VS CATS (4)
Caersi manifested a holy-power cat tail from her own and swung it straight at Jung Ayeon. "Get that fucking thing out of here right meow!!!"
"Ghh!"
Jung Ayeon was struck by the tail and sent flying far into the distance. Thanks to the Defensive Coat she wore, she avoided any serious injury. However, the earlier counterattack had knocked her out cold. From the look of it, immediate help from her was out of the question.
I quickly checked Jung Ayeon's condition and dashed toward Caersi, but—
"You shall not pass!!!!"
Furia blocked my path. Even though his holy power had completely vanished, he still stood firm, his body alone enough to hold the line.
Meanwhile, Caersi's face twisted with rage as she screamed, "Lord!!!! Grant me the power to fuck those bastards up nya!!!!!"
At her cry, the massive sphere in her hands began rapidly swelling in size, unlike before. Responding to Caersi's plea, the holy sphere grew at an alarming rate—as if even God refused to tolerate HAL.
I tried to slip past Furia and reach Caersi, but he kept cutting off my route. At the same time, he drew the sword from his waist and thrust it straight at my head.
"Give up!!!"
My body was already leaning forward in an attempt to reach Caersi, and I had no weapon materialized—only my bare hands. So I focused. I needed to think of a way out of this.
It didn't take long. I recalled someone who could help me right now. The moment the thought formed, I jerked my head back to dodge the incoming blade, then slammed my forehead straight into the thrusting sword without the slightest hesitation, unleashing the secret technique.
Choco-style Secret Art — Chihuahua Bite
My sturdy teeth clamped down on Furia's sword as if trying to shatter it. A sharp impact jolted through my teeth. At the same time, a faint metallic taste mixed with the coppery flavor of blood—my mouth had torn slightly.
Furia gave me a look of utter disbelief. "What the hell are you doing? You're not even a dog!"
"Tsk-hngh, grhh-zh mmm!!! (Don't badmouth Choco-type!!!)"
But this alone wasn't enough. Furia was already trying to yank his sword back while my teeth were still locked on it. So I didn't stop. I recalled my encounter with Choco and the secret art I had tasted there. A new realization struck me, and the technique manifested right here and now.
Choco-style Secret Art Combo — Death Rolling
I struck Furia's right arm—the one gripping the sword—with my left hand. Of course, the violent impact traveled through my teeth straight to my skull. My teeth went numb and my vision shook, but I forced myself to endure.
Furia's grip loosened for an instant from the sudden blow. It wasn't enough to make him drop the sword, but it was all I needed. Seizing that opening, I replicated the exact Death Rolling Choco had once used on me. With the blade still clamped firmly between my teeth, I poured power into my legs and executed a backflip. I performed Death Rolling on the sword Furia held.
The unexpected direction of force made him lose his grip. Now it was my turn to thrust the blade.
"What do you think you can do with just one sword?!"
"Cat pelts are pretty expensive! Three times the usual price!"
Furia skillfully brought up his left-hand shield and blocked my assault. The sword I thrust dug slightly into a crack in the shield. Using my right foot as a pivot, I spun backward and slammed the pommel of the embedded sword with my left elbow.
— Crack!
The sword sank deeper into the shield. A breaking sound rang out as cracks spread across the entire shield. An opening. I grabbed the hilt embedded in the shield with my left hand in a reverse grip and poured mana into it. At the same time, I condensed enough mana for three Cheonma Repulsor shots in my right hand and drove it into the shield.
Furia, who had predicted what I was about to do, shouted in panic, "S-stop! Stop!!!"
"If you're a man, use a greatsword instead of a shield!!!"
Several sounds overlapped. A violent explosion. The metallic ring of shattered sword fragments scattering. A pained groan. And finally, the shattering roar of the once-impenetrable shield breaking apart.
With that sound, I took another step forward. I fired another Cheonma Repulsor at Furia's blurry silhouette. Just as a faint sense of relief washed over me that this was the end, I turned to run toward Caersi—
"Where do you think you're going!"
"Fuck."
Furia was still blocking my path. Though his armor was completely destroyed and blood poured from wounds all over his body, the fact that he was still standing felt like a miracle.
Just before Furia lunged at me, the number above his head increased by one. It was the first time I had seen Furia regress since the fight began. Naturally, since we were right next to each other, mirror fragments appeared. Through them, I saw the future Furia had experienced: "I" stepping on the body blow from his left hand and kicking his left temple.
Back in reality, Furia threw the exact same left-hand body blow. At the same time, he raised his right hand to guard his left temple. It seemed he was trying to catch the moment I kicked him.
So I made my choice.
— Thud!
"W-what?!"
I took the body blow from his left hand instead. My ribs cracked; blood welled up in my mouth. I used that to set up my final gamble. Please, Deputy Manager Han!
"Heavenly Breath!!!!!"
I spat the mouthful of blood straight into Furia's face with all my strength. In the original it had been a flash of light, but since Jesus shed red blood, this should fall into a similar category.
Furia, whose eyes were suddenly filled with flying blood, began frantically rubbing them. I seized the opening and pressed my left palm against his solar plexus. Feeling my touch, Furia burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!!! You've already used all six Cheonma Repulsor shots!"
"This isn't limited to six shots."
"What?"
Furia stopped rubbing his eyes and stared at me with wide eyes. He tried to swing a fist to push me away, but it was already too late. Mana was condensing once more in my left palm.
"Maximum of eight shots."
"That was never mentioned!"
"Obviously."
The condensed mana exploded.
"Because it was revealed in this episode."
"That doesn't make any sense—!"
Before Furia could finish, another explosion rang out. This time, no miracle occurred. Furia collapsed on the spot.
I tried to run toward Caersi, but—
"My preparations are complete nya!!!"
"Fuck."
I was a little too late. Two massive yellow spheres now floated above Caersi's hands. One thing was certain: getting hit by those would end everything in a single blow.
I pointed at the spheres and shouted desperately. No matter how I looked at it, this was balance-breaking. "New Year Burst, stop!!! That'll shatter the novel's balance!!!"
"Stop saying things that will get us reported nya!!!!!"
'Shit, she's got a point.'
Staring at the spheres, I made Caersi an offer. "How about we call this a draw?"
"It's over nya!!!!"
Caersi hurled one of the spheres from her right hand at me. It flew toward me at neither a fast nor slow speed. At the same time, the sphere gradually changed shape until it resembled a cat's paw pad. It was too large to dodge. In the end, I had no choice but to take it head-on.
[What are you going to do?!]
'I've got to try something.'
The last remaining shield from the 9 o'clock Mana Tattoo on my right hand. It could cover my body, but compared to the incoming paw pad, it was ridiculously small. Just as I poured strength into the hand holding the shield—
— Thud.
"Huh?"
Something was placed over my head. It was something very familiar to me. Right—the Defensive Coat. Jung Ayeon, who had regained consciousness at some point, had draped it over me. She snatched the shield from my hand and leaped toward the incoming sphere. Standing her ground before the paw pad, she slammed the shield into the ground as if to confront it head-on. Then she looked back at me and spoke.
"Hey! Jung Ayeon! What are you doing?!"
"Young Master."
Jung Ayeon's face was tense, a hint of fear in her eyes. Yet she didn't run. Instead, with a determined expression, she said, "This lady does not wish to lose."
"Get back here right now!"
Jung Ayeon squeezed out every last bit of her strength and summoned her final familiar. It was the amorphous slime I had seen when she fought alongside Hyeji. It was certainly large, but still far too small compared to the incoming sphere. I finally broke into a run to grab Jung Ayeon, but the distance was too great. My judgment had been too slow to move earlier.
Jung Ayeon looked at me and smiled faintly. "So you must not lose either, Young Master."
"Hey!!!"
She turned her back to me and faced the sphere directly. Then, in a quiet voice, she spoke one final word.
"A promise."
At that moment, the sphere and the slime collided.