His fist collided with the end of the kagune, and fragments burst from the wall behind Nico and the floor beneath Louis's feet.
After just one second of releasing his crystallization, the weakness inside him surged back. In a contest of raw strength, he immediately fell behind, forced back by the other man's tail kagune.
Louis frowned. He hadn't expected Nico to retaliate so quickly even while taking a heavy blow, and it caught him off guard.
With strength no longer on his side, finesse became crucial. He abandoned the contest, pulled his hand back, and twisted aside, avoiding most of the force, but the attack still grazed his side.
Fortunately, his opponent's kagune wasn't a rinkaku. Otherwise, that glancing blow would have shredded his uncrystallized skin.
Bang!
Nico's tail kagune plunged straight into the wall.
Banjō stepped in and caught Louis in time, keeping him from losing his balance and tumbling sideways.
These injuries are still holding me back too much... Louis steadied himself and was about to strike back when he realized his opponent wasn't pressing the attack.
Having landed a hit, Nico didn't pursue him. Instead, he used the length of his tail kagune to propel himself farther away, opening up the distance.
Only then did he begin removing the crystal fragments in his chest that were obstructing his recovery.
His method was crude: he tore out the crystal fragments along with the frozen, dead flesh, then relied on his powerful regenerative ability to regrow it all. In mere seconds, his mangled chest regained its shape.
That irritating voice rang out through the space.
"How awful, getting so rough right from the start. I might not be able to take it..."
"..." A vein quietly bulged.
"Luckily, I'm quite good at healing, too..." Nico said with a