Bang! Bang! Bang! Muria fired three shots, each specially crafted bullet streaking through the air, leaving purple trails before crashing into the dark red tentacles shielding the ghoul before him, producing three deep, bowl-sized wounds. Red sparks erupted from the impact, but the bullets did minimal damage. The mangled slugs fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
"Impressive defense," Muria noted, slightly awed. "No wonder she's a mid-tier ghoul." He marveled at how little damage his Star Armor had inflicted on her, given the full force of his shots.
"Feeling hopeless yet, Douglas family heir?" sneered the purple-haired ghoul, who had easily deflected Muria's attacks. She was clearly hoping to see despair in his face, though the Star Armor obscured his expression.
"Hopeless? Not at all." Realizing that his firearm was ineffective, Muria holstered it, forgoing the oversized sniper rifle he could have used and instead drawing the Purple Night Sword that matched his Star Armor.
"Thinking of engaging me in close combat? Brave, but utterly foolish," the female ghoul taunted, her lips curling with scorn as she saw Muria switch to a melee weapon.
As she spoke, the ten tentacles extending from her waist and back began to morph. Their tips grew razor-sharp, transforming into blade-like forms cloaked in a sinister dark red glow.
Then, in the next instant, these sword-like appendages lunged at Muria, aiming to pierce him through and through.
Clang! Clang! Clang! The metallic clash of rapid blows filled the floor as the ghoul's tentacles assaulted Muria at lightning speed, surrounding him in a blur of dark red shadows. Yet, no matter how fast or coordinated her attacks were, Muria's sword was there every time, deflecting each strike.
The clangor of metal and the golden sparks flying around Muria's body were the product of this intense first exchange between them.
After a series of relentless strikes, the ghoul realized that she couldn't land a single blow and withdrew, letting her ten tentacles hover around her like serpentine tails.
"Impressive swordsmanship. Is this why you dared to challenge me in close combat?" She regarded Muria with a bit more seriousness now, while the shallow sword cuts on her tentacles rapidly healed, vanishing completely.
"Impressive?" Muria snorted coldly. The recent clash had forced him to retreat three steps; her superior strength was undeniable. As a second-tier Star Armor user facing a mid-level, fifth-tier ghoul, any ordinary Star Armor user in his position would have been torn to shreds.
Star Armor users were remarkably stable in strength, with limited room for explosive bursts of power. Against similarly-ranked or lower anomalies, they excelled, often dominating. But when up against stronger opponents, Star Armor users could only endure the onslaught, lacking any means to retaliate explosively.
Unlike them, martial artists had one major advantage: the ability to explode with power in moments of life-threatening danger.
"Well, looks like it's time to go all out, and I've only just started," Muria muttered to himself, though his movements did not slow. Deep within, he summoned power from a rotating white aura that floated within a sea of energy. It pulsed, radiating a dazzling light, and wisps of pure energy surged toward it like moths to a flame.
More refined energy flowed from the aura into Muria's limbs, causing his body to swell slightly within his Star Armor, which took on a faint glow.
"Done warming up, young heir? Prepare for your body to be torn apart," the female ghoul hissed. Detecting the change in Muria, she vanished in an instant, her bewitching figure leaving deep cracks on the floor where she'd stood.
Bang! With a sharp, metallic screech, a dark red shadow hurtled backward, slamming into the room's reinforced wall, causing it to shudder and forming a huge dent where she'd hit. Steel reinforcements within the wall barely held it together.
"You…?" Embedded in the wall, the ghoul stared at Muria in disbelief, as if he were a monster. The tables had turned. Her gaze drifted to the ground beside Muria, where two severed red tentacles lay, slowly dissipating. They were her kagune, cut off in their brief clash.
"Don't be so surprised. Soon enough, your entire body will be like those severed tails." Muria stepped forward, his sword in hand, as the ghoul cautiously freed herself from the wall, looking at him with a wary expression.
Now that his physical abilities were somewhat closer to hers, Muria knew he had a decisive advantage. With a sword capable of piercing her defenses, the battle's outcome was certain.
Death was inevitable for the ghoul. Muria, with his masterful swordsmanship, had supreme confidence that as long as he wasn't killed in a single blow, he could outmaneuver and wear down any opponent.
"Arrogant fool! Just because you learned some tricks doesn't mean you can swagger before me!" Enraged at her inability to gain the upper hand, the ghoul flew into a frenzy, charging at Muria with even greater speed.
Clang! Sword energy erupted as Muria, now an adept in the martial arts, swung his sword with precision, unleashing arcs of razor-sharp sword energy with each motion.
Blood sprayed in every direction as the ghoul lost count of how many times Muria had struck her. She found herself forcibly brought out of her frenzy, battered down by his relentless strikes.
"Are you even human?" she cried, her kagune severed one after another, their relentless regeneration draining her energy. No matter how she tried to evade his attacks, Muria's blade was always there, as though destiny itself had decided she would be struck with each swing.
It dawned on her that Muria had her every move completely read, leaving her powerless to strike him effectively. From start to finish, she was the one taking all the hits.
"Ghouls… all they really have going for them is their rapid regeneration. In terms of offense and defense, they're near the bottom among anomalies," Muria recalled from his training, mulling over the data he'd studied on ghouls.
Indeed, their regenerative abilities were impressive. The disparity between their vitality and their overall combat prowess seemed logical in that context; they were equipped to endure rather than excel.
…By the time he'd slashed her tentacles for the hundred and seventy-sixth time, Muria had severed every single one of her kagune. The ghoul's regenerative ability had slowed to a crawl, leaving her utterly vulnerable to his blade.
"Wait!" she shrieked, her face filled with fear as she looked at the incoming sword. She was desperate to stop Muria, hoping for mercy.
But Muria ignored her cries. His unleashed power was running out, and if he allowed her even a moment to recover, the tide could turn against him. Reaching this point had been a monumental effort, as even in his enhanced state, it took five consecutive strikes to sever each of her tails.
Realizing she'd underestimated him to a catastrophic degree, the ghoul could only watch in horror, disbelief, and regret as Muria's sword flashed. Her desperate pleas silenced, her head fell to the ground.
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]