Chapter 190
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Anote:
At last, at last, ……!
===*
After the roaring storm, a silence slowly descended in the temple ground and three shadows standing next to each other.
Drago, Arthur, and Nocturne.
Rou was still hiding behind her skills. And Sukuna was nowhere to be seen. She had been thrown a dozen meters away from the shrine grounds to the very corner of this zone by the recoil of her own attack.
Nocturne took a clean hit from an extremely ideal combo of [Soryuu] to [Toe Sakura], then [Zenken Yui], and yet she still held her ground.
One of her HP gauges was broken, and the second one had already lost 30% of its points.
However, in contrast to Sukuna, who had been blown tens of meters away by the recoil of the technique she had unleashed, Nocturne was still standing in the middle of the temple grounds.
“So… that’s Zenken….”
“The power is too great. Or perhaps because Nocturne has managed to stand her ground, the person who hit her was flying off like a bullet instead.”
After spending three minutes preparing for the secret move, the two girls’ faces twitched slightly as they watched the Sukuna blown away.
When Sukuna had previously unleashed her Zenken, the shockwave alone was enough to shatter the giant dragon.
Back then, because of the 10x buff to her strength value due to [Furious Rage], Sukuna was able to obliterate her opponent through one-sided attacks, so the physical impact was low.
But this time, the Zenken was hitting Nocturne directly, and because Nocturne herself was able to endure the attack without backing down, the recoil bounced back at Sukuna.
And as far as Arthur could see, Nocturne had struck back the moment she hit her, and the fact that Sukuna had abandoned her defense for the sake of activating [Douji no Mai] probably contributed further amplified the massive recoil she received.
“Well, Sukuna isn’t dead, is she? I somewhat know the effect of [Douji no Mai], and it hasn’t been thirty seconds since she used it.”
“The party’s status shows that she’s still alive, with only 1 HP left, ah… she’s also suffering from skill stun.”
“It really was a massive recoil, and to be honest, it was weirder if after dealing so much damage, the price you have to pay is just get blown off.”
From what Drago said, it seemed that Sukuna had not only been blown away but was also stunned.
Since the effect of the [Douji no Mai] had already worn off, if Nocturne tried to crush her now, Sukuna would most likely die.
“We will have to protect her.”
“Yeah.”
“What about Rou?”
“As far as I can tell, she’s alive and well.”
“That’s good. Pull yourself together, Drago. This is where it all begins.”
“I know.”
There was no more time for small talk because the battle was already moving into its final phase.
Drago has equipped both ears with earrings and uses her signature Named weapon that she had stowed away earlier in the battle.
Arthur now wore knight armor with a red cloak instead of her traditional dress.
Now that each of them has shown their secret plan for the decisive battle, it won’t be long from here until the end, whatever the result will be.
“…let me praise and acknowledge, you are indeed a mighty warrior who deserves my serious self,” Nocturne muttered with satisfaction. “In this one-night longing, that was a dreamlike time guided by the moonlight. As a reward for this unique experience, I will show you my true power.”
Despite her inferiority, Sukuna has pushed her to this point, and to honor that, Nocturne was about to show her the highest form of respect.
The human-formed Nocturne is releasing the power she’s been kept hidden. A power as one of the Wolf Kings family, the original form she should be in.
It took her a full ten seconds to change into a Giant Wolf with silver moon-colored fur. And the moment Nocturne’s golden eyes stare at Drago and Arthur, they can’t help but feel tremendous pressure.
“[Moonlight Sanctuary – Mikazuki].”
A voice was heard, this not a roaring sound that shook the air, but a voice that resonated deeply in everyone’s minds, and at that moment, Tenma vanished, replaced by the Crescent Moon illuminating the night’s darkness.
The moonlight pouring down was thin and small, but it’s enough to illuminate Nocturne, the Wolf King of the Moon.
“My name is Nocturne, the Wolf King of the Moon. Let this dreamlike battle continue.”
A battle under the moon.
Moon Wolf King’s roar signal the opening act of the final battle.
☆
(What the hell is this monster?)
A minute after the battle resumed, Arthur inwardly screamed.
“Crescent Moon Claw!” {Mikazuki no Soukoku}
“GUH!!”
The moment Nocturne swung its arm, five crescent-shaped slashes flew toward Arthur.
I was a high-speed slash imbued by a high-rank attribute: moonlight. Considering the size of this area, there’s no way to escape its range. That’s why Arthur’s option was only to avoid it.
As she managed to do sidestep and avoid it, Nocturne has silently approached and swing her claw in close range.
(DAMN IT!)
“UWAGH!”
Arthur swung her Sword from an impractical angle, the collision between her Sword and the claw strike made a screeching sound, but in the end, Arthur managed to deflect her claw.
The slash she just used is troublesome, but even more, the power of her attacks that has jumped beyond imagination, Nocturne’s current status is nothing but brutality for Arthur.
In her beast state, there exists a hopeless status difference between Arthur and Nocturne. The gap was so wide, to the point where her blade could not scratch her skin.
But there were two reasons why Arthur was somehow able to deflect Nocturne’s attacks.
The first is the activation of her [Sword Saint] skill, [Kenshin Possession – Third{Sanban}].
It’s a very powerful buffing art that temporarily boosts one physical status even more than the [Second{Niban}] does, which she used in her previous battle with Kokuyo.
On top of this, an Epic Rarity armor, [Merstiv’s Legacy Armor], which she had switched to earlier.
It’s an item she got along with [Sword Saint] skill, the catch is, the armor cannot be equipped before one using [Kenshin Possession – Third], and if you do, you’re forced to equip it.
Arthur personally doesn’t like the idea of battle in full armor, and since she rarely uses her [Sword Saint] skill, she has only worn it once.
However, just by equipping it, the wearer will be immune to all status ailments. It also has innate high defense.
That’s why, as much as she hates it, it was her own decision to use this now.
“You are wide open!”
Nocturne, who was showing an opening because she was aiming at Arthur, was greeted by Drago’s Great Sword.
“[Crescent Moonlight]” {Mikazuki no Rinko}
“Kuh! Am I too naïve?”
Her slash was blocked by a shield of light, and in return, she took the claw swung at her with the Sword’s body.
This barrier technique to block physical attacks heightened Nocturne’s troublesomeness, making it difficult for Drago and Arthur to launch attacks.
However, Drago was also able to catch Nocturne’s attacks without losing her ground.
The secret was another named weapon that she had switched from the [Azure Heaven Sword].
The name of this weapon is [Kokugenken – Falma]. {Promised Time Sword – Falma}
It’s the third named weapon in Drago’s arsenal, after the [Azure Heaven Sword], the successor of her previous [Heaven Sword].
This weapon is inferior to the [Azure Heaven Sword] in terms of status, however, the power of this weapon lies in its skills.
This weapon’s Named Skill, [Courage of Falma], is a skill with a very specific activation condition: it activates for a period of time equal to [the amount of time you hold this weapon during a battle].
And once activated, it cannot be activated again for a week, which is massive for a cool-down time.
It is a skill designed to be used for long periods, such as in raid battles or named battles like this.
Its effect is to [nullify all mental abnormalities and double all status except HP].
Drago’s current level is 99 and has a well-balanced build. If not for that, there’s no way she can stand toe-to-toe with Nocturne.
The two trump card is proven effective against Nocturne, who probably had a status increase of almost 1.5 times from her humanoid form.
That said, it was just barely.
Even now, they continue to take damage in various places, but naturally, they’re also trying to fight back.
“Damn it! Where is Rou!?”
“She probably busy saving Sukuna!”
“At least say something before you do!!”
As if to hide each other’s weakness, the two of them exchanged a desperate talk as they fought off Nocturne’s attacks with stunning coordination.
As usual, there was no sign of Rou on the battlefield, and this time she didn’t even give them any support.
(She didn’t seem to be lying when she said she was going to play her trump card. She had saved our skin many before. So why is her support suddenly gone? If you are going to help Sukuna, fine! but if not, why…?)
Drago pondered while trying to survive Nocturne’s assault.
Rou’s support earlier had been superb. It’s because of Rou a balance was somehow established in this party, albeit selfishly.
But now, there was none of that. It’s possible that she’s trying to save the still stunned Sukuna from being dying, but since Nocturne’s attack is not directed at Sukuna at all at the moment, waiting for her to wake up on her own is also an option.
(Is she waiting until we’re dead, or is it some trump card that can’t be activated when we’re fighting? We don’t have enough information about her to make any assumptions, but… whatever it is, it’s going to take a lot of tolls to fend off this rampage with only two of us.)
Drago’s secret card [Falma’s Courage] was only turned on early in this battle, so she’s still had 15 minutes left.
But that was not the case with Arthur; as she has stated before, her skill was only suitable for short terms fights.
She probably still has some hidden burst attack aside for her buff since she calls it [Secret Art{Hissatsu, tln1}].
However, it will be useless if Arthur doesn’t activate it before the buff wears off. And within this onslaught, there’s no chance to use it.
“Crescent Moon Claw.”
“Tsk!”
The two of them jumped back to avoid the unblockable attack, but as they did, countless butterflies appeared in Nocturne’s surroundings.
“[Luna Arc Flower].” {tln2}
More butterflies than one could count covered the field of vision of the two players as if want to hurt them.
It is impossible to cancel out an attack imbued with moonlight attributes. You can guard against it, but guarding against the higher attributes will tremendously deteriorate your weapon’s durability.
So, the two of them have no choice but to evade, but since they can’t evade everything, the butterflies feast on the two avatars and devour them.
(Damn, what a pain in the ass! It’s just fast and many, but that’s exactly why it’s hard to avoid!)
And all the damage is magic damage. Noticing this, Arthur immediately took out a potion from her pocket and crushed it.
She doesn’t even have time to drink it, but by crushing the potion, she could recover some of the damage by smearing it all over her body.
([Third] won’t last much longer. And The [Fourth] is even shorter. If it continues like this, I’ll be in a pinch. If I can exchange the blow, the story might be different, but the situation won’t permit it… I cannot depend on Rou anymore, and Sukuna hasn’t recovered yet! ALSO! Isn’t the duration of her skill stun too long!?)
Arthur bit her lips at the dire situation as she evaded the Crescent Moon Claw that flew at her again.
[Sword Saint] can activate more powerful buffs by connecting the [Kenshin Possession] in order from the bottom, but the duration of each buff becomes shorter in exchange.
The [Third] that is currently being activated and the next [Fourth] are not buffs that will last as long as Drago’s [Falma’s Courage].
(Please, both of you. Come back before we die!)
Arthur prayed and took advantage of the miraculous opening she had created to slice through Nocturne’s body.
☆
(…Where am I……?)
Thanks to the double recoil caused by Zenken and Nocturne’s fist counter, Sukuna was blown to the corner of the shrine ground.
She’s now awoken, feeling clouded and dizzy.
Sukuna’s back is leaning against the wall; her vision is dark, probably because she looks down.
She can see the almost depleted blinking HP at the edge of her vision, but she can’t move even if she wants to.
She calmly took a second look and saw herself inflicted by stun, a regret surfacing as Sukuna wondered why she didn’t avoid that last counter.
(…I don’t know if there’s anything I can do, though.)
If she listened carefully, barely she could hear the sounds of battle, even though it was muffled.
Perhaps Drago, Rou, and Arthur are fighting Nocturne, who has released her true form.
If that’s the case, it seems that Nocturne’s counterattack had taken her consciousness for more time than she had expected.
But it’s natural and that’s what the stun state is all about. When a player is stunned, the avatar will enter a state of pseudo-faint just before the stun is lifted.
On the bright side, the fact that she had just regained consciousness meant that the stun state would soon be lifted.
(Then again, why is it that there isn’t a single scratch on my vicinity even though I was thrown by that kind of force?)
Sukuna was pretty sure she heard a cracking sound just before she lost consciousness, but as far as she could barely see, there was not a scratch on the ground.
The wall that she was resting her back against should have had the biggest crack, but Sukuna couldn’t feel any of it from the touch of her back.
She wondered if it had been automatically repaired or if the cracking sound was just her imagination?
Even so, it would have been strange if there hadn’t been even a speck of dust, and by looking around carefully, she could tell there was no airflow in this space at all.
Even though this is a virtual space, the air is circulating in this world. This situation should not be possible as long as there’s some atmosphere.
“… It’s as if this is a place that is isolated from the rest of the world.”
The stun is still persisted, but apparently, Sukuna’s mouth will work once the consciousness returns.
To think of it, Nocturne was like that too, Sukuna thought.
“That’s right.”
“……?”
Sukuna’s murmur was answered by a familiar voice, she widens her eyes in surprise, and the owner of the voice lets out a chuckle.
“I’m glad you’ve come to this place. Thanks to it, I was able to drag you into my world without much trouble.”
The owner of the voice does not try to hide her happy emotions as she speaks.
The voice belonged to the warrior who had come to the battlefield today.
But it was not Drago’s.
It was not Arthur’s.
And it was not Rou’s.
It also didn’t belong to Nocturne.
It was the voice of none other than Sukuna herself.
It’s literally the voice she has heard the most since she was born.
She understood and realized who was in front of her.
The moment Sukuna is released from the stun, she raises her head and looks at the being standing in front of her.
Standing in her vision stand a girl wearing the original Red Wolf Attire.
There was a gaping hole in her side as if she had been pierced by something, and her whole body was covered in dirt as if she just had been in battle.
There was no way Sukuna didn’t recognize this figure. And she couldn’t help but utter her name.
“Shuten…?”
“That’s correct. It’s been a while, Sukuna. It’s good to see you doing well.”
The Lord of Kakuriyo{Other Side}, whom she encountered only twice in the past, took on the form of past Sukuna that using her body as a reference.
This was an existence hailed as the strongest, the one who been sealed by Creator God.
The one and only Kishin, Shuten Douji, now nastily smiled as she looked at the scarred Sukuna.
TL Note:
Hissatsu: okay, I do believe many of you already know what this means, but just in case… it’s usually used in martial arts, I don’t know if there’s any game that uses these terms, but as far as I know, they do not use it inside game terms.
But the heck with that, this author will throw anything cool in her works, lol.
Anyway, I want to tell you that Arthur’s art was a separate move from the usual [art] but a class of her own [secret art]. Okay scratch that, turns out later Sukuna also have her hissatsu.
Tln2:
Luna Arc Flower(furigana) is written as Moonlight Dream: Flower’s Butterflies – in kanji; don’t ask… it’s literally what the author writes. I have no control over that.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Anote:
At last, at last, ……!
===*
After the roaring storm, a silence slowly descended in the temple ground and three shadows standing next to each other.
Drago, Arthur, and Nocturne.
Rou was still hiding behind her skills. And Sukuna was nowhere to be seen. She had been thrown a dozen meters away from the shrine grounds to the very corner of this zone by the recoil of her own attack.
Nocturne took a clean hit from an extremely ideal combo of [Soryuu] to [Toe Sakura], then [Zenken Yui], and yet she still held her ground.
One of her HP gauges was broken, and the second one had already lost 30% of its points.
However, in contrast to Sukuna, who had been blown tens of meters away by the recoil of the technique she had unleashed, Nocturne was still standing in the middle of the temple grounds.
“So… that’s Zenken….”
“The power is too great. Or perhaps because Nocturne has managed to stand her ground, the person who hit her was flying off like a bullet instead.”
After spending three minutes preparing for the secret move, the two girls’ faces twitched slightly as they watched the Sukuna blown away.
When Sukuna had previously unleashed her Zenken, the shockwave alone was enough to shatter the giant dragon.
Back then, because of the 10x buff to her strength value due to [Furious Rage], Sukuna was able to obliterate her opponent through one-sided attacks, so the physical impact was low.
But this time, the Zenken was hitting Nocturne directly, and because Nocturne herself was able to endure the attack without backing down, the recoil bounced back at Sukuna.
And as far as Arthur could see, Nocturne had struck back the moment she hit her, and the fact that Sukuna had abandoned her defense for the sake of activating [Douji no Mai] probably contributed further amplified the massive recoil she received.
“Well, Sukuna isn’t dead, is she? I somewhat know the effect of [Douji no Mai], and it hasn’t been thirty seconds since she used it.”
“The party’s status shows that she’s still alive, with only 1 HP left, ah… she’s also suffering from skill stun.”
“It really was a massive recoil, and to be honest, it was weirder if after dealing so much damage, the price you have to pay is just get blown off.”
From what Drago said, it seemed that Sukuna had not only been blown away but was also stunned.
Since the effect of the [Douji no Mai] had already worn off, if Nocturne tried to crush her now, Sukuna would most likely die.
“We will have to protect her.”
“Yeah.”
“What about Rou?”
“As far as I can tell, she’s alive and well.”
“That’s good. Pull yourself together, Drago. This is where it all begins.”
“I know.”
There was no more time for small talk because the battle was already moving into its final phase.
Drago has equipped both ears with earrings and uses her signature Named weapon that she had stowed away earlier in the battle.
Arthur now wore knight armor with a red cloak instead of her traditional dress.
Now that each of them has shown their secret plan for the decisive battle, it won’t be long from here until the end, whatever the result will be.
“…let me praise and acknowledge, you are indeed a mighty warrior who deserves my serious self,” Nocturne muttered with satisfaction. “In this one-night longing, that was a dreamlike time guided by the moonlight. As a reward for this unique experience, I will show you my true power.”
Despite her inferiority, Sukuna has pushed her to this point, and to honor that, Nocturne was about to show her the highest form of respect.
The human-formed Nocturne is releasing the power she’s been kept hidden. A power as one of the Wolf Kings family, the original form she should be in.
It took her a full ten seconds to change into a Giant Wolf with silver moon-colored fur. And the moment Nocturne’s golden eyes stare at Drago and Arthur, they can’t help but feel tremendous pressure.
“[Moonlight Sanctuary – Mikazuki].”
A voice was heard, this not a roaring sound that shook the air, but a voice that resonated deeply in everyone’s minds, and at that moment, Tenma vanished, replaced by the Crescent Moon illuminating the night’s darkness.
The moonlight pouring down was thin and small, but it’s enough to illuminate Nocturne, the Wolf King of the Moon.
“My name is Nocturne, the Wolf King of the Moon. Let this dreamlike battle continue.”
A battle under the moon.
Moon Wolf King’s roar signal the opening act of the final battle.
☆
(What the hell is this monster?)
A minute after the battle resumed, Arthur inwardly screamed.
“Crescent Moon Claw!” {Mikazuki no Soukoku}
“GUH!!”
The moment Nocturne swung its arm, five crescent-shaped slashes flew toward Arthur.
I was a high-speed slash imbued by a high-rank attribute: moonlight. Considering the size of this area, there’s no way to escape its range. That’s why Arthur’s option was only to avoid it.
As she managed to do sidestep and avoid it, Nocturne has silently approached and swing her claw in close range.
(DAMN IT!)
“UWAGH!”
Arthur swung her Sword from an impractical angle, the collision between her Sword and the claw strike made a screeching sound, but in the end, Arthur managed to deflect her claw.
The slash she just used is troublesome, but even more, the power of her attacks that has jumped beyond imagination, Nocturne’s current status is nothing but brutality for Arthur.
In her beast state, there exists a hopeless status difference between Arthur and Nocturne. The gap was so wide, to the point where her blade could not scratch her skin.
But there were two reasons why Arthur was somehow able to deflect Nocturne’s attacks.
The first is the activation of her [Sword Saint] skill, [Kenshin Possession – Third{Sanban}].
It’s a very powerful buffing art that temporarily boosts one physical status even more than the [Second{Niban}] does, which she used in her previous battle with Kokuyo.
On top of this, an Epic Rarity armor, [Merstiv’s Legacy Armor], which she had switched to earlier.
It’s an item she got along with [Sword Saint] skill, the catch is, the armor cannot be equipped before one using [Kenshin Possession – Third], and if you do, you’re forced to equip it.
Arthur personally doesn’t like the idea of battle in full armor, and since she rarely uses her [Sword Saint] skill, she has only worn it once.
However, just by equipping it, the wearer will be immune to all status ailments. It also has innate high defense.
That’s why, as much as she hates it, it was her own decision to use this now.
“You are wide open!”
Nocturne, who was showing an opening because she was aiming at Arthur, was greeted by Drago’s Great Sword.
“[Crescent Moonlight]” {Mikazuki no Rinko}
“Kuh! Am I too naïve?”
Her slash was blocked by a shield of light, and in return, she took the claw swung at her with the Sword’s body.
This barrier technique to block physical attacks heightened Nocturne’s troublesomeness, making it difficult for Drago and Arthur to launch attacks.
However, Drago was also able to catch Nocturne’s attacks without losing her ground.
The secret was another named weapon that she had switched from the [Azure Heaven Sword].
The name of this weapon is [Kokugenken – Falma]. {Promised Time Sword – Falma}
It’s the third named weapon in Drago’s arsenal, after the [Azure Heaven Sword], the successor of her previous [Heaven Sword].
This weapon is inferior to the [Azure Heaven Sword] in terms of status, however, the power of this weapon lies in its skills.
This weapon’s Named Skill, [Courage of Falma], is a skill with a very specific activation condition: it activates for a period of time equal to [the amount of time you hold this weapon during a battle].
And once activated, it cannot be activated again for a week, which is massive for a cool-down time.
It is a skill designed to be used for long periods, such as in raid battles or named battles like this.
Its effect is to [nullify all mental abnormalities and double all status except HP].
Drago’s current level is 99 and has a well-balanced build. If not for that, there’s no way she can stand toe-to-toe with Nocturne.
The two trump card is proven effective against Nocturne, who probably had a status increase of almost 1.5 times from her humanoid form.
That said, it was just barely.
Even now, they continue to take damage in various places, but naturally, they’re also trying to fight back.
“Damn it! Where is Rou!?”
“She probably busy saving Sukuna!”
“At least say something before you do!!”
As if to hide each other’s weakness, the two of them exchanged a desperate talk as they fought off Nocturne’s attacks with stunning coordination.
As usual, there was no sign of Rou on the battlefield, and this time she didn’t even give them any support.
(She didn’t seem to be lying when she said she was going to play her trump card. She had saved our skin many before. So why is her support suddenly gone? If you are going to help Sukuna, fine! but if not, why…?)
Drago pondered while trying to survive Nocturne’s assault.
Rou’s support earlier had been superb. It’s because of Rou a balance was somehow established in this party, albeit selfishly.
But now, there was none of that. It’s possible that she’s trying to save the still stunned Sukuna from being dying, but since Nocturne’s attack is not directed at Sukuna at all at the moment, waiting for her to wake up on her own is also an option.
(Is she waiting until we’re dead, or is it some trump card that can’t be activated when we’re fighting? We don’t have enough information about her to make any assumptions, but… whatever it is, it’s going to take a lot of tolls to fend off this rampage with only two of us.)
Drago’s secret card [Falma’s Courage] was only turned on early in this battle, so she’s still had 15 minutes left.
But that was not the case with Arthur; as she has stated before, her skill was only suitable for short terms fights.
She probably still has some hidden burst attack aside for her buff since she calls it [Secret Art{Hissatsu, tln1}].
However, it will be useless if Arthur doesn’t activate it before the buff wears off. And within this onslaught, there’s no chance to use it.
“Crescent Moon Claw.”
“Tsk!”
The two of them jumped back to avoid the unblockable attack, but as they did, countless butterflies appeared in Nocturne’s surroundings.
“[Luna Arc Flower].” {tln2}
More butterflies than one could count covered the field of vision of the two players as if want to hurt them.
It is impossible to cancel out an attack imbued with moonlight attributes. You can guard against it, but guarding against the higher attributes will tremendously deteriorate your weapon’s durability.
So, the two of them have no choice but to evade, but since they can’t evade everything, the butterflies feast on the two avatars and devour them.
(Damn, what a pain in the ass! It’s just fast and many, but that’s exactly why it’s hard to avoid!)
And all the damage is magic damage. Noticing this, Arthur immediately took out a potion from her pocket and crushed it.
She doesn’t even have time to drink it, but by crushing the potion, she could recover some of the damage by smearing it all over her body.
([Third] won’t last much longer. And The [Fourth] is even shorter. If it continues like this, I’ll be in a pinch. If I can exchange the blow, the story might be different, but the situation won’t permit it… I cannot depend on Rou anymore, and Sukuna hasn’t recovered yet! ALSO! Isn’t the duration of her skill stun too long!?)
Arthur bit her lips at the dire situation as she evaded the Crescent Moon Claw that flew at her again.
[Sword Saint] can activate more powerful buffs by connecting the [Kenshin Possession] in order from the bottom, but the duration of each buff becomes shorter in exchange.
The [Third] that is currently being activated and the next [Fourth] are not buffs that will last as long as Drago’s [Falma’s Courage].
(Please, both of you. Come back before we die!)
Arthur prayed and took advantage of the miraculous opening she had created to slice through Nocturne’s body.
☆
(…Where am I……?)
Thanks to the double recoil caused by Zenken and Nocturne’s fist counter, Sukuna was blown to the corner of the shrine ground.
She’s now awoken, feeling clouded and dizzy.
Sukuna’s back is leaning against the wall; her vision is dark, probably because she looks down.
She can see the almost depleted blinking HP at the edge of her vision, but she can’t move even if she wants to.
She calmly took a second look and saw herself inflicted by stun, a regret surfacing as Sukuna wondered why she didn’t avoid that last counter.
(…I don’t know if there’s anything I can do, though.)
If she listened carefully, barely she could hear the sounds of battle, even though it was muffled.
Perhaps Drago, Rou, and Arthur are fighting Nocturne, who has released her true form.
If that’s the case, it seems that Nocturne’s counterattack had taken her consciousness for more time than she had expected.
But it’s natural and that’s what the stun state is all about. When a player is stunned, the avatar will enter a state of pseudo-faint just before the stun is lifted.
On the bright side, the fact that she had just regained consciousness meant that the stun state would soon be lifted.
(Then again, why is it that there isn’t a single scratch on my vicinity even though I was thrown by that kind of force?)
Sukuna was pretty sure she heard a cracking sound just before she lost consciousness, but as far as she could barely see, there was not a scratch on the ground.
The wall that she was resting her back against should have had the biggest crack, but Sukuna couldn’t feel any of it from the touch of her back.
She wondered if it had been automatically repaired or if the cracking sound was just her imagination?
Even so, it would have been strange if there hadn’t been even a speck of dust, and by looking around carefully, she could tell there was no airflow in this space at all.
Even though this is a virtual space, the air is circulating in this world. This situation should not be possible as long as there’s some atmosphere.
“… It’s as if this is a place that is isolated from the rest of the world.”
The stun is still persisted, but apparently, Sukuna’s mouth will work once the consciousness returns.
To think of it, Nocturne was like that too, Sukuna thought.
“That’s right.”
“……?”
Sukuna’s murmur was answered by a familiar voice, she widens her eyes in surprise, and the owner of the voice lets out a chuckle.
“I’m glad you’ve come to this place. Thanks to it, I was able to drag you into my world without much trouble.”
The owner of the voice does not try to hide her happy emotions as she speaks.
The voice belonged to the warrior who had come to the battlefield today.
But it was not Drago’s.
It was not Arthur’s.
And it was not Rou’s.
It also didn’t belong to Nocturne.
It was the voice of none other than Sukuna herself.
It’s literally the voice she has heard the most since she was born.
She understood and realized who was in front of her.
The moment Sukuna is released from the stun, she raises her head and looks at the being standing in front of her.
Standing in her vision stand a girl wearing the original Red Wolf Attire.
There was a gaping hole in her side as if she had been pierced by something, and her whole body was covered in dirt as if she just had been in battle.
There was no way Sukuna didn’t recognize this figure. And she couldn’t help but utter her name.
“Shuten…?”
“That’s correct. It’s been a while, Sukuna. It’s good to see you doing well.”
The Lord of Kakuriyo{Other Side}, whom she encountered only twice in the past, took on the form of past Sukuna that using her body as a reference.
This was an existence hailed as the strongest, the one who been sealed by Creator God.
The one and only Kishin, Shuten Douji, now nastily smiled as she looked at the scarred Sukuna.
TL Note:
Hissatsu: okay, I do believe many of you already know what this means, but just in case… it’s usually used in martial arts, I don’t know if there’s any game that uses these terms, but as far as I know, they do not use it inside game terms.
But the heck with that, this author will throw anything cool in her works, lol.
Anyway, I want to tell you that Arthur’s art was a separate move from the usual [art] but a class of her own [secret art]. Okay scratch that, turns out later Sukuna also have her hissatsu.
Tln2:
Luna Arc Flower(furigana) is written as Moonlight Dream: Flower’s Butterflies – in kanji; don’t ask… it’s literally what the author writes. I have no control over that.
Anote:At last, at last, !===*After the roaring storm, a silence slowly descended in the temple ground and three shadows standing next to each other.Drago, Arthur, and Nocturne.Rou was still hiding behind her skills. And Sukuna was nowhere to be seen. She had been thrown a dozen meters away from the shrine grounds to the very corner of this zone by the recoil of her own attack.Nocturne took a clean hit from an extremely ideal combo of Soryuu to Toe Sakura, then Zenken Yui, and yet she still held her ground.One of her HP gauges was broken, and the second one had already lost 30% of its points.However, in contrast to Sukuna, who had been blown tens of meters away by the recoil of the technique she had unleashed, Nocturne was still standing in the middle of the temple grounds.So that's Zenken.The power is too great. Or perhaps because Nocturne has managed to stand her ground, the person who hit her was flying off like a bullet instead.After spending three minutes preparing for the secret move, the two girls' faces twitched slightly as they watched the Sukuna blown away.When Sukuna had previously unleashed her Zenken, the shockwave alone was enough to shatter the giant dragon.Back then, because of the 10x buff to her strength value due to Furious Rage, Sukuna was able to obliterate her opponent through one-sided attacks, so the physical impact was low.But this time, the Zenken was hitting Nocturne directly, and because Nocturne herself was able to endure the attack without backing down, the recoil bounced back at Sukuna.And as far as Arthur could see, Nocturne had struck back the moment she hit her, and the fact that Sukuna had abandoned her defense for the sake of activating Douji no Mai probably contributed further amplified the massive recoil she received.Well, Sukuna isn't dead, is she? I somewhat know the effect of Douji no Mai, and it hasn't been thirty seconds since she used it.The party's status shows that she's still alive, with only 1 HP left, ah she's also suffering from skill stun.It really was a massive recoil, and to be honest, it was weirder if after dealing so much damage, the price you have to pay is just get blown off.From what Drago said, it seemed that Sukuna had not only been blown away but was also stunned.Since the effect of the Douji no Mai had already worn off, if Nocturne tried to crush her now, Sukuna would most likely die.We will have to protect her.Yeah.What about Rou?As far as I can tell, she's alive and well.That's good. Pull yourself together, Drago. This is where it all begins.I know.There was no more time for small talk because the battle was already moving into its final phase.Drago has equipped both ears with earrings and uses her signature Named weapon that she had stowed away earlier in the battle.Arthur now wore knight armor with a red cloak instead of her traditional dress.Now that each of them has shown their secret plan for the decisive battle, it won't be long from here until the end, whatever the result will be.let me praise and acknowledge, you are indeed a mighty warrior who deserves my serious self, Nocturne muttered with satisfaction. In this one-night longing, that was a dreamlike time guided by the moonlight. As a reward for this unique experience, I will show you my true power.Despite her inferiority, Sukuna has pushed her to this point, and to honor that, Nocturne was about to show her the highest form of respect.The human-formed Nocturne is releasing the power she's been kept hidden. A power as one of the Wolf Kings family, the original form she should be in.It took her a full ten seconds to change into a Giant Wolf with silver moon-colored fur. And the moment Nocturne's golden eyes stare at Drago and Arthur, they can't help but feel tremendous pressure.Moonlight Sanctuary Mikazuki.A voice was heard, this not a roaring sound that shook the air, but a voice that resonated deeply in everyone's minds, and at that moment, Tenma vanished, replaced by the Crescent Moon illuminating the night's darkness.The moonlight pouring down was thin and small, but it's enough to illuminate Nocturne, the Wolf King of the Moon.My name is Nocturne, the Wolf King of the Moon. Let this dreamlike battle continue.A battle under the moon.Moon Wolf King's roar signal the opening act of the final battle.What the hell is this monster?A minute after the battle resumed, Arthur inwardly screamed.Crescent Moon Claw! {Mikazuki no Soukoku}GUH!!The moment Nocturne swung its arm, five crescent-shaped slashes flew toward Arthur.I was a high-speed slash imbued by a high-rank attribute: moonlight. Considering the size of this area, there's no way to escape its range. That's why Arthur's option was only to avoid it.As she managed to do sidestep and avoid it, Nocturne has silently approached and swing her claw in close range.DAMN IT!UWAGH!Arthur swung her Sword from an impractical angle, the collision between her Sword and the claw strike made a screeching sound, but in the end, Arthur managed to deflect her claw.The slash she just used is troublesome, but even more, the power of her attacks that has jumped beyond imagination, Nocturne's current status is nothing but brutality for Arthur.In her beast state, there exists a hopeless status difference between Arthur and Nocturne. The gap was so wide, to the point where her blade could not scratch her skin.But there were two reasons why Arthur was somehow able to deflect Nocturne's attacks.The first is the activation of her Sword Saint skill, Kenshin Possession Third{Sanban}.It's a very powerful buffing art that temporarily boosts one physical status even more than the Second{Niban} does, which she used in her previous battle with Kokuyo.On top of this, an Epic Rarity armor, Merstiv's Legacy Armor, which she had switched to earlier.It's an item she got along with Sword Saint skill, the catch is, the armor cannot be equipped before one using Kenshin Possession Third, and if you do, you're forced to equip it.Arthur personally doesn't like the idea of battle in full armor, and since she rarely uses her Sword Saint skill, she has only worn it once.However, just by equipping it, the wearer will be immune to all status ailments. It also has innate high defense.That's why, as much as she hates it, it was her own decision to use this now.You are wide open!Nocturne, who was showing an opening because she was aiming at Arthur, was greeted by Drago's Great Sword.Crescent Moonlight {Mikazuki no Rinko}Kuh! Am I too nave?Her slash was blocked by a shield of light, and in return, she took the claw swung at her with the Sword's body.This barrier technique to block physical attacks heightened Nocturne's troublesomeness, making it difficult for Drago and Arthur to launch attacks.However, Drago was also able to catch Nocturne's attacks without losing her ground.The secret was another named weapon that she had switched from the Azure Heaven Sword.The name of this weapon is Kokugenken Falma. {Promised Time Sword Falma}It's the third named weapon in Drago's arsenal, after the Azure Heaven Sword, the successor of her previous Heaven Sword.This weapon is inferior to the Azure Heaven Sword in terms of status, however, the power of this weapon lies in its skills.This weapon's Named Skill, Courage of Falma, is a skill with a very specific activation condition: it activates for a period of time equal to the amount of time you hold this weapon during a battle.And once activated, it cannot be activated again for a week, which is massive for a cool-down time.It is a skill designed to be used for long periods, such as in raid battles or named battles like this.Its effect is to nullify all mental abnormalities and double all status except HP.Drago's current level is 99 and has a well-balanced build. If not for that, there's no way she can stand toe-to-toe with Nocturne.The two trump card is proven effective against Nocturne, who probably had a status increase of almost 1.5 times from her humanoid form.That said, it was just barely.Even now, they continue to take damage in various places, but naturally, they're also trying to fight back.Damn it! Where is Rou!?She probably busy saving Sukuna!At least say something before you do!!As if to hide each other's weakness, the two of them exchanged a desperate talk as they fought off Nocturne's attacks with stunning coordination.As usual, there was no sign of Rou on the battlefield, and this time she didn't even give them any support.She didn't seem to be lying when she said she was going to play her trump card. She had saved our skin many before. So why is her support suddenly gone? If you are going to help Sukuna, fine! but if not, why?Drago pondered while trying to survive Nocturne's assault.Rou's support earlier had been superb. It's because of Rou a balance was somehow established in this party, albeit selfishly.But now, there was none of that. It's possible that she's trying to save the still stunned Sukuna from being dying, but since Nocturne's attack is not directed at Sukuna at all at the moment, waiting for her to wake up on her own is also an option.Is she waiting until we're dead, or is it some trump card that can't be activated when we're fighting? We don't have enough information about her to make any assumptions, but whatever it is, it's going to take a lot of tolls to fend off this rampage with only two of us.Drago's secret card Falma's Courage was only turned on early in this battle, so she's still had 15 minutes left.But that was not the case with Arthur; as she has stated before, her skill was only suitable for short terms fights.She probably still has some hidden burst attack aside for her buff since she calls it Secret Art{Hissatsu, tln1}.However, it will be useless if Arthur doesn't activate it before the buff wears off. And within this onslaught, there's no chance to use it.Crescent Moon Claw.Tsk!The two of them jumped back to avoid the unblockable attack, but as they did, countless butterflies appeared in Nocturne's surroundings.Luna Arc Flower. {tln2}More butterflies than one could count covered the field of vision of the two players as if want to hurt them.It is impossible to cancel out an attack imbued with moonlight attributes. You can guard against it, but guarding against the higher attributes will tremendously deteriorate your weapon's durability.So, the two of them have no choice but to evade, but since they can't evade everything, the butterflies feast on the two avatars and devour them.Damn, what a pain in the ass! It's just fast and many, but that's exactly why it's hard to avoid!And all the damage is magic damage. Noticing this, Arthur immediately took out a potion from her pocket and crushed it.She doesn't even have time to drink it, but by crushing the potion, she could recover some of the damage by smearing it all over her body.Third won't last much longer. And The Fourth is even shorter. If it continues like this, I'll be in a pinch. If I can exchange the blow, the story might be different, but the situation won't permit it I cannot depend on Rou anymore, and Sukuna hasn't recovered yet! ALSO! Isn't the duration of her skill stun too long!?Arthur bit her lips at the dire situation as she evaded the Crescent Moon Claw that flew at her again.Sword Saint can activate more powerful buffs by connecting the Kenshin Possession in order from the bottom, but the duration of each buff becomes shorter in exchange.The Third that is currently being activated and the next Fourth are not buffs that will last as long as Drago's Falma's Courage.Please, both of you. Come back before we die!Arthur prayed and took advantage of the miraculous opening she had created to slice through Nocturne's body.Where am I?Thanks to the double recoil caused by Zenken and Nocturne's fist counter, Sukuna was blown to the corner of the shrine ground.She's now awoken, feeling clouded and dizzy.Sukuna's back is leaning against the wall; her vision is dark, probably because she looks down.She can see the almost depleted blinking HP at the edge of her vision, but she can't move even if she wants to.She calmly took a second look and saw herself inflicted by stun, a regret surfacing as Sukuna wondered why she didn't avoid that last counter.I don't know if there's anything I can do, though.If she listened carefully, barely she could hear the sounds of battle, even though it was muffled.Perhaps Drago, Rou, and Arthur are fighting Nocturne, who has released her true form.If that's the case, it seems that Nocturne's counterattack had taken her consciousness for more time than she had expected.But it's natural and that's what the stun state is all about. When a player is stunned, the avatar will enter a state of pseudo-faint just before the stun is lifted.On the bright side, the fact that she had just regained consciousness meant that the stun state would soon be lifted.Then again, why is it that there isn't a single scratch on my vicinity even though I was thrown by that kind of force?Sukuna was pretty sure she heard a cracking sound just before she lost consciousness, but as far as she could barely see, there was not a scratch on the ground.The wall that she was resting her back against should have had the biggest crack, but Sukuna couldn't feel any of it from the touch of her back.She wondered if it had been automatically repaired or if the cracking sound was just her imagination?Even so, it would have been strange if there hadn't been even a speck of dust, and by looking around carefully, she could tell there was no airflow in this space at all.Even though this is a virtual space, the air is circulating in this world. This situation should not be possible as long as there's some atmosphere. It's as if this is a place that is isolated from the rest of the world.The stun is still persisted, but apparently, Sukuna's mouth will work once the consciousness returns.To think of it, Nocturne was like that too, Sukuna thought.That's right.?Sukuna's murmur was answered by a familiar voice, she widens her eyes in surprise, and the owner of the voice lets out a chuckle.I'm glad you've come to this place. Thanks to it, I was able to drag you into my world without much trouble.The owner of the voice does not try to hide her happy emotions as she speaks.The voice belonged to the warrior who had come to the battlefield today.But it was not Drago's.It was not Arthur's.And it was not Rou's.It also didn't belong to Nocturne.It was the voice of none other than Sukuna herself.It's literally the voice she has heard the most since she was born.She understood and realized who was in front of her.The moment Sukuna is released from the stun, she raises her head and looks at the being standing in front of her.Standing in her vision stand a girl wearing the original Red Wolf Attire.There was a gaping hole in her side as if she had been pierced by something, and her whole body was covered in dirt as if she just had been in battle.There was no way Sukuna didn't recognize this figure. And she couldn't help but utter her name.Shuten?That's correct. It's been a while, Sukuna. It's good to see you doing well.The Lord of Kakuriyo{Other Side}, whom she encountered only twice in the past, took on the form of past Sukuna that using her body as a reference.This was an existence hailed as the strongest, the one who been sealed by Creator God.The one and only Kishin, Shuten Douji, now nastily smiled as she looked at the scarred Sukuna.TL Note:Hissatsu: okay, I do believe many of you already know what this means, but just in case it's usually used in martial arts, I don't know if there's any game that uses these terms, but as far as I know, they do not use it inside game terms.But the heck with that, this author will throw anything cool in her works, lol.Anyway, I want to tell you that Arthur's art was a separate move from the usual art but a class of her own secret art. Okay scratch that, turns out later Sukuna also have her hissatsu.Tln2:Luna Arc Flowerfurigana is written as Moonlight Dream: Flower's Butterflies in kanji; don't ask it's literally what the author writes. I have no control over that.
