destinystrings | The Soul Still Burns, Part One

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The Soul Still Burns, Part One

Who: Sarah and Open
Where: Hinoto-Ri
Summary: Sarah is hunting. God Eaters work best in packs.
Warnings: Sarah's powers are really gross.

Shortly after the group of volunteers is spirited away to find McGonagall, Sarah puts a brief message on the Visitor Network.

"Found signs of Susano'O during the 13th Hour. Beginning extermination operations tonight. Backup appreciated."

Later that night, she suits up in full combat regalia and heads out, looking for trouble.

Feel like being backup?

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"Likewise. Let's move out."

As Sarah strides forward, her coat swirling around her, she starts talking.

"Susano'o are a type of cannibalistic Aragami; they'll most likely be hunting down a few of the local Ogretail packs. My Persona renders me immune to their physical assaults, but I'll be doing my best to dodge anyway; if they realize they can't hurt me that way they'll switch over to their lasers. They have a heightened resistance to Blaze, Spark, and Freeze effects but are vulnerable to..."

She pauses for a second, casting familiar information into something more suited for the system at use in this world.

"I believe Light. I can switch between melee and distance attacks as necessary; is there a particular combat range you prefer to be in?"

Flynn follows Sarah wordlessly, listening intently to what she said. Resistance to fire, ice, and electricity... Thunder Reign was one of his two main offensive spells. That meant he has to change strategy.

"I am mostly a spell user, specializing in Almighty and Electric magic. Though I suppose their resistance would mean relying more on the former. I can buff and heal as well."

A pause.

"Do these Aragami heal themselves?" If so, Branding them would seal that ability.

Edited 2014-05-22 03:36 (UTC)

"If heavily wounded enough, most types of Aragami will attempt to break from combat and repair their bodies by devouring things. They're only semi-sapient at best, however, so they rarely move more than two hundred feet away, which is well within my tracking range."

Sarah pauses, turning her face up and sniffing at the wind before turning to the left.

"This way."

Flynn nodded again. He couldn't think of anything to reply, so he kept quiet instead.

Sarah seemed to have found the trail of one. As a precaution, he summoned Isabeau to walk by his side. While he might appear to be relaxed and at ease, the youth was in fact paying acute attention to his surroundings. He could sense powerful demons, but Aragami didn't necessarily fall under that category. He had to be careful.

It doesn't take long before Sarah holds up one hand in a 'wait' gesture as she switches her God Arc over to its crossbow-shaped Gun Mode and proceeds to fire off several HDH rounds, the initial lasers streaking upwards before the secondary effect kicks in, laying down suppressing fire from above. Switching back over to Sword Mode, Sarah dashes forward, running flat-out as she rounds a corner and starts hacking away at a still reeling Susano'o.

Flynn expressed a very faint hint of surprise at Sarah firing her... God Arc, but it quickly fades and he follows her around the corner. Seeing Sarah dash forward, he followed her as well, in sheathing his blade and striking the Susano'o. Due to his lack of strength it dealt minimal damage, but what was more important was the glowing Brand that appeared where he had hit it. The insignia was of a circle wit a diagonal slash cut through it, and it pulsed an eerie blood red.

He jumped back immediately after the strike, well aware of the monster's dozen teeth.

Sarah throws herself backwards as the Susano'o braces itself on all four legs, raising its pincers threateningly. Sarah's eyes flick between its legs and the slowly swelling claws before she shouts out a warning to Flynn.

"Scatter!"

The Aragami advances on the pair, snapping forward with a single pincer with each step, the oversized claws strangely resembling mouths.

Flynn nodded again, moving away from the Aragami. An iridescent orb of light was forming in his hands - colours swirled and crackled on its shifting surface - and after it reached roughly the size of a football he hurled it straight at their opponent.

The orb struck the Susano'o's face and detonated, exploding in a burst of multicoloured light.

The samurai himself shielded his eyes, waiting for Antichthon's radiant discharge to clear off before deciding what to do next.

...well. That was...considerably more firepower than Sarah was expecting anyone to be packing for a fight like this; when the light clears out it reveals the Susano'o, upside down and with all four legs curled inwards.

"...It's dead, Flynn."

...oh.

There is a pause before Flynn responded - and even then he simply looked at Sarah with an expectant gaze.

What now?

It's time to eat. As Sarah releases the seal on her Arc, tendrils of black ooze out of the hilt, forming a massive maw.

"Devour."

The Arc sets to with a will, tearing out pieces of the dead Aragami and swallowing noisily.

Flynn watched Sarah's Arc devour their adversary's corpse without flinching. (It's not like this is the first time he's seen this sort of thing.)

After a while, he does speak.

"How many of these do you intend to kill...?"

As the Arc finishes eating and the mauled corpse of the Aragami sublimates away, Sarah keeps her gaze fixed on the Arc as she replies.

"All of them, if possible. My goal for tonight is 20."

The two semicircles at the end of the blade snap together, forming a flanged shield as the tendrils of the maw form a cocoon around it. When the cocoon retracts, the shield is now in the shape of a scowling, demonic face.

"... I assume you will require me to accompany you for all twenty... or do you have another arrangement?"

He speaks after a slow blink, voice still calm and quiet. It's not like he minds.

"I have some backup."

She pauses slightly as her Arc turns back into an oversized sword, her gaze shifting between it and Flynn's unruffled countenance.

"...Most people have more of a reaction to my Arc."

...oh.

Flynn shrugs after a few moments. "I have seen worse." After witnessing a whole room of people getting devoured by a vicious demon... nothing else seems gory anymore.

Or it could be because he just isn't surprised.

"...I'll take your word for it."

She absently swings her Arc, flinging a streak of blood on the wall as she does so.

"In any case, I can handle this alone if you'd prefer to stop."

Flynn shrugs.

"You choose. I do not have any other obligations tonight."

He really doesn't seem to have a preference.

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The Soul Still Burns, Part One

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we can hand wave the end of the thread if you wanna