Be calm. Be calm. Don't overdo things, I told myself while facing off against Anko, who was still going wild.
If fighting was all that mattered, then staying as I was before would probably have been better. In that state, where I was being overtaken by 'Naru', my body had felt so light. Well, rather than light, it was more like I'd suddenly remembered the best way to move.
I noted this before in the fight with the Grimm King, but it seemed like I'd yet to bring out my own full power. I'd felt like I was already fighting at full capacity, but now I understood the Grimm King's words. Naru's true strength was probably way higher than I thought. But thanks to me and my function as a lid, it couldn't be used at all.
The Seven Maidens of Midgar weren't the only ones who'd gotten weaker. Naru herself had also gotten weaker thanks to me. While my stats hadn't changed from what I remembered, I had clearly just been exhibiting more power than my stats would suggest.
Are my stats being concealed or overwritten? …It seemed that my own stats couldn't be trusted.
Still, that could be left for later. It didn't matter right now. My current objective was to retrieve Anko, not to kill her. So to make sure I didn't go too far, staying as I currently was would be best.
"Aaaaaaahhh! AAAAAAGGHHH!" Anko screamed, and her body was enveloped by a pitch-black miasma.
Her body clearly started to expand, and she eventually settled at a size where a normal person would look like trash. The bewitching woman who had been in front of me a little while ago was no longer there. Instead, there was a giant scorpion monster, equal in size to Fiona in her monstrous sheep form.
I see. This is where things get serious then… So that's what she actually looks like.
Anko advanced, stomping on Jaune, who was in her way, as she swung her pincer down at me.
"!"
I reflexively flew to the side to dodge and turned back to look at Wendy and Haruka, who were on the ground.
Haruka was managing to defend against the aftershocks with a shield, but if they were to be attacked where they stood, they wouldn't stand a chance. Luckily, Anko was only paying attention to me. Haruka could simply stay and give light support while I took on the brunt of the work.
Anko stabbed at me with her tail, and I refused to avoid it. Instead, I caught it with both hands and pulled her forward with all my might.
"Haaagghh!"
Then, I punched Anko with as much power as I could muster in an attempt to try to move her away from Haruka and Wendy. Laws of physics? Never heard of 'em.
I took to the skies and looked down at Anko from above while pondering what to do next. Right now, Anko was in the same state the Seven Maidens of Midgar had been one thousand years ago. In other words, the Goddess was both controlling her mind and powering her up. Given that she was moving under the Goddess's power, I couldn't just decimate her to stop all this.
But I had no way of dealing with this situation… I think I really am going to have to have her work her hardest… Well, I'll still need to render Anko unconscious or something first.
"SHAAAAAAHHH!"
Anko let out a cry as she sent a scything pincer at me, but I blocked it with a single arm.
That was a bad decision, though, since I was still in the air, where I couldn't brace myself. I got thrown away like I'd bounced off her pincer myself, making an emergency landing on the ground. While I didn't take much damage, I could still tell that Anko was seriously packing a punch. Even though I was in midair, I'd never expected to be thrown back this far.
I dodged her second swing, and I closed the distance between me and Anko in one step.
For now, I guess I'll just attack and try to calculate when would be best to stop. First up, the Grappler skill 'Power Break!' Let's lower her attack while putting in some damage.
Then, I readied my right fist near my waist and leapt. When I reached Anko's face, I unleashed a 100% crit rate skill, 'Smash!'
Anko's huge scorpion body got blown away. I got in front of her trajectory and drove an axe kick into her, forcing her into the ground. From the side, it must have looked like I'd teleported.
Okay. That's three hits for now. I know she won't die from just this, but I have to be careful. I can't have her dying by accident. Having to fight while watching your enemy's HP was far more troublesome than simply fighting to kill or defeat.
Anko got back up immediately and started unleashing her trademark poison mist.
I didn't have any skills that could prevent poison… But, in this game-like but very real world, there was no need to rely on skills. I flapped my wings, which were being hidden by the stealth bandages, using the wind they kicked up to create a wall of wind. Of course, the poison mist was pushed back, heading towards Anko herself.… Well, poison doesn't even work on her, so there's no point, though.
I dodged her follow-up pincer attack, but her other pincer slammed into my flank. I guarded against the blow, of course, but was it just me or was Anko's reaction speed getting faster? This hit was also a little heavier than the one I'd taken before.
…I see. As time goes on, she gets stronger. So it's the type of setup where we're fighting equally by the time anyone notices, and eventually, I'll be overtaken, huh? A truly ridiculous buff befitting the main character of a story. I bet the Goddess just loves these template plot points.
But I've figured out your game. The solution was really simple. I just had to beat Anko down before she got strong enough to match me.
"This'll hurt a little… Bear with it."
I cracked my knuckles and dashed forward. Then, having reached Anko, I dealt her a blow. I punched and launched her upwards. I followed her and put in a second blow. I punched her in midair and knocked her even farther upwards.
Three, four, five blows!
I unleashed a flurry of fists, pushing Anko's giant body up above the clouds. I overtook Anko, reaching the edge of the stratosphere all at once before rapidly going back down! Helped along by gravity, I accelerated more and more, with fire sprouting up around me from the friction.
Finally, I hit Anko, who was still flying ever upwards, with a Meteor Kick incorporated with Blunted-Sword Strike. The upward force of the previous blows + my falling speed + gravity + the height of Anko's fall led to huge damage. Even Anko wouldn't be able to withstand it.
She fell quite a ways away from Blutgang, so instead of following her immediately, I went back to where everyone else was for a moment.
There was no doubt that combo just now took away at least some of her ability to fight, but there was still a possibility that she would get back up and continue on.
I had to somehow undo her mind control… And she was probably the only one who could do so.
"Wha-?!" Haruka shouted, surprised by the fact that I'd just picked her up by the nape of her neck. But I ignored her.
Why the hell are you just sitting here watching like this is someone else's fight? You even started snacking on dried fruits at some point. It's like you don't want to stand in the spotlight at all.
So. I'll give you a spotlight to stand in. You don't get to refuse.
"W-wai-wait, Big Sis?! S-so fast! My neck!?"
"You'll be fine. This won't even count as damage."
I carried Haruka over to where Anko had fallen.
The landing sight was… Yeah. I'm glad I dropped her away from Blutgang. It was like a meteor had struck. The ground was cracked, and there was a ridiculously huge crater. Anko showed no signs of getting up. She only twitched every once in a while.
"Jaune has already said this, but Anko is in a similar state to what the Seven Maidens of Midgar were put under one thousand years ago. Basically, it seems she's being controlled by the Goddess. She probably did something to her."
"Yes, she does seem to be welling up with heavenly power."
"So now, it's your turn to shine."
"You want me to undo the Goddess's control?"
"You can, right?"
Haruka looked around before replying hesitantly. "Well, sure, it's possible… I have a similar skill, after all.… If I do this, won't the Goddess totally identify us as enemies from now on?"
"Maybe."
"Hey, come on! Shouldn't you have said something like, 'Don't worry, We will protect you,' there, even if it was a lie?!"
"Do-Not-Worry. We-Will-Protect-You."
"You didn't mean that, did you?!"
It seemed Haruka was afraid of being deemed an enemy by the Goddess. But whether that was true or not…
Judging from all the information I had so far, Haruka shouldn't be unrelated to the Goddess. They were aligned to the exact same elements, and Haruka also had the ability to manipulate memories. Plus, Haruka often made suspicious moves, as if she were just asking me to doubt her. More than anything, all the incidents that had happened so far had way too perfect timing. There was Fiona's invasion of Svel, Tayuya appearing in Gjallarhorn, and Anko's current assault on Blutgang. All of them happened while I was around, almost like they'd been waiting for me. On top of that, all three of those members of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians had contact with the grimmfolk, who'd had some control over their movements.
So it was simple. Someone on the grimmfolk's side who knew what I was doing was controlling how the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians under their influence acted. And there was only one person like that.
But the most decisive evidence was the fact that Haruka was able to easily pass through Vanaheim's barrier. Haruka was never my subordinate. She had only self-proclaimed her position as my advisor. She hadn't been around one thousand years ago, but she'd still managed to enter the forest along with me. She had passed through Kushina's barrier, which was only supposed to let allies inside. This meant that something about Haruka had caused Kushina to recognize her as an ally at the very least. And that made me recall Kushina's original title—'Maiden in Service to the Goddess.'
Kushina had originally served the Goddess. It wouldn't be strange for her to at least subconsciously register the Goddess and those affiliated with her as allies. Or she may still have faith deep in her heart…
At any rate, Haruka had been able to pass through the barrier, even though we weren't real allies. So, at least in my headcanon, she was basically confirmed to have some sort of connection to the Goddess. Which meant that if my guess was correct, Haruka would most likely not actually be marked as an enemy of the Goddess. In fact, Haruka might even be the Goddess's avatar, in the worst case.
"Hmph. Fine. I'm just a newcomer with no sense of presence, after all. Even if I make the Goddess angry and get punished, I'm just gonna die alone anyway. Ahhh, why am I so pitiful?"
"Okay, okay. If you were to actually anger the Goddess, We would protect you with all our power. So hurry up and do something about Anko."
"Really? It's a promise, okay? A promise. You gotta protect me for real. Got it?"
"Yes, of course. We will promise or do whatever you want."
As always, I wasn't really sure if she was faking it or not. But I would have protected her even if I hadn't promised. That was if Haruka really was someone who could earn the anger of the Goddess… or in other words, someone unrelated to her.
"Then please wait a little. This will take some time."
Haruka walked over to where Anko was and stood in front of her giant face. Then, she silently stared at Anko.
I see, so she uses her power by staring into a person's eyes like that.
…Ahh, yeah. She's done that several times before, hasn't she?
"Uhh, hm… Her control is pretty light. It's mostly Anko's desire to monopolize you that's been forcefully amplified. It seems she's normally a fairly conscientious yandere who would never touch a hair on her loved one's head."
"Conscientious? A yandere? As if."
"What? It's totally possible. It's actually awful that there have been so many criminals waving around blades, disguising themselves as yanderes to make excuses for their violence. Originally, yanderes were people who liked someone so much they fell ill, not these crazy stalkers! Oh, and by the way, I hate people who think that tsunderes can say whatever they want because they're tsunderes just as much."
"Why are you talking so much about something so silly? …We never asked you for your preferences."
While I'd managed to learn what Haruka liked in terms of light novels or manga, it wasn't really worth knowing in the first place.