Festival: Lightning Storm

"Haaah..." The hand on his blade trembles with great tension, staring down his foe...

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Just a few hours ago, the Adventurers were asked to check out an area in the far-reaches between Fort Ouph and Shibuya. With the current Palace Lander presence, they cannot ignore the tale of any strange rumors, so a larger sum of Adventurers are marching through the heavy storms and forests. The trees protecting them in part from the heavy winds are they get closer.

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A violent burst of lightning stomps across the ground. Arcing lightning finds its target, and another violent burst of lightning climbs up from the ground, whilst simultaneously coming down from the ground, forming a prison. A burst of light, as the blade crashes with its fierce target! The clattering of metal barely being held within one's hands as it skates across the surface...

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As the Adventurers get closer, they keep getting blinded by light, and buffetted by the fierce winds. Loose branches and trees coming down cause debris to come their way like sharp mid-air swords made out of wood! The sound of thunderclaps radiates out.

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"You are certain a worthy foe." Standing in tattered cloth, his armor covered in soot and the metal torn apart, the Hero of Rosenheim stands a few meters away from Kirin. Julius Zagan Analeit's blade trembles in his hands, sparks of lightning leaping across his body, trying to force a paralysis status onto him. The Black inspect hero is low on health, but the Kirin isn't in much better of a shape.

The Divine Beast's legs are trembling, its horn is an antenna of lightning at the moment. Its legs covered with sparks, and each step it takes as it gets its balance after the most recent exchange causes a small thunderclap beneath it. Violent lightning courses through the area, tearing off branches and setting pieces of wood on fire, before turning them to ash - not even permitting them to cause an issue within the forest. It's panting, exhausted, and while there are no visible wounds on its body, it's clear that after a long battle, the Hero has finally started to turn the tables.

If the Adventurers do not interfere...

Hike through a raging windstorm in middle of a dark and brooding forest just because of some rumors? That's the sort of thing a fearless, reckless daredevil would do!

And now you know why Vertina is here.

Though even she has to occasionally sidestep a wind-thrown branch, or chunk of debris, or at one point even catching one and using it to knock aside the other. All while the flashes of lightning are getting closer and more intense. Even she has to use an arm to shield her eyes. But that's enough to catch the actual fight between the flashes.

And then the Salamander Martial Artist herself is a flash. A flash of motion that is, charging towards the fight by using her great length strength to run against the winds. Up to the last few steps, at which she leaps off the ground

And spins mid-air to bring a flying drop kick charged with divine energy hurtling at the Palace Lander! "BACK THE HELL OFF!"

Kirin's are kinda mostly dragons, right? Close enough for a Salamander to care!

But of course, there is one at least who can always be counted on to interfere in matters of Yamato's elemental spirits.

Fighting through a familiar storm, his pace quickening to a frantic sprint as the distant sound of ringing steel mixes with the roaring tumble of waning thunder. Of course /they/ would be going out of their way to attack the very spirits of the land of Yamato. "Please, don't be too late," Prophylaxis murmurs, praying in a voice that, in this wind, only he can hear. "To attack one of the spirits... To attack our very land and air, what kind of foolishness...!?"

Finally, he breaks into the clearing, a bolt of lightning arcing a mere inch from the side of his head. Immediately, the situation becomes clear. As does what he needs to do. "You will /not/ be having your way with Yamato! ''Hero'' of Rosenheim, I label you as nothing more than an opportunistic villain! Spirit of Air, hear me!"

Prophylaxis whirls his staff overhead-- and strikes it into the earth. A rush of water bubbles up from underneath, a spring of springtime energy washes up over the ground and races towards the beleaguered kirin, infusing it with rejuvinative energy. "We're not letting you fight this bastard alone! By water, storm is strengthened, so drink deep of this magic! Let your strength be renewed as spring breaks from winter!"

"All you lot," Prophylaxis calls to the others, "Kick that so-called 'hero's' ass!"

Up until recently, it would be uncommon to find Rylen this far into the lands beyond the Isle of Beginnings, or Ninetails Dominion. However, with the Peko Ranch closed up for the time being, and negotiations having finished, the Pooka acrobat has taken to his previous nomadic lifestyle. So, that is how he found himself tagging along with the others in this party.

Twhooom. He stomps his foot and causes a boulder to rise up, then slams it forward towards the 'hero'. "Back away from the the magical pony, my dude." Rylen has no experience with creatures like this, but obviously this man's actions are quite upsetting to some of the others.

He cracks his knuckles in the aftermath, rolling his shoulders, "I've got the DPS side of things." While he spends most of his time at the negotiation table, Rylen... certainly knows his way around combat earth magic.

Erufu had got a job to check out a region between Fort Ouph and Shibuya. It seemed to be simple enough, right? Things get very not simple in short order, a Divine Beast is under attack by a Palace Lander from the looks of it. The She knows what she's got to do. She can not let the Divine Beast go down, no that would spell bad things for Yamato and so far as she knew it didn't menace the people of Yamato either.

She'll draw her bow line up a shot and then let a arrow fly.

"BURST SHOT!"

After that she will add.

"Your Hunt ends here Palace Lander!"

    Setsuna was happy to come running when he heard that a draconic entity was being attacked and well Setsuna maybe hoping to put a certain fishing pole girl off her pedestal. However upon seeing the I he can only let out a frown, "Even I know it's in poor taste to go after a divine beast." Drawing his dagger he grins, " Ok mister hero of the rose garden, Setsuna says freeze" He produces his halting tipped dagger and launches it at the poor boy with a wicked grin on his face. Even if the hero did something silly and deflected it, the damage would be done.

Yeowang is moving through the forested road between Ouph and Shibuya, a road she's somewhat familiar with, having scouted it some months back. Mainly full of badlands and woods and monsters, though the woods are a blessing for how they cut the wind and dampen the rain. But when she sees the fight that's going on, she has to pause. It's not the what she expected to find, certainly. And it takes her a moment to realize who it is fighting the Kirin. She hasn't memorized the Rogues Gallery of Palace Landers yet, and no one's made a deck of playing cards yet with the significant participant's faces on the various cards.

When she does realize who it is, she realizes what has to happen here, and she draws her bow - she's a hunter after all - and will nock an arrow. She lets out a breath, holds it, takes careful aim, accounting for range. Luckily, the wind doesn't effect /this/ technique, at least not that she's noticed. It's got bits she doesn't understand, but when she releases the arrow, there's at least a little magic in it, because it strikes true.

    Miyako is, as everyone present can tell, a Spriggan. And everyone knows Spriggans do it in the dark. Or rather, in the Dark. Sneaky, backstabbing, murderous assassins, right?

    Nope, not today. She's a bard, she does her thing /loud/. And to /music/. Standing clear and proud in the - well, there isn't much sunlight, but at least she's in the open! And visible! She sings a song. Of freedom.

        And the winds are singing freedom!
        They sing it everywhere!
        They sing it on the mountainside,
        And in the city square
        They sing, of a new day dawning
        When all people will be free
        Come and join the song of freedom,
        Let it ring from sea to sea!

There's trouble going on, and there's several Spriggans looking to take care of this trouble.

One of them being none other than Kotono.

"Here we go!" The Spriggan calls out as she draws her blade and takes a running start. "Yeeeeeeeeeeah!"

The Spriggan goes into the air, attempting to do a diving strike...

Only to miss completely and be forced to do a somersault to avoid crashing into the ground. "That... was embarrassing."

    It's a no-brainer for Fuka to come along on this dark and stormy night. Or not night as the case may be. Definitely stormy however, and the situation seems to call for a response in force, just in case Palace Landers are attacking.

    The actual situation, however, calls for brains. Preferably not Fuka's. She begins her chant of battle magic, only to interrupt the spellcasting when Prophylaxis speaks up. She looks at him dubiously. A man and a great beast, fighting. Normally she'd be quite clear on which she'd attack... but Proph says otherwise. "You'd better know what you're talking about!" she complains, shifting her stance to one of support, a role she knows well.

    Like Miyako, Fukaziroh begins singing. However her chosen song isn't one of aggression or of victory. Her song is simpler perhaps, and she times the verses as a sort of counterpoint to the boisterous bard.

    "We don't need another hero."
    "We don't need to know the way home!"
    "All we want is something something thunder... horse~"

    Okay she doesn't know all the words, and she's mutilating the ones she does know besides. But that's not what really counts. Her words of dismissal of the so-called hero, and the magic flooding through her attempt at protection, are what count here. Right?

Haru was looking forward to a festival. A time to have fun with old friends and new ones. Not to think so much about the Peko races, which were fun crashed by Palace Landers. He was. Then there is an epic scale conflict right on the edge of it all. Like going to grab a latte while Godzilla is fighting King Kong. Its a blank moment for Haru. Like a little tension thread snaps and his blue eye gets a sort of glassy look to it. A deep breath. Whats important right now is that Kirin doesn't end up worse off than they are. He starts to work on a Wave Arte to suppliment the battle fever and carnage being unleashed, but at the last chant there is a notification that it is out of range. While others may be running, he is walking to the danger.

Vertina's kick lunges through the air with divine energy, landing right against the hilt of the Hero's blade as he raises it up just in time to avoid getting hit right in the head. The kick scoots him across the ground, sending up ground and debris as his trembling arms try to get the energy to take the full brunt of the hint, before finally parrying Vertina off of him, letting out a practiced exhale of air, staring at the other arriving Adventurers.

"You would halt me from obtaining this quary? I respect your boldness, Yamato Adventurers." Julius remarks, flourishing his blade and sheathing it for a moment, while keeping his hand on the hilt.

"Though you misinterpret the nature of this World. While this Kirin is a Divine Beast, it is not one of the Elemental Beings which governs the Skies and Ground." Julius points out to Prophylaxis, "Even I would not have the might to stand up to one of them on my own." The Black reading Lander tries to get a deeper breath, watching the others as further attacks come in.

The Kirin's legs stop trembling quite so much as Prophylaxis' rejuvinative energy winds around its body, starting to slowly trickle-heal its massive health-bar.

"It would appear I've lost my advantage here." Julius notes, as he takes a small pouch from his pocket, and rubs it over one of his arms, starting to heal himself minorly as well. "But I should honor you by at least giving you a fair battle." He then throws the baggy to the ground and steps in right as Rylen stomps to the ground and sends that stone flying. A single tap against his scabbard, then a raise of his blade. The blade doesn't fully leave the scabbard - instead slicing through the rock and letting it continue its path to his sides, clipping his shoulders. But that moment allows Erufu to get through, the arrow biting along his cheek as he tries to quickly tilt his head to the side!

His blade then finally releases from the Scabbard, parrying off the Halting tip, causing it to flicker, and then fall right into his shadow. This causes Julius to suddenly halt for just a moment. "What the..." The Hero asks. "Ah, it halts my movement... so that means..." His free hand suddenly summons forth a glowing orb, and then sends it to intercept Kotono's diving strike - catching her in the chest and then blasting her right back up against a tree. He's still prevented from dealing with Yeowang's arrow however; enhanced by Miyako's song, it stabs into his shoulder as the Halting Tip's effect ends.

"An interesting trick." The man starts moving as if going from 0.1 times speed to 1.0 in the span of a second, stomping on the ground. A sudden quake turns towards Haru, the ground ripping apart ever so slightly, disrupting his cast and pushing him back to pull him out of range! The man then pulls the arrow out, and throws it to the ground, where it shatters into light.

Julius looks to Kirin, as it suddenly sends a powerful wave of lightning forward rippling across the ground, forcing Julius to jump, and raise his blade! Capturing the powerful lightning energy itself! "Previously, I had no use for this lightning energy. But this time!" Just before he lands, he throws his blade up. "LORD OF VERMILLION!" He demands, redirecting the Kirin's powerful energy to the skies, taking hold of a powerful spell and redirecting the constant turbulent clouds. "LIGHTNINGFALL!" He then demands, followed by fierce blades of lightning to crash down from the skies. Fukaziroh's song almost being silenced by the cacophany of the strikes - but some of its effect aiding her allies. But before people get comfortable, Julius is already moving, touching on the ground and bursting forward, rushing straight for Haru, bringing his blade up... and then down with a fierce strike that, even were it to miss, creates a gouge in the ground the length of a house!

    Merek will not know a lot going in, because he doesn't keep to what the heroes are doing. That said, after a moment and listening to people, he knows that it looks like Julius is the target. The man nods a bit while he pulls the hood up along his attire. He's swept into an attack that drains away a bit of the HP, though he comes back with hands lifting up and will charge in to begin attacking the man. His feet swinging with flame. "RAGNAROK'S WISDOM!"

    Setsuna knows how it works, you wait for the flash and then at the last moment you leap out of the way and that is exactly what Setsuna does. An aura of darkness wraps around him as he leaps away and feels the soles of his boots melt a little. Maybe his timing wasn't perfect, either way though he got out with no damage as he moves forward at high speed and retrieves his dagger before he leaps back and channels all the dark energy around him into his own shadow as a spector summons up around the necromancer. With the summoned creature Setsuna brings the dark blade made from shadows down upon Julius as hard as the necromancer can manage. " Fear not , there will be more tricks, however you are going to have to eventually try to hit us. " Setsuna has obviously not looked behind him to see others who did not manage to dodge the attack.

You know how some zig when they should've zagged?

Kotono zagged when she should have zigged!

Nevertheless, the Spriggan manages to recover quickly and get her footing back. "We're going to take care of this!" She calls out as she goes in for another attack, this time using a bit more pinpoint accuracy with her attempt. Her blades hit true as she goes in. "Can't keep a good Kotono down!"

Yeowang is nailed by the savage lightning, unable to get clear as she scrambles. Her evasive training is for people swinging fists or kicking, the lightning is not a thing she's entirely used to yet. But even with reduced HP, her perserverance is strong, and she rushes in boldly, her martial arts talents much more apparent in melee than in archery.

Getting /into/ melee is a bit of a stretch, but her dark clothing combined with the stormy weather make her hard to see, and that's ideal because the attack she's making is from concealment, attempting to strike with her fist at a vital or sensitive point. She knows all kinds of places on normal people, hopefully the game designers know that same list, because she aims for one and strikes from the shadows, coming from his blindside with a serious punch that would take down a lot of mundane opponents. Not that she fights many of those /here/....

Vertina feels her foot connect, even if it wasn't directly a BOOT TO THE HEAD still enough to make the man skid backwards. While the kung-fu Salamander flips backwards from the attack to land in a ready crouch. "Close enough, doesn't matter! We're still gonna kick your ass all the way back to the Palace Lands!" Let's just get the witty battle banter out of the way while she's got the moments to focus on something to shout back.

Because that moment doesn't last as Julius recovers from the onslaught, and starts to call down the lightning, literally!

But he's not the only one that can move at exceptional speeds. Vertina does the same, launching from her ready crouch with such intensity that it leaves flames crackling on the ground. The trail of fire is easier to follow than she is as the Salamander zigs and zags between the blasts of electricity striking down!

All that evasion training she's been doing in the Kalruin labyrinth appears to be paying off.

Then the blazing trail flickers and crackles as Vertina charges across her previous path, gathering up as much of the fire she's made as she can. While scraping up dirt and debris from the ground as she does so. Before finally skidding to a stop, and catching the ball of earth of fire she's rolled up on her foot. "Cue trick. Now it's my turn." She foot-tosses the orb upwards, then pivots on her grounded foot to spiral around, swinging her other foot up in an arc as she does.

"METEOR STRIKER!" is bellowed for dramatic effect, just as her blazing foot catchs the ball and sends it rocketing across the fight towards Julius with such forceful speed that the mass -ignites from the friction- as it hurtles at it's target much like it's namesake.

The sight of someone using such a creature's against them only grants a moment of wonder before it turns into an intense crash of pain. Rylen's vision goes white and he is tossed backwards, ending up crumpled on the ground, his body twitching from the impact. Thankfully, as much as it took a good chunk out of his health, it isn't enough to linger more than a few seconds with a 'shock' effect.

"Never seen anything like this guy..." Shaking out his limbs, it's obvious that Rylen needs to get out more. Too much time wooing the nobles and not enough time on the battlefield.

Gritting his teeth, Rylen gets to one knee. "You like to tear up the earth. Let's see how you like this..." He puts a hand to the ground, channeling his elemental energy into it. The ground beneath seems to start to shudder rending beneath the Palace Lander and threatening to swallow him whole in the process.

    Fuka's doubts quickly fade as this weird guy starts doing a supervillain monologue. Seriously, where does he get his lines from? And doesn't he know that sort of thing is for villains not heroes? Or even 'heroes'?

    She is quick to bring up a shield of light, barely able to protect herself from the storm of lightning. Her eyes widen, seeing the power of that spell. It's a seriously deadly spell, one she's used herself, but he just amped it up! "Uh... we sure this is a good idea?" she mutters, mostly to herself. But, surrounded by strong fighters, healers and friends, she fears nothing. Well, mostly nothing.

    Instead of attacking with a fierce and powerful spell or leaping in to engage the Palace Lander with her greataxe, Fuka stays back still as support. While she has powerful attack spells, she prefers in raids to leave the attacks to others and just support. She chants, and those familiar with her magic might recognize her going to one of her favourite elements. But instead of the fireball she's kind of infamous for, she instead launches a rather similar ball which bursts into intense radiance rather than flame. Still rather explosive but somewhat different from the usual, timed to support another's attack so they might get off a blow that's harder to block and therefore hopefully does more damage.

        Too long our people suffered
        In their misery and their tears
        And foreign rulers used our land
        For about eight hundred years

    Miyako continues her song despite the battle raging around her, fingers flying over the guitar strings. She pays little mind, it seems, to the actual actions of the foreign 'hero', simply condemning his deeds with her words and her glare.

    When he lashes out, she contemptuously flicks her wings, leaping over the racing furrow his blow leaves, settling lightly to earth a moment later. Not once does she miss a note in all of it.

        It's a long road has no turning
        And I know that soon we'll see
        That day of justice dawning
        When all people will be free!

Erufu scores a hit but she does not celebrate. There's no time for that the Palace Lander known as Julius? Has busted out the big guns. She knows of that spell well enough and that's why she's running it could ber a lot worse though. If she'd not moved? She might be taken out as far as thing are she's jolted very damn good. She's glowing red in a number of place which only serves to show how solid of a hit Julius has scored. Her bow is a strange one it's glowing purple runes light up as she draws another arrow and takes aim.

"BLACK ARROW TO YOUR MARK!"

She then lets the shot fly before getting on the move again not wanting to be a easy target.

Stolen lightning arcs down from on high in a deluge of electrical power. Prophylaxis squares his stance and grits his teeth, lifting his staff high. Words of power are uttered and swallowed up by crackling roar of thunder, but when the Lord of Vermilion is cast, it doesn't strike the good doctor. A dome of solid, crystalline flame materializes around him, cracking and splintering as the bolts fall-- but despite the power of that spell, the shield yet holds.

"The semantics of /what/ he is are irrelevant right now," Prophylaxis snaps back at the (very) high level hero, "Divine Beast or Divine Spirit, he is an ally of Yamato and her people, and so I will defend him with all that I have!"

At some point in his tirade, the doctor's breath seems to have... chilled. It frosts on his lips, the fallen rain pooled around him congealing to solid ice. "O' Lady of Winter, I call upon thee. We cannot allow for this to continue. This assassin must needs be driven back to whence he came, or else interred into a coffin of eternal ice!" The doctor's staff strikes the frigid ground, a wave of bittermost cold surging across the gulf between magus and hero, seeking to suck the very heat and life out of the latter's bones...!

Ok. Deep breath. Mindfulness. Be present. Haru steps forward as there is a whole different storm brewing. Things happen. He rolls his casting focus, a small orb, from one hand to the other as the sparks in it look like glass fractures against the exterior of the large marble. The whole thing rolling along in the span of less than a second. He doesn't really have time to get frustrated or angry. There is a wave of raw Earth magic trembling at his feet. The Enchanter does not anchor. His feet are light and use the vibrations of the ground like a platform of tectonic force to surf upon.

The little time it takes to self-orient became very important very fast. It sharpened Haru's reflexes enough to not be where Julius' blade is falling down. Things happening in slow motion as his shoulder turns and although the blade itself misses what could have potentially been a one hit kill on a cloth-y caster, the sheer force of the air around the strike pushes him to the side during the gouging impact.

"What is /with/ you," the crafter scowls and the demigod power that makes his monocle read over 9000 when trying to come up with Julius' assessment. "Seriously. Is this is what life is, for you," he says. Mad. Frustrated. Someone table flipped his birthday cake and he can't fathom why. Its a subtle spell being cast as he talks. The sparking onyx pearl that is now his orb making the sound of glass shattering as darkness desends in mist and fog. Debilitating like a sleeping gas. Obscuring like mist. "Tenebris. Cadit. Lunae Lumen. Oriri. Occultare." The Wave Artes Echo when it is too late to respond to it, a pale moon holding the zone in place with a six-legged cat laying atop of it, gazing down with red eyes that allow allies to see just fine under the Obsidian Light. "To what end?" he says, not fleeing the darkness zone. Safer and he kind of wants to punch the guy in the face with noodle arms after all this.

Merek's violent and searing red attack has often solved a lot of problems. The sheer power behind it commonly cuts through his opponents! Cutting off limbs. Tearing apart shields! But as he aims to intercept the Hero from reaching Haru, the strike to the ground still occurs, before Julius switches his grip on his blade and brings it up.

The blade cuts into the flame. Cuts into Merek's foot, and only just barely fails to chop it off in that single fierce swing during which Julius makes momentary eyecontact with Merek. His expression seems whimsical almost. It's the look of someone who rarely gets to go all out finally getting to have /fun/. Surrounded by people far weaker than him, always having to be careful with each strike, the powerful hero brings his blade to bear, letting the remnants of Merek's flames wash over him and his armor!

"Good!" Julius remarks as he brings his blade up, taking Setsuna's hit with both hands supporting his blade - which makes his legs and arms tremble more than they already were. "I want to see more tricks!" Before that blade shifts to swipe at Setsuna's neck in a flashing hew radiating with light, tearing apart Setsuna's shroud of darkness and erasing it from around him.

The follow-up of that strike moves to block Kotono's strike from /over Julius' shoulder/! As if the man has eyes in the back of his head. Still, he stumbles at the pinacle of the strike; turning his head slightly, the Hero remarks: "Put some more feeling into it!" Almost like he's training her. "You're not going to be able to free her if you can't at least do that much!"

Still, distracted by the fierce kick, Yeowang manages to sneak in under his guard! She can see Julius' eyes turn, starting to try and pinpoint her presence. His body moving, getting into a more defensive stance, but she gets a nice hit in on Julius' kidney, causing the Hero to groan and stumble back! The gallop of Kirin follows, as it thrusts its horn for Julius, trying to spear him, but the Hero manages to just barely get out of the way. The movement itself is like a thunderclap. A rippling wave of air bursting out along the sides of the Kirin, while those who were standing too close get sucked IN to the wake of Kirin's attack towards Julius.

"You are one rough Divine Beast." Julius remarks, looking down. Though the attack had missed, he can see some of his armor having shattered near his belly. "Whoa!" The hero's blade quickly comes around as he flicks it around in a way that Vertina has no doubt seen Amalthea done many a time. Turning it with the hilt turned, and then swings!

The blade's hilt impacts against the blazing orb. Burning sparks flying across his body, setting cloth and hair aflame as he grits his teeth and finally lets out a groaning roar as he sends the METEOR STRIKER /back/ at Vertina! "I believe the Adventurers call this 'baseball', correct?" He asks, as he turns his blade again, his hands bleeding slightly from gripping the blade at the sharp end. "What's ne~WHA" The ground suddenly opens up beneath Julius, and he is forced to stab his blade into the ground as he is dropped. Halting his fall by digging the blade in, and hanging from the hilt by one hand. Staring down at the depth of the hole. "Nice! Maybe Shirin could teach me that technique."

It puts him in a very awkward position however, forcing him to try and regain the high ground. Pulling himself up with so much force, he comes up from the hole and manages to wrest the blade from the edge - only to allow Erufu and Fukaziroh to perfectly combo against him as he's stuck being in mid-air. He already is prepared to defend himself, shifting his blade over his vulnerable regions. But he can't stop the blow itself!

Erufu's black arrow flashes through the air, right through Fukaziroh's orb of crimson, enhancing the arrow and setting it ablaze! The fiery attack stabs into the side of the Hero's blade, causing his arms to freeze up for a moment, right before the arrow goes through his chest and comes out the other side, creating a flaming line of fire spanning into the skies and lighting up the clouds as the arrow disappears into the thunder!

The man lands, kneeling this time. Gripping for his chest and grimacing. "Ahh... darn." Gritting his teeth, he stares at the Adventurers. "That was a good o~" He is forced to quickly stop talking as his lips suddenly freeze to eachother, and he can feel his body start to freeze in place! The man quickly stabs his blade to the ground and demands; "RAGNAROK'S WISDOM!" Enveloping himself with the destructive power of the move Merek used just moments ago to erase Prophylaxis' freezing power. It takes a great deal of energy though, and as the ice is cast away by the detonation of steam that follows, Julius is left panting for breath! This lets Haru wind his spell around Julius, binding his body, and blinding his eyes. Julius forced to squint, as he slowly rises.

"How could I not be happy?" Julius asks, smiling at the Adventurers. "It's okay if you don't get it yet. I wish I could talk on it, but I fear I can't." The man then spins his blade, trembling. "Alright, I think I've got more in me. So let's do this, shall we?" He shakes his body a bit, and then stabs his blade to the ground once more. "How about this one?"

The man grabs the blade with both hands and takes in a deep breath... his body starting to shine. Bright light overcoming him as he locks eyes with Miyako for a moment. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND..." He then rips the blade up from the ground, his entire body trembling with the pressure of the held strike. A long and deep breath. Glowing fume lifting from the corner of his mouth. And then on the beat of Miyako finishing the next paragraph; 'Free', Julius jumps and brings his blade down like he were trying to pogo-jump with it. Throwing it down upon Miyako's position, then stomping his foot down on the tip of it as he declares...

"CROSSSSSSS!"

As a 'cross' of light begins to expand from his position. The searing light cascading, expanding as if someone drew a shape on the ground, and then started scaling it by 1000%! The searing light burning any and all life he's declared his 'enemy' around him!

    Fuka's getting a little distressed over all the punishment this hero is taking, not to mention the power he's dishing out. The attack on Haru, had it connected... well, that's just unthinkable. Fortunately Haru was quick and able to evade. Then that lightning attack, and him returning Yeowang's strike. "He's using our attacks against us!" Fuka warns. Yeah, a bit obvious. Still she's starting to get a little frazzled, a little distracted. Afraid, not of the opposition, but of what she and others have to lose.

    Fuka's eyes widen once again as she sees him summon a quite frankly ludicrous light attack. Such a shame she hasn't quite worked out the chant needed to activate Licorice Shell yet. The extra defense against light just might have saved her. She cries out as the light engulfs her, her attempt to leap clear just too little, too late.

    Only to come back with a roar, charging in. She goes low, trying to time her rush for when someone else has Julius engaged. It's not boss mechanics, not exactly, not when the boss is the size of a young human instead of the size of a house, but the same general idea applies and Fuka's pretty small for a wielder of a giant axe. It just might be enough! "I'm gonna AXE you to LEAVE!" she cries, chopping with all the might of a furious (and somewhat scared) battle fairy.

She's spinning around and dodging out of the way of the attacks.

Unfortunately, while she's focused on dodging and evading, Kotono's not entirely focused on fighting.

When she remembers what she's supposed to be doing, the girl attempts to go back in with a spinning slash of sorts.

Unfortunately, all she hits is air.

"I should've calculated more carefully."

Oh snap! Julius has studied the School of Link's Projectile Tennis technique!

Vertina's eyes widen briefly as the projectile of flaming rock is batted right back at her. But then she darts forward, getting just enough speed to carry her momentum as she drops to her knees and leans rediculously far back, like doing the hardest set of a limbo dance. Even then she barely slides clear it, the smoldering flames licking within microns of her face.

Instead of trying to stand back up straight she drops a hand to the ground, swings her body on that point, to wheel up and flip onto her feet. Then uses the momentum to break into another charge towards Julius, using her speed and quick reflixes to an advantage. To close in. To get up in this dude's face properly. "If it's a brawl you want..."

Followed by using that same speed to lash at him several times rapidly with the clawed knuckles of her battle gloves, her own movements jerky yet weirdly rhymthic, making it hard to see just exactly where he strikes are coming from. "HERE I COME!"

    Merek will begin to tap his foot, then he takes both hands that flame, and places them together while he smiles, then points to Yeowang, "You're a diamond in the rough, a brilliant ball of clay. You could be a work of art, if you just go all the way. Now what would it take to break? I believe that you can bend. Not only do you have to fight, But you have got to win! Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting! o/¯" The man sings with power and it resonantes with the woman, empowering her. Wielding the Primordial Song he will begin to assist the party. Well, it works.

At least, this time, Rylen has a bit more warning than the previous attack. Enough so that, despite him being on one knee, he is able to throw some speed behind his movements and roll out of the way with almost quicksilver like motions that cause him to blurr momentarily from sight. In the end, the edge of his jacket is singed, but he otherwise seems to skirt by without losing any more additional health.

"This guy..." Rylen half-mutters, half-chuckles to himself. "Well, if we're going for massive turrain damage, might as well go all the way." The martial artists starts going through what appears to be a complex kata, stomping and moving while keeping his eyes on the target. Each time his feet touch the ground, it throws more rocks up into the air until a series of them hover above the battlefield.

Then, with a flourish of his hands, he draws them down as flaming meteors that start to hail down around the enemy hero.

Yeowang is attempting to do her normal defensive techniques like she'd do in a normal fight, still, but she hasn't really come to grips with how far from normal thus guy is. So, her minimal defense, designed to just evade a blow, /doesn't/ evade the explosive magic that the Julius attacks with, and her HP drains out further. This is is not a good strategy for her, and she's going to have to get her act together or she's going to die here. She's particularly against that. She checks her HP, then chims, "I may need to back down," but a number of voices tell her to hang tough, that she's covered, so she'll hang tough.

That said, she's markedly off balance, and so trying to use one of her advanced hunter techniques to strike a vital spot is perhaps not, in retrospect, her best strategy. She nevertheless will attempt to re-engage with this Black-level enemy. She clumsily maps out her planned attack, and from the start, it looks like she'll come close, but fall short. But she takes heart suddenly, a song felt more than heard given the chaos of the fight, but Kung Fu fighting is a large component of her style, and if everyone's not doing it, she definitely is, and the whole vibe lifts up as she manages to strike another vital spot with her hunter's technique.

    Setsuna was not expecting his blade to be twisted and to slash at him as he feels the blade slice through his neck, leaving the red pixels dripping from it. "Dirty move kid. " Jumping back he tries his best to hide himself in shadows and spread out in mirroring images but the light of grand cross blows away his shadow magic and leaves him knocked to the ground. "I should have brought one of my friends," Setsuna says before groaning and rolling over to his knee and places his hand on the ground as a magic circle appears under him. "Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. Those who have fallen rise up. " With that a pair of skeleton minions rise up each with a spear in hand as they charge the so called hero and attempt to skewer the hero of the rose garden

There isn't enough time to runb but the elf has an option, she's got oen that might work. She'll brace her arms infront ofg hersel calling out.

"PROTECT!"

The barrier forms about her which shatters after a moment but it saves her from the Grand Cross.

She doesn't have time to redaw her bow, so she goes for one of the long knives she carries,. The elf is quick on her feet as sh darts in.

"SONIC BLOW!"

Her weapon moves like lightning striking at Julius quicklly as she can before she'll dart away from him.

A catastrophic cross carves through the landscape. It's only by virtue of Prophylaxis being halfway frozen himself that he's able to freeze himself the rest of the way in time. A glacial wall materializes around him, refracting the holy light into an aurora of apocalyptic color-- but none of it reaches the magus inside. His frozen barrier melts away, dissolving as the doctor steps from his defenses. "Is this a power thing...? Is this an 'I can't find a worthy opponent back home, or they won't let me fight the best candidates' kind of thing? Because deciding to just show up and shank a perfectly nice Divine Beast because you're bored is NOT a good look!"

The doctor takes step forward, gelid air flash-freezing the ground with every footfall. Still channeling the frigid wrath of winter, Prophylaxis extends his staff and bends the howling winds to his will. It's not a gust, nor a hurricane, but a globe of driving snow and freezing rain, bitterest cold and blinding white ice that surrounds the Hero of Rosenheim.

"You're way strong. Stronger than anyone we've encountered before. But we are raiders, I'm afraid. Standing tall before overwhelming odds is our job!" Prophylaxis scans the battlefield, his gaze falling across his allies one by one, assessing their health. Some of them will only be able to hold out against one or two more attacks, but... Perhaps that will be enough to have turned the tables...?

        There's a time laid out for laughing
        There's a time laid out to weep
        There's a time laid out for sowing
        And a time laid out to reap

    Today is Miyako's day to sing. And it's her day to -dance-. Her song is inspiring to those she sings for -- reminding them what they fight for, and what awaits them if they lose.

    It's the -dance- that carries her away from the invader's latest spell, twisting and leaping, tumbling and twisting. You can't touch this Spriggan, Palace Lander. No matter how much she infuriates you.

        There's a time to love your brother
        There's a time for hate to cease
        You must sow the seeds of justice
        To reap the fruits of peace!

"Well then," Haru says as he stands in the darkness zone from the Obsidian Light. High impact attacks fire off and blast away the mist like a gale force wind in short order. When the grand cross comes, splitting the area near him, his body slides to the blind spot of the cross. The ground doesn't get all the fun highlights of a boss battle, but the telegraphing is enough for the Enchanter to respond to. He takes measure of the battlefield. There is Kirin and Julius, demigod tier. There are adventurers from S tier to C tier. He C's himself two steps back and rolls a finger over his monocle at he watches Julius' assault. Small white lines appear in semi-circles against the purple lens. White text flies across his eye, "Strength Insufficient". It blinks. There is a deadpan look on Haru's face, "Et tu, monocle, et tu?" No way to get a read on the opponent's weakness this way. Not without powering up for a few episo-- rounds-- first.

The white-haired man looks over towards where Fuka is on the field, putting something together in his head when he looks back again. Is this really working or is this more like button mashing against one of those cutscenes with a hit point bar beyond the DPS abilities of that part in the story? Game logic. He considers, rolling the orb into his other hand.

Kotono rushes back in after the wave of light dissipates, and Julius quickly drops do the ground, grabbing the blade, and uses the flat to block Kotono's attacks. Kick after kick hits his blade, as he swings it left to right, expertly avoiding her blows. However, thanks to Kotono's interference, Fukaziroh manages to get in low and under his guard. The axe-swing going right for that weak point in his armor, biting down and cutting into his health, leaving a searing red light across his body as he backs off.

"Ah yes! A pun! My little brother loves those." Julius notes, and is quick to recover, his blade shifting to take the first of Vertina's claw strikes! Merek gets in with his song, enlightening Yeowang. The Resonance of the song empowering Fukaziroh's attack, the 'song' of Yeowang's attack allowing her to get in and stab right into that very same spot that Fukaziroh just got, causing Julius to crumple down and get to one knee while Vertina keeps coming at him. He grabs at Yeowang with one hand, gripping into her hand and flinging her away like a ragdoll, before he starts to slowly rise, while Vertina is keeping him seriously on his back-foot. Grimacing, but smiling, Julius remarks; "Good! Keep this up!" Until he finally jumps to the air, right into the midst of stones flying past! Stone after flaming stone passing him by. He chops a multitude of them down, but many of them he can't swing at because they go way too wide, until he starts to lower back to the ground, staring at Rylen.

"Wait... are you even trying to hit m... e?" He looks up. "Oooooh." As he spots all the flaming stones in the air. "Ooooooooh." Right before they all center down upon his position, collapsing on the area around him. The Hero holds his blade over his head and summons a magical shield as the area becomes a mass of fire and earth collapsing down on him, detonating and sending debris every which way...

Until the smoke finally clears, and the Hero is standing there, panting, marks of red all over his body, blade held down closer to the ground. Panting with exhaustion as Setsuna's Skeletons approach. Julius raises his blade and stares them down, smirking. Taking in a deep breath and then stomps his foot forward, bringing the blade down. He's about to shatter them as Erufu suddenly switches from ranged to melee, ducking in and stabbing her blades right beneath his sword-arm. Halting his strike with her daggers, her sonic blow holding the strike back, the skeletons get in there and stab into his shoulders, pushing him back. Kirin uses that very moment to redirect the lightning overhead, lowering its head and letting a powerful strike of lightning fall from the skies and electrify Julius. The blow itself sends another wave of debris outwards, bursting across the battlefield!

At the end of it, sparks of electrity are once again curving across his body, just like they had when they originally arrived. Julius pants; "If it was something as demeaning as just fighting because I don't get to go all out, I wouldn't be much of a hero. Though I won't deny this is fun for me right now."

The man then swings his blade around... and slides it back into the scabbard, releasing his hand from the hilt. "That's enough." He decides, and then performs a deep bow towards the Adventurers and Kirin. "I know when I am bested. And unlike you Adventurers, I don't enjoy the boon of Resurrection. As such, I will be taking my leave here. Still. I am glad. It looks like the future may look bright for us. Thank you, Adventurers. And good luck. I hope we will speak on better terms in the future." As he suddenly brings his hand down to the ground, and a fierce Smoke suddenly billows out. A thick mist blinding people, using the storm season's tough weather conditions to halt the Adventurers from easily spotting him as he... well...

Bravely retreats.

    It's hard to take an opponent lightly when they're just throwing out that much power AND bantering at the same time. Fuka's actually rather impressed, and pleased he acknowledges her humour. She's also a little annoyed that he seems to be comparing her level of humour to his little brother's, which she expects is meant as an insult but isn't certain.

    "Yeah well." Fuka says, shouldering her axe. "Your brother sounds like a fun guy. I doubt there'd be mushroom for us to get together though." she sighs. "It's just not as good when they've already vanished, you know?" she complains.

"What is with this world and being full of cryptic sword hobos!?" Prophylaxis shouts back into the storm as the Hero... makes his retreat. "Damnit, if we had a bit more firepower..." This would have been an excellent opportunity to deny the enemy a valuable strategic asset, but... Why did it sound like he didn't exactly have much interest in the supposed goals of this war...?

The doctor huffs and shakes his head, "Alright, everyone. Fall in for healing. That was a rough one--" He looks towards the Kirin, then gestures for it to approach as well. "You too. You've taken more of a beating than any of us. The least I can do is to dress your wounds, o' Divine Beast."

Yeowang is flung away ass over teakettle, tumbling to a stop with positive HP, if only just. Now that's a narrow survival margin. She's not sure how the magic works, it confuses her, but she firms her resolve to work out some way to get some of her health back. After a fight in the ring, sometimes her opponents would take a hit from an oxygen machine, though normally her school's rules forbade those in tournaments.

Picking herself up, she watches the enemy go, and good riddance to him, though even if they couldn't press the win, at least none of us died. She's mildly embarassed at her poor performance, but when Proph calls for people to be healed, she'll reluctantly line up. She'll be damned if she walks back to town at 1 HP only to die to a wind-blown stone.

Haru leaves the whole thing in a better state. Was he... was he just /testing/ us? A sort of 'bad things are coming so I must put your mettle to the test' sort of testing us? A hand draws to his face and slowly slides down. "Im shore if we stop krilling each other for a while, kweh could all have a good time. Whale, thats what I think," he says to the bravely retreating hero. Haru isn't saying it loud enough to carry, more an idle statement as he makes his way back towards the group, formal.

When the storm rumbles above Vertina jerks back to break off her flurry of blows, opting to get the hell out of the way of the smiting lightning called down by Kirin. She twists around, getting behind the man so there's something vagely between her and the inbound attack. Then slams a foot into the ground, causing rocks to burst out and catapult her away from the strike zone. A haphazard backflip follows, but she manages to land on her feet.

Only for Julius to chew the scenery, what's left of it, and SMOKEBOMB his way out of the fight.

"Hmph," the Salamander finally mutters, waving away some of the smoke. "Some of them are smart enough to tactically withdraw." She brushes herself off, then waves Prophylaxis towards the others. "I'm fine, Doc. Nothing more than some rough upped briuses. Worry abou--Oh, yeah." She draws a bit of chi, making her hands glow soothinglu. "I can actually help with patching people up."

A smirk lifts on the corner of Rylen's mouth as he blows a few strands of white hair out of his face. If nothing else, he could bring the firepower, sometimes quite literally. In the end, he sees no reason to give chase as the Hero flees the scene, but he crosses his arms over his chest. "Guess if nothing else, we save a magical pony and I get a bit of actual real combat in. Gods it's been a long time."

The Beastmaster isn't about to decline healing, so he makes sure to approach with the others when it is offered. "Thanks for the healing, Doc." He inclines his head to the Scale Emblem leader.

    Merek looks to the storm while Julius will take off from the combat, then he nods a bit while he maneuvers to walk to Proph, adjusting his gloves with the gauntlet along that wrist.

Erufu knows she cna't keep it up much longer though the 'hero' mentioning he ahs a little brother? That is troubling but there's no time to worry about that. Julius is looking like he's about to get to dropping another major attack. This however does not happen he also notes he's not an ... Adventurer? Wait what? Or is he someone whose memory drained all the way out?

"Wait he was .... we should worry about our friend here Kirin needs more heal;ing I would say..."

    Fuka snickers at Haru's words. Puns are lame, but she loves them when they're super lame. The groaners are the best. "You have the sense of humour of that jerk's little brother!" she claims approvingly.

    Pausing as healing is discussed, Fuka hmms thoughtfully. "I have moderate healing power available, if it'd help." she offers. And the kirin is rather brutalized, so... probably wise. And what's the worst that can happen?

    Setsuna watches the coward run away and when he is almost out of ear shot he shouts, " You come back here and finish what we interupted damn it!" With a groan and a cough he sighs as he goes over to see the battlefield doctor. "You know doctor if we really wanted to fight him there are probably ways to force the issue." Staring in the direction that Julius ran off he sighs and shakes his head before he rubs at his neck. " Definately need to get faster though. " Turning his head he looks at Kirin and sizes him up for a moment before shaking his head for some reason or another.

    Miyako has time for one last chorus as she watches the foreign knight make his final actions of the battle.

        And the winds are singing freedom
        They sing it everywhere
        They sing it on the mountainside
        And in the city square

    With the knight departing, she settles on a fallen tree, one of many tumbled over by the force of the battle, and continues.

        They sing of a new day dawning
        When all peoples will be free
        Come and join the song of freedom
        Let it ring from sea to sea

    She strums a few more lines, then slows to a stop. "Yet more idiots wandering around, I see," she grumbles. A dark look crosses her face and her hand tightens around the neck of the guitar, until the wood creaks and she catches herself just in time before she might damage the rather precious instrument.

Shaking her head, Kotono makes her way to join Miyako on the fallen tree. She scowls as she looks to her friend. "That could have gone a lot better," She says before sighing as she looks down at the ground. "It could've been worse though I suppose." She shrugs. "I think we should get a drink and then relax."

Vertina gives Setsuna a pat on the shoulder after his get faster remark. "It's worked for me!" She did just repeatedly dodge lightning after all.

Kirin isn't too keen on sticking around. And it's rather nervous. Pacing and moving about. Its body is trembling. The Kirin accepts Prophylaxis' healing, but it refuses to drop its guard. Sparks of lightning following and jumping to anyone who might get even remotely close at the moment. By all means, the Adventurers likely could not defeat it at this time with the wounds they've already taken. But the Kirin seems nervous regardless. Constantly staring along the horizon of trees, trying to see if it'll be engaged upon again! Its nervous energy constantly sending sparks every which way.

Technically speaking, Prophylaxis is about as vulnerable to lightning as anyone else. But! He is currently being healed. And more importantly: he understands physics! The doctor carefully surrounds his boots with a layer of heavy frost before approaching the Divine Beast to deliver as much medicine as he can safely administer. He might still get shocked, but with Fuka providing additional healing, he'll survive.

"Go," he says once he's done. "We'll do what we can to cover your tracks." He nods to Rylen, then regards the rest of the party, "The Mage's Tower will need to be told about this; I don't think they'll appreciate people coming at the Divine Beasts with the intent to capture or kill."

    Fukaziroh's healing magics are ranged, but the kirin's reaction tugs at her. "It's okay." she says softly, her voice gentler than usual, her heart going out to the poor panicked and hurting thing. "You can go soon, but please, let us help you. Heal you, make you as strong as possible so you can get away safely. Wait, please, and go when it's safe. We'll protect you until you're healed."

As Fukaziroh approaches, Kirin keeps clomping and stepping. Each slam of its hoofs sending small thunderclaps and shockwaves outwards. But as she gets closer, offering out her words and a gentle tone, it seems to calm a bit. It certainly helps that it's being healed right then. But the lightning around its body begins to dissipate, slowly releasing some of its prickly defenses.

After a bit, Fukaziroh manages to get closer. To almost get within range to touch - though Kirin cannot stop being 'charged with deadly electricity' any more than a human can stop breathing for very long (while remaining alive). Still, there is a moment there. A moment there it looks Fukaziroh directly in the eyes... and a calmth overcomes both of them. A bit of electricity leaping across between the two of them, and Fukaziroh's eyes seeming to light up with electric blue for just a short moment.

Haru is really sure how to take this whole thing with Fuka and Kirin. So he stands there and watches it go down and hopes for the best. Nothing has been scorched to ash yet.

Prophylaxis steps back with a sigh as his supply of medicine is exhausted. Fuka managing to keep the Kirin calm enough for the doctor to treat to his exacting standards is... Helpful. But when he sees that electric blue blaze in the little axe maiden's eyes...

"Well!" The doctor says with a smile, "I didn't think a Divine Beast could attune to more than one person at a time. Fascinating. You've started down an interesting path now, Fuka."

    Not entirely sure why she's doing this, Fukaziroh does it nonetheless. Part of it is her nature with regards to animals of course. Game skills and aptitudes, sure, but also her true heart as well. She could stand getting hit by the lightning, probably. She's a lot tougher than she might look after all. But more than that, she doesn't think she's actually in serious danger. She approaches only as close as she feels safe to do so, reading the levels of fear and trust as best she can in the alien expression, keeping up soft words in an effort to project calm trustworthiness.

    When others see what appears to be light flare in Fuka's eyes, she sees... well, she didn't expect that. She gives her head a little shake, but stays where she is, not hurt. But she stands her ground, arm outstretched nearly to the point of receiving shocks, projecting the healing light until the spell ends. Only then does she take a step back, smiling peacefully (yes, a rare moment for her).

    She looks back, sees what she supposes must be worry on Haru's face. "It's okay." she says, in much the same tones as she used on the kirin itself. "I'm not sure what just happened, but I'm not hurt." she soothes.

"Yeah," Haru replies with a lopsided smile. "I'd argue its the whole other way around. Super Fuka. Able to calm Divine beasts with a single word." He does a broad stroke across the landscape. "Faster than a speeding lightning bolt." He isn't sure how to take it, so it isnt concern. Uncertainty with a wonderful mask of humor on top of it. "Glad both you and Kirin are doing well," he says, looking over to the Divine Beast. He motions back to civilization, "I'm heading back. Got some things that need doing." A hand raises to those that are still here, "Nice to see everyone is healthy, for that matter. Til next time." He needs to stick to towns more.

    Fuka grins at that, and the grin is much more her normal sort of thing rather than this gentle and calm Fuka. She even gives Haru's shoulder a playful whack. "Yeah, we should head back!" she agrees.

    "Congratulations on making a friend," Miyako offers, after some thought. Perhaps the sleepy Kotono leaning against her shoulder distracted her. "Now what? Is she coming home with you? Do we need to set up a luxury stall next to your house?" She chuckles lightly and plays a mocking trill on her guitar.

    "A friend... yes." Fuka agrees slowly, thoughtfully. Then she grins again. "Not a pet though. No, definitely not. No more than I could make a pet out of lightning itself!"

"You'd still try," Haru asides, because lets face it she would. He would too. Technically he already does with his Sprite summons. Next up: Air. Chibi Kirin.

    After a moment Fuka's eyes sort of refocus as she realizes something. Don't mind her, she's a little light-headed right now. Yes it's a pun. "What do you mean, attune? This happened to someone else too? And... what path? Prof, teach me your wisdom!" she insists, though it has more of a sound of a jest than a true plea.

"Well! Basically," Prophylaxis answers, assuming Teaching Pose 8-Z, "You've formed a bond with the Kirin. By fostering and nurturing this bond through meditation and psychedelic medication, you can learn to add its strength to your own. For instance, by improving your mastery of Air elemental abilities, or creating spells that draw upon that bond, as I've done with my connection to the Yuki-Onna." Beat. Prophylaxis removes a thermos from his pack, and sips from what smells like warm soup. "Comes with responsibilities, though. You want to make sure your bond is strong, and that the Kirin is nice and healthy. There are some other effects too, but I don't know how to study them at this juncture."