"…I like that plan."
Pix's grin lingered...
For half a second.
Then...
Elen moved.
No warning.
No buildup.
She was already there.
In front of Pix.
Her hand cutting through the air...
Pix barely twisted...
The strike skimmed past her face...
Close enough...
To slice a strand of her hair clean off.
"…okay!" Pix yelped, stumbling back. "NOT FUN!!!"
Kaida-9 intercepted instantly...
A heavy strike...
Elen pivoted...
Used the momentum...
Redirected it...
Kaida-9 slammed into the ground instead.
Hard.
Cracks spidered outward beneath her.
"…impact registered," Kaida-9 stated flatly.
Lyra came in next...
Blade flashing...
A rapid series of strikes...
Left.
Right.
Low.
Elen didn't block.
She moved between them.
Every strike...
Missed.
By millimeters.
Like she had already seen them happen.
Lyra's expression tightened.
"…this is ridiculous."
Sera's voice cut in...
"…She's not reacting."
A beat...
"…She's executing."
Mii grabbed Elric's sleeve again.
"WHY is she winning?!"
Elric didn't answer.
Because he was watching.
Really watching.
Elen's movements...
Too clean.
Too perfect.
No wasted motion.
No hesitation.
Even her breathing...
Timed.
Controlled.
"…She's not fighting us," he muttered.
Pix ducked another strike...
"…yeah, we noticed!"
Elric's eyes narrowed.
"…She's solving us."
Silence.
That clicked.
Sera's eyes widened slightly.
"…Yes."
Pix skidded back beside him.
"…We're a problem set."
Mii groaned,
"I hate being math!"
Elen stepped forward again.
The space around her...
Shifted.
Not visibly.
But functionally.
Kaida-9 moved to intercept...
And slipped.
Just slightly.
Just enough.
Elen's strike connected...
Sending her back again.
Pix blinked.
"…Did the floor just betray us?"
Sera's voice sharpened.
"…Environmental adjustment."
Lyra cursed under her breath.
"…She's controlling the battlefield."
The figure in the distance...
Hadn't moved.
But its presence...
Pressed down on everything.
Guiding.
Feeding.
Elen raised her hand again...
Energy forming...
But different now.
Denser.
More stable.
"…Oh that's new," Pix muttered.
Mii grabbed Elric tighter.
"THAT looks like a problem!"
Elen fired.
A focused burst...
Not wide.
Not explosive.
Direct.
At Elric.
Time slowed...
He stepped...
The world bent...
The beam shifted...
Missed...
But barely.
It tore through the space behind him...
Distorting everything it touched.
Reality flickered violently...
Then snapped back.
Pix stared.
"…Okay that was NOT normal."
Sera nodded.
"…That was layered output."
Lyra added,
"…She's escalating."
Kaida-9 pushed herself up again.
"…Damage accumulating."
Mii looked between all of them.
"…Are we losing?"
Silence.
No one answered.
Because...
Yeah.
They were.
Elen moved again.
This time...
Faster than before.
She slipped past Lyra...
Through Kaida-9...
Ignoring Pix...
Straight to Elric.
Again.
Always him.
Mii stepped in front...
"No!"
Elen stopped.
Again.
Mid-strike.
Her arm shaking violently.
"…conflict… critical…" she whispered.
Her voice...
Breaking.
Forcing itself through something.
Elric stepped forward.
Closer.
"…yeah," he said quietly.
"…keep doing that."
Pix snapped,
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
He didn't look at her.
"…she's still in there."
Sera's eyes narrowed.
"…Yes."
Lyra's grip tightened on her blade.
"…Not for long."
The figure in the distance...
Raised its hand again.
Higher this time.
More force.
Elen's body jerked...
Her arm snapped forward...
Faster than before...
Stronger...
No hesitation.
Elric's eyes widened...
He moved...
The world bent...
But...
Not enough.
Her hand...
Connected.
Direct hit.
A sharp burst of force...
He was thrown back...
Harder than before...
Crashing into the ground...
Sliding...
Stopping just short of the edge of a flickering platform.
"PLAYER!"
Mii ran toward him...
Pix swore under her breath...
"…Okay... new plan... we break the controller NOW!"
Sera nodded sharply.
"…Agreed."
Lyra turned...
Blade ready...
"…Kaida... on me."
Kaida-9 stepped forward.
"…Acknowledged."
They shifted...
Formation changing.
Focus shifting.
From Elen...
To the figure.
Elen stepped forward again...
To intercept...
But...
For just a second...
She hesitated.
Her body...
Fighting itself.
"…don't…" she whispered.
Barely audible.
Elric pushed himself up...
Breathing hard...
"…yeah," he muttered.
"…definitely unfair."
He looked up...
At her.
Then past her.
At the figure.
And smiled slightly.
"…good."
A beat.
"…I hate fair fights."
The lights flickered.
The air bent.
And something...
Shifted again.