Apocalypse Reset: My Crab Can Heal the World!

Osmond bursts into the main hall of the castle, panting. He lands on all fours in front of Maria.

"That stupid crab is stronger than we thought. Maria! I need you to figure out a counter now!"

Maria's eyes lit up and she makes a tiny gasp. "What happened to the original plan? Cook him in his shell with magic!"

Osmond shakes his head. "No, no, not this crab. How did you not notice? It's like he's solid. I mean, SOLID. Does he even have a shell? I think that's just HIM, Maria!"

Any excitement Maria may have had drains from her body. She hates when Osmond starts spiraling like this. Such a worrier.

"That would explain why the boiling didn't work," Maria says, lowering her eyes.

[Step 1. Follow Osmond outside. Make sure Barns doesn't spill the details about your little boatside rendezvous, you got it?]

Maria blinks. She'd done what she needed to up to this point. The time of reckoning was near.

"Why are you covered in dirt, my dove?" Osmond asks, cradling his woman in his arms.

[Step 2. Head to the cellar and turn the water line for the fountain on. And I mean ON. All the way.]

It was dirty in the cellar. So dirty. She couldn't help but get a little on her.

"Maria?" Osmond asks, shaking her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

[Step 3. Take on Barns and Clancy. Fight for your life. Let it allllll out. You must whittle them down to the last of their strength.]

Maria withdraws a small silver knife. She unzips her dress and steps out of it, revealing a much sleeker outfit underneath.

A skintight bodysuit. Long leather boots. And gloves up to her elbows, all in elegant black.

"You sit this one out, Osmond. Let me show you how a royal does it."

She starts walking confidently toward the door. As she begins her strut, the door is kicked open. Barns and Clancy march in, battle ready and weapons up.

Maria had a role to play, and she loved roleplay. She narrows her eyes and shakes her hair out of her face.

"That's a hot outfit," Barns says with a brazen wink and a click of the tongue. "It was dark that night, I couldn't get much of a look."

"Hey, Maria, what's he talking about?" Osmond calls from the back of the room.

"Shut up, Osmond!" she shrieks. "This is my moment!"

She spins the dagger around in her hand and charges, her feet darting across the red carpet and marble floors.

"You're up first, crab! Heard you wanted revenge!"

"EVIL WOMAN!" Clancy roars, throwing an uppercut with his pincer. Maria nearly runs into it, but she's able to sidestep at the last moment.

"Aaaah!" she says, swinging her leg around and kicking the top of Clancy's shell.

The surprise in Barns' eyes is palpable. If he kicked Clancy like that, the King Crab wouldn't even flinch. But Maria's kick slams Clancy's whole body into the stone floor, cracking the marble.

Maria crosses her arms. "That all you got!?"

Clancy bounces back up, swinging wildly with both claws. She's human, so she's immune to his foam attacks. He had to catch her.

Like trying to swat a particularly clever fly, Clancy can't quite get a hand on Maria. She blocks and parries his attacks with powerful punches and kicks, showing off power that was anything but human.

Maria pulls her fist back, aiming a direct hit at Clancy, but her concentration falters for a moment. She's yanked by Clancy's left pincer and dragged off course. Once Clancy realizes he's gotten a hold of her, he pulls back and smashes her against the floor.

And again. He picks her up and throws her into the air. She's tumbling and spinning wildly until he catches her and slams her into the ground again. The impact cracks the marble.

And again. And again. He mashes her into the ground one final time before he's interrupted by Barns.

"Stop!" Barns shouts. "Clancy, stop it!"

The crab freezes in place. Barns runs up to them and looks down at Maria.

There's a crater in the ground where King was smashing her. There's no way she survived that.

He expects to see a bloody, broken mess - but she looks quiet. Peaceful. Almost like she's sleeping.

Maria bursts up. She was invulnerable to physical damage. None of Clancy's attacks did a thing against her.

"Royal Art: Impulsive Light!"

Clancy flashes into the air, suspended by yellow light like chains, and is momentarily locked in place before he is sent flying into the wall at hyperspeed. The crab crumples to the ground, either unconscious or dead - Barns couldn't know.

Maria stretches out her shoulders, still staring back at Clancy even as Barns approaches her from behind.

[Step 4. Stab Barns in the heart.]

'Yes,' Maria thinks to herself. That is her next step. If she could only play her part a little bit longer, everything she ever wanted would be hers.

Barns thrusts his sword, Crashing Wave, into Maria - but it's unable to pierce her skin. He looks down at the blade in shock as she rips it away from him with her bare hand and throws it aside. Barns takes a step back, reaching into his pocket for another weapon, but he's not able to get it in time.

Maria collapses on top of him, knocking him to the ground and plunging her dagger into his chest as hard as she can.

The dagger shatters. Maria's eyes open wide in shock. Of course. Harden Body. His trump card against attacks like these.

A pair of handcuffs clenches around Maria's wrists. She feels all of the magic and power sap out of her body in an instant. She goes limp, falling onto Barnacles.

"Hey, not right now, your boyfriend's watching," he teases, pushing her off of him. Maria stays completely still.

"Maria!" Osmond shouts. He starts running toward Barns, staff in hand. Barns clenches his fists. He'd kill Osmond with his bare hands if he had to.

"Wait!" Maria shrieks. "Wait, please! Osmond! I surrender! We surrender! Osmond please!"

[Step 5. (Optional) Surrender on condition that Osmond's life be spared.]

"What did you do to her!" Osmond bellows.

"Shut up!" Maria screams back. "Barns!"

Both men turn to her. "Barns. If you let Osmond and I live, we will be your allies, I promise," she says, pleading with tears in her eyes. "I can use the system in ways you can't even imagine, Barns, I can give you the world. I can help you end the apocalypse, please. Please. You have no idea what I can do for you. With us together the Lord of the Apocalypse has no chance!"

Barns catches his breath in his chest, turning to Osmond.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Osmond stammers. "I don't think I can express it clearly enough when I say I would do anything for Maria, my sweet dove."

"Shut up," Maria sneers. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Barns looks at them both. No red aura around either of them. They were telling the truth.

"If Clancy's dead I'm killing both of you. Wait there, let me think. And don't move an inch, Osmond!"