Affinity:Chaos

Grey and Klaus didn't need to communicate with each other while the switch was taking place, from the first time Klaus appeared, he already knew what Grey had in mind.

Grey and Klaus were different individuals and their attack pattern was different. The lady was trying to get used to Grey's attack pattern, so with Klaus suddenly appearing and unleashing an attack from a different element and angle, she was forced to take those attacks before having to deal with the tricky Grey.

The lady soon understood her plight. Not just that, but due to Grey and Klaus switching repeatedly, and the lady not being able to stop them from destroying her puppets, the puppet Klaus was fighting with had lost both arms as well as a leg. With just one leg left, there was no way it could fight properly against Klaus who was stronger than it is.

The lady understood this and decided to self-destruct the puppet. She didn't rush the decision, she wanted Grey to be the one who was there when she did this. She has come to understand that Grey was the one who was making things hard for her, so she felt even if he wasn't killed by the detonation, he would be wounded which will give her the chance she wanted.

Just as Grey as Klaus switched places one more time.

Boom!

The puppet exploded in Grey's face. Grey was standing close to it and never expected the lady to self-destruct the puppet so soon. Even though the puppet has lost some limbs, it was still a First stage Sovereign and could still fight to a certain extent.

Grey reacted quickly, retreating. He couldn't create a spatial tunnel due to just switching places with the lady, so his only choice was to get as far as possible from the center of the explosion. He knew there was no way he could successfully leave this area without getting caught by the explosion, he just wanted to try to make sure he was caught on the periphery which would be less impactful.

He covered his body with both an earth and ice armor, while the invisible armor he had appeared once again.

A First stage Sovereign detonating could unleash the strength of a Fifth or even Sixth stage Sovereign. This wasn't something Grey could deal with at the moment.

Alice and Reynolds stood up when they saw Grey getting swallowed by the flames of the explosion as it widened.

Klaus didn't have the time to care for Grey's safety, he knew Grey would find a way to escape from that situation, he attacked the lady, not slipping up. If he was distracted by Grey's predicament, then he would give the lady an opportunity to defeat him.

From the deal the lady made, it was clear to say she doesn't have any intention of killing them. They had to defeat her or she would be allowed to leave.

"Your friend is hurt, won't you check on him?" The lady asked with a smile as she forced Klaus back.

Klaus couldn't handle her alone, even Grey was finding it difficult to fight with her, much less Klaus.

Grey's figure shot out of the explosion and crashed into the ground, creating a long crater as his body slid on the ground.

Klaus took a look and his reply made the lady chuckle, "Nah, he'll be fine."

It was almost as if he didn't think this was anything serious even though it was obvious that Grey didn't manage to escape from the range of the explosion.

Grey's inscriptions vanished and the lady sent the puppet that was previously being held back by inscriptions after Grey.

Alice and Reynolds wanted to make a move.

"Remember the deal, you two can't intervene in this battle."

The lady's words stopped them from going. According to the lady's deal, if she defeats Grey and Klaus she is free to go. Technically, she has already defeated Alice and Reynolds, so they can't join in on the fight again.

"They were the two who made a deal with you, not us." Alice didn't worry about the lady's words.

"Your friends will be going back on their words, and I don't think you would want that for them." The lady didn't seem phased by Alice's words.

Alice paused and couldn't help but cuss both Grey and Klaus under her breath, "Morons."

Only Grey and Klaus would take such a risk.

Grey's condition was currently unknown, and the lady was getting the better of Klaus who was just barely hanging on.

The battle which they thought was going smoothly for Grey and Klaus when they started switching places a few seconds ago had turned on them in a matter of a second.

The lady used this opportunity to oppress Klaus who could barely stand properly in the air. His ice armor was broken in different places, and black patches could be seen on his body, a result of the lady's darkness element.

The puppet flew into the crater where Grey crashed, and just as it was about to attack, it was sent flying by a fist.

Grey crawled out of the crater, bloodied. His clothes were in disarray, and each one of his armor has been damaged, even the armor he got from the secret realm a long while ago was also damaged.

'This will take a long time, and resources as well to fix.' He looked at the condition of the armor and his face turned dark.

The resources he would need to fix the armor is unprecedented, but he couldn't discard the armor. The reason he came out with only a few broken ribs, and large gashes on his body was precisely because of this armor, if not, he might've even been dead by now.

"Such a vile move." He gritted his teeth as he looked at Klaus who was being pummeled by the lady.

The lady hid powerful swords in the body of the puppet, so when it self-destructed, the weapons shot at Grey, cutting him in different parts of his body.