[CENTER][i][b][color=f6989d]HIBIKI[/color] & [color=6ecff6]SHIZUKA[/color][/b][/i][/CENTER]

Things were getting bad very quickly. Shizuka was holding her own despite getting overwhelmed, protecting Aqua Regis from being interrupted. But she alone couldn't kill every demon, and Hibiki was doing her best steaming the tide with gunfire and bombs. But the hole in the ceiling was their weakness, and more and more demons were flooding inside. Amidst the confusion, Shizuka noticed something odd going on on the ground. It looked like the blood was... Pooling at her feet. Knowing something was amiss Shizuka jumped up and put her shield beneath her, just in time to prevent herself from getting skewered by a spike made of blood. Hibiki was on an elevated position away from the bloodshed, so when she saw the blood gathering around her feet she simply rolled out of the way.

[color=f6989d]"Blood magic! And so powerful! It must be that Victoire from before."[/color] Shizuka and Hibiki heard her announcement earlier, and they both had a good feeling that this sorcery was her work. But if her magic was here, then that would mean she was too. Shizuka cut down more demons and spikes around her to give her room to move. She was in no position to try and find Victoire, as most of her focus was dealing with the demons around her. So it was up to Hibiki to find Victoire. Fortunately, her repair drones were still active so she had them search the room for her. Wherever Victoire was, she would have to be somewhere safe where none of them could easily get to her.

Meanwhile Shizuka was holding her own when she heard someone shout inanities. That's when she saw a demon... Shemale with a big axe, throwing a chain at Gwynn. Shizuka rushed towards her and stood between Gwynn and the demon's chain, bracing the shield to intercept it. However Shizuka was less confident that she could block that big axe. She was tough and the armor protected her, but Shizuka wasn't going to risk her limb trying to block a blade that huge.

And it wasn't long before Hibiki's drones found Victoire. All they had to do was look down from the hole near the ceiling to see a pale humanoid girl who Hibiki didn't recognize. She had to be Victoire, or at least an enemy. Formulating a plan Hibiki left her position and activated her Stalker Cloak, vanishing from all perception. It was too dangerous for Hibiki to try and use explosives near the box as the Queen's treasure was inside of it, but she could still climb. With a mighty leap Hibiki took out her knife, activated it's plasma blade, and stabbed it into the side of the box. Using it she climbed up the box to the top, her actions completely silenced thanks to the Stalker Cloak. She needed to act fast before Victoire defeated them.

[@KoL][@Lucius Cypher][@Rune_Alchemist]