268. VS Vanguard – Total War (Part 9)

I conveyed the plan to Arrogance via telepathy.

『…I see. If that succeeds, it will certainly decide the outcome of this battle. But the chance of failure is high, you know? As you’ve realized from the fighting so far, Randall’s stats are superior to ours.』

『I know. But that’s exactly why it’s important. This plan only works if he remains overconfident.』

『…A gamble, then. You really do love to bet.』

『I don’t love it. …It’s just the only way.』

Whether it was against the High Orc, Schwarz, Titan, or Peony—the opponents I fought were always in a higher league, and winning was always a gamble.

『That’s what makes it interesting. I’m in, Kazuto Kudo.』

『Then I’m counting on you. It’ll take a little time before this can activate.』

Now, for the final bet.

Meanwhile, the battle in the Second Barrier was about to shift drastically.

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“Gahahaha! What are you?! Showing up out of nowhere and siding with them—I can’t believe you’re a monster! This is the best! Hey!”

Even against the sudden appearance of the High Orc, Lufen, Rialdo fought back without faltering. If anything, Rikka was the one more surprised.

“…No, seriously, why is he even here?”

“RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!”

Lufen answered Rikka’s question with a roar. Not an answer at all. For a moment, she wondered if Ivar’s “Recreation” had gone berserk again, but it didn’t look like that.

Lufen wore a vicious smile and slammed his fist into the enemy—Vanguard Rialdo. Though resurrected by Arrogance’s “Demon King’s Praise,” the weapons he equipped in life weren’t reproduced.

Lufen’s favorite weapon, the “Orc Meat Cleaver (Exquisite),” was still in Kazuto’s possession. …To be precise, it had been forged by Kazuto’s skill and now served as his main weapon, the Ninja Blade (Exquisite).

But bare hands were no problem. When Lufen evolved into a Disaster Orc via “Demon Army Advance,” he acquired racial unique skills: “Calamity Berserk” and “Asura Emperor Oni.” Both were skills that enhanced the physical body to the extreme. He trampled over everything by boosting already overwhelming stats with even more overwhelming skills. Furthermore, he had even overcome his weakness to “Water.” Simple and clear; therefore, unparalleled in power. Even Rialdo broke into a cold sweat at that raw intensity.

“RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“Hyuu! Hey, hey, hey! Isn’t this getting dangerous?! Am I going to lose? I might actually lose! Gahahaha! Ah, I can’t get enough of this! How many decades has it been?! Yes, this is what battle is! Screw a predictable outcome! Giving it our all and still not knowing who wins! That’s what a fight is supposed to be!”

That sense of urgency was the ultimate spice for him. Rialdo wore a smile every bit as demonic as Lufen’s.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t forget about me!”

Matching Lufen’s movements, Rikka unleashed her slashes. Doubts were put on hold. For now, she had to focus on defeating the enemy in front of her.

“Hah! You’re barely keeping up! Your movements are a mess! You’re out of breath! You think you can beat me looking like that?”

“Duh! Who goes into a fight thinking they’re gonna lose?! Of course we’re gonna win! Big Brother, Nissy, Nat-tsun! Everyone’s fighting to win! Doesn’t matter if I’m a mess!”

“That’s the spirit! Come at me with everything you’ve got!”

A three-way slaughter, all wearing smiles. Forgetting missions and plans, the fierce battle intensified solely to strike down the foe before them.

“……So hot……”

Right next to them, Gashmash still hadn’t moved.

“Master Rialdo sure is oppressive. I’m honestly jealous. ——Oops.”

A bullet hit him between the eyes. However, the wound closed instantly, and he maintained his leisurely demeanor.

“……And over here, I can’t move either.”

Ichinose’s attacks weren’t fatal, but his own attacks were blocked by the barrier and couldn’t reach her. It was a stalemate. Incidentally, the Queen Ant Alpa, who had come as reinforcements, was frozen solid beside him. Unlike Lufen, she apparently hadn’t been of any help here.

“……Oh.”

There was a change in Gashmash’s expression. Standing up, he strolled right up to the edge of the barrier. Ichinose, watching through her scope from hundreds of meters away, felt the tension rise. She pulled the trigger.

“—It won’t work anymore.”

A voice that shouldn’t have been audible rang in Ichinose’s ear. Kin! With a short metallic sound, the bullet that penetrated the barrier and hit Gashmash was reflected exactly back toward Ichinose, as if in a mirror. Just like Kiki, it was attack “Reflection.”

“Ts……!”

Ichinose’s face went pale. Kiki’s unique skill “Reflective Armor” granted permanent “Reflection” to all party members. Since Kiki’s “Reflection” does not affect ally attacks, if the opponent could use “Reflection” as well, their own attacks would turn back on them.

“Kyuu!”

Kiki reacted instantly, casting a second layer of “Reflection” on Ichinose. By a hair’s breadth, the bullet was reflected again, failing to harm Ichinose. Seeing that, Gashmash laughed.

“Not bad. But you understand now, right? Your attacks don’t work anymore, and I can aim for a counter by reflecting them through the barrier. ……Well, it’s not like I don’t have other ways to attack, but——”

Gashmash continued.

“In any case, you can’t kill me. And I don’t intend to kill you. So, why don’t we just glare at each other and kill a little more time?”

“……?”

Ichinose didn’t understand the meaning of his words. Gashmash put a hand over his heart.

“Our bodies have self-destruct devices on them. You saw Flame Emperor Glen blow himself up and take the Wolf King with him, right? It’s likely planted in us too. To Randall, no matter how much power we have, we’re just disposables.”

“……”

“……Watching Master Glen explode, I internally gave up on Randall completely. I was against this war from the start, and I only came to this world out of obligation to Master Rialdo. Sword Saint Boa-chan over there is in a similar spot. It seems negotiations are progressing on that side too. Between fellow Sword Saints, I guess they have things to talk about.”

“……?”

Ichinose tilted her head at the mention of “negotiations.” She barely knew anything about the person in charge of that side—Ayame Kujo.

“Now then, regarding that——”

Gashmash continued.

“Randall’s original subordinates were Glen, Shuri, Beld, and Orion. Of those, three are already incapacitated. Orion and the others likely have their hands full with Libera-san. Even that’s looking shaky with Peony’s intervention.”

“……”

“That’s why I want to waste time while pretending to fight. Because, maybe, just maybe, something might happen. I mean, look? Things over there are so desperate that they can’t even afford to care if I’m talking openly like this. It’s quite the pathetic sight.”

“(……What do you mean by that?)”

“Sorry, I can’t hear you. What did you say?”

“……”

She tried her best to mumble, but her voice was too low. High-level communication with a stranger—even an enemy—was simply impossible for Ichinose.

“Hmm, well, basically I just want to watch the fight over there. The moment when something… might just happen.”

“……?”

Gashmash smiled a bit playfully.

“The moment your comrades might actually beat Randall.”

If that happened, the self-destruct device might disappear. Then, their reason to fight would vanish. Gashmash wanted to bet on that possibility. And his hunch was correct. That moment was arriving right now.

≪——Completed. Activating Administrator Privileges.≫

The announcement of the end rang in my head. In that instant, Arrogance and I charged forward at once.

“……And I wondered what you were up to, only for you to just rush in!”

『——Fresh Blood Territory』

Arrogance’s skill activated. A massive amount of blood overflowed within the barrier.

“Blood, arise.”

As Arrogance manipulated it, the blood swirled up like a vortex, filling the barrier with a red mist.

“A smokescreen? This level of trickery is meaningless.”

Randall scoffed, but neither I nor Arrogance cared. Why this mist existed—you will understand the meaning very soon. Now, I’m going to strip away that composure of yours.

(——Administrator Privileges, Activate.)

As I willed it in my mind, it immediately manifested as a phenomenon.

“……What? For a second, something in the system…?”

For a moment, Randall likely didn’t understand. But perhaps because he had used the Master Key so many times, he felt a slight sense of wrongness. I have to give him credit for that. But it’s too late. This is our win.

“—’Storage Nullification’ Activate.”

In that instant, a massive amount of items appeared in the surroundings. Massive blocks of rubble, earth, food, clothes, heavy machinery, ninja tools, and various other weapons. All of it flooded the interior of the barrier.

“Wha—!?”

For the first time, Randall’s expression changed. Shock, and then panic. Among the items that spilled out were things that clearly didn’t belong to me. Gooey liquids of unknown purpose, monster claws and hides, various materials. Those weren’t my possessions. They were Randall’s. The skill “Storage Nullification” I created nullified the storage of everyone inside the barrier. It didn’t matter what resistance skills Randall had. A skill created via System Authority is absolute. It takes priority over everything.

『——Found it, Kazuto Kudo!』

A telepathic message arrived from Arrogance. Moving my gaze, I saw it behind Randall, diagonally above him. The same purple crystal Libera-san had shown us once. The absolute item capable of interfering with everything in this world’s system. The root cause of this entire situation.

——The Master Key.

“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!”

Ignoring the stunned Randall, Arrogance and I dashed toward the Master Key at full speed.

“……Are these my weapons and belongings? Why are they outside? No, this… don’t tell me…!?”

Randall looked at the floating items in confusion, then held out his hand. His expression changed. He finally understood.

“——YOU BASTARDSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!”

Composure vanished from Randall’s face for the first time. Immense rage and panic surfaced. He had realized our goal.

But it was too late. The red mist accurately grasped everything it touched. Using that trait, we were able to locate the Master Key instantly.

Us, who knew what would happen, versus Randall, who didn’t understand until the last second. That difference in awareness manifested as a clear gap in our movements. No matter how overwhelming Randall’s stats were, no matter his high-tier race or skills, it didn’t matter. In this instant, for this one split second, we were surely superior.

“Got it!”

I grabbed the Master Key before Randall could reach it. In that instant, I felt the presence of Randall kicking the ground and accelerating all at once.

“YOUUUUUUUU! Give it back! That is MINE! It is not something an inferior monkey like you is allowed to touch!”

Wow, you’ve really lost your cool. Where did that elegance go? I guess when the mask is peeled back, this is Randall’s true nature.

“Ts…… I see, this really is an outrageous item.”

Libera-san once said that just touching it might suck away your life force and kill you, and holding it now, I understand perfectly. This isn’t something a human should hold.

“Ugh…… Gaaaaaaa……”

Randall’s presence was closing in. This is bad. I can’t run. My life force is being drained by the Master Key, and I can’t even move properly. I feel my HP plummeting. Escaping outside the barrier from the approaching Randall would be impossible. So, what should I do? Simple.

“I’m not giving this to you!”

I threw the Master Key with all my might.

“Wha—!?”

Randall was aghast. He must have intended to kill me and take it back. Randall’s hand-blade pierced through my stomach.

“Gaha……”

“Dammit! But there’s still time. I’ll immediately——”

“I’m not…… letting you……”

I grabbed Randall’s hand. The agony was making me lose consciousness. But I gripped the hand stuck in my stomach with everything I had.

“Crap! Let go! Let go, you inferior species!!”

“Gaha……!?”

My resistance was in vain as Randall’s hand was ripped out. Arrogance moved immediately, generating a mass of blood and launching it at Randall.

“Don’t get in my way!”

『Gaha……!』

But that attack was also futile; Arrogance was easily blown away. Between Arrogance and me, even with all our strength, the time we bought was only a few seconds. But those few seconds were enough.

“Suck…… on that……”

『Heh……』

Before Randall’s hand could reach it, the Master Key slipped through the barrier and rolled across the ground.

Yes, to the “Outside” of the barrier, where Randall could never touch it.

End of 268