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Castlevania: Now with 100% less backtracking [OPEN] [Action]
Ted donned his ill-used thinking cap. Where to find the madman's lab, with the prized elixir of life?
The skeletons might narrow it down to two fifths of Genessia: Fayren, and Everglade. And, Ted found, no matter how he mentally hemmed and hawed, he could not logically choose between them. Alchemy, necromancy, healing potions...either place could house them comfortably.
But if not mentally, perhaps emotionally? The laboratory he saw was, to make poor use of his vocabulary, creepy. A dirge from an organ would not be out of place. Put that way, it seemed right at home in Everglade. Fayren knew its share of the fantastic, true. But it seemed a sunnier, earthy, more wholesome thing. His journey's destination resonated most strongly with the dark, the old, and the spirits of Dickens.
So much for deduction. Now, Ted set upon Everglade, beating pavement, asking obvious questions. Have any witch brews made themselves especially pungent? Any mad scientist cackles roiling through the air? Did they know of a man with clothing as ornate as his heart was black? The night wore on, moon watching ominously overhead.
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It was violent work, but they made an end of it. Ted wiped his brow. Thank goodness these were weak to swords, else Ted might've been at it for some time. Apparently, these creatures could dish it out, but not take it. He went forward, a small spring in his step. He smiled and tipped his head towards his partner, letting her know it's time to go.
The only way out was up, so Ted climbed out of the hallway into another large area. The most striking thing about it was how, amongst the bubbling brews littered around, there was a familiar rising of steam. Tea, by the looks of it. Ted approached. "Hmm, I wonder if Luke might make something of this?" He got out a thermos from his satchel to take back as a sample later. "Unless you'd like to taste test it? Wouldn't want any evil tea to darken his doorstep."
Another scan, another pathway above. "It can't be much farther now..." A jump, a climb, and they got into yet another hallway, one doorway to the east.
But before that, a statue guarded the entrance. As soon as they entered, it would begin to move. It was leonine in form, likely a few hundred pounds. It looked old, crumbling and ready to fall apart at any moment. It bore small wings, and a mane like a man's beard: The Gashida. Ted knew better than to tango with something that large up close. Ted's mind raced as it lumbered towards them. "I've got it!" He rummaged again, produced a bag of catnip, and pitched it at the beast.
It was not impressed.
"Worth a try." If only the shop had sold concentration of acid rain. How do you kill a statue?
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She paused to let Ted explore the laboratory, drifting behind him, rather fascinated herself by all the colorful bubbling potions. "Hmm Maybe?" She took the thermos from Ted, blowing on it. "Youkai don't get sick or poisoned easily."
She drifted up behind Ted and peeked over his shoulder at the big statue. She didn't know what it was, or what it did. Only that it was in the way. She frowned a little bit, blowing on the brew again. Still too hot. She pouted a little and capped it, seemingly unconcerned with the large stone statue in their way.
"I don't understand why every room needs to have an enemy like that. But it's made of stone so it should break to something that explodes." Vines were already starting to creep up from the floor toward the statue. She didn't want to get close to it either to summon her roses more directly.
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"The moment you find sense in this accursed place, you let me know." Truthfully, Ted hoped Koishi might just blast it. He didn't have any explosives on him. A good idea, for certain, but where he came from, home manufacture was illegal, and pretty dangerous. It'd take a very confident Ted indeed to trust himself with recipes. Not very easy or cheap to purchase either.
The Gashida marched on, a bit slower, while Ted tried to think of something. "Aha!" He actually had gotten the next best thing: raw sodium. Never know when one might need a random element from a chemist's shop. Who knows, he might even be able to replenish his stock here. He freed it from its packaging, unwrapping as fast as his fingers would allow, keeping an eye on the beast's steady pace. He threw it, then reached in his bag for a squirt gun, the one weapon no manchild would be caught dead without. He took aim. "Take cover!" Then fired.
Ted covered his head as stone debris flew. Thank goodness Dracula was too cheap to afford new statue monsters.
"Not my brightest idea, admittedly. Still, it's gone. Let's see what it guarded." He cracked open the door to find another altar, this time with a green gem. "Darn, the potion yet avoids us. Still, not a bad prize. It matches your eyes, even." Though Ted wasn't well-read when it came to magical minerals, this was the "Frenzy of Wind"; a light green thing that had a gusty sound when held to your ear. Ted was all too excited to share that fact with Koishi. Once they had properly appreciated their strange green rock, they went on.
So, going up was a bust. Perhaps upper...right, according to Ted's latest coin flip. Another altar, another prize. This time: cheese. "That man should really consider a fridge." Onward!
Another long room extended upwards, a vertical obstacle course. The skeletons they all knew and bashed were there, strategically placed among many platforms for maximum annoyance. It'd be a simple enough climb, were it not for baddies there to muscle you off every step. At this point, Ted wasn't too concerned for personal glory; he'd even be delighted if Koishi flattened whatever bizarre entertainment Dracula expected by leaping, or flying, over these endless hurdles.
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"That was a loud and inelegant bang mister." Koishi shook her head to clear it. "You should learn magic so you don't have to use such crude means. Then you can play danmaku with me too." Of course Koishi didn't understand how or why Ted was against using magic himself. She didn't seem angry at least.
She took a sip of the tea, pausing and blinking down at it. "This is really good tea Mister!" Another sip before handing it to Ted. "I don't taste any magic or anything strange..." A pause. "Actually it tastes like the Nice Maid's tea from the big red house at home! She makes all sorts of things!"
***
Elsewhere, Sakuya was tapping her heel on the ground watching the duo through magical means... She had recognized that teakettle and did not know who had moved it into that room or why. She had set up one of her special blends for the afternoon snack later... Yes she could make more but it didn't make it any less irritating! And with a good bit of the tea removed the kettle would end up getting scorched if left on the flame like that!
She took a breath and pushed the irritation to the back of her mind, resting back in her chair. She made a mental note to make more tea later... Also to scold those maids for letting intruders pass so easily. Absolutely disgraceful!
***
Koishi stared for a long moment at the wind-stone before taking it from him and holding it to her ear. She giggled. "I can sense magic in it Mister. I bet it does something really neat and clever. I'm not sure what though." She stuck it in her pocket for now. It would be safe there.
The next prize made Koishi pause in her tracks, tilting her head to the side. "Cheese?" She picked it up and took a bite, her eyebrows raisin subtly. "Mm! It's really good cheese Mister!" She practically shoved a chunk in Ted's mouth before it was somehow put away in the bag. At least she was taste-testing all the random food they found but she should probably make sure to save enough room for the rest of the journey. Then again she had eaten all that pudding and seemed to be just fine...
The vertical room took her a little by surprise, the little youkai staring up through the bizarre maze of... stuff. She looked to Ted and then looked back up, pouting a little bit. "Who builds a house like this? It seems... Dumb. Unless everyone can fly. Then it's fine I guess... Sort of." She didn't sound too sure of herself. Needless to say she began drifting up through the room with a practiced ease, dodging or batting the tossed bones to the side and blasting any skeleton who dared appear in her line of sight. "Come on Mister. This room is boring! Let's keep going!"
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Better the magic things go with the magical one. Speaking of magic. "Ah, there's the rub. My race is expressly forbidden from the practice."
Ah, cheese attack! Well, Ted wouldn't resist, speaking with a full mouth. "Ef es pree gud; crrfll dough." He swallowed. Ted laughed at Koishi's pointed annoyance at the obstacle course sections, especially coming from one who rarely had much bad to say about anything.
Their reward for climbing that oh-so dastardly gauntlet was a garland of flowers. "Ha! I didn't figure him for the type." Feeling impish, he whirled it around on a finger before trying to land it on Koishi like a horseshoe. It didn't have any effects, it was just an unusually girly accessory in an increasingly strange laboratory.
Going west, the next room was a reverse L-shape, with a straight past to the west and several above to their right. But worse than too many ways to go was a brown, fuzzy, writhing thing slowly drifting through the air. The Larva: a rust-colored, sectioned insects at least two Teds' length in size. It wasn't especially aggressive, lazily drifting through the air. All the same, Ted didn't wanna touch its spiky carapace, or its pincers on the end.
"It's fairly slow; perhaps we might avoid it?" Killing monsters was all well and good, but no reason to fight if it was that lazy.
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She did quiet down when they entered the next room, actually jumping a little in surprise when the garland was tossed at her. She almost dodged out of reflex, catching it just in time. She looked at it a moment before smiling and placing it around her hat. A perfect fit.
She stepped into the next room, pausing at the sight of the huge worm thing drifting about the room. She furrowed he brow, staring at the creature, her lips pursed somewhat. "It's not really hostile like the other things. We can leave it alone if you want Mister. It's not really doing anything... like those rock golem creatures back home. They just wander around and eat rocks. The monsters in old hell don't attack them because the monsters eat meat. Not rocks. So they don't conflict or anything." She began making her way through the room, keeping her distance from the larva. Even though she had said they didn't need to attack it she kept her hands charged with magic just in case...
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"Your nose is on the nose, I am most definitely a human, though we're probably talking about different sorts." Oh goodness. If Ted had thought sooner, this conversation might go towards his carry-on, and that would be a mess to untangle out of. He'd take the larva over that.
So he climbed slowly, not wanting to get its attention. Luckily, the larva didn't give it. "Locked", he said, tugging at the door. True, Koishi might try bombing it, but would Dracula be such a jerk that he'd lock them out of the thing they're supposed to be seeing? He dropped down, and tried the other one.
This room was unusually calming. Ted felt as though nothing would intrude on them here. In a way, it also felt foreboding, just as the calm before the storm. "Let's rest here; something tells me we're very close now." He plopped down his bag, stretched, sighed mightily, and sat down. "So, was seeing a laboratory as fun as you hoped?"
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"Magic has always been used by humans for all sorts of things. Good and ill. From burning homes to bringing rain to dry crops to summoning or banishing spirits both malevolent and benevolent... To fighting youkai! The world probably would have been taken over by youkai if not for humans learning magic. That would have been really bad!"
She knelt down next to him, siting back on her heels in a practiced motion. There weren't any cushions to kneel on but this would suffice for now. "What makes you think we're close? Are you an oracle Mister?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a draw string bag, opening it and removing a piece of taffy wrapped in wax paper. She offered it to him. "Here. Sis made these. You can have some if you like."
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War? Hard to imagine, between humans and fairies—youkai, rather. That pet name was seeming less and less appropriate.
"Mm. Magic was always 'ill' in my world. A few exceptions, I suppose. Merlin was a decent enough sort. But as for your everyday, garden variety man? Out of the question."
He laughed. "Well, no one has definitively tested me not to be an oracle. Instinct, I suppose." He took some taffy. He found it funny that her solemn sister did seem to live up, now and again, to Koishi's lauds, but only where none could see. "Thank you."
He chewed thoughtfully. For all Ted knew, this might be his last supper. Dracula didn't seem the type to let his prized possession go without some sort of explosive climax. This was all for his amusement, after all. It's too bad; this room seemed ideal for a nap, if he could only chance it in an evil castle. Still, Ted wouldn't mind waiting for a while. Somehow, he knew that the right time to depart would come to him. Probably through the explicit prodding of his partner.
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"That just shows how little you understand magic. And humans fear and shun what they don't understand. I should know!" Her third eye drifted over, nudging his shoulder gently. "There aren't many magics that are bad by nature. And even 'bad' magics can be used for good purposes. Like using blood magic, which is a magic that almost always hurts people when practiced, to drain some life-force from one human to save another. I mean, there are better ways to save a life with magic but the point still stands."
She brightened a little. "It's the will of the user that is good or bad. Not the magic. And it sounds like Merlin was a good person. If good people are allowed to have magic in your world too, then why not you? You're a very good person. I can see the shape of your mind and personality and intentions Mister. You can't tell me that you're not."
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"Oh, yes I can. I'm flattered, nonetheless." He chuckled, particularly at the way in which his partner seemed to drift between incomprehensible whimsy, and dialectic dialogue. It was all he could not to laugh at 'the point still stands'. Ted thoroughly gave up trying to explain the finer points on things like humanity & the occult, Mark 10:18, or Merlin's unique parentage. This particular fairy either knew these things already, or was too innocent to ever know them. Certainly too stubborn; it'd be a strange day indeed for someone however many centuries old to learn from a twenty-something.
He swallowed, satisfied. "My compliments to the chef. When this is all over, you should get her recipe, if only to stop me from stealing it." He dusted himself off and stretched. "Indeed, I should rather keep the aftertaste than eat crow should someone overtake our lazy selves. Ready to go?"
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"And why are only special people allowed to have magic and power? Wouldn't it make more sense that people who would be best suited to use it be allowed to have it? Even if they aren't special. Even the most basic and mundane magic user can do some good. Even if its just making a child smile with pretty lights and sounds. They really like the magic that makes crackly noises."
She tilted her head as she stood, tapping her chin. "It's like saying only special people can use technology. That's a human creation too. And even if not every human can create new technology any human can pick up existing technology and use it. It takes hard work and study to learn it in its basic form and then more to become good at it. And then magicians can create things so that regular people can use magic. Isn't that the same as technology?"
As for the comment about the candy, Koishi shrugged. "Sis can teach you to make it, but you'll need oni sake. Be sure not to drink it on its own or it will make you sick because its so strong, okay? Most humans can't handle pure oni sake."
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Ted sighed in good nature. "My, you're tenacious. I suppose I had better appease your curiosity, if only to regain your much-needed focus for the trials ahead.
Merlin's a legendary wizard where I'm from. Dead, of course, for almost a millennium. Born from an incubus, a most unfortunate siring. Hence his connection with the supernatural. I imagine he's under a different set of rules." And thus, Ted's reluctance to get into the nitty-gritty. He'd relent easily enough to some prying, but no way Jose is he going to explain what an incubus is.
"Which brings us to its verboten nature. Indeed, the main reason I cannot, should not, must not use it is simply because I was instructed not to, by one whom it behooves me to obey. There are reasons, naturally. Preventatives against an array of darkness probably too dark for polite conversation. But the obedience comes first; that's the important thing. Will that do?"
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She tilted her head to the other side. "Instructed you... not to? Are you sure?" Her brow furrowed a little bit. "I'm not sure... OH! Like a religion! Why didn't you just say so?" Koishi had brightened considerably. "I understand now. At home in Gensokyo, a nice lady with pretty hair has me help out at her Buddhist temple. She likes it when I talk about how my head is empty. I think she thinks it means something but I'm just a broken satori youkai but she doesn't want to listen. She says a lot of strange things about it that are difficult to understand, but I suppose that's what they want so I don't mind helping. Even if I don't get it myself."
She shrugged her shoulders, tipping her hat up. "Mister Spades." It seemed she finally had given him a formal nickname. "Be sure to look to make sure you understand exactly what is being said, okay? It's easy to get confused and misunderstand things. Especially with some of the lessons religions teach. Deities especially. They speak in vagueness and riddles and it can be hard to understand them, but don't give up, okay?"
She drifted up, looking at the door. "You're really restless, so let's go. We can talk more about it later over a warm cup of tea. Rose is my favorite, and I bet you'd like it too." She gestured to the door. "Shall we be off?"
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"Yes, exactly like one. You catch on quick." Goodness, if Buddhism perplexed, the faith from the other side of the world would probably be nigh-imperceptible. "No worries about deity; he's typically very lucid, especially about that. Strange; you're not the first lady whose urged me to dig deeper into things. And here I thought I knew it fairly well! Suppose I'll have to puzzle over that and my relation to spades."
He agreed, and went through. Whoa! That Larva almost got a bite in. Ted backed off, waiting for it to pass by. "That's one way to jump-start a heart...easy does it." He waited for it to pass by, then quickly dropped by, sneaking underneath to the west.
Another large room, eerily silent. They came in from the ground floor, seeing two pathways: upper-left, and upper-right. The room itself has the usual hodge-podge of alchemic materials. And one curious thing under a drape. Ted couldn't help himself, but whoever uncovered it first would find a choco souffle. This made Ted laugh a great deal.
"Oh, it's too absurd! Clearly, this is the reason this castle was built. This was why so much equipment, both arcane and scientific, was necessary, and why it needed to be guarded by scores of undead. Oh, that man, he thought he could trick us by making some red tincture. A literally red herring. I've seen through it! I can see it now; his brow, heavy with sweat, as his best and brightest labor to find the perfect ratio of filling-to-shell. The ingredients measured with the utmost precision, chocolate extracted from a diabolical cocoa bean plant. We shall find a greenhouse with the bedeviled tree just next door, I expect. But lo, his heart grew as dark and opulent as his dessert, having sacrificed humanity and sanity to produce it. And with most delicious irony, even what he has shall be taken away." Assuming Koishi hadn't already scarfed it, he'd stow it away. Perhaps the chaos of the castle had gotten to him.
Whether through infectious insanity, or just being Ted, he climbed towards the upper right, merrily inviting Koishi to attend. "Oh, what a place. What a loon!"
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She drifted closer to Ted, recasting the shield over him. "And it's always good to question things. Otherwise you do things blindly and that's never good." She didn't comment on the spades thing. Trying to figure out Koishi's logic was a fool's endeavor half the time.
She avoided the larva easily, following Ted into the new room. She paused at the sight of the chocolate treat, the heart over her shoulder twisting around once as she drifted closer to examine it. She only stole a small taste of it, her eyes brightening significantly, her third eye drifting over to nudge Ted... but stopped short. She remained still throughout Ted's entire rant, staring at him with a perplexed expression.
At the end of it all something cold seemed to reach out, wrapping around his mind and taking the edge off of his emotions. All of them, pulling him a little bit more forcefully toward a calm state. It only held for a few moments before relaxing its grip, hopefully cooling his momentary hysteria. "Is that better Mister...? Your mind went looped up and through and I don't know what I'm supposed to do about that. You need to be careful though. We can leave if it's too stressful a place..." The emotion had reminded her of panic, but it had been different in tone. It was not one she sensed often.
Regardless, she followed him as he pressed on, her normal calming aura settling gently over his mind.
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"Ah, that was you doing that Koishi. I thought it was queer how see-saw my passions were in here." Truthfully "Ted talks" like those weren't uncommon, but they were usually inflicted upon worthier targets than desserts, however out of place. "Just trying to make fun of something so unusual." Ted was sheepish, mostly due to relativity. When one like Koishi gives you funny looks, you've probably gone too far. "Still, please ask permission before administering your peculiar brand of calm-down juice. It's unsettling, being forcefully settled. If that makes any sense." He took a look around. "Not much does in this place. But no, let's continue. Leaving now would be just as bad as defeat, and we'll have none of it."
The next room might prove Ted to have spoken too soon.
There it was. The potion. A long, lavish hallway, with it sitting on the grandest pedestal so far. There could be no mistake. It was the elixir of life. Naturally, it was guarded by two fearsome monsters. Slogra, a seven-foot bony bird creature with a sharper beak, wielding a sharper spear, and Gaibon, the equally large but thicker fire-breathing gargoyle. It was technically a 2-on-2, but somehow Ted was less than comfortable with those odds. Worst of all, Ted had gone through the entire castle without once consuming any of his supplies from the Rabbit's Foot. Alas, these monsters were too many and varied for him.
"Shall we seperate, or be as one? If the former, I suggest the bird thing. Flying's more your specialty."
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Koishi visibly tensed as they stepped into the next room. Yes she could see their prize on the far end, but the creatures guarding it were not like the things they had previously fought. These things had a mind and a degree of cunning. She would have to be on her guard. But... what about...? She glanced at Ted, swallowing, a little nervous. The shield would only take a hit or two before breaking. To dedicate more of her power to it would compromise her own safety and if she was hurt or knocked out... Well then Ted would be unprotected.
"... Separating might work Mister Spades..." She was opening and closing her hands, sleeves shifting as she readied her tendrils. As much as it would be harder to protect Ted if they were separate, being together would mean she would have to protect two fronts simultaneously. "They are smarter than the others, so be really careful, okay?" Already she was drifting up into the air. It was a bit different this time, the little youkai sporting a very unsettling aura. It was clear she was more serious about this fight than the others.
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He'd try to heed Koishi's advice again, and keep his guard up. The electric skeleton had taught him that there's more to these creatures than meets the eye. Who knew what they were capable of? Thankfully they were fairly large, and Ted wouldn't have a hard time landing his shots with one hand. While wielding his bag in the other, he filled the gargoyle with a few bits of holy lead. "It would seem their tactics are already decided." They were tough creatures, unrelenting in their assault. And what an assault! The gargoyle picked up Slogra in its talons, the bird-beast with its spear pointed below, ready to strike. Ted got a good impression of what was coming, eyes fixated as he ran along the room. Gaibon flapped its imposing wings before releasing Slogra, its spear embedding itself in the ground. Just the ground, luckily; Ted had rolled out of the way and avoided an unpleasant skewering. He fired another shot at the grounded Slogra, actually causing it to flinch this time. No matter; Gaibon picked it up to begin the cycle anew.
Ted took a breath, unsure if their combination boded well or ill. How long could he keep this up?
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Koishi huffed and waved her hand, dispelling the thorns, actually panicking a little when Slogra was thrown at Ted. She turned to reinforce the shield, though, fortunately, Ted managed to roll away in time. This... wasn't going to work. She wanted to keep at a range, but Ted was not mobile enough to do that. Especially if one of these creatures was intent on throwing the other. And using reliable magic or psionic abilities while maintaining Ted's shield was out of the question. Her third eye closed. It was time to get her hands dirty.
The tendrils slid from her sleeves, Koishi drifting back far enough to place one toe on the far wall, her entire body coiling. She focused her full magic on Ted, hardening his shield as she waited for Gaibon to throw... She kicked off of the wall the moment Slogra had left Gaibon's talons, her tentacles lashing out ahead of her, one winding around the gargoyle's throat, the others spreading, trying to cage its body, wings included. She pulled hard, further accelerating herself, half crashing into, half shooting past the monster at quite a speed. She was trying to swing it to one side, hoping to knock it out of the air and pin its wings all while ending up behind the gargoyle. Unfortunately, Koishi didn't have a lot of mass, but her speed more than made up for it.
Hopefully the speed and ferocity of her attack would distract Slogra some to let Ted get in a few extra hits. Beyond that, you're on your own for now. Sorry Ted! Hopefully the shield will help!
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Ted had managed more distance from the pogo-stick attempt, now that he knew what to expect. Then he saw Gaibon get tackled by one much smaller than he, somehow, as Slogra was robbed of his air support. Earthling to earthling, flier to flier, as Ted thought things might go. He stole a glance at how on earth Koishi had managed it, shuddering a bit at how visceral things had gotten for her.
But there wasn't time for more than a quick threat scan. However she had done it, she had, and the important thing was to watch out for Slogra, whose spear was glowing at present. Ted would soon find out what that forebode, as it shot a triangular wave of energy at him. Ted panicked, and jumped, clearing the shot a few feet. Safe!
Or so he thought. Gaibon struggled, using its only weapon: balls of fire. Its neck was controlled, meaning it could only shoot one way, much as it might try to immolate its immediate surroundings. That meant the balls of flame were heading straight for Ted as he shot upwards. He raised his legs, the hellfire walkers deflecting a few of them. There were too many, however, and the last of them destroyed the shield. He was gonna have to start a tab for how many times Koishi saved his life.
Ted landed on his back, but softly thanks to the flight pin. His aerial adventure had allowed Slogra to catch to close the distance. Ted didn't fancy a swordfight with a weapon, or a monster, that massive. One day, he wished, he might be able to use such a chivalrous and romantic weapon. But for now, the much safer, much more efficient revolver. One, two, three, four five body shots. And still it approached. Just how much punishment could he take? It was a gamble, whether Ted had enough time to reload.
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She tensed visibly, shifting her grip as quickly as she could as the gargoyle turned to spit fire at Ted. It only got off three shots before a clawed hand wrapped around the creature's snout, stifling the fire. It burned her hand a little bit, but it wasn't hellfire. She could endure it for a awhile. She flinched as she felt Ted's shield break, but she wasn't in a position to remake it. Even with her magic no longer being tapped, she was in no position to focus, and lashing out psychically would hurt Ted too. She grunted, having to tuck her head as the Gargoyle rolled again to avoid hitting her head, putting her face unpleasantly close to the beast's neck...
Well that could certainly work.
Her jaw ached as her teeth sharpened the younger satori biting into the creature's spine, where the neck met the upper back. Considering how tough the creature's hide was and how thick its bones were at this location it would take considerable effort to chew through to the beast's nervous system. Especially since Koishi's jaw couldn't unhinge and wasn't big enough to bite through the vertebrate and muscle in one go. Well that just meant she had to take more than one bite!
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Ted barely scooted away as the spear plunged where his shins used to be. He was getting backed into a corner, nearing Koishi's struggle. He stole a glance, and was horrified. His partner's name was all he could yell before re-attending to his more present threat. He couldn't gamble taking out his speed loader and applying it in the time it would take Slogra to breach the gap.
Second verse, same as the first. He jumped with all his might, leaping over Slogra. At that exact moment, Gaibon entered a berserker rage. When either of these creatures neared the end of their mortality, their colors grew red, and their powers increased. In the gargoyle's case, his flames became thrice as large and intense. With the last of his breath. he ushered out alchemical flame, either launching at Ted's jump, or else at the hand that even now gripped him.
Ted dropped all of the things he'd bought from the Rabbit's Foot at once onto the beast's head. Surely one of them had to work. Indeed, it seemed to. As Ted alighted on the other side, he saw the beast flinch, its spear having disintegrated. Ted's adrenaline surged as he relished his enemy's disarmament. He took the time to arm his gun. One shot, two shots, then the beast lunged with its beak, increasing it's reach dramatically, and stabbed Ted's thigh. He howled in pain, nearly becoming disarmed himself. He hopped away with the strength of one leg, reflexively trying to create distance. He tried to focus on his aim through the pain, hopefully having enough impact to put the beast down for good.
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Her teeth met muscle again, this time scraping bone. She wasted no time, ripping out next layer of flesh to get at her target. Unlike the muscle, made tough by the gargoyle's ability to fly, the disks of its spine would give far more easily. Digging the elbow of her burned arm into the base of Gaibon's skull she she bit down twice at odd angles, breaking the disks, and once more to rip one of the vertebrae clean out of its neck.
She flinched visibly as the creature died, the psychic feedback providing a sobering shock, Ted's sudden pain compounding upon that. Pulling her claws free she struggled to untangle herself, finding some of the tendrils pinned under the large creature... And Ted needed help. Giving up on freeing herself for now, she took a breath, narrowing her focus on Slogra, her third eye opening wide enough for the corners to split. She promised to protect Ted. And that was exactly what she was going to do. Though it would not be easy seeing as Ted was also within her line of sight.
Focusing her power as best she could, she loosed a psychic lance at the beaked creature. Madness. Nightmares. Pain, sadness, fear. Everything that made up the darkest parts of the psyche were in that blast. Not as powerful as it could have been, she didn't dare risk more. Even after she put so much effort into focusing, Ted would undoubtedly feel the far edge of that strike.
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A wave of fear overcame Ted from without. By now, Ted was getting a feel for Koishi's compulsive mood swings, and he reasoned that that might explain why the creature had given up the offense, merely standing there, quivering. Being Death's minions, their capacity for feeling of any kind was blunted. But it was enough. Ted steeled his resolve, limping towards the creature. He wrested the gun into the creature's eye, and fired.
It was dead, as made evident by the way it's flesh immediately encased itself in flame, leaving only bones that swiftly faded into dust. Ted purposefully looked down, concentrating on what needed no further notice.
The violence done to Gaibon was too much as well, and it followed suit in self-cremation. The struggle was at an end, at least against them. Ted continued to stare at the floor, until he knew for certain that whatever madness gripped Koishi had passed.
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I do not apologize for the reference.
Re: I do not apologize for the reference.
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