Perhaps it was because I’d cast aside my hesitation.
Even though I was about to engage in a battle where I might die, I felt my mind growing cooler.
(First…)
I took out all the potions from my pouch and threw them towards Raiden, who lay collapsed next to King Butcher.
I wasn’t confident in my throwing arm, but fortunately, most of the potions hit Raiden, scattering recovery effects.
I had used up all my meager healing items, but these were leftovers from when Ena and I went to the Trial Cave. They were just Ramur’s potions.
They wouldn’t wake him if he was unconscious, nor would they provide a significant HP recovery, but at least he wouldn’t die now.
With one concern dealt with, I calmly observed King Butcher, who was immobilized by lightning strikes.
(This… won’t last long.)
During my first playthrough, we had also tried to fight Butcher again after leveling up.
At that time, we had a strategy where we’d have our new mage companion lay down a barrage of magic to halt its movement, and then attack during the opening.
However, that strategy had crumbled easily.
I remembered it clearly. I wouldn’t entertain any naive thoughts like, “We might be able to push through this.”
“Ringo. He’ll probably crouch down soon, ignoring attacks.
When that happens, move behind me so that you and I are in a straight line with him in front of us.”
I whispered this to Ringo, who was continuously firing lightning and restraining Butcher.
I hadn’t known for sure since I hadn’t used it on anything other than Golden, who was immune to status effects, but perhaps lightning strikes had a stun or knockback bonus.
Surprisingly, the lightning was effective, and Butcher was completely halted for now, but it was clear this was a temporary measure.
When an opponent flees or is continuously attacked for an extended period, Butcher unleashes a charge attack.
And the moment it enters its charging animation, it enters a super armor state, meaning it won’t flinch or interrupt its attacks no matter what hits it.
And as soon as the charging animation finishes, it should charge at us with incredible speed, unimaginable for its heavy body.
—And that moment is our greatest chance.
The fact that it doesn’t flinch or interrupt its attacks means its timing is predictable.
So here, we’ll wait for Butcher’s charge attack, hit it with the Odachi’s 10th skill, Zetsutou Shikisaigaes, and defeat it.
(I can do it, right?)
I asked myself.
Many Odachi skills boast immense power, capable of defeating even higher-ranked opponents in a single blow if they land, but they often come with severe restrictions.
The 10th skill, Zetsutou Shikisaigaes, is no exception. It’s a counter-attack skill with one of the highest offensive powers among Odachi skills, but it carries significant risks.
As a counter-attack skill, it naturally unleashes a counter-attack upon being attacked during skill activation. However, this is not straightforward.
This skill has a very long preparatory animation. First, there are two seconds until the counter reception window begins, and then, even if the counter is successfully triggered, there are three seconds of immobility, and if it’s not triggered, there are about two seconds of immobility.
Moreover, during that time, it enters a super armor state, making it immune to knockback.
Additionally, it doesn’t accept any player actions, so other skills or magic cannot be used during that time, and it cannot be canceled by any means.
Super armor sounds cool, but conversely, it signifies the fact that “instead of its actions being interrupted, it cannot be blown away and kept at a distance, no matter how strong an attack it receives.”
If this skill is used when surrounded by strong enemies, a counter might occur, but the player will undoubtedly die.
The next problem is that the counter reception is extremely strict.
Despite a two-second preparatory animation, the counter reception window is only about 0.3 seconds.
To successfully execute this skill, one must anticipate the opponent’s attack two seconds in advance, use the skill, and then be hit by the attack reliably between 2.0 and 2.3 seconds later.
Furthermore, the damage from attacks received during the counter reception window is not mitigated at all.
Even if one tries to counter a fatal blow, they’ll simply be killed first. This is a clear disadvantage when fighting opponents like King Butcher, who have high attack power.
And finally, even if all conditions are met and the counter is activated, there’s no guarantee it will defeat the opponent.
The attack that activates as a counter is a vertical slash of the same attribute as the attack the skill user received at that time.
For instance, if you receive a fire attribute attack from a fire attribute monster and counter, your counter will also be fire attribute.
There’s no knowing if that will be effective against the opponent, and furthermore, it’s not an all-around attack or a counter towards the direction of the attack, but simply a vertical slash directly forward.
The risk of the opponent dodging it or attacking in a completely wrong direction is definite.
As expected of Nekoneko’s skills, the usability is ridiculously poor.
However, this skill possessed a power that made one want to use it, even with all the risks.
And if I swing this overly long Odachi vertically, that blow will reach Butcher’s weak point, its head.
If there is a way to defeat Butcher, it is this skill.
(So, it all comes down to whether I can see that timing.)
Once an attack begins, evasion or interruption is impossible, just like Butcher’s charge and my skills.
Once Butcher starts its charge attack, it will have no way to evade my counter-attack.
However, Butcher’s charge attack is high-speed.
To match it with a counter-attack requires timing on the order of milliseconds.
It might sound easy, but milliseconds are such fleeting moments that they pass by the instant you think “Now!”
Also, depending on one’s condition, there will always be a deviation of about 0.1 seconds even when performing the same action. From a normal perspective, managing such small time differences is impossible.
(But I can do it. I can, I should be able to.)
I practiced aiming for cancellation points less than 0.1 seconds, repeating the practice thousands, tens of thousands of times.
I devised and executed complex and precise original consecutive attacks by combining magic with timed activation and skills.
My time management ability when focused has reached a level that can be called a special skill.
—Even if no one else can, Soma Sagara, a hardcore Nekoneko gamer who has spent most of his university life playing games, should be able to do it.
So, for this moment.
I will forget that this world is real.
Right now, I’m seeing a virtual scene using that large, cumbersome VR Machine.
There is only me and the game data in this world.
Everything I see is just a collection of numbers, so there is nothing unpredictable.
I will believe so.
With a mind cooled beyond cold-bloodedness, I estimate the distance.
I don’t remember the exact length of its charge animation.
So, if Butcher charges, I’ll calculate how much time it will take to reach here.
(3 seconds, no, 4 seconds, or maybe more…?)
I redraw the image of Butcher charging towards me, scattering my allies, which is still burned into my mind.
Its speed, the distance to me, and the travel time. I somehow dig up all this information from fragmented memories.
(…Decided!)
4.1 seconds after Butcher starts, or rather, after I perceive Butcher starting.
That was my answer.
On that timing, I will stake my life, no, the fate of everyone.
The moment I decided on the attack timing, King Butcher began its charge animation as if it had been waiting for it.
“Ringo!”
The moment I shouted, Ringo moved behind me with a knowing movement.
Even if Butcher had targeted Ringo, it would have hit me first.
Now, the preparations were complete.
(…Come on!)
The moment Butcher finished its animation and started, that was the signal.
Without missing “that moment,” I focused on Butcher, who had shrunk as if gathering power.
Concentration creates a pseudo-acceleration of thought, stretching one second infinitely.
Visually, there’s almost no change in Butcher’s movement.
However, I feel like I can see the way a spring is being stored in its body, and that suppressed power is about to burst forth. And finally, that time comes.
An explosion behind Butcher!
No, it was a sudden acceleration that made me think so.
But I didn’t miss the timing either.
The moment I saw Butcher start, I also began my “Order.”
(My preparation is 2 seconds. So… this is it!)
After about two seconds, I used “Zetsutou Shikisaigaes,” my ultimate counter-attack skill.
Once it comes to this, there’s nothing more I can do.
All I can do is pray that the skill activates successfully and that the activated attack hits Butcher.
Slowly, my body traces the preparatory animation of the skill.
Butcher is approaching rapidly.
How’s the timing?
Is it too early?
Or too late?
…The answer came quickly.
(It’s starting!)
Two seconds have passed since I used the skill, before Butcher has even reached my Odachi’s range.
The distance between me and Butcher is wide enough to cause unease.
Naturally, it’s impossible for Butcher to attack me within the next 0.3 seconds.
…But that’s fine.
Even before Butcher’s attack reached me, the moment my brain recognized the start of the counter reception, my vision filled with explosions.
—Fire attribute magic, “Petit Explosion.”
This was my trump card, chanted before escaping and kept in a standby state. The explosion of this magic, initiated 4.1 seconds ago, damages all nearby targets, ignoring allies and enemies.
That means I, the caster, am no exception.
(Grrr!)
The explosion attacked me, but it wasn’t a significant impact.
My magic, with its low magic power, wasn’t much, and the damage rate of Petit Explosion itself isn’t high.
But, on the other hand.
—My body, recognizing the blast of Petit Explosion as a fire attribute attack against me, automatically activates a counter-attack!
This is my true trump card.
If I waited to counter after being attacked by Butcher, it would be too late.
So, I attacked myself to unleash a counter-attack at the optimal timing.
In other words, a self-staged counter-attack.
A gamer’s way of fighting that the pure fantasy dwellers could never imagine!
My hands, holding the Fire of Sh, were naturally raised above my head.
At that moment, I envisioned a long, fiery blade at the tip of the sword I held.
“Go!!”
As if striking with all my feelings, with that vision.
Towards the white giant that entered the Odachi’s range at the expected timing, I swung down the fiery blade.
It was as if it were drawn in, directly hitting the white giant’s head!
“Guaaaaaaaa!!”
A monstrous shriek that pierced the ears erupted.
A heavy, certain feeling in my hands of crushing something.
(I did it!)
Even the mighty giant couldn’t withstand this blow.
Its vital point, the head, was directly hit, its massive body swayed, it dropped its cleaver, and fell to its knees on the ground.
(…Huh?)
It stopped there.
“Gaaaaaaa!!”
The giant roared again.
But it wasn’t from pain, but pure rage.
The giant, with its face horribly crushed, glared at…
(…Bad!)
The giant’s hatred pierced my body.
Even with significant damage, the white giant, King Butcher, had not lost its fighting spirit.
It immediately gripped the dropped cleaver again and raised it.
(Bad bad bad bad bad!)
I can’t move due to the skill’s stun.
This stun cannot be canceled.
I cannot evade this blow!
(Move! Move, move, move!)
My mind screamed at my body, which wouldn’t obey.
The skill stun wouldn’t end.
My body wouldn’t move!
(Damn it! “Shukuchi”! “High Step”! “Step”! “Jump”!)
I spammed skills, knowing it was futile. Still, my body didn’t respond.
The bludgeon-like cleaver flew towards my eyes.
“Soma!”
A scream-like storm of lightning strikes deflected the blow slightly.
Still, it wasn’t enough to stop the attack.
I watched the redirected blow coming towards my body in slow motion.
(“Shukuchi”! “Shukuchi”, “Shukuchi”, “Shukuchi”…)
And that time abruptly ended.
“Hah!”
I held my breath.
An unprocessable impact on my chest.
My thoughts were bleached white by a single blow.
Still, my gaze was automatically drawn to the source of the impact.
It was an surreal sight.
A large cleaver bit into my armor and easily destroyed it.
The giant weapon didn’t stop there.
Clearly understanding my end.
As if to confirm it, the lead-colored weapon, without any loss of power from destroying my armor, was now aiming to tear me in two—
(Ah, I’m dead…)
—My strangely elongated perception ceased there.
“Ugh!!”
A sound escaped my mouth. My vision spun.
It spun.
Then, sound and impact.
I couldn’t understand what was happening.
“Ah, ugh…!”
I saw the sky, then the ground, then the sky again, and didn’t know where I was.
My whole body was hit.
I no longer felt the Fire of Sh clutched in my hands.
Just tossed about by something attacking me, I somehow ended up with the ground and sky split in half before me.
“Ugh, ah…”
A groan escaped my lips.
My entire body ached.
A burning sensation in my chest.
Honestly, I didn’t want to know what was happening.
But I was alive.
And from the scene before me, I could vaguely grasp that I was lying sideways on the ground.
And that the skill stun had ended and I had been blown away at the moment I resigned myself to death.
(I lost…)
The feeling of defeat washed over me.
I had given my all.
Using all my experience and knowledge, I had even won a risky gamble and landed that blow.
But still…
The absolute wall of parameters couldn’t be overcome.
Even with the Odachi and skill bonuses, the difference in raw power couldn’t be bridged.
I had lost.
And at the same time, I understood clearly.
—I am going to die.
In this world, having done nothing, unable to return to my original world, I will be killed by monsters on this plain and disappear into particles of light.
Somehow, the thought of that seemed okay.
My body wouldn’t move an inch anymore.
Whether I felt pain or not, my whole body felt like it was burning hot, and all my senses felt distant.
If I closed my eyes now, I felt like I could find peace.
There was only one thing I regretted…
“Soma!”
With that voice, my last regret rushed before my eyes.
Seeing that, I felt a deep sense of relief.
I worked my lips desperately, thinking this was my last task.
“Run…”
I wondered if my voice had come out clearly.
I didn’t know.
But strangely, I felt like she understood.
“…”
There was no reply.
No, she answered me with her actions.
The golden Ninjato was thrown before me.
What was dropped before my eyes was her weapon, Koganezakura.
(I see…)
This was her answer.
Abandoning her weapon.
It was a declaration of her intent to escape.
(Good…)
With a hint of sadness, I was enveloped in a great sense of relief.
Now I had no regrets.
All that was left was to pray that Ringo would escape while Butcher turned me into a corpse.
Or so I thought.
And yet…
(What is she doing?)
Seeing her reach for her waist after discarding her weapon, I was astonished.
Because that was strange.
There was her other weapon, the Heat Knife, which had far less power than Koganezakura.
(Why…?)
She picked up the Heat Knife, but it was meaningless.
The attribute wouldn’t transfer to lightning strikes.
She should know that.
But it was I who didn’t understand.
It was I who knew nothing.
“…I won’t let you.”
I watched in disbelief as Ringo’s lips formed those words.
And when she ran towards Butcher with the knife in hand, the foolish me finally understood everything.
—Close combat.
Even if attributes don’t transfer to lightning strikes, if she cuts directly with the knife, it will naturally be an attribute attack.
She abandoned her greatest strength, lightning strikes, and intended to clash with Butcher with just that flimsy knife.
To protect me.
To save someone like me.
But that was beyond “reckless.”
She had no experience in close combat, and in all stats, she was inferior to King Butcher.
This was no longer reckless or rash.
It was simply suicidal.
(No…!)
I tried to stop her.
I tried to tell her to stop doing something foolish.
I put force into my immobile body and reached out my hand.
But my hand grasped at air.
(Reach…!)
I reached out. I tried to reach out.
But my hand wouldn’t move as I wanted.
“Ugh…”
I wanted to shout “Don’t go!”
But no sound came out.
(Reach! Reach, reach…!)
She ran.
There was no hesitation or doubt.
She would reach the giant soon.
And once she did, she would be easily killed.
That wouldn’t do.
I absolutely couldn’t let that happen!
(Reach! Reach, reach, reach!!)
I desperately shouted and tried to reach out.
“Ah, ah…!”
My exhausted body wouldn’t move, and my screams were no longer audible.
But, at that moment—
(…Reached!)
—My outstretched hand touched the golden hilt.
