"This is Dawnbreaker," came the reply to Hibiki's request for Eos' assistance.
"Arcadia is a largely unknown territory. I'm analyzing all available data at this moment. It seems that the terrain is incapable of providing any immediate advantages. Keep your current tactics and work with the other units to eliminate the most dangerous targets.""Ni-Mu, Tatiana and Bastion have been dispatched to the battlefield as well, make good use of their capabilities. However—" the Machina Queen paused her instructions for a moment when her sensors detected a situation she didn't expected to happen at all.
"A target as dangerous as Eclipse Princess joined the battle on the Demons' side, my sensor indicate that she's the new Ruler of Hell, Ira. Avoid her at all costs until you have clear battlefield advantage." Eos transmitted the coordinates of Ira's current position to Hibiki, before finishing her message with,
"That's all the information I have at the moment, work with the other units to uncover more intelligence. Return this transmission later and I may have additional data. Dawnbreaker off."Victoire Bordeaux, the Bloody Countess
It seemed that the battle was well underway at the point when the very own recently self-crowned ruler of Hell herself joined it. While Victoire wasn't personally interested on the results of such a petty dispute as the one recently going for the Demon's throne, a small skirmish, after such a long retirement from the fields of battle certainly would be an appreciable change of pace for the vampire.
"And, if that army of buffoons wins, I'm certain that the spoils would be pleasing," Victoire said, setting aside her current tea cup and teleporting to Arcadia by her own means, since she had... other plan on how to conduct battle.
"My King and other esteemed companions, I shall assist you on this battle if you so do wish," Victoire said telepathically to all the other Demon troops on the field, while comfortably seated on a garden table, under the shade of the canopies of a pine groove, in ne of the most retired islands.
"Let us test the effectiveness of those new Celestial troops. However, before that— Avaritia, forget your petty games and focus your heaviest attacks on the Angel Zeruel and then on the Machina Titan Grafdakka, our first priority is to take them down. Try to not engage them under any circumstances, your talents should be better used in hit and run tactics. Do this for me and I'll really reward you with something worthy of your time~""My King, if you be as considerate as to give ears to this humble vassal's words," Victoire's tongue certainly was honeyed today, a sign that she was invested in not make this battlefield incursion a loss of time. From her perch she could not only get a clear visual of nearly all of Arcadia, but also her other powers revealed details that most eyes failed to catch, such as a lone straggler, seemingly unaware that this was war and not a picnic. Certainly, they needed to do the courtesy of remembering her, right?
"There's a lonely straggler, skulking away in an island not so far away from your position. They seem to have gone largely unnoticed, but they cannot fool my heritage powers. They should be an easy pick for My King, if you so do wish, otherwise I suggest engaging on the fight against the primary targets as well.""Now, it's time to spread distrust, divide..." Victoire said as she blew a handful of demon rose seeds to the wind,
"and slaughter." The Blood Countess' lips took the shape of a cruel smirk as she set her schemes in motion while remaining incognito, thanks to her undead nature making her all but impossible to detect if she were not engaging in her usual flashy displays of power.
Ni-Mu, the 2201st Prototype
Not long after the combined attacks of the Mecha Maids and Grafdaka, Zeruel would be assaulted by yet another Machina, testing how far his defenses could last.
"Barrel Full-Open, Blade Creation, Continuous Burst, Fire!" None but Ni-Mu, said as she opened fire, unleashing a barrage of swords that thoroughly eclipsed the power she demonstrated at the Alchemist's Challenges. The android was perched atop a ruined column several islands away from the clash of titans, holding a bow made with the same projection power as the blades which bombarded Zeruel at this very moment, most of which burst into countless pieces of penetrating shrapnel whose main purpose was to weaken his defenses for what was to come.
After Hohenheim's tampering of her body and the maintenance ordered by the High Queen, Ni-Mu was progressively closer to her final sages of power, that is, becoming a perfect Artificial Valkyrie. Yet, at the moment, she was still mostly the same as before, but Ni-Mu's new found self awareness and powers would prove to be a big asset for the Machina this time around, as it would become obvious very soon.
"Nova 01, Lunatic 01, turn around for another strafe, I'll make sure the target's barrier won't hold it this time," Ni-Mu said to Hibiki and Shizuka, before using her projection powers to create a copy Juno's sword,
Raison d'Être, loading it on her bow. The space rending blade was thereby turned into a projectile with the ultimate penetrating power of Eclipse Princess' attacks. Whether it was block or not, the blade would implode into a miniature black hole as soon as it reached its mark, which wasn't going to be that hard given that it cut through the very space to do so.
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