Fist collides with fist.
One side is pushed back a little, while the other is completely crushed.
Clicking my tongue at the absurdity of it all, I spin in midair and land a roundhouse kick to the bastard’s face.
Once again, one of its knees bends at a bizarre angle, and its follow-up strike comes flying in.
Using my one remaining healthy leg, I deflect the follow-up and send it back at the bastard, creating some distance.
The moment my foot touches the ground, its tail comes whipping in.
With the leg that has finished regenerating, I kick up at the lower jaw of the mouth on its tail, then use the brief groggy opening to swat it away with my other leg.
Immediately after, its main body charges in.
At once, I lower my body and slip through the charge, trying to bring a downward smash onto its back.
But its arm, grotesquely stretching and bending, lunges at me.
I twist my body to avoid a direct hit, but the skin below the ankle of the leg I used for the downward strike, along with my side, is torn away.
Its second attack comes right after.
As if to receive it, I pull it in with both arms, then just before impact, I twist its direction and fling it into the air.
With that, I extend my arm to drive a heavy blow into its back.
But a back kick rises fast to intercept me.
I immediately lower my arm to deflect it while guarding at the same time.
I avoid a direct hit, but the overwhelming force drives me back several meters.
Regenerating the arm that was crushed again by the impact, I charge at it once more.
“[Screw Tail Pierce]!”
Its spinning tail thrusts toward my abdomen.
If that lands, my whole body will probably be pulverized in one shot.
I judge that I’m a little too late to deflect it with [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist].
But.
Instead of deflecting it, I can pass through it.
The moment I realize that, I change the speed of my movement.
I immediately correct my stance and extend one hand long.
Then I rotate.
[Snake Bite Fist]
At just the right timing, I coil around the tail thrusting in, cut off the motion halfway through, and clamp down tightly on its tail.
“[Absolute Severing Tail Bind]!”
“Ghk…!?”
I’ve got it.
The tail I had firmly seized stretches out in an instant, then begins wrapping around my whole body and tightening hard.
I struggle inside the restraint, but my strength is only a little stronger than that tail.
Like a boa constrictor hunting prey, the more I try to move, the tighter it squeezes.
Before long, I’m gasping for air and my ribs start to crack.
While I’m helpless against the unexpected ambush, the bastard’s mocking laughter reaches me, grating on my ears.
“Kekekeke. Burst and die like this!”
...Of course I have no intention of letting it have its way.
Under pressure so intense it feels like I’ll be crushed any second, I calmly assess the situation.
There’s no way I can break free with brute force.
The tail itself is highly durable, and with my current strength, cutting it off would be difficult.
Then there’s only one way out of this bind.
I picture the nature of water, which can be held if you accept it, but spills away if you try to grasp it.
Going one step further, I etch the movement of a slightly thinner liquid into my mind.
I apply that motion to my current state.
Twisting my arms.
Drawing my legs together.
Setting my head in a straight line.
[Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist]
Arrange.
-Hand Weakness Gaining Strength, Losing Water
Using the constricting force of the tail, I apply body transformation and slip away with liquid-like movement.
The moment my feet touch the ground, I push off and rush at it in a low stance.
Its frowning face comes into view.
“What the hell is that liquid movement… [Double Bite]!”
Two mouths on both arms come lunging in.
But.
I’m a little faster.
I don’t stop my approach.
Like a snake, I bend and twist my whole body flexibly, slipping and evading both attacks.
Immediately after, I use [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist] on its empty abdomen.
But unlike usual.
My strike can’t pierce the skin, so it doesn’t do much.
Instead, I throw a side kick that should at least disrupt its balance.
[Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist]
-Fang Insertion Finger
-Side Kick Ver.
Direct hit.
-Thwoooom!
I land a proper blow.
Since I struck a relatively broad surface, the recoil coming back to me is smaller too.
Normally, this attack should have dealt serious damage.
However.
Still.
The bastard is smiling.
“Keh…hahah.”
It seems to stagger and get pushed back, but then it changes its movement.
The leg I struck with the side kick bursts apart like a balloon pricked by a needle.
Instead of air, flesh and blood spray out from inside.
Before I can even properly register what’s happening, a sharp tooth on its right arm pierces through my back.
“Kuhk…!”
Hot blood surges up and runs between the tightly clenched teeth.
But I don’t even get time to collect myself.
While I’m held so tightly it feels like I’ll be crushed at any moment, I’m suddenly hit with a knee strike to the abdomen.
Feeling several organs burst, I’m launched into the air for only a moment before I’m hit with several merciless blows rushing up from below.
That alone shatters nearly every bone in my upper body.
My stomach and chest cave inward, and the remaining organs are crushed.
Then my limbs are cut off in quick succession.
And the spikes on its shoulders punch through my already mangled body again and again.
Before I can even react properly, I’m left half-dead and sent flying.
“That’s the end… kekek.”
...The end, is it?
I wait, matching the sound of its leisurely footsteps as it approaches.
The moment its step becomes a thud.
I regenerate the arms cut off at the bone.
Repair the legs that were blown apart.
Reassemble the shattered bones.
And in an instant, I regenerate my whole body and charge.
“...You regenerated all of that? What are you, Merzalgard?”
“………….”
What the hell is Merzalgard?
-Thwoooom!!
“Kuh….”
It takes a knee strike loaded with my full body weight to the jaw, and the bastard staggers back slightly.
Of course, my knee is shattered again too…
“...Hoo.”
It went in, the damage.
Aside from the missing tooth, I haven’t taken any external damage at all.
But.
What about internal damage?
All the blows I’ve landed so far.
Surely they haven’t built up nothing at all?
“...Keh… maybe I played around too much.”
“………….”
...I can see a sliver of a chance now.
First, focus on the torso.
Especially the abdomen and solar plexus—
“Then now it’s really over.”
-Thwooooom!!!
“……………?”
...
……
...Huh?
……What is this.
Why am I suddenly seeing the sky?
Just a moment ago, I was looking at my enemy.
I can’t put any strength into my body.
I’m falling.
I’m dropping.
My vision is dyed a thick red.
My severed arms and legs are floating in the air.
A fountain of blood gushes from my neck.
My chest has been torn away in a chunk.
And there’s a huge hole in my stomach.
...I see.
I got hit.
I don’t know what happened, but I got hit.
That’s all I can accept.
-Kwaaaang!!
“Kuhk…!”
I slam into the pile of building debris rising behind me.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, my body won’t move.
I can’t get any strength into it.
It hurts.
What is this.
“Still, I fought pretty well against Gloribus… now then… shall we enjoy that scream?”
“………….”
Damn it.
Get up.
Get up, damn it.
I hurry to regenerate my limbs, but they just won’t grow back.
“Kekek… trying to regenerate? That’s useless now. My [Acid Breath]… the saliva carrying strong acid is still on you, so even if you regenerate, it just melts right away.”
“………….”
...I have [Acid Immunity], and it’s still this bad?
No matter how much I reshape and repair my body, the moment something reaches the cut surface, it disappears.
It turns slimy for a moment, then just dribbles away helplessly.
Was this something it could use from the very beginning?
Then…
“...You were toying with me.”
Damn it.
My consciousness is fading.
My vision is growing darker and darker…
“Hey. Gloribus!”
“...Hm? What is it, Geryuganshoop? Why did you come down here?”
“…………?”
What?
“You took too long, so Lord Boros sent me. No, more importantly! How many times do I have to tell you to come back up?”
“Tch. But I wanted to hear this stubborn bastard’s miserable scream. What about the intruder?”
“He said he’d intercept him personally. Well… since it’s inside the ship, he’ll probably finish it appropriately.”
“………….”
I can’t see anything, so I have no idea what’s going on.
...Is this my chance?
Cut off the parts of my body that are melting away, and slowly regenerate…
“Heh. Still, you were pretty good. Small as it was, it’s been a while since someone inflicted internal damage on me. I lost one tooth, and my organs were twisted a little.”
“You inflicted internal damage on him? So he wasn’t an ordinary guy. Aside from Lord Boros, you’re the toughest one here.”
“………?!”
The moment my eyes are about to regenerate again, I feel a sudden sense of buoyancy.
Not a natural buoyancy.
It’s cold.
My whole body stiffens as if trapped in ice and won’t move…
“Whatever, I’ll do the finishing blow. You go help Merzalgard first. I’ll follow soon.”
“What? That guy’s having trouble with the life-form on this planet?”
“Not exactly, he says.”
“Ghh….”
...Move.
Quickly, regenerate my body…!
“By the way… what is this? This is all there is? So this is the dangerous one. Lord Boros must have misjudged for once.”
“...Ugh….”
“Looks like Geryuganshoop didn’t even need to step in… that bastard, did he let his guard down because he was playing around?”
“Ghk?!”
“...What. You were still conscious even while dying?”
Wrong.
I can’t move at all.
An invisible, shapeless force is beginning to press down on me more and more.
“So you survived after being hit by Geryuganshoop’s saliva… your vitality is certainly tenacious. But this is the end.”
...It hurts.
My whole body, like it’s being stabbed.
Power gathers, and I’m pressed down harder and harder.
Compressed.
Crushed tighter and tighter.
Death is drawing near.
I can’t resist.
Impossible.
How am I supposed to beat something like this?
Why is the compatibility this awful?
No matter how hard I try to move, I can’t budge.
I can’t endure it.
I’m bursting apart.
A body standing on the boundary between life and death screams.
I tremble.
I vibrate.
I convulse.
I split apart.
I collapse.
[MP:0->1]
...It resonates.
Responding.
In the fleeting instant before death.
The desire and longing for life reach their peak.
I become accustomed to the sensations felt through my whole body.
I accept it.
Instead of pushing it away, I pull it in.
I bring the power circling outside my body inside and set it in motion.
I pour everything into the possibility left behind after devouring the Sea King.
I imagine it.
The power that is breaking me down.
I copy it.
[Allocatable Points: 2050]
It hurts.
As always.
It hurts like hell.
Everywhere is torn, crushed, shattered into pieces, cut apart.
A corpse-like wreck.
I’ve been utterly, horribly beaten by an attack beyond my perception.
But.
That bastard.
He treated me like a toy.
[MP:1->2051]
...Hah.
Hahahaha.
This is the first time I’ve ever been treated like this.
I never knew it could feel this disgusting.
Thanks to that, I survived.
It feels absolutely, utterly awful.
So.
Get up.
You green lump.
You toyed with me.
I’ll kill you.
I’m going to kill you.
I’ll tear open your head, rip out your brain, and chew your organs while you’re still alive.
I’ll cut off every single one of your limbs first.
Then tear off your shoulders.
Then punch the exact same hole through the center of your stomach.
And at the end, your heart.
So.
You bastard.
Today, no matter what it takes.
“...I’m going to kill you.”
Get up.
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