The swarm of Crab-chans had been obliterated by the Death Blaster's gravitons.
The parasites had also vanished, every last one of them gone.
A portion of the Duke Territory’s lush nature had been transformed into a scorched wasteland where not even a blade of grass would grow.
I’m so going to get yelled at for this!
The financial damages were astronomical. Pristine natural ecosystems were prohibitively expensive.
"Boobs..."
I still couldn't speak properly.
What was I going to do about this...?
Just as I was sinking into a pit of despair, it happened.
"Gyaoooooooooon!"
Something massive crawled out from the denuded earth. It looked like a dinosaur from a zoo planet... or rather, it was a straight-up kaiju.
[Zork Network Node detected. Proposing to shift from Extreme Mode to Extreme Burst Mode.]
"No way in hell!"
[Approved. Extreme Burst Mode safety lock released.]
"You! Hey, I didn't give you permission! You have absolutely no intention of listening to me, do you?!"
[You are being very noisy.]
"You piece of—ungogogogogo!"
My face was suddenly clamped against the seat.
"Wait, not the eyes! Definitely not the eyes! No needles in my eyes..."
A robotic arm descended and pressed a mask onto my face. This was that thing I saw in JoJo!
No... not that too! Nooooooo!
[Extreme Burst Mode, initiating!]
Spikes emerged from both sides of the mask, piercing the back of my head.
I’m gonna turn into a vampiirreeeeeeee!
[Directly stimulating the brain to draw out ESP to its absolute maximum.]
Wryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
"Fshuuu... fshuuu..."
I could see it! I felt like I could see the kaiju’s every move!
It was probably just a hallucination, though.
The kaiju's dorsal fin began to glow.
"Big butt!"
I didn't miss a beat, driving a steel beam uppercut straight into its jaw. The kaiju's breath attack discharged harmlessly into the sky. That was definitely the kind of thing that would have killed me if it hit!
"System! One more Death Blaster!"
[Currently charging.]
Damn it, I couldn't use it yet?
"Gyawa!"
The kaiju swung its tail around. I leaped into the air to avoid it, then swung my steel beam down with all my might. With a sickening crack, the beam snapped. It didn't have enough structural integrity for this.
I tossed the broken beam aside and lunged. The kaiju grabbed me in return. In a strange twist of fate, we ended up in a lock-up position like a pro-wrestling match.
"Freckled girl with scary eyes!"
The kaiju and I delivered headbutts simultaneously. Even though I was strapped in with a safety belt, the entire seat shook. The belt and mask that had been pinning my face in place fell to the floor.
I felt something thick and viscous leak from the back of my head.
Wait, isn't this the kind of fluid that’s never supposed to leave your body?
My brain was already disappointing enough; I didn't need it getting even worse.
[Cranial damage detected.]
"Who cares! One more time!"
Wham!
[Gyaaa! The horn came off!]
"AI, shut up!"
The kaiju opened its maw and lunged. Its fangs sank deep into my shoulder.
[Shoulder armor heavily damaged!]
"I know that!"
As I twisted my body, I shoved my hand into the kaiju's crotch while it was off-balance from the bite.
"Untrimmed body hairrrrrrrrrrr!"
What the hell am I saying? Why did that come out of my mouth?
Regardless, my fighting spirit was at its peak. I hoisted the kaiju into the air, bracing it on my shoulders as I focused every ounce of strength I had.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
I dug my heels in and ran. Once my acceleration hit top speed, I leaped into the air and threw the beast, driving my weight down on top of it as we crashed into the earth.
It was an Oklahoma Stampede.
"Uooooooooooo!"
It seemed the hellish "Automatic Fetish-Shouting Time" had finally ended. A normal, manly roar actually escaped my lips.
The kaiju had finally released my shoulder. I transitioned into a mount and started pummeling it.
"Because! Of! You! My! Dark! History! Just! Got! Even! Worse, damn itttttt!"
I’ll finish this right now!
I rained punches on its ribs while locking in a guillotine choke.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
In the next moment, I was certain I was going to die. I saw it—I really was seeing fragments of the immediate future!
I used both hands to force its mouth shut. A split second later, a massive explosion erupted inside its maw, blowing me backward. I rolled across the ground and tried to push myself up, but my hand wouldn't touch the floor.
My right arm had been blown clean off and was lying a few meters away.
My opponent had taken massive damage, too. Half of its head was gone.
"Heh, how lewd."
Despite its wounds, the kaiju charged at me one last time.
[Jester! Canceling Secret Technique for emergency treatment! Please use Dimension Slash!]
"What’s that?!"
My remaining left hand began to emit a brilliant glow. Judging by the name, I was supposed to use a hand-sword strike. My ESP was rapidly drained away, leaving me lightheaded.
I’ve pushed it this far, so please, let this work!
"Secret Technique! Dimension Slash!"
I swung my left hand in a chopping motion, intending to split the kaiju from its remaining head down to its crotch.
A heartbeat later, the kaiju slid apart, its body cleaving in two perfectly smooth halves starting from the shoulder.
[Dimension Slash is an armament that severs the target along with the fabric of space itself.]
Once again, total overkill.
[Please deliver the finishing blow to the Zork Network Node.]
"It’s still alive?! You’ve got to be kidding me!"
[Please destroy the Core.]
The Core? Ah, that red, gem-like stone in its chest. Was I supposed to slice that with the Dimension Slash, too?
[Please stomp on it.]
"Roger that."
I raised my leg high and brought it down, crushing the red Core into dust.
[Destruction of Zork Network Node confirmed. Nearby Zork will be disconnected from the network and enter a state of dormancy.]
It looked like I had managed to save the surrounding area as well.
Now then... I have some unfortunate news.
I was at my limit. The blood vessels in my head were throbbing painfully, and that mysterious juice was still leaking from the back of my skull. Psychedelic hallucinations were starting to dance across my vision.
For instance, I was seeing a tiny fairy with butterfly wings.
[Please wake up.]
Slap, slap.
The fairy began slapping my face.
[Jester, wake up!]
Slap, slap.
Ugh, how annoying...
[I will treat you. I’m going to boost your Auto-Recovery skill.]
"Whuh...?"
My ESP was sucked away once more. But this time, I didn't scream. The wound on the back of my head closed up, and the mysterious juice stopped leaking.
[Jester, I apologize for the delay. I am the Sage Migration Support System. I look forward to working with you.]
I see. I think I finally understood.
"I'm not taking you with me."
I pointed a finger at the fairy.
In the first place, the Linear Blazer was way too big to carry around.