Noble Phantasms
Howling Celestial Dog
A Very, Very Good Boy
- [Anti-Personal/Anti-Sadness] Rank (B++)
Erlang Shen wielded many great and terrible powers in his battles. He fought dragons and gods, and even the Monkey Sage himself, besting them all with martial skill and his blood-granted gifts... And no matter what, alongside his loyal dog. Thus, whenever he’s summoned, so will his faithful and trusty companion. It is a comparatively weak Divine Beast, that looks like an ordinary Corgi . It has a red armored collar and iron scaled plate on it’s sides, as well as a nice helmet. It’s main purpose is not to kill foes, but to hinder them, a task it does so with surprising ability, able to decrease the effectiveness of even the Monkey Sage by biting his leg. The dog’s bites decrease two parameters of Erlang’s choice; strength , endurance, or agility, by one rank in combat. It is able to do this regardless of the opponent’s power , and is also capable of surviving inordinate violence. As long as Erlang Shen is alive, it will be effectively impossible to catch and kill, able to evade attacks with almost mocking skill, hiding behind bushes to evade supersonic arrows, running up to sit on the top of a building to evade a flood, and more ridiculous antics. This evasion is simply a fact unto Destiny itself, it’s constant defiance of greater powers in life having allowed it to ascend into an existence of a Heroic Spirit. Simply put, no matter what foe it fights alongside Erlang Shen, it exists alongside Erlang, as a fact of Destiny. Even Enkidu, the chains that bound the Bull of Heaven, will be unable to bind this Divine Beast so long as Erlang is alive and also unconstrained, as the dog will simply slip away from the attempt just as it had slipped away from the attacks and flailing of countless Gods and Demons. Other than it’s active effect, the dog acts as a permanent ally with a very low mana cost to maintain, and is perpetually loyal. It’s parameters are equivalent to a servant with all D-ranked stats, and since it’s technically a Heroic Spirit, it also can go into spiritual form, and has the skill Instinct at C-rank.
Erlang Shen values this NP the most, as despite what mighty powers he may wield, a loyal companion is something priceless beyond compare. Also, it is inimical to sadness, and a Master or allied Servant that is down in the doldrums that meets it will at least have a slight decrease in depression. This cheering-up effect is improved if one feeds it meat or bones. Allowing it to play [or attempt to play] with another familiar or divine beast will lighten anyone’s heart, at least for a moment. It especially likes to chew on demonic beings.
For obvious reasons, Gilgamesh does not possess the origin of this Noble Phantasm within his Gate of Babylon. If he had a dog, maybe he might have not been such an asshole. Though, the fact that he can’t catch it without catching Erlang as well deeply annoys him.
Three-Pointed Spear
The Defeat of Dragons, The Devastation of Demons, The Defiance of Deities
- [Anti-Personal/Anti-Army/Anti-Fortress]
Rank (C~A)
The Spear that Erlang Shen held when he faced innumerable foes, it contains the history of his battles against the three foes that he had the greatest renown for. Dragons, Demons, and Divine Spirits. It’s passive effect is to simply be an A-ranked noble phantasm weapon, that deals three times the damage against enemies of a Demonic, Draconic, or Divine nature. It has three active effects, and each effect is activated in a different way, using one of the three parts of it’s True Name.
This first effect invokes his sealings of various flood dragons, as a folk hero representing hydraulic engineers who beat back the floods of China’s great rivers. Shen stabs his spear into the Earth, calling forth the first part of the spear’s True Name: ‘The Defeat of Dragons: Three-Pointed Spear’. Ribbons of flowing water appear around a selected enemy he is facing, forming a set of binding ropes wrapped them that imprisons them to the spot. With this first effect, Erlang Shen invokes both his binding of rampaging dragons by imprisoning them with chains and/or water, and how it represented actually controlling floods utilized canals. This roots the enemy to the spot, preventing movement. However, though they cannot change from their current position, they can still fight and move, albeit with their agility reduced by one rank. Draconic beings trapped thus have all their physical parameters down-ranked, along with their luck parameter. Dragons or Draconic beings imprisoned in these chains require strength of at least A+-rank to break free . However, draconic beings with a legend pertaining to escaping bonds and prisons, or non-draconic beings, only require B-ranked strength to be released from their bonds, and be able to freely move. Regardless, even if they escape, they will still have some of the bindings affecting them, retaining whatever decrease they have to physical parameters, until 24 hours have elapsed, at which point the constraints finally dissipate.
The second effect utilizes his legend of entering the underworld to rescue his mother, and the old folktales that would warn children to have filial piety, or Erlang Shen, who had done so much for his parents, would find their actions shameful and strike them with thunder. It manifests by Shen preparing to charge in a direction, prana flowing into his body. He intones the second part of it’s true name, ‘The Devastation of Demons: Three-Pointed Spear’, and then he moves as if he was dashing forward. instead of it being physically him that is charging forward, it is a copy made of lightning and prana that attacks with all his skill, and as if it had the stats of a servant with D-ranked parameters, though it’s Agility ranking is effectively C-ranked due to it’s status as Lightning. However, it does not sustain itself, and its attack is,though skilled, is reckless, and is more akin to if Lancer was a Berserker, than Lancer’s actual combat style. It’s sole goal, which it is willing to give it’s own existence for, is to press against the enemy and get as deep into the center of an enemy formation as it can. This is because after a set number seconds decided by Shen, up to a maximum lifetime of twenty seconds, or when it is killed, it will activate a C-ranked Anti-Army effect, that creates a wave of lightning that damages enemies caught in it’s radius.
The Third and final effect originates from his battle with his splitting of Mount Tao in defiance of the Heavenly Bureaucracy. It is begun by Shen raising his spear and pointing it straight up into the sky, as he speaks the final part of the True Name, ‘The Defiance of Deities: Three-Pointed Spear’. He gathers power , charging his spear with Prana, before he strikes down upon the Earth, creating a crack that moves forward quickly, which acts as if it was an B+-ranked Anti-Fortress effect. Anything around the enormous crack is damaged, the prana flowing from Shen to the end of the crack like a river of energy. It replicates his unfortunate feat of breaking his divine mother’s prison…. Which allowed her to be killed by the Celestial Jade Emperor’s sons. Thus, It also breaks apart divine protections and benefits from the divine beings in it’s effect area. Any Noble Phantasms or skills derived from their divine powers, that would benefit them, are temporarily considered unusable for about two seconds, a period of time only open for Shen to make an attack when his opponent is vulnerable. This includes skills such as Goddess Divine Core, Divinity, Soul of a Martyr, and Sainthood. NPs based on divine power, like gifts from gods and such, are sealed, for the same period of time, and NPs that exceed rank are instead given a rank decrease in effectiveness.
Ninefold Arc Exalted Technique/TOTALLY NOT NIVE LIVES: SHOOTING HUNDRED HEADS, NO SIR
Illustrious Sage of Heaven and Earth
- [Anti-Attack] Rank (A+)
After Erlang Shen broken open Mount Tao, releasing his mother, he rejoiced, for they were reunited. The Emperor’s Sons, seeing this, came down in their form of ten brightly glowing suns. Their heat scoured the land for miles around the mountain, their flames melted stone and set fields ablaze, the Mountain became an apocalypse. Erlang Shen, in one fluid display of martial mastery, performed a technique that allowed him to survive this, his body glowing with golden power as his skin became invulnerable.
But his mother…. Was not so lucky. She was burned alive, her soul sent directly to the Underworld in punishment of her breaking of the laws of Heaven.
Shen’s anger in that moment outshone the ten suns, and his spear struck out three times. With each strike, three blows were struck with the three points, and nine suns died upon the tips of his spear, as he created, in moments, a new technique purely to express his rage with the Suns of Heaven. At last, only one sun remained, and before he would have slain it, he was convinced, by the pleas of his companions, to let it live, if only to ensure the land did not descend into darkness.
This replicates that single defensive technique and the ensuing ferocious counter attack. It can only activate when his opponent unleashes overwhelming force, equivalent to a B++-ranked Noble Phantasm or higher. Shen’s body creates a skintight golden Bounded Field, which isolates Shen from all damage. Then, and only while the field is still active, he may activate the second half of his Noble Phantasm, which manifests as nine attacks, that impossibly reach across a much greater distance than a spear has any right should to reach his enemy, no matter how far away, though he remains stationary. Each strike is nigh-simultaneous, and deals massive damage to each being contributing to the overwhelming force, up to nine. This ability is restricted, in that it can only last up to ten seconds, after which it will dissipate on it’s own and leave him vulnerable. He cannot move from his position, and he cannot make any other movement other than attacking, activating a noble phantasm, or using his skills. Once the second half of the skill is used, the field dissipates, and Shen is capable of moving normally once again, as well as being rendered immune to any lingering after-effects of the singular attack.
However, he is smart enough to utilize his status as a sudden immensely durable beefcake to his advantage. If his master is in the same radius of effect as he is, he will quickly grab hold of them and pull them close, shielding them with his suddenly nigh-invulnerable body using one of his 72 Transformations, effectively extending the protection to his Master.