"A brawny one has arrived, eh?" The woman's words received no reply.

Until now, there had been alien beings capable of understanding human language here and there. This was merely Oka's conjecture, but they must have been lurking in hiding. Naturally, some would have assimilated into human society as well. This woman too must normally go about with a different face in her daily life.

He casually tossed his Z-Gun aside. He'd already grasped its uselessness against this opponent. It required designating coordinates and had a certain lag, rendering the weapon ineffective here. Firing continuously would only weaken its power until she inevitably overpowered it at some point.

His scan was now completed, grasping her composition. At first glance, she seemed nigh immortal - but of course there was an underlying mechanism. Neutralizing that would reduce her to just another foe. Sever the neck, crush the head, and it would end.

He spared a glance towards Garchomp, who had just kicked the ogre away. Its mobility was staggering - flying low while utterly toying with the fiend.

"Hey now, be sure to focus on little ol' me."

Her eyes glinted then. Undeterred, Oka advanced.

He felt slight resistance. The suit's grooves glowed pale blue as it boosted output - enough force to shatter an ordinary Gantz suit instantly. But it barely affected this sturdy gear, the outline merely quivering slightly.

The fox woman cupped a hand to her cheek, the motion accentuating her lush figure's sway. Though Oka only perceived a translucent projection, unable to appreciate any physical detail.

"My my, how lewd..."

Power was focused on his mask's section, the weakest point connected to the neck area. It was starting to creak audibly. If it detached fully, he would lose scanning functions. But by then, Oka had already closed the gap.

The fox woman gestured simultaneously, deflecting his empowered strike with an invisible barrier. Even blows amplified by the hardsuit could be negated, his knuckles grazing her nose.

His true aim lay elsewhere. Extending an open palm, he unleashed a barrage of bullets pointblank.

The unexpected move caught her off guard. Holes opened across her body as the blazing bullets pierced her intangible defenses, melting through tissue. Her face became a bloody mess, her torso nearly severed from her hips.

She managed a spinning kick that Oka avoided by crouching, then thrust out an elbow strike. It struck her neck squarely, not pausing after the first hit but segueing into a flurry of blows.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Battering away the last scraps, he began confirming her state.

"Wow...that was fast..."

Reika stood up, staring at Oka intently. "Just who are you?"

"Get back or do you want to die?"

"...Huh?"

"Can't ya tell it ain't over yet?"

A vexed, ragged panting could be heard. The fox woman stretched her lovely form languorously, yawning despite her massive blood loss. If anything, her skin seemed richer in hue - perhaps from the denser fur emerging. A golden glow now radiated from her bare flesh, accentuating that pallor.

More tails unfurled from her backside, furred as richly as spun gold.

"My, you are rather passionate. Best not disappoint me now."

Nine tails undulated rhythmically. Her hair, too, seemed to rise as though fixed in place by unseen forces. The Dotonbori district's backdrop only highlighted the jarring discord, blurring reality and fantasy into an indistinguishable haze.

Oka watched keenly as she reconstituted herself. A fear of death must be universal across all lifeforms. Still, he had assumed matters would follow the usual pattern. Like the previous opponent, identifying the source enabling her regeneration would render her easily dispatched.

He resumed his approach without hesitation. She exerted greater power in turn, slowing his advance considerably. But his durability remained largely intact, far from the threshold risking deformation.

The same seemed true for her as well - no hint of desperation yet. Oka accelerated, knowing further escalation could quickly turn precarious. Regardless of this battle's outcome, other aliens likely remained to consider as contingencies.

She neared in turn, abandoning psychic abilities outright. Her clawed hands aimed for his mask's weak point. "Care to show your face, good sir?"

He deflected the keen talons with a fist. The woman cried out in pain. The unyielding impact seemed effective, smashing her arm away entirely with ensuing blows.

A grievous opening manifested, yet Oka withheld further attacks. Circling behind, he kicked away her hovering tails.

“Grah!” A bestial groan escaped her. Then, one by one, he methodically severed the tails with razor-edged limbs. She tried resisting, but the agony left her helplessly quaking.

The truly vital target was not her head or neck. His scans revealed regeneration always stemmed from these tails, their reactions intensifying whenever she exerted abilities. Eliminating the source would cripple her recovery.

Five tails fell.

Then six.

As the seventh parted ways, she thrust herself backwards, slipping his grasp despite nearly catching her. The hardsuit's punch had been narrowly deflected - so she still possessed some residual power, he analyzed dispassionately.

"Ohhh, this is delightful..."

Her flushed cheeks seemed fevered, heated eyes caressing him ravenously. Best to renew the assault swiftly before the tails could regrow. Yet some premonition urged hesitation, awaiting further developments.

Her taloned hand reached back, grasping one of her remaining tails. Without hesitation, she tore it out completely.

"Nnnghaah!"

Panting heavily, she brought the dripping, severed tail before her - unconcerned at further diminishing her dwindling supply. If anything, her ardor only seemed to intensify further.

The grasped tail began transforming. First, its abundant fur receded rapidly, the volume thinning out until only a bare remnant remained. As the last strands fell away, the exposed skin took on a glossy, artificial luster before elongating into a slender, tapering form - forging itself into a magnificent blade.

A golden sword had manifested, lacking garish ornamentation. The hand-guard merged seamlessly with the edge in austere, cleaver-like minimalism.

"Phwooh..."

She exhaled softly across the tip, causing its outline to destabilize in minute, flickering vibrations. The light it cast blazed ever brighter and more elusive.

Coaxingly, sensuously, she curled her fingers around the hilt and gripped it firmly between both hands.

"Don't disappoint me now?"

Oka instinctively thrust out a punch. She slipped into his guard effortlessly. Spinning immediately, his elbow slash connected with a resounding clang.

"Hnhnhnhn."

She had solidly met the hardsuit's blade with her newly-forged sword despite having whittled down those tails beforehand. In fact, her might seemed to have increased exponentially - or perhaps she had simply concealed her full potential until now.

Her earlier unconventional methods were a feint then. A mere warmup. No need for dismay. Disengaging now would prove far riskier. Sweeping his stout arm horizontally met no resistance. He followed through with an overhead smash towards her crouched form.

He felt an odd sensation. "I see..." He was forced to disengage.

Checking his right arm confirmed the peculiar feeling's source. Despite his armor’s durability remaining sound, that portion alone had suffered a fracture - multiple shallow lacerations rather than a single clean slash. Oscillating in a blurring, destabilized pattern akin to the fox-woman's sword.

"Well then, shall we continue? Ready your guard."

Only one thing posed a true threat now.

Evading that blade was paramount - he would take no further damage otherwise. Naturally, he hadn't expected this affair to unfold seamlessly against such a formidable alien adversary nearing S-Rank. Some degree of hardship was inevitable.

Oka unleashed a flurry of blows.

"More and more, don't hold back now." She flowed with liquid grace, her humanoid shape belying its structural limitations as she evaded with preternatural speed. Casually deflecting his attacks while grazing arms and legs to deftly adjust their trajectories. Then retaliating with her own slashes.

His previously unscathed left hand was deeply lacerated.

"Come on, come on, that's it."

‘I need a shift in strategy.’ Oka seized her blade as it thrust inward, pinning it to the ground. Pulverizing her skull would buy time to cripple those remaining tails.

But the grasped edge had already vanished. She stood overhead in a handstand, instantly rematerializing the sword in one hand. He was backpedaling as she pondered aloud,

"No can do!"

The blade abruptly elongated, its expanded slashing radius slamming squarely into his mask section.

Reika gasped sharply. "Ah..."

Oka felt a burning sensation at the tip of his nose. All the secondary display data had vanished - the opponent's body no longer translucent.

His hardsuit's mask rolled across the ground. Not a deep cut, but he could tell his nose had been nicked. Thoughts of staunching the bleeding didn't even occur - he lacked the leisure for such niceties. He immediately shielded his exposed face with an arm.

The fox woman's laughter rang out. "Don't fret, I won't be so crass. Why don't you show me that handsome visage?"

The hardsuit's functions had degraded somewhat. Because her power was starting to override him, forcibly prying his guarding arms aside to leave his face vulnerable.

She stuck out her tongue slightly, provocatively moistening her lips. "As I thought - a fine face indeed. Fufufu, I'm positively drooling here. Don't worry, I won't ruin it just yet. First I'll strip away that unsightly outfit piece by piece, working my way along those limbs nice and slow. Your miso does look rather delectable..."

Garchomp had been caught by one arm, instantly struggling until a blindsiding punch slammed it into the wall.

Realizing belatedly that he'd been distracted by her taunts, Oka grimaced wryly. He could feel sweat beading his brow. An almost nostalgic sensation.

Not since facing that previous S-Class opponent had the tension felt so acute. But even then, he recalled it being far worse. This encounter paled in comparison - the sense of peril nowhere near as daunting as that first, nightmarish ordeal.

Venting functions, billowing smoke erupted from his back to engulf them in an obscuring cloud. Oka shut his eyes, switching to manual override.

The fox woman's shrill laughter echoed as she relentlessly battered his suit with invisible slashes.

"Change of plans - your lower half is just excess baggage!"

His punches faltered as cables snaked from his back, severed one by one. Suit arms shattered, spilling fluid from the multitude of grooves.

Her hand blurred. A gleaming blur pierced the haze, burrowing into his midsection. The blade didn't halt, cleaving straight through with inexorable ease as suit and body parted ways.

Reika stifled a scream witnessing the scene through the smoke, the hardsuit bifurcated into tumbling halves.

Just when she thought reinforcements had arrived, the tide turned dire once more. But then she noticed - a dark blade protruding from the fox woman's own abdomen.

"Ugh..."

"Got you."

An emergency suit ejection maneuver. Two options - directly exiting through the back, or this method optimal for such situations.

Instantaneously propelling the occupant to a safe distance, the exact mechanics unclear but results satisfactory. Calibrated just right to circle behind his opponent unawares.

Channeling the suit's power, Oka rammed the sword's hilt upwards with a furious shout - psyching himself to amplify its might, a blunt yet surprisingly effective tactic at times.

The blade flashed to her skull in an eyeblink, cleaving straight through amid the severed halves' arterial spray as she crumpled backwards.

His breathing ragged, but the battle not yet won. Swiftly backpedaling, he scooped up the discarded Z-Gun and unloaded point-blank into her twitching remains.

Boom! Boom!

Two shots to decisively cripple - the first pulverizing her regenerating tails and lower torso under gravitational force, the second obliterating everything else.

A gruff masculine roar accompanied the crash of a burly man bursting forth the building’s window, seizing one of the ogre's flailing arms. In sync, Garchomp twisted the other off simultaneously. The fiend clearly anguished, they pressed their advantage ruthlessly.

The man grappled its head as Garchomp folded a leg with its immense weight pinning it down for their combined skulldozer to finish the brute.

He turned towards Oka with a hint of pique, apparently irked at being too slow before clapping his comrade's shoulder and striding over.

"It's over..."

Faint stirrings persisted farther out - unsurprisingly, teleportation wouldn't initiate yet. Oka considered this mere mop-up duty as he pondered what boons might await. Hopefully gear enhancing the hardsuit's defenses further - protection remained paramount. Lingering vulnerabilities hampered combat focus.

Garchomp knelt, evidently worse off than it appeared if the ogre proved such formidable opposition. But having drawn that menace's ire likely proved far more invaluable than any stock Gantz provisions.

The stranger too succumbed gradually, though Oka paid him no mind - just another civilian casualty amidst the wider devastation he ignored.

Something solid struck his face. Realizing it was the ground, he perceived a hazy fog drifting about. His vision blurred.

Amidst the murk, a spherical mass came into focus - exuding copious gaseous discharge from the area his Z-Gun had decimated. Where the fox woman's blood pooled at her demise site.

'Ah, that's a first. Maybe we'll meet in the next life.'

Oka realized right away he was poisoned,  his chest agonies was intensifying as blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, eyes stinging - his body being steadily dissolved. Not suit failure, but rather a penetrative agent acting directly upon his physiology. Potentially delayed effects, but lethally potent nonetheless. Clearly a fatal dosage either way.

Thoughts of teleporting flickered, only to realize their futility with aliens still persisting. His cognition grew increasingly muddled. So it must be a dying delusion then - a wishful fantasy indulged as his consciousness ebbed.

Something dropped from above - not biological, but rather a spherical orb-like object bouncing off the toxic fog's glowing source with a dull thunk.

The stone became enveloped in light, pulled inwards to be absorbed by the opened orb. Two more descended shortly after, regarding the now-still spheres intently.

"We did it!"

"Kweeee!"

The bespectacled man and Togekiss were enjoying each other’s company for some reason. Their hands and wings were clapping together.

"Oka!"

Just then, an unwelcome feminine voice was the last thing he registered before surrendering his awareness entirely.

 

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