At the start signal, the boys exchanged glances and came to a silent understanding. The only way that either of them would survive more than a second would be to split up and divide the duelist's attention.
As avid studiers of the Dreamscape, this was the only tactic that had been even a little successful by those weaker than the Queen. And the only person who had ever been stronger was Mongrel.
Their advantage lay in their twinship. They could communicate without a word. It was uncanny and bordering on telepathic.
Queen Bee held still as Brock went right and Blaze went left. She had the decency to let them strike first, at least.
They needed to make it count.
Brock held up a single finger before gripping his spear with both hands. Then both boys came at the woman at once. Brock's point was aimed low while his brother's was aimed higher. The two angles meant that the famous duelist would have to move or be struck.
All they needed was to touch her. Surely in the chaos, one of them could manage that feat!
Queen Bee's sword lowered slightly and aimed toward Blaze. Brock's heart skipped a beat. This was too good to be true!
He would not only get the touch but on his first try!
His flicker of hope was quickly doused.
In a blur of motion, the Queen of the Dreamscape all but disappeared.
Blaze grunted as he was thrown unceremoniously to the side while Brock's spear caught only air.
But just as the elder twin was about to crash into the couch from his overcommitment to the strike, the wooden sword of his opponent flashed before him.
Rather than cut Brock down, the flat of the blade bumped against his chest and steadied him.
The couch collision was only narrowly avoided.
Whirling around, Brock tried to touch Queen before she could retreat. Sure she had prevented him from faceplanting, but that didn't change the rules of the game.
But as quickly as the mysterious duelist had appeared, she was out of his reach once more. Brock furrowed his brow.
'She's like a ghost!'
He looked toward Blaze. The other boy still had his weapon, but he seemed to be in a similar state of confusion. What had just happened?
Queen Bee, meanwhile, stood between them like a statue. Only her eyes swirling broke the illusion that she hadn't turned to stone.
Brock called to his dazed brother. "Come on!"
Together they let out an inhuman battle cry and descended on the beautiful warrior in a frenzy.
The chase was on.
But no matter how many times the twins tried to get a hit against their opponent, their strikes always ended one of three ways: a whoosh of air, a block from the Bee's wooden blade or—the most common outcome—hitting against the other twin's spear in accidental friendly fire.
"Blast it!" Brock gripped his spear tightly as his feet slid to a stop on the ground.
As impressive as the Queen had been on the screen, she was even more spectacular in person. Her movements were flawless, almost robotic. She seemed to anticipate his moves before he even knew that he was going to make them.
Add to that the fact that she never spoke, and Brock felt at a loss.
'Is she even human?'
Many people speculated that Queen Bee was just a figment of the Dreamscape. Obviously, that was incorrect since she was here now. Maybe she was a robot like his mother's android, Bee Two!
"Are you Bee One?!" Brock blurted, his curiosity overcoming his frustration.
"More like Bee Prime!" Fort snickered from the sidelines, earning an elbow in the ribs from his daughter.
Brock had no time to process his father's words. Though he would never admit it, he was getting tired.
Even with Queen Bee only on the defensive, it was like fighting against a brick wall and an illusory wraith all at the same time. Add into it that he was going all out just to get in a single touch against the warrior's armor, and Brock was spent.
Blaze seemed equally winded. The sweat on his brow glistened and his breathing was heavy.
But at least he hadn't given up. Since Blaze hadn't willingly gone into the match, he could have easily dropped his spear at any time and left the game.
Brock would have to thank his brother later for not leaving him out in the cold.
The elder twin could feel a shift in the cadence of the match. He instinctively knew he had one last opportunity before the passive duelist finally ran out of patience.
"Blaze!" Brock yelled, both as a warning and as a distraction.
His tactic worked.
Queen Bee's eyes momentarily darted toward the younger twin while Blaze released a sigh of exasperation. Taking the cue, the elder twin spun his spear around his body in a way that would make his teacher scold him for being reckless.
Then, in unison, both boys jumped on the coffee table and couch respectively and leapt into the air. It was a move they had seen countless times in webtoons.
The pair themselves had been practicing this move since they could walk.
Their agility and synchronicity were as good if not better than even some trainees of the legacy clans.
They moved as one person on two bodies, aiming their spears at the Queen's back and chest respectively.
There was only one problem.
Webtoon physics and real-world physics were not the same. Some Awakened could manipulate the laws of nature to an extent, but mundane boys?
Not a chance.
So even though Brock and Blaze had timed and executed their maneuver perfectly, they were destined for failure.
For as soon as Queen Bee shifted her weight to get out of their path, the boys were directly in the line of fire of another opponent: each other.
In their shows, they would have bounced off of each other, rubbed their heads and moved on. But in reality? A collision like this with two spears–even blunted ones–was going to do some damage. Broken bones and bruised ribs were a likely outcome. Human bodies were not meant to collide at high speed.
Brock was still trying to decide how to mitigate the damage when an object flashed in his peripheral vision. The butt of the wooden sword pressed into his shoulder, pushing him wide of Blaze's flailing body.
Then in a blur of motion, two things happened. The blade whipped around, but rather than coming down like an axe on Brock's head, the broad side firmly tapped his hand, causing him to release the spear.
Then like a serpent's tongue, the sword retreated from the mayhem, but not before tapping the other twin's hand in the same manner.
As the boys reflexively let go of their weapons, both spears flew awkwardly away from their bodies.
But then…somehow, inexplicably, Brock found his footing and landed on the carpet. He bent his knee to slow his progress and touched the ground with his fingers before righting himself. When he turned, his brother was in a similar position on the other side of the living space.
But between them was a figure in shining black and gold armor.
Her sword was sheathed and a spear rested gracefully in each hand.
Fort leapt over the couch and raced forward. He raised the duelist's right arm in the air. "Challengers Brock and Blaze have been eliminated. Queen Bee has won!" He turned to the duelist. "Are you ready to receive your prize?"
Brock quirked an eyebrow. There had been no mention of any prize. Blaze was equally confused. A moment later, their confusion turned to panic.
"DAD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"