His black fur stained red as he swung his claws down toward her.
Then he suddenly howled with renewed vigour.
Miyuki slowly opened her eyes, expecting to find her chest skewered open, yet all she could feel was the violent pounding of her own heartbeat.
The shadow he cast over her made it difficult to make out his expression, but for some reason he had stopped moving entirely.
Something protruded from his chest, though she had no time to properly make out what it was.
His upper body jerked forward slightly, and she scrambled backward, escaping from beneath his shadow.
That was when she finally saw it.
A bloodied sword tip protruded from his chest.
And strangely enough, his expression had changed.
The seething agony that had consumed him moments ago now seemed quieter somehow, as if it were slowly being subdued.
Ryuji stumbled as he attempted to take another step before crashing heavily onto the ground.
Miyuki squinted against the sunlight.
And once her vision adjusted, she finally saw the one standing behind him.
The faint outline of the cerulean band stretched across Ichiro's face through the bridge of his nose.
Black, vein-like patterns had spread across his neck, arms, chin, and even the lower half of his face beneath the band.
He knelt over Ryuji's massive body, breathing erratically.
His left arm hung limp at his side while blood streamed down from his forehead.
He gripped the hilt of the sword lodged in Ryuji's back like a crutch, barely managing to keep himself upright.
"Miyuki!" he yelled, snapping her back to reality. "This isn't the time to sit there shaking."
He coughed blood before continuing.
"Get up and get away from here!"
"Father..." she muttered, staring at him with a pale expression. "What's happening to you?"
"Whatever's happening to me doesn't matter!" he shouted, his voice rising. "The subdual spell I cast on my sword is about to run out, so move!"
His arms twitched violently for a moment.
Miyuki bit down hard on her cheek until she tasted blood.
How could she still be trembling in a situation like this?
How could she remain frozen on the ground while others bled trying to protect her?
That wasn't the image of the warrior she wanted to become.
Far from it.
And she knew that better than anyone.
So she tightened her grip on her sword and forced herself to breathe.
Behind Ichiro, Ryuji's arm shifted.
Slowly, the beast began forcing itself back up even while Ichiro remained atop his back.
Feeling his grip weaken, Ichiro looked down at her again.
"Get—"
"Get back, Father!" she yelled, cutting him off.
She raised her white blade and drove it into the ground, forming a septa-circle beneath Ryuji's body.
The moment Ichiro saw the glow of her blade, he fell silent.
He simply stared in a daze.
Then it finally happened.
Ryuji began pushing himself back onto his feet.
Ichiro looked toward Miyuki once more, but this time no words came out.
Instead, he ripped his sword free and leapt off Ryuji's back.
The instant he moved away, Miyuki fixed her gaze on the towering beast and shouted:
"Tower Series, number 15: Earthly Glutton!"
The ground beneath Ryuji twisted violently into the shape of a massive, bloated humanoid figure.
Its enormous stone arms wrapped around him tightly, locking him in place.
Once it did, she too retreated as she watched him struggle to break free from its grip as it lay with its back to the ground.
"I'm tired of being scared," she thought as she watched him stumble while trying to move toward her. "Just watch me Father, I promise that I'll bring us out of this alive."
"Here's your chance, Father!" she yelled. "I'll hold him back until you get away."
"What are you talking about, Miyuki?" he said with a desperate tone. "You're the one who should get away!"
She shuddered for a moment before facing him head-on.
As she gripped her released sword, she said, "I've changed, Father. I'm not the same weak girl you once knew."
"So please, let me protect you for once."
A sound of cracking filled the void of the silence that followed. The golem was falling apart as Ryuji began to rise.
His body began to overflow with an aura of red energy that spiked out of him like a ferocious flame.
The two stood on guard even though Ichiro's stance was weak and barely held together.
The golem then fell apart completely and he stood tall once more. The presence radiating from the source energy flowing out of him made him seem unstoppable.
But then Ichiro noticed blood running down his bare chest. As he looked closer, he realized that it wasn't from the wound he had inflicted on him just moments before.
"His wounds weren't completely healed then?" he thought, standing with renewed confidence.
He looked over at Miyuki and thought, "We just might make it out of this after all."
He charged at him and in response Miyuki formed another septa-circle ahead of them and from it another golem sprouted.
"Go, Earthly Glutton!" she yelled.
It moved with difficulty at first but quickly began rushing toward him.
Ryuji didn't stop and neither did it. Their fists collided only for the arm of the golem to shatter completely before he trampled over it toward them.
This time she didn't tremble. Instead she got right back into her formation stance ready to make another one.
"I guess it's just surprises with you," Ichiro thought. "Seriously, what would your mother think?"
He found himself smirking unintentionally.
"Now that I think about it, I'm sure she would be all for it."
He shifted his grip to a downward-facing hold and shone light off his blade into Ryuji's eyes.
Then he vanished from Ryuji's sight as another golem took shape and charged at him.
Ryuji grunted something inaudible then dismissed the thought completely by shaking his head.
The golem threw a fist and so did he and once they collided, they did so with a crash.