"Gujyujura!"
Equipped in his Blaster armor and soaring through the air, Yugo unleashed a mana-infused knifehand strike against the lunging briar whip.
The blow, sharpened and empowered by his transformation, cleaved the whip in two. Having successfully stripped the opponent of its primary weapon, Yugo dived into the Magic Armor Beast’s guard and began a relentless assault.
"Uooooooooo!"
A flurry of lefts. A heavy elbow strike. A right straight hammered directly into the center of its chest.
Yugo poured everything into the sequence, yet he felt as if every impact was being diverted away.
(It doesn’t feel like I’m hitting the core. It’s too elastic, like striking rubber.)
Though the Magic Armor Beast was relatively slender, it possessed a strange physiological trait that allowed it to absorb and parry the force of his blows. He couldn't quite put it into words, but it felt as if the impact was being swallowed by its flesh.
He systematically struck the creature's torso to find a weak point, but no part of its body provided a solid hit. Attacking the vitals of its lower half would likely be just as pointless.
That left only its face, yet Yugo hesitated to strike there.
(Those red fruits embedded in its head. My gut is telling me that hitting them would be a disaster.)
It wasn't a logical conclusion, but an instinctive judgment. However, Yugo was certain his intuition was correct. He could not afford to crush those fruits, even if they were the most obvious target.
As Yugo glared at the Magic Armor Beast while it swayed toward him, Fee’s voice rang out from behind.
"Big brother! Don’t hit those red fruits! If they take an impact, they’ll explode!"
"What!? What do you mean, Fee!?"
Surprised by the warning from Fee—who had been observing the monster’s nature rather than the flow of the battle—Yugo called for more information.
While Raiha shielded him, Fee shouted the knowledge he had gathered.
"I read about it in a book! There’s a plant-type monster called an Explose that creates bombs by converting its internal magic power! The fruits on that thing's face look exactly like the ones in the illustrations!"
"Are you serious!? You mean that guy has bombs strapped to his face...?"
Yugo felt a chill of cold sweat inside the Blaster armor as he realized the true horror of the creature's ability. He didn't know the exact yield of an Explose fruit, but if he had punched them, the collateral damage would have been catastrophic.
Reaffirming that the face was strictly off-limits, Yugo listened as Fee spoke again.
"The problem is the other monster fused with the Explose... I’m sorry, I have no idea what it is..."
"No, that's enough! Knowing I can’t touch those fruits is a life-saver!"
Just as Fee said, Yugo didn't know what second creature had been used to create this hybrid Magic Armor Beast. However, knowing about the explosive fruits and the impact-absorbing body was more than enough to formulate a plan.
"Fee, close your eyes for a second. I’m going to use a new tactic."
"Eh? A new tactic? Like what...?"
"Just be a good boy and close your eyes! If you see this, it’ll give you nightmares for the rest of your life!"
After warning his brother, Yugo turned back to the Magic Armor Beast.
Measuring the distance and steadying his breath, he waited for the perfect opening. The moment the creature lashed out with its regenerated whip, Yugo lunged inside its reach and seized the petals on its head.
"The body absorbs impact and the face is a bomb. In that case... I’ll just rip the whole thing off!"
"Gijuguju!?"
Sensing the ferocious gleam in the Blaster's Eyes, the Magic Armor Beast seemed to realize it was in mortal danger. But before it could counter, Yugo maintained his grip on its head and kicked off the wall to gain momentum, swinging his free right arm toward its neck.
"Go, Cutter Arm!"
"Gyueeeeeeee!?"
Activating the Blaster’s limb-transformation feature, Yugo extended a blade from the outside of his wrist. He used the edge to slice halfway through the creature's neck, then poured every ounce of strength into his left arm, yanking the head upward.
"Oooooooooooooo!"
"Jyu, gujyu, ga...!?"
Instead of blood, a spray of green fluid erupted from the neck. With a final, violent surge of power, Yugo finished what the blade had started and tore the head clean off the body.
Had the opponent been human, the spine would likely have been pulled out along with the skull. It was a brutal, visceral display of strength. Yugo watched as the headless torso collapsed lifelessly to the floor before he finally spoke.
"How was that? My new tactic—actually, let's call it my True Killing Method. Though I suppose it's not the kind of thing you can show off with a grin..."
Having delivered an exceptionally gruesome finishing blow, Yugo stood there muttering to himself. A wave of slight fear washed over the bystanders who had witnessed the execution. In the midst of the silence, Raiha called out to Yugo as he still held the monster's severed head.
"Yugo-san, thank you. You saved us. However, the plants covering the hospital haven't disappeared..."
"I see. So this guy wasn't the root of the problem after all."
He had suspected as much; this beast wasn't the source of the infestation. Yugo considered heading for the roof immediately, but he decided that securing the safety of the staff and patients was the higher priority.
"There might be more of them," Yugo said to Raiha. "Let's find a secure area first and move the patients there."
"You're right. I will assist you."
Given the enemy’s ability to produce explosives, they couldn't afford a single mistake. Whether they were looking for an exit or investigating the flowers on the roof, they had to be methodical. First, they needed a stable perimeter.
Believing that his allies and the Security Force were doing their part outside, Yugo focused entirely on the task at hand.