Astronomika - Shooting Down Falling Stars (IC)

[Mellon]

Anna Vandemeel
Location: Road's End - End's Mercy Hospital
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

Anna let out a small grunt of pain, as the blackened spear of darkness lanced straight through her side, flying upwards and striking the hallway ceiling. Fragments of reinforced were blasted towards her from above but were instantly ground to dust by the curse still resonating heavily in the air around her. At the same time, a veritable stream of bullets struck her from the remaining eleven shadow-beasts.

The girl in red hardly paid them a glance as the pitch-black spheres faded into nothingness mid-motion, with only ineffectual residue bouncing harmlessly off her jacket.

The shades themselves were immaterial at this point. If it was just them, then she could simply deal with relatively little hassle but… Her crimson eyes fell to her side. In the flickering red-gold light of the fires that filled the hallway, threaded web of shadows tied the pierced flesh of her side to her own shadow, the flickering light causing the knitted web to pulse in rhythm with the growing and shrinking shade of her own body.

The foundational structure is elementally aligned with shadow but the composition is clearly constructed in order to strike at the mind. ESP? No, could still be someone associated with the Campus of Enchantment...

Damn it. She couldn’t tell for sure without a closer look at the spiritual resonance of the area which, under the current circumstances, would be extremely dangerous. The pitch-black strands that were tying her down would limit her movement, grinding everything down to a slog. Something that should have been a relatively quick hit-and-run would end in a protracted standoff.

Which left her a precious few options.

Numen roared in her veins as she forced her matrixes to open once more.

The world groaned under the weight of the mana she injected into the monochrome field that invaded into her surroundings. Rather then simply letting the flows scatter and the magical weave disperse, she instead recycled the original formation and simply filled it with new fuel. The savings in magical energy were barely worth mentioning, but it was somewhat easier on one’s mind than constructing a new spell foundation from scratch. And she would need every bit of it if sh...

Anna’s eyes stopped for a moment, as they focused on the countless licks of glowing fire dancing on the walls of the hallway.

…well, that's one thing I could try out. Could blow up in my face though…

Being tied down as she was, she couldn’t really move her limbs in any meaningful fashion. However, she still did have finer motor movement in her small digits. Which meant...

The only way to kill a shadow is to kill the light behind it.

So Anna Vandemeel snapped her fingers with a loud click, the sound seemingly reverberating through the very room itself.

...and causing every single lick of fire in the hallway to vanish in an instant, plunging the hospital hallway back into its original state. Pitch-black darkness.

[Verg Avesta]

Anna Vandemeel VS Netherworld Paper Dolls (Round 2/3, Turn 6/10)
Location: Road's End - End's Mercy Hospital
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast
[BGM]

As darkness descended into the hallway, the shapes of the wolves in the shadows melt into it, becoming almost indistinguishable.

Before Anna was the dimly lit corridor of the hospital, and nothing but the eerie red eyes hungrily glaring from ahead served as a telltale sign that the enemies were still present. The lance of darkness still held fast through Anna, strands of shadows locking her in place and refusing to let go. However, the moment the flames died down, an instant change could be noticed. The lance, and the dogs too... they took a less pronounced, less detailed and sharp shape. Indeed, they were more akin to smudged paintings now, barely having coherency. In other words, that guess might have held true... the more powerful the light, the stronger the shadow.

But, that didn't make things any easier.

Indeed, now Anna was stuck in the blackened corridor while rain from the emergency sprinklers kept pouring on her. And while the shadow puppets had refrained from attacking a second time, instead gathering a good ways away to stay out of the way of the bubble of decay... that didn't mean she was still out of danger.

No, if the person responsible for these familiars and the shadow lance was still around... things could still turn much more dire.

----- Case-in-point.

Suddenly.

The darkened air itself was bubbling.

Turning into duality of spheres raising from the floor and starting to hover in the air.

One half of the spheres were those of light.	One half of the spheres were those of darkness.
Half of them illuminated the hallway.	Half of them ate away all brightness.

Even from all the way over here, Anna could feel magical energy radiating from those bubbles, though judging from how they appeared and behaved, it must have been dyed with two very different elements. And indeed, that made sense. If these beasts were shadow puppets... it wasn't merely shadows that was needed to put on a show - to transport someone into a world of legends and fables, myths and monsters.

No, one needed light as well. And this, in some form at least, appeared to be that light.

Shadows twisted and turned in the corridor and became harsh, fragments and downright bizarre.

Like staring at your own reflection in a funhouse where all the mirrors were cracked beyond repair - reflecting at the reality in slightly varied and bizarre angles.

Light mixed in with darkness and collided in a spectular show... and yet everything stayed dark.

It was bizarre... and it smelled of a trap.

After all, the spheres... they simply stood there, hovered there, in the air... floating without doing anything else.

Almost like they were watching and waiting for something to happen...

"Hmm~"

After what felt like minutes (even though it was mere seconds) of the rising spheres floating in the air, watching Anna, a strange new voice broke into the silence of the hallway. It echoed from somewhere behind the shadowy wolves, coming closer as the person pushed their way past the creatures who did nothing to them. No, they didn't merely stay passive... they actually made way for the person who was walking closer to Anna.

Just like any good familiar would do for their master.

"You're pretty strong~"

The sleepy sing-song voice of the person approaching couldn't have been more unfitting for the serious situation.

But Anna Vandemeel had seen her fair share of bizarre people on the Turnside.

And more often than not, those bizarre people were far more dangerous than those who appeared sane.

After all, while sane and cunning people you could try to outsmart... who knew what the bizarre people were thinking?

"My woofies don't really like you, you know~"

The person took her place at the edge of the boundary of spheres that surrounded Anna, like another bubble outside her own of decay. She thumbed through the stack of familiar looking paper notes in her hand, hell money, eyes drowsily glancing at the myriad of foreigns symbols on them. Then those eyes looked upwards, towards Anna, lazily gazing at her through thick-rimmed glasses. Nothing ould be read from that vacant expression on the girl's face, but the way she looked at Anna...

... It sent all sorts of alarm bells ringing in her ears.

"... I don't really like you that much either, you know~"

The person continued, empty smile forming on her face.

"You're a naughty devil, after all~"

And just then, light from the spheres hit the spot where the person was standing right now, at the other end of the corridor form Anna.

Revealing who... or what... they were:

---

--> Round 3, Turn 10: Zhou Coastrise
--> Round 3, Turn 11: Anna Vandemeel
--> Round 3, Turn 12: Netherworld Paper Dolls

---

New Ability Witnessed!

Zhou Coastrise (?)

STR: ?

END: ?

AGI: ?

WIL: ?

INT: ?

EGO: ?

Abilities:

???
Rank: ?
Element: Darkness
A spear of pure darkness is launched from the target's own shadow, impaling them on the spot if their INT Defense is overcome. In addition, when the target is hit by the spear, they take 10 Darkness damage VS. their INT Defense. A target hit by this ability is then restrained for 4 Rounds. Only one ??? can be active on a single target at any one time. Further information pending...

???
Rank: ?
Element: Darkness/Light
Creates spheres of light and darkness around a point within range. The spheres fill out a radius of 20 meters in all direction, hovering in place after summoning. Further information pending...

[Katie]

Lucille Faraday
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

In a flash, the prayers die on her lips.

The beast is upon Vier, and Lucille is too slow to react, trapped by the flaws of flesh, and every gash on Vier’s body is burned into her mind. The other girl is slammed into the wall and turned into almost a bloody corpse—but not quite. She can see Vier’s scant act of defiance, spitting in the beasts’ face, doing something she cannot see but knows is there, but that is not enough. If Lucille plays it safe, wards herself with blessings, Vier will absolutely die, and it really will be her fault, no doubt about it.

No trickery to double-think herself into a loop. It’s all so straightforward. If Vier dies here, it is on her, and Lucille cannot stomach the idea of anyone else dying but herself.

She draws the greatsword, the very act slicing the air with an audible sharpness, and charges in.

The idea is devoid of any critical thought. There is only one way for her to save Vier and that is for her to turn that dog into mincemeat.

“Let my heart be still—”

It’s a lie, her heart feels like it will burst, adrenaline and worry and grief and anger all in one indiscernable rush, but she focuses, focuses on the task at hand. The reasons for what she does do not matter if she cannot execute. The blade in her hands shines with a divine light, a searing white that illuminates the room.

“—for the Lord shall carve a path!”

And reality splits at the edge of her blade. The very air makes way for her sword, a howling vacuum left in the wake of her swing, collapsing with a crack like thunder.

Without hesitation she swings again, and the sword whose sole purpose is to sever descends on the beast once more, roaring winds and dazzling light left in its wake.

-----

HP: 21/24
MP: 37/45

Parting Gift (0/2)

Wise up!

[Parting Gift]
Arc Relic - Weapon
Rank B (50 AP)
Element: Holy

A sword whose hilt is allegedly made from the Staff of Moses, imbued with the ability to “part all obstacles in its way.” More details pending.

The name is Lucille’s choice.

[Verg Avesta]

Lucille Faraday VS Vier Wolff VS A-gyoh (Round 2, Turn 4/5)
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast
[BGM]

There was a sensation of a glass breaking as the psionic particles took to the air, first by the ability that Vier threw against the face of the gigantic beast - and then once more as she followed up by trying to rob it of its eyesight. As she rolled away, she could see a glimpse of how the white-and-red monster suddenly swayed on its feet, trying its damnedest to keep upright while it staggered on the spot like a newborn foal. In other words, her plan had worked - at least for that part. Even walking was now a tough thing for the beast, and attacking with those claws of it must have been even harder.

Of course, that still left the fangs and teeth that could snap a human being in half with just one bite, but with the creature blinded the efficiency of those would have also been---

"RRRRRRRrrgghhhh----? Rrrrrrrhhh!"

No, scratch that.

Immediately, even though the red eyes were covered by a milky white haze now, Vier could see that the head of the beast turned after her. At the same time, she could see it sniffing the air while drool dripped from its mouth. Of course... of course. Animals hardly relied on just their sight when hunting. The creature might have been blinded, but it could still find her - its prey. Smell of a normal wolf was hundreds of times more powerful than that of man - who even knew with this beast?

But, it might not have had the time to even use its sense of smell.

---------- Because at that very moment...!

“Let my heart be still —”

A sudden burst sound unlike anything Vier had heard roared through the school campus, a slow, undulating bass note that sent chills down the spine of an every biological being living on planet earth. It was the sound of a sudden void of air, of atmosphere, of molecules being created - for as the greatsword of Lucille Faraday was drawn towards its target, it didn't merely cut its way through the air... no: it cut the air itself and drove a wedge of vacuum in it, drawing a blank monochrome line with her initial swing at he air that was aimed at the monstrosity before her.

Searing light paints the grassland and drives away the fog for but a moment with its brilliance - and in the middle of that, the vacuum collapses with a screaming gale of wind that elevated itself to sound like a choir of angels singing of God's Fury towards the abomination that now threatened the lives of those present. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Lucille locked her eyes with the momentarily disabled beast and her swing reached its apex - right on top of her head. Another burst of power and this time, the sword itself took on a whole new texture. The metal, for but a moment, had the grain and look of an ancient wood radiating with power, a artifact from a time long ago when miracles were something far grander than human imagination could comprehend these days. The freedom of belief and lack of restriction from the rules, those very same rules of the masses that had eventually forced the supernatural on the run and to the Turnside of the World... it was that freedom that had given birth even to this miracle.

And now it was recreated again.

Here, on the coast of Washington State - at the grounds of a simple high school.

The sky roared. The wind howled. The invisible choir sung.

Blastwave of pure numen, enough to rattle glasses of nearby buildings, was relead.

And with that it was set forth...

--- The swing of Lucille Faraday that could have cleft the Red Sea in twain!

— for the Lord shall carve a path!”

Blinding light.

The world screamed in terror as a Legend of Old was released, altering fabric of reality for just a moment to match the mythic deeds of heroes long past. The arc of Lucille's swing grew and grew, the vacuum created by the Strike of Parting. Indeed, many in the history of mankind had mistaken this miracle for that of cleaving, of separation, of rending... but they could not have been more wrong. This was the Miracle of Freedom, opening up a path where there was none, destroying obstacles that tried to hinder its wielder and forging a new way for a dawn that was surely to come, a tomorrow bereft of such misery and oppression!

But it did not stop there.

Lucille's arms moved once more, her momentum carrying her forward, and with the numen roaring in her surroundings as the legend itself was released from her greatsword, she spun with that same kinetic energy to deliver another slash, to drive the wedge even further into reality, and to add it already to the considerable power of her Treasure Device, her Regalia... Her Miracle.

And thus the rail of nothing in the world grew.

The vacuum of void became larger.

It was like a shining column of light that descended upon the monstrosity attacking Vier.

The event horizon at the edge of that emptiness hungered for more, sucking in everything from air to photons itself, and accelerated it to the point that it became a shining beacon of pure brilliance that could not be denied. At the same time that Miracle of Freedom fell upon the beast, swallowed it whole and took a hold of its physical nature. No armor, no thick skin, no defensive hide or a supernatural protection could stand against this Legend that struck through all obstacles. The rotation of light, sound and air in the vacuum created gripped reality hard in its wake, and forcibly twisted it, warped it, rotated it...!

--- And eventually it would snap.

Cleaved in half, like the Red Sea before His People.

And that is exactly the fate in store for the monstrosity that opposed them!

A strike that, even if it could not cleave the beast in half, would burn it to cinders with divine light, blessed by The Lord Himself---!

...

But that was where the miscalculation happened.

No, it would have been wrong to call it a miscalculation. Most likely it was simply a misunderstanding, a lack of information based on the different cultural values.

In other words... Lucille had been mistaken about the true nature of the monster she was fighting.

While certainly monstrous to look at, while certainly inhumane in nature, while certainly merciless in its actions... the A-gyoh was not a discipline of darkness nor a manifestation of demons. It did not shy away from the light of the holy, no, it embraced it. This was a Guardian Beast, an Abomination of the Divine - a Facet of the Nioh that guarded temples of a far-off Eastern Land. In other words, its spiritual nature was that of the divine too and its power was counted as holy. Therefore, when the brilliant light, scorching to all evil, struck upon its skin, it found itself repelled to an unexpected amount. While the photons burned, signed and destroyed, while the divine power cut into the flesh of the beast... it resisted - it held its ground.

It was a Divine Beast of a Realm of the Kamuy. The Beginning of All Wolves - Holy animals from where it had been born.

And thus, even with two strikes from such a powerful relic, capable of recreating partially one of the greatest miracles in the myth... it was not felled!

--- Thus, that was where the monstrosity known as A-gyoh took its chance!

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAARRRRGGHHHH!!!"

With a fearsome growl and roar, the beast charged forward. Its legs were refusing to work properly, it barely remembered how to run, but just like a newborn foal, it staggered forward, using all its might to run after Vier. While it could not reach her within the span of ten seconds that it had, it struck forward, lunging out of the brilliant light with bloodthirsty look in its crimson eyes. It was an awkward, clumsy dash, but a dash nonetheless. Like a single-minded machine, or a protective deity assaulting desecrators of its temple, it beelined straight towards the scarred girl who barely clung to life even now.

It was wounded.

It was burned.

It was nearing the end of its light with each step.

But all the same --- the beast continued its assault, never letting go!

Just like the two girls who it was fighting!

But... at that very moment...

"Like a fossil tree..."

The atmosphere of the battlefield changed once again.

A voice called out, like a bell ringing up high, clear and true from a vantage point far above the rest of the combatants. It resonated from the top of the large tower that acted as the face of the main building of Pinefall High, from its highest rooftop, crashing down to the grounds like a judgement call from the judge of afterlife itself. And with it, a sense of dread swept upon the campus, one that was like a repetition - or a mirror image - of the one they had just felt. But this time, it wasn't aimed at the maimed beast that was dashing towards Vier, no... this time it was aimed at the origin point of the last legend.

In other words...

--- Lucille Faraday herself.

"From which we gather no flowers..."

There, high above the battlefield, she made her presence known. Like a shoji screen door, the spell of invisibility was cast aside, revealing a garb ancient and antique in its make. Blue and vivid red intermingled with white, becoming an outfit that was almost as festive as it was traditional. The wearer, however, was a girl who might have been small in stature, but currently, her shadow was large enough to feel like it engulfed the whole of battlefield. Those cold eyes without mercy were aimed squarely at the blond girl, and with a promise of revenge in them, she raised the weapon far too big for her that she held in her hands. A bow so large and so mystical that there was no doubt of its true nature - and same went to the strange arrow that she loaded into the weapon itself. Yes, just one glance, along with the creeping chill of the world shuddering in fear in their spines told the two girls at the ground everything they needed to know.

It was an Arc-Relic.

Another Treasure Device.

But this time... it was aimed at them, or rather, to Lucille.

"Sad has been my life..."

Speaking words to bring back a legend of her own, the girl trained that arrow in her hands at the blonde girl on the ground, closing one eyes and keeping one open so that it glared a whole through her target. The distance was great, it was vast, but from the way this newly revealed opponent acted... it was clear the arrow would cross that distance in a heartbeat. Once again time crawled almost to a halt, seconds stretched to infinity, and for one precious moment, everything hung in balance. Blood rushed in their ears, they could hear the screaming sound of releasing numen grow stronger and stronger, and the chill became an actual, physical instinct that screamed them to run.

But it was too late.

Far too late.

For their enemy had prepared her shot.

And thus...

--- Subaru Iburi released her Arc-Relic.

"Fated no fruit to produce..."

The string of the bow was stretched to its utmost and, at that very moment, the numen that had been gathered was released in one massive shockwave that shot behind the girl like some sort of wind tunnel, causing the treetops to shake and shiver while the roof tiles of the school were ripped from their places and swept into the air to fall down to the grass. They could see the funnel of potential energy, legend made physical manifest, become visible behind the tiny girl - all reaching out into the world from the arrow she had loaded into her bow. There was a terrible wailing sound as the world, already bruised and battered from Lucille's world, was made to bend to new rules and new reality once more. This one ancient in the making too, though from a source much different.

A legend of the east, one not made to bring its wielder to salvation and freedom... but to seek and destroy what it saw before it.

"Yet when the strange threatens us..."

The two girls had no way of knowing it, but what was aimed at them was something truly deadly to the Turnside of the World.

In times long ago, in far-off land of Japan, a mystery to top all mysteries set siege to the then-capital Kyoto. A black cloud to blanket the skies from horizon to horizon, to bring eternal night and to make even the emperor fall ill. A true essence of unknown evil - a terror so far-removed from this reality that it did not even have a proper form. Or rather, its form could not be understood by the fragile human mind, and thus, it was deemed to be the end of the world for the people of that capital.

Yet, it was during that time, that a single man appeared. A man carrying a bow and arrow with the power to destroy all evil. No, not just evil. The power to end that which was unknown, that which was unexplained, that which could not be comprehended.

In other words, it was the power to annihilate the very supernatural itself.

To give it another name:

Oddity Killer

Kai'i-goroshi.

"... I draw this Bow of Azusa and aim at the truth!"

And that power was released, the bow shot straight towards Lucille Faraday who had made her presence and power known!

There was an ear-splitting crack and boom as the sound barrier was broken by the projectile, leaving behind a ring of destroyed air and floating numen that was so concentrated it had become a golden sphere of brilliant rain that was now shattered. The vapor trail of magical power followed the arrow as it took 0.43 seconds to cross the the distance between the bow and its intended target. However, in the eyes of Lucille, she could have sworn that on that very last moment the projectile hung in the air for a good second or two right before it her square in the chest. Of course her body wouldn't listen to her, all her movement was far too slow, and Vier hadn't even managed to follow the shot with her eyes.

The reason for this physical impossibility was simple.

Her instincts simply went into an overdrive.

Lucille Faraday felt the death approaching, reaching out for her throat, and in that single blink of an eye, her brains tried to work out a way to prevent it from grasping her.

--- But her body couldn't keep up. She moved as slow as she would have normally.

There was nothing more to it than that.

And then... it was over.

The arrow struck.

It's path was set ablaze by the glow of magical power and numen made real.

--- And Lucille was skewered by the pillar of reality that meant to destroy her, ripping through the center of her body and blowing a massive hole through her midsection!

---

[A-gyoh is blinded! Effect reduced by other senses! ACC Halved!]
[A-gyoh, movement speed reduced to 1! ACC Halved!]
[Hit! A-gyoh: 15 / 2 - 0 = 7 Holy Damage (Supernatural PHYS Defense [NEGATED])!]
[Hit! A-gyoh: 15 / 2 - 0 = 7 Holy Damage (Supernatural PHYS Defense [NEGATED])!]

[Hit! Lucille Faraday: 20 x 1.5 + 6 + 3- 3 = 36 Alkahest Damage (EGO Defense)!
[Massive Injury! Lucille Faraday - Ripped Apart Body: Stomach has internal organs spilling out. 5 Rounds to live.]

--> Round 2, Turn 6: Vier Wolff
--> Round 2, Turn 7: Lucille Faraday
--> Round 3, Turn 8: Subaru Iburi
--> Round 3, Turn 9: A-gyoh

---

New Ability Witnessed!

A-Gyoh of Retaruseta

STR: B

END: B

AGI: A

WIL: ?

INT: E

EGO: ?

Statistics:
HP: ???
ACC: 1
DOD: 5
Movement: 1m

Perks:

Animal Senses
You possess keen instincts and five sense of a predatory animal, and thus are not hampered by certain effects like a human would be. When tracking, your Survival Skill Rank is automatically counted as A. Your Perception is also increased to Rank A. In addition, if you are blinded, your ACC is only halved as long as your other senses are working.

New Ability Witnessed!

Subaru Iburi

STR: ?

END: ?

AGI: ?

WIL: ?

INT: ?

EGO: ?

Equipment:

Annihilation of Unknown

Hama Yumi: Hama Ya

Type: Arc-Relic
Rank: A
Charges: 0/1
Element: Alkahest
The arrow launched from a bow carried by a legendary Japanese Emperor, Jimmu. Not only are bow and arrow a sacred weapon in this far-off eastern land, but there are few bows as mythical as the one carried by Subaru Iburi. An imperial regalia of its own right, the power of the arrow launched from this weapon is comparable to an intercontinental ballistic missile. Its famed feat of destroying a supernatural so deep and powerful that it beget the human understanding of reality - darkness that could not be by mere mortal mind - has cemented it as one of the most powerful Anti-Numen and Anti-Supernatural Arc-Relics in the world.

When activated, the Supernatural-Destroying arrow is launched towards one target. The arrow delivers 20 Alkahest Damage versus the target's EGO Defense. However, based on the target's strength as a supernatural being, how far they are removed from human being, how human they are and how in-line they are towards reality, both positive and negative modifiers may be applied that affects the total damage. In other words, the more inhuman you are, the weaker you are towards this strike. However, beings such as androids and espers - who are born of humanity - are much less wounded by this attack.

Modifiers discovered:

• Partly Inhuman Blood: Base Damage x1.5.
• Mana Points: +1 Damage for every 10 MP in target.
• Ichor Points: +1 Damage for every 10 IP in target.

[Daneel Rush]

Location: J. Edgar Hoover Building – Fifth Floor (?)
Phase: Morning Phase?
Date: 24.07.1994 (?)
Weather: Sunny

The headache becomes real.

The mind struggles to process the alien images—not in content, but in nature, for it is as if two separate worlds overlapped in front of his eyes. What are these other images? Who are those other people? Colt Davin…who was Colt Davin again?

Right, Pinefall. That fellow student. A conversation well into the night. His parting words. Did that actually happen? Was that something that will happen, and currently he exists in the “proper” present, aware of a future that will ensue?

No.

No.

This is “wrong”, right? This whole situation, it is “wrong”, right? That is what “a normal person” would immediately conclude, right?

John Dove’s mind is still like a windless ocean, inured to the whims and vagaries of the hollow, colorless world. Therefore, even these bizarre circumstances he takes with unchanging mien. However, the John Dove of right now is not the same John Dove of yesterday, or even of a few hours ago. After all, this is a John Dove who is aware of the nature of his abnormality.

Cogito ergo sum.

Awareness of the self is followed by awareness of the world around him.

He remains unbothered by the absurd and the unreasonable, but now he can at least understand what is perceived as absurd and unreasonable. It is for the same reason that he can no longer wholly dismiss the pangs of hunger or the weight of the load in his pockets: even if it remains hollow and colorless, John Dove now, if only to a degree, recognizes the reality of the world he interacts with.

Therefore, this is “wrong”.

Stepping through a door standing in the middle of a foggy street into a government office in a building across the continent is wrong.

The presence of these “officers” who unarguably display familiarity towards him is wrong.

The door…it began there. He sought the door because he deemed the labyrinthine fog to be dangerous, but that does not mean he is now safe because he made it indoors. Furthermore, just like he could not reach the sheriff’s office even if he followed the directions that by all means should have led him there, can he truly conclude he is where his senses tell him he currently is?

John Dove takes everything at face value because everything is equally hollow, but what if he looks at it from the opposite direction?

Precisely because everything is hollow, why should he assume the things before his eyes are truly as they are?

Thus, a new shape of the liar takes root in his mind.

He wants to leave this place. This is not the place where he could be necessary.

Right, they were saying things. Even if he was not paying attention, the words are registered in his mind.

Respond to those words, then build the next reaction from there…!

“John Dove…” He says as he shakes his head. “Nineteen years old, if my birth certificate is to be believed. It’s everything I am. Everything I’ve ever been.”

The easiest way to lie is by telling the truth. He was hollowed out by the eyes of a moonlit goddess, until there was nothing else but she in his world. He has come to terms with that. He is perfectly fine with that. After all, it is not like there is any other alternative in his heart.

If there is nothing in there, it only means he is free to fill it with whatever he wants.

“More importantly,” he gasps out, a feeble finger vaguely pointing the direction of the office’s single door. The door John himself stepped through moments earlier. “Please, open the door.”

His eyes dart around, seeking those of the two men and lingering only for a moment before settling on the door itself. Perhaps there is a flicker of madness in those eyes; John does not know, and even if he knew, he would hardly care.

“I know this will sound ridiculous. Maybe…maybe even insane, but I need to know,” he continues, making a dedicated effort to imbue his words with gravitas.

“Please, let me verify if what I see on the other side of that door is the same thing you see.”

[Mellon]

Anna Vandemeel
Location: Road's End - End's Mercy Hospital
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

Deprived of the light of the fire, the outlines of the shades warped, twisted, and blurred - almost as if an inky painting someone had spilled water on. Both the bindings holding her and the beasts in front of her were fading fast and would lose their form to the inexorable rules that lay behind their creation.

So my guess was correct. In the end, shadows can only exist as a byproduct of light. The structure of this magical foundation necessitates the presence of illumination in order for that elemental contrast to exist.

Though the situation was not bereft of some amusement for her, at least. In a way, the shades in front of her were an apt description of magic and the world in microcosm. After all, all magicians, no matter their stripes and power, were simply tricksters using light to play with shadows on the walls of the cave. And all conmen like herself could do was to hope that crowd watching was sufficiently amused.

The beasts of living shadow gathered in the distance, clearly too cautious of her magecraft to approach directly.

And then… the very air started to boil with light and shadow.

Spheres of brilliant light interspersed with orbs of blackest night rose from the earth, filling the hallway with an ethereal light. A spell with its basis in two elements at the same time? Interesting. Magic like that was quite rare, all things considered. Especially when dealing with such harshly conflicting elemental natures. Most mythologies tended to paint day and night, light and dark, as opposing attributes. The less harshly conflicting two attributes, the easier they tended to meld together and harmonize in the context of a single spell. Traditionally, conflicting elements were… hard to tame in a single magical framework. That was not to say there weren’t ways to do it, of course. It wasn’t specifically her style, but using the clashing nature of opposing elements to amplify discordance in a spell wasn’t unheard of, though spells of this nature almost always fell under one single school of magic.

After all, the energy created via such conflict can usually only applied in one singular fashion. To break something.

Emitted by the spheres, light shone the hallway once more, but in a manner that could only be described as twisted. Not the healthy glow of a warm fire, but rather an almost clinical shine of a white lamp. And despite it all, their surroundings seemed to be no more lit up than before, the light of the orbs only there to feed into the shadows that surrounded them. And the shadows for their part… warped, flickered, and lost their connection with the reality that reflected them.

It was enough to make the raven-haired witch feel as if her senses were being toyed with.

Illusion? No, it's too early to tell.

The spell in front of her could be a piece of magic made to fail her senses, true. But there were plenty of other possibilities. It could be a dual-nature offensive spell, which required a longer setup time to bypass her defenses. Or, judging by the way the orbs seemed to float in the air, almost as if waiting for something, it could also be something aimed at area-denial, set to trigger whenever she happened to move. A proximity mine of sorts.

Either way, for the moment, she was stuck.

"You're a naughty devil, after all~"

The figure that had emerged from the shadows, was a bizarre and unknown figure to her, in more ways than one. A girl with glasses, holding a juice-box, from the looks of it. Anna had never laid her eyes on her before, but if she had to hazard a guess… she was about her own age? Not much older and not much younger. Well, that was the outline of how she looked at least. Her form itself, however, was tinted in white and black, almost as if someone had taken a negative snapshot of her body and forcefully transposed it on reality. Whether it was a projection of some kind, or if she was wrapped in some kind of defensive magic dense enough to twist the natural color spectrum around her, Anna couldn’t tell, but…

…what a joke.

“Pffft...” A snort of derisive laughter echoed from the witch in red. “What do you expect me to say? I’m devastated? Girl, I don’t give two shits about what you or your half-arsed conjurations think of me.”

“Though a devil, huh…” Anna gave another snort, though this one held in it far less humor and far more casual dismissal. “About as much of a shitty bastardization as I’d expect from someone in this shithole. I usually only have to deal with this type of crap from some of those absolutist black-and-white morons from the Church, but… ah well, it doesn’t really matter.”

Anna’s eyes met with those of the inverted, shadowed, figure in front of her.

“So... you done with your preparations? I’m kinda getting bored here, y’know.”

During all this time, her defensive array, the bubble of decay surrounding her, never even stopped for a moment, as it continued its assault on the reality around her.

[Kuroyuki]

Lucille Faraday VS Vier Wolff VS A-gyoh (Round 2, Turn 4/5)
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

I was temporarily safe. It wasn't able to chase after me and kill me after I've done my duty. However, there was a reason why I said I was only temporarily safe. He was still turning his head in my direction despite his eyes clearing showing his current blind state. As I suspected blinding it wouldn’t be good enough to make it incapable of tracking me down. If I was able to, I would’ve robbed it of its capability to smell us as well. However, I figured it would be more important to slow down the beast so that Lucille could kill it. Right now, I was just the tantalizing bait for it to kill first. Why? I’ll sort out the why later if I live.

As I prepared myself for another pass after Lucille used her immensely powerful Arc Relic, I felt another… Arc Relic’s activation. It wasn’t from Lucille’s or from the beast we were facing. No it was from much… Much further. It was emanating from the Main School Building’s tower. The voice chanting the Arc Relic’s incantantation was familiar and chilled my veins. It was truly a feint. Whereas I went to do a favor, I was returned malice. In my current state, That’s right. The owner of the voice was Subaru Iburi and she was aiming at Lucille and I.

I didn’t see the trajectory of the arrow. All I knew was that I wasn’t the one who was hit and I knew the location of Subaru Iburi. I spared a quick glance at Lucille to see her condition. Her middle section had a giant hole in it. Intestines were spilling out. In an ideal situation, maybe I could’ve stabilized her until the away team comes back. Push gauze into the wound, refrain from pushing organs back in until ready to operate. But with Subaru Iburi determined to kill both of us, it was impossible. No matter what happened, Lucille Faraday will die. The difference at the end of this fight only being who was going to Heaven with her.

Range to target approximately 150m from dormitory to main building. My current weapon while technically capable to shoot that far is unable to retain enough velocity to deal significant damage or satisfactory accuracy. I let that weapon fall onto it sling. Quickly dropping into a crouch and began pulling out my other weapon from inside my bag. The HK M4. A prototype rifle from Heckler & Koch that was being developed at the US Military’s insistence. I was lucky enough to acquire this gun on my last mission because this gun was capable of fulfilling both requirements of having suitable velocity and accuracy to hit. To everyone else’s eyes, I unloaded the current magazine and slid in a different magazine for no discernible reason.

After loading the magazine, I aimed down the 3-12x Magnification Scope towards Subaru Iburi. Once I found her location, I sent a 'quiet' burst of 5.56mm towards her. Normally, bullets would just chip once they hit stone… Not the rounds, I sent towards her. Those rounds were HEIAP rounds meant to take down armored targets like combat androids or other modern equipment users like myself. If you were unlucky enough to be hit by it, the tip of the bullet will trigger a high temperature incendiary reaction capable of melting or weakening armor for the actual tungsten penetrator to shatter inside the target’s body. Even if you were lucky and it hit the stone, the round itself caused a rather large flash and increased rock chipping around them. Of course, I wasn’t done with just one burst. No, I was going to send two more towards Subaru Iburi. Let the first burst settle briefly, reacquire the target, feather the trigger, and fire. Let the second burst settle briefly, reacquire the target, feather the trigger, and fire.

After I completed my set of three bursts, I started running towards Lucille and the dorms. I made sure to place extra emphasis on placing Lucille in the path of the beast. So that way if it wants to continue prioritizing me as the threat, it would have to at least go through Lucille. I’m doubtful on Lucille’s chances of survival if that was the case, but I can only hope that the smell of spent brass and gunpowder can overpower Lucille’s natural scent and blood.

Vier Wolff Status

Stats

HP	7/24
STR	D
WIL	?
END	D
INT	A
AGI	B
EGO	?

Equipment

Unknown First Gun

Size: Medium (?)

Damage: ?

Range:

Description: A gun of some kind? If you had some knowledge in guns, you would probably be able to figure it. All you can tell is that it's not a pistol. Seems to be equipped with a different scope than the HK M4. However, it also seems to be equipped with a Suppressor as well. Further details pending.

HK M4

Size: Medium

Damage: 7

Range: 150m

Description: Created by Heckler and Koch to satisfy a request from Delta Force in the 1990s. Similar to the commonly used M4 Carbine, the HK M4 is superior due to its increased part longevity, reduced malfunction rate, and an overall increase in reliability. Currently equipped with a 3-12x Magnification Scope and Suppressor. Further details pending.

Guitar Case

• Currently holding more gun supplies

HEIAP (Consumable - Rank C, Uses 3/?)

• HEIAP stands for "High-explosive incendiary/armor-piercing ammunition." An ammo type meant for armored targets such as AFVs and IFVs. In Vier's line of business, it normally means the rapid neutralization of Androids or other modern equipped specialists like herself. Further details pending.

Vier's ESP

Editing Memories C Allows Vier to edit memories. This can go from muscle memories to a mental memory. In the case of muscle memory, it would cause a person to suddenly gain or lose their body’s familiarity with an action or object. For mental memories, they will remember the false or editted memory as if it was a real memory. Manipulation of Sight D Commonly used ESP by Vier. This ESP allows her to feint out her foes or disengage at will by manipulating their sight. It can be anything from seeing multiple new objects in field of view, blinding, or even not spotting Vier. Range 6 meters, 1 target. If the target has an INT defense of 8 or lower, can be used to manipulate their sight for 3 Turns. This includes creating illusions, making them blind for the duration or cloaking Vier herself.

[Verg Avesta]

Anna Vandemeel VS Netherworld Paper Dolls (Round 3/4, Turn 12/13)
Location: Road's End - End's Mercy Hospital
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

Out of nowhere... or rather, thrown by no one in particular, an empty bill bottle sailed out of the ajar door the storage room that Travis was in. The bill bottle flew in a slow arc and managed to pass through one of the white spheres floating behind Anna. Perhaps it had been someone's (Travis's?) attempt at testing what the spheres were for.

However, if that was the truth behind it, then the experimented in a dud. Simply nothing happened when the pill bottle sailed through the illuminated sphere, and it clattered onto the floor with a distinct sound.

The girl before Anna cocked an eyebrow at this strange event, but said nothing.

“So... you done with your preparations? I’m kinda getting bored here, y’know.”

The shadowy beasts growled, rumbled in the cut-apart darkness at the confrontational tone of the raven-haired girl. However, the young woman opposing Anna - the one she didn't know as Zhou Coastrise as others might have - made a single, simple calming gesture with her hand and immediately the beasts ceased their sounds. With a sigh escaping her lips, she pushed back the thick-rimmed glasses on her forehead and gazed through them at Anna who was still hiding within her protective bubble.

And then she tossed aside the juice box she had been sipping.

"Mm, I certainly have~" Zhou replied in that languid, sleepy voice of hers as she raised her hand. "Thanks for waiting patiently~"

--- Suddenly.

"My hand reaches for the Eighteen Hells, and crosses the Ten Courts under the moon. And the moon lights my shadow, and reaches back into this earthly world."

The stack of Hell Money from her hands fell.

"Zhĭyĭngxì: Diyu Jian."

It floated in a flurry of paper towards the floor, only to suddenly rush upwards in a rush of white and red - becoming a whirlwind of squares that rushed back towards the now-juice-box-free hand of Zhou. The off-white paper started assembling itself into a construct, first producing an ornate handle that was covered in the spiritual markings of the Netherworld. From there, the paper grew ever upwards, taking on a form of a sword that resembled the ornate dueling swords of the Orient. However, this one was not made from metal - no, this one was made from Hell Money, the paper used as a gift of fortune for those who had deceased.

"You know~ In legends, shadows are the shape of those who have died~" Zhou Coastrise cooed drowsily as she raised her new weapon. "For example, the emperor's favorite concubine who died tragically~"

The smile on her face widened.

But there was a hint of cruelty in it.

"That's because shadows and souls... are intrinsically linked~"

Out of nowhere, and without apparent reason---!

Anna Vandemeel suddenly felt white-hot pain in her left arm.

How? Why? There was nothing that had hit her or gotten through her protective shield of a bubble. The decay was still in effect, and none of the monstrous dog-like creatures should have been able to assault her. And even the unknown girl before her was far, far out of the reach with her strange paper sword. She had done nothing but strike the empty air next to her and now, Anna was bleeding from her arm...

... Even though there was no cut in her precious jacket.

And the blood --- it was pitch black, like ectoplasm.

The ringing of alarm bells in Anna's head was back again as realization rushed into her mind. The girl before her, she was treating this battle like some sort of shadow play and favored the element of darkness. So wouldn't it be possible that---!?

"There's no escape now~" Zhou spoke aloud in that lethargic voice of hers. "You lost when you didn't act~"

The explanation was simple.

--- The spheres of light and darkness.

Ceremonial magic that fractured shadows and directed them in odd and unnatural ways, while being completely under the control of their master.

When the illumination from the flames had died down, Anna had earned herself a moment of respite, but the girl before had countered with this spell - this spell that brought light into the otherwise dimly lit corridor. Harsh clinical and sterile light that took hold of Anna's own shadow, fractured it into three parts, reflected it further and further along the corridor...

--- And straight onto the wall next to the bespectacled beauty. The wall she had struck with her sword.

It was elementary to the point of being mundane... yet it was an insiduous application to say the least.

First, there was the ability to hurt someone by striking their shadow. Second there was the ability to shorten, extend, reflect and move someone else's shadow.

In other words...

"If I can't come over there, I'll bring you over here." - A brute-force lock to this stalemate situation.

"Let's let the shadows play~" Zhou cooed, as she raised her sword for a second strike...!

--- And at that moment, the lance of darkness holding Anna down finally faded away into nothing, as it no longer had the support of a direct light source!

---

[Hit! Anna Vandemeel: 6 - 1 - 5 = 5 Soul Damage (INT Defense)!]

--> Round 4, Turn 14: Anna Vandemeel
--> Round 4, Turn 15: Netherworld Paper Dolls
--> Round 5, Turn 16: Zhou Coastrise

---

New Ability Witnessed!

Zhou Coastrise (?)

STR: ?

END: ?

AGI: ?

WIL: ?

INT: ?

EGO: ?

Abilities:

Zhĭyĭngxì: Diyu Jian
Rank: D
Element: Soul
Creates a Medium Weapon - a sword - out of the Netherworld Joss Paper, or Hell Money. This blade is wielded like a normal melee weapon. However, instead of your typical weapon damage, it cannot damage physical bodies. Instead, it can be used to target the opponent's shadow (the shadow is treated as having the same DOD as the target's main body. Upon hit, instead of physical damage, the sword causes Soul Elemental Damage versus their INT Defense. In addition, when first summoned, the summoner can immediately make one melee attack from where they are standing at that moment. Further information pending...

???
Rank: ?
Element: Darkness
A spear of pure darkness is launched from the target's own shadow, impaling them on the spot if their INT Defense is overcome. In addition, when the target is hit by the spear, they take 10 Darkness damage VS. their INT Defense. A target hit by this ability is then restrained for 4 Rounds. Only one ??? can be active on a single target at any one time. The duration can be reduced by reducing the strength of shadows in the area. Further information pending...

???
Rank: ?
Element: Darkness/Light
Creates spheres of light and darkness around a point within range. The spheres fill out a radius of 20 meters in all direction, hovering in place after summoning. Allows moving, extending, shortening, transforming, enlargening, shrinking, strengthening, weakening and other actions related to shadows within the area. Takes 1 Round to accustomize itself to the lighting conditions when cast as an action. Further information pending...

[Verg Avesta]

John Dove
Location: J. Edgar Hoover Building - Fifth Floor
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 24.07.1994? (SUN?)
Weather: Sunny
[BGM]

Special Agent Ferguson pursed his lips together and stood up from the couch, throwing a hasty glance towards the platinum-haired woman.

"Director, we should---"

"I know, stand ready, Agent. Looks like another one of your dreams is coming true. Now we only need to follow where it leads," The Director said before rapping the desk with her fingers. "Note everything down on paper, each word he uses and every action he takes. Agent Briggs, prepare to detain him if he tries to run. We lost him once, we are not going to lose him again. And someone else get me another mineral water, thank you."

The world was becoming insane. And now John was there, but not there exactly. The lights that were flickering on and off were making John's field of vision warp and warble, become unstable like he had been drunk off his mind and unable to stand straight. Instead he was with the man who had the cane, and the other man with the albino hair. As he stumbled towards the door, he could feel his legs and arms go numb - everything starting from the ring finger of his left hand. The three of them were sharing a drink and watching the TV. Glancing down towards it as he reached for the doorknob, he could see that there was a black patch - almost like a burnt ring, around that same finger. In that blizzard of nothing, they could see that woman. There mere sight made him want to vomit, though it might have also been the pulsating, low sound that kept pounding in his head. The woman with the eyepatch and the crazied smile. The lights of the monitors and screens were too scorching, the sound of the fan on the ceiling was like a rumble of an engine. They had found her, after all this time, but at the same time, she had found them. Everything was going hazy and there was no stopping it.

Before John could throw open the door, he could feel two powerful arms slam down on his shoulders and he was forcibly turned around. The large frame of Agent Briggs towered above him, and there was a look of both worry and doubt on his face. It was the face of someone who was watching their friend have a mental breakdown, and unable to help in any significant way.

"Dove! The only thing behind that door is the corridor - the corridor you walked down to get here just moments ago!" Agent Briggs rumbled, shaking the boy a bit. "Now get a hold of yourself! If Ms. Dot's gotten to you, we'll get you to the hospital - I'm sure they can do something goddammit! But what we need now is for you to focus! There's nothing beyond that door! Don't risk it!"

There was an almost desperate plea to his voice.

But what truly sent chills down John's spine... was, once again, the voice of The Director.

The cold woman who spoke from the other side of her table.

"Agent Briggs is right, Mr. Dove. And you are clearly delirious. After all..." The Director started... but hesitated for a moment, which wasn't like her. "--- You cannot be nineteen years old. Not in any way. First of all, you would not be able to work here. And second..."

All the people in the room glanced at each other.

The hesitation was palpable.

And suddenly John realized...

--- He had to get through that door right now.

Before it was too late.

He had to get out of here right now...!

And there was a perfect chance now, when Agent Briggs's focus and hold was gone as he looked at The Director.

"Second...

The Director's cold eyes bore a hole through John's mind.

"... Because this is 4th of July..."

Telling him to run.

"... In the year 2015."

[Cheetose]

Hisa Momoi
Location: Ghostwood National Forest
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

“That’s...that’s all you’ve got? That’s what you call a nuke?” I said as I laughed weakly.

I’m not even sure why I was insulting him at this point. He was the clear winner here - even if I managed to drain the cloak’s defensive layer, he already seemed to have another one in effect, and I didn’t have the energy left to keep trying to get through.

Not to mention that while the initial effect of his spell wasn’t devastating, I knew. I could feel it in my body, and understand well just what he did. I was already dead, even if he just disappeared or something, I wouldn’t even have a chance of surviving, not in this forest, not elsewhere.

I’ve read enough about radiation poisoning to know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t the way I wanted to go, not something I wanted to experience even in my wildest nightmares. My whole body felt like screaming because of what was to come, and the urge to just stab myself started becoming stronger again.

“No wonder...you had to resort to this pathetic trap,” I continued, “A weak coward like you...would just get the floor wiped with if it wasn’t for your cheap tricks…”

I ran out of ideas. I didn’t seem to be able to cut his cloak, no matter how much I wanted to just shred it into pieces. I couldn’t even make him lose his balance, no matter how much I tried shaking him, he didn’t even budge.

“Like this ugly sheet...so pitiable, hiding behind something like this when you claim to be the superior being…”

At least insulting him might give me a faster end. Piss him off into just obliterating me like he did Pyry...Least he isn’t paying attention to Elise in the meantime...maybe she still has something up her sleeve…

“But then maybe you’re just as hideous as I imagine you to be...no wonder you’d have to hide your face then...still, at least you could have picked a slightly less unsightly bed sheet in that case…”

But more than likely, she’ll just have to face death soon after as well.

All because I dragged her into this.

“I guess...the shitty person is just bound to have a shitty style.”

Hisa Momoi

HP : 9/16

STR : E

AGI : C

END : E

WIL : D

INT : B

EGO : C

Abilities :

Marionette
Rank : E
Cost : 3 OP
Element : Soul

If the target's INT defense is lower than 11, take complete control over their mind indefinitely. The target's consciousness fades out for 1 turns, leaving them unable to resist in any way whatsoever. Afterwards, they start regaining their consciousness and can sense what is happening around them. From here on, at the start of each turn they roll a D10 against their (WIL defense +4) and if the result is lower, they manage to break out of the control. While controlled, the target has their mental resistances halved but keep every other stat unchanged. Outside of combat, turns are replaced with hours. If applied by touch, increase the minimum INT defense needed to resist it by 1, and increase the number of blackout turns by 1. [Further details unknown]

Weapons :

Light, Classical Dagger (1 Damage). A very light dagger with a decorated handle and a slightly oversized blade made out of a dark, matte steel. While seemingly special, it's still just a simple dagger - nevertheless, it's still a treasured item that Hisa takes good care of.

Ability prepared!

Listen before I go...

[Thalraxal]

Elise Pelltier
Location: Ghostwood National Forest
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

Do people who levitate ever bother to look to look at the ground? wondered Elise as she eyed the quilt-covered figure's bare feet sticking out from under the cloak, If they're not wearing shoes in the forest, they must have no intention of ever actually walking...

Elise continued to direct her water across the forest floor, flowing ever closer to the cloaked creature. She paused, a moment of hesitation as the water snaked closer to its target.

Am I really prepared to do this? Using the demon's power like this to- No, no, no. We're just going to suffocate this thing long enough for it to pass out, then Hisa and I can find out what's hiding under that blanket, and then- Elise shot a quick glance down to her dagger, still sheathed at her side, -we go from there.

All hesitation was dropped the moment something gnawed its way through reality at the cloaked creature's command. It was a bright, glowing thing composed of too much light and too many colours that looked vaguely like an animal skull with a crown. It sent a blast of light at Hisa, and Elise winced as it impacted.

The water under her control pooled under the thing in the gaudy cloak. Elise considered the oily sheen wrapped around the thing, the extra layer of protection it'd invoked after Hisa slashed it with her dagger.

I could try and figure that out, but I don't think I've got the time, and I'm not sure if I'll actually get anywhere with that, considered Elise, I could try probing its defences, but that'll just play my hand and surprise is really the only advantage that I have here...

Elise sighed harshly.

All or nothing it is then.

The water under her control coiled like a serpent, ready to rush upwards under the thing's cloak, climb up its body, and seek out its face. Its mouth. Its nose. Its eyes. Then suffocate it.

Elise Pelltier

ATTRIBUTES
STR ??
END ??
AGI D
WIL ??
INT ??
EGO ??

HP: 1/35
Injuries: Fractured Body: Must choose between Ability Action, Attack Action or Movement per turn. Cannot move and take an Action during the same Turn. In addition, loss of left arm.

PERKS
[Inquisitor]
Cost: Granted by Background
Restrictions: Church Origin, Catholic Church
As an inquisitor of the Catholic Church, your job is to destroy the heretical mystics of the world and any other threat that might threaten normal populace. You are an executor of the wicked, an assassin in service of the holy and enemy of everything evil. When you take this Perk, increase your STR by 1 Rank. In addition, you are given access to unique C-Rank Arc-Relic: Der Nagel. It is a mass-produced Arma Christi, a weapon meant to reduce the amount of numen in the target it hits. Most of the times they take a form of large nails used as either daggers or throwing weapons. However, depending on the inquisitor, it might take a different form. For example a certain famous French inquisitor had her Der Nagel in form of sword-like arrows.

[Preaching to the Darkness]
Words are a weapons that can bolster one's defenses or wound the enemy depending on the situation. This is why so many priests are such great orators... including you yourself. A right word in the right place can make all the difference in the world. When you take this Perk, increase your Persuasion, Deception and Intimidation all by 1 Rank. In addition, you have a natural aura that deters unholy beasts of the turnside. When at melee range, such enemies have their Accuracy score reduced by 1 for every two Ranks in your Intimidation skill.

[Demonic Possession]
There are many reasons as to why one would get possessed. Sometimes the individual is just too enticing for evil spirits of all sorts, making them a prime target. However, some people specifically call evil spirits into themselves in order to bolster their own power. There might even be those who unwittingly share their body with another soul. Whatever the case, the real danger does not lie in the fact that you are harboring another entity within you, but that more often than not these entities hide their nature completely. What you thought might just be a powerful spirit might end up being a poltergeist or an actual demon, making you a natural antithesis to humanity and an enemy of the Holy Church. When you take this Perk, increase your STR by 1 Rank. Your unarmed attack category becomes Supernatural, as will your natural physical defense category. You will also gain extra +10 SP for your Skills. However, you will gain Elemental Weakness towards Holy. In addition, the entity possessing you will have two abilities which it can utilize twice per day each to help you, free of charge. They are equivalent to Rank C mage-spells.

SPELLS
[Prayer of Healing]
Rank-C
Element: Life
Mana Cost: 12 MP
6 meter range, heal a target for 7 HP and purges all negative ailments of Rank D or lower.

[Reinforce Reality]
Element: Prana
Rank-C
Mana Cost: 12 MP
Range 10 meters. [REDACTED]. If this thaumaturgy is used to target an ongoing magical effect, compare Ranks. Magical effects of C-Rank or lower are immediately erased. Meanwhile, those of B-Rank have a 50% chance of momentarily faltering.

[Control Water]
Element: Water
Rank-C
Duration is 5 minutes. You take control of up to 50 liters of water, or a cube that's up to 30 meters on a side. You can control and move that water freely, and make it behave in ways that water is capable of. As the most basic action, you can move this body of water you control as an unified front for 5 meters in a Turn.

[Ayakashi]

--- Vivienne Bianchi Date: 11.09.1994 (SAT) Location: Road's End - Woods Phase: Evening Phase Weather: Overcast ---

She closes her eyes for a brief moment, letting out a deep sigh.

Is it frustration? Resignation? Exhaustion?

One could call that sigh a mixture of it all... yet above all, one could pick up a tint of sadness from Vivienne as in a flash, black-bladed knives flew out of her puffy sleeves, gracefully sliding in between her fingers.

"Go."

Was she telling Travis to run, did she include Hwan in this, or was it simply a command to the blades that she was about to fling at the mysterious assailant? Ultimately, those around were left to interpret her words in the way they desired.


She had noticed Travis' strange expectance of both Hwan and Vivienne herself, of how he somehow already knew that both of them would spring into combat. For Hwan, it made sense... but for Vivienne? Was it due to the exchange she had with this gunslinger? Did he know more than what he let know in some way? Or was this just because he was suspicious from her showing up in such an injured state? There were many possibilities, but solving the Hwan conundrum was not something Vivienne Bianchi could afford to do right now.

Indeed, the bigger problem was right in front of her, a man that was preparing himself to kill her. That was not something she could allow, for even if her soul was broken, even if she was emotionless to a certain degree, the sense of self-preservation, and the understanding that she couldn't fix herself if she was dead... that was sufficient to push her into action, just like how she had sprung into action to defend herself and Prushka. In a way, wasn't it the same as back then at Road's End? Her and someone else she didn't know much about getting cornered by an 'assassin' of sorts... but well, she barely had a relationship with Hwan. At least, it could be that she hoped to avoid a repeat of what had occurred with Prushka -- thus, she made sure to act first, and act decisively.

An onslaught aimed at to kill, but should that fail, also to disarm.

Perhaps that he was made of metal, you never know.

Status

HP	9
STR	E
END	E
AGI	B
WIL	?
INT	B
EGO	?

Equipment

Shards of Mjolnir
Rank: E --- AP Cost: Free --- Damage: +2 --- Element: Steel --- Type: Weapon Arc-Relic, Throwing --- Range: Melee - 12.5m
A set of black-metal daggers stored in an elaborate sheath. While not indestructible, they are made of fine dwarven steel, and thus prove to be supernaturally resilient, easily keeping a sharp edge. They double as both thrown and melee weapons.
A set of 10 Daggers.
At the cost of one Attack, they can be called back into the user's hands.

Revealed Abilities

[Persona of the Other Self : Anima - Animus]
Rank: F --- Element: Soul --- Target: Self --- Duration: 1 Hour
A mask crafted to resemble the Colombina masks from the Carnival of Venice, but possessing details in its design that allude to a Roman Theater Mask. It is focused on representing the acting, theatrical part of masks, albeit it also has the ability to channel the Greco-Roman god of Arts’ abilities.
Gives access to the Spells: [Blessings of Eleutherios], ??? & ???.
Grants Persuasion and Performance Skill rank equal to Occult Rank as long as it is worn.

[Blessings of Eleutherios]
Rank: D --- Element: Soul --- Target: Self --- Duration: 20 mins
One of the abilities of the mask to turn the user into what they are pretending to be, rather than what they are… but instead of applying the literal meaning, it affects the metaphysical and gives the wielder skills and traits that they should not bear naturally.
Replicates one desired skill of the person and apply it to one-self.
Vivienne needs to see the skill being used by the person in question before she can replicate it.

[Persona of the Wild Parade : 百鬼夜行]
Rank: F --- Element: Soul --- Target: Self --- Duration: 1 Hour
A mask crafted to resemble the masks of Asia. Its main shape is evocative of the famous Kitsune mask of Japan’s Shinto culture, but upon closer inspection on can discern the presence of many other mask’s details, such as fellow Japanese Tengu masks, Chinese Shigong Masks, and Korean Sandae. While most of the masks featured in here are either decorative or bear a ritual purpose, each mask represents great beasts and beings from East Asian myths. This mask when donned tends to display an overall confident, yet cautious personality that relishes in combat. Out of the masks vivienne has at her disposal, most likely the one best geared towards proper combat. Its spells greatly enhance the offensive power available at her disposal, allowing her to deal with foes in a much swifter and effective manner than if she was using her other masks. A testament perhaps, to the prowess and might of all the beasts embellishing this mask.
Gives access to the Spells: ???, [妖] & [煙々羅 影].
Grants Intimidation and Athletics Skill rank equal to Occult Rank as long as it is worn.

[妖]
Rank: B --- Element: Curse --- Target: Self --- Duration: 5 Turns
Ayakashi, a general portmanteau term that encompasses an extremely wide spectrum of beasts. Even some divine creatures could be lumped in there -- however, this version of the spell is limited due to Vivienne’s lack of knowledge concerning East Asian Folklore, as well as being not too experienced herself yet in crafting of Ceremonial Magic Masks. At the moment, the ‘empowerments’ that this mask can give are limited to the Japanese Youkai: Tengu and ???. Vivienne knows them from a wallpaper scroll that’s been decorating the house’s living room since she was small, showing these two facing off. Since this spell is similar to opening an entire book and searching for a single passage to read, it actually costs more effort to prepare it than required, however, in exchange it offers high versatility. Different from the other mask abilities that would let Vivienne emulate a creature’s ability, here instead she channels them through herself to empower her body.
Tengu ver. increases STR and AGI by one Rank (all stats are upgraded in accord), as well as granting wings, giving her flying mov. spd. (double of normal)

[煙々羅 影]
Rank: E --- Element: Darkness --- Target: Self --- Duration: 10 Mins
Emanates a cloud of mysterious smoke that is closer to solid darkness. This shrouds the user and makes it impossible to discern what is going on. Said cloud of smoke is in fact a crystallization of the Enenra’s smoke, a youkai that is known for being made of pure darkness and an extremely light, surnatural smoke. This can be deployed as a smoke screen or as optical camouflage when moving around at night.
When used during night or in a dark place, grants E-Rank invisibility.
Attacks made against a person shrouded have their Accuracy Score reduced by 1.

[Persona of the Golden Witch Doctor : шаман]
Rank: F --- Element: Soul --- Target: Self --- Duration: 1 Hour
A mask that bears a medley of design evoking all kinds of masks from the Americas, one can find the likes of Iroquoian ‘False Faces’, Yup’ik Masks from the Eskimos, and Navajan-type masks from the Southwest of North America. This mask holds all of the primal connections to Mother Earth, serving as an excellent medium towards all of the many great Spirits and Elementals that deign give their blessings upon the wearer of this Persona. Specializing in Nature, Water and Life, it actually has very little use when it comes to murder-related subjects most of the time, rather, it is better suited to keep people alive than killing them. This mask when donned turns Vivienne into a thoughtful and soft-spoken individual, perhaps to reflect the nature of the Mother Gaia.
Gives access to the Spells: [Wakan Tanka], ??? & ???.
Grants Nature and Survival Skill rank equal to Occult Rank as long as it is worn.

[Wakan Tanka]
Rank: C --- Element: Life --- Target: Single --- Range: ???
Lifts all ailments and curses by calling within the holiness that resides within every single entity by invoking the name of ‘The Great Spirit’. This call expunges all filth and rejuvenates the target
Heals 6 HP and purges negative ailments of D-Rank or lower.

[Mellon]

Anna Vandemeel
Location: Road's End - End's Mercy Hospital
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

“...”

The raven-haired witch glanced at the wound on her arm, a clear sign of an injury dealt to her hing - the soul. There was no need to look for any physical injuries, there wouldn’t be any, but attacks of such nature would kill you just as sure as a bullet would. Men were not made to live without souls any more than they were made to live without heads.

Her suspicions about the spell that had just been cast had proven to be both less and more troublesome than she had initially expected. Less troublesome in the sense that it wasn’t made to box her in even further… and more troublesome since it seemed to invalidate her capacity to defend herself. While the entire setup was a bit finicky, and she had her suspicions on how functional it would be in wider spaces, and seemed to be somewhat difficult to set up, she couldn’t deny its effectiveness.

And that blade... It almost seemed similar to a raudvits, a spiritual tool made used to exorcise evil spirits and monsters that existed mostly as spiritual entities without a physical presence. Though no-one back home would use one of those in this fashion. Attacking one’s physical flesh was almost always easier in the long run than attempting to deal major damage to someone’s soul.

Either way, her choices had now narrowed considerably.

A swipe of Anna’s hand tore the strands of shadow that had been sewing her in place into pieces, their magical energy finally overcome by the currents of mana that had been cycling around her body. The swirling whirlpool of decay that surrounded her finally died down, leaving behind a scene of perfectly polished white concrete. All color had drained from the hallway, the linoleum floor had vanished into nothingness and so had the color from her part of the hallway. The concrete walls themselves were unnaturally smooth, almost akin to polished glass.

However, instead of rushing the girl in front of her, the red-eyed witch turned around and moved back towards the storage room doorway. Reaching it a moment later, she turned her head towards the doorway, her words clearly meant for whoever was inside the dark room.

“This is about as much time as I can buy, given the circumstances. You have about ten seconds to grab whatever you can and meet up with me. Otherwise, you’ll probably end up dying in this place.”

A brief pause.

“... well, you might up dead either way. At this point, I probably can’t make any promises.”

"There's no escape now~"

"You lost when you didn't act~"

Anna turned her head towards the half-Asian girl in the distance, the rest of her body still facing the open door of the storage room in front of her.

“...pff...ah...hahhahahahahaahahah!”

The Estonian witch suddenly burst into unrestrained laughter.

“Yeah…. yeah…. you’re completely right! I can’t really defend myself anymore, now can I? Your little shadow play has really put me in my place, hasn’t it?”


“Like fucking hell it has, you bitch!”

Anna slammed her foot down in white-hot rage.

Raw currents of mana exploded forth from her body in wind and overwhelming pressure. The unrestrained fury that she now felt and the all-consuming waves of numen raging in her body merged into one - pooling into one another, fueling each other. Prana raged uncontrollably as it lashed out. The hallway groaned under the sudden pressure placed on it, as her surroundings were dyed in the color of her unfiltered numen, not monochrome like before but instead the deepest shade of crimson - the true color of her soul. The dense, almost overwhelming, scent of ozone burst forward, accompanied by a hint of sulfur.

Anna’s eyes were blazing red and glowing with an inhuman light, her unnatural blood surging forth uncontrollably, almost as if a tide that had broken free from behind a dam.

And it all kept intensifying, as more and more mana was pumped into environment, seemingly without any constraint whatsoever.

“But sure. Let's play with swords, shall we?”

She raised her hand upon towards the heavens and a small cross of engraved steel flickered in the air above her. A massive ritual circle expanded below it. Arcs of what looked like crimson lightning ran across its steel surface - a tell-tale manifestation of raw prana associated with the magical spectrum of Red. More and more arcs of crimson flared into life as they interwove and surrounded the cross, making it look more like a miniature star of mana, rather than any physical object.

And then…

Space twisted and reality broke down. What levitated above her head was no longer a small cross. It was a gigantic greatsword, massive in both in its length and width. A halo of blazing white-hot fire surrounded it, almost like a cloak, incinerating everything around it. Its heat was such that it didn’t even set its surroundings on fire, it simply evaporated everything within its range. A manifestation yanked straight from the pages of true myth and legend, enough to cause shockwaves of magical energy to pulse through all the surrounding leylines.

There was no doubt. This was something that stood in the pinnacle of all magic cast by mages - an A-rank spell.

Formulation complete. Mana loaded. Trajectory set.

All that was needed now was to provide the trigger.

Anna snapped her fingers.

A sharp crack echoed throughout the hallway, as the massive blade instantly accelerated to hypersonic speeds. The shockwave of its passing shattered the walls of the hallway, causing massive cracks to run through their already worn surface. A vortex of raging fire was left in its passing, wisps of white-hot flame flickering through the air in its wake.

Before one could blink, the streak of crimson had already struck its intended target.

---

New Ability Witnessed!

Lindanise
Rank: A
Element: Fire
Color: Red (Destruction)

A spell designed for pure destruction and nothing more. When cast, the spell initially takes the form of a massive sword, which is then launched at the target at supersonic speeds. However, in reality, the sword is nothing more but a “shell” for the actual attack itself, which is actually a curse of ignition. When striking an object, an almost bubble-like boundary of white rapidly expands from the blade. Everything caught inside the manifested boundary - the environment, items, and individuals are immediately set ablaze with a supernatural fire capable of vaporizing even stone.

The ritual tools used by Anna to cast Lindanise, are small steel crosses engraved with a snake-like pattern of flames, which, upon casting, expand and morph into the gigantic sword that serves as the vessel for the spell. As a piece of magical knowledge, Lindanise seems to be a syncretic amalgamation of both the magical sword of Kalevipoeg and the residual mythology surrounding the Battle of Lindanise (1219). While the first part provides a method of delivery (the “blade-like” frame of the spell), the second part provides the distinctive cross-shaped appearance of the actual magical effect as a representation of a “divine cross that fell from the heavens”.

As a spell, it is unique in the sense that it incorporates in itself an image representing Christianity. However, its origin and depiction is something that lies wholly outside of traditional biblical liturgy. In essence, it is nothing more or less than the pagan viewpoint of Christianity from the age of the Northern Crusades - as a mindless force of meaningless destruction, hellbent on purging all else with fire and steel.

[Lindanise: Upon impact explode into a sphere with 6 meter radius. All beings within the radius immediately suffer 16 fire element damage against their END defense. Additonal information pending...]

[Katie]

Lucille Faraday
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

In a moment that lasts for far too long, her entire world is red.

It is no longer the searing crimson of the arrow headed her way, but she can see it, somewhat, white coat stained by a vibrant vermilion, her guts painting an unsightly mess on the floor. She is dimly aware it should hurt, and she is almost certain it did, but that excruciating but brief pain has been replaced by the sheer numbness of shock. It is the unfortunate physical—human—reaction to such a wound.

There is no sudden fear, sudden frenzy to live. She tries to steady her grip on her blade, even as her hands shake—blood loss?—because though there may not be fear, there is purpose, and she knows it well. Lucille Faraday has always known her life was meant to be given in service to others. Or, in the view she has come to possess ever since the death of Michael Lowgate, she was born to die.

Even so, the acceptance that she will die does not mean she will give up.

Vier, thanks to Lucille’s efforts, mired in blood and inured pain, was alive and making her escape. Vier was probably not a particularly good person, but with her guns she at least had the slim possibility of exacting justice for Aleen’s downright pointless death. And if there was any small solace in the pitiful situation Lucille was in, it was that she was dying for the chance to save a life.

Much better than someone dying for her. Infinitely better.

The only thing Lucille is truly afraid of, at this moment, is not being able to buy enough time. The divine beast that was—is?—Tonkori is not something that can be easily felled by her holy blade. But what choice does she have? It’s her only weapon. If she pulls back, she will die anyway. If she stands her ground, the hound or its master will snuff out what little life she has left in her.

Lucille trudges forward, despite the futility.

She’ll die fighting.

She swings twice, knowing her blade can no longer carve a path, but she can’t give up.

In times like these, all she can do is pray for a miracle.

----

Attack x 2 -> Tonkori

HP: 21/24 -> -15/24

Wise up!

[Parting Gift]
Arc Relic - Weapon
Rank B (50 AP)
Element: Holy

A sword whose hilt is allegedly made from the Staff of Moses. While Lucille doubts the veracity of utilizing a priceless holy artifact for a weapon, she doesn’t doubt its strength at all. Parting Gift is a replication of the famous feat of Moses parting the Red Sea. All obstacles before the blade are split in twain, and should the blade make contact against someone without any defenses, the impact of the blade is unmatched. A reliable ally in this world of danger.

Parting Gift: When a charge is used, make a melee attack. If it hits, the following effects happen. All mundane armor disintegrate upon the strike and all supernatural and Arc-Relic armor are dealt -6 points of damage to their armor bonus. If it is enough to make their armor bonus 0, they too shall disintegrate. Arc Relics do not disintegrate but are instead are too damaged to provide their protection. Afterwards, 15 points of Holy damage are done against the target's END defense.

If the target is not wearing any armor, using a charge instead robs them of their natural physical defense, making it a direct damage. A creature killed by this Arc-Relic when a charge is used is cleft in twain.

[Verg Avesta]

Vivienne Bianchi VS Nameless Gunslinger VS Hwan Bin (Round 1, Turn 2/3)
Location: Road's End - Woods
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

A storm of daggers.

As Travis Gagnon took off towards the forest in a desperate sprint to get away from the brewing battle, Vivienne Bianchi instead sprung into action. Her hands moved in a flurry, sending the shard-like daggers screaming through the air - straight towards the man who had initiated this combat by summoning shades of weapons via some mysterious means that did not have the telltale-signs of any form of supernatural ability the mute girl had ever experienced. Instead it was like a shape of nothing, smell of void - a paranormal skill that refused to share its secrets, instead operating on a completely alien logic.

--- And that was the outcome too.

In his right hand - a sleek black revolver.

In his left hand - a block-like pronged gun that had crackle of electricity running through it.

"Accelerate."

Wielding those guns like twin scimitars, he braved the storm of daggers as he dashed towards Vivienne. Yet, as the Nameless Gunslinger dashed forward, his eyes flashed with a strange sapphire colour and, just for a moment, his whole body seemed to grow more agile and dexterious, lighter to the point of moving with even more grace than he had before. Almost as if he had reinforced his own nerve-endings, reflexes and muscles to bring about even faster movement and to reach Vivienne in a blink of an eye.

And that was why... what should have been a volley of lethal throws raining upon him...

--- He turned them all to glancing strikes instead!

Nine out of nine thrown daggers found their target.

But none of them scored a hit that would have incapacitated, killed, or disarmed the man.

It wasn't simply because of his sudden, new-found dexterity that made him like a whirling wind on the battlefield.

No, it was also because... his body seemed like it rejected the daggers.

--- No, it didn't reject them. His soul did.

In other words, he was a man with a strong elemental presence in his soul, and that presence was...!

"Well, sorry. That won't work on me," the man dryly quipped as he rushed right in front of Vivienne. "I've got a thick skin."

Without warning, he raised his revolver, and---!

Two shots, two guns, but only one loud sound that deafened the forest momentarily.

Vivienne Bianchi felt blinding pain in her chest, right next to her heart, as a violet bullet buried itself into her - drawing a fountain of blood that spurted into the air. The force of the shot was enough to throw her backwards, making her body rattle and sending a shattering impact down her ribcage, to the point she felt her whole body grow weaker from the pain. It was a white-hot rod of steel inserted straight into her spine, and the crackling sounds that she heard in her mind promised nothing but agony.

But that wasn't the only thing that happened.

The prongs of the oddly block-shaped weapon flew forward, a wire attached to them howling with electricity. Hwan, who hadn't been prepared for an attack against himself, found the prongs striking straight through his shirt into his flesh. It was a split-second moment of dull surprise that rose to his face, and then...

Then!

What followed was a scream of pain from the white-haired boy as electricity wracked his body, caused him to spasm uncontrollably and cry out in shock as he fell to the forest floor, limbs flailing wildly thanks to the paralyzing voltage coursing through his veins.

A stun-gun... a stun-gun of truly terrifying power.

And without missing a beat, the Nameless Gunslinger dropped the spent block-shaped gun and aimed the revolver at Vivienne again---!

---

[Nameless Gunslinger: MOV increased by 2 meters!]
[Nameless Gunslinger: ACC increased by 1!]
[Nameless Gunslinger: DOD increased by 1!]

[Hit! Nameless Gunslinger: 3 / 2 - 5 = 1 Steel Damage (PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Nameless Gunslinger: 3 / 2 - 5 = 1 Steel Damage (PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Nameless Gunslinger: 3 / 2 - 5 = 1 Steel Damage (PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Nameless Gunslinger: 3 / 2 - 5 = 1 Steel Damage (PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Nameless Gunslinger: 3 / 2 - 5 = 1 Steel Damage (PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Nameless Gunslinger: 3 / 2 - 5 = 1 Steel Damage (PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Nameless Gunslinger: 3 / 2 - 5 = 1 Steel Damage (PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Nameless Gunslinger: 3 / 2 - 5 = 1 Steel Damage (PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Nameless Gunslinger: 3 / 2 - 5 = 1 Steel Damage (PHYS Defense)!]

[Hit! Vivienne Bianchi: 12 - 5 = 7 Modern PHYS Damage (Modern PHYS Defense)!]
[Injury! Vivienne Bianchi - Broken Vigor: Natural Physical Defense Halved!]
[Hit! Hwan Bin - PHYS Defense Overcome! Paralyzed for 3 Rounds!]

---

New Ability Witnessed!

Nameless Gunslinger

STR: ?

END: C

AGI: C

WIL: ?

INT: ?

EGO: ?

HP: ??/??
DOD: 3 -> 4
ACC: 3 -> 4
Movement: 5 -> 7
Elemental Strength: Metal


Abilities:

Accelerate
Rank: ???
Element: ???
Strengthens and reinforced the physical properties of the user, allowing momentary boost in statistics that lasts for 1 Round. Seems to be an internal ability that does not play by the rules of typical supernatural abilities. Thusly, it does not seem to count towards one's Charge Limit. Further information pending...

Load, Double
Rank: ???
Element: ???
A mysterious ability that does not follow the laws of typical supernatural abilities. Seems to allow summoning of mundane objects (guns in this case) straight into the user's hands, ready to be wielded in an instant. Further information pending...

Equipment:

Blacksteel Revolver
Damage: 12 Modern PHYS
Weight Class: Medium
Type: Modern
Range: ???
Sleek black weapon that seems to have no clear markings of the manufacturing company. Indeed, it looks rather unique and modern in its design. It can fit 12 bullets within its chamber. Further information pending...

Blacksteel Stun-Gun
Damage: None
Weight Class: Medium
Type: Modern
Range: 28m
Sleek black weapon that seems to have no clear markings of the manufacturing company. Indeed, it looks rather unique and modern in its design. A character hit by this weapon does not suffer damage, instead, their natural PHYS Defense is looked at. If it is 3 or lower, they are stunned by the gun's electric charge that courses through their body. This makes them [Paralyzed] for 3 Rounds. Further information pending...

[Verg Avesta]

Anna Vandemeel VS Netherworld Paper Dolls (Round 5, Turn 16/17)
Location: Road's End - End's Mercy Hospital
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

The hospital was consumed by hellfires of fury.

A cross of destruction rained annihilation upon the corridor, tearing apart both walls, floors and ceilings. It melted away the concrete and vaporized plastic, turning physical objects into nothing but thin mist of nothingness. The beasts of darkness that were growling just mere moments ago let out their last screams of defiance before they were swallowed up by the inferno and reduced into mere ashes - ashes which then, just as fast, winked out of existence as the sheer heat of the blastwave disintegrated them. It was like an intercontinenal ballistic missile had hit the corridor squarely, becoming an onslaught of absolute destruction that left shattered physical reality in its wake. The world had screamed along with the beasts as the pinnacle of magical power from the Turnside bent the rules to their utmost breaking point. It was mere two steps from here for someone to ascend into the realm of true legends - those Seven who not only bent the rules but broke them altogether - and the results were fitting for such a display of fury and power.

A raven-haired girl who stood on the precipe of true supernatural power.

This was her ultimatum - a spell meant to annihilate anything that stood in her way.

It vaporized the corridor, it vaporized the monsters, it vaporized the young bespectacled woman who had assaulted her and wounded her soul. Pure destruction and nothing more... could such a showcase of power be even matched?

The flames ate away everything.

They burned so powerful that even air itself was turned into steam as oxygen became just more fuel for the carnage.

Were this a more airtight space, anyone who would have survived would have suffocated already.

But no, luckily, the hospital was a large building.

Unfortunately... that also spelled the dire consequences of an attack with such a fury behind it.

The destroyed ceiling was already raining debris over the corridor and Anna saw how large chunks of surviving concrete came crashing down.

In half a minute or a bit more, the whole place would come crashing down.

The building, or at the very least the upper floors, could not take the power of her spell.

--- Such was the strength of the girl known as Skyfall.

But at the same time, the old adage of the Turnside was true... and echoed even on this moment of triumph.

Supernatural begets supernatural.

Power begets power.

Calamity begets calamity.

And thus, on that very moment of victory...

"Wow~ How strong~"

The world that Anna Vandemeel saw broke into a cacophonic, surreal nightmare.



The world broke into fragments and was jumbled up.

Nothing made sense anymore.

Shadows and light switched places.

Overwhelming sense of nausea and vertigo assaulted Anna's brains like a coctail of the most horrible psychedelic drugs ever invented by mankind.

The sheer sensation of her brain losing any and all touch with the world and how she was made gastric juices shoot up form her stomach and into her mouth, as her body convulsed and made an attempt to throw up - just as if she had been sent spinning haphazardly in a zero-gravity space. Her eyes became bloodshot and cold sweat rose all around her body, to the point she could barely stay standing... or was she even standing at this point?

Perhaps she wasn't.

Perhaps she was falling through infinite space, an infinite moment before she would hit the floor and break her skull against the concrete.

"You know, the funny thing with shadows is~ To control them you need to control light~"

What was that?

A familiar voice of a hated enemy came from somewhere behind the raven-haired girl.

Or was it from before her?

To the right?

To the left?

Where!?

"And do you know what human visual perception is~? How we see our world~?"

The bespectacled girl laughed... she laughed somewhere.

Concentrating was impossible here.

But... how was she even alive?

She had disappeared in the hellfire along with the familiars.

"It's the ability to interpret light on the visible spectrum to humans, reflected by objects in the environment~"

A laugh.

A cold laugh.

A humorless laugh.
"So if I twist the light that's being reflected to your eyes~ I can make you insane merely by what you see~"

A laugh... that had gone mad with grief.

Filled with desire for nothing but revenge.

"Not just make you see or shadows where I'm not~ But to turn the whole world you see into an abyss of bizarre~"

This... was a spell of the same height, of the same magnitude, as what Anna had used herself.

Though not a spell that came from the magical power within the user herself, but from a ceremony prepared before-hand, a pinnacle of mysticism, it was still just as powerful as the Cross of Annihilation that had destroyed the corridor. Only... this power was more insidious. It was more cruel. This wasn't pure destruction, simple and true, but a way to render your opponent helpless in a world where nothing made sense anymore.

Up was down.	Down was up.
Left was right.	Right was left.
Inside was out.	Out was inside.
Ahead was behind.	Behind was ahead.
Far was close.	Close was far.

There was nothing that made sense anymore.

To the point that Anna could barely even control her own body.

And in the midst of that chaos...



"A n d_ t h a t ' s_ t h e_ f a t e_ y o u_ d e s e r v e _ y o u_ d i r t y_ s i s t e r - k i l l e r ."

Zhou Coastrise made her announcement, her judgment, her cry of rage for the execution of the girl before her.

And in that instant.

Fueled by a similar rage, similar white-hot sunflare that dwarfed Anna's fury, similar desire to rip her apart limb-from-limb...

Zhou's cry for justice was answered by rushing feet and a drawn sword that had been hidden so far.

The running feet were the only warning that Anna got. From the midst of blackness, from the world that had gone mad, another warrior appeared with vengeance engraved upont heir very soul. He crossed the boundary of destruction and entered the battlefield from the shadows where his sister's magic had hidden him, a place of darkness that no normal eyes could see through - not even by magical means. Letting out a cry of hatred the youth with ancient armor rushed forward, drawing sword from its sheath as he moved closer and closer to the raven-haired girl like bloodletter lightning, unable to see nothing more than the hated enemy before his eyes.

Anna's eyes could not see this approaching danger.

Or rather, they only saw it in fragments.

They saw the inversed colours of a maddened youth dashing towards her.

She saw his blade approaching from behind her own back.

At the same time the magic he activated - so similar in origin as her own - was unleashed from above her.

The strike came from afar.

But it struck her from close.

The world was made the way she saw it... and thus, she could not react to the approaching attack in time, much less try to defend herself.

After all, Anna's eyes had betrayed her and right now her brains, her body, demanded her to either empty her stomach on the floor or escape this eldritch realm of insanity.

And that's why---!



"... Did you think I wouldn't be able to catch your scent? After you killed our sister and played with her entrails?"

It was the voice of an unknown male.

The other students of Pinefall High might have known him by the name of Minato Coastrise.But to Anna... he was just another enemy who desired her death for reasons she couldn't completely comprehend.

But... even in the midst of her fractured, shattered world...

... She saw tears streaming down the boy's face, face twisted by grief and eyes maddened by the loss of someone he loved so dearly.

Just like the bespectacled girl was.



But as a sword-strike like wires that could cut up the world fell upon Anna...

... They never reached her.

Because before they bisected and dissected her flesh...

--- They were stopped by the body of a blue-haired, spiky-haired thug who had ran out, caught her in his arms, and protected her with his own body.

A scream of pain, a scream of agony.

Even in a world that had been turned into a surrealistic dream of lunacy, Anna was able to see it.

--- The look of relief, and the look of fear, and the look of acceptance...

... On Travis Gagnon's face as he fell to the mutable blade of the young man who had tried to kill her.



"Shit... fuck..."

Travis's voice was weaked, pained, as he gurgled blood rising from deep within him.

"--- Figures. I w-wasn't... able to play the role of a shit-head till the end...!"

The protective arms lost their strength.

The body of the boy wavered.

And with a sickening thud...

... He fell to the floor.

"... hah... I just had to play the hero right at the end..."

Even his last laugh was full of derision.

But not towards anyone else.

Just towards himself... for the fool who he had been.

"... But at least I was... able... to s-save your goddamn life...!"

The fool who had protect a girl he barely knew.

---

[Anna Vandemeel: ACC reduced to 0!]
[Anna Vandemeel: DOD reduced to 0!]
[Anna Vandemeel: Movement halved and direction randomized!]
[Anna Vandemeel: All visual-based abilities and skills nullified!]

[Travis Gagnon - Attack Intercepted!]
[Hit! Travis Gagnon: 18 - 2 = 16 Prana Damage (PHYS Defense)!]
[Travis Gagnon: Entering Desperation Turns...!]

--> Round 5, Turn 18: Anna Vandemeel
--> Round 6, Turn 19: Minato Coastrise
--> Round 5, Turn 20: Zhou Coastrise

---

New Ability Witnessed!

Zhou Coastrise (?)

STR: ?

END: ?

AGI: ?

WIL: ?

INT: A

EGO: ?

Abilities:

Zhĭyĭngxì: Diyu Jian
Rank: D
Element: Soul
Creates a Medium Weapon - a sword - out of the Netherworld Joss Paper, or Hell Money. This blade is wielded like a normal melee weapon. However, instead of your typical weapon damage, it cannot damage physical bodies. Instead, it can be used to target the opponent's shadow (the shadow is treated as having the same DOD as the target's main body. Upon hit, instead of physical damage, the sword causes Soul Elemental Damage versus their INT Defense. In addition, when first summoned, the summoner can immediately make one melee attack from where they are standing at that moment. Further information pending...

???
Rank: ?
Element: Darkness
A spear of pure darkness is launched from the target's own shadow, impaling them on the spot if their INT Defense is overcome. In addition, when the target is hit by the spear, they take 10 Darkness damage VS. their INT Defense. A target hit by this ability is then restrained for 4 Rounds. Only one ??? can be active on a single target at any one time. The duration can be reduced by reducing the strength of shadows in the area. Further information pending...

Zhĭyĭngxì:Yǐngzi Cāochǎng
Rank: ?
Element: Darkness/Light
Creates spheres of light and darkness around a point within range. The spheres fill out a radius of 20 meters in all direction, hovering in place after summoning. Allows moving, extending, shortening, transforming, enlargening, shrinking, strengthening, weakening and other actions related to shadows within the area. Takes 1 Round to accustomize itself to the lighting conditions when cast as an action. Further information pending...

Zhĭyĭngxì: Yinjian Xìjù Shǎguā
Rank: A
Element: Darkness/Light
A spell that can only be utilized in a space where [Zhĭyĭngxì:Yǐngzi Cāochǎng]has been set up. An ultimate form of shadow theatre, this ritual magic allows complete control of not just light in the area, but the light and shadows that appear in the visible spectrum of creatures caught within the field of the set-up spell. In other words, it is possible to warp the vision of those affected by this spell as much as the user wants. Those with an INT Defense lower than 9 succumb to the visual warping of this spell. It is possible to cause horrible vertigo and nausea of extreme levels by merely activating the spell, but further effects are cause by the caster. In most cases, this means cessation of all skills and abilities requiring the ability to see. In other words, those caught by the spell have their ACC, DOD and Perception reduced to 0, and their movement becomes erratic, halved and randomized. It is also possible to make the target see things that are not there. Further information pending...

[Mellon]

Anna Vandemeel
Location: Road's End - End's Mercy Hospital
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

"... hah... I just had to play the hero right at the end..."

Aaah...

There it was. Even amidst the bewildering colors, amidst the almost overpowering nausea, amidst the insane vertigo that made her completely lose track of where she even was - she could still smell the sickly smell of blood in the air. Too nostalgic. It had been too many times. She had been in this situation too many times. How many? Anna's mind flickered to Anett and that kind smile on her face as the blood in her brain had frozen solid. Toomas with that easygoing grin of his warped to insanity as his flesh twisted like a corkscrew before erupting in a shower of gore. Tõnis, Kalle, Heelika, Franz, Anu - a seemingly endless cascade of images of past tragedies flickered before her eyes...

...before solidifying into one from long, long ago.

Her mother's hollow and soulless eyes as she sat on the bed, surrounded by the white walls of the sanatorium.

Even the words of the boy who had protected him only filled her with a torturing sense of nostalgia. She had heard their like before.

And why?

Why was she incapable of doing anything but surviving? Now everything would simply keep repeating. Her duty would keep her moving forward and she would simply claim her tithe of blood from the two in front of her.

That's how it always was. That's how she was. A sword, not a shield. A tool of killing, not one of protection.

And that very same thought, same feeling, always echoed from deep from within her soul.

Rage. Fury. Anger. Resentment.

Yes. Her utter hatred towards this world and the system by which it could only bring forth endless repetitions of tragedy was truly without bounds.

If there is no justice in this world, no fairness, then all it deserved was to be burned to the ground. A building with rotten foundations should be torn down so that something new and better could be raised up in its place. A world that could portion happiness and good fortune only off the back of the unseen suffering of others did not deserve to exist.

One day. One day, she would utterly break this unfair and unjust world.

Shatter it all to its very core!

That was the promise she made long ago, after all. Long ago, in that white sanatorium room, as the coastal sea-breeze filtered in from the open window.

Both to herself and those hollow eyes.

"... But at least I was... able... to s-save your goddamn life...!"

Anna's crimson eyes held a deep inner anguish to them, as he looked down at the boy in her arms. Though whether it was for the boy himself, or simply for the situation at hand represented to the raven-haired girl, remained unclear.

"...Idiot." Earnest sadness filled Anna's voice. "Even if I would have taken that attack, I would have still had enough in me to get you out of here."

"Besides, saving someone like me won't help anyone in the end. People like me and those two there, who would raise their hands to claim the lives of another for their own sake... none of us deserve any salvation."

A small, kind, smile appeared on Anna's face, but the glint of sadness remained in her eyes.

"But you did manage to look pretty cool in the end, you damn fool."

His wounds were serious. Anna didn't know much about medicine, but she had seen more than her share of injuries. Enough to gauge his state at least, even though the vomit-inducing delusions displayed to her eyes. The blue-haired boy would die unless he received some type of treatment that would stabilize him. It was ironic that this would happen in the one place that would be most suited for treating him.

In any case, the current situation made it clear that she couldn't win here using normal methods. Even if she was alone, a two-against-one fight in these circumstances would be a hard sell, nevermind fighting when protecting a half-dead Travis.

So that left only one option...

Anna's closed her eyes, shutting out the visual cascade that was playing out in front of her eyes. The overpowering vertigo and nausea subsided somewhat, as the conflicting information fed to her brain was shut down. It was obvious that her visual perception had been completely compromised. She would be forced to rely on her other senses, as basic as the information from them was. Touch and hearing, mostly.

No matter. She would make do.

As she turned away from Travis and towards the pair that had attacked them, all compassion was erased from her voice, replaced with a cold fury sharp enough to cut steel.

"I did not kill your sister."

Whether they believed her or not was immaterial. At this point, she didn't give two shits about what they thought. They were like Iburi, drunk on both the overconfidence in their own capabilities and their righteous vengeance. In the end, for these two it didn't matter whether they were right or wrong. They'd just kill whomever and half-assedly justify it to themselves later.

At least truly immoral people were honest in their own desires. The two in front of her were just hypocrites. If they truly cared about their revenge, they would make absolutely sure that their target was correct. No matter how long it took.

No. This was to set things in stone for herself, nothing more.

"If I had to hazard a guess... I would assume your half-assed sense of smell can't really differentiate between different... how did you put it again? Devils, right?"

"So yes. I did not kill your sister. If I had, I wouldn't have left behind a corpse either way."

"Unless you haven't noticed, I have a more... fiery disposition. Physical dismemberment is not really what I usually go for. However..."

Anna's voice was soft, yet hiding an inhuman sharpness, almost like a razor wrapped in silk.

A solemn promise.

"...if this guy dies, I swear on my name, I'll kill both of you incompetent blood-hungry shits."

Anna slammed her hand on the ground in front of her, grasping a wooden amulet. A moment later, streams of mana to spread out all across the battered concrete like a spiderweb.

In a sea of emerald light, the forest unwound. A swirling mass of roots unfurled beneath her feet in a gentle emanation of mana. It felt nothing like the raging tide of prana that had been released moments past, when Anna had invoked her large-scale sorcery. The soft waves of emerald rose upwards, and the roots followed its lead, wrapping both Anna and Travis in their embrace.

Their forms began to shimmer, almost as if losing cohesion and started warping. Not visually, but physically.

"Do not expect this convenient situation to repeat itself." An overwhelming intensity could be felt brewing behind those shut eyes. "Next time, I will be the one hunting the two of you. After all, now that I know your faces, you won't be able to run from me."

"That is if you'll make it out of here, of course."

And with those ominous-sounding words, both Anna and Travis were completely enveloped in the writing mass of plants. Having seemingly finished their task, the cocoon of roots stopped its motion instantly and a moment later, a ripple of fire ran across its surface.

As the roots burst into a cloud of snow-white ash, no trace either Anna or Travis remained in the battle-battered hallway.

Only a small steel chain link was twirling in the space where the pair used to be.

---

New Ability Witnessed!

Tuulepealne Maa
Rank: C
Element: Wood

A spell designed for long-range movement in the many forests of Estonia. In it’s very simplest form, a spell that allows one to use trees to enter the network of natural leylines that exist under under the surface of the planet. Involves the usage of amulets crafted of willow - a tree with strong connotations with the concepts of “rejuvenation” and “life”.

Additional information pending...

Sarviku Varandus
Rank: D
Element: Metal

A spell aimed around shaping and manipulating various sorts of types of metal. In its most basic form, the spell is used to create high-pressure attacks of different types using liquified metal.

Additional information pending...

[Verg Avesta]

Lucille Faraday VS Vier Wolff VS A-gyoh (Round 3, Turn 8/9)
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

A hail of bullets rained over the top of the main building's tower, striking at the lone figure standing there with her massive bow raised for yet another shot. The explosive projectiles caused roof-tiling and cinder blocks to be torn asunder with their striking power, creating a large cloud of debris that was painted with blood that gushed into the air. Even this far away, it was easy to hear how Subaru Iburi hissed in manic pain as the bullets found their target and tore her flesh asunder...!

--- Though, judging by a scream of unfiltered, unhinged rage that followed, they weren't enough to kill the target outright.

No... they had only wounded her. Not enough for it to be fatal, but enough to make her bleed profusely and take her to inches away from death.

And at that very same time, in a last-ditch, desperate attempt to destroy the beast that was already lumbering towards Vier Wolff...!

Lucille Faraday, even with light of life fading from her eyes, went onto an assault to bring down the terrible Divine Beast that towered above her. Blinded as the monster might have been, it did seem to sense a shift in the air-currents as the massive blade came down to strike it in the midsection. It jumped back as best as it could with its massive, now-lumbering body, evading the first attack by hair's-breadth. However, it was not as lucky when it came to the second attack.

The blade came down.

The sword struck true.

With a fury of someone giving their life in service to something greater, in an effort to protect someone with their own life, Lucille Faraday buried her holy weapon deep into the flesh of the monstrous canine, causing it to howl in great agony as it turned its attention from Vier to the blonde girl who had assaulted it.

The bloodlust of the beast was palpable - it no longer saw with its eyes, but it could smell danger.

--- And nothing was more dangerous than someone righteous and just with nothing left to lose!

However, at that very same moment, the cloud of dust kicked up by Vier's explosive ammunition cleared, spiraling around an arrow that was loaded to a Bow of Legends passed down from generation to generation. Eyes sharper than those of a hawk scanned the battlefield, their magically strengthened vision easily picking out the form of the girl who had shot her and who was now making a beeline towards the dormitory that would offer some form of protection against the projectiles sent by this mythological weapon. Each step was counted, the direction of the wind was taken into account, and with a manic look plastered upon her face, the Child of Gods raised her weapon once more and let an arrow loose - screaming through the air as it headed straight towards the scarred girl.

No, not just one arrow.

In a span of just two seconds, Subaru Iburi loaded another, and yet another, sending altogether three projectiles careening towards Vier Wollf's exposed back!

--- And they traveled far and sure, the legends of Days of Yore overtaking and bending the rules of reality so that even Subaru's lithe arms could achieve that...!

Pain.

Blinding pain.

As three arrows that were over one and half meters in length buried themselves into Vier Wolff and skewered her body, she could feel naught but pain.

The weapon was not normal and thus the ammunition was not normal either - it was tinged with the element of end, bleeding with the desire to shut down the supernatural faculties of the girl it had struck. Of course, for someone like her the weapon could not do as much - she was a natural evolution of mankind, not a wrinkle in the laws of reality.

But still... being pierced by three arrows of that size...

--- The physical pain was something enormous!

And at that very moment, while the archer on the roof top jumped behind the tower for some cover...

... On the other side of the battlefield---!



The Divinity of Wolves began its onslaught, its fangs and claws hungering for the flesh of Lucille Faraday.

And while the first snap of the teeth went wide, Lucille ducking underneath it, the two swipes that followed struck her squarely in shoulder and chest, drawing blood.

But even so...

--- Her arm held steadfast, numen repelling the supernatural qualities of the Monster!

---

[Hit! Subaru Iburi: 10 - 0 - 3 = 7 Modern Damage (Classical PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Subaru Iburi: 10 - 0 - 3 = 7 Modern Damage (Classical PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Subaru Iburi: 10 - 0 - 3 = 7 Modern Damage (Classical PHYS Defense)!]

[Miss!]
[Hit! A-gyoh: 9 / 2 = 4 Holy (Arc-Relic) Damage (Supernatural PHYS Defense [NEGATED])!]

[Hit! Vier Wolff: 10 - 3 = 7 Alkahest (Arc-Relic) Damage (Modern PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Vier Wolff: 10 - 3 = 7 Alkahest (Arc-Relic) Damage (Modern PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Vier Wolff: 10 - 3 = 7 Alkahest (Arc-Relic) Damage (Modern PHYS Defense)!]

[Miss!]
[Hit! Lucille Faraday: 10 - 3 - 6 = 1 Supernatural Damage (Classical PHYS Defense)!]
[Hit! Lucille Faraday: 10 - 3 - 6 = 1 Supernatural Damage (Classical PHYS Defense)!]

--> Round 3, Turn 10: Vier Wolff
--> Round 3, Turn 11: Lucille Faraday
--> Round 4, Turn 12: Subaru Iburi
--> Round 4, Turn 13: A-gyoh

---

New Ability Witnessed!

A-Gyoh of Retaruseta

STR: B

END: B

AGI: A

WIL: ?

INT: E

EGO: ?

Statistics:
HP: 22/40
ACC: 1
DOD: 5
Movement: 1m

Perks:

Animal Senses
You possess keen instincts and five sense of a predatory animal, and thus are not hampered by certain effects like a human would be. When tracking, your Survival Skill Rank is automatically counted as A. Your Perception is also increased to Rank A. In addition, if you are blinded, your ACC is only halved as long as your other senses are working.

New Ability Witnessed!

Subaru Iburi

STR: D

END: C

AGI: A

WIL: ?

INT: ?

EGO: ?

Equipment:

Annihilation of Unknown

Hama Yumi: Hama Ya

Type: Arc-Relic
Rank: A
Charges: 0/1
Element: Alkahest
The arrow launched from a bow carried by a legendary Japanese Emperor, Jimmu. Not only are bow and arrow a sacred weapon in this far-off eastern land, but there are few bows as mythical as the one carried by Subaru Iburi. An imperial regalia of its own right, the power of the arrow launched from this weapon is comparable to an intercontinental ballistic missile. Its famed feat of destroying a supernatural so deep and powerful that it beget the human understanding of reality - darkness that could not be by mere mortal mind - has cemented it as one of the most powerful Anti-Numen and Anti-Supernatural Arc-Relics in the world.

When activated, the Supernatural-Destroying arrow is launched towards one target. The arrow delivers 20 Alkahest Damage versus the target's EGO Defense. However, based on the target's strength as a supernatural being, how far they are removed from human being, how human they are and how in-line they are towards reality, both positive and negative modifiers may be applied that affects the total damage. In other words, the more inhuman you are, the weaker you are towards this strike. However, beings such as androids and espers - who are born of humanity - are much less wounded by this attack.

Modifiers discovered:

• Partly Inhuman Blood: Base Damage x1.5.
• Mana Points: +1 Damage for every 10 MP in target.
• Ichor Points: +1 Damage for every 10 IP in target.

[Kuroyuki]

Lucille Faraday VS Vier Wolff VS A-gyoh (Round 3, Turn 8/9)
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Overcast

An average bow user wouldn’t have been to hit within the general vicinity of me while I ran. An olympic level sportsman or hunter might have been able to hit me while I was running away. So I can state with relative confidence that I was safe from Subaru Iburi as long as her Arc Relic was out of active usages. If that’s the case, then why was I impaled by three arrows?

Subaru Iburi was more than just a weapons carrier and summoner of the Turnside like I assumed. Her lineage was probably created to fight the Turnside if her weapon gave any indicators. Their pets were to bring down the wrath of the gods against people like me who threatened them. Their lineage was probably formed a couple hundred years ago and they spend those years idly. They spent their time refining their fighting style to deal with anything that deemed a threat to them. While their hunting dogs went out to weaken or kill their prey, they would patiently wait until someone from the Turnside appeared.

So it was optimistic thinking when I thought I could shoot at her with impunity before finding some cover. I nearly paid for my optimistic thinking with my life. The only reason why I was still alive now was because I stopped thinking and just went off of instinct. My killing intent towards our enemies and obligation to support Lucille vanished instantly. Instead they were replaced with self-preservation since I didn’t acknowledge anyone in the area was worth dying for.

I ran into cover that should serve suitably as both cover and concealment from Subaru Iburi. After that, I diagnosed that I would die very quickly if I didn’t stabilize my condition. I pulled out the meter and a half arrows from my body. Medically, I knew that I should have kept them inside. Being impaled meant that all of the damage was currently ‘covered’ by the object. Realistically, I knew that they would severely hamper my combat operations more and get me killed against a superior CQC foe. Once they were removed, I had to stabilize myself quickly otherwise I would bleed out very soon.

After arrow removal, I took off my shredded 410th Fireteam operational jacket. Its current state was useless to me as I decided to methodically cut it apart with my knife into pseudo-medical dressings. Then applying those pseudo-medical dressings to my midsection and shoulder. After I ran all of that on autopilot, I finally registered what I was doing. I completely forgot to support Lucille who is probably Subaru’s next target now that I’ve run.

“Lucille strike then disengage!”

My only hope was that Lucille could still hear me and understand why she needed to fall back a little.

Vier Wolff

Stats

HP	-14/24 -> 0/24
STR	D
WIL	?
END	D
INT	A
AGI	B
EGO	?

Equipment

Unknown First Gun

Size: Medium (?)

Damage: ?

Range:

Description: A gun of some kind? If you had some knowledge in guns, you would probably be able to figure it. All you can tell is that it's not a pistol. Seems to be equipped with a different scope than the HK M4. However, it also seems to be equipped with a Suppressor as well. Further details pending.

HK M4

Size: Medium

Damage: 7

Range: 150m

Description: Created by Heckler and Koch to satisfy a request from Delta Force in the 1990s. Similar to the commonly used M4 Carbine, the HK M4 is superior due to its increased part longevity, reduced malfunction rate, and an overall increase in reliability. Currently equipped with a 3-12x Magnification Scope and Suppressor. Further details pending.

Guitar Case

• Currently holding more gun supplies

HEIAP (Consumable - Rank C, Uses 3/?)

• HEIAP stands for "High-explosive incendiary/armor-piercing ammunition." An ammo type meant for armored targets such as AFVs and IFVs. In Vier's line of business, it normally means the rapid neutralization of Androids or other modern equipped specialists like herself. Further details pending.

Vier's ESP

Editing Memories C Allows Vier to edit memories. This can go from muscle memories to a mental memory. In the case of muscle memory, it would cause a person to suddenly gain or lose their body’s familiarity with an action or object. For mental memories, they will remember the false or editted memory as if it was a real memory. Manipulation of Sight D Commonly used ESP by Vier. This ESP allows her to feint out her foes or disengage at will by manipulating their sight. It can be anything from seeing multiple new objects in field of view, blinding, or even not spotting Vier. Range 6 meters, 1 target. If the target has an INT defense of 8 or lower, can be used to manipulate their sight for 3 Turns. This includes creating illusions, making them blind for the duration or cloaking Vier herself.

[Daneel Rush]

Location: J. Edgar Hoover Building – Fifth Floor (?)
Phase: Morning Phase?
Date: 24.07.2015 (!?)
Weather: Sunny

Everything shakes. Everything is warbled. Everything is irregular. Fakes over fakes over fakes. It reminds him of all the hampering effects of inebriation without the baseless feeling of elation. The “reality” around him warps faster than he can accept or reject the changes, rendering him unable to overcome it with his sheer brokenness. His body numbs, as if struck with the exhaustion of the whole past week in an instant. The left ring finger…there are plenty of folk tales and myths and petty rituals connected to marriage, but he knows nothing of the ways of spellweavers, and it is…so hard…to think…!

“Dove! The only thing behind that door is the corridor - the corridor you walked down to get here just moments ago!"

No! That is precisely the problem! Their “reality beyond that door” is different from his. His worry may or may not be authentic, but John Dove cannot accept the words of this man.

His body feels like it will fail him any second now, but his mind seems intent in compensating for that. His brain feels like it will overheat from so much circular thinking, going over what he must do in this inconceivable situation, as the mental alarms ring louder and louder, urging him to move. The further the world distorts, the stronger the certainty that remaining still is not safe.

Then, the so-called “Director” drops the final, decisive bomb. It is not a regression of about three months, but a progression of almost twenty-one years. It makes him question their perception: do they see and hear a forty-year-old man where a nineteen-year-old stands? What are their historical records of the events that happened at Road’s End that week in September 1994? No, what even was their history’s John Dove doing that week? Yet, all these things seem to be devoid of importance compared to what John has realized. It is something he had never considered, simply because it was not something an ordinary human being would ever have to consider.

John Dove could have never guessed how much it would bother him: the realization that his time has been taken away from him.

The mental alarms become internal screaming. He cannot stay here. Staying here is not good. John is filled with an unreasonable certainty that this place is even more dangerous than the foggy streets from earlier.

He moves instantly the moment Agent Briggs gives him the slightest chance—to get back his time (?). Caring not for their looks nor their plans for him, nor even the fact that the door definitely does not lead to safety, John Dove aims for its threshold like it is the most important thing he will ever do in his life.

Wise Up! (John Dove)

Last Chance
Perhaps because of early exposure to an irreconcilable scene of death, bathing in the eldritch light of an inhuman slayer until his mind bent in the wrong direction, John’s instincts became rather adroit at perceiving the presence of looming death. They kick into overdrive when his life is threatened and even inform when he feels someone showing overflowing murderous intent towards him. It might not be a perfect sixth sense... but it's not that far off, either.
(Additional effects currently inapplicable)