...It worked. There were a number of different constraints, so I couldn't use it often, but the fact that switching identities in the middle of battle had produced a meaningful result in actual combat was pretty great.
I'll be using this a lot from now on.
"Kgh..."
"Stay still."
Since I'd completely pinned Nico with a single variable, all that was left was our one-sided assault.
Nico seemed to understand that too, and his face turned deathly pale.
Just as I was about to swing my arm to finish the fight, my vision was suddenly filled with a dark brown wrench.
Bang!!
Damn it...! Did one slip through from over there?
I managed to block it by luck, but this was bad...
"Boss! Are you all right!"
"Huff... huff... I'm fine. And... that last attack was pretty threatening. That was almost a disaster."
"How can you say that right now... ngh..."
My arm aches. There's no external wound, but the muscles took a direct hit and I can't get any strength into it.
...I think I heard about this before. A technique that stores vibration in something and then detonates it. I vaguely remember hearing it was used in combat too.
"I thought you were nothing but a bookish weakling... I was badly mistaken. My apologies."
"Hah..."
Who cares. They're probably already seeing stars over there. If I want to finish this quickly, I need to end it now.
"At this rate... ngh!"
Whoosh!
"...Tch."
Ms. Ryoshu's sharp blade brushed Nico's hair.
...Lucky bastard. If things had gone just right, that could've ended the fight in one blow, and yet he'd survived twice now.
"Ah, ah! Wait, wait. I think we need a timeout.
I think the sardines I ate this morning went bad or something... my stomach's a little off."
What is this guy trying now...
"Boss!"
"There's no such thing. Next is mo. du. la. tion."
"Ms. Shurenne...!"
"Shu, what?"
"Ms. Shurenne told me. She said that if we came in here, we should never... never use the regeneration ampoules..."
...What? He looks and acts like nothing more than a workshop lackey worried sick about Nico, but Ryoshu waved a blade around a little and now he's babbling in fear. He's not going to last long.
"Hah... if you say that out loud... that's a breach of contract, you idiot..."
And he's acting on his own too... The Rose Spanner Workshop must be having a rough time. If you've got an incompetent subordinate...
"Oh... Shurenne said that? Why?"
"I don't know... she said I'd understand when the time came..."
As soon as Ms. Rodion coaxed him a little, another piece of information spilled out.
...What on earth did that woman Shurenne believe in when she made a contract with a workshop like that? It's a place that can't even weed out trash like this.
"Well, isn't there a simpler way to do this?"
...Dongrang, who had just muttered something ominous, fiddled with the ampoule in his hand, then suddenly—
Thunk—
He drove it into the distracted Fixer's body like he was throwing a dagger.
...Crazy bastard.
"...Ah."
He hurriedly tried to pull the ampoule back out, but by then it had already been fully injected...
"...! Why are you so surprised, Boss? What happens if you stick in a regeneration ampoule...?
...Huh, this is weird..."
Crack, pop, creak.
His arms and legs bent at grotesque angles, and then—
"Waaah, waaah."
Thud, pshk.
Something began suddenly bursting out through his body.
And even as he collapsed to the floor and tried to scream something else, the ampoule did not come back out.
"...Am I the only one who finds this familiar?"
"No way. You think only you, Greg, remember that insect nest?"
Just like those from G Corp, parts of his body... no, worse than that.
The sight of his entire body twisting and forcibly mutating as though he himself had become an insect was... unlike G Corp, which had sought to gain the physical abilities of insects, this looked like it was meant purely to kill...
And Nico's expression turned dark at the sight, as if he'd shown us something that should never have been shown.
"...Damn."
"Let's stop. I think I dragged in too many people."
"Well... the one who got lured in by money was you."
"Ugh... if I'd known this would happen, I should've gone and made a proper killing yesterday."
...At this point, there was no point in even guessing that Ms. Shurenne might be a traitor.
It was certain. The fact that she'd tried to twist us into insects and kill us left me feeling a little disgusted.
Of course, I had no intention of blaming her. In this filthy city, the one who gets fooled is the one at fault. Before getting fooled... you stab first.
With that judgment, before the enemy could even rush in, I kicked off the ground hard and closed in on Nico.
Thud—!
"Kgh..."
For now, I shoved Nico back hard. Considering the risk and traits of my eye, I'm optimized for one-on-one combat, so I'll deal with the others later.
"...Have you lost your mind? Why would you charge straight into the middle of the front line—"
As his posture wavered slightly, he was right that this made me look surrounded... but who cares?
I've got decent bodily enhancement and eyes that can glimpse possibility.
...Tap, tap!
"This is insane..."
There's a little risk involved, sure, but that just means it's not something I can't dodge.
"Hah..."
I immediately surged at him again, blade already drawn.
He'd managed to regain some balance in the meantime, but what can a ragtag bunch do in a fight without their boss and with their formation broken?
If I can just grab hold of him, the battle is mine without any variables.
"......"
He must know that too. Now... we're one step away from finishing this damn request.
Earlier, I'd gained the upper hand easily through an unexpected ambush via a trap, but now things weren't going so smoothly.
"Ha, you were so full of confidence and this is all you've got? Try a little harder!"
Thud!
...Maybe because the killing machines from deeper inside had joined in, his expression had brightened a little too.
That didn't mean we were losing, but the problem was that it had increased the amount of time I had to hold out.
If I wasn't suppressing him with the advantage of strategy and information like before, then in speed, strength, and reach, I was the one getting pushed back across the board.
"Huff..."
Of course, that doesn't mean I'm losing outright.
Tap.
"What the—"
Whoom, crash!!
Using the eye's ability, I caught his weapon and hurled it straight into the wall. Then, the instant I closed the distance...
"Like hell you will!"
Thud!
"Kuh..."
I was immediately stopped by Nico's reaction.
So this still isn't enough... At this rate, winning is going to be impossible.
...Should I switch identities instead? Since I'm being outmatched in range so badly, it's hard to seize the advantage. If I can get in close enough, I'll win, but...
Whoom, whoom—
"......"
It's incredibly hard to get close to an opponent who's this wary.
"If you won't come to me, then I'll go to you!"
Let's stay calm. Calm.
Before Nico could fully close in, countless calculations were made within my field of possibilities. Defense, evasion, direct charge, counterattack. The result that emerged from all those options was...
...A gamble. Something I can do with minimal risk if I make full use of the eye's power.
From what I'd glimpsed in advance, the risk was a fatal wound on my end. The return was control of the battle. It was the kind of exchange ratio only possible when you dodge and counter at the very last possible instant.
If I trust the eye that has never betrayed me until now... then even if it's difficult, it's not impossible. If anything, it's closer to a move worth trying.
Swaaash—!
The time is now. When Nico rushes in, thinking I've let my guard down.
With the slightest movement, I narrowly evade the downward strike flying toward my body.
A perfect dodge, corrected slowly by the eye's power. My body has evaded, so it's a success... wait, this is...
The wrench I thought I'd clearly avoided didn't lose any force at all; it kept dropping straight to the floor and, in the end, came for my foot.
Bang!!
────!!!!
"Gghhh...!"
"I thought you might try to counterattack this time, so I added a little variable... and it worked."
Damn it... he used all that force to aim for my foot? What kind of precision is that... So experience really is experience, huh... I can't believe the match would end this absurdly...
I hurriedly tried to kick off with my remaining foot and create some distance, but with one foot smashed to pieces, that was impossible too, and before long my body lost all function.
...My whole body was screaming from the vibration that had been unleashed through it. It feels like even my brain is ringing...
I'm dead. My strength is gone, and my foot is wrecked. There's nothing I can do in this state.
"...Heh, you're at least fit to be the head of a workshop. I was sure I'd dodged that."
"We've got a lot of people on our side. Sorry, but please die already."
"...Ah."
I'm dying.
Bang!!
Just as I shut my eyes, certain I was about to die without being able to move, I had the illusion of seeing luxuriant sunset-colored hair in front of me.
...I really am in bad shape. There's no way Ms. Ishmael would show up here so conveniently...
"Hngh..."
Crash!!
"...Are you all right? I'm not too late, am I?"
...She's here?
Ms. Ishmael had blocked Nico's attack and somehow broken free of the struggle of strength to speak to me.
"Ah... you got it exactly right. I couldn't block that last attack. I was sure I was dead."
"...That's a relief."
After catching my breath and looking around, I saw that a large number of the robots had already been reduced to scrap, and the Rose Spanner Workshop's Fixers were no longer able to put up much of a fight. So I guess a few people had become available after all.
...So the effort wasn't meaningless after all. Then maybe I can... rest a little...
"...Wait!"
Just as my tension finally snapped and my body went slack, Ms. Ishmael held me up. Ah... I really shouldn't be doing this in the middle of a fight...
"...Ms. Ishmael."
"Yes, speak."
"I'm really tired, so... could I... rest for a moment?"
"......"
Ms. Ishmael looked toward Dante, as if waiting for an answer.
Though he wasn't all that close, he always somehow understood our words, so he was surely listening now too.
""
"Just a moment, please... Hey, Rodion! Stop smashing only the half-broken machine bastards and go support Ishmael!"
"Got it! I'll be there soon!"
Having received silent permission, I closed my eyes while leaning in Ms. Ishmael's arms.
...Ah, if I rest like this... I shouldn't...
"...Rest easy."
The consciousness I'd barely been holding onto was released by Ms. Ishmael's words, and soon my awareness sank down below.