Chapter 81: A moment to rise
"I won’t lie—my back feels like it’s on fire," Yui muttered, rolling his shoulders. "But these gauntlets? They’re usually my ace in the hole. I’ll explain what they do another time... if we make it out of this alive."
Vincent let out a deep growl as he slammed his fist into the ground, molten energy cracking outward in jagged lines. The ground shifted beneath them, fractures glowing with heat as a hardened crust of stone and flame spread across Vincent’s body, encasing him in armor. "You won’t be getting off easy this time, you damn losers!" he shouted, molten eyes narrowing as he scanned his surroundings. "And there’s no pretty little lady to protect you now."
He charged forward, fast and heavy, the air rippling with heat in his wake. Yui’s eyes flicked across the battlefield, taking in the sight of resort security guards lying unconscious, some half-frozen, with their weapons shattered beside them. "It doesn’t look like Elara went down quietly," he muttered, jaw tightening as he turned his focus back to Vincent.
"Elias! You’re playing backup here!" Yui shouted. "When you see an opening—strike however you know how to!"
But Elias barely heard him. His gaze was fixed on Elara’s unconscious form sprawled across the ground. Blood streaked down her face, and her body was marked with deep gashes, her suit torn away, leaving her in nothing but her bathing suit. Smoke lingered around her like a grim reminder of the battle she’d fought. How had she lost? Elara was strong, fast, precise—there was no way Vincent could have taken her down this easily.
"MOVE, DAMN IT!" Dot’s voice screamed inside his head, the urgency rattling through him like a shockwave. "We have to defeat him anyway! It’s part of the quest! I don’t want to deal with being blind... or dealing with you being blind!"
Elias drew in a sharp breath, forcing himself to focus. "You’re right," he whispered. "I just have to dive in, trust my instincts, and play the perfect defensive piece right now."
Before Elias could act, Yui was already charging forward. But he barely made it three steps before Vincent was on him, towering over him with molten fists raised. Elias’s eyes widened as he realized that Vincent’s right arm—the one Elara had severed—was now fully encased in molten stone, reforged and burning with raw power. Vincent’s attack came down in a blinding arc, aimed directly at Yui’s chest.
Yui crossed his gauntlets just in time, meeting the blow head-on. The impact detonated with a sound like a cannon shot, sparks and heat erupting in every direction as the energy surged outward. The force created a vortex of pressure, sending waves of heat rolling across the battlefield as the gauntlets absorbed what they could. The surface of the gauntlets flickered with unstable light, straining to disperse the raw energy of Vincent’s attack.
Yui gritted his teeth as the gauntlet groaned under Vincent’s crushing force. The metal creaked, a hairline fracture forming along its surface as bursts of energy crackled between them. Sparks erupted wildly, flashing in sharp intervals. It was in that brief gap—where the sparks flared brightest—that Elias moved.
Sliding between the chaotic surges of energy, he lunged forward, gripping the long, metal rod Dot had just formed in his hand. A faint blue light pulsed at the tip as he drove the pole against Vincent’s forearm, forcing his arm up and away from Yui. The momentum knocked Vincent slightly off balance, his stance shifting for the first time.