Kei only managed to realize that Akito was standing behind him when it was too late already.
He couldn't control all of these guns at the same time nor could he dodge the incoming bullets anymore.
His only chance was to minimize the damage.
He wrapped himself in sharp metal scales, creating a protective armor, and curled himself up to protect his vital points better.
Closing his eyes was all he could do now.
It wasn't his intention to die. He would cling onto life no matter what would happen in the next few seconds.
The sound of the bullets leaving the guns' barrels echoed in his ears, and he tensed up greatly, preparing to be hit by all the bullets.
Even after many seconds, nothing happened. His eyes hesitantly opened to see what was happening.
Yuna's back was facing him. She stood over him like a god protecting a follower of theirs. All the bullets fell out of her hands and onto the ground, meaning she had caught every last one. While Akito had used a large quantity of his essence for this offense, Yuna didn't need to use much to perform this saving act.
Kei's eyes widened in pure shock as he realized what had happened just now.
"How strong is she?!"
He thought as he hastily got up from the ground again, and became ready to further aid Yuna in this battle.
"How pathetic. You refuse to engage with the real threat just to murder a rank 1, and still fail. Why don't you just kill yourself? An Enlightened who has to fear another that's 4 ranks below him is worthless."
She tried to sound calm and conceal her emotions, yet her voice betrayed her. The hatred, anger and disgust she felt for Akito was on display for the world to see.
"Shut up, woman. You'll regret not taking up on my offer earlier."
Akito's voice was filled with hatred, but it was also laced with fright. The fact that she could catch all the bullets he had fired at once, despite how close it was, showed that he could easily die to her.
"You're scared, and you should be."
"Tsk you'll be scared when you're covered in bullet holes you dumb-"
Realizing that he was currently distracted allowed Yuna to strike once again. She aimed a kick directly at the side of his knee to incapacitate him. If he can't run, then he will certainly lose.
Her strike was successful, his kneecap was dislocated, giving off a disgusting sound that caused Kei's face to distort.
Akito looked as if a feeling of impending doom had suddenly overwhelmed him. As he raised his injured leg so that it couldn't scrape against the ground, he jumped backwards and away on one leg while firing all of his guns at Yuna, trying to create space, and injure her in the process. He no longer paid any mind to Kei. Doing so would most likely give Yuna another opportunity, and due to his slowed movement, he would most likely die.
However, paying no mind to Kei was a mistake in its own right, because he could now freely disrupt his attacks to some extent, making it easier for Yuna to close in on him and continue her onslaught of attacks.
Buildings were shot through and destroyed completely, and mortals were killed in the crossfire as she chased him through the jade palace just like a predator would chase their injured prey.
Yuna and Akito have already destroyed countless buildings and lives in the process of their battle. Many kilometeres have been traveled as well.
At this rate, Kei's efforts became negligible. He had little essence left, and he could barely control 5% of the weapons Akito used at the same time. Not only that, but they moved at a speed that he could barely even register.
It didn't help that they were moving further away from him. Clearly, Yuna wanted to make sure he wouldn't be injured or killed by Akito, hence she chased him away so that Kei could be safe.
This was unacceptable to him. He wouldn't dream of letting his master fight alone against such a formidable foe. He won't let it happen.
"Give it up, Yuna. You won't kill me today. I won't allow you to come close enough to even just graze me another time."
"Your words are bold for someone with merely one functioning leg, no?"
Yuna was getting closer and closer, almost hitting him with multiple of her strikes and kicks, yet whenever she came close enough, she was forced to back off again due to the onslaught of gunfire.
She understood and saw perfectly how much essence Akito had already used, and how much he needed to use every second.
This was enough to spike her confidence beyond any conceivable level. She was certain that Akito would be slaughtered if she went all out now.
Akito knew all of this. Naturally, he wouldn't keep everything the way it was, for if he did, his death would be inevitable.
The flow of her essence inside of her body sped up greatly, and a large portion of her total essence was infused into her cells. Not only that, but air had also filled the space in between her cells as well.
Her style of self-augmentation was an uncommon one. It was rarely used by any Enlightened outside the first stronghold. Instead of simply strengthening the body with her primary element, she reinforced every cell with her raw essence, while using her primary element to create force. Every last movement she performed wasn't done by her, but by the air between her cells which she controlled. All she did was remain as tense and sturdy as possible while her body was forcefully moved.
Her speed became almost completely incomprehensible to Akito as she dashed towards him with killing intent.
His reaction, it didn't match the situation one bit. He was smiling with a wide and sinister smile.
It all made sense just a moment later when he summoned a hundred or so more guns, all aimed at Yuna.
He was almost out of essence, yet he would do anything to take her down with himself.