Both Lioness and Jackson quickly recovered, dashing toward the center of the chessboard where Coraline and Curie stood.
With each member of the Alliance regrouped, they assumed combative stances, preparing to face the chess statues. The metal on Lioness's hand began to ripple as it shifted into the corresponding weapons used by the statues. Jackson, tensing his muscles in anticipation, prepared to unleash his strength and fury, his face contorting with anger. Coraline crouched into a low fighting stance, adopting catlike traits, while her feline companion mirrored her movements, transforming into its larger form. Curie extended a closed fist outward, her other hand guarding her center, as her irises glowed and her eye sockets emitted a faint energy.
The chess statues advanced toward the members of the Alliance. The pawns wielded shields and short swords. The rooks carried massive hammers or battle axes. The knights, mounted on horseback, wielded spears or cavalry sabers. The bishops brandished either ringed staffs or stone tablets. Both queens were armed with longswords, while their kings remained unarmed.
The Alliance clashed with the statues, their weapons and bodies made of black and white marble, engaging in a deadly melee. Their objective was clear: destroy the statues and retrieve the vials of antidote.
Lioness shifted the metal on her arm into a shield and short sword in response to the advancing pawns. Blocking multiple strikes with ease, she retaliated with devastating blows, reducing the pawns to segmented pieces scattered across the board.
Jackson, snarling, faced off against the pawns with brute strength. With powerful punches and strikes, he shattered the statues into dust and rubble, their shields offering little protection against his raw force.
Coraline engaged two knights at once, skillfully dodging their spear and cavalry saber strikes. Circling around them with feline agility, she delivered a flurry of slashes with her claws, carving chunks out of their stone forms and rendering them immobile. Her cat mimicked her tactics, facing off against other knights. It deftly evaded their attacks by shrinking into its smaller form before returning to its larger size to deliver lethal counterattacks.
Meanwhile, Curie faced the bishops and rooks without throwing a single strike. Dodging and weaving with precise movements, she lured them into attacking each other, causing their blows to land on their allies instead.
The success against the chess statues, however, did not last. All the statues they had managed to destroy up to this point began repairing themselves. Their shattered remains turned to dust and reassembled into their original forms. This shocked the members of the Alliance. While they were aware of the statues' ability to repair themselves, it usually did not occur in such a manner. Typically, once a statue was destroyed during a match, it remained in that state until the match concluded.
The statues began to press the Alliance onto the defensive, encircling them completely. In response, Lioness transformed her sword and shield into two larger shields. She threw one to Jackson, who caught it without hesitation. Together, they defended their allies against the relentless onslaught of attacks.
Curie quickly realized that their current tactics would no longer suffice. Analyzing the situation, she began formulating a new plan to secure victory.
Destroying the statues is no longer an option given their regeneration, she thought. And I doubt destroying the king will help, as the normal rules for how the pieces operate aren't in effect.
This line of reasoning sparked a realization. What if it's not about capturing the king? In chess, the game ends when the king is captured. But what if, instead, we need to capture the antidote to end the statues' assault on us?
Having reached this conclusion, Curie called out to her allies. "I know what to do!"
Her team, still focused on defending, turned their attention toward her. "Forget about destroying the statues—retrieve the antidote instead. The best course of action is to split into two teams. I'll go with Jackson, and Coraline, you go with Lioness. They'll clear a path to the king while we ensure they're covered."
Lioness flashed a wolfish smile as she shouted, "We got this! Right, Jackson?" In response, Jackson roared, acknowledging her call with fierce determination.
The two warriors then harnessed their combined strength to push back the encirclement, creating a much-needed space. Lioness extended her arm, signaling for Jackson to return her shield. He hurled it back to her, and she caught it effortlessly. Without missing a beat, she transformed her two shields into a longsword, similar to the one wielded by the Queens.
The group split into their respective teams, executing their plan in perfect unison.
Coraline and her cat took the lead, dashing toward the King. Her feline companion, now enlarged, pounced and swatted at any nearby pawns attempting to block their path. Meanwhile, Jackson faced a wall of pawns forming a shield barrier to obstruct him. Curie ran ahead of him, dropping to one knee and interlocking her fingers to provide a springboard. Jackson launched himself off her hands, soaring high into the air.
Coraline continued clearing the way for Lioness, using her claws to deflect incoming attacks from the Rooks. Sparks flew as stone met claw, granting Lioness a direct path to the King.
One of the spear-wielding Knights tried to impale Jackson midair, but he grabbed the spear's shaft just before it could pierce him. With a vice-like grip, he crushed the spear, reducing much of it to powder. Using the Knight's body as a platform, Jackson propelled himself toward the King.
The Queen attempted to strike Lioness with a sweeping attack from her longsword. Trusting her allies, Lioness didn't block but instead pressed forward. Coraline's cat, now in its smaller form, leaped off a nearby Rook and landed on the flat side of the Queen's blade. It then transformed back into its larger size, throwing off the Queen's strike and causing her sword to embed itself in the ground.
Curie, meanwhile, defended Jackson by disarming one of the pawns and hurling its short sword to deflect the Queen's attack aimed at him.
Seizing the opportunity, Lioness executed a powerful downward slash, severing the King's stone arm cleanly. As the arm holding the vial of antidote began to fall, she reached out and caught it. At the same time, Jackson tackled the King to the ground. With precise force, he carefully smashed the King's stone arm, ensuring the vial of antidote remained intact.
Now holding the antidote, the group waited anxiously to see if Curie's theory was correct—that separating the vials from the Kings would neutralize the statues. To their relief, she was right. As soon as the vials were removed, the chest statues feel inert.