Hansel and Gretel were managing two Grade Three demons.
Managing was the correct word. Not winning, not yet — that distinction would matter later — but managing, the specific operational state of two practitioners who had fought things at this grade before and understood that the first requirement against opponents that exceeded your individual output was to not lose, and the second requirement was to find the geometry that let you do more than not lose.
They were finding it.
Hansel's halberd had established the reach advantage that the demon on his side had not yet solved. Every time the demon's mass tried to close the distance that would make Hansel's weapon geometry less favorable, the halberd was there before the close was complete, the weapon's length giving him a threat radius the demon had to respect before it could reach the exchange range it wanted.
The axe waited behind the halberd.
