My Friends Get to Go Fight Giants While I'm Stuck With Guard Duty?! (Tyr, Franz)

VeraC

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Jun 18, 2018
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#1
September 19th OE 102
Citadel City, Perindor
Crescentia


“Laura, Asem, Mumyo, I’m sure you’re likely discontent being stuck here while the others go out, but we’re stretched thin as is; having reliable pilots to defend the capital is just as important.”

Heidel gave a somewhat apologetic expression to the three as she turned her back to them and looked out to the horizon.

The three earthlings, along with Heidel were standing on a balcony looking out the citadel garden, the Vermillion Guardian and Deenbell stationed below, along with two Welspiner Reis and two Welsdines, readied for whatever may come. It had been a few hours since Malan and Liana had left on their task, leaving the remaining three to ‘go about their day as they pleased, so long as they were ready to fight at a moment’s notice’, or so Heidel said.

That said, she called the three of them back to the castle to have a talk with them.

“So, do you think you’ll be able to fit in here in Crescentia? While I don’t wish to keep you here for too long if I can help it, I know not exactly when this war will end, I would like to hope that things aren’t too uncomfortable for the lot of you.”

Heidel had changed a bit since their introduction, perhaps a bit softer, but if one looked well enough, they could tell that she was simply… tired.

“It’s… doable.”

Mumyo spoke frankly to the Reine, still in a somewhat angsty mood even after the previous night.



Outskirts of Perindor

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A black mobile weapon stood amongst the wasteland, the wrecks of several Welsdines and Welspiners surrounding it, each impaled by an identical-looking sword. The machine pulled one sword from the ground, and took a relaxed pose, eyes set on the Citadel in the distance.

“Kusanagi, it would be best not to overexert yourself before the main stage, this is not a sprint, but a marathon. Preserve your energy until the right time.”

A black, angel-like machine emerged from the aether behind the sword-wielding machine, floating effortlessly above the ground.

“Xifas, are we still safe?”

A woman’s voice came from the first machine.

“Yes. I’ve taken the measures to cover our steps, we should remain undetected until we’re at their gates. That said, they might take notice when their soldiers aren't reporting in.”

The deep, older voice resonated from the Angel.

“Isn’t this dangerous? We’re jumping headfirst into the enemy’s capital with only the two of us. This seems like suicide.”

“What we require is a shocking display of force and maneuvering. Information tells us the young Reine has brought outside help into Crescentia to aid in their war efforts. While it's a shame we missed the chance to strike them all at once, with their numbers few, it actually works well as a boon for us.”

“...Right, if you say so.”

The black machine stepped forward, swinging its blade to the side, flinging off any residual oil and other machinery guts still on it.

“Just tell me where to go and who to fight, it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to go all-out. I’ll follow your lead.”

The blonde woman gave a smile and clenched the controls of her motion-link system. Once again it was time to remind them of the Nightmare of Perindor.

“Breakthrough to the frontlines, once you’ve done so, the Angelois will be right behind you. If you encounter the outsiders, engage them, test them. And if you can, kill them.”

The black angel faded backwards into the Aether, off to do its job as well.



Perindor Citadel

“Report!”

A guard came running onto the balcony where the four people were, labored breaths between words.

“A singular Knight Frame was seen approaching Perindor. Three squads have been lost already!”

“A singular unit? Just what is it?”

Heidel looked in shock at the man’s report.

“It's… It’s the Nightmare of Perindor, it’s returned.”

The man had a grim look on his face.

Heidel’s face switched to that of concern, placing her fingers on her chin.

“This is untimely… Laura, Asem, I need you two to sortie as soon as possible, intercept the Nightmare.”

She turned to her new allies, with a serious look on her face. It was a heavy command for their first task, but she wanted to believe they were capable enough. Or perhaps, it would be best to think that if they couldn't overcome the Nightmare, overcoming the Giants would be beyond them by miles.

And that was a possibility she didn't want to think of.
 
Aug 25, 2018
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#2
"Why would I care being assigned to guard duty, or be discontent about not being in the thick of things? It's just few extra days of vacation, nothing bad about that. You might want to change the roles though, my record on defense duty is a stellar 100% failure rate!" Laura laughed to herself, not taking her eyes off from the book she was reading while sitting on the balcony floor. "Well, there were some extenuating circumstances and depending on how you count my main occupation then the failure rate gets a lot less impressive." The book obviously didn't contain the information she was after about spirits, but 'The Boy and the Wind Spirit' was a classic children's book beloved by many according to many.

"But don't worry about me adjusting, I've already gone through this whole thing once - though at least consent was asked the first time instead of being rudely foxnapped - so been there done that. As long as I have people to pester I'll be fine." Laura waved the concerns away with her tail while turning the book to another page, where the titular boy was being guided by the friendly wind spirit through a dangerous mountain pass.

The Boy was finally ready to begin the long return trip to his home village after saving the kingdom when the out of breath guard came running. "Oh that's quicker than expected, maybe I should start counting jinxes among my talents." Languidly, like an out of breath guard hadn't just come bearing bad news, Laura stood up and searched for something to use as a bookmark from her pockets while listening to the report, finding a thankfully clean handkerchief. Walking to Heidel, Laura offered the book to her. "Here. The floor is hardly a proper and a fitting place for a book, especially this one." If Heidel for whatever reason did not take the book, Laura would place it on the railing with a shrug before turning towards the exit.

"I guess Mummy here still doesn't have a ride? Come Greenie, let's scrub some of that greenness off of you. Don't spend yourself by flexing on us poor mortals with your fancy teleport trick." Rolling her shoulders, Laura began to walk briskly inside the castle and to her Vernie. "People don't give empty nicknames to their enemies." She added dryly.

A short while later, she was inside Ganonia Vernie, performing the necessary pre launch steps. "Still giving me the silent treatment, eh Vernie?" Laura grumbled good naturedly, well aware that following the aftermath of their tantrum against Duminass it simply was incapable of answering in any way. The numerous lights both inside and outside the Ganonia lit up with a red light as the numerous systems came online. As they did so, Laura idly wondered to herself if anyone was capable of piloting the Autowarlock now that the spirits weren't as 'excited', or if it meant that the reactions that still came only came because of the link she and they had shared for years now.

Regardless, the white form of Ganonia Vernie rose to the air, and flew off to its first battle.
 
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Dec 11, 2020
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#3
"From what you've told us of the gravity of the situation, fitting in would be the easiest of the tasks laid before us." Asem says, a small smile on his effeminate face. The balcony was quite pleasant and there was a certain charm to seeing his beloved autowarlock out in the open and not hidden away for its security and his safety.

His eyes flicked occasionally to the carefree woman reading book on the floor like a whimsical child. Immediately, Asem was struck by a strange idea of what she may be; a mischievous spirit, a fairy like in the bedtime stories of children. Asem had the nagging suspicion that she is as dreadful as the Fae of the old stories; beautiful and alien, whose whimsy proved the downfall of many, causing nightmares to many more still.

Of the disgruntled warrior, Asem was more intrigued. She was clearly someone of great pride and subtle strength, like in the tales of samurai he has read. Yet something has ... diminished her. Nicked her blade. Stolen her purpose. A ... a ronin in so few words.

Furthermore rumination was interrupted by the arrival of a distressed messenger and the news he bore was worrying indeed.

"Nightmare of Perindor ..." He mused as he walked after the impish Laura. "Our first foe is to be an infamous one, then."

Then his face twisted into an irritated pout. "And don't call me greenie."

As soon as he saw his machine's familiar silhouette, he immediately vanished, teleporting inside its frame, a small smile as he reappeared in the familiar comforts of the closest thing the Warth Deenbell has for a cockpit. With a burst of will, the autowarlock's magical power core came to life, a lyrical hum suffusing the entire frame as the multitude of amplifying crystals inside and outside of its frame began to glow. Finally, its red jewel eyes glowed briefly and it inclined its head.

"Shall we give a warm welcome to our unexpected guest, Ms. Fox?" Asem says to the other strange machine as it too floated and began to head to the direction where this Nightmare of Perindor might make its entrance.
 

VeraC

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Jun 18, 2018
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#4

“I-It’s only one unit! We can stop it!”

“Y-You idiot, that’s the Nightmare of Perindor! It’s never be- AAGHH”

“Relleux, Relleux! Respond!”


The radio was filled with panic and fear, the regular soldiers of Crescentia clearly not prepared to take on this legend of the past.

They managed to do little in the way of stopping the Nightmare’s advance, the Welsdines serving little more as mere grass before their foe. And like a tornado that blew through the battlefield, the sword-wielding machine skewered and sliced its path, leaving a strew of more corpses in its wake. While to most onlookers, the machine’s fighting style appeared wild, chaotic, almost barbaric, but to the more keen, they would take note it was surprisingly precise, each of its strikes aimed at the Welsdines’ weakpoints, each one of the Nightmare’s strikes a fatal one.

The machine stopped short of a kilometer from the Citadel City, taking a pause as the new defendants came out from the city.

“Xifas, I’ve arrived at the walls, the outsiders are coming as planned.”

The woman inside the machine spoke.

“Good. It will take a minute to activate the teleportation, so keep them busy.”

“Leave it to me.”

The woman gave a smile and looked at the two machines, both quite unique in design, yet they hardly looked like a real threat.

“So you two are the ‘brave protectors from the other world’ is that right?”

The machine held its blade firmly in its right hand.

“You’ve certainly done a great job thus far.”


She gestured to the fallen machines around and behind her.

“My name is Tenka, General of Colossi Immortalis.”

She pointed her blade at the two arrivals.

“Will you two provide a better fight than the ones before you?”

The machine took several steps backward, before taking a stance with its blade.

“Mugen Senzen Ryu - Tranquil Grove!”

The blade of the Nightmare glowed brightly, before above, several blades rained down from above, staking themselves in the ground, creating a scattered field of blades. Each blade shared an appearance similar to the one the Nightmare held, and each seemed to have an energy that resonated with the black machine.

“Let this be your resting ground as those who came before you.”

Her voice was soft, yet as sharp as a Katana folded 1,000 times over.

“Shōjahitsumetsu.”
 
Aug 25, 2018
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#5
"I'll call you Greenie until you aren't so obviously green. Has nothing to do with your hair, you're so obviously a greenhorn it's quite painful. Wanting to do good and help others is all fine and well but the way you're approaching it makes it very easy to take advantage of you." Laura rolled her eyes while approaching the source of all the chatter in the radio, both at Asem and the panicked transmissions. Crescentia really was in terrible shape if their soldiers were panicking this badly in public, no matter their foe.

Ganonia Vernie arrival was almost lazy with its pace, Laura's arrival not even close to the full speed Vernie could muster even without the high mobility mode. It had been a long while and two worlds since she had fought or hunted a figure with a moniker, and it would not do the reveal what Vernie was capable of without reason. She raised an eyebrow at the site of carnage and the Nightmare waiting for them at the center of it all. Were they a distraction then, or just here to gauge and perhaps kill them? Well, not like it mattered to her, worrying about infiltration wasn't part of her mission.

And it looked like her planned act of acting like a naïve innocent child was pointless. Not like there was need for it, for fortunately she seemed to look down on them already.

So, instead she laughed wildly in the face of the dreaded Nightmare and the nonsense she was spouting. "You certainly are eager to tally defeats to mine and victories to your name when we haven't even done anything to one another sweetie!" Vernie's arms spreads wide, doing its equivalent of a shrug. "I haven't agreed to protect jackshit, and why on Ear- on Cresc- ah you get what I mean - would I care about the deaths of people I never even saw, much less met?" She had done things like this ,and much worse besides, in her time in Reflection, and while the sight no longer brought any joy or amusement neither did it cause grief. They simply were corpses that had been on the same side as her who had received the same end any soldier could get every day.

Which was why fighting for something like one's country because it was their duty or expected of them was a waste of their lives.

"And no thanks. Mom says it isn't my bedtime yet." She sneered at the offered death. The maw looking energy cannons on the Autowarlock's shoulder whirred and turned to life as they were adjusted to aim at the Nightmare. Two loud bangs echoed in the air as both of them, one after the other, released red slugs of energy at the target. A probing attack but there was hardly reason to open with her primary weapon. They should have no knowledge of her being a Dogma user.

For good measure the maw cannons turned to aim at one of the blades on the ground, shooting another pair of energy slugs at the targeted blade to see what would happen.
 
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Dec 11, 2020
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#6
Asem watched the enemy arrive. The fanfare and the sheer power behind that unit was awe-inspiring, a superb warrior and bladesman--no, a powerful knight like the ones in the myths and fairytales writ large on a scale kings and queens of old Earth could've never possibly imagined. It was a menacing thing but the way his heart caught in his throat was not out of fear ... it was out of love. He thought his actions and the heroes he observed during the actions in China was worthy of legend but this one seems to be a legend already walking.

"Such beauty ..." The effeminate man says for the surroundings to hear. "Such grace and power ..."

The autowarlock's glittering jewel eyes glowed with power and intent.

"It is a shame to extinguish it."

And there was sincere mourning in his voice, a ridiculous and so out-of-place to hear on a battle that hasn't even started yet but that is how he feels.

Further rumination on what the hell was going on in that autowarlock's cockpit had to be done later or never, however, as the strange magical machine raises its hand, palm open as lightning surged and coalesced in its clawed digits, and then a massive formulaic circle of magic appears mere meters away from the autowarlock's hand.

"Taste the wrath of the sky, swordswoman." He intoned and then the Thunder Dogma bursts forth in the form of a massive bolt of lightning firing at the veritable warrior god given flesh.
 

VeraC

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Jun 18, 2018
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#7
“Those are the words I like to hear.”

Tenka gave a smile and grabbed a nearby blade in her free hand, as the machine took a low stance before erupting into a sprint, evading out of the opponent’s slug shots, strafing to the right and diagonal to the two warlocks. Along its path, the machine kicked up another sword dug into the ground, sending it flying up into the air.

The Ganonia’s second volley of energy blasts struck the blade true, causing detonation on impact, though as the smoke cleared, the sword seemed undamaged, an almost opaque aura surrounding the weapon.

“You waste your energy on a threat that isn’t before your eyes.”

The machine halted its momentum, its feet digging into the ground and breaking the earth below as it came to a skidding halt, tossing the blade in its left hand on a direct path to the Deenbell above. As the thunder dogma surged towards Tenka, Hyakka Ryouran squatted low, grabbing another nearby sword, before the black machine kicked off the ground, shattering the earth below, in an almost too-human-to-be-machine maneuver, soaring up into the sky, before making an ever-so graceful landing on the butt of the handle of the blade that was kicked upward shortly before.

It took a small hop off the blade, before kicking off the side of it, sending the blade backward and the machine forward, its blade held at the side and ready to cleave Ganonia horizontally in a singular motion that carried the machine through. The momentum wouldn’t stop there, however, as her flight path send her landing on the ground closer towards the Deenbell, sliding along the earth, before breaking into a leaping sprint from underneath the warlock machine, the darkened machine warrior aiming to strike in an upward bisecting slash, only moments after the prior thrown blade would reach its target, the center of mass of the Deenbell.

Adrenaline filled Tenka's body as the combat proceeded, an escalating emotion of excitement as she grinned and smiled through all her maneuvers. Perhaps this was a once-in-two-thousand-years chance to finally fight all-out against an enemy. Two for that matter even. It was something she was hard-pressed to give up; a nostalgic feeling she hadn't felt since having fought Vynatea millennia ago. Would these two provide as well a fight as he could?

____

“So, she’s still alive…”

From behind Heidel and Mumyo, who were watching the battle begin, Kusanagi emerged from the Citadel, with an almost disappointed look on his face.

“Tenka Kisaragi. One of the few pupils who studied under me. She was a real genius in the art of the sword, and one of the few who could stand against me. I had thoughts of making her my successor… had she not left for the Colossi during the war.”

Kusanagi folded his arms as he watched the black machine in the distance with intent, taking note of all its movements, its every action.

“...Why did she switch sides?”

Mumyo looked at the man next to her.

“Perhaps I was a bit too rough on her. I had hoped she would take it for the better, but instead maybe she became only discouraged.”

He gave a slight sigh.

“Despite her prowess in combative tactics, she was never the most keen when it came to the subtleties of life. She was quite a simple-minded person. A muscle brain? Is that what they call it these days?”

He stroked his chin and beard, with a pondering look.

Mumyo shifted her look back to the ongoing fight, her eyes moving in a similar manner to Kusanagi’s, trying to study the enemy’s movements.

Kusanagi glanced Mumyo from the side and could see her focus; yet deep within there was something more to her look.

A longing.

He held his glance for several moments before speaking up.

“Do you want a second chance?”

Kusanagi spoke straight to Mumyo. She turned to him and gave a somewhat surprised look, but after a moment of silence, she nodded her head.

“I’m not sure if I know the way yet, but I know I won’t solve anything by doing nothing.”

Her face grew serious as she clenched her fists. Her eyes met Kusanagi’s, the twos’ gazes burning deeply into each other, a battle of determination that was fought not with words, not with weapons.

“...Very well, follow me.”

Kusanagi turned around and walked back into the tower, expecting Mumyo to follow suit, which she did.

Heidel had been listening silently to the two speak, taking note of the change in attitude from their ‘guest’. She wasn’t sure just what Kusanagi did last night, but it seemed to work in a positive manner for them. She returned her gaze back to the battle outside the walls; it was her duty now to watch over their ‘heroes’ and see that they emerge victorious in this perilous conflict.
 
Aug 25, 2018
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#8
"Oh no, whatever are we to do for we have wasted a lightning bolt and a pair of energy shots. Alas, our boundless stamina has well and truly been exhausted before the fight could even begin!" Laura rolled her eyes. Premature patronizers were the worst. Or at least she was pretty sure they were in some esoteric, little known scale of things anyway. There were so many of those it was bound to be correct in one.

Her ears twitched as she listened attentively to Kusanagi's explanation of who they were facing. Wow, people were really bad at dying over here, weren't they? Well, those that weren't terribly trained anyway Laura corrected herself with a quick glance at the destroyed robots. Those very likely were very, very dead.

As the black machine rapidly approached, Ganonia shifted to the side in a seemingly hasty and afraid movement as a blade of red energy formed in one of the palms, intercepting the blade strike that attempted to bisect her and Vernie both. The energy blade was deliberately almost too late with intercepting the blade, stopping it almost just a blade's breadth from the surface of the Autowarlock. The other hand also materialized its energy blade as it stabbed at the Hyakka Ryoran, though it was long gone by the time the stab came.

Despite her concerns about Perindor leaking information like a sieve, she would have liked to ask Kusanagi about whether his former student has any favorite tricks of hers. But he had already left to escort their younger sword fanatic to who knows where.

"Seriously, did you spend the last few thousand years both in a cave and with your head buried in the sand or something?" Laura couldn't help but ask incredulously. "Save the patronizing trash talk until something has happened to actually warrant it. Something like, you know, your enemy doing the absolute rookie mistake of doing patronizing trash talk without anything to warrant it." The tone was cheerful, like she was talking about her favorite flowers, yet the mocking undertone was obvious.

Though that shifted into suspicion. "Are you sure that you are the Nightmare, the few thousand years old sword fanatic? I'm getting second hand embarrassment here, how do we know that you didn't actually die all those years ago and that you aren't just a poser posing as yourself to strike fear into the terribly trained foes of the ancient you that died ages ago?"

She chased after Tenka, though the latter certainly outsped her as Laura chased with a speed that would easily allow her to readjust her course to any way should their foe turn on her. Perhaps she shouldn't be so active with her mouth, considering how she was putting an act of being worse than what she was. But well, it was fun, and life was meant to be enjoyed. With any hope Tenka would think of her as just another overly cocky braggart and underestimate her.

Openings and traps were so much easier to create and to make use of when you were underestimated. Especially so when they should not have any knowledge of her Dogmas.
 
Dec 11, 2020
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#9
Asem was far from unprepared. As a sorcerer of note, multi-tasking is a much needed skill and he has honed it as much as he possibly can. So while the bloodthirsty knight and the gadfly of a fox spirit exchanged words while their machines were in breakneck speeds ... the Sorcerer had already thought of possible counterattacks even as he idly prepared the next dogmas. He wasn't surprised by the nimbleness of the knight-machine. In truth, he expected it. One can't be called the Nightmare of Perindor so easily after all. So far, their foe continued to impress and meet the expectations of someone with such an infamous title.

It has also made this wayward Kusanagi quite predictable.

The Warth Deenbell's jewel eyes flashed as the enemy approached, seemingly too slow to react to save it from swift destruction. The cleaving blade careening towards the warlock machine suddenly met an invisible barrier a beautiful circle of ornate flowers appearing briefly from the impact before the warlock machine suddenly moved once more, as it seemed to glare at the Nightmare for its temerity--and with that all-too-human look came Asem's sudden counterattack. Frost and rime gathered abruptly on the enemy mecha's frame coating its blackened steel in a thick layer of ice that seemed to gather in the joints and on the blade, spreading with terrifying quickness.

"If a glorious battle is something you yearn for ..." Asem says as he casually floated back several steps, magical circles already forming on each of the Warth Deenbell's open claws. "Then that is what we would give to you."

Despite the solemn tinge to his words, the effeminate man was smiling widely. Muscle brain they say? There is joy to be found in such adorable simplicity. It is a pity that she defected to the side of the enemies. Asem would've like to meet and get to know her.

It is strange to contemplate such thoughts while fighting an infamous enemy, but it is what the young man thought as his od flowed through his machine to prepare another devastating dogma ....
 

VeraC

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Jun 18, 2018
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#10
As frost formed on the sword in its hand, the black machine turned mid-air, and flung the sword in a line to the approaching Ganonia, before arching backwards and flipping, then landing on the ground. The machine took several hops backward to evade the chase of Ganonia, and reset its positioning, before another blade was conjured within the mech’s right hand.

“I sure hope talking isn’t all you can do. Fights are done with blood and steel, not words. You’d best get serious, else you may regret it later.”

She returned Laura’s quips back, before pausing to take a breath. Ki began to flow through her body, and in parallel, flowed through Hyakka Ryouran.

“It is troublesome though, an attack that seemed impossible to dodge. Perhaps I’ll need to approach that one with caution.”

The machine tapped the frosted armor pieces with some force, shaking the ice off one way or another.

"Chilly. But it'll take a bit more than some frost to stop me."

Planting it's one leg into the ground before kicking off into a sprint, the machine made a beeline into the ‘arena’, grabbing two swords, before halting and tossing them in a fan-pattern at the two flying machines. Flipping backward, it grabbed another three, and followed up with a second volley, before three more, and three more were flung at her adversaries, a total of twelve blades inbound to the two Dogma machines. Mid-air, they seemed to ever so slightly arc towards their targets, the swords perhaps not simply mundanely thrown. These attacks sought to pierce through the machines, rather than imbed themselves, their force more than capable of punching through armor like a hot knife through butter.




As the two made their way down to the hangar of Perindor, they both remained in silence, neither having words worth saying to each other. Not that there was anything that needed to be said. Mumyo had firmed her resolve and that’s all Kusanagi had wanted now. It was all up to her from here on how she managed to move forth in her life. As the lift reached the Hangar level, the doors opened to the wide, cavernous room, where across from them, a green-hued machine stood alone.

It was a knightly frame, the shoulder armor and skirt plates giving off the image of a knight of some sort, with perhaps an eastern vibe. A rather large, blue mane flowed gloriously from the head of the machine, like a dark hue of water cascading down the back of the machine almost touching the ground.

“I will entrust you with this. Show to me your prowess and what you’ve learned since last night.”

Kusanagi turned to Mumyo, with a confident look in his eyes.

“Right.”

She returned his look with one of determination.

"And take this, you'll need it moving forward."

Kusanagi handed Mumyo his sword, the hefty blade being handled so easily by his arm. Mumyo grabbed the sheathed blade with both hands before transferring it over her shoulder.

"Are you sure? This is your blade."

"It is a good indicator of your progress. As your mind becomes clear the blade grows stronger. It is an integral part to your machine."

"...I understand."

With a nod of her head, she ran to the machine, proceeding up to the cockpit, and entering within. It was an almost nostalgic feeling, though a good one, being back in the cockpit of a mobile weapon. She was strapped into the trace system and on doing so, the machine hummed to life, the dark cockpit lighting up with the panoramic monitor coming online, giving her vision of the machine’s surroundings. As the start up processes carried out, the name of the machine popped up in Japanese characters in front of the screen, reading to Mumyo the name of this mobile weapon.

「雪月花」
 
Aug 25, 2018
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#11
The first sword thrown her way was the evidence that her careful approach had been the right one, it was easy to move to the side in time to let the sword fly by harmlessly. It did stop her languid chase of their foe but really, she had no desire to be in close combat against a sword fanatic. Taking risks was all well and good but there was no need to be suicidal.

Did Greenie really say that, a 'glorious battle'? She really wanted to make mockery of that statement like it deserved, but Greenie was the one of the two that was pulling their weight here, using those Dogmas of his so freely like that. So she kindly refrained like the paragon of saintly virtues she was.

Though Laura did still laugh out loud, it was at Tenka instead. "Only an idiot would think that all battles are fought with blood and steel. Some are sure, but far more are fought with either words, knives in the dark or acts of sabotage. But you're right about one thing. This is boring, so I should start trying, unless you are amenable to us just going our separate ways right now and wave our weapons at each other some other time?"

Two more swords were thrown at her, which was answer enough. The two energy blades materialized once again, deflecting the two blades thrown her way with far more ease now that she was merely pretending to be a halfwit instead of a dimwit who had never set a foot inside a robot before. Her blades did not swat the swords completely aside but they did not need to, merely changing their trajectory enough so that they went past her was defense enough.

Finally, three more were sent her way while Greenie would have to contend with the other six. She advanced forward and downward almost lazily, catching one of the swords with both her blades and throwing it spinning away from her while the other two and their limited homing missed.

"I've always wanted to try this puppy out." Laura sighed wistfully. The arrows on Ganonia's chest turned downwards, the steel plate in the middle of the glowing circle split in two and slid to the sides as the red circle began to extend outwards, changing into a cylinder protruding out of the chassis. Or in simpler terms, revealing itself to be a cannon. Motes of light began to gather even as the ever present glow inherent to the cylinder intensified.

"Chest Blaster, FIRE!" She cackled as the cannon's glow reached its apex, voice full of glee and life and joy at what would happen in the immediate future, the prospects of the destruction that would surely follow...!

pew pew.

...Only for all the buildup to be cruelly betrayed, as instead of the Chest Blaster firing the cannons on the shoulder once again fired their salvos at the Nightmare of Perindor, one shot from each one. And that seemed to be that.

FWOOOM!

A massive continuous beam of orange-red energy few times the width of the deceptively sized cylinder fired towards where the Nightmare of Perindor was, promising certain destruction to any that were caught in its path. The Ganonia then pushed its chest forward, doubling the beam in size for a small moment before letting the attack dissipate.

"Silly me, I used the wrong button at first." Laura giggled.
 
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Dec 11, 2020
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#12
This strange fey creature he was fighting alongside with was as mischievous in battle as she was outside of it with her caustic words. It was both exasperating and enthralling, Asem thought dimly as dogmas furiously churned behind his eyes. The enemy was a physical fighter but it would not be good to discount this Nightmare's capabilities outside of her sword's range.

A powerful circle crackled with electricity as it spawned above the black machine. With a showboating click of both of the Deenbell, the thunder dogma falls down upon their enemy.

Then his eyes widened as he saw the attack coming for him. Their enemy is truly strong. The way she fights is exhilarating, glorious to behold, but menacing to be fighting up against. As the swords were thrown, his shield spell was already formed in his mind as the best course of action. The Deenbell raised a gangly arm and splayed its clawed and bejeweled digits wide open. A magical circle appeared and beautiful flowers of comfort and protection bloomed inside its perimeter--an elegant and mesmerizing obstacle to such a brutish attack. He has improved upon this spell ever since that terrifying fight on the ruined streets of China. His mastery of it was phenomenal.

And yet, as the swords came rushing upon the beautiful array of defensive spellwork, Asem couldn't help but doubt and fear.
 

VeraC

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Jun 18, 2018
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#13
While the blades thrown at Ganoia missed their mark, the ones centered on the deenbell flew straight into the machine’s shield, and simply…

Punctured their way through the several layers of the dogma shield, stopping short of the fourth inner layer. Contrastive to the elegant and fantastical appearance of the Deenbell’s shield, the blades were seemingly mundane in comparison, a lack of any kind of flashy explosion or tense struggle against the composition of the Dogma. The focused force of the swords simply bored holes into the barrier alike nails into wood.

Perhaps he could breathe easily for the moment, his life spared from any immediate danger, but somehow he had the feeling that things were far from over.

Following the shoulder cannons of the Ganoia being launched at Hyakka, Tenka backstepped, avoiding the initial salvo, though the third beam of energy seemingly caught her flatfooted, as the machine landed within the direct path of the incoming blast. It seemed like it was to be a sure hit, though something… strange occurred with the beam. From the supposed impact point of the chest blaster, the beam of energy seemed to diverge, being split down the middle vertically. The divide surged up the trail of the energy, the blast being further and further split, moving closer and closer to the Ganoia.

Finally, Laura would be able to see it, a crescent wave of pressurized air surged towards Laura, relatively narrow, yet its length long enough to threaten properly bisecting the red machine in two.

As the beam of energy subsided, the Black Machine stood lone and motionless where it was, its right shoulder dropped, clenching its blade in the same hand, the former black blade now glowing in a red-orange-hot hue, steam radiating off the edge of the weapon. Red opaque energy began to flow from the joints and gaps of Hyakka Ryouran’s armor, condensing into a visible aura.

Silence filled the air, an eerie pause in the flow of combat. It hung in the air for what seemed like several seconds, before Tenka took a deep breath, one that seemed to resonate through the air, even within the cockpits of both Laura and Asem. More than just sound, the two could almost feel the air exhaled from her lungs; a sharp and chilly breeze that seemed to waft at the back of their necks.


“That’s a little better.”

Her voice had grown flat and muted compared to before, the former passion seemingly not present in its tone.

“But you’re still going to have to try a little harder than that.

Hyakka Ryouran dropped the partially melted sword in its hand, as energy formed in the palm, before it clenched its mechanical fingers again, the fist glowing a vibrant crimson red.

The swords embedded within Deenbell’s shield began to glow with a similarly shaded red, before they began to shake, subtly at first, but rapidly becoming more and more prominent as they yielded themselves from the barrier, as Hyakka pulled its arm back and brought the blades flying back toward the machine. It grabbed two along their path with each hand, while the remaining four remained floating in the air, dangling behind the machine

「 無限千線流  
  三日月反省 」

The machine stood almost normally, holding its blades at its side, standing upright and simply, taking no stance or form they were able to make sense of. That said, the machine simply walked forward, approaching the two ‘defenders’ of Crescentia.
 
Aug 25, 2018
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#14
Laura was looking at the place where Hyokka and the beam of her chest blaster collided with one another with curiosity, wondering what was causing the divergence, whether their foe was just cutting it in twain or if it was something else. But that did not mean that she wasn't paying attention to what was going on around them.

"What..." Laura outright growled with fury. "On earth do you think you are doing, greenhorn!? I knew that you were terribly inexperienced but never did I expect you to be suicidally stupid as well! Did someone at some point scoop out your brains and replace it with, I don't know, green paste probably because I struggle to think how anyone with a functional brain could be that dumb." She probably should do something about the split getting closer and closer to her.

On the other hand, she still had some time.

"It's a good thing that I don't even know shame because if I did I'm certain that I'd be actively dying out of embarrassment at being next to you! Has no done ever even taught you the basic of basics when it comes to piloting a mecha!?"

By now the slash of pressurized air was close enough that she had to move quickly to avoid it, Ganonia's thrusters activating for it to move to the side quickly enough to avoid certain death. Her previous demeanor gone, Laura whistled. "Very impressive, really, that blaster packs a serious punch and you cut it in half with air. Maybe I should switch sides if casual flicks let me do something like that as well, but wait for your damn turn I'll be with you soon enough. - Now where was I?"

"Oh I remember now." And then it was back, like a light switch being turned off and on. "Seeing as no one has clearly told you anything and that you seemingly lack the intelligence to know otherwise let auntie Laura teach you the basics Greenie: We. Don't. Take. Unnecessary. Hits. In case you've failed to notice it, your dinky machine is not designed for taking hits! Yes, your flower is very fancy but leave that for emergencies and dodge what you can first because that is how your machine survives! It's not a lumbering Super with enough armor for an entire nation! Sooner or later your fancy schmancy spell will come across something it can't block and you will die if you act like it can block anything and everything!"

She fell silent just in time for the sharp and chilly breeze caressing the back of her neck. Eerie, and cause for worry. But she had survived the end of her world and faced Duminass. Or rather, she had been tortured by Vernie while the spirits fought her using Laura as a puppet. Either way, the warning would not cause her to freeze.


Laura sighed. "I think you're here both as a distraction and to see what us vaunted supposed heroes are capable of. It is why I was perfectly happy to just sandbag, but with Greenie there being so painfully green forget about it. If I am right, today is your lucky day, if not... well it still is. Perhaps this'll make Greenie leave, hopefully at least get him to wisen up with his fancy tricks."

It was time to use her Dogmas.

Two rather small magic circles materialized on both sides of the Ganonia, a breath after they were followed by ten more as the Spirits inside Vernie mimicked the Dogma, completely by rote and instinct, if Laura's guess was correct. Whatever they now were they were not awake or even conscious in any way. Together, all twelve magic circles began to spin in place, before the small magical battery unleashed its beams, shooting a wave of energy towards Tenka.
 
Dec 11, 2020
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#15
Asem's eyes were wide, staring at the unnervingly mundane blades that punctured several layers of his prized shield dogma with frightening ease. The spell he had been refining for months on end ... suddenly appeared impotent in the face of the Nightmare of Perindor. This was a massive setback, one that affected him as much as it threatens the Deenbell's safety. Yet, in the heat of battle, this was something he would be quick to let go--cataloguing what went wrong and thinking about it later as he would continue to trade blows with the enemy and prioritize survival above all.

The green-haired artificial human didn't put Laura into account.

He never expected to face an enemy as strong as the Nightmare so early in their ventures in Crescentia as well but the fox grated on his nerves, and her scathing opinion about his piloting skill was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Shut the fuck up." He snarled hatefully, teeth gritted and lime-hued eyes glaring holes into the fox's machine.

As the blades returned to the black knight, the Deenbell let the mangled Shield Dogma dissipate. The machine hunched over, gangly limbs pointing at the ground as its master furiously thought of ways to dismantle the seemingly insurmountable foe in front of him. He cared not for the white machine or the white fox that was its pilot. He cared not for whatever noble aspirations he had going into this battle. Some part of him gave a damn that the fox bitch was now finally starting to use more than her machine's natural weapons ... but it just added fuel to the fire that was his growing hatred.

... fire

Asem's eyes narrowed into pinpricks.

The jewel-studded Autowarlock straightened, like a beast reinvigorated by the scent of prey. It raised its clawed digits towards the Nightmare and red-orange magical circles bloomed in front of them, crackling with energy, and filled with rage born from wounded ego and mounting frustration.

"TAKE THIS!" Asem roared, but it was drowned immediately afterwards by the destructive fire dogma that jets out of the magic circles and rushes towards the Nightmare like living things. Then, as it neared the damned machine, the deenbell's arms crossed together and the twin jets of malignant fire crossed over and became one massive inferno. It was such a strong dogma that some of the Deenbell's foci, its glittering jewels, started to flicker. It was such a strong dogma that the ground beneath the flame started to melt from the heat!

Thankfully, the trajectory was nowhere near Laura, but everyone on that battlefield had the feeling that Asem wouldn't be as remorseful if she ever was struck along the way.
 

VeraC

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Jun 18, 2018
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#16
It was a two-pronged attack, the wide-area strikes of the Ganoia’s laser dogma and the focused strike of the Deenbell’s magma torrent. It was a tricky situation for the Hyakka Ryouran to be in; that is if the pilot was any normal pilot. With a brief squat down before pushing its weight into the ground, breaking earth beneath, the black machine leaped into the air, performing a twirling backflip and appearing above the sea of flames that roared with anger.

“It is power, fueled by the unbridled rage of your ego.”

Tenka spoke to Asem, her words biting like frost.

“Such strength is meaningless without focus.

As the machine reached the peak of its leap, upside-down in the air, with a swing of the blade in its right hand, pressurized air was blasted on an intercepting path towards the Ganoia’s lasers that directly threatened Hyakka Ryouran. The strange thing Laura would notice though, was that even though the machine swung once, she could see three separate waves arcing towards her, cutting through the waves of energy, splitting their aim away from their source, and curving ever so gently towards her machine, aimed at the machine’s two shoulders and one at its waist..

“Third Line…”

As the machine continued its mid-air twirl, it now faced the Deenbell, its left hand coiled back, the tip of the sword pointing towards Asem.

“Mugen Senzen-Ryu: Sixth Line.”

With a singular thrust of the blade, three spears of air lanced towards the Dogma-bearing machine like bullets, each threatening a different point on the machine; its head, chest, and waist.

With its final rotation, one of the floating swords maneuvered itself behind Hyakka Ryouran and with the machine angling its feet to plant on the broad side of the blade, it kicked off the weapon, crashing down to the ground in the direction of Laura, the machine’s impacting kicking up dust and shattered earth.

“...Ninth Line!”

Within the cloud, the machine swung its right sword up to Laura, three more waves of air aiming at the red machine.

“Twelfth Line!”

Following the momentum of the first blade, the left sword was swung as well, now six waves of air targeting Ganoia, each one aiming for a separate body part of the machine: legs, arms, torso, head.
 
Aug 25, 2018
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#17
Laura rolled her eyes. "Greenie, temper tantrums only make you seem like a baby and I doubt that's what you're after." Had her fellow kidnappée never received any training whatsoever? It certainly seemed that way, with how easily his cool collapsed.

Well, while parts of her could have kept pondering on the great mystery, she had more pressing and far more interesting things to pay attention to instead. Like the energy slashes their foe had sent her way. And they were curving too.

"Nice curves."

Even a slight curve like the ones headed her way were bothersome to deal with when it came to predicting where it would strike, though not nearly as much as a greater curvature. Laura was something of an expert on the matter. She also liked to use curves to her advantage. And while she perhaps could have finagled her way through the three slashes with minimal movement, that would have been a foolish, Greenie mistake to make.

So instead she revealed another part about her Ganonia Vernie, as the thrusters that propelled the large frame activated and came to life, roaring and burning louder and brighter than before, and the Autowarlock propelled itself forward with a speed much greater than the languid pace that it had been moving with so far.

"Greenie, right now you have three options and a baby's tantrum isn't one of them, so get a grip before you embarrass yourself even further." Laura admonished her ally even as Ganonia sped past the initial three energy slashes, leaving behind two magic circles identical to the ones she had used prior as an afterthought. While the circles immediately began to spin before shooting their lasers, Ganonia's trajectory, that had started as a straight line, arced skywards more and more until it was just a straight line upwards.

"Either you leave right now with your tail between your legs and live to see another day and have longer to grow and learn."

And the moment it was a straight line all the engines fell silent at the same time. And without their force gravity immediately reasserted its hold over the large and heavy machine, its velocity rapidly slowing down until the Autowarlock reached its apex - and began to fall. It just narrowly avoided the second three slashes. So narrowly that one of them grazed Ganonia, leaving a tiny, inconsequential gash to the edge of its plating. Laura's eyebrow rose, perhaps that had been a bit too much showing off after all.

Well, it was an excellent chance to ask if Crescentia had the capability to produce more ammo for the one thing she needed ammo for.

"Or you start learning the fastest you've ever learned anything, and that very much counts your learned dislike of yours truly! And learn the mother of all basics of mecha combat that you should've learned ages ago of not taking unnecessary hits with a machine like yours right now."

Ganonia's thrusters had already come back to life moments before the narrow miss of the energy slashes, and so with a simple twist of where its torso was faced towards Ganonia flew to the side, avoiding the last set of slashes hellbent on ending her entertaining life.

For her retaliation, six more spinning circles, her little Tontatons, though they were not aimed so much at Tenka as much around her, to restrict her movement.

"The last option is that you die a miserable death and leave nothing behind but yet another smoldering monument to utter stupidity. One among many for you oh so numerous fools that insist on throwing your lives away for the most inane and worthless causes, causes that aren't even yours without a proper reason or even a half-assed one. Without so much as even thinking about if what you're throwing your life away for matters or is of any use to you."
 
Dec 11, 2020
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#18
"Noted." Asem growled, irate at the caustic criticism from the one he was fighting alongside with more than the cold words of their formidable foe. The words truly were heeded however and Asem didn't try to intercept the black knight's deadly trifecta of air spears, having learned his lesson. The Deenbell was already dodging, Asem well-aware of his autowarlock's average swiftness. The shield of flowers bloomed once more but a lesser version this time, enough to shield the Deenbell's exposed arm as it moved away from the spears' trajectory, letting the ebony machine's attack slide harmlessly upon its petaled surface as he completed his dodge.

Returning his attention to his foe, he noticed it lurking expertly inside its dust cloud. Asem won't have that. As his pest of a teammate assaulted the Nightmare from different directions, he started to ascend, gaining elevation and looming above the battlefield.

"Keep her still." Asem intoned to Laura as several rings of magic circled around his autowarlock's hands and wrists like bangles. Then it grandiosely spread its lanky arms like a conductor in a concerto, six circles crackling with the power of lightning stacking up, lining towards the location of the black machine, the topmost was the biggest circle and the bottom was the smallest, like a focusing iris.

"And get out of the blast zone!"

The topmost magical circle started to glow brighter and brighter, until a powerful surge of lightning thundered downwards to the ring below it, passing down all the circles, growing more powerful the more circles it passed--

He suddenly grimaced, suddenly aware of the slight lack of power in the devastating dogma. The useless fire spell overwhelmed a few of his gem foci. Powerful as the attack might be, he knew that it wasn't as strong as he would have liked.

"Lightning Dogma!"

His roar was drowned as the blast was focused into a bright, glowing spear, a lightning bolt worthy of the ancient deities of myth.

"GOD BOLT!"

It thundered down, Asem's focused wrath instead of the tantrum the other two derided him for, a concentrated spear seeking to destroy the black machine in one hit!
 

VeraC

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Jun 18, 2018
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#19
The Nightmare stood still as the two compatriots bickered cooperatively between each other, simply watching the movements of the two Autowarlocks in their upward ascent. It stood, waiting; seemingly uninterested in chasing after its quarrels, hostility seemingly haven ceased from the machine. Ganonia began its saturation fire of small lasers; though as they were not aimed at her, Tenka barely bothered to attempt evading them. If pinning her down was what they wished to do, then allow it she would. One of the lasers skimmed the shoulder armor of her machine, but it was such a minimal problem that she simply shrugged it off. Her attention was portently focused on the Deenbell anyhow; battlefields were known to make or break men, and just what would happen, her curiosity as a warrior would be satisfied.

The four blades hanging behind the black machine dropped to the ground, the blades embedding themselves in the earth, as well as the machine dropping the blade in its left hand. The machine ‘sheathed’ the blade in its right hand into its left hand as it looked to Asem and his machine. As the magical circles made themselves present and she could sense the formation of energy, she matched pace, ki beginning to flow into the sheathed blade at her hip.

"GOD BOLT!"

With the tumultuous roars of the lightning bolt and the laser shower from the Ganonia, what happened next shouldn’t have been possible, but in the moment the lightning bolt exited its final ‘gate’, all seemed to fall silent, with naught being able to be heard save for the breath of a single woman through the comms of the two autowarlocks.

Kusanagi Main School:
Altered First Step: Raikiri!
「As Fierce as the Lightning God Himself」

Her voice resonated through the bodies of the two otherworlders as if a bell had been rung inside their torso, the ‘shockwave’ of Tenka’s Ki penetrating through their machines, their bodies, and into their souls. Their spirits assailed by an almost tinnitus-like effect.

In a singular motion, hardly visible to the naked eye, the Nightmare unsheathed its blade in an upward battō, the edge of the Ki-engulfed blade making contact with the Lightning Dogma of Asem.

Truly it was worthy of being a lightning bolt from the gods itself; Hhowever, alike the Lightning god of myth…

This too would be cut down.

Tenka could feel the resonating energy through the blade, the arm, and even into her soul. Yet her spirit wouldn't lose; she couldn't lose. The sword carved through the bolt of lightning, and in the following moments. a wave of Ki-infused energy split the bolt in half all the way up to the origin of it, splitting the magic circles, and threatening the integrity of both the Deenbell and Ganonia that remained in the sky above the Nightmare. The wave wouldn’t stop there though as it pierced further beyond, the wave reaching to the sky above, parting the clouds that loomed overhead, as if she had just cut a mile-long gash in the sky. Wind, dust, and loose earth were blasted out from around Hyakka Ryouran, the shockwave not only upwards, but around and out as well.

The machine remained motionless once again, resetting its stance. The Nightmare dropped the blade in its hand or what remained of it as over half of the blade was missing, the weapon having melted near close to the hilt of it. Though no sooner as it discarded one, it grabbed another blade within reach, looking back at the two above.

“You’re a quick learner. I have high hopes for our next encounter.”

Tenka mentioned to Asem, before looking at Laura and Ganonia.

“But now it is you who I am curious of. He has all but revealed his hand of what he is capable of now, yet you continue to hide what you’re truly capable of. If you have any hope of defeating me, you’ll need more than your little light show to threaten me.”

She rolled her neck and lightly shook out her arms, with almost a grin on her face. While she was disappointed they were hardly worth going all-out for, there was still some satisfaction in testing these warriors and watching them improve themselves in combat. She longed for a worthy opponent to fight, but the only ones who could likely put up a fight against her were the Queen and Kusanagi himself. Though she doubted either of them would leave the peanut gallery any time soon.

“And if your goal is to try to bore me to death I’ll simply not waste any time and strike at the city behind you.”

"Asem, more Angelois and Golems have appeared on the opposite side of the Citadel, can you head over to assist in clearing them out?"

Heidel's voice came up on the comms, notifying the combatants of the proceeding situation.

"It seems Xifas worked his magic."

Tenka took a breath rolled her neck.

"This will be fun."
 
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Aug 25, 2018
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#20
Laura let out an impressed whistle at the utterly absurd scene of the sky being split in two before her. And then shook her head to show the incredulity she was feeling, Ganonia spreading its arms to its sides as a helpless gesture of a shrug. "If you expect me to match that you'll definitely be disappointed I'm afraid." She replied, the tone of her voice dancing up and down with the interlaced amusement that energy that seemed to be ever present. "Direct confrontations aren't my forte, I'm much more a sabotage and assassination kind of gal." Lies and partial truths, because Tenka did not deserve anything more.

"No no no, I'm afraid you're all out of luck when it comes to what I can show and do and stuff." The Nightmare of Perindor certainly did not lack for privileged expectations. Laura wasn't some wet behind the ears kid like Greenie, the idea that she would reveal what she was capable of to some close combat specialist who stayed in ranged combat for no gain and for likely loss was outright hilarious with the presumptiveness of it.

No, if she wanted her secrets out that badly she could force them out instead of waiting for a silver platter to appear.

Laura sighed. Still, perhaps an invitation was in order or this farce would just continue and she had better things to do. Like reading children's literature. "If the city was your goal you would've genuinely tried to barrel past us already, instead of contenting yourself to attacks from range as an obvious close combat fighter." It was hard to pinpoint what exactly, but something was changing in Laura's tone. Or rather, something was little by little sliding off of it.

"But if you're so convinced and certain that I am hiding something..." With each word, more and more disappeared, making it clearer what was going. And by the last word, Laura's tone and way of speaking both had changed entirely. The amusement and energy and the almost... bouncy quality to it were gone, as the mask that was Laura's genuine, honest personality was momentarily taken off. "Why don't you come and give me a nice little squeeze to see if anything comes out?" There was nothing really special about the words or the way Laura had said that, save perhaps the eerie lack of... anything behind them. It was without emotion of any kind, but without being monotone or emotionless. Perhaps the most apt way to describe the tone of her voice was the tone people have when making small talk about the weather, just lacking in the forced politeness and casualness those conversations often had.

Either way, Tenka's finely honed senses would certainly have picked up on something else, something more important as it washed over her in waves, accompanying Laura's words.

Massive swathes of killing intent were pouring out of Laura towards Tenka, and a lesser warrior able to pick up on it would undoubtedly have broken into cold, terrified sweat, betraying Laura as someone who had killed. Killed an uncounted number of times, in various ways, and with rare proficiency. But despite the... quality and purity of the killing intent, there was also something discomforting and troubling about it.

There was nothing that tinted it. There was no bloodthirst a maniacal warrior's would have, nor the grim determination of a knight, or even the cold and malicious nature of an assassin's might have.
There was nothing. The only thing it could be compared to was the empty void. The emptiness of space, the cold emptiness void of everything, even nothingness.
And all the deadlier for it. The most lethal of environments.

That was what the killing intent pouring out of Laura and aimed at Tenka was the closest to, that it brought to mind. Lethal, but so very empty. No emotion fueled her intent, no cold calculation, it wasn't even a chore for her. It just was.

A challenge, a warning. An invitation.

And an obvious bait.​