I Was the Supporter of a Popular Dungeon Streamer, but the Power Harassment Was Too Much, so I Quit. I’m Useless Anyway, so It Shouldn’t Be a Problem, Right? Huh? The Views Are Dropping Like Crazy? - 37-38

Chapter 37: Girls’ Showdown

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700 meters away from the point where Hamura and Iizuka were fighting. Isshiki ran through the ruins, dodging Naruse’s lightning attacks.

“What is with you?! I told you not to run!!”

“……”

Isshiki fled into the ruins, with Naruse following close behind. Inside, Isshiki pressed her back against a wall, facing Naruse.

“I’ve finally cornered you. Now you can’t run anymore.”

“Run? What are you talking about?”

Isshiki’s pale skin had taken on a slight flush and her eyes were as dark as the abyss.

“I just… Didn’t want him to see me like this… The way I’m about to be…”

“Him? Who are you talking about?”

“I’ve been angry with you for a long time. You… Who belittled him, who underestimated his abilities, oppressed him, and used him… I will never forgive you.”

“I can’t hear a word you’re saying, you damn gloomy shut-in!!”

Naruse bent her elbows and knees, pulling back the hand that gripped her sword.

A thrusting motion. A direct attack. Dangerous.

Isshiki slid her body to the side, shifting out of Naruse’s line of attack. Naruse lunged. A bolt of lightning shot from the tip of her sword, but it passed through the spot where Isshiki had just been standing and struck the wall of the ruins.

“You’re fast…”

Naruse swung her sword, releasing another lightning strike.

“【Radiant Shield】!”

Raijin. A technique that sent out a semicircular arc of lightning in sync with a sweeping slash motion. 

Isshiki blocked it with a wall of light, but a single strike cracked the barrier.

“Come on, I’m not done yet!”

A flurry of lightning blades followed. The second strike shattered the barrier completely. The third one… Isshiki ducked to avoid it.

“【Earth Quicksand】!”

She unleashed a wave of soil and sand. However—

“Cheap tricks!!”

Naruse lunged forward.

“Raisou!”

A beam of lightning tore through the wave of earth and sand, blasting a massive hole through it and scattering debris to both sides.

Hamura-kun always dismissed Mia Naruse as weak, but she’s tough enough for a single Supporter to handle. Hehe… Hamura-kun really is amazing. To think he can say with confidence that he’d beat her 100% of the time… I have to do my best too.

Isshiki raised her right hand toward the ceiling above Naruse’s head.

“【Soaring Swallow Explosion】!”

“What?!”

A flaming bird shot into the ceiling, detonating on impact.

“【Soaring Swallow Explosion】!”

Not stopping at that, she followed up by sending another flaming bird toward Naruse’s head. The bird pierced through the hole in the ceiling, further destroying the upper floors.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing!?”

Debris rained down. Naruse couldn’t dodge everything and was struck by the falling rubble.

“What an idiot. A Seeker can easily endure something like—”

At that moment of carelessness, Naruse’s knees buckled. She realized something. The rubble that had hit her had magic circles attached to them.

“Huh…?”

More rubble struck Naruse. The moment they made contact, magic circles appeared on them, casting a weight-enhancing spell on her.

“W-What is this…!?”

This ruin is the place I was hiding in earlier. The upper floors, the walls, everything in this place has 【Seal of Gravity】 all over them. If debris enhanced with 【Seal of Gravity】 hits you, of course, your body will feel heavier.

Unable to withstand her increased weight, Naruse collapsed to her knees.

“A magic spell…!? But my cloak should be protecting me from magic…!”

“Anzu fur has strong resistance to magic, but it doesn’t protect against simple physical attacks. If the rubble rips your cloak apart, the magic effect can slip through the gaps.”

Because the rubble first damaged the cloak before the spell activated, this combination of debris and 【Seal of Gravity】 was enough to bypass the effect of cloak made from Anzu fur.

“【Binding Nail Bullet】.”

As a finishing move, Isshiki fired twelve black stakes into the gaps of Naruse’s tattered cloak. The stakes embedded themselves into her body, sealing her movements.

“I… I can’t move…!!”

“【Moonlight Thunderstrike】.”

Isshiki released a bolt of lightning at Naruse’s right hand, the one holding her OOPArt, knocking the OOPArt away. With this, it was checkmate.

“Ugh…! Wha-What’s with this binding strength?!”

“Give it up. You relied too much on your OOPArt’s support effects and neglected strength training. You don’t even bother training your enhancement magic. With your level of physical ability, it’ll take at least three minutes to break free.”

Isshiki stepped closer to Naruse and pointed her right hand at her.

“Just so you know, compared to Hamura-kun, I’m far weaker. If you lose to me, then you’ll never be able to beat him.”

“Don’t talk like you know everything! I’m the one who understands him the most! There’s no way he could ever beat me!”

“…This is pointless. I can’t believe Hamura-kun put up with someone like you for six whole months…”

Isshiki let out a sigh.

“【Soaring Swallow Explosion】.”

A bird of fire formed in front of her right hand.

“No way… You’re actually going to hit me with that…!?”

“Reflect on your actions a little.”

An explosion echoed through the ruins.

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Chapter 38: One-Sided Violence

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Loud crashing sounds echoed repeatedly in the distance. I was certain that must be the sound of Isshiki-san and Mia’s battle. Isshiki-san would be fine. There was no need for me to back her up. I had plenty of time to deal with this guy.

“You got that right, you perverted piece of shit! As long as it’s not killing—”

Iizuka picked up his OOPArts axe and reshaped it into a halberd.

“Anything goes!!”

Iizuka swung the axe vertically, aiming for my bare left arm. I caught the blade with my prosthetic hand, wrenched it away, and hurled it far into the distance.

“Eh?”

Iizuka froze in shock, his weapon gone in an instant. I drove my prosthetic fist into his stupid face.

“Guah!?”

His nose broke. Blood sprayed everywhere as he was sent flying.

“Shit, that hurts!!”

“How many times did you hit Kisaragi?”

When I asked, Iizuka’s bloodshot eyes flared with defiance.

“How many times? Hah! Like I’d remem—”

“You don’t remember…? Got it. Then…”

I punched him in the face again. His cheek swelled up immediately.

“Gah!!?”

“I’ll hit you so many times until I lose count.”

Iizuka finally seemed to grasp the difference in our strength. His face paled. He was wearing the expression of the hunted.

“First…”

I thrust my prosthetic hand into his throat.

“Guh—aaah!”

His throat was crushed and he coughed up blood.

“That should keep you from making any noise for a while.”

With his vocal chord destroyed, he wouldn’t be able to voice his surrender.

“—!!? Gah, kh…!”

Iizuka turned his back on me and bolted.

“【Dragon Chains】”

A chain shot out from my left hand, clamping onto the back of his neck. I shortened it, dragging Iizuka right back to me. Grabbing his left shoulder from behind, I twisted him around to face me.

“Quit squirming.”

I drove my prosthetic fist into his gut.

“-!!”

“…Making sure you don’t pass out is harder than I thought.”

As he doubled over while clutching his stomach, I grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked his head up.

“Hitting someone who can’t fight back really wears you down. The fact that you could do this so easily, even enjoy it… In a way, you’re actually impressive.”

I punched Iizuka in the face again.

“It really is exhausting, but I’ll keep hitting you. So you can at least get a fraction of what Kisaragi felt…”

Whenever he fell, I pulled him back up and hit him again. Over and over, without stopping.

“…I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve hit you now.”

Iizuka’s entire body was swollen, but he was still conscious and capable of walking. That was because I avoided hitting his legs and any vital spots. Tears streamed down his face. Snot and blood dripped from his nose. His expression was twisted with fear and despair.

“Do you finally understand even a little… Just how terrifying, how cruel it is to be on the receiving end of one-sided violence?”

Iizuka nodded up and down in desperation. I could practically hear his silent plea: 『I understand! So please, stop!』

But…

“Well, even if you get it now, I have no intention of stopping.”

“-!!?”

“Did you stop when Kisaragi begged you to? Did you stop when Kisaragi cried and bled? You didn’t, did you?”

I clenched my cold, mechanical fist.

“…Now, the real punishment begins, Atsushi Iizuka.”

“Ah…! No…! Ugh, gah…!!”

The one who had tormented me, Kisaragi, and other Supporters for so long… That same man was now laying in utter disgrace. Yet I felt no satisfaction. If anything, the emptiness inside me only deepened. It was like chewing a piece of tasteless gum over and over again.

Still, I kept hitting him. I just kept hitting him. With no emotion. I had to make sure he would never resort to violence again. I had to instill in him the overwhelming fear. I had to etch the fear right into his core.

“I-I SUR—!”

The moment Iizuka squeezed out those words, I cut him off. I drove my prosthetic fist straight into his mouth, knocking him clean off his feet. Fragments of his broken teeth scattered through the air.

“You know… You’ve gone a little too far.”

I muttered, my voice laced with pity.

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