"Nisa!" I shriek as Lady Sakurako's flame covered blade stabs her in the neck.
"Vio!" Nisa's voice calls out from far behind, "get away! Art of Puppets: Disguiser Puppet: Suicidal Explosion of A Hundred Birds!"
Nisa's puppets retreat to its owner. "Blood Wings!" I fly upwards. The puppet that I thought was Nisa turns into a hundred small birds, all of which explode simultaneously.
"She's not hit," Nisa asserts with a firm sense of composure. I nod quickly.
"I'll distract her," Nisa says, "prepare to finish her with a single strike."
"Understood."
Nisa grabs a green gemstone from her pouch. The gemstone turns into another puppet clad in emerald armor.
"Art of Puppets: Emerald Marionette: Poison Mist!" Green smoke seep out from the pores on the hands of the new puppet, covering the air.
"Art of Puppets: Emerald Marionette: Hail of Poison Daggers!" Poison coated daggers propelled from the chest of the puppet rain down on the smoke.
"Art of Puppets: Fire Marionette: Triple Flamethrower!"
"Blood Vortex!" I clap, a torrent of blood blitzing into the smoke.
"Blood Bone Serpent!"
Lady Sakurako's slim figure jumps to the sky unharmed. "Fire Dragon!" A gigantic dragon of fire appears from the sky, propelling itself unto us.
"Art of Puppets: Aqua Marionette: Water Dragon!" The puppet with blue garments waves its hands, summoning a flood of water that turns into a dragon. The two dragons slam themselves at each other, nullifying both. The puppet collapses to the ground with a thud.
"It's out of mana," Nisa mutters as the puppet returns to a gemstone which she tucks in her pouch.
"Do you have a puppet that can erect a barrier?" I ask.
"Only one."
"Plenty enough. Make sure she doesn't have any petals outside. I have a plan."
"Very well. I trust you."
"So, what else can you show me?" Lady Sakurako asks, her dagger on her hand.
"A lot. Blood Orb Bullet!" I eject small bullets of blood from my mouth, tearing apart a few of the petals. "Nisa, now!"
"Art of Puppets: Hawk Shield!" Nisa throws a black gemstone which transforms into a hawk. The hawk then dissolves, erecting a purple barrier in its place.
"Blood Mist! Dance of Bones!" Red mist fill the entirety of the barrier, bones protruding from the ground, impaling all inside.
"Gotcha!" I mutter as sounds of bones penetrating flesh fill the air.
"Gotcha who?" Lady Sakurako smiles widely, her aura becoming more grim, sending shudders down my backbone. The mist clears and I can see that my bones have impaled Nisa. I immediately retract the spell. The barrier is taken down. I jump back to the ground with Nisa.
"She switched place with me," Nisa explains, blood bursting from her wounds. "what an advanced spell."
Lady Sakurako leaps, her dagger aimed at my neck. My weak arm raises my blade in a feeble blocking attempt. She teleports behind me, my body too fatigued to avoid her slash on my shoulder.
"Ice Spikes!" Several ice spikes force Lady Sakurako to retreat.
"Darryl! Don't return!" I bark.
Lady Sakurako lunges at Darryl, who raises a blade of ice.
"Tornado!" Agatha's firm voice declares, her great windstorms repelling Lady Sakurako's advance.
"Lightning Slash!" Remi blitzes, her lightning coated dagger slashing Lady Sakurako's cheek, as she has let her guard down.
"Remi! Give me some lightning!" Joe orders, "Water Wave!"
Remi extends her palm, lightning mixing in with the water. "Be careful!" I warn. "She can switch with other people!"
And in that split moment, I feel as if a powerful force is grabbing me. I am suddenly in Lady Sakurako's position, a big wave of lightning enhanced water wall in front of me.
"Aakh! Cancel the spell!"
"Vio!" Joe and Remi shriek at the same time. The water blast stops.
Just in a split second, Lady Sakurako teleports in front of me, her dagger almost coldly plunging into me, only to be stopped by Remi's counter assault.
"I am your opponent!" Remi barks. "Lightning Bomb!"
Lady Sakurako casually ducks, dodging the giant thunder bomb. "Multiple Lotus Teleportation!"
"Thunder Dash!"
Remi and Lady Sakurako, moving at speeds tens of thousands of times faster than sound, engage in a blurry duel that I can barely track.
"Too slow!" Lady Sakurako mocks. She moves back and forth and Remi falls to the ground, covered in blood and gashes.
"Water Prison!" Joe entraps Lady Sakurako in a sphere of water while Remi stands up, wiping off the blood on her armor.
"Blood Chupacabra!" I clap, a giant dog mauling Lady Sakurako.
"Circular Flame Burst!" Lady Sakurako unleashes fire from her body, neutralizing the chupacabra.
"As expected, you're annoying."
A hot blade pierces my chest, its pointy end covered in red blood. Lady Sakurako swings her blazing dagger.
Ugh ... damn it ....
"Rotating Wind Blades!" Agatha interferes, forcing Lady Sakurako to duck.
Darryl comes to me and encircles my fatigued arm around his shoulders. He then grabs the hot dagger and pulls it out. "We'll pull out for now," he affirms.
"Leave this to us!" Agatha shouts, "Tornado!"
"Flame Bombardment!" Lady Sakurako fires several fire arrows at us. Darryl leaps from building to building, avoiding them.
"Sorry, but I can't keep up like this," Darryl says. He grabs my legs and carries me by my back.
A giant wave of water covers our retreat. Darryl jumps downwards to a makeshift hospital–a simple but gigantic tent.
Inside, a multitude of healers are healing John and Aelita, both unconscious.
"Impossible," I mutter, "they lost?"
I lay down uneasily on a pillow. "Too exhausted to fight properly, just like you, I imagine," Darryl says. He puts his hand on my stomach, transferring energy to me, closing my wounds.
"Don't worry, Vio, they'll be fine."
That familiar voice causes me to roll my eyes upward, facing Nala.
"Nala!" I gasp weakly, "you're here, too?"
Nala nods equally weakly, sweat dripping from her forehead. "I have to go back," I declare as I get up. The pain reappears, making me clench my chest.
"Don't," Darryl warns. Just as he says so, Remi, Joe, Agatha, and Nisa enter the tent.
"Huh? The battle's over?" I ask.
"Well ... how should we explain this?" Remi questions herself, "Lady Jessica took Lady Sakurako away."
"Who did what to who?"