https://youtu.be/rs-iN8-oy7g

As Aleron pushed ahead, she thrust her sword at Yuri's chest, but the latter quickly swatted it away with her shield. Undeterred, Aleron struck again, her blade as swift as the wind as she forced Yuri to hastily parry it away with her own falchion. What followed was a rapid flurry of strikes that Yuri could only just defend herself from while Aleron grinned madly, relishing in the offensive advantage she'd quickly established.

Alas, the fight simply wouldn't be exciting if this went on for too long. Aleron, recognising this, shifted her footwork as her blade glowed with a red aura. She struck, going for Yuri's sword hand as the nixie failed to defend herself in time. With a loud clang, Yuri was disarmed, and she widened her eyes as she realised how overwhelmingly strong Aleron had become in that single strike. Returning to her original stance, Aleron continued to thrust at Yuri, who, conscious of her shield's importance in this fight, remained defensive for now.

So again and again, steel met steel, and as Yuri closed her eyes, her discarded sword transformed into water and began to soar around the pair. Aleron, not caring for this, increased her speed in the blink of an eye, appearing behind Yuri and poking her back with a sword. What followed was a powerful gust of wind originating from the rapier's tip, blowing her away and sweeping Aleron herself off her feet with the recoil. Now in the air, the elf called forth her golden butterfly wings, mastering her own stance before ascending even higher than before.

"Yuri, heads up!"

Heeding Freya's warning, Yuri looked up to the sky to see a set of storm clouds forming right above Aleron. As they crackled with lightning, forming a thunderous rumbling, Yuri spread her dragonfly wings and took flight, soaring upwards. Aleron pointed her rapier downwards, and right then, multiple bolts of golden lightning struck down, hitting Yuri directly. Though staggered, she didn't let up, continuing to fly up.

Aleron, surprised by her resilience, gave a delighted smile, pointing her blade up again. "Haha, yes!" she bellowed. One by one, lightning bolts fell from the clouds, trying to strike Yuri, who flew out of the way of each strike as she made her ascent, the water mass that had once been her sword flying up behind her. Aleron watched this going on, her sword becoming wreathed in flames as she flew down after Yuri with a descending stab that was blocked as the nixie raised her shield.

As Aleron repeatedly struck Yuri, her attacks slower but stronger than the initial barrage, Yuri kept on defending, struggling but not faltering under the overwhelming attack. As the two continued to clash, Aleron leaned slightly closer, her smile still plastered onto her face. "You're pretty tough! It's been a while since I had an opponent like you!"

"You're less annoying than your underling." Yuri commented in return, her expression still calm as Aleron began to circle her while striking, with Yuri meeting the movement as best as she could. "Most can't use so many elements as potently as you can."

Aleron was about to open her mouth, only to quickly stop attacking Yuri, the flames around her blade turning into a frosty rime and chilling mist. She snapped around, having noticed the water mass about to ram into her, and parried it away. It continued to jump around her, but she continued to swat it away. Yuri, for her part, came up behind her and bashed her shield into Aleron's head, and the water returned to her, taking the shape of her sword again. She gripped the falchion, moving forth to thrust it through her stomach.

Aleron chuckled, turning around to parry the strike before it could hit, and her sword became shrouded with electricity. "The element thing, you can thank Myriad Might for!" she exclaimed, mimicking Yuri's thrusting gesture, her movements faster and sharper than Yuri's had been. She was struck, eyes widening as she felt the lightning coursing through her body, threatening to stop her in her tracks. But she'd never been one to back down to a threat.

Mustering up all her strength, she tore herself away from the blade and flew off to gain some distance, only for Aleron to close the gap in the blink of an eye and go in for another stab. Yuri quickly parried with her shield, only for Aleron to reveal it was a feint and deliver a short flurry of stinging stabs to Yuri's chest. Yuri, taking the blows like they were nothing, took a deep breath as a whirling water barrier began to surround her, expanding to keep Aleron out at all costs.

While the elf tried to pierce through with her electrified blade, Yuri held both sword and shield in front of her, gritting her teeth as the shield transformed into a second sword, and both flared up with a magnificent, flame-like energy. She crossed them over her head, giving Aleron a harsh glare before saying: "Agent of chaos, harbinger of death: fall."

At once, the water burst out to push Aleron slightly further away, and Yuri closed the gap to lower her blazing blades onto her, the sheer force of the double-handed strike completely ignoring Aleron's attempt to parry and sending her plummeting to the ground. The elf tried to move, only to find that her limbs and wings were frozen in place, and immediately became panic-stricken as she tried desperately to move again.

Yuri, with stoic eyes, rushed down after her and, unwilling to let up for even a moment, caught up to her and attacked repeatedly with a rapid sequence of slashes with both falchions. Aleron was helpless to this assault until she hit the ground, spontaneously feeling her movement return to her. Not wasting a second, she hooked her foot around Yuri's, tripping her up before leaping to her feet. She jumped to the side multiple times, wind slowly gathering around her before she quickly took off into the town.

Yuri, getting up in the meantime, clenched her teeth as she observed her adversary's sheer speed. She knew she could never match that, a fact that became even more apparent as she began running after her, finding herself soundly outsped. Freya, watching this, hummed as she spoke up in Yuri's mind. "Need any help?"

She nodded in response. "I need to get closer. She's too fast."

"I can see that." Freya observed. "I'll try something, but I'll need you to keep in mind everything that's at stake here."

"Everything that's at stake..." Yuri muttered, a look of stony resolution settling onto her face as she thought about this. If this Hel's Angel got her way, then many more innocents would fall to her bloodlust. They might get a step closer to whatever their goal was. She would have let Svafrlami down, and Oz would be in danger. "...I see."

Freya, on the other end, chuckled as she sensed Yuri's intense feelings of devotion and determination beginning to flare up. "Love empowers the soul and motivates the righteous...with your love strong inside you, let evil fall! Heartbeat Rush!"

At once, Yuri felt her heart beating heavily in her chest as Freya's divine magic flowed into her, her body giving off a faint red glow as her movements gradually quickened beyond what they had once been. Eventually, as she turned into a few more streets, she began to catch up to Aleron, spotting her going down what seemed to be a motorway - black tar with green stripes painted on it, with an incredibly wavy shape that looped back around into being an effectively straight line.

Her weapons turned into water as she sent them hurtling towards Aleron. The shield turned back just in time to smash into her head, and Aleron looked back at her, grinning as she laid eyes on her. "Didn't think you'd catch up, since you're so slow!" she taunted, briefly sticking out her tongue before ducking out of the way of a water blast.

"This isn't a game. You're going to die." Yuri retorted, swinging her sword in an arc in front of her and firing a mighty crescent of water, watching as Aleron struggled to parry it with an icy blade. "Before you do, tell me what you and your Angels are plotting."

"Hmm, let's see..." Aleron murmured, contemplating if Yuri was worth telling, turning around to jab the air and fire darts of wind at the nixie, who ducked underneath them and retrieved her shield. "We're gonna kill your king and replace him with our Lord Gardariki. Simple, right?"

Yuri scowled at this, transforming the shield into a sword and getting in closer, attacking Aleron with a double-handed slash that she only just managed to parry. "Odin cares for his subjects and protects us from chaos. He is a good ruler." she said indignantly, drawing back to attack more aggressively with her blades. "I doubt your Lord could do better."

"Hey, Gardariki treats us well, too!" Aleron interjected, standing her ground as her blade began to glow with a bright light. "When we do well, at least. If we do poorly...well, let's say he's got a vat of acid set for in case Anwin screws up. It encourages effort!"

Yuri faltered slightly, thinking about what this entailed. She was familiar with such an environment - harsh punishments and whatnot, with outward benevolence if she performed well. It reminded her...of him. So why did she dislike the sound of it so much?

"It encourages fear, more like." Freya scoffed. "Why punish so harshly if he's planning to rule benevolently? At least Odin doesn't do that!"

With these words, Yuri nodded quickly, looking into Aleron's eyes and holding her ground once again. "Lord Gardariki sounds like a tyrant. Someone like him should not be on Asgard's throne."

Aleron chuckled, not denying or supporting this assertion, and closed her eyes as she channelled various elemental magics into the blade. Her rapier held the swiftness of the wind, the blazing heat of fire, the chill of ice and the precision of lightning all at once. As the ground behind her froze over, she slid backwards, forcing distance between herself and Yuri. "Maybe so. But he's my boss, ain't he?"

With one quick flash, she closed the gap between herself and Yuri, who immediately turned both of her swords into shields to defend herself with. Yuri remained firmly rooted to the ground the entire time, glaring into Aleron's euphoric eyes as she waited for just the right moment. As it came, she moved her shields apart, allowing Aleron to get in close as she called upon her blades. The two of them moved in, but Yuri was that little bit faster and more determined, her swords skewering Aleron.

The elf looked down at Yuri, ceasing her advance as she coughed up some blood onto the road, and as Yuri pulled her blades out, Aleron couldn't help but smile, clutching her stomach tightly as she attempted to hold onto her blade with her other hand. "...heh...you're incredible." she murmured, pointing her sword at her. "C'mon, knight...I've got plenty of fight in me! Let's go for another round!"

Yuri frowned, raising her sword. "How sad." she said unsympathetically. "I'll make this quick."

She was about to lower her sword, only to pause as she saw a sight most unusual. Next to Aleron, a swirling, black and white rift appeared in the air, and from it emerged an armoured figure, tall and dignified, despite the seemingly total face coverage from his masked helmet. As Aleron looked up at him, Yuri prepared herself for combat, glaring at the new figure, who simply raised his hand.

https://youtu.be/59Ri26PIOLs

"Won't you lower your blade, Knight of Odin?" he asked, his voice smooth and calm. "I'm only here to pick up my friend. And, not to sound arrogant, but I do believe there are better ways to die than by my hand."

"I'm not the one who's going to die here." Yuri said coldly, pointing her sword at the man, who remained unfazed by her move, simply shaking his head. Freya cleared her throat, speaking through what seemed to be clenched teeth.

"Uh, Yuri? Yes you are."

Yuri raised an eyebrow, looking up as she heard these words. "...huh?"

"He's many times stronger than you! In your condition, you don't stand a chance!"

"Are you positive about this?"

"Yes!"

While this went on, Aleron gazed up at the man, her face scrunched up in a slight pout. "Ragnar..." she whined. "I could've taken her..."

"The hole in your stomach tells me otherwise." Ragnar said. "At times like this, you must simply accept that you have been defeated. Your determination is admirable - don't let it become folly."

Aleron scowled, about to open her mouth to speak in defiance, but Ragnar, raising his head, interrupted her. "I understand you lust for blood, be it yours or your enemy's. I do understand your desire to see this through." he said. "Defeat is a natural part of battle, and with it often comes death. However, we need you alive, Aleron."

"Ugh, fine." the elf groaned, coughing up another small bit of blood and covering her mouth.

"Now, enter the portal. We will get you treated promptly." he said simply, and Aleron slowly trudged into it, looking back at Yuri with an easygoing smile.

"Hehe...looking forward to the next round." she said, making her way into the portal and vanishing. Yuri, for her part, hadn't really paid attention, only just finishing her discussion with Freya and now turning to face Ragnar, putting her weapons away in a huff.

"Who are you?" she asked him. "Are you...Lord Gardariki?"

"Rest assured, I am far more merciful than him." Ragnar bowed his head, taking a respectful tone. "I am Ragnar, Gardariki's right hand."

"...so you're not going to kill me?" she asked, her words tinged with suspicion as she eyed him closely, noticing his demeanour seemed rather relaxed - as though he didn't believe he was in the slightest bit of danger right now. He waved his hand in response, shaking his head.

"To be frank, I'd rather get you on my side as you are, rather than recycling your soul." he told her. "Young knight, what's your name?"

Yuri paused, contemplating whether or not to answer this question, before looking directly where she assumed Ragnar's eyes were. "My name is Yuri Croce."

"I see..." Ragnar nodded slowly. "Watching you fight, I could see your potential, and I must say I understand why Aleron was enjoying herself so much. You are quite the knight, indeed."

Yuri said nothing, but Ragnar and Freya both noticed her lightening up slightly at the reception of praise. "It's a shame, then," he continued. "That you squander it working for such horrible people."

"Odin and Svafrlami are just." Yuri said almost instinctively, her expression becoming colder.

"Odin is the toxin that eats away at this world. And don't even get me started on Svafrlami. If he weren't the Allfather's grandson, his being in any position of power would be a mystery." Ragnar sighed, almost exasperated. "I do hope that one day, you'll come to see my way."

Yuri remained silent at that, and Ragnar turned towards the portal slowly, beginning to step in. "Now, I'd love to stay and chat, but I do need to get Aleron all healed up." he told her. "Until next time, Yuri. And I do believe there will be a next time."

Despite wanting to put up a stand against him, Yuri simply watched as he vanished into the rift, which disappeared just as he did. So she stood alone, closing her eyes and lowering her head. "...I believe this is a success." she murmured. "Freya. Where is Oz?"

"Hmm..." Freya replied, closing in her clairvoyance on Oz for a little before returning to Yuri. "...it looks like he's leaving Cynrio."

"...Cynrio?" Yuri raised an eyebrow, opening her eyes. "When did he get to Cynrio?"

"I don't know." Freya lied. "Maybe there were Angels there, too? He always was one to just run off without thinking twice..."

Yuri frowned at that, looking to the ground and shaking her head. "...I wanted to see him..."

"You'll get your chance some other day." Freya reassured her. "After all, the 'Comic Mask' never sleeps, does he?"

"...I guess not." Yuri closed her eyes, pressing her fingers to her forehead. "...take me to Asgard, please. Before anyone spots me."

"You saved the city, Yuri!" Freya exclaimed. "Don't you wanna bask in the praise of the adoring masses?"

Yuri shuddered in response, listening to Freya spell out a literal nightmare scenario, and shook her head quickly. "Take me back."

"Haha, sure." Freya chuckled. Yuri opened her eyes, watching as a hole opened up in the clouds, and from it, a pink tractor beam shone down, enveloping Yuri and beginning to elevate her from the ground and into Asgard once again.