Due to the 『Connection』, a swarm of monsters suddenly came pouring in.
Charging straight into them, Narakino Rakuna was knocking down every monster she saw, one after another, with her fists.
〝Abyss-chan looks really lively〟
〝Thinking she was bawling her eyes out just a bit ago makes this genuinely heartwarming lol〟
〝If you only looked at this part, she’s like the protagonist of a delinquent manga〟
〝A protagonist who beats everything up with that big of a smile is kind of… (shiver)〟
—DAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA!
Kamijiki Hinasuu, refusing to lose, fired off countless bullets as well.
The monsters were getting riddled with holes one after another.
Before long, the gatling gun spun with a dry rattle.
She was out of ammo.
Hinasuu made a bitter face.
In her line of sight was that mad dog, still destroying monsters at a rate of one per second.
“Seriously, that girl is… insane…”
Then, with a blank expression, Hinasuu stopped firing and drove the thick barrel into the ground.
She pulled a magic gun from her pocket and slammed it into the gatling gun.
The barrel began to glow; as if swallowing the magic gun, it reconfigured itself with a clattering gashagasha.
〝Hinasuu-san, Magic Gun Third District!?”〟
〝Third District Hinasuu is proof she’s serious〟
〝What is that lame nickname!?〟
〝Is she some neighborhood kid?〟
〝Wait, she’s using a craft skill again!?〟
〝How is she crafting so smoothly in this short time?〟
〝This is basically art at this point〟
〝As expected of the young lady of the Kamijiki family〟
〝I heard crafting consumes a ton of magic power though〟
〝And magic guns use magic power for their ammo too, right?〟
〝That’s like… “endless magic power” levels〟
〝For the record, Suu-chan’s crafting skill is said to be top-class even among explorers〟
〝Even Kamijiki Seiryu can’t beat Suu-chan’s crafting skill〟
〝Normally, just making a gatling gun should take a full day〟
〝↑This is definitely a Hinasuu fan lol〟
〝Oh… the fan explanation helps lol〟
When the light converged, what appeared was a gigantic, modern-looking magic gun.
It wasn’t a firearm that used physical rounds—it was a magic beam gun that fired magic power itself.
With her real ammunition depleted, she’d switched to magic rounds.
There are two kinds of ammo for a magic gun.
One is real ammunition. Because it’s launched with magic power, the magic power consumption is extremely low. However, naturally, once you run out of bullets, you can’t fire.
The other is magic ammunition: a method of firing magic power itself as the projectile. With this, as long as you have magic power, you can keep firing without running out of ammo. In exchange, the magic power consumption is several times that of real ammunition.
Hinasuu lifted the magic beam gun with both hands to her waist and pulled the lever-style trigger.
—Kyuuiiiiiiiiiii.
Light concentrated at the muzzle.
A mass of magic power.
—BASHUUUUUUUUUUUU!
A bluish-white beam stretched into the swarm of monsters.
Monsters across a wide area were swallowed by the light and melted away one after another.
〝H-hey hey hey hey what is this!?”〟
〝YABEEEEEEEE!!〟
〝That’s straight-up a weapon lol〟
〝Never thought we’d get to see Suu-chan get serious!!〟
〝Thank Narakino Rakuna!!〟
〝A fan is literally saying thanks and I’m dying lol〟 Meanwhile, Rakuna still hadn’t slowed down at all.
Even after all that, the number of monsters she’d defeated was only about halfway.
But the number of remaining monsters was finally starting to drop.
“Hah… hah… Then… I guess I have no choice but to pour all my magic power into this…!”
Once again, Hinasuu poured magic power into the magic beam gun.
An even larger mass of magic power gathered—larger than before.
But—
“—!?”
All of a sudden, her strength gave out and she staggered.
From repeated uses of her craft skill and magic rounds, she’d run out of magic power.
“This is bad… I can’t control it…!”
With her posture broken, the magic beam gun fired.
“…Narakino Rakuna! Run!”
—BASHUUUUUUUUUUUU!
The bluish-white beam shot straight toward the swarm of monsters.
The impact was so immense that it distorted the stream itself.
The beam—far larger than before—was an ultra-wide-range long-distance attack that put every monster within its effective range.
And of course, that included Rakuna.
Rakuna lowered her hips, set both hands, and threw a punch straight into the oncoming beam.
—ZUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
A massive explosion erupted with a deafening roar.
The tracking drone was buffeted by the shockwave; the camera couldn’t capture anything anymore.
〝Ugyyaaaaaaaaaa!〟
〝Hey, that’s way too insaneeeee!〟
〝There’s no way this ends without consequences!!〟
〝I seriously can’t see anythingggg!!〟
As the viewers screamed in chaos, the screen whited out.
Only the thunderous noise echoed.
Then, after a while, the sound stopped.
Little by little, the light converged.
A faint cloud of dust began to show, and at last the scenery returned.
And then—
—SHUUUUUUUUUUUU.
What the camera revealed was Rakuna, smoke rising from her body, still holding her fist straight out.
Her clothes were a bit singed, but there didn’t appear to be a single injury on her.
Naturally, the monsters had been completely wiped out.
〝W-whoa—are you okay, Abyss-chan!!〟
〝Abyss-chan is uninjured!!〟
〝Thank god she’s safeeeee!!〟
〝Did she cancel the beam out with her fist!?”〟
〝“Canceling a beam with your fist” is not a phrase I’ve ever heard, even in anime lol〟
〝Abyss-chan herself is basically a weapon〟
〝That final thrust was the Kamijiki style secret art, Haten Senkō!! Genbu-sama’s ultimate technique, specialized into a single point!!〟
〝There’s a hardcore Kamijiki Genbu fan in here lol〟
〝Is that Shiiba-san? lol〟
〝LMAO〟
The comments were filled with shock at Rakuna—who had blocked a beam powerful enough to annihilate everything, with her bare fist.
On the other hand, Hinasuu—who had run out of magic power—collapsed onto the ground with a dull thud, still in a daze.
It looked like she’d burned through so much magic power that she couldn’t even stand anymore.
〝Honestly Hinasuu-san looks worse〟
〝Yeah she probably ran out of magic power…〟
〝I mean, after spamming craft and magic rounds like that…〟
〝She couldn’t control it at the end either…〟
Still sprawled on the ground, Hinasuu turned her limp gaze to Rakuna.
“…Thank goodness you’re safe… You really are the kind of girl Grandfather took notice of…”
As Rakuna came trotting up, Hinasuu continued.
“Are you hurt? I’m really, sor—”
“Ah, um! …I-I was really happy that I got to experience after-school karaoke. …Thank you so much for inviting me…!”
Cutting off Hinasuu’s words, Rakuna bowed her head.
〝???〟
〝After-school karaoke??〟
〝What is this girl even saying now? lol〟
〝In other words, the fight just now felt like karaoke to her!〟
〝Even with an explanation it still makes no sense lol〟
〝But wow, Abyss-chan has such a great smile〟
〝She must’ve been genuinely happy〟
〝Good for you, Abyss-chan (arms crossed from the back)〟 Rakuna’s thinking was, as always, hard to decipher.
Hinasuu furrowed her brow too. “After-school karaoke…?”
Confused, she hesitantly opened her mouth.
“Um… what about… the match?”
“…Huh. …O-oh, we were competing, weren’t we… Sorry, I forgot… Ehe… hehehe…”
Seeing that, Hinasuu suddenly remembered what Rakuna had said earlier:
『—Everyone, we did it…! For the first time in my life, I got invited to go have fun…!』
That’s right. For Rakuna, this was play.
Winning or losing had never mattered to her from the start.
Just like after-school karaoke.
At that, Hinasuu let out a breath as if all her strength drained away, and she laughed.
After seeing Rakuna’s smile—pure, wholehearted joy at being invited to have fun—
A match, who was better, who was on top…
All of it felt ridiculous, and she stopped caring.
“How stupid of me.”
Then, still lying down, Hinasuu suddenly stretched her arms and legs straight out.
Just like that, she began rolling—goro goro—closing the distance between herself and Rakuna.
Naturally, Rakuna let out a scream. “Hiii!”
“W-w-w-what are you doing!? Why are you coming over here!?”
Backing away with her face pale, she tripped over scattered magic stones and fell onto her butt.
And, as a bonus, she bit her tongue.
〝That is some easy-to-read panic lol〟
〝She stayed calm even with a swarm and a beam, lol〟
〝She’s more scared of a human approaching than monsters or beams lol〟
〝This is the usual Abyss-chan, yup〟
〝But seriously what is Hinasuu-san doing lol〟
〝She’s rolling over here so hard lol〟
“It can’t be helped! I used all my magic power and I can’t stand up!”
“Hiiiii! Y-y-you can’t stand—w-what are you going to do!?”
“You’re going to carry me outside!”
“Huh!? N-no, no, that’s impossible! If you touch me, I’ll pass out from nerves!”
“What is with you!? Don’t turn into a crab just because someone touched you!”
〝She’s not joking, either lol〟
〝Wait, how does Hinasuu-san know the crab bit? lol〟
〝Oh…?〟
〝That’s odd…〟
〝Don’t tell me Hinasuu-san watches Abyss-chan’s streams…? (dark grin)〟 And then—
—GOGOGOGOGOGO.
The dungeon began to shake again.
Even more violently than before—so violently that it clearly came through on the stream.
〝Earthquake??〟
〝Huh, again?〟
〝Wait, isn’t this bigger than last time?〟
〝Huh? Huh?〟
〝What the hell has been happening this whole time〟 The comment section’s mood instantly turned ominous.
Hinasuu’s expression also shifted as she stared sharply at the ceiling.
Cracks in the walls crept upward with sharp pishi pishi sounds, reaching the ceiling.
“This is… bad.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry about me. Just run for now, Narakino Rakuna.”