The reason Aaron hadn't dodged was partly because he trusted Kiana to act, and partly because...
—Damn it, damn it, damn it! He really was weak right now. Expecting him to race Leone while wearing armor was asking too much.
Mine's blast had done considerable damage. He could still feel all 200-plus bones in his body screaming. In this condition, even if he could move quickly, he'd probably just get brutalized by the uninjured Leone.
Better to trust his teammate than to move recklessly.
Anyway, after a month together, he'd figured out that although Kiana's "Tuna-fication" rate was high, she could be trusted in a fight.
He wasn't fighting alone.
Instead of running around and getting beaten, he was better off staying put as an attractive target and giving his teammate an opportunity.
As it turned out, Kiana did not disappoint.
From the beginning, Kiana had been watching the area around Aaron.
She didn't focus on the enemy, because the enemy's target was Aaron.
This stacked woman didn't seem to have any long-range attacks, so her offense would be based on close-quarters combat.
In that case, rather than tracking her, it was better to watch the space *around* Aaron—she had to get close to him eventually.
It was precisely because of this thinking that Kiana was able to send Leone flying with a kick at the most crucial moment.
Kiana's kick, of course, wasn't enough to seriously injure Leone, who was using her Teigu.
In fact, the moment she was hit, she recovered from the blow as she landed and immediately counter-attacked.
The main reason she'd been hit was that she never expected the little girl to actually land a blow.
*In terms of pure physical specs and reaction speed—how could I lose to this little brat!*
With this thought, the counter-attacking Leone was ready to pin the girl to the ground and beat her senseless.
And then, she awkwardly discovered that something was wrong.
After transforming with [Lion King: Lionelle], Leone's physical abilities had indeed soared, putting her a step above Kiana.
The problem was, Kiana was also a Teigu user.
[Spectator], even without using its Illusion ability to mislead, possessed two very practical combat skills: [Insight], which allowed her to read her opponent's thoughts by observing their expressions, and [future-sight], which allowed her to see what would happen next by reading minute muscle movements.
Coupled with the fact that Kiana herself had learned a degree of Kaslana Gun-Kata from Siegfried, and combining that with the short-term precognition of future-sight, Kiana was actually managing to temporarily suppress Leone.
The longer they fought, the more Leone felt her opponent was becoming harder and harder to deal with.
*This little brat... what's her deal?*
*Why do I feel... like she's gradually adapting to my fighting style?*
*Her accuracy and evasion rate are getting higher and higher. If this keeps up, before I can seriously injure her...*
Before Leone could figure out her next move, her danger sense, heightened by her transformation, suddenly began to warn her. There was danger from... somewhere else?
At the last possible second, Leone desperately dodged backward mid-combat, avoiding a sharp javelin by a hair's breadth.
"You...!"
She hadn't forgotten Aaron's existence just because he wasn't moving.
But Aaron's weakness was visible to the naked eye. He couldn't even manifest Neuntote, and since he hadn't joined the fight, Leone had assumed he had no combat ability left.
True, Aaron's thrown javelin had seriously injured Mine, but Leone's reaction speed was different from Mine's. At this distance, she was confident she could dodge that strike.
And she *had* dodged it. But...
—Her opponent wasn't just one person.
Because of her desperate retreat, Leone had exposed a massive opening.
And Kiana, standing right in front of her, wasn't about to let that chance go.
Bullets flew. Kiana's precise shots easily struck Leone's vital points.
With [Lion King: Lionelle]'s healing ability, recovering from this damage wouldn't be difficult for Leone.
But right now, time was the one thing she lacked.
The damage had momentarily immobilized her.
And Aaron, still in his [Demon Armor: Incursio] armor, slammed his foot on the ground and... dismissed the armor.
*This kid...!*
*[Demon Armor: Incursio] enhances a Teigu user's physical strength, but it also places a huge burden on them.*
*He took off the armor that was such a heavy burden... Don't tell me...*
"Aah, you look pretty tough. In that case, I'll use this."
Dashing in front of Leone, Aaron slammed a fist straight into her abdomen.
"Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist!"
As Aaron's last remnants of strength blasted into her, Leone felt a terrifying power invade her body.
The force rampaged through her, bringing endless pain and destroying her from the inside.
If not for Lionelle's powerful regeneration, that one blow might have been enough to knock her out completely.
But Aaron's assault wasn't over.
After temporarily disabling Leone with that punch, Aaron pulled a standard-issue Imperial soldier's sword from his storage space and stabbed it directly into Leone's left arm.
"One."
"Guh!"
Then, he drew another sword and stabbed it into her right arm.
"Two."
After those two strikes, Aaron took two more swords, one in each hand, and plunged them into Leone's legs.
"Three, four. That should keep you from moving."
"You kid...!"
"And finally, one last thing—Kiana, quick."
"Coming! Don't rush me!"
Rushing up to Aaron and Leone, Kiana used all her strength, grabbed the Teigu at Leone's waist.
The next second, under Leone's horrified gaze...
—Her Teigu was ripped right off by Kiana.