Red and Zara both crashed into the horde of robots at the same moment. He could feel his power fading even as they began to clash. It wasn't making him weaker, but it was a feeling of the fleeting energy slowly fading away.
He let Zara take the gearborn powerhouse and turned his attention to Derrin. His friend was still being piled on by robots. How he had managed to survive so long, Red didn't know. He just needed to reach Derrin.
A robot turned at his approach and raised a shockblaster. Red sidestepped the shot as it careened off the cave wall. His blade fell like a guillotine, cleaving the gearborn's arm off. Without missing a beat, he stepped forward and forced his blade back up through the robot's chest. It fell away in a heap.
Red knew that if he had been using an actual blade, he would have been having a much harder time. Cutting through steel wasn't nearly as easy as he was making it seem. His strength was amplified, and so was his weapon. Without one of those things, he would be forced to use his weapon as a club.
Another gearborn swung at him with a blade. Behind the robot, Red could just see the silhouette of Derrin being attacked from three sides at once. He couldn't waste time.
The blow fell towards his outstretched arm. Using his supernatural speed, he lunged inside the robot's guard. Getting so up close and personal was always a bad idea when facing a stronger opponent. In this case, that stronger opponent was Red.
He slammed his fist into the gearborn's chest, sending it thundering into the floor. Red didn't wait to see if the robot stayed down. Instead, he dashed across the remaining feet and slammed into the trio assaulting Derrin.
Two of the robots went slamming to the side. Derrin took the moment of shock to slice his remaining enemy's head off. The robot sparked and died in a heap. Red drove his blade through the torso of one of the remaining robots before kicking it away.
Derrin stared at him in clear shock. His eyes seemed to have grown as wide as dinner plates, and his blade hung limply at his side. Red grimaced as the remaining gearborn grasped his leg in an attempt to throw him off balance.
"I'll have time for you later," he growled, kicking the gearborn away.
"You're glowing," Derrin marveled.
"And you're covered in blood," Red couldn't help but smile.
Derrin had numerous injuries littering his body. His entire right arm hung limply at his side, and he was using his non-dominant hand to fight. A black bulge had begun to form above his left eye as well. Needless to say, Red had never seen Derrin in such a battered state.
His friend took a slow step forward, and before Red could register what was happening, his blade lashed out. The sword drove right past his head. Red managed to turn at the last moment as Derrin's blade shattered the head of another gearborn.
Derrin panted heavily, "At least my blood oath is not doubled."
Red scowled and struck out at another charging robot. "Really! You're bringing that up now!"
His blade slammed into the gearborn's shoulder. The creature jerked slightly on the blade before falling away. Derrin's blade swung to rest, having cut perfectly along the robot's abdomen joints.
"I must bring up my blood oath whenever I feel it necessary," Derrin continued. "It is part of the blood oath!"
"That's bullshit."
Red glanced around at the remaining enemies. Only a handful remained, all rushing the two of them. Behind them, Red spotted Zara locked in combat with the towering gearborn. Despite her lack of mist, she seemed to have gained the upper hand.
Derrin raised his blade at the incoming enemies. "Indeed."
He scoffed, and the two of them struck as one. Despite his superior strength and speed, he still allowed Derrin to take the lead. Red knew that Derrin's tactical prowess was enough to even bridge the gap between heart layers. All of his power didn't instinctively give him skill.
The two of them worked in perfect unison. Derrin led the charge, and Red stepped in to prevent him from being surrounded. At the same time, he fired shots into the remaining enemies to distract and stun them.
In a few short seconds, the remaining group of gearborn crumbled at their feet. Both Red and Derrin panted heavily. In the distance, there was a crash, and Red watched the towering gearborn's legs crumble as it slammed into the ground. Zara's purple blade flashed as the robot collapsed, unmoving.
The three of them collapsed to the floor. Red felt his energy fading. He had seconds at most.
"We really need to talk about your tendency for insane risks," Zara gasped, her face beaded with sweat.
Behind her, Red could just make out the spinning silhouette of Iris. He shook himself. Fatigue was setting in, and there wasn't time for it. Not yet, at least. There was still one last thing he needed to do.
Red pushed himself upwards with a groan. "Vizim! It's safe!"
At the same time, he was sent to Zara's former prison.
The pirate had vanished.
Glancing around, he spotted the man making a dash towards the exit. Red growled a curse and rushed with all his remaining energy at the man.
"No, you don't," he growled, his whole body crashing into the fleeing pirate like a cannonball.
They hit the ground in a heap, and the man shouted in surprise. Red held onto the man with all his remaining strength as he felt the Guardian's blessing blink away. His eyes widened slightly as the power vanished.
He felt empty without it. Powerless even. The man's struggles nearly sent him sprawling. Red focused all his energy on keeping the pirate pinned beneath him.
"We're not done yet," he shouted, his voice oddly weak from exhaustion. "There's one last thing we need to take care of."
He couldn't help but give a rictus grin.
One last thing indeed.