[i]'I'll do what I can, blup.'[/i]

	[color=ed145b]"I am not going to walk to my death. I will be the shield that saves this world, and many others. The shield that protects our many blades."[/color] Yzeira glared at Zios as he stepped forward, while Alexis slowly walked over to her old friend's side.

	[color=ed1c24]"This will finish it."[/color]

	[color=ed145b]"Your words are more hollow now than ever before."[/color]

	[center][color=ed1c24][i]"The vacuous spaces within your empty heads are more hollow than you claim me to be."[/i][/color][/center]

	Yzeira slammed his hand against the ground with a heave and a grunt. From the impact point, a massive wave of crashing red energy roared out and launched towards the group of heroes. Zios stood his ground and straightened his stance.

	[center][h3][color=ed145b]"[b]Heroic[/b] Bulwark."[/color][/h3][/center]

	Zios' body flashed with strange energies for a moment. Then, it grew. It grew and grew until it was half the size of Oz's Atlas, all in the span of a second. Then it braced itself, projecting a barrier between Yzeira's attack, and his precious friends. A brilliant flash of purple, pink, blue and red splayed out in all directions, away from Zios as his barrier absorbed the impact of the chaotic attack. It lasted for a few seconds, pushed his feet back towards Jenso and the others.

	[color=7ea7d8]"Whoa,"[/color] Jeff muttered, [color=7ea7d8]"That's one hell of a power-up."[/color]

	When the attack was over, Zios' form shrank almost immediately, even smaller than he stood before. He breathed heavily as energy seeped from the poorly patched holes in his torso. Yzeira on the other hand, stood with his hand overhead, readying himself for another wave.

	[color=ed1c24]"Admirable that you have the capacity to withstand the full breadth of my power..."[/color] He narrowed his eyes and flexed his right arm overhead. [color=ed1c24]"...[i]Once...[/i]"[/color]

	[color=ed145b]"I..."[/color]

	Yzeira repeated his attack from earlier once again, launching a wave of energy identical to his earlier attack. Zios was spent. He couldn't move at all, let alone summon his bulwark a second time. But within his body, a flash of energy erupted, and pushed him to his feet.

	[color=ed145b]"I will not [b]falter!"[/b][/color]

	[i]'Zios! If you push yourself any further, your body will come undone!'[/i]

	[color=ed145b]"Then with it, I will bid farewell without a single regret!"[/color]

	[center][h2][color=fff79a]~FSHEWWWWWW~[/color][/h2][/center]

	It happened too quickly to register. Jeff looked on in awe while everyone else stood silently as the red wave of energy was split down the middle and dispersed by a flash of light. 

	[color=7ea7d8]"I...It's...!"[/color]

	[color=bc8dbf]"Oh man. That took a lot longer than I thought it would."[/color]

	Yzeira took a step back as a smokey rip in space time slowly sealed itself back up, and a brilliant figure stood in its place. Alexis glared at the newcomer angrily, clenching her fists with a great deal of malice.

	Alvios spun around a few times, and then finally smiled at Jenso and the gang with a small wave.

	[color=bc8dbf]"Sorry I'm late. Took a wrong turn somewhere along the road."[/color]

	[center][hr]
[h1]~ End Of Chapter 214 ~[/h1][/center]