Chapter 891: December 20th: Feeding on Memories, Escaping from Death
Author's Preface
It's all Samurai Remnant's fault.
It's my fault for having way too much fun feeding Saber, petting dogs and cats, and extorting katana parts from humans and yokai.
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The hidden trump card of the Imperial Gold Sword, the Radiant Sword of Devoured Blades.
According to Bilac, because it was forged using Golden Magma to draw out the material's power to its absolute limits, it can output considerable damage at the mere cost of a single ore. On top of that, since I unleashed it while its durability was barely depleted, its power is basically at its maximum value.
"…………!!"
A direct hit. A perfectly clean hit, even......... If you go around slashing people left and right in Bakumatsu, you naturally learn what a "critical strike" feels like. I have absolute confidence that that last strike dealt massive damage to Garunose. More than anything, Garunose's visible agitation speaks more eloquently than words about the near-fatal damage I inflicted...... If I'm going to finish this, it has to be now!
"Sorry, but this won't look very good on stream!"
Although his stance is broken from the massive damage, Garunose, clad in armor incomparably "harder" than half-naked me, is still trying to raise his shield even after taking a direct hit from the Radiant Sword of Devoured Blades. Is his VIT just that high, or has he "trained" himself in a way that prevents him from being incapacitated even when taking heavy damage?
That being said, his core balance is still broken... and I'm the one on the offensive.
Once used, it demands a recast time that makes reusing it in this battle virtually impossible, but it is overwhelming — one could even call it absolute. An exceptional strike.
The Exordinary Skill "War-Shattering Amber Display"... a punch that knocks over giant beasts with a light touch... yielding a result entirely opposite to the process... So what happens when you strike in the opposite manner to output its effect?
".........!"
My right hand............ with my empty right palm, I grasp nothingness. Just by doing that, my hand becomes a fist and a weapon. And with the light of a skill dwelling within it, it's perfectly fine to call it a murder weapon!
There's no need to aim for maximum damage, I just need to punch hard......... That alone unleashes the other power of "War-Shattering Amber Display".
I don't use it often, but alongside "generating an insane knockback from an incredibly light punch", "War-Shattering Amber Display" has another... well, rather than another, because it's a single skill where "the resulting phenomenon changes based on the power of the punch", it can produce the exact opposite effect of its heavy-knockback property.
The harder you punch, the higher the power... however, it does not knock back. Even if it packs enough power to shatter rocks and split the earth, it won't blow away a single feather fluttering in the air.
Truth be told, if you ask whether this is easy to use or not, I'd have to say it's bad. A knockback that can flinch an opponent five times your size is just far more practical.
But this side has its uses too... like this, for example!!
Rather than landing it lightly like before, I swing the drawn-back fist completely through with all my might.
Garunose tried to block it......... but sorry, I'm the one holding the advantage! If I slip past your arms and smash a hit directly into your chest, a parry doesn't mean a damn thing!!
The sensation of my fist striking metal. But the absolute conviction that my fist did not lose to that metal armor.
Despite taking a massive, full-swing strike infused with the twist of my hips and shoulders, Garunose remains completely motionless, as if paused. He doesn't fall over, nor does he stagger.
However,
"What...!?"
There is no impact, yet the damage corresponding to the motion is fully transmitted. In other words, it means dealing damage while keeping the enemy's positional data pinned exactly where it is.
"You're in range, right?"
"!!"
At my words, Garunose contorts his face as if I'd hit a sore spot. I forced him to use his Endure, all that's left is to land the finishing blow!!
"It's over!"
A street-brawl kick devoid of form or logic; that was enough.
The strength drains from Garunose's body, and he collapses. I didn't exactly have the luxury to offer a surrender recommendation, my bad, streamer...... I don't think you need to save the VOD for this one.
"───"
Taking the street-brawl kick head-on, Garunose falls backward. But before his body even touches the ground, as if unable to maintain his human form, he vanishes into particles resembling black smoke.........
"Hm?"
───The "moment" that question arose and the "moment" the black smoke took Garunose's form and closed in with a raised mace were almost perfectly simultaneous.
"Hah───!?"
What game's experience saved me that I was able to dodge it on pure reflex? Regardless, I dodged the initial strike......... but, trailing like shadows or perhaps haunting spirits, two translucent ghost-like maces following the exact same trajectory grazed my body.
"...It's only natural that anyone would have a hidden trick up their sleeve, right?"
"You son of a...!!"
I backstep to gain distance, but Garunose won't let me escape.
His build is likely a heavy-shield attacker that shrinks his action range to the absolute limit in exchange for the ability to close in at high speeds within a 1, no, at most a 2-meter radius!
A tower shield bearing down on me faster than I'm retreating, that's genuinely going to kill me───
"God fucking dammit!!"
"Hah!?"
A desperate, frantic struggle, but if it succeeds, I can claim it was a magnificent surprise attack. Garunose, who had caught me completely off guard, is equally stunned by this... after all, even I didn't think I could pull this off.
"Heh......... Maximum speed doesn't care about how you run."
".........No, that's genuinely disgusting."
"Who do you think made me do this!!"
Good grief, to think I could actually use Faster-Than-Light while holding a back-bridge pose.
That being said, the situation has rapidly tipped into my disadvantage.
───I was forced to use my Endure.
Author's Afterword
・Secret Technique "L・E・B・D (Luxion Exorcist Bridge Dash)"
Even the "scuttle, scuttle, scuttle" sound effect is outdated. The latest trend in the world is escaping by moving your limbs while in a back-bridge at the speed of light.
By the way, if he miscalculated the distance, he would have crashed straight into the Duel Zone barrier and snapped his neck, so despite how it looked, Sunraku himself was completely desperate.
The manga version of Shangri-La Frontier goes on sale October 17th!
The manga is on the 17th! The anime is on the 1st! The 1st...? I-It's today〜〜〜〜!!
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