Everyone was stripped of a response to Iris's cry for help. Not simply because she was clearly suffering and barely holding onto her own sanity, but because of who she asked for help in this dire moment.
Their eyes floated to Axel.
"Iris, what are you saying?!" Jun asked in shock.
Axel looked upon the struggling Iris as she looked at him through the hollow eyes of the demon armor. He couldn't help but feel a little surprised himself that she turned to him of all people.
"Are you...talking to me?" He asked after much deep consideration.
"y-Y-yes..iDiot...I n-need..yOU to...to..." She clutched her head again in agony and looked back up as a red glow emitted from her eyes. "let me sUCk the marroW frOm YoUR bones!!!!" Iris leapt forward in such a quick movement that Axel almost didn't even notice she had moved. she reared back her right arm and slashed down towards the base of Axel's neck in order to cleave him in half..
< Flow >
Jun and his uniquely trained eyes saw the motion of an attack began before Axel even knew she was about to move. While he trusts Iris with his life, he's seen one too many times how the armor can truly warp a person's mind. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her for a second.
What the hell was that?! Axel thought as Jun and Iris crossed blades right in front of him. Even I didn't see her about to attack! Was this the new ability he was talking about? But...
Axel's glance fell down to Jun's sword as he could tell it was shaking from holding back Iris. He was even using both hands to avoid being pushed back. "I-Iris...you have to come back to us!" said Jun.
"NoooOOOo!" A voice screamed out that was both Iris's..and something else entirely. She pushed even more into the attack and completely smacked Jun's sword back through sheer force alone. Jun's sword was flung upwards, but he was able to keep a grip on it.
Iris reached out and grabbed Jun by the throat and picked him up off his feet. "Ugh, s-stop this Iris!" Jun called out.
"Is this really the same chick?" Axel said as the events unfolded literally right in front of him. But he made no move to stop her.
Jayden, however, did. He quickly pulled his bow out and stretched back the energy string the second it formed. A single black arrow materialized on the bow as he pointed it straight at his comrade as she choked his other comrade.
"Iris...please, release Jun! I don't want to do this!" His words didn't waver, but his hand did. He couldn't bring himself to shoot the arrow as Iris's grip tightened around Jun's neck. A tear ran down his cheek as he didn't know what to do.
Jun could feel his vision starting to go. A black shadow began to flow from the shoulder of the armor to the hand that gripped Jun's throat.
Iris....you can't...Jun thought to himself as he was becoming very light headed.
"I will feaSt..I WiLL..fEAST!!" The shadow moved to her hand and a discharge of black energy coursed through Jun's body and ignited a blaze of pain.
"Ahhhhh!" Jun bellowed. Admin watched on as Jun screamed out in agony. Like Conquest had spoken, there was not a soul in the Heavens who didn't know of the Armor of Corruption. It was the first of the cursed armors and the most difficult for any divine being to wear due to its history.
"It's consuming Jun's energy." She stated to the others. "The armor is infamous for consuming any and all divine energy it can get its hand on to strengthen its spirit. To make it easier to force itself upon the wearer."
Iris looked up into Jun's face and stared into his eyes with her glowing red hues. The spirit of the armor was waiting for the life to leave his face. She had become a prisoner within her own body...that she had originally stolen.
She could only watch on in horror as every motion was now dictated by the armor itself. The will of the armor had become a chain that shackled her within her psyche. She was no longer in any shape to escape.
"Please...someone stop me!" She screamed out internally. "If you don't, Jun-"
"Oh, THIS is what I needed!"
*BAM!*
Iris was sent flying off her feet and hit the ground hard. She was forced to let go of her grip on Jun as the force knocked her away - he fell to the ground coughing and gasping for air. She looked up from where she was on the ground to see Axel in his finished sword stance. He had his all too familiar trade marked grin on his face.
The possessed Iris easily stood back up as the attack ultimately barely even scratched the armor. "YoU..are...sTuPid." Iris spoke in double voice.
"All these thousands of years inside that armor and that's the best insult you could come up with?" Axel flicked his sword in the direction of Iris. "Don't worry sweet Iris, your prayers have been answered! I was starting to feel like I was in a funk but I should've known a good fight was what the doctor ordered."
Iris instantly regretted her life decision of asking Axel for anything. She could feel the spirit of the armor responding to Axel's will to fight however. It craved strong opponents to tear apart and consume. In some ways, Axel wasn't so different.
During all this Admin remained in the background not interfering.
"Her energy is starting to swell." She spoke to herself. "The armor's power is starting to synchronize with the spirit of the armor's cursed energy. We're still within the window of being able to stop her before she becomes too much for them to handle. But, this may just be a blessing in disguise."
Axel's bracelet had updated: 'System Connection: 37%'
Jayden went over to the fallen Jun as he got back on his feet. He was a bit shakened, but ultimately fine. "Captain - I'm sorry. I couldn't..I...just couldn't. Not to Iris."
Jun shook off his apology. "Your reaction is only understandable, Jayden. But I don't know how far Axel is willing to take this. I don't care what Iris said, we'll need to-"
< Slayer Jun, Slayer Jayden - System Lockout >
Jun and Jayden felt like a piece of them suddenly disappeared. The energy line on the back of Jayden's bow suddenly dissipated and didn't reform.
"Wait, system lockout??" Jayden asked as he tried to no avail to materialize the string on his bow.
"I can't feel my own energy right now.." Jun said in despair. He quickly shifted his attention over to Admin in the background. "What did you just do, Admin?"
Since Admin controls the God Core System, she can also temporarily shut down access for those specific connections. She had no clue what was causing Axel's numbers to slowly rise, but she knew it had to do something to do with this interaction with Iris. The more Iris rampaged the more she could feel Axel's energy responding in turn. Something was calling him to fight and she couldn't allow interference at this point.
No matter the outcome.