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~~((Thanksgiving Special - page 17 of 30))~~
The impact was far bigger than Hector expected. This was a genuine explosion. The aerial battlefield shook from the force of it alone, and molten iron splashed out in every direction at once, flashing bright enough that Hector had to squint from behind the eye slit in his helm as he watched.

The Man of Crows dropped. Covered in what was essentially lava, his figure was barely even humanoid anymore as fell, motionless as a statue, through open air.

The birds were still following him, though. Disorganized, but following.

That seemed like evidence that the job was not yet done.

Hector bounded off his platform, annihilating it behind him. He let himself fall--skydiving in a full suit of plate armor.

He watched the birds closely for any signs of life. With the Scarf, he could tell that the crow guy had lost some body parts in that attack, but it was tough to sense exactly which ones were missing beneath all that molten iron. He could annihilate it for a better look, of course, but that seemed imprudent, considering how much it must've been impairing the Man of Crows' senses, at the moment.

Was the head still attached? That was all he wanted to know, really. At this range, it would be difficult to target such a small point on the man's body with a powerful enough blow--which was why he'd resorted to this variant of his strongest technique first--but maybe it would be doable if he got a bit closer.

He pushed himself downward with velocity states on the back of his armor--an extra layer of descending iron.

It worked surprisingly well. He jolted closer to the Man of Crows by several meters, and he could see with his own two eyes the molten iron was being disturbed. A scorched arm and an inflamed wing were trying to wipe it away.