The use of the dallion had been the salvation of the world once before, but the battle Gary and Kai were facing now was starkly different from the legends of old. In the past, the heroes had the support of two powerful individuals capable of casting a specific, high-level sealing spell, a ritual that had bound Unzoku away rather than requiring his absolute destruction. This ti, they didn't have the luxury of that mystical backup.
They were on their own, which ant they had to inflict even more raw, physical damage than Jack and Steve ever did in the past. To make matters worse, the version of Unzoku standing before them appeared to be significantly more powerful than the one from the stories.
Even with the dallion active, they were only barely suppressing his ntal control. Kai could tell that the red mist, the power Bliss had described as an energy that almost wasn't Unzoku's own, was still providing him with incredible physical buffs.
His regeneration and the sheer weight of his strikes were still intact. However, Kai had a theory: if using the dallion on Midwak had successfully cleared him of his corrupted power, what would happen if the artifact was embedded directly into Unzoku’s flesh? Surely, it would have so neutralizing effect on the source of that mist. The hardest part, of course, was getting close enough to plant it, a feat that would have been impossible if not for Gary’s selfless sacrifice.
With Gary holding the line at the cost of his own body, the perfect window had opened. Kai had managed to freeze the dallion directly into the jagged wound on Unzoku’s chest.
Unzoku stumbled back two steps, his movents suddenly heavy and uncoordinated.
“What... what have you done to ?” Unzoku gasped. He could feel the red mist, the very aura that made him into what he was, beginning to recede and flicker.
Gary wasn’t finished yet. Ignoring the agony in his own broken body, he summoned the last of his strength and slamd his warhamr directly into Unzoku’s thigh. He was careful to avoid hitting the ice around the chest so as not to dislodge the dallion. The kinetic force crushed through Unzoku’s dense muscle and bone; for the first ti, the progenitor felt the sickening sensation of a fracture.
“My powers... they're fading,” Unzoku mumbled, his voice trembling after just one successful hit.
Gary swung the hamr toward the sa thigh again, aiming to trigger a critical hit. He knew that if he could land a second blow on the exact sa spot, he would have a chance to permanently cripple the monster. However, Unzoku was no longer underestimated his opponents. Having seen the power of the strange glowing marking on his leg, he moved with a desperate caution he hadn't shown before.
He pulled his leg back just in ti. The hamr swung through empty air, hitting the ground with a thunderous impact that shattered the concrete, but Unzoku’s counterattack was swift. A heavy-handed fist crashed into Gary’s face, lifting his body off the ground and sending him skidding dozens of ters across the plaza.
Kai didn't let up the pressure. He delivered two large, sweeping slashes to Unzoku’s back, cutting deep and flash-freezing the wounds. Unlike every other ti in this fight, the ice didn't imdiately shatter or lt; the dallion was doing its work, slowing the progenitor's legendary regeneration to a crawl.
As Kai moved in to strike again, Unzoku did sothing Kai hadn't expected, though in hindsight, it was the only logical move for a cornered predator. Unzoku gathered the remnants of his strength and leaped high into the air, clearing the plaza in a single bound. He landed heavily in front of the park's Haunted House attraction.
“Crap! Is he trying to run away? We have to go after him now or we're going to lose this chance!” Kai shouted. He went to sprint after him but stopped when he saw Gary collapsing to the ground.
Gary’s [Last Stand] had finally reached its limit. His system was crashing, and his body was screaming for a mont of rest so he could recover enough stamina to rejoin the fray. He wanted to keep pushing, but he couldn't fight with the sa reckless abandon he had just displayed.
When Kai looked up toward the Haunted House, his worst fears were realized. Unzoku wasn't running to hide; he was running to feed. He was grabbing the nearby Glutton werewolves, tearing into them and consuming them on the spot with a frenzied, manic hunger. As he ate his own kind, the wounds on his back and his fractured leg began to knit together once more. He was gaining back the power they had worked so hard to strip away.
A few Howler mbers tried to rush in to stop the feast, but Unzoku simply snatched up a Glutton and hurled the werewolf at them like a living projectile. Even while being thrown, the mindless Glutton latched onto the Howler and began to rip them apart.
“Gary, listen to ! Focus!” Kai said, kneeling beside his friend. “Right now is our last perfect chance to take him down while he's still distracted by the feed. We have to do whatever we can to hurt him as much as possible. I know you've been hesitant to use the ultimate power of that hamr because of the cost, but I think there's sothing we can both do, together, that will be enough to end this.”
Gary looked up, his eyes weary, about to ask what Kai had in mind. Before he could speak, two figures approached them through the smoke.
“If you're in danger, don't worry. We will bring you back from the edge,” Xin said, her voice steady and full of resolve.
“You guys are stronger than you think,” Marie added, standing beside her. “Now, get up and do everything you can. We will be right by your side.”
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