The boss' muscles coiled, his stance widening as he raised one of his arms, chain jangling from the movement. 

In that heartbeat before havoc erupted, Avril's eyes darted to Laurence, whose gaze was fixed on the stone dangling in the man’s grip, intensely analyzing the array that decorated it.

"Avril!" Laurence called out as realization struck him, just as the boss propelled his arm forward. The stone mallet descended in a blur of impending destruction, crashing down into the earth where Avril had just been standing. 

The impact sent shockwaves through the ground, cracking it like thunder, a raw display of power that resonated through the very bones of everyone in the area.

Avril narrowly leapt to safety, executing a backflip mid-air and landing in a crouch beside Laurence. His breath hitched in his chest, not solely from the exertion but from the sheer force of the blow that had left an imprint upon the earth.

"How do those stones not shatter on impact?" Avril's whisper was barely audible, his eyes wide, the cracked ground reflected in his amethyst gaze.

Laurence pointed at the simplistic seals carved into the stones. "He's channeling power into them," The prince explained, his stare declaring the surety of his statement. "With the basic knowledge of drawing the correct array, you can place a seal on almost any object to bolster its durability. Assuming you can spare the energy it takes from you, of course."

"I really despise seals," Avril muttered under his breath, the words tinged with bitterness.

Their exchange was brief, the calm before another storm.

The boss launched toward them with startling velocity. He swung his mallets together in a deadly arc, aiming for Avril's head.

With no time to spare, Avril’s arm shot out, pushing Laurence hard. The force of the shove sent the taller man tumbling backward, glasses nearly flying off his face.

Laurence's back hit the ground and he rolled awkwardly, disoriented but unharmed. Gray hurried over to stand by him protectively, the kreet’s eyes narrowed into slits of focus.

Avril ducked low, the mallets crashing above him with a sound like the world splitting apart. He felt the displaced air on his scalp, but didn’t dwell on how he’d been a whisper away from his skull getting crushed.

From his crouched position, Avril swept his leg low and fast at the bandit leader's feet, catching him off guard.

The boss fell sideways with a grunt of surprise, his hand slamming into the dirt to steady himself. But even in his compromised position, he was a force to be reckoned with, swinging one of his mallets with brutal precision toward Avril's side.

Avril braced for impact, but no amount of preparedness could fully absorb the blow. The hit connected with a sickening thud, and he was sent hurtling through the air like a ragdoll, his body contorting unnaturally before he crashed into the earth, rolling to a stop amidst a cloud of dust.

Coughing and wheezing, Avril clutched his side where the mallet had struck him, pain flaring with each labored breath. Yet, when he raised his head to glare at the boss, a wild grin split his features—a stark contrast to the hate burning in his glare.

The bandits circling around erupted into a cacophony of jeers and mockery, their laughter grating and cruel as they savored the spectacle before them.

"Finish him off, Boss! Show that pretty boy knight his place!" One of the bandits cackled, the words dripping with malice.

"Crush that arrogant smirk right off his face," another sneered, emboldened by their leader's display of strength.

Laurence sat rooted to the spot, eyes wide with disbelief. He had seen Avril tear through rows of enemies, as well as perform acrobatic feats that appeared physically impossible without breaking a sweat. In the back of his mind… he’d honestly begun to think Avril might be invincible in combat.

Therefore, an unfamiliar worry gnawed at Laurence's chest as he watched the knight actually appear to struggle against this new opponent.

The boss, sensing an opening, turned his predatory gaze upon Laurence. The prince's muscles tensed, and he flinched instinctively as if the mere look could wield the same destructive force as one of those stone mallets.

But in that fleeting second of diverted attention, Avril seized his chance. With agility belying his injury, he hurled one of his stolen knives straight towards the boss’ eye.

"Watch out, Boss!" One of the bandit’s warned.

The bandit leader was able to deflect the projectile with an effortless swat of his hand, but that triumph was short-lived.

Avril closed in rapidly, a blur of motion born of desperation and determination. His blade found its mark, slicing across the boss's chest, a bright line of blood blossoming on the tanned skin.

"Got you," Avril hissed through gritted teeth as he retreated just out of reach, his amethyst eyes sparking with ferocious intensity.

"Persistent little..." The boss grumbled, touching the wound with a grimace. His coal eyes burned with renewed fury, and he refocused on Avril, dismissing Laurence’s presence for now.

Avril, sensing impending doom, shifted his weight, ready to dodge or parry. But the boss was faster than he anticipated.

With the swiftness of a striking snake, the boss snatched Avril’s wrist in an iron grip, yanking him off the ground. The knight’s feet flailed for purchase, yet even in this precarious position Avril's survival instincts didn't falter. His hand held aloft in the air dropped his knife behind himself, and his free hand reached back to catch it.

He aimed the weapon at the boss’ exposed throat, but his attack was futile. The bandit leader had fought enough battles to anticipate such a desperate move, and his other hand clamped down on Avril's second wrist with equal force.

"Predictable," the boss sneered, his grip unyielding.

Laurence looked on with alarm. He desired to intervene, but wasn’t sure what he could do, except—he cast a glance over at his able-bodied kreet companion.

Avril, dangling from the boss's grasp like a marionette with cut strings, refused to succumb easily. With a grunt of determination, he swung his legs upward, wrapping them tightly around the bandit leader's thick neck in a desperate chokehold.

The boss, caught off guard by Avril's audacity, let out a strangled gasp. Snarling, he launched himself forward, intent on crushing the defiant knight beneath him.

The ground shuddered upon impact as Avril’s back slammed into the earth, the force leaving a cracking imprint of the knight's form in the dirt.

"Ungh!" Avril expelled air violently from his lungs, pain radiating along his spine. Yet, his hold did not falter; if anything, it tightened. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth, painting grim streaks across his pale features as he growled with primal resolve.

"Stronger… than you look…" The boss wheezed, acknowledging the surprising resilience of his smaller opponent. "Unnaturally… so…"

Their strengths matched, a deadlock of muscle and willpower, neither yielding an inch.

"Appearances… can be deceiving," Avril managed between shallow breaths, the edges of his vision blurring as he pushed against the hands holding him down.

The boss' eyes narrowed as he observed something peculiar—dark veins creeping up Avril's skin like sinister tendrils, a stark contrast to his normally fair complexion. The sight was unsettling, but the bandit had little time to ponder this anomaly.

In that split second of distraction, Laurence passed along a silent signal for Gray to act. 

With a ferocious snarl, the kreet lunged, sinking his fangs deep into the bandit leader’s side. Gray's teeth, designed for tearing and rending, found purchase in the flesh, eliciting a roar of pain from the boss.

"Curse you, beast!" The boss' voice boomed with fury as he released one of Avril's wrists to deal with the new threat. His stone mallet swung in a wide arc toward Gray's head, intent on crushing the creature that dared attack him.

Gray's scales, smooth and resilient as they were, absorbed much of the blow, but the force still rattled the poor kreet. He staggered back, dazed by the impact, his grip loosening as stars danced before his eyes.

Avril, grasping the fleeting moment of distraction, seized one of the chains dangling from the boss’s mallets. With a swift yank, he pulled the towering figure back down toward him.

"Come here," he growled under his breath.

Their foreheads met with a sickening crack; not once, but twice. Pain exploded across their faces, blood beading and then streaming down from the impacted skin.

The boss staggered, his expression contorting with rage and agony. He retaliated with a roar that seemed to shake the very air around them. His hands, rough with heavy calluses, grabbed Avril with a vengeful fury. With the might of his arms honed from years of wielding the massive stone mallets, he raised Avril before slamming him further into the ground. 

The impact was cataclysmic, dust and debris erupting skyward as Avril's body carved a deep crater into the land, a cruel testament to the force endured.