c21-c40 · 027-ch27

Chapter 27: It Was Supposed to Be Easy (POV: Anarchy)

I thought this would be a simple job.

When the president told us to bring that cleaner to her, I'd suspected there was some hidden agenda. But all she asked was that we find the man, and with the generous compensation—far exceeding the task's difficulty—I figured it was just a bonus payment disguised as a job.

I thought everything was going smoothly.

The monsters in the Shinjuku Dungeon's deep layer are weaker than those in Shibuya Dungeon. I was starting to find it boring when, through sheer coincidence, we ran into that person—Shibasaki-san. I'd been prepared to spend over a week searching, so this was a stroke of luck.

Andante losing his temper... well, that was inevitable.

The guy has a foul mouth, and even I was getting fed up with Shibasaki-san's attitude, brushing us off with talk of being busy or having work. Besides, we'd planned to bring him in by force from the start. And honestly, that's easier. I mean, come on, this is just some guy who got famous for taking down a Blood Ogre? A monster like that, I could hunt solo.

There's no way we'd lose to someone like that.

That's what I thought.

"...Impossible."

But what the hell is he!? He didn't dodge Silurica's Wild Strike—capable of reaching sonic speeds—he caught it barehanded, and in a cloud of sand where he couldn't even see!?

"A-Anarchy."

"Silurica! Prepare a second shot! This time, shoot to kill!"

"B-But...!"

"Don't let your guard down! He'll kill us!"

I prayed in my heart. I prayed that everything—their attacks having no effect, him catching the arrow with his hand—I prayed it was all just a fluke.

I sprinted to the front line. That man was still immobilized by Main's magic. If we were going to strike, it had to be now.

"Main! Don't hold back! Hit him with every debuff you've got!"

"...! Slow Graph! Neuro Range! Minimum Chain!"

I had Main layer on magic after magic, weakening him however we could. He couldn't move an inch, so of course everything hit. Please, please work...!

I'd definitely been overconfident before. But not now. I would pour everything I had into crushing him.

Because I finally understood—this was an enemy we absolutely could not defeat otherwise.

"Andante! Coordinate with me! Don't give him an opening!"

"I'm on it!"

I ran, drawing my sword, moving to assist Andante. As he rained blows on Shibasaki like a sandbag, I swung my sword from behind, catching him in a pincer.

"Why, why can he block it...!"

From a clear blind spot—an angle where he shouldn't have been able to react no matter what—he deflected my attack with his deck brush without even turning around. Andante's punches from the front with his left hand, my sword technique with his right hand holding the deck brush—he brushed them both aside effortlessly. Just a little more, I was so close to landing a hit, but that single step felt impossibly far.

Even Andante, who'd been acting so cocky until moments ago, was visibly panicking.

"This is insane... movement impairment, speed reduction, vision loss, restricted mobility—we've got it all on him! What the hell is with those movements!"

"Yeah. It's pretty fun being restricted, isn't it?"

Andante was furious. Shibasaki sounded amused. I understood intuitively.

He'd been completely unharmed by close-range explosion magic, yet he'd taken Main's debuffs.

I'd thought that was our good fortune, born from his carelessness.

I was wrong. To enjoy himself, to make fighting opponents as weak as us entertaining, he'd let them hit on purpose.

...But that arrogant attitude would be his undoing.

I made eye contact with Andante. It was the signal that we were ready. In the middle of our combined assault, Andante and I stepped in simultaneously.

At this moment, whether he liked it or not, Shibasaki would have to focus on us. That's why the timing had to be now.

"God Bird!!"

The arrow Silurica fired was at maximum power and maximum speed. It tore through the air, leaving sound behind, flying straight for Shibasaki's head.

But you won't notice! You can't notice! The angle I fired from is your blind spot, and furthermore, the line of fire is hidden by my body! At the last second, the instant before impact, I tilted my head to the side, opening the path for the arrow.

The arrow grazed past my ear and struck the back of Shibasaki's head. Right in front of my eyes, it definitely hit.

Got him! This time for sure!

"Good coordination, not bad. But because of that, your intent and timing are easy to read."

I thought I was seeing things. The arrow didn't pierce through—it shattered on the spot, from the arrowhead to the shaft, crumbling apart. Yes, just as if it had collided with something extremely hard.

Defense magic? Or physical reinforcement with mana?

I didn't know. What I did know was that if Silurica's attack didn't work, then we currently had no means of defeating this person.

Andante and I instinctively tried to retreat, to put distance between us and him. That's when...

"Wh-what the hell is this!?"

"My feet...!"

"Spider Net, right?"

When we stepped back, neither of us could move. I looked down at my feet. The same pattern as the magic Main had cast on Shibasaki was now floating there.

No way, this guy can use obstruction magic too, not just attack spells...!

"Dammit, Bomb Rain!"

"Explosions again? You have so little variety. Don't you have anything else?"

"Bomb Rain! Assault Flame!!"

"Doesn't look like it. Well, I guess we're done then."

Shibasaki ignored Andante as he spammed his magic and stood before me, unable to move.

I'm going to be killed...!

The moment I thought that, a powerful impact hit my abdomen. And I was sent flying backward with tremendous force.

"Kah...!"

An attack right at the threshold where I wanted to pass out but couldn't. As my consciousness grew hazy from the damage, my vision showed Shibasaki approaching Andante.

"Well then, shall we begin class?"