"So it's You."
"Yes..." Murmured Oleander, the edge of her tongue escaping her mouth to lick a pair of black lips, slowly. She could feel the resonance of a strong soul, even from here... And it only spurred both her, and the monstrous Spirit Machine of her design, to new heights, as the prospect of a rapturous sacrifice drew near.
"...Me."
Okuni's sword strike lashed out at the groping claw - but to seemingly little effect, the eldritch energies wreathed about its surface forming a protective barrier, enough to deflect her glacing attack with nary but a spray of sparks and burning ectoplasm. With that, the full monstrosity that had been lurking beneath the waves made its presence known, erupting from the water like the Leviathan of legend.
Compared to the Jiwen that had assaulted Luca, it was considerably larger, looming well over the Akatsuki. It was colored a sickly green and gold, its shoulders marked with snarling, animalistic faces that were at odds with the rest of its strangely ornate construction - as if it were a mobile altar for making dark sacrifices to strange, distant gods. Two yellow eyes gleamed at the Amaterasu as the Bowen's shoulder "mouths" opened, and a pair of large prana blasts roared out, scything forward, aimed to vaporize her where she stood. It was joined in chorus by the Spirit Soldiers as their mistress tugged at their strings, sending another chorus of fire at her from all directions.
Meanwhile, as Luca turned and emptied her rounds into the approaching Jiwen, each would have found its mark - the machine's head unit, chest, and shoulders were pummeled, their ornate ceramic surfaces cracking and shattering, leaving the machine's mangled face dangling by a thread... Yet, it did not halt. The pilot was dead, the cockpit having been a casualty of Luca's assault... But that made no difference. The spirits in the water were more than happy to finish the job that they had started, flowing into the machine as it closed its glowing hands about her abdomen... And began to wrench.
"Yes..." Murmured Oleander, the edge of her tongue escaping her mouth to lick a pair of black lips, slowly. She could feel the resonance of a strong soul, even from here... And it only spurred both her, and the monstrous Spirit Machine of her design, to new heights, as the prospect of a rapturous sacrifice drew near.
"...Me."
Okuni's sword strike lashed out at the groping claw - but to seemingly little effect, the eldritch energies wreathed about its surface forming a protective barrier, enough to deflect her glacing attack with nary but a spray of sparks and burning ectoplasm. With that, the full monstrosity that had been lurking beneath the waves made its presence known, erupting from the water like the Leviathan of legend.
Compared to the Jiwen that had assaulted Luca, it was considerably larger, looming well over the Akatsuki. It was colored a sickly green and gold, its shoulders marked with snarling, animalistic faces that were at odds with the rest of its strangely ornate construction - as if it were a mobile altar for making dark sacrifices to strange, distant gods. Two yellow eyes gleamed at the Amaterasu as the Bowen's shoulder "mouths" opened, and a pair of large prana blasts roared out, scything forward, aimed to vaporize her where she stood. It was joined in chorus by the Spirit Soldiers as their mistress tugged at their strings, sending another chorus of fire at her from all directions.
Meanwhile, as Luca turned and emptied her rounds into the approaching Jiwen, each would have found its mark - the machine's head unit, chest, and shoulders were pummeled, their ornate ceramic surfaces cracking and shattering, leaving the machine's mangled face dangling by a thread... Yet, it did not halt. The pilot was dead, the cockpit having been a casualty of Luca's assault... But that made no difference. The spirits in the water were more than happy to finish the job that they had started, flowing into the machine as it closed its glowing hands about her abdomen... And began to wrench.