A clash of convictions over food.
In other words, things had just gotten real.
"Leo! Nakajima’s machine has been shot down!"
A correspondence came in from Isono.
Whoa!
Nakajima, who had been fighting Edge alongside Isono, had finally been taken out.
"Who did it!?"
He was a truly pathetic man, but even so, he was one of our ace pilots.
"It was Alyssa!"
"Has she finally awakened!?"
"I don't know! She's teamed up with Edge and they're firing off incredibly high-output ESP attacks! They're more troublesome than Latarnia missiles! I can't even get close!"
Ah... that was bad.
She might have just completed a Class Change from Jester to Sage.
It was that state I occasionally triggered.
I hadn't undergone Emergence yet, but Alyssa probably had.
This was dangerous.
She had turned into a turret capable of spamming high-level ESP.
While we were slowly grinding away to polish our martial arts, she had just gone "Kaboom" and zoomed right past us.
I really didn't want to fight her...
"Phew..."
"Did something happen, Leo-kun?"
Rikochi called out to me. She was still swinging her whip around with terrifying momentum, though.
"Nakajima was shot down by Alyssa."
"...Really?"
"Alyssa probably chose to Class Change from Jester to Sage."
But that was fine. That choice wasn't a mistake.
A Jester was supposed to be weak, after all. Tatiana and I were the only ones who were anomalies.
Then, without a moment's delay, a correspondence flew in from Rosaria. It was Charlotte, who was watching the situation while commanding the Rosaria Empire Squad from the rear.
"Wha-wha-wha-wha... What an absolute waste! What is the King of Chronos thinking!?"
"About the Sage thing?"
"Yes! To take a precious Jester and turn her into a Sage! That is a foolish act that shackles the Jester with the chains of common sense and weakens them! It is a massive mistake!"
"I kind of thought so too. But hey, Alyssa wanted it, so isn't it fine?"
Actually, when considering our rotation, I really needed a support machine that could spam ESP. Just having someone use a large number of Floating Batteries alongside Tatiana would make combat so much easier.
She had gone straight from a second-stringer to a first-stringer who couldn't be left out of the rotation. And as for the "weakening" part, you couldn't necessarily say that if her current abilities were beyond evaluation.
Since my brain functioned like those Rhythm Game Players, I had poor compatibility with the Sage class. I couldn't use Floating Batteries, and I lived more by instinct than by actual thought. In the first place, I hadn't even mastered my healing abilities.
Alyssa, however, would probably be able to master the Sage class. Ultimately, it was her own choice.
"Hmm, I think it's fine, isn't it?"
"This guy is hopeless! He's not thinking at all!"
Yeah, well, it was someone else's life. Thinking about it too much was a waste of time.
Now then, time to fight Rikochi.
"Alrighty then. Here I go!"
"Okay."
The tone shifted instantly from our relaxed exchange. Rikochi's whip lashed out.
Dodge... wait, wah! It was too fast!!!
I had no choice but to deploy my shield.
"Doryaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Since I was in a Standard Machine, all I had was a buckler. I really wanted a bigger shield.
I managed to parry the whip with my reflexes... but the response speed was so slow because it was a Standard Machine! I took a few hits.
Whenever I was forced to take a blow, I switched to Inertial Movement, so the damage was minimal. When it came to receiving hits, I basically relied on the Windmill Theory. Though the damage did continue to accumulate on the machine!
Then, there was a loud crack.
Huh? Did my machine finally break...?
I checked the camera and saw the arm of Rikochi's machine snap off and fly away. Ah, she overdid it.
"Guhahahaha! You fool! You exceeded the machine's limits!"
I drew closer with a villainous look on my face.
"W-Why is Leo-kun's machine still okay!?"
"Guhahahahahaha! Don't underestimate the number of times I've broken Standard Machines! I handled mine with care so as not to break it!"
"Ugh, take this!"
Rikochi deployed a pistol as a final act of resistance. But I was better at the fast-draw!
Bang.
A hole opened up in Rikochi's machine. I had aimed directly for the engine section.
Hmph. As it turned out, I was quite skilled at Cat's Cradle and the fast-draw.
"Wahhh! I lost!"
"Winning-pyon!"
Now then...
"My beloved wives! Mop up the enemy forces!"
"Sure thing. Come and get some!"
Melissa charged at the Shiyun Army. I joined in, while Claire provided cover. Ren systematically took down the commanders.
"T-They're too strong!"
"T-The enemy is wounded! Attack all at once!"
"Nuhahahaha!"
Melissa and I dealt out Punishment.
Thinking about it calmly, since they were all in Standard Machines, we just had to beat them up. I knew exactly what they were going to do. If you pushed those machines too hard like Rikochi did, they would just break!
The ones to watch out for were...
"It's you!"
I shot a Sniper. Nice, a hit!
That's right. Up until now, my Abnormal Tactics—which were over-adapted for the battle against the Zork—had just been weird. I just had to take them down in a normal gunfight!
"There!"
At mid-range, there was no way I would miss. It wasn't like they were closing in with movements I couldn't perceive, like Katori-sensei.
Dodge the beam... and take that! I crushed the long-range shooters. All that was left was mid-range!
Or so I thought, but then the Ogre God Nation troops put up their final resistance. They charged at us with melee weapons.
"Hyah-hah!"
"Nyahahaha!"
I slashed through them alongside Melissa. A crowd of Standard Machines without snipers was nothing to fear.
Nuhahahaha!
Ren and Claire supported us as well. And so, the Shiyun Army was annihilated.
Hyah-hah!
Now, to go support Isono...
Oh... only Eddy was left. Isono had been shot down.
"Huff, huff, huff... now is the time to surpass Leo-san!"
A correspondence came in from Alyssa, who was breathing heavily.
"I-I think she needs to go to a hospital! Alyssa-chan is in a total Berserk State! Hey, Edge!"
"I told her that too, but she won't listen to me..."
"Take this!"
Several attacks that looked like Solar Flares bore down on us.
"D-waaaaaaaaaah!"
I dodged while crying. I tried to fire back with my rifle even as I fled, but my shots were deflected by an ESP barrier.
"Wait! The output! The output is too high!"
"Ahahahahahaha!"
Flares attacked from all directions! Wait, this wasn't a human ability anymore!
"Pigyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Me, Melissa, and Eddy were all running for our lives.
"Leo! Don't you have some kind of plan!?"
"I'm too busy running away to think of one!"
"Fuha, fuhahaha!"
Alyssa, now completely high on power, stood in our way.
Hey, hey... After we beat Alyssa, we still have Rosaria, and then Katori-sensei is waiting in the wings...
This is way too much of an Impossible Game!