"Damn it!" Akira backpedalled as the knight's fist came crashing down where he'd been standing.

"Physical attacks aren't enough!" Ayaka called out. She'd moved to flank the creature, landing a devastating kick to its knee joint. Cracks spread through the armour, but just like before, the molten rock flowed back together. "We need concentrated power!"

The Flame Knight turned toward Ayaka with terrifying speed for something so large. Its sword came up in an overhead strike that would have split her in two.

She rolled away, but the blade clipped her shoulder. Even that glancing blow sent her tumbling across the scorched grass, her jacket smoking.

She quickly rolled away, but the blade still clipped her shoulder. Even that slight hit sent her tumbling over the burnt grass, and her suit started to smoke.

"Ayaka!"

"I'm fine! Keep attacking!"

[NEW SKILL AVAILABLE]

[SKILL: DARK FIST]

[SKILL TYPE: CLOSE COMBAT]

[Description: This ability allows you to focus essence into your hands, transforming a standard punch into a supernatural strike]

[COST: 250 PP]

Akira only too a few seconds to scan the text overlaid in his vision before replying, "Buy and activate."

[1880 PP - 250 PP → 1630 PP]

[SKILL ACTIVATED - DARK FIST]

Right away, dark energy gathered in his right hand, with black strands wrapping around his fingers like living shadows.

Akira rushed in again, this time aiming for the same knee Ayaka had cracked. His Dark Fist connected with explosive force, and unlike his ice blades, this actually made the knight stagger.

[DAMAGE DEALT: MODERATE]

"That worked better!" Akira shouted. "Dark energy disrupts its regeneration!"

"Then use more of it!" Ayaka was back on her feet, circling to the knight's blind spot. The demonic markings on her skin glowed brighter, and the purple energy around her whole body grew stronger.

The Flame Knight roared and thrust its sword into the ground again. This time, instead of pillars, waves of fire spread across the field like water, rushing toward both of them from all directions.

"Essence Shield!" Akira formed a barrier of ice and then his essence around himself just as the fire wave hit. The collision was catastrophic: the ice shield cracked immediately, fragments exploding outward. But it held just long enough for the wave to pass.

[ESSENCE SHIELD DURABILITY: 23%]

"Analysis at sixty percent, darling," Ai reported. "Keep it up. And be careful, that last attack dropped your essence reserves by fifteen percent."

Fifteen per cent from one defensive move? At this rate, he'd be empty before Ai finished scanning.

Ayaka wasn't as lucky with the fire wave. She'd tried to jump over it, but the flames were too high. They caught her legs, and she hit the ground hard, rolling to extinguish the fire.

"I'm getting real tired of this oversized candle!" She pushed herself up, limping slightly. "We need a new strategy!"

The Flame Knight seemed to sense their desperation. It raised its sword high, and the blade began to glow even brighter, shifting from orange to white-hot. The temperature around them spiked dramatically.

At this rate, the SPIU would be on their way here… if they aren't close by already.

"It's preparing something big!" Akira warned.

"Then we interrupt it!" Ayaka launched herself forward despite her injured leg, moving with impressive speed.

She went low, sliding between the knight's legs, and delivered a devastating uppercut to what might have been the creature's groin… if it had one.

The impact made the knight stumble forward, its charged attack disrupted. The sword came down at an angle, missing them both but carving a glowing trench through the field.

"Nice hit!" Akira took advantage of the opening, forming a spear of ice and hurling it at the knight's exposed back. The spear struck between the armor plates, and for the first time, he saw actual damage… a dark wound that didn't immediately regenerate.

[CRITICAL HIT: ARMOR PENETRATION]

"The gaps!" Ayaka realised. "Between the armour plates… you'll have to look closely to find them, but those are the weak points!"

"Analysis complete," Ai announced. "Confirming… armor joints at shoulders, elbows, knees, and neck are vulnerable."

As Ai said these, a detailed digital sketch of the Flame Warrior materialised in front of him, like a wireframe model rotating slowly.

Most of the warrior's body was highlighted in angry red, indicating impenetrable armour. But a few places, not much surface area, but enough to inflict damage, glowed bright green.

Those are its weak points.

"But darling, there's something else. This guardian has a core, and it's not in the chest like normal variants. It's in the head."

"The head? That's the most protected part!"

"I know. But that's where you need to strike to kill it permanently. Everything else is just buying time."

Akira processed this quickly. The head was at least nine feet off the ground, constantly moving, and protected by the thickest armour. Getting a clean shot would be nearly impossible unless…

"Ayaka! I need you to bring it down!"

"Bring it down? It weighs like a ton!"

"You're strong enough! Hit the knee joints, both of them at once!"

She understood immediately. "You better make this count!"

The Flame Knight had recovered from their attack and was now advancing on Akira. Every step it took left fiery marks on the ground. It swung its sword in a wide arc, making Akira duck and move quickly to avoid it.

He activated Dark Fist again, this time on both hands. The black energy felt corrosive, eating away at his stamina, but it was their best weapon against the regenerating armour.

He traded blows with the creature, his Dark Fists against its molten gauntlets. Each impact sent shockwaves through his arms, but he was holding his own. More importantly, he was keeping its attention focused forward.

Behind the knight, Ayaka positioned herself perfectly. She took a deep breath, and her demonic energy flared to maximum. Purple light surrounded her like an aura, and her eyes glowed with inhuman power.

"Now!" she roared.

She delivered simultaneous kicks to both of the knight's knees from behind. The force was devastating. Both joints shattered completely, and the massive creature toppled backward like a felled tree.

It hit the ground with a thunderous crash that shook the entire field.

"Akira, go!"

He was already moving.

As the knight fell, he'd formed an ice ramp beneath his feet, using it to launch himself upward. He flew through the air, both hands charged with Dark Fist energy, aiming directly for the knight's head.

The Flame Knight saw him coming. Even fallen, it brought its sword up to block.

But Akira had anticipated that. Mid-air, he activated Aura of Dominance.

The effect was immediate and startling. The Flame Knight's movements hesitated, just for a fraction of a second… a moment of instinctive submission to Akira's overwhelming aura.

That fraction was enough.

Akira's Dark Fist connected with the knight's helmet at the temple. The armour cracked like an eggshell, and he drove his hand deeper, feeling his fingers close around something solid and burning… the core.

He squeezed, and the core shattered.

The Flame Knight's body convulsed, then began a slow process of dissolution. As the body evaporated into the air, its fiery essence rushed towards Akira, as if drawn by an invisible, powerful magnet.

His body greedily absorbed the fire essence through his mouth, nose, and ears.

The molten armour cooled and crumbled, the flames extinguished, until nothing remained but ash and a glowing orange crystal the size of Akira's fist.

[FLAME KNIGHT CAPTAIN DEFEATED]

[+500 PP]

[GUARDIAN CORE ACQUIRED]

At this notification, Akira let out a breath he had no idea he'd been holding, bending down and supporting himself with his hands on his knees. "That was…"

But he didn't get to finish his words when another notification overlaid in his vision.

[WARNING: GATE STILL ACTIVE - SECONDARY GUARDIANS STILL ALIVE]

"We're not done, darling," Ai said urgently. "The gate is still open!"

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