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Souls? Well, that made things a little more interesting, though Castle still being around meant that if it was Akiko's soul being swallowed it's at least happening at a slow rate. Which... was interesting. That had some odd implication's she'd have to thumb through later. Still, she shook her head and refocused herself. [color=hotpink]"Trust me, when I mean self defense, it means I'm dropping my pacifism for just a little."[/color] Her eyes flashed red towards Nephetos. The wolf chose a rough day to play with this cat.

[color=red][ Is it time to advance? ][/color] [color=hotpink]"Indeed. We're on."[/color]

She darted forward, taking advantage of the crabs to obscure her approach before she lunged forward towards Nephetos with aggression in her eyes, and for the first time it seemed like she had somehow approached with an intent to harm. What nobody but some gifted amongst the crowd could see, however, was a mighty slash from Castle streaming straight towards Nephetos that, to her and many others, would seem like an unseen force smashing into her when it hit. 

[color=hotpink]"You're an interesting foe!"[/color] Akiko chided excitingly, gripping her Purple Relic to pull a blast of air from behind Nephy to allow her another brutal swing with Castle that seemed to be right on target. [color=hotpink]"Definitely unexpected for a sheep in wolf's clothing!"[/color] 

She was about to go in for another blow before her eyes flashed red [color=ed1c24]once more[/color], instead resulting in her diving down below the surface of the water and dodging the incoming attacks. Why didn't she think of seeing a foe's attacks before when they practiced them?! That was an ingenious plan! Though for some reason the vision she saw was... oddly similar to this very fight. Huh. Noting for later. Regardless, as long as she played her cards right and kept being hard to hit, she could easily manage to dance toe-to-toe with Nephy.

[color=forestgreen][b]Meanwhile...[/b][/color]

[color=forestgreen][b]"As expected."[/b][/color] Hellsword scoffed, sinking down to the surface of the water and watching the crabs saunter towards the center of the arena, converging onto Nephetos and their summoner's position. He couldn't help but admire her handiwork. When Akiko was determined to do something, it seemed like she'd get it done in some way. Or maybe he was just being optimistic, and although that's rare, it was also possible. 

With nary a word, Hellsword commanded the crabs nearest to Nephetos to dive under, which they did. It was likely in an effort to help keep Akiko safe with her dive, though he wasn't sure how well that'd work. 

The crabs around the battlefield kept up their defense just fine. With them being unhinged, some managed to easily take down their encroaching forces, though others got a little overzealous and simply broke off their claw with a major swing. Thankfully, the spores leaked out, corrupting the other crabs in the process and making them go hazy as they started to mutate the same fungus. Hellsword couldn't help but laugh. Like it or not, his presence here was firmly established. Maybe that'd earn some points with Ira if she could see it.