She felt as though her heart had stopped beating in that instant, tears welling in her eyes.
"Stay back!"
"Kuina!"
Lorne's deep voice rang out. Though slightly hoarse, it still carried an authority that brooked no refusal.
He slowly raised his left hand, which had been pierced by spikes, signaling for Kuina to stay where she was.
"But your body..."
Kuina's voice trembled slightly. Looking at Lorne, who had been skewered like a hedgehog, she was filled with anguish and incomprehension.
After piercing Lorne's body, the silver metal spikes did not stop. Instead, they began writhing through his blood vessels and muscles like living creatures.
They tried to extend along his blood vessels to his heart and brain, forcibly seizing control of his powerful body.
"Trying to possess my body?"
"You're biting off more than you can chew."
Veins bulged on Lorne's forehead, but his eyes were full of mockery.
At that moment, the Dragonmancer bloodline within him spontaneously mounted a fierce rejection response, golden lightning surging wildly through his blood vessels.
The silver liquid metal and golden lightning waged a brutal tug-of-war inside Lorne, every collision sending up clouds of bloody mist.
Splat!
Splat!
Several more spikes could not withstand the clash of energy inside him and burst straight out of Lorne's back, bringing showers of shattered bone and torn flesh with them.
"Lorne!"
"Your body is falling apart!"
"Stop!"
Kuina watched with eyes stretched to the breaking point, her fingers gripping Wado Ichimonji so tightly that they lost all color.
"Stay back!"
"This is my training, and the only value this pile of junk has!"
Lorne shouted to stop Kuina.
"But..."
Kuina gritted her teeth. She had never seen Lorne wounded so badly; his entire body had practically been riddled with holes.
By now, Olsen was so terrified