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Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 13 - Chapter 9




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Chapter Nine: Vorpal Rabbit, Vorpal Hare 
Royal Capital, Altea, Urban Area 
The capital of Altar was in a state of chaos. 
It had been unexpectedly assaulted by a horde of bizarre creatures that attacked people indiscriminately. 
The humanoid beings had bee-like features. They were Apis Ideas — the high-rank-based “Ideas” created by the Superior Embryo known as “True Form Alteration, Idea.” Their number in the city easily exceeded five hundred. 
“BZZBZZBZZ...” 
“KYAAHH...!” The Ideas, marked with black-and-yellow warning stripes were scattered around the city, attacking any tians they saw with their deadly spear-like stingers. 
“Shit! I can’t let this go on!” The city guards pulled their swords and charged the Apis Ideas, but they could only barely scratch their tough exoskeletons. 
The Apis Ideas easily dispatched such resistance and continued their slaughter. 
Even though these Ideas were in some sense “mass produced,” their stats surpassed even Demi-Dragons, matching level 500 Masters with C rank stat growth bonuses — double that of tians. No capital guards could handle them, and even the Masters staying in the city were having a hard time. 
However, there were some who seemed to be putting up a good fight. 
“BZZBZZBZZ... BZZ?” Three Apis Ideas were wandering around in search of more prey when suddenly, a single whistling arrow landed between them with a sound like the cry of a bird. 
“All together... Fire!” A moment later, the Apis Ideas were showered by a downpour of arrows raining from the sky. 
This was the effect of Early Summer Arrow Rain, a skill of the Tenchi job Heavy Bow Samurai. It fired a hundred arrows with each use, and with 30 people firing, that number went all the way up to 3,000. 
Pierced by a thousand times more spears than they had to defend themselves with, the three Apis Ideas quickly died. 
And then, a moment later, they began expanding from inside before exploding violently. 
“Yeah, they really do blow up when they die.” 
“They look like old-school tokusatsu enemies. They even die the same way...” Two women were talking as they watched the Apis Ideas blow up. 
They were part of the third-ranking clan in the kingdom and its greatest PK clan, K&R. 
In particular, this was the clan’s ranged swarm tactics group. Many of its members were inexperienced Masters who were still in the middle of the leveling process, but the two directing them — the leader and her assistant — were veterans. They’d actually been with Rosa back in Tenchi before K&R was even a thing. 
“The squad tactics group is having a hard time, too. Some were taken out by the explosions,” said the assistant. 
“Then we’ll have to keep fighting them from a distance. We got anyone else who’s resisting?” asked the leader. 
K&R’s headquarters were located in Altea, so once Zeta launched her act of terrorism on the capital, every member online instantly swung into action. 
With most of K&R being battle-focused, they were one of the more powerful factions in the fight against the Apis Ideas. 
“The gulf in power between these guys and tians is really bad. Also, there’s something going on in the castle, so most of the knights are busy with that.” 
The leader of the group glanced in the direction of the castle and saw black smoke rising from it. 
It was definitely under attack. 
“Part of the squad tactics group also went to the castle, but we lost contact with them after they said that they ran into some kind of flaming monster. Our member list says they’re offline, so they probably lost the fight. What do we do?” 
“...We can’t use our tactics indoors, anyway. Let’s leave the castle to the other Masters.” 
“It appears that most of the skilled fighters from The Lunar Society are acting as bodyguards in the peace talks. Those who are left can’t fight the bee-men by themselves.” 
“So, the same Lunar Society that beat us up back then is helpless now, huh?” 
“Their swarm tactics revolve around their priestess’ debuffs. I want to believe that we’d have been more evenly matched if it weren’t for that.” 
“...And besides The Lunar Society, we have... Death Period, who are probably all on bodyguard duty. What about AETL Union and the like?” 
“It doesn’t look like there are a lot of clans that have the numbers. AETL Union lost a bunch of members and they’re now scattered over other cities... Same for the Editing Division and Alliance.” 
“Why now, of all times... Is there anybody else at all?” As she learned the state of the other major clans, the leader of the group scowled. 
“Babylonian Battlegroup is doing something. That mask guy who’s sixth in the duel rankings was seen fighting the bee-men alongside his underling... the hippogryph rider.” 
“There’s not many of them, but they fight as well as maxed-out Tenchi fighters. We can count on them.” 
“...Oh, that does make them sound like they’re pretty strong.” 
“Did you remember something?” 
“...Yes. Tenchi’s battlefields were scary.” 
“We’ve gotten a bit rusty since coming to Altar. War’s close, so let’s refresh our skills with these bee-men.” 
“Yeah... I gotta say, though, the timing is awful.” 
“You mean with our clan leader?” 
“Yeah.” In response to her assistant’s words, the leader of the swarm tactics group shrugged and grinned wryly. 
“You wanted to show off to him or something?” 
“I mean, I did, but... it seems to me that the group’s morale is way higher when he and Big Sis are around.” 
“Well, they were the ones leading us on all our hunts so far. We never had a swarm battle without both of them, but I guess bad timing can do that. This is the perfect opportunity to see how far we can go without them.” 
She paused for a moment before continuing. 
“Also... I’m sure he’s in the middle of a real deadly battle right now.” 
She was looking far into the west... the Altar-Dryfe border. 
 
Altar-Dryfe Border, Grove 
The moment when Chrono released Gems on Tom and right before they burned his avatar to ash... a single car charged towards them. 
“What?!” Chrono hadn’t even felt it approach. 
The car made no sound at all. You couldn’t hear the branches crunching under the tires or even the sound of air rushing past it. It barreled towards them, passing through everything like a ghost. 
Chrono had recognized this car. 
That’s the Embryo from the other night... It was in fact the car-like Embryo that had escaped him when he assaulted K&R’s sub-leader, Rosa. Its Master was Tomica and its name was Oboroguruma. 
Just like back then, it was in its ultimate form, and it was charging straight towards Tom, who was still lying close to Chrono. 
Chrono quickly backed away, and as Oboroguruma passed by, the passenger seat opened up and someone pulled Tom inside. 
A moment later, the Gems lit up behind it, covering Oboroguruma’s rear in Crimson Spheres. 
“EEK?! It’s getting kinda hot! I really hope my Oboroguruma is fireproof!” 
“Tomica, you should really get a better grasp of your own Embryo’s abilities.” While Tomica was teary-eyed and shrieking, the person sitting in the passenger seat was really composed. 
Tom, who was pulled to the back seat, was really surprised to see who it was. 
“You’re...” 
“Mr. Tom... There are two things I want you to tell me, and please make it brief,” he said as he raised two fingers. 
“I want to know your relationship with that boy, and if he is the one who assaulted all the other rankers. That is it.” 
Tom thought for a moment before saying, “If I get the death penalty, he’ll go kidnap the princesses. That’s our relationship. And yes, he is the one who did it.” 
“Thank you for the easy-to-understand explanation.” He nodded, even though the explanation was somewhat lacking, before putting his hand on the door. 
“Tomica, please take Tom somewhere far away. I’m getting off here.” 
“Eh? Ah. Umm...!” 
“Tom... Will you pass on your opponent to me?” 
“...Yeah. It’s not like I can do anything against him at this point.” 
Despite doing all the preparations necessary to overcome his incompatibility with Chrono, Tom was defeated. He had no hope of winning now. 
Thus, he now entrusted his hope to this person here. 
Of course, he was somewhat averse to letting someone else handle his colleague’s rampage. Tom wanted to handle it himself. 
However, he was also certain that if there was anyone in the kingdom who could beat Chrono — the master of acceleration and someone who lived in an entirely different world in terms of time — it could only be him. 
“This is it for me. I’m handing it all off to you.” 
“Thank you. I’m glad I came here prepared to duel. Tomica, thank you for taking me all the way here,” he said with a smile as he opened Oboroguruma’s door. 
A moment later, as though someone had been waiting for the door to open, a bomb was flung into the car. 
Obviously Chrono was the one who’d thrown it. He’d already caught up to the Oboroguruma and was running alongside it. 
The car negated all attacks from outside, so Chrono had been waiting for the perfect opening to finally finish off Tom. 
The bomb was similar to dynamite and had more power than most of his others. He’d thrown it into the car at supersonic speeds that nobody could follow, and a moment later, it... didn’t explode. 
The bomb merely landed inside Oboroguruma as if it was nothing more than an inert object. 
“...What?” Still accelerating, Chrono opened his eyes wide. 
He looked inside the car and saw a cut wire lying right next to the bomb. 
That could only mean that someone had cut it off the moment before it exploded. 
However, the biggest problem with that was that... 
I... didn’t see it? 
...Despite being in a state of acceleration, Chrono hadn’t witnessed the moment the wire was cut. 
He wondered if that was even possible when... 
“Ah...?!” 
...At that very moment, Chrono’s avatar warned him of an impending danger, like the feeling one gets when something stabs towards your closed eyes. It was a sense of danger that he felt on the back of his neck. 
“...!” Chrono instantly activated his ultimate skill. By doubling the AGI buffs of both World Time Acceleration and Subjective Time Acceleration, he briefly broke 1,000,000 AGI. 
Then, without even looking back, he ran ahead as fast as he could. 
A moment later, a slight pain pricked the skin at the back of his neck. 
“Ah...?!” He continued to run as he put the back of his left hand against his neck. 
His neck was wet, and the fluid on the back of his hand was red. 
It took him a moment to understand that this was his own blood. Someone had actually cut him. 
Impossible... Who could possibly attack Chrono from behind while he was accelerating? And more importantly, how? As far as he knew, even King of Beasts, Behemot couldn’t match Chrono’s AGI. 
He racked his brain for anyone who could do this to him... 
“Ah, right... There is one person.” 
...And came up with a name and a face. 
Chrono had info about him, as well. After all, he was originally one of the targets he planned to kill on that night. 
However, he’d been offline, so they hadn’t encountered each other. He wasn’t among the bodyguards, so Chrono had completely forgotten about him. 
“Gh...!” Chrono stopped and looked behind him. 
He chose not to chase Oboroguruma or put more distance between himself and his opponent. 
Oboroguruma’s Master was allied with his pursuer, after all. It was possible he’d ordered her to drive a route that would allow him to catch up on purpose. If Chrono focused too much on attacking Oboroguruma, he would certainly lose his head. 
With that decision made, he decided to face the one chasing him. 
He didn’t say a word. Maintaining his base acceleration, he prepared to use his ultimate skill at any moment. Chrono already knew that, although his base acceleration speed was lower than his opponent’s, he could become faster than him by using his ultimate skill. That was why he stood in place and waited for his pursuer, ready to make his move. 
However, his opponent approached him far slower than Chrono was expecting. 
His feet made gentle sounds on the dirt floor of the forest as he walked closer, step by casual step. 
“I’m sorry I made you wait.” He stepped out from between the trees, revealing a boy even younger than Chrono. He was short even given his age and wore a woolly coat. At his sides hung were two sheathed odachis, both bitten into by chains that were decorated with rabbit skulls and shark heads. 
His appearance was difficult to forget, and his name was... 
“I knew it... Kashimiya.” 
The young boy’s name was indeed The Unsheath, Kashimiya. 
He was the duel ranker who’d risen to second place after defeating Tom, as well as the owner of K&R. 
He also bore titles like “The Kingdom’s Fastest” and “The Guillotine.” 
“Yes. And you are... Chrono Crown, yes?” 
“...Yeah.” Chrono wasn’t that surprised that he called him by name. 
The ambushes that night weren’t easily linked to him, but Kashimiya actually knew his name because K&R’s Tomica was there when Shu Starling said that the culprit was Chrono, and she passed it on to him. 
...It looks like I’m his mark here, Chrono thought. 
He now understood that he was Kashimiya’s target, and he already knew his motivation. 
“I see. Fifth in the duel rankings... Rosa was a member of your clan, wasn’t she? I guess you came here to avenge her.” 
“Huh?” 
“...What do you mean, huh?” Chrono had absolute confidence in his assumption, but then Kashimiya tilted his head quizzically in response, leaving him thoroughly confused. 
“Oh no — this isn’t revenge for Rosa. I didn’t hunt down Tsukuyo Fuso for that, either.” Kashimiya rejected Chrono’s assumption while bringing up the name of the leader of The Lunar Society, which had annihilated K&R three months ago during the blockade incident. 
“Rosa is a PK, so if someone PKs her, then fair’s fair. Same goes for me, of course, and I always tell my clan that there’s no need for vengeance PK.” 
“...Then, are you here as an Altarian Master joining the princess’ retinue?” 
“That... isn’t exactly it either.” 
“Then why are you here?!” Chrono couldn’t help but raise his voice at this person who’d interfered with him finishing off Tom. 
Kashimiya made a somewhat perplexed expression before speaking up, his tone clear as crystal. 
“I’m here to cut you.” 
“...Huh?” Kashimiya said that he wasn’t here for vengeance, or to protect anything... he just wanted to cut Chrono. 
“What... do you mean?” 
“Umm... you are the one who attacked the rankers, and you are the fastest PK in Dryfe, right?” 
“What of it...?” 
“I almost never get to cut someone who’s faster than me. I thought this would be the perfect chance. Just a few moments ago, you moved faster than I could cut off your head.” 
Kashimiya plainly and honestly stated that he was only here because he wanted to cut someone who was faster than him. 
That answer made Chrono so angry that a vein popped out on his forehead as he shouted at Kashimiya, “Are you screwing with me?! Do you have any idea the emotion I’ve been putting into this?! How desperately I tried to beat Tom?! How hard I’m trying to prevent the war?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA?!” 
“No. I have no idea. I don’t really care about that...” Kashimiya said as if it was nothing. 
“You little...!” 
“Also, didn’t I just say it?” Faced with Chrono’s rage, Kashimiya kept a composed face and explained his logic. 
“Both you and I are PKs who kill other players for the sake of our goals. That’s exactly why we don’t have to consider our opponent’s feelings or the weight of their reasons, right?” 
“What...?” 
“I mean, we PKs often kill other people for our own convenience, right? It’s weird to expect consideration for your feelings when you’re about to be killed.” 
Kashimiya wasn’t here to avenge Rosa — she was, after all, a fellow PK. PKs killed others for their own gain, so it was only natural to be PK’d themselves in turn. 
That was why Kashimiya intended to fight Chrono here. 
In a situation like this, there was no reason for him to consider Chrono’s situation or emotions whatsoever. Not even Chrono’s talk of stopping the war meant anything to him. 
Kashimiya wouldn’t change his outlook even if Chrono had told him everything — control AI secrets included. 
He only cared about two things — to cut someone faster than himself and enjoy a fight to the death with a fellow PK. 

Chrono had no choice but to acknowledge one thing about the boy. 
Isn’t he a child in his own reality...? Ohh, but, then again... he thought as he was hit with a sudden realization. No ordinary child would be the leader of a country’s largest PK clan. 
Kashimiya hadn’t gotten where he was by mere chance — his position was fully deserved. 
“...I heard that K&R has a rule about getting the target’s consent before PK’ing them,” said Chrono. That was Kashimiya’s own rule — they only PK’d after giving a warning and obtaining consent to fight. 
Kashimiya nodded before raising one finger. “Yes, but there is one exception,” he said. 
“Exception?” 
“‘There’s no need for that when the target is also a PK.’ I’ve believed this since before I founded the clan.” 
Just as he’d already said, when he faced a PK, he would do so without considering their circumstances or emotions. 
That was why he was said to be Altar’s strongest PK. Eldridge, Barbaroy Bad Burn... he was strongest among them because he’d systematically fought and defeated them all. 
“I see. I get it. I understand... That’s enough.” 
Chrono let out a deep breath before glaring at Kashimiya. 
“I’ll find and kill Tom once I’ve PK’d you. You only added an extra step to the process.” 
“Yes, please do so. I’ll PK you too.” 
Chrono grasped his two pocket watches and let his bloodlust overtake him. 
Kashimiya also moved the chain holding his odachis. These were his Embryo, “Unsheath at Will, Inaba.” Doing this helped put him into a stance from which he could unsheath both his odachis — a stance that was unique to him. 
The two faced each other like gunslingers in a classic western. Then... both of them vanished. 
This was the start of their battle to the death. 
One was the avatar of a control AI and the fastest person in Dryfe — The Rabbit, Chrono Crown. 
The other was the second in Altar’s duel rankings as well as their own fastest Master — The Unsheath, Kashimiya. 
Thus began the deadly struggle between the vorpal rabbit and the vorpal hare. 
It was safe to say that it would be settled in one single instant. 
 
The kingdom’s duel rankers and PKs well knew that you could only see Kashimiya’s slashes after he had already performed them. 
Your head would fall off, and only then you would know that you had been cut. 
Everyone Kashimiya defeated had experienced this. 
This was the result of his pure speed and nothing else. Thanks to The Unsheath’s skill, Godlike Unsheathing, Kashimiya’s AGI while he drew his sword was multiplied by a hundred. That gave him over 500,000 AGI. His slashes made the speed of sound seem slow, and no one could see them coming. 
And thanks to Inaba’s skill, Hareshark Nullstep, Kashimiya could instantly cover the distance between him and his targets. He and his blade moved at fifty times the speed of sound, and you needed abilities like Tom’s to have any hope of countering it. 
However, right here, there was an exception. 
The Rabbit, Chrono Crown. 
In his accelerated state, he had 260,000 AGI — about half of Kashimiya’s — and that was enough for him to see the start of the unsheathing, which others couldn’t even notice. 
“The World in the Right, Perception in the Left, Here I Hold the Eternal Law — Chronos, Kairos, Aion.” Before Kashimiya could close the distance, Chrono used his ultimate skill. 
Chronos in his right hand and Kairos in his left hand had their speeds doubled, making Chrono’s AGI four times greater than it was previously. 
That reversed their relative speed — Chrono now moved twice as fast as Kashimiya and used that speed to jump backwards. 
The impact of the landing was harsh even with his accessory that reduced the damage, but that was a small price to pay to prevent the deadly blade from reaching him. 
He’d evaded the blade that went at fifty times the speed of sound by a distance of about two hand spans. 
At the same time, Chrono scattered Gems all around Kashimiya. 
Kashimiya could only move extremely fast while in the act of unsheathing. Thus, if he was attacked the moment his sword was fully drawn, it would be impossible for him to dodge. 
At this rate, Kashimiya would be destroyed while his right hand was still fully extended from his impossibly fast draw. 
But contrary to Chrono’s expectations, Kashimiya then began unsheathing with his left hand. 
There was no time at all between the switch. As though he’d expected for his first attack to miss, he instantly grabbed the hilt of the other odachi with his left hand. 
And so, without Godlike Unsheathing ever stopping even for a moment, he continued to draw his second blade. He also used the Hareshark Nullstep to zigzag through the Gems and approach Chrono in order to launch the blade at his neck. 
You little...! 
The lack of time between the switch to the second unsheathing threatened Chrono like few things could. 
Kashimiya was performing a ludicrous feat that could only be called “continuous unsheathing,” connecting everything he did into one single action. 
The blade that moved with the Godlike Unsheathing buff was all you needed to know that there was no opening between the two unsheathing actions. 
Inaba was an Embryo specialized in supporting just the act of unsheathing. This was possible due to both the existence of the chains supporting the blades and Kashimiya’s own supreme skill. 
It took a true talent to get a Superior Job from the “The One” grouping at his age, and this continuous unsheathing was all you needed to see to know that his rank was well-deserved. 
Still... I’m faster than him! Chrono thought. No matter how skilled or speedy Kashimiya was, Chrono knew he could surpass him. To Chrono, Kashimiya’s unsheathing was only about half as fast as him, so he could see and evade the strike just fine regardless of its speed. 
Once again, he evaded the blade by a distance of two hand spans. 
Kashimiya had used both his odachis, and Crown was about to toss out his Gems again, but... 
...What? 
...He noticed that Kashimiya’s right hand was reaching for another sheathed odachi. 
And no, it wasn’t his first odachi returned to its sheath. 
It was actually a third odachi. 
Instant Wield...! Chrono remembered the existence of the skill that allowed to instantly switch weapons, and it made him gasp. 
Kashimiya’s current posture was quite unusual. 
It was as though he was preparing to slash down from the shoulder — an attack that should have been impossible off a draw. 
However, no matter the angle, Inaba’s chains supported Kashimiya’s unsheathing. And the fact that his speed remained at its peak was proof enough that his draw was still, as the skill’s name suggested, godlike. 
The third blade went for Chrono’s neck diagonally. 
The surprise factor let Kashimiya close some of the distance between them, but Chrono was still able to evade the slash. 
He’d unsheathed once with each of his hands, then did it a third time thanks to Instant Wield. Thinking that he had evaded all the continuous unsheathing Kashimiya was capable of, Chrono once again threw out his items... but then The Guillotine’s left hand began unsheathing his fourth blade. 
Impossible...! He’d already used his Instant Wield. The skill had a cooldown, so he shouldn’t have been able to use it again this quickly. 
However, there was one method of making this possible... 
...Does he actually have a skill that lowers the cooldown on Instant Equip?! 
Embryos evolved according to their Masters. Kashimiya’s Inaba was specialized solely in supporting Kashimiya’s unsheathing. 
Thus, if Kashimiya found it necessary to always have sheathed odachis at the ready, it was entirely possible that his Embryo could evolve to overcome the flaws of Instant Wield. 
Chrono’s guess was on the right track, but it also somewhat underestimated the full picture. 
Kashimiya was using a skill called “Willblade — Inaba.” This was Inaba’s ultimate skill, and it was actually an always-active skill that completely nullified the cooldown of Kashimiya’s active skills. 
This allowed Kashimiya to swing his blades however he wished, without any time in between. 
That was the true power of Kashimiya’s Unsheath at Will, Inaba. 
It let him to use skills continuously without any delay, like the white hare hopping across the sharks between the waves. 
...That Embryo is giving its all to support Kashimiya’s unsheathing, Chrono thought. After just barely evading the completely unexpected fourth, he saw Kashimiya still chasing after him as he prepared to draw a fifth odachi. 
Inaba was indeed doing all it could to support its Master’s combat abilities. 
However, that was the extent of it — support. 
The Embryo had no effect on Kashimiya’s combat technique. 
The Embryo isn’t increasing the power of his unsheathing or making it automatic or anything like that... It’s only helping him do it continuously. The technique is Kashimiya’s alone. 
The lack of Instant Wield’s cooldown did not automatically make him a powerful combatant. Replacing the blades meant nothing if his draw technique was inadequate. In that case, he’d still lose the acceleration from his Godlike Unsheathing. 
The fact that he was maintaining his speed instead meant that his technique was nothing short of perfect. 
Kashimiya was the one controlling the chains holding the sheaths, using Instant Wield at the precise time to maintain his continuous unsheathing, and positioning himself using Hareshark Nullstep. 
With support from his Embryo, even a young child has reached this level... There was no opening even between the fourth and fifth slashes. 
Flawless, flowing, and continuous unsheathing. 
This unique attack was woven from the triple threads of Kashimiya’s job, his Embryo, and his own supreme skill. 
It was the godspeed eight-chain slash attack... the “Personalized Mystic Slash — Octachrome Lightning.” It had instantly killed all eight Toms when Kashimiya had faced him... and it was something that he alone could do. 
...The world is so vast... Master. 
Though his whole body trembled at the approaching blade, Chrono was also thoroughly astonished. 
This feeling was greater than even his rage at those trying to get in his way. Still, it wasn’t enough to take away his will to fight, and he had no intention of stopping now. 
Evading Kashimiya’s blades, Chrono searched for a way to win. 
That’s the fifth... I guess the colors of the sheaths are different to make sure he doesn’t take out the wrong blade? 
Thanks to the sheath coloring, he could differentiate between odachis he already used and ones he hadn’t yet brought to bear, making it easy to predict which odachi he might use Instant Wield on next. 
To a normal onlooker, this would seem like eight slashes all done within the blink of an eye. Just as he had during his battle with Tom Cat, Kashimiya could instantly kill eight people, or slash a single person eight times, killing them even if they were equipped with a Brooch. 
It was a continuous sure-kill slash. That seemed like a contradiction, but that just made it more deserving of the prefix “Mystical.” 
However, this blade had yet to reach Chrono’s neck. 
That’s... the sixth! No matter how fast his draw was, it didn’t change the fact that Chrono was faster. 
Though the distance between them was becoming smaller and smaller, the Octachrome Lightning had yet to reach him. 
...His unsheathing technique is peerless... but he shouldn’t be able to continue this forever. There has to be an opening somewhere. 
Chrono’s guess was correct. Just as it said in the name, “Octachrome Lightning” could only strike eight times. Kashimiya had yet to find a way to take his technique any farther than that. 
Thus, Chrono prepared to go on the offensive once the slashes stopped. 
...Though, I’m running out of bombs and Gems. He’d used too many of them during his ranker hunting and the battle against Tom, and his consumable supply was nearly exhausted. 
Though, then again... 
“...I can’t win against him with items, anyway.” Chrono felt that ordinary bombs and equipment wouldn’t be enough to finish this Master off. This one long moment was enough for him to see that Kashimiya was no doubt the most fearsome human being that he’d ever faced as an avatar. 
Thus, he’d resolved to give his opponent all the recognition he deserved. 
...I can catch up to them even with just one leg left. I’ll finish off Tom and then go on to kidnap the princess. 
The reasoning behind this thought was simple: Chrono had finally decided to take Kashimiya seriously and defeat him properly. 
This opponent was worth sacrificing a leg. 
Chrono was about to use the greatest ace up his avatar’s sleeve. 
In essence it was a blade-kick launched while in a state of maximum acceleration using his ultimate skill. The force of the impact would always shatter the leg that delivered the kick, but with the force of over 1,000,000 AGI behind it, it could even pulverize Mythical metal. 
It was the only sure-kill ability that Chrono had given a name — “Dead in Zero.” 
Using it, his opponent would die before they could even perceive that any time had passed. 
Of course, it’s likely that he’s wearing a Brooch... but that won’t be a problem. If the critical injury was nullified by the Brooch, the damage to his leg from the impact would also be nullified. He would then just have to launch another attack, which would most certainly kill Kashimiya. 
Chrono moved over two times faster than his opponent, so he had the time for that. 
There was also the fact that a single hit would be enough to break Kashimiya’s unsheathing and briefly return his speeds to mundane levels. 
I just need to... find the right moment! Chrono evaded Kashimiya’s seventh slash as he waited for the perfect chance to use Dead in Zero. 
And so it came... Before unsheathing the eighth, Kashimiya slowed down just a fraction. Perhaps he was thrown off by facing someone who was faster than him for the first time, or by the fact that none of his previous seven strikes had even scratched his enemy. 
Brief as the mistake was, Chrono didn’t let it slide. 
He jumped next to Kashimiya and kick-slashed towards his neck. The next moment, Chrono’s right leg was cut off from behind the knee. 
Shock overcame him as he realized something. 
Kashimiya hadn’t slowed down by accident. It was no mistake at all — he had deliberately changed the speed of his continuous unsheathing. 
Right before pulling the next blade out, he slightly lowered his speed as he activated a particular skill. 
The skill’s name was “Iai strike,” and it doubled the user’s AGI when the opponent entered his range. 
Meant for launching a counter strike, it was one of the basic skills in the art of unsheathing. 
However, combined with Godlike Unsheathing, it let Kashimiya move at a speed that matched even Chrono’s. 
Kashimiya had expected Chrono to do exactly as he did — to anticipate that he would eventually stop and try to attack him during that gap between attacks. And as a fellow fighter who moved at divine speeds, he knew that Chrono would try to attack directly instead of using his items that had failed again and again. 
Thus, he’d lured him to his side and launched a counterattack. 
It was a bit of a gamble, but it had allowed Kashimiya to take Chrono’s right leg. 
“Not yet...!” Despite the loss, The Rabbit hadn’t given up. Right before he hit the ground, he thrust out his pocket watches as though attempting a handstand, and then pushed away to launch himself again. 
His ultimate speed was still active. He would use his remaining left leg to take Kashimiya’s head with Dead in Zero. 
The Unsheath also had his new odachi ready and began to draw it with his right hand. 
He swung the final blade into the trajectory of Chrono’s approach. 
However, the stroke was completed before Chrono even entered Kashimiya’s range. 
Shocking as it was, this wasn’t a measurement error on Kashimiya’s part. He actually had swung the blade at the right time to meet Chrono’s attack, despite his immense speed. 
Chrono had just made him miss. 
One of Chronos Kairos Aion’s skills was World Time Acceleration, which doubled the speed for the selected nearby targets. 
However, there was no limit to what or who could be picked — even his enemy was an option. 
By accelerating Kashimiya right when he began the unsheathing, he forced him to swing his blade at the wrong time, so he cut through nothing but air. 
I have you now! Right after the blade passed him by, Chrono used the opening before Kashimiya swung the sword in his left hand to launch his blade-boots towards the boy’s head. 
However... his left leg was then shattered. 
This was done using the sheath of the odachi Kashimiya had used for his last draw. Since it was supported by chains, he’d swung it at Chrono’s left leg before the acceleration from his unsheathing ended. 
Of course, the sheath wasn’t a blade, so Blade Speed-Through didn’t apply to it. As a result, it shattered on impact. 
The damage didn’t end there. The shock shattered the chains holding it, and since he was connected to them, even Kashimiya was hurt. 
However, the damage it dealt was extreme. This speed-based attack was much like Chrono’s Dead in Zero, and it literally shattered his leg. 
Did he predict my actions again...? No! He actually sensed that his speed was different the moment he began unsheathing... and instantly switched tactics! Kashimiya had realized that his slash would miss, so he quickly swapped to using his sheath instead. This split-second decision had successfully removed both of The Rabbit’s legs. 
What an incredible person... To think the world has... such people in it...? 
As Chrono fell, Kashimiya prepared to unsheath using his left hand and finish him off. 
However, instead of feeling the frustration he’d felt at the beginning of this fight, Chrono was simply shocked... and astonished. 
Things beyond imagination... Things I can’t hope to match... They exist not just in nature, but among people, too. This has to be the world that my Master wanted to see... Ohh... 
As he fell, Chrono’s eyes were turned towards the blue sky above. He pondered its beauty and the supreme technique he had just experienced. 
I’m sure that both of these things... will be memories worthy of telling to Master... Hahah... Seriously... 
“The world is... so vast...” Kashimiya’s final slash cut Chrono’s head clean from his shoulders like a guillotine. 
With that, The Rabbit, Chrono Crown dissolved into bits of light. 
Even though he couldn’t fulfill his goal and was indeed defeated right in the middle of pursuing it, he seemed unexpectedly satisfied. 
Embracing the memory of that one moment when reality surpassed his imagination... he vanished into the air. 
 





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