Phantom glanced at Arthur and the other two along with the knights they led. He leapt backward, deciding to use his clones to test the strength of these two outsiders.
Was this what Nishi had been trying to describe?
Cyan watched the afterimages appear around Phantom as he moved and recalled how Nishi had been gesturing wildly earlier. It seemed she had been trying to describe exactly these afterimages.
Was it a skill?
Infinite Style · Immovable!
Facing the rapier thrust by one of Phantom's clones, Cyan's right hand, glowing with green light, grabbed the clone by the collar while her left hand swung the demon blade to knock the rapier aside.
She then pushed the clone away with her right hand and counterattacked with the blade, leaving a wound across its waist. Stepping forward, she drove the blade through the clone's body and flicked it upward. The bisected clone collapsed to the ground.
The dead clone vanished without spilling a single drop of blood.
Shield Bash!
Asuka used her massive shield to repel one of Phantom's clones' attacks, then thrust her lance through its body. She lifted it and smashed it into the ground. As the clone disappeared, she swung her shield to send a charging soldier flying, then turned and impaled a greatsword knight through the chest before swinging him around to smash into other incoming enemies.
How the hell are there Onimusha here?
When Asuka spotted the Onimusha, she couldn't help but complain inwardly.
"Phantom! Balbars! Muramasa! Are you the ones who ordered that traitor to disrupt the Knight Festival?!"
Arthur pointed his sword at Phantom, Balbars, and Muramasa and let out an angry shout.
"Despicable and shameless bastards!"
"You will pay for everything you've done!"
Lancelot and Percival stood on either side of Arthur, glaring at them furiously.
"Today is the day you die!"
Phantom appeared in front of Arthur in the blink of an eye and thrust his sword toward his chest.
"Clang!"
Arthur raised his sword to block Phantom's attack and forced him back with a swing.
This place, which had just been cleansed by the bombs, had once again become a battlefield.
Huh? Huh?? This doesn't make sense!
Orlov was stunned when he saw Barbals and Muramasa. The blue-clothed ninja had told him these two bosses weren't supposed to appear here.
Why are they here?
Extreme Speed!
A faint blue light glowed around Nishi's body. Her speed reached its current maximum as she turned into a blue shadow and flashed past like a ghost. Several knights and soldiers fell like dominoes. The bodies of two knights even began melting after death — clearly triggered by the special effect of Musk's short blade.
Seeing cards drop from the enemies, Nishi ran back to pick them up.
Cyan stepped forward and raised the demon blade high before bringing it down in a powerful slash. A charging bull-horned knight, armor and all, was cleaved cleanly in two. Having absorbed the blood of multiple strong opponents, the demon blade had become even sharper — far beyond what the thick but low-quality plate armor of the bull-horned knight could withstand.
"Go help Nishi."
Cyan spoke to the black widow spider, who had poked her head out from her collar fur. She was a little worried about Nishi.
"Mm."
The black widow spider nodded. She jumped off Cyan's body, bounced across several enemies, and landed precisely on Nishi's shoulder, nearly making her stab herself with her short blade in surprise.
"Don't scare me like that…"
Nishi let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was the black widow spider on her shoulder. She ducked under a greatsword knight's swing, slid forward, and kicked his leg.
With a loud crack, the knight's leg broke. As he opened his mouth to scream, Nishi drove her short blade into it.
Holy shit?!
The 'knight' who had arrived late stared in shock at the bosses from Stages 5 and 6 appearing here. His mind felt like a stampede of countless alpacas, all converging into the words "Holy shit," which nearly escaped his mouth.
Did these guys cause the explosion?
The 'knight's' gaze swept over Cyan and Asuka. After a moment of hesitation, he took a few steps back, looking for an opportunity to deliberately get hit by an enemy, fake his death, and slip away to hide and wait for his chance.
Since three bosses had gathered here, Arthur and the other two alone definitely wouldn't be able to defeat them…
Watching Cyan fight with all her strength, the blue-clothed ninja's eyes flashed with calculation.
Kill them! Fight until you're exhausted! Use up all your strength and skills! Then it'll be my turn to act!
The blue-clothed ninja hid in the shadows, thinking sinisterly like a hunter waiting for the perfect moment.
"Bang!"
Balbars slammed his massive hammer into the ground. The earth trembled, and any knight struck by it had their armor crushed as blood and flesh sprayed out.
"Hah!!!"
Percival roared as he gathered battle aura into his great axe and brought it down on Balbars. Balbars didn't dodge and took the attack head-on. A small crack appeared on his armor, which bore a ferocious demonic face.
"How… is this possible?!"
Percival stared in disbelief at the tiny crack he had made with all his strength. The next second, Balbars backhanded him and sent him flying. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Arthur and Lancelot caught the flying Percival and retreated several steps with grim expressions.
"Flames!"
Muramasa leapt into the air. His body strangely floated as flames gathered above and rained down like water!
It covered the area where Arthur and the other two were standing!
Arthur and Lancelot supported Percival as they tried to escape the range of the fire rain. Balbars raised his massive hammer and slammed it into the ground again.
A crack appeared in the earth. The ground shook violently. Arthur and the others' movements faltered for a moment, and the flames fell on them, exploding on impact.
Screams came from within the smoke.
Cyan and Asuka ran toward the smoke at the same time. If they wanted to complete Survival Quest One, Arthur and the other two absolutely could not die!
The smoke from the explosion enveloped them. Phantom jumped into the air and swung both hands. A flame-like shockwave erupted from the ground and flew into the smoke.
"Bang!"
When the smoke cleared, blood dripped onto the ground. Arthur and the other two had been injured quite badly after taking attacks from both Muramasa and Phantom.
"Die!"
Balbars roared and leapt up. His heavy body came crashing down toward Arthur and the other two like a mountain.
Unit-02… Lend me your power!
Asuka's veins bulged across her body. Her beautiful face twisted with a hint of ferocity as she raised her greatshield with both hands to block the descending Balbars.
The silhouette of Unit-02 appeared around her. Her HP, Mental Power, and Stamina were decreasing at an alarming rate!
Even though Asuka's body had undergone some changes after her plug had gone deep into EVA's core, using even a portion of an EVA's power with a human body would have severe consequences.
"Puh!"
Asuka coughed up blood. After Balbars landed, she took a step back and quickly ate two recovery items. Only after her HP recovered did she feel somewhat better.
Thanks to the survival space's datafication, as long as the heart and brain weren't fatally damaged, even broken bones would quickly heal once HP was restored.
Of course, if a leg or arm was completely lost, one would have to return to the survival space and spend Survival Points to regenerate it.
Ripple Dash!
Infinite Style: Gale Slash!
Infinite Style: Single Blade Slash!
Surrounded by golden light, Cyan shot forward like a meteor and crashed into Balbars. Green sword energy, burning like flames, enveloped the demon blade. She drove her knee hard into Balbars!
Pain shot through her knee, but Cyan acted as if she felt nothing. She slashed upward with the demon blade, and Balbars' heavy body was actually lifted off the ground.
Feeling the immense weight, Cyan's expression remained calm as she brought her blade down on Balbars' chest.
The already incredibly sharp demon blade, combined with the sword energy, actually managed to cut through Balbars' armor!
Balbars took two steps back and touched the smooth cut on his chest, staring at Cyan in shock.
My armor… She actually cut through my armor!
Infinite Style: Gale Slash!
Cyan raised her blade and thrust toward Balbars. Flame-like sword energy once again appeared on the demon blade!
This was the perfect opportunity to kill Balbars. Cyan wasn't going to let it slip away.
"That weapon is…"
Muramasa looked at the large tachi in Cyan's hand and the extremely refined swordsmanship she displayed.
"Are you a warrior too? That blade of yours isn't bad…" Muramasa swung his sword to block Cyan's attack on Balbars. His eyes glowed with a strange light.
The demon blade in Cyan's hand grew restless, as if it had encountered a rival. It urgently conveyed its will to its master.
It wanted Cyan to cut down the blade in Muramasa's hand.
"My blade… Let me cut you and your blade down with it."
Cyan looked at Muramasa coldly. A hint of blood-red appeared in her silver-white eyes.
"To prove that it is the strongest demon blade."
"Is that so? Then come and try. Try to cut me down."
Flames ignited on the blade in Muramasa's hand…
No — to be precise, the blade itself was Muramasa.
The Onimusha-like appearance was merely an empty shell. Powered by the cursed blade Muramasa, the body was actually hollow inside.
"I'll do it."
The golden, mist-like light around Cyan's body faded as she engaged Muramasa in fierce combat. She couldn't maintain the state of releasing Ripple energy for too long.
She had to save enough strength to deal with the blue-clothed ninja who was still hiding in the shadows!
"Bang!"
Asuka charged into Balbars with her greatshield and aimed her lance at the cut Cyan had previously made on his chest.
Seeing Cyan and Asuka fighting Muramasa and Balbars, Phantom killed the knight who was trying to take Arthur and the other two away. He approached them with a savage grin and raised his sword, about to thrust it down.
"This is the consequence of opposing Lord Garibaldi! Die!!!" Phantom laughed maniacally as he prepared to strike.
Perfect opportunity!
Orlov saw his chance. He activated both the High Morale and Velociraptor buff cards in succession. He felt power surging through his entire body!
Like a heavily armored tank that had just engaged nitrous, he charged straight at Phantom!
Outer Path: Brand Press!
Orlov slammed into Phantom with full force, grabbed him, and leapt high into the air. His steel gauntlets clamped around Phantom's neck as he drove him headfirst into the ground!
"BOOM!"
The already ruined ground shook once more from the impact of human malice. Orlov slid forward several meters while pressing Phantom's head into the dirt.
Phantom let out a pained howl. The flesh on his face was ground away by the impact!
His face was completely deformed!
What a tragedy. The originally handsome and effeminate Phantom had now been ruined.
Blood left a long trail across the ground.
The soil was soaked with blood and stuck to half of his mangled face. The indescribable pain made his throat emit hoarse, distorted screams.
His HP bar dropped to less than one-fifth!
It wasn't over yet!
Just as Orlov was about to follow up with another attack, a massive hammer came flying toward him. He had no choice but to abandon the follow-up and retreat quickly. Fortunately, the buff cards' effects were still active. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to dodge the hammer Balbars had suddenly thrown.
In order to save Phantom's life, Balbars punched Asuka away and hurled his hammer. However, the throw failed to achieve the effect he wanted.
Perfect opportunity!
Nishi's hazel eyes lit up as she looked at Phantom struggling to stand. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance! If she didn't act now, when would she?
Extreme Speed!
Ripple Dash!
A faint blue light flashed. Nishi appeared beside the struggling Phantom and slashed his throat in one clean motion, taking his final sliver of HP.
[Damage Contribution Calculation…]
[Survivor #6411 dealt 66% damage to Phantom. Obtained Golden Card (Pseudo).]
[Survivor #11766's servant: Nishi dealt 18% damage to Phantom. Obtained Bronze Card.]
[Survivor #13001 dealt 16% damage to Phantom. Obtained Bronze Card.]
[Cards have been placed in inventory.]
Huh? I got one too?
Asama Ai, who had been hiding at the edge of the battlefield, hadn't expected to receive a share even though Phantom had died. She widened her eyes in realization. It must have been because Kayako had lit the fuse and caused the explosion that damaged Phantom earlier.
A Golden Card! This is a huge win!
Orlov looked at the Golden Card (Pseudo) in his inventory with excitement. Even with the "Pseudo" label, it was still a Golden Card!
He hadn't expected his Outer Path: Brand Press to deal such massive damage to Phantom.
Arthur, Lancelot, and Percival looked at Phantom's corpse. Supporting each other, they stood up and retreated from the battlefield under the protection of the knights. In their current condition, staying would only become a burden to both the knights and the outsiders.
Balbars jumped and came crashing down toward Orlov.
Orlov took several steps back, still feeling the ground tremble.
Balbars picked up his hammer and let out an enraged roar, like a furious beast!
The demon blade clashed with Muramasa's sword, producing a harsh metallic screech!
Cyan took a step back. With her left hand wearing Bloody Tear, she punched Muramasa in the chest. The six spikes sank deep into his armor. She yanked downward, tearing a huge gash in Muramasa's chest armor.
"It's useless!"
Muramasa kicked toward Cyan's stomach and swung his blade at her arm.
Infinite Style · Immovable!
Cyan grabbed the armor on Muramasa's chest with her right hand while using her left to deflect the incoming blade. She pushed him away and counterattacked, severing Muramasa's right arm with one slash.
"It's useless. You still can't cut me down like this!"
The severed right arm floated strangely back to its original position and reattached. Muramasa flexed his arm as his eerie glowing eyes stared at Cyan. The armor torn open by Bloody Tear slowly began regenerating.