Chapter 81: Cheat

Grabbing the shattered blade, the effect of "Perfect Maintenance" began to take hold immediately.

I could see the blade gradually regenerating.

— According to the description, "Perfect Maintenance" repairs equipment deterioration over time, keeping it in perfect condition at all times, and also increases the rate of repair over time.

Still, it will probably take a while before the weapon becomes usable again.

It's actually kind of rare for my blade to sustain this much damage.

While minor chipping from slicing through a "zombie" gets repaired relatively quickly, this time it took a direct hit from a grenade blast.

Looking at it, the tip is especially damaged—part of it's completely broken off.

I'm not even sure it can be repaired at all, but let's just trust in the skill's effect.

"Hey, you! "

Saya suddenly shouted, standing directly in front of the "Spirit User."

"You're the type I've got to teach a lesson to! Prepare yourself!"

"Huh?"

The man frowned, about to speak, but—

"Mon-dou-mu-yō!"

That was truly characteristic of Saya.

Clearly having no intention of wasting words, she pushed off the ground.

You're so annoying...

The spirit user raising one hand.

The very next instant after I thought it was dangerous,

Phew,

"Wha—!?"

Colorful Leaf had vanished from the spot.

That skill was... um, was it called "Spatial Compression"?

A skill that allows instantaneous movement, even over short distances.

Appearing right in the blind spot of the "Spirit User," she struck him in the abdomen with a punch as sharp as a bullet—

That was supposed to land a direct hit...

A sound unlike any ordinary collision between flesh and flesh echoed through the air,

"Ow!"

Saya flinches.

"What's this?!"

Looking closer, something white and misty hovered in front of the "Spirit User," as if guarding him.

It's hard to make out, but upon closer inspection, it takes the shape of a person holding a shield.

"Good. Keep it up like that."

The white, swirling mist approached Caiye, wavering irregularly.

"...?"

Caiye narrowed her brows and prepared herself, then—

"Whatever it is, I'm not sure, but—《Wave Strike》!"

She fired a golden energy blast, aiming to observe the situation.

Against a "zombie," that alone would be a decisive, powerful attack... but...

"——《Ghost》!"

When the "Spirit User" shouted, the usual white mist absorbed the impact of Ayaka-chan's "Ultimate Skill II."

Gakiyy!

If the sound were to be described in words, that's how it would feel—echoing through the air as the energy mass vanished.

"What the hell... you guys have skills too... seriously annoying..."

Ignoring the reply,

"——'Hundred Shatter, Exploding Fist!'"

Ayaka-chan unleashed her "Ultimate Skill III."

The continuous barrage of golden energy blasts—this is, as far as I know, the most powerful attack available at present.

With a look of annoyance, the "Spirit Walker" regarded it.

"Ghost!"

Accepted it casually.

I don't quite understand... the white, hazy mist between the two of them.

It's as if it's taking on all the damage instead.

Hmm... this is getting nowhere.

Saya-chan is staring at it with a serious expression.

When we fought before, she was just charging headfirst, unleashing her ultimate techniques without thought.

"So it can't be beaten head-on, huh?"

She's grown, I suppose......just a little bit touched.

"But hey, no big deal. Just hit it a hundred times, and it'll be fine!"

Return the emotion.

"——'Explosive Hundred-Shatter Fist'!"

Once more, 'Ultimate Technique III'.

As usual, the attack vanishes somewhere in the white, hazy mist.

But it seemed as though Ayaka-chan wasn't planning to end it there.

She leapt forward, chasing after the energy sphere,

"Uooooooaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

shouting wildly, and pounded her fists frantically into the white, hazy mist.

"Aaaahhhhh! What the hell is this, anyway, you thing! ——'Will o' the Wisp'! Just get it over with already!"

When the "Spirit User" shouted in anger, the pale blue flame turned its bulging eyes toward Saya-chan.

"Saya-chan! Watch out! It's going to fire some weird beam-like thing!"

"Got it!"

Of course, she had already noticed the approaching Will o' the Wisp and used "Shukuchi" to outmaneuver her opponent.

The Will o' the Wisp didn't give up, chasing Ayame-chan relentlessly, but its attacks just kept missing.

"One more! ——《Explosion: Hundred Split Fist》!"

Seizing the opening, she unleashed another《Fatal Technique III》.

That girl really is pulling out her ultimate moves one after another.

What's she planning when her magic runs out? (She's so nervous.)

Glancing at the sword's repair status, it seemed to be about twenty to thirty percent restored at best.

At the very least, I wish the fight could drag on for another minute or two.

Fortunately, from that standpoint, the battle between Ayaka-chan and the "Spirit User" had nearly reached a standstill.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! So annoying, so annoying, so annoying!"

Screaming hysterically, the "Spirit User" struggled to land a hit on their opponent.

Dodging attacks while leaping like a ninja, Ayano-chan.

"Haha, haha, haha! Try to hit me!"

Well, she's really getting carried away today.

Just don't get tripped up (heart pounding).

"Damn it! —《Will o' the Wisp》, go ahead and vanish!"

Still, this person hasn't been biting at all since earlier.

I mean, isn't《Will o' the Wisp》a pretty hard name to say?

Oops, no good. Getting distracted like this, and I end up noticing things I shouldn't.

Then I notice a girl with wings perched on his shoulder.

The little girl who stuffed a grenade into my pocket.

Probably that's a《Fairy》.

And the white, wispy thing is a《Ghost》.

The one with the pale blue flame—that's《Will o' the Wisp》.

Only those three names had appeared with the "Spirit User" skill, so what I'm seeing now must be all the spirits he commands.

"——……"

The "Spirit User" was issuing orders to his companions in a voice inaudible to me.

Facing him, Saya stood in a fighting stance and declared:

"Fufufu. Time to put an end to your little game!"

No way, Saya-chan.

That line’s totally a cliché villain speech.

"Here goes! My newly learned ultimate technique! ————'Absolute Celestial Wolf'——...Wait, what?"

That’s when it happened.

Saya-chan suddenly collapsed to her knees.

"Honya?"

She let out a cute, mysterious sound, staring at her own hands.

Just as if waiting for this moment, the "Spirit User" charged forward at full speed.

"Woohoo!"

Her front kick landed directly on the girl’s abdomen.

"Ughh!"

Saya collapsed, helplessly clutching her stomach, just like an ordinary girl.

"Get up! Get up! Get up!"

The "Spirit User" mercilessly continued kicking her prone body.

Honestly, I had no idea what was going on.

I did understand, though, that Saya had run out of magic power.

But it was happening far too quickly.

Based on my experience, it was unthinkable that a skill's power would vanish this fast.

"Haha! Hahahaha! Thank goodness! I knew it— I'm the greatest! Thank goodness, thank goodness!"

With a bright smile, the "Spirit User" didn't stop kicking, even as he continued to laugh.

"Stop it!"

Instinctively, I stood up.

Judging by the state of the blade's repair, it's about fifty percent, maybe a bit less.

Though it's far from being fully prepared, I can't just leave it like this.

"Wha? You? What's this?"

The "Spirit User" said with a bored expression, glaring at me.

"Next, it's my turn to fight you."

"Huh?!"

The man laughed heartily, his face filled with utter contempt.

"Give it up! You can't handle me! I'm the strongest!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I've got the 'Madness' skill!"

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

I wasn't expecting an answer, but the "Spirit User" happily spilled the beans.

"You don't get it? You wouldn't understand! It's the ultimate power the gods gave only to me!...Everyone else? Their skills are fading away!"

...Hmm.

Judging from his limited vocabulary... it's probably a skill that automatically absorbs the magic power of "players."

"I know what this is! It's a cheat! A cheat skill!"

The spirit user cackles.

"That's why... people like you, evil ones... you'll never... never... beat me!"

I see.

A cheat skill, huh.

Indeed, quite troublesome.

Still, that doesn't mean I can just run away.

I readied my sword as always, and—responded.

"Then, let's truly test whether this is an actual cheat... Shall we find out?"