Chapter 1321 Resonating Mirror and Howling From the Sky PART 16 Part 2

「But won’t you look at that? It seems to me that you are finally losing your nerve, huh? Got yourself driven into a corner?」

Although a moment or so ago she was having about seventy percent of this entire area occupied by her song, at the current moment the “Elma Territory” shrunk down to about thirty percent of its original size and it just continued to shrink even further down. Does that mean that Sigma was applying even more pressure on her and was now breathing down Elam’s neck? No, I guess that that’s not it. It’s just that she must have changed her approach to how the world was unfolding all around her. Right now her actions and words were much sharper than in the beginning, almost like the head of an arrow. The four-lane highway, the pillars that were firmly supporting it, and a whole bunch of vehicles that were driving down that road in both ways…… It seems that just like the Orchestra, Sigma was currently putting everything she had into rendering that world possible. As an immediate proof of that, the highway, which was turning like a wild snake, crushes the other buildings with tremendous momentum and builds a new circuit while going forward. There was no longer any loops and rollercoaster-like constructs, so the risk of actually falling to your death was way smaller than before. It was still there, don’t get me wrong, but it was significantly smaller than before.

Somehow the issue of the “mystery” of the Orchestra has been taken care of, but now there was a matter of actually reaching the answer for it…… Now that everything has been poured into the construction of this highway, can we think of this situation as the grand finale? A climax of this story? No, let’s stop thinking about pointless things like that…… But even when it comes to video games, there is only one truth that can be achieved. This particular case was no anything different from that rule.

「Come on now! Don’t just stand there! Come right at me! Let’s humor one another until the moment one of us is finally dead! Or both of us drop dead on the spot!」

「……………」

The wind is strong in here. Like, really, incredibly strong. When it comes to video games, books and movies alike, battles on top of the moving train are not all that rare, you can even say that they are a staple of certain genres out there. But when it comes to me, it is my very first time fighting on top of a raging debris field like that instead on the ground like any other normal battle would require you to. That being said, all the things littering the environment here at the current moment are making this place reminiscent of the Crystal Nest Cliffs. The only difference being that strong wind, which is present here and that was nowhere to be found in the lair of the Crystal Scorpions. If it was there, then I don’t think that I would be even standing in here today, or that I wouldn’t be even remotely close to being where I am currently standing as the Player.

There is a long and dead silence between the two of us right now. As we continue to stare one another down with the most intimidating expressions that we can muster, I am sure that the AI brain of the other “Sanraku” is working full throttle right now in order to find the most optimal solution to this situation, or the most suitable course of action. Just like my own brain is trying to do at this exact moment. And there is also one more matter of grave importance: which one of us is going to make the first move? I am sure that this state of calm before the storm is not going to last that much longer here, and what is going to follow from this point onwards is going to be a short but very intense final skirmish. Just like every final battle out there is being decided, really…… Not to mention that at the current moment the tools and means by which we can go about certain things are about the same. So come on now, let’s stop that pointless game of Rock-Paper—Scissors that we are playing inside of our heads! Just leave it all to me! I may not look like it, but I am actually pretty good with games like that, especially if they require some amount of Randomly Generated Numbers! Just don’t be mad when you are going to lose in the most unsightly manner possible!

「Come on! Let’s do this thing, you absolute bastard!」

「……………!!!!!!!!!」

I then stake a small dagger with a crystal-like blade and thrust it deep into my own chest, right I the place where the heart of my virtual avatar is supposed to be located. Then I take the Red Beast Crown and hold it at the ready. This is it. This is most probably going to be the final showdown. And since this is going to be a decisive battle, then I need to pull all the stops and do everything I possibly can to emerge victorious out of it! So this means invalidating the effect of Luukan’s Carved Wounds for a short while thanks to the effect of the Bonecrusher Dagger. This will let me wear some much needed armor right now, which means that the effect of the Blood Crown’s Red Beast is going to be even stronger than before! And do you know what that means? Lifting the ban on armor and going berserk as a bloodthirsty beast? Yes, that’s right! Simple! Effective! Mindless violence!!! That’s all that I need here right now!

While I was watching as the waves of red liquid started to completely flood over and cover the body of the other “Sanraku”, I managed to complete my window operations almost at the exact same time as my opponent’s transformation has finished. And let’s see what weapon does it decided to wield against me for this final showdown? Aha, it looks strangely similar to the Centipede Treynor Gustav Halbers Eight Zero Point Five……!

「Here goes nothing! Excess Mechanism ”Exceed Charge”!!!」

Awakening the weapon’s true for from its slumber, I activate the effect of the Centipede Venom Doping and soon enough its effect starts to cover my whole body. Now, this should help me by increasing my overall stats past their usual limits, but that doesn’t mean that I can rest assured here…… If I were to blindly charge in just like that without any strategy or plan in my mind, it would certainly lose in an open battle. But, if I just keep on retreating in this ever so narrow field, I am going to be grinded into a minced meat or turned into a wet stain on the wall before I can actually even realize what is going on. So no matter what, I need to start doing something, and I need to start doing it fast! And I need to be extremely careful of the inertia while I’m being at it! If I happen to make a poor jump and start to fall down as a result, this is going to spell my death for sure. And I do not want that!