Chapter 52: Sekiro: Shadows Die Die Die Die Twice (2/3)

Klein once again relied on a paper-doll substitute to dodge the Antimatter Legion Voidranger's attack.

Seriously, man, if you have a beam cannon, why did you start with melee combat?

The displacement ability inherent to the paper-doll substitute carried Klein high into the air. Flicking his left hand, several napkins swooped down from the sky like flying daggers.

He noticed a phenomenon that seemed to be a special mechanism: as long as there were flying projectiles, the Voidranger would prioritize attacking them.

Deliberately controlling two of the napkins to attack from its left and right sides simultaneously, he seized the moment when the Voidranger swung its arms to slash, leaving its front wide open, and Klein fired another shot.

The bullet hit the Voidranger's chest without causing any damage at all.

"Damn, this thing is completely unbudgeable."

Landing on the ground, Klein attempted to use the Magician's flame-control ability, causing several bursts of fire to erupt around the Voidranger.

Accompanied by the napkin flying daggers, Klein flashed back and forth through the flames. The individual napkins drew the Voidranger's attention, and Klein seized the opportunity to close in.

Almost pressing against the Voidranger, Klein fired another shot directly at the gap in its mask.

The Voidranger lowered its head and dodged Klein's shot.

Dodged? That's not right. Your programming shouldn't include dodging, should it?

Thinking he had found a loophole, Klein took the full force of the Voidranger's follow-up knee strike.

His abdomen took the hit, and the shield in front of him shattered completely.

Klein tried to escape via flame-jumping, but at some point, the surrounding flames had turned an indigo color. He found himself unable to transfer his position through the fire.

The Voidranger's blade grazed Klein's trench coat, tearing his pocket without inflicting any damage on him, sending a flurry of paper dolls scattering across the ground.

Klein's pupils contracted sharply. He had made a mistake: although the opponent looked like a mere combat NPC in a game, it was actually capable of thought and would actively search for his flaws.

Before he had more time to think, Klein's body tipped to the side as if his feet had slipped, then he lunged fiercely backward and to the side, barely dodging the subsequent smooth and fluid combo.

Propping himself up with one hand, Klein inverted his body in a movement resembling a Thomas flare, and snapped a whip-kick into the head of the Voidranger as it lunged forward from momentum.

This kick triggered a blessed critical hit effect, and the explosion radiated from his foot, sending the Voidranger staggering to the side.

Pressing his advantage, Klein gave himself no time to adjust his posture and immediately raised his gun to fire.

The sixth chamber of his revolver was not loaded with a bullet, but rather a purple orb. Celres had handed this to him during the day, saying he might need it at night.

At that time, Celres had given Klein about ten such purple orbs along with a blue bullet, and explained how to use them. When he first received the items, Klein had been stunned, finding it hard to imagine that something with such destructive power could actually exist.

Fortunately, he was in a dream right now; otherwise, Klein would certainly not have wasted such a precious wondrous item.

He was, after all, a good man who knew how to budget and manage a household.

This was an orb of electricity crafted by capturing lightning. If any conductor disrupted its equilibrium, it would instantly release ball lightning.

Accompanied by a thunderous roar—though this literally was thunder—purple electricity burst from the pistol, enveloping both Klein and the Voidranger at once.

Swish.

"Such immense power?" That was Klein's last thought before his consciousness dissipated.

The next second, Klein found himself aiming his gun at the Voidranger, which was standing motionless in place right in front of him. He gave a puzzled look to the pistol in his hand that should have exploded, seeming to understand something.

"What is this... a save point?" He opened the pistol cylinder, where five bullets rested. Not a single one was missing, aside from the one used earlier to attack the Aha puppet. "What is this supposed to be? Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice?"

[Obtained 'Native Black Hole'. Each time a "Destruction" blessing is acquired, physical strength will increase slightly.]

Huh? Klein looked at the pop-up window before his eyes, plunging into a mental storm.

So every time he was defeated, he would obtain this so-called blessing. It was simply just like playing a video game.

Klein thought about it for a moment and casually fired a shot.

Swish.

He successfully returned to the initial state.

[Players are requested not to maliciously farm blessings.]

Player? Well, well, they aren't even trying to disguise it anymore.

Klein lowered his pistol, feeling as though he were playing a Souls-like game. He walked over to the Voidranger to observe it at close range. He felt as though he could see many details he hadn't noticed before.

Especially the optical blades attached to its hands; looking at them up close, he realized they truly were exceptionally aesthetic weapons. Tiny starlight twinkled within the blade edges, and it was impossible to tell what material they were actually made of.

Knowing that he could reload from a save, Klein grew bolder. He edged closer to observe the details of the Voidranger's equipment, attempting to find a flaw.

"This..." Klein started to say something.

Swish.

Klein was back at the starting point again.

What was going on? Was his voice too high-pitched? How did that directly trigger a parry counter?

Klein quietly took a step back. He intended to wait for the buff of 'Imperial Star Descends to Rule the Vaults of Heaven' to stack up over time first.

…………

In front of a translucent screen floating in the air, Celres watched Klein, who had repeated the challenge over a dozen times, and helplessly curled his lips in resignation.

You're so bad at this; the upcoming plot is going to be difficult to handle.

After pondering for a moment, Celres tapped the screen a few times, intending to offer Klein a little assistance.