In the face of Leo S, which had assumed such a stance, the Sphinx-type’s movements betrayed no additional hesitation.
After all, the Festum that pursued the void had likely never even learned what the emotion called “confusion” was.
So it simply extended tentacles from its body once more, combining them with micro black holes to launch a compound attack.
But this time, the result was vastly different.
Though it could occasionally land hits on Leo S’s frame, they stopped at the level of “inflicting damage.”
To wrap its body around and assimilate it further seemed to be a very difficult thing to accomplish.
And Leo S, time and again, would counter with the beam saber in its hand.
Though the dancing beam saber blade, under the effect of the mind-reading ability, could only manage to graze.
Yet it drew ever closer to “landing a hit.”
Even more so, after the third round of repeating dodges and counterattacks, Yu Xiao finally grasped the trick of it.
As the golden tentacles lashed out like long whips, Leo S swung its blade to meet the foe.
The particle blade’s trajectory was swift as thunder, crossing and falling with the incoming tentacle.
And this time, what was cleanly severed was the Sphinx-type’s left arm!
The massive golden wrist, upon hitting the ground, became a micro black hole, vanishing into the void.
“…Good!”
Seeing the fruit of his efforts, Yu Xiao couldn’t help but murmur a word of self-praise.
And for some unknown reason, he felt that, though this combat method had been devised on the spur of the moment, through repeated manipulation it felt more and more like second nature.
As if some kind of combat talent inscribed in his genes were gradually beginning to awaken.
Perhaps he might still have considerable room to improve in the field of action games?
“Then, next…”
Yu Xiao pushed the joystick, controlling Leo S with the intent to pursue even further.
But whether because the movements weren’t fast enough, or because it was seen through by the mind-reading ability, the tide of attack and defense instantly reversed.
The Sphinx-type evaded the blade Leo S swung, and in turn used its remaining tentacles to pin it down tightly.
The silver lining in the misfortune was that, perhaps the earlier battle had truly caused it some pain.
It did not choose to assimilate Leo S.
Instead, as if for revenge, it violently flung him away.
And moreover, along the path Leo S was flung, it created a micro black hole to wait.
Yu Xiao understood.
It intended to utterly annihilate him by throwing Leo S onto the black hole.
And he, realizing the opponent’s aim, how could he simply surrender?
Leo S’s thrusters across its entire body forced into action, halting the frame’s backward momentum in midair.
The steel body cast from alloy dragged across the ground with a clanking, rough clamor, kicking up clouds of snow smoke that blurred his vision.
Under battle after battle, compounded by impacts that gave no thought to consequences, the resulting damage had brought Leo S’s frame to the very brink of destruction.
In such a situation, the Leo S Yu Xiao piloted managed to stand up, one could say with difficulty.
“Tch, this is a bit rough. If I don’t think of something…”
And Yu Xiao, too, muttered with extreme tension.
There was no help for it.
Even though he had done his very best at this moment, the opponent was still the one holding the upper hand.
If there were no surprise move to break through, perhaps he could only accept defeat…
Thinking this, Yu Xiao placed his final hope on observing the surrounding situation.
In this ice and snow covered world of wind and frost, was there anything that could be used…?
“Wait, that’s…!”
And his gaze, in the end, truly fell upon a crucial object.
The image received through the magnified viewfinder was the severed arm of Leo S that he himself had voluntarily jettisoned earlier, in order to prevent the frame from being assimilated.
In that mechanical arm’s hand, it still tightly gripped the beam duel saber it hadn’t had time to release.
So it turned out that, in the fierce battle just now, without even he himself noticing, he had returned to his original position.
…But maybe this could be put to use!
Considering this, Yu Xiao conceived a plan in an instant.
And the moment the thought appeared, his actions followed suit as well.
…In the distance, the Sphinx-type, having completed its attack, observed quietly.
Perhaps it was marshaling its mind-reading ability, perhaps it was receiving orders from the Star Core…
But no matter.
Within the Sphinx-type’s field of vision, all it could see was this: through the cold mist flying upward, tearing through the air and rushing out, that single arm in crimson paint that had originally belonged to Leo S.
That’s right.
Using it as a throwing implement, Yu Xiao manipulated Leo S to… hurl it out.
And the operation he performed, naturally, could not possibly be so simple.
At the moment of earlier contact, he had linked the severed arm’s control system with the main unit.
He could not, like the Perfect Zeong he had faced before, continue to operate it as a weapon…
But upon receiving the signal transmitted from outside, the energy supply contained within the beam duel saber started up as well!
Because the limiter had been damaged in the earlier battle, the output surged to maximum in an instant and extended its blade to an astonishing size never seen before.
This often meant it would lose effectiveness due to energy depletion in but a moment.
But even if it only lasted a few seconds, for the Yu Xiao of now…
It was already, enough.
And then, faster than anticipated, it struck straight through the Sphinx-type, which could not react in time.
…To be precise, it pierced through its chest.
The wind calmed, the snow smoke dispersed.
Leo S’s figure emerged upon the frozen tundra.
And seeing that he had achieved such a result, Yu Xiao was not overly surprised.
On the contrary, before the screen, he merely wore a smile of “just as I expected.”
That’s right.
If the Festum’s method of combat was to use its mind-reading ability to understand the effect of the opponent’s chosen mode of attack, and then launch a corresponding precise counterattack.
Then this was an attack whose effectiveness “even Yu Xiao himself could not estimate.”
And moreover, it was a response that occurred in the space of an instant.
Not to mention that the mind-reading ability fed back only vague intelligence, and even if it read it, the time left for it to react was but a few moments.
With this series of factors combined, even if it were the Festum’s vanguard, the mighty Sphinx-type…
It had no choice but to face the fact of defeat.
And Leo S, as the victor, dragged its equally battered frame forward.
“…My, now. How did that line go again?”
Standing upon the Sphinx-type’s body, which had completely lost its ability to resist, Yu Xiao rather casually muttered to himself.
“The one that Battery-kun from Mobile Suit Gundam 00 would say…”
It reversed its one remaining wrist, aiming the beam duel saber at the Sphinx-type’s brow.
…Right.
This is the fusion of thought and reflex!
…That line, as a battle quote, is cool no matter how many times you look back on it.
Especially when you’ve reversed the situation through your own operation, it feels even more so.
What a pity that Super Robot Wars VS was a single-player game that only he in this world possessed, and there was no way to show the results to others.
And even more so, due to Penglai Island’s peculiar internet speed, which for some reason still seemed stuck in the 2G era, Yu Xiao could not even hope to upload a video of his playthrough.
Ah.
If only the Real Battlefield mode could be made into a large-scale online game for multiple people to play simultaneously, that would be just perfect…
It really was so well-suited for it, too.
While considering this with a somewhat glum feeling, Yu Xiao did not neglect the operation in his hands.
The emerald beam embedded into the golden humanoid’s skull, proclaiming the end of the Sphinx-type’s life.
And from its body, the black hole energy bursting forth due to its demise instantly spread outward.
But Leo S, under Yu Xiao’s control, nimbly leaped away using its thrusters, and was not injured in the slightest because of it.
After all, in games, he was the type who would not let down his guard even until the very end.
At the same time, the words “Mission Complete” displayed on the screen clearly told Yu Xiao the fact that he had finally cleared this troublesome stage.