Chapter 375: Bubble |
"So you are saying that some crazy guy almost killed you, and the appearance of that European girl saved you from disaster?"
Outside the half-collapsed wall, the hem of Hoshino Gen's clothes snapped loudly in the evening wind.
Listening to his summary, Shimizu Yu nodded vigorously, indicating that was pretty much exactly what happened.
Hoshino Gen thought for a moment before replying, "Alright, I understand. Remember to head home early."
With a wave of his hand, the invisible power that had nearly frozen the entire space instantly lifted everyone within the crumbling floor into the air. Then, amidst a chorus of uncontrollable gasps, they shot out of the building like arrows released from a bowstring, flying completely out of the abandoned school.
As Hoshino Gen withdrew his power, the partially dismantled building that had been completely stabilized by his Object Control technique instantly collapsed.
He turned and looked up at the battle unfolding higher above. The shrieking phantom of a Vermilion Bird, the roaring giant shadow snake, and the dazzling flashes of blades slicing the very space into fragments formed an intense, yet evenly matched fight.
However, Hoshino Gen's gaze did not linger on the two combatants. Instead, his eyes met another pair lingering at the edge of the battlefield.
Asaba Shinichi was right; this feeling of being spied upon was indeed a bit irritating...
[HP: 10700/10700 (???/???)]
[MP: 16970/17000 (???/???)]
[Inherent Ability: ??? (Inactive), Immortal Arts: Hundred Talismans of the Floating World, Immortal Arts: Thunder Method, Divine Arts: Divine Incantation, Immortal Arts: Qimen Dunjia, Immortal Arts: Object Control.../(???)]
[Special State: Skeletal Great Serpent (Fragment), Soul Pact: Tamamo-no-Mae (1/3), Evil Soul: Ghostification (???)/???]
[Equipment: Skeleton Snake Ring, Demonic Blade: Onikiri, Soul-Swapping Rings.../???]
[Comprehensive Rank Assessment: SS-Level/???]
Carole was a little dumbfounded. Ever since she activated her supernatural gene and gained her abilities, she had never tired of prying into other people's privacy. Because of this, she had seen at least several hundred, if not over a thousand, status panels. Yet, she had truly never seen one with so many question marks!
It was not as if she had never seen an SSS-Level panel before, but even those at most only had two or three question marks. As for this guy, almost every single category on his entire profile had at least one question mark. Just what exactly was this person made of?
Furthermore, even if she ignored all those question marks, this guy's panel stats were genuinely terrifying. His health bar was nothing special, perhaps even on the lower end for the SS-Level tier, but wasn't this MP value a bit too absurd?
Coupled with all those inherent abilities that, judging by their names alone, were mostly long-range magic—what kind of extreme glass cannon mage was he?
His special state column was nearly identical to that of the official transcendent named Asaba Shinichi, so was this guy also affiliated with the government?
Carole felt that this was no longer the time to debate whether she should stay to sit by and reap profits. If she remembered correctly, this abandoned school was indeed a paranormal site, but she didn't believe the local official organization would be foolish enough to dispatch two SS-Level transcendents to resolve a haunting of this caliber.
Besides, when that Asaba Shinichi guy showed up, he had immediately expressed hostility toward her. If it hadn't been for that other guy, Tsuchimikado Haruki, running his foul mouth, who knew what the current situation would look like...
'Am I their target?'
Regardless of whether she was or not, the current situation was a bit too dangerous for her. Upon brief analysis, if she continued to stay here, her probability of death would exceed eighty-five percent. It was true that she loved the thrill of adventure, but she definitely didn't like games where she was highly likely to die.
She retrieved a teleportation crystal from her virtual backpack, its design identical to the one she had tossed to Shirayanagi Ayaha earlier to send her away.
But before she could use it, the two combatants on the other side—who were clearly fully engrossed in trying to take each other's lives—both consciously closed in on her direction. "Who gave you permission to leave?"
"I already told you that your turn is coming up next..."
Two blades slashed toward Carole's teleportation crystal, but both struck nothing but air. It wasn't because Carole had dodged, but rather that both of their cursed blades passed right through the crystal and her hand.
At this moment, strings of obscure digital code were inexplicably flowing all across the surface of Carole's body, making her entire being look like a virtual data construct. She chuckled and looked at the two of them. "In terms of frontal combat power, I might not be a match for you two little buddies, but if I want to leave, you alone aren't enough to stop me."
As soon as her voice faded, her figure vanished completely without a trace.
Tsuchimikado Haruki narrowed his eyes. "Heh, so this is what she meant by abilities with similar traits?"
Swish—
The sound of a blade tearing through the air rushed directly at his face. Tsuchimikado Haruki neither dodged nor evaded. He didn't even raise his own sword to clash against it, just forcefully taking the strike head-on.
However, similar to what had just happened with Carole, Asaba Shinichi's blade also passed completely through Tsuchimikado Haruki's body. His figure even began to turn into a bubble bit by bit, as if he were about to disappear. He squinted at Asaba Shinichi, the neurotic smile on his face vanishing without a trace. "Your melody is so chaotic and grating that it makes me want to throw up. I despise you, and sooner or later, I will kill you."
Asaba Shinichi retracted his blade and stepped back, breaking into a wide grin. "You look mighty arrogant spitting out those tough words, but the way you tuck tail and run when you can't win is truly too pathetic to watch."
Tsuchimikado Haruki stared coldly at him, remaining completely silent.
This slice of reality was on the verge of transforming into a dream-like bubble. Continuing to tangle with this guy was meaningless. Furthermore, he had also sensed another powerful aura lurking somewhere within this school campus...
Whoosh—!
A bloodstained longsword tore through the air, whipping up a shrieking gale of air pressure as it shot straight toward the center of Tsuchimikado Haruki's brow. Having already entered a dream-like state, Tsuchimikado Haruki was naturally unafraid of such physical attacks. However, at the exact moment that black-red cursed blade pierced through him, he still subconsciously tilted his head to the side.
The blade grazed past his cheek as it flew out, leaving behind a burning, stinging pain. Blood began to seep from the freshly torn wound on his face.
Right before Tsuchimikado Haruki vanished, he caught sight of the person who had left the scar on his face. His chilling gaze locked onto a pair of heterochromatic eyes that were as calm as a deep, stagnant pool.
Then, he completely dissolved into a bubble, dissipating entirely from this patch of heaven and earth.
......
Outside the school, a short distance away, Hoshino Rin sat in the back seats of the car, watching the sky return to tranquility. She blinked her eyes and tentatively asked Tamamo-no-Mae, who was sitting in her lap, "Is it over?"
Tamamo-no-Mae nodded. "Mhm."
Immediately after, she scratched her little cheek and added with a hint of uncertainty, "I think so!"