Hell rained down from the heavens. No matter how many Kingsglaive arrived, no matter how firmly the Crownsguard stood, no matter how fiercely he fought, they could never stand against that.
But if they could take the emperor, they might not need to.
Cor ducked behind Ignis and Iris, letting them cover his back. His left arm was fair useless after the shot he had taken—dead weight hanging at his side—but he pushed on. The emperor had climbed back to his feet for the third time in as many minutes. With the way he moved—hunched over and clutching his stomach—it seemed Iris had done some damage. But he was still moving, still clawing his way closer to the Magitek engine and his escape.
Cor lurched forward. The man in red armor stepped in front of him, cutting off his advance. He was moving awkwardly, as well, but he had the benefit of both his arms. He bore down on Cor, swinging his sword overhead. Cor deflected and ducked out of the way—if he got caught between that blade and anything else he was done for; no way he could hold off with only one hand.
Cor circled back and lunged for his side. His katana hit skin before the imperial got his sword in place to deflect. Still, he stood his ground. That was all he needed to do.
The emperor was climbing the ramp into the Magitek engine.
From overhead came the hum of Magitek, but not the engines of the imperial fleet. In an arc of magenta Drautos bounded above them and landed on the far side of the MTs. And if Drautos was here—
The naginata seemed to sprout from his chest. In a flash of blue, Reina clutched the staff, feet braced against his armor. She leapt backward, putting her blade free and landing neatly a few feet away.
Aldercapt was gone.
Cor threw his sword up in time to catch another blow from the imperial general. He turned and swept one of the imperial's legs, sending him to the ground and forcing him to throw his sword wide.
The Magitek engine roared to life; it was lifting off the ground before the ramp was even up.
"He's getting away!" Cor lunged for the still-open hatch. One good leap would about—
The imperial general caught Cor's foot and a biting pain shot out from his knee. Cor jerked back with a dagger lodged in the side of his leg and swept his sword down. With one neat strike he severed head from neck, but the imperial had already won:
The Magitek engine was off the ground and every tiny motion sent hot pain through Cor's whole leg.
Shit.
Hell if he was giving up, now.
He wrenched the knife from his knee and bit back a growl of pain. Hot blood poured from the wound and dripped down his leg, puddling inside his boot. If the blood loss didn't kill him, the imperials probably would. Or that daemon-weapon.
He took one halting step. His leg threatened to give out under his weight, but he forced it to hold. Pain was in the mind; the brain's warning that something had gone wrong. No shit it had gone wrong. If he didn't keep moving, it would get worse. He stopped thinking. No thoughts; no pain. He broke into a stuttering sprint, leaving bloody footprints behind. The hatch of the ship was closing. No time left.
He leapt.