Kuzunoha

"Sorry kid, but I'm not that kind of girl," Kuzunoha remarked candidly as she sped around, keeping pace with the fastest there despite slowly succumbing her injuries. One of Craux's blades passed dangerously close to her as she tried to find a way around the monster. "... on second thought, I can be whatever you want me to be. I'm not too fussy."

Oddly enough, she chose now of all times for the innuendo to be accidental.

She made another complete circuit, maneuvering around to meet up with Vogen. "Alright, I'll help. But you gotta do something for me, alright?"

Craux's blades were on her. In the next second she'd be toast if she didn't do something quick. Thankfully that was taken care of as a bomb from an unexpected ally flew into its face and exploded. She was momentarily relived, but couldn't rest just yet.

Jumping backwards to avoid the beast, she began another spell. A quick and reliable one. "Take this! Fire Ball!" This one didn't take long to activate, as three orbs of flame formed around her and shot at Craux to add to the bombing. Though she didn't bother too look if it would even hit, as she scrambled to a safe distance.

Vogel

Dwarf let out an irritated sigh. Her behavior made her either a very good actor or a person completely irrelevant to this whole case that was simply running away for other reason. "Glad we have that much of an understanding. Whatever you want, can we consider this once we're done with the ugly here?" He asked Kuzunoha, trying his best to not let her features distract her. That would be, put lightly, a very bad moment to get oneself distracted.

Capital City Delphinia — Main Street — Vs. Yusa

The ice projectiles that Afar threw at her seemed to do a number. She was already brutally injured and there was nothing she could do against the final blow. That is until the paid mercenary came in to stop the ending blow. "Hehe... thank you, stranger." That's right. Keep him just like that. That's what Yusa needed. This was going to end him regardless of what attack he used next. "Vulpes, DO IT!"

The chained fox appeared up in the air above Afar. The chains whirled through the air, surrounding both Gilean and Afar. "If you don't want to get caught.. move." she mumbled to Gilean. The chains swooped down close to the Deva of Ice before blasting forward. The goal was to stab straight through him. They were conducting what seemed like electricity. "This... is it. A paralyzing technique passed to only the most trusted. A blessing of Morrind himself. Nul-PACT!" the chains rippled with lightning.

If they hit, Afar could feel himself and Shed being torn from one another. A strong ability, the blessing of the Greater Spirit of Pacts. The ultimate heresy. Though the question is... why did Yusa have something like that?

• BOSS HEALTH
  •    DEFEATED   

Capital City Delphinia — Main Street — Alicia's Throne

Chavra immediately went to work by forming up feathered blades to combat Kujo blow for blow — if she could, that is. Next Alicia braced for the kunai impacting her. "Beastial RAIN!" she focused energy into her blade and began stabbing at the air. She knocked most of the kunai away but suffered a few cuts to the fact and legs. Blood trickled down her body but it wasn't concerning. The main threat was Saya herself. "HA Aaaaaah!" the likeness of a monster formed around the heir as Saya drew in. A shockwave blasted out as she swung the sword at Saya.

Blocking the blade might prove difficult because of the strength packed behind the swing. After all, that was the intention behind the attack. Force the enemy to block while still creating an oppurtune situation for a follow up attack.

Capital City Delphinia — Main Street — Vs. Masked Usurper, Craux

Craux continued on his run but then had to eat a grenade thrown by Kriegsmann. The bomb deterred the monster for a few seconds before it gathered itself up for a second run. It sprinted again while ignoring any other distractions that might come up. Then there was a second attack! A Fireball spell barreled straight into its head. Craux tripped over itself, crashing down into a building nearby. It shook its head while trying to gather itself back up.

...

Though it seems the situation just got worse. The knight Union Spirit, Vile, managed to catch up with Kuzunoha after the ballistic running circuit she just performed. Though it was strange — even though he was the Deva of Shadows Union Spirit — even though he was ordered to apprehend her. He watched Craux for a moment before completely vanishing into thin air.

Well, that was strange.

• BOSS HEALTH
  • █████████████████
  • STUNNED!

edited 16th Jul '14 2:36:10 PM by RagnatheSaviour

Capital City Delphinia — Main Street — Vs. Yusa

Catching Gillean's attack, Afar was distracted by him long enough for Yusa to capture him in her spirit's hit. His eyes widened once the attack stopped as he realized what just happened, and what she just did.

The man groaned in pain as he felt him and his Union Spirit being seperated apart. "Nanajako, you bastard." He said as he coughed several times. "You think you think you can hide behind spells like this? Fancy trickery won't save you forever. Once I regain my powers I will find you and I will kill you. I promise you that. You should beware, because Daevans don't go back on their word, unlike you Nejuku bastards." He pointed his blade at her, as he tried to regain his lost footing.

He then glared at Gillean. He didn't have time to worry about his own health and had to remove all distractions, Yusa was already likely out of it after using a spell like that, so his sight was directed at the Thunderweaver, as he tried to use whatever's fight got left in him to get rid of him and help the princess.

"I don't have time for you mercenary, get out of my sight."

He swung his sabre at him, launching a strong blast in the shape of a lion meant to knock his current foe down for a while. Though the Deva of Ice was weakened and exhausted, he was still a force to be reckoned with.

Should he succeed, he'll immediately run towards the barrier and try to break it completely, if he manages to do that as well, he'll jump towards the golem's shoulders and try to rush at Saya,(though he was likely noticed considering he was moving slowly by now) he tried to kick her in the abdomen and take her upwards with an uppercut before striking her right down towards the floor or the golem's body.

Asteon lept straight into danger, throwing himself in between Alicia and Saya, along with their spirits. "PLEASE STOP IIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!"

About 10 minutes ago

Asteon sighed. He walked along the Main Street in between the soldiers, matching his pace with the surrounding paraders. He had been assigned to help out for the big event along with all the other healers. Nearly all the personnel employed by the Princess were attending, whether just for ceremonial purposes or for safety, like he was. The combination of the fast-paced walking and the uptight rules regarding the parade took its toll on Asteon, who much preferred to be helping people out in infirmaries over fancy outdoorsy celebrations. Physical action did not suit him. He prayed that the parade would be over soon so he could return to his duties.

And thus, his wish was granted.

Asteon had been far in front of the throne, near the front of the parade but panic spread quickly throughout the ranks. Citizens began flooding away from the Main Street, guards and soldiers were being called to action. Asteon, not entirely certain of what to do, simply followed the rest of his peers towards the throne, pushing past the civilians rushing the other way.

Capital City Delphinia, Main Street — Alicia's Throne

Within a couple of minutes, Asteon found himself stumbling towards the large float that carried the Royal Princess. The rest of the soldiers and healers had been caught up in some other engagement so he alone had made it this far. Off to one side, a large creature was rampaging through the streets, but the elf's attention was focused on the Princess's float, where it appeared that she and another woman were in the middle of a fight of some sort.

Panicking, Asteon climbed up towards the two combatants and jumped in between them. It wasn't really a logical action, but his immediate knee-jerk reaction was that couldn't let the two fight each other. He dove head-first in-between the two, yelling "PLEASE STOP IIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!" Unfortunately for him, he ran straight into Alicia's attack. The blade struck his shoulder, slicing his left arm clean off as he tumbled into the top of the float between them.

Consciousness fading, he managed to utter some words of wisdom(?) before passing out. "Please don't fight... Fighting is bad."

"Nice one kid!" Jinn yelled out as Craux fell on to the building. And they weren't fighting alone anymore either. A couple of others had joined them as well. Craux was stunned this was their chance!

"Don't let up, kid finish'm off!"

"I got it!" begining to chant, the yellow runes appeared around her once again. "Shine O' Great light! PHOTON!". And again the lines of light appeared condensed and exploded near Caux blasting him with holy might.

Capital City Delphinia — Main Street — Vs. Yusa

Afar's blast hit Gillean right in the chest, knocking the mercenary flat on his back. After a few moments spent recovering, Gillean was back on his feet and standing over Yusa with a less than sincere smile on his face "I'll be expecting my money within the next week. If I don't receive my payment by then, I'll finish what he started and loot what I can from your body." With that, Gillean shouldered his falchion and began strolling in the same general direction as Afar with a few potential job opportunities in mind.

Kuzunoha

"No problemo," Kuzunoha remarked casually. Springing into the air like a coil, Kuzunoha made multiple double jumps over Craux's head, a feat impossible for anyone without Nomial blood. Once she felt confident that she'd disoriented it, she vaulted over its head and yelled "MOONLIGHT DEVIL!"

Then she showered it with junk and garbage.

Hair pins, safety pins, rusty nails, cheap/broken daggers, empty boxes of food, banana peels, stuff she'd nicked off of Vogel while he was busy ogling her, smoke bombs, cherry bombs, fireworks, and finally, the kitchen sink (from the home Craux had just crashed into mere moments ago). She threw it all at the Masked Usurper in the hopes it'd either injure him enough to be irritating on account of her awesome strength or stop him from moving around for a while because banana peels always seem to do that.

Capital City Delphinia — Main Street — Alicia's Throne

Saya had a lot to thank the elf that came between her and that attack... even though their sudden appearance startled her... and the subsequent slash of the princess blade gave her a cold, sinking feeling despite her nature as a killer.

However, it had protected her from the impact and the shock of the sudden appearance had given her time to step back and sheathe her blade... something was attacking the barrier. She needed to hurry... and as such, she did a desperate move.

"Iaijutsu: Gathering Air..." she whispers, causing the cutting wind to envelop her and her sheathed blade.... however, she wasn't done "Iaijutsu: Wind Assault"

She strained her body by casting two Iaijutsu techniques together... by causing the flowing wind to surround her in greater intensity. However, she needed the edge. The Princess was a skilled fighter... Saya felt like she could defeat her... but the opposite was also true. The Princess could defeat her as well. And in such a battle, a quick victory is hard unless you take risk.

Thus, Saya set off again against the experienced Princess... blade still sheathed as she ran. Her ploy was in her speed... she ran as fast as she had before. However, once she got close enough she dashed with greater speed allowed by her Iaijutsu technique. She dashed quickly and jumped higher than she should normally be able to... with the lightness awarded by the spirit of the air, her training and her nature as a Nominal. She leaped right over the Princess and her blow, landing behind her and turning around in a quick motion... unsheathing her blade and then thrusting it right through her back, into the Princess' heart "Now... it's over"

However, as Saya jumped back and her blade retreated... there was not a cut on the Princess. Not a wound, except for the equivalent of a blunt strike on her back. However, the Princess could feel it... a shiver where the blade had been a gathered energy waiting to be unleashed.

Saya's strikes were governed by her pledge... and the moment her blade was completely sheathed, the Princess would be struck down. Focusing only on this moment of victory, sliding her blade into its scabbard, Saya never noticed the barrier breaking... and only too late did she see the rushing guardian coming for her.

One hit was all it took for the pledge to be forfeit. With one punch, the energy dissolved and the Princess's life was saved, leaving her relatively uninjured, except for the previous kunai cuts and the blunt blow on her back. The next barrage of hits from the guardian, however, hit straight and true. She was blown upwards, dizzy and confused before being slammed straight into the ground.... rendering her unconscious and causing Kujo to vanish.

edited 19th Jul '14 3:55:33 PM by daltar

Capital City Delphinia — Main Street — Alicia's Throne

The random intrusion of Asteon caused Alicia to pull back from the final blow of Beastial Rain, "Wait, what did you—!" then this was it. It was what Saya needed. A final strike that would take her life because of the intrusion of the idiot Elvan man. Through a flurry of technique displayed by the Nomial Assassin, she should be dead. But she wasn't. Her protector, the only Deva that didn't seem to betray her, Afar, protected her at the last minute. But it was at that minute that she realized what had happened.

Asteon had lost conciousness.
The assassin was struck down.
The mercenary was still ready to strike.

She had to do something.

First things first was to stop the mercenary, "HALT!" she screamed out while bending down to Asteon, "Please, stop the onslaught. Whatever that traitor Nanajako is paying you, I will allow you access to the royal treasury. Please, stop." she pleaded while magical energy worked through her hands down to the wounded elf. She scurried to find his arm and doing so, she rettached it. That's when, hopefully, the skin of the arm could reattach. Mind you this wasn't going to replace the missing blood.

The concentrated form of the healing spell Fairy Circle could only do so much. Rest was still going to be needed after the treatment, "Wake up, please, I beg of you." she said through strained tears.

Capital City Delphinia — Main Street — Vs. Masked Usurper, Craux

The light pummeled straight into the large beast. Its head cocked back in pain. Interestingly its body couldn't regenerate from a blow like that. And despite the display from the very uncouth Moonlight Devil, the cluter of thrown objects actually did damage Craux. Its body sagged low to the ground. Its mouth went completely wide as it struggled to keep its primary form.

That was it.

There was no way it was going to win the fight.

The critical damage done to it while being stunned.

It only had on option.

The darkness that made up the monster collapsed into a single ball and it fell into the earth.

• BOSS HEALTH
  •    DEFEATED   

"Aw yeah~!" Adrinna took a moment to do a clebretory dance, ending it in a twirl and a high five to Jinn. "Knew we could take em!" Jinn exclaimed excitedly.

"...So what now?" Adrianna asked her partner.

"Dunno kid. This is usually the part in the stories where all the townsfolk gather round and clap or somethin."

Adrianna took a look around. That wasn't happening anytime soon it looked like. "What do you think it here for?"

"Adrianna...you ain't that dense use your head! The damn thing was obviously sent here to take out the princess."

"Which means...WE GOTTA FIND THE PRINCESS!"

"Now you're on the right track. Hop to it kiddo!"

Without another word Adrianna rushed towards the float the Princess was last seen on.

edited 21st Jul '14 3:29:30 PM by Azure

Capital City Delphinia — Main Street — Alicia's Throne

"We'll need protection, I'll lead you to the location mercenary, just let me deal with a few things here and we'll go." He said as he coldly glared at Gillean, he didn't like having to deal with mercenaries, the Deva of Ice has a bad history with them.

He walked to Alicia and coughed profusely, obviously in a bad shape.

"Alicia, we have to get out of the capital, if we stay here we'll get caught by another Deva and I doubt any of us will be able to fight them."

He then saw the elf she was crying about and sighed, he was going to take the Nomial captive sure, but the princess wasn't going to leave this here either, and Afar wasn't sure how many people he could carry.

"Sometimes I wish the spirits would be more merciful on these worn bones."

He pat the princess on the shoulder. Then tried to separate her from the elf. "We have no time to fully heal him here. I'll have to carry him and our Nekujuan assassin while we escape somewhere safe. You and me are half-dead already."

He grabbed the elf and put him on his left shoulder, then got to the Nejuku girl and put her on right shoulder, his wounds reacted and he visibly bled from his chest of the effort.

"Come on Princess, we have to go." He looked at her with a stern stare from above as he stood up with the two on his shoulders, though she cried, they didn't have time to idle in this city anymore, he had to take charge of her protection, and he wasn't going to let her die for nothing.

edited 21st Jul '14 2:59:31 PM by LiorVal

Capital City Delphinia — Main Street — Alicia's Throne

Gillean wasn't the sort to turn down access to the Royal Treasury, but he was a relatively honest man and he had no intentions to take payment he hadn't earned. "Relax, I've no intention of harming any of you right now. I was paid to fight him-" Gillean said this while gesturing to Afar "-And since the battle between him and my employer has ended, so has my contract with her as well as any incentive to do any of you harm. Unless you plan on hiring me, I will politely decline access to your treasury."

Kuzunoha

"Alright, loot!" the Nomial thief exclaimed, pumping her fists in the air. "MINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINE"

After she'd finished collecting her share of the spoils, Kuzunoha returned to Vogel, briefly contemplating why it was monsters always dropped loot when you beat them up. Was it because they ate a bunch of rich people? You'd think the items would be a little worse for wear after being dragged through gods know what in the hands of monsters and wild animals. Or did they... eat the items? Something slippery fell out of Kuzunoha's arms just then, and she neglected to pick it up, her skin briefly crawling at the thought of where it might have been inside a creature like the Masked Usurper.

"Alright shortstack," she said, presumably addressing Vogel, "howsabout that favor you promised? Here, you can have this."

Kuzunoha kicked the slick object she'd dropped towards Vogel as an offering.

Capital City Delphinia — Main Street

Asteon woke up as he was jostled about. His tired eyes refused to budge but through sheer force of will, he pulled them open just a bit. What had happened? Where was he? The last thing he remembered was... Oh right, his arm was cut off.

He checked his arm. It was... still there. He couldn't feel it, but he couldn't feel the rest of his body really either. Hopefully, it was the gods looking favorably upon him and giving him some painkillers and a new arm. How nice of them. He mumbled, "I sure hope the Gods have some steak left for me too. I love steak...." Once the words left his mouth, he spotted the Princess. How good, she was safe. "Princess. I'm sorry."

Vogel

"Well, that is taken care of." Kriegsmann holstered his sawn-off as he glanced in the direction of the barrier that seemed gone by now. "And the other one is also done. Hopefully they didn't succeed." Turning his attention back to Kuzunoha he couldn't help a rather bewildered scowl. "I'd ask how did you manage to get that many things from me to throw when we've just barely passed next to each other, but I suppose I'm willing to let this one slip." In the meantime, Regulus picked up the slippery object, inspecting it carefully. It didn't seem particularly dangerous, but then again he didn't seem to recall it lying somewhere in Vogel's backpack. "Regardless, what did you want?" He asked, slowly beginning to regret agreeing to her terms. Even if she wasn't involved in queenslaying, she was definitely a shady character.

Kuzunoha

Kuzunoha giggled and grinned, slowly walking circles around Vogel.

"Oh, it's nothing much. Barely even a favor, really." Kuzunoha stopped behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders, and leaning in close. At this distance, Vogel would be able to feel her breath on the nape of his neck. Slowly, she whispered, "Just play along and be my hostage for a sec, okay?"

Kuzunoha pressed her razor-sharp claws up against the soft flesh of Vogel's neck. Oh, Crap!.

edited 24th Jul '14 3:00:37 PM by KSPAM

Kriegsmann

...yes, he should have expected some diabolical ploy. That said, losing his cool wouldn't do him very good. Regulus however didn't seem to share Vogel's mindset.

"You let him go right now or we're gonna have words!" He snapped, taking a step in Kuzunoha's direction, but was halted by dwarf himself.

"Easy there, Regulus. I think we can play along." He couldn't bring himself to admit that nomial's soft whisper left him covered in cold sweat. Still, the adrenaline hasn't died yet. He could still have some entertainment out of this. "Or rather, we could work as partners for the time being. Equal partners." As he said it, the top of his technomagic armor, ending with two robust chimneys began producing clouds of heavy dark smoke. As it poured out, the whole suit began heating up, the metal plating becoming unbearable and downright hurting to be in the vicinity with. "What say you, Miss? We can talk like civilized people or we can end up killing each other once the blaze burns out your clothing, skin and flesh alike and myself gets his throat slit."

Kuzunoha

Kuzunoha yelped in surprise. The Nomial thief felt the hairs on her neck flare up as things started getting toasty in the dwarf's vicinity. The armor was superheating itself, turning bright red and cooking everything near it alive with the ambient heat. Mutually assured destruction. He wanted to see her sweat.

There were limited options here. Kuzunoha could play chicken with him while she tanned to a nice, crisp brown, but if he'd rather burn up in his own suit (which wasn't likely considering you'd have to be insane to wear heat armor that could broil you too), then it wasn't incredibly likely he'd give until he was far beyond the point of saving. At which point in time Kuzunoha would have middling second to third degree burns, no clothes besides the rubber suit melted onto her flesh, and a dead body to her name, which would not help with border patrol. She could just go through with her threat and find someone else, but... no, that wasn't an option. That would never be an option. And if she just let him go, there was a very high likelihood of him skedaddling and coming back for her with the pigs in tow sometime in the near future, assuming she even made it out of the city without a hostage.

She played a fake smile even as the heat started singing her bangs and silken sleeves. At this point, she could only fish or cut bait.

"I thought we were equal partners in this," she whispered, this time more out of necessity than to feel sexy. "You scratch my back, I help you fight giant monsters, remember? Listen kid, I'm in a bit of a bind here. I just escaped from ultramax after robbing the national treasury, and I need to get out of this city, preferably this country, as soon as possible. Now I know you don't like it, but you're the closest thing I've got to an accomplice besides Tsukuyomi, and in case you haven't noticed, she's not good for much besides being cute."

The rabbit hiding behind her hair squeaked uncomfortably.

"So come on kid, help a girl out. All I need you to do is act helpless for awhile until we can make it across the border. I'll make it worth your while."

Capital City Delphinia — Escape (Princess' Group)

The group with the Princess and those that seeked to join made it outside of the city amidst the shrewd chaos that enveloped the town. Alicia's emotions were on high as she wondered about the betrayal and the reasons behind it. Why did it happen? Did it have something to do with her own rule? She had yet to take the throne and have any real power. Maybe talking to her own assailant would help remedy the situation?...

... No, not now.

That definitely wasn't number one priority. Number one priority was tending to Asteon. Once everyone was able to leave, they had taken shelter in the forest clearing a mile or so outside of the city. "This must be my fault." she said to herself while leaning against a tree. The others were doing their own business at the time and the Princess was given little time to reprieve.

Capital City Delphinia — Escape (Kuzunoha's Hostage)

The hostage situation had worked. Kuzunoha and the Dwarf-man were able to make it outside of the city with little problems. It mostly had to do with the weakened police force due to the ensuing chaos. Those that wanted to protect the Princess fought against those that wanted to overthrow their rule and reinstate the original Velspan bloodline. It seemed like it was going to be another war of succession. Regardless, they were able to make it outside of the city and into the forested area.

edited 29th Jul '14 7:02:15 PM by RagnatheSaviour

Capital City Delphinia — Escape (Princess' Group)

"You Nejuku bastards are awfully heavy for how fast you are, you know that?" He said as he coughed and dropped Saya as well as Asteon somewhere in the shelter.

He tried to connect with Shed, but to no avail, it seems his Union Spirit, at least for now. Is gone.

Damn that Yusa, that was dirty, even for her. I'm greatly weakened at this state. I won't manage to stand up to another Deva in this state in case one of them comes after us.

He took in deep and slow breaths as he tried to calm down and meditate for a few minutes and look at the situation, being angry was never the answer, at least while you're not in battle.

And then he noticed Alicia by the tree, walked towards her and spoke in the most gentle tone he could muster.

"Princess, none of this is your fault. How good and bad a leader is hardly matters to those playing politics. This is just a game of power. The only fault here is the bloodline you were born to, there will always be those willing to do anything to satisfy their power lust, and you're not to blame for the actions of those people. So cheer up, it's hard for your old man to see you like this." He coughed and smiled as widely as he could.

"Come now, we need to interrogate our little assassin, find out who's behind this all. I imagine you want answers as much as I do."

For the moment, Saya laid right where she was left, lying on the floor, tied up snuggly with a piece of enchanted rope to keep her from trying anything. However, at the moment she wasn't awake... having passed from unconscious to asleep after the beating she got.

Kriegsmann

He caved in, decided to humor Kuzunoha's idea. Why did that even happen?

Well, he really just needed some entertainment to get himself going. While he should be concerned about the fact that, well, someone decided to stage a coup d'etat, it just didn't bother him. At all. He just had fun. The fact that nobody stopped them was fortunate, but then again, considering such tremendous events happened at the same time nobody likely even thought about such a trifle thing as kidnapping.

Regulus didn't seem to share Vogel's enthusiasm, slowly stomping after the two, keeping a very close eye on the Nomial troublemaker.

"Well, 'twas quite a trip, wasn't it?" The dwarf asked, smiling. "Here's the freedom you sought, Miss."

Delphinia Forest — An Hour Later

The night had come just as fast as the chaos in the city. The Princess' group had managed to escape from the ensuing destruction in the city that came out of the blue. During the time from when they escaped to where they are now, the group managed to set-up an encampment and a fire from what they had. Presently, Alicia stared into the fire with her arms wrapped around her legs.

Alicia waited for Saya to wake up so they could continue with the questioning (that's probably what Afar was doing too).