Boom!
Yomotsu Hirasaka was shrouded by the ripples of a golden Cosmo.
The soul-eating beasts that were feeding seemed to sense danger and all scurried far away, vanishing in an instant.
With even the soul-eating beasts scared off, Dismask was, of course, frightened too.
Staring at the man before him, built like a small giant, cold sweat streamed down his face.
This Cosmo fluctuation was outrageously strong and aggressively offensive. He had never seen such an aggressively offensive Cosmo; the ripples alone made him feel assaulted.
This guy was terrifying!
The pressure felt even stronger than when facing the Pope—he was a monster.
"I concede, don't move!"
Dismask shouted.
He really didn't want to make an enemy of him.
Because he was no match for Damian the gravekeeper.
If not for wearing a Gold Cloth, the other party might have killed him in a very short time.
After all, this was the man who had assassinated the Pope and even wounded him.
"Then hand over the Cancer Gold Cloth."
Damian smiled.
From the start he hadn't planned to kill this hard-shelled crab outright; he intended to run some experiments.
"That's... impossible."
Dismask still shook his head.
The Gold Cloth was too important to a Gold Saint.
"Plasma Light-Speed Punch!"
A web of light directly enveloped Dismask, blasting him into the air, where he spun and tumbled.
"Scarlet Needle!"
Before Dismask hit the ground, Damian unleashed a barrage of Scarlet Needles.
Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip...
"Ah... it hurts... I surrender!"
Dismask felt a sharp pain. The Gold Cloth hadn't shattered or been pierced through, yet these poison needles seemed to penetrate its protection, making him feel excruciating pain.
Especially his thighs and butt took several needles—an agonizing sting.
This guy was probing for the Gold Cloth's weak points?
And he could even move at light speed.
He was utterly shaken. Among Gold Saints, mastering the light-speed punch was common, but those who mastered light-speed movement were few and far between.
That required not only the Seventh Sense of Cosmo, but also special physical aptitude.
"Surrender? You already know my secret."
Damian cackled. "You think I'll let you go?"
With that, he swept his arm, and a streak of golden sword aura slashed across, striking Dismask and blasting him away again.
"Is that Shura's Holy Sword?"
Dismask felt like he was going mad.
This gravekeeper seemed to know everything.
"Try my new invention: the Giant Holy Sword."
Damian grinned, folding his arms across his chest.
Then he suddenly struck!
Two golden sword auras, even more over-the-top than before, hurtled straight at Dismask with murderous intent, at a speed that defied belief.
Dismask could only cross his arms and brace with all his might.
Bang!
This time his body was sent flying even farther.
The activation principle of the Great Horn was already similar to a kendo-style iaijutsu cut; the move was like a draw-cut, accelerating the speed and power of the light-speed punch and providing the fastest startup.
Paired with the Holy Sword, it unleashes even greater power. Both the Holy Sword's speed and power are massively boosted.
It seems my theory was completely correct.
Great Horn and the Holy Sword can fuse into a new move—the Giant Holy Sword.
Its startup speed and strike power are far stronger than before, aligning perfectly with the theory of the draw-cut.
Right, there's one more to try.
A combination of Scarlet Needle and the Holy Sword should work well too.
With that thought, the ten nails on Damian's hands turned into sharp Scarlet Needles.
Scarlet Needle is a close-quarters move. You have to use rapid movement to close in on the opponent for it to take effect.
The Holy Sword's pressure, however, produces astonishing long-range attack power.
"D-don't... don't hit me."
Dismask finally raised his hands in surrender. Blood was already trickling from the corner of his mouth, and his forehead was covered in blood.
Against a powerhouse like this, he would suffer severe injuries even wearing a Gold Cloth.
Keep this up and he'd die.
"It's fine. It's rare to meet a crab this hard to kill. I'm going to use you as a test subject."
"After all, your crab shell is hard enough."
With that, Damian swung his arm, and a red sword aura cleaved out.
Scarlet Holy Sword!
In the next instant, Dismask took a hit in the chest. He had thought the Gold Cloth's protection would keep him from taking serious damage.
But a sharp pain surged in his chest, and on the chest of the Cancer Gold Cloth a red sword mark appeared. The Cancer Cloth hadn't visibly broken, yet the red mark had seeped through.
The pain was even worse than being struck by the Scarlet Needles before. He could clearly feel his five senses rapidly fading, and his chest was bleeding.
"Does it hurt more than before? More bleeding? Are you losing your five senses faster?"
Damian asked.
"Yes."
Dismask nodded through a pained grimace. A numbness was spreading through his body, nearly leaving him immobile.
At this moment, the pain was unbearable, his nerves numb, like a scorpion's venom coursing through him. He even felt he was gradually losing his five senses and his will.
"Good. The pairing of Scarlet Needle and the Holy Sword can produce decent penetration against opponents wearing a Gold Cloth. The sword-aura damage is weaker, but the toxic damage is almost maxed out—counts as an armor-piercing finisher."
Damian muttered to himself, analyzing the strengths of the move and its use cases.
"Stop hitting me!"
Dismask felt like, in the other's eyes, he was nothing but a big crab on a dissection table.
The other guy was running all sorts of weird experiments on him.
Today, for the first time, he felt that owning the Cancer Gold Cloth was a huge mistake.
Damian chuckled. "Surrender? Denied!"
"I have other moves I want to try!"
Dismask swallowed. "I'm willing to serve you! Completely loyal to you."
"From now on, I'm your man, and you are my Pope."
Hearing his pledge of loyalty, Damian hesitated a little.
He did need someone inside the Sanctuary to keep tabs on Saga's moves.
This Dismask was considered Saga's confidant; they were thick as thieves. If he were willing to serve Damian, then Damian could grasp Saga's every move.
That could help...
As Damian hesitated, Dismask, who was lying prone, suddenly vanished on the spot.
This sneaky bastard actually returned to the living world!
Cunning. You think you can get away?
A heartbeat later, he also vanished from Yomotsu Hirasaka and returned to the living world.
From far away, he locked onto the fleeing Dismask.
Anyone struck by the Scarlet Needle can't run fast. Even with a Gold Saint's physique, Dismask's speed was drastically reduced; he'd only made it a few kilometers.
With just a blink, Damian appeared in front of him, startling Dismask so badly he lost his footing and fell.
"Dismask, I'll just strip your crab shell off."
"Just so happens I'm short one Gold Cloth."
He raised his hand and chopped down toward the man's neck. Sword light flared, murderous intent surging.
Om!
Suddenly, a sound came from the sky.
A golden light shield surfaced around Dismask, negating the Holy Sword's attack, but the shield shattered in turn.
Then a golden figure descended from the heavens.
Damian looked at the long-haired golden figure and rolled his eyes:
"Virgo Shaka, what are you butting in for?"
(End of Chapter)
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