"Go after that traitor if you wish. He deserves it for being weak," Fortis muttered, watching Corsair pass overhead.
"What the hell? He's huge! Good luck to them. I'd toast to their bravery… oh no, he's staring at me!" Corsair whispered to himself, glancing nervously at Fortis below.
Hector opened the pouch, revealing three devices identical to those they had earlier. These were Portable Desizers (PDs). Depending on their size, PDs could shrink and store large objects, utilizing Regeni—a form of energy powering all tech in Etern—to cushion the items for easy retrieval.
Aeron and Hector had used PDs to store their weapons, and now they had three more. One of them was significantly larger. Hector tossed it 19 feet behind him, and as it hit the ground and bounced, it emitted a bright light, more intense than the ones storing their weapons. A massive machine with two enormous guns materialized, each barrel featuring holes of different sizes. Despite this, Fortis remained unfazed.
"You disappoint me. I expected something less cowardly," Fortis said, closing his eyes.
Aeron, clutching his abdomen, smiled genuinely. "I know this weapon won't take you down, but we won this battle before it even began."
Their brief dialogue ended as the machinery locked onto Fortis and fired a large iron javelin called a Slippery Piercer at full speed. Fortis dodged to his left, the massive projectile piercing deep into the ground.
Another Piercer was fired directly at him, which he caught with both hands, but its force pushed him back. Sprinting sideways to dodge the incoming barrage, Fortis caught one, disrupting his balance, allowing Hector to throw a black smoke grenade at him.
With his vision impaired, Fortis couldn't see the next wave of smaller, faster Piercers. They penetrated the smoke, followed by Fortis' body, creating a red dust cloud. Before the smoke cleared, Fortis healed himself and hurled the Piercer he had caught at Aeron, which Hector deflected with his battle ax.
Fortis burst from the smoke, now equipped with high-tech gauntlets. He grabbed two incoming Piercers and hurled them at the left gun of the machine, causing it to explode.
He dashed towards the right gun, dodging and deflecting Piercers with his gauntlets, and punched the right gun off the machine, rendering it useless. Picking up the 12-foot, 1,200-pound gun, he flung it towards Aeron and Hector.
Aeron stabbed the ground with his Yari, and together they used it to pole vault away from the incoming weapon. In mid-air, Aeron reeled in the Yari before the gun crashed down. Fortis dashed towards them, now unarmed.
Desperately, Aeron threw the Yari at Fortis, who caught it and stopped running. "Grab me!" Aeron shouted, and Hector cushioned their landing to protect Aeron's broken ribs.
Aeron yanked the Yari's chain while Hector struck it upward with his ax, but Fortis held firm. "I told you that was the last time," Fortis taunted.
Aeron foresaw Fortis's next move. Gritting his teeth, he quickly unraveled the Yari's chain from his arm. Fortis pulled the chain to himself, claiming the Yari.
"Figuring out his healing didn't help. We're still on the ropes," Hector said, clutching his cracked arm.
Breathing heavily, Aeron thought, "I was sure he'd pull me in, but he waited, as if to say, 'It doesn't matter what you do.'"
Sweating profusely, Aeron reflected, "I thought I understood his healing, but he's regenerating without slowing down. What's going on?"
Lost in thought, Aeron heard Hector faintly yell, "Duck!" Too late, Fortis wrapped the Yari's chain around Aeron. Hector grabbed the chain, trying to stop Fortis from pulling Aeron in, but Fortis overpowered them, setting the Yari's sharp end to impale them as they approached it.
On getting to the sharp end, Hector gripped the Yari's blade with his two hands, tearing his palm to stop their momentum. "Not bad," Fortis acknowledged, pushing the Yari towards them.
"Ahhh!" Hector cried out, showcasing his resolve, straining to hold the Yari back while Aeron started to lose consciousness from pain and fatigue.
Suddenly, a Wakizashi flew from the player tunnel, severing the chain and freeing them. The sword embedded itself in the stadium wall.
Fortis squinted at the tunnel, anxiously awaiting the figure responsible for the feat.