Fantasy Hunter's Moon: The Sin & Sentence [IC] [CLOSED]

[Damian0358]

"Understood," Takato responded to Xager. At least he wouldn't need to worry about that as much. If there is a martial art he still needed to figure out proper, it would be that of the bird-beaked firearm, especially as the days of the Huolongjing [火龍經] and Shenqipu [神器譜] have come and gone for Upper Redonia. Last he had passed through Lower Redonia, they were slowly adopting the stylings of the east, and it was likely that by now, their firearms were more refined than those in Upper Redonia by virtue of adopting advancements from elsewhere. Maybe he'll wait a century or two more until he truly attempted to figure them out beyond the basics.

Ignoring the argument going on, Takato approached the dynamite crate as Riberta was digging through it, looking in to see its contents. These sure do look different from the explosives he was familiar with, he thought. But hearing Hudson's words made him consider how much more volatile these could be, if that was his given response. He considered for a moment the usage of a magical bubble, to ensure this dynamite wouldn't accidentally explode on him.

 

[Infab]

"I'll never grow tired of the endless bullshit you spew, Hudson." remarked Riberta, drawing out several bushels of dynamite. She tossed the sacks over her other shoulder. "I made a man swallow one of these sticks once. He popped like a balloon a few seconds later. Real messy."

 

[Damian0358]

Takato looked over at Riberta after she made her comment, before looking back at the dynamite. Yeah, he was definitely going to make a bubble.

Having gotten more used to the qi of the Abyss, Takato promptly made several bushels of dynamite float out of the crate, before enveloping them in a magical bubble of sorts, one that nearly seemed transparent.

 

[Infab]

Vincent grabbed a bag of dynamite for himself, slinging it over his left shoulder, before digging through the other crates and finding ammo for his rifle. "Two factories and a railway hub, twenty miles south of here. Blow all three up, and kill weaponsmiths. Understood." he said, glancing back to Xager as he finished. She gave him a nod, before looking to the others. "Also, be aware that there have been shadow demon sightings in the area. If you see one, allow the one its mimicking to kill it. Assist them if you have to, but the one that it is a copy of must slay it...excuse me for a moment." said Xager, before she stepped over to one of the longer crates. She drew out a rifle from inside, a Daristeinian bolt action, which she slid the bolt back on. She moved to another crate, drawing out a single stripper clip of rounds, and loaded the weapon before slinging the bolt back forward and chambering a shot.

She then slung the rifle up to her shoulder, taking aim at something in the distance. The others watched, wondering just what she was aiming at, before hearing the rifle go off as she fired. Then, a spectacular detonation occurred just atop a hill a few hundred yards away. "Watch for those with their own explosives as well. We wrath demons are a violent lot." she muttered, before looking back to the group. "Get going. The sooner the factories and railway hub are obliterated, the quicker you can leave this territory."

 

[joshuadim]

"Will you need aerial reconnaissance once more Monsieur Beaumont?" Venextos asked.

 

[Breadman]

Henderson couldn't help but squint towards Welsey when his spoke and then towards Jacob. It dawned on him what their relationship was. Welsey is an idiot who can use knives and Jacob is his assigned handler that makes sure the pointy end is aimed in the right direction. Why he would be send to the Abyss is beyond him, but he didn't care to question it.

He grabbed as much dynamite for himself as he could comfortably carry and turned to Xager.

"Traditional weapons don't work for me on account of me mits being the size that they are." He pointed with his left hand to his right while saying that "So none of those. Instead I'm going to need something to wrap around these paws so I can do some real damage."

 

[Damian0358]

Takato looked rather worried at what Xager had revealed, hidden explosives throughout. He wondered whether she spotted the explosive by eye or if there was another way she had spot it. He turned towards Venextos briefly;

"If need be, another pair of eyes would be useful once more," Takato spoke, before turning towards Xager.

"What method was used to spot that explosive just now? Was it merely by eye, was the demon with it sensed, or some other method? Presumably there would be those explosives laid about as a trap for those passing by..." he decided to vocalize his wonders.

 

[Infab]

Xager glanced to Takato, as she walked back over and handed the rifle she was carrying to Gwen. "Eyesight." she said, her piercing eyes locking onto Takato's. "...I could also detect him. I'm powerful enough to be considered a lesser Demon Prince, and I'm partially ascended. Anyway, there likely won't be any traps laid. Wrath demons are more up front about their want to kill you in horrible manners." She then stepped back over to where the crates were, before looking to Henderson. "I can have a set of gauntlets crafted for you. Clawed and spiked for additional damage. I'll bring them to you before the week is up."

Vincent nodded in Venextos' direction. "We'll need it when we get close to the factories and railway hub. For now, need you on the ground with us." he responded. He then looked to the others. "Lets get going." he said. Xager pointed in the direction they needed to proceed, and Vincent started walking. "Be careful." she simply said, before snapping her fingers. A portal appeared, which promptly enveloped her as well as the crates. They vanished, and the portal closed.

The group proceeded forth, through the ruins of the small city. What Xager said was right. There were no traps laid. No demons hiding in wait to ambush and slaughter them. But there were demons, and they seemed more preoccupied with fighting one another than the group. "Wrath demons will try to fight and kill anything they feel that they should direct their hatred towards." muttered Vincent, as the group came upon a cluster of wrath demons trying to kill one another in a small park on the south end of the city. These demons looked a bit different from the ones they had found in Sheol, looking far more rabid. The larger ones bore smaller horns, and were far more muscular than their counterparts. They shattered anything they grabbed, even ripping other demons in half. Vincent motioned for the group to continue, avoiding the cluster of demons that were murdering each other. "Azgon's lieutenants aren't here to keep them in line, so apparently they destroyed most of the city." he said, glancing back to them.

 

[Dmaster]

Hudson didn't seem impressed by Xager's accuracy, though the discharge of the rifle did get him to flinch. The hunter grumbled to himself, greatly displeased with the sudden escalation of armaments. Having your teammates firing such weaponry was one thing, even if they were dubious allies at best, but it had been quite some time since he had been shot at. As they advanced down the path and into the ruins, he drew his weapons and stayed behind Vincent.

Upon seeing the wrath demons going at it, he grit his teeth with contempt as he kept them in his line of sight while they elected to move past them. "How fortunate we are to be dealing with the Abyss' bipedal attack dogs." he growled under his breath.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"How fortunate we are to be dealing with the Abyss' bipedal attack dogs."

"Highly trained attack dogs. All of Azgon's demons are soldiers in his army, no exceptions. Don't forget that." remarks Loque. "We are not fighting cheap guards this time, so I'm hoping your prior experience as a soldier will be enough to match them."

 

[Dmaster]

"How about my current experience of being a demon hunter, you big-mouthed hellspawn?" Hudson shot back, though he did so in a restrained volume so as not to give away their position.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"How about my current experience of being a demon hunter, you big-mouthed hellspawn?"

"Heh. That'll work." If someone looks close enough at Loque's mask, they could see something curl into an amused grin underneath.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"Strong fighters, maybe. But bad discipline," Inari adds in to Hudson and Loque's conversation. "Attack each other and own home is more like doing of dog than man soldier. Discipline more strong over arm power. I not impressed." And indeed, she wasn't. These demons were just as pathetic as the zealous ones they had fought back in Sheol. No substance or pride in their actions or ways. Just mindless fighting among themselves. It was a wonder these creatures managed to build a city in the first place with factories to make weapons.

 

[Damian0358]

Takato slowly nodded as Xager explained, eyes piercing through him. It was good to know how they would act, and with the explanation in mind, spotting them shouldn't be too difficult. Staying grounded alongside Venextos, they proceeded forth.

Seeing the wrath demons fighting reminded him of what he has seen of the Northern Oni in his life, another parallel drawn. Hearing Vincent's comment, he considered to respond with a pondering, wondering why they hadn't destroyed the factories in that case. But remembering the guards, he instead said something else:

"If that is the case, then one has to wonder the strength of those guards we are to face, as the factories still stand."

 

[Doomevil]

"As long as we work together like we did in Sheol, we shouldn't have to worry too much. It's the shadows we need to focus on." Senya stated, avoiding the wrath demons and held her weapons.

 

[Infab]

The group moved on, making their way carefully past any wrath demons that they came across. Of course. Their caution and stealth would only get them so far, however. Eventually, as they were crossing a street, nearing the southern outskirts of the small city, there was an angry screech. Then a thud. Vincent glanced over just in time to see a stick of dynamite that had landed near them, tied to a wooden board with rope. "SHIT, MOVE!" he spat, forcing the group to dive for cover. A few seconds later, the dynamite detonated, sending chunks of cobblestone and dirt into the air. As it rained down upon the recovering group, a cluster of six wrath demons promptly rushed them. Three had shotguns with bayonets affixed to the end, while the other three had crude grand maces.

 

[joshuadim]

Almost as quickly as Vincent yelled out the danger of the dynamite, Venextos dashed to cover and summoned a small shield just in case as it went off. It helped a bit to deflect some chunks of cobblestone off of him as he then turned his attention to the charging demons. The shotguns were more of a threat than maces, and so he directed his efforts into incapacitating the demons that wielded the firearms. Venextos brought his hands together by the tips of his fingers, summoning a bit of a green glow to his hands before violently jerking his hands apart, causing the ground the ground to violently crack open near the demons with shotguns. Hopefully, they would be surprised by this change in terrain and subsequently taken out of commission for a bit.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

A cobblestone rock the size of a boot nearly takes Loque's head off as it's flung into the air, crashing into pieces as it hits the wall behind her. "BON DIEU!" She immediately runs for cover just in case there's other nasty explosive surprises around. Once she's found a decent sized chunk of rubble to take cover in, she pops out and aims her rifle at the demons. The ones with the shotguns can do some serious damage to the group if they're not put down fast enough, even more so than the ones with the axes, so she targets one of them and opens fire.

 

[Dmaster]

Once his eyes laid on the dynamite, Hudson scrambled and momentarily tripped over himself before he made a dive for cover. Just barely avoiding the detonation, his ears rang as he pushed himself off the ground and began to twirl his flail. "If you want war, you just found it..." he growled, flinging the caged flame straight at the closest shotgun demon.

 

[Viper Actual]

Prior to their arrival Seriphine spent the remaining time pondering on her latest experiences. Slowly she had become more accepting of the mission she had been forced into and with each passing day she viewed the rest of the party with less disgust. There was also something else. Or rather, someone. She had begun to view Vincent in a different light. The man was perhaps not much of a leader though he fought honorably and with efficiency. Such a shame he's no Elf...or slave.

When the party arrived at Azgon's ruiner city Seriphine eyed her surroundings with mild interest. She had few expectations for the remainder of their mission and seeing a beautiful city in the Realm of Demonspawn was not one of them.
Once Xager appeared Seriphine stocked up on some or that bread she had before. A reminder of home. She also, reluctantly, grabbed ten dynamite sticks and placed them in a satchel found amongst the supplies.

Then, while the others bickered with one another or bombarded Xager with questions Seriphine remained silent. Her eyes were on someone else. Narrowing her eyes she studied Vincent from top to bottom. A subtle grunt escaped her though this one seemed less...disappointed?

His worth shall be tested.

Eventually Seriphine stopped staring once the party set out. She had caught some details of their mission. Destruction of weapons was all she needed to know.

Seriphine was caught off guard when the demons attacked. These ones appeared more fit for combat than their previous opponents. Perhaps this battle would prove more entertaining than the ones before.

Quick to get back on her feet Seriphine launched herself at one of the melee-oriented demons and began to slash and cut with her dual blades while dodging back and forth.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari steadied herself after the small ambush attempt, and drew her sword immediately and charged ahead to flank some of the mace-wielding demons. They looked weak and she intended to lope off their arms with cut to their forearms.

 

[Doomevil]

Senya extended her arm, marching closer to the mace demons and fought one that wasn't taken already. She pointed Dark Shard and made swift slashes against the demon.

 

[Damian0358]

Takato rushed to cover as soon as Vincent gave the move, slapping away some cobblestone flying in his direction in the process. Giving the demons a gander, and noting who was approaching whom, Takato decided to be safe and pull out one of his talisman-like cards, deciding to go with another card from the Talisman Set, that being, `Talisman ~ Converging Shot`.

"Talisman ~ Converging Shot," he said in a serious manner, under his breath, activating the card - several qi orbs formed around him, before launching themselves at the furthest away shotgun demon.

 

[Breadman]

Henderson ducked for cover before the explosion ripped the ground apart. Getting up, he dusted himself off and picked up one of the larger cobblestones and chucked it at one of the gun wielding demons.

 

[Infab]

The brawl commenced, with the shotgun wielding wrath demons being stunned for a brief moment by Venextos' manipulation of the ground beneath them. Loque's shot rang true, planting her bullet right between the eyes of one of them and forcing him to collapse rather quickly. Hudson's flail plowed into the head of one of the other gun toting demons, knocking him on his ass, before Vincent delivered a double tap to the demon's chest to put it down. Seriphine, meanwhile, cleaved through a wrath demon wielding a grand mace. Her blades twirled about, making her appear as if she were dancing instead of fighting.

Inari's combat was much quicker, and a little less graceful, as she darted in and lopped off both of the arms of one of the other melee demons. Senya would finish it off, slashing it across the chest a few times before shoving the tip through its heart. Riberta would eliminate the final grand mace wielding wrath demon, swatting its mace aside and shoving her claymore through the creature's stomach. She then gave it a jerk, forcing the blade to rip out of the demon's side. Takato and Henderson would focus on the last shotgun wrath demon, Takato delivering multiple punishing qi orbs that pelted the demon before Henderson's chunk of cobblestone hit the demon in the face and killed it.

As the last demon fell, there were sounds coming towards them. Angry screams and gunfire sounded off. More wrath demons, attracted to the sounds of combat. "Quickly. Lets get out of here before they decide to gang up on all of us." said Vincent, looking to the rest of the group before motioning further south. The group gathered themselves and pushed on, moving far faster than they had been in order to put distance between them and the wrath demons behind them.

As they reached the edge of the outskirts several minutes later, the scenery began to...change a bit. Murky, foggy swampland stretched out before them. Dark colored water filled various puddles and ponds scattered about, and looming trees provided dark shade from the 'sun' above them. "Swampland?" said Riberta, raising an eyebrow. Hell of a place for factories to be built. Then, they heard gunfire again in the distance behind them. Vincent glanced back, before looking to the others. "Guess we better push through." he said, before walking off across the muddy ground before them.