Yui rolled one shoulder and winced before he got it under control. The movement was small, but Elias saw how much effort went into making it look casual. Yui had been hit through walls, dragged across tile, and still stood between Vincent and everyone too injured to move.
"My back feels like someone parked a transport on it, but the gauntlets are still worth using. They are usually my last card, and I will explain the details after we are not standing in front of Vincent Ruiz."
Vincent drove one fist into the ground. Heat spread through the cracked tile in red lines, then hardened over his body in rough plates. The armor did not look clean anymore. It looked rushed, angry, and reinforced in every place Elara had damaged him.
"You keep crawling back up after every hit like you think endurance makes you noble," Vincent said. "I respect that in the same way I respect a bug under glass."
