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"I need you all to stay here," said Hector. "If he makes it past me, retreat into the Entry Tower and bury the entrance as best you can."

"What're you--?"

"Abbas will be here soon," said Hector. "Just hold out until then."

'Hector, wait a--' Garovel tried to say.

Hector clapped an iron orb around the reaper. 'I'm really sorry,' he told him. He caught the orb with both hands and then tossed it over to Roman. "Take care of him for me, please."

More words were said in response. Some of them quite upset, from the sound of it. But Hector had already tuned them all out. Maybe that was a stupid thing to do. It was certainly rude, at least. But he had to. The auras demanded his full attention.

Banda Toro demanded it.

The man would not be dissuaded from this fight, Hector knew. He was coming for Darksteel, and nothing was going to get in his way.

In full armor, with his still-rather-haphazard ability to fly, Hector leapt away from the ground and soared up to meet him there in the sky.

For a moment, it crossed his mind that, perhaps, Banda would want to talk to him first. And Hector wouldn't have minded. It would've meant more time for Abbas to show up.

But no. That notion was destroyed as he grew closer to Banda's aura. The heat in it. The hostility and viciousness. It didn't want to talk. Not with words, anyway. It did want a dialogue, of sorts, yes. It wanted to know him through his actions.

And on some level, Hector could appreciate that. It was absolutely horrible for him, but he could appreciate it.

He decided to open with a volley of iron javelins. The first word of the conversation. It wouldn't do much, he knew, but he intended to put a little twist on it.

He made them icy cold, and when they pierced the red smoke of Banda's body, he added an instant molten coating to them. The sudden extreme temperature difference made them explode.

It wasn't doing any actual damage, Hector knew, but it was a way of testing the waters and dispersing some of the smoke. Pockets of Banda's red form burst apart, though not for long.

The return fire from Banda was far more deadly.

A giant, dagger-toothed maw formed out of the smoke, and from it, a white hot pillar of fire shot out like a laser beam.