Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

Date: September 19 -> 20, 2067
Location: Deathbucks, South Alameda Street, Downtown Los Angeles, California
Interactions: Eva
Mentions: Nadia, Dani, Adrian, Raphael
Mook-LandStrider RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper

As everything died down, Sara held onto Eva as if she were a lifeline. Her knuckles were white as she clutched at her handle, and she had to do breathing exercises - a first in many months. She was ordered to leave, to watch the perimeter.

Taking this time to relax and calm down while still staying on alert, Sara dug in her jacket pocket to pull out one of her anxiety medications. Buspirone. She hadn’t needed to use this thing in forever, but taking a pill, she was able to calm down some. The Madness Wavelength that targeted her anxieties were kept at bay from her broach, but now with her medicine in the mix.

Many minutes went by and she was able to feel much better. Time away from Nadia, time away from the mess that it was…

While she still respected Nadia, she did not like or respect her aggressive, nuclear decisions. What even the fuck was that? Yeah, this was a very aggressive scenario, but did she not ever learn of “risk management”? Deescalating a situation? Why was she put on the team with someone so brutal??

Unfortunately for her, it seems like she was the only one (besides Eva) who seemed disturbed by Nadia’s decisions. Raphael’s scent didn’t smell like he cared at all. In fact, he kind of got to enjoy the brutality. While he did make a comment earlier about how terrorist-y it was, it didn’t seem to bother him all that much. Adrian didn't seem to care, or at least didn't want to anger her either.

Of course, she was given an order to come with Nadia. Sara sighed, feeling like the back of her mind was itchy. She had to survive until the end of the mission, then she would go to see whoever mentor she could reach to let them know to never put her in the same team as Nadia, at least when she’s made leader.

Ready, she approached Nadia's location wordlessly, unusually silent and focused.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Aki Kiyoko - Egypt - Feng Long
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
​

As events in the temple progressed Feng found herself in the back of the pack, with orders to take pictures and record everything they came across, slightly bored, well, no, very bored of this assignment, Feng decides to talk to Aki from the confines of their soul connection. ‘They could at least translate the shit, or put us somewhere to do something.’

‘Yeah… I was hoping to see one of those Aparnu… Anbu? I guess the scarabs and zombies are kinda interesting,’ Aki mused within their soul space. ‘...Think they’d let me take a sand piranha back?’

’Eh, Anpu, I’m sure they’ll turn up sooner or later. And the hell is a Sand Piranha? I don’t think I want you to have one.’ Turning her attention to the undead, Feng was happy when they made their way out into a bigger area, it was a pain shooting past their heads in what was barely large enough for three to pass down what amounted to a normal hallway. The previous passage had all sorts of undead having thrown themselves into the traps with brute force. ’Huh, seems they really want him.’

‘The scarabs. Bug piranhas,’ Aki answered with a pout, idly regulating the creation and discharge of the bullets as they spoke. ‘I kept the plant alive like you asked…’ She added, seemingly more concerned with the prospect of a pet than the undead and traps.

’They eat people who don’t belong here. I would just blast away into some of these holes but Arky might be better with crowd control… Still, let’s cap a few of them, see what we gain.’

‘So does Zosar’s magi-cat probably,’ Aki remarked pointedly before relenting. She took Feng’s wavelength and regulated it into more rounds for use, ready to be discharged as needed. ‘Fiiine… Poor buggies…’

’Heh, you want to look into the holes, see what they’ve been up to? Still the rest seems to be handling it, Gauss we can watch till more come alone.’

‘Flesh-eating, I’m not that dense… I’m sure they’d eat meat though,’ Aki replied simply. ‘It’s just zombies… We haven’t even found any cool traps.’

’No, there are some traps, but I rather we keep away from them. I know nothing about disarming them.’ As they continued onwards, providing what support they could from the rear and in the pitfall room, it seemed the one beyond it had zombies and mummies, or rather zombies in the room and mummies in the crack of another room. None of them seemed that strong or even to be mummies. These didn’t seem all that important, the weapons were bronze but a bit spotty and old, they weren’t all that well crafted, still dangerous though, but fortunately and Open area was before them and Feng decided to make the most of it as the others moved up, opening fire at the opening as these beings spilled forth. “They kinda make me think of servants, not the Royal Guard talked about in that report, cause you know, you expect the Royal Guard to be pretty Elite.”

“Can a zombie be elite though?” Aki posed in response, not thinking very highly of the supposed elite that was referenced. “But didn’t everyone pretty much get buried with the pharaoh? Would make sense if there were servants–Ooh! Think they have a zombie pet?”

”How the hell would I know? And no, you can’t have any undead pets.” Feng said sharply as walked along, shooting with her Magitech Pistol and with Aki, just pouring fire into the collapsing wall.

“Aww, come on! They wouldn’t even need to eat!” Aki whined.

”The hell you mean they wouldn’t need to eat!? They eat Flesh! Well most of them at least…”

"Flesh is just meat!"

Merciless Medic RedArmyShogun Shotgunpenguin Sir Les Paul Peckinou Mook-LandStrider

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Hallerbos Forest, Belgium​

In the wake of her initial attack, Maria was starting to ponder more than a few things as the effects of her strike struck home. With her muscles tensing and a shiver down her spine, she knew her strings were being plucked, she could feel it, knew it. Not that that helped in stopping it, a revulsion and a desire to set order upon the mound of corpses grew within her. Such abominations, such chaos, such thievery... To paint it all to the colors she wished, to break them upon the rocks till they were no more. These compelled her to act. Though there was something else...

Not being nearly as affected as the Meisters, she still wished to quiet the enemy, to set things back as they should be, if her hands were not otherwise engaged, Maria would have made her typical hand over her mouth, around the nose and under the eyes, the tools of Eros were specialized constructs. The three witches they were looking for were dead and likely by the hand of the Lizard, who's partner made it so that she was skilled at the killing of those steeped in Magic. And judging by the changes she could see and the faltering of her allies, that woman and now her minions, or allies, they were designed purely with the goal of killing Meisters and Weapon pairs. That was why that woman was dead and many others aside and why Maria's own presence was such a surprise... But such logic was neither here nor there. The simple fact was, the Meisters were being hit by the aftereffects far worse than she, which came with each blow, meaning she needed to kill the greater number of them with as few movements and attacks as possible.

Power, overwhelming power. They were generating madness, the question was how best to do this, with her allies so close, they were truly foolish to speak with the enemy. Nothing was resolved, one of them had lost some internal organs, though those didn't much matter... Or did they? With her three dolls in the enemy ranks, Maria commands her creations to shoulder check the enemy into a tighter grouping as she pulled them back immediately thereafter. The same was done with her larger doll as well, and then she summoned a spell circle from the pages of her Grimoire, speaking as the effects of mana and casting became more apparent, visible even as the spell circle took upon it a physical manifestation, considerable force was being applied as the sigil appeared beneath the enemy.

"Wind Explosion." She said simply and sharply. Hopefully the Meister Weapon pairs took the hint, and hopefully she got a few of the obsidian skinned mutations before their weapons could come into play. As the air sparked and sucked in upon itself with a deafening BOOM and flash of light, Maria watched and readied her next attack.


Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Elly) Sir Les Paul (Midori) (Lady Crimson) The Regal Rper (Zosar) Haze- (Wren)

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Hallerbos Forest, Belgium
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

The moment Maria struck out with her blades, Elly felt it. She was shocked, scared, anxious, angry, and all manner of displeased as it was, however she still had her wits about her. That was what she prided herself on. No matter what happened, no matter how she felt internally, externally she could focus on what needed to be done. Except now.

Now, she felt her thoughts stall to a standstill momentarily before rapidly accelerating. Her grip on Midori's golem body tightened and her stoic expression faltered to widened eyes and panic. The pulse emitted from the golems was like a flashbang to her with her soul perception. She suddenly could focus intrinsically on how fast her heart pounded in her chest and her brain rambled on with quick yet useless thoughts and observations. Her eyes darted around, observing Zosar and Wren seemingly battling with each other simply to not go berserk. She could see the flare of wavelengths and the skitter of madness dancing about the soul, which served to worsen Elly's morale.

Maria still fought, the only real saving grace of this situation. However, it did naught to calm her down. Despite it all, Elly recognized this, chastising herself internally for failing to shove those thoughts away, for not honing in on what she could do. However, for each one of those thoughts of logic, there came a dogpile of considerations of panic and emotion.

Maria was still fighting and in control. Wren was losing it. Zosar couldn't keep her in check. Midori had a hole in his chest. They would be fine. The golems were just a distraction, after all. A distraction with obsidian skin. She can't destroy them efficiently without a weapon. She can't protect Midori from them. Maria can't win on her own. Reinforcements were on their way anyway, all they needed to do was hold out. That was, if the golems didn't kill them first. If Wren didn't turn on them after. If Ao didn't decide to come back and finish the job. Even if that was survived, how would Midori? He wouldn't. He couldn't.

It was all crumbling down. Except, it wasn't--No, no, it was. It absolutely was.

Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun Haze-

 

[The Regal Rper]

Deathbucks, LA l Steel Assailants

On the police car interface, a 2066 car model, the time read 9:30 AM, 20th of September, 2067.

Sunlight painted LA a golden yellow brown as it's rays stretched across the sky, shifting midnight blue to a sky blue spread.

Nadia, Dani, Sara and Eva were collectively moved towards the point of interest where the 9-9-1 had been reported within the region of Deathbucks, presently closed off to the public and routes to it, shut down. In two separate teams the meister pairs approached the scene at different angles. At the same time as they were on the move, Adrian and Raph were having a new situation develop as they waited for DWMA convoy to arrive, now for certain to be the last to meet up with the others en route. There was only one warning sent to Nadia through Campbell, that things had gotten suddenly rowdy back at the station.

The prisoners, having turned restless since Dani’s departure, went into something of a sudden frenzy out of absolutely nowhere. That same bloodstained blonde muttered something under her breathe and began laughing, throaty and high pitched, it was the cackle of a the insane--

It was the screams, the screaming that startled the officers the most. Sudden blind cries of rage from three different cells were belted out at different times. The disturbing sound of flesh being tenderized, beat with meaty thwacks, pounded against stone.

The random, sudden crying of another prisoner, hyperventilating and freaking out, muttering incoherently, babbling and shivering. The officers in the station stood for a moment in startled perplexion.

It was difficult to explain what exactly could have set them off, but something did-- something changed-- and it suddenly turned into a vicious brawl as various prisoners all turned against each other within their own cells. With so many to fill in the station, there were at worst two per cell, and those within began fighting each other immediately. Throwing each other either against the cell bars enough to damage them or break through entirely to the outside in the case of two locked pairs, only to turn their gazes on anyone that managed to catch their eye and go blitzing after that person, which in the case of Raph for a single pair, and the case of Adrian in another, happened to be them and them alone.

Chaos in the span of just a few seconds.

The scene in front of the Jotuun progeny and Werewolf was an entirely different event to witness.

Deathbucks sat in the center of multiple other food service businesses spaced out across the block, directly in front of one small bank that was separated by two streets, cut off from other areas like an island of food service establishments lined up within a given space of the large block they sat upon as their home. Streets cutting around the block all virtually empty, traffic lights still, save for the sound of conflict echoing over the sound of distant vehicular activity, there was hardly anything to show much was going on.

Officers pointed out two clear locations in which the Meister's could view things from. Silently, as if they were mice in the field they stopped their vehicles as they moved past the SWAT mobilized to act as a secondary barrier defense, into the empty streets of South Alemada towards two locations.

Nadia and Dani were guided surreptitiously to the side of a small home furnishing building called Luxury Goods that sat east of Deathbucks, two streets separating the location.

They were far enough to bear witness to what was going on just as much as Sara, who herself was on the southeastern side, a street below Nadia but directly across. Viewing everything in the shadow of awnings. The presence of the blood soaked and one in particular whose scent wreaked of blood that had spent too much time out in the sun, spoilt and rotten, was strong. It filled the air like overly powerful perfume, even with the great gap and in her case, set her muscles on edge but did not fill her with the same anxiety she had just combatted, nor did it Eva either.

Nadia noticed by comparison that out of these cultist freaks only one possessed a soul of noticeable strength.

Sara noticed out of all the souls there, only one possessed the powerfully strong smell associated to active Madness.

That one individual was on the run with five blood tainted souls crowded around the strongest of them, those corrupted souls themselves however were stronger ones from what a skilled perceptionist could tell, not like the ones they had just dealt with, easy picking and ultimately weak.

It was however the sound of gunfire that might have drawn attention back to what was really going on and set everyone's nerves alight.

In a wide cityblock like this, a good three city blocks shut down, things echoed easily. The bang bang bang, was like the alarm of a clock going off next to your head.

It also drew attention to what the police had said before.

People in armor jumping into the fight. Light from the drooling Sun glinted off pure black or purple or silver metal, hitting someone in the eye. They looked like Knights, cosplayers, with their pauldrons, greaves, tassets, gauntlets-- a female officer pointed out something at Nadia’s side with the binoculars they were using, a decorated insignia barely visible from their position outlined in gold paint on the armor of a few, it was hard to describe what the mark or symbol was, too much movement going on.

Multiple souls, by Sara's nose alone, she could communicate to Nadia via communicator, that there were at least thirty souls there; ten or around fifteen of those that were consistent to the cult, roughly estimating, but on the streets, participating in the conflict were only eight of the armor attacking forces who were charging right in, with seemingly reckless abandon yet in groups of four or three, two or one, were efficiently engaging these adrenaline junky murders with ease. And more seemed to emerge from the shadows, rushing into the fight to give their support to these attackers.

Frankly it looked like the cultists were the ones who might need help compared to these vigilantes who seemingly had jumped in out of nowhere. Like fucking knights of the old age, bent on hell to perform their duty, according to one officer beside Sara. And that duty seemed purely focused on these monsters of the night.

Deputy Campbell, busy with being relayed information, informed they had given no warning except demanded the area be restricted to only them while they worked and then wordlessly had jumped into action, savagely attacking any murders or of the fallen humans overtaken by this adrenaline lust.

In the light of the sun, the random speck on a building glinted, perched on the edge of a roof like crows or pigeons, watching the day to day activities of people below.

Three more gunshots sounded and sparks flew as they bounced off armor.

One of the armored individuals charged with a round shield, deflecting gunfire, their partner, carrying a spear, slipped behind in the blitz. The two armored individuals moved forward, breaking away from two of their fellows, targeted the gunslinger with the female shield and hammer carrier slamming her buckler up into the female assaliant as she pointed a morphed finger at the charger while her male counterpart slipped with surprising speed to her right, flicked the blade of his spear point upwards, straight through their opponent in a arcing slash that sent her down with a cry of agony.

She did not rise up again.

Blood spattered the streets and in a twist of universal karma, as the one loose lipped sycophant of this toxic ritual had explained when Dani and Nadia had pushed their interrogation, it was now the blood of the cultists flowing anew.

The five stronger cultists and the sixth central member they were crowded around were shouting at otherz of their ilk what could have been commands but in some cases were insults on their pathetic display before a pillar of conviction before them.

Kill the clankers, make their lives another statistic in the many. They were stronger than this, prove it!

The ‘clankers’ as they were so called however, were proving otherwise.

The pillar seemed not to care about the conflict occuring here but despite the slight amusement on her face, she clearly seemed to also be less amused when one of her little minions was slain and not a single armored individual had died, if at worst suffering only superficial injuries.

Push back against the armored warriors was met with resistance, even as a few cultists emerged to provide support the fanatics were shoved back by armored weapons, like watching a fantasy medieval battle in real time, the speed of exchanged blows not something any regular officer could match. It was surreal to watch, and jumping into the conflict immediately would have only caught one of the meister pairs in the crosshairs of both parties with how intense the fighting was rapidly becoming.

Yet still, only eight remained in the fight, threw others joining in from the roof of other buildings nearby the area to assist as the number of cultists flared and rose.

The cultists clearly had numbers. When one dies, two new others seemed to replace. It looked like a battle of attrition, but as the fight kept on, fewer new additions seemed to remain. The armored enforcers were outnumbered but they seemed to have numbers waiting in the backdrop when one of their own took a hit, a metal glint would reflect movement from above.

Pot shots from the long ranged fighters did nothing, as any shots fired were immediately stopped by shields and the glinting specks would recede into the backdrop of the roofs, reorganize and appear on a different roof entirely and continue to watch the fight like armored gargoyles.

It was when two new entries appeared, landing on the rooftop of Deathbucks, their souls noticeably flaring with strength, having appeared almost out of nowhere, that the ‘pillar of conviction’, no doubt the superior of the group, turned her attention to them and her surrounding guards tensed.

Then there was an explosion of movement from the five guards and the female pillar, dressed in black and red.

One of the five shot straight towards the fighting the armored forces were relaying. They charged straight one of the armored individuals, in combat with one of the cultists and with a bladed digits, sliced right through their fellow cultist as the armored sentry leaped away from what would have been a serious hit.

The cultist guard, a brunette with veins bulging in her face abnormally gave a wicked smile as the blood of her fellow fell around her, eyes widening, turning slightly red at the whites as veins increases in presence, made ready her free hand which carried a nasty looking weapon, like a blade--

--only to have that arm be severed as her head followed in stunted surprise with a dying gasp when one of the new arrivals reappeared suddenly in front of her.

Older man had vanished from the rooftop, faster than any officers eyes could see, moved fast enough that Nadia and Sara with their respective advantages as Werewolf and Jotuun descendant, could only track a blur of movement- and then witnessed as he cleaved through arm then head of the guard with accuracy and ease, flicking both his blood stained blades to the side.

His partner, an eye patch wearing young man with hair a shade of darker green, smiled from where he was, just as two of the cultist guards came up on him mid air and were struck with a shield tackle that sent them both flying to the ground and back to the battlefield with a resounding crash as they reoriented themselves midair. The shield user, twirled a Warhammer in hand then leaped into combat with the two in a two vs one fight. Using her shield to deflect a bladed attack, landing and striking out with her shield carrying arm, then when an opening was provided, clobbering the other with her hammer.

It was however the fight between the eye patch and woman in black and red that drew the strongest spiritual activity. Madness flared in the female in black and red and as it did her guards as their madness responded. The flare of Madness reacted like a pulse, a sonar wave that flickered across the area, for everyone, agents included, all it did was set them all further on edge.

The eye patch dual wielding swordsman grimaced, and with a sudden rise of spiritual power from his soul and that of the older man with greying hair that had dealt the first killing blow, they struck near simultaneously.

Eye patch slaughtered his opponent with a direct slice through the jugular, while the graying haired man slashed through the other and proceeded to advance on black and red.

She screamed, nails turning to claws, eyes turning a pitch black, a vicious snarl of fury as she lashed out with speed. Deflected by the older armored vigilante. With precision and speed she made a slashing move only to be caught by the blade of eye patch and his senior cleaving through her arm at the elbow. Blood spraying and her cry of fury rising with the sudden frenzy of those few remaining cultists still alive.

Something pulsed in the air. Officers twitched, Nadia, Dani, Sara and Eva sensed the atmospheric shift. Madness spiked and several of the surviving cultists lashed out, furious strokes that doubled in strength against their respective armored opponent as the officers and DWMA Agents were struck with a madness wavelength that instead of bringing discomfort rose fury and aggression for the briefest of seconds, the desire to attack was sharp like a pang, friend or foe, it didn’t matter--

Then that pulse of pressure in the air suddenly vanished. The sense of animosity within all of them got pulled out like a plug, and it left one feeling briefly antsy, still itching for something to happen- but for the officers it just left them shaken.

Eye patch and the elder clankers moved with sudden speed, faster than before, and when eye patch flicked his blades after skidding to a stop past three cultists, the elder armored soldier drew his blade back as the woman in black and red let out a faint dying gasp, collapsing against his armor plating, claw outstretched to the faint distant purple moon--

Several bodies dropped headless as eye patch rose. Various remaining armored individuals unfreezing from the brief spike of Madness. There was something said as the hammer and shield carrying female swept out her weapon and the elder steel hovered above the dying female, no doubt a cultist of significant importance from the way she had been protected and how her soul seemed to inspire the others around her. Now as she lay limp, hardly alive under the gaze of her black steeled opponent, she was nothing more than waiting for death.

The situation was handled.

The steel clankers began gathering themselves as the elder steel stood above his victim.

Eye patch moved towards some of his colleagues in arms, assisting them in clean up duty.

Warhammer performed some sort of check up, ensuring no one of the group was dead or injured.

It wasn't until one of the distant standing specks vanished from where they stood on the roof and reappeared next to eye patch in a manner that only Sara and Nadia could track that the new addition, a long redheaded male, did something. Something Sara's ears wouldn't even pick up.

And almost immediately they would have felt eye patch turn his gaze on them while the redhead male turned his eyes on Nadia’s direction.

Their spirits flared, animosity and curiosity, a warning, the spiritual pressure they exuded was easy to determine that by themselves they may have only been a bit weaker than the two Meisters. The spiritual pressure wasn't actually that impressive compared to what had been felt during the fight or the feats of some of the steel arms.

Deputy Campbell grimaced. "Damn mercenaries." It was easy to make that kind of assumption.

With how common mercenary arms were for hire it was easy to assume someone with enough money threw some at a decent enough company and had these steel arms rushing in to provide support. There had been no news to Nadia either that DWMA was sending anything other than the relief to free Adrian and Raphael.

Whoever these people were they were skilled. Effective.

And we're aware of the DWMA agents and, for now, waiting for a reveal.

The spike in the souls of eye patch and redhead had been a warning spike. Sara could smell the faint hostility off them and what lingered from their allies. It wasn't strong enough to be wary of an attack but it was there.

The elder steel who had taken down the leading cultist, was ignoring this though. Having some sort of discussion with the defeated figure still alive on the ground.

Mentions: RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Merciless Medic Mook-LandStrider Sir Les Paul

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - Daniella Ethalyn - Streets of LA
​

Dani had stayed mostly silent, the stakeout more or less irritating her to no ends. At least with a fight, there was a determinate start, middle, and end. Here, on a stakeout, it was just a whole lot of waiting that played on her anxiety. She was almost thankful when they were pointed toward the call at the Deathbucks, though upon reaching there, her anxiety was reduced to confusion.

“...Who’re the Round Table fucks?” She wondered aloud, watching on as they seemed to clean house rather effectively.

Then came the madness spike. Sudden, unpredictable, similar to what occurred before, except far more intense. Dani’s pupils seemed to dilate and her own wavelength flared. Strands of hair stuck up momentarily, but then the spike vanished and the weapon was left stunned momentarily as she returned to normal. While the feeling of anger may have dissipated for the others, Dani was still honed in, likely due to her own wavelength. The feeling lingered, the itch, as she stared at the mercenaries. It didn’t help that a few flared their wavelengths in challenge.

“...Who the fuck are they pulling that shit for? We should fuckin’ clobber’em,” Dani growled out.

Watching all that played out upon their arrival, and the intermixed reports she got from holding cells, it was as interesting as it was aggravating. She was well in the right for wanting to execute them, so corrupted in essence and stinking of madness, now they had her two people tied up in a fight. All of this because of one sympathetic fool. Looking on as the battle continued and movements that she could track even if a blur, there was more going on here than she liked.

She was not sure why she had sat out the battle, if anything it was much more in true form for her to seek out and destroy the enemy, but these metal men deserved some curiosity, as out of place as they were, the Deputy was wrong as madness briefly touched all here. Nadia for her part wasn’t as bothered as Dani was, as Nadia laid a hand upon her shoulder as she usually did, giving her a slight shoulder rub. ”I think not to both of you. Though I shall not sneak around in the shadows or let that go unanswered. Deputy, inform my men at the jail to suppress the prisoners by any means. We don’t need them all alive, and with the madness they are spreading, it is much like those days not so long ago.”

Dani kept her eyes locked in the direction of the mercenaries, them having earned her ire for the moment. The shoulder rub seemed to help some, though it didn’t elicit much of a response from her.

With that said, or rather not said, Nadia held her hand open partially, flaring her own wavelength up. ”Up to you, do you want to be a weapon or follow behind me?” It was a sign of how things had changed between them that she even bothered to ask.

“I’ll walk for now…” Dani murmured, though she would be prepared to change to weapon form if need be. “Let’s go greet the bucket-heads…”

”Very well, I don’t think they’ll outright attack us, but let's not show your special features for now, I think the Deputy is wrong, these aren’t Mercs, just another type of cult.”

With that said Nadia walked in the open, directly, taking no cover, but down the middle of the street, her own spiritual pressure on display and purposefully a bit above the level of that being displayed, with the occasional upbeat, or flaring out as it were, Nadia’s however, given her soul did not produce animosity so much as her nature and role of a conqueror, it had the majesty of purposeful violence, dominion, perhaps even arrogance, walking directly towards the pair without the slightest hint of fear, this was the ground of Warriors, and those who followed its path, though the descendant of the Vikings of Ice was something else from the Order of Knights.

“I’m not familiar with mercenaries, but they don’t usually dress like renaissance fair,” Dani said in affirmation, walking just behind and slightly to Nadia’s right, hands in her pockets with a scowl. Dani’s soul was vibrant, however unlike Nadia’s, it showed clear irritation, almost yearning for an outlet.

“No, they are altogether something else, and I shall ask them. Time is not on our side, they mean to kill the one he’s talking to even now. I will have what answers they can give. One way or another. Though I would rather not fight them.” As they got closer it would not be long till their words could be overheard.

Upon nearing about 15 feet from them, Nadia stopped, resting her right arm by her side, as her left gestured around to what all they had done. ” Impressive work for a bunch of Medieval Times performers, some people have all the fun and left none for me, alas… But no, you are something else altogether, aren’t you? Not Mercenaries exactly, too well equipped… Uniformed even. But ah, my manners…” Nadia said in a thick Russian accent as her eyes followed theirs.

”I am Nadia Semyonov, and this is my partner, Daniella Ethalyn. We are of the DWMA, here on behalf of the LAPD to deal with the men you have taken out. While I’m not so foolish to think the Enemy of my Enemy is an Ally, at the very least we aren’t Enemies, Da? Now, if you do, please, who or what are you? I've said my name and origins, its only proper to return a greeting. Also I would like to have whatever answers you or that one you are about to execute have, in regard to this Cult. Afterall our goals both seem to relate to destroying this enemy, so it is something to speak about..”

Dani watches on with narrowed eyes, focusing first on those closes before turning her eyes to the ranged users in the back, as if watching for any sign of hostility from them as Nadia spoke.

With her own hand partially open for her partner to shift should this turn into a battle or duel of honor. While Nadia was sure the Wolf would not be happy, but acting as she was given around warriors like this, would only invite more problems, Warriors deserved to be faced with Warriors.

Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Dani) Sir Les Paul (Adrian) Merciless Medic (Sara - Raph) Mook-LandStrider (Eva) The Regal Rper (Unknown Faction members)

 

[Sir Les Paul]

???☆Hoshi​

N/A​

Species Death Golem
Partner Eloise Keegan
Rank Two-Star

Location Hallerbos Forest, Belgium
Mission Belgium Blues
Status Catatonic into hyperfocused

​

Tags: The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Haze-

I... am not... Midori.

The memories flooded through his brain.

Those cold mornings atop the mountains, hidden away by a sea of soul-sucking trees and spiritual mists. The Hoshi were a commune. He knew his parents, but a mother and father meant less to him than they did the rest of the world. He, like many others, was terribly young when those mornings went frim whimsical moments where his caretaker, Miyo, would lift him into the air with jubilant glee, twirled around, played with, fed, bathed, and given affection shifted to being disciplined, evaluated, beaten even at times. That youthful demeanor was stripped from him--from all of them--before they even hit five years of age.

Miyo was gone and now came the strict regiment of morning training, a light set of exercise for a youthful body that allowed it to begin soaking up spiritual energy without pushing muscles so hard they it ultimately impeded growth in the long term. There was a sweet spot that each elder had to find for each child, though it was fairly consistent due to the similar genes that ran through them all. Nonetheless, they became self-sufficient. Chores and tasks alongside their training becoming more and more numerous as they aged, time for play and whimsy dissolving away, and becoming the perfect molds for the assassins they inevitably become.

The training was grueling. Of course, they learned the basic kata of the Old Ways and various other martial arts. The spirituals were dipped into as well, but mostly, it was conditioning. Their bodies needed to be honed now so that they could reach their peaks earlier and go on to surpass limits they would have hit had they started at a more regular age, as the DWMA promoted. Just before adolescence, they learned how to train their bodies to the point of failure so that they may be rebuilt to use their spiritual energy. At first, they may have a week between these sessions, but over time--over years--they would do this agonizing exercise every other day until their bodies were so efficient they could be recuperated--at least for the most part--by the next. Meisters could go days without sleep, Weapons might spend just as long in their weapon form.

That is what it meant to be a Hoshi.

That was the life Midori led before he joined the DWMA and met Ao.

The body of the golem that had just been impaled was reforming. He was blind, deaf, and unfeeling on the outside. On the inside, though, he peered into his very soul. The perfectly sculpted abomination created by the Mad Sorcerer and freed by the Shinigami. It was based off Midori☆Hoshi, but it was not Midori. He was not Midori.

He struggled so long, for so many years, with his identity. The clan told him he could be Midori. For a while, he thought he could be.

But, he couldn't.

Just like the golem that impaled him could never be Ao.

In that brief moment she impaled him, she showed him the truth. She was his Meister once and imparting thoughts and memories onto him was of little effort at her skill level.

She didn't lie. The woman known as Ao Mitsuki never liked Midori☆Hoshi. She found him revolting at times, even if he was endearing at others. Over their years of partnership, she did develop a type of respect for him, but it was never the reciprocation that Midori wanted. The fact of the matter was that Ao was more talented than Midori could ever be. Even as a Hoshi, she had that rare combination of genes and history that just resulted in a terrific amount of potential. It was the same way with Franken Stein and even before him, Akari Hoshino. Sometimes the wilds gave birth to a progeny that could surpass those that bred for success, and all that potential needed was nurturing.

But, Midori tried. That is why Ao found him endearing. He had no hope of keeping up with her in the long-run and she far exceeded his skill level before they died. Yet, he tried. He trained like a Hoshi and with that dedication continued going on just enough that Ao didn't feel he was weighing her down. Just enough that she didn't end their partnership.

Midori☆Hoshi was always-only... just enough.

The Death Golem realized why Ao was so adamant that she was not that Ao Mitsuki and he was not that Midori☆Hoshi. That red-haired golem had plenty of time to look back on her history. She came to hate the person Ao was. The selfish one. Only focused on her survival and using the people around her. This red-haired golem, Songbird she called herself, had grown to recognize and even appreciate who that Midori was. He was born into an elite clan, but it didn't make it easier. The Hoshi were not just the sum of their genetics, but the sum of their secrets and training. The Midori of that era pushed himself further than he ever needed to. He was an excellent sparring partner outside of weapon form and a perfectly competent partner within it. He only saw the good parts of Ao, perhaps rose-tinted glasses blinded him from all the red flags...

The difference is what Songbird showed him. The distaste of the young Ao and the matured appreciation of Songbird. They were not the same person. Songbird had experienced her own hellish trials and tribulations under Eros that forever changed her into something Ao could have never been. Equally, the Hell he had endured forged him into something that Midori could never have been.

These golems were not and would never be the people they were before. They may possess the same souls, but they were forever changed. A person is not merely their soul.

Struck with that realization, the reforming Death Golem could only repeat the thought...

I am not Midori.​

By the time he returned to his mortal form, the battlefield had changed drastically. Madness filled the air, Madness the likes of which even he had never encountered prior.

Maria did not not know her own power, or perhaps the Madness in the air was tugging on the strings of her Pull without her realizing it. Regardless, the explosion was vast and powerful. The corpse golems were thrown askew and the pressure wave would have hit everyone around--even Maria, it's caster--like a thump to the chest. One of the corpse golems in the epicenter was blown entirely the smithereens--gone in an instant. The floating red soul and a few fallen parts be all that remained.

The others were flung thirty, forty, fifty feet in various directions, harmed and skidding across the ground. Not that the harm would slow them down significantly. They did rise once more and their broken bodies began to reform. That black obsidian shell grew around any broken part, covering the bones at their cores. Even with one destroyed, the Madness Wavelength hardly died down. If anything, the damage caused only resulted in a greater spike. These creatures still felt pain and fear. They now knew danger. And, like any animal, they would react accordingly.

Zosar and Wren would have to react to the pressure wave and sudden shift in the battlefield caused by Maria. The Sorceress in this conflict was more powerful than she even knew; that, or Rand had vastly undervalued the raw explosive force of this layered-spell. It would have been truly hard to determine without immediately testing to see if she was genuinely more powerful now, if she had simply grown better with her spellcasting, or if her teacher gifted her with a spell more dangerous than she had realized. Something to test for another time.

The corpse golems would not remain complacent long. Once they came to from that deafening explosion, the real skirmish would begin--unless Maria deemed in necessary to carpet bomb the field.

The Death Golem didn't see the situation quite as dire as the others, if only because the sheer power Maria had demonstrated gave them some type of edge. That didn't mean it would last. Surely, she would be their new target and he doubted she could cast such an intense spell while on the run, or perhaps even while on a broom. More so, the Madness was feeding into everyone around him. He felt it, and he had some resistance to it. The entire time he was marble, Madness had no effect on him--no Wavelength did. In just the few moments he was exposed to it, he could it already eating at his Calm Seal. If it did that to him, it was likely doing worse to the others.

It may not be dire, but it could still be deadly if not dealt with hastily.

He could try to fight them alone, but he knew his limits. He had speed and endurance, but a low attack potency. He would do best as a weapon. A weapon for his partner.

He turned to Elly. Those eyes of his had shifted. There was no emotional turmoil left in him. He wasn't angry, sad, overwhelmed, or conflicted. He had a singular thought running through the back of his mind about his identity, but the forefront was consumed by his fixation on surviving this encounter.


"I am not Midori..." he told her with a new, gritty tone that wasn't common for him.

"But... I am still your partner, if you'll have me," he told her, extending his hand to Elly. He offered her the chance, in this time of all times, to reach out and connect what he had done so much damage. It was a bit of an extenuating circumstance, admittedly, but this was his method of admitting his fault. If she rejected him, he would go off and fight alone. He would fight even if only to be a distraction so that they could run. He had commit himself to that plan already if necessary to survive this situation.

It was eerily familiar. Though unspoken, the chance here for Elly to reject everything and have the man she knew as Midori sacrifice everything for her sake--her and the rest of the team. Not something she could directly define, especially in the state of Madness that surrounded them.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Adrian Hackney​

"The Maiden"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank Fate Agent

Location Downtown LA, California
Mission Return of the Stalker
Status Focused

​

Tags: Merciless Medic RedArmyShogun Mook-LandStrider EmperorsChosen

Adrian knew Madness. Not solely because he experienced it before, but because he made a commitment not to fall prey to it again.

He refused to put Dani in that kind of danger.

He refused to give Nadia a reason to try and distance him from Dani.​

The entire time that Adrian guarded those men, even when Raphael gave him respite, he focused on everything he had been taught about resisting the affects of Madness. For the longest of time, he was in no real danger; neither was Raphael. The miniscule wavelength emit from these cultists had no chance at breaching the inhibitor collars or brooches. Regardless of how minimal the impact was, Adrian was determined not to allow it to become a problem.

Besides, guarding prisoners that were literally inside of cells was such a simple job. It felt quite sincerely like a situation where failure would result in a scolding to the tune of "you idiots literally only had one job" and Adrian wasn't about to sit through that.

That all was until what looked like a riot and a surge of Madness going through the building. It wasn't as severe as something like, his own Madness outbreak, but it was enough that he could feel it. He could recognize it. With the sounds and wavelength combined, it really only meant one thing: the cultists were up to something. Whether it was some odd attempt to kill themselves to avoid capture or just to cause as much chaos as possible, something was occurring.

Adrian wanted to act. To act fast.

But, his training kicked in. Words from a mentor over the last several months that echoed within him. The warning that acting with haste was just as detrimental as waiting too late. Or, that the second saved by immediately acting could also lead to overlooking key details. Most importantly, though, it was the reminder that reinforcing his Calm Mind even if he hadn't perfected a Calm Seal had an immense benefit. Reiko told him time after time that the Calm training was only as valuable as his use of it. Essentially, that he actually had to try for it to work. At his level, it wasn't just some passive benefit. Beyond that, at almost any level, taking a moment to refocus could extend the duration of or enhance the strength of a seal.

What Reiko probably didn't know at the time was that the calm place Adrian created in his mind now defaulted to her garden. There was no real special bond between Reiko and Adrian. In fact, Adrian was pretty sure she still had a somewhat negative opinion of him and he honestly wasn't a huge fan of her, but he training was important. Of all the things one might think would result in Adrian calming himself, a garden of a mentor he wasn't particularly fond of probably didn't make a lot of sense. Thing was, it couldn't be Dani. Adrian was hardly calm around her. It couldn't be any of friends or family, either. He didn't have a special place that he felt safe. That's why he played so many video games.

His place of calm serenity became the place where he was taught the value of that serenity. Where the quiet sounds of nature on a fairly large estate within Death City were all that really consistently hung in the air. Given his countless hours over the last six months in that garden, it became the place he subconsciously associated with being calm. The blue-haired Demon Weapon placed himself in the Japanese-style garden with the koi ponds, cherry blossoms, and assorted but well maintained shrubbery, and that worked.

Inside his mind, focusing on the calm place he created that he worked so hard to separate his mind and soul, he distanced himself--at least for now--from the Madness Wavelength.

With a newfound set of focus and direction, Adrian assessed the situation. There were eight total cells, six of which were used for the cultists. Two at the end were regular ole degenerates. Currently, they were literally attempting to kill each other, each in their own unique way, but ultimately all violent and some bloody. The other issue is he ran into was that there weren't a lot of methods Adrian had on his own to really get them to not do the thing where they tried to kill each other. In fact, that was more of a Raph thing.

That didn't mean there weren't options. Adrian didn't have fancy handcuffs or keys, but he did know that inside the desks of plenty of officers were those super durable zip ties. Those would be easy to acquire. And, assuming Raph could maintain himself during this little outbreak, they could divide and conquer.

His wavelength surged and soon after it, so did he. He was a blue blur through the immediate area, searching for those thick black ties, but it wasn't but two desks in that he found them. They could pissy later. They most certainly would be given that the method Adrian used to enter the cells was a feat of strength, literally bending the bars apart until he could fit in. It wasn't terribly problematic. The first set of cultists actually turn on him as he did this, and used the opportunity to grab their arms and zip tie them to the half-bent bars of the cell. A quick yank into the cell was enough to daze them so that he could pull their arms out further, and apply more of those zip ties.

The second set wasn't so quick to react, but that was likely because one of the two was already seemingly dead by the time Adrian reached the cell and broke his way in. The other just continued bashing and tearing, though even in his Maddened state, put up little resistance to Adrian zip-tying him to the angled supports under the tiny bed frame. They seemed to be made of a solid enough material, and Adrian got both hands and one ankle. He didn't bother with the other one. He was probably dead, and if he wasn't, he would be out cold for some time before he got back up.

He had full intentions on continuing down this path, though it all depended on how well Raph reacted. Death willing, Raph wouldn't be his next target.

It'd be a damn shame to have to put him through the ringer again.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Hallerbos Forest, Belgium ​

Upon being impacted by the blast wave of her own attack, Maria took the blow center mass, yet having the presence of mind left to be somewhat functional, if not more so than the meisters, the broach she was given combating the madness, Maria took on a sensible reply to the situation. One that she had picked up from the combat teams on dispatch in the hangar and from books she curiously skimmed as she was given to do at times. When under the threat of a pressure wave, one was to open their mouth, exhale all air and cover their ears. Though she didn't have the time to do the latter, she had done the former.

Getting knocked back, she laid flat on her back, arcing it as the doll maker took in a large heave of air. With ragged breaths she stood up her eyes scanning what had been done as the dust settled. One was destroyed and the rest was dislodged... One destroyed. "Ha...Ha...hahahahah! Ahahaha!" Much like on the Island against the spider hoard, Maria had seemed to have partially snapped, or rather, gave into her pull, as her eyes closed, she spoke out loud enough for anyone and everyone to hear, she cared not if they did or not. "You're nothing but two bit rejects! Stolen and broken souls! So ragged! So Broken! Cracked! Made of broken glass! That's all you are! NO ONE WILL REMEMBER YOU! THIEVES WITHOUT FORM!" With that her eyes flashed red as did her wire strands, whipping out to reforge their connections as she bit down upon one of her wires, gripping it tightly in both hands, not thinking of the implications of what she had just done.

The enemy was here, and judging by how they were now ramshackle gathering to one another, she was now in a battle of survival, as the only other alternative would be to hop on her broom and leave the rest to likely die. Rand would understand this as Madness once more began to emanate from those damnable Golems, even Maria was being pressed, they had to end this within minutes. Fortunately, her madness was like her pull, of the element of order, of creation, though she was not so far gone to take the worst aspects of it upon herself. She seemed to be deeply offended more than an automaton.

Four of them had their sights set upon her. She would have to bide her time, though it seemed the wavelength spikes were no due to the hits they took alone. That was problematic.... Rushing in towards the closest of the four that was now advancing as it repaired, Maria stops some 12 feet from it, waving her hands she connected to Alicia having her sweep around the obsidian figure closest to her, her book briefly glowed as she swung out, a blade of green aether shooting off along the path of her swing. Wind Scythe.

As the doll buried its blades into the former mortal from the other side, she had done enough to sever it, with a flick of her wrist, Alicia received new commands, driving its blades into where the heart would be, hacking into the chest as the three combatants joined the fray, orbs of green aether, tinged by red spell circles were next to form as bursts that could reach far away were next to go, these were more akin to her previous movement, rather than the earth shattering spell from just moments prior. Wind Blast.

Though that was not enough to stop one attacker and but delayed the next two in formation as her red wires coiled and flexed, taking the impacts in the space around her, seemingly moving of wills of their own by the puppet master even as she issued more commands to her creation, via the Strands of Dominion. She was holding still, but there were yet more enemies to engage the hard pressed Meisters... She, however, would not die here, nor run from here, nor have her true works of art beaten by this scum, as her mana infused eyes blazed akin to before, slinging spells left and right, it was debatable for how much longer this could continue.

Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Elly) Sir Les Paul (Midori) (Lady Crimson) The Regal Rper (Zosar) Haze- (Wren)

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Arkayis Misonuka
Rank Fate Agent

Location New Temple, Egypt
Mission TBD
Status Focused

​

Tags: Merciless Medic Peckinou Mook-LandStrider EmperorsChosen Shotgunpenguin The Regal Rper

"Conserve energy if you can," Gauss said, giving instructions as he elected to follow Moreau then lead the way into combat.

Those were his only real words of guidance going in. For all the effort Gauss took into leading this mission, being methodical and cautious, he too was going against his more impulsive nature. It might not have been obvious to those around him, but he was itching to do something. To do anything. These ancient ruins didn't really interest him. The past was in the past and the dead were long gone. Gauss was more of a live in the moment type of man, though he didn't want go as far as trying to die in the moment like a certain giantess.

Valhalla was not the afterlife he desired.

And, perhaps that itch bled over into Noah and Arky. They knew Gauss well enough. He was a goal-setter. Ambitious to no end with a drive that could take him to some pretty radical extremes. Learn this, train that, perfect it all. That was how Gauss operated. He was always doing something, fast paced and productive a majority of the time. The slow nature of this mission was getting at him, and his weapons would likely be the ones to pick up on that most.

At least now he had a chance to blow off some steam. And, hopefully, his hint to avoid consuming their energy would play out that this fight would be at least a little interesting.

The room was wide, but Gauss knew well enough that he shouldn't try to stretch the full wingspan of his weapons. No, instead, he wanted to try a new trick. A combo of sorts that rarely presented itself as effective. His first move into the dance against the zombies was a wide sweep with Arkayis, hooking two with the end of his scythe head, then thrusting Noah forward to begin pummeling the absolute hell out of them with a flurry of blunt end blows. It was fast. He had clearly practiced it. It was a standard flurry with a staff; something Feng might have recognized. The speed at which he executed it with, though, was something that might impress even her. Those countless days spent repeating the basics of bōjutsu until they were ingrained in his muscle memory were pretty apparent. Undead of this caliber caught in his flurry wouldn't have much to respond with, instead simply being ripped apart by the blunt end of Noah.

It wasn't efficient, nor was the most effective, and by far, it was slow... but it was something just a touch more exciting than dungeon crawling.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Hallerbos Forest, Belgium - ??? ☆Hoshi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

The moment Maria's attack landed, Elly felt two things. The first was physical, recoil from the blast that struck her hard, unsteadying her on her feet. However, the rush of wind was the least of her concerns. Another madness spike swept through them as Maria's attack eviscerated one, and this sent the meister further into turmoil. She was fighting it before, in a median of panic and rationale, but now her mind screamed at her to flee. Elly wasn't totally overtaken, however it was close. A few minutes, perhaps, before she succumbed to the feelings and effectively blue-screened. While most focused on Maria, there were at least a couple that honed in on her.

Elly didn't even notice Maria's continuance of attack, nor was she focused on what the mage said. She didn't notice Midori return to form at first either, not until he spoke to her. Honestly, it wasn't even his words that reached her. During this time, Elly hadn't removed her hands from him, still gripping tightly onto his form with one. Beyond words, she could see and feel his intent. His calmness acted as an anchor for her in this moment, and she knew he would intend on fighting them even if it was a lost cause. A thought flashed in her head to capitalize on it and run, though she wasn't sure how much of that was from the madness spike. However, what followed was a sense of deja vu, almost as if this had happened before, or if he had done something similar. He hadn't, more commonly the opposite especially on this day.

Though internally it seemed drawn out to her, in real time Elly's other hand shot to his, gripping it tightly. Even with her Incognito Soul, it wasn't all that hard to read Elly. She was anxious, fearful, gripping his hand as if telling him to stay close to her. There was no posturing with her at this time. She was genuine. She didn't want to die, but she cared enough that he didn't that she didn't just run.

'I-I don't know how long—I may shut down,' She conveyed shakily, possessing enough sense to assess her own condition.

He truly was a stone. A boulder. Not because of the cold assassin soul he possessed. In fact, his soul at the moment was shifting around, changing hues, as if it were an ink blot refusing to imbed itself in the fibers of innocent, plain paper. Despite that spiritual shift, his attitude and mind were solid. He was unsure of even who he was, but he had conviction in getting out alive. In that, he was absolutely unmoving.

”We all could,” he told her. He knew it wasn’t the reassurance she wanted, but it was the truth. Zosar and Wren were struggling just as much as they were.

He smiled. Gentle and soft, contrasting the rigid resolution he possessed in the moment.

”Just like we can all fight,” he said, the tempo of his voice increasing and a greater warmth bubbling up from within him. ”And… I know you. You want to survive,” he added, making sure his speech wouldn’t fall on deaf ears. ”If we fight together, and all of us survive together, then we have a better chance of surviving tomorrow,” he explained to her, still smiling, still calm. Even the casting of Maria didn’t cause him to falter.

”So, are you gonna fight for that tomorrow?” he asked.

Elly focused in on the beat of his soul. It was different, changing, however it was a Hoshi soul nonetheless. Still, composed, something stable she could hone in on for the moment, not that the consolation wasn’t welcome, but determination wasn’t what Elly was referring to.

“...Not what I meant… I will shut down—I don’t know when,” Elly stated, a bit more clearly now. It made sense. What he said made sense, but madness wasn’t sensical and that was what she was trying to fight. “...Just… be prepared for that,” She warned him ambiguously. There wasn’t an indication that she wanted him to protect her, rather it seemed she was advising him of her shaky reliability.

Elly let out a shaky huff, organizing her breathing. “...Need to break them quickly…”

He nodded, although his next action caused a bit of a problem. He wanted to transform. It was a skill so basic to him at this point that it was akin to breathing. Yet, in this moment, he had the same struggles one might have had as a child just learning the skill. A ramp in difficulty he hadn’t felt in two decades if not longer.

That is when it struck him. That tiny sliver of a Shinigami soul inside him. It bound him to Lord Kidd just as it once bound him to Eros, not unlike how Kidd was once bound to his father. It was an incorporeal connection, something hard to explain and that neither ever explored. The chaos inside his soul at the moment became a beacon. And, his de facto step-father answered.

Even Elly was not privy to the exchange between them, though she might have felt the presence of Lord Kidd–the Shinigami–through her touch.In all reality, it was not unlike how she with her scarab had an innate connection to Ulysses, although that could be much more easily removed.

What she would know coming out of it was an absolute shift in the demeanor of the golem formerly known as Midori. A grin crept across his face and he transformed, though this time, the energy he defaulted to wasn’t that red light attributed to most weapons. With the shifts in his soul and his unique status as a weapon, he had an unexpected side effect.

Midori was the bow. Midori was the swords..

He wasn’t Midori, so he would no longer be those things. Emerging into the hand of Elly was an entirely new weapon. A double-sided scythe unlike anything used by the golem before. The flats of either blade were covered in metallic skulls, not unlike that of the Shinigami, though each slowly moving, actively shifting across the scythe heads as animated and acting of their own volition.

This scythe most certainly was not Midori. While it was still light due to their partnership, it was asymmetrical. Imbalanced, even if only slightly. Scythes were naturally poor weapons in anything but the hands of a Shinigami or Meister trained to use them. History made them out to be the last ditch weapons of farmers, or at best, horsemen trying to use them to cut down unarmored soldiers. A double-sided scythe was wildly impractical.

Yet, here it was. Here he was, in this gaudy, impractical form full of confidence.

’Break?’ Midori responded.

’No, Elly… we’re going to murder them–outright,’ he followed up, quickly changing the tone and his pace.

’And, then, I’m going to reap their souls,’ he continued, the confidence from within him now able to pour into Elly through their connection.

Which would happen to be very well-timed. Two of the corpse golems were making a mad dash towards Elly. She was now at least equipped, and one of these two corpse-golems seemed more feral than humans. Unlike its companion, it shifted into a hunched over shape, breaking its own body so it could run on all fours–to great effect as it outpaced its humanoid counterpart by nearly twice its pace.

The ostentatious transition was one Elly normally would have commented on, as well as have been quite confused by, only emphasized by the hint of the Shinigami Soul she caught during. However, one thing at a time. Her focus was still imprinted on the death golems in front of them, and the madness spike was still eating at her stoicism, though Midori’s confidence did help to mitigate it. She wasn’t sure if he was doing it purposefully or if that sensation was just a byproduct of how he felt now, but either way it allowed her to focus on something else and anchor her down. Normally, she made efforts not to let the emotions of her partners feed into her, always tugging on the proverbial leash. Now, however, she was welcoming the infection.

“...It’ll suffice,” Elly breathed out, giving the weapon a slow twirl within her hands. A scythe was a trickier polearm, but a polearm-adjacent nonetheless, which Elly was familiar with using. It would take adjustments to become fluent, as with all things, but certainly no unfamiliarity would be enough here.

As the more feral of the pair twirled, Elly steadied herself on her feet, bouncing back side to side as she advanced, as if baiting it on. When it grew close enough to lunge, Elly leapt over it, twisting her body and twirling the scythe to hook one of its faces underneath the neck of the golem before snapping the weapon in a swift, 180 motion. Whether it fully lobbed the head off or not, Elly continued forward toward the second. She spun the scythe, snapping its jaws at the outstretched limbs that swiped her, parrying and with the same inertia bringing the opposing scythe against the knees of the golem like wheat, following up with an amplified kick planted against its torso.

While Elly was quick to find her groove in dispatching the first corpse-golem, her partner was quick to absorb its soul into him once its head was flung off. Unfortunately, the less bestial of the mad creatures around her was not so easy to eliminate. More aware of its abilities, the golem outstretched its arm to shoot an obsidian pillar down from its hand into the ground, halting the swipe from the scythe head and further acting as a pivot to dodge the kick from Elly by swinging its momentum around.

Each of the golems seemed to fight not only differently, but possess an overall different level of skill. Midori noticed this as the soul he had just consumed was barely appetizing in comparison to the morsel that was just in front of him.

That said, he was no carnivorous fiend, like Wren.

’Ignore him, Elly,’ he instructed, giving her stern commands from within their shared soul space.

’Maria has killed two others. That means there are two corrupted souls out there,’ he explained.

’Feed them to me–and I’ll become a Death Scythe,’ he told her, revealing his true intentions. It was a reminder. Elly had farmed him up to ninety-seven souls before this mission; and, he already had a Witch Soul long before they met.’

Elly paused at his words, momentarily confused but keeping her eyes on the corpse golem. As he elaborated, it clicked. Get the remaining souls, make him a death scythe, get a power boost. Maria just killed two, reducing the number of enemies. After that, even if she did freeze up, it wouldn’t matter. The two of them would be more than enough for the rest.

With that plan in mind, Elly darted off towards the two souls, courtesy of Maria’s efforts.

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Haze-

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Qena Dig Site, Eastern Shrine - Egypt
September - 20th
​

As the group progressed deeper and deeper into the ruins, the initial undead weren't a problem, barely worth mentioning even, between the sheer numbers and firepower on hand, the problem was quickly resolved and Moreau was even able to identify two, well rather interesting facts about the undead that had been clearing the dungeon, or rather were a part of its design. One, most of the corpse soldiers were nor just from the workforce, but were in traditional Arabic funeral garments, meaning the corpses had been stolen, were fresh and even a few civilians were among their numbers. Something was happening in Qena proper for sure. The second bit of information was that the mummies that came bursting out of the wall were servants, cupbearers and the like, they had low quality bronze weapons and only little trinkets of gold, the sealed halls behind them, or rather now unsealed.

And two more pieces of information could be gained, one, as they progressed into the next room the traps became less of what Gauss expected and Annika could be used for and were more akin to puzzles or shown signs of being specifically engineered to stop trespassers with lethal means, anti-magical runes were engraved deep into the stone and the traps would require one skilled in Magic or capable of wavelength enhancement. There were no simple tripwires, no dead pit snares, Annika's skillset, while useful and given the assistance of Moreau, proved to be of great use, there were traps and triggers neither could disarm, nor detect.

For they were inlaid into the rock, magical in nature, or of such craftsmanship and complexity that in many cases they were like something straight out of a videogame. Flesh eating and magic seeking Scarabs fell from false ceilings, torrents of flame should one step carelessly, and mayhap the most mercifully falling rocks were all in this large room alone, while the room was indeed wide open, it in fact had a prepositioned "maze" leading to the two structures attached to it. However, yet another surprise awaited them, as the scarabs were finally delt with, traps were sent off and no longer operated, or with the time after battle allowing for better focusing upon their surroundings, three workers were discovered and came wandering out of the small room to the Team's left, only speaking Arabic, it fell upon Ark and Moreau to translate, seemingly Evans had guided them here, but they lacked any ability to clear the rooms beyond, having been left there by Evans, they were all in rough shape but could move by assisting one another, all smelled awful and supplies were all but gone, what water could be offered to them was quickly downed and to their reluctance and the distant soul signature Gauss could perceive through the rock and stone, a soul, one that was not quite to the standard of the DWMA but was for sure one using wavelength enhancement could be sensed beyond. Though weak, it still lingered. It had to be this Evans fellow. Right?

Deciding it would be better to bring the survivors with them, great care would be taken with clearing the hall and room beyond, thankfully there seemed to be mechanisms designed to shut off the automated and sustained traps provided one could clear the rest. Ahead of group in the following large room, two paths were before them, one was to the left and very narrow tunnel, cutting into a long horizontal room before leading to their next and final location before the home stretch, and the other led to a much wider tunnel and what seemed to be a mass of four rooms, small in size heading into one another before connecting to another wide tunnel to the final room, before their objective.

Of the four rooms, one could call it a DWMA or Mercenary obstacle course, one contained moving pillars and a long fall down, the next contained shifting spears and blades, descending into a stairwell of sorts, then into a room that compacted upon itself, ceiling and flooring compressing upon itself like a trash compactor, having a hidden switch to disable. And the final was, curiously a combination of shifting platforms with targets in the distance. It was in effect all absurd and all of the team had use in solving these puzzles, trading out members and deactivating the traps. Securing the way for themselves and the three Egyptian workers who were not very pleased about being here.

Not knowing what to expect as a stone door was slid away, a large spacious hall awaited them, and to the surprise of many present, the room beyond was ornate, not a trap to be seen and magic was clearly at hand with its preservation. Golden Icons with Ebony stone flanked and filled the rooms, Hieroglyphics depicted battles and feats, four key gods, this was a hall of heroes. Dim as if sleeping souls could be felt in the 7 sarcophagi also filled the room, heavy and solemn, as if guarding, the 2nd half of the Royal Guard. If the saints were in the other end, just what was in this side that so badly needed to be protected. Straight on was a hall that had multitude of strong slab doors that were just resting open, this area was all but opened.


It would be but a simple trip to the spherical room where a half dead Caucasian male, gaunt of face, wearing blue jeans, boots, a brown button up shirt and a Texan Cowboy hat stood, or rather leaned against a spherical pedestal, with a blue scarab like jewel hovering above it that presented a curious laser show of magic mapping the ancient realms of Egypt. The man was a bit delirious, starved, and likely been drinking his own piss, his facial and head hair was a bit scruffy, salt and pepper in its looks, a man in this 40's and he had a bit of a thousand-yard stare. A stare which broke half happy to see them and then in rage as he spoke;

"Who...who in the sam hill are ya'll folks....oh...oh no. Yah dumbasses opened the door! Ya'll.... Good to see yah, but eh I'll stand back with the other old man and the workers, you kids got this, though uh, got any water or food? But you see, this room is a star map showing burial sites and pyramids of the first Kingdom, most of that was lost, but one of these places is very bad if you took the time to read the fucking murals coming in.... got questions make em fast."

Suddenly in the distance, something was approaching and had stopped just within the burial room as weak souls suddenly powered up. 6, no. 7? Had done so, but two dipped and the interlopers own magic tinted soul could be picked up in turn. The group had a brief instance to rest, retell their parts in clearing the dungeon, and to reorganize or to learn more of what was here, more so about the mural they didn't bother to translate yet. The Clock was ticking.

EmperorsChosen (Aki) Sir Les Paul (Gauss) The Regal Rper (Ark) Merciless Medic (Moreau - Noah) Shotgunpenguin (Wes) Peckinou (Arky) Mook-LandStrider (Annika)

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar & Wren | Belgium | Duo Trouble

Loud.

Wren's serrated blade like teeth were loud as they rapidly moved back and forth- almost irritatingly loud, as she croaked out an apology Zosar grimaced at--

”Wind explosion”​

The word ‘fuck’ was snarled out through grit teeth as heat and the overpowering push of air sent him sliding on the ground backwards, wavelength Amplification focused more on ensuring Wren didn't slip out of his hand-- friction and balance played a game of ping pong and as the blades whirled, he switched one hand to two, grabbed Wren’s handle and kept it balanced as he fell to a knee forwards from the force of concussive blast, clutching the instrument of death with a tight grip and control to avoid both letting Wren go out on her own and get consumed by her madness and also let her loose in a manner that would let her cut him.

His eyes shifted to Elly whom he felt a spike of fear, and then he caught sight of Midori-- no time to think, the fact the hole in him was gone as he turned to face his terrified Meister, was good enough for him.

That's when the third wave hit, like a cresting wave rushing forward to upheave any in its path when the third wave hit, it struck with a drumbeat. Sent him stumbling but if it did anything, it made his grip on Wren tighten.

Fury, frustration. He wanted this to end so bad. Wanted Wren to snap out of her frenzy or at the very fucking least turn it away from him and onto the enemy.

Thoughts however were not meant to be stable as madness rose. His mind twisted, as he focused-- but that drumbeat within, pulsed, like an out of body experience initialized by a second heartbeat, and the thought came:

Why did things have to keep getting in his way?

He had seen his fair share of ups and downs in life, who hadn't, but wasn't it starting to get a bit too much recently?

It was one thing after the other.

The cold shoulder of meeting an old partner, once friendly acquaintance that turned tail when the going got rough. Not even a month into his return and he had gotten into multiple fights, not including the fight Elly had watched. The discouraging end of a partnership with Adra. The- the-- anger rose at the memory of how almost everyone just forgot about him-- Nadia's thoughts having been proof that if he had never shown up again, no one would ask-- he was reminded of the look and disappointment Midori held when he had been locked in that dungeon--

--frustration and exhaustion in the woods of the Hoshi where he had been training, told flat it would take him longer to have full control--

--Wren, losing it and she wasn't listening-- that was something that got to him-- she wasn't listening to him anymore and he knew why but the part that was being usurped by his Madness did not care.

What he cared about was how things weren't going his way, petulant as it was, it felt like he deserved to have things go the way he wanted just this once-- after all the shit these last two years-- after Hawaii-- didn't he deserve that?

The madness in the air hissed that he did.

The lights illuminating the Royal long table, flickered, dimming and sporadically brightening as his interest to make Wren shift targets spiked their link-- but he doubled down, biting his tongue, drawing pain, focusing on the discomfort of present wounds, as he tried to reach Wren over their now fluctuating link through the cresting wave of Madness around them.

‘Wren! Respond!’ the voice faint, choppy, almost distorted- the link wasn't actually weak, but the madness drowned what should have been a clear voice out till it was near faint.

She’d blacked out a while ago by then.

“No…isy….”

After the second hit of madness had washed over her in waves, or a bit before that, it didn’t matter at this point. Her head was spinning.

“N…Noisy…”

Wren was motionless, still slumped on her seat, a hand idly clawing at her ear, slipping limply against the side of her head. Something was calling, beyond the halls, but she was only conscious of the fact that it was “Shut up…”

Noisy. Couldn’t make out anything else.

The sounds that echoed down the halls rose and fell in a pitch her ears couldn’t quite process. Every sound, even that of the dark still clinging to the walls weaving the room to form, even the distant shellshock of a boom just outside the halls, everything turned to complete gibberish on her ears.

A nauseating goulash of a cacophony, mingling together with the cheap mock-up of vinyl classics playing on an old record player pretending to be a gramophone, pinging down the halls, bouncing on the walls.

She was hanging on them. Those sounds. Staring idle holes at the sight of the candlelight overhead flicking shadows across the halls, just listening— her stomach, flipping, twisting.
In the oddest way, those pathetic, muted sounds made her feel…excited.

Same way the pip-squeaking of mice would make a cat stand at attention. A wide grin split her lips, and she wrestled to get it off her face. She was going insane, she must’ve been. There was no other explanation.

But as the madness stirred in the air, Wren couldn’t help but spiral. Accept it.

And as she did, the room began to shift once again, it only took another blink. The hundreds upon thousands of plates clinked, the walls shook, and an immediate, mouth-watering aroma filled the room. A drag out of every color in the rainbow lined the table now, plates filled with selections from countless menus, food she couldn’t even begin to imagine the taste of.
The vinyl far off in the distance kick-flipped into high tempo jazz, loud enough to seep through their link, like it were setting the mood for a lively meeting. Even if the seats were still missing their occupants.

“Ke-he~! Throwin’ a party?” She was beyond herself.

If it’d been hard to keep communication through their link stable thus far, it would’ve seemed near impossible now that her wavelength had flared. Her hunger became all the more tangible to Zosar, drowned out every other emotion he might’ve felt from her through resonance.

He would’ve felt a craving for Elly’s fear, Maria’s anger, Midori’s blood— and above all, a need for his wavelength. To feel the strength of their resonance, to unreasonable extents.

It was as if the thing he was holding in both hands was nothing but an endless void of sheer animalistic desire. No longer a person. She’d let go of restraint for the slightest second, now she was tumbling down further than she needed to.

And dragging him with her.

Nostrils flared, he took a shaky intake of breath, the scowl turned into a sardonic sneer, the rush of emotions all around now instead of being alerts, was becoming intoxicating.

There was a growl and he swore it might have been his own stomach.

Eyes shifted left and right, who to go for first? The golems? Elly’s fear was disappearing quickly now that Midori was back in action but Maria and her dolls wouldn't be an easy target. Like a constant dull ache, he could feel Wren demanding for more- for everything he could possibly give her-- himself, the others, their enemy-- ehe wanted everything and if he fed her, fed them, this would stop, she would listen again.

He ached in a way he never had experienced before, lusted for blood in only fragmented memories could recall-- and that's when it hit him-- a stray thought burgeon by the remnants of his rationale.

His sneer turned grin shifted into a grimace, his own madness stirring at the realization he was letting her dictate the shots. Letting her make the demands when none of them were aligning with what he really wanted.

What he wanted was the enemy dead. What she wanted was for him to feed her everything and everyone, the fact that included him, caused a snapping reaction that shook their resonance as he forcefully took back the reins.

It was inevitable she would turn on him the second she got what she wanted. He wasn't having that. Not even a version of him falling into madness would tolerate being dictated and out at a disadvantage in the long term.

The moment of agreement evaporated in a heartbeat as instead of throwing what would have been an intoxicating dose, he upped the dosage, just as Wren wanted, but didn't do it in the way she desperately desired. He didn't throw a massive truck load of wavelength at her that would have caused her to grimace in pain normally where instead here she would lap greedily, he gave her enough. Something to knock back the edge, pushing it past what she would have been normally capable of handling just a little, skittering the line towards ‘overwhelming’ and ‘addicting’ but not putting himself at risk of tiring too quickly or being vulnerable as she reacted.

It was in a way, a defiant act of maintaining his authority, even when he wasn't fully all there.

In the same instant he blitzed forward, towards the abandoned soul that had instantly perished, passing by it to allow Wren the opportunity to consume it-- which she greedily did- making that pang of hunger grow and flare all at the same time.

Only to turn his attention to one of the golems rushing him, as Elly and Midori dispatched one of the two on them.

This one, struck with speed, coming in hot, he deflected the first of its attacks, arms decorated with jagged edges and clawed digits like curved knives blurring into a flurry of strikes. With a swing he knocked aside an attack only to feel the pang in his body pulse with an ecstatic sensation that made it feel all the more right to be digging into the enemy- fueled both by the recent soul Wren had consumed and the prospect of another soon to come he felt. The attacks from the golem only made it more fun, how right it would feel to turn Wren on the others--

--eyes narrowing as his elated sneer turned into a sardonic grimace when one attack came too close.

That thought however was enough to pull the real him back out of the momentary lapse. Push past the elated pleasure he felt.

Yet still the influence of Wren's madness drove him to dive in to the conflict and his own madness refused to allow her absolute control as the rational side of him knew the disadvantages it would place him under, the thought of consumption-- letting her consume this one so that it might momentarily appease this constant ache, it made the rational side that was truly him, stir-- which was the perfect opening for the golem he was targeting to attack, land a slash that drew a weeping bloody line along his exposed torso just below the ribcage, again at the opposite unaffected shoulder as he barely deflected--

--that sting, the ensuing fight as he deflected attacks with what his mind could process as some factor of lower speed than normal, it made the real him angry- that anger fed into the Resonance, a spike that he used to pull the counter move that ended the golem with Wren's whirling teeth- gave her the immediate chance to suck in a second fallen soul--

When she did they both felt a pulse.

The pain in him pulsed for a moment satiated, cleaving through the corpse golem, he felt this pleasurable tingle and rush of satisfaction-- felt this elation knowing that he had pushed Wren down the path of what he had wanted her to focus on-- this joy she shared from getting a taste.

It was such a a rush, and to ensure the ache didn't persist, that she did what he wanted, he turned his sights on one of the other golems directing it's attention his way.

---

The sky was painted an ominous reddish orange.

Thunder and red lightning, wind and the repeated sound of crashing waves. Water made the gravely path slippery, particles of the sea made it foggy, a fog that followed his ever present movement forwards down the gravely slick path as another wave came up from the side and struck the bridge that represented their resonance- sturdy and firm but shaken. The gravel stone bridge shook every time a red wave struck and when it did he had to pause, halting the rush to avoid being knocked off before he could take off again.

His clothes were wet, natural slight curls of black and salt lined hair were flat and plastered to his forehead; matted down to his scalp. Yet he wasn't out of breath.

If a large wave came crashing in, slowing down would be a must to avoid being knocked off the bridge when it shook hard. There were times, the sky itself seemed to shake, and those were the worst.

Eyes shifted, searching, he had a strong feeling that his time was running thin.

Where is she?​

He couldn't see her anywhere. Was he too late?

No, he could feel her. Weak but still present. She wasn't gone yet.

A grunt was uttered as a red wave placed him in its shadow, shook the bridge and washed over him a bone chilling cold, but he powered on.

There was no time to contemplate how far Wren had fallen or how quickly her madness was making him start to slip. This was just like one of those past situations he had been in before.

Do or don't, the choice was his. It wasn't a case of trying, he had to.

He had looked her in the eye and told her if they were compatible he wouldn't leave her empty handed. Promised her his word, and his word wasn't something he gave lightly.

For once, stubbornness was paying off. Forcing Wren to snap out of it just like he had done to Becky was a guarantee now that she couldn't fight this anymore on her own.

At the same time, behind him, the gravel came undone. The bridge a distance behind was collapsing. Replacing with red hot stones. A new bridge forming where the old was breaking. He could feel it.

His fortitude was slipping under the strain of fighting two different madness influences at once while also fighting with the team, if he got dragged back to his space it would just mean his madness had finally won.

A flash of lightning, the crack of thunder, air vibrating, with a scowl he focused and somehow that made the fog surrounding him become a bit more transparent.

He needed to hurry. Worst case scenario he had Midori use the collars now that he was back in action. At least if the collar was activated and Wren was out it would give him a chance to force his own demons back.

---

He needed to hurry.

The ache never stopped, dulling only in sensation it came back stronger as he intercepted the next golem, with now only four remaining, he had to make every single one he could get count.

It wasn't a case of ‘had to’, he thought, it was a must.

Keeping Wren satisfied was his priority if it meant removing that annoying ache, the rationale of just having the collar activated now flew by completely out of a delusion that he could deal with this. That he could capitalize on her madness. That having Wren out of action put him in greater danger than her even falling from grace did, and if there was anything that stirred his madness more and goaded him to act, it was the refusal to put himself at risk and disadvantage.

He was in control, not Wren or her madness. He was. It felt like if he wanted to she could go Mad for all he cared, and he would still have control over her to do as he pleased.

When the truth was really the opposite and only a fraction of him could see that.

Unlike the one he fought before, this golem approached with caution, which in his present state, Zosar misread as hesitance taking the chance to strike, only for his own move to be deflected, forcing him on defense as the corrupted golem struck out with a sweeping attack that the meister dodged.

Parrying an attack and then with speed, shifted out of the way of a stroke that came in the form of a needle like blade as the golem sunk its entire hand and arm into the ground. Only to follow with its other arm in an attack the meister slid off of with Wren's whirling blades, shooting forwards with a enraged snarl as it made a move he was aiming to literally cut short.

---

He could see something in the distance where it had been too hard to see before.

The fog had lifted to the point he could now see ahead, or maybe that was just his perseverance forcing the fog to lift as he kept pushing through every earth shattering shake and every wave that flowed over the bridge, trying to push him off with the bits of gravel it managed to shake.

It was strange, in a way being both aware of his own movement outside this spiritual space. Hard to describe yet so long since he had experienced this.

The last time he had entered the spiritual space with someone outside of Markus that day, had been with Bianca. Every single person after her had been a real struggle to bother allowing a partnership to progress long enough for something like this to happen.

What mattered right now was running, running as the bridge shook, transitioning from gravel in spots to checkered tile before the red hot stones could reach him.

How long he had been running he had no idea. Time was meaningless in this space. It was deja vu in a morbid way.

He had to run across the bridge to reach Becky. There had been no red stones that time. Just eery heavenly music that grew in crescendo the further Becky had fallen into her Possessive madness. Now here he was doing it again to reach Wren.

The only difference was he was fighting his own madness in the process.

And for the briefest moment when he looked back, he saw his own mismatched eyes watching in the shadows of every crashing wave on the red stome bridge, stalking ever closer where the red stones emerged, like a virus as the gravel fell away for it.

The increase of speed was a natural response to preservation.

Gravel on the bridge shifted into tiles taking the hue of black and white. Past fog and mist, there was a bluish shape with white accents, squinting and focusing, the fuzz cleared in resolution to where he was able to make out the vague symbol of what had to be a wolf.

Wren!

His voice was clear over the distance but when the sound traveled towards her door, the entry to the soul space , the sound itself just vanished.

A grimace formed as a manic smile came on his face in reality-- a line of pain trailed across his cheek in the spiritual space as the cut on his face by the golem made its place in the physical world.

The golem was joined by a second, and now it was two against one.

The red stone bridge glowed and two red waves rose, washing over the Egyptian within the spiritual plane.

All he saw in these golems and even the others was a chance to just feed Wren and get one step closer to ridding himself of these nuisances.

It was the aspect of him still partially in control that focused on the golems more than it did turning on the others.

He knew that part wouldn't hold on for long.

Not as he clung to the two jutting rocks on the bridge as holsters to the ground as a wave nearly shoved him entirely off before he threw himself forward.

Dripping with water and fully soaked, agitation rose as he beat a fast run forwards into a incoming wave, in the same way that agitation reflected in brutal forms of attacks and defense.

While he physical cleaved through the arm of the original golem he fought and twisted to block the attack of the other, it was reason that stopped him from slicing through the golem, knowing he would just be fueling Wren's madness and his own. Instead he struck with a open palm, forcing it backwards--

-- slammed a fist into the barrier as light shifted all around it, barring him from the door to Wren's soul space.

Furious, that she was doing this, within the soul space as Red hot stones upheaved gravel to replace the bridge, Zosar slammed his fist into the barrier again.

A tiny crack formed.

Elated, he rose his hand-- struck the golem as he side stepped a lethal attack and struck out with his elbow, wavelength channeling before he swung out with Wren, a move it barely managed to evade, robbing the mad buster Weapon of her third soul--

--struck again as the crack in the barrier spider webbed and this time when he hit it again, the sound of his punch faintly made it through as a distant boom into Wren's soul space.

---

Her spine locked up, arcing, with a zap of adrenaline and a kick of bliss that made her grin grow two sizes.

The flames flickered off and on, the candelabra hitting a pendulum as the room rumbled like it were alive every time Zosar swung the chainblade. Wren was moving seat to seat, plate to plate, leaving a messy trail of half-eaten scraps in her wake.

A pop of red bled into her hand as her sharp nails poked and prodded into the food, like a raw corpse still in its fresh stages of mortem. Skin stretched thin and splayed on the bones, but bloated with still, expired blood dredging all over its insides. It got into her hands, dripped down her wrists— and she bit and she pulled with every ounce of strength her teeth would muster.

Every cut of tender steak, every proper slice of raw salmon, along with the chewy greens, all of it went down her gullet for every corpse-golem Zosar dug into in the real world.

She didn’t know if it was the souls of the golems or the food in of itself, but every bite felt like heaven poured down her throat. Like sweet nectar from the bosom of a flower to a black-yellow buzzer, it was intoxicating. Every bite cleared her mind, lifted the ache in her stomach.
But she knew it’d come back around. She needed more.

At the end, she was left covered head to toe in blood, licking off the red lines sticking to her arms. Only when she heard that crack reverberating around the room did the lights bump back to normal. She froze, arms flailing down to her sides, looking around wide eyed.
That’s when she remembered, realization creeping into her face as she looked down on herself “Zosar…?” Then the utter sense of shame came as she heard the cracks again. In that moment, the feral side of hers and the one struggling for control shared something in common.

Neither of them wanted Zosar to see her like this.

So, they both focused on keeping him out, the barrier strengthening, cracks fading. Before she could linger on her few moments of conscious, a voice ringed in the empty space. The lights overhead flickered again; she froze to a spine-chill.

“You were told to be quiet.” The barrier reinforced further.
The voice was that of an old man’s, all regal and proper— manly, but not in the traditional way. Manly, in the stereotypes, like the ones she’d see in a cartoon. Voice rising and heaving with an overly grandiose emphasis to every word
When she turned it was…a clown? No, a Jester. Gaunt. Lanky. Like a fickle twig looking to snap, it dragged its tiny body over to her, limbs droopy. He was checkered down to the pointy ends of his cloth boots, his long liliripes dragging their jingle bells across the floor. A plain white mask with its face contorted into a deranged, gigantic smile.

His voice didn’t fit the looks. Not at all.

“It appears the charity of decorum wasn’t bestowed upon these…unseemly vermin, rats. Such gratuity isn’t to be found endowed to the likes, alas.” The thing sighed, head perking up when those hollow cavities on its mask turned to her. Its hunchback straightened up, standing at attention before taking a long, dignified bow before her.
“In the flesh, at last we meet, mia donna!”
She leaned into this thing, her seat coming to bend and tip with her as she did. She quirked a beyond confused brow up at it, sizing it before “Who in the fuck are you?” shot straight from off the dome. Zero filter, pointing a accusatory finger at it, like a child.

The jester’s head bobbed to its shoulder, an amused sound leaving the mask.

“Oh, you know me, my highness! I’ve been with you all along. The rumble-grumble in thine gut, keeping you alive through and through! Th—hwas meeeee…….!” The words tripped off his tongue, grand, and manically out of breath “I am the proud, proud, humble host of this here event. I’ve prepared it for your arrival for years, see? Down to the every nitty, tidy detail— every speck, of my making. Just for you!”

“You may call me… Oh, you may call me…!”— His breathing gone ragged, labored. Excitement dripping into his every word, like it tasted of ambrosia. Like he’d waited years just to spill them out of his grinning mouth. He rose with gusto, bravado, rolling the tongue on his next few words “Phh—Beel—zabub!!! Like the greatest, dapper of them all, the sixth-most sin!”

The jester rose his fickle, stick-like hands in the air. Trembling, clenching victorious fists as the jazz hit an elating crescendo. Spit and huffed warm clouds of breath spewed from his mask’s perpetual smile, as he shouted— as he grew and jumped with excitement. Wren, on the other hand, only looked at him estranged, letting whatever bits of amusement she had move up and down his tiny form.

“Beel for acquaintances…but please be so kind as to use my full name, I am a gentleman.” He clarified.

“What?” She blurted out, eyes struggling to fully focus on Beelzebub. She was tripping balls, that’s all she knew. The only amount of clarity she held.

“Matters not, dear.”
“What matters is what’s in front of you, la mia opera magna! Does it not excite thou? My culinary prowess…” Beelzebub gestured to the grand banquet laid before them, already half-devoured by Wren, and she stared defeatedly at her own work. The shame was still there, still thinking about Zosar.

“Now, now…Watch the flame, not the shadow on the wall.” One of his wiry, skinny fingers stretched out, a hand folded on his back as he leaned forward. He tap—tapped once and twice on Wren’s cutlery. Her head swiveled to him; mouth wide open with that lightheadedness showing— passing out for the starving monster to take over her body again.

But she had to holdfast, stay conscious and awake.

“Joy abhors the idle, dear. You must move to eat— to feel. So, be a love and move those hands into those plates. Feel.” He brought a hand to the white ribbon on his chest, his heart almost…drumming, loud enough for her to hear its echo on the walls “I’ve prepared them with my utmost dearest care… It would shatter my tiny, frail here ticker to pieces to see you not enjoy yourself, my liege.”
Her eyes moved to the food again, catatonic.
“Oh, this stillness…this indifference…! You cannot end this struggle on these constant, grim, grim woes…My liege, all I offer, you can grasp freely. We can be safe here— ‘tis a paradise of my construct—our own little Eden. We can be powerful. We can devour the world, to your heart’s content. Without pain. Without regret.”

It took a heartbeat before she spoke to him again, cutting her eyes at him with a pained expression. Wren knew by heart that what she was doing was wrong, but the fog over her mind didn’t allow her to figure out exactly why it was. So, she made up excuses, to the hunger itself. In a vain attempt, perhaps.

“I’m…I’m full… I-I don’t want any more. Just…I…” An attempt nonetheless.
The jester hummed, hands behind his back and head bobbing side to side, like a dog “Are you really, my liege?”

She didn’t know anymore.

And that uncertainty was what made the ache of hunger a constant throb in him, shift to a faint little thing that barely registered.

For a second he thought he had done it.

Dismay stumbled in along with irritation as barrier reformed. What was she doing? He could feel it-- her madness wasn't in check, so what was going on? The idea she might be turning him away when it was clear she needed help that he was offering made the waves beneath the bridge boil.

A wave struck him and the meister hit the barrier full body with a soundless yet physical thunk.

In reality, Zosar didn't go on for the kill, even when it would have been easy, he could have cleaved, added another soul to Wren's belt, make two a solid three and gotten rid of another nuisance in return, that much closer to being rid of eliminating the enemy’s numbers.

It's just, he was at heart, a selfish bastard, a opportunist that his inner Madness reflected to an extreme- to kill as he presently was, would be to return in that tug of war- he had his interests, the ache was not part of that-- Wren was fighting him, he needed her to submit. A simple change in plans, the enemies would die, but it wouldn't be them doing it anymore.

Madness, weaker now since the numbers had dropped, flared and against the brooches they all wore it wouldn't have truly registered if they weren't already on some level sensitive to it in their present state.

The flare got answered with a swat as he swung Wren at the golem he was battling with a twist, sending it spiralling backwards instead of ending its miserable exsistence, knowing that Elly or Maria would handle the vermin, at the same time, that flare spiked rage as his spiritual self rose from his knees and rushed on quick moving feet towards the glass barrier as a second wave rose to pull him back.

Red stones rapidly approached, he had to dig, dig deep. What had Adra said? Distance the mind from the soul-- fuck-- he hadn't fully understood that but now wasn't the time to experiment.

“You dumb bitch.” Anger, he had to use that, channel it into this hit. Venom she couldn't hear because the barrier blocked out his voice, but the words were strong as the casual soft hiss he breathed them with. “Let me reach you before we both are screwed!” And when he struck, when his fist made contact with the glasslike barrier, there was a boom, the bridge shook, air vibrated, a sonic boom echoed-- immediately spider webs appeared, across all layers like striken glass, cracks spreading rapidly.

The boom forced the red wave to scatter into droplets that then scattered further back away. It's threat no longer valid; force sent the heat of dozens of red stones to cool back into blue gravel, buying extra time but at the same time- the heat of those stones, representative of his madness, flowed forward by defiance and seeing chance, leaking through fractures of the glass barrier, past the openings in the massive regal door--

--carrying a presence of two into her soul space as the air was made heavy by heat and sound.

Flames, danced to the tune. Wren didn't get the chance to truly respond whether she had been about to or not, the ground of the room vibrated under her feet and that of the Jester’s. Ghostly shadows spread out on the formless white walls of her regal dining chamber and those shadows casted glowing intense mismatched eyes that vanished as rapidly as the shadows themselves did.

Heat and the wind faded, the sound, however remained even as the shadows disappeared. Yet when they did, taking heat and the dancing lights with them-- they took things. Things neither Jester nor Wren noticed before.

Comfort, warmth-- the gnawing ache of hunger, soothed by a ensnaring aroma- were replaced as shadows vanished- one-by-one and flames stabilized representing the sense of minor stability Wren had achieved herself--

--discomfort entered when the last shadow faded. The spine tingling scent and soothing sensation, vanished, brought with it a chill that the shadows had chased away, with the return of a faint ache, just as it did for Zosar as he turned his sights to the golem who's arm he had severed in real time, coming back for seconds as it tried to capitalize on his defense against the one he swatted.

The meister, falling mad, grinned as he deflected a needle claw blow.

A fist struck.

The one armed golem, took the hit sliding back--

--again, the healing barrier spiderwebbed-- the lights danced, again, relieving Wren of all her pains and bringing the Jester an odd sense of delight; delight only the Mad could appreciate but that sound-- it echoed, that annoying sound, it persisted-- like a reminder, a nag like impatient tapping on the door, refusing to let them enjoy the moment in peace.

Collabers: Haze-

Interactions: RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Outskirts of the Hallerbos Forest, Belgium​

The next few moments in the battle against the corpse golems were in equal parts chaotic and dangerous.

As Zosar allowed Wren to begin consuming souls, the golem partner of Elly realized very quickly that would pose a significant problem to his plan. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, he was the individual present with the ability to entirely and immediately shut that down. The fact the duo now wreaked of Madness only made him more justified in his decision.

It was time Wren took a nice, long nap.

He activated her collar. This was a unique situation. In weapon form, the collar lacked the ability to immediately inject its host with its typical sedatives. In this more dire case, it had an even worse alternative: Forced Rejection. These collars were entirely capable of causing a rejection so significant it would knock nearly any Demon Weapon--even a Mad one--completely out of its weapon form. Worse, it would backlash into their Meister. In an effort to avoid Wren consuming those valuable souls necessary for the evolution of a Death Scythe, Wren was hit with a powerful jolt of energy.

It was hardly a second before she was knocked out of her weapon form, thrown to the ground in a jet jolt of lightning and paralytic pain. Only then did the sensation of the needle in her neck sink in and moments later, she would be unconscious. If anything, she was the lucky one. She may have perhaps been locked in her own mind with the new being that called it home, but she would be spared the pain of the rejection that followed.

Zosar was not so lucky. Zosar would have felt it all. That excruciating electrical current running through the arm that wielded Wren, frying both his spiritual pathways and his cells. It was that unique type of pain that while almost always compared to electricity truly had a feeling all its own. Somewhere between burning and tingling. A sensation that while painful the normal receptors in the body failed to convey. A pain only the soul could feel.

That is what Zosar was subjected to, alongside being disarmed. There was an advantage to be found for him here. One that might oddly give him just as much relief as it did pain. With this type of rejection, it all but made him temporarily immune to the Madness Wavelength that filled the air. With his soul hurting so badly, it was much harder to infect it. More so, he was no longer in direct contact with Wren whom at this point was becoming just as much a source of Madness as the corpse golems themselves.

This all-but secured the attempt Elly was making to gather up the required souls, barring Maria suddenly gained the ability to consume them.

She did not.

Following the fallout of Wren and Zosar was a new uprising. The golem partner of Elly was finally fed his hundredth soul. He was complete. His evolution would begin.

For those that had never bore witness to the evolution of a Demon Weapon into a Death Scythe, it was an interesting experience to behold. Unfortunate that Wren would be unconscious for it and Zosar writhing in agony. At the very least, Elly could appreciate it and Maria would get a chance to learn from it.

Unfortunately, so would the corpse-golems, but that would come later.

In all the world, there existed no phenomenon comparable to the evolution of a Demon Weapon. In no small part because it isn't a natural one. Created by the wicked experiments of Arachne nearly nine centuries ago, all those with the Weapon Gene were mutants. In this evolution, they took one step further away from humanity. Inside of his golem body, his patchwork soul pulsed with newfound power. The small sliver of it that belonged to Witchkind grew a hundred times over. The soul in this moment would almost liquefy, losing what form it had, only to rebuild itself stronger. All the souls consumed over a lifetime purified and melded into it, giving new shape and structure for the magical properties a Death Scythe possessed.

This was an even more unique instance as the tiny sliver of a Shinigami Soul grew just as much, though the ramifications of that remained unclear and likely unnoticed.

Fresh out of his evolution, the new weapon form he possessed now radiated with power reserved normally for those far above him. In fact, a promotion might have been in order upon their return, but that was hardly a concern at the moment. No, for the moment, aside from the increase in spiritual energy radiating from this new weapon, there were only two considerable changes: the scythe heads of his weapon form had grown longer, and the blade pole of his scythe grew upwards and wrapped around the arms of Elly, appearing like two long gauntlets that merged into his handle.

Herein lied the problem with such inspiring events like evolution...

...they did in fact inspire.

The three remaining corpse golems would all seemingly retreat, though it would prove they were not so lucky. Instead, this would be a twisted moment that proved you could in fact teach an old dog new tricks. Or, in this case, dead souls new techniques. The largest of the corpse golems impaled both of its brethren, crushing their souls in its grasp and channeling them through its body. At the moment, the Madness Wavelength in the air had diminished significantly, but with this event came another brief spike in that Madness. Worse, it came with a disproportionate spike in the sheer spiritual energy coming off of the final remaining golem. The others collapsed into piles of obsidian shells with naught but skeletons inside.

This new amalgamation did not grow in size as one might expect. Instead, it stood up straighter in posture and its cracked form smoothed over, turning into what appeared to be a smooth, black glass not unlike the golem form demonstrated by Midori earlier. In this form, for the first time, the corpse-golem could even speak...

"I need more souls to make this work..." it said aloud in a deep, warped voice.

"I would like yours, but I don't think I can kill you," it said, at the moment staring into the more glassy, human shape of its hands.

"Her on the other hand..." it added, though by that point, it was already making a mad dash for Wren. From it's back spawned two, large, spiny hooks akin to the hands of a praying mantis, each extending its reach three times over, and each ready to pounce at Wren solely to consume her. As with most predators, it sought the easiest target. The target inadvertently made by a teammate.




The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Haze-

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Hallerbos Forest, Belgium ​

"So foolish." Maria said out loud to having Wren and Zosar knocked out, though it was needed for the transformation now taking place, their enemy strictly speaking still had them on the back foot. Fortunately, the Madness of Order and the lack of spiritual potential served her well in keeping calm and composed, even as the Pull guided her actions, she still had a sense of self awareness and control of her actions, even as the madness sparked and spurred once more. While interesting to see the creation of a Demon Scythe, her mind was preoccupied with much more life-threatening matters. She would analyze, comment and format a report about this, but made note of the changes that she could sense, in a manner it was akin to being around a witch, even if in just an instant with the presence he gave off. Though hardly surprising given the true nature and origin of weapons.

One with soul perception or some better ability to perceive what went beyond the physical, might have been more impacted. It reminded her what sort of enemy a weapon-meister pair could be... Though that was not new either, given, the enemy was now doing the same. That was honestly the most troublesome, it was one thing to see something educational, it was another to see the enemy using it at once. More so learning to speak. Such a malicious voice, so naive. Maria was a bit different in the here and now, not gone enough yet to need her collar activated, but this steeped into madness and the pull, she seemed to be someone else. With a flick of her wrist, Maria did something rather surprising, though one which did anger her, or maybe in this state it did not... Alicia was sent in by guided hands to intercept and catch the new form of the enemy with its own body and armor, as the doll shuddered a bit, Maria's face and words dripped with pure Malice as a cold stare formed over her and she casted a Wind Blast to unsteady the enemy as she spoke in clear words.

"I think not. That I should spoil the finest of wood, fabrics, leather and hammered steel on vermin like you... So distorted now that my attempts to imprint at least the teeth is wasted... Ah, but as if you can understand me... even should I be able to skin Eros, it shall not make up for my dearest Alicia..." Using her Strands of Dominion to shadow control her doll, she would do everything in her power to keep the Obsidian bastard in place. Though chillingly and dispassionately, out of character for herself, such was pull and compounding of Madness, that she spoke directly and forcefully to Elly.

"Do make use of your new ally and silence this abomination, or should I do your work for you? What good even are you, being afraid won't save you... Are you, of flesh and blood, worth more than my darlings? I've yet to see that value..."

Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Elly) Sir Les Paul (Midori) (Lady Crimson) The Regal Rper (Zosar) Haze- (Wren)

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar | Hallerbos Forest, Belgium

Whatever he might have been able to pick up as the barrier cracked under his hits, wasn't something he was able to linger on.

It was like a paranormal alarm had gone off and though his body could not react his mind certainly did. Clicking, like it always did, when something bad was about to happen and he knew he wouldn't like it.

And boy, would he hate this.

Stones winked out, red mad and blue-purple light lost their glow simultaneously as the resonance bridge shook. The stone cobbled bridge rolled like a cresting wave coming up onto seashore, dislodging colorless rocks till all the light along it winked out just as the darkened cloudy rumbling sky went silent and turned into a canvas of black like a switched off bulb before it collapsed, bringing with it a singular sensation, instant.

White hot needles of fire stabbed into his hand, clawed up that same arm, and then the rest of his nervous system followed suit as electricity forced muscles to contract.

Wasn't the first time being electrocuted, but all the same, the pain was just as intense- made worse by the old and new converging on his body.

Spiritual exhaustion struck the physical body like a direct hit to the diaphragm. Cuts he had received while exterminating the singular golem he had been fighting ignited with a fiery sensation; oxygen felt as if to decline, causing dizziness; the afflicted left hand clenched sporadically in the empty air where Wren had been; the scattered meager burns along his body and on the left of his cheek pulsed with a new intense heat that made everything feel too hot- like his body had been set ablaze.

A singular trade off came from this.

On one hand, it quickened the return to his senses. On the other, it put him and Wren at a slight disadvantage.

Electric needles dug into his knees as he forcefully was brought to the ground unceremoniously from pain, hunched over to his hands, he let out a breath through his teeth and rode the waves of contracting muscles that presented itself in the form of involuntary shivers.

Spiritual sensitivity in this stage was the default. Knowing how to use his other senses when in this situation had been part of the training his mentors had prepared him for. Even when he couldn't do much of anything else, he could detect the sensation of other souls and as much as it hurt to even use it for a few seconds he searched anyway for who he was looking for.

The act guided his eyes to the ground. The blurry haze cleared with a sharp blink and there lay the unmoving, unconscious albeit alive were-weapon.

Though how long that would stay was questionable given the state they were both in now. He tried to get up and the pain just forced him to stay still for an extra few seconds.

There was a barrel of emotions that came naturally with Rejection of any kind, quick to pass as much as it was quick to arise.

In the same instant as he recovered, forcing himself to one foot when the worst had passed then unsteady on the other, he felt the beacon of spiritual energy Midori became as he reactivated the sixth sense to get a feel for what was going on again.

Midori's transformation would have been a highlighting moment, but in the exact moment as the after effects of his madness were still tapering away, all his evolution did was make a single thought pop to mind, one brimming with resentment born from the vestiges of what remained of his madness.

Was the collar activated for the threat they posed towards evolution or was the madness just a happy excuse to get them out of the way?

The answer to that was likely both, and though logically sound it irritated him more because of the pain he was presently in and the fact he and Wren were now defenseless, the good thing was most of the golems were dead and the others could be trusted to finish everything off--

--there was a spiritual shift…and it wasn't Midori.

…Bad thing was the enemy apparently could still adapt in new ways.

Adaptation wasn't off the table for Corrupted Souls, they did it all the time, at least on the missions he had done or been part of in Europe and Asia but so quickly, so suddenly, and right as Midori was changing too?

What was going to be a swift walk was now a stumble-- running, already moving. The golem, had just finished absorbing it's peers, was still adapting.

He had time--

--it turned towards Wren with a subtle shift--

“Shit!”

--there was no time for him to intercept that and even if he did that would have been it for him.

In came Alicia, halting the assault forward, slowing down progression. Except, the praying mantis like limbs needed to be handled.

There was of course only so much movement one could do when your entire body was screaming at you to stop. The only thing that would have been a workaround was Amplifying, and well…

He was moving slower than he should have been.

Pain flared up sharply, and it occurred to him running but not speeding down the distance where Alicia had just locked arms with the golem fusion, that Adrian could make him feel like this for funsies if he ever pissed him off and went from friend to enemy-- Maria was adjusting commands to counter whatever extra appendages the fusion came out with to get past the defensive line. Wren wasn’t even shifting to the sound. Rejection wasn't a normal physical thing the brain could process, it translated as physical pain but it also wasn't just that-- out of anyone in the group that had been burned by Rejection more, it was him. Even if she were able to snap out of the sedation Rejection with his soul would make everything hurt and make the hurt longer than it would for any normal Weapon. He knew intimately the effects she would feel and none of them were good.

Then there was the follow up Maria said to Elly as she pushed back as the Golem tries to push past Alicia.

This did nothing to raise Zosar's already sour spirits from the pain and situation. His earth mage friend had said something about Maria that was confirming the callous nature of her remarks to Elly, she cared a lot about her creations, treated them like her own kids to a rather intense degree, but if her Pull got strong enough and she stopped caring to assist them…stopped caring about them completely or treated them as detriments to her works of art while this thing was still active…

He grabbed Wren in the same moment Maria herself was speaking, dragged her literally by the scruff of whatever clothing he got his hands on.

This was a terrible stupid, idiotic idea- he was in no condition to fight, everything hurt- he was seriously starting to hate the collars because if they just created opportunities like this…

He slapped Wren on the face with his good hand, lightly, then harder when she didn't seem to get the message as he dragged her away from the pushing match.

“For the love of-- Wake up!” Eyes flicking to the wrestling match between two golems on opposing sides as the gap he was making widened steadily.

It was fruitless after two fast light slaps and two slightly stronger ones.

Abandoning the attempt to wake her he focused purely on moving, and switched to a fireman carry, the act sent a jolt of pain through his body that would have made any normal person collapse-- he didn't. This was, in a morbid way, what he was used to. The stress, the moment of life and death near. There was little doubt in his mind his teammates would have trouble in this but sitting and waiting wasn't in his vocabulary.

With a slight adjustment as he moved through the pain and took it like fuel, a pained hiss made patience bend like a broken twig.

“WHATEVER YOU'RE GONNA DO, DO IT NOW YOU TWO! NOW, BEFORE SHE GETS PISSED AT US!”

‘She’, being Maria because the last thing he wanted was to dodge wind scythe attacks from the ticked off blonde shortie, and also have to explain to her later why damaging Alicia or any golem she sent at them was a necessity to maintain their own longevity.

He didn't really wait for much of a response or even look back, he was off. He was running, he didn't really know where he was running to but in a daze of pain and determination and frustration (and anger at Midori sort of for putting him in this spot), he just ran blindly away from the golem with Wren cradled on his shoulder and him running somewhere-- wherever civilization might be in these woods.

He assumed it was east so east was exactly where he headed, how far he got really depended on how quickly the threat was or wasn't eliminated as he kept that threat in mind keenly as he moved.

Mentions: RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul EmperorsChosen

Interactions: Haze-

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Hallerbos Forest, Belgium
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Elly could feel the shift in the Hoshi's soul as it melded and rebuilt itself stronger, radiated a more powerful, vibrant aura that she could've appreciated better were she not in the state she was. Hoshi was acting as an anchor for Elly, something she could latch her focus onto to aid in fighting against her anxiety. Even though the sight itself was inspiring to see and an achievement Elly would have normally taken pride in, the following two madness spikes as the golem from before ended its remaining allies brought any such stoicism back to square one.

Elly's gaze was drawn to remaining golem, her grip shaking a bit, yet she nonetheless tightened it along the pole as she heard Maria speak. A shudder ran through her spine, between the sorceress's voice and look in her eyes. Another stressor to add in with all the others. Meanwhile, Zosar was trying to drag Wren off to keep her away from the golem.

'...Give me as much as you can...' Elly told her partner through their connection. As Maria unsteadied the enemy, Elly focused her wavelength into her feet and kicked off the ground, dashing at the golem with all the speed she was capable of mustering. As she approached the golem, she spun the scythe before bringing it down on the mantis-like claw appendage to break down its guard further. Then, Elly mustered her wavelength into her left palm before striking the golem's body with Soul Force.

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Haze-

 

[The Regal Rper]

Deathbucks, LA l Steel Assailants

A lot of eyes shifted on them. Not just them but the werewolf too. It was hard to pinpoint how many there actually were, when the scent of at least three or four were actually quite stronger than it seemed.

Especially as Nadia flared her own soul, the nature of it- for most of the ‘knights’, bringing a sense of caution and raising their guard only slightly, if not obvious in their relaxed and still postures.

For the most part those eyes shifted and went back to what they were doing. The blonde Warhammer carrier didn't turn her attention back on the duo and neither did her peers as she gave commands.

Redhead and eye patch, whom Nadia was approaching shared a glance, there was a moment of silence on their neutral expressions as they shifted attention from Nadia to Dani.

They spoke silently to each other before she had even finished introducing herself and her Weapon partner.

“Did she seriously just walk up and call us medieval cosplayers?” Eyepatch asked, after looking the significantly taller woman up and down.

“I think she did. Honestly a bit offended. I would think I look better than some filthy fourteenth century foot soldier.”

“No respect at all, even to strangers these days.”

Most of the knights stopped what they were doing hearing that and the Warhammer carrying maiden of steel clapped once and they immediately turned their attention back to their duties.

“I’m surprised,” Eyepatch replied to her request. “I would have thought the world's biggest conglomerate would have educated their agents more.” Eyepatch stated with a small little smile of actual amusement.

He was up to Nadia’s lips in height where the redhead sat just around the chin. Neither of them really seemed to be bothered by her spiritual presence like some of the knights that had shifted to look her way when she flared her soul. They hardly cared.

“To answer the unanswered, I am Paladin Aksel, Miss Nadia.” Stated in contrast to his partner. “I and my allies are all affiliated with the Church. We were not initially aware of your…presence here. We saw the police on our way here and heard nothing, shame..”

“Under normal circumstances we would ask you to step aside. Satanic rituals like this require a different form of expertise, more suited to handling these abominations” Eye patch added as his singular eye shifted from the Russian to her partner and back. There was no hostility in what he said but it was clear he didn't consider the DWMA to be the people for this task.

“However” Askel continued, “it seems we weren't mobilized in time to assert authority in this situation, so it appears we have ourselves a minor problem.

“For now” Eye patch added. “ I am Paladin Luis.” He supplied.

Said nothing for a moment, merely stared up at Nadia, observing her, observing Dani.

He wasn't really hiding it. The blatant curious gaze was hard to dismiss. Piqued curiosity radiated off him, and there was something else in the wavelength not easily distinguished.

Then he huffed, as if amused by what he saw.

With warning. “Luis.”

“What?” his own tone at ease.

The redhead cocked his brow, tilted his head.

“Hey, it's not my fault I can't shake what she's putting out there. Woman clearly isn't letting her guard down, color me curious when a pretty lady with a presence like that seems to be trying to intimidate us.”

“Is that what she's doing?” Aksel turned his gaze to Nadia. “I thought she was just showing off.”

The sarcasm wasn't missed because Luis clearly found some minor amusement in it.

“We've been hunting cultists since sunrise. Tracked the one here that seems to have a higher level of command. They all feel…vile.” His tone lingered with a touch of disgust.

“You and your friend though,” Luis observed, “your souls are…different from what I expected of the servants of the ‘lord of death’. You’re…cold, abnormally so. Nowhere as off-putting as I initially thought when I sensed you.”

“Luis” his friend, following behind the other paladin like his shadow, gave a look, like he should stop.

“Come off it Sel. You're just as curious as I. Admit it. We both have something to gain understanding this a bit more, don't you think? With all the shit back home you deal with.”

He didn't respond but he certainly did seem to express an interest in Dani as his eyes shifted to her and then quickly shifted away again. A pinch of discomfort.

“Miss Dani?” Luis again. Still they approached, easy steps in relaxed fashion. “What can you turn into, if you don't mind me asking? It's been a long time since I've met another Demon Weapon” they were six feet apart and at this distance he stopped.

“Not since I lost my family at least.” He said it with a casualness that seemed to downplay how sad the fact was. “We aren't enemies but we aren't friends either. Small talk is harmless.”

“Small talk doesn't sound so bad .” The gruff voice cut in as the blade cleaved through the air, flicking blood. Sheathing his sword at the hip, he approached.

“Better than what the Priestess could supply.” The steel stated. “ Rambling on and on about their god, provided me nothing we could use.” Clearly fed up.

Upon seeing Nadia and Dani, the older man gave both Paladins a blank look.

“Miss Nadia and Dani are with DWMA, sir. It appears they and their team are also working the same satanic case as us,” Aksel explained.

His response was just to blink and stare with knitted brows.

“Are you the team leader for your unit?” The senior paladin asked. And the moment he got the confirmation he went on. “ I am going to request, as the leader of mine, that we exchange information immediately so that my team may continue our work swiftly. My team and I have been hunting down and exterminating groups that were actively engaging in their ritualistic killing spree. We managed to track one of the fleeing groups down and it brought us to one of their priests. What do you lot have on these cultists? We know they have some servitude to the priests but what information have you lot been able to gather on the situation, movement and actions?” directly addressing Nadia and in return Luis and Aksel fell silent and solemn together as their senior took charge.

Mentions: RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Merciless Medic Mook-LandStrider Sir Les Paul

 

[Sir Les Paul]

???☆Hoshi​

N/A​

Species Death Golem
Partner Eloise Keegan
Rank Two-Star

Location Hallerbos Forest, Belgium
Mission Belgium Blues
Status Ecstatic

​

Tags: The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Haze-

This new power... this new freedom...

It was unlike anything he had felt before. It was unlike any description he had been given about becoming a Death Scythe. It was common enough knowledge that every evolution was different. With this one, what the Death Golem felt was a profound feeling of freedom.

Freedom from his past.

Freedom from the shackles that was the life of Midori☆Hoshi.

Freedom from his obsession with Ao.

Freedom from even from the weapon forms that reminded him so often that he was a mere imitation.

Freedom, even, from the fear and Madness of this situation.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins. He was excited. No amount of shouting from Zosar would ruin this for him. No amount of Pull or instability from Maria. If his dear partner thought her fear was going to override his freedom, she would find herself duly wrong. Not because he would reject her soul, but because he would flood her with his overwhelming excitement. He wouldn't just be a stone to fall on. He would be a beacon to light the way. A gust beneath wings. Her hero in a time of need--if only this once.

He had no problem feeding wavelength into her. One might have expected it to be even more powerful than last time, but he was aware that her body was at her limit. Had he truly flooded her with absolutely every ounce of amplified wavelength he could have, he was sure her tendons would snap. No, instead, he measured out precisely what she could handle and gave her no more. He had the fine wavelength control necessary to make it work, and he was more than familiar with her limits.

Luckily, it was enough. Elly was fast enough. She was strong enough. She clove through the mantis limb of the golem as if it were nothing, shattering it apart at the edges after his blade had split it in twain. Her follow-up had an unexpected twist. The inexplicable black gauntlets that covered her arms and now stretched across her torso to connect them along the brazier line remained in place even with her free hand. Her Soul Force strike was not just her own power. Once it connected, the golem was impaled by a black scythe head that shot out of her left palm.

The corpse golem was not only shook by the powerful reverberations of her wavelength, but the act of being impaled. It's first reaction was an attempt to impale Elly with its other mantis blade, but that was quickly halted by yet another new trait from the Death Scythe. The segmented portions of his handle split apart, showing they were connected by a string of wavelength not unlike that of his old bow form. With that, he was able to propel his other scythe head through the air of his own volition, slicing through the mantis blade before returning back to impale the corpse golem from behind.

'Finish it off, Elly,' he told her, his confidence carried perfectly in his tone. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Elly could land a killing blow.

'Run my blade through its soul and it's last moments will be as my first meal as a Death Scythe,' he told her, giving her a clear-cut way to kill it. No point in wasting time attacking its peripherals. Elly had the perception to see right here it's soul was. Nestled in the place there a heart should be, though clearly this abomination had no such organ. One clean attack could in fact end this. These creatures were only dangerous in numbers and with Madness, but now there was only one and its Madness couldn't compete with the rush of spiritual evolution. This last corpse golem was nothing less than target practice for the Meister.

Spoiler: Reference Picture for Midori's new weapon form

Note: he no longer has the bow, twin swords, or bident.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Arkayis Misonuka
Rank Fate Agent

Location New Temple, Egypt
Mission TBD
Status Focused

​

Tags: Merciless Medic Peckinou EmperorsChosen Shotgunpenguin The Regal Rper

Gauss had quickly determined this type of mission was not for him. The slow, methodical approach to disarming traps and constantly assessing the environment... it felt like all the worst parts of a video game lumped into one mission. Sure, there was combat, but it was absolutely no challenge. It felt like just another flavor of a room. There was constant danger, but most of it was circumvented with careful effort and in most cases their superhuman abilities eliminated most actual risk to the traps.

It was clear these temples were designed to fend off a lower caliber of intruder.

Gauss reflected back on the history he knew of the world. Plasmology, or Soul Studies as it was more commonly called, was a young subject that only came into existence after Lord Death founded the DWMA. It brought together information from nearly every walk of life across the globe to create a training regiment that could most reliably cultivate and nurture the gifted souls of the world. In truth, the vast majority of people would never have the potential to make it as even a One-Star Agent, so Lord Death wanted these courses to make the best out of the potential he found.

But, before that? Before the world was connected together in this vast, international network?

The world of spiritual studies is fairly vague. There was religion and mythology. There has always been Magic and the Fae and the Shinigami. Mankind simply had to deal with them as forces of nature. Science as it is today wasn't around then. This clear understanding of energy sources and the systems behind them hadn't yet came into being. No, instead, there were just a few rare human specimens that for one reason or another were far stronger than the others. Even without Demon Weapons, the spiritually gifted of their era could become far stronger than any regular human. So much so that they may be considered Demigods. Theories exist now that the Iliad, Beowulf, and even Gilgamesh as far back as society reaches were just spiritually gifted individuals that left a mark.

Thing was, Demon Weapons didn't exist until nearly nine hundred years ago. Prior to Demon Weapons, even the greatest of human warriors still oft paled in comparison to Witches, the forces of the Fae, or even just magical creatures. Mankind rarely had a method to combat them other than send in sheer numbers or call upon bands of powerful warriors, most likely gifted with strong souls and unique abilities. It is believed that some of the most incredible claims in history were smaller feats of resonance between souls, but nothing like what occurs between a Meister and Demon Weapon.

Gauss reflected on this a lot during their trials. Even the heroes of yore probably paled in comparison to the first generation of Meisters, and the gap only grew from there. Ancient Egypt--whenever the fuck that time actually was--probably had no actual idea how strong mankind could be. They may have understood magic, but the power man could possess? No. They had plenty of magical safeguards, it seemed, so they took that into account. What they couldn't account for was just how far man would come.

Was that what mankind was bound to do? Surpass the previous generation? Or, was it a happy accident? Would his generation surpass the one before it? Would Fredrick Stein become a better "Stein" than Franken Stein? Would any of Black☆Star's kids or grandkids become a Warrior God on their own? It was no secret that the creation of Demon Weapons was an abhorrent sin commit by Arachne Gorgon. She is what truly led to this incredible growth in the power of mankind. After that spike, though, would there be a plateau? Would they continue to build on their predecessors?

Gauss started to think more realistically about it. Even if people were to surpass those that came before them, they probably wouldn't be Fate Agents...

...besides that, his mind ventured elsewhere with this thought. Was it really the sequential generation that mattered, or the trials they faced? Did humanity rise up to match the threat of Kishin Asura? Is that why in such a short time, one man rivaled a God, a new Shinigami came into being, and we saw not one but two Kishin sealed on the moon? Did Kishin Asura bring out the potential of mankind? Did they require such adversity to reach their greatest potential?

Because if fucking so, Gauss wasn't going to achieve shit inside this old, dark, musty ass cave full of sand and scarabs and a giant ass waste of time.

The next break from his internal monologue and damnation of the slow pace of this mission came in the form of a delirious man. What he said was ominous, and perhaps Gauss should have taken it more seriously, but at this point, he hadn't the patience to remain tactful.

"We came here looking for survivors to drag back to the surface," Gauss announced. Dryly. "Do you know of any other than yourself?" he asked.

Gauss would have liked to have gone on, but he could feel various entities either emerging or on their way; at this distance, it was somewhat hard to tell. They didn't seem powerful or terribly unique, but it was a curio. If not for the potential danger, he would have knelt down to give the stranger a drink from his own cater canteen, but as it stood, he wasn't willing to disarm himself. At least, not until he was sure he had time to do so safely.

"Alright, I'll fuckin' bite. What did we miss on the walls?" Gauss asked, though generally as if hoping for an answer from literally anyone--be it the man on the ground or Moreau.

Right now, he was somewhat frustrated that he didn't have them take the time while traversing here to review what information they could. He did wonder now if his partners found his internal reminiscing over the history of heroes and demon weapons interesting, given how it did somewhat apply to them. He hadn't considered those could likely could have heard his thoughts like an annoying MP3 player going off in their minds. Gauss had plenty of downfalls as a person, but his academic knowledge was surprisingly in-depth.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

Date: September 20, 2067
Location: Deathbucks, South Alameda Street, Downtown Los Angeles, California
Interactions: Eva, Nadia, Dani
Mentions: Adrian, Raphael
The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul

Sara sighed as she took a flanking position from Nadia, keeping her comms open for anything she would command or say over it. Sara was glad she took her anxiety medication earlier. Otherwise, the rotting stench stained with anxiety-riddling madness wouldn’t affect her so badly. But the smell was still rather unpleasant. It smelled gross.

And it was strong, so there either was a lot of death, or very powerful people.

Then, there were gunshots, then these men in armor. Medieval armor it looked like. She would have thought they were some cosplaying group, but seeing the symbols on their armor made her realize this might be another cult. They weren’t worshiping Death, but another god. She didn’t know who it was, she didn’t know what their ethos was, what tenants they followed…

She needed to know who they were.

She watched them fight, and it was clear they’ve been doing this for a while now. They seemed like mercenaries or at least a strong group or organization. But why? What was their end goal?

With bated breath, legs bent and tense, eyes focused, she watched the fight. It was a bit hard to follow as it was going so fast, but she watched it and tried to pick apart anything that she could.

They smelled… weird. She didn’t like it. In an overall general sense, they smelled fine, but they made her gut queasy, and her gut was fine even with the rotting stench of maddening blood.

However, she did bore witness to the strength of this beast-thing they were fighting, the thing that sucked the power to her as the blood of her minions spilled around her. It was concerning. It reminded her of necromancy. It made her sick.

Now… She understood Nadia’s earlier aggression. What the hell did she see in Russia?

Sara was never around the danger of the MIBVI hordes, only heard it all from Noah who saw some of it first hand in Portland. She was stuck in an isolated doctor’s office getting tested over and over again, essence pulled from her by painful pricks, the doctor’s torture weapon-

No… No, she was okay. She wasn’t back there again.

Granted, she still felt like she was in the right earlier still. While she shouldn’t have alerted the beings about who they worked for, let Nadia do her thing, she still thought that Nadia would have killed the innocent. Adrian was affected by madness, yet they were able to pull him back. Nadia was close to killing him then too, but why didn’t she? Was it because of Dani?

That really must have been the only reason.

Still, wasn’t she herself the reason why Nadia was put in a position where she had to kill innocent people because they went mad? She acted without thinking, again. If Noah were here, he’d have stopped her, prevented her from making a fool of herself and being irrational. But wasn’t Nadia irrational? Using her past - like Sara’s own ignorance of the situation - to possibly be too nuclear? Too aggressive? It made Sara’s skin sick in her own skin.

But this stench bothered her. She wanted to get rid of it. She wanted it gone. It corrupted anything it touched and she stared at the knights with growing unease.

What if it corrupted them, too?

They weren’t DWMA agent level of badass except for one, but there were still a lot of them and clearly tactical. It would be a pain in the ass to fight them if something were to ever happen.

She was interrupted in her musings when she felt attention had been called to her. They had noticed where she was hiding. Gripping Eva tightly, she huffed and moved out of her space slowly, holding her lantern flail down so as to not seem threatening. She gave the knights a wide berth, circling around until she made it to Nadia’s side, listening in on Nadia’s conversation with Dani, then the banter the knights were having and their response to Nadia.

It was strange, Sara’s expression was extremely similar to Dani’s own, just a bit more reserved instead of visibly upset.

Apparently there was an issue at the jail, which had her sigh. She was sure Adrian and Raphael could handle it, but she was also concerned for their minds.

Back to the situation at hand, Sara watched Nadia as introduced herself and her weapon. At least she was being reasonable.

Then, she heard the banter. Sara’s eyes leered. They had quite the ego. Were they entitled or just felt they deserved more respect for cleaning the streets of LA? Then, she mentioned the Church. What did they mean by that?

There were plenty of churches, plenty of religions held in churches. Was it just called Church? So generic. But it had Sara’s red flags waving. But what right did they have to say they couldn’t handle these rituals here either? Did they know about this dark fire stuff Dani had?

Then the flirt towards Dani. It had Sara’s blood boiling. But she centered herself, not wanting to throw Eva out of wack.

Such a degenerate if he was in a church.

Then they let slip of them talking about home. And losing family. What? Why were they so candid?

Sara nearly got her head blasted off when she brought up she was helping the cops to complete strangers. Why were they being so straightforward? Did they have nothing to hide?

She would have felt much better if they had something to hide and acted like it, but no. The conversations almost seemed forced, like they were trying to get their trust, especially when they talked of what happened to them - like they were trying to gain sympathy. She looked down at Eva, on edge and waiting - just waiting - for her flames to shine blue.

Finally, the guy who actually exuded command came around. Finally, they got somewhere. They want to join forces.

Sara walked towards a wall and stood by it, then went on her comms to talk to Nadia and Dani, so only they heard. “I wanna talk about them first before we agree. Something’s off.” She then waited, her back leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Raphael Valerias​

Date: September 20, 2067
Location: Police Station, Downtown Los Angeles, California
Interactions: Adrian
Mentions: Sara, Eva, Nadia, Dani
The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul

Raphael sighed as he was supposed to stay put. Watching these degenerate fucks was boring as hell. But, he did get some enjoyment whenever they started to speak, listening to them was interesting to say the least.

However, peace in the cells didn’t last. Raphael groaned as he heard the racket. Laughter first, then screaming and crying. Raphael felt the madness in the air - and while it wasn’t enough to cause a full reaction, it did tease the pride in his chest. It stirred.

You were left here to guard. Clearly she doesn’t trust you being near her. She still hates you, you know-

“Urgh, shut up…” Raphael growled, his lip snarling.

He watched as Adrian became a blitzing machine, grabbing zip ties and trying to stop them from killing each other.

That’s when Raphael heard from the police about what Nadia had relayed to them.

Make sure they don’t escape. It doesn’t matter if they’re dead.

Still, they had to lessen the madness and if any of them died, it would mean these cult fucks would get stronger. They couldn’t have that.

But they were starting to get on his nerves. Surely a bit of pain wouldn’t be out of the question~.

He went to one cell that Adrian didn’t save, unleashing his suppressing chains to keep them tied down, unable to hurt themselves or anyone else anymore. He went to another, the demon tool in his hand growing longer before slapping the bars, hurting the hand of one who was gripping it to slam his cellmate’s head into them, causing him to flinch. Then, chains sprouted up to tie them up.

This was going to drain him if he continued at this pace, but he stopped caring. His chest stirred uncomfortably, the sweet corrupting voice in his head tempting him to go against the team, picking at all of his supposed insecurities, the noise-

He walked up to a particularly rowdy cell, and the voice spoke a bit more in his head.

Kill them, then they will shut up-

“SHUT UP!” It was sudden, a quick surge of mana, and the chains quickly wrapped around the two criminals currently trying to bash each other's brains in. The chains were too tight around their neck, making them choke and shake from the loss of blood to their brains. They had already lost quite a bit of blood.

Raphael hit clarity and he snarled - more so at himself - as he weakened the grip around their throats, letting them breathe and keeping them alive.

He didn’t want Adrian to have to put him in such a state, but that voice was just so damn tempting.

Raphael would continue until there was a direct change in scenery that wasn’t people trying 1,000 different ways in killing each other.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Noah Wiley​

Date: September 20, 2067
Location: Eastern Shrine, Qena, Egypt
Interactions: Gauss, Arkayis
Mentions: Moreau, Aki, Feng, Ark, Wes
The Regal Rper RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul Peckinou Shotgunpenguin

Noah sighed, not even paying attention to Aki and Feng’s banter once it left their soul space presumably. Something about Aki wanting a pet and Feng denying her. Or something.

Gauss told him to conserve energy anyway, so that was what he was going to do. By taking a deep breath and relax. The zombies went down fairly quickly though, and Noah sighed. “Disappointing.” He said aloud from his weapon form. It was fun being able to jab the ever-loving shit out of them, but it was a bit sad that they didn’t pose more of a threat.

“Hmph, but that move was cool.” He tried to lighten the mood, show Gauss that he approved of that fighting technique and compliment it. He hadn’t seen that in a video game yet. At least, not the ones he played.

These traps were also very annoying. They weren’t as difficult as the test that got them into EAT, but that was years ago and this is now. They found three workers who had hid here, and then they continued with the workers in tow. It would have been a better idea to send them out instead of them having to stay and witness more horrors. But that would have to wait.

Although, the ramblings of Gauss’s mind were interesting when he was bored. The historical aspects that he gathered were of enough interest to help stave off Noah’s boredom, so he quite liked them when they didn’t distract from the moment.

Then the room with seven sarcophagi and ornate designs opened before them. No traps, nothing. Then, there was the man sitting against the wall. Much to Noah’s surprise - and Moreau’s - this was Evans and he was somehow alive. Moreau was just saying that Evans likely wouldn’t have made it. Glad they came here then.

He was absolutely delirious, though. Sighing, he focused on Gauss as he spoke, then requested to transform so he may help Evans. Once he got the go ahead, he transformed out of his hand. Pulling out his phone, he pulled up the picture of the mural and gave it to Moreau to scour over, and then went to Evans and gave him a water bottle wordlessly. It was still partially full.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Michael M. Moreau​

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Mission: Disturbance in Qena w/ RedArmyShogun

Sir Les Paul Peckinou Shotgunpenguin EmperorsChosen The Regal Rper

Date: September 20th, 2067
Location: Eastern Shrine, Qena, Egypt

---

The banter between the two girls - from what Moreau could hear - was interesting to say the least, and Gauss’s technique was amazing.

As they continued though, Moreau was getting a little bit suspicious of the place. It almost felt too easy. Yet, this was important stuff. Granted, the traps back then weren’t exactly made to deter anyone with their level of training, so it was no wonder they were fine.

Then, the room with Evans. In fact, Evans was the first thing he saw there. His eyes widened, then blinked rapidly. As they got closer, the man was clearly alive, but delirious. He watched as the staff man transformed back to normal, and he took his phone gingerly as Gauss asked about the mural. With a quick scry, he scratched his head.

“Some of it is uncertain, but here’s what I got from the text at least. In an unknown reign of some ruler of Egypt of the second Dynasty, there were three heroes who were Sorcerers, entrusted with three great relics. The fourth relic to something else. One hero is a Priest of Set Thoth-Hotep, he had the Cane that enhanced something. Then High… Seker? With gauntlets that did something with the earth. Then, the High Priestess of Rah Nofret Kau had a Necklace that invoked… Something about Solar Mana. Then Anpu, then Greater Threat, helped Meskhenet. Talks about the Book of the Dead, split in two halves which were sealed. There’s a map, something about returning something, and there’s a key entrusted to the end, to the star map. Curse of Rah, pact, Traitorous King trying to erase something. But the Anpu remember. Something about the relics, then least she shall awaken once more and the land will burn.”

He took a pause and then hummed. “Huh… I have never heard of these heroes before, nor have I of their gods.”

He looked around, feeling something was off. His danger senses were tingling. “Let’s get Evans and the workers outta here. There’s danger afoot.” He tried to convince them to leave, not wanting to stay much longer.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Hallerbos Forest, Belgium
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Elly could feel the wavelength pour into her, though her soreness had long since dissipated. With fear came adrenaline, and then Midori forced in his own excitement through their connection, creating a very interesting contradiction of emotions within Elly. Nonetheless, she was able to focus.

Taking brief note of the handle, it seemed some similarities with Midori's forms still remained. It was a fruitful development Elly could have appreciated were the situation different. A separating staff suited her style quite nicely, especially one that her partner could manipulate to an extent as well. Add in scythe blades to it and it was perfect. For now though, even with Midori's confidence, her primary focus was ending this, akin to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after far too long in darkness.

Stomping her leg forward, Elly forced her heel into the golem's knee to put him move off balance if not outright shatter the joint. Then, she took the other end of the scythe and cleaved it into the heart of the golem. With her eyes, finding the creature's soul wasn't a challenge, it just gave her an easy target to aim for. Ugly as the thing's soul was, it was a bright red target nonetheless.

'Eat the bloody thing already,' Elly remarked, though he was sure he would do it regardless. Fatigue was present in her voice, even internally.

With a sigh, she spoke through their coms as well. "...We're done, Zosar. Bring her back," She alerted him, not bothering to check how far he had distanced himself with her soul perception. She glanced at the face of the scythe blade, though she didn't need to ask the Hoshi if he was okay. She could tell he was, now at least. Still, Elly had only now begun everything through her mind as the fear dissipated and she calmed, though the adrenaline nonetheless lingered and made her grip shaky. "Are you alright, Maria?"

RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Haze-