‘Engagement 32 initialized. Attack delay adjusted by 0.13 seconds after Aclysia crossed halfway point. Send inquiry pulse.’ Beatrice’s mind took a fragment of a second to check whether their operator, Momo, was starting the formulation of any orders. ‘No new orders received, execute engagement as per previous paradigm.’

Like clockwork, Beatrice readied herself, then launched herself at the fire simulacrum. Her speed was boosted by a Firefae waiting for her on the way. The additional speed and the tiny delay she had added from last time combined and she arrived just before Aclysia. Arkeidos had come to expect her speed and swung his mace at her.

Chronoshift instantly took her back. The pendulum of time stopped. Beatrice’s eyes were all that could move. She noted the position of Arkeidos’ lava-filled arm, the remaining trajectory of his mace, and his posture. All of it slotted into place. One, two, three – and the world unfroze.

‘Scenario 1C,’ she filled the mind of her older ‘twin’.

In Aclysia’s hand, Eclys was replaced with Tiemarath. True Block activated and the weaponized maid blocked the sideway swing of Arkeidos’ mace, swiftly turned from a feint to a swipe. Beatrice continued running from her time reversed position. Perfect vibrated with its active enchantments.

‘Artificial Ascension inactive. Sole stack of Crescendo active. Forever Fall active. 15 out of 15 stacks of Endless Step buffered. Spend excess resources.’ Beatrice’s feet connected with a solid surface in the air the enchantment created. One step, two steps, three steps, she rose up, bullets of frozen magma flying by under her. ‘Successful dodge, 3 stacks of Endless Step restored.’

Beatrice’s eyes honed in on a segment of the shoulder armour. The outer pieces were scattered out, revealing the base of one of the chimney-esque protrusions. Beatrice Sundered that spot with one routinely aimed attack. The bonus damage to armour visibly burst apart the armour. The force of the attack let her twist in the air. Facing Arkeidos’ back, she landed.

‘Retreat!’ Momo’s command ran through the mental connection. Beatrice beat her wings and took off into the air. The ground under them exploded in a torrent of lava. Scattered red particles, their heat unthreatening, blocked proper vision. Turning into lightning, Beatrice escaped the swing of Arkeidos’ mace.

As she consolidated back into her winged dragon form, Beatrice continued her analysis. ‘Engagement 32 concluded. New weak spot added to awareness. Adjust angle of attack by 15 degrees to slow wide swing aimed at Aclysia. Keep better track of enemy foot movements. Reverse is not refilled. Engagement 33 to be dedicated to resource generation. Execute check-up subroutine.’

Beatrice’s mind swiftly gleamed intel from everyone attached to the Gamer’s mental network. John was engaged with main Arkeidos, Overclock active, and was surviving. The elementals were in a pinch and about to fuse into a five kind. Metra was humiliating her opponent. Intel gathered, Beatrice landed next to Aclysia and folded her white wings.

‘Engagement 33 initialized,’ she thought, as soon as Aclysia dug her heels into the ground.

The constant explosions, lava manipulation, and the force of their combat had turned solid stone into a desert of pebbles. The frost aura that enveloped the eldest of the three only increased that effect. Growling animalistically, Aclysia charged ahead. Beatrice understood the rage, enemies of their Master had to be discarded. It would mess with her workflow to indulge in it though.

The fight continued at a rapid back and forth. Arkeidos was aware of their capabilities. His fire magic was primarily used to obscure visibility. Everything else was pure violence. When their cooldowns were up and their resources available, the trio of maids could land a good couple of hits. At other times, the situation was not as advantageous. Engagement for Engagement, Beatrice continued to adjust, always chasing the perfect sequence, never frustrated when it was outside her grasp.

Arkeidos burst out of a geyser of magma, his mace already raised, and smashed down on Aclysia. Without True Block or other cooldowns, the attack smashed her flat into the floor. Barrier, Ice, and scales shattered, as three of the six blades of the terrible mace carved their shape into her torso.

Stepping forwards, Beatrice thrust her spear at Arkeidos’ exposed back. While the attack hit and one of Perfect’s Crescendo lasers was unleashed, the Emperor ignored the damage he sustained. Beatrice kept assaulting him, until a massive stomp punched Aclysia through the ground and sent yet more magma exploding upwards. What had been a place of artistry now resembled a metropolis in the process of being swallowed by a volcano.

The only living inhabitants of that city, among all the statues, were the four combatants. Aclysia’s ice aura froze the surface of the lava lake before she sank into it. The lava itself, however, rose to envelop her, following the commands of the fire simulacrum standing atop the shattered ground.

Layer upon layer of magma covered the weaponized maid, cooling near instantly upon contact. Struggling, she broke out again and again, but Arkeidos kept sending wave after wave of molten rock at her. Gradually, it accumulated on her surface. The process accelerated, once the layer was thick enough to inhibit her movement.

‘Discontinuing engagement 52,’ Beatrice thought, flying and running from one platform to the next. More and more were swallowed by the lava, becoming one with the molten rock. The enchantments on the room were working fast, keeping the heat sweltering. Only that which Arkeidos layered onto the sphere that sealed Aclysia cooled down. ‘Executing check-up subroutine.’

Metra was about to kill her opponent. Apotheosis was getting stalled. John was getting pushed around.

‘Analysis: unfavourable situation,’ Beatrice concluded. With two beats of her wings, she rose up high and then dive-bombed at Arkeidos. She rapidly flapped in an attempt to halt, when the Emperor swung his mace in a wide arc. The sphere of solidified lava fell into the lake below. Within it, Aclysia was still struggling to break out. Arkeidos, by instinct or by analysis, had timed the attack well. The weaponized maid did not have the resources to activate Juggernaut.

That left Beatrice and Momo to face Arkeidos on their own.

Desperate as it was, the flapping prevented Beatrice from sailing directly into the attack. The mace slammed into her lower legs. The damage sustained was minor, the limbs were simply pushed aside and some of the surface carved open. It was that she had been hit at all that annoyed Beatrice the most. Any damage taken meant she was not doing this perfectly. She had to do this perfectly.

The fairy operator reached out to Beatrice’s mind. ‘We’re on a delay tactic for the time be-‘

Partway through the planning, an unexpected earthy brown flare rose through the hellish red of this simulacrum’s steadily exuded mist. With it came a sudden ceasing of all proper movement. ‘Executing sub-routine…’ Beatrice investigated the origin of this phenomena and immediately found it in Metra’s victory. ‘Opportunity identified. Weak spot categorized. Request priority assistance.’

‘You got it, Bae,’ Momo answered.

‘As soon as I am released, we will carve into Master’s enemy together,’ Aclysia’s hateful words echoed through the mental connection.

Beatrice ignored all but their intent. ‘Initiating solo engagement. Disregarding previous adjustments. Disregarding cooperation focus. Relying on ally competency. Tracking resources. Calculating optimal approach route. Initiating assault.’

Turning mid air, Beatrice crouched against a wall of air that wasn’t there, expending two of her Endless Steps to launch herself back at Arkeidos. With a forceful gesture, the Emperor commanded a wall of magma to rise between them.

‘Electric travel deemed predictable. Using alternative route.’ Beatrice kicked the air and flew off to the left, then expended the remaining twelve of her steps to rapidly circumvent the obstacle. Behind it, she found Arkeidos, mace ready to strike an opponent that would have manifested behind him.

The prepared attack turned towards Beatrice and then stopped as Momo appeared right in front of the Emperor. The tactician that had stayed out of range of combat this entire time was finally right in front of Arkeidos. For the first time, the Emperor seemed hesitant to strike. “You wouldn’t hurt me, right?” Momo asked with the bratty grin of a bewitching fairy.

Continued attacks by Momo’s Firefae and allies that she had buffed had accumulated quite a bit of the enchanting Psychic Damage. To convince the tyrant that Momo was an ally, that would have taken an absurd amount of damage. What had been achieved was enough for Arkeidos to stay his hand, confused by his own unwillingness to attack her.

Then Apotheosis Unleashed.

The first explosion of sin blasted outwards from Arkeidos’ form, a cascade of memories that filled the air like a fountain of glass shards. Perfect thrust against the side of his helmet.

Momo dashed backwards, before the limits of her charm could be tested. Left behind was the opportunity and a swarm of Firefae that buffed Beatrice repeatedly as she manoeuvred around Arkeidos.

Dropping out of the air, she ducked under a swiping strike. The second sin exploded from the Emperor’s body. Beatrice Sundered his chest plate, then turned to lightning. As the third sin scattered outwards, she manifested again behind him and hit his back with another Sunder. The fourth explosion made his response sluggish. Spending a single Reverse, Beatrice teleported one metre to the left and aimed at the same spot on his shoulder she had struck earlier. The mace cracked the floor open. Despite the weight of his fifth sin, Arkeidos immediately moved into a sideway swipe. Flawlessly, Beatrice placed both hands on the moving arm and cartwheeled over it. Another Sunder, then the sixth explosion. Separated by Arkeidos’ last attack, part of the platform behind Beatrice fell into the lava lake.

Even the tyrant could not keep his voice in as the seventh explosion burst out of his chest. The bindings of his armour were taxed to the point that the shards hung in clear suspension. Green cascaded out between them, a colour that overtook the red like the brown had before.

Arkeidos was unable to execute a single proper response as Beatrice dashed around him. She flew. She walked on the air. She teleported. Her Unsteady Limbs moved impossibly fast. At times, it looked as if she was there more than once. With absolute speed and absolute satisfaction, she delivered a rain of attacks that did not cease. Each well-aimed impact was sheer joy, increasing with each following hit. Each explosion of Crescendo was a renewed confirmation of the flowing combo.

The green vanished; Arkeidos’ speed returned. Beatrice was ready to disengage and used Chronoshift at full cost. She found herself behind Arkeidos. Time froze. Once again, all that could move were her eyes. One – she spotted a patch in the lava lake that had hardened. Two – there was a red Firefae to her right. Three – A hint of blue was manifesting in the red mist.

‘Road to victory recognized.’

Time unfroze. Immediately, Beatrice extended her arm to the Firefae. It vanished from existence, leaving her Physical Stats increased. With all the might she had, she charged forward. An explosion of lightning rippled outwards, just as she slammed Perfect’s tip into the borderline disassembled armour.

She put all her strength behind the attack and kept running. Stunned by the rebound of magic, Arkeidos could only take it, as the much smaller maid pushed him towards the edge of the platform. With rarely seen determination on her face, Beatrice let out a strained shout. With all she had to give, she pulled back and hit Arkeidos with raw power, throwing him into the lava lake.

Out of which a black-scaled hand tore. Immediately upon contact with the air, ice started to form upon the limb. Dragging herself out of the rock her presence created, Aclysia stared with absolute hatred at her Master’s enemy. “GIVE ME CLAIRE BACK!” she yelled in an unhinged voice and jumped up. Beatrice beat her wings. Momo charged a Darc Lance in the distance.

Blue flickers were removed and immediately replaced by purple ones. Beatrice’s satisfaction reached its peak, knowing they would be the fifth in a swift chain of eliminations.

Momo’s arcane projectile struck first. Then, Aclysia was in range with her dagger. The small weapon carved a line of shards out of the torso’s surface. The Cutting Flurry of katana and claymore followed swiftly, each further diminishing the mass. Lava stored inside the armour blasted out like thick blood.

Beatrice slammed down on Arkeidos from above, her spear lodging in his chest as they slammed down on the rock Aclysia had frozen together. It was just solid enough to withstand the impact. Excess energy rippled outwards, creating a massive ring that rolled outwards. Arkeidos swung his mace in one last desperate attempt. With Aid, Aclysia was right at Beatrice’s side. With True Block, she neutralized the attack.

The twin maids took a deep breath in unison. Ice and lightning cascaded out of their lungs. Madly laughing fairies descended, either to buff them one last time or to bombard Arkeidos with the energy bound in their tiny bodies.

Until the very last moment, Arkeidos attempted to rise, but the enchantments were now past the breaking point. The animating will could not be obeyed, while the shards of the armour fell off the whole. On one knee, the entirety of the armour collapsed, the crystals within bursting as they, hardened from the extreme cold smashed on the floor.