Titanomachy (IC)

[Spinach]

Cyrus Ferdinand
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN - Field of Ruins (Skeletal Skyscrapers)
Time: Day 4 – Afternoon
Angel vs Man vs Devil
Turn 2

“This is why cannon fodder will always be cannon fodder.” The light clink of a metal chain being twirled followed the unfeeling words. “Soldier A and Soldier B. Never more than that…”

The young man took a step to the side, an uncharacteristic pep to his step.

“Nah, not even A and B. You two are more like J and K.” Time and time again they got in his way. Faceless mobs, nobodies, literal whos. Their lot would never amount to anything, they lacked that something to become somebody. Maybe they were born unlucky, maybe at some point they made the choice to sink into mediocrity. They’re like the nameless police in a crime movie, ineffective and destined to fail. “I’ve seen too many of your kind, but now it’s different. Maybe now-“

Violet lit up beneath his eyes, a low glow at first that accelerated into a pair of bright stars. Gambling Emperor’s light pulsed as a new ‘game’ was put into place, its ruled layered over the world’s texture.

“-I can give you a chance. One shot, one opportunity to be a lead actor. The real deal, a somebody.”

Not a single word betrayed intent. Not a thought, not a single emotion leaked out. The face of Cyrus Ferdinand could be more aptly called a black hole than anything human or holding something like ‘person.’

Cyrus took another step forward, rotating his wrist deftly. The metal chain wrapped below his palm flicked in tune with his movements. The sight of Amelie spitting up her drink at the sight of that was still fresh in his memory. It made the young man curious; just what meaning did it carry to the people on this side?

“You just have to walk over here. Walk here, and win. The game is simple, right?”

Another flick of his wrist, and the red pendant flipped out into view as he caught it in his palm. The gambler was good with his hands, skilled with his fingers. The red pendant flipped between his fingers like so many poker chips had done before it, bouncing along his knuckles in a constant rhythm in plain sight. In a way that would be impossible not to see.

All the while Cyrus’ entire presence stood unshaken. No emotion registered, he simply appeared as a void. Empty of feelings, empty of concern. An absolute wall, a perfect poker face.

“If you win, there’s a big prize waiting for you.”

The purple light surrounded the now-orange figure of the slime, Craps, and its form convulsed in response. Registering an understanding of the rules layered over its existence the hulking ooze began rapidly rushing toward its designated opponent. At the same time, Cyrus stepped forward once more toward his own opponent, the Devil still holding his spear.

Spoiler:

Gamble: Dead End Chicken
Craps vs Lesser Devil Warrior (Spearless)

Cyrus vs Lesser Devil Warrior

Both participants in each game approach each other moving in a straight line on a collision course with their rival. If one participant moves out of the way of the other, the participant who evaded loses. If neither player pulls out before collision, the participant to perish loses.

Stakes:
Craps wagers the [Slime] attribute, Lesser Devil Warrior (Spearless) wagers the [Flying] attribute

Cyrus wagers the [Unbound] attribute, Lesser Devil Warrior wagers the [Chaotic] attribute

HP: 100 SP: 100 Self: 50

[Frantic Author]

Johnny Justice
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN - Field of Ruins (Skeletal Skyscrapers)
Time: Day 4 – Afternoon
Angel vs Man vs Devil
Turn 2

"Serious?" Johnny rolled his eyes, rotating his arm with a grin. "If you weren't serious already, then why the fuck are ya even here?!"

Boring.

All these people, all the talking, all the blab blab, moving lips and empty words, its just like fucking Brooklyn all over again, streets of shitheels and bloodsuckers that just can't get enough of grabbing from the team.

Done.

Done.

It's all been done, and there's no goddamn reason to continue, but with blood on his teeth as he opens his mouth, Johnny stares down his demon, and laughs in his face.

"Callin' me a kid just 'cause we're new speaks more of whatcha think of yourself then anythang fucken else, ya two-bit rip-off of someone with talent!"

Memory after memory slips past his eyes, and the rage builds and builds as a demon with two axes intertwines with a man wielding two tonfas, a wide grin on his face as he dances in circles around the boy, staring at Johnny with his two fists held high, head bobbing as he looks back.

"Come on Justice! You're boring! Last week, second rate, just another one of the rats trying to climb up! Me? I'm the creme de la creme, and there's no need for two gangs wandering these streets!"

The brown haired boy looked at him, and smirked, cracking his hands. "Yer right, yanno? There's only a need for one King in the streets. And it's me."

Bodies move.

Attacks are parried.

A body falls.

Johnny looked down at his foe with a grin and a fist forming -

"Be my friend, motherfucker."

With a blink, he's back in a world that's too interesting and too boring by half, a gauntlet covered hand raising as axes come at him.

"Y'know Fangs, I've half a mind to take back my offer, 'cause if you've got such elegant suitors like this, you're clearly out of my league!"

He winks at the girl and laughs, half-maniacal and more then a little bit mad, bouncing on his feet as blood drips from his teeth and he looks at the girl with a smirk.

"Don't worry, when I win ya can drink aaaaaaall you want! First time's free, but if ya keep coming back, you're gonna have to start payin' taxes!"

He stares at his opponent and laughs, cocking his arm back with dancing eyes as the demon rushes forward --

"It's lonely at the top, innit?"

He grins, a lazy thing covering his face as his opponent approaches.

"Don't worry."

The devil approaches as Johnny's arm bursts forward, the might of Godhand blitzing through the air as his other arm braces itself for the incoming blow --

"There's plenty of room on the ground!"

[+2 To all physical stats at the end of the round.]

[Katie]

Rosary Flowers
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN - Field of Ruins (Skeletal Skyscrapers)
Time: Day 4 – Afternoon
Angel vs Man vs Devil
Turn 2

I can’t believe I listened to those idiots, that witch thing is pissed, and people are getting stabbed, and I’d really like to be involved in none of it. Why do I even bother? Everything those two do is a worse shit show than Black Friday in the City. I should have joined one of the other teams, but no, I felt guilty and crap and now I might get blown up or something.

For the love of God…

Keep it together, Rosary. Panicking means you die, right?

Check around. Probably help Jayden from getting stabbed. You owe that much to her and there isn’t anything pressing to do. Yeah, fix her up. Do that. Then, maybe, if the opportunity presents itself, try actually getting the witch this time.

[Making Jayden magic intangible.]

[I3uster]

Rita Lin
Location: Zeus High School – The Usual Spot
Time: Day 4 – Morning

“Hey, got a minute of your time?”

"Better keep it to a minute, doesn't look like we're in the comfy kick back kinda situation here, you feel me?" I pat him on the back as I lead him in the other direction of the people leaving the place.

"What's up?"

[Dranes]

Arthur McKnight
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Broken Earth (Northern Border)
Time: Day 4 – Afternoon

Arthur's eyes widened for a second, glancing backwards instinctively. There was nothing there of course but that didn't put his mind at ease, rather it made this all the more troubling.

But he couldn't let the others see that.

He looked back to Nick, giving his old friend a nod.

"Suppose it is, there's no point in going back empty-handed is there?," Even as he said those words, something screamed at him from the back of his head that this was all a bad idea, "Doubt it'll be easy but nothing in this place is."

Folding his arms, he once more gave a confident self-affirming nod to the rest of the group, he had been doing that a lot more recently. A different environment can really change a person and Arthur himself wasn't an exception. Still, there was one other thing that had to be made sure of. Something that shouldn't have happened yet did.

So now you can talk even when I haven't called you. I don't know if you can hear me or not but if you can, I have only one question...

What's your stake in all this?

[RacingeR]

Masaki Tomomi
Location: Dreamscape - Ashen Lands?
Time: Day 4 – Morning

“Yes, we’ll keep in touch… at least once or twice a week should be possible.” Nim nodded at you, before her expression became severe. “However… I won’t be able to do the same trick for you if you happen to perish… you see, in the first place, the ‘me’ you see before you is just a mere strand of aura… something you aren’t able to produce as of yet. Maybe if you once reach the category that the humans of this world denominate “Ascendant”, it might be possible for me to coalesce a strand of your aura… but I wouldn’t count on it. There aren’t second chances if you happen to fall.”

Nim paid attention to what you said about magic, and the wish your swords expressed, and she smiled slightly, the ghost of a smile hanging on her lips for a moment, before nodded, her expression becoming very serious, as she started talking with the tone of a lecturer.

“We don’t have much time left… I thank you for thinking so highly of me… so to answer the hopes you’re putting on me, it is best to go straight to the point.” She started. “Magic by itself… is mostly neutral. There exist many, many kinds of magic, and listing them is irrelevant at the moment… one could argue types and styles of magic are as vast and infinite as Existence itself. This World, what your kind have come to call the Warped World, could be considered a repository of Eldritch magic and secrets, most of which can be very dangerous. Appropriate precautions must be made when coming in contact with unknown spells and lore here.” She punctuated those words with a pause that made huge emphasis on them.

“However, the magic and knowledge contained in my grimoires should cause no such effect, although not all of the advanced grade grimoires could be called safe. What Juan Marquez did… the mistake he committed was to forcefully attempt to create a Witch Core and then insert it into his flesh… it was the straw that broke the camel’s back, when it comes to his already disturbed psyche and the fact that both his mind and soul were already strained… it ended up causing both his soul and mind to rapidly rot until his sense of self broke completely, and then…” She stopped. You noticed she was speaking faster and faster, as if she was very conscious of the fact the dream was about to end. “Let’s say that trying to actualize a conceptual phenomenon such as a phoenix’s revival with only his extent of knowledge and ability was a very bad idea.”

“When it comes to what he saw… my powers of observation in this world are limited only to the carriers of what I’ve left behind, be it grimoires or artifacts… so my knowledge presents many holes. However, I known enough secrets about this world to make a precise speculation… he might have gone through the Twisted Tunnels, past the shrine… towards the Bottom of the World. What his organization, the Golden Dawn is attempting… no, what they’ve become…” She interrupted herself there. “I’m sorry. I don’t wish to scare you, this is something that we may talk about in the future.

“Returning to the topic of the grimoire, I put a mark upon you that would allow you easy access to the items I’ve left behind, and will aid you when it comes to using them.” She said with an apologetic tone. “The crest marks you as my apprentice, although I’m afraid that in my condition I can’t be of much use to you.”

“A mid-grade grimoire is not the adequate starting point for a beginner, but… this may be fate. Juan’s notes might be of much use for you to begin comprehending the structure of magic-“

The dream started to break apart. No, rather, your consciousness seemed to be taken away from the place, as it became fainter and fainter. The last few words Nim uttered reached you as if through a distorted filter.

“Remember, you must keep your eyes open, and you must seek the remains of the Twelve Greater Magi. If you do-“

And the dream was over.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Zeus Approach
Time: Day 4 – Morning

You woke up suddenly, finding yourself completely entangled with the twins, who apparently had ended up using you as a hug pillow in their sleep. They were still sleeping, and a few meters away, Lizzie was peacefully snoring on her pillow. You blinked, and the memories of what had happened in your ‘dream’ came all pouring into your brain.

You noticed that Kaitlin was near the other side of the tent, washing herself with water from a bucket. She seemed somewhat startled and surprised. “Is something the matter, Tomomi?”

[RacingeR]

Eilian Aubrey
Location: Zeus High School – School Building (6^th Floor – Twisted Hallways)
Time: Day 4 – Morning

A glimmer of excitement was visible in Rosalin’s eyes when she heard what your power did. It was evident that you were giving her some good news in a time where there had been a dearth of such. However, she didn’t explode into festivities this time, instead choosing to attend the topic of the conversation.

“I have no idea at which point Zhong’s doggies will push the situation. I don’t think anything violent will happen for a while, but… ah, whatever, even if you stay neutral you’re bound to get involved anyway.” Rosalin sighed, and pushed open the door of an almost empty classroom. “We can talk more here.”

She entered, taking a quick look inside. “Get out!” She barked, and the couple that had been occupying the classroom until this point ran away, giggling.

“Idiots.” Rosalin huffed, not hiding the obvious symptoms of exhaustion in her face. “The normies are completely out of control, they’re using the classrooms for orgies and god knows what more. The last thing we need is to deal with pregnant girls on top of it all.”

“All because they’re hearing out that piece of shit preaching doom and eternal judgment outside. We even tried to implement a training program for them today, but the majority are still sleeping the morning away…” The depressed girl took a random intact chair and sat on it, motioning for you to take a seat too. “If Rose doesn’t get over herself soon, this place will implode either way.”

“Anyway…” She seemed to cheer up a bit. “How does your power work, exactly, when you say you can see the workings of the Matrix?”

[RacingeR]

Team Abyss
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Broken Earth (Northern Border)
Time: Day 4 – Afternoon

Arthur’s sword answered the question with a single, resounding word, that hung on the insides of his head, echoing long after being pronounced.

“POWER.”

“Arthur?” Nick asked, breaking him out of his reverie, somewhat worried when he noticed you had apparently fallen into some sort of mutism. “Everything okay?”

[RacingeR]

Team Baka
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Field of Ruins (The Stronghold of Defiance)
Time: Day 5 – Noon


Jin’s eyes moved towards Sarah for an instant. “Let me take care of that.” He said, as he resumed his walk towards Sally’s prone form. You noticed the agent had recovered consciousness as you were talking, but she seemed barely able to understand her surroundings, probably because the abrupt excision of her arm had sent her straight into shock. At this point, the nauseous Ludmilla and the hysterical Evangeline had also stood up.

There was a sudden emission of spiritual power, and suddenly the figures of those unconscious or incapable of standing up started floating in the air. Everyone looked upwards, to see Infis grinning smugly.

“That takes care of that.” Jin shrugged. “Let’s go.”

All of you followed behind the old Survivor as he led the way to the other side of the cathedral, sunken in a tired silence. Everyone was either too hurt or too tired to speak, even Infis seemed fatigued, and Jin seemed to be taciturn by nature. Soon enough, you had made your way to the other side, and to the exit, a back entrance that was almost invisible in the gaping darkness of the place.

Jin strode around with a confident, calm gait, as if unaffected by the darkness, and entered the long hallway that led to many different rooms to the sides, all apparently empty or filled with bones and old, rotten corpses. The odor reigning over the dark passage was downright vile, much worse than the place where you had fought Lycao. Finally, you arrived at some sort of backroom, also empty except for old, sodden rests of wooden containers, and many shattered skeletons and bones, most extremely old. Impaled at one side of the room was a figure that seemed intact and lifelike, so much that Eva had let out a surprised yelp when seeing it. After all, it was a demonic looking, horned man with blood-red eyes. Even in death, despite the black metallic lance percing him through the black armor practically covered in dry blood, his face sported a hideous grin. He seemed to have died in mid-battle, laughing as he slaughtered his enemies. In fact, many skulls, separated from corpses, remained at his feet, forming small mountains.

“A Demon.” Informed Jin, seeing that some of you were staring at the body with both fear and curiosity. “One of their Champions, a very powerful one, in fact. Don’t know the name, but the fact that his body remained without rotting since then is proof of his power.”

“I heard this cathedral used to be the center of this stronghold, and its backline. Its structure has been heavily enchanted with all kinds of magic to make it particularly resistant to damage. That Angel from earlier lacks the strength to make such a hole in the ceiling… she must have used a special method to do so.” He finished his brief explanation, as he pointed towards the other side of the backroom, the exit to this place, from which the phantasmagorical light of the ‘day’ illuminated this place of death with a teal hue.

At that moment, you heard a groan come from Esther, which indicated that she had woken up. Infis unceremoniously cancelled her telekinesis on her, making the poor girl drop straight into the bone-covered floor and causing a cloud of bone dust to go up. Eva immediately let out a surprised and pleased cry, and ran towards her friend, helping her up and then hugging her as she started softly crying, ignoring the blood and dirt covering the confused Esther.

You saw the girl, somewhat muddled, looking around in confusion. “Is- is it dead? Did it work?”

“… Once we’re outside, we can be sure that enemies will be targeting us once they catch our smell. None of you are in conditions to fight much, so leave it to me.” Jin kept speaking apathetically. “However, we must hurry up and move fast. We must make it to the Dragonfall by the afternoon, I know a Safe Spot there, where I’ll be able to treat your friends.”

[Bloble]

Jordan J. Jones
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Field of Ruins (The Stronghold of Defiance - Backroom)
Time: Day 5 – Noon

Jordan did three things upon following Jin into the dark room.

First, he sneezed. Then, he stumbled. Finally he swore, loudly and angrily, as the bones in his broken leg ground against each other.

Grumbling, Jordan leaned against the wall and fumbled in his pack for the bottle of painkillers. As his fingers closed around it he belatedly remembered how many he'd already popped, and sighed. He would just have to bear the pain until it healed on its own. Instead he withdrew a small can with a nozzle on top, something he never thought he'd be using for its actual intended purpose.

Jordan depressed the button and swung his arm in a crescent, leaving in its wake some fresher-smelling air. With another flourish, the gas from the air freshener spread across the room, courtesy of some pressure manipulation.

“A Demon. One of their Champions, a very powerful one, in fact. Don’t know the name, but the fact that his body remained without rotting since then is proof of his power.”

"Uh-huh." Jordan depressed the nozzle and sent a spray of lemon-scented niceness into the demon's face.

That took care of the smell, at least.

"Its structure has been heavily enchanted with all kinds of magic to make it particularly resistant to damage. That Angel from earlier lacks the strength to make such a hole in the ceiling… she must have used a special method to do so.

He chuckled, then winced. "Yeah," Jordan chortled. "Must've been a hell of a trick." He met Sarah's eye and winked.

There it was. The pain, but also the exhilaration. Even now, it was just like winning a game. It took a while for it to kick in, but the rush of good feelings and the thrill of triumph never failed to appear after a hard-fought victory. It almost made all the pain and suffering worth it.

Almost.

“Is- is it dead? Did it work?”

Jordan's good hand descended onto the girl's head, delivering a mighty pat.

He poked his head into her field of vision, sporting a huge grin.

"You're god damned right it did."

Normally being MVP would earn a whole speech, but as Jin talked about how they would need to hurry, Jordan forced himself to abbreviate it.

"You did good. Real good. Now, the victory lap."

He retreated, plopped the bottle of painkillers onto a nearby table, and addressed the group. "Make sure you're in walking condition. Arms, fingers, eyes, that's secondary. If your guts are spilling out, just hold 'em in. If you can put one foot in front of the other, that's enough. If you can't, take one of these and try again."

Next, Jordan stumbled over to the dead Demon and peered into its eyes. He glanced Jin's way. "Dragonfall sounds fine. If I pull out this spear, it's not gonna turn into a super zombie and rip my face off, will it?"

[RacingeR]

Team Baka
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Field of Ruins (The Stronghold of Defiance)
Time: Day 5 – Noon

Esther smiled weakly. “Yay.” She said, somewhat dryly, and said nothing else. Words seemed to be superfluous in this moment. She moved, trembling a bit, and then, helped by her friend, she reached towards the rusty metallic table and took a pill from the bottle. “Head’s killing me. So’s the rest of my body.”

“You killed something that was far beyond your current level of being, girl. The mere fact that you’re awake and able to walk around is… very unexpected.” Jin said. “I’ll examine you later…”

He turned his head to look towards Jordan when he heard his last few words. He seemed faintly amused.

“Do you think that nobody else tried to take it in the eight centuries that it has remained here?” He questioned, curious regarding your answer.

[Bloble]

Jordan J. Jones
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Field of Ruins (The Stronghold of Defiance - Backroom)
Time: Day 5 – Noon

"Uh, maybe?"

Jordan shrugged, then paused. It didn't hurt. The one thing he could do without being assaulted by a spike of pain from some random muscle was shrug. So he shrugged again for good measure.

"This is a spooky place, real dusty too. Maybe it doesn't get much traffic, what with all the werewolves nearby. Maybe anybody that came here knew some trick to detecting magic weapon vibrations or something, took one look and said 'oh yeah it's just a hunk of metal, no reason to bother'. Or maybe it's got like, some sealing magic on it, keeping this big guy sleeping like a stake in a vampire. I dunno, anything seems to be possible here. I mean, I got this sword from a ghost by asking nicely."

He waved around the Ailion blade as if making a point.

"So you tell me, man; you're the one that knows shit. Am I barking up the wrong tree here?"

[RacingeR]

Team Baka
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Field of Ruins (The Stronghold of Defiance)
Time: Day 5 – Noon

Jin silently shook his head. “When it comes to this world, discernment is a key aspect to your survival. Discernment, and experience. If I give you all the answers, you’ll never learn… or learn much slower than you normally would. As long as it won’t kill you, I won’t stop you.”

“So, that’s all I’ll say. It won’t kill you.”

[Snax]

Sarah Vale
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Field of Ruins (The Stronghold of Defiance)
Time: Day 5 – Noon

"Well, that's one way to do it. Nice work there, Infis."

Throwing the smug ghostgirl a thumbs up with her good hand, she tramped along with the group, following Jin's lead. The group followed him into a dark room...

Originally Posted by Jin
"Its structure has been heavily enchanted with all kinds of magic to make it particularly resistant to damage. That Angel from earlier lacks the strength to make such a hole in the ceiling… she must have used a special method to do so.

Sarah merely snickered, nodding in Jordan's direction, where she saw the other boy wink. Another chuckle escaped the hunter girl's lips.

As Esther woke up and fell with a crunch however, she took a concerned look at the girl and her friend. They had gone through a lot today...and they had turned out nice hunting mates.

Oh well. They seemed fine somewhat.

She turned her eye to the Demon Corpse and the metallic spear, listening in on Jordan and Jin going on about history and revelations...

"Eh well, don't say I'm not the adventurous type. I lost all my javelins because of the fight, and I'm famished because I used a ton of my energy digging holes in ancient structures and ancient monsters. I could use a pointy metallic stick just about now."

Joking around, Sarah walked near the lance, inspecting it.

"But hey. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right?"

With that, she gave the lance a hearty pull.

[Erlkonig]

Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Zeus Approach
Time: Day 4 – Morning

You noticed that Kaitlin was near the other side of the tent, washing herself with water from a bucket. She seemed somewhat startled and surprised. “Is something the matter, Tomomi?”

Tomomi didn't answer, as she was too busy staring off into the distance as her brain tried to cope with processing everything that had happened in her dream. Meeting the remnants of what might as well have been a Goddess, hearing her tragic tale, and then comforting and being comforted by her...

Wait, when I make it sound like that, didn't we... Suddenly, a red blush coloured Tomomi's cheeks, and the girl squealed to herself. "Ahh! I can't believe I said all that!"

It was good and all that Nim had been so happy when all was said and done, but... The way she had spoken was so embarrassing! Hadn't she just up and invited her newly gained teacher to what basically amounted to a date? I mean, it's not like she had any other choice since it was just the two of them, so it had to be personal, but...

Turning her head towards Kaitlyn, Tomomi looked at her upperclassman and fidgeted nervously. "Kaitlyn-senpai, what do I do...?"

With teary eyes, the blushing girl buried her face in her hands.

"It seems that I've flirted with a ghost girl..."

Kaitlyn's eyes almost bulged out of her head.

---

"So that's what happened, basically..."

A few minutes later, Tomomi sat by the other sleeping girls as she ran Kaitlyn through the contents of her dream, all the while the swordsman took the time to dry and clothe herself.

"But still, at first I was terrified to have that kind of realistic dream in this world, but I'm glad that Nim turned out to be a good person..." Tomomi sighed in relief, even as she shuddered at the lukewarm breeze of the outdoors. It was a disconcerting effect, given that she had just went through a ghost-like dream experience.

Well, she supposed she would get used to the change... Eventually.

"Anyways, she was really nice, and friendly too." Tomomi said with a crooked smile. "Not at all what we're used to running into this world. Then again, she's part of a civilization that got wiped out thousands of years ago, so I'm not sure she counts?" Though she said it as a joke, Tomomi didn't believe it was all that funny, indeed it said something that the first fully cooperative person she met with in this world had to be a ghost.

Then, her voice became a little more excited. "But still, can you believe it? We don't know anything about magic, and all of a sudden this happens! It's almost a miracle! After we almost got into a fight, I was devastated... But now I can finally face my brother again with confidence."

She was genuinely happy about that.

While she might not have had the chance to learn as much about magic as she could have from Nim, she didn't feel regretful at all about that- In the first place, Nim was under no obligation to give her anything, so all she could see her newfound was as a simple favor between friends. She felt gratitude towards Nim, but she still would have liked the woman despite her powers.

But what she had learned from that conversation was enough- While unprovokedly chasing after any kind of Magic was extremely dangerous, Tomomi no longer had to worry about that. Nim's words had reassured her that Juan's grimoire was safe to use, and now if they ever ran into a new source of magic, Tomomi could always wait until her next session with Nim before using it.

Her brother had been right- Wandering into the realm of magic recklessly, no matter the circumstances, was highly dangerous and tantamount to suicide. Juan had gone too far, and he had paid the price for that. Caution was a virtue almost as critical as intelligence and wisdom when it came to it.

But... Tomomi had been so afraid. Their encounter with Juan, seeing a person lose themselves in madness and them almost single-handedly kill every single one of them... Tomomi thought that any person her age would have become terrified under such circumstances.

That was why... She had desperately wished, with all of her heart, that she could be able to better protect her friends.

And now... Those wishes had been answered.

Now... Tomomi could grow.

But still... Tomomi sighed again, as her expression turned into a bemused frown. "There's still something I don't get that Nim said... She told me that she had put a 'mark' on me, which was supposed to assist me... Maybe it's some kind of tatoo, like the ones those people had in the dream? But..."

Looking over herself with a cursory glance, Tomomi couldn't really find any signs of the 'mark' Nim had spoken of. It might be somewhere that was harder to spot, like her stomach, or her back, or...

Tomomi's cheeks coloured red. No way, she wouldn't be that perverted right? Nim is a nice person, she wouldn't do that.

But how could she find it...

Her eyes wandered towards Kaitlin, and as the idea surfaced into her mind, Tomomi turned beet red.

"U-Um, Kaitlyn..." She almost choked on the words. Come on, you're just two girls, what's the problem?

But... But...

"Would you mind lookingatmybodyasIwashmyself!?"

...But it was still so embarrassing to ask!​

[RacingeR]

Team Baka
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Field of Ruins (The Stronghold of Defiance)
Time: Day 5 – Noon

Sarah had the full intention of giving the lance a good pull, attempting to tug it out from the corpse. However, she was completely unable to.

When her hand reached out towards the lance, and her fingers took hold of the handle, Sarah was suddenly invaded by an horrible feeling, as if she had just taken hold of an electric fence. Suddenly, through her spiritual senses, she was able to feel an immense, terrifying holy energy residing within the lance, before the energy reacted to her touch by moving towards her body and causing a reaction.

The energy was so massive, and so completely out of her comprehension, that there was no way for Sarah to handle it. She was sent flying backwards through the air by the mere contact with the energy, and only a powerful hand that caught her in mid-air saved the girl from a painful collision against the floor or the walls.

Jin, who had caught her with ghost-like movement of incredible speed and precision, slowly put her back on the ground, taking care to not aggravate her wounds while doing so. However, he didn’t comment much on what had just happened, seeming more interested in seeing the group’s reaction to the whole situation.

[Snax]

Team Baka
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Field of Ruins (The Stronghold of Defiance)
Time: Day 5 – Noon

Sarah was surprised by what had happened. The immense energy residing within the lance wasn't something she was used to, and she was literally blown back.

Jin had caught her, but she was annoyed none the less. Still, she didn't forget to thank the man.

By giving him another quick peck on the cheek, like last time...

"Playing hard to get, huh?"

A bit annoyed, she turned towards the lance. Summoning a ball of black energy, she lobbed it at the dead body of the Demon.

"Well, let's see who plays so hard to get after losing its objective. Hahaha!!"

Quipping half jokingly, she guided the orb to eat through only the dead flesh, so that it would loosen the lance from where it stood.

[Bloble]

Team Baka
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN – Field of Ruins (The Stronghold of Defiance)
Time: Day 5 – Noon

Sarah was surprised by what had happened. The immense energy residing within the lance wasn't something she was used to, and she was literally blown back.

Jin had caught her, but she was annoyed none the less. Still, she didn't forget to thank the man.

By giving him another quick peck on the cheek, like last time...

"Playing hard to get, huh?"

A bit annoyed, she turned towards the lance. Summoning a ball of black energy, she lobbed it at the dead body of the Demon.

"Well, let's see who plays so hard to get after losing its objective. Hahaha!!"

Quipping half jokingly, she guided the orb to eat through only the dead flesh, so that it would loosen the lance from where it stood.

"Sarah, we're all half dead. Don't just go pulling on every stick you find!"

[RacingeR]

Crooklyn
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN - Field of Ruins (Skeletal Skyscrapers)
Time: Day 4 – Afternoon
Angel vs Man vs Devil
Turn 2

The result was unexpected. Or perhaps, for the gambler, it was just as expected. When the two devils saw the necklace being held up in Cyrus’ hands, their annoyed expressions changed completely, their eyes practically bulging out and their jaws nearly hitting the floor by pure surprise. They stopped in their tracks as they saw Craps rushing in their direction, but they barely paid the slime any attention as their eyes followed the human that was slowly but ominously walking towards them. No, to be more precisely, their eyes followed the necklace he was wielding on his hand. It was obvious they were scared shitless.

They barely hesitated. In an instant, they turned tails and ran away as if the devil itself was pursuing them, which was quite ironic, given that they were devils themselves. It was quite clear that they couldn’t give less of a damn about the gamble, as if the consequences of losing it were less scarier than the strange necklace with a blood-red jewel.

Immediately, wings sprouted out from Craps’ back, and the slime took up to the air. Cyrus could’ve sworn he’d seen a hand quickly sprout from the mass of acidic slime, giving the devils the middle-finger, but in a blink of an eye, it had disappeared. For his part, when the bet was won, the gambler only felt a very strange, uncomfortable feeling run through his whole body, like some sort of heat that went from the soles of his feet all the way to the roots of his hair, before it was gone. Apart from a slight discomfort that remained, nothing had changed at all. For now.

Meanwhile, the spearless devil that had been Craps’ opponent desperately tried to flap his wings to take flight as he ran, but without any result. The one that had been Cyrus’ opponent had been forced to stop in place and was now twisting strangely.

However, the fate of that Devil was fated to remain unknown, as three holy bullets were suddenly shot from the distance and penetrated into him, two blowing apart his chest and stomach, and a third one hammering into his skull. The devil emitted a loud screech as he was sent flying by the impacts out of the bridge and straight into the depths.

From the sky, three silhouettes descended. It was the devil that was wielding a shotgun and a chainsaw-sword, as well as the gun-totting angel and her bow-wielding companion, who remained farther to the back. The three of them were cautiously eyeing their opponents, at the same time they nervously eyed the necklace in Cyrus’ hands.

“Fucking pussy.” The devil spat as she stared disdainfully at her cowering subordinate, before kicking him away from the battlefield. The surroundings of these three girls were surprisingly quiet: none of the other combatants dared to go near, and nobody else seemed to have been paying much attention to Cyrus, and thus hadn’t noticed the mysterious artifact he was now displaying.

“What the hell?” The devil girl continued as she narrowed her eyes, examining the necklace with attention. “Where did you get that?”

[Spinach]

Cyrus Ferdinand
Location: Sea of UNKNOWN - Field of Ruins (Skeletal Skyscrapers)
Time: Day 4 – Afternoon
Angel vs Man vs Devil
Turn 3

“Lame.” There was no other way to describe the answer of the Devils with the teenager’s vocabulary. In a single instant Cyrus turned his attention skyward, to his airborne slime. “Cool.”

The unfortunate Devil that had lost its ability to fly flapped its wings to no avail, failing to understand the meaning of what he had just lost. In his imagination, the gambler pictured vulgarity he didn’t think the slime was capable of, aimed at the unfortunate, cowardly devil.

At the same time, a strange sensation coursed through Cyrus. It wasn’t something pleasant. Like drinking coffee that was way too hot, lighting him up from inside, and making everything feel stuffy. For a split second the teenager wondered if his prize was a prize at all, before the feeling subsided, the newly gained Chaotic attribute settling in within him.

Whatever that meant.

The meaning of what he had wagered wasn’t something he even fully understood. He merely did it because it sounded interesting, both the game and the stakes, and yet the only part that delivered was on Craps’ end. The Devils had resigned their selves to a fate as eternal cannon fodder, and aside from a moment of discomfort, he felt all the same.

Then, as if to prove him right, a series of bullets tore apart the Devil who had lost against Cyrus, and the gambler turned his attention to the ones who had done it.

“This?” Cyrus asked back, holding the necklace forward with another step toward the Devil girl. “Just picked it up as a gift from a nuthead calling herself Red Chaos. Bit of a bitch, but she gives good gifts. I’ve got her legs too, back home. Good pair.”

The shadow of the flying slime, cast by the cracked teal sky’s pale light, lingered over the boy as Craps came closer.

“But what’s with the teamkill? It’s not his fault he’s a nobody. I guess it’s not a big deal if he gets offed just like that, but you aren’t looking any cooler, icing cannon fodder from your own side.”