Kiera's lunge was not as graceful as before.
It was a desperate, raw attack driven by pain and instinct.
Silas, still struggling against the remnants of Ryu's gravitational pull, tried to twist away, but he was too slow.
Kiera's blade, held awkwardly in her left hand, sliced across his chest, not deep enough to be fatal, but deep enough to shatter his concentration and break the flow of corrupted ChainForce fueling him.
The black filaments covering his body flickered and died.
The raw power receded, leaving him just a man again, bleeding and broken. He stared at Kiera, his eyes clearing of the battle-madness, now filled with pure, unadulterated hatred.
"This isn't over, Dragon," he spat, blood flecking his lips.
"Vex will hear of this. The boy is more valuable than we ever imagined."
Before Kiera could deliver a finishing blow, Silas threw a small, metallic sphere at the ground.
It erupted in a blinding flash of light and a thick, choking cloud of black smoke. Kiera recoiled, her vision momentarily blasted.
By the time the smoke cleared, Silas was gone. He had vanished into the labyrinth of the Rust-maze, leaving behind only the groaning forms of his disabled team.
Kiera stood there, breathing heavily, her uninjured hand pressed against her wounded shoulder.
The adrenaline was fading, and a wave of agonizing pain was taking its place. The fight was won, but it was a pyrrhic victory.
She had underestimated her enemy, and it had nearly cost her her life. She looked over at Ryu, who had saved her.
He was crumpled on the floor, unconscious, a pool of dark blood forming under his head. The energy he had unleashed, while life-saving, had taken a terrible toll on his fragile body.
She rushed to his side, her own injuries forgotten.
His breathing was shallow, his skin deathly pale. The erratic, dangerous energy signature was back, stronger than ever.
He had pulled on the thread of the ChainForce, and in doing so, he had unraveled the very fabric of his own being.
She checked his pulse. It was faint, thready.
He was dying. Faster than Joric had predicted.
Using her comm device, she sent out a single, encrypted distress signal.
"Joric. Trap sprung. Asset compromised. Requesting immediate medical evac. He's not going to make it."
As she waited for the old medic's arrival, she gently cradled Ryu's head in her lap.
She looked at his face, so young and so battered. This was no longer just a mission.
This was no longer just about her brother's revenge.
This boy, this 'anomaly,' had saved her life.
He had shown a flicker of will, of power, that she had never thought possible. A debt had been formed, one that was paid in blood and sacrifice.
And as she staunched the bleeding from his nose with a strip of cloth from her own uniform, Kiera made a new vow.
She would not let him die. She would not let the Vanguard have him.
She would see him through this, not because of her orders, but because he had earned it.