Chapter 44: Charred Battles (4)

Meanwhile, in the core of the Soot volcano, Clyde and Quint continued defending against Galo's attack, in wait for an opening.

They blocked and dodged, barely able to keep their balance against the relentless attacks of the extremely powerful gold that Galo fluently controlled.

"Tch, hey Clyde! We're not gonna be able to retaliate at this rate!"

"Persevere, I am sure an opportunity will arise!"

Suddenly, they felt a tremor in the cave, causing the magma to be riled up, spewing a dose directly over the plate that Xenia sat at.

"Xenia!" Quint screamed in anguish, seeing a splash of lava hovering over his sister, who was unable to dodge.

However, to his surprise, the gold that was attacking them relented, Galo using it to block the magma from making contact with Xenia.

"Huh? He saved her..?" Quint stood there in disbelief.

"Nows not the time to be in awe! This is the opening we needed!" Clyde slowed down time for the two of them, giving them 5 seconds of accelerated movement.

"Oh, sorry man!" Quint beastified his mouth as he did before they entered the Soot pond, then ducked down to gulp some lava, which his insides were immune to when beastified. He held it in his mouth until Clyde hopped up on some rocks and slashed a chunk of cinnabar ore from the walls, tossing it down to Quint to mix it in his mouth with the lava.

"Is the process complete Quint?" Clyde asked, to which Quint held up a thumbs up.

"Very well then," Clyde breathed out, releasing his Spring.

Galo swatted away the lava that stuck onto his gold after protecting Xenia, the lava leaving a small mark on where it stuck on the gold. In a matter of seconds, Galo was able to expunge the mark that was left by the lava, which would've decreased the value of his gold, thus decreasing his control over it.

"It seems my strategy will only be effective if we cover the entire chunk. We'll need to be careful," Clyde thought to himself, as Galo reverted his attention back to the two.

"It would be a pain in the ass if a cursed Spring dies. We wouldn't wanna go out finding another one," Galo spoke, justifying why he saved her.

He began his relentless attacks once again, Quint still holding the concoction of lava and cinnabar in his mouth, waiting for the right moment to strike, hoping Galo wouldn't notice. Galo hesitated in one of his attacks, as he heard another loud tremor come from outside of the volcano. Quint took advantage of the opportunity and opened his mouth.

"Predictable," Galo uttered, the gold moving at unseen speeds, ramming into Quint's stomach, making him spit out the mercury acid that he held in his mouth. He tried reacting by beastifying his stomach, but he was too late.

"Hmph, I'm assumin' Clyde came up with that strategy. You wanted to use the mercury acid produced by mixing magma and cinnabar ore together to amalgamate my gold, rendering it virtually valueless. I have to admit, that was a pretty good strategy if only your friend there didn't make it so obvious. I'm geussin' the areas he beastifies get a boost in strength and fortification, but also gain poison and burn immunity on his inner side," Galo concluded, looking at Clyde who was now standing in front of Quint who was squirming on the floor, his stomach still beastified.

Galo sent his gold flying at Clyde at full power, who then activated his Spring with him and Quint, allowing him to stall 5 seconds for Quint to recover. Clyde tried waking him, but to no avail. As Clyde's Spring duration ended, he was swatted away, sending him flying into the wall at an intense speed. He impacted the wall with incredible force, causing him to spit out blood, and immobilizing him for a period of time.

"That's one pain in the ass done with," Galo said as he glanced back at Quint, who was now trying to stand up, holding his battle axe in both hands. Galo sighed lazily. "And here comes another one."

"I will… Save her…" Quint declared wearily, planting both of his feet into the ground and pointing his battle axe at his opponent, his stomach still beastified.

"No! Quint, take your friend and run away! Please, I'll be fine!" Said the frail, orange-haired girl who sat in the center of the room.

"Heh… How many times have I heard you say that? When we were kids livin' in the slums of Zacrozir with no parents, you'd always go out and beat the shit outta those bullies, with a smiling expression on your face, saying 'I'll be fine!'. And you always were, don't think I'd ever seen you with a scratch on your face. You always saved my ass from being the laughingstock of the slums, and you never let me hear the end of it.

You were as bright as the sun, always cheerful and happy, bringing smiles wherever you went. Sure, you annoyed the hell outta me sometimes, but you were stronger, more diligent, and kinder than anyone I ever knew. Despite all that, you still got hit with that shitty curse.

After that, your expression changed when you uttered those three those words. Instead of smiles, I saw frowns, and your condition continued to worsen. You always said that you'd be fine, but you weren't fine… And you aren't fine now," he gripped his battle axe with extreme resilience, gritting his teeth.

"I promised myself that I'd see you smile again, and I'd sooner die than abandon that promise!" He screamed with great conviction, almost as if his injuries were gone, which they clearly weren't.

The girl broke down into tears, streaming down the blindfold that was put on her, not saying a word back to her brother.

"Honestly, I'd rather not be in a situation where I have to tear apart a family. That red bastard is more suited for these situations. Sorry about this…" Exclaimed Galo, with a hint of regret in his unamused voice, as he sent the gold flying straight at Quint's face, as his stomach was still beastified.

Quint blocked his face with the blade of his battle axe. The gold, at full power, completely shattered the steel edge of Quint's battle axe, breaking into countless pieces as Quint gazed at the gold approaching his face. The gold's speed was enough to bullet through the steel axe, meaning that if this made contact with Quint's face, his brains would be splattered on the floor.

Quint's life flashed before his eyes, remembering the times he spent with his sister vividly. They laughed, cried, and fought each other.

"No! It's not over Quint!" He heard Clyde's voice, his world becoming slow motion. He snapped out of his trance as he gazed at the block of gold approaching his face.

"I can only keep this level of slowness for 3 seconds! I know you still have more in you!"

Quint grit his teeth, unconsciously thanking Clyde for the wake-up call. He unbeastified his stomach to beastify his entire face, turning into some kind of werewolf. As he did, he felt a sharp pain inside his stomach as he opened his mouth widely, catching the bulleting gold in his fortified mouth. Clyde's Spring wore off, returning the gold to its original speed, Quint writhing in agony from his stomach and mouth. The gold continued spinning under his teeth, sending sparks of heat flying from the friction.

"Now way… That's one hellova mouth you've got there," Galo complimented, increasing the power on the gold, causing Quint to squirm out loud. Quint growled furiously, emanating a fierce aura from his face, gritting his teeth to the maximum of his ability, veins popping out of his head.

"I'm mnot mdone myet!" He tried articulating words while biting down on the gold, then beastifying his stomach once again, while keeping his face's transformation active. A bulge of liquid rose through his stomach and up to his neck, as he regurgitated a slew of mercury acid, releasing it on the gold around his teeth.

The gold combined with the mercury, amalgamating it into a silvery substance that held no globally accepted value. Galo's hold over the gold was severed, causing the bullet in Quint's mouth to stop accelerating. Quint fell over in exhaustion, his body returning to normal as he rested on the ground.

"The fuck? Did he just regurgitate mercury from his stomach? So when I hit him with my gold, he swallowed some before spitting the others out?" As Galo said that, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him, turning around to see that Clyde had just landed at Xenia's location.

"Stay still for a second Xenia," Clyde said as he simultaneously cut off all of her bindings, including her blindfold. The blindfold that was on her didn't do much in the first place, because ever since the curse was laid upon her, she'd had incredibly bad eyesight. She could barely make out the outlines of people, and she hadn't seen a face since the beginning of her suffering. Not even glasses could solve the deficiency.

"Who are you?" She asked the man that cut her bindings, looking at his blurry outline. Clyde grabbed her frail hand and knelt down on one knee.

"My name is Clyde Morioh, a friend of Quint's. I am here to rid you of this curse, Xenia Vossen," he declared as he placed the object that Rein gave him around her ring finger, as her hazel eyes began to regain life...