Four days earlier, Haruyuki had fought massive warrior Enemies inside the Castle. He had been joined in battle by Trilead Tetroxide. The warrior status had been equivalent to Beast class, but even so, if he’d eased his focus even the slightest bit, he would have taken a direct hit from one massive blade or another and died instantly. Now, too, he had by his side a high ranker as reliable as Lead, but his foe was of a higher order than the warrior Enemies in the Castle, a Legend class. Normally, this sort of opponent was fought with a group of ten or twelve people.
So before Haruyuki even attempted his attack, he felt like he was more than aware that this was not an opponent to be trifled with. But a mere five seconds after the battle began, he was forced to understand that this awareness had been far from enough.
“Vraraaaah!”
With a fierce roar, the iron sphere came plummeting down and grazed Haruyuki’s shoulder before hitting the floor with explosive force, digging a deep hole.
“Nngh!” Staggering, he used the wings on his back to dodge chunks of marble spreading out like buckshot. Even though he hadn’t yet taken a direct hit, three moments of the briefest contact had eaten away more than 10 percent of his health gauge. And he hadn’t landed a single attack of his own even once.
Rose was similarly forced into a difficult battle handling the greatsword in the Enemy’s right hand, its main weapon. Like Haruyuki, she had managed to avoid any direct attacks, but just the pressure of the slicing blade caused damage, so she couldn’t easily approach the knight. Her main weapon was the thorny whips that grew from both hands, allowing her to attack with a greater reach than Haruyuki—in fact, she’d landed several direct hits, but these had only increased the number of scars on the commander Enemy’s thick armor and taken nothing but a few pixels from the four-bar health gauge. To break through the guard of such a fierce opponent with physical attacks, they would need to aim for the armor seams or peel it off somehow.
“Vrrar!” the Einherjar howled, seemingly annoyed by these diminutive foes who kept bouncing around. It swung its sword hand and the morning star outward in huge arcs. Haruyuki and Rose immediately dashed backward, but when the two slammed into the ground, the cracks and shock waves rippled out, beating at their armor and scooping their legs out from under them. Another 5 percent of his health gauge was carved away.
“It’s only gonna get worse like this…,” Rose muttered.
“If we destroy its crown, it’ll stop moving,” Haruyuki said quickly.
“It’ll just stop for a mere five, six seconds; there’s no way we can cut away all four of its gauges in that time. And I feel like this one and the Einherjar on the fortieth floor move just a bit slower than normal. The taming by the Luminary probably dulls their reactions.”
“S-so then… if we destroy the crown, it’ll get stronger,” he groaned.
As if hearing his despair, the commander-class Einherjar froze, its arms still lowered, and then ploddingly roused itself. Two will-o’-the-wisps flickered with pale light inside the helmet.
A Legend-class Enemy. Except for the Four Gods, the Super-class Enemies who guarded the four gates of the Castle, they were the most powerful presence in the Unlimited Neutral Field. Even Metatron, Amaterasu, and the other Saints were categorized as Legend class in terms of rank. They were the rulers of the Accelerated World, who had turned countless Burst Linkers into death markers from time immemorial.
When did I get so arrogant? Charging Suzaku’s gate at the Castle over and over, destroying Metatron’s first form, I started to see even Legend class as easy pickings. Even though all of my victories were because I had someone else’s help.
Belatedly becoming aware of his own powerlessness, Haruyuki started to hang his head, but Rose whacked him on the back.
“Crow, it’s fine to be afraid, but Burst Linkers don’t give up. This guy really is strong—stronger than I thought. But we still have a chance.”
“A chance… How?” He stared hard at her.
“Einherjar’s a warrior spirit that causes death. There’s a soul somewhere in the chest area of the armor. We can take it down in a single blow if we destroy that. I didn’t tell you at first because the strategy’s impossible to carry out without a powerful gun,” she said. “But you of all people can cut through that armor. If you can make even just a tiny hole, I’ll pull that spirit out.”
“I…” Haruyuki shook his head back and forth. “It’s impossible. I can’t even get anywhere near its arms and legs. Cutting its chest is just…”
“I’ll create an opening for you. Do or die. I’ll use Secret Garden. But if the roses that bloom are a color other than red, blue, or yellow, you drop everything and run for the portal.”
“Huh?” He cocked his head to the side. “What happens if it’s some other color?”
“No time to explain… It’s coming!”
Einherjar’s roar drowned out Rose’s voice. “Vraaaaaaaaa!!”
It brandished its greatsword and morning star high in the air and started to run at an incredible speed. Haruyuki half bowed to the intensity of it, but Rose braced herself in a wide stance and threw her hand up in the air, whip tucked away.
“Secret Garden!” she shouted.
A crimson overlay jetted from the rose-red avatar, even more saturated than her armor. Instantly branching out along the marble surface, the red light materialized a garden of green leaves along the floor. Countless vines stretched up at the charging Einherjar’s feet and tangled around its black armor. The knight lost its balance, but didn’t stop its advance. Ripping up the vines with sheer power and sending leaves scattering, it closed in on Haruyuki and Rose. In another five steps, she’d be within range of the greatsword. Four, three, two…
Then teardrop-shaped buds swelled up all over the vines snaking ever upward around the knight’s neck. They burst open without a sound and brilliant yellow petals dazzled his eyes.
Yellow!! Go!!
Shouting these words at himself, Haruyuki pushed aside his hesitation and fear and flew forward with everything he had. Jumping high with the aid of his wings, he brandished Lucid Blade in both hands. His target was a point on Einherjar’s chest armor.
But.
Haruyuki’s eyes flew open at a thoroughly unexpected situation.
When he’d severed Glacier Behemoth’s horns and Rose Milady’s spikes, the logic had been one of concentrating his cutting force on a single minuscule point. By carefully catching the tip of the horn or spike with a sharp blade, he increased the power generated at the point of contact to maximum, which made it so that his sword would slide right through.
But Einherjar’s armor was composed of nothing but smooth, curved surfaces, with not a single tapered area to be found. Haruyuki’s still-nameless sword technique couldn’t find a strike point.
What should I do? Cut in the middle, sink or swim? No, that’ll definitely be bounced back. Just one spot is enough, a place where I can concentrate my force… I have to look for the seam…!
The speed of his thoughts and sensations reaching their limit, the flow of time eased. The air increased in density and viscosity, almost like a liquid, while his field of view narrowed and everything was dyed blue.
Where? Where? Where where where where where where…
—You still have a long way to go if you search now for the place to cut, Silver Crow.
He heard a voice abruptly and whirled his head around, dumbfounded. But his body wouldn’t move. The massive bulk of Einherjar swinging its greatsword filled his field of view; he could see nothing else.
—Your reasoning of laying miniscule on maximum is correct. But Crow, that is nothing more than the starting point of our sword school, Omega style.
O-Omega style? Who exactly are you?
In the midst of essentially frozen time, Haruyuki called out to the mysterious voice he’d heard any number of times before.
—I? Our name is Centaurea Sentry. However, for thee, this name may be more familiar. The third Chrome Disaster, ’twas I.
What?! Further dumbstruck, Haruyuki groaned in his thoughts. Th-the third? The one struck down by Blue Knight?
—You make us recall such unpleasantries. I will tell you. I let Knight have that glory. It matters not, Silver Crow. You wish to cut down that monstrosity, yes?
I—I do, yes. But I can’t find the armor’s seam.
—Then you still have a long way to go. It is time for you to proceed to the next stage. The minuscule is an infinitesimally small point. Be it thorn or horn, it is easy to discover the minuscule at the tip… But think. No matter how gentle the curving line, so long as its curvature is nonzero, there can only exist one point of contact with the straight line. That is precisely the minuscule point. Come now, an infinity of this “seam” lies before you.
… S-so then what about when the thing you want to cut is completely flat or indented?
—At that time, you will cause me further trouble as your instructor. But for now, focus on the enemy before you. Einherjar’s armor is hard and thick. But given that it is curved, it is possible to find the minuscule there. You need simply have absolute faith and swing your blade.
Absolute faith? How…?
—Believe in yourself. You are the lone successor to the most powerful sword technique, praised as the ultimate evil, the Omega-style Whole Blade.
With these words, the mysterious voice finally disappeared.
I don’t remember signing up to be the successor to some weird sword technique! But he couldn’t spare the time to shout at the voice in the void, as the flow of time began to accelerate once more. His blue field of view gradually regained its color. The viscosity of the air decreased, and the liquid turned back into a gas.
“Vraaaaaaar!!” The commander Einherjar brandished its greatsword, ripping out the vines wrapped around it.
The yellow roses blooming all over the Enemy’s body shot out a dazzling electric shock as the petals scattered. An ocean of sparks writhed and crawled over the armor and brought the knight to a halt, the effect of Rose Milady’s Incarnate technique Secret Garden. Haruyuki had been hit with the red roses, which did physical damage with the thorns, but apparently, the yellow roses generated an electrical attack.
I will definitely take advantage of this moment!
“Aaaaaah!!” With a sharp battle cry, Haruyuki brought down his blade.