The two wanderers were confused with the scenario that lay in front of their eyes. Somehow, they were transported or superimposed into a different reality, something that should have been impossible given their nature. Something beyond logic. But this wasn't enough to wave their will.
"This is certainly a first, even for us who have fought every kind of thing."
"So you brought us into this fancy place, so what?", said Rephidim. "Did you decide to make your own tomb? Because you'll die here and no one will find you."
Walkure calmly observed her surroundings before doing her next move.
"Hmm, not bad for the first try. Now, this is where the fun begins. Why are you two stopped there? I thought you were trying to kill me. Or does the design of Iron Maiden scares you that much you can't even move?"
Walkure said with a smug on her face and an intimidating pose that hit Rephidim's nerves.
"Tch, you overconfident bitch. Very well then, you asked and you shall receive. Omega Burst!"
In that instance, Rephidim's entire body was covered by an immense and thick yellow aura. His power was increased a millionfold...trillionfold...quintillionfold...a hexdecillion higher than before. And his speed started multiplying in this same fashion. Each wanderer possessed a unique characteristic. Rephidim's was just that, pure power and speed. He would crush all his enemies with the might of his fist and the swiftness of his legs. If a stronger opponent appeared, all he had to do was to increase his power further. His increase knew no limits, he could amplify himself as much as he wanted, as arbitrarily as he wanted.
Meanwhile, Awis made a barrier around herself and Rephidim, to make sure things didn't go wrong. This combination made this duo feared across multiple sectors.
"You are dead meat. Get crushed!"
Rephidim screamed as he sprinted toward Walkure's position at speeds that could not be measured in any way. The very gravity around him started to bend and the surrounding space-time became distorted almost to the point of collapsing.
However, he could not reach her.
"Guhh!"
Rephidim's body suddenly stopped midway. He was not moving. He could not move, no matter how much he tried.
"Wh-What did you do to me? What is this?!"
"Hatred, Mocking, and Unfairness, eh? I forgot to mention. In my territory, you are bound to my rules. And the breaking of any of those rules results in a certain punishment. You just broke three of them, hence your penalization."
Indeed. This was the realm of the one who embodied punishment and justice. As such, this place carried characteristics associated with punishment, and they were in the form of rules that one should avoid being broken.
1 - You shall not kill.
2 - You shall not lie.
3 - You shall not steal.
4 - You shall not hold hatred in your mind.
5 - You shall not conduct impure deeds.
6 - You shall not mock the other.
7 - You shall not be unfair to the other.
8 - You shall not trap or banish the owner in any way.
9 - You shall not be envious.
10 - You shall not escape Iron Maiden.
Those rules were etched into the entirety of this alternate reality, and their punishment was absolute. It was impossible to resist, defend, dodge, overpower, run, negate, or counter these effects, and they happened instantly.
Right now, Rephidim has broken rules 4, 6, and 7 already. 4 because he has been hating the ethernal for a while, and kept doing so even after being sent into Iron Maiden.
6 because he mocked the owner shortly after being sent into this realm.
7 because he powered up himself way too much. And because it was a 2 v 1 situation.
The conclusion? Three distinctive punishments were enacted all at once.
First, he became incapable of moving and an infinity of information was dumped into his head, causing his mind to significantly shatter into itself. Pain beyond imagination. Or rather, pain that damaged imagination. At the same time, paranoia, madness, and schizophrenia were induced all at once and at the highest possible degree.
Second, his body started to rot and wither all over quickly, both inside and outside. Even the space around him became withered. Any ability that would be cast after this event would also rot even quicker and be unable to convey any effect. Furthermore, all of his organs and bones were turned into dust.
Third, all of his own previous increases in both power and speed were reduced to a billion times weaker than Walkure's own stats. In addition, he was forbidden from surpassing her in power and speed, no matter what.
These effects were impossible to fight against, as they negated resistances, immortalities, metaphysical natures, shapes, defenses, movement, and distance.
It was a dead end for him.
"AAARRRGHHH...guh.dff...caydf...gii...a"
Rephidim, unable to handle his penitence, collapsed on the spot and became motionless.
And seconds later, he was no longer with us.
Awis watched this, knowing full well she couldn't have done anything. There was nothing she could do.
She watched the ethernal not too far away from her. Walkure was standing still and watching the spectacle.
"You'll pay for this. Prepare yourself."
Awis made a Ram sign with her hands, and multiple-layered barriers were formed around her. They were nigh-impossible to penetrate physically, as they were 6-dimensional in nature. And even if they were destroyed, she could reconstruct them instantly right after.
She did not know what rules she had to be aware of, and that was why the entity in front of her was so dangerous. A threat to everything they have ever conceived.
Walkure readied her sword and prepared to advance.
"This is a tomb. Your tomb."
"We'll see about that."
They jumped and advanced in each other's direction.
Walkure raised the Viktoria on her right hand and vertically slashed the approaching Awis, aiming at her skull.
Awis used one of her barriers to block the attack and push Walkure away with it. She could control each and every one of her barriers with a thought and telekinetically manipulate them in this manner.
"Empirion."
She had created millions of blade-shaped forcefields around her and shot at Walkure from every direction. And even if the forcefields were dodged, they would each shoot 10^10 energy beams that atomized everything they touched or exploded.
Walkure raised both her swords and started countering each and every projectile flawlessly. There were no blind spots.
"Monster..."
"What's wrong? Even your sibling should have considered this a piece of cake."
Walkure said this as she immediately teleported to Awis' back.
"You...!"
Walkure then horizontally slashed with her left-handed Viktoria, aiming at Awis' waist, but the latter's barrier was able to protect her. However...
"This is...!"
Walkure's blade, which had sunk into Awis' barrier, suddenly started to sink deeper and deeper. At this rate, it would eventually pass through the barrier's extension and reach Awis' body.
"Out of here!"
Awis raised up her arms, creating an extra omnidirectional barrier that expanded and pushed away everything from her.
Walkure was tossed away but she quickly regained balance.
"How...did you do that?"
"Oh, that cut? I recently figured your barriers were extradimensional, so all I had to do was to use Viktoria in a way that could deal with those too. You are not the first one to use this kind of sorcery."
Awis heard that and decided her next move.
"A close combat with you is too risky. Thus, I take care of you with safer methods."
Awis made a hand sign symbolizing Serpent with her hands. In that instance, several geometric-shaped forcefields instantly appeared around Walkure and in all directions, enclosing her with no means of escape.
"Shambhala!"
At that moment, Walkure's body that was inside the construct immediately was split into several geometric shapes, and each one of those was banished to distinctive dimensions. A finger into the 0th dimension. An arm into the 1st dimension. A leg into the 2nd dimension. A head into the 5th dimension. A torso into the 9th dimension...and so on. This was also applied to her soul. It had worked.
However...
"Guh...!"
Awis suddenly started to feel something on her body.
It was the worst possible move she could have made.
"8th Rule. You shall not trap or banish the owner."
Awis heard this echoing across the eerie plane. It was Walkure's voice. It didn't take long until she materialized herself right in front of Awis.
"H-How...?"
"Since you broke a rule, that spell of yours got retroactively negated as well. As such, here I am. Well, it's not like I wouldn't figure a way out on my own. Now, since you broke rule number 8, I suppose I don't need to do anything anymore."
"Grrhh...y-you talk about rules but you have been unfair to us since the start. How were we supposed to know which rules to not break, you fucker?!!"
Awis still managed to talk, although barely, and only because Walkure decided to entertain this moment. In normal circumstances, she would have already been gone.
"You are in my territory, my domain, my realm. Do you punish the owner of a home if they mess with their own property as they see fit? No, right? It does not apply to them. It does not apply to me."
"!!!"
"Now, you shall feel what my brother has felt, foul wanderer."
"G...gh..AAAAAAAAAaaaaaa....yyykkkrrzffxxwmm.......!!!"
Awis felt the abstract pain of her body, mind, soul, and idea being torn and split into quadrillions of pieces across each and every plane of existence. A fragmented existence.
She was no longer with us.
Seeing as the conflict was over. Iron Maiden started to dissipate. In any case, Walkure was already reaching her limit anyway. She can only hold this realm's existence for 30 minutes, for now. She was still improving.
"Time to rest a bit."
Walkure said this as she lay down on a nearby planet while watching the stars in the sky. She would soon return to the battlefield. But little did she know, someone was already waiting for her here.