Chapter 57: A Disaster Waiting to Happen
Draken moved first, catching Dreece by the throat and hurling her straight through the hole they'd broken in, smashing her through wall after wall until she burst clean out of the mountain.
Lydia and Lambadack watched them vanish out of sight. Lydia let out a sigh. "I just finished arranging my things. I'd rather not have this place wrecked or painted with your blood — can we take this outside?"
Lambadack scoffed. "Cold feet already? Looking for an exit?"
"You wish. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be the one running." Lydia replied.
Lambadack broke into a short burst of manic laughter, then turned and started walking. "Run, and I'll level this mountain and mail your friend's head back as a parting gift."
Lydia fell into step behind her, arms crossed. "You demons put way too much faith in your own strength. I'm going to enjoy knocking some of that confidence loose."
Lambadack only smiled, saying nothing, and led them out of the cave. She stopped just beyond the entrance, and Lydia came up to stand beside her.
"I turned my back on you just now, gave you a free shot," Lambadack said, watching Draken and Dreece trading fist for fist, flame for flame in the distance. Without looking over, she added, "You won't get another chance like that."
Lydia sighed. "I don't need a sneak attack against someone as weak as you."
The words had barely left her mouth when Lambadack was already beside her, fist swinging for her face — only to freeze mid-motion, unable to finish the strike.
Only then did Lydia glance her way, arms still crossed. "Was that supposed to be your winning move?"
Before Lambadack could break free, something hurled her deep into the forest, crashing through tree after tree before splitting one clean in half on impact.
She'd barely registered any of it when she spotted Lydia already bearing down on her with another punch. She teleported clear just in time, and Lydia's fist tore into the ground instead, leaving a crater behind.
Lambadack reappeared behind her, smiling. "Not bad. Not bad at all, for a mere human."
Lydia turned, hands on her hips. "Didn't realize demons took such pride in running away." She sighed. "Honestly, I'm a little disappointed."
Lambadack's smile cracked slightly. "Fine. Let's stop playing around."
She thrust her hands toward Lydia, and the ground around her buckled inward under sudden crushing gravity. Lydia seemed entirely unbothered by it, glancing around with a faint smile. "You actually thought gravity would slow me down? Pathetic."
Before the words fully registered, Lydia was already on her, fist swinging. Lambadack blocked with both arms, the impact sending a shockwave that pushed her back several feet. Lydia kept coming, punch after punch driving her further and further back — until the sixth landed and Lambadack grinned, black chains snapping around Lydia's wrist before she could react, a second chain catching her other hand and yanking her back.
Lambadack wiped her face, grin still fixed in place. "Whatever defense you're running, it doesn't seem to hold for long. Wonder why that is."
Lydia's brow furrowed. Infinity Barrier was as close to a perfect defense as existed, but it burned mana at a brutal rate, so she never kept it running continuously. Lambadack had clearly picked up on the pattern.
She tried to tear free of the chain, but Lambadack pointed both hands at her. Lydia caught the shift with her gaze and yanked her right arm clear just before the attack landed — it sheared the limb off clean instead.
"Fast and strong. I'll give you that much," Lambadack said, watching Lydia, left arm still bound, staring down at the stump where her right had been.
Lydia had seen that particular attack before — she just couldn't place where, given this was her first encounter with Lambadack. The memory surfaced fast enough. "It can't be."
She muttered it, still not quite believing it. She remembered him wearing this same face, using this exact ability. Which raised an uncomfortable question — could Niel copy someone's face *and* their skills separately, or were the two somehow linked?
Lambadack caught the confusion on her face and assumed it was simple disbelief at losing a limb. A smile crept across her face. "Starting to realize how unfair this fight actually is?"
Lydia didn't answer, still turning over the implications of Niel's abilities. Whatever the mechanism, it was becoming clear he had the potential to become the single greatest threat the world had ever seen. Her smile broke into something close to manic laughter. "If that's really the case, then he's a disaster just waiting to happen. I genuinely can't wait to see how it ends."
Lambadack, thrown by the sudden shift in her mood, opened her mouth to ask — but before she could, Lydia tore the chain free with one hand, her severed arm regrowing instantly, her expression hardening as she met Lambadack's eyes. "Alright. Let's actually get serious."
Lambadack hadn't even processed the regeneration before she felt herself yanked forward, straight into Lydia's already-cocked fist. The blow sent her airborne, but Lydia moved faster, catching her mid-flight and slamming her into the ground. She hurled her skyward next, leapt after her, gaining height before Lambadack could recover, then used Repulsion to drive her back down — following the impact instantly, catching her by the head the moment she hit and dragging her along the ground until they both collided with a tree.
Lambadack teleported behind her on instinct, but Lydia spun and caught her by the arm, holding it fast, driving three Repulsion-charged punches into her face with the other hand before the fourth sent her flying into the distance.
Lambadack pushed herself upright slowly, panting, blood streaking her face. Before she could speak, Dreece crash-landed beside her, equally battered and out of breath, and Draken touched down a few feet from Lambadack, matching bruises, matching exhaustion — clearly an even fight on that front.
Lambadack looked between Dreece, Lydia, and Draken and read the situation instantly — they were losing, badly. Dreece still wanted to push forward, but Lambadack knew the odds weren't in their favor. She teleported behind Dreece and called back to Lydia, "We'll finish this another time."
She didn't wait for a response before both of them vanished. Lydia lunged toward the spot they'd occupied, but they were already gone. Then a voice cut through the air.
"Hey, you guys okay? What's going on?"
Standing a distance behind Draken, a large bag slung over one shoulder and his blade at his hip, was Niel.