"I will hold on the sky. You do what needs to be done."
Kairo made a simple head gesture signaling he understood. Slayer then went on to obliterate the unbound seal holding him in place. Blocking the path of the angelic sword carving its path towards Kairo.
The star that was born above his head made Kairo in his armor quiver deep within. Although each of the card mages present had their strongest point, without Slayer to contend with Nyx in the sky, he would have no chance to get close to Selis even with the protector armor. A hit from that falling sword might paralyze him completely.
"Slayer can't deal with Selis alone. That's why he decided to lend a helping hand." Kairo figured it out at that precise moment. From the very beginning to this point, Slayer had been more of an intimidating presence than anything.
Although he could really pose a threat as seen by his ability to hold Nyx at bay, it was clear his absurd abilities functioned exactly like card magic. And one of the conditions was Slayer could only protect the deck of origin, not harm it. "He can't harm Selis because she holds chosen destiny, and he can't let me die since I hold the Eye of Truth. That's why he leaves the task to myself."
"But this should be enough." The energy coursing through the protector armor. Only now did Kairo learn to fully control the lightning in the protector armor, turning him not into a moving fortress but a real sword that could not be broken by any attack.
By the time he shifted his attention back to the mages lining his path, Felix was the first to arrive. His figure ricocheted in the void leaving only afterimages in its wake. His little dagger sliced a bleeding wound in the space, aiming for Kairo's arms.
Invigorated by the indestructible nature of the protector, Kairo acted without a single thought. Using his forearms to parry the blow. But just as the dagger connected with the protector armor, something flickered in between. Felix was gone, striking from behind. Kairo felt a needle-like pain assault his forearm.
In that brief instant, he almost forgot where he was, retracting his forearms towards his chest. The pain was so deep within he had the feeling the protector armor had absolutely no use in the moment. With a shift of his leg, he pivoted sideways, letting the swift dagger miss his shoulder by an inch. As he saw Felix slice down, he could see from the corner of the puppet he had become. Although he was under the Monarch Rule like everyone else, in his eyes Kairo could understand something.
These were the eyes of someone who had been betrayed so many times that his very being had learned to give away that same feeling. In the bleeding wounds carved by Felix's dagger in the space, Kairo could almost see the reflection of his soul.
Felix's dagger was a reflection of what he had gone through. Learning to disregard the surface of things to land deep into the souls of people. The card: the Dagger of Souls.
"No wonder he was a grade four criminal." Kairo bit his lips. Retreating another step backward, the dagger drew a faint line onto his jaw, subtle but deep enough to remind him of just how scary his opponent was.
"Brute force wouldn't cut through this one. And I can't give away the protector armor without putting myself in danger with the other card mages." Kairo's mind was spinning as he retreated. Using his arms, he parried the dagger that sparkled around the edges of his armor.
Felix didn't strike like an assassin for his vitals; no, he struck every part of the protector armor he could reach. With every move, a firework of energy flickered between the dagger and the protector armor, and with it, stealing from Kairo a soul-deep cry.
"I can't imagine the number of faces that you have worn over the years to reach such a level of detachment. But having met so many card faces along the way, I understand and do not blame you anymore." Kairo spread his arms in a welcoming motion. Felix's puppet eyes squinted in what felt almost like surprise, and then he dove forward. His dagger carved its way forward, aiming this time at Kairo's heart.
"Do it." Kairo's entire being quivered as the dagger landed on his protector chest. In what felt like a second stretched into eternity, the jumping sparkles of light in between the protector armor moved as one. Slipping through the cracks at his chest to river along the edges of the dagger and end straight into Felix, still in a striking motion.
The lightning consumed not only his being but the very link of the Monarch Rule. As Felix's figure stumbled backward, the dagger escaped his palms and his eyes landed onto Kairo. It was short, almost unnoticeable. But Felix held no pain in the moment.
"Mother."
Kairo shielded his face. The sky-diving flames spread on both sides of his armor, turning his entire field of vision golden red. The drum rider methodically slammed onto its tambour. With each slam generating an explosive sound that propelled the flames outward.
Kairo changed course of movement, parting the flames with his forearms, he dove forward, rushing parallel to the shooting flames. A target moving forward was easy to hit, but moving this way made the rider adjust its hit after every hit.
However, speed wasn't the strong suit of the protector. And Kairo could still feel his skin turn hot beneath the armor. With every missed flame, pockets of white smoke could be seen in the air. Mirelle moved along the mirrors that covered the sky, ricocheting in the form of light among the mirrors to evade Slayer. The more Slayer turned to intercept her, the more she evaded, and the more the angelic form of Nyx became aggressive.
"Mother, please." Kairo couldn't resolve himself to harm his mother. It had been barely a month since they had found each other. After an entire life of believing she had abandoned him. However, the drum rider had no feeling of family. He played his drum even faster, causing afterimages to be drawn in between the drum and the mallets.
The flames turned into living spirals of destruction, blending with the space above him. Kairo could barely see where anyone was at the moment. The flames falling like rain in the arena. It was like a rain of fire had been cast above his head.
And amidst that rain was Mirelle, floating between the mirrors that she had peppered between. "Mother," Kairo called out again, almost pleading. He didn't know why he was calling now, why he believed calling her could have changed anything at the moment. But this was his mother. All he had left. How could he…
Just as the flames were about to devour him, the expression in Mirelle's face seemed to show a conflict. It was brief but present. Her forearms moved slowly upward as if they weighed a thousand years of longing.
"An opportunity." Kairo's heart skipped a beat when he saw the hole appear in between the rains of fire. Without a single thought, he cannonballed forward. The protector armor sank into the broken coliseum ground, shooting him straight into the little hole before the fire consumed him completely.
Kairo rolled unceremoniously on the other side before stabilizing himself. He tilted his head briefly in the direction of the fire and could still see the battle in Mirelle's expression. She would grip her hands as if hugging herself, nails piercing through her pale skin until blood-red lines flew downward.
Despite the heaviness in his heart, Kairo understood what was left for him to be done. He steadied his heart and continued his charge towards Selis, but before he even took a step forward, the entire space around him turned dark. And then he was transported into a single shadowy path.
"A card realm?" Kairo's frown deepened even more. He could barely hear any of the fighting that was going on outside between Slayer and the others. The only thing that was visible was Sam at the other end of the path. His puppet eyes were deep, perhaps even deeper than all the others. Almost as if Sam had fallen into a hole of admiration too deep to be taken out simply by fear. Sam stitched his palms forward.