The gritting from Alloy's swords landing on Peril was loud, full of sparks of power, and overall just an attempt to get into the shield. Her face was twisted, showing her bared teeth in her show of hostility toward Peril. Her eyes glared, the intensity clear on Peril's mind, but her malicious smile kept all she felt at bay from actual expression.
"You seem stronger now, do you feel like you have something against me??" She taunted.
"Ivy… give her back to me." She snarled.
"Your only option is to take her from me by force. Oh… watch out." She said, pointing to Alloy's right. As she turned, she saw a cheetah-figure, it was fast enough for her to only notice it the moment it reached her face. She saw its wooden paw already ready to hit her. Her eyes widened as a flash of blue light was all she and Peril saw, the cheetah had disappeared, and behind Alloy, Zed did too. The animated pile of wood was flung across the forest all the way back to the path that led to the forest. It burned due to Zed's use of his drift as the knights guarding the front watched it landing.
Meanwhile, Alloy tried slashing her way through the shield, every attempt blocked and repelled by the shield, the more she tried, the more she felt like the shield resonated with her. It didn't take long before she noticed the truth behind it. Peril charged toward her and kicked her through the shield, the particles literally extended with her kick so she could reach Alloy, but it wasn't the same vice versa. Alloy felt the kick in her gut, coughing as it threw her to a place already broken by the events happening.
"Alloy!! Are you okay??!!" Zed asked as he stood in front of Peril's shield. Her expression settling from her surprise of the king's speed and power.
"I'm pissed!!" She shouted as she removed the rubble of broken wood around her to stand up again. Suddenly, she gained more of a sense as to what was around her, the scent of blood, it had filled the air in that area, as she looked at her feet, the darkness of the shade of the trees had covered the splatters of blood laying around her. Her anger began exceeding its bounds, her bracelet's ebony shade dissipated past half, showing the amber that shone beneath it. Just above her, the thorned kareki's fist lay, it dripped Trogan's blood as it stood on a small puddle next to her.She couldn't hold it in any longer, her sword fluctuated again, she looked up to it noticing the massive daggers splayed around its knuckles, its wooden, splintered and still regenerating hand began moving, it noticed Alloy. The sounds of its large crackling wooden parts had began echoing through the forest as it rose again.
"Are you sure you don't want to go after her??" Peril asked Zed. "That thing is what caused your Syndicate scum's death. That poor angered lost girl will lose her life."
He smiled.
"I wouldn't have brought her here if she couldn't handle herself."Alloy crouched low, her body coiled like a spring, swords gripped tighter than ever before. Her stance was razor-focused, a storm of determination behind her eyes as she prepared to unleash something new. Both blades rested dangerously close to her neck, their polished edges reflecting the ambient light in a gleaming arc. Her left sword aligned with her right, an extension of her will. She locked eyes with the monstrous hulk of twisted wood before her. Her voice sliced through the thickened air as she chanted her move.
"昇る暁 (Noboru Akatsuki) — Rising Dawn!!"
She launched skyward, spinning with lethal grace and tenacity. The momentum of her attack tore through the dagger-length needles jutting from the kareki's gnarled form, severing its hand and entire arm in one swift, devastating strike. A hiss of frustration slipped from Peril, her tongue clicked against her teeth in irritation at Alloy's unexpected strength. But the beast wasn't stopping. Neither was Alloy. She pressed forward, her attacks relentless, her shadow-forged katanas, a blur of precise destruction is all that went through the beast.
Meanwhile, Zed, standing firm, turned his attention to Peril, his gaze sharp, his patience thinner than the air before a storm.
"Why are you doing this?? Why do you hate the Syndicate?? Why meddle here??" He inquired.
Peril exhaled sharply, her tone laced with exhaustion. "Because it is all her wish. I'm tired of repeating it."
Zed's expression hardened, the weight of his authority pressing into his next words. "Fine. Then disappear from my kingdom."
Without hesitation, he raised his right hand, fingers steady, gaze unwavering. With a swift downward flick, the command was given.
"偉大なる正義 (Idai naru Seigi) — Great Justice."
From above, two jagged streaks of lightning split the sky, tearing through Peril's conjured shield like it was mere paper. The electricity slammed into her, searing through cloth and skin alike. A loud groan of pain accompanied the sharp hiss that filled the air as fabric burned away, a raw, blistered wound scarring her neck. She crumpled to the ground, her chest rising and falling in ragged, labored breaths. Smoke curled from her skin as she shuddered, struggling to regain her composure.
Zed watched, eyes sharp, as her shield flickered, its strength waning, threatening to collapse entirely. Then, distant cries cut through the battlefield… a chorus of panic from the forest's edge.
Peril coughed, her voice rasping through the lingering static. "I think the cheetah you sent flying got up again… and your men are paying for it."
Zed's gaze shifted momentarily, taking in the hulking Kareki that had momentarily halted under Alloy's onslaught. The truth of her words was clear.
"Alloy!!" His voice carried urgency. "Her shield won't hold much longer. When it falls, you must defeat her and take Ivy. That beast will keep me occupied for a while."
Alloy's stance remained firm, her focus unshaken. "That's fine by me."
She turned, her boots crunching against the thin branches on the ground as she strode toward Perilius. Her rage simmered, steady but unwavering, the glow of her anger resting just beneath the surface—halfway up the bracelet that marked its rise. Her eyes, sharp as honed steel, locked onto the girl struggling to find her footing after Zed's devastating strike.
And then, without hesitation, she advanced.