Palutena and Bayonetta start out on even footing

Palutena had goofed up a time or two in her matches up to this point, but this time, she planned to use everything she'd learned in the previous matches to her fullest advantage!

The time to utilize those techniques arrived immediately, as Bayonetta led off with an impossible-looking, spinning break-dance across the clock-face, whirling her body so that her arms and feet faced her opponent in alternating sequence. As she approached, the air buzzed with the discharge of her pistol's barrels, releasing a hailstorm of bullets towards Palutena. "You said you know a thing or two about dancing? It takes two to tango!" The witch paused mid-air, striking a teasing pose with both hands pointing guns between her spread legs as she performed a vertical spin. "Or is that little shield all you're good for?"

Proper timing of that "little shield" was the only thing saving Palutena from an anti-climatic loss; her dress would be shredded to ribbons if all of that gunfire hit her. Instead, she managed to reflect each with a well-timed field... all that training with Pit had paid off, plus, there were no stray Gordos to get cheap attacks this time! Instead, she managed to blast back each of Bayonetta's gunfire, which the woman somehow, miraculously, dodged the majority of during her approach. Still, a few connected here and there; Palutena could glimpse the witch's pale flesh through increasing straight-line tears across her weave. "I can do it! This time, I'm the woman in charge!"

Bayonetta clicked her teeth, pausing in a laying position with a hand propping her head up; her face held a bored expression. "I've had more exciting battles against Dear and Decorations, dearie. Don't you think you can spice it up a little? I know I plan to..." With a sinister smile, the witch raised one foot in a kick, then shifted to lie on her belly and crossed her legs in the air. The guns she'd been wearing disappeared with a sharp clang of steel, replaced with a pair of wicked claws, streaming flames out from the entry points. "Let's see you reflect the Claws of Durga!" While posing, she noticed a shift in the air around her, then dodged backwards; a huge burst of fire had appeared mid-air! She pressed her glasses to the bridge of her nose with her pistol's tip to stop them from flying off. "Oooh... There's that spice I asked for!"

The goddess smiled, trying her best to look serene and above-it-all, while brandishing her staff. "Here's a free goddess' tip: You're at the perfect range for my attacks right now." Sure enough, the witch found herself winged by a multitude of ranged attacks, the kind that conveniently shredded a fair bit of the Wicked Weave covering her body. So far, Palutena hadn't been hit by a single attack. "Luck of the Goddess! I guess I'm finally on the upswing!" Palutena cheered to herself while wielding her staff without remorse, releasing another storm of blue bullets as Bayonetta flexibly dodged all she could.

Alarmingly, the other woman was laughing. "S-So you really are an exhibitionist..." Palutena laughed awkwardly, while wondering if Pit would be into this sort of strip-show type battle... Recent evidence pointed to "yes."

"That's a crude way of putting it. A woman ought to be confident in her body, though I know that's not exactly the genre here. Does either one of us really have a reason to be embarrassed?" With those confusing words, Bayonetta stood to her full height, watching the next wave of blue bullets approach. "We could trade combo-extenders all day, but I think it's time we both showed off our real magic...!" Seemingly, Bayonetta was letting the bullets come right towards her!

A bad feeling was building in the pit of Palutena's stomach...