"White Night, there's a switch on the back of 'Arata's' neck. If you're in a desperate situation, you can press it. But remember, once you press it, you must take off 'Arata' within a minute," Yuna explained.
The switch she mentioned would activate 'Arata's' prototype mode. Once triggered, 'Arata' would start to consume the user's flesh and blood, but in return, its performance would increase significantly.
"Got it," Su Xiao replied as he adjusted to the armor on his body. To be honest, if the situation wasn't so dire, he wouldn't want to wear it at all. Though it significantly boosted his strength and defense, it drastically reduced his speed. In these narrow underground tunnels, it was still manageable, but in other environments, he might be kited to death.
"Roar!" A blind ghoul lunged at him like a ravenous beast, its jaws gaping open to the limit, the muscles in its cheeks tearing from the strain. Su Xiao stood firm. The heavy armor changed his fighting style somewhat—it was inevitable. The -3 point reduction in agility made him less nimble, but the +3 increase in strength enhanced the power behind his slashes.
With reduced agility, dodging was no longer a priority. Su Xiao gripped his sword with both hands and slashed with all his might. This strike was brutal, fueled by the sharpness of Dragon Flash, the enhancement from his Azure Steel Shadow ability, and his increased strength.
"Slash!" Blood sprayed as the blind ghoul was sliced in two. The creature's black-red blood spilled across the ground, filling the area with a pungent stench.
In the heat of battle, Su Xiao had no time to care about the overwhelming odor. The priority was to kill the enemies.
"Bang!" A specialized bullet whizzed past Su Xiao, fired by Yuna to cover him from a distance. As a user of 'Arata', Yuna had some close-combat capabilities. Her quinque had two forms: a sniper rifle and a scythe. However, compared to Su Xiao and Arima's close-combat skills, she was nowhere near their level. She chose not to engage in melee combat, preferring not to embarrass herself in front of them.
The sound of slashing blades and gunfire echoed through the tunnels. The blind ghouls showed no fear of death. Even after Su Xiao had killed a dozen of them, the rest didn't retreat.
Su Xiao beheaded another blind ghoul, but then a tail-like kagune shot toward his chest. He instinctively tried to dodge, but with his agility reduced by 3 points, his evasion was noticeably slower.
"Clang!" The kagune struck 'Arata', making a metallic sound. A finger-sized hole appeared in the armor, and blood started seeping out. Su Xiao had been injured. The attacking power of these blind ghouls was terrifying. He grabbed the kagune with one hand and pulled it toward him, thrusting his sword forward and stabbing it through the ghoul's skull, killing it instantly.
The relentless onslaught of dozens of blind ghouls began to weigh on Su Xiao. Fortunately, they were still within his limit, and Yuna's support from the distance allowed him to keep fighting. His sword continued to slash through the enemies, and the number of blind ghouls quickly dwindled. Seeing this, Yuna breathed a sigh of relief.
After ten minutes, only a few blind ghouls remained. Su Xiao's hand, gripping the sword, started to tremble—he was nearing exhaustion. The earlier battle against the primitive ghouls had already drained much of his energy, and now being surrounded by blind ghouls was pushing him to his limit. Raising his aching arm, he delivered the final blow, decapitating the last of the blind ghouls. Blood pooled around his feet, much of it his own.
"It's finally over," Yuna said as she hurried over to help Su Xiao.
"Don't come near! There's more coming!" Su Xiao's face tightened as he looked into the dark tunnel ahead.
"What?" Yuna was startled.
"Thud, thud, thud..." The sound of many footsteps echoed from the front. Clearly, the battle wasn't over yet.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Yuna's expression turned to despair.
"Yuna, can 'Arata' overdraw my stamina?" Su Xiao asked, undeterred by the grim situation. As long as he was alive, there was still a chance.
"It can, but..." Yuna started to respond, but Su Xiao ignored her hesitation and pressed the switch on the back of his neck.
"Click."
Immediately, Su Xiao felt 'Arata' changing. A blood-red light spread across the armor's surface, and it began to move as if alive. The armor shifted from dark green to a pulsating crimson, resembling a ghoul's kagune.
"Glug glug..." As 'Arata' writhed, Su Xiao felt it begin to consume his blood and even gnaw at his flesh.
"This thing...is vicious," he muttered.
Three seconds later, 'Arata' stabilized, transforming into a deep red armor.
"Whoosh..." A black-red mist spread around Su Xiao as the transformation completed.
"They're here!" Su Xiao's voice was deep, his eyes glowing red. The armor had formed a helmet, leaving only his eyes exposed. His vision turned a faint shade of red, and his physical attributes surged.
['Arata' has activated its living form. Your stats have changed. Strength +5, Agility +5, Constitution +5. You will lose 2% of your health per second. (Temporary status. Enhancements or reductions will disappear when 'Shin' is removed.)]
A flood of power surged within Su Xiao. He quickly scanned the incoming ghouls—there were over sixty of them.
"Cover me. I'm going in!" Su Xiao shouted as he launched himself forward.
"Boom!"
The ground shattered beneath his feet as he turned into a red blur, charging straight into the horde of blind ghouls.
"Slash, slash, slash..." The pale blue gleam of his blade flickered through the air, severing flesh and limbs in quick succession. Yuna stood in shock for a moment, forgetting to pull the trigger on her quinque.
"Is 'Arata' really that powerful?" Yuna shook her head and fired to support Su Xiao.
As Su Xiao fought, his vision grew redder, and his heartbeat quickened. He began silently counting the seconds.
30 seconds. 31 seconds. 32 seconds.
At 40 seconds, Su Xiao grunted in pain as 'Arata' started to devour not just his blood, but his flesh as well.
"Argh!" With a final slash, he killed the last five blind ghouls in front of him. But after that, dizziness set in, and he felt his strength waning. He could fight no longer. Ahead, there were still a dozen more ghouls.
Just as the situation became critical, a slim figure dashed past him, standing in his defense. It was Yuna. Wielding a massive scythe, she swung it in a wide arc, pushing back a ghoul that had lunged at Su Xiao.
"Such tough skin! White Night, I need 'Arata'," Yuna called out.
Su Xiao pressed the switch on his neck again, deactivating 'Arata's' living state. Under normal circumstances, 'Arata' would detach itself, but this time, it clung to him stubbornly.
Su Xiao planted Dragon Flash into the ground beside him and used both hands to tear at 'Arata'.
"Rip, rip..." Several tendrils of 'Arata' were forcefully pulled off as Su Xiao managed to tear it away from his body.
He tossed the writhing 'Arata' to Yuna, swearing that he would never wear that cursed thing again. Another 20 seconds, and 'Arata' would have consumed all the flesh from his body, leaving him a pile of bones.
(End of Chapter)
*********************************
Translator's Note :- I am Not that familiar with a lot of the fictional worlds mentioned in the story. So if I make a mistake naming something please correct me by writing a paragraph comment on the mistake. Thank you.