Kael didn't answer immediately.
The black flame in his hand crackled, flickering as if reacting on its own to the growing danger—but there was a different tension in his face. He was calculating. Assessing every movement of the Gélion, every snap, every pulse of blue light within the creature.
Sylphie gripped his shoulders.
"Kael! Don't do it alone!"
He looked at her—and for a moment, she saw the danger not in the flame, not in the guardian… but in the decision she was about to make.
"I didn't say I'd do it alone," he replied.
The Gélion raised both arms and slammed them into the ground, creating enormous fissures that spread like frozen roots in every direction. Amelia raised her staff and threw a wide shield, but the impact nearly knocked her down.
Irelia screamed:
"KAEL! NOW OR NEVER!"
He took a deep breath, clenched his teeth—and finally replied:
"I'm going to open him up from the inside."
Sylphie's eyes widened. "What?!"
