Chapter 96: I'll Give You a Treasure
The first to make contact with Mars was Takatsuki Sen. The recent tragedy of Kirishima Arata was still fresh in her mind, so Takatsuki Sen was exceptionally cautious.
Takatsuki Sen's current kakuja form differed from before. The protruding kagune on her back and the two kagune greatswords above her arms had all vanished, replaced by a shield-like kagune on her forearm. She had abandoned all offensive kagune, focusing solely on defense.
The form of a kagune depended on the ghoul's imagination, but very few ghouls could achieve this. As an SSS-rank ghoul, Takatsuki Sen naturally could.
The thick arm shield, a meter in diameter, blocked in front of her, visibly calming Takatsuki Sen.
Mars snorted coldly and threw a straight punch at Takatsuki Sen's shield. The blow was heavy and powerful, carrying a whining wind.
Boom.
Everyone felt the ground shake beneath them.
Mars's steel-wrapped fist struck Takatsuki Sen's shield like a sledgehammer.
Cracks like a spiderweb instantly spread across Takatsuki Sen's shield, the iron fist sinking deep inside.
Inside the kakuja shell, Takatsuki Sen felt a tremendous force hit her. The kakuja shell itself twisted and deformed, her legs sinking deep into the stone platform as debris flew.
The power of that single punch directly shattered Takatsuki Sen's shield and twisted the entire kakuja shell.
If that punch had hit a human body, it would have been a scene of "juice" splattering everywhere.
Su Xiao, who had circled behind, saw this and his eyelids twitched. He silently resolved never to be hit by Mars, never.
Although Takatsuki Sen was badly hurt by the punch, she still barely managed to defend against Mars's frontal attack. Kirishima Arata had been killed in an instant, so this was quite an achievement.
A dizzy Takatsuki Sen forced herself to focus. The kakuja shell's gaping maw opened and bit down on Mars's arm.
A faint red flame surged around Mars, seemingly dissatisfied that one punch hadn't killed Takatsuki Sen.
"An improved Type-3 warrior, with traces of hybridization. Not a bad creation."
Mars examined Takatsuki Sen as if appraising an object.
"But the Empire forbids holy warriors from devouring each other. Losing reason means losing the right to be called holy. So die!"
Mars's other iron fist swung, aiming to crush Takatsuki Sen's head.
Takatsuki Sen wasn't fighting alone. Beside her were the Priest and Arima Kishou.
Arima Kishou had silently rushed to Mars's side, his koukaku "Owl" thrusting straight at Mars's chest, roughly where the "Source" was located.
The Priest's attack angle was more cunning. His conical kagune stabbed at the gap in the armor at Mars's waist.
As the two attacked Mars, Su Xiao had already circled behind him. He activated Azure Steel Shadow, and the Dragon-Slaying Flash in his hand, wreathed in faint blue arcs, slashed at Mars's neck.
The armor at Mars's neck had several precise connection points, where the defense was certainly weaker.
Takatsuki Sen held Mars at the front, while Arima Kishou and the Priest attacked from left and right. Su Xiao circled behind, aiming for the enemy's head.
Surrounded by the four, Mars showed no fear. He lifted one leg and stomped hard on the stone platform, using his skill "Earth-Shattering Stomp."
Thud!
The entire stone platform shook.
A shockwave spread outward. Su Xiao, who was swinging his blade at the enemy, felt his head buzz. Large white spots appeared before his eyes—this might be what they called seeing stars.
Not just Su Xiao, but the others were the same. All their attacks were interrupted.
The three maintaining their attack stances were fine, but Takatsuki Sen was in trouble. She was still biting Mars's arm.
Mars's steel hand grabbed the kakuja shell's neck, twisted, and yanked.
Pfft.
A gush of blood sprayed onto Mars's black armor. The head of Takatsuki Sen's kakuja shell was twisted off. But that wasn't the end. Mars threw away the head in his hand and reached into the kakuja shell's chest cavity.
The steel hand stirred inside for a moment, then yanked outward violently.
Shwoosh.
Takatsuki Sen was forcibly pulled out of the kakuja shell. Her small body was grabbed by the hair and dangled in midair. The kakuja shell fell to the ground with a thud.
The sharp pain from her scalp snapped Takatsuki Sen out of her dizziness. Seeing the steel-clad brute in front of her, despair filled her eyes.
Nearby, Arima Kishou and the Priest staggered like drunks, swaying left and right. Seeing this, Takatsuki Sen was utterly hopeless.
"Seems to have some research value. Leave the corpse."
Mars held Takatsuki Sen in front of him, his other hand's thumb and forefinger pinching her head, as if about to crush it.
The immense pressure on both sides of her face made Takatsuki Sen struggle desperately.
Even the kakuja shell had its head twisted off by Mars, let alone Takatsuki Sen's real body.
At this moment, Takatsuki Sen was like a chick held by the head—weak and helpless.
Just as her head was about to be crushed, a flash of gleaming blade light caught Takatsuki Sen's eyes.
Takatsuki Sen swore she had never seen a sword look so pleasing. If she survived this ordeal, she would definitely get a fine blade to treasure.
Su Xiao, with his higher intelligence attribute, had a shorter stun time.
He silently leaped up behind Mars, gripping the sword hilt with both hands in a reverse grip, stabbing straight at the back of Mars's neck.
There was a gap at the back of Mars's neck. The Dragon-Slashing Flash's blade was narrow enough to fit in.
The long blade sank into the armor. Su Xiao's thrust penetrated about ten centimeters before stopping. The Dragon-Slashing Flash felt like it was stabbing into a gelatinous substance, each inch of progress extremely difficult.
Mars grunted, released Takatsuki Sen, and reached both hands toward the back of his neck.
This startled Su Xiao. Takatsuki Sen was like a chick in Mars's hands; if he were caught, he'd be torn apart instantly.
Su Xiao kicked off Mars's back with both feet, leaping high into the air, successfully creating distance from Mars.
Failing to catch Su Xiao angered Mars. Red flames surged on his body.
Mars's blood-red eye sockets scanned left and right, locking onto the Priest, who had just recovered.
The Priest tried to retreat, but Mars grabbed his arm.
Crack.
"Ah!"
The bones in the Priest's arm were instantly crushed. But the Priest was no pushover. His kagune shot toward Mars's head.
Before the kagune could hit Mars, Mars had already braced his waist and swung his arm in a full circle, hurling the Priest away with all his strength.
The Priest felt the world spin as his body flew at high speed.
Su Xiao, who had just escaped Mars's attack range, widened his eyes at the sight. Mars had actually thrown the Priest at him like a weapon.
Su Xiao tried to dodge, but the Priest crashed into him.
Bang.
Su Xiao was sent flying, slamming into the rock wall behind him. He felt like his whole body was falling apart. Though dazed, Su Xiao forced himself to do a kip-up and leap to his feet.
Sharp pain shot through his back. He was badly hurt. A metallic-tasting liquid surged into his throat. The impact against the rock wall nearly knocked him unconscious.
When the double vision faded, Su Xiao saw that Mars hadn't charged at him. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Mars was just too strong. If not for the gaps in his armor allowing attacks on his real body, there would be no hope of victory.
The Priest also stood up, one arm hanging limp.
Arima Kishou and Takatsuki Sen slowly approached. Fighting the monster alone was impossible.
"Hey!"
Su Xiao shouted to draw Mars's attention. The other three were startled, thinking this guy had gone mad.
A object suddenly appeared in Su Xiao's hand. He stared at Mars.
"How about this thing? Let us go. It's our country's 'great treasure.'"
As he spoke, Su Xiao tossed the object. The other three, seeing it in midair, were puzzled. This guy had actually hidden another one.
Mars caught the thrown object and held Su Xiao's so-called "great treasure" up to his eyes to examine. He didn't recognize it.
"What strange thing is this?"
From Mars's earlier words, it could be guessed he had existed for many years, so naturally, he didn't recognize the object in his hand.
No modern person would, like Mars, scrutinize that thing up close.
In the distance, Su Xiao held a detonator in his hand.
"This is a treasure~ Pay attention to its patterns."
With that, Su Xiao pressed the detonator in his hand.