Victoire interrupted her 'interrogation' momentarily as she heard the voice of an intruder who had just barged into her home, completely uninvited. She waited until he said his piece before replying, "Do I even know who you are? I would advice against invading the dwellings of others without being invited, but I have no time for this." Victoire glared at the invading devil with obvious animosity in her eyes.

"What I do or not with the prizes I looted is only of my own concern however, I am feeling quite elated at the present time. I will grant you request if you can prove you value during the skirmish that is about to begin at Ruthria." Victoire extended her hand, summoning a leather-bound map case which contained an old piece of parchment, before handing it to Slike. "This is a map detailing the Ruins of Lenuria, I'm sure the Angels and the Machina must have a copy of it already. You can take that to the battlefield and instruct our forces, or keep it for yourself and ruin our chances of victory." Despite the obvious different in their height, Victoire didn't seemed fazed at all as she handed orders for Slike in her typical imperious ways.

"This time the war will not be one of brute force, but of strategy and intelligence. We will be fighting over resources dominance. Now that you know of this, leave me alone. I have preparations to do and fun to have, before that fool of a King comes to claim what I have won with my own hands." Victoire turned her back to Slinke and began to walk back to her captives, "Of course you are free to stay and enjoy my games, if you want. Otherwise, Garou will escort you back to the front gates."

"Now, where did we stopped?" The young vampire had a wicked grin on her face as she walked to Bastion forcing the mismatched-eyed girl to gaze as her girl... friend was slowly roasted to a tasty looking, golden tan.

Back at Hyperion, the mighty capital of the Machina and their allies...

"..." The High Queen of the Machina, Eos, sighed deeply as she waited for the subjects known as Endian, Krieg, Hibiki and Shizuka, to arrive at her Audience Chambers, better known as the heart of the Machina mainframe, Alaya, which uses Eos herself as the core processor.

Even though the High Queen, who was said to be devoid of all emotion, just sighed in her throne of cables and holographic displays, it would be nearly impossible for anyone else to notice as Eos' movements were far too minute.

The first thing the four of them would notice upon entering the Core Chamber would be how cold it was. The whole place was filled with tubes pumping hyper-coolant fluids, to keep the sub-processors from over heating because to Eos' insane processing power. As the cold mist that took the whole floor of the Core Chamber parted before their feet, the visage of the High Queen, standing atop her elevated altar-like throne, would enter in their sight line.

"I see that Bastion has been taken." Eos said before any of them could say anything. "While your mission was a failure, it was not a total one. Instead of dwelling on it, we need to prepare for future conflicts, Bastion will be rescued in due time." Eos continued her monologue in a deadpan voice, summoning a larger monitor to display the info she needed to explain their next mission. "You'll be sent to the battle at the Sea of Ruthria, the command of the battleship HMS Contender, will be assigned to unit Endian. Unit Krieg is to be issued a rank promotion to battlefront commander and a new underwater battle frame in order to operate more reliably on this scenario. Units Hibiki and Shizuka are to have improvement on their equipment for long term underwater operations, whatever resources needed will be at your disposal."

"This will be a battle for the resources from the Ruins of Lenuria. Intelligence gathering and strategy will be crucial to our victory. Now that the briefing is done, is there anything you want to say?" Eos asked as she silently turned back to her administrative tasks, micromanaging the whole forces of the Machina spread throughout the Nexus with little to no trouble. Trlly, the Queen was a one of a kind machine...

---

Arriving to Eos’s chambers, Mu-01 didn’t notice the cold. Being a machine, temperature never bothered her unless it was extreme. She rolled up alongside the others, taking note of Endian, Shizuka, and Hibiki. She knew Endian was their commander and frankly, Mu-01 was disappointed. Not because they lost Bastion (this would be the first time Mu-01 has even heard of Bastion), but because Grafdakka never had a chance to fight alongside her. A missed opportunity. The other two were twin sisters who once helped repair Grafdakka, so he had some respect for them for that. He respected them more since they were skilled combatants, though they were both squishy fleshlings too.

When the high queen spoke Mu-01 turned her attention towards Eos and gave her undivided attention. It was fortunate that Mu-01 did these things, as Grafdakka lacked the tact or patience for ceremonies. And while technically Grafdakka and Mu-01 were the same person as Krieg, in their own bodies Krieg acted differently. It was hard for him to explain, but they were different characters. They weren’t Krieg and they weren’t each other, so they their own personalities. They had their similarities, but that was only because they each were a part of Krieg.

Introspection aside, Mu-01 was pleased to hear what the High Queen had to say. Firstly, there would be another battle soon. Always good news. Krieg was also getting a promotion to battlefront commander, which Mu-01 was not sure what that meant. But a promotion came with perks, and she saw those perks when Eos revealed a new combat frame for Grafdakka to use in battle. This one is far better suited for the underwater environment that the next battle will be taking place, which was perfect for Grafdakka since his current form was not submersible. It might have lacked some of the more visceral weapons he preferred, like his saw and machine guns, but Mu-01 was confident that Eos had ensured this new body was still outfitted with weaponry that he would enjoy.

Everything else Eos said was secondary. The ship they would be going on and the map of the battlefield. While no doubt important for the likes of Endian, Mu-01 was only interested in the new battlefame and perhaps their actual objective. As Eos said, this was a battle for intelligence gathering, which wasn’t what Grafdakka does. He fights and kills. Finally Eos was finished, merely asking if they had anything more to say. ”Thank you, High Queen Eos. I will ensure that Krieg is informed of his promotion and your gift for him. I do have a few questions. What would be Krieg’s duties as a battlefront commander? And what would be the conditions for our victory in the next battle?”

@KoL

---

”Tch. Yer coulda just said sumthin. Save me da time breaking rocks an’ getting work done!” Dora looked at a messenger who had brought her information about the next battle. They would be fighting Ruins of Lenuia, a land sunk into the ocean. Dora vaguely has heard of it before, mostly that it’s home to many fearsome sea monsters. What the angels want from the place was beyond her, but Dora wasn’t going to back out now. Because she’s been given a new order: to craft warships for the angel’s forces. It would explain why they needed so much iron, since if they tried to just use wooden boats they would be demolished by the machina’s metal fortresses or burnt by demon fire. Still, boats weren’t really Dora’s specialty. But then again they did only ask for her assistance, so hopefully they would know this and simply have her work on their ship’s weapons and not the ship themselves.

And of course there was the matter of underwater battles. Angels has always been the go to faction for aerial superiority, but their presence underwater was lacking. They had magics for water breathing and aquatic allies, but unlike the machinas the angels don’t have submersible vehicles, and unlike the demons angels don’t have eldritch abominations sleeping within the depths. It would indeed be a tough battle for the angels, but not a hopeless one. Dora was going to need time and manpower, but she had an idea how to get at least some of her people a fighting chance in the ocean. She’d have to ask her superiors about it however. It was going to be a risky move to try, and it’d only work once. They’d have to use it wisely.

”Aight. Take me to the boss. I have ideas I want ta let ‘er know.”

.

Sliske Arkilius

A little more than displeased with Victoire's rejection of a sound interrogation, Sliske clawed open a rift in place of the stairs and tucked the leather case under his arm. "Let me know when that plan of yours fails entirely. I'll be on standby, don't exactly expect to get my hands dirty today." He dropped the vampire a sly wink before stepping through the portal, his tail zipping it closed like one would a jacket. He emerged on the other side of it to find the minions of another well known demon in a frenzy. In the center of the ocean of imps was Henry Pearl Avaritia II, and the Swindler sighed with a shake of the head.

Regret and annoyance on his face, Sliske approached the demon and handed over the case, crossing his arms and shifting his weight to one leg. "That's a map of the Ruins of Lenuria, otherwise called that goddamn underwater temple. We've got a pair of Leviathans under our control down there, and they're hungry. Eat anything that gets close, and they can rip steel apart. Consider that when you position your forces. We've got one hell of an advantage, and the Angels are screwed." He grabbed hold of the younger demon by the collar, the fury of a thousand warlords in his eyes. "Fuck this up, and I'll add you to my collection." His message sent and the battlefield laid out in their advantage, the Great Corrupter set Henry down and looked out at the sea in front of them. For this battle, he merely sought to direct and watch the carnage unfold.

@KoL@floodtalon

---

Torag Draken

Torag nodded as Omega spoke, deciphering the accent and dialect as he went and thinking deeply. The spirit was right, Angels dominated the air and were nearly unstoppable in a land battle, but this would be ship to ship combat. "The Machina is bringing a war machine to a battle on the seas... they've got something worth knowing." The wight stared out at the water, thinking of various attack plans that would work in their favor. "Perhaps a preemptive strike on one enemy would work in our favor. I go with two-thirds our forces and prevent the Machina from getting involved. Omega, under the assumption you don't require oxygen, take the other third and sto-" His plan was interrupted by Miyu, an angel that had forsaken her heritage for a life of technology. While a rebellious and young warrior, he couldn't help but respect her in a way. Her methods, while unorthodox, worked very well in a pinch. "This is our best option, all things considered. Miyu, you're to go with Omega. Take the temple and buy them time to find where the power is emanating from. I hope that mech of yours can survive a little water. Spirit, lay traps within the temple and seal any entrances you find once you're inside. From there, secure the objective and defend it from any intruders. You won't have the bulk the Machina has, so move quickly." His plan established, Torag drew his claymore and scythe from his back, hefting the heavy weapons with ease.

"Do any object to this plan?" While inherently quiet, the warrior was sure that his voice was heard by those nearest to him.

@The 42nd Gecko@Awesomoman64

---

Marquis

As the entity known as Mu-01 spoke, the AI Marquis emerged from behind High Queen Eos' throne, Bindlebane tucked under his arm in a neat fashion as always. When she finished, he answered one of her questions in a swift manner. "The conditions of victory are simple, madam. The Ruins of Lenuria are to be secured and the source of power there tapped. I knew not of Krieg's promotion, however." He removed his hat and bowed low to the group that had assembled in the audience chamber, standing back up after a brief moment and placing his hat back on top of his cranium. "I am Marquis, Servant of the High Queen. I shall be accompanying you to the front lines for the future battles at Her Majesty's request." With a fluid movement, the titanium dandy fell in line with the four others, ready to receive any additional commands. For a moment though, in the darkest corner of the room, his sharp ocular processor caught the faintest hint of an orange light watching the party. The shutters over Marquis' eye closed to a squint, giving the being a knowing and aggressive look before refocusing on Eos. He knew who was watching. A new, "superior" guardian of the High Queen that worked in the shadows. 'Where will he be to catch the bullet going for her head, is my question.'

@Ryonara@Flamelord@Lucius Cypher

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

Henry was pacing back and forth, waiting for a signal to begin the battle when he noticed Sliske begin to approach him with a case. Henry smiled as he was given the case, Sliske explaining it was a map and that he had control of a pair of Leviathans. This was always somewhat annoying, the whole thinking part of being a general. Not really his thing but whatever.

"I don't know, station everyone at the temple and begin setting traps. Leviathans should go on patrol around the temple and attack anything that's not a Demon. Meanwhile I'll look around for whatever this power is-" Henry was suddenly interrupted by Sliske grabbing him aggressively and threatening him. A glowing pentagram had already materialized and the Macabre Dancers were in his hands and pointed at Sliske's stomach.

"I will fill you with more holes than a block of swiss cheese if you don't let go right now you miserable wretch. Henry snarled as Sliske let him go and backed off. He had half a mind to smite him with Mjolnir right now for his impudence. But no, he was probably the brains in this scenario and it would be stupid to kill the strategist. No matter how much he pissed him off.

"Whatever, let's get going. We have setup work to do." Chen dropped Macabre Dancers and they were swallowed by The Gates of Tartarus, promptly disappearing as usual. Henry finally opened up the map and a small smirk spread across his face. The Angels would fall first, then the Machina would be his. What a glorious day.

@Mega Birb

Arriving in the throne room of High queen Eos, Endian was undisturbed by the cold that surrounded them. Even if she were not made for this sort of thing, it was only fair after what had happened aboard the Elicitor. Though some might wonder whether Eos deliberately kept it this cold, in order to discomfort visitors and establish herself in a superior position as the conversation went on.

Whether or not it was the truth, she was also pleasantly surprised to find herself joined by Mu-01, another of Krieg's avatars, as well as the two maids who had been partially responsible for their only success in this fight. Not that a single prisoner compared to the prize that they had lost, but it was at least a bright spot over what had been a disaster otherwise.

Endian stood at attention as Eos began to speak, acknowledging the loss and surprised to not find her receiving at least some chastisement for her failure to hold on to the Treasure that they had lost. She understood that they needed to focus on the future, of course, but given how important the mission had been portrayed she would have expected at least a bit of reprisal by Eos, verbal or otherwise. It wasn't like it would be unwarranted.

Instead, they were prepared for their next assignment. She had a new command ship, for what it would be worth, while Grafdakka was given a new battle frame and the same was done for their other companions, since it seemed that this battle would be underwater. A difficult task, but one that the Machina could deal with when it came down to it. It was hardly the most hostile environment there could have been for a battle.

As they talked, she was already accessing the data that the Machina had on the ruins, quickly running through to make sure that she was as informed as she possibly could be. "No. Thank you High Queen." With that she would bow before turning to leave the room so she could plan for the upcoming offensive. She was determined to make sure that this would not end as the last battle had.

@Mega Birb@Lucius Cypher@KoL@Ryonara

---

With a flutter of her wings, Tartys arrived at the angelic camp for the next battle that was to begin. She had been less than amazing during the battle over the Elicitor, not majorly screwing up but also not distinguishing herself either. Along with the rest of those that she had fought with she had been brought here, to assist in securing the ruins.

Admittedly, she wasn't totally looking forward to this fight. It was just the whole 'underwater' part. Not that she couldn't go underwater, mind, it was just that she felt so slow when beneath the water, and she was fairly confident that it made her less effective of a fighter as a result.

But she couldn't worry about that, not when she had a task to do. So she moved through the camp until she found those who were preparing the battle. 'Pardon my interruption," she said with a bow. "I was sent here to assist with the upcoming battle." She didn't know what they had in mind, but whatever it was she would do what needed to be done to win.

@Awesomoman64@The 42nd Gecko@Mega Birb

@Awesomoman64@Mega Birb@Flamelord



Miyu seems impressed by the fact that Torag is at least trying to come up with a more in depth strategy than "CHARGE GLORY ANGELS RAAAH!", and a little flattered at the personal recognition, more used to be being a black sheep. That in mind, she tries to shape up a little, standing slightly more to attention and putting the magazine away. That said, after she works over the plan in her head a bit.. Miyu's left eye gives a slight twitch, and her tone implies that she reaaaaaly reaaaaaly hopes she's misunderstanding the plan, because she wants to like Torag and his plan.

"Barring the fact that the Machina aren't currently located at the objective, isn't that nearly exactly what our plan was last time? Send the majority of our forces to attack the Machina and get slaughtered by enemies they are exceedingly vulnerable against, while a few infiltrators isolate themselves and get captured or killed against opponents they should have the advantage against but are overwhelmingly outnumbered by?"

"I mean, if your plan works out exactly as you expect it to, you can expect to fight the Machina forces, outnumbered 1.5 to 1 by enemies you have a disadvantage to. And we can expect to fight the machina forces outnumbered 3 to 1 by enemies we have an advantage against, but not that much of an advantage. I mean, maybe, maybe, terrain would let us win this, but that's A. Depending on us getting there and having time to set up before the demons, when they're the ones with teleportation magic that might very well bypass the terrain or traps even if we did get it set up. B. Assuming we're smarter than them and they make mistakes. C. Relying on Angels to be good at Deception, Entrenchment, and Close Quarters Combat without a mobility advantage. D. Assuming the ruins aren't already defended by someone's advance forces or scouts. Just because we didn't spot them doesn't mean they might not be there. All it takes is one cloaking field or tricky demon ability."

"If we had someone who could summon or specialize in traps, like maybe some artificer dwarves, or some illusion mages to mask our approach, or water mages or great fast beasts, or best of all, all of them, maybe that'd help with A, B, and C, but that still leaves D or their teleportation magic as a problem. And that still does nothing to solve that fact that unless you're the greatest tactician or warrior in Nexus, you'll get soundly defeated, and a relatively fresh Machina force will fall on us after we've won at best a razor close victory at the ruins."

"In summary, it's not the worst plan, and I can think of resources that might help, but it requires on our enemies doing enough things wrong, or us getting lucky enough to solve it's problems. If either of our split forces get caught in the open, they'll get annihilated, and even if the plan works, it'll make us fight the entirety of the Machina and Demon forces alone, without Machina or Demon forces ever engaging each other until our forces are eliminated. And that's before we even start considering that the enemy might do things we're not expecting and not play nice to our plan. It makes me think simply rushing for the objective and hoping to prey on enemy mistakes and opportunities as we see them seems to have better chances of victory. And I'm not fond of that plan's chances either."

Miyu fidgets for a few moments, her mouth opening and closing ever so slightly. Fighting the urge to say more. She fails.

"And, in rock paper scissors terms, you're sending me, one of the few Anti-Machina specialists in the Angelic forces whose greatest strength is the ability to shield allies from artillery and ranged fire, against demons in close quarters, and yourself, an incredibly potent weapon against demons, and immune to so many of their greatest weapons and to any traps that might be laid in the ruins, against Machina in the open field.

Miyu is trying hard to keep at least a slightly respectful tone, but she's struggling.

Listening to Torag’s plan, Omega couldn’t help but notice a few faults, faults Miyu was quick to point out. All in all it wasn’t a terrible plan by any means, but it definitely needed some fine tuning. Before giving his take on the matter, another higher ranking angel arrived informing them that she was there to assist. Omega tipped his hat and welcomed her, ”Happy to have you, miss, we could use all the help we can get I’m afraid. So far it looks like we’ll be fighting quite the uphill battle. We were just discussing strategies if you care to join us?” Omega gestured to the group giving space for their new arrival.

Without much hesitation Omega turned his attention right back to the meeting to throw in his two cents,

”I like where yer going with this, Sir, but yer trying to stop a locomotive with a brick wall. As miss Miyu pointed out, even if we slightly outnumbered the Machina they would just barrel through us and keep on going. If we really wanna take ‘em out we’re gonna need our full force focused on ‘em. So here’s my thinking. We know where they’re coming from, but they don’t know we know. If we send a small posse to set up an ambush and keep harassing them along the way, we’ll be able to slow them tin cans down. Now that won’t stop ‘em, but it’ll give our main force enough time to hit the ruins hard. Overwhelming any demonic presence and taking those varmints out of the equation. Once that’s all taken care of, depending on if we’re holding or extracting, we can grab what’s ours and slip right on back while the ambush team makes a full retreat, or have them meet up with us at the objective point and we get ready for a real standoff. Any y’all agree with me?”

Omega paused for a moment to fix his hat and let the other collect their thoughts on his version of the plan for any criticism they had. He knew it had issues as well, but when you’re going up against an enemy that has an edge over you in a terrain that offers only disadvantages, it was nearly impossible to have a perfect solution.

@Mega Birb@The 42nd Gecko@Flamelord

Hibiki and Shizuka made their way to High Queen Eos, with Hibiki hoping to find Endian and cheer her up. It wasn't her fault that they lost the objective, and they didn't want their commander to get in trouble with the High Queen either. While they all certainly could have done much better, Hibiki was willing to stick her neck out for her commander. Shizuka, unknown to any of this, was just along for Hibiki's sake. When they reached Queen Eos's castle, the two sisters were told that she was expecting them. This surprise Hibiki since they didn't know they were even suppose to be here. She was hoping to find Endian first, give her some pep talk, and then leave. But she supposed she shouldn't be surprised that the high Queen had already predicted their presence; while Hibiki had no faith in gods, she believed that Eos was almighty. Shizuka just seemed curious about why Hibiki had brought them to the capital city in the first place.

Regardless of her reasons, the two maids dutifully reported to their High Queen. Her chambers were cold, almost frosty, and it made Hibiki a bit uncomfortable. Fortunately her maid uniform had enough layers to give her warmth, though she'd admit if she knew she was going to meet High Queen Eos in her throne room, she would have work some more layers underneath. Shizuka was unaffected by the temperatures thanks to being a Holy Spirit, and thus never feels any pain or discomfort. Standing side by side, the two sisters curtsied towards the High Queen and gave Eos her due respect. Unfortunately before they could greet her, Eos bluntly pointed out that they had lost Bastion. Hibiki and Shizuka learned after the battle that the queen's treasure was the girl named Bastion.

The two sisters listened to the High Queen as she informed them of their next battle. To their surprise Krieg was getting a promotion. Neither of the sisters knew much about Krieg only that Grafdakka and Mu-01 worked for him, and they were completely unaware of Krieg's unique existence. Speaking of Mu-01, Hibiki could not help but smile at the robot maid's presence. Hibiki wanted to make maid uniforms a standard attire for all Machina operatives, tailored for both men and women, and hoped to convince Mu-01 to help promote this trend, seeing that she dressed like a maid already. Endian was also near by, though in the presence of the High Queen Hibiki knew she was too late to speak to Endian. Fortunately it didn't seem like Eos was going to punish Endian, at least not in front of the others.

After the debriefing the mecha maids bowed their heads and curtsied High Queen Eos once more. "Thank you for your blessing, High Queen Eos. We humble maids shall bestow upon you the absolute best victory." With no questions asked, the sisters left shortly after Endian did. Shizuka was stopped by a water fountain for a drink while Hibiki went to catch up to Endian before she escaped them. "Commander Endian, may I speak with you for a moment?" Hibiki called out to her while Shizuka finished and went to catch up.

@KoL@Flamelord@Mega Birb@Lucius Cypher

After finishing with her 'games', Victoire arrived on the battlefield with a snarl in her face as she noticed the state of disarray in which it was, especially displeased with the breeding argument between Slinke and Henry as well as how much their faction was outnumbered in this battle. Well, at least Victoire had the key to their Victory in her hands, once more.

"When both of you are done with your little stand up performance, would you care to join me on the actual battlefield? We are outnumbered severely already, the last thing we need is these pitiful fights to tear us apart." Victoire said as flew to the middle of the sea. With a snap of her fingers, her dress (which would no doubt get in the way underwater) turned into a swimsuit just as Victoire's toes touched the pleasantly warm salt water. "If any of you are worried about drowning, know that there are fissures all through the ruins from which breathable air is vented. No that I matters to me, of course." After leaving the last piece of information she had for them, Victoire disappeared under the water.

Just at that time, the whole patch of the Ruins under the Demons control would start to get slowly filled with bloody red water as Victoire began to spread her Demon Roses over it.

---

And so the battle begins. The Intel Grafdakka received gave an idea what it'd take to win this battle. While the ultimate goal was to win the race to achieve resources, Grafdakka knew that merely amassing points wasn't going to mean victory. They had to ensure that the opposing teams cannot win the economical race against time. Though he normally doesn't concern himself about such things, his new responsibilities as a Battlefront Commander, or Warboss as Grafdakka likes to call it, has given him reason to keep such things in mind. To that end, Grafdakka had Mu-01 do what she could to give him more intel about the coming battle, and this is what he's learned so far.

He's learned that the Angel's lack a warship or a powerful navy, however it seems that they do have a large amount of iron-clad battleships. While they were puny and unlikely to actually do harm to something like the Contender, they vastly outnumber the Machina forces. This was importance seeing that the name of the game in this battle was to capture resources, which is far easier to accomplish with multiple units rather than a single powerful one. But that also meant that in a direct confrontation, the Angels likely lacked the means to defend or attack a sector with a heavy Machina or even Demon presence. Grafdakka also learned that the Demons had some sort of tool to control a mighty sea creature called the Leviathan. While the creature is dormant, there is a chance that it would awaken at some point during this battle. Because of it's power it was a threat to everyone, but if the demons controlled it even the Contender may not have the means to defeat the Leviathan, certainly not at full power. Fortunately, there was one thing that Grafdakka did know that would be instrumental in defeating the Demons: The one who possess the tool to control the Leviathan and the one who possess the weapon to defeat the Leviathan.

Grafdakka didn't have solid proof, but he felt it in his guts that the one known as Victoire, the Blood Countess, possessed the tool to control the Leviathan. If records of her conduct from the last battle was any indication, there would be no way someone as egotistical as her would allow others to control such a powerful and important tool. Because she was instrumental in defeating the Machina the last battle, no doubt she'd seek out the means to once again be the deciding factor for the Demon's victory in this battle. Normally with this information in mind he himself would seek out Victoire and turn her into a bloody smear in the waters. However, if the powers of the Laviathan is true, then despite his own bloodlust and strength even Grafdakka could not hope to defeat the mythical creature. He may be able to put up some sort of a fight to delay it, but he has no means to truly defeat it. Only Shizuka did. One of The Twins, Hibiki's sister and some sort of Holy Spirit. She was in possession of a sword that was powerful against dragonkin, which the Leviathan was. Combined with the Mecha Maid's roles as battlefield assassins, Grafdakka knew what he needed them to do.

He approached the two as they rode on the Contender. His new body gave each step an echoing boom, making his presence easily noticeable. "MECHA MAIDS. THIS IS YOUR MISSION: FIND AND KILL VICTOIRE, THE BLOOD COUNTESS. HIBIKI MEIDO, YOU HAVE SEEN HER BEFORE. THE BLOOD COUNTESS CAN CONTROL THE LEVIATHAN WITH A TOOL. DO NOT ALLOW HER. SHIZUKA MEIDO, YOU MUST SLAY THE LEVIATHAN IF IT AWAKENS. I WILL LEAD OUR FORCES TO CAPTURE THE SECTORS. THAT IS ALL." Grafdakka's booming voice pratically echoed over the deck. It was fortunate that the Contender's motors were far louder than Grafdakka was, or else their enemy might have heard what he said. Once he gave them the debriefing, it was time. The Machina forces have entered the battlefield.

Quickly their forces captured a sector where they would begin their battle. Grafdakka wasted no more time with strategy: The Mecha Maids knew what they needed to do, but how they'd go about it was now on their shoulders. Grafdakka would focus on claiming a sector, or at least preventing the enemy forces from obtaining it. He was going to north-east sector: so far it didn't seem like any forces were there yet, and he wanted to reach it before anyone did. While he alone couldn't capture the sector, he could prevent it from falling into enemy hands long enough for reinforcements to arrive and assist.

The Titan of the Deep went to one of the Contender's Auxiliary Catapults. Meant to fling supplies or munitions afar, in this instance it would fling Grafdakka into the neighboring sector. He did not want to command the ship to accompany him, as it's strength could be used elsewhere. No, for now he alone would go. Hopefully others would come once he has secure the sector for capture, but until then they should not concentrate their forces with him. After a ten second countdown, Grafdakka was launched into the skies and into the next sector. From the skies he could see the fleet of the Angel's far away, though he was not in the air long enough, nor was his sight good enough, to get a count of their fleet or who was there. But they were in great numbers.

Grafdakka soon landed into the ocean, his impact strong enough to kill a school of fish swimming. Despite how harsh the landing was Grafdakka was no worse for ware. He quickly sunk to the bottom of the ocean and landed on his feet. From there he began his walk. He knew where the node he needed to capture was. He moved as quickly as he could. Grafdakka hefted his weapon onto his shoulder, his mighty anchor, and flung it through the water. Despite it's weight and size it cut through the ocean like a chainsaw through a twig, going quit a distance. It sunk into the ground when Grafdakka reeled a chain attached to his armor. Normally his anchor would pull his enemies close to him for him to strike, but in this instance, Grafdakka used his chain to pull himself towards his anchor and allow him to move faster than his feet could.

"FORWARD. FORWARD."

@Ryonara

---

Dora had to admit, the angel's odds were not great. Though they had a large and eager army, the ocean was not their strongest domain. While the nodes to capture the sectors were above the sea, many of the greater threats were under the ocean. And if they couldn't defeat them, then staying on the nodes would only make the angel's sitting ducks. Even their aerial superiority would only be relevant if the enemy had no cover against their attacks. And there were miles and miles of cover for enemies to hide. To that end, Dora imagined that the angels would use a more defensive stratagem this battle.

Dora has learned of two things: the existence of the Laveithan, and that the Machina were in possession of a weapon that could defeat it. What the weapon was Dora did not know, but if the Machina had it then the Machina would be the best option to deal with it. Because the Demons would not hesitate to use the Laveithan against the angels, and Dora thought it would be best to let the Machina's take it. Surely the Machina's thought the same: such a powerful weapon under demon control was not going to do anyone any favors. On the bright side the Angel's allies, the merfolk, were able to come to the Angel's aid and provided them with magical seaweed. When consumed, the seaweed would allow the person to breath underwater like a fish for an hour. More seaweed would extend the duration, so everyone was given quite a few lengths to ensure they could breath in the ocean's wave.

As for the Angel's navy, what they lacked in power they made up for in numbers. All the iron that Dora dug up had to be used for something, so they created a fleet of ironclad ships. Ran with magic instead of steam, these ships moved fast and were well armed to fight against sea monsters and whatever creatures the Demons would summon against them. However compared to the Machina's and their flagship, even Dora's own personal Ironclad was pathetic. She had to admit, the angel's could learn a thing or two about firepower from the Machina. They rely far too much on their individual magical prowess and their legends. Perhaps if the Angel's won this battle, they could capture the Machina's flagship as a trophy and use it to create more powerful weapons for the war.

It wasn't long before the angel's fleet arrived to the battlefront. They quickly went to a nearby sector and captured it's node, using this sector as their staging grounds. Scouts have already been sent ahead, and eventually they'd be back with information. It was time to go. "Aight men, steer 'er forward! We'll take the sector ahead an' secure it's waters. Once it's captured, patrol the area but don't overextend! Don't want none my ships sinkin' cuz you poncy seamen wanted ta bloody yer mitts!" Dora led her ship and three others forward. They could see the control point up ahead, she she and one other would need to capture it and make preparations from there. In the distance she saw something fired into the skies, likely by the Machinas. Unfortunately by the time she took out her spyglass the object was gone, likely underwater. It was fired to the sector north of her position. She kept that in mind in case the enemy intended to come down south.

"Let's set sail!"

Sliske crossed his arms and rolled his eyes as Victoire arrived, the very woman that had refused to play his game. Truly, she was the definition of a necessary evil in the army, and an irritating one at that. Not only could she resist his charming abilities, she was a key player in a sort of master plan he had. He shook his head and turned to Henry, refocusing himself to the present. "I'm going in there. We're outnumbered, and while I have a couple giant squids, we need all we can get." He cracked his knuckles then began to exert his will over his body, and three slits appeared on either side of his neck, his fingers became webbed, and his tail became thicker and flatter. He tossed the top half of his elaborate outfit to the ground as a shark fin of sorts grew into place between his shoulder blades and a transparent second set of eyelids blinked. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, Avaritia. We're fighting for territory now." He stretched his arms as the air around him seemed to cool noticeably, and he walked into the warm water like one would leave their home.

He dove in not a second later, jetting out towards the center of the ocean after the vampire that had recently disappeared. Upon his swift arrival, thanks to the transformation he had gone under, he shook his head at the reddening water. While they were powerful and no one could dispute their use, the roses seemed to be overkill in this instance. The incubus glided beside Victoire, taking up a position that mimicked someone casually floating. "Well Miss Bordeaux, we've plenty of ocean to conquer and no army to do it with as of yet. Where shall we strike first?" He took a moment to examine his claws, scowling slightly as he noticed a small fleet of warships passing overhead. Oddly enough, from what he could tell, they were of Angelic make. "Strange, the angels are adapting to a situation... this could be bad." He removed Majarrat from its scabbard and stuck the hilt between his teeth, and began to swim upwards for a better view of the ships. If an angel decided to make use of some technology other than a sword, it could be serious trouble.

@floodtalon@KoL

---

Torag turned as a scout ran to him, clearly out of breath. Like himself, the runner was wingless, though he had on a pair of ancient sandals that were famous for boosting one's agility, so it must've been quite the run. Struggling to keep up the pace, he slowed moments before getting to the wight and leaned forward, supporting himself with one hand on his knees. In the other hand was a sealed letter, which the wight took. It took him a moment to break the seal and read the letter, the silence becoming extremely awkward for all around him. He flipped the paper over to find an area map and the objective written below, and grunted in frustration. "This is a territory battle, speed is a necessity for victory. I will be unable to assist, I apologize." If you looked close enough, one could see the rotted muscles in his jaw clench as he passed the letter around. "Miyu, given your expertise, you're to go with ten others and harass the Machina's flagship, the HMS Contender. Return to the camp if you cannot get close, we cannot afford much loss this day. According to that report, that ship impossible to miss and forcing it away from the battle would prove fruitful. Omega and the newcomer," He paused for a moment, indicating Tartys with his sword. "Search the sectors for altars. The main body of our forces will follow you and defend the areas we capture." He returned his weapons to his back, turning away from the group and walking for the command tent in his usual, sluggish and heavy fashion. With the chance at engaging demons personally taken from him, it was easy to see that he was quite upset as he pushed aside the flap of an entrance. The loud crack of an unusually sturdy table within the tent reinforced this.

@Flamelord@The 42nd Gecko@Awesomoman64

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

Henry snarled at Sliske until Victoire arrived, at which point an indifferent expression crossed his face. "He started it." With that being said he tapped on a button on his sleeve and a set of gills opened on his neck. He walked into the ocean calmly, noting the bloody water along with accompanying roses, and dived in. He flexed his gills experimentally and nodded to himself in satisfaction when he discovered they worked. Henry then began thinking on the nature of the battle and capturing territory. A bit complicated for his tastes, but he would follow orders and smite his foes. With that thought he swam towards Victoire who had inserted herself in the middle of the ocean. An investment in body altering artifacts would be sound, he needed the ability to shift his body for situations like this. Henry reached Victoire and Sliske and decided to voice his thoughts.

"I will be heading to the sector west of us to capture the territory. I will need someone to come with, are there any objections?" He asked with a hint of impatience, ready to get things started and slaughter his personal target.

@Mega Birb@KoL

The Twins patrolled the Contender with the intent to find spies. Ever since infiltrators had managed to get inside the Elitcor, the Machina has made tighter security protocols against both demon and angelic spies. Spot screening, patrol check-ins, multiple passwords that changed every few hours. Anything to ensure that the Contender isn't compromised. The Twins, of course, passed these tests. Shizuka was rather uncomfortable since as a Holy Spirit, some of their anti-angel methods would affect her. She had to carry her Machina Badge and stay near Hibiki at all times to ensure she wasn't executed on the chance she was an Angel's spy. As the sisters continued their patrol they were approached by Grafdakka who gave the two their orders. It was strange seeing the normally unsocial giant robot just casually walk up and start barking orders, but Hibiki and Shizuka didn't question it. He was a Battlefield Commander now, so he was going to do this a lot more often.

"Sir yessir!"

"Sir yessir!"

Once Grafdakka was gone the twins went to gear up: It was time to battle. Aside from the new Nereid Aquatic Operation Armor given to them by High Queen Eos, Hibiki carried their usual load out. The Cerberus Rifle was fully capable of underwater warfare, which was one of the reasons why it's such a common and reliable weapon for the Machina. Shizuka on the other hand eschewed some of her equipment (Her hammer and pistol) to carry Ascalon, Diana's sword. It was suppose to be highly effective against demons and dragons, and Shizuka knew she'd face at least one of those things in this battle. Once the two had all their equipment ready they went to the lower levels of the contender and they both entered torpedo pods. Unlike normal torpedo's, these won't explode, rather they'd jettison Hibiki and Shizuka very far, very quickly. They'd need these to get behind enemy lines and help them find Victoire.

Speeding through the ocean at breakneck speeds, the pods eventually stopped at the south-east most sector. They had moved so quickly that they could easily reach the platform where they needed be to capture the sector. But instead of doing so, the Hibiki started telling Shizuka the plan. "Remember, somewhere in these sectors the Leviathan is asleep. For all we know, he could be right here. With that in mind we need to prep. Sis, I want you to watch the west and tell me if or when you see anyone coming. I'll start setting up some traps around here so after we leave, we'll weaken the enemy when they come to recapture this point." Shizuka took out her rifle, the only thing that had a scope far enough to allow her to see from a distance, and nodded her head. "Rodger that."

With their plan, Hibiki started to rig the area with traps, such as mines, hidden turrets, and some surveillance equipment. Shizuka hide in some foliage and used her scope to watch for any demons. From afar, she could see that some of the ocean's water had turned red. No doubt due to Victoire. If reports of her from the last battle was true, she turned the whole valley red with her magic. For a moment, Shizuka wondered how she and her sister were suppose to actually kill Victoire. "I doubt it'd be as simple as stabbing her..." Shizuka whispered to herself. She went back to keeping an eye on enemies, waiting until her sister was ready.

"Hmph! Do I look like I'm your mother?" Victoire scoffed when Henry started to throw childish accusations about who started the dispute between Sliske and he. The vampire was starting to feel like she would have a migraine, just form trying to work with these to, to revert the tide of this all but impossible to win battle. She heard both Sliske and Henry, before pondering silently for a few instants, before replying. "You seem to be better euiped to scout job between all of us, Arkilius... right? Maybe you should establish a perimeter, this could help with preemptive strategies. I'll leave the exact details at your discretion, while I leave to conquer the nearest sector along with Avaritia."

As she finished her reply, Victoire grinned, noticing that her roses had already formed a thick cover of thorny vines around the pillar, which would negate anyone from trying to capture it, without removing the vines first. While their corrosiveness would take more time to become really damaging while underwater, if these vines were attacked Victoire would know at the same time and could possibly teleport back here to defend them.

Nevertheless, she left the already controlled square for Sliske's discretion before moving to the adjacent one (Sector Alpha) with Henry and securing the capture point while they could. She couldn't set up defensive measures at this moment but, merely being there would be a deterrent for their foes, thus, the Demons were at a slight advantage this time around. Good, maybe all wasn't lost, after all...

---

Miyu was making her way across the top of the waves, two speedboat like "shoes" keeping her mech above the water, skating across. Behind, ten angels rode in two other speedboats, some awkwardly fumbling with a variety of strange tech Miyu had equipped them with. Miyu had low hopes that anything more complicated than 'throw at enemy/press button' would be used properly. Still, there were a couple of things in her arsenal that just needed some hands to hold them.

One however, tried to yell over the roar of the boats, which would have been quite unsuccessful if not for the comm system. "Hey, aren't we going the wrong way?"

"Torag's too cowardly to ride a boat to the fight, and the other's haven't acted yet. Well, screw Torag's orders then, I'm gonna meet up with the only others achieving the objective. We're meeting up with the girl with the sweet hammer. We'll actually secure some territory before we worry about protecting it." She continued their course to Sector Eta

And so Miyu pulled up alongside Dora's craft. "Torag ditched, others haven't moved out yet. Anything happen yet?"

The time had come at last, with the Contender having arrived and the battle begun. Not that there was a formal declaration as such, of course. The opposing forces had squared off, and it was only when intelligence came in indicating that the others had begun to move did the battle really begin. Now the fight for the Ruins was on, and whatever end came from that.

From the bridge of the Contender Endian could see the reports coming in. Grafdakka had set off, as well as Hibiki and Shizuka, and now the time for the fight to begin was upon them. She herself had resolved to take the field as well, a necessity given the sort of situation that they were in. They couldn't control the various sectors without command type personnel inside to claim said sectors. That meant she would have to take to the field.

This sector could be defended by the Contender, and she left it as such with firm instructions, meant to prevent any repeat instances of the treachery that had so crippled the Elicitor in the last battle. They would remain to make sure that the base of deployment was not immediately overrun, a reasonable precaution, and they would advance when given the opportunity later.

For now Endian herself took out a skimmer, hovering above the water with a small escort as she shot after Grafdakka. She couldn't jump like him, but she could see the sense. This way they wouldn't expose themselves to attacks by all angles going for the center, and could relatively secure their flank. It made all the sense in the world, even if it wasn't the most daring course of action.

Arriving, she equipped propulsion units before dipping beneath the water, packs allowing her to dive deep as she joined Grafdakka in heading for the node that they needed to activate. They had to act quickly if they were going to seize the advantage in this fight.

@Lucius Cypher

---

"I will do my best," Tartys replied with a bow as she was informed of what was going on, even as the plan changed before her eyes with information of their new objective. Sadly it still meant that they would have to go underwater though, so she was still less than pleased with it, even if she didn't say as such.

Then the fight began, with the dwarves moving off while the other angels mobilized. She received her orders quietly, determination forming in her mind as she readied her weapon for combat ahead. This was going to be another test, and she vowed that she would do better than she had in the previous battle.

"I'll be on my way then," she agreed as she looked towards Omega, wings unfurling to carry her skyward. With her gaze sweeping the horizon for the enemy she headed towards the sector that led on a direct route for the demons, the easier of foes that they would have to fight. It was a relatively safe journey all told, with no immediate foes, and for that she was very grateful at the end of it.

Arriving at her destination, she grumbled to herself as she twirled her spear and let light coalesce around her, bathing in a warmth that shone and would keep the water away, and allow her to breath. With it in place she dove beneath to find the node that they needed to activate this place. The sooner she did that, the sooner she could get back in the sky where she belonged.

@Awesomoman64@Mega Birb

With news of what they were doing plus the fact the Machina had already arrived, the armies of Heaven spared no time getting into action. Splitting off to cover more ground, Omega found himself paired with the newcomer ready to take the position just West of the encampment with majority of the angelic forces. It was a little disheartening to see Torag go from being ready to do battle to hiding in his tent. No matter, Omega had been in charge of the men here before, he’d do it again if needed.

Arriving at location Gamma, Omega and the rest of the angels took a dive in the salty sea. While the cowboy didn’t have to breath, most of the angels weren’t so lucky and had to rely on magicseaweed to keep them going. A select few however were able to conjure magical barriers that kept the water away from them altogether, much like the one Omega’s partner was using. Speaking of, he still didn’t have her name. He decided to ask as soon as they reach they searched the depths for the pillar.

”Pardon me miss, but I didn’t catch yer name. I know the time for pleasantries has past, but it’ll be awfully hard to communicate with you if all I can do is say ‘Hey you!’. Mine’s Omega if you couldn’t already... guess...”

Omega’s words got quieter and slowly stopped as he spotted something strange in the distance. Swimming a bit closer to get a better look, he clearly saw an individual in pink diving gear laying traps for the demons. Either they didn’t think the Angels to be a threat, or they weren’t expecting them so soon. Either way, it didn’t look as though they had seen him or any others yet and Omega was going to take advantage of this.

Drawing his revolvers he called back to partner, ”Round up a few of the troops and bring them here. Looks like we’ll have to drive some Machina out first. Least they were kind enough to set up our defenses for us.” He remarked noting they could make use of the traps that had been laid.

Swimming down to a collapsed part of the ruin behind the pink enemy, Omega peaked out from his cover and pulled the hammers back on both his revolvers. A faint glow began to emanate from the chambers of the guns as Omega charged his shots and took aim.



@Flamelord@Ryonara