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The Multiple Dimensional Slash, a move so powerful it caused players to exclaim in outrage with various comments, served as Ikaruga’s most potent weapon. The moment it was unleashed, it obliterated everything in its path, including the «Storm Barrier». With the battlefield now clear and Nidhogg nowhere to be seen under the bright blue sky of the day, I sighed in relief.

Finally, it’s finally over. All I want is to relax, maybe even knit some mufflers. The weather is also nice, so eating lunch in a park’s flower garden doesn’t sound bad. And then—

“—No freaking way!?”
“—You gotta be kidding me!?”

Just as I was daydreaming about my post-battle relaxation, Ikaruga and Susa’s alter ego, whose real body remained at the stronghold to relay commands, cried out in disbelief.

Ah, crap. A nagging sense of failure buzzed in my mind. I hoped it was just stress-induced paranoia and wanted to ignore their cries, but before I could even confirm my fears, the answer literally dropped from the sky.

A giant tagine pot, or rather, «Arumamis», Pahlen’s stronghold —no, Shima’s— appeared out of nowhere, as if it had teleported, then plummeted to the ground, causing a rumbling noise upon impact.

“Just whyyyy!?”

My complaint slipped out involuntarily. Even mobile fortresses like Animaru’s «Centipede» or my own Sky Garden «Scarlet Jade Castle», which could move independently, were restricted to conventional maneuvers. The idea of a stationary guild home teleporting was unthinkable—no, wait, how could I forget?

Guild homes, fundamentally similar to items, could be stored in a spatial inventory by disassembling them when not in use. The catch was their enormous weight and volume, making transport feasible only for those with a high-strength attribute production job, and even then, only two to three pieces were manageable. When creating my sky garden, I had to empty my spatial inventory and select the lightest component to carry.

Shima, despite his magician job not typically being associated with high strength attributes, might have invested more points into strength. However, even with such an unusual allocation, he should still be limited to carrying just one component due to the job’s inherent limitations. Any more would render him overweight, immobilizing him and rendering him unable to use skills, thus leaving him vulnerable to Ikaruga’s Multiple Dimensional Slash—at least, that was the expectation within the game’s logic.

But this was no longer the game world, and the rules were not as rigid. There had to be ways to circumvent movement restrictions, as demonstrated by «Arumamis»’s “illegal move.” If external forces were applied, a player in an overweight state could still move. And that’s precisely what happened.

Just before the attack hit, Shima dismantled «Arumamis», stowed it in his inventory while Nidhogg launched into the air, then reassembled «Arumamis» mid-fall.

As I watched in astonishment, a horde of vampires emerged from «Arumamis», the same ones who’d staged the fake shopping mall scenario. They clumped together, their forms dissolving until they reconstituted into a smaller Nidhogg, one-third its original size and a tenth of its mass.

“Wow, it’s significantly slimmed down, hasn’t it? The Holy Knights should be able to handle this smaller version, right?”

I mused aloud, observing the diminished Nidhogg struggling to support «Arumamis». It resembled a sea anemone more than a snail now.

“No, Princess. Don’t be fooled by its appearance. Despite the reduced mass, it still possesses considerable energy. The vampires were likely direct descendants of the first and second generations…I also spotted remnants of the Cathedral Crusaders among them, with individuals selected for their high HP and MP forming its core,” Susa promptly informed.

“So, the attack wasn’t that effective, was it?”
“Unfortunately, no. It was akin to the so-called ‘cutting off a lizard’s tail’… no, more like ‘molting’. It deceived us by shedding what it deemed unnecessary.”
“Ah, so it transformed into a smaller version with enhanced specs, huh.”

Ugh, this reminds me of the protagonist from a certain popular manga who ventured into space and has been confronting formidable foes ever since. So, it seems Nidhogg still has some tricks up its sleeve…right?

“You deceitful creature, how dare you cheat——!!!”

Feeling utterly tricked, Ikaruga bellowed in indignation, directing all his tentacles towards «Arumamis».

“Dimension Close Space Deploy!”

A rainbow-colored, aurora-like barrier encased «Arumamis».

“Whether it’s heaven or earth, there’s no escape for you now! I’ll grind you into dust this time for sure! Dimensional Slash!!”

The Dimensional Slash Ikaruga launched with deadly precision was about to hit «Arumamis», but Nidhogg, spreading thin like a protective shroud, curled around «Arumamis» to shield it and then burst through the Dimensional Close Space.

“Hmm. It’s now capable of absorbing dimensional waves. Cease your attacks, or you’ll merely be granting your adversary a victory wreath.”

Susa cautioned, and to support his analysis, Nidhogg’s mass visibly increased. At this stage, it resembled a flower bud.

“—!?”

Ikaruga hastily attempted to halt his barrage of Dimensional Slashes, but Tengai intervened.

“Don’t stop! Keep pressing on to halt the enemy in its tracks! Princess, since our initial strategy has faltered, shall we proceed with the backup plan? Is that acceptable to you?”

“Proceed! I’ll leave the timing to you.”

“With pleasure. Susa, signal the Musashi!”

“Understood. …Musashi has commenced its descent from the Sky Garden. Countdown until impact—15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10…”

Looking up, what appeared to be several hundred meters of pure white tubes—upon closer inspection, they bore a resemblance to a human face—was plummeting at a breakneck speed, accompanied by thunderous sonic booms.

«Shalom» Musashi, another of the Thirteen Demon Generals.

Typically seen adorning a corner of the Sky Garden like a decorative piece, once mobilized, Musashi was unstoppable. Among my companions, he was one of the heaviest and most stubborn, relentlessly pursuing his target until culminating in a self-destructive explosion using all his internal energy (His central core would teleport away just before the blast, allowing him to eventually return to his original form). He epitomized the very essence of a «Punisher».