"How do you like it? This is the power I’ve claimed for myself! I’ve reached heights you could never hope to attain!"
"Heights? You fool... you’re so blind you don’t even realize how far you’ve fallen. You are a genuine idiot!"
"...You’ve been whining about 'falling' and 'depravity' long enough. The only ones who’ve fallen are you and that piece of trash!"
With a roar of fury, Rush lunged forward, unleashing a powerful thrust.
Marcos intercepted it once again with his Giga Scissors, but he couldn't completely offset the impact of the blow, which had grown significantly heavier.
"Ugh...!"
Groaning as the strike threatened to pierce straight through his armor, Marcos managed to swing his arm in a desperate counter, striking Rush across the chest.
However, the blow produced nothing but a dull metallic ring. It failed to inflict even a single scratch on Rush.
"What a pathetic attack. To think a weakling like you thought you could actually beat me! How naive!"
"Nuuugh!"
Right, left, and right again—Rush unleashed a relentless flurry of claw strikes that forced Marcos entirely onto the defensive.
Marcos realized it was only a matter of time before his guard was shattered. As he desperately used his armor to block the incoming claws, searching for any way to turn the tide, a Purple Sword whistled through the air to support him.
"Hm? This is—!"
"Marcos! Get back while you can!"
"Melt Epee! Thank you!"
The volley of blades shattered against Rush's carapace, but they succeeded in catching him off guard and halting his momentum.
Taking the opportunity to put some distance between them, Marcos called out his thanks to Melt for the timely backup.
"Ah, how perfect! You were here too, Melt Epee? To be able to show you my reborn strength—this really is a wonderful day."
"Is that... Winhelm? Is it really you, Rush Winhelm?"
"Don't listen to him, Melt! He’s no longer the Rush we knew!"
Marcos shouted to cut through Melt’s hesitation. She still seemed unable to grasp that Rush had truly transformed into a Magic Armor Beast.
Determined to stop the man who had caused this catastrophe and was now threatening the children, Melt manifested several more swords and called out to Marcos.
"What’s the plan? My swords couldn't pierce that shell either."
"...The face is the only opening. We have to do what Yugo did and hammer a powerful blow right there. Support me!"
Marcos drew inspiration from the strategy Yugo had used to defeat the crab Kaijin. Deciding that the face was likely the softest part of the monster's body, he relayed the plan to Melt and charged forward, funneling his Magic Power into the Giga Scissors.
He concentrated everything into the shears at the tip. Melt provided cover fire, launching one Purple Sword after another as Marcos charged, his mind focused entirely on delivering the strongest, sharpest, most powerful strike he could muster.
"Hoh, I see. A pathetic display of coordination between weaklings. But you see—"
"Wooooaaaahhh!!"
As the swords shattered into shards of Magic Power around Rush, Marcos let out a roar and drove his left arm toward the monster's face.
Infused with both his and Melt's Magic Power, the sharp thrust struck the Magic Armor Beast’s face with perfect precision. And then—
"—It's all meaningless. No matter what you trash try to do."
"What...!?"
The shears of the Giga Scissors lost the battle of durability and shattered into a thousand pieces.
Even though his greatest, most perfect strike had landed a clean hit, his opponent remained completely unscathed.
While Marcos stood in paralyzed shock as his Magic Item was pulverized, Rush countered with a brutal horizontal swing of his shears.
"Gwah!"
"Marcos!!"
His armor offered no protection; Marcos took the full weight of the blow and was sent tumbling through the air.
Not even Zenon, with his superior stats, could withstand such an attack. There was no way a common student like Marcos would be fine. The strike, possessing enough power to tear through magical barriers, dealt devastating damage and left Marcos completely incapacitated.
"Fragile, so fragile! This isn't even enough for a warm-up."
"You...!"
Melt flinched for a second as she watched her vanguard get swatted away, but the thought of the children behind her steeled her waning resolve.
If Yugo were here, he wouldn't run. He would do whatever it took to find a way through.
"Hyaaaah!!"
"No, stop! Melt, don't be reckless...!"
Ignoring the fallen Marcos’s plea, Melt concentrated her Magic Power into the Sword Ring to manifest a blade of maximum intensity.
Grasping the glowing purple sword, she abandoned her long-range advantage to challenge Rush in close combat. It was a suicidal move.
"Such adorable resistance. Totally pointless, though."
"Ugh! Ahh!?"
The sword she swung down against the hardened carapace shattered instantly upon contact.
In the same breath, Rush’s claw snapped around Melt’s neck. As she dropped the remaining hilt of her sword, Rush began to froth at the mouth, making a sickening, grinding sound. His eyes narrowed as he hooked his claws into her school uniform.
"Kyaaaaaah!?"
"Rush! What do you think you’re doing!?"
The magic barrier that had previously held back the Arachlaw's claws was useless against Rush.
With terrifying ease, he shredded Melt’s clothes until she was left in nothing but her underwear. Looking over her large breasts and pale skin, he let out a voice thick with twisted pleasure.
"Quite a delicious-looking body...! Oh, don't worry. I didn't say that because I want you as prey; I meant you have plenty of feminine charm. I’m going to 'eat' you, but I mean that in a sexual way."
"You’re the absolute worst...!"
Despite the claw tightening around her throat, Melt glared at him with pure contempt as he showered her with lewd threats.
Rush, clearly enjoying her defiance, leaned in closer.
"Come on, Melt. Why not become mine? You’ve seen how strong I am. If you submit to me now, you can be the partner of the strongest man alive. Doesn't that sound like a good deal?"
"Who would ever obey a monster like you! I refuse!"
"Hmph, you’re a stubborn one! But that just makes me like you more. The order might be a bit backwards, but I think I’ll have you first. Why don’t we give those kids back there a bit of sex education?"
"Uuugh...!?"
Realizing exactly what Rush intended to do to her, Melt squeezed her eyes shut in terror and disgust.
She shivered, waiting for the final sensation of her brassiere being torn away, but suddenly she felt the weight vanish. The grip on her neck released, and her body fell free.
"Ugwaah!? You... you piece of trash...!"
"Run, Melt Epee! Take the children and get back to the academy, now!!"