Anna laughs like she is, and maybe she says as much, but, Architect, Malos is not having fun, actually!

Or, he was, up until about half a second ago.

Zelos' sword hits his and their ether clashes and--

The world spins, for a second. The strength of Zelos' ether is much much much more feeble than the last time Malos felt it, but, the taste, the way it clashes against his own ether--

Breathe. Breathe.

Take that panic and shove it somewhere Anna can't feel it. Keep biting it down as the swords connect, part, connect again.

"You good, Malos?" Anna calls.

"Yeah!" he lies.

It's dumb as shit. Zelos ain't gonna kill either of 'em. It's just a regular-ass spar and Zelos is outputting an incredibly-regular amount of ether that isn't bound to kill anyone anytime soon.

Anna is so excited, anyway. He can stick it out another minute or two.