Chapter 28 Do Ro-rang (2)
Do Ro-rang (2)
Episode 29
My reckless charge worked—for about a second.
"Is this all your precious ability amounts to~? Just this much~?"
The instant my wrist met Do Ro-rang's, it bent at a grotesque angle. I clenched my jaw against pain so fierce my vision blurred.
She looked at me with open contempt.
"At this level, you're no match for my ability, are you?"
She'd always resented people with Verb-Type Abilities. Overpowering one of them must have felt like a personal victory.
I opened my mouth to answer, but the force of her blow hurled me backward. My whole body shuddered on impact; somehow, nothing vital had been crushed.
The Tower had a hundred floors, and its fighters had cleared only the first five. If Ro-rang had been even a few floors farther ahead, that collision could have killed me outright.
She was already coming at me again. I brought up the pistol in my uninjured hand.
I'd tried to close the distance for a decisive strike, but her raw strength was beyond anything I'd anticipated. Midair, I used [Optimal Progression] to twist into a firing stance.
Ratatatat!
[Optimal Progression] let me bypass the usual sequence of motions and correct my posture almost instantly. I found my balance and fired.
At point-blank range, she still managed to slip past the shot.
"Aha?! A surprise party? How did you know I'd love that~?"
『Do Ro-rang uses [Acrobatics].』
Ro-rang folded at the waist and spread her legs in midair. My aim was already off; the bullet only grazed her before striking the wall.
I let out a humorless laugh.
『[Seize] is being applied to [Do Ro-rang].』
『Do Ro-rang's Stats』
[Strength 413(-79)] [Agility 853(-201)] [Stamina 449(-75)] [Mana 437(-86)]
『Park Si-hyun's Stats』
[Strength 201(+79)] [Agility 335(+201)] [Stamina 196(+75)] [Mana 199(+86)]
Without the stolen stats and [Optimal Progression], the first clash would have torn me apart.
Do Ro-rang was clearly 20% weaker than usual. Meanwhile, I had grown stronger by the exact amount she had weakened.
But numbers weren't everything, and the gap between us remained enormous.
'The only saving grace is that Do Ro-rang's goal is to copulate with me.'
Her objective was to slowly kill Kang So-eun while forcing herself on me in front of her.
Do Ro-rang wouldn't kill me—she'd only bring me to the brink of death.
[Read] confirmed that her blows were being aimed to incapacitate rather than kill me.
That hardly made her attacks survivable.
The reason was obvious.
『Do Ro-rang uses [Mana Manipulation].』
Mana wrapped her arms in a shimmering glow. It was a technique those of us without a class couldn't use.
Ro-rang gathered herself for a blow meant to finish the fight.
BAM!
Her fist caught me before I could dodge. I flew into a pillar on the first floor.
"Eh? What the—?"
Ro-rang stopped, frowning in surprise. A tremor ran through her legs and quickly grew stronger.
I slid from the broken pillar, coughing blood.
『[Optimal Progression] maximizes the effects of [Censored Ability].』
My newest ability still appeared as four blank squares.
It was a power I'd never seen in the original game.
A completed, altered form of [Copulate], it behaved nothing like the original ability.
Those four blank spaces seemed to leave its meaning unrestricted. Even I couldn't be certain what it could do.
Still.
—Ah, ahh, aaaah♡
Kang So-eun, exposed to this ability, had been driven to such an intense climax that she nearly lost her mind.
Now, I was forcibly squeezing out its effects to their absolute limit with [Optimal Progression].
"Kkh, kkhh...?!"
It was just a simple touch, but it must have been electrifying.
"Hhkkk...?!"
Do Ro-rang's legs gave out, and she collapsed to her knees. Her black hot pants visibly darkened with moisture.
"Kyaaaahk!"
Soon, her lower abdomen convulsed violently in climax.
I released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
『[Optimal Progression] is active.』
I used some of the stamina I'd stolen to accelerate my recovery.
Snap—
With a sickening shift, [Optimal Progression] guided the bones of my wrist back into place. The pain began to fade.
'It's working. So far.'
Why had I wasted ammunition on someone who could dodge bullets?
'To draw her away from So-eun, of course.'
Ro-rang had a habit of murdering women she considered more beautiful than herself. For a half-elf, she was particularly bitter about not matching the legendary beauty of her own race.
"Hahk, hahk...!"
Thus, her goal was clear. She planned to exploit the fact that Kang So-eun and I were lovers to humiliate her. Do Ro-rang wanted to watch Kang So-eun despair after losing her lover and meet a gruesome end.
Because that's what turned her on.
In short...
'A fucking bitch.'
「Do Ro-rang's Affection Level: 57 / 100」
Under normal circumstances, [Censored Ability] would have raised Ro-rang's Affection Level without much effort on my part. But the sight of So-eun had turned that attraction into jealousy and murderous rage.
『Scanning Do Ro-rang's subconscious.』
She was unpredictable enough to erupt without warning. That didn't make the situation any less frustrating.
'Damn it, if it had just been the two of us alone, I could've raised her Affection Level slowly. But her condition for sex being Kang So-eun's death? What kind of bullshit is that?'
My wrist still throbbed when So-eun ran to me, pale-faced and close to tears.
"Park Si-hyun!? Y-your arm...! Wh-what do we do...!?"
"My arm's fine."
"...It's not fine!!"
She was right to worry, but the worst of the damage was slowly healing.
So-eun bit her lip. Her tear-filled eyes shifted toward Ro-rang with unmistakable anger.
"Ah, ah...."
Ro-rang looked dazed. I drew a careful breath and tried to find an opening.
'While Do Ro-rang is still out of it from climaxing, I'll restrain her and have sex. Unlike 「Copulate」, my ability doesn't require special conditions, and its effects are even stronger. Once I'm inside, she won't be able to resist me.'
[Optimal Progression] had softened the impact with the pillar. I took advantage of the moment to rush Ro-rang.
"Kkh—!"
Before she could recover, I slipped behind her and pressed the pistol against her skull, aiming for the point [Read] marked as vulnerable.
'I have to fire directly into her skull just to knock her out? What kind of monster is she?'
The surrounding survivors gasped.
I had no better option. If I hesitated, someone else would die.
Then, just as my finger tightened on the trigger, a flood of Ro-rang's thoughts crashed into mine.
-$@@!!%!@#@!#^!%
The impressions came as a storm of broken, meaningless fragments.
The noise was so overwhelming that pain stabbed behind my eyes.
"I... think I might've fallen for you."
Ro-rang twisted her head around to look at me, far farther than a neck should turn. She didn't seem concerned about the muzzle pressed to her forehead.
『Do Ro-rang's 「Crisis Reversal (Hero Grade)」 has activated.』
『「Read」 is issuing a severe warning!』
A cold warning raced up my spine.
『Optimal Progression is in effect.』
I fought through it, relied on [Optimal Progression] to steady my hand, and fired.
An instant later—
Bang!
"Huh?!"
The shot snapped her head backward and bent her body with the impact.
Pink mana flared around her forehead. The bullet flattened against it and dropped harmlessly to the floor.
"...."
I'd fired from point-blank range, and she wasn't even wounded.
She smiled.
"Heh, hehe... First, let's deal with the one getting in our way?"
She vanished before I could react.
Splat!
Blood sprayed from somewhere behind me. A severed head arced through the air.
"Heh, heh, hahaha. Just wait a little, okay? Once I get rid of the nuisances... we can be alone~"
Ro-rang appeared at my back, dragging her tongue over her bloody dagger. She was looking only at me.
"I just know we're meant to get real close."
I spun around, but she was already gone again. Her path zigzagged through the room at impossible angles.
『Do Ro-rang has activated 「Three-Dimensional Movement」.』
The head finally struck the ground. Only then did the survivors begin screaming.
—Kkh-hihaha, ahahahahaha...!
Her laughter seemed to come from every direction.
Then—
『「Blood Adjustment」 has activated.』
Blood and torn flesh rose from the floor and swirled around Ro-rang.
『「Blood Magic」 has activated.』
"Ahh~! Is this love? Or is it not~?"
Her voice rang out from inside the spinning cloud.
#
The blood exploded into a spray of tiny droplets, filling the air like a mist no one could dodge.
It settled over us in a cold, fine rain.
『You have been marked by 「Blood Magic - Blood Jade Target」.』
Do Ro-rang's magic now saturated the Main Building. Every smear and droplet of blood had become a weapon under her control.
"Haha, hahahaha! This is love! Love!"
She raced along the walls, cutting down survivors as she went.
"G-gahhh, s-stay away!"
A fleeing man barely made it a few steps before his head flew from his shoulders.
『Do Ro-rang has activated 「Blood Adjustment」, 「Blood Magic」, 「Mana Manipulation」, 「Three-Dimensional Movement」, and 「Acrobatics」.』
The chained skills sent her speed soaring.
I tried to follow her, but my eyes couldn't keep up.
"Let me teach you all about love!"
「Blood Magic」 accelerated her blood, and 「Blood Adjustment」 amplified its effects. 「Mana Manipulation」 strengthened her movements still further.
「Three-Dimensional Movement」 let her run across the walls; 「Acrobatics」 made her attacks come from angles no one could anticipate.
"Kkhihihihi, hihihihihi."
At last, she paused atop a corpse.
Her eyes blazed with madness.