A fight was inevitable. Fu Qian had never doubted that.
Personality determined fate. At her core, Goto Hi's philosophy of life was the same as Captain Lan En's.
Just as Lan En would always be prepared to kill him under any circumstances, the moment he showed himself again, no matter how things went between them, she would ultimately try to use him as a vessel by force.
The only thing he could do was get as much out of the situation as possible before that happened.
So far, things were still more or less under control—except for how disgusting the attack was.
Did people who spent so much time at sea all like enchanting things with spit?
Though the wrapping around him was soft, it was incredibly tough. Yet what drew Fu Qian's attention most was its slick surface, which made him frown deeply.
Fu Qian rarely used "riotously colorful" to describe a smell, but it was all too fitting here.
The liquid flowing over his body was clearly nothing like a strong acid, poison, or anesthetic. It was more like an intensely concentrated essence of the Sea of Ashes, forming a barrier that enveloped him from head to toe.
Inside the barrier, Fu Qian felt every concept within him mixing together at a frightening pace.
His organs and the senses they produced—sight and hearing alike—were rapidly becoming entangled.
The most immediate effect was that Fu Qian wasn't even sure what would emerge if he unleashed a move like Ten Thousand Tentacles right now.
He could understand why Ninianni had done that to her own face. Deliberately disabling some things might actually help stabilize one's mind.
Of course, that wasn't Fu Qian's way.
"Insolence!"
He couldn't tell which of his features had spoken, but the body inside the barrier suddenly