Yellow petals fluttered before my eyes, and a sharp, pungent fragrance filled the viewing room.
At some point, Dongbaek's attire had changed.
Not the drab colors of E.G.O, but a gray, natural-toned hanbok with that unmistakable elegance.
In her left hand, a fan made of camellia blossoms; in her right, a branch of spicebush covered in flowers.
Where her bandaged left eye had been, bright blossoms had bloomed, and the umbrellas lodged in her back had also turned into branches.
Was that what a complete E.G.O looked like when it bloomed?
Dongbaek glanced at the fan in her left hand for a moment, then lightly fanned it toward us.
"...!" Wait, that's an attack—
Whoosh—!
The sharp sound of wind rang out, and petals bloomed across the bodies of several Sinners who failed to react in time.
...I let my guard down.
Everyone except the few with sharp instincts, or someone like me who had already observed the whole thing, got hit.
Considering how unpredictable E.G.O's abilities were... this was bad.
And the petals beginning to show on the bodies of those struck didn't look good either.
"Tch, what a blunder... Everyone! Prepare for battle!!"
With Ms. Otis's sharp shout, the Sinners who had been scattered to the far ends of the field snapped back to their senses.
Hah, after this I'm going to be laid up for a while.
...Still, what else could I do? If I don't use it now, when else am I supposed to?
I steeled myself a little and fully activated my eyes for the first time in a while.
...This really is the end, right?
If there's more after this...
The battlefield was filled with fluttering petals that dazzled the eyes, and the pungent scent of spicebush made the head swim.
...This woman is still as unpleasant to deal with as ever, one way or another.
Still, fighting her wasn't all that difficult.
Clack, clang! Whoosh—
I casually deflected the branch and rolled out of the fan's gust beyond its range.
Exchanging blows with her wasn't easy, but it wasn't terribly hard either.
...Compared to the last mission, when we were always forced into absurd, unfair gambles, maybe that was only natural.
She was strong, tough, and even had excellent natural recovery, but she was still no hulking monster or the leader of that mad group...
She didn't have any special regeneration, and her raw power wasn't overwhelming, so we could slowly push her back.
The only variable right now was the petal-like things that had clung to us when we were hit earlier...
Slash!
"Kuh..."
For the moment, all the Sinners still seemed able to act without issue.
So there were no variables—wait, what is she trying to do?
Dongbaek, who had been pressing the attack on us, suddenly put a great distance between herself and us.
And then, just like at the start, she slowly fanned herself.
...That's not an attack? Then that is...
"...Crazy."
Petals once again burst from the tip of the fan, but they weren't aimed at us.
What she was targeting was this entire viewing room... or rather, the whole space itself.
To be precise, she was trying to seize this entire place as her own domain.
Fwoooosh──!
With that same sharp fragrance washing over us again, the world changed.
Crazy...
"...If my guess is right, this is the same thing as that, isn't it? The ego-psychic space of an Abnormality..."
"I cannot say that is entirely wrong. Strictly speaking, it does not appear to be the same phenomenon, but rather a space generated from the same principle."
Faust's mechanical answer came in response to my unconscious muttering.
Huh... so E.G.O could really do this much?
That side's situation is a little different, sure... but for some reason, I'm a little jealous that I'm the only one who can't use it.
The space Dongbaek unfolded was a plain... no, a mountain?
Behind us was a lake a little too large to call a pond, and yellow petals were scattered across the ground. Far off in the distance, spicebush trees had bloomed.
And finally, about eight flowers had begun to bloom as if guarding Dongbaek.
...At a glance, it definitely didn't look good for us.
This place was, in the end, a location tied to Dongbaek's psyche.
Mr. Yi Sang seemed to fall into thought as he looked at the scene, but...
Unfortunately, the breathing room we were given ended there.
"Everyone, be careful. It's coming!"
Whoosh—!
The fan danced once more, and petals took flight.
Only then did the sense of danger buried beneath the fragrance return to its senses.
If we just stood around leisurely observing, we'd die one way or another.
There's no answer if we stay far away. First, close in—
"...Hah."
I kicked off the ground lightly and tried to close the distance with her.
But...
Fwoooosh──!
The wind that came flying in immediately disrupted our movement.
So approaching her normally is impossible. But that doesn't mean I can just stand here and take it.
...Maybe I should push it a little.
Before Dongbaek could do anything else, I kicked off the ground and closed the distance between us in an instant.
Of course, that didn't mean I could reach her before she fanned again.
The moment she drew the fan back and was about to swing it again, the pendant's power activated and a faint light spilled from the clock face.
At the same time, I forcibly twisted my intended path with the strengthened muscles in my body.
Crack, crack—
My legs made some very unpleasant sounds, but the objective was achieved.
Three or four steps remained before I could reach Dongbaek.
That distance alone was enough to force close-quarters combat on her.
Screeeech, thud—!
Dongbaek's right-hand branch, which had closed in in an instant, pierced my side.
My legs were in no condition to dodge, and my posture was already broken, so it was only natural.
She must have thought the same and aimed for me.
Still, there was one unfortunate thing for her: did she think that was enough?
"...!"
Do you know how hard it is to pull a weapon out of a human body?
If you put strength into it, you can force it out, sure, but unless you're absurdly strong, there's inevitably a brief delay.
And Dongbaek, judging by our exchanges so far, wasn't that strong.
Taking advantage of that, I let myself get hit half on purpose, and the plan succeeded beautifully.
The light from the clock face grew stronger, and both my arms seized hers.
Only then did she realize she'd fallen into a trap, and she hurriedly tried to pull her arms free, but with her strength against the power of Dante that was burning through knowledge in real time, time was inevitably needed.
And that little bit of time was enough for the Sinners to close in without interference—
"Heh, good enough."
Slash!
"Damn it...!"
Ms. Ryoshu's blade, the first to arrive, cut across Dongbaek's back.
And then the attacks of three more Sinners who still had room to spare.
"...Three?"
The remaining eight were... ah.
They were already crushing the flowers that had begun blooming around Dongbaek in advance.
They looked ominous at a glance, so that was probably Dante's order.
"Kuh..."
Crack...!
"Ugh..."
Seeing no way to win like this, Dongbaek forcibly yanked the branch out of my side.
What she paid for that was a slightly broken posture and a brief opening.
Forcing down the searing pain of my innards being ripped apart, I seized that chance.
I grabbed Dongbaek, who could no longer properly aim her body, slipped one leg between hers, and—
"What—!"
In one fluid motion, I hooked her leg and pressed down on her shoulder, driving her straight into the ground.
BOOM──!!
And immediately followed it with a mounted position.
Hah... it had been a long, long time of humiliation and oppression. I'm going to get my revenge for all the hell they put me through since the Lobotomy branch.
The pendant activated once more, and the clock face shone brighter than it had all day.
Take that.
Thud──!! Thud──!! Thud──!! Thud──!!
"Kuh... ngh...!"
Dongbaek's powerless arms flailed in the air, and I ignored them completely as I ground her down.
Ah, that's a little more satisfying—wait, damn it. This isn't over?
Whoooosh──
Once again, some unknown force shoved my body away, and the distance between Dongbaek and us opened up again.
Then, by the petals surrounding her body, I inferred one thing.
...E.G.O's ability. Hah, I'd really rather not do that whole dance just to get close again.
I realized it right after thinking that, but fortunately Dongbaek wasn't doing the same thing she had before.
Instead, she immediately charged at Mr. Yi Sang.
I instinctively blocked her path. I didn't know why, but one thing was certain: letting her target Mr. Yi Sang was not a good choice.
"Tch..."
A frustrated hiss slipped from her lips.
She must have wanted to target Mr. Yi Sang if possible.
But what was this?
The moment her branch swung slowly, flowers burst into bloom at incredible speed beneath the feet of every Sinner except me.
Thump!
I instinctively knocked the branch aside, but the Sinners had already been bound for a long time.
Before I could even sort out my mind, which had been thrown into confusion by the sudden turn, Dongbaek darted toward me.
A one-on-one space was created in an instant.
In that space, I instinctively realized two things.
One: Dongbaek could not kill a Sinner in that state.
Two: no matter how I looked at it, nothing good would happen if I lost here.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
One by one, the sparks flying from our weapons multiplied, and the tempo sharpened.
...If I lose the flow, I'm done for. In that case—
I abruptly shifted from exchange to evasion and cleanly avoided her branch.
Dongbaek's eyes widened, clearly not expecting it.
I drove my fist straight into that face.
BOOM──!!
Hah, the impact feels weak.
Was it because of the petals wrapped around her body after all?
I'd expected it, but it still annoyed me a little.
The good news was that half the petals had been blown away in that exchange.
—At this rate, maybe one more hit.
"....."
Dongbaek seemed to have reached the same conclusion, because this time she approached cautiously.
She probably meant not to overextend like before and get caught by a sudden strike.
But then... did she also expect a rapid counterattack?
Once again, I burned knowledge.
It didn't matter if she reacted. I'd just punch through whatever hastily assembled defense she put up.
Without hesitation, I burned the best knowledge I could use right now.
Hummm—!
Honestly, the success rate of a plan like this isn't very high. No, to be blunt, it's low.
—But two reasons sharply raised the odds.
One: Dongbaek didn't have much combat experience apart from her strength.
Two: my eyes were extremely well suited to dealing with opponents with little combat experience.
...Now.
My body, launched like a shell, instantly closed the distance to Dongbaek.
She reacted and raised her branch to block, I suppose. It didn't really matter.
*Screeeech, BOOM──!!!*
The moment my fist collided with her branch, the branch flew from her hand and into the air.
In this place filled with that sharp fragrance, our fortunes crossed.
At the same time, the petals wrapped around her body all burst apart at once—
and the world returned to its original shape.
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