“Now then, for the 7th Checkpoint, Papa versus the Celsius family match—start, please!”
Kromel’s signal could be heard from the balcony. Simultaneously, Kromel’s ‘Monster Parent’ Skill activated, and the power I had back then returned to me. My basic armament consisted of the Great Wind Demon God Scythe in my dominant hand and three Dark Black Swords floating to my side. All the Black Swords were VI specification, further enhanced with Earth Grinding-VI, making them custom-ordered. Their sharpness and durability reached a level that easily surpassed ordinary S-Rank Arms and Armor, making them capable of confronting gods. The fact that I could generate these in an instant proved the immense strength of this power.
“First strike wins! Blood-Reaping Blood Sea!”
Sera was the one to break the silence. She mixed her blood with water to form a giant tail and unleashed a grand technique that swept across the entire Field. Like Bel’s sideways tornado from earlier, these sisters certainly put on a show with their flashy attacks. She had used this technique in the Beast King Festival against Gordiana, but it was even larger than before. Even though the human-sized Sera was swinging it, the tail was like that of a giant monster. Actually, speaking of which, where did she supply all this water from? She didn’t seem to be using a Magic Item for water like during the Beast King Festival. Hmm, right from the start, it’s a fun guessing game. Well, putting aside the supply method, I’ll focus on the wall in front of me and everyone else’s actions.
First, about that attack. Knowing Sera, she probably applied the ‘Blood Dye’ effect to everything. Even in my ‘Monster Parent’ state, I couldn’t afford to take this attack head-on. While my strength is at the level of the final battle once again, I’m not receiving the ‘Absolute Resonance’ with Mel. I can still be affected by status ailments and ability reductions, and if I touch that tail, the Blood Dye ability will activate normally. In other words, absolutely no touching is allowed.
“I failed last time by slashing it! This time, I’ll escape upwards!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but that’s a bad move! Kuroto!”
The moment I dodged the swept blood tail, Sera called out Kuroto’s name. Why Kuroto? Faster than I could wonder, they flew up from directly below me. An overwhelming number of weapons shot out from Sera’s tail. Every single one of them was at least A-Rank, and strangely, they looked familiar… In fact, they were the prototypes I made myself. However, they should have been carefully stored within Kuroto. For them to come out of Sera’s tail was far too unnatural. Beyond that, this attack method was also familiar—
“—Wait, that tail is Kuroto’s imposter!?”
“Correct!”
I had been mistaken. Or rather, I was *made* to be mistaken. Sera’s attack wasn’t made from a large amount of water, but was a cooperative attack with Kuroto, who had been dyed red by her blood. My memory of seeing it before at the Beast King Festival was used as a tactic, and the reason Kuroto had appeared so large before the battle was to strongly imprint in my mind that the main body was here. In reality, the true body was hidden within Sera’s form. When I thought about it, the technique’s name was slightly different too, and it all connected as a trap to mislead me. Those with sharp minds and good sense are truly unpredictable…
However, the choice to move upwards wasn’t as bad as Sera claimed. Even if I had unleashed the Great Scythe’s slash at that moment, if it were Kuroto, my magic would have been absorbed the moment we made contact. Even if I had managed to cleanly cut off the tail afterward, Kuroto would have instantly reattached the severed ends. If that happened, I would have been crushed by that giant tail. That would have been a combo of Sera’s Blood Dye and getting my magic sucked by Kuroto. At that point, it would have been game over.
“It’s certainly a surprisingly perfect surprise attack! Nevertheless, I can still dodge a mere barrage of weapons!”
“In that case, please allow me to support you as well.”
“!”
As the numerous creations flew up from below, a cyan light was unleashed from directly above. A moment later, an immense heat began to scorch my skin… Ah, this isn’t light, it’s cyan flames.
“Multi-headed Extreme Cyan Fire Dragon: Eight Kings.”
At the same moment Sera swung her tail, Efil fired a single arrow towards a height just within Colette’s barrier. The moment I leaped, the arrow quietly burned cyan, and as Efil sent a telepathic message, it exploded. Unleashing heat that would melt an ordinary person, eight dragon heads emerged from the explosion, greeting me. There was no way they would offer such a cute greeting; instead, they bared their vicious fangs and lunged at me.
“Eight powerful Multi-headed Fire Dragons with Unique Skills, fired all at once, and with the power of each head increased! When did you learn to use such a technique, Efil!?”
“Hehehe, Kel-nii, you don’t have time to be happy, you know?”
“That’s right, because we’re here too~”
Beside me in the extremely dangerous zone were Rion and Ange, holding hands companionably. How beautiful is friendship. But the reason they were holding hands was probably to share Ange’s ‘Unblockable’ ability. With a great fire above and a reverse stone shower of weapons below, by doing so, only the two of them would be immune to attacks. It was an application of the emergency measure Ange might have used on me during the previous sudden checkpoint. By Ange carrying Rion, their speed was also increased.
“Slashing Prison Seal, there’s no escape to the sides either!”
My surroundings were enveloped by a multitude of slash marks, likely created by Rion. Furthermore, these were all slashes created with different swords. Some were poisoned, others had attributes applied – a luxurious specification with a wide variety. While I was dodging the weapons thrown by Kuroto, she must have caught them and set them up one after another. Fortunately or unfortunately, cursed weapons are purified the moment Rion grasps them with ‘Absolute Purification,’ so it seems there are no such slashes. However, the used weapons were handed over to Ange—
“Take this!”
“Whoa!?”
—and thrown at me again! The already hellish field evolved into an even denser barrage of attacks. I’m grateful, but I seriously don’t have any room to dodge this! While I’m standing here, Rion and Ange are diligently repeating slash installations and throws!
“Viscous Wind Reflecting Barrier-VI!”
This is a moment to endure. I activated the ‘Viscous Wind Reflecting Barrier’, taught to me by Bel, to cope. I would deflect all-directional attacks like a rubber ball, colliding them with attacks approaching from the opposite direction and negating them. With such layered attacks, it seemed likely that something would collide no matter where I sent them, but I wouldn’t compromise. I utilized Parallel Thought to its maximum, efficiently negating, negating, negating! —Honestly, no matter how much I negate, it’s endless!
“Oof!”
I sensed Efil launching a Direct Shot of ‘Extreme Cyan Exploding Rain-Arrow’ towards me, thanks to my Detection Skill. Unlike before, she didn’t say the technique’s name, and the fact that she fired it stealthily makes me feel Efil’s deep affection. She seems to want to capture my heart that much. However, that attack causes a massive explosion upon contact, making it incompatible with the Viscous Wind Reflecting Barrier. If I remain curled up like this, I’m certain to suffer significant damage. Hmm, it’s a bit forceful, but should I charge out?
“Barrier, expand!”
