Enveloped in a red flash, Hugo donned his suit of black armor.
In the interim, Marcos had struck first, but he let out a frustrated groan as the Crab Kaijin’s hardened carapace repelled every thrust of his sharp blades.
"Gugh...!"
"Heh heh. Was that supposed to be an attack?" the monster mocked.
The Crab Kaijin retaliated with a swing of its pincers. Marcos caught the blow on his armor, but the impact sent him skidding backward. Taking his place, Hugo lunged at the monster and buried a fist charged with Magic Power into its face.
"Gotcha!"
"Bugh!?"
The Crab Kaijin groaned, stumbling back a few paces. It seemed hitting its face—a comparatively vulnerable spot—had worked, but it hadn't dealt a decisive blow.
Hugo shifted his approach, utilizing the elbows and knees of his My Style Martial Arts, but the thorns protruding from the creature's body kept him at bay.
"Damn it! These thorns are a pain in the ass!"
"Heh heh! You're an idiot! To choose close-quarters combat when the attacker takes more damage than the—guuagh!?"
The Crab Kaijin had been sneering as Hugo winced from the thorns piercing his limbs, but Hugo capitalized on the creature's arrogance, burying a fist into its midsection and forcing it to double over in agony. Despite his bloodied knuckles, Hugo’s voice remained steady and low.
"Sure, it hurts like hell. But I never said I couldn't hit you. If all it takes is a couple of my fists, you're welcome to them. It’s a small price to pay for the lives of these kids."
"You... brat...!" the Kaijin spat, foaming at the mouth with resentment.
Marcos, having regained his footing, knocked the charging monster aside with his armor. He kept a wary eye on the enemy as he addressed Hugo.
"That was incredibly reckless. Though I suppose you managed to deal some decent damage."
"He's far from finished," Hugo replied. "But I found his weakness."
"The face, I take it?"
Hugo nodded. It was the only spot where the armor was thin enough for a fatal strike. But the monster knew that too and would surely prioritize its defense. The key to victory lay in bypassing those guards.
"Can't you do something with one of those strange techniques of yours?" Marcos asked. "Surely you have a way to break through."
"I do, but... honestly, I can't pull it off alone yet."
Hugo had a move in mind to shatter the carapace and land a killing blow, but it required a level of Magic Power Manipulation he hadn't mastered. He muttered his frustration, and Marcos’s expression soured.
"...So you're saying that while you can't do it alone, we could do it together?"
"Eh? Well, yeah, I guess..."
"Fine. Tell me. What's my role?"
The two of them coordinated their movements—parrying, pushing back, and landing the occasional strike to wear the monster down. While the man’s defensive power as a Magic Armor Beast was terrifying, his movements were those of a rank amateur. Marcos, realizing that a single clean hit would end the fight, slammed into the monster with his Giga Scissors to create space.
"Frustrating as it is, I lack the means to deliver a finishing blow. I will leave the end of this to you. Now, tell me how to bring him down!"
"Marcos, you'd really...?"
"As a noble, it is my duty to protect the innocent. Even if it means cooperating with my most hated rival, I will do what must be done."
Marcos spoke with a scoff, yet his expression and tone lacked their usual venom. He glared at the Crab Kaijin and braced himself. Seeing the thorn wounds on Blaster’s limbs, he barked, "Spit it out! Watching you try to look cool is giving me a headache! Let's just kill this thing and be done with it!"
"Fine by me! Let’s show him the Hated Noble Tag Team’s Cooperative Special Move!"
"You're both getting in my way! Stop your babbling and die... whoa!?"
The Crab Kaijin lunged with a thorn-covered tackle, but Marcos dropped low, catching the monster on the armored plating of his Giga Scissors and redirecting its momentum upward, launching the beast into the air.
Hugo didn't miss the opening. He leaped, his left leg glowing with Magic Power. The monster frantically crossed its arms to shield its face.
"Blaster Spiraling Kick!"
The kick connected, Hugo spinning like a drill to multiply the impact. The Kaijin groaned under the weight of the blow. It poured everything into its arms, desperate to protect its one weakness. With a roar of effort, the monster shoved Hugo away.
The carapace on its arms cracked and splintered, but it had avoided a fatal wound. It thought it had turned the tide—until it looked up.
"Marcos! Now!"
"Dammit! I can't believe I'm doing this!"
Hugo was still in the air. He hadn't been blown away; he had used the monster's resistance to jump even higher. Marcos leaped up behind him, bracing the Giga Scissors. Hugo kicked off the armor plate like a springboard, launching himself back toward the target.
"One more time, for the record!" Hugo shouted.
The Kaijin tried to raise its arms, but they were broken and useless. It let out a pathetic shriek as Hugo's right foot slammed into its face.
"Blaster Spiraling Reverse Kick!"
Something shattered with a sickening crunch. The facial carapace exploded, revealing the man’s agonized face beneath before his head was driven into the dirt. He skidded across the ground, his armor disintegrating into dust. He didn't get up. Eyes rolled back and foaming at the mouth, the man lapsed into unconsciousness.
"Hugo Clay... How dare you use me as a stepping stone...!" Marcos grumbled, nursing his pride.
He had agreed to act as a mid-air foothold because Hugo couldn't perform the necessary mid-air flip for the second kick, but the indignity still stung. He’d half-considered snipping Hugo’s head off if the move had failed, but the monster was down. Reluctantly, he had to admit Hugo had done well.
Just as the tension began to bleed away, Fee and Melt came running out from the nursery.