It was the second time she faced off against Scorpio, but this time, he wasn’t alone. Gaius knew, full well, that the entire Plenum was comprised of the strongest men and women in the Eastern Territories, each of them a Paragon and a skilled fighter in their own right. He didn’t need to have Nexus’ confirmation — only Paragons would dare to have a meeting face-to-face with another Paragon. If one side was weaker than the other…well, negotiations wouldn’t be an accurate term.

He didn’t understand why Xanadu would strike under such a circumstance, but that was a question that could wait for after the battle…if she was still alive by then.

The battlefield at the centre transformed as the cloud of dust began to clear. Six spheres ballooned outwards, each of them a Dominion belonging to a member of the Plenum. There was only a small space left, an enclosed prison that only had Scorpio and Xanadu inside.

“Nexus,” said the boy, “can you get me some audio somehow?”

“Dream on,” Nexus replied. “I can’t nab normal conversations.”

Gaius mumbled something about an overly-specific utility tool hiding in his tunic, and then began to draw closer. He didn’t dare to fly for long — flying required the emission of energy, and the boy wasn’t going to bank on their lack of awareness at such a juncture.

Xanadu was the first to make a move. The blade in her hand, a weapon surging with blue energy, darted forward, and Scorpio attempted to sidestep it. Her wrist flicked over and over, changing the direction of the strike freely. The lackadaisical attitude of her attack was only belied by the fact that each of her strikes were meant to inflict fatal blows, limit Scorpio’s range of movement and to force him backwards.

“Damn, she’s good,” Gaius muttered.

Scorpio’s expression twisted slightly, and metal shattered as he used the sword in his left hand to block a downward strike. He turned his face in the brief moment of respite that block had granted him, enough for him to dodge Xanadu’s attack by a hair’s breadth. He threw himself into a roll, dodging the horizontal strike that would have bisected him if it found purchase.

The Phantom Blade was now standing with her back against the wall, but she wasn’t the one being cornered. Gaius had the feeling that the moment Scorpio tried to make a break for it or create some distance, Xanadu would close in at a speed never seen before.

Scorpio was clearly aware of this. Blue light flickered as Xanadu continued to attack leisurely — her unhurried strikes were more than enough to force the Constellation backwards, over and over. Gaius could see Scorpio attempting to create a new weapon with qi alone, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Xanadu, and her attacks began to focus on his left hand alone.

The Paragons outside, who had created this small arena with their Dominions, were paying close attention to the battle. They were probably waiting for an opportune time to strike — diving into battle to help another was dangerous without any prior knowledge of each other’s abilities.

It didn’t take long for Xanadu to corner Scorpio once again. The latter’s face was red, and even from afar, Gaius could see the Constellation struggling with the burgeoning fear inside him. The Phantom Blade’s attacks, through manner and form, were meant to induce terror against her opponent. Once they panicked…well, any reasonably skilled fighter would end the fight there and then.

The two stared at each other. Both of them were still, unmoving. However, unlike the evasive stance Scorpio had, Xanadu’s blade was held aloft, its tip pointing directly at her foe’s neck.

Outside of the impromptu arena, none of the Paragons dared to move either.

“What’s going on?” Nexus asked. “Why isn’t anyone moving?”

“The Paragons outside don’t dare to use their powers or to retract their Dominion. A wrong move, and Scorpio might give in to his desire to flee,” said Gaius. “Damn. Now I know why she chose to attack at this point of time.”

“By appearing in a manner that placed her exceptionally close to her target, none of the members of the Plenum would dare to unleash their wide-range attacks, because any attack strong enough to kill or maim Xanadu would have the same effect on Scorpio,” said the boy. “Pin-point attacks might work, but in the chaos of battle…it’s still very dangerous. Their best action, therefore, is to enclose these two within an impromptu prison.”

“I’m not sure how that works,” said Nexus.

“If Scorpio wins, everything is fine and dandy. If Xanadu wins, the others would have no qualms blasting that little patch of land into atoms,” replied Gaius.

“But now? Xanadu’s not moving at all. A precise attack should work, right?”

“It would also break Scorpio’s attention,” replied Gaius. “The Plenum’s members aren’t that close to Scorpio — they don’t know if he’d break or not.”

The pressure continued to mount. Everyone who was able to see the battle were now focused on the little signs, the non-verbal hints that would tell others who would break first.

Xanadu was shifting her stance slowly, gracefully. She was, in essence, holding Scorpio in check…and drawing closer to a checkmate. Her left hand, which had been freed from holding on to her weapon half a minute ago, was reaching towards her ranged artefact hanging on her belt slowly. She wasn’t making an effort to hide it, either.

“See that?” Gaius said. “Psychological warfare at its finest. Her sword, which cleaves through almost anything it meets, is bad enough. But now that Scorpio’s in a state where acting first is almost fatal, she’s taking out a ranged artefact. It doesn’t help that he only has one arm left, and the one who took the other is right in front of him. The fact that he’s still facing Xanadu directly is a testament to his willpower.”

“There’s far more to fighting than just beating each other up, eh?” Nexus asked.

“It’s not really a fight now,” Gaius replied. “It’s a predator enjoying her hunt now. Just what did Scorpio do to Xanadu?”

“We’ll ask that if we get a chance,” replied Nexus.

“Sure.”

Time slowed to a crawl as Xanadu levelled an artefact very similar to Gaius’ own Moonshot at Scorpio. There were a few ways for Scorpio to get out alive… although none of them were something the Constellation could do for himself. Whatever happened next would hint at the nature of the trade between Scorpio and the Plenum…but even then, that would rely on Xanadu’s next move.