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[color=hotpink]"Really, Kanbaru?"[/color] Akiko asked, not feigning any sort of fake joy or laughter, just speaking with pure disdain. [color=hotpink]"Are you [i]really[/i] doing this right now?"[/color] She took a step closer to Kanbaru, with full intent to let her have it, but she held her tongue and instead relaxed. Coincidentally, as she relaxed, a red flash of her eye indicated something... new.

[color=hotpink]"Bluey, respectfully, I think you're ignoring the... ahem, [i]dragon[/i] in the room."[/color] Akiko motioned her bloody and bruised hands towards the giant dragon made of darkness in the room. [color=hotpink]"Keeping the princess alive, despite any of your objections, is ideal for right now. Unless, of course you may be... jealous?"[/color] She let out a tiny smirk, Castle slamming through another fireball as the barrier held strong.

[color=hotpink]"And here I thought that you weren't capable of being jealous of the princess! Ohoho, how rich!"[/color] Akiko's hand curled smugly over her mouth, Hellsword turning to witness the full smugness with a shake of their head. [color=hotpink]"Though, maybe my heart can be so easily won. After all, her words, foolish as we both thought, [i]do[/i] seem to be working to our benefit."[/color] She turned to look at the dragon's struggling. Most people around here wouldn't think twice about Akiko's musings, but Kanbaru had the disadvantage of daring to come close to the cat's circle of influence.

[color=hotpink]"Well, I'm afraid I must be off! It'd be bad politics if a queen were to let a princess die, after all, regardless of the ears decorating her head!"[/color] Castle grabbed Akiko by the waist as she waved to Kanbaru, the queen taunting the whale into action as she was quite literally thrown into the fray, herself bulleting through the air and landing next to Riku on the monster's back. 

[color=hotpink]"Heeey Riku~."[/color] Akiko started, her legs turning into tendrils to latch onto this monster with. [color=hotpink]"I know you [i]reeeally[/i] care about Katie, but this monster isn't her anymore, and the only way we're getting out is getting this thing to destroy the Abyss. But, if it makes you feel better..."[/color] Akiko leaned over to Riku, almost tenderly so. [color=hotpink]"There will be [color=red]one chance[/color] to pluck Katie out from this thing and separate her from it as it explodes."[/color] Castle began to slam it's claws into the dragon, drawing impressive amounts of damage from it's form as Akiko continued to chat. [color=hotpink]"I'll let you know when, but for now, you dying isn't going to help anyone, much less me. So... whatever power you can unleash on this beast, please, do it. So we can all get out of here."[/color]

Hellsword, meanwhile, kept themself near Kanbaru with the barrier sill up. They looked over at the whale for a moment before making a simple statement. [color=forestgreen][b]"Bold choice, caring for that one. Far bolder to disagree, since she's seen through countless futures by this point."[/b][/color] 

They too started to work their magic as the abyss started to quake with some other presence. As if, somehow following behind them, the blue fungus that infected the crabs from the previous encounter started to sprout nearby, growing like a blanket of moss and mold throughout the battleground. It'd take a little time, but soon enough this monster would start feeling the influence as well. Maybe not overwhelmingly, but it'd hopefully at least contribute to the battle efforts to rile this monster up, maybe even destroy it.

[color=forestgreen][b]"Do us all a favor, Kanbaru. Put aside your Jester and realize she has a plan, yeah? She was doing what she always does - biding her time."[/b][/color]