Rumination, and planning—the swordsman and her friends recalled their fundamental experiences in the game for the battle that would commence. Although, it couldn't be helped for doubt to stir their hearts because of the otherworldly opponent in front of them. How could they fight against these self-proclaimed 'Demons' capable of achieving dumbfounding displays of impossible feats?

The white-haired woman in her red, studded leather armor and brown cloak held a cold glare that compliments her calm, and poise stance. Both of her hands remain steady on the haft of her Spontoon with her right hand forward, and her left hand near the shoe. It was directed at the obvious, teeth-gritters in front of her. Their morale seemed to tremble for simply imposing her calm and calculated bearing.

Arka, Halvund, Banelfsing, and Mikrim are also aware of their own mental limits and other restrictions the game has set upon them. Damage numbers and simulated equipment, virtual status conditions—it was clear that these certain variables would determine the most likely outcome that would come about at the end of this conflict.

She's still planning what to do on the initial start of the fight... This is what Arka thought.

She also can't help but be concerned that Lily stood on higher ground. This escalated terrain was enough to set disadvantageous conditions for her party being on a lower footing. One of these problems was attempting to even attack. In terms of reach, they are restricted to only aiming from below the waist of their opponent. Would trying to divert Lily's attention help then? They'll need a determined vital point to strike. Nonetheless, it would pose to be quite taxing—too demanding of their mental and physical capabilities.

And what about defense? It would be no problem for their opponent to simply reach out with her spear blade and land on vital points on their avatars. They will have to protect their heads too.

But more than that, the spearwoman, Lily, has discrete, physical advantages compared to the rest of them. There was a great difference in their abilities. So even trying to approach her was deadly in itself.

And that's why Arka and her party will have to rely on a certain formation they've made before entering the burning city. It was a formation where each has their own roles of how they will act accordingly each battle encounter.

The result at the end of this battle will be a matter of how they will efficiently work with each other's roles.

Lily began to move by slowly sliding her right foot forward, and lowering her body while maintaining the stance she held.

An unfamiliar stance, that looks like it's supposed to lower one's own center of gravity.

A split-moment thought shot through Arka's mind, and she immediately turned to Halvund.

"Hal—!"

"I'm on it!"

Halvund's role was to Tank for the party. Which means, he has to draw the attention of monsters away from his team and bear the burden of incoming attacks. He protects the party and ensures the best positions where they can attack at different angles.

The shieldsman quickly dashed in front of Arka with his Pavise bolstered in front of him.

And then—

The white-haired woman's spear struck hard and fast with Halvund's shield in the nick of time. However, this wasn't the best position for his party to strike at this moment.

The speed at which the woman sprinted from the stairs, down to Arka's party was a whirlwind. All took to cover their fourteen-meter distance was a mere two seconds.

It was ludicrous, as Halvund witnessed how his opponent made her move within that time frame.

Lily instantly followed up with a quick jab of the spear she held; baiting, and pressing him to drop his guard to retaliate—the shieldsman stayed resolute and unflinching at her attack.

Seeing that her opponent doesn't intend to fight back, Lily swiftly pulled her spear back, twirled it once clockwise, and swiped it to the right at her opponent; hooking the crossbar of her Spontoon on the edge of Halvund's Pavise.

Her attack intersected, forcefully shoving aside his shield arm and causing him to stagger sideways to his left. Due to their opposing stances, his chest was now exposed in a tight space between what protected him—enough for a determined kill.

An opportunity presented itself for a pinpoint strike. But just as she was about to aim for that critical hit, what greeted her next was the darkened-armored swordsman making a huge step forward from behind the shieldsman. She held her sword high, held in both hands, aiming to cleave Lily down to her left shoulder.

Arka's role was to deliver Sustained damage for the party. What this means in the game for her was that she has to keep being in the opponent's face, and persistently stay on the offensive to wear down her opponent. It was a pro-active role, most suited for the weapon she wielded.

Lily quickly withdrew her weapon in response as she saw the approaching swordsman, and held her spear up, high over her shoulder. Her lower hand was inches from the spear's shoe, and her forward hand even farther on the haft.

The swordsman struck Lily's spear haft, blocking Arka's downward sword swing.

She immediately followed up with a downward strike of her own, cocking the spear back for a stronger range of force and motion as a counter-attack.

The haft of her weapon slammed into the swordsman's helmet, knocking her down and dropping her hp to 72%

As Arka was knocked down, Mikrim saw this chance opportunity letting go of the charged arrow she pre-casted. Its bluish-white light ebbed and flowed, leaving its glowing trails from her bow, past her fingertips.

Able to cast exceptional, magic projectiles through the use of her bow, Mikrim was in charge of being the Burst Damage Dealer for her party. What this means for her in most encounters was that she will execute hordes of enemies with a flurry of magic arrows with each, arrow divided of its overall damage. She can also focus on boss-type enemies with massive, concentrated arrow shots. As a plus side, her knowledge of brewing different potions for her party allows her to support her teammates with different types of enhancements.

Not only can she manipulate her magic projectiles into different forms of arrow attacks, but she can also use them for healing. Until now, Mikrim was still discovering how far her magic abilities can cover.

A cumulative powerhouse—as Arka would put it. She considers her as the most powerful member among them.

The magic arrow suddenly stopped in the middle of its flight, and its light briefly intensified. It then split itself into multitudes in different directions.

Each arrow maintained in close, circular, proximity with each other before it soared in a colossal spin nearing its target. The moment was seized, and a chance of victory was close at hand.

Lily was of course, cautious of the magic archer that served as their main damage dealer. She saw her fire her pre-casted shot.

As the ensuing storm homed in on her, she quickly backed away from the party wanting to gain space and distance to defend herself. She began whirling her spear with both hands counter-clockwise in a stunning speed to both her flanks and over her head displaying her prowess with the weapon. While doing this, she stepped with each foot landing meticulous, elegant, steps like an unaccompanied, slow, waltz in a figure eight.

Dozens of arrows began to land; many of each, shattered on Lily's spear, inch-perfect with every deflection sounding a gust of air. Some cascaded past her by a hair's breadth as she went on with her unceasing waltz on the throne room floor.

No sooner did she end her dance with an immediate flick of her spear over her head to her side. Mikrim's storm came to an end.

Witnessing a clean display of maneuverability, the party was left awestruck as particles and fading traces of bluish-white light were all that remained at the end of it.

Lily's spear stood out as it reflected off the trails of light that emanated from deflecting the multitudes of homing arrows. What was eye-catching was her spearhead.

It was a 22-centimeter serrated spearhead where both sides of its serrated pattern was 1.5 centimeters deep. This serrated pattern reached until the base of the spear blade's tip. The steel spearhead itself was well-maintained with utmost care that tells the orderliness and care that the spearman preferred keeping.

Other than that, there were strange markings and symbols etched on the blade itself. Arka noticed this as she was half-kneeling on the carpeted, throne room floor. She presumed them to be runic engravings, unbeknownst to her for whatever they may mean.

Suddenly, Lily saw a flash of light shimmer at her peripheral vision—an impending danger warned by the fragments of bluish-white light that surrounded her. She spun to her left and threw over her brown cloak toward this figure in quick reaction.

Banelfsing's Kukri blades missed Lily, blinding him with the cloth. It was an unexpected piece of resistance the spearman has put up.

As the Assassin of the team, Banelfsing’s job was to secure the kill of both isolated and weakened enemies. He has not had any problems with this after the many monsters he has faced, until now.

For him, experience was the best teacher. He relied on this—it was a rule of thumb. Before he would take initiative in any task he partakes, he reviews.

However, what resulted at this moment dawned at him that it was to be a back-breaking mission. Against this intelligent opponent, experience can only go so far when facing someone who was unlike any mindless monsters he has faced.

Banelfsing has reached a breaking point.

Banelfsing's left leg was severed cleanly just below his knee after Lily swiped down at it with her spear. He began to fall back-first as the blood from his avatar splashed on the throne room carpet, further staining its already reddish color with the soul of men.

He couldn't believe what happened about the quick succession of events that took place. As he fell, he saw the white-haired woman in red, with an expressionless gaze as if she anticipated his movement.

Then, to his dumb-founded realization, did he realize that not only was his opponent physically superior to them, but also quick-witted. Truly, a veteran among warriors.

He landed on his back with a muffled thud cushioned by his white and green gambeson. And then, he felt the weight of Lily's spear dead-center, forcing its way through his already crippled avatar. Another strange, numbness as a void feeling in his chest surfaced. His gambeson, smeared of which reminded him of his mortality. He watched his hp drop, in quick increments in disbelief.

Mikrim cried out for him, as Arka and Halvund froze stiff on their kneeling positions watching Banelfsing finished off by this spearman.

He dropped the daggers he held. "That wasn't a smart thing I did..." he said to himself, realizing his mistake as he stared at the high ceiling in vex.

He grasped with both of his hands on the spear that Lily held in a reverse grip plunged into him. His avatar continued breaking down.

Try as he might with all his physical and mental strength coded in his virtual body, the spear Lily held just wouldn't budge.

He felt like the more he struggled, the faster it was he was bringing his own avatar's death.

"Ara... no matter what... you have to beat her!" He shouted, as he laid on the ground, still struggling impaled by the weapon.

"Ban...!" Arka called out to him.

He couldn't let bygones and regrets be the last things he said. He still tried pushing the spear away that was plunged deep into his chest, and crunching up to see his party just beyond his avatar's feet.

"Listen, we have to finish what we started...! It's the only way we know how to get to the gist of things...!"

Banelfsing's avatar began to glitch and crackle, and his vision began to darken and blur at the sight of his party. His avatar's body just couldn't take the punishment much longer.

"Ara, it's up to you guys now...!"

His virtual body finally broke and dissipated in a digitized form on the throne room floor.

What was left was the spear Lily held after that. It was plunged into the grand carpet on a distinct, bloodied spot where Banelfsing's avatar died.

Lily pulled her spear out, whirled it once to flick away any splotch of blood, and then held it in handshake grip that was lowered in her left hand.

"We will, Ban..." Arka said as she slowly stood up, still recovering from the rattling blow of Lily's overhead strike.

Lily suddenly spoke, "Your friend trusts you a lot," She turned to the remaining trio.

"T-That he does... and I trust him the same," Arka said.

"I see..." Lily brushed a part of her bangs that was covering her one eye to the side. "Trust is a valuable thing, yet quite fragile. I believe you wouldn't let his death be in vain, would you?"

"We don't intend to run away now after we've gone this far. So, we won't betray him... but why do you care about that?"

Lily looked down to the side and she pondered... indeed, why did she ask?

For a brief moment, Arka thought she saw a person who has lived a long, life of hardships, trials, and many battles.

"A dying warrior's last words to their comrades is a special testimony. Moreso, if it's a vow made between them... It's a pact," she said.

"Though his death may only be temporary, you've honored him. For that, you should be certain to fulfill your end of the promise you've made... otherwise, another acceptable way of fulfilling this oath would be dying on the same battle, afoul."

She readied her battle stance once again.

"Now, fight me,"

She stepped her right foot forward and bent her knees. She gripped her spear with her right hand holding it at the center of the haft, and her left hand near her spear's shoe, hip-level.

Arka was taken aback by Lily's sensible philosophy about fallen warriors and oaths. To state such beliefs with a code—it was obvious to assume that she's lived her life always fighting.

She was a soldier.

It was clear now that simple, tactics and strategies wouldn't be the best way to handle a battle-hardened veteran like her. They will have to try and gamble on a bolder approach.

Lily made another blinding steel charge at Arka and her party.

"Damn...!" Halvund once again reacted in time, blocking Lily's high-speed strike. "I won't let you...!" He roared.

"Your shield..." Lily spoke. "A peculiar equipment of choice to only carry with you."

Halvund ignored her, as he was getting impatient. With seething rage building up, he pushed the spearman who hardily stayed her spear on his shield. Both hands were already gripped on the brace. He was distancing Lily inch by inch away, with strong, shaky, forward steps.

"Krim, we don't have much time," Arka called Mikrim behind her who was just about to prepare another charged shot of arrows. "I have a plan!"

As Lily was being pushed away, she made another quick jab of her spear with one hand—hopping back and leaning forward to stop his advance. It clashed with Halvund's pavise, echoing a powerful, clamoring force of metal throughout the throne room.

"Wow..." Stan commented as he sat with Tyr who was about to finish preparing the portal for their next destination.

Halvund felt the weight of her attack. Her strength was just unexpected. He almost fell backward, only to smoothly regain his composure.

Lily followed it up with another series of seeming, unrelenting attacks. She swiped her spear to her left, then to her right, diagonally and overhead—but Halvund kept his guard. He persisted in blocking them, echo by echo, crash by crash; all the correct reactions and directions of each strike.

He was feeling the mental strain that was beginning to exhaust him, but he was also getting used to her attacks.

He was noticing a pattern.

In the middle of her assault, he finally struck back with an attack of his own by quickly bashing in with his shield.

Lily backed away—distancing herself from the shieldsman with her back turned, and her spear pointed at him holding it at head-level.

She was impressed at Halvund's appropriate response to her seeming, unending onslaught.

"So, the shield wall does bear fangs," she said with the same serious look since the beginning of their clash. She then turned to face him, now holding her spear in a forty-five-degree angle like a sword—her rear hand even lower on her spear haft.

Halvund rushed over to her, headstrong. He yelled a battle cry of his own, drowning the throne room walls with his shout. He closed the distance between them, and with all his might, he made a heavy swing with his pavise with one hand.

Lily stepped to her left—lowering her stance and immediately made an upward thrust; stabbing Halvund through one side of his unguarded stomach.

He felt a strong, numbing sensation that was concentrated on the area that Lily stabbed on his body. He felt a sudden weakness, stopping his next shield swing—A flash of second thoughts.

Halvund swung his shield once again, even slower... Lily effortlessly backed away now, familiar with the reach of the shieldsman.

Still seethed with rage, the shieldsman tried approaching her once again. However, he suddenly dropped down on a knee. An uncomfortable sense of orientation overwhelmed him, he felt like the ground he stood on was spinning, and his vision was fading—strong confusion coupled with nausea

"Not feeling well...?" Lily said.

The injury on his side still felt numb. Halvund believes that he can still keep fighting. What was making him stop though?

"I stabbed your liver... a vital part of any living being where damaging it is enough to cause confusion and weakness," she said with her spear lowered on her right hand.

Halvund wanted to vomit now. His knees went weak, with only his shield left to support his balance.

"You've fought well," Lily said as she turned to face her next opponent.

Lily returns her focus at the swordsman. Arka was was already making a beeline towards her. Only a few feet of distance remained. There was no time for Lily to make another clear-cut move of what she intends to do. She can only guess, or react.

Lily moved her spear and blocked the swordsman's horizontal slash. After this successful defense, she assumed the swordsman would stop to respect her next move for a crucial blow of her own.

However, Arka did not relent. Perhaps she has gotten impatient by now.

Arka followed up with another horizontal strike on the same side, only for Lily to block it once again. Then, an overhead strike that was simple enough for her to see. She can still react as she obstructed this blow with her spear quite plainly.

Her attacks were readable... Lily was suspicious. Was this really the opponent who Stan fought reacting to their high-speed attacks?

The swordsman kept on with her assault. Lily felt no pressure. She knows that striking now would just let the battle end with both of them in a draw. A clean opportunity for a counter-attack should present itself soon.

It intrigues her how the swordsman decided to keep persistent at her approach though. Was it the idea of a temporary death and how little consequence this had on her which explains her fearlessness? Perhaps she has realized the urgency of this fight they were having right now.

Still, Lily had the upper hand in terms of physical abilities. She was confident in herself that she will slay the swordsman before her.

An obvious human mocking beings like her... It still bothers her—it was impossible that they can both fight and react at the same time. She recalled defeating two of her own human comrades being clear and convincing proof enough of this.

As the swordsman continued with her unceasing sword strikes, Lily finally noticed the timing of her attack pattern. An opportunity presented itself. She thrust her spear quickly near head-level towards the swordsman's chest.

Unthinkably, Arka grabbed onto the spear blade, piercing her hand. Her certain death was hindered once more.

She kept grabbing it, moving it away from her body to avoid further injury as her HP dropped to 54%.

Perplexed, Lily pulled her spear away from the swordsman and hopped back, drawing further blood from this reckless opponent. As she opens their distance, Lily made a quick thrust toward the swordsman's exposed thigh... but the swordsman deflected her spear strike as she swung her sword at this in return.

Again, another display of dead-on reaction... Perhaps she was wrong about her prior assumptions of underestimating this swordsman.

She held her spear at hip-level pointed against her.

Arka committed for another slew of attacks.

Lily had enough of this. She traced the direction of the incoming horizontal slash swung by Arka and suddenly, they were neck to neck; pushing each other's weapons down to their throats.

Arka persists on obstructing her sword in the way of Lily's spear situated toward her. She used both her hands, including the radius of her arm bearing the disfigured hand that was wounded terribly. The blood from it continued to spill out.

"Foolishness," Lily barked at the swordsman upon seeing her injury. Arka's hand was ruined... almost unrecognizable as some of her fingers partially dangled behind her darkened, armored gauntlets. Blood dripped out uncontrollably.

"You've let anger blind you,"

"I haven't..." Arka told Lily, struggling in locking weapons with her strenuously. "I still... have a cool head..." her weapon hand shook.

"Is that so..." Lily said as she realizes Arka's rough, and reckless swordplay. "Then your approach to fighting treads on dangerous waters, unless..."

They continued locking weapons with each other. Arka's hands shook, and her feet were sliding away on the floor due to the overwhelming strength her opponent illustrates.

Arka finally shouted behind her, "Krim... now!"

As Lily heard her opponent signal for the magic archer to shoot, she took the initiative of quickly shoving Arka's weapon aside in a burst of strength; and striking her with the shoe of her spear staggering her backward. She followed it up with a powerful downward strike after winding her spear back, aiming for her head.

The incoming force that it brought was enough for a decisive kill. Possibly, splitting her avatar's head in two.

In those milliseconds, Arka forced herself to move away with a blindly raised sword, hoping to avoid the incoming attack from smashing into her helmet.

However, Lily cracked through Arka's flimsy defense. Her spear blade clinked with the tip of the swordsman's blade, as it ensued to brutally smash through her armor.

It disconnected Arka's left arm with her ruined hand.

Arka was cutting it close. She felt herself tense up after Lily's wicked blow. The sliver of life she had left on her HP bar was not reassuring.

Meanwhile, Lily kept herself collected despite this fluke of her intended attack resulted from a slightly missed inclination.

After that—

A bright, green light instantly came to view from the magic archer, a few feet behind the swordsman.

It was Mikrim's magic arrow speeding toward Lily. It left trails of its illuminating magic behind.

Lily prepared to defend herself from this. She wanted to let her current momentum from her recent attack loft the swordsman's head clean-off, and deflect the incoming arrow attacks.

She raised her spear, but the swordsman persisted in moving toward her in a leaning fashion— her sword forward.

Apparently, her opponent didn't care about the incoming arrow. It was a suicide attack from the beginning.

An error in judgment, and a mistake in movement. She was obviously overwhelmed with numbers despite all of her physical prowess.

Lily, however, knows that she can still react to this setup. There was still time for the approaching arrow zooming toward her.

To do that, she had to make a choice between the arrow and the swordsman. Which one should she strike first? What was closer toward her?

The swordsman... and so, she chose the latter.

She lowered her spear—

—Arka's sword burrowed into Lily's stomach, cleanly passing through her red, studded leather armor. Then, the arrow closed its distance hitting Arka's avatar

Her HP came back instantly from 3% to 59%

Turns out, the arrow Mikrim shot was actually a healing arrow. The plan she and the swordsman planned worked.

Arka then felt a strange sensation starting from her shoulder; Digitized grids began to take shape in the form of her missing arm. Her arm was coming back in place.

Halvund was surprised—more magic unbeknownst to him. Just what was the extent of the magic archer's arsenal?

He felt one of her arrows hit him as well, losing the sense of confusion, and nausea thereafter. Even his stomach injury disappeared.

Arka pursued onward at the impaled spearman, pushing her back toward the staircase whilst her severed arm came back. Slowly but surely, her previously severed arm now held on her sword's handle.

She kept going at impaling Lily with her until they reached the foot of the staircase, and then pulled the 40-inch blade out of the spearwoman, making her drop to her knees.

She disarmed her of her spear. It fell on the ground as its metal sounded in the still, dead, air of the throne room littered of the scattered corpses of armored guards.

Lily looked down, as she covered her bleeding stomach with one hand. She felt the dull and aching pain. "So, you've realized it, haven't you...?" She had difficulty in speech, as blood began to leak out of her mouth. "You don't feel pain in that body... all you feel is a certain numbness..." She coughed as its iron-like taste retched to her throat.

"To exploit it like that, just means your bravery is false, masked behind that 'avatar' you humans call it ..." She removed the hand that that covered her gaping wound, and looked at it, mesmerized...

"Such, cowardice..." She said this with shaking fingers.

Arka couldn't help but think that she could be correct... There was no consequence with her sacrificing her limbs. There was no pain, and she can regenerate them in minutes... Could her bravery just be the result of that?

Don't our actions speak the kind of person we are?

These thoughts raced her in a flash, but they didn't matter at this moment. "I need answers," Arka told her, as she pointed her sword at Lily. "What did you guys do exactly? Just what's about to happen?" She said demandingly at her incapacitated opponent.

"Again, with the needless questions?" It was Stan who answered, as he approached, and stood tall above the staircase.

He continued, "As we've said, we've already had our plans set in motion for all this... sequence of events. You, intervening on our mission was futile. What did you hope to gain?"

He made sense... but Arka knew to herself he was wrong.

He should be wrong... things can't end for her and her party on such a dire note.

She demanded, "I hope to gain that you will tell me how to stop everything that happened," She threw a hand to a side, expressing her impatience. "Look, here! We've beaten one of your comrades. Do you want us to get to you next?" She pointed her sword at Stan as she told her proposition.

Arka didn't mean to exclaim it actually. Arka was hoping to avoid any more trouble. She quietly thinks to herself she was bluffing.

"Hoh?" Stan voiced out, with a smirk. He was amused by Arka's reaction. Even more, the hesitation in her words. He was always good at understanding people. And so, he continued to smile... unintimidated, and nonchalant. "A bold statement. Although, I beg to differ... Who said you've already beaten her?"

Hearing this, Arka suddenly remembered—

Lily suddenly stood up from where she knelt making Arka back away in surprise.

She already recovered!? Arka thought. She was sure after all that she struck a fatal and hard blow at her opponent.

She gripped her sword, spread her feet apart, ready in her battle stance. She stepped back slowly whilst facing her opponent amidst this turn of events.

Suddenly, in a rapid sequence; strange, white, rhombus-shaped materials began to burst out of Lily's studded, red leather armor and skin; tearing and breaking her flesh. Bio-luminescent growths began to appear on these white materials and other parts of her body.

Arka saw this white material... they were scales. It continued creeping up with the bio-luminescent pink growths expanding from Lily's back in a repeated sequence, intended to cover her body for protection.

"Arakar!" Mikrim shouted as she and Halvund began running up to her from behind.

"W-Wait!" Arka shouted back at Mikrim, making both her and Halvund stop in their tracks from a ten-meter distance. "Stay back! She's—". Arka choked, watching in disbelief.

Eventually, Lily's body was covered in her white scales, acting like a protective layer, up to her cheeks.

It left her face and head exposed, as a thick mass of black nerves became present up to her jaws. The sclera in her eyes changed to black upon blinking. This emphasized their yellow lenses further. Her arms until her elbows were also covered in these white scales; leaving her shoulders exposed.

Lily picked up her etched, serrated Spontoon, as her metamorphosis continued. She began contracting her back muscles, and stretching it... sounds of bones breaking and snapping resounded within her that echoed in the throne room. It perturbed Arka's party to watch.

Two pairs of ligaments suddenly grew out on her back forcefully, as if a foreign organism clawed its way out of her body. They had the same, white scales and bio-luminescent growths of pink lights all over.

These ligaments were a part of her. Blood burst out at her back as these ligaments stretched and withdrew like she was freeing and making sense of the feeling of having them.

As it made one, final, stretch, the swordsman realized that they were wings.

A single arching horn sprouted forward on the left side of her forehead, with another pair that looked prematurely grown. Lily finally looked at Arka, whilst holding her spear in a handshake grip pointed down on her side.

Arka couldn't believe it... it was as if she really was—

"As I said before," Stan reiterated.

Lily began to walk towards them.

"We're Demons," Stan concluded.