The pain of the metal in his hands freezing is enough to distract him from his attack, the spew of flame coming forth in an unfocused cloud along with his yell of discomfort. It's enough to singe, but not enough to melt, the heat causes the air to twist and his white hair lift in a halo around him.

He does use that heat to rip his claws away from the spear, sending the weapon clattering across the floor before it can do any more damage to his skin. Instead, he comes upon Kaeya with natural weapons, one set of claws closing around his neck as a sound of fury builds within him.

What ends up shattering that wall of ice behind them, at last, is the way that Estinien roars. Kaeya will have nowhere to escape as it rips through him, threatening to break apart both his body and his mind, vibrations surging through floor and sending cracks through the ice. Estinien's lashing tail takes advantage of the shock, coiling around Kaeya's legs and torso, the brutal grain of the spikes digging into Kaeya's flesh as it tightens.