28. Divine-Blood Dancer
28. Divine-Blood Dancer
***
"...?"
Plea stopped walking and blinked blankly.
She had let her guard down for a moment, thinking her victory was all but certain. But suddenly, Rin's body was turning crimson.
Her body kept staining red, as if submerged in blood.
And when even her pupils turned blood-red, Plea flinched and had no choice but to stop.
'Is that... the Dancer Class awakening skill?'
Given how abnormal the state looked, it was clearly an awakening skill, but it was very different from the Dancer Class awakening she knew.
The Dancer Class had so few advantages that Plea had to think back roughly a year to remember the last Dancer she'd faced.
Still, she remembered the Dancer Class awakening skill.
It was definitely a body enhancement type.
A Dancer's Awakening Skill dramatically boosted reflexes to almost the level of Counteroffensive, her own Knight Class Awakening Skill, while its other properties changed depending on the weapon.
She remembered that a Dancer holding a sword had literally danced toward her, performing a beautiful sword dance.
"..."
And then there was the other Dancer before her eyes.
Rin's entire body had turned blood-red, and even her Crescent-Moon Weight was dyed deep crimson as though submerged in blood, trembling strangely.
Riiiiiiing!!!
At the same time, this strange resonance that seemed to strike her ears, what on earth...
Watching it, Plea felt goosebumps rise. It was like staring at something unknown that lay beyond the limits of her common sense.
Plea unconsciously tightened her grip on her rapier and kicked off the ground.
She felt like she couldn't give her any more time.
Holding with both hands a rapier that emitted a massive golden light as if to illuminate the entire Colosseum, she thrust it forward in a great stabbing motion while simultaneously activating a skill.
—Raging Burst.
Literally, an explosion of light.
A massive golden radiance that seemed as if it might blind even her own eyes scorched everything ahead as it shot forward.
—Split.
At the same time, the great beam of light split into dozens—no, hundreds—of light streams, and they surged toward Rin, toward her, as if firing in a barrage.
Every class's awakening skill incorporated the concept of multi-hit so that it could not be parried, which was why the light had split.
Plea did not think that even a Dancer's awakening skill with her main weapon, the Crescent-Moon Weight, could block her current awakening skill.
'It's a fully charged awakening skill. There's no way she can block it.'
The golden light that had kept accumulating every time she dismantled an opponent's technique. Considering the continuous exchange of offense and defense, it had literally accumulated to its limit.
A skill with a charge concept, when fully charged, possessed several times the destructive power of an ordinary skill.
That was a concept close to common sense.
And the fact that an awakening skill—not just any skill—had reached full charge meant it possessed power that most awakening skills could not even compare to.
Therefore, the awakening skill she had just fired was literally irresistible 'force' itself.
And then.
Massive streams of light filled Plea's vision.
At their far end, she witnessed something she could scarcely believe even with her own eyes.
***
I had thought it was a useless trait...
—The 'Final Performance' skill resonates with the 'Madness' trait and changes to 'Divine-Blood Dancer.'
I let out a small laugh at the additional hologram that appeared.
As I did, I slowly looked at my own body, stained with blood.
In the strange sensation as if the world had slowed, I murmured without realizing it.
"...I really never thought I'd feel this sensation again."
As I spoke, I slowly moved my arm.
A sense of omnipotence filling my body.
Like my prime self in the world of Black Ark. Power so immense it was hard to control swirled through my body, seizing me now.
The me from that world who had looked down upon all others was here now.
—!
Simply clenching my fist seemed to make me feel the power filling my entire body.
I could no longer even feel the heft of the Crescent-Moon Weight attached to the black cord around my right arm.
And the blood-red Crescent-Moon Weight, continuing to ring with that strange resonance.
Riiiing!!!
A peculiar melody, as if welcoming me.
It should have been nothing more than a bizarre resonance, yet somehow it felt as though this Crescent-Moon Weight was greeting me.
Hallucination. Illusion. Delusion.
I wondered if that was all it was, but in the end, it didn't matter.
Creeeeak!!
I raised my other hand and gripped the black cord connected to the Crescent-Moon Weight with enough force to snap it, forcibly stopping the resonance.
That sensation of an illusion that no longer exists greeting me.
The me who had been intoxicated by power, feeling omnipotence throughout my body.
Now, for some reason, I felt a similar omnipotence, yet I seemed to be feeling the power from a step removed.
As if this were reality.
The moment I had that brief thought.
Suddenly, my vision seemed to brighten.
I slowly raised my head and looked ahead. A massive golden beam of light, large enough to cover the world, was surging toward me.
It was clearly the golden rapier that seemed to illuminate the entire Colosseum.
A follow-up technique to that Awakening Skill.
In the slowed time, as I watched the countless streams of light, admiration naturally escaped me.
Even in this omnipotent state, the dozens of beams pouring toward me did not seem remotely trivial.
"Parrying all of that..."
I murmured, and a meaningless laugh leaked out.
To think of parrying all those countless streams of light—even thinking about it again, it was truly absurd.
Tap.
The moment I lightly gripped the Crescent-Moon Weight.
I felt my pure white hair slowly floating in the air.
A pleasant fullness.
A sense of omnipotence as if I possessed the entire world.
Before I knew it, my body moved as if I had already adapted to my current state.
———!!
In the sensation of slowed time, I lightly swung the arm holding the Crescent-Moon Weight.
WHOOOOOSH!!
At the same time, a massive blood-red line embroidered the space, so enormous it seemed to slice the very air.
A simple release of power that needed no technique name.
Just expelling this immense energy filling my body outward.
And as if that were the beginning.
Serin looked at the streams of light and began swinging the Crescent-Moon Weight without pause.
SHRRRIP!
A chilling sound, as if tearing space apart, continued to ring out.
———!!
The streams of light and the blood-red lines kept colliding. Not even a sound rang out.
Just the moment light and blood-red lines met.
As if nothing had ever existed there, they canceled each other out and vanished.
But even as Serin kept embroidering blood-red trajectories, many streams of light still remained.
And soon, a feast of golden light streams closing in on Serin from all directions.
It was like a barrage of golden light.
"......."
The moment the countless streams of light pouring down swallowed the blood-red trajectories and tried to swallow her as well.
Serin moved her foot lightly.
Step.
A movement so light it made no sound.
At the same time, she moved her arm and extended her hand.
A touch that seemed to beautifully embroider the space.
She swung the Crescent-Moon Weight as her instincts directed and gently closed her eyes.
The Crescent-Moon Weight, dyed in deep blood, rapidly embroidered the air, weaving countless blood-red trajectories.
A Dancer is someone who shines when they dance.
Therefore, in accordance with that purpose, she danced, embroidering blood-red trajectories with the Crescent-Moon Weight.
Swish-swish-swish-swish.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
With clear sounds ringing through the space.
The light kept bursting.
Plea, who had been staring blankly, wondering how to respond, let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.
"...What am I supposed to say?"
The blonde character kept wearing a thoroughly deflated smile as she slowly lowered the blade of her rapier.
A figure that seemed to have lost her will to fight.
No matter how she looked at it, that was not human.
At this moment, that was the only impression Plea could form.
This situation should have ended with the word "Victory" appearing for her.
But it simply refused to end.
Clang!
Clang!
The clear sounds just kept ringing out, and at the same time, the light streams burst, and the afterglow of the burst golden light brightly illuminated the inside of the Colosseum.
She had thought about it, but never imagined it could actually be realized.
Her opponent was taking an Awakening Skill head-on and parrying it.
Dozens. No, the continuous attacks of the countless light streams from Raging Burst—Split, reaching triple digits.
She was parrying every single one with perfect timing.
Blankly, Plea opened the chat window without realizing it.
Perhaps it was fortunate that she was not the only one watching this sight right now.
At this moment, she felt it was more fortunate than anything.
[??????????]
[??what is that]
[????????]
[???]
[lololololololololol]
[someone explain please]
[wow I don't get it what is this]
And before she knew it, the light had vanished.
The moment she realized the light was gone, Plea naturally reached for the Surrender hologram.
That was the first time in the three years Plea had played Another World Arena that she had moved her hand to the surrender button.
And now, as if acknowledging that fact, she slowly selected Surrender.