Chapter 84: Final Counts

Chapter 84: Final Counts"I see!" he barked. "You’re thinking when we hit the ground, the force will ignite it and—"

His words never finished.

The last thing Vincent saw before a sharp pain erupted in his ribs was Elias’s smirk flashing through the darkness.


Then—impact.

Elias drove the jagged tip of the can opener straight into Vincent’s exposed side. The twisted metal bit deep, tearing through the weakened armor where the molten crust had already started to crack..

His mouth opened in a silent gasp, but before he could react, a boot came flying in from the side.

Yui.

The force of Yui’s heel slamming into Vincent’s face sent him hurtling sideways. His body spun through the air like a ragdoll before colliding with the resort’s pool deck in a violent crash, sending tiles flying in every direction. The edge of the resort caved under the impact, a crater forming where Vincent landed.

Elias barely had a second to process it.

His stomach lurched as the last bit of gravitational pull dragged him downward.

Then—a portal snapped open beneath him.



For a split second, the world flickered, space bending unnaturally. The ground disappeared, and then—

Splash.

Elias crashed through a second portal, landing hard in a deep pool of water.

Everything went still. The fight, the tension, the sky above him—it all faded into a moment of quiet as he floated on his back, letting the cool water settle against his aching muscles.

A slow smirk spread across his face.

Thank goodness... I wasn’t sure if that kid—Junijo—was even still awake...

Dot’s voice rang out, more exasperated than anything. "What was the gunpowder for?! And why—or HOW—did you know Yui would step in?! Actually—HOW DID HE STEP IN?!"

Elias just stared upward, watching the shimmer of water ripple above his face.

"I saw him calling in. I knew he was planning something of his own... Though I was just betting on Junijo being able to pull it off."

He sighed.

"Had I died, though, I was kind of counting on the impact igniting the powder and, well... big boom."

A brief pause.

Then, with a hint of realization, he thought:

"Also, I think this is a good time to mention... I’m drowning."

Dot’s voice shrieked in Elias’s mind.

"Wait—wh-what?! You can’t just drown! Get up or something!"

Elias barely heard her. His body felt like dead weight, the exhaustion sinking deeper than the water pulling at his limbs.

"I’d like to," he muttered in his fading thoughts, the cold liquid filling his ears. "But I’m spent... I’m about to black out."

He exhaled, bubbles floating lazily to the surface.

A weak chuckle rumbled in his chest. Probably didn’t plan this out too well.

But strangely... he wasn’t mad about it.

Even if I drown here... I wouldn’t even be mad.

Then—a hand plunged into the water.

A tight grip locked onto his shoulder, and he was yanked upward, the shift in momentum shocking his system.

Elias gasped violently as his head broke through the surface, coughing out water as he was dragged onto solid ground.

Elara was the one pulling him out.

Her breathing was ragged, strands of soaked hair sticking to her face as she strained to haul his weight over the edge of the shallow pool. Her fingers dug into his skin, her arms trembling from sheer exhaustion.

The moment his back hit the wet, cracked tile, she collapsed beside him, panting.

Then, with what little energy she had left, she shoved his shoulder.

"What the hell do you think you were trying to do?!"

Ice began forming over his wounds, creeping along his shoulder and face, sealing the worst of his injuries.

Elias coughed again, his lungs burning as he sucked in air. He blinked up at the sky, vision still spinning. "Thanks for that," he muttered hoarsely, his mind still catching up to what had happened.

Meanwhile, just beyond the wrecked pool area, Yui stood in front of Vincent.

The black powder had wormed its way into every exposed spot on Vincent’s body, clinging like a layer of dust ready to ignite.



Next to Yui, Kimi landed beside him, flicking debris off her shoulder.

"Sorry it took me so long to get back," she said, rolling her wrist. "But this is over now."

Yui smirked. "Go ahead."

Vincent’s teeth clenched, his stance widening as he slammed his heel into the shattered tile.

"There’s no way I’m losing here!"

The ground reacted immediately.

**Nosey’s ability triggered—**jagged slabs of stone erupted outward, splitting through the broken resort walkways. The terrain shifted violently, slabs of debris kicking up and making movement unpredictable.

In the distance, ships appeared, cutting through the sky.

But Yui and Kimi had already moved.

They split in opposite directions, dodging the rising debris with ease.

Kimi tapped the side of her wrist, activating a small hovering disc. A pink ring of circulating energy pulsed around it as it spun to life.

She flicked it forward. "Hope you like a good boom."

The blade cut through the air, slicing straight through the chunks of stone from Nosey’s attack, clearing a path—

—and then it struck Vincent dead center in the chest.

BOOM.

A shockwave blasted outward, sending ripples through the pool’s already broken surface as nearby umbrellas and furniture were blown aside.

Elias, still half-sprawled on the wet pavement, felt the impact shake through him. He turned his head, watching the explosion rip through the resort’s already destroyed pool deck.

He let out a breath. "I do hope that’s enough to deal with him. Didn’t have much time to think of anything else..."

Dot’s voice crackled with frustration.

"Why the powder again though?!"

Elias half-smirked. "Well... he had those gas canisters on him, right? The same ones he used to beat Elara? If we couldn’t get to them directly, then..."

"...The best way was just to pop them all at once."

The explosion settled.

Yui and Kimi stood with their arms raised, shielding their faces from the blast. The lingering smoke curled against the night air, thick and acrid.

Elias turned his head slightly.

Where Vincent had stood was now a scorched, broken section of tile.

His body was still there—but barely.

He was shaking, his skin blistered and torn, the blackened remains of his canisters melted into his flesh.

Blood dripped freely from his mouth, pooling around his feet.

Then—

A faint hissing sound filled the air.

Yui’s expression hardened instantly.

From the ruptured canisters along Vincent’s body, a spiraling mist began to curl outward, creeping along the cracked tiles.

The gas spiraled around Vincent, his expression shifting from arrogance to shock as his body collapsed onto the shattered tiles, coughing violently. He barely clung to life, fingers twitching weakly against the pavement.

Kimi wasted no time, tapping her wrist again as another metal disc floated out, pulsing with the same lethal pink energy as before. She closed one eye, aiming carefully as she muttered coldly, "You’ve caused enough trouble. Do everyone a favor—and just die."



She flexed her arm, sending the disc slicing through the air toward Vincent.

But before it could reach him, a deafening screech cut across the sky.

A small aircraft emerged suddenly from behind a rubble-strewn building, its sleek black hull gleaming in the pale sunlight. A single cannon extended from its belly, crackling with energy as it charged a round.

The cannon fired instantly, a burst of concentrated plasma meeting Kimi’s disc mid-flight, deflecting it with a harsh metallic shriek, shaving off the top of the disc and sending it spinning wildly out of control.

Yui’s eyes widened in alarm. "What the hell?! More backup?"

Kimi gritted her teeth. "You go left; I’ll take right. We’ll shred that tin can to pieces."

But before they could even move, the cannon unleashed another blast.

A spiraling surge of energy burst from the gun, arcing high before rapidly expanding outward. The shockwave spread ten feet wider with every foot it traveled, washing over them both in seconds.

Their suits flickered violently, systems crashing as their energy fields shorted out instantly. Both Kimi and Yui collapsed hard onto the broken tiles, as blood leaked from there ears.

The suits went dark, leaving them motionless, stunned on the ruined poolside.

"W-what the fuck was that...?" Yui croaked, his voice barely audible over the relentless ringing in his ears. The world spun around him, his vision blurred as he tried to focus on the aircraft that had just touched down on the broken tile a few feet away.

The craft’s side door slid open with a soft hiss. From within, a man and woman stepped out, moving swiftly toward Vincent’s broken, barely conscious body lying on the ground. They quickly lifted him up, supporting his limp form between them.