Chapter 88

□ Duel City Gideon West <Jand Prairie>

"Wind Hoof... Activate!!"

As Lei declared, the silver statue carrying Lei began to distort. The distortion was due to the compressed air barrier deployed by Wind Hoof, which caused the light to bend.

"...Why here?"

When Franklin saw this skill, he let out a voice of surprise and confusion. It wasn't because he was seeing something unknown, but because he was wondering why a known skill was being used here.

"That's a skill for 'movement and defense,' right?"

When Lei obtained the [Lustrous Jade Horse - Silver Wind], Lei's body was still parasitized by [PSS]. Naturally, he had the information. He knew about the skill called Wind Hoof, which provided a compressed air barrier and the ability to walk in the air, essentially adding flight capability. These were common skills for special equipment and monsters that could be ridden. Therefore, he had taken countermeasures. He had positioned his attack organs as familiars all over his body and designed them to shoot down the light bullets based on their number. If Wind Hoof were an attack, he would have equipped a defensive function, but it wasn't necessary.

"Nothing strange is written here, and even if he uses that... nothing will happen, right?"

While checking the equipment skills of [Silver] with his own skills, Franklin voiced his thoughts, as if confirming with himself, trying to mask the inexplicable unease he felt.

--- In conclusion, Franklin's judgment was not wrong.

--- Wind Hoof is a skill that creates a compressed air barrier and allows aerial movement.

--- Normally, it wouldn't be anything special.

--- Except when combined with certain equipment.

"--- [Gouz Maze]!!"

Lei added another word. In response, the purple and black leather boots attached to his feet growled like moving corpses and flickered.

"Pour... all the MP!!"

Instantly, Lei's boots—[Purple Grievance Walk Armor Gouz Maze]—released purple energy—mana—into the air. Mana, which should be colorless and transparent, was a terrifying purple when released from [Purple Grievance Walk Armor]. This was because the mana had been stored through the equipment skill [Grievance Conversion], which stored the surrounding grievance and negative thoughts and converted them into the wearer's SP or MP. The amount of mana was enormous, far surpassing even high-level magic users. It was even comparable to super-grade magic users.

"...Oh, oh."

Franklin took a slight step back at the energy. The value was equivalent to hundreds of thousands of MP, the total of dozens of maxed-out high-level magic users.

"That skill, huh?"

Franklin knew about [Purple Grievance Walk Armor]'s [Grievance Conversion] because he had investigated Lei. Therefore, what he found incomprehensible was the source of that enormous amount of mana.

"Where could such a quantity of grievance come from... Damn it."

As Franklin spoke, he realized and spat out the words. He had realized.

"It's me...!"

That grievance, those negative thoughts, were "caused by the game Franklin had created."

Numerous modified monsters and PKs were rampant, and he was still inciting the release of monsters into the city through live broadcasts. This had created the "fear" of tens of thousands of people in Gideon, which had been stored by [Purple Grievance Walk Armor] as it moved through the city, and was now being converted into mana. While the energy from the dead was the best source for [Gouz Maze], the fear emanating from the living was slightly inferior. However, with tens of thousands of people, even the energy absorbed from the air was enormous, converting into hundreds of thousands of MP.

(Is this my mistake? No, it wasn't a mistake. This was an unavoidable event. Wait, the current problem is...)

Franklin had anticipated that Lei would channel the MP from [Grievance Conversion] into skills like [Inferno Flame], [Hell Miasma], or [Reversal Like a Flapping Flag]. The problem was that these were now meaningless, and why Lei had released such a vast amount of mana.

And the answer was soon revealed.

The mana released from [Purple Grievance Walk Armor] was absorbed by [Silver].

--- Immediately after, a fierce wind blew.

It came from the north, south, west, and east, from all directions. No, it wasn't wind. The air around the area was being sucked towards [Silver].

--- "By pouring the rider's MP, a compressed air barrier is created."

To bring out the true potential of the skill Wind Hoof, Lei used hundreds of thousands of MP to continuously compress the surrounding air. Eventually, Lei's figure, along with [Silver], disappeared. In its place was a pitch-black sphere—a compressed air barrier that had become opaque due to the extreme compression.

"...!"

The moment Franklin saw the sphere, he understood everything. The compressed air barrier created by that vast amount of MP was not just a barrier.

"[RSK], move! Retreat!"

The sphere was opaque, so it couldn't see the outside. If [RSK] moved, Lei would have no way to target it.

"Not a chance!!"

However, a [Paladin]—Sir Lindos—acted to restrict [RSK]'s movement.

"Grand Cross!!"

Sir Lindos unleashed a full-power restraining attack. The holy light had no effect on [RSK], but that was fine. Even without taking damage, the pressure of the holy light slowed its movement. Everything was to ensure that Lei's attack would hit.

"Damn! [Summon...!"

Franklin tried to summon a new modified monster to break the crisis, but before he could, a black wind rushed towards [RSK]. Sir Lindos quickly dodged the trajectory and put some distance between them. [RSK], now free, tried to retreat, but it was too late.

--- The black sphere collided with [RSK].

However, it didn't touch [RSK]. It was blocked by the [Material Barrier] [RSK] had deployed. Yes, no matter how high the compression density, it was still a barrier. It didn't increase the attack power. [RSK] understood this and felt relieved, along with the realization.

"Damn."

The creator of [RSK] clicked his tongue, knowing it couldn't be avoided.

"--- Wind Hoof, deactivate."

The voice came from within the compressed air barrier, audible only inside. However, what it did was visible to everyone.

The black sphere disappeared, and immediately after, a massive explosion occurred.

The explosion tore through the [Material Barrier] like paper and struck [RSK] directly.

◇◇◇

Lei Starling's discovery of this phenomenon was accidental. It happened during a morning test of Wind Hoof, when he was thinking about how to effectively utilize the inconvenient compressed air barrier. The compressed air barrier, even when Lei poured his MP to the limit, could be broken by the attacks of monsters in the [Nex Plain]. Lei concluded that the performance of the compressed air barrier was low due to his MP. However, Lei had a sudden idea.

"Let's try combining it with [Purple Grievance Walk Armor]."

The MP collected through [Grievance Conversion] over the past two days (still far more than Lei's maximum) was stored. "If I use this with Wind Hoof, it might create a much stronger barrier," Lei thought. It was correct; a barrier incomparably stronger was formed. The monsters couldn't break through it even when swarming. The downside was that it blocked the view, but Lei thought it could be useful depending on the situation. After the experiment, when Lei tried to deactivate Wind Hoof and engage the surrounding monsters, the explosion occurred.

It might be more accurate to call it a burst. Amid the rising dust and the rain of shattered monsters, Lei and Nemesis tilted their heads in confusion.

But the explanation was simple. The barrier created by Wind Hoof was just compressed air. Therefore, even when Wind Hoof was deactivated, "the collected air didn't disappear." The collected air, losing its container, spread out, causing an explosion. It was like a balloon bursting, but on a scale of hundreds or thousands of times larger. The difference from a bomb was merely the absence of shrapnel; the blast pressure alone could easily tear apart living bodies. It was a natural result. Fortunately, [Silver] had a mechanism to avoid the explosion, and Lei and Nemesis were unharmed. Otherwise, it would have been a severe penalty. However, the surrounding carnage, with monster flesh and soil mixed and raining down, was enough to make them hesitate about using it again.

Thus, after consulting with Nemesis, Lei decided to seal this method of use, which would indiscriminately explode and affect everyone except themselves.

In the end, it took much more MP that day than the experiment.

◇◇◇

Lei himself couldn't estimate the power of the explosion if all the hundreds of thousands of MP stored in [Purple Grievance Walk Armor] were channeled into Wind Hoof. But,

"...It seems to have been powerful enough to break through that barrier."

In front of Lei, [RSK] lay on the ground, its upper half missing, exposing its internal organs. The damage wasn't limited to [RSK]; the surrounding ground was torn up, no longer resembling a prairie. The power was far beyond Lei's expectations. If used near people, it would have been a disaster.

"...I guess this skill can't be used when the Royal Knights are down."

Lei looked around to check if Lilianna, Sir Lindos, and the other Royal Knights were safe. They were.

"Alright."

Lei turned back to [RSK]. The battle wasn't over yet. [RSK] was still alive, as it hadn't been reduced to dust. Lei hadn't expected to defeat [RSK] with just the explosion from deactivating Wind Hoof. More importantly,

"Of course, it can regenerate."

[RSK] had started to regenerate, like [Gouz Maze] did when Lei faced it yesterday, with flesh gradually rising and reconstructing the damaged body. An opponent that could grow monsters from its body. This was something Lei had anticipated. Therefore, he decided to finish it off.

"...Let's go."

Lei ran [Silver] towards [RSK], which was still regenerating. [RSK]'s regeneration speed increased as its volume grew, and the wounds gradually closed. As regeneration progressed, other functions also recovered, and cracks reappeared, shooting light bullets at Lei approaching [RSK]. However, the number of light bullets was fewer than before. The familiars on the upper half of [RSK]'s body had been destroyed by the explosion from Wind Hoof. Additionally, [RSK]'s main body was still regenerating, and energy wasn't being allocated to generating familiars. It was natural for the barrage to thin out.

"Break through... Silver!"

Rushing through the air with Wind Hoof, dodging the rain of light bullets, Silver closed in on [RSK].

"Make it in time...!!"

The moment Silver reached [RSK], Lei jumped off and thrust his left arm into the last wound on [RSK].

"...!"

The unpleasant sensation of warm flesh pressing against his arm was there, but it wasn't enough to crush it.

"[Galdoranda]!!"

Lei activated the flame jets on the back of his left hand—[Miasma Flame Gauntlet Galdoranda]—inside [RSK].

"Haha... Useless, useless. I already said that [Inferno Flame] and [Hell Miasma] don't work, didn't I?"

It was Franklin's mocking voice, now familiar to Lei. Though he couldn't see Franklin, his voice echoed around.

"The attack earlier surprised me, but you can't do that again, right?"

"Yeah. I used up all the MP stored in [Gouz Maze], so I can't use the same trick again."

"Then you have no more moves, do you?"

Franklin laughed, but,

"Not necessarily. I can still burn this thing."

Lei smiled and replied.

"...Why such a futile attempt? [Inferno Flame] didn't work when you came here, remember?"

As Franklin said, the [Inferno Flame] Lei had used earlier had no effect. But,

"Can this thing nullify any attack, no matter where it's hit?"

"..."

Lei's words made Franklin's voice falter.

"For example, wouldn't fire work if it's inside the body?"

It was entirely possible that [RSK] could only nullify attacks on the surface. After all,

"If it could nullify anything, it wouldn't tell you that it can nullify attacks. You have a bad personality, you know."

That was the main reason. If there were no weaknesses, it wouldn't say such things, Lei's intuition told him.

"Useless or not... I'll find out now."

Lei poured all his remaining MP into [Miasma Flame Gauntlet Galdoranda].

"Wait—"

"—[Inferno Flame], full blast!!"

Inside [RSK], a demonic flame raged.

The flame filled [RSK]'s body, spewing out from numerous cracks and flowing back through the wound Lei's arm was inserted into.

[RSK]'s flesh, attack familiars, central nervous system, and even Lei's left arm were all consumed by the red-black flames spewing from [RSK].

"Let's see who can outlast whom, my nemesis!!"

"■■■■■...!!!"

[RSK], without a mouth, let out a silent scream. It shook its body to throw Lei off, flailing its tentacles to knock him away. Breaking its own rule of not attacking Lei, [RSK] was being burned from the inside. However, Lei held on, using [Nemesis]—the black greatsword in his right hand—to pin one of [RSK]'s eyelids. He withstood the tentacles hitting his back, relying on his own durability. His left arm was burning, his back was being hit, and his HP was visibly decreasing. But Lei wouldn't stop the flames. He had already decided that the flames would stop only when he or [RSK] died. Despite his finite HP and MP running out...

"[Gouz Maze]!!"

When Lei spoke these words, he didn't have a clear plan. But he was calling out to the怨念的怪物，他正用作踏板的[RSK]。

而[戈兹迷宫]则通过这一句话完成了任务。

即，从现在正因痛苦和愤怒而成为负面情绪集合体的[RSK]那里进行[怨念转换]。直接吸收巨大怪物[RSK]散发的怨念，将其转换为MP，输送到雷和雷的左臂。

获得的MP使[加尔多兰达]的火焰更加猛烈，雷则持续给自己施加恢复魔法。释放的火焰转化为[RSK]的痛苦，[戈兹迷宫]吸收痛苦并转换为MP。

这就像一个永动机。

然而，没有永恒的东西。

没有不坏的东西。

在一段无法确定是长是短的时间后……某样东西坏掉了。

在熊熊燃烧的红黑色火焰中，一个影子崩塌了。

◇◇◇

那天晚上，住在吉迪恩城的提安等人被恐惧所笼罩。城市中放出了凶恶的怪物，<大师>之间的战斗破坏了街道。有人躲在家中，有人前往紧急避难设施，有人在小巷中抱膝颤抖，有人在竞技场中与处境相同的人交谈，分享不安。为了煽动他们的恐惧，多个影像被投射到吉迪恩城的天空中。那是穿着白大褂的怪人和巨大怪物的身影，以及与之对抗的三位[圣骑士]的身影。怪人说，如果他们不能在规定时间内击败怪物，无数的怪物将摧毁吉迪恩。人们的恐惧加剧，他们成为了等待绝望时刻到来的囚徒。

然而，在绝望逼近的同时，他们还有一丝希望。

那就是，影像中的人们正在战斗。

面对巨大的怪物，只有三个人在不断挑战。他们的身影本身就是对抗绝望的希望。

最终，一位[圣骑士]，也是唯一的<大师>，一位青年被火焰包围，与怪物一起燃烧。他的火焰不仅烧毁了怪物，也烧毁了他自己。巨大的触手一次又一次地击打他，但他没有放弃，没有停止。

就这样，对于行动者和旁观者来说，时间既漫长又短暂。

一个——“巨大的”影子崩塌了。

十个触手崩塌，球状的肉块露出黑色的内侧……最终，一切都化为光尘，消散在风中。

在消散的光中，有一个青年的身影。

他的左臂因自己释放的火焰而炭化。

全身因触手的多次打击而伤痕累累，身上的装备也已面目全非。

然而，他的眼中仍留有力量。

他的右手中握着一把黑色的大剑，支撑着他的身体。

他用尽最后的力气，举起了右手。

向身处恐惧中的吉迪恩城的人们，展示恐惧已经离去。

或者展示自己的胜利。

就像吉迪恩城的居民们多次在竞技场中看到的英雄们一样，他举起了胜利的右臂。

就这样，下一刻……吉迪恩城被欢呼声包围。

To be continued

下一次更新是明天21:00。

(=ↀωↀ=)＜第三章隐藏难度

(=ↀωↀ=)＜从第二章结束时起，不给雷和涅墨西斯添加新的技能（应用除外）

(=ↀωↀ=)＜虽然有[风蹄]，但技能说明在第三章，所以达成度可能只有50%左右