“You… You were the one who did all this, weren’t you?” the pirate admiral growled. “That Ruby-Core was weak. A pushover like him couldn’t be the one to make this mess. Who the fuck are you?”Eri didn’t reply. Instead, he carefully studied the man. His Observation Skill searched even for the most minute weakness in his armour.There was none. Save for the slits in his face — so tiny that not even his smallest daggers could slip into — the man was impenetrable. Maybe the Hollowfang’s Fourth Art, [Life-Emptying Crucible], could cut through the diamond-like exterior, but even then it would be a gamble.A fruitless idea. In the first place, he had no mana left to perform any magic. Save, perhaps, for his Bloodflames Artes.Demonic arcana did not rely on the Goddess Core. The magic came from a more primordial source, and so it was not dependent on his body’s available stores of mana to function. The difference was why Eri had been able to use it against Gunther or the Hydras at the port, even when his body had been pushed past the point of exhaustion.But using it now was almost certain suicide. The Bloodflame Artes were not subtle. Their activation alone would result in an outpouring of corruption. Everyone nearby — those on the frigate, those on the biovore corvette, and even those on the imperial island nearby — would instantly sense the power of the Damned flooding from him.What else did he have? Weapons aplenty, but none that were effective against his opponent. Aiming for the usual weak points — joints, eyes, neck — was useless. Gas could be a solution. The man still needed to breathe and see, judging by the slits around his (...)