Fear, despair-they slithered into Eleonora's heart like icy snakes, clearer than ever before. For the first time, this villain who had slaughtered countless people truly felt the chill of being at the mercy of absolute power.
"Is he... is he really human?" Eleonora asked Vyke beside him, his voice hoarse and trembling without his even realizing it.
Vyke was equally stunned by the overwhelming strength Tarnished had displayed, but beneath the shock in his eyes lay something deeper: an almost obsessive resolve. He wiped away the blood that kept spilling from the corner of his mouth and said quietly, "He's human... but I'm no longer entirely human."
He turned toward Eleonora, orange-yellow flames burning in the eyes beneath his helmet. "I was chosen by the Frenzied Flame. Even though I haven't fully accepted it, I've already stepped halfway into the realm of a lord. I'm fundamentally different from ordinary people. Eleonora, buy me some time. Just three minutes, and I can unleash a move that will finish him for good!"
"Three minutes?" Eleonora looked at Tarnished, who drew closer with every step, his presence growing ever more imposing, then at his own battered body and trembling hands. Doubt filled his heart. "Three minutes against a monster like this? Are you sure you can do it?"
"Trust me." Vyke's voice carried a strange, beguiling power, born of the Frenzied Flame's whispers mingling with his own will. "This is our only chance. Otherwise, we'll both die here today."
Eleonora glanced at his Square-Headed Greatsword lying nearby, then at the unsettling, maddened flames in Vyke's eyes. In the end, his desire to survive and obsession with revenge overcame his fear and doubt. He gritted his teeth. "Fine! Three minutes! If you haven't made your move by then, I'm leaving!"
"Deal." Vyke nodded and