The merciless maid

Dahlia was absolutely flabbergasted by the disparity she felt between the normally bubbly maid and the warrior that now stood before her. If she weren't so familiar with the woman, she would have just assumed that a new imposter had shown up, but no. Bessie stood there with the countenance of an executioner.

The helmeted head turned to look towards Dahlia who was pressed into the ground and immediately the weight of gravity lifted off her.

"I'm sorry My Lady, I didn't mean to catch you in the crossfire. Please get to the side but stay within my sight. I don't want to lose track of you. Now then…"

Turning back to the woman who was seemingly made of clay, the minotaur-kin scowled. This piece of trash not only threatened her mistress but brought harm to her. Bessie hadn't missed the massive damage on the girl's arm and just recalling it brought her temper to a fever pitch.

As her emotions roiled, the sound of furniture creaking and cracking could be heard as the gravity suddenly started to increase further throughout the room.

"You might be able to reinforce your body with magic and not die under this pressure, but that's for the better. I'm going to keep you pinned there and teach you just what happens when you touch My Lady."

Cows aren't particularly known for growling, but that was the best way to describe the sounds coming from the maid. What *was* slightly more cow-like was the sharp exhale from her nose, huffing out a puff of air as she got ready for a charge with her halberd.

As she approached though, she noticed something unnerving. Even with all that overwhelming pressure that was crushing the woman into the floorboards, the imposter was there with a crazed smirk chuckling to herself. Suddenly the room seemed to fall into silence as she clenched her jaw and a cracking sound was made.

Dahlia remained in the corner of the room confused. That seemed to match all the descriptions she'd heard of suicide pills. Was it something like that? Bessie wasn't quite so optimistic however. Not wanting to waste a moment, the maid rushed in, axe in hand, and immediately swung towards the collapsed intruder.

Much to her chagrin though, the body suddenly morphed and leaped to the side with shocking speed and dexterity. Dahlia couldn't help but be confused. Was that a broken wing gambit where she tried to lure Bessie in? It didn't seem like it though… it felt like the woman suddenly received a huge burst of energy instead.

In fact, that's exactly what it was and Bessie had already clued in to what exactly happened. Not letting her eyes leave her enemy for a second, she called out to Dahlia.

"She just broke an equaliser pill so I may have to put in some real effort. Stay safe and close. Protect yourself as best you can, quickly!"

There was a commanding and urgent authority in her voice that left no room for Dahlia to second guess the instructions and she immediately began trying to form wooden protection as best as she could for herself. Besides, after hearing what had happened, Dahlia had become well aware of how dangerous the situation was.

Equaliser pills were called that because they are 'the great equaliser', second only to death itself. By consuming the drug, nearly all limits on a human body were released and people grew rapidly in power. For people who have never used magic, it usually becomes destructive but poorly controlled, but in cases like this… this woman would likely be able to fight on an even footing with incredibly proficient warriors.

There was just one catch and that was how only minutes after consumption it left people, permanently crippled, insane, or dead. An apocalyptic cult had made pleanty martyr based suicide attacks with the drug in the past, but since then it was completely controlled and even removed from the black market (if governments are to be believed). So it wasn't only terrifying, but it begged the question where the pill even came from.

Nonetheless, those were concerns to be worried about later. There was currently a melting clay faced psycho laughing nonstop and that threat needed to take priority.

"Hahahahahaha, you have no idea how good this feels. You cow bitch, I'm going to sculpt you into a pavingstone to be walked on~"

There was a maddening gleam in the woman's eyes and then she gave a small insincere curtsy.

"Bella Torivald, at your service. Doppelganger blooded and master of the 'clay' aspect, it's an absolute displeasure to be in your service beast-kin filth."

Although her hackles were raised, Bessie didn't immediately lash out. She was impulsive but at least understood how to properly respond to taunts at least. Luckily, she didn't need to wait long to finally take her anger out. Seeing that the maid didn't fall for her gibes, the woman clicked her tongue and went on the offensive. She was on a time limit after all.

Dahlia was watching in horror in her corner as the suite she was just gifted yesterday was torn to pieces. The woman started to spray drops of wet grey clay all over the room and it seemed as if each surface touched by even a droplet would then begin to transform into a soft, moist, and malleable clay.

Seeing it, Dahlia knew that the room was being turned into a domain. The ultimate form of channelling schemas typically results in domain creation. It will vary depending on caster, schema, and aspect, but those that specialise in channelling have always revered the domain and the ability to turn your surroundings into an ideal environment for your aspect. To be able to do so was a sign of proficiency, or in this case, a sign of how powerful that pills' effects were.

Meanwhile, the horror continued. Not only was her body seaming to melt and spray everywhere, but the intruder's entire silhouette began to change. Her legs seemed to melt and half submerge themselves in the floorboards, leading the woman to unnaturally glide around. Then, four extra arms began to shape themselves on her torso before all six of her arms sprouted ruthless looking blades.

It was like this clay woman had turned her body into a weapon as her last destructive act. It seemed like she was pushing the bounds of her aspect as well, but that insane grin never left her face. With movements that almost seemed insectile, she began to leap after Bessie as the maid did her best to understand the sudden change in situation.

Her gravity *was* slowing the woman down, but only barely. This pill really did seem to even the playing field and with the rapid attacks coming her way and the continuously expanding domain of clay, Bessie snorted in derision as she braced herself for genuine combat.

Releasing a domain of her own, the air darkened and suddenly barnacles and clumps of rocky coral began growing over all surfaces in the room. Forming a hard and sharp layer over every surface. Suddenly the clay that was spreading now started to be consumed by the competing domain. It was like the women's auras were fighting each other all while their own battle was raging.

And it should be made clear that their battle raged.

Dahlia watched in awe and terror as such a monstrous combat was taking place so close to her. Both women had incredible agility and they each parried and reflected eachother's attacks one after the other.

While the invader used her insect-like arms to try and overwhelm the maid, Bessie matched her not in speed but in quality. Each swing of her halberd shook the entire building and cracks could be seen repeatedly forming on those clay arms before they repaired themselves.

It wasn't just simple back and forth attacks either. With each movement, small pitfalls, tripwires, spikes, and more were made to try and catch Bessie off guard, but the maid either saw them in advance or straight up overpowered them. Her sheer power was alarming and once paired with her magic it was like a walking force of nature.

Each swing of her axe brought a shockwave of gravity and a deluge of water. Each movement was reinforced with coral pushing behind her and accelerating movements or reinforcing her body so she could put more force in. She would occasionally use her coral to try and attack or form barriers, but Bessie never used it to make traps.

Unlike her opponent, the maid was quite bullheaded and felt most comfortable muscling her way through her problems. Honestly, the maids' entire fighting style seemed to scream 'traps and strategy are for cowards!' Dahlia wasn't particularly a fan of this simplistic combat style, but it was certainly impressive.

Despite the bullish style, the fight continued. Six razor sharp arms constantly tried to get past an iron defence, but repeatedly they failed. However, Bessie was beginning to notice something. Though her armour and weapon was strong and resilient to magic, it wasn't invincible. All along the haft of her halberd, deep scratches could be seen where metal had turned to clay and was subsequently carved out. If this fight went for much longer, her weapon or even her armour may fail.

Deciding to press for the advantage, the minotaur-kin hammered the gap over and over and each strike brought with it the weight of a small mountain. If it weren't for her being somewhat careful, this entire wing of the castle could have easily become rubble by this point and yet things remained only in moderate disarray.

Huddled in the corner, Dahlia stared open eyed as shards of rubble flew past too fast to see, however she remained fixated on the movements before her. At that very moment, Bessie had coated her entire body with water and she rode in it like some mermaid of death within a living wave. It was clear that this new spell wasn't well suited to her schema and the maid was depleting her mana quickly, but the sudden burst of speed proved that Bessie had no intentions of letting this last any longer.

What happened next occurred in less than a second. That wave carried her like a bullet and there was simply no chance for her enemy to react. Already after a single attack the water began to pour away, but the deed had already been done. Along with a destructive hydraulic jet that cut the opposing wall in half, Bessie's halberd was now deep into the intruder's body and rather than muddy clay pouring out, this time it was a pool of blood.

Doppelganger or not, it seemed that the woman was reaching her limits. The crazed grin from before began to fade as the reality of the situation began to dawn on her. Suddenly as desperation overtook her, her muddy claws began to scramble against the black armour, but the minotaur-kin only looked through her visor with cold eyes.

"You won't have the pleasant opportunity to die easily. I want to see if we can keep you alive but that doesn't mean you need anything else. Now feel the weight of your sins."

It was said with a strange mix of nonchalance and resolute judgement. Watching the scene unfold, Dahlia had a sudden feeling that what was about to be done had been performed many times before.

Now with her foe weakened, Bessie was able to concentrate her mana and encompass the woman in it. Slowly, water mixed with darkness, and that mixed with gravity. Whirlpools as black as ink began to swirl and surrounded each limb of her target. Creaks and groans could be heard from the woman's bones and flesh began to tear as the maid uttered with a calm and ruthless voice, [Abyssal Embrace: Charybdis' Dismemberment].

Immediately, the black whirlpools seemed to condense and the sound of tearing became more pronounced until it suddenly stopped. Disappearing faster than they even formed, the vortexes left behind nothing but crushed and bloody stumps.

Laying a foot on the still breathing body and pressing it into the ground, Bessie lifted her visor and a smug look could be seen briefly before that expression quickly shifted. Noticing the scared girl still in the corner, the maid's disposition went from domineering and cruel to soft and motherly almost instantly.

"My Lady!!! I'm so sorry it took me so long to take care of things. How is your arm, are you ok? I don't have any healing magic so all I can do is take you to a medic and try to kiss it better…"

She did exactly that and left a big smooch on the arm right beside where it had recently been torn apart. She gave a slightly silly but apologetic smile before helping her to her feet.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of this… We get attacked relatively often, but it's never like this. I'll do better to protect you in the future."

Dahlia chuckled a bit to herself. Bessie really had a dynamic personality and seeing her flip from merciless killer to doting and silly mother made her feel almost dizzy from the whiplash. Nonetheless, she truly loved the maid and all her support and care.

"Don't worry, none of this was your fault as far as I'm concerned. Maybe next time I'll try to avoid getting hurt like this again, but that will fall as much on me training as it does on you protecting me. Either way though, I'll be in your care."

She gave Bessie a tight hug; it was meant to be just to show affection for the maid, but soon, Dahlia was staggering and simply using her to stay upright. Glancing at her arm, the amount of blood loss really wasn't ideal. Combine that with her prior exhaustion and it was a wonder she was still standing, but now all the adrenaline was wearing off.

"Ok My Lady, I think I ought to get you to some healers and a bed as soon as possible. I'll be by your side the entire time, so just feel safe and rest."

Nodding, Dahlia was already half unconscious and began to slip further and further into a deep sleep. The maid gently lifted her and carried her to the infirmary, but all the while her thoughts were racing.

Whatever was going on, there was no way things were normal. The chaos outside combined with what she could only assume was a kidnapping attempt of Dahlia left far too many questions. Add on that pill and things became even more unusual. As far as she was aware, the recipes for those pills were only known by the higher echelons of governments and kept locked in vaults.

Having a single pill on the loose was also a sure sign that more would be elsewhere. Bessie could only hope that Valentina and Lilli wouldn't encounter any issues and that the most valuable resources had been used here instead.

Entering the infirmary, Bessie delivered her mistress to a private and protected room and immediately got her the medical attention she needed before finally turning to face the entrance to act as a guard. This was going to be a long rest of the night, but the maid didn't even bat an eye. For Dahlia's sake, she wouldn't lose vigilance for even a moment.

The night might be long, but she was patient.