GG

Fun fact: if you swing something hard enough, it can pretty much break anything. That was what Vanport was doing with his wings.

"Dodge it!" [Leyhna]

"I'm trying!" [Solace]

It felt like Vanport was taking each one of us separately. One hand for Leyhna, one hand for Fina, but both wings and a flying sword for me.

"Why are you so focused on me?!" [Solace]

He jabbed at me with his wings. I wasn't sure how sharp it was, but considering the amount of wind pressure I felt coming from it… I wasn't going to try and find out.

"You must fall!" [Vanport]

I ducked under another thrust and sidestepped as a sword flew by. It was honestly kind of impressive that I hadn't gotten hit yet.

("I need to do something!") [Solace]

I watched carefully for any openings, which kind of ended with me grabbing the flying sword. Unfortunately, it ended with me getting flung off.

"Oof!" [Solace]

I crashed into a wall, only to open my eyes to another wing attack.

"Oh c'mon!" [Solace]

I quickly rolled out of the way. The wing struck the wall hard enough to penetrate it, which kind of answered whether or not it was sharp.

"...I almost died there didn't I?" [Solace]

I glanced at how Leyhna and Fina were doing, but it didn't seem to be going too well. Fina was getting fended off in a battle of magic somehow, and Leyhna was… Well, getting skill diffed. Oh, you don't know what that means? It means she was actually losing in hand to hand combat with a guy using one arm!

"What are you doing, Leyhna?! It's just one hand! It can't be that hard!" [Solace]

"Do you think I want to lose like this?!" [Leyhna]

Unlike with Fina, Vanport was pacing with Leyhna. He made distance and went in on favorable conditions. I was pretty impressed with his multitasking skills.

"Hey! Stop staring and do something!" [Leyhna]

She clearly couldn't see that I was fighting for my life so I ignored her. Instead, I used my brain cells to figure out what to do next.

("Let's piece things together. This guy used an ability called |Lasting Finality|. That means "last last". It basically healed him and buffed him. There's no way it doesn't have a consequence.") [Solace]

Granted, |Lasting Finality| sounds like some kind of boss move. It was then that I also noticed cracks forming on Vanport's golden armor.

"Cracks? We didn't hit him though?" [Solace]

Then it hit me. |Lasting Finality| was an ability that buffs him for a period of time. We just need to hold out until then.

"Guys! I figured it out!" [Solace]

"Figured what out?!" [Leyhna]

"Play for time!" [Solace]

Fina and Leyhna looked at me weirdly.

"What does that mean?!" [Fina]

I had forgotten I was in another world. They don't have these kinds of sayings.

"It means to wait it out! His skill won't last long!" [Solace]

Hearing that, the two backed away from Vanport.

"...You cunning fox." [Vanport]

His eyes didn't stray from me. Maybe it was better that all three of us were attacking him since he started attacking only me the moment the girls were gone.

"Oh boy." [Solace]

I booked it. Running without looking back, I heard a bunch of crashing behind me.

"Fleeing?! You disgrace!" [Vanport]

His voice was close behind. It kind of reminded me of the time Jukhan was chasing me.

("Perfect.") [Solace]

Believing in the laws of physics, I stopped and threw a punch.

"|Explosion Arts|!" [Solace]

Using the momentum of Vanport flying straight at me, I struck him in the face. My fist created an explosion on impact, leaving a good portion of the church in shambles.

"Agh!" [Vanport]

He spiraled to the ground. Unfortunately, it wasn't a far drop so it didn't do much damage.

"You… weren't... running…!" [Vanport]

He struggled to stand as his shining armor crumbled. Leyhna and Fina approached, each one of us being cautious.

"Lol sike, you thought." [Solace]

"Lol?" [Leyhna]

"Uh… Don't worry about it." [Solace]

I know Vanport wouldn't know what that meant, but he was glaring daggers into me.

"I… must…!" [Vanport]

Using his golden sword to prop himself up, he slipped and fell. He seemed to be unmoving so I thought he might be dead.

"Ooh… That looked like it hurt." [Leyhna]

Fina knelt down and inspected Vanport.

"He's unconscious." [Fina]

"Well, good game then." [Solace]

I turned to Medwin, who had been cowering in a corner the entire fight.

"So, what's your next move?" [Solace]