Agripha struck first.
The Lambda shield extended outward like a crescent, spinning at impossible speed.
Every swipe sent arcs of redirected force across the cathedral, knocking floating debris into chaotic spirals.
Blyke and Arcee moved as one, dodging and weaving, trying to anticipate the angles where her shield would convert momentum into attacks.
Each step was measured, each movement calculated but the sheer unpredictability of the shield made every swing hazardous.
Blyke gritted his teeth. His earlier idea flashed in his mind.
He lunged as if going left, then twisted mid-air, swinging his gauntlets downward at an angle Agripha's shield could not immediately anticipate.
Sparks erupted as the shield tried to adjust, but the red energy deflected partially upward, leaving a thin window.
Blyke slammed both fists into the shimmering edge, exploiting the split-second misalignment.
Arcee followed immediately, rushing in with fluid strikes. She did not aim to overpower but to force Agripha to shift her positioning constantly, keeping the shield busy and creating openings.
Her kicks and spinning strikes carved arcs around the Lambda, pressure waves vibrated through the fractured marble.
Agripha countered effortlessly at first, her shield redirected every blow, but as Blyke's misdirection method layered with Arcee's relentless, precise attacks appeared in her rhythm.
A brief flash of scarlet energy radiated from Blyke as he timed another combination perfectly, forcing the shield to spin against two opposing vectors simultaneously.
The fight became a blur of motion. Blyke leapt across floating fragments, using the debris as steps to gain vertical advantage, punching and slamming into the shield from every angle.
Arcee moved under him, slicing diagonally, using the redirected force to propel herself into higher arcs.
For a moment, it was pure chaos... light bending, shields spinning, blows colliding in explosive flashes.
Agripha's calm began to falter as she had to redirect twice as often, her shield whirled violently to absorb both pressure points.
Blyke and Arcee pressed their advantage relentlessly, moving as a coordinated pair, each strike exploiting the slightest hesitation, turning the Lambda shield from an obstacle into a weapon against its wielder.
The tide of the fight shifted ever so slightly toward the duo, toe to toe with Agripha, neither willing to yield.
Blyke did not say anything but every movement hurt. His shoulder still burned where the Seraphim's beam had grazed it.
The scratch on his head throbbed in rhythm with his pulse beneath the bandage.
Everytime he did a move with high force, his ribs and head ached. He ignored it.
If I slow down, she controls the tempo, he thought. If she controls the tempo, we lose.
Across from him, Arcee drove forward with clean, precise aggression. Her strikes were not wild; they were surgical, of course.
A low sweep forced Agripha to tilt the shield downward. A follow-up palm strike redirected upward, forcing the Lambda to rotate defensively.
Agripha's eyes sharpened.
"You are an adaptive wreck." she said.
Then she changed her formation.
Instead of meeting individual strikes, she pulled the Lambda shield back toward her chest. The angular symbol expanded, its red circuitry brightening until the air around it began to hum. Blyke felt the pressure shift immediately.
"She's widening the output!" he warned.
Agripha thrust the shield forward. The redirected force did not emerge as narrow counters this time.
It exploded outward in a sweeping wave, an area-of-effect blast that ripped across the cathedral floor in a circular surge. Floating debris shattered mid-air. Marble fragments were pulverized into dust.
Arcee flipped backward just in time. Blyke crossed his gauntlets and braced, boots grinding into cracked stone as the wave hammered into him and shoved him several meters back.
Agripha did not stop. She pivoted and slammed the Lambda into the ground.
A second pulse detonated outward, layered with accumulated force from their previous attacks. The shockwave fractured the floor and forced both of them airborne.
"She's stockpiling our force." Blyke realized grimly. "Then releasing it all at once."
Agripha rose slightly above the ground, shield spinning faster, aura expanding violently.
"You insisted on close combat," she said coolly. "Now endure the consequences."
Arcee landed beside Blyke, steady but tense.
....
Across the fractured nave, Caius drove Henry backward with a barrage of compact, brutal strikes.
"Take action instead of calculating!" Cagaro snapped, darting in from Caius's blind side. "You always hide behind plans!"
Henry pivoted sharply, his arm swung a precise arc to deflect a descending kick. "And you are emotionally predictable."
Cagaro's jaw tightened. "At least I move!"
He lunged, blade flashing toward Caius's ribs.
Caius did not dodge at the incoming hit.
It felt like hitting reinforced steel. Caius's torso barely shifted. He grabbed Cagaro's wrist mid-motion and slammed him sideways into a floating column, shattering it on impact.
Marble exploded outward in a cloud of dust and shards.
Henry moved instantly, Astra slicing across Caius's shoulder with a normal edge.
The cut landed cleanly and closed almost immediately, the flesh knitting with faint crimson fissures.
"High-density reinforcement." Henry muttered.
Caius answered with violence. He stomped forward and smashed his fist into the ground between them. The cathedral floor ruptured.
A shockwave split the marble in a jagged line, forcing Henry and Cagaro to leap apart as debris launched upward like shrapnel. One fragment clipped Henry's side; another tore past Cagaro's cheek.
Cagaro rolled to his feet and charged again. This time targeting joints—knees, elbows, neck. His strikes were fast and relentless testing structural weak points.
Caius absorbed them. Each hit landed with force but failed to destabilize him. He countered with a sweeping backhand that sent Cagaro skidding across the fractured floor.
Henry reappeared at Caius's flank, Astra thrusted toward the spine. Caius twisted mid-impact and caught the blade between his palms.
For a second, raw power pressed against power.
Caius pushed forward, muscles tightening beneath the stretched fabric of his shirt. Henry slid backward under the pressure, boots carving grooves into stone.
"He's not just durable," Cagaro breathed, rising again. "He's built for sustained combat."
Henry pushed off the cracked marble floor and advanced toward Caius, his movement controlled and deliberate.
He didn't strike with Astra. He merely used it to maintain balance, guiding the energy of the fractured cathedral around him, letting gravity and debris aid his positioning. Caius met him halfway, shoulders squared, dark eyes focused.
The tension between them was palpable, a magnetic field of force waiting to explode.
Henry stepped back slightly, putting Astra away entirely. He did not need it to plan. The battlefield itself was a weapon.
Floating debris, fractured marble, broken altar fragments... all of it could become tools, barriers, or traps. He scanned the environment quickly, memorizing distances, angles, and potential lines of attack.
Every fracture, every unstable column, became part of the mental map forming inside his head.
Cagaro remained a few meters to Henry's side with cautious stance. His hands flexed over his weapons, ready to strike or react instantly.
He did not speak but the faint metallic noise from on bar iron bar and weapons echoed sharply in the cathedral's open void.
Each clang resonated against Caius's ears, and for the first time, a subtle shift appeared in the other's posture. Caius's hands rose automatically, shielding his head from imaginary impacts, his eyes narrowed.
He muttered numbers under his breath, almost rhythmically, as if calculating sequences, distances or remembering something.
Henry observed. Those reflexive reaction to the metal noise became data... The battlefield was more than stone and dust.
It was information and he intended to use it. His mind began weaving possibilities, considering the flow of energy in each swing, how Caius might respond, how the environment would amplify or hinder his movements.
Cagaro stayed alert, cautious, watching both Henry and Caius. He did not interfere, waiting for the signal or gap.
The two forces clashed repeatedly, fists, elbows and kicks collided. The metal noises from Cagaro's armor and weapons punctuated the rhythm, drawing reactions from Caius, giving Henry the insight he needed.
Henry's eyes scanned, analyzing, predicting, waiting for the perfect moment to manipulate the field and turn the terrain into leverage against his opponent.