Hearing the words of the tyrannical beast in front of him, Elian felt his blood run amok. Despite the pressure, he forced himself to stand.
In an instant, his wall armor appeared and adorned his body. His weapons clicked into place—primed and hungry for battle. Sunny and Bianca had already begun exchanging blows. Ice VII projectiles and fire lances were already flying back and forth.
Sunny guffawed in glee, "As expected of Silent and Bastion’s daughter! Young witch, you wield mana no human should possess! How did you even manage to get Psychomancer?"
The Phoenix did not fly and merely flapped her wings; each time she did, it looked like snakes of fire gained sentience and chased after Bianca. She had to evade and shoot them all down as she gained distance.
"Why would I even tell you?! Just die!"
Ice VII lances and Cinderglass rounds ripped through Sunny’s flames like a hailstorm. Each detonation took away her fire armor, revealing her flesh beneath.
"Interesting, encasing an ice core in metal and fire, then detonating it." Yet within seconds, the flames returned. It was as if Bianca was trying to shoot the sea. "If this is all you can do, forget trying to fight in the crucible. All you have are mere parlor tricks."
Sunny lowered her head, and the three tails behind her roared. A torrent of fire came from each and moved like huge waves of fire that headed after Bianca.
"Bianca!" Fluffy tried to jump, but snakes of metal wrapped around her body, restraining her.
"Dad! What are you doing? Let me help! This bitch is asking for it!"
But even Silent froze Fluffy’s body in place.
"Please bear with it, Whisper; Sunny is not a bad person. She is just..."
Guess, Bianca and I will have to win with just the two of us.
Without a second to lose, Elian braced his core and pointed upwards. Aiming for the spot just inches away from Bianca, he fired. The chaotic rumbling launched fifty onyx spheres between his lover and the waves of fire.
Spread like mist. Protect her!
The onyx spheres suddenly were pulverized into fine dust. The flames which raced forward crashed into them and were repelled. Bianca cheered at his defense!
I’ll take point. Protect me, Bianca.
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
"Ho? So you have that much control over your metals? You seem smarter than you appear to be," Sunny provoked. "Then the one who took out Heaven’s Fist is you, young hatchling?"
Igniting the Cinderglass in his thruster, Elian blasted toward Sunny like a rocket.
Elian closed in the distance in a flash and raised his right arm. Pile Revolver’s tip glinted as it barreled toward its target.
"Impressive speed. But you lack awareness."
Suddenly, the ground he skidded on turned to sludge. As if it had melted into paste.
You think I haven’t used the same tactic?
In an instant, Elian spilled Living Metal from his shoes and created a stable footing, a black sea began to swallow up the melted clay in a battle for supremacy. Regaining his momentum, Elian reached Sunny in less than a second.
Crap! She is too domineering!
But she simply waved her wing, and the powerful gust of wind made him stop. Sunny lowered her head and began to shriek. Solidified mana made the sound waves visible. But before they could reach Elian, a powerful beam of light tore them apart.
Seeing the handiwork of his lover, Elian smiled and regained his composure. He braced his core where he stood and shot out his shoulder weapons.
A devastating series of explosions followed. Being so close to Sunny, the onyx spheres smashed her flames off. A few of them even managed to touch her skin and wound her.
Ice VII rounds and lances rained from the skies, joining Elian’s barrage. Dust and smoke wept up as Bianca and Elian’s attack practically ripped apart the very soil. The foliage and trees around Sunny’s nest vanished as a result.
"Did we get her?" Bianca asked.
You’re not supposed to say that, Bianca.
In that instant, Elian felt the air heat up. It was already sweltering, but now it felt like he was cooking in his armor. Even Bianca’s soul body began to drip with sweat.
And it still got hotter.
As the smoke and debris cleared, Sunny’s battered body was revealed. However, her eyes were not in pain, nor in shock. They were emotionless, like they belonged to a being who lost all hope and joy in its life.
"Withstand this. This is the will of Averignis. The will of Fire!"
Elian then felt Sunny’s mana well up and drastically increase. Her body began to shine even brighter, blinding everything in white light. It was a scene Elian knew well.
Tsk! No wonder she is the Tyrant of Averignis; she is also a pyromaniac! Bianca! Come here!
"Yes! I’ll protect you!"
Teleporting like a ghost, Bianca appeared in front of Elian; she slammed her rifle’s buttstock into the ground and covered them with a dull, opaque ice wall.
Although he was pleased with her actions, Elian grabbed Bianca and covered her with his body. He melted all his armor and made a secondary shield with everything he had.
Fully sealed in darkness, Elian and Bianca felt the catastrophic flames that slammed into their shields. The metal warped, the ice shattered. Light began to seep into their closed domain as Sunny showcased her power.
Ugh, it is painful. So this is a true Tyrant’s attacks. I feel like I am going to die.
[Talent: Driven – triggered. Elian Reed will never lose consciousness in the face of an enemy.]
Elian, who felt every bit of heat and pressure, gritted his teeth in pain. Bianca noticed and hugged him tenderly, weathering the storm.
"You can’t. I won’t let you."
Bianca’s readjusted her body and solidified into dull gray ice. She blotted out the fire that liquefied Elian’s metals. She kept melting, but she kept refreezing it as Sunny’s attack continued. Gritting through the pain, Bianca endured.
Only to collapsed on Elian, breathless mere minutes later.
The golem embraced her tenderly as he smiled. Even when her mana grew depleted, and her soul body collapsed, she still worried about him rather than her own safety.
"You did enough. Don’t worry, I got it. I know how to win thanks to you," he murmured, sealing the promise with a kiss to her burning skin.
"Good. You cannot lose, okay? Get a tie at least. And tell me later."
At his tender act, he felt Bianca’s trembling body relax and faint.
Then the Living Metal around them began to boil. The metal turned orange, molten ore joining the mixture. When the fires eventually breached their defenses, Elian made all the metal he could still control wrap around Bianca in an onyx suit of armor.
These aren’t flames—they were emotions given shape. Fire sculpted from will.
Exiting the broken fortress he had made, Elian’s bare body began to melt. Every inch of him boiled. The pain was excruciating. But he couldn’t focus on any of that. All he saw was Sunny burning alive while gazing at him with dead eyes.
How pitiful. Let me release you.
He only had less than 20% of all his metals, more than half already sealed inside Bianca’s armor. But none of that mattered. He raised the stump that remained of his arm and commanded.
At his command, his chest turned into a mouth and took a bite of the immense fire ravaging him. Within seconds, he grew enough Living Metal to reform his body.
[Talent: Driven – triggered. Elian Reed will never lose consciousness in the face of an enemy.]
I knew it. If you are made of mana, I will turn you into material!
Raising both his hands, he began to counterattack as his body simmered into vapor.
Like a dying man drinking the sea—he swallowed what he could, even as it burned him away. Each bite he grew a little more. Each second that passed, his body evaporated. The cycle seemed endless, yet the intensity of Sunny’s fires never dulled in the slightest.
I will never lose to this!
Gritting his teeth, Elian seized the pain and forged it into resolve. Devouring the power of a sun he counter attacked. Each second that passed a victory in itself.
After about a minute, the fires grew weaker... until they finally stopped.
"You passed, hatchling. Barely. But you did."
Elian’s eye went blind and could no longer see. When he no longer felt immense pain, he released Bianca’s body, fell to the ground in agony, and gave the command to Fluffy.
"You got it, you crazy bastard."
Bastion’s voice came a second later, "That was magnificent, Elian. Rest now. We’ll take it from here."
As Elian’s mind began to slip into the darkness, he heard Silent and Sunny bickering. In the end, there was no victory—only survival. He managed to withstand an attack that would have killed an entire country.
"Ow! What was that for!"
"You crazy fire-borne pyromaniac! You almost turned my children to ash! If I never have grandchildren, I will never forgive you!"
"Wait! My flames give immense virility to men! If the hatchling couldn’t make children before, he can now! I guarantee it!"
"You burned him half to death and you’re pitching fertility plans?" Silent growled.
Why the hell are Tyrants so happy-go-lucky? Have some shame, you bitch.