the "Scarecrow" were eight times more disgusting than anticipated.
Plan X: Dependent on the outcome of this battle; the first condition has already been met.
Translator's Notes
- [1] Futon ga futtonda: A classic, notoriously lame Japanese pun meaning "The futon blew away." It relies on the similar sounds of "futon" (Japanese traditional bedding) and "futtonda" (blew away / sent flying).
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