A powerful blast of fire shot from the lion's maw. The masked man didn't falter and stepped forward to fulfill his role. Gripping Windcutter tightly, Kaze stood in front of the massive wave of fire. Gathering a portion of his energy into the blade, he slashed just as the flames were about to overwhelm him. As if the wind obeyed his will, the fireball split in two and crashed into the surrounding buildings, extinguishing itself but leaving clear burn marks behind.
The lion didn't attack again immediately after Kaze repelled its assault. It seemed to be studying their movements. The masked man activated his cloak and disappeared from sight, though Kalgoros could still sense him. However, the vestige couldn't attack because a black arrow was speeding toward its position. From its massive mouth, the lion fired another fireball, intercepting the projectile. The arrow, launched by Deuz, and the bow from which it was fired, were both apprentice-rank due to Deuz's level. Yet, they required only a bit of the lion's attention to be destroyed.
At that moment, the vestige tried to resume its attack but was surprised to find its right front leg bound by a chain.
Shoun, taking advantage of the chaos created by his companions' attacks, had sneaked through the abandoned cars in the streets until he reached an optimal position. Without hesitation, he launched Iron Serpent, which extended and wrapped around the creature's leg.
Knowing he didn't have much time now that the vestige had noticed his trick, Shoun channeled a surge of electricity into Iron Serpent. The current traveled through the chain, momentarily paralyzing the creature.
Sein and Kaze saw the opportunity to strike. They rushed toward the vestige. Just as Sein reached the front, Kaze briefly deactivated his cloak to signal the boy. Sein understood and ran to the right while the masked man went left.
At that moment, Kalgoros broke free from the paralyzing effect of Shoun's attack. The first thing it did was exert immense force, snapping the chain. Shoun had anticipated this and had already detached part of the chain to avoid being dragged. He knew the vestige would now be more wary of him, making it impossible to repeat the tactic. But it didn't matter—he had already given his companions the chance to attack.
While Kalgoros broke free from Iron Serpent, Kaze and Sein prepared their attacks. The boy raised the golden sword above his head, and it glowed with a golden light. Meanwhile, Kaze took some distance and imbued Windcutter with a significant amount of his energy. As if synchronized, they launched their attacks simultaneously.
Kaze, with his cloak activated, lunged forward with incredible speed, thrusting his sword directly at the lion's chest. At the same time, Sein unleashed a vertical slash, sending a wave of golden light speeding toward the vestige.
Kalgoros calmly assessed both attacks. Aware that it couldn't dodge both, it decided to take Sein's attack head-on and deal with Kaze's, which, due to its speed, was undoubtedly the more dangerous of the two. The lion moved its head and exhaled a powerful fireball, intercepting Kaze mid-flight. To its surprise, the masked man didn't falter. He continued advancing at full speed, so the lion prepared another fireball to finish him off if the first one failed. But moments before the fireball and Kaze collided, the masked man sharply altered his trajectory. Without losing any speed or momentum thanks to his ability, he had already planned to modify his attack. Instead of a thrust, what struck Kalgoros simultaneously with the golden light was a slash of wind.
Smoke briefly filled the area, but as it cleared, two new wounds were visible on the lion's body. On its left side, a line of blood ran along its flank, while the right side had a deeper gash that stretched from top to bottom. If one listened closely, they could hear a sizzling sound, like a burn, still emanating from the wound.
All of this happened in the small window of opportunity created by Deuz and Shoun's attacks. The four of them, standing before Kalgoros, were no longer mere ants. But even ants can devour giants when they work together.
Rage consumed the vestige's mind. In an instant, hell broke loose. With a stomp, the ground cracked, and pillars of fire erupted from it. From its mouth, it unleashed another torrent of flames, this time like a flamethrower—a continuous stream. It first targeted Kaze, who was behind it. Seeing this, the masked man had no choice but to reactivate his cloak and narrowly escape. Immediately after Kaze fled, Kalgoros redirected its attack toward Sein.
The boy didn't have time to run and take cover after his offensive. But just as the flames were about to reach him, a chain wrapped around his waist. It was Shoun, who, the moment Sein was entangled with Iron Serpent, yanked him to safety, narrowly avoiding the lion's attack—though not for long.
—Get down!— Shoun pushed Sein to the ground behind a car. In the next moment, they were engulfed by a sea of flames, barely escaping unscathed.
Kalgoros had only launched one attack, and the entire street was now covered in flames. The ground was fractured, and the cars and asphalt melted under the tyrant's onslaught.
The lion pushed the car shielding Sein and Shoun with one of its paws, slamming the molten vehicle into a building. Now, both seekers were under the vestige's gaze. Shoun stepped forward, Iron Serpent sliding into his hand. He was determined to protect Sein at all costs.
Kalgoros launched a fireball at them. The distance was too short, and with no time to dodge, Shoun could only brace for the worst. Until Kaze appeared in front of them. Deactivating his cloak, he slashed, sending a wave of wind that shattered the fireball and created a momentary smoke screen.
Deuz seized the opportunity, firing a massive arrow at the lion. The vestige responded with another fireball to counter it, but the arrow split into three mid-air, dodging the fireball and striking the lion in three different places: its right front leg, its left front leg, and finally, its left eye.
—GRAA!— The tyrant roared, momentarily paralyzing the seekers. But thanks to Kaze's proximity, they were dragged toward Deuz, reestablishing a safe distance from the creature.
Now blind in one eye, Kalgoros unleashed its fury once more. In an attempt to put the ants in their place, the flames in its mane dimmed slightly, but in their place, a cloud of darkness gathered around the lion. When the cloud grew large enough, it filled the entire street in an instant.
The young men, still recovering, couldn't do anything to resist the attack. They all knelt, powerless before Kalgoros' overwhelming authority. However, to the vestige's displeasure, one ant still resisted—Sein.
—H-how persistent you are, trying to crush us, kitty— Even he, despite his strong resistance to curses, had to exert a great deal of willpower to resist the lion's authority. Gripping his sword tightly, he poured a significant amount of his spiritual energy into enhancing his companions, who immediately began to regain their strength.
It was at that moment that the tyrant realized why the ants could resist its power. Taking advantage of the fact that the others were still recovering, it channeled part of its essence into a quick and powerful attack. A fireball tinged with black shot from its mouth. In a few seconds, it would hit Sein. Kaze was too far away, and even if he activated his cloak, he wouldn't make it in time. Deuz was still recovering from the effects of the dark cloud. The boy wasn't fast enough to dodge the attack. He could only curl up and hope it wouldn't kill him instantly.
But Shoun, who was right beside him, stepped in front of the attack. He used all the remaining electricity in his core to strengthen his right side and took the full brunt of the blast with his right arm.
Time seemed to stop for the three young men as they watched Shoun take the hit. Even the vestige was somewhat surprised that he had intervened. But beyond the shock, it continued its assault. This time, however, Deuz and Kaze managed to recover and positioned themselves in front of the two seekers to defend them.
Sein dragged Shoun's body back and got a better look at him. He looked bad—really bad.
The young man lay on the hot asphalt. His arm was a charred mess, completely black with streaks of dried blood. The upper part of his uniform tried to regenerate but kept retreating whenever it reached his right shoulder. His lips were completely dry, and a burn stretched from his right cheek down to his neck.
—Shoun, you idiot! W-what were you thinking!?— Sein, tears welling in his eyes, set his sword aside and placed his hands on Shoun to heal him. But Shoun stopped him with his one usable arm.
—D-don't... don't do it— His voice was hoarse and barely audible. At that moment, he could barely feel his right arm, let alone move it. The sensation was horrible—a constant pain that kept him conscious but in a state close to torture— You need to save your energy... I'll be fine.
—But, but— Sein tried to protest, but Shoun stopped him by shaking his head. To endure the pain, he bit his lip, letting a trickle of blood run down his face. The boy could only watch helplessly as his friend suffered because he had saved him— ...stay here. We'll finish this fight.
Sein picked up his sword and, determined, ran to join Deuz and Kaze, who at this point were barely holding off the vestige on their own. But just as he reached Deuz, he caught a glimpse of the bloodied Shoun slowly making his way toward them.
—Hmm, I guess you're not ready to retire from the fight yet. I won't say no to an extra hand. Do what you have to do, masochist— Deuz commented briefly as he brought the platform with all the batteries closer to Shoun. Sein wanted to say something about how it wasn't the time to mock the young man, but the jab didn't even seem to register in Shoun's pain-addled mind.
Shoun looked at the batteries like a man in the desert seeing water. With his one good hand, he pointed at the batteries, and a massive storm of electricity shot from them directly into his core.
When all the batteries were drained, they fell to the ground. Shoun wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and flashed a wide grin, revealing his blood-stained teeth, before asking:
—So, how are we killing this bastard?— His voice was filled with absolute excitement and madness.