Hector found himself falling and scrambled to catch himself. The flight in his armor had faltered. Reorienting it took precious seconds that...

For a moment, everything was suddenly clearer. And slower again, too. But this time, his thoughts didn't feel so sluggish, as if he coul...

He had to do something. That much was obvious. But his mind was already being stretched beyond its limit as he tried to keep track of ever...

Hector took aim again while flying backwards. He used precious seconds to focus in on the next clone. More attacks flew in his direction, en...

Even with soul-empowerment, the decoy armors probably hadn't worked for the same reason that the walls from earlier hadn't. Because ...

As he flew through the trees, he materialized a second copy of his own armor and dumped it behind him, making sure to empower it with his so...

Hector struggled to stabilize. No time to think. Three Bandas were coming for him, he knew. Where were they all? He could still sense two bu...

The next shift came suddenly enough that Hector barely had time to sense it. Through all the smoke and chaos and ear-splitting explosions, t...

He'd already "loaded" up an onslaught of orbiting cubes in his mind for this. All tiny, no bigger than golf balls. All icy to ...

Banda was telegraphing everything--and not just with his movements. His aura, his intent, they made it clear as day. The attack was coming ...

Zeff had gone on to lecture him about the importance of being able to intelligently evaluate one's opponent and determine whether victor...

This was not a test he was prepared for. He'd known that when he decided to fly up here. But there was even more to the insanity of the ...

These attacks from Banda were certainly dangerous, but Hector couldn't help thinking there was something off about them, too. They were ...

He cycled through all of his previous tactics and techniques, searching for anything that seemed useful. Nothing was really sticking in his ...

That was why he'd opened with those exploding javelins. As a proof of concept, they'd been successful. Explosive force could indeed ...

Hector barely got out of the way in time--and even that wasn't quite enough. The flame didn't actually touch him, but it still melte...

"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 be...

Even his own aura was not harmless. It wanted to respond to the heat and fury that he sensed from Banda. It wanted to influence his thoughts...

Chapter Two Hundred Seventy-One: ‘Beware the Doormen...’ Click to display entire chapter at once -- ( mobile link ) Hector sensed a cha...