206: As It Appears

Today's update features two chapters.

Here is the first chapter.

"Cut..."

As my puppet-like body crumbles to the ground, my mind races with frantic thoughts about what has just happened to me.

An extension of the blade?

No, the length of the weapon held by Magatsuki, now known as Shu Sumelee, hasn't changed.

Generation of a force field?

No, there's no sensation of pressure at the cutting point—just the feeling of being severed, as if the result alone was forced upon me, as if the shield mod isn't working.

The effect of the OS and the imposition.

Affirmative, this is happening—otherwise, it can't be explained.

Shu Sumelee's expression is unreadable.

Whether this is intentional, accidental, or an unexpected manifestation of power, there's no way to tell.

"This... huh...!?"

The upper body, severed and flipped by the balance of weight, reflected in my eyes from the space behind me.

There, reflected in those eyes, were the Imperial soldiers who had entered this place the moment Shu Sumelee transformed into a cosmic monster—yet their forms were now twisted, unnatural.

Some were crushed as if by a massive force, others had their lower bodies vanished entirely, and strangely, there were even those whose upper bodies had disappeared while their lower halves remained... yet some were unharmed.

Especially those who emerged from the door hidden behind my body were nearly unscathed.

Ah, I see now.

"Die. Just being human is a crime."

Shuu Suumeree firmly gripped the sword he had just swept aside and raised it above his head.

Don't say foolish things. Just being human isn't a crime, is it?

"!?"

Before the attack landed, I erased the figure in front of me and summoned a new one behind Shu Shumere, swinging the titanium stick to strike its head from the side—but the impact felt solid and unyielding.

It felt as though I'd been struck by a lump of metal.

But there was impact—just enough to send me flying backward, halting the blade's swing and making me stagger.

"？ What's going on?"

"That's my line."

Well, I now understand a part of Shuu Suumere's ability.

But whether I can speak it aloud...

In a way, Shuu Suumere is a newly born cosmic monster, possibly still unmastered in fully grasping their own powers.

Explaining your ability to me could potentially fix it in a twisted form, but it might also encourage understanding and further development.

Just as I suspected... limited to humans and requiring a blade, if such an ability were to evolve to literally tear apart and crush with a single look, it might grow strong in a direction as useless as Maglina's...

"Listen, Imperial soldiers. No matter how many ordinary humans there are, it won't make a difference. If you're going to send anyone, send unmanned weapons. Lock the door and send them in."

After much hesitation, I decided to state it plainly.

Immediately, the soldiers moved, leaving only me and Shuu Suumeree among the humanoid beings scattered across this vast space.

"This time, I'll kill you."

"If you can, then try."

Shuu Suumeree swung his blade.

I dodged it by moving at inhuman speed, vanishing from sight entirely.

Then, I lunged toward Shuu Suumeree like a rebounding projectile.

"Die."

Shuu Suumeree swung his blade in a horizontal slash.

Before it could land, I erased my body from view and teleported behind him.

"Fall dead."

I brought down the titanium stick with all my strength.

It still felt hard, with no indication that it was an effective strike.

Lightweight, but won't cut. Then, how about this?

"!?"

Shu Suumaree fires his blaster, gripping it in reverse with his left hand.

The beam, passing through the shield as if it were nothing, pierced through my body, exploding me with overwhelming heat.

"If one shot isn't enough, then take as many as it takes."

"!?"

I simultaneously brought out eight mannequins, slipping them into the explosion, and thrust the titanium stick at Shu Suumare from every direction.

Whether due to material differences or OS discrepancies, the blades didn't pierce through.

But the impact, delivered as a literal simultaneous assault, overlapped and amplified within Shu Suumare's body, proving more effective than a chaotic barrage of strikes.

Not a fatal blow, but it still managed to inflict some damage.

"Is that so? So there are many of you. Then die all together."

"「「「!?」」」"

Shu Suumare's counterattack comes.

The one in front of him is severed by a blade.

Just that... the puppets he had simultaneously unleashed were all cut down at once.

So, it seems that cutting something based on what one sees is possible only if the target resembles the observed image—cutting the image also cuts the real thing.

By this point, it's less about extending a slash and more akin to a curse, a non-physical, interfering force—closer to a mod whose effectiveness remains uncertain by the standards of modern imperial science.

The good news is that my puppet and my true body are vastly different in appearance, my OS isn't even the same as 'Vanilla OS,' and thanks to being in a divergent dimension, even Shuu Sumuree's curse slash can't reach my true body.

Though, analyzing Shuu Sumuree's OS and mods, it seems like this might be the case only under current conditions.

"With this, the proliferating man is..."

"Of course not finished. Sorry about that."

"..."

Well, what should I do now?

Leaving it alone is absolutely out of the question.

If my suspicions are correct, Shuu Suumeree is a dangerously powerful space monster capable of killing imperial dignitaries from anywhere, given just one image and sufficient energy.

But confronting it head-on is impossible with our current firepower, and revealing its core would be far too risky.

For now, I first positioned myself behind the foothold where Shū Suumere was standing, stopping him in his tracks by making a sound...

『Sata, I'm ready.』

Vilijanira's voice came through.

It seemed Vilijanira had prepared to control my powered suit...

And my own preparations and protective measures for the powered suit... probably safe.

『There's risk involved. Worst case, I could be pierced and slashed through.』

"I understand. I'll bear that in mind. I regret it for Satā and the others, but I can't retreat from here. The Empire is in crisis."

"Understood. Then I'll focus on analyzing Shū Sumerē's OS. You can leave the control of my powered suit to me."

It's a situation that might earn me criticism for failing in my duty, but there's nothing I can do about it.

I begin analyzing Shū Sumerē's OS and constructing a custom toxin mod, using fragments I've gathered from previous battles.

Where are you?

Right here. Come on, it's time for round two.

And behind Shū Sumerē, I appeared—my body controlled by Vilijanila's powered suit—and brought my fist down in a strike.