The Imperial Standard Machine Blade.
It was a single-edged katana, a completely different beast from the Type 2 Straight Sword I’d used before.
The citizens of the Empire were descendants of the Japanese. That being said, there was no such thing as a pure-blooded human in this world. The Japanese history known to players had been lost long ago. Even the Emperor didn’t claim to be Japanese anymore; the word itself had vanished from common parlance. Only traces of the culture and language remained, and the katana was likely a relic of that heritage.
Of course, this was a clash between giant weapons. It wasn’t just a simple hunk of metal. The one I held was a High-frequency Vibration Blade.
Then there was the issue of Imperial Style Swordsmanship. This time, I had to use the katana techniques—a course I’d only made it halfway through!
In this world, that wasn't unusual. Swordsmanship was primarily for ceremonial purposes, so most people only bothered to learn the specific forms used in festivals and rites. Most students graduated having mastered the spear and the straight sword, with only a cursory understanding of the katana. Unless you were aspiring to join a specialized unit, the katana was considered a wasted skill. Naturally, I didn’t have the finesse for actual combat.
Because of that, I’d long since given up on fighting with "proper" Imperial Style Swordsmanship. However, I didn’t have anyone to practice kendo with, and there wasn’t enough time for a beginner like me to actually get good. That left me with only one option.
VR games.
There was a certain absurdity to playing a game while living inside a game world. I had spent countless hours grinding through a VR sword-action game—specifically, a hardcore versus mode that restricted your character's movements to your actual physical motions.
Man, I couldn't even count how many times I’d lost. In a sci-fi world like this, a maso-game where losing was the default wouldn't exactly be a hit, but I had a wife who happened to love those kinds of punishing experiences. I got thrashed by my wife in private matches and thrashed even harder in online play. I lost count of how many times I wanted to quit.
"Does a training program like that really exist? I’m in," Melissa had said for some reason, joining the fray only to build her own mountain of losses.
It was only recently that I’d finally started winning. I never thought the day would come when I’d actually have to use such a useless skill.
The parasite squirmed, emitting a palpable wave of killing intent. The quality of that intent shifted, changing from a crushing pressure to a sharp, piercing prickle.
It was coming!
"Claire, I need to concentrate, so I’m going silent for a bit."
"Acknowledged. Don't do anything reckless."
No can do, I thought. I can’t win this without being reckless.
I took a deep breath. The trick was to keep the whole picture in view. That, and trusting Claire.
I held the katana upright and pulled it to my right side, settling into the Hasso-no-Kamae. Some people might have already guessed my pattern by now. And they’d be right. I wasn't about to hold anything back against a superior opponent!
"Uoryaaaaa!"
I bellowed at the top of my lungs and charged at full speed. I couldn't pull off the dexterous, flashy moves Melissa did. Crab-chan's weakness had been close-quarters combat, so I’d managed to scrape by there. But my usual tricks didn't work against the giant types. Once the enemy reached a certain level of strength, a Jester's options usually ran out.
That was exactly why I chose the simplest tactic available. Might is power.
I pushed the Roller Dash to its limit, accelerating my speed.
"Uoryaaaaa!"
I put everything into a single, overhead strike. What if it dodged? I didn't care!
"Drop dead already!"
I swung the blade down without even tapping the brakes. The parasite tried to bring up its greatsword to parry. I knew it would do that! I threw the throttle to the floor, using the entire weight of the machine to crush through its guard.
There was a heavy, dull impact. Defense didn't matter. The katana bit through the enemy’s weapon and sank deep into its head.
"Gyapaaaaa!"
The parasite let out a distorted scream as its head was crushed. Where was the sound even coming from?
I felt a sudden jolt of intuition and threw the machine to the ground to evade. A split second later, a flurry of tentacles erupted from the parasite's mangled head. They lashed through the air, striking the exact spot where my machine’s head had been moments before.
"Fire!"
Claire fired the cannon from the rear seat with perfect timing. As expected of my partner! She’s on it!
I used the opening to retreat while maintaining a guard position. I knew that keeping my distance was technically a disadvantage, but I had no idea what other tricks the enemy had. I ducked behind a building. It was time for a corner-camping strategy.
"Surviving even with its head crushed? That's just cheating!"
"What now, Leo? Do we run?"
"It probably won't let us."
A chill ran down my spine. I scrambled to move.
A heavy thud echoed as a tentacle pierced straight through the building we had just been behind.
"Are you kidding me!?"
the power was insane. There was no way to dodge something like that through reflexes alone. It was coming again! I kept moving, dodging for my life as the tentacles leveled buildings in their pursuit.
"Leo! I don't think it can see our exact position. It might be sensing infrared... or sound... but it's definitely tracking us somehow."
"Roger that."
I decided to try my ESP. If I used fire to create a distraction, it should track the heat.
"Fire!"
I held out my hand and activated my ability. Perhaps because my heart wasn't in it, only a small flame flickered into existence. In the next instant, a tentacle obliterated the spot.
"Fire... So it really is heat-sensing?"
But something felt off. Could it really attack that accurately with just heat? I pounded on a building wall and immediately moved. A tentacle pierced the wall instantly.
"Sound, too, then."
I scanned the area, my eyes landing on a nearby construction site.
"Claire, I need a favor."
At this point, I didn't care about playing fair. I moved from building to building, keeping my output as low as possible. It seemed that if I stayed below a certain speed, the enemy couldn't track me. After a few tense minutes of stalking, I reached the main street.
"Claire, in position."
"Acknowledged."
I stepped out onto the open road and readied my katana. This was where the real hell began.
The tentacles came. Relying entirely on my gut, I slashed through the first one that reached for me.
"Gyaaaaaa!" the enemy shrieked.
I stood my ground. More tentacles lashed out—multiple this time. If I messed up the order, I was dead. I cut them down one by one, my arms starting to burn.
"This is brutal..."
"Leo, preparations are complete."
Perfect. Just a little more.
But things are never that easy. I felt a surge of killing intent from above.
"Upstairs!?"
Tentacles rained down from the sky. I slashed them away desperately as the enemy itself descended, a giant greatsword gripped in its hands. Should I parry it? No... I couldn't block that!
I leaped back, performing a mid-air rotation to stick the landing. The greatsword slammed into the pavement, sending debris flying in every direction.
"Firing!"
At Claire's signal, I charged the enemy at full speed. A split second later, a massive hole opened in the parasite's upper body.
An anti-materiel rifle.
The trick was simple: I’d had Claire take remote control of a Humanoid Heavy Machinery at the construction site to fire the shot.
"Heavy machinery destroyed! We’re out of ammo!"
"Figured as much!"
I let out a wild cry and lunged. I drove the katana straight into its torso. There was no finesse, no technique—just raw horsepower and momentum. But against a body that was already halfway torn apart, that was more than enough.
"Uoryaaaaa!"
"Gyaaaaa!"
The parasite was cleaved in two. I held my stance in Zanshin, watching to see if the thing would twitch. It stayed still.
"We... we won..."
I was drenched in sweat, and my hands wouldn't stop shaking. That was terrifying. Fighting something humanoid that actually knew how to fight back was way too much for my heart.
"Lord Groom! Are you safe!?"
A transmission came in from one of the Imperial Guard veterans.
"You're way too late!" I shouted back, nearly in tears.