Chapter 192
Chapter 192
“How long has it been?”
“Two and a half minutes.”
The voice was probably trying to avoid attracting the hate of the Moon Wolf. And then the voice revealed herself. It was Rou, who had been hiding behind her skills, she came out and answered Sukuna’s question.
Even if no sounds or smells are generated while hiding with her skills, Sukuna’s current sensing ability can locate Rou using a small change in the wind flow.
Rou is currently holding her Named rapier in both hands as if she was praying.
But that is wrong.
It’s not as if, Rou indeed has been praying ever since this battle began. She has repeatedly been praying while hiding behind her skill.
“Have you finished your business?”
“Yes. You can see it?”
“No, I can’t. I’ve had a similar experience, so I have an idea of what’s going on.”
Sukuna suspected from Rou’s wording that she had met a similar being like Shuten.
When Sukuna first met Shuten, she mentioned that there was “something” concerning about Rou.
And to think of it, back then, if Rou had died at the hands of Apocalypse, she should have been automatically thrown into prison.
Just as Shuten had saved Sukuna, Rou must be saved by similar entities. That’s why Sukuna believes her.
Sukuna did not question Rou’s any further, but she muttered to herself as she watched her two comrades that were still fighting.
“They’re amazing, aren’t they?”
“Yes, very.”
It was just a spontaneous remark.
But Rou, perhaps taking it as irony or something, lowered her eyes slightly and said,
“I’m sorry, Sukuna. but my trump card will take a long time to activate.”
“…I see, three minutes wasn’t enough for Rou.”
Sukuna wasn’t sensitive enough to say [you should have told me] and leave the matter behind.
And if not for Rou, Drago and Arthur would have reached their limits far earlier.
Rou also didn’t bother to say anything because of her faith in Sukuna. Instead, she feels apologetic for leaving them alone for two and a half minutes in this phase.
“Can you hold out for two more minutes?”
“Got it. I’m counting on you.”
Rou blinked when she saw Sukuna’s confident back.
Rou knows Sukuna is not the type that will show any weakness when it comes to fighting. Still, her back looks bigger than ever now.
They had once been enemies, to think now she could hear the word of trust from Sukuna, it was enough to make Rou’s heart about to burst out.
“I’m sure you’ll be amazed. I will make it worth for your stream.”
“I can’t believe I heard that from you, Rou. Well, I better get going. I have to save them.”
“Please do.”
Sukuna casually ran towards Drago and Arthur without activating any of her buffs.
And Rou quietly gripped her rapier as she entered the final stage of her prayer.
It’s a prayer to the deep darkness in preparation to take the abomination into her body.
“…Come, Jack. It’s time to end the prayer. The time to seal the deal.”
–I’ve been waiting for those words, my little murder princess.
The voice was fragile and small, but it echoed clearly in Rou’s mind.
☆
“Twin Crescent Moons.”
The battle intensified. It had been less than three minutes since it resumed.
When Nocturne’s HP fell below 60%, the [Crescent Moon Claw] that had previously been released only from one of her hands began to be released from both.
“U-AGH.”
The unavoidable slashes are forcibly blocked by Drago using her large sword as a guard as if she no longer cared about its durability.
Her stance is broken, but Drago managed to hold on. Sadly, Nocturne, who noticed that Arthur’s support wouldn’t make it in time, didn’t want to let this chance go and immediately went after her.
But at the last second, Sukuna interrupted Nocturne’s attack.
“–nope!”
Using only light attack, Nocturne’s attack was deflected from Drago.
Sukuna handled the attack’s flow almost like she was the one who owned it, an absurd feat that made Drago laugh wryly as she could only defend desperately against that same kind of attack.
“Did I make you wait?”
“Seriously, it feels like I’ve waited my whole life!”
While giggling at Drago’s heartfelt joy, Sukuna repelled all of the attacks that flew in succession with her kanabou.
The power that flows through Sukuna’s whole body is beyond anything compared to what she had before. Sukuna can clearly see that the status of her body has been massively improved under this [Oni no Miko], the status upgrades she received are far beyond that of [Douji], which had to give her only a modest enhancement.
“[Quadruple Sword]!”
“A-chan!”
“You are late, idiot!”
“Sorry, it took me a while.”
Arthur was angry, but she didn’t miss Nocturne’s gap and hit her with powerful art. Sukuna laughed and apologized.
“Where’s Rou?”
“She asked for two more minutes. It’s going take a while!”
“I’m not going to let her get away if it turns out to be a half-hearted trump card!”
Perhaps because her status has been enhanced, Arthur can somehow deal with Nocturne. However, compared to Sukuna, who deflected Nocturne’s attack with ease, Arthur’s attack barely got a passing mark.
Sukuna thought as she looked at Nocturne’s remaining HP.
(In this less than three minutes, Nocturne’s HP is barely down from the remaining 70%, it might be a little uncomfortably hard for just two people to handle it.)
Two minutes. That was the time Rou asked Sukuna. It’s easy enough for Sukuna to do it, but looking at Arthur’s impatience, there’s a good chance that her buffs will wear off soon.
Even with [Closing Ceremony] that Sukuna has learned after she met Shuten, she is still wary of Nocturne’s hidden moves considering she’s a Named boss. And [Closing Ceremony] is the only card Sukuna has left to counter it.
Drago has lost a lot of HP, but she doesn’t seem to be worried about buffs. If that is her trump card, she may not have any move left that she can use for the last-minute push.
Rou’s and her own trump card, plus Drago and Arthur’s trump cards. It’s just her assumption, but Sukuna is afraid that even with [Closing Ceremony], all of their moves combined won’t be able to cut down all Nocturne HP.
(Hmm…)
Sukuna calmly sorted out the cards they had left and thought about how she should use them to win against Nocturne.
And then, after a brief consideration, Sukuna’s eyes sharpened, and she called out to Arthur.
“A-chan!”
“What?”
“I want to cut Nocturne’s HP in half before Rou gets here! Can you do it?”
“I think I can! But after that, I’ll be useless!” {…}
“Do it then! Thank you!”
The go-ahead came from Sukuna, who was the most relaxed and attentive of the situation. If that’s the case, there’s no need for Arthur to hesitate.
In any case, the Arthur’s [Kenshin possession – Third] had long expired, and currently, active [Forth] would not last until Rou could join again.
“Dammit, you easily decide it just like that!?”
The moment Nocturne’s hate shifted to Drago and Sukuna, Arthur stepped back from the front line to prepare.
What Sukuna had asked her is to cut down was only a tenth of Nocturne’s total HP.
Even so, it was difficult to cut get through Nocturne’s defenses, which had been greatly enhanced by her transformation. It took three minutes for Drago and Arthur, whose status had been more than doubled, to reduce only a fraction of Nocturne’s HP.
(It must be done. I’ve been a liability in this fight, and I’d like to redeem myself at least!)
“[Kenshin Possession – Zero].”
Arthur thrusts Excalibur into the ground and unleashes the secret art of her [Sword Saint] skill.
“Divine Weapon Summoning: Divine Sword Ryra” {tln}
Light explodes from where the Excalibur resides, transforming its existence into a beautiful golden sword with a divine aura.
It was a sword with such a noble appearance that Nocturne, who was fighting with Sukuna and the Drago, was momentarily distracted by its presence. The sword has such a beautiful appearance to make Arthur hesitate to wield it.
[Kenshin Possession – Zero] is the ultimate art that summons a part of Kenshin’s power to the user weapon.
The secret art of the [Sword Saint] skill on the same level of [Furious Rage] that literally borrows the power of the gods, though momentarily.
The duration of [Zero] have is theoretically infinite.
But the time you unleash an art or attack your opponent, the [Divine Sword – Ryra] will be destroyed, and the original weapon will be completely gone along with it.
Therefore, [Zero] cannot be activated by a named weapon that has the [never be destroyed] feature. It also has the disadvantage that it can only be activated by a weapon that has been used for a long time by its owner.
(For better or worse… this is a technique that this Excalibur can only activate.)
Excalibur.
It’s a sword modeled after the king’s sword in the Arthurian Romance, a story that became the model for the Knights of the Round Table.
(I’m more than a little attached to it.)
It’s a sword for the Round Table, forged by the Clan’s craftsmen just for Arthur.
(But still.)
(I have no regrets for using you here.)
“Sukuna! Drago!”
“Okay!”
“I count on you!”
The time hath come.
The two people Arthur called out slightly guided Nocturne’s position to make it easier for Arthur to attack.
All Arthur has to do now is to land this one slash.
“Kenjo-Ryu Ougi – Senko.” {Kenjo style finishing move – Flash}
She readies her sword, mutters calmly, and releases explosive acceleration from her feet.
This is the Ougi of the Kenjo-Ryu, which enables pseudo instant movement by kicking the ground so hard that it will destroy the user’s legs.
The Flash Arthur performed with her enhanced status creates a speed so fast that no one but Sukuna can see it and carries her body right in front of Nocturne.
Evasion was no longer possible.
It doesn’t matter if Nocturne chooses to defend or counterattack. Arthur will still deliver the inevitable blade that will cut through everything!
“[Meteor Slash]!!”
Arthur is using the most powerful art form [One-handed Sword] skill. Along with her heartfelt roar, the strongest strike Arthur ever unleashed was now released.
TL note:
Ougi: think of it as the secret move of a secret move, a secret move above hissatsu. Take a note of this, as I will use this term more often.
Zeus, but that would be unfair.
Ah, for my patreon also expect I will release 193-194 later this day. Need to watch the repair of that goddamn AC.