'Mana Sovereign.'
The ability to control and wield the mana within your body, and the mana within a certain distance, entirely at will.
It was practically one of the traits called endgame-tier.
It was a level above even the Mana Affinity trait: Mana Affinity only meant you could handle mana comfortably, but with Mana Sovereign, the caster could handle mana however they pleased.
'The power to literally rule over mana.'
This trait, plus the massive amount of mana stored in my body.
At this level, taking on Gloren wasn't outright impossible.
But even that only brought me to a level where I could stand and fight Gloren.
My chances of beating Gloren were slim to none.
The moment I'd barely shown myself, Gloren had already sensed me with her Beast's Sixth Sense.
"Well, well, so you're the one who pulled this. Rat. I don't know how you did it, but seeing that you kept the dolls alive, you'd have to show yourself. Did you feel that sorry for the other dolls after running off by yourself?"
Unlike her brutish looks, she was quick to read a situation.
Probably viciousness gained from countless massacres.
"How about you let the other dolls go first, and we settle this between us?"
"But this is my job to begin with? Getting rid of all the useless ones and wiping out the ones that run."
At Gloren's words, the kneeling dolls cowered.
"Then I'll fight you one round, so let the dolls go instead. That scrap heap can't have warmed you up enough yet."
I pointed at the parts of the enhanced special mechanical soldiers strewn across the floor.
I'd wondered why only the reinforced wall had been left standing there, and it turned out Gloren had smashed them up to kill time.
A small spark flickered from an enhanced mechanical soldier whose core in its heart had already been pierced.
"Pfft, ahahaha! You'll take me on? You seem to have lost your mind from fear, so I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
"Your goal is to take me back anyway, not to kill me. That means you can play around as much as you like and do whatever you want, as long as I don't die. Right?"
"...Hah, you're a bastard with brains but no sense of your situation. I hate bastards like that the most. It's disgusting watching them throw their weight around like they're something. I'll take you back with your limbs snapped, just like you want."
Letting out a hollow laugh at my words, Gloren jerked her chin up toward the dolls behind her.
Freed by Gloren, the dolls hurriedly began to leave the area.
I didn't look back at the dolls' eyes on me.
Honestly, it was because I didn't have much confidence.
"What state is your master in right now?"
"Your master? You ran off without permission, and now you carelessly bring up the benefactor who fed you and let you sleep? Guess escaping made you forget your place?"
"Just answer my question."
At my bold attitude, Gloren let out an incredulous laugh.
But I had to hear the answer to that question.
"Hahaha! The rat's lost its fear too, now? Pulling a stunt like that, are you afraid of the consequences? Or do you want to go back, maybe?"
"No, I have no intention of going back there. Or of being dragged there either."
"Hah, what a disobedient rat. But honestly, I like it. As it happens, my body's itching so bad I can't stand it either."
Gloren brushed off her shoulders, and the Genocide Blade sprang out of one of her hands.
"I was pretty curious. What kind of thing the master, who usually doesn't care much about dolls at all, would order brought back personally. So don't disappoint me."
As Gloren readied for battle, a purple aura swirled around her blade.
"One more thing, since I'm telling you: the master should be waking from her sleep about now. If you want to know more, we can go check together after we've had our fun."
Waking up? Then she wasn't watching the situation right now?
Normally she'd have dolls like Gloren spread across the outside world to keep an eye on things.
But before I could even ponder it, Gloren charged at me.
[Injecting magic into the High-Performance Magic Pulse Gun.]
[Current Output – 200%]
Far more powerful than when I'd used it last time.
It was thanks to the enormous magic I'd received from the core.
On top of that, thanks to the Mana Sovereign trait, I no longer had to struggle with the magic inside me.
Without hesitation, I fired the pulse gun straight at Gloren.
It was twice its usual power, but I couldn't get a proper look at that power.
"You'll regret this. Rat."
Dodging my attack in an instant and closing in, Gloren grabbed my shoulder and slammed her knee into my stomach.
My body, which should have gone flying, instead floated up on the spot, still in her grip.
Then my body swung around her in a full circle and tore straight through the air.
BANG!
Sent tumbling far across the floor, I quickly got up and checked my stomach.
[Body Durability – 94%]
[Consuming mana to proceed with self-restoration of the body.]
I could still move fine even after an impact like that.
The internal shock to my body must have been severe, but because it was a doll's body, I didn't feel much pain.
If my body were human now, I'd have been knocked senseless and collapsed right then and there.
It was a truly useful body, but the problem was that I wasn't the only one.
"How about it, amazing, right? The bodies the master created for us are optimized solely for fighting. Be grateful for that blessing."
Gloren, like me, was a being created by the main boss, Seren.
I couldn't know whether she'd made Gloren with that personality or not, but I knew one thing.
That Gloren had been a lunatic who enjoyed slaughter, massacre, and battle from the very start.
[Activating the Mana Core even more powerfully.]
[Physical abilities activate even more greatly.]
[You have obtained the skill Body Enhancement.]
[Strength and Agility stats increase by 10.]
No, this still isn't enough.
[Using the skill Weapon Form Conversion on the part, Boots of Flexibility.]
[The Boots of Flexibility switch to the 'Swiftness' form.]
[Agility stat increases by 7.]
Strength 11 and Agility 18.
Far short of Gloren's stats, but this was the best I could do.
Gathering magic, I layered magic right over my sword.
"Oho?"
When she saw me holding a weapon, curiosity bloomed on Gloren's face.
But whatever she thought, all I did was keep my head spinning.
'How do I land a hit on her?'
Her monstrous physical abilities played a part in Gloren dodging my attacks, but the biggest reason was, of course, her Beast's Sixth Sense.
An ability that naturally sensed where an attack would be aimed.
Based on that trait, she read the direction of my attacks and moved on that basis.
But right now, I don't have the ability to see through that trait—
-Upper right.
'This.'
I twisted my body just as the voice had said and dodged the blade.
Sure enough, Gloren's blade grazed right past my side.
As I pulled back to open some distance, I was brimming with excitement inside.
'I didn't think it was possible, but I can actually read her thoughts.'
The Beast's Sixth Sense trait was, quite literally, the power to dodge and attack by a beast's instinct.
Because of that, I could hear only as far as the direction of the attack, but that alone meant I'd gained an ability to rival Gloren's Beast's Sixth Sense.
-Upper left, diagonal.
Whoosh!
-Right horizontal slash.
Swish.
Dropping low to dodge Gloren's blade, I found an opening between her attacks.
When I fired the pulse gun straight at her stomach, she was pushed straight back.
"Oho, you actually know how to fight, huh?"
In a lull, Gloren rubbed her stomach, which had taken a direct hit from the pulse gun, and spoke.
"Pretty strong toy, huh? But what to do. With that, you can't even put a hole in my body."
Just as she said, there were only signs of torn clothing on her stomach; there wasn't so much as a wound on her body.
Even though I'd landed my strongest attack at point-blank range, that was all it did.
It felt like my thread of hope was vanishing.
'It's too early to give up.'
[Raising the maximum output of the High-Performance Magic Pulse Gun.]
[Current Power – 250%]
[The part will be destroyed if output is exceeded.]
It was a shame I couldn't raise the power any further, but it couldn't be helped.
I'd just have to hope it'd be that much more effective as the power went up.
FWOOM!
With a sound that ended the lull, I lured Gloren in close.
She was obviously going to dodge ranged attacks anyway, and the pulse gun's power only weakened with distance in the first place.
To create a variable, there was no answer but close range.
[Your understanding of a specific race is very high.]
[Activating the skill Weakness Detection.]
-Upper vertical slash.
Dodging Gloren's attack again, I doubted my own eyes for a moment.
'No weak points... visible?'
The skill had definitely activated properly.
Then it could mean only one thing.
That Gloren had no weak point anywhere that I could exploit.
That fact immediately affected the fight.
Continuing to dodge her attacks by a hair's breadth, this time I thrust the magic-coated iron sword at Gloren's stomach.
But the iron sword helplessly slid off to the side.
"Hey, is this really all you've got? You're just going to drag this out with attacks that don't even work? Don't tell me you were planning to buy time until all the other dolls escaped?"
It was a remark born of Gloren's own misunderstanding, but to me it came across as a huge humiliation.
But more than humiliation, helplessness made me feel even more wretched.
'Me, a veteran, losing to a mere mid-boss?'
I didn't claim to be the best at the game, but I had the experience of someone who'd been playing steadily since the game's release.
So surely, if I put my head to it, I could find a way out of this.
But dammit, my knowledge from the game wasn't much help in an actual fight.
"Kind of disappointing. You strike a pose like that, and this is all you've got. I got my hopes up for nothing."
As Gloren's hand came toward me with those words, I pulled my foot back.
"This is boring. Let's end it here."
Shhk.
The sound of something being sliced smoothly.
Then, as I landed on the floor, I lost my balance and slumped helplessly to the ground.
When I looked down to see why, my left leg had been cut off.
'I definitely didn't hear the voice, though?'
When I raised my head, a neon-colored haze was rising from Gloren's blade.
Body Enhancement. It was the Genocide Blade's body-enhancing ability.
It meant that now that she'd lost interest, she wasn't going to play with me anymore.
There was no pain, but a sudden emptiness took over my whole body, and Gloren's kick sent me flying far away.
[Body Durability – 71%]
[Considerable bodily loss detected; proceeding with self-restoration of the body.]
I had plenty of mana, but I couldn't think of a way to use it properly.
What were you supposed to do in a situation like this in the game?
No, a situation like this couldn't happen in a game in the first place.
In any game, balance between each element is the most important part.
But what I was playing right now was hardcore mode, on hell difficulty, with only one life.
It was a situation that no longer fit within the bounds of a normal game.
No, the current situation wasn't a game in the first place; it was reality.
Right now, I was no different from some wreck so hooked on games he couldn't tell them apart from reality.
When there was no need at all to flounder around trapped inside the frame of game classes.
All I had to do now was pick a method that suited my traits, one I could make good use of.
[Activating the Mana Core.]
[Usable parts detected.]
When I got up, I sensed faint magic around me.
I immediately picked up a mechanical soldier's part.
[Enhanced Mechanical Soldier's Steel Boots.]
[ - A powerful basic leap function enables rapid movement.]
[Can replace an abnormal part of your current body.]
Without even needing to think, I gave the command and attached the steel boots to my severed left leg.
[Unequipping the Boots of Flexibility part.]
[Attaching the Enhanced Mechanical Soldier's Steel Boots.]
'The assassin's quick step, and.'
Not stopping there, this time I pulled out a mechanical soldier's arm.
[Enhanced Mechanical Soldier's Steel Arm]
[ - Resistant to external impact, with a hard outer shell. Equipped with a specially made steel knife.]
[Magic Attribute – Detaching the Ordinary Iron Sword part.]
[Attaching the Enhanced Mechanical Soldier's Steel Arm.]
[Granting a magic attribute to the steel knife mounted on the Enhanced Mechanical Soldier's Steel Arm.]
'The warrior's swordsmanship.'
[Activating the Mana Core.]
[Injecting magic into the Enhanced Mechanical Soldier's Steel Boots to increase efficiency.]
'And even magic handling.'
"So you did have something left after all. I like it. Let's have a real fight!"
With a fierce smile, Gloren charged straight at me with her enhanced body, as if she wasn't going to go easy on me anymore.
-Right diagonal.
But this time, I met Gloren's attack head-on.
Under the weight, one of my knees buckled to the floor on its own.
But that was all; I had enough strength to hold my ground.
[The steel knife's Durability decreases due to the Alloy Genocide Blade.]
[Durability – 92%]
Monstrous strength, as expected, and a weapon to match.
Just our blades touching was enough to wear down my weapon's Durability.
But the magic wrapped around it slowed the corrosion, and above all, I had no intention of dragging this fight out.
"You. You're fun."
There was still plenty more fun to come.
[Activating the steel boots' leap function.]
When I used the steel boots' jumping power as leverage to shove back her blade, Gloren looked genuinely surprised.
"You little...!"
I could see her face, so relaxed until a moment ago, stiffen a little.
Without stopping, I thrust the steel knife toward Gloren's heart.
'Gather as much magic as I can...!'
[The Mana Core activates powerfully.]
THUNK!
Then the knife sank, if only shallowly, into Gloren's body, which had seemed impossible to pierce.
I got caught by Gloren's hand and flung far away again, but that critical hit a moment ago was more effective than I'd thought.
"Keugh...!"
Gloren clutched her chest, where a small hole had opened, as if in pain.
Matching Gloren's reaction, that spot turned red in my vision.
In the end, even a weak point was relative.
A weak point only means something if I can actually exploit it in the first place.
But that was when it happened.
Her blade, stuck in the floor, flared with light, and as it was wrenched out of the floor, a huge wave of sword energy came flying.
Caught off guard by the unexpected ranged attack, I had no time to dodge.
[Activating the skill Magic Barrier.]
The barrier that took the sword energy shattered helplessly.
Seizing the opening in the meantime, Gloren closed the distance and thrust her blade.
With that blade, one of my arms went flying in an instant.
[The Enhanced Mechanical Soldier's Steel Arm part has been destroyed.]
[Body Durability : 55%]
"Playtime's over. Rat."
Grabbing me by the collar, Gloren shot me a butcher's glare.
Looking into Gloren's eyes, I answered.
"Hold on tight."
With that, I grabbed Gloren's arm with my one remaining arm.
[The Mana Core releases the mana under its control.]
The amount of magic I'd been controlling was enough to run the entire factory.
It was merely a release, but at a range this close, there was no way she could come out unscathed.
FWOOM—.
In an instant, a tremendous magic storm erupted all around me.
Soon my vision came back from white to normal, and I pulled my staggering body up.
The floor was gouged out like a crater.
There was no need to check if my body was all right.
Because I had the Mana Sovereign trait, it had blocked the impact aimed at me.
'Where's Gloren?'
She'd taken that insane stunt from right in front of me, so there was no way she was fine.
I had to finish her while she was still dazed.
And soon I saw Gloren, one side of her body scorched black, kneeling on one knee on the floor.
Maybe she'd blocked the magic release as much as she could with her blade, because the blade was destroyed, its shape barely left.
'Not so different from the state I'm in.'
But the now one-armed Gloren pulled her battered body up.
Truly disgustingly tenacious vitality.
"Now I see it... you weren't a rat, you were a lion cub. I'll give you that. For a moment there, you almost beat me."
In that instant, Gloren's form lunged at me.
"Wait, what about your mission—"
"X off."
Gloren's fist came straight for my heart.
An unbelievable speed for someone who'd just taken a direct hit from the magic release.
There wasn't even time to put up a Magic Barrier.
'I'm dead.'
Twitch.
But Gloren's fist stopped in midair.
"...M-Master?"
BANG!
In that instant, a bullet lodged in Gloren's temple.
"Now!"
It was Edith, whom I'd thought had evacuated far away.
Even as she lost her balance and fell, the light in Gloren's eyes was still alive.
I drew the iron sword I'd been carrying and drove it straight into the crack that had formed in Gloren's chest.
As the sword sank through the gap, I felt something being pierced through the hilt.
"Wh-Why are you abandoning me...."
With those words, the light in Gloren's eyes faded completely.
'...Master?'
But before I could even wonder about it, I lost consciousness too.