Siris's body arched, her spine stiffening as the Empress's "Overload" rippled through her nerves. For a heartbeat, she looked truly broken—her eyes rolled back, and her breath caught in a sharp, wet hitch. But Siris was a High Elf of the Vanguard, and her **Emerald Aether** wasn't just magic; it was the indomitable will of the ancient forest.
With a guttural snarl of defiance, Siris slammed her palm into the damp earth.
"Don't... underestimate... the roots!" she hissed through gritted teeth.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them erupted. Thick, gnarled roots, as wide as a man's torso, tore through the soil like rising leviathans. They didn't just strike; they moved with the intelligence of a pack of predators. A massive, vine-wrapped branch whipped out, catching **Mina** around her **wide, liquid hips** and slamming her backward into the trunk of a great oak.
Before the Slime Empress could liquefy and slip away, Siris channeled a concentrated burst of life-energy into the tree. The bark surged forward, growing at an impossible rate to form a **living cage** of thorned wood that pinned Mina's **enormous, golden breasts** and heavy limbs against the wood. The thorns were coated in a sap that acted as a magical coagulant, specifically designed to harden liquid spirits.
Siris stood up, her **long, powerful legs** trembling but steady. Her emerald eyes burned with a fierce, competitive light as she wiped a smear of golden residue from her lip. She looked at Caelum, her chest heaving, her **firm, athletic breasts** straining against the fabric of her leotard.
"You think a single touch can claim a Knight of the Grove?" she challenged, her voice dripping with a mix of fury and exhilaration.
She moved with the speed of a falling leaf. In a blur of motion, she summoned a spear of hardened iron-wood, spinning it with such force the air whistled. She lunged at Caelum, the tip of the spear glowing with a sharp, piercing green light.
Caelum parried with his gold-clad forearm, the impact sending a shower of sparks into the dark. But Siris didn't stop. She used her **toned, muscular thighs** to vault over him, her **tight seat** brushing his shoulder as she performed a mid-air twist. As she landed, she kicked out, her heel catching Caelum in the chest and sending him back a step.
"I am the forest, Caelum," Siris panted, her **sweat-slicked skin** glistening under the moonlight. "I am not a reagent to be measured in a beaker. I am the growth that breaks the stone!"
She stood in a low combat stance, her **supple, powerful curves** coiled like a spring. Behind her, the trees themselves seemed to lean in, their branches shifting to block the exits. Caelum looked at the pinned Empress, then back at the Knight-Scout.
His golden eyes didn't show anger; they showed a dark, intensified hunger. He finally found a reagent that could push back—a material with enough structural integrity to handle the full, unbridled pressure of his Gold.
"Impressive," Caelum murmured, his Gold Aether beginning to swirl with a violent, rotational energy. "You want to fight for your sovereignty, Siris? Good. It makes the final 'Alloy' that much more durable."