His battered forearms and shins kept absorbing the majority of the blows, but Kurst was not nearly as strong as before, and Franks was running on more Elixir than Father would have ever imagined possible. Human organs had never been intended to take that much stress, and Franks knew they were all failing. The ocean may have only been twenty minutes away, but even if he defeated Kurst immediately, there was no way Franks would live to see it again.

He needed to end this now.

Kurst shoved him back against the wall. Aluminum bent. Franks held on and wouldn’t let his opponent get an angle to strike. He realized Kurst was blinking rapidly, as if he was having a hard time seeing. Franks sacrificed his body and let Kurst hit him. His nose went flat, but it also gave him the opportunity to throw his elbow against the side of Kurst’s head. The demon prince desperately moved aside . . . Considering how inhumanly tough he was, too desperately.

The demon had displayed his weakness. He was nearly blind. Now Franks would dismantle him. He drove his knee into Kurst’s side, over and over, and when Kurst finally forced himself back, Franks slipped a shot through his defenses and drove his knuckles deep into Kurst’s eye socket. Sure enough, Kurst showed far more of a reaction than he should have. Franks capitalized on the hesitation, following him as Kurst tried to protect his ruined face, Franks hit him in everything else that was available.

“What’s the matter, Kurst? I thought I was the outdated model.”

One of Kurst’s legs seemed slower than the other. It was the same one he’d hit with the spike. Franks tested his hypothesis by putting himself in the bad position to get snap-kicked, but instead, Kurst pulled back. Franks showed no reaction. Instead he attacked, opening himself up, and the instant the demon overextended, Franks kicked out and shattered Kurst’s wobbly knee. The demon fell against the edge of the truck.

Franks pulled out the Sig. A bullet to the base of the brain might not end Kurst, but it would speed up his demise. There was movement in his peripheral vision. The other demon had returned to the cargo bay with a pistol in his hand. They lifted their guns at the same time. The demon was a bit faster, and his first bullet tore up Franks’ arm, through his armpit, through his good lung, and across the top of his primary heart. That threw off Franks’ aim.