A bunch of footsteps slithered into the snow from behind, each pair with a different pace.

“Yeah,” Elena let herself fall, taking a moment to place her punctured hands on the snow. “It is.” 

Akane turned around to notice Aki was gone, finding out the snow itself dragged him away.

“Hah,” A taller and stronger Sister put her fists together. “This is gonna be so fun.”

Lucy, the head of the medical department, lay on the other side.

“Luana, please do remember that I have patients to attend to.”

“Sisters,” Neoma said with solemnity, her cape flapping back and forth. “Our majesty’s counting on us.” 

Akane jolted her hands outwards, bringing back all her lost blood to create armor around herself.

“I love myself a challenge.” 

“And you won't be one for us, haha!” Luana laughed as she rubbed her nose.

Akane formed another scythe, now holding one in each hand, and lunged towards the three.

Aiming for Luana, she cornered her between her blades.

Or so she thought.

Luana summoned ice around her hands, crossing them across one another to catch the scythes. 

Turning her wrists, she used the scythes to propel herself upward.

And with a wave of her hand, Lucy summons a glacier from below, sending Akane crashing into the icy terrain.

Neoma dug her hands into the ice, bringing them back out in gauntlets.

Rising out of the tundra’s trail, Akane smiles with excitement until–

Neoma’s gauntlet greeted her scarred face. 

She’s sent flying once more, this time into Elena’s vines. 

They drag her by the feet, spinning around for momentum, and send her back towards the Sisters. 

“One’s healed; bring me the other.” Lucy extended her hands out in celebration. 

“Elena, do you mind helping Lucy?” Neoma shouted from afar, waving hurriedly.

“Yeah, I got it,” Elena replied, wrapping vines around Souta and running towards the other side.

Luana stomped into the snow, bringing forth a dozen glaciers from the ground.

Akane jumped back into the new battlefield with a frustrated expression, unable to summon as much blood as before.

Luana clawed up one of the pillars with a loud laugh as Neoma circled the outer edges. 

Lucy began healing Souta as Elena bandaged Aki, the icy towers behind emitting grand explosions. 

Luana kept weaving and blocking her strikes, making her small sickles look like toys. 

Akane grew frustrated with each miss, her focus splitting between denying her any chance to counter and landing a hit. 

Until Luana turned her foot, changing the ice below their feet.

Akane slipped towards her, catching a glimpse of her wide grin.

Taking this opportunity, she sliced her fingers clean off.

But before she could catch herself–

Crack!

Luana grabbed her by the other hand, turning her torso to elbow her in the face.

Akane stumbled backward, her senses growing heavier.

And before she could race back towards her, a gigantic chunk of ice struck her from the side.

Snow blew in every direction like ripples in a river, a gust so refreshing for the Sisters but shivering for the Paradigm.

“Nice work.” Neoma walked up to Luana, offering her a fist bump.

“Back at you, Sister.” Luana ignored the offer and slapped her back instead. “That was so much fun.”

Akane slithered out of the broken chunks, half of her armor broken, bleeding heavily.

Breath after breath, her teeth ground against another.

“You annoying little things.” She dug into her damaged hair, shrieking with laughter as if to comfort herself. “All of you will die by my hands, I swear!”

Lucy approached the other Sisters, dusting off her hands on her doctor’s coat.

“So I assume it went well on your side.” She said with a smile, taking off her gloves.

Then, at the instant she turned her glance to their opponent, her expression went blank.

Akane returned the favor with a disgusted smile, her pupils seeping with rage.

“We’re done here,” Lucy added, wiping her hands with the coat. 

“Nothing’s done until I say it is.” She clenched her fists, putting in all the effort to bring forth more blood without losing consciousness. “All your limbs will be mine.”

Neoma and Luana braced themselves once more as Lucy looked unbothered.

“Ew, that’s disgusting.”

Lucy swatted her hand in a fashion almost as if she offered permission. 

Vines, larger and sharper variants than before, wrapped around Akane from underneath, restraining her arms.

And from above, Souta wrapped his chains around her too, electrifying her. 

He leaped away to retreat, running away as if his life depended on it.

Lucy took a step forward and waved her hand upward.

Ice broke from behind, acting as a wall as the one in front struck.

Over and over again. 

Again and again. 

Lucy only stopped when she was knocked unconscious. 

“That’s what you get for making our majesty cry.”

The other four glanced at one another awkwardly, Neoma’s gauntlets falling off.

“Now that that’s over, let me ask you two Paradigm something.” Lucy turned around slowly, her eye twitching. “You two had Your Majesty tied up, am I right?”

“We’re really sorry.” Souta and Elena exclaimed, bowing up and down repeatedly. 

“Relax, I’m just kidding~” Lucy took off her coat and passed it to Luana. “Okay, let’s clean up already.”

They chuckled nervously as Luana looked at her Sister with confusion.

“Why do I have to carry this?”

Lucy shot her a sideways glance, crossing her arms.

“You made way too much noise.” She resumed her walk towards the campsite after rolling her eyes. “So it was hard to focus.”

Neoma let out a sigh of relief, gazing towards the glistening stars.

However, it was second only to bathing under the moon’s radiant shadow.

And with a soft smile, she returned to facing Elena and Souta.

“Hey.” She extended her open hand, her sapphire eyes brimming with gratitude. “Thank you so much.”