Chapter 13 : The Dungeon Reaper and the Sword of Six Flowers, Part 5
——————————– – Sakuraka Town Dungeon – Dungeon #27 [Lunar Eclipse] Level 1
The unique abilities of a spirit are like the characteristics of that spirit.
Some can control lightning, others can summon powerful armor to protect themselves, and abnormal ones can even manifest [Hell].
The variety is truly immense – it’s like a showcase of personalities and quirks.
The numerous abilities that have been consistently interwoven since the original work are the [selling point] and [flavor] of DanMagi / dungeon magic .
For example, just looking at the spirits that control lightning, there are subtle distinctions such as [Lightning Discharge Ability], [Lightning Energy Conversion Ability], [Electromagnetic Manipulation Ability], [Material Lightning Transformation Ability], [Electricity Storage and Transmission Ability], [Lightning Cloaking Ability], and so on.
There is some upward compatibility, but there are no identical abilities.
Of course, the strength of the abilities varies depending on the spirit’s rank, but even spirits of the same category and class have distinct differences, which is the basis for unique abilities in dungeon magic.
What about the Futsunomitama that Aono Haruka possesses?
Its class is sub-divine. Its type is a unifying divine spirit.
In game terms, it’s on the level of the main ghosts of the main characters.
However, despite its high rank as a divine spirit, Futsunomitama’s unique ability is extremely simple and limited.
That ability is [Duplication and Manipulation of Blades Possessed by the User].
Simply put, it’s the ability to remotely summon and control copies of equipped equipment (limited to blades).
It’s archetypal in games and web novels.
It has various applications – summoning blades in the air and firing them like bullets, forming flashy blade formations that dance gracefully, and so on.
Powerful, convenient, and flashy to boot. The kind of standard skill you’d most likely see in a slightly twisted fantasy work… To put it bluntly, Futsunomitama’s ability falls into this category.
But that’s not the end of it. Even though they are abilities of the same category, there are clear differences between Futsunomitama and the others.
Difference might be the wrong word. In terms of nuance, it would be more accurate to say shortcoming or disadvantage.
Shortcoming. Ways in which it is clearly inferior and less convenient compared to the standard [Blade Generation & Manipulation Skills].
Futsunomitama’s ability has several such “shortcomings”.
For example, the limit on the maximum number of copies.
Judging from the “Sword Prison Rakshasa” and the number of blades summoned now, the limit seems to be six blades.
Six blades. Not exactly a small number, but also not enough to overwhelm large enemy forces – an inconvenient number.
For example, the extremely limited activation condition of [Blades Possessed by User].
The key word is “possessed” rather than “owned” or “held”.
In other words, it can only copy and control blades that are currently held by the user.
Rather than drawing them from memory or an alternate dimension, it strictly duplicates blades that are “held” – so its effectiveness is greatly affected by the user’s current equipment status.
In a situation like now, where the equipped blades are standard issue, it’s close to the worst case scenario imaginable.
For example, controllability requires active control by an autonomous entity rather than being automatic.
According to the dungeon magic reference, Futsunomitama’s remote control is a type that requires the user to control every movement.
Grasping space, positioning, remote control through a sixth sense.
It’s not an easy task.
Controlling blades floating in the air without auto-aiming or tracking assistance is a Herculean effort, and even if it could be done, the attacks would be far inferior to the user’s own sword strikes.
Moreover, the user has to do this while fighting himself? It’s simply an unreasonable demand.
Therefore, the ability of Futsunomitama is extremely difficult to use.
More than strong or weak, there are basically no users who can fully utilize its abilities.
No, that’s not quite right. I thought there were none.
Until I saw the scene in front of my eyes.
“Zubabababababababaaaaa!!!”
With a strange war cry, the skeletons’ skulls fly.
The murder weapons are all blades. But the way they are cut is completely different from scene to scene.
[Bisected in One Strike]
A single blade dances in the air.
Flitting, flitting.
The bare blade dancing in the sky emits an azure light.
The blade without a handle still fulfills its purpose, sprinting across the battlefield.
Quick, sharp, graceful, yet cold-blooded.
The gifted blade, seeking prey to cut, flew toward the black holes where the skeletons were summoned.
And there were enemies.
A skeleton soldier raised his spear with a groan. To the blades, they are nothing but perfect prey, endlessly rushing forward.
An explosive [movement] from a momentary pause.
Freed from the shackles of gravity, the blade swooped down on the soldier with the sharpness of a bird of prey, and in an instant, unleashed a combination of [Godspeed Draw-Cut] and [Return Blow] to sever the enemy’s head.
Iai without a wielder, sheathing itself in the sky.
It was a heretical, yet truly Iai swordsmanship.
Swordsmanship that transcended common sense to such an absurd degree.
Witnessing a miracle that defied not only the common sense of swordsmanship, but even the rules of physics, I (and Al, who shared senses) could do nothing but lose our words.
I wanted to reply, “You know about air resistance, right?” but there was no time for that as their miracles continued.
[Two-Pronged Attack]
The roar of wood being cut. Skeletal bodies are severed.
Violent tremors ran through another black hole some distance from the aerial iai blade.
In the center was [a single blade] again.
On a battlefield about ten meters away from where the aerial iai occurred, a rigid sword with a sharp piercing motion like Western fencing roared to life.
It truly did not need a second strike.
I felt that it had a sublime quality similar to [Unyou]’s philosophy of killing with one blow from the first strike-it was surely not just my imagination.
The aerial iai and the rigid one-strike-certain-kill sword.
The two different sword styles intertwined in a miraculous double-pronged attack – no, I was wrong.
The true power unleashed by Futsunomitama’s sword techniques did not stop at two points.
[Three-Pointed Successive Strike]
On another battlefield, a blade skillfully dodged the skeleton’s attack, and in the same movement, it pierced the enemy’s body with a sharp thrust like Western fencing.
[Four-Sided Attack to Five-Sided Suppression].
In the blink of an eye, two blades swooped down from the sky, performing a perfect double blade coordination while overwhelming the skeletons.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
[Six Flower Blossom]
On another battlefield, the [Sixth Blade] had just emerged from the black hole to give the newcomers a true swallow’s dance counterattack.
The six blades, each using completely different sword styles despite being in the same timeline, were ferocious like predatory fish swimming in a vast ocean as they shredded the calcium forces.
Aono Haruka, who commanded the Blade troops, also seemed to be having fun, sprinting around the battlefield and gnawing away at the large skeletal army.
My mouth was open, speechless.
The six blades moving freely through the air was amazing enough, but on top of that, they were coordinating different sword styles with microscopic precision.
It wasn’t just on the superficial level of exceptional control skills or incorporation of excellent instruction sequences.
The six blades flying through the sky could now be called nothing less than Aono Haruka’s alter egos.
Six alter egos, one original. Terrifyingly, there were currently seven Aono Harukas fighting together on this battlefield.
Infinite Skeleton Army against the seven Aono Harukas. At this point, it was hard to tell which side was more monstrous.
[Doesn’t seem problematic]
[Doesn’t seem problematic at all]
We ended with these brief words. The tide of battle was no longer in the balance.
The story of how the Lolicon Skeletons beating her was now unbelievable. I wonder how that monster captured her.
“Tell me, you stalker bastard.”
Of course, there was no response from the Grim Reaper in front of me.
He just stared at us in silence, doing nothing even as he healed his previous wounds with azure flames.
Come to think of it, he had been like that from the beginning, huh?
Just waiting for us to enter attack range or show an opening for an ambush, and then preying on us when we were exhausted? No less a shitty method, but impressively thorough.
[Obstructing the enemy’s resources by using harassment and endurance tactics to exhaust them, and then finally devouring them with predatory abilities – I see, a [Reaper] who is resistant to killing. How disgusting that his hobbies are so rotten].
That was Al’s opinion, as logical and truthful as ever regarding [That Guy].
[Unexpected. I thought you’d praise him for being efficient.]
[Where exactly are the efficient elements? I would allocate resources to hiding my presence rather than excessive regeneration. If the strategy is still to create an opening, there would be no need to take damage on purpose].
As usual, Al’s take was spot on.
“Hard to stomach, indeed. You’re absolutely right.”
It’s not a question of good or evil.
Just beyond redemption. That’s all there is to it.
“Hey, if you’ve got something to say, say it. It doesn’t have to be in our language, yours is fine. If there’s room for negotiation–“
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!”
The answer was an incomprehensible roar.
The possibility of reaching out remains nil.
I see.
That’s to be expected.
If this guy is the grudge of those defeated by the adventurers, then we must be unforgivable existences to him.
Targets for revenge? Fodder to kill and humiliate? At best, we’d be power-ups.
Either way, just being an adventurer and a human makes my relationship with him the worst case scenario.
It goes without saying that we’d be enemies until one of us dies.
“Haah”
But that’s okay.
I’m neither a champion of justice nor a humanitarian.
Just a small-time punk below petty thug level, a mid-boss in the tutorial.
“….. That’s comforting, shithead. If you’d tried to reach out here, I’d be the one who’d be put off instead.”
Mercy? Reconciliation? As if there’s any place for that.
You’re garbage, and I’m the garbage collector.
Why should I hesitate to reach out to a Lolicon stalker who eats people?
Reaching out is just poser crap.
Good thing neither you nor I bought into the self-delusion.
[As expected from Master, you’re used to handling it yourself]
[Tear-jerking backstories are the hero’s department. Little villains like me work best if you just make a token effort and then jump right into beating them up].
I love this world, but I also want to rebel against it.
There are people I want to save, destinies I want to save.
In the process, there may be developments where I reach out to fates that should have met their doom.
Those who fell into evil without choice, those who hurt others in the belief that they were doing the right thing, those like Onee-san who were killed as a tragic backdrop – to a certain extent, I have thoughts of wanting to save such people who never found salvation.
But you see, my abilities aren’t broad enough to clean up after people who have already gone too far.
Not to mention when they interfere with my rebellion.
“I gave you a chance. You refused. So your evil deeds end here…. Just die in misery without resisting any longer.”
I intensify the venom and tone as I pronounce the Reaper’s death sentence.
Cheap theatrics, but fitting words to direct at true scum who have no regard for human life.
And as I finish spewing cheap provocation, Al brings news as if on cue.
[Master, the time has come]
In an instant, the authority of the Goddess of Time is transforming the azure world.
Luminescence, expansion, unleashing, breakthrough.
The spiritual energy stagnating in my exhausted body pours in, and a massive torrent of spiritual heat energy pours out of the greatsword.
My power has returned.
The spiritual energy that Al circulated to construct the technique has returned to my body.
And what that means, of course, is only one thing.
[The anti-three-dimensional definition of the Complete Annihilation Technique [Origin’s End] has completed construction. Please proceed to the activation sequence immediately]
Our killing move preparation is now complete.
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He talk too much in a middle of fight!