Bang!
The ferocious blow sent Marcus's body reeling back. With a wet splurt, a stream of liquid sprayed from beneath his cloak, and he was sent flying.
Yet the liquid spraying from beneath Marcus's hood was not crimson blood, but a foul, unknown black fluid like ink!
The foul fluid had barely splashed into the air when it failed to fall. Instead, it trembled and twisted in midair, bizarrely transforming into a black arrow that shot straight at Ikaros's delicate face!
Ikaros raised her head. Data-like streams of light flashed through her crimson eyes as though she were analyzing every detail of the battle. Without moving in the slightest, she casually flung out the Absolute Defense Circle, placing it before her body and allowing the black liquid arrow to strike it.
The next second, a series of sizzling sounds, like eggs hitting hot oil, rang out from the Absolute Defense Circle. The black arrow was corroding its surface as though it were sulfuric acid!
Even Ikaros's data windows paused for a moment at the sight. Clearly, she had not expected this outcome. Fortunately, the black arrow seemed unable to corrode the Absolute Defense Circle. After producing a faint plume of poisonous smoke, it quietly vanished...
Though the entire exchange sounded lengthy, only a dozen or so seconds had passed from the moment Ikaros and Marcus first clashed head-on to their two consecutive close-range assaults!
And during those dozen seconds, Ikaros had held an absolute advantage!
The moment Marcus, who had fallen from the sky, steadied himself, he quickly looked up at Ikaros floating in midair. Seeing that she was completely uninjured, he ground his teeth beneath his cloak.
"This woman is strong..." In barely a dozen seconds, he had suffered twice at her hands. By now, even Marcus understood that