But now they were against a demon who had an ability that stopped them from healing from their wounds. It made sure that critical hits to paranormals would kill them, instead of allowing their healing to kick in.
Axle wasn’t sure what would happen if a human took a direct hit from Kanai, but he could tell that it wasn’t going to be good. He watched as Natalie took a step uncomfortably, smiling at the sorcerer.
“I mean this is going to end everything, so yeah. I’m ready as I’ll ever be”
“Good, ‘cause I need everyone to be on their best for this to work.” Bingwen waved his hand at the kitchen and a bottle of brandy floated out and into his hand. Axle began to object, but the sorcerer pulled open the cork and began drinking. “So, as I said before, the plan is simple. We destroy both bracelets, and that makes you safe from all of this. You’ll be able to go back to your simple boring life.”
“I wanted to ask,” Natalie cut in, “You said I was a dormant witch, right?”
“Yes, you are. You just have no idea how to use your powers or anything. It’s the only reason the bracelet bonded to you. If you were an ordinary person, the bracelet would come right off. It was a security system used by the old religion to make sure that ordinary people who had no idea what they were toying with wouldn’t be able to use it.”
“Well, since I have no idea how to use it, and I’m a witch either way, won’t that still make me a target?” Natalie asked.
“I don’t understand,” Axle cut in. “Once you’re free of the bracelet, Kanai has no use for you.”
“But he came after Bingwen,” Natalie continued, “And he doesn’t have any bracelets.” She continued, pointing at the sorcerer. “If he and I are alike, Kanai could still come for me because I have powers, whether or not I can use them.”
“No, I’m not sure…” Axle drifted off, turning to look at Bingwen who had put his hand to his chin, deep in thought. “Come on, man.”
“No, she’s got a point. Kanai came after me, and only because he knows I’m working with you to stop him. Now that he’s aware of her, bracelet or not, he would want to take down any and all opposition,” the sorcerer finished. “There’s a chance he would come for her.”
Natalie buckled backward, and Axle held on to her. “Hey, it’s okay.” He turned to Bingwen. “So, is destroying the bracelet really the best bet? I mean if it is this powerful, we can find some way to get it off her, and maybe you can use it to help us protect her. We can use it to even the fight against Kanai. With your skills and the power of the bracelet, we would be able to even the playing field.”
“You’ve got a point, but I didn’t see anything about getting the bracelet off and transferring it safely to another person while the previous wearer is still alive. It would just burn me. But I have a better idea that should do the trick,” Bingwen replied, reaching into his bag.
He pulled out a metal contraption that looked like the chain mail armor worn by knights, except it had holes awkwardly placed throughout. He held it up for Axle and Natalie to see for a moment before he proudly put it back in his bag.
Bingwen turned around, smiling at them. “So, what do you think?”
Natalie looked to Axle, who was just as confused, shaking her head.
Axle chuckled. “I’m lost, what are you going to do with that?”
“That? That is the suit of Maonya, a magical artifact that I had to sustain these injuries to get,” Bingwen replied, frowning.
“What do you mean?” Natalie asked.
“I crossed realms to get this, knowing the one place I could find it. Kanai sent his monsters to stop me, but I still got it. This suit is literally impervious to any and all attacks, and we’re going to use it to stop Kanai,” Bingwen said with a smile.
“Oh, so we’re going to wear it to fight him?” Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow.
“What? No, that’s not how it works. It’s only impervious when it is worn by the actual owner of the suit, Maonya. But since he’s dead, anyone else who wears it is not only frozen in place and unable to move, they’re also open to attacks. Which is what we’re going to use it to do.”
Axle began to understand, nodding his head as it began to make sense. It was something that could help them hold down Kanai. If they could make him unable to move, Axle could get some blows in, get the bracelet off of him along with Natalie’s and then Bingwen would destroy them both.
“We use the suit to restrain the demon, take the bracelets and destroy them,” Axle explained to Natalie.
“Not quite,” Bingwen smirked. “I have an even better idea. We might not need to even go through the stress of finishing him off.”
Axle raised an eyebrow, confused. Kanai was incredibly tough, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to take the demon down on his own.
With Bingwen, they would be lucky to do so. It would take the entire pack, acting together at once, to finish him off. But Bingwen was offering the impossible.
Bingwen saw that they were listening and so he cleared his throat. “By destroying the bracelets, we’d be creating a massive amount of energy, and what better way to use that energy than to use it to finish Kanai off and blast him to kingdom come?”
“Can you control energy like that?” Axle asked, a little worried about the blowback.
“Who needs control? All we need is to have him in the vicinity. It’ll be done,” Bingwen finished, letting out a breath. “So that’s it. That’s the plan.”