Peony wasn’t sure if she was helping or not. The Arms Master was deceptively quick and kept darting away from where the Flux landed. She liked to think that was at least distracting her but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Boar from attacking.

It was enough for the shield wielder to grow tired of her and hurl a particularly large meteor at the sword wielder. Peony’s eye grew wide and she backpedaled to the side. It was still too close. She held Plunging Tesseract in a guard stance between her and the rock. Even being clipped sent her flying, skidding against the ground before landing in a puddle of shimmering Flux.

A part of her was terrified, this was the first real taste of combat she had experienced yet paradoxically, that part felt distant, detached. Strange and a little concerning, but she didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it.

She staggered back to her feet with the help of her sword, sending ripples across the impossibly deep puddle. Liminal Tesseract wasn’t as good as a proper shield but having a layer of separation between her and the burning rock spared her from serious burns. The impact did little to protect her non-transmuted arm and side when the blade was forced against them. There would no doubt be a nasty bruise but she didn’t think anything was broken.

By the time she recovered, it looked like the battle had turned in their favor, the Boar was getting hammered from multiple angles and her composure was unfurling. Yet, Peony frowned. Maybe it was a dangerous feeling, but she pitied Feng, she wasn’t built for this. She had a powerful Noble Arm and was their enemy besides but she was essentially sent out to fight, and potentially, die alone in a foreign country she was told to despise. Would that be her fate?

She shook the thought free and yanked her sword from the floor. Her resolve didn’t waver, she wouldn’t be consumed by the Arms Master and she wouldn’t let those trapped within remain sealed even if her contributions in freeing them would ultimately be minor.

The blond haired Arms Master was doing… something with portals while the rest were getting in position to attack if whatever she was planning didn’t work out. Ultimately, she would fall in the latter group, she couldn’t risk inflicting Flux upon one of her comrades at a critical juncture and she had no idea how Liminal Tesseract would interact with portals. All she could do was stand by and prepare just in case Feng tried something desperate.