Apocalypse III-B - Southern Peak

The Ezzo Team arrives at the Southern Tip of the Ezzo Empire, along with the Bandit King. Having left a large swatch of the Adventurers and Landers behind to catch up, they ride ahead in order to 'Install' a mysterious Shard carried by the black Peko riding male. They are however on a timer, as the corruption of the land seems to be speeding up.

Liminality
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The crew, some on steed, others not so much, have managed to make a lot of headway, leaving the chaos in the rear view mirror for the time being. If any of the crew has a spyglass, they could look at the Adventurers and Landers lagging behind, and the occassional blast or spell going off, taking out lower level mobs. But they're constantly having to maneuver around. The quantity of 'Infected', as the Bandit King has dubbed them, is getting worse and worse. And Ezzo is already a bit of a shit-hole when it comes to the levels of the monsters. And it's only gotten worse. Especially in these greener areas.

There's already been a situation where an enormous Red level gorilla chased them right along with a T-Rex of sorts?! It was utterly unreasonable.

"We're getting close." The Bandit king indicates to the Vanguard party, motioning his hand to a huge cliffside. "We're going to have to scale down that side. "
Reika
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Reika's attitude started to shift a bit. In the middle of all of this somewhere, she realized that she can't just let the event be won by the others, it might actually be faster if she helps out.

Problem is, she has no idea how to play this game.

Either way, time is of the essence, and she keeps running. During the trip though, she jumps on the back of one of the mounts, and takes out her spyglass, taking a good look around to try to see where to go. She realized she had it when they stopped earlier, but doesn't really know much else about it right now. But apparently she doesn't have a good handle on it, so it's pretyt much useless right now. "I really suck at this game..."

She hops off the mount, putting her spyglass away, and getting ready to climb down... which she finds surprisingly easy with her agility, hopping down the stones nimbly.
Polaris
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Wait. A cliffside? Holy crap. This is perfect. "AHA! But, my King, do not worry at all!" Polaris declares dramatically. "I _knew_ this would happen! It is exactly why I procured this steed!" They can barely command their goat of unusual size. But, in this case, that's actually for the best. Mountain goats are experts at navigating cliffsides! All Polaris needs to do is make the goat move towards the cliffside. Its own natural ability to navigate down will handle all the rest! "OBSERVE MY PATH! The guiding light of the north star will light the way!"

The goat straight-up kicks Polaris's head in several times on the way down because of how rough they have to get, but the knight does manage to coerce it to perform its powerful navigation on the cliffside, granting a safe way to descend... though a few gleaming red shimmering impact points mark the helm now. "ONWARD!"
Haseo
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     "Pffft. If you suck at the game, just stay out of the way the people that know what they're doing and there won't be any complaints."

     Unsurprisingly, Haseo's just as cold and rude as he's always been. Though now he's vocalizing it for everyone to hear. It's a step up? Or down? Depends on the outlook.

     The Imp Legionnaire is pretty sure this Bandit King has uttered something similar to 'we're getting close' several times throughout this entire ordeal. Or maybe it's all in his head. Either way, they're faced with yet another obstacle in their way.

     Climbing.

     He doesn't have any climbing gear to make the trip down easier. Or a steed specialized in climbing down steep cliff sides. All he has is himself, and his hands.

     That's probably enough. With a heave and a ho, Haseo begins climbing down, using his hands and feet to find crevices and holds to grasp on to. It's pretty decently sized climb, and he doesn't want to test if there's still fall damage.
Proteus
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Proteus mutters to herself about aggro radiuses and people not doing anything to properly move around them. Reika's self-recriminations get a little glance from the Imp. "Everyone starts somewhere. Stick with it and you'll get what you need. Not that we have a choice at the moment."

    There is the matter of the cliff, however. "This stupid thing..." She watches Polaris bound down with the goat and shakes her head. "There has to be a better way than that. Perhaps I will simply make one." With another flash of Whirling Disc, she conjures another buzzing water blade and carves a line of handholds into the wall. "There." She says, enjoying the look of her work, and begins climbing down.

This is all well and good until she gets about halfway down, where her inability to identify a weak area thanks to various reasons results in the rock crumbling under her hand and she pitches over. "THIS ISN'T GOOD!" She yells as she begins falling towards that none-too-soft-looking ground...
Wynfei
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    Wynfei has been up front most of the journey, though he does slow at times to look at larger group behind them. He hopes the players who are guarding the Landers can keep them safe. He runs over to where Reika as he hears her say she can't play. "Well there is no better time to learn then now." he says as he looks to her. He smiles at her, "My name is Wynfei." he says as he holds out his hand to shake hers.
    Yeah this is a odd time to introduce ones self but hey it may ease the tension a bit. "What's yours?" he asks. "Also what classes did you go with for your character?" he asks. "You should be able to look at your stats in the menu. I would....." he pauses as they all make it to the cliff. "I will head down first." he says as he bounces on the balls of his feet. His golden eyes seem to glimmer and his tail seems to dance behind him. If given her name, Wynfei looks to her, "You have stats/attributes, skills and concepts check them out in your UI, User Interface. That will give you a good idea as to what abilities and such you have." he tells her.
    Wynfei moves to the edge of the cliffside and crouches on balances on the balls of his feet, "That is pretty steep, you all be careful, if we have to climb down, be sure of what you're grabbing." Leaning forward he swings himself down and begins climbing down.
Att Syne
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Fortunately, Att Syne is where you least expect him and most need him.

Within your personal space on the side of a cliff.

Att suddenly grabs Proteus one-handed, braced slightly higher up and roughly adjacent to her descent in a natural chimney with both legs and one arm, kind of bent awkwardly at the waist. He hauls her up until he's straight-backed, exhaling hard. Weirdly, that wasn't that difficult, but it sure did bring a moment of intense vertigo. "Okay. Maybe next time: rope. You good, or do you need a sec?"
Liminality
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The Bandit King finally comes down from the black Peko. His heavy armor jingling with each movement until he steps down onto the ground. It doesn't look like he's suffering from any exhaustion or saddle pains. He just gets off, and moves towards the cliff with the rest of the team.

"You'll manage. I believe you all of you." The Bandit King answers, patting Reika on the shoulder with a firm grip, giving her a sense of utter earnesty in the man's words.

The man lets them all go first, watching them, some minor concern showing. When the rest starts working their way down, the Bandit King finally follows. Large 'hooks' coming from the boots and gauntlets of his armor, which he begins to use to slowly scale down the edge of the cliff.

One step at a time. He's slower than the rest of them, what with having to hook the armor each time, but it's a steady rate.

There's a moment where the man halts, noticing Proteus' losing her footing and motions his hand out, almost like he's about to try and catch her, or do something. But Att Syne manages to get to her in time. The Bandit King looks /very/ visually relieved, after that deep grimace.

The team continues to make their way down the side, until they get to a small outcropping, with... a wall just halting progression. This is when the Bandit King touches the wall. A ripple of light presses into the wall, and it begins to shimmer and shine. The Bandit King seems to be moving his mouth, but the others hear no sound. Lines of light continue to shimmer over the wall, until finally...

It disappears, almost like a hologram, revealing a massive metalic inner building. The moment they take a step in, lights suddenly begin to light up at the sides, guiding a path towards a large platform over a massive chasm in the distance.
Reika
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Reika lands at the outcropping with a 'hup', easily enough despite the normally daunting task. Maybe it's because it's just a game after all. But for the girl that only took a few steps outside of Root Town up to now, everything is new... and kinda fun when you accomplish it. Even in this situation. "Uhm, I'm Kamiya Reika, a Nero Idol." The name is gaining popularity, between her songs and the advertisements she starred in. Not that they mean that much here right now. She tilts her head, calling up the menu "Uhm, it says that I'm an Enchanter/Twin Blade here..." She looks dressed like a ninja, with a light dress and footwork, and two short blades crossed in the small of her back. "I honestly didn't really pay attention to any of it, I just let my fans pick up my things during my livestreams. Except my looks anyway." She's pretty much the same as in Real Life after all, for those that know her.

She looks at the entrance here, hmming. "That looks different... this isn't because of the... green stuff, I hope."
Polaris
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Polaris lands cleanly. They smug, gently, at Proteus. "There has to be a better way than that." Oh, what a jerk. "Please! Next time, acquire a goat!" Or don't, Polaris's helmet still shimmers with red.

They leave the goat outside on the outcropping.

Heading inside, they look around, an eye beneath their helmet narrowing. "My King?" Polaris speaks up. "What... is _this_? This seems unnatural." This reminds Polaris of another world. A world they don't want to think about right now. But it also reminds them of older lore. "How long has this been here? I am reminded of..." Older Alv ruins, maybe? Is that what this looks like? The black knight trails off. Their clompy steps sound uncertain. Why does the Bandit King know of a place like this?

They keep their helm on a swivel. No telling how far the Infection might have reached.
Haseo
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     Climbing down the cliff side goes without a hitch, and soon, the Bandit King is revealing a massive hidden building. That's new, but maybe not unheard of? Hell if he knows, it's not like he takes his time exploring maps or anything.

     Once inside, he takes a moment to take in his surroundings, before asking a question.

     "So, I take it this is where we're putting that important object you've been talking about, right?"
Wynfei
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    Wynfei moves down the cliffside pretty easily, though he does poke his finger and it happens again. "Anyone feeling pain from the things we've doing?" he asks to the others as they climb down. Once they make it down, he hops down and he looks to the door and stretches. He looks at the door and as it open and they walk inside. His eyes widen a bit, this is similar to the real world, he shakes his head, "Yeah what is this?" he asks as he looks over to the Bandit King.

    "Is everyone alright?" he asks and as Reika comes down he walks over to her. He quirks a brow up at her as she explains what classes she is, "Damn, that is pretty cool." he says to her. "Well hopefully you don't have to use those skills, but if you wanna help you're going to need to learn how combat works along with other things. I feel we all can you help you." he smiles. "Nice to meet you Reika." he bows his head to her. He looks over to Polaris, "Yeah..." he says to her as she mentions she is reminded and trails off.
Proteus
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There is a moment where Proteus begins to consider what fall damage is going to be like in a moment.... But Att comes to her rescue. There is a grunt as she is caught, barely holding against him and looking up at her guildmate. "Rope would be great... If we had any." She mutters. There is a moment where she breathes, holding very still... Before the carefully grabs back against the handholds and tests them carefully. "I'll be more careful." She promises Att. The fact that the Bandit King seems to have also taken a concern in her brings a odd, shadowed look to her face as she works her way down with the others.

Eventually, she reaches the ground. She looks around at the others and tries to straighten her cloak and clothes, pretending that near-brush with the ground didn't happen. Pointedly, she tries to ignore the smug radiating from Polaris. You have this round, knight. She does, however, follow along and keep an eye on the exact area that the Bandit King is touching. She glances up and around, marking the environment and what landmarks she can see in the distance.

She might want to return to this place at some point after all.

But she enters the building with the others, silent as she examines the metallic area, such a departure from the other environments. "Is this place supposed to be here?" She asks aloud. Her gaze moves to Reika and she nods. "You're right. This is different... So. A Nero Idol, huh?" She chuckles. "Did you have a lot of followers?"

Wynfei gets a shake of the head. "No, not really much at all. Then again, I haven't actually been hit. Just mostly the exhaustion effect."
Att Syne
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"Alright. Let's get moving, then." Att lets Proteus go. He follows closely, cautiously. Just in case.

The outcropping with the weird wall gets his attention. He's about to move up to examine it when the Bandit King takes care of it. He gives him a sidelong look. "I presume this is part of what you meant by us not having the ability to take care of the problem alone." He lets him lead the way in, and then he's right on his heels, craning his neck this way and that. He ends up walking backwards for part of it, snapping his fingers and pointing at Reika. "I thought I recognized your avatar. I've seen your picture around. Thought maybe you were just a turbo fan."
Liminality
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The Bandit King is quiet at the mention of the Alvs, and simply moves forward, slowly reaching into the bag he's got on him. "This isn't right, there should be a Guardian here..." He remarks with a dire tone. The deeper they enter, the further they come out over the large metalic 'bridge' that leads to a circular location.

"Correct." The Bandit King then answers Haseo... or Att Syne... it is hard to tell. "I need to get to the panel over there, and insert the slot, before entering the override for this region."

There is a pause, right as two large hands suddenly clamp onto the sides of the platform. And an /enormous/ Elemental Machine raises itself up. A golem with a singular central red eye that quickly opens up. A rush of red light spreading forward. Notably, its main body appears to be covered in that green light they've seen before.

"... can I leave this to you?" The Bandit King asks.
Reika
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Reika tuts at Proteus's question "I *have* followers. 60k followers on Twitter." She answers playfully, winking. She's not boasting about how fast or how much that is compared to others, that's useless. She appreciates the followers she *has*, and tries to appeal to more, not steal them. They are allowed to like more than one after all, right? "I've done a bit of everything, getting my toes wet you could say, try to see what works better." She counts on her fingers "Made songs, gravure, posters, calendars, advertisements... Now I was suggested to get into the game as myself for some PR... I didn't really play the game, just showed up in it." Not that she imagined this happening of course. She blinks "Did my manager know about this?"

She was talking for lack of having anything to do... until the guardian appears "Oh... that... looks serious enough." Well its going to die faster if she helps poke it a bit... even though she's not sure how.
Polaris
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That silence. What is going on here, exactly? The Black Knight resolves to find out. Can't leave Chekov's Gun un-fired in a legend. But don't press it. Polaris needs to solve this matter first. "That would be the Guardian!" Polaris roars, brandishing their spear. "I will do all I can to slow it! You, with that horrid cursed arm, TEAR THAT SHIELD APART SO I CAN SKEWER THIS VILE THING!" They demand of Haseo.

Polaris raises a spear again. There's that heavy round-loading "KA-CHUNK" as they load the Halting Tip. "HALTIIIIING STRIIIIIIKE!!" They rush in fast, shining light enveloping their spear as they attempt to impact the thing's eye at surprising speed, and slow it down to buy extra time to complete a Data Drain on it.
Haseo
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     "Uh-huh. Well, after you've set things up, I actually want an explanation that doesn't feel like we're just being rushed through things. Pretty sure some other people would like that too."

     As they're greeted with another glitched out entity, this time a massive machine, Haseo's already pulling on the scarf around his arm as he fully tightens it. He doesn't even need anyone else to tell him to do this, and he quietly rolls his eyes at Polaris as he continues to roleplay.

     There's a very, tiny small part of him that thinks maybe he shouldn't rely on something he barely understands, but it's massively drowned out by more logical things. Like the fact this scarf is just a tool, why wouldn't he use it? Only an idiot doesn't use the tools they're given.

     "Alright then. Come /ON/... I'm right HERE! SKEITH!"

     While not actually sure if he has to call on the power each time, he goes through the motions yet again. If anything, it makes him feel like he's in control. He tones it down a bit compared to last time however.

     Various glitch like panels wrap around his arm to create a bestial claw before he swings it into the Elemental Machine, jumping up and aiming for the creature's eye as he aims to remove its protection.
Proteus
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"60K? That's pretty good!" She says, chuckling for a moment at Reika's response. "I can't say I am the same. I don't really like audiences." Though there is a frown as she mentions the nature of her interaction with the game. It's like a switch flipped in her interaction, and her tone becomes much less cordial. "I see." She says, and simply turns away.

Proteus examines the environment where she can and checks the technological environment closely. "A Guardian?" She asks, looking up. "I don't see one... But what kind of override are you talking about? What kind of subsystem are you interfacing with? What is that crystal you carry supposed to be, really?"

The massive hands slam down, interrupting the situation. She leaps backwards, naturally getting behind the more durable associates she has as she grimaces at the sight of the green shield-barriers that indicate that corrupted defense that makes them invulnerable to the group's attacks.

But they have an answer. "Haseo... Can you do it again?" She asks. "We can't fight this thing if we don't remove those defenses!" She delays for Haseo to do what he can. "This thing... Of course we're going to be expected to fight something this powerful. I am already getting tired of this event..." Again, she calls up another Whirling Disc, pulling her hands back and flinging the spinning blade of water at the glowing red eye once Haseo has broken the shields.
Reika
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Reika can feel that she made someone disappointed, but she doesn't know 'why'. Yet right now, there's bigger things to take care of. She reaches for one of her swords (not even knowing she can use two of them yet), and holds it tightly, probably not in the right way either "Ahh, uhm, you gotta say your attack name too?" She has no idea how this works, so she does what she's done with her fans before, when they were letting her get the kill shot on Porings.

She twirls on herself gracefully, and very uselessly, and thrusts the blade at the guardian "SPARKLY LOVE LOVE ATTACK!" Why her fans seem to like this, she's not sure either, but you know, whatever makes them happy.
Wynfei
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    Wynfei is standing with Reika, Proteus and the others. He listens to Reika for a moment and it seems she is calming a bit, but he looks to the Bandit King as he begins speaking about there should be a Guardian here. "That doesn't sound good." he says as he looks around and when the Bandit King points to the console he needs to be, he nods his head. "Alright." he says. "Maybe if he isn't here, we don't have to fi......." he sighs and rubs his face.

    Watching the Guardian come into view, he sighs and he looks to the others, "Yes your majesty." he says as he looks at the monster in front of them. Wynfei winds up one shoulder then the other and as the fighters of the group move in, so does him. Flitting towards the Guardian, "Going after the shield, everyone else flank it!" he calls out. This is something he learned from some players who took him in when he first joined. He moves on the balls of his feet, he doesn't announce his attack, but he moves in such a way that he weaves through the others attacks and as he nears the Guardian, he cuts right and leaps up doing a 'Tornado Kick!' aiming the kick at the point where the sheild is being held hoping to focus his attacks there to take on the Guardian's shield.
Att Syne
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Att Syne really wants to know what the heck is going on with all this. He wants to know how this intersects with the game world, and what they know of it. Unlike Proteus, who seems to just need to know secrets, Att wants to know so he can ruthlessly exploit it -- and, according to his own testimony, to make things /better/. Defining 'better' has always been the challenge...

Guardian, though. That's new. Att watches it rise up, eyes growing progressively wider. "Woah. Uh..." He does some mental arithmatic. "... yeah, I think we got it. Haseo!"

On the heels of Haseo's claw-like attack, Att prepares to command the elements -- and give quick, loud advice to the Discount Magical Girl trying her gosh darned best. "You need to name the skill or do a trigger movement. Look at your list! You're an Enchanter, right? Focus on support!"

Okay. Now the elemental thing.

"Jaws of sea and sky, crush my foe betwixt you! THUNDER FURY!" The incantation isn't strictly necessary, but Att uses it as a timing method, finishing it just as the cast goes off, half a second behind Haseo connecting with his strange technique. Lightning strikes from above and below, bolts rapidly and repeatedly hammering into the thing as Att tries to pile on the damage and weaken its ability to strike back at the same time.
Liminality
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"I believe in you." The Bandit King remarks, as he runs to the center of the platform, with the others advancing ahead of him. To Proteus' ask, he simply shakes his head, "Let's just say I am about to... Cheat. No tactic is off limit.". It's not important in his eyes to say more. Still, he keeps glancing up as they fight. The moment he gets to the center, the slate-gray to white metalic ground rises, bringing what almost looks like a featureless keyboard up, with a single slot in the middle. He lowers his satchel and then grabs for the Shard, and places it inside.

Light immediateley envelops him, in a pillar that rises up to the ceiling of the enormous cavern, as well as what appears to be an endless abyss below. The moment he does, an image seems to flicker over him. A man with pink-purple hair with his left side of his face entirely bandaged off. A brown cloak hanging over him, his hand over the shard... as he presses it deeper in. Seeming to say something, but the words do not reach his allies.

A fierce beam of light lances down into the ground below. The image around him disappears, tears left to pearl in the air as the image fades back, smiling.

----

The battle continues.

The Elemental Machine is touched by Haseo's generated claws, forcing the entire green shield to flicker! Haseo can tell, there's resistance this time. The last time, it went away so easily. He calls out, shouting. But he has to hold that position, touching that thing for an extended period of time as the green 'seaps' away into his scarf. Is it the size? Is it something else? He can't tell!

What he can tell is that it breaks just in time for the attacks to go through! Polaris' blow manages to slow down the movements of the Guardian, its red eye lighting up. A laser suddenly veers out of it, cutting a path between the group. The metal bubbles right where it hits, detonating a second later, splitting up the party for a moment.

Reika's blade reaches it, its HP drops a little. Wynfei's kick slams into its side. Metal and earth rip from it, dangling down to the ground in sparkles of light. Its HP only barely moves with each blow! Att Syne's fierce Thunder Fury comes down, right before it throws the back of its hand towards him - which he barely avoids.

It tries to grab, but Haseo manages to get out of the way thanks to Proteus blade of water! Moments after its fist rises...

A fierce laser cuts its path across the way, racing after others, right before coming down for Reika's position!

And slams down on her person.
Reika
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Reika hears the tips, and nods "Okay! Uhm, what cards do I have?" She doesn't even know. And that's enough distraction as she looks at her UI, apparently. The Guardian's laser comes rapidly, and cuts through her, cleaving from her shoulder to her thigh. It leaves a deep gash, but no blood, it looks like a wireframe even, as the colors of her skin and clothes turn to little diamond flakes and fall off, vanishing into the air. Reika looks... surprised "Is... it supposed to... hurt that much?!?" Those are the last words, as the rest comes out a scream, that raises in pitch and even sounds distorted somehow, like one of those old modems. Her body also starts to glow, as if the wound was rapidly spreading, and then her entire body explodes in colored diamond flakes, leaving only a glow. Perhaps the character's soul, or data at least.
Liminality
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The fierce blow impacts on Reika. The ground trembles, and a shockwave rushes out from her position. Her image is about to shatter, when the Bandit King looks up and casts one hand forward. "I CAST YOU OUT!" Right before her INSPECT information seems to alter for a moment...

An act that quickly causes the Bandit King to falter for a moment. Almost as if that very act winded him, before he turns back to the shard and continues to open and close his mouth. A grimace on his face now. Trying to speed up what he's doing. His mouth opening and closing faster. Various symbols appearing in circles around him.
Polaris
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Polaris skids away from the delayed detonation. "GHHH!! Do not let it touch you! A single strike will be our end!!" They slam their spear into the ground to arrest their momentum, kicking up sparks. Shining eyes under the helm look to the Bandit King... and they widen. "My King?" They whisper, with concern and unease. What is this place? Keyboards and ancient machinery...

And battle. The laser lances through the party and through its idol. "REIKA!!" They shout! Even beyond the facade of legendary behavior, this means the girl is about to be condemned to a repetitive, stressful spawn into a painful environment full of chaos and nonsense. "NO!!" Or... did the Bandit King banish her from the kingdom? Has this given up her connection to the faction once and for all? Polaris knew what the King had claimed needed to happen, but to think it was really what was happening... Teeth clench under the helm. An eye blazes red, burning through the dark at their helm.

"THE NORTH STAR IS BURNING BRIGHT!" They scream. "EN GARDE, YOU BASTARD GOLEM!! YOU WON'T TAKE ONE MORE FROM US!!" The elemental machine raised itself up on its hands. It had better fall the same way. HP was only barely dropping. One hand was occupied with attacking. The other... Polaris will strike the other! "CONCUSSIIIIIIIVE BLOOOOOOOWWWWW!!" They scream, holding their spear more like a club as they swing wide, a massive horizontal strike meant to daze the hand-section and force the golem to lose grip.

If they can't deal lots of damage, then the only thing Polaris can hope to do is cast this thing back down into its pit, and buy the Bandit King a little more time. They only knew Reika a moment, but already they'd lost, in the long-term sense, a fellow member of the Ezzo Empire, and that hurt!
Proteus
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"Cheat faster!" She exclaims to the Bandit King in return. "This isn't the time for some e-bushido!" She turns to look on as the Bandit King performs his task, and she blinks, staring into the light as she is forced to squint. "What the..."

What is even happening? Curiosity and desire burn in her eyes as she sees what is happening. She might not be able to know what he's saying, but that expression... "Wait, are you..." A sudden thought occurs to her. Is the King...

There is no time to think or verbalize the situation as the battle continues to rage. The FREEM of the laser brings her attention back to the moment of chaos, and she yells as she conjures another wash of water, skating on it to slide out of the way in a blatant rejection of friction. "HASEO! MOVE!" She yells, helping to bring him just out of reach of that massive hand. Unfortunately, this leaves her out of position to help someone else...

And Reika falls. In shock she looks back at the way that the player's body begins to disintegrate and explode into a glow "That's not..." she whispers, a subtle horror creeping up... Before the Bandit King intervenes. "Wait, what?" She gasps. "What just happened?" There was that odd flicker...

But the battle isn't over. "Gggh.... you!" She might have been disappointed in Reika, but there is still something about the creature taking out an ally, as momentary as they might be, that seem to rile up Proteus. Her hands shake as she conjures a series of dark purple bolts of power. "ARCANE SHOT!" She cries, hurling a barrage of bolts to try to batter the Guardian with a series of strikes.
Wynfei
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    That large as claw came again, and honestly he is thankful. Wynfei didn't have anything he cna think of right now that would get past that green shield or does he? He hadn't really looked at his stats and such, something he should've done but he was relying on his memory but he hadn't been Level one in a very long time. As the shield is taken down, his attack connects and as he connects, he uses the momentum to flip back and away.

    The green energy is startling but he is able to manuver and get away until he hears Reika ask if it's supposed to hurt that much, "Ok I'm not the only one who...." he stops speaking as he looks to the Ninja Idol. He blinks as he sees her body start to shimmer and break, "REIKA!!!" he calls out towards her, but the Bandit King does something, and he turns to look at him but the Bandit King is doig his thing. His focuses on the Elemental Machine, "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!" anger wells up through Wynfei, they havn't lost anyone until now and with all the changes, he didn't know what was happening or how it would effect them.

    He rushes the golem, his speed increased as energy or lightning crackles around him, Wynfei's feet are moving and he streaks in towards the golem and once within it's guard he throws his arm back telegraphing his strike as he throws an uppercut that propels him into the air and he spirals as he strike, "SHORYUKEN!!!!!"
Polaris
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Despite their moronic behavior, the black knight is observant to a certain degree. Polaris roars to Proteus amid their sweeping strikes, answering, "HE CAST HER OUT! To prevent her from reviving in that infected hell! She's been made unaffiliated _entirely!!_ Make that legendary sacrifice WORTH SOMETHING, because we have few more we can afford make!" Urgent energy fills their voice with a battle-cry. "HOOOOOAAAAAAAAH!"
Att Syne
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The hand sweeps forward. Att's timing is impeccable, his backstep flinging him just beyond the reach of the end of its arm. His feet touch the ground and slide, carried backwards by the shockwave from the hit that /does/ connect... and instantly kills the newbie.

Att feels his stomach lurch. He might be dismissive of some of his fellow Adventurers for reasons varied and ultimately his own, but a new player thrust into this mess doesn't deserve the kind of end she just met. Normally, he'd just wait for her to respawn and then walk her through better practices to succeed in this world, but the Bandit King's reminder that they'll come back in the Root Town -- the one that is in a state of utter chaos and constant flux, where this whole mess seemingly began -- hangs over his head like a veritable Sword of Damocles. 'Is it supposed to hurt that much?!' is not the sort of last words he expected, because it shouldn't. It shouldn't hurt that much.

"Shit. /Shit/! Focus on evasion! We just need to buy time!" Att raises his staff --

-- and draws his sword. The feeling and weight of it in his hand is comfortingly familiar. He was a beta tester for 'that game' -- swordplay comes second nature to him, now. He charges the mechanical monster, eerie light glinting off the edge of the longsword as he raises it into a diagonal guard. His staff is held one-handed, diamond-shaped tip pointed towards the floor, the butt of the weapon parallel to his extended arm. Att goes in low, hand and wrist twitching in a pattern he's done hundreds of times, jaw tightening just as he reaches the front of the creature.

"FLAME --" Att strikes the ground with the point at the top of his staff. He drags it across the walkway, diving underneath and past the Elemental Machine. The path he drags glows bright red. His right hand, sword clutched tight, flickers up and forward, side to side, a series of burning lines tracking across the surface of the ungodly powerful monster before them. Att Syne reaches the other side, slamming one foot down, twisting in place to face the other direction in a crouch, one foot extended and cutting a smooth crescent line in the dust. "*WALL!*"

The line explodes upwards in a roaring wave of elemental fire. Nominally used as a defensive screen, Att conjures it instead as a broad hazard to constantly scorch the enemy -- and, combined with his wordlessly-executed Twin Dragons technique, causes it to detonate and rise up from multiple angles simultaneously instead of using it as a linear hazard.
Haseo
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     Haseo manages to avoid getting grabbed thanks to Proteus' intervention as he finishes breaking the glitched Guardian's protection, dropping back to the ground as he takes the brief period to unsheathe a proper weapon from his inventory. A massive, boring looking greatsword.

     Just as he's about to go on the offensive, he hears the scream of Reika as her character model starts breaking up, causing him to freeze.

     His hesitation is less than a second, but Haseo breaks out into a cold sweat and dozens of thoughts pace through his mind. This isn't a normal enemy. And that wasn't normal death. She's probably not truly gone, and hell, he doesn't even know her that well, but the situation reminds him of...

     "YOU BASTARD!"

     Hesitation is replaced with rage as he grips the hilt of his weapon so hard there's a slight fear he might break it, before rushing forward, attempting to thrust the massive sword into a less armored part of the Guardian, backing the attack with the entirety of his weight.
Liminality
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The King is hacking as fast as he can, it would seem. Each motion of their mouth fast, long. Chanting into the light barrier around him. Words, sounds unheard by others. Not meant for their ears, only being spoken for the sake of this shard as it lights up faster. The beam that descends into the bottom of this cavern continues to flicker with each syllable.

Polaris' spear is allowing the team a bit of an easier time, thanks to the Slowing effect on his Relic. But each time he manages to make contact, the debuff runs out faster. It's clearly got reduced returns on it. Reika is cut and smashed down, and the Guardian doesn't even pause for a moment. Its crimson search-light quickly tries to find someone else to target down!

Where Reika once was, is now a Grave Stone. One that is counting down:

24:00:00
23:59:59

Polaris tries to push the thing back down into the pit, but he lacks the strength for such great a task!

Proteus' Arcane Shot slams into the Guardian's face, rattling the thing for a moment, only for flame to writhe over its body. Its HP ticking away faster in such tiny chunks, it's just agonizing to watch.

And the moment it gets to about 95% HP, there's a small tick 'UP' back to 96% HP.

Of the ten bars it has, stacked on its INSPECT window.

Wynfei continues the fight, casting forth fierce power with an uppercut, scraping the chest of the Elemental Machine. The thing raises its hand, forming a massive blade of swords, which then comes down sweeping at a horizontal line, aimed rather precisely for everyone's bellies! The sword easily as big as a small house by itself.

"Almost! The moment the Light appears, I am going to need all of you to run out, and to take this King with you!" The Bandit King calls out!
Polaris
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Too much. Too much? God dammit! "Fiend... No... NO! I WON'T BE DENIED! I WON'T BE THE ONE WHO YIELDS! _YOU WILL!_" Think. Think. Think, think, THINK, Polaris! Don't let this moment pass you by! You're a legend, and legends don't die or get sidelined! FOCUS! What mechanics can you use? What do you have to work with here? What game mechanics can give you the advantage here?

Game mechanics...

Mechanics...

A light blazes in Polaris's eye under the helm. "You will _yield._ FIERCE STAB!!" They FIERCE STAB their spear towards the hand, intending to lodge... just under it! /Between/ the hand and the ground, jammed at an angle! "SHIELD BASH!!" They rush and slam their shield into the space under it, lodging it there firmly.

With a mighty leap, they use EVASIVE MANEUVERS to avoid the horizontal slash, moving high above it. And to get some airtime. In their hands, at the arc of it, is now a heavy warhammer. "HAMMER STRIIIIIIIIKE!" They fall down, and strike their own spear from above with the hammer.

Mechanics. A lever, the spear. A fulcrum, the shield. A force, the hammer. It should create a massive upward force, or else carve a brutal slice through the machinery of the hand. "COME KNOW THE LEGENDARY STRENGTH OF A STAR WHEN IT SHOULD CHOOSE TO _FALL!_" They roar!

Not enough strength? Use mechanics to make some. No game mechanics to use? Well, use _classic_ mechanics.
Proteus
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The tragedy of Reika's death is a problem, but not one she can do anything about. Resurrection is far beyond her capabilities, especially now that she has lost all of her advanced skills and levels. The massive blade is brought up, and the huge thing sweeps horizontally. "You think you are going to hit me with that?" She says, flipping into the air. "Energy Coat!" She calls out, the air around her humming and shifting as a layer of subtle force surrounds her... And in a display of mocking speed, handplants on the massive blade to vault off of it and land neatly on the other side.

Att brings up a good point. They're not going to kill this thing. They're buying time. Buying time is something Proteus is very good at. With a shifting of her hands, she calls out, "Omen!" There is a burst of dark power, and rings of runes surround the massive Guardian, breaking down its futures, making it harder for it to continue to press its lethal and devastating attacks.
Wynfei
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    The tombstone sits there as a reminder to them all. Reika wasn't coming back and it looks like it's on a timer. Kicking off the Guardian and landing in a crouch, Wynfei looks up at it, he growls as the creatures bar up tics up to one percent. "We have to hit this damn thing hard, we can't lose anyone else!" he snarls as he looks to the others as they attack. He growls and leaps towards the golom, this time as he leaps in towards the creature he spins his whole body, his tail spinning around him as well, he aims a punch towards one of the green glowing things on it. He didn't know if his strike would do anything additional to it, but it wouldn't hurt to try right?
Att Syne
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Gravestone. Okay. 24-hour timer? Not okay. Att makes a mental note and then gets in motion.

The gut-ripping sword technique goes low, so Att goes high. He jumps over the swing, tucking his legs in so the swipe misses him completely. He drops and rolls on the far side of it, coming up and jabbing his staff at the boss-monster. "No we /don't/ have to hit it hard, we just have to keep it's attention! Focus on survival!" The end of his staff glows... darkly? It gets surrounded in an ominous inky aura, which manifests in a, "Dark Ball!"

Att lobs a ball of black and violet crackling energy into the thing's optics. If it can't see them, it's going to have a hell of a time hitting them. He doesn't even worry about how much damage he's doing; he just needs to slow it down.
Haseo
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     The Guardian, despite having its corruption removed, is still beyond their ability to defeat. So what the hell was the point of removing it in the first place?

     Haseo falls back to assess the situation. They just need to hold it at bay, right? Until this Bandit King finishes whatever he is he's doing? That's what everyone else is saying.

     Well, the only way to do that is to keep attacking, as pointless as it all is, so Haseo runs back up, slashing the sword against the length of the Guardian's armor plating.
Liminality
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Polaris' strike comes down upon the spear, behind the shield. The force rears, cutting the machine's hand. A fierce red streak appearing. Right before the spear shatters from the sheer tension it was forced to endure beneath that starfall strike!

Polaris is going to have to start stocking up on Level 1 Spears.

Omen!

The black energy ripples across its body.

DARK BALL.

Arcane upon Arcane energy, they combi into a fiercer blow. All together, lifting its hand off and causing it to stumble for a moment. To jolt down. A loud THRUMMM follows...

Wynfei punches as the thing is failing to keep its leverage on the platform, and slams into one of the typical green lights of an Elemental Machine, causing it to be blown back further, shattering the crystal there. The Gut Ripper that follows rending over its body...

Then...

LIGHT!

A fierce, powerful light blasts up from beneath the platform. Blasting up into the air. Rushing through the world. From within, up, out into space. Blue light, intermixed with white pearlescent color flows up. The platform starting to disappear. The Guardian roaring, slowly being melted away. Small flashes of white coursing over it. It isn't so much as being 'ripped' apart, as it is being 'erased' wherever it touches this blue-white light that keeps rushing up.

Behind them, the console disappears, the shard going down into the platform, remaining there. Focusing some of the light up into the skies. The only thing remaining at the center of that platform to indicate that there was ever a console - what looks like a chess piece in the form of a King.

And the Bandit King stands there, smiling up at the sky for a moment, as if he's watching something nobody else can see rising into the air. He then looks towards Proteus and the rest for a moment, seeming to mouth something to them that goes unheard.

Before there's a shake of his body. His smile disappears. And the man looks confused.

"Where am I? Wh... what's going on?" They quickly look down at their body, then at the others present. Blinking.
Att Syne
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DARK BALL turns out to be the correct decision. The combination of arcane attacks hampers it enough to keep it from following up on its blade attack. Att lowers his staff a fraction when the light wells up, squinting against the glare. It's somehow awe-inspiring. He sometimes forgets the beauty and wonder that these kinds of games can inspire in people.

Att cautiously steps out towards the center of the platform once the initial flare of light fades. He walks with purpose after that, going to retrieve the chess piece and the Bandit King both, his weapons returning to his inventory. "I think you were possessed. We can explain later; we need to get out of here now." Att puts a hand on the Bandit King's shoulder, urging him towards the entrance, and pauses at the edge of the light. He pulls a stone from his inventory, one he picked up in the tunnel, and chucks it into the light.

It gets vaporized. Really, /really/ vaporized. "That is not the 'item destroyed' animation. We need to leave, /now/." Att casts a brief glance at the tombstone, then hustles towards the exit. "Tombstone's indestructible, we'll come back later if we have to!"
Polaris
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"My king?" A deep, concerned silence. "My king...?"

Polaris calls out, "HE SAID TO RUN! GET THE KING OUT OF HERE!" The black knight demandingly calls out. Only a single look back at Reika's tombstone touches the helm. "..." And then, "GO! GO!!" The Black Knight isn't planning on gently encouraging the King, if they're not dashing fast enough they'll just pick the man up and hoist them in a fireman carry, if such a thing is within their level-one strength.

They rush to the outcropping as fast as their clompy armor steps will take them. "FLY! FLY!!" They roar to the king. "UNTIL YOU SEE NO LIGHT AT ALL! WE MAKE FOR THE SOUTHWEST TIP OF EZZO, TO SURVIVE! BEWARE THE GREEN LIGHT OF INFECTION!" Run. Run run run run run NOW. Can they make it to the outcropping? Do they climb up, or dive down? Will the light menace them even out there? Oh god, GET OUT.
Proteus
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DARK BALL is a good move. That's why Proteus rolls with it too. The Guardian is stalled out long enough for the Light to appear, and Proteus nods in approval at the wash of energy...

But there's something else. The thing that bothered her the entire time about the Bandit King - It's gone. Whatever it is, it was removed with the initiation of the effect. Her gaze moves to that little chess piece... But there's no way to get to it. Not with that deadly wave of light approaching. Att confirms what she expected, and she turns. "GO! RUN! Our job is done here!"

She bolts, looking back at the tombstone. She can't pick that thing up... And the flash of the Immortal Object alert being instantly refreshed at faster than 60FPS says a LOT about the tick damage of that light wave. That's 'beyond lethal'.

She runs faster. "GO GO GO!" If Polaris's metal-clad butt is falling behind, she'll assist him with a quick Waterslide or something but besides that, people better be hustling.
Wynfei
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    As the golom is defeated, the Monkey like Cait Sith stares at it before looking to the Bandit King, his golden eyes narrow as the light engulfs it. He remembered the words of the King, which was to take him and leave. But right now how can they, he looks to the Tombstone and sees that it's an Immortal Object, "Fuck!" he says confused at what to do next and honestly he wanted to punch something or kick it or hell blast something. That wouldn't solve anything but it would make him feel better.

    As the light starts to expand, Wynfei begins taking a few steps away from it, "Alright, enough already!" he calls out to the people saying RUN! He gets it, and he turns around and begins running, he quickly runs making sure to keep behind the ohters and helping anyone who needs it. If he has to help someone, he will kick in Flashstep so that they both are moving faster and not getting left behind.
Haseo
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     They did it. They held off the Guardian long enough, and it's now melted in a large flash of burning LIGHT. Haseo falls back and shields his eyes as he makes it a priority to get out of dodge, only stopping when he's positive he's no longer in any danger.

     They only stop for a brief moment to catch a glimpse of Reika's tombstone, biting the inside of his cheek in annoyance before turning his attention back to the very important task of making sure his hide isn't cooked in a magical nuclear explosion.

     "HEY, YOU CAN WORRY ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING LATER, JUST GET YOUR ASS MOVING!"

     He yells at the Bandit King to get moving, but other than that, he's focused on his own survival. The Lander can take care of himself, or, more likely, that larper will carry him off himself.
Liminality
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"Possessed? What? My l..." He sqsuints, staring at Att with suspicion, right before his shoulder is pushed. There's a violent jerk. Like he's about to retaliate, when he realizes all of this light is bad, and moves with them. "I'm going to need an explaination from you people!" He demands as he moves with them, grabbing the massive sword from its sheath and laying it to his shoulder, moving with them.

"And stop calling me your King!" He then calls out to Polaris. "Don't make me Cast you out - I will if you get uppity!" He comments to the loudest of knights.

The group continues back down the way of the hall, getting out of the chamber. Out of the massive abyss. Off of the bridge, through the hall. Avoiding the light that is quickly chasing them - failing to melt the walls which all indicate: IMMORTAL OBJECT.

Until they get out. Out of the tunnel, out to the cliffside beach. The wall reforming behind them the milisecond they are all out. It shows 'IMMORTAL OBJECT' once, and then seems to calm down. Above them, they see it. The lines rushing through the skies. Leaning over the Ezzo Empire like a massive dome-shield being formed. The lines descending.

From above, they hear someone shout at them. "Oooooi! What the hell did you people do!?" It appears to be a fellow Adventurer.

The sun reaches the climax of its movement over them, beating down on them. They're going to have to make their way up. It looks like the dome coming down is leaving a large enough piece of land, that they are safe from being caged in.

For now.
Att Syne
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Att bolts, keeping the 'Bandit King' moving along with them mostly be keeping pace with him. Which isn't actually that hard, come to think of it; as an Adventurer, he's pretty fit, even if he runs into the occasional Exhaustion debuff.

Also the imminent death. That's a thing.

The wall reforms, and Att lets himself slow to a stop. He takes a breath; he checks his person for any disintegrated bits; and then, finally, he runs his hands over his face and groans aloud. A moment later, he gets some composure back. "That was... a thing that happened, huh?" Att awkwardly looks back to the King(?). "Uh, sorry for the rough treatment; I wasn't sure how well you'd handle the jarring change in environment. Just trying to provide some support."
Polaris
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"We have SAVED THE WORLD!!" Polaris declares, pounding a fist against the new IMMORTAL OBJECT that just kept them from being erradicated from it. Then they turn dramatically to the once-king, seeming to examine the man. No... when they first saw the King, they _knew_, fundamentally, that it must be the Bandit King. And yet, now? Now this is just a man, a man insisting that Polaris will be cast out. And demanding an explanation.

A gauntlet shoves its finger square in the nose of the once-king. "YOU!" Polaris declares. "Were chosen as the vessel of the one true Bandit King, who stole even your body and mind! They risked life and limb, yours and theirs, to save the world, accepting the Ezzo Empire as a necessary sacrifice! And he declared that we would be cast out of the Empire, to ensure we wouldn't be bound to return to a corrupted land. So cast me out, once-King, and then _fly!_" Polaris gestures to the Peko.

"And tell the world!" They plant a gauntleted thumb on their chest. "THIS INFECTION WAS HALTED BY THE BANDIT KING, THROUGH YOU -- AND BY ME! THE LEGENDARY BURNING NORTH STAR, POLARIS THE UNYIELDING!"

The helmet gleams maddeningly.

This should suffice for an explanation for the Adventurers above as well, because lord can every fucking person in hundreds of feet hear Polaris talk about this shit.
Proteus
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They all bail out of the area, escaping moments before the blast wave destroys them all. Proteus looks back at the wall as it reforms, protecting them... And then she turns her gaze up at the dome that shimmers and surges, washing down over the land. "A protective field..." She muses. "But how does it work?"

Polaris' boisterous yelling causes Proteus to wince again, as she looks over her shoulder. She's about to say something... But then she just shrugs, not interrupting the loud man while he gets everyone's attention. She has something to do in the meantime. Quietly, she slides up towards the cliff and quickly makes a little mark near the entrance, one only she knows.

One day, she will return to this place. One day, she will find the answers hidden here. But that time is not today.

Once the mark is made, she plops down on the beach, looking out to sea. "Well, it seems like we need to be picked up from here..." She muses. "Now what?" She looks down at the rolling waves and purses her lips. "And us without any swim gear."

Over time, she attempts to idly gather some plants and such to weave some, but mostly it just ends up a wrecked mess, a total waste of time and increased frustration for her. She'll probably be sulking next to Att's grandiose sand castle.

For now, she isn't really paying attention to anything, not even the Bandit King. It's clear he doesn't know anything at this point.
Wynfei
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    Booking it was what they had to do and Wynfei wasn't going to stick around to find out what happens. With all that's been going on, they needed to make sure they were able to live to let others know or find out more of what's going on around them. He dives out at the last second and as he does the dome completes itself. Looking up from the ground and then just rolling over onto his back. "Well.....that didn't go how i thought it would go." he frowns as he remembers Reika. Sighing a little bit, he finally gets up and onto his feet.

    He listens to the others as they talk and he hears the water around them, "Do we know how to get off this beach?" he asks not having heard how to leave yet.
Liminality
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The Bandit King, still rather confused, gets Polaris' best attempt at an explanation. Kind of in the middle of that, he gives Att Syne a confused; "I... yeah, thank you, I supp-what?" Caught somewhat off-guard by Polaris telling him that he should cast the man before him out.

He rubs the bridge of his brow and motions his hand towards Polaris. "Very well. I cast you out." A light appears over Polaris, and he's shunted from the Kingdom's allegiance, turning him into an outcast. But it's clear from the Bandit King's expression that doing this costs him some manner of...

Mana?

Stamina?

Something.

"I really rather you don't. Saving the world isn't exactly a reputation befitting of a Bandit King." He points out rather statedly. "You can have that reputation all to yourself.
Haseo
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     "Saved the world? You haven't saved shit. /WE/ haven't saved shit! I swear, if you don't start treating this seriously I'm actually going to throw you back into that light just so you can tell that girl just how well you 'saved' her!"

     Haseo's bent catching his breath as they're finally 'safe'. But he's already reached another breaking point with Polaris. Enough of a breaking point that he's able to catch a second wind. Someone died and they barely managed to make it out by the skin of their teeth, and they're treating this like a game.

     Normally, it'd be whatever to him, but the situation is clearly serious. Not that the game wasn't serious to him before. He knows just how dangerous the game can be, though they wouldn't know it. Nor is he going to explain why this game is potentially dangerous. Because he shouldn't have to. They can't log out. There's a bunch of stupid conditional and tedious status effects to mirror real life, there's a bunch of glitched buildings and mobs, and Reika's reaction to being killed was a lot more traumatic than most, even if she's relatively new. If it isn't evident to people that things are screwed up, he's going to lose hope.
Polaris
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Polaris turns. They look at Haseo, and stare the boy down. All six feet of black knight takes one heavy step towards the young man, arms crossed. "You believe I do not take this seriously?" They jab the boy in the chest. "Perhaps I should take you more seriously! Perhaps I should point out that your arm defies reality in _just such a way_ as I've seen in these 'Infected' creatures. That you so strangely seem to have some manner of _connection_ with what is clearly a dire failure in the Elder Tale's fabric. Indeed, while you were insisting on your middle-school nihilistic inability to engage with the weight of the situation, giving such strong discouragement to someone who nearly was condemned to be trapped in the Ezzo Empire's corpse, perhaps I should have been just as dismissive, instead of putting the full weight of my legendary spirit behind our effort!"

HELM-SHINE! "I shall take you seriously, then! YOUR ARM! Once we are free of this island, I will hunt you and that cursed, Infected arm, you who have some form of deeper link with this disaster, because it is clearly dire enough to warrant a ruthless and thorough investigation! And you will give up the evil in your arm and in your heart, or you will prove you have the responsibility and the fortitude to wield it honorably! But I will make sure that no regions of this land fail to know the curse that lies in your arm, Haseo, and the link between you and this Infection!"

Oh what an _absolute jerk_. That helm-gleam keeps going as they plant their gauntlets at their hips in a satisfied way! Yes, sorry, Haseo. Now Polaris will be trying to duel you later when you get off the island.
Haseo
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     Haseo clicks his tongue in annoyance. This guy is dumber than dumb? Infected? He clearly isn't. Otherwise he wouldn't have to worry about dying like the rest of them. Still, that's not the thing that's pissing him off.

     "So what would you have done if I didn't do what I did? Huh, you're content to just lie on your back and die just because the only way to win is to break some arbitrary rules. Because it ruins your idea of 'honor' and 'fun'."

     Haseo pulls on the scarf on is arm, though doesn't do anything more than that. He may have considered something, but he's better than that. For now.

     "This isn't a game any more you dumbass! We're trapped, lost, and severly outmatched, and you're still obsessed about rules!? This land is fake, the people here are fake, our avatars are fake. You're not a knight. I'm not an imp, this entire land is 1's and 0's and I'm going to keep treating as such. Because whatever's in that empty head of yours, I can guarantee what I'm setting out to do means more than playing make believe."

     At that, Haseo just sort of walks away. Not far enough to get lost from the group, but enough to be notably 'away'.