096 AWAKENING OF LORELEI
Her words were met with fierce cries from her sisters, their morale unbroken even as the battle raged around them.
Suddenly, a new threat emerged.
A swarm of dark-clad figures poured into the fray, their faces hidden behind sinister skull masks. Wielding crescent blades that gleamed wickedly, they moved like shadows, their movements fluid and deadly.
"Malass, so you finally showed up!" Madoug yelled, his voice brimming with both fury and glee. "Cut those bitches down!"
Malass was like a blur, moving so fast. His crescent blades sliced through the air as he charged at Bara.
"Malass eh… your cock is my supper tonight", she screamed.
Their weapons clashed in a dazzling display of skill and speed. Bara's spears struck with precision, but Malass dodged each thrust with supernatural reflexes, countering with a spinning strike aimed at her throat.
Bara flipped backward in a graceful somersault, narrowly evading his lethal swing. "Not bad for a filthy cockroach," she taunted.
"And you're not too bad for a bitch in a skimpy skirt," Malass shot back with a twisted grin.
The two clashed again, their duel a deadly dance amid the chaos, neither able to gain the upper hand.
Across the battlefield, the Gullee soldiers discovered a way to counter the summoned scorpions. They brandished lit torches, driving back the shadowy creatures. Though the scorpions were impervious to heat, the bright light blinded them, causing them to shrink away.
Grangya watched with a satisfied smirk.
"See? My friends are more than capable of handling things here without me," she said to her angelic handler.
"For now," the handler replied, his gaze distant and thoughtful, "but how long can they hold out against this?"
Madoug's patience finally snapped.
"Must I do everything myself?!" he roared, slamming his fists into the ground.
At his command, a thick, unnatural fog rolled forth, spreading like a living thing. It crept across the battlefield, swallowing everything in its path.
"What the hell is this?" Bara shouted, her voice muffled by the encroaching mist.
Madoug's laughter echoed from the swirling haze. "This, my dear, is my Cloud of Lethargy. It will feast on your vitality, draining you dry."
The effects were immediate and devastating.
Kasshyek's soldiers staggered, their shields drooping, their weapons slipping from numbed fingers as the poison cloud reached them. One by one, they collapsed, unable to fight off the exhaustion that gripped them.
The summoned scorpions, sensing their vulnerability, surged forward, tearing into the fallen with gleeful savagery.
Even the indomitable Amara warriors began to falter.
Their once-lightning-fast strikes slowed, their movements turning sluggish as if they were fighting underwater. The assassins closed in, their crescent blades whispering through the fog, drawing blood with every swipe.
"Damn it," Bara hissed through clenched teeth, struggling to keep her footing.
Around her, the cries of her sisters grew weaker, drowned in the oppressive menace.
The tide had turned.
The defenders of Court la Mood were being driven to their knees, their strength sapped, their hopes dimming like the dying embers of a once-bright fire.
"You see? You're needed once again," the angelic handler said softly, his ethereal voice cutting through the chaos.
His eyes, filled with an unsettling calm, remained fixed on Grangya.
"No," Grangya hissed, her fists clenched tight.
"This isn't my fight. I won't—I can't—fight again!" Her voice trembled, a mix of fury and desperation.
But the battlefield did not pause for her protest.
In the distance, Princess Bara, battered and bloodied, collapsed to her knees. Malass's crescent blade had slashed across her shoulder, its deadly arc sending her crashing to the ground.
"No!" Grangya's scream pierced the air, raw and anguished, as she watched Bara fall.
"I love you!" Bara's voice rang out, desperate and defiant, a final declaration meant for Grangya alone.
Grangya froze, her heart shattering as memories she had long buried clawed their way to the surface.
King Jargue's final moments flashed vividly in her mind—the sight of him plummeting from the heavens, his voice an echo of heartbreak and command: "Go and live. Forget your pride."
"Arrgh!" Bara's scream pulled Grangya back to the present.
Malass's vicious blades slashed again, carving through the warrior princess's defenses.
"I will kill you," Bara spat, defiant but her strength was waning, her voice breaking as she collapsed. She was about to fall.
Malass grinned with savage glee, his eyes glinting with the thrill of the kill.
"I'll finish you," he hissed, raising his blade for the final strike.
The cruel arc of the weapon cut through the air, aimed straight for Bara's exposed neck.
In that moment, time seemed to slow.
"You must make a choice now", the angelic handler told Grangya.
"These scums have left me without a choice", she replied as fire flared across her eyes.
-----
Just as the blade was about to hit Bara, a radiant burst of light exploded between them. The force sent Malass staggering back, his weapon knocked off course.
All eyes turned to the source of the light.
A lone figure stood on the horizon, her form outlined by a blinding aura. The shadows of the battlefield seemed to retreat from her brilliance.
It was a petite woman, but her aura stood tall, her presence commanding. Her hair flowed like molten gold, and in her hand, she held a decorated hammer that gleamed with divine power.
"The Hammer of Truth."
"Why must you force me into this?" she cried, her voice both anguished and filled with fury.
"Lorelei! Lorelei has awakened to save us!" gasped the Amara warriors.
The women's voices were tinged with awe and disbelief. They had heard legends about the legendary Battle Angel Lorelei, their ancestral leader and her exploits. This was their chance to witness her in her full glory.
Even Bara, bloodied and gasping, stared in wonder at the transformation of her beloved Grangya.
This was the side of her wife she had only heard of from others.
Lorelei—the Battle Angel, the Goddess of Pride—had returned.
With a swift, earth-shattering strike, Lorelei's hammer came crashing down again.