Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Fox God VTuber Climbing the Tower
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"Wakamo! Use your brain, use your brain!!"
A summoner's summoned beast is connected to themselves, or so they say.
Aoi Asuka, the messenger of the idol, must have been the same with Wakamo.
So Asuka's rational thinking was like Wakamo's common sense.
Her criticism that they should prepare before climbing instead of charging up recklessly was spot on.
But if it could improve the health of the VTubers I subscribed to...
Then, including those who retired and left only their channels behind...?
Even if they'd reincarnated into other lives, couldn't I repay them for their hard work?
Of course, I'd make exceptions for those who disappointed fans with malicious reasons.
──Climb the tower, and you can acquire such skills.
At this very moment, the tower was whispering the reason why VTuber Wakamo Inarizushi had no choice but to climb it.
The tower had baited her with that "guidance" of speaking to her and getting a response, and watching her leap into the trap without a second thought, it must have been unable to hide its sorrow at Wakamo's pitiful intelligence.
But in cases like this, the tower's rewards were always reliable.
"La la la~ la la la~"
Asuka hummed a little tune as if singing to herself.
The tall bird, wearing a conical hat pressed down low with bird feathers draped around it like a raincoat, spun its neck freely—lacking neck bones—and awaited a reaction.
Viewers wondered why Asuka was humming in this situation.
"Bean bean kitsune!"
Pointing her finger and declaring it, foxes that flew through the sky came pouring out from behind Asuka.
Seeing them, the tall bird slowly drew a single sword from its bosom.
With a chilling *shring—*, it swung, slicing the fire foxes into pieces.
"Boom!"
But at Asuka's command the instant they were cut, they swelled up and triggered a chain explosion.
Fireworks burst in vibrant colors, blooming into flowers of flame!
But both Asuka and Wakamo on the screen were looking elsewhere.
The tall bird had moved to the opposite cliff, grinning with delight as it charged toward them.
"Asuka, hold on tight."
"Yes!"
Wakamo planted her feet horizontally on the sheer cliff face.
The believers' screens flipped, soon entering what looked like a dark cave interior, but the wind flowed only one way.
-Stuck to the wall right now?
-Didn't you know? Wakamo-ball is a ninja!!
-Fox gods are listed as ninjas in the Kojiki too.
-Even in the Records of the Three Kingdoms?
-No greeting, just a sneak attack! Asuka lacks ninja qualities!
-She's a tengu, not a ninja, so it doesn't matter?
-Lmao
-But what kind of monster is that?
Wakamo drew her sword to parry the incoming tall bird's blade, countering as it fought her while treating the cliff like solid ground.
Asuka, clinging to her back, summoned white flame foxes that shot out, keeping the tall bird at bay with their harassment—it stepped back, unable to close in easily.
"Greetings, Lady Kōhakuchō. I am Wakamo Inarizushi."
Sensing something off, Wakamo casually introduced herself and named the monster.
But none of the viewers—whose numbers had surpassed ten thousand—questioned what a Kōhakuchō was or which tower it came from.
It had already appeared in Kyoto Tower too, but only at the highest levels among tengu—yet Aoi Asuka had at least left a record.
Whether it was the same individual was unknown, but "female tengu" did exist in Japan.
Yet... viewers from Korea, China, and Japan all gathered, and none knew of "Kōhakuchō"...?
"Greetings, Lady Wakamo Inarizushi. I am the crimson-blooded night-prowling harlot, Kōhakuchō. I shall kill you."
"...She spoke?"
Mimicking Wakamo, Kōhakuchō clasped her hands in prayer and bowed politely, then laughed at Wakamo's reaction.
Her eyes curved like a crescent moon, her lips stretching to her ears.
Though she had the face of a beautiful woman, she grinned a monstrous smile no human could make, gripped her sword hilt, and spread her wings.
Amid Wakamo batting away the feathers shooting from those wings, one slipped past the sword and pierced Wakamo's shoulder.
[[Poisoned by Kōhakuchō Toxin] Mana Recovery is impossible!]
An alert popped up, and Wakamo slid across the cliff top, charging forward.
Kōhakuchō spread her wings wide as if her earlier speed was child's play—*whoosh!*—overtaking Wakamo in a burst.
Wakamo deflected the flying feathers with her sword, but hidden among the straight-shooting ones...
Evading Wakamo's "eyes."
Evading the cameras scattered everywhere.
Feathers concealed within feathers stabbed wildly into Wakamo's body.
Not even aiming for vitals—as if to whittle her down slowly, she kept her distance, toying with her by flying in teasingly.
If Wakamo raised her [Gear] with [Idol's Body] for physical enhancement, she could keep up.
But Wakamo was burning too much [Mana] right now.
Yu Ying and Sadako were still streaming, draining mana there too.
Without recovery, this was a desperate situation.
She pulled out Yu Ying's antidote and drank it, but it did nothing—no healing at all.
*Slash—!!*
Kōhakuchō plummeted off the cliff top, then rode the wind back up like a swallow, sword drawn, diving at Wakamo.
"[Phantom Wind Swordsmanship]"
-It's Ami-pa style!!
-No, that sword art here????
-I've never seen that skill before!!
Fast—and vanishing elusively.
A sword that mesmerized like an illusion lunged at Wakamo—like a mirage—and plum blossoms bloomed along Wakamo's blade too.
*Clang—!*
The first clash ended instantly; Wakamo swung toward the falling plum blossoms, batting away a sword that emerged from empty air.
She had to discard all normal common sense and thinking.
Skills granted by the tower truly made anything possible!!
Both stepped forward, recoiled back, spun once, clashed swords, and leaped.
On a cliff, jumping meant falling—but Wakamo glared fiercely as Kōhakuchō charged.
In the frenzy of parrying, up and down had flipped!
Thus, mere wingbeats sent feathers ripping through the plum blossoms Wakamo scattered wildly in an instant.
Wakamo's [Kusanagi Sword] glowed, dispelling darkness with backlight to spot the shadow, but...
"[Jade Void Thirty-Six Swords]!"
The drawn sword shot toward Wakamo's brow.
To her sharpened senses, expanded by combat intuition, the sword loomed gigantic; the moment her gaze locked on the tip—instinctive hand-knife block from taekwondo defended her nape.
Not sword, but ingrained taekwondo reflex—as Kōhakuchō's blade buried halfway into Wakamo's arm.
Unlike the slow-seeming path—a feint impossible to dodge on cast, hiding the true slash for her throat.
"You're a master!!"
Grabbing the half-embedded blade to pin it, Wakamo seized Kōhakuchō's collar; with a *flap flap*, feathers burst and she vanished, passing Wakamo amid a wave of plummeting feathers, reappearing.
Plucking a wing feather, she resumed her sword stance.
Troublesome.
Escape arts if I try to grab her?
*Slash—*
*Whoosh.*
"Miss...!"
Seizing the momentary lapse in thought, Kōhakuchō sliced the cliff where Wakamo stood. As the floating sensation hit, Wakamo fused with the crumbling ledge, plummeting—desperately sprinting across debris, she leaped back toward the cliff.
And toward the appetizingly airborne foe, Kōhakuchō loosed feathers.
Predicting Wakamo's jump off a summoned camera, the feather hit her back, throwing balance—as Kōhakuchō shot in.
Intelligent humanoid monster.
Moreover, a brand-new one never discovered before!
Wielding swordsmanship, blocking mana use, rampaging in tight terrain... a beast any normal climber could beat.
What would Wakamo do now?
She yanked the sword from her arm and hurled it at Kōhakuchō.
Catching the flying sword, Kōhakuchō looked puzzled—but spotting something in the blade's reflection, she looked up to a face kick slamming in.
Aoi Asuka, wings spread, half-buried Kōhakuchō—who tumbled back-first into the cliff—and soared up.
"Behold—the pinnacle of onmyō arts!"
Foxfire bloomed in midair.
Flames erupted irregularly around Asuka, morphing into spears that thrust at Kōhakuchō.
She spread wings too, closing distance in an instant—
"[Kuzunoha Style Onmyō]"
Talismans thrown from her hand unfurled [Binding Magic Circle], wrapping Kōhakuchō's arms and suspending her midair.
Braking hard, as she flipped and formed another seal, she shouted.
"Come forth, [Wing-Clad Kitsune]!!"
With those words, the wind suddenly died.
Even magic has top-tier ranks.
The same for onmyō.
Intelligence 1,000—a value normal climbers couldn't reach easily.
Requiring 100 fully conquered floors for such stats, with enough "Magic Power," she could spam supreme onmyō.
Wakamo's egg on Asuka's shoulder.
Shareable with Wakamo meant shareable with Asuka too.
Asuka, via Wakamo's portal, brought crude talismans—chopped A4 paper, no sincerity—and burned massive mana to cast...
[Kuzunoha Style Onmyō].
A colossal fox erupted from below the cliff.
A white fox with nine tails roared, slamming into Kōhakuchō.
Shockwave threatening to collapse the whole area—soundless, the ground quaked.
The summoned giant kumiho rampaged, carving the cliff into a flat plain with sheer power.
Kōhakuchō shredded beyond recognition, the white fox tore and crunched, spat her into the ruins it made, and trampled.
*Shhh—*
Then, melting like snow, it faded hazily, the giant fox vanishing like a mirage.
A monster fox seeming from floor 90+.
Mere movement reshaping terrain with destructive force.
The ultimate [Kuzunoha Style Onmyō] summoning a building-sized kumiho!!
Viewers were speechless at the splendor of a skill that could raze a city if she willed it.
'It takes 20 minutes to cast and 400,000 mana, though...'
Of course, she didn't mention the hidden truth behind the flash.
It didn't last long—gone in just 30 seconds.
Wakamo climbed the cliff to the flat plain the kumiho made, catching her breath; Asuka approached, handing a mana potion.
Gazing at Kōhakuchō's distant corpse—wondering if more like her lay ahead, even using the egg's mana, it had been precarious...
Then, Kōhakuchō's form faded like a mirage.
*Pop!* Out burst a doll.
-Curse doll!!
-No, that's it! Item shamans use, takes hits instead...
-[Transfer Straw Doll].
-...So?
-She ain't dead.
*Clang—!!*
Without looking, Wakamo raised her sword and swung at empty air—blades clashed, Kōhakuchō recoiling in surprise.
'Useful.'
Faint ongoing glow caused 'refraction'—she caught it.
Impromptu, but clipper Wakamo, focused on footage, spotted the tiniest distortion.
-??? How'd she hit that??
-Couldn't hide her killing intent.
-This is real master combat.
-Hitting without seeing, that abbot's insane...
-Just how strong were Romance of the Three Kingdoms generals?
Even believers were getting serious now.
'Troublesome.'
If Wakamo had charged to one-shot with body enhancement possible and grazed a feather, no recovery—she'd die.
Minimize consumption to barely take it down?
Teetering on safety's edge, if it faked death and rose? Instant loss for Wakamo.
──And she'd read up to here.
The tower always watched Wakamo. Not just her—all climbers.
Fight familiar way? It pierced with unfamiliar counters—that's the "tower."
Even production jobs: mine ore, make pickaxe—suddenly, sew clothes.
Kōhakuchō stood triumphantly smirking—then drew not a sword, but a glaive, assuming stance.
Muscles swelled instantly to 2m giant—slender frame gone, matching Wakamo's build, charging with weapon swung.
Sword and glaive clashed; Wakamo groaned.
Asuka dashed behind, kicking flames at her.
Wakamo staggered, barely parrying glaive—Kōhakuchō pressed fiercer.
Pushed to the precipice, Wakamo's legs buckled, collapsing into a fall.
Kōhakuchō pursued, glaive high—
And locked eyes with Aoi Asuka holding Kusanagi.
A fake made with [Idol's Form].
So who was the Aoi Asuka riding Kōhakuchō's back now?
Locked coordinates from the mounting moment.
No matter how she twisted and flailed, Wakamo stood unshaken on her vast back like a platform.
"Sure kill—!!!"
Pinning one arm and leg each, snapping joints, riding wind.
Dizzying speed even for viewers—plummeting to cliff, accelerating further, Wakamo smashed Kōhakuchō's head into the wall.
"Wakamo Inferno!!"
Wakamo-exclusive sure kill, possible only because she couldn't fall!!
Immense impact spiderwebbed the cliff; Kōhakuchō's upper body buried deep.
"Got her?"
Before Asuka finished, wind blew from below up.
Cliff up-down flipped without warning.
Hair spiking skyward, Wakamo saw ragged Kōhakuchō standing.
Arms raised—some trump card?
Asuka was faster.
"I'll handle you."
Hidden from Kōhakuchō's sight: fishing line piercing through Wakamo's body—from her hand onward.
Realizing it coiled her neck too late, she panicked to snap it.
"Killer Fox! First Bomb!"
Finger snap—flames raced along line, wrapping her neck.
"[Idol's Flame]. No weaknesses!"
*Boom—!!!*
Dazzling white lily bloomed loudly.
Pillar of fire surged; head gone, white flames bored into body, cracking it.
From fissures, radiance burst—fiercer explosion devoured even fragments entirely.
"Now, tonight too... I can community in peace...."
Wakamo reeled in the line unseen by viewers, petting Asuka's head as she posed like some familiar.
"Asuka big victory!!"
Praised, Asuka hopped happily, beaming.
Adult women would blush at such words and acts, but viewers laughed along.
[Incheon Tower Floor 33 achieves Platinum, opening to all humanity!!]
[Tower Platinum clear increases rewards]
[Climber receives additional 10 stat points]
First no-retreat constraint on 10 floors, tower gave Wakamo her own 1-floor domain.
So for this trial... what fitting reward?
"......Hmmmm....????"
At the oh-so-subtle reward.
Wakamo made an expression too complex to describe.