Lysira reacted immediately, her body snapping backward with another Vein Step, but the swarm followed, clinging to her cloak, her blade, beginning to eat through material with a faint, grinding hiss.
"Lysira," Vaelira called out, her voice tightening.
"I see it." Lysira slashed the edge of her cloak free without hesitation, letting the corrupted fabric fall as she moved again, but the swarm split, portions redirecting, adjusting, seeking new contact.
Vaelira stepped in, her hand snapped forward, and the shadows around her condensed violently into a singular point before erupting outward in a concentrated pulse—Null Pulse—an ability that didn't simply push, but disrupted. The wave tore through the nanites, scrambling their cohesion, forcing them to drop inert as their programmed patterns collapsed under the interference.
"Don't let them touch you," she said, her tone sharper now. Lysira nodded, already moving again. The constructs pressed harder.
Their formation shifted, tighter, more aggressive, plasma fire intensifying as suppressive bursts forced the sisters into constant motion, while additional units advanced with measured steps, closing distance with calculated pressure.
Vaelira changed tactics. Her shadows no longer spread wide. Instead, they condensed, forming a second layer around her body before extending outward into jagged tendrils that moved with her, reacting to proximity rather than command. Umbral Bind.
A construct stepped too close. The tendrils lashed out instantly, wrapping around its limb and tightening with crushing force, the reinforced plating groaning as pressure built before snapping inward, the arm tearing free from the body with a burst of sparks.
Lysira used the opening, her movement syncing with Vaelira's control as she slipped through the gap, her blade finding weak points with relentless precision, each strike deliberate, each motion calculated to dismantle rather than overpower.
For a moment, they held but then the constructs adapted again.
Cloaking fields flickered to life. Not full invisibility, but distortion—enough to blur outlines, to shift perception just enough that timing faltered, that reactions came a fraction too late.
That fraction was everything. One construct slipped through Vaelira's outer defense, its cloaked form resolving only as it entered striking range, its arm already in motion as it drove forward—
---------------
Lysira saw the shift in formation before it fully happened, the slight misalignment in Vaelira's position, the way the constructs adjusted their angles not toward her, but around her, and she moved immediately, Vein Step snapping her forward in a short burst meant to intercept, but the timing was off by a fraction that mattered more than anything else in that moment, because another construct slipped through its cloaking distortion behind Vaelira, its outline barely registering before the shoulder emitter charged and released at point-blank range, the plasma blast hitting clean and direct without interference.
Vaelira's body stiffened under the impact, not thrown back, just locked in place as the energy tore through her back and disrupted everything at once, her shadows collapsing instantly as the control behind them failed, her breath cutting off mid-motion as the force passed through her.
For a brief second she remained upright, like her body hadn't yet processed what had happened, then her knees gave and she dropped, the movement abrupt but final.
"Vaelira."
Lysira closed the distance without thinking, her blade already moving as she cut through the nearest construct with a strike that ignored efficiency, driving straight through reinforced plating with enough force to destabilize its frame before she reached her, catching her before she fully hit the ground and pulling her just enough to keep her upright.
Vaelira's eyes shifted, unfocused at first, then settling briefly on Lysira, awareness flickering in and out without stability. "That… wasn't supposed to… happen," she said, her voice uneven, lacking its usual edge.
"Stay with me," Lysira replied, the words coming quickly, more out of habit than thought as she adjusted her grip.
"You always… say that."
"Because you never listen."
There was a small movement at the corner of Vaelira's mouth, something close to a smile but without strength behind it. "…guess not…"
Her gaze lost focus again, not abruptly, just gradually, the tension leaving her body as whatever held her there faded completely.
Lysira didn't move for a second after that, her grip still firm, her posture unchanged as if holding position would delay what had already happened, her mind not catching up immediately, not reacting the way it should have given the situation.
The constructs continued.
One advanced directly toward her, its movement uninterrupted, its targeting already recalculated. Lysira saw it approach, registered the motion, but didn't respond in time, and the first strike landed across her side with enough force to break her balance and send her sliding across the floor, her body hitting hard against the wood and debris, the impact forcing the air out of her lungs in a short, involuntary exhale.
She tried to push up immediately, her arm shifting under her weight, but the delay remained, not physical, just enough hesitation to slow the response, and the constructs didn't allow space for recovery. Another unit closed the distance, its arm already raised, its movement direct and efficient as it stepped into range and brought the strike down without pause.
This time the impact connected cleanly, cutting off any attempt to reposition or counter, and the force drove through her fully, disrupting what little control she had regained. Her vision faltered briefly, then collapsed, the last thing she registered being the continued movement of the constructs as the room fell into darkness.
*clap* *clap* *clap*
"Wow...this is what happens when your not a stone cold assassin and still have emotional ties, you can't get the job done because your too worried about other" Daruis said as he reappeared next to the Lysira.
He crouched next to her and continued "But don't worry....I'll fix that for you"
--------------------
The warehouse remained sealed within the dark sphere, its boundary still holding steady, isolating the aftermath from the rest of Eldor without drawing attention from those beyond it. Inside, the constructs moved with mechanical efficiency, their earlier aggression gone, replaced by a quieter process of securing the space, scanning for movement, confirming the absence of further threats. The fight had ended cleanly, and to them, that was all that mattered