Alice nodded at Blake's comments, and did as requested, shooting off beam after beam relentlessly. This was going far faster than anticipated, which was all good. She could check on Makoto right after and make sure she was safe.
"Hooh, so if we continue applying pressure to it, we'll be able to wear it down for you, eh?" Riesbyfe responded to Blake, grinning eagerly. As much as she thought to herself how much she enjoyed the peace of Avalon, there was a part in her body that ached for some action, and it seemed like this boar was asking to be the outlet for it, especially if she was able to let loose like this.
To that end, she continued her previous course, circling around the boar to not make herself a still target, all the while performing a barrage of reinforced punches, faster than the most talented natural boxer, her fists thrusting and withdrawing sharply like a machine every second!
Out of everyone present, the boar focused it's next attack at Gran, somehow catching on that the boy had some defensive abilities that spread out to everyone else present. As it targeted Gran with an upwards horn swing, Wyatt's attempt to shrink the demonic boar's size was warded off, much like an outside force preventing him from doing so as lingering steam surrounded the beast for a split second.
Due to the combined attacks focused on the monster, those non-descript markings on its back began to light up once more, this time staying like that for a longer window of time. A long enough window for Blake to take the chance!
❝ Alright, this new feature better not backfire on me now! Module A, formation 5! ❞ Blake positioned himself right above the boar's back, projecting with his PWM a large cannon. There was no doubt that he could hit it square on those markings from here, he just needed to pull the trigger. ❝ Gotcha!! ❞
Within seconds, he started to let a heavy hail of energy bullets and blasts pelt down at the boar's back, causing the beast to roar loudly upon being shot from above. Almost like a chain reaction, the present battle damage from everyone else attacking the boar normally began to light up with that steam once more.
❝ ... I would explain why this demon is here, but it's a long story. ❞ Lapis made an offhand comment to Maeve, about to charge in once more with her crystal sword readied. However, she caught wind of what exactly the steam coming out of the boar's wounds were. It wouldn't make sense for anyone else but her, who's faced several creatures summoned by her. How come she didn't realize that this gigantic boar had this as well?! Looking up, she saw that Blake was still firing at it's back, putting two and two together on what he was unintentionally doing.
❝ Oh god, this is... really bad. ❞ Lapis gasped out once she realized what this creature was for. It wasn't to specifically kill her, not with that essence involved. Clearing her throat, she screamed as loudly as she could, ❝ BLAKE, STOP SHOOTING! THAT'S NOT IT'S WEAK SPOT! ❞
Her voice managing to get to his ears while airborne, Blake was extremely shocked and confused at this development. A part of him was shocked that she was screaming out to him, calling him "Blake." It was like how she usually called out to him back then. However, another part of him was confused by what she meant, that he wasn't actually hitting a weak spot. Stopping his fire, he noticed that the boar wasn't fatigued or incapacitated like he initially thought.
❝ Wait, what the hell? ❞ He was immediately alarmed that their efforts did the exact opposite to the demonic boar, which looked like it was going to release its excess steam in seconds by how much it was glowing a shade of green. While he had no idea what the deal was with the steam, he started to get himself away from it as fast as he could. On the other hand, Lapis had a vague idea on what was going to happen soon.
❝ EVERYONE, BACK OFF NOW! ❞
Another roar followed suit from the demonic boar, and so did an explosion of malevolent energy from it's body. Just even breathing a hint of this corrupt steam was alike to breathing in polluted smoke, that it would suffocate a normal person in an instant. Under all sorts of stress from this situation growing worse by the second, Lapis forced herself to conjure up a roughly made crystal wall that would keep the sinful steam from rushing out towards herself, the group, and the city, the act of doing so pushing her battered body to its limits. Even if she did so, it was unclear what was happening on Blake's end, his body obscured from view as the abnormal smoke appeared to engulf him completely.
At this rate, it was impossible to get near or even see the beast with all the smoke in the way, the beast's roar echoing out and slowly sounding like something else.
Alice started coughing, the sudden burst of smoke filling her lungs. She brought herself down from her perch, catching her breath. What was that...? She would rush out of the smoke fast as she could, in order to see where the beast had gone.
Wyatt acted on instinct and quickly summoned a force field around himself and anyone that was near him to not breath in the toxic fumes. He wasn't sure how long he could hold it. " So, how exactly do we beat this thing?" He asked, looking slightly worried as he wasn't sure how long the force field might hold the smoke off.
Maeve used her cloak to become invisible, darting out past the smoke and scaling the closest building to get a bird's eye view. This pig was clearly demonic, and it seemed that nobody in this group knew where it came from or who summoned it.
The adorable thief stood on the roof of the complex, listening closely for the pig's screams to figure out just where it ran off to.
❝ Good question actually. Uh... you know what the story behind the Seven Deadly Sins is all about, right? ❞ As much as she wanted to go into the smoke in a rampant search for Blake, Lapis forced herself to stay out of the fumes, using Wyatt's question as a way to not run off at the moment. At this point, she saw it impossible for herself to fight this beast alone, not with what it was fused with. If they knew about it, maybe it'll better their already dangerously slim chances. ❝ Long story short, that demon's been summoned by a piece of shit woman who's taken control of all seven of the Sins' vessels, and that it's been fused with a lot of the essence from the Vessel of Wrath. At this scale of Wrath this boar has... I don't know what to do, since it seems to take in our attacks to do it's own... I've never fought against anything that's been contaminated with this much Wrath before... ❞
Explaining all that she could in the heat of the moment, Lapis spotted that the smoky fumes of Wrath were clearing out, allowing her to break apart the crystal wall to see what was left to deal with. The first thing she took notice of was the collapsed body of Blake, who must've crashed into the ground after being heavily exposed to the excess Wrath essence. She was about to make a mad dash towards him, but she stopped in her tracks once she saw that the boar was still here. Actually, the demonic boar didn't appear to move out of it's original spot at all, but those markings on its back were gone.
And in it's place...
... a skeletal ghost was to be seen sprouting out from the boar's back. Without warning, the towering ghost swung it's bony claws at Lapis, who was the closest, but she was able to jump out of it's way. She had to get to Blake, thinking that he was on the verge of death due to that exposure to the Wrath essence!
❝ BLAKE!! ❞ Not wanting to waste any more time, she started to sprint towards his direction once more. As she did this, the boar stomped at the ground once, sending an electric shockwave at everyone! At the same time, the ghost swung two of it's claws towards Riesbyfe, seeing her as the closests to go for next.
Maeve watched as the boar revealed itself once more, but it seemed that one of their allies was down and they were being attacked by some sort of skeleton woman.
For now, she decided to stay back and watch from her rooftop. If all of them fell and the demons left the area, she could come and loot their corpses without any remorse! After all, she didn't kill them.
Riesbyfe only just managed to slip away from the ghost, though its claws managed to at least rip through her clothes and create shallow scratches on her arm. Still, it could have been worse. Ghastly as the skeletal ghost's sudden appearance was however, the silver-haired woman was not deterred. After all, such was a common sight when she'd worked at the Church! Demons, ghouls, it was all the same, and even if she didn't have Gamaliel on her, Riesbyfe knew that she'd be a poor excuse of a former knight if she couldn't handle something like this!
Imbuing her gauntlets with even more magical energy, knowing that this was the only way to affect an astral existence such as that, she retaliated swiftly, leaping forward to give herself momentum as she practically performed an uppercut at the ghoul!
As Rise...Rez...the white-haired woman seemed to be capable at handling that creature, Alice decided to do something else. "I will be right back!" The former assassin began speeding off back to her home, in order to check on everything. Makoto arriving with a strange girl...the boar attacking shortly after close by...there was no way it was a mere coincidence.
The ghastly ghoul let out a loud cry upon being struck by Riesbyfe, though it was evident that it also gave off that same steam that the boar had but to a lesser extent. Thankfully it did not have an excessive regenerative trait like the demonic boar, but it was still a threat to be dealing with. Unlike the boar which used the Wrath essence in a defensive manner as steam, the ghost held its four arms together to guide that Wrathful power into an orb. No doubt it was trying to charge up a focused blast!
During that, Lapis was able to reach Blake, who was deathly pale and barely breathing with empty eyes. As long as he was still alive, she could try something to save him, but the chances were near slim with what was happening near them. Rushing to craft a crystal wall to defend themselves for a short period of time, she tried to tap into that magic she's learned as a Witch.
❝ Dammit Blake, stay with me! ❞ Lapis raised her voice as if she were trying to reach him, shakily holding out her hand to cast a healing light over him. All while the crystal wall behind her was slowly crumbling away at the force of the boar's stomps and electricity.
@Ver@Lucky@Hahli Nuva@York
Nothing appeared to be out of place once Alice rushed back inside the house. That was what it seemed to be, until she would enter the bedroom to see that Makoto wasn't alone. Just the sound of the bedroom door opening alerted this other person that was here, and confusing Makoto immensely.
❝ A... Alice? ❞ She guessed on who happened to walk in, not at all sounding like she was in distress that another person was here.
❝ ... ❞ The man in question stared straight at Alice without a word, obviously going tense in silence. As if he didn't expect someone to walk in right about now, especially at this time.
❝ Um... sir? You got quiet all of a sudden. D... do you know Alice? ❞ She timidly noticed his silence, awkwardly trying to make conversation. It sounded like she was fairly familiar with this man, despite his obviously suspicious appearance.
❝ Nah, don't think we ever met. ❞ He says, narrowing his eye at the former assassin. His hand lingered to the back of his pants pocket, reaching for something.
Alice's eyes narrowed at the newcomer, her relief turning into heavy suspicion. Who was this man? How did he find her home? He wasn't someone Alice had ever met, and he certainly didn't seem a very friendly type.
The man would notice five pink Beam Katanas rise up from behind Alice. "I would be very careful with what you touch in my house," she said, trying to sound as if she was a concerned hostesss so as not to worry Makoto. "Wouldn't want to make a mess."
For a second, the man stopped reaching for whatever his weapon was, glancing over his shoulder to see Makoto. Once he took in mind about Alice's beam katanas, he let out a short chuckle, almost like following her act. Playing along so Makoto wouldn't know a single thing about what was possibly going to happen next.
❝ Heard ya loud and clear. It'll be a pain in the ass otherwise. ❞ He gave off a sneer, much like he shook off that tense air around him within that second. Without much care for the fact that Alice was armed and ready for a potential fight, the man with the eyepatch casually stepped towards her, turning his head to address Makoto.
❝ Hey Makoto, now that you mention it, I didn't get a chance to get all acquainted with... Alice, right? ❞ Going off from the little he knew from Makoto, he spoke the former assassin's name as if for practice.
Makoto merely gave a nod in response, vaguely thinking that they were getting along. Besides Makoto feeling safe with Alice around, it appeared that she had the same thing with this man. That she trusted him as much as she did with Alice.
Obviously aware of Makoto's lacking sight, the man still walked towards Alice without much worry, but then he just... disappeared into a small patch of shadowy smoke. That smoke simply passed through Alice until it slowed to a halt right behind her, and soon it could be said that he formed by a physical human form once he rested a hand on the other's shoulder. This was probably how he even got inside the house without even opening a single door to get to this bedroom.
❝ Don't mind if I take a look 'round your place for a sec or two with you guiding me here and there? Don't wanna end up not finding the bathroom if I gotta take a number 2 or something. ❞ Obviously he was trying to take himself and Alice away from Makoto, implying that whatever was next was not for the girl's ears.
So...he knew her name? And Makoto seemed to trust him, more than she trusted that other girl, at least. That was enough for Alice to slowly put her own weapons away, but not enough for her guard to go down. Which turned out to be a problem mere seconds later.
"!!!"
The assassin-turned-farmer gasped as the stranger vanished and reappeared behind her, the hand on her shoulder throwing her off immensely. What...what was this man? She wasn't sure whether she wanted to know or not. But she was going to put on an illusion of trust for Makoto's sake, at least.
"...of course. We'll be right back, Makoto. Let me just show Mister..." She glanced behind her, a wary look on her face as she eyed the man. "Do forgive me, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of making your acquaintance."
❝ Oh... I haven't caught your name too, sir. After all this time, it's funny that I never learned it. ❞ Makoto shared the same words as Alice, going as far as saying that she's known about this man for a long time beforehand but never even got a hint about his name. Just the mention of it made the man hesitant on the matter. At this rate, he didn't have much else to do other than to give his name, no matter how much it looked like he wanted to keep that a secret from Makoto.
❝ Sure... it's Majima. Goro Majima. ❞ He spoke with a distant voice, as if subconsciously regretting this decision on sharing his name. Of course, he didn't hear anything from Makoto, as if the latter was trying to remember if she's heard that name before in the past. Before she got involved in this.
Without much else to say at that point, Majima stepped away from the bedroom, waiting for when it was simply him and Alice. When it was certain that Makoto wouldn't hear a single word between the two at this point...
❝ Real surprising that she's here and not in some other grimy fucker's hands. But that makes me wonder how in the hell she's even here all of a sudden. You gotta know why, or are ya just jerking my chain here? ❞ In a way, it was Majima's turn to be suspicious, expressing an extreme doubt that Alice wasn't just letting Makoto room in. Almost like a self-proclaimed guard dog for that girl.
❝ And besides, I know for a damn fact that she ain't safe sticking around. Not when those cultists behind the big ass demon boar outside got so close to this house. So I gotta take her somewhere else before shit gets worse in these parts. ❞
"Majima. I take it you know her, then." It wasn't a question, but rather an observation. Alice leaned against the wall, a neutral expression on her face as she took this all in, and tried to figure out how to explain this all. "Makoto came to me...in a way. Though I don't look it, I'm actually a farmer...or at least trying to be one. Some blonde girl brought her here and asked if they could board here for a while, then the blonde got a phone call and left. I was out handling that "demon boar" and left the battle to check on her when it became a ghost." She cocked her head. "Crazy story, I know, but not something I'd make up. My imagination's not what it used to be."
As he mentioned getting Makoto to safety, Alice raised an eyebrow. "Cultists? That Blake boy mentioned a woman using Wrath to create that boar...by all means, if she needs to leave, take her to safety. I can hold off whatever comes your way."
" Yeah, I have heard of her. This is partially my fucking fault since she tricked me and some others into helping her under the guise that she was a good person and wasn't a piece of trash. It would make sense that it has something to do with her," he said, holding his shield and walking over to Lapis and Blake. " I can help heal him," he said, letting his hands glow and hoping that Lapis would let him heal the boy that she cared about. If she did let him, he would pour as much of his whitelighter power into healing Blake, He had saved his mother from a deadly coma... he hoped that he could do this.
Maeve had decided to sneak into one of the buildings nearby, which just so happened to be where Makoto was being protected. The thief came crashing through a window, landing perfectly in a kneeling position before standing upright and looking around the room. Maeve heard voices, and where there was voices there was treasure.
The adorable cat girl followed the sound of the voices, until she came across Alice and Majimain the hallway.
While it seemed like everyone else sorta... fled(?) or something, Riesbyfe kept on with the ghoul. If it was gonna try to go all out with its power, the former Shield Knight would return the favor! With a passionate cry, Riesbyfe performed a hard swing with her left, before bucking her hips and recycling her momentum into the other way around, performing another hard swing with her right immediately after, and then another left swing! Almost like a classic Dempsey Roll.
She needed to put this thing down before it could put any more civilians in danger, though fortunately, it felt like she could safely assume the others had been escorting others in the area away.
Alice was stunned as some child burst into her home. Immediately her Beam Katanas were drawn. "Out of my house. Now. You will find no treasure here." Whatever treasure did this imp think would be in a three-room farmer's hut?! As it was she'd need to pay for that repaired window...so much for buying that television.
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