They reached the inner sanctum, but the Engineer unleashed his greatest guardians: titanic war-automatons, their chests glowing with the stolen essence of dead Anomalists. The ground shook beneath their steps.
Hollis knew then what must be done. He turned to Elric, his scarred face calm at last."Get to him. End this. I'll hold them."
"No," Selene snapped, her eyes blazing. "You'll be torn apart."
Hollis smiled grimly. "That's the idea."
He drew both revolvers and strode into the storm of steel. Bullets cracked, gears shattered, and every blow that struck him knitted shut almost as fast. He fought like a man already dead, his healing gift allowing him to stand where no one else could.
But even gifts have limits.
As the others ran toward the dais, Hollis was swallowed in fire and steel. His final cry was not of pain, but of defiance:
"Brasswick belongs to its people — not its machines!"
Then the cathedral roared, and the soldier was gone.