So what was going on now?
Black Rock had burned his dream body to ashes, yet he could still think, and he hadn't lost his sight. He could even see the terrified expression on the hooded man's face nearby.
Riding someone else's coattails actually feels pretty good.
With that thought, Chen Xiao instinctively raised his hand, only to find Black Rock's little hand in front of his eyes!
"...?!"
Chen Xiao instinctively tried to cry out, but his mouth merely opened without making a sound.
You've got to be kidding...
Thinking of one possible explanation, Chen Xiao lowered his gaze. He saw two cute little hills covered in black fabric, along with the tips of a pair of black boots.
Now he understood.
So I've possessed Black Rock Shooter.
What? You're asking why Black Rock Shooter has breasts when she's supposed to be flat?
Tsk, tsk, tsk! I made this figure myself. What's wrong with adding a little extra "something" to a character I like?!
Just look at all those girls who collaborated with Azur Lane!
Which one didn't get a massive upgrade?
Some of them even carried that extra size back into their original series!
Isn't that right, Akane Shinjo?
"Um... Black Rock, is there a chance... I mean, is there a chance I'd fight worse than you if I controlled this body?"
Although Chen Xiao really wanted to declare, "I'm deploying in Gundam-Black Rock-form!"
When he remembered that he only knew a couple of fighting moves, however, he realized that even with Black Rock's body, the spectacle would probably be utterly underwhelming.
This was his girl's debut, after all. Naturally, she had to make it look good!
Black Rock Shooter: ...
After hearing Chen Xiao's thoughts, Black Rock Shooter immediately reclaimed control of her body. Chen Xiao felt as though someone had pulled him away from behind. After a blink, he found himself floating beside her.
"This is..."
His hands were translucent, and so was his body. The hooded man opposite them couldn't see him floating in midair, either.
This situation felt a little like...
"Whoa! Black Rock, so you're my aibo too!"
Except Chen Xiao wasn't the Pharaoh, and Black Rock wasn't Little Yugi, the king of trap-heavy decks.
"Mm..."
Meanwhile, after watching Black Rock "kill" Chen Xiao, then stand there looking at her hand and lowering her head, the hooded man was both alarmed and suspicious. He had no idea what she was planning.
Calm down. Calm down...
I've already stopped the bleeding in my wrist with my power. Once I reattach my hand, returning to reality will overwrite the injury.
Besides, this dream hasn't started collapsing, which means Chen Xiao hasn't died in reality. So that sight of his spirit body burning away...
Was it an illusion?!
That brat's spirit body has been protected!
"Tch! You... are you that little bastard's accomplice?"
The hooded man's question received no answer.
Black Rock Shooter merely watched him in silence, making no move to attack.
"This girl... huh?"
Only then did the hooded man notice what was strange about the girl before him: her slender, bamboo-like limbs, her pale, bloodless skin, her eyes that glimmered faintly like sapphires, and the blue flames burning in her left eye...
Compared with her appearance, her sharp-looking outfit of a trench coat, bikini, and hot pants actually seemed more human. After all, the Alabachia Federation had plenty of heroes and villains who dressed far more outrageously.
"She doesn't even look human!"
In a sense, the hooded man had guessed correctly. Black Rock Shooter really wasn't human.
She was a figure.
"The embodiment of some weapon? Or something another superhuman created with their power? What a pain! Maybe I should just forget this last job? I've already earned enough lately to find a decent boss in the Federation... wait! Time?!"
As the hooded man began contemplating retreat, he remembered the red talisman he had used to block "divination." It didn't have much time left!
And he had insisted on entering the dream with his actual body. His consciousness and flesh were in the same place, leaving him unable to evade capture with a diversion as he had before!
"Fuck! Do I take the gamble?"
The hooded man glanced at the severed hand lying beside Black Rock Shooter's feet, then at Black Rock Shooter herself.
Maybe I only lost my hand to this little girl because anger clouded my judgment.
Maybe she isn't actually that strong...
Whoosh!
While the hooded man remained locked in a standoff with Black Rock Shooter, trying to figure out his next move, their surroundings suddenly changed.
The old country house vanished in an instant, replaced by a Great Hollow whose bottom and edges were nowhere in sight!
"The ground's been... fuck! I've been played again!"
As he fell through the space where the ground had been, the hooded man was filled with shock and fury. Even if Black Rock Shooter denied having anything to do with Chen Xiao now, he wouldn't believe her. Both of them loved dirty tricks. How could they not be working together?!
Black Rock Shooter: I was waiting for my skill. What were you waiting for?
Although the girl's face showed no emotion and she hadn't said a single word, the hooded man still imagined her mocking him.
"Damn it!"
The hooded man adjusted his body in midair, trying to slow his descent as much as possible, but when he looked up, he saw Black Rock Shooter nearby.
She made no attempt to brace herself. Just like when she had first appeared in the dream space, she fell with her arms and legs spread wide!
"Isn't she scared at all?!"
Even a sicko like the hooded man felt fear when faced with a bottomless abyss, let alone while falling into one!
Yet the girl falling nearby seemed completely unfazed!
"Woohoo... I can see it! It's Black Rock's domain!"
Brimming with excitement, Chen Xiao shouted beside Black Rock Shooter.
Perhaps because he was attached to Black Rock Shooter, the abyss that looked pitch-black to the hooded man was perfectly clear to him.
It was a space built from chains, crosses, and black-and-white mosaic tiles!
"..."
Black Rock Shooter said nothing.
But Chen Xiao could feel the happiness coming from her heart.
Clearly, she wasn't a cold, emotionless weapon.
Soon, the hooded man also spotted the black-and-white mosaic floor below. His eyes widened in fear as he kept searching for a suitable landing spot.
"Found one!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-bang!
The two figures landed one after another, but only one made any noise.
It wasn't Black Rock Shooter, who had made no effort to cushion her fall, but the hooded man. He had found an area crisscrossed with chains to break his fall, only to be whipped bloody all over.
Still, there was some good news.
He had retrieved his severed hand.
He pressed it straight against the stump of his wrist, and it actually fucking reattached!
"He just stuck his hand back on! Does this guy's power come from some kind of spore virus?"
Seeing this, Chen Xiao couldn't help making a snarky remark.
All it needed was some hand sanitizer poured over it to really complete the picture.
"...Fuck. My luck is absolute dogshit!"
After finally reattaching his hand, the hooded man looked up and discovered that he was now standing in an almost boundless space of black-and-white mosaic tiles. Black Rock Shooter stood at its highest point, looking down at him.
His home game had turned straight into an away game...
No, he was fighting on enemy turf!
Just then, the pain made the hooded man reach for one of his wounds, but his hand unexpectedly brushed against a glass vial.
"A power-enhancing potion? That bastard Old K... did he know I'd run into a monster like this?"
Fortunately, it hadn't shattered during his crash landing.
"Huh? He's going to drink something! Black Rock! Don't let him heal!"
Having already been caught out by the hooded man's second phase, Chen Xiao was watching him closely through the enhanced vision Black Rock Shooter provided. The instant the man took out the potion and prepared to drink it, Chen Xiao warned her.
Trying to drink some "Minute Maid," huh?!
No drinking! No drinking!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Black Rock Shooter hurled three enormous black crosses, turning the hooded man's face white just as he was about to down the potion.
"Aaah-fuuuuck!!!!!"
The hooded man had no time to drink. He hurriedly searched for a safe spot between the black crosses raining from above!
She's really not fucking human!
She's just throwing those gigantic chunks of rock straight at me!
Even superhumans with awakened strength powers aren't this ridiculous, are they?
No, it might be this space's power!
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!!!!
Before the hooded man could think further, brilliant blue energy bullets came flying after them.
"You've got a fucking gun too?! Fuck this shit! I'm gonna fucking kill you!"
Driven by intense survival instinct and rage, the hooded man clamped the potion between his teeth. As he dodged, he bit down hard, crushing the glass just as several shots struck his body!
The blood-red potion flowed into his mouth along with the shards of glass...
Thump!
An intense heartbeat suddenly rang out.
It was so loud that even Black Rock Shooter and Chen Xiao, standing high above, could hear it.
"He's even got a King Engine?"
Chen Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"Black Rock, don't let up. Keep shooting."
Black Rock Shooter nodded. The cylindrical machine gun on her right hand, seemingly made of black rock, blazed with light as she poured fire at the hooded man, whose body was unleashing waves of air.
But the air waves continuously bursting from him deflected every energy bullet. Not a single one hit him.
"Roooooar!!!!"
After drinking the potion, the hooded man felt power filling his entire body. Normally, he struggled to conjure even a single bolt of lightning with his mind in a dream. Now, he could conjure raging storms!
And the potion's tenfold effect hadn't merely strengthened his power. His flesh had been enhanced as well!
His tall, lean frame, which had only a little muscle before, swelled within seconds until he had become a muscle monster worthy of Western bodybuilding circles!
"Holy... so that wasn't Minute Maid, but an enhancement potion. It looks way stronger than the power of nine dragons in the bodybuilding scene from my previous life."
Chen Xiao smacked his lips.
Does the world I've transmigrated into have a Soulslike tag or something?
Every boss I meet has two or three phases!
"Black Rock, can you handle this one?"
Still worried, Chen Xiao turned to Black Rock Shooter and asked.
Black Rock Shooter: ...
The girl said nothing, merely giving him a calm nod.
Before you continue