She turned around smoothly. Two more guards charged at her with jagged swords. Naomi parried the first sword with her left dagger. She used her right dagger to slice the second guard's weapon completely in half. She moved with flawless, beautiful precision. She fought with absolute confidence.
Naomi quickly glanced over her shoulder. She wanted to check the back of the room. She wanted to make sure a certain lazy slacker was safe.
Ken Eliot was crouching under a large metal desk in the far corner of the laboratory. He had his hands wrapped securely over his head. He looked completely terrified. He peeked out from under the desk with wide, panicked eyes.
Naomi smiled a very warm, very fond smile. She liked seeing him hiding safely. She felt a strong sense of relief. She knew he did not have a weapon. She knew he did not wear armor. She wanted to protect him. She turned her attention back to the fight, feeling totally motivated.
Under the metal desk, Ken was putting on a fantastic acting performance.
"Ahhhh! So many lasers!" Ken yelled loudly. He made sure his voice cracked. "Please do not shoot the desk! I am just a simple guy! I am allergic to toxic magic!"
He kept his arms over his head. But internally, Ken felt completely different. He did not feel an ounce of fear. He did not feel panicked. He just felt incredibly bored and mildly annoyed by the loud noise.
"This siren is absolutely terrible," Ken complained quietly to himself. He lowered his arms slightly. "It is hurting my ears. And these guards just keep coming. There are at least fifty of them in the hallway outside. They are going to keep shooting at Sayma's shield all day."
Ken reached into the pocket of his wrinkled navy blue suit pants. He pulled out a small, round piece of strawberry candy. He unwrapped the plastic wrapper very slowly. He popped the candy into his mouth. He chewed it happily. The sweet flavor was a nice distraction from the flashing red lights.
"My team is doing a great job," Ken thought lazily. He watched Laxmi throw a massive fireball across the room. The flames engulfed three guards instantly. "But they are going to get very tired if this fight lasts for another hour. These guards are just mindless clones. The real threat is not in this room."
Ken realized the situation perfectly. The Ashura guards were just cheap biological weapons. Someone else was controlling them. Someone else was sitting in a secure room, giving the orders and running the facility. Ken needed to find the actual commanders. He needed to find the source of the problem.
"I cannot just sit under this desk forever," Ken decided silently. "My knees are getting stiff. The floor is very cold. I need to go for a walk. I need to find the people in charge. But I absolutely cannot let Naomi see me leave. She will worry. I need a perfect distraction."
Ken shoved his hands back into his pockets. He slouched his shoulders. He closed his dark, sleepy eyes for a fraction of a millisecond.
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He tapped into his absolute, reality-bending magic. He did not chant a spell. He did not create a glowing light. He just focused his mind.
"Anime logic, substitute," Ken whispered softly.
In a totally invisible, silent shimmer of mana, a flawless magical clone materialized right next to him under the metal desk.
The clone was an exact replica. It wore the same wrinkled navy blue suit. The white shirt hung completely untucked over the belt. The black hair stuck up in the exact same messy spikes. The clone even chewed an imaginary piece of strawberry candy.
Ken looked at his clone. He gave it a lazy thumbs-up.
The clone immediately took over the performance. The clone threw its hands over its head. It curled into a tight ball.
"Oh my goodness! This is a total nightmare!" the clone shrieked loudly. The voice was perfectly matched to Ken's usual whiny tone. "I just wanted to take a nap! Why is there always fighting?! Please protect my nice suit!"
Naomi heard the clone screaming. She sliced another guard's rifle in half. She laughed softly. She thought Ken was just being his usual, ridiculous self. She had absolutely no idea the real Ken was already moving.
The real Ken did not crawl out from under the desk. He simply melted into the dark shadows near the back wall. His physical body dissolved seamlessly into the darkness. He completely erased his presence from the laboratory. He became totally undetectable.
He stepped backward right through the solid metal wall. He bypassed the entire chaotic firefight in a single, effortless motion.
Meanwhile, in a completely different part of the massive underground facility, another intense battle was taking place.
The 16th Unit was pushing their way through the central corridor. Princess Hestia marched in the exact middle of the group. Her pristine white silk dress flowed elegantly around her ankles. She did not look scared. She looked incredibly annoyed by the dirty environment.
"This bunker is entirely unacceptable," Princess Hestia complained. She gracefully brushed a tiny speck of dust off her sleeve. "The air ventilation is atrocious. My girls, please clear this hallway quickly. I refuse to spend another ten minutes in this dreadful place."
"Yes, Your Highness!" the elite servants answered in perfect unison.
The 16th Unit fought with absolute, terrifying precision. They did not shout. They did not break formation. They operated like a flawless, highly disciplined machine.
A large squad of Ashura guards blocked the central corridor. The monsters fired their toxic green magical rifles.
Zaima stood at the front of the 16th Unit. Sayma’s bitter lookalike scowled deeply. She raised her hands.
"Formation Alpha-Shield!" Zaima commanded sharply.
Glowing white triangular barriers snapped into place. The shields angled perfectly. The toxic green energy blasts hit the white barriers and deflected harmlessly into the metal ceiling. The enemy magic did not even touch the girls.
"Advance!" Zaima ordered.
Elma dashed forward. The blonde swordswoman wore her spotless white and gold uniform. Her golden curls bounced slightly. She drew her twin silver short-swords. She did not swing wildly like Laxmi. She used highly calculated, beautiful sword techniques.
An Ashura guard lunged at her. Elma sidestepped smoothly. She slashed her right sword in a crisp, horizontal arc. She cut the guard's rifle completely in two. She used her left sword to strike the guard's armor, knocking him flat onto the floor grids.
"These creatures are incredibly clumsy," Elma noted coldly. She spun her swords and moved to the next target. "They have zero tactical refinement."
Celia walked right behind Elma. The quiet, organized servant threw small, glowing silver darts onto the floor. The darts connected with bright white lines of magic. They formed a tight magical net. Three charging guards stepped onto the net. The magic instantly wrapped around their legs. The guards tripped and crashed onto the metal floor.
"Targets secured," Celia stated blankly.
Princess Hestia watched her team dismantle the enemy forces. She smiled a proud, haughty smile.
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