destinystrings | Conquestum Paradisi

Atsuro gives a grim nod before he flickers again to take his turn with his short-range teleportation. It was nice sometimes not having to wait for turn order with a full party. ...That is, uh, it was nice not having to make sure everyone kept together to minimize damage or... whatever.

Misery, by contrast, could have very LONG range teleportation, but she'd rather ensure the road is clear for Atsuro's clearly inferior version. So she sics the Golem on any potential interlopers, smirking as Anoli agents quickly fall to its fists. So, so satisfying.

Atsuro himself makes a point of appearing behind an Anoli agent whenever he could to blast them with a Holy Strike to the head before he teleports again. Perhaps some time is wasted on this endeavor, but he recognized, somewhere inside, that it was already far too late to accomplish anything of use. To save the victims or to catch the perpetrator.

"Tch! This is futile."

She sends a swath of them away with a few of her own Dark Bolts. "Best we focus on what we can and sort things out later. We're just the ones left behind to pick up at this point." As she'd pretty much expected, to be honest. "Anyway, aren't you the one who said you were more interested in protecting the innocents?"

".....Rrgh...."

Atsuro's hands ball up into fists as he pauses and stares up at the stage. His words, when they come, are quiet.

"...We had a job to do. I was so bored by the stupid ceremony... I didn't pay any attention at all."

He shakes his head quickly.

"I've seen so many people get killed by demons... but when it's other people... Tch."

She crosses her arms. "Listen to me. Tragedies happen at the hands of other humans every day. We knew this as a possibility, and the mayor had been playing with fire the moment he proposed this ludicrous plan. It is not your fault. It is the fault of those who poked the snakes nest, the fault of the snakes who responded. Do you understand? This is not the time to get wrapped in guilt, or remorse."

She whips her staff out, pointing the way.

"This is the time to do what you need to do. The time for reflection comes later."

The golem watches, impassively, as if waiting on their choices.

"..."

Atsuro lowers his head; his hat slips down to obscure his features as he turns away.

"...Yeah."

He nods as he regains control of his emotions, though his face is still grim.

"Let's do this. There are too many people here who need our help."

"Indeed! I'll let you handle the saving part. I simply want to help reduce the surplus Anoli population. Oh ho ho ho ho!"

Yep. There's still a bit of villain in her yet.

"Uh. Try to keep them alive if you can. The government might... pay you more or something."

Atsuro coughs into his fist before vanishing once more. And Anoli hunting is a-go.

And Anoli hunting brings them here.

As Atsuro and his demon, Seiten Taisei, reappear from their short teleportation, the world is suddenly consumed with fire, roaring high as a massive wall that sends a fresh scream through the surrounding crowd. The heat was painfully intense, and creatures made of fire leapt from the flames' depths, leaving sooty footprints and the smell of smoke in their wake.

"Ahahaha...!"

Laughter echoed over the fire's dull roar, and the inferno morphed and shifted, long snapping snake heads made of flames lurching out of the blaze, their eyes like burning coal and maws open hungrily.

"What was said? It was the snakes' fault? It was the snake poker's fault? Wasn't it simply your lack of observation that is the fault here?" A low voice cackled gleefully, just as the fire-snake's heads lunged forwards, aiming to swallow up Atsuro - who was viewed as the more vulnerable one - in white-hot fire.

More vulnerable may be an accurate assessment, given that he required a short delay before he was capable of teleportation again. But for someone who had played a part in taking down the most powerful demon lords in his reality, more vulnerable did not necessarily mean more easily defeated. It had been many months since he had faced a threat of this magnitude, but the memories of battles long past resurface quickly.

In his hand, the COMP flares to life, the Harmonizer program indicating that his body registered the heat as a high-level AoE Fire attack. Shielding his face with both arms, Atsuro withstands the flames long enough to throw out some battle banter of his own. Those were important, survival not withstanding.

"Actually, I think what's at fault here is you being a crazy sociopath. Let's put those snakes down for good!"

In a flash, Enki appears before him and wastes no time in casting Malaques, unleashing a surging deluge in every direction to crash into the fiery serpents halfway. Badb Catha has gone from Atsuro's shoulder, flown off into who-knows-where to bide her time. Seiten Taisei acts similarly, rising up on his cloud to canvass the field from above, searching for the source of the flames.

"Oh bother, are the fireflies out already? And we were SO having such a nice outing." She fights back the deep ~~rage~~ annoyance she has at the man's choice of target. "Perhaps we need to do a little bug zapping."

She orders the Golem to charge its attack while she sends down dark bolts of lightning from overhead. This one looks to be actually challenging. She'll have to be cautious. And yet... how nice it'll be to trim the ranks.

Steam spat when Malaques hit the inferno, the fire-hydra shrinking in size slightly from the spray of water dampening their flames. They hissed, the noise of embers popping as they retreated into themselves, losing their distinct forms and becoming a solid fire wall instead.

The lightning pierces into the inferno, and the flames lash out higher in response as if in anger.

"Ugh..."

The fire welled and pulsed, as if something was trying to burst free from it. The man's voice hissed out, no longer sounding very amused.

"That was not nice!"

A giant Persona erupted from the flames, six pale wings spread out wide and golden hair flowing. At a glance it appeared to be a divine angel, its skin and wings filled with a subtle glow, its golden hair mimicking a halo, but there were certain things...wrong with it.

Black horns sprouted from its head, fangs protruded from black, thin lips, its eyes were a blazing red and its fingernails were like claws, long and sharp looking. The 'angel' bared its sharp teeth into a malicious grin, flames licking up from its palms as it lifted them up into the sky.

In response the inferno behind the angel rose higher, the hydra heads appearing once more, snapping and roaring towards the sky. It was very flashy, very distracting-

And something pierced through the blaze and aimed for Atsuro, a tiny, near invisible dart-like knife, only visible due to the glint of light from the flying blade...

Command Skills | Passive Skills | Auto Skill
Deathbound_____| Phys Amp_______| Pierce+
Holy Strike____| Crisis Might___|
Shield All_____| Drain Hit______|

>Dispatch

Demonic angels. That was a new one. ...Well, sort of. Honestly, he had been expecting Remiel to transform into something along these lines the entirety of the lockdown; who knew that the angel would turn out to genuinely care for humanity's future? ...In its own, limited, did-he-even-have-free-will sort of sense. Atsuro watches the grotesque creature arise from the flames and clutches the COMP in his pocket more tightly, something of a gesture of reassurance for him. Another flare of light shines briefly around him; two responding lights flicker in the sky circling the air above the giant Persona.

He had a feeling that the impending attack wasn't something he wanted to experience.

"Miss the memo? We stopped playing nice a long time ago, pal."

He didn't have Taunt equipped, but that didn't mean he couldn't still try it.

"Why don't you run on home if you can't handle the -- "

Plink.

Atsuro cuts off as he stares down at the piece of metal lying on the floor. His Shield All dissipates.

"................Wha, hey!"

Goodness. Quite the monstrosity. A befittingly ugly Persona for an ugly personality. And would he quit picking on Atsuro? That's HER job, and she's considerably less lethal at it!

"How terribly ironic. Being chided on manners by someone like this. I'm afraid the only ones teaching lessons here are us." She directs her staff, and the Golem lurches forth towards the Persona, aiming to provide a Vicious Strike of its own. Meanwhile, she darts to the side, launching a series of her own dark magic back at the demonic duo.

"Hahaha! Is this trash talking?! Are you trash talking me? Brats... Ramiel!"

The Persona threw its hands down, casting a powerful Agidyne at the Golem lurching towards it. The flames behind the demonic angel hungrily consumed the dark magic ramming into its walls, the inferno bloating and the fire gaining a sickly black edge.

"Urgh! Argh, what...no, that feels awful..."

The flames shuddered - and spat the dark magic back out. It careened wildly across the battlefield, slamming into walls and the floor, sending up debris everywhere. The flames shrank down after this however, not looking as healthy as before.

Seemed like dark magic had an unusual effect on them.

"Tch, let's see how you like it!" the voice snarled, and more dart-knives flew out from the blaze, a whole fan of them aimed both at Atsuro and Misery.

"Hey, it works in comic books."

Trash-talking was practically the number one cause of villains being defeated in modern media. It might not be a great idea to get this guy any more infuriated than he already is, though. He was already more of a lunatic than Atsuro had really been counting on.

Before him, Seiten Taisei swoops down on his cloud with staff spinning to deflect the knives with classic bojutsu technique. Sadly, this was something else that tended to work better in modern media than in real life; while the majority bounce away harmlessly, one dispels the Shield All, and two more bury themselves into the monkey king's shoulder. The demon hisses sharply before reaching up to pull out the darts. Near simultaneously, Badb Catha flaps by with a screech and another flash of light envelops Atsuro, his demons, and his Persona.

"Looks like he might be weak to Dark and Water...! Keep up the heat, Misery!"

Another Malaques surges out from Enki towards Ramiel as Atsuro glances up towards Badb Catha and whistles; the war goddess comes back down for another swoop.

"Oh ho ho ho ho ho! How unfortunate for this man!"

The golem staggers a bit under the flame blast, but it doesn't seem to be weak one way or the other to it. It shakes its head a bit and continues to lurch forward, swinging its original attack at its target. Meanwhile, the daggers fly towards her... and bounce off her harmlessly, triggering another cackling spree on her behalf. "My my my, it looks like you need to sharpen your knives!" she exclaims gleefully before launching another stream of dark orbs in the Persona's direction.

Ramiel hissed as it swatted aside the dark orbs like they were mere pebbles, only to be forced back into its own flames from the force of the deluge of water. Steam billowed around it, and the fire - or the Persona - released a high pitched scream-

Only to abruptly vanish.

The Persona was gone, and with it the flames. A brief lull fell on them, and through the steam a silhouette of a figure was visible. Their hands were lifted up as if in prayer, fingers slightly clawed.

"Alright. We'll try something different..." the voice murmured.

The steam cleared, revealing their opponent. It was a very...unremarkable man. He was dressed in a dark coat, military fatigues, and a balaclava, with a heart patterned mask shielding his face. His shoulders quivered with laughter as he lowered his hands, a dark, miasma like energy pulsing around him.

"Mephistopheles. Weak Heart."

The miasma surged outwards, spilling over the battlefield as a near physical cloud. It carried the sickly sweet smell of rot, clinging tightly to Atsuro and Misery, and to their Persona, feeling like oil against their skin. A slow, disgusting poison that sapped the energy of Hearts's enemies until they were nearly empty husks.

"Let's see how well this works," Hearts purred, waggling their fingers in a mockingly coy way, a shadow looming behind them. It carried a humanoid shape, but was indistinct, like it was nothing more than a shade - but the clear source of the miasma.

"Hngh...!"

Atsuro sinks to one knee as the deadly miasma washes over his entire party. Enki releases a choked cry and vanishes as Atsuro momentarily loses the mental focus to maintain its presence; Seiten Taisei attempts to flee skywards but fails to avoid the attack, tumbling to the ground as his cloud is borne away by the spewing smog. There's one saving grace - high above, there is a final soft plinking sound as the last Shield All on Badb Catha dissipates, leaving the raven unscathed by the incredibly noxious gas.

He had no idea what had just happened, but he could feel the effects well enough. He could hardly draw breath; in his chest, his heart beat and throbbed erratically as if something was clenched around it. Whatever toxin this was was beyond anything he had experienced before. Not even the Bel demons carried an attack this debilitating...

Heck, this was almost worse than giant maggots hatching inside his body. Less disgusting, though; he was mildly thankful for that. Atsuro spares a glance at his game system and is not terribly surprised to find that his HP counter is rapidly ticking down...

HP: 243/521
MP: 172/195
☠ ☠ ☠ ☠ ☠

"Tch...! Badb Catha... Buy us some time!"

In a flash of light, Seiten Taisei vanishes; Atsuro sets to clicking buttons frantically on the COMP as his remaining demon surges forward with a screech. The Might Call it had cast earlier on the party was still in effect. With surprising strength and speed, the raven goddess swoops at Hearts with an attack that was guaranteed to strike a Critical point. Badb Catha wasn't terribly strong, but it would have to be enough.

((Dual unlock soon? Not that it will be terribly effective aha T_T.))

"Wh... what is this disgusting... guh."

Misery loses her focus, dropping to the ground. The golem dissipates as well. "Wretched beast... emitting wretched stenches..." She forces herself to her feet, gritting her teeth. "Miserable... will not be..."

She shakingly summons her backup. She's not sure what that element is, but hopefully THAT MAN would be able to ignore it. This would be such a stupid place to die.

The embodiment of insanity himself emerges, grinning as always. Misery herself can't focus enough to attack, but she feels a strength in Ballos she hadn't before. Curious. She just... needs a bit before she can command him.

((Sure, what the hell. :V))

Hearts hissed at the bird swooping down at him, and Mephistopheles's intangible form surged forwards, phasing through Hearts and solidifying to take the attack full on. A strange, whispery noise fluttered through all of their minds at that moment, and the shadow fuzzed out, almost as if it was in danger of vanishing to the winds, but quickly pulled itself together.

"Tch, drawback is this one isn't sturdy," Hearts grumbled, massaging his chest as he turned his attention to Misery. Oh, she actually managed to summon a Persona? Impressive. Oh well, that meant she should go first-

Oh wait, this was supposed to be non-lethal... well, 'accidents' happened.

"Mephistopheles," Hearts hummed, "Suffocate them a bit more," he ordered, his voice full of sick glee as his Persona obeyed. The miasma spewed out even more, thickening until it was a cloying black cloud, bloating and surging forwards like some sort of tsunami of poison.

((Sorry, can you give us a moment to do something? It'll be quick, I promise! I'll let you know to tag again.))

What the heck.

Atsuro has the strength left to pull his hat over his mouth to try and avoid getting any more of the miasma inside of him. ...Not that it has any effect whatsoever. The second time isn't any less disgusting or vile than the first, and he finds himself coughing and gasping for breath once again as it concludes. His mind, though, is silently rejoicing that the man had chosen to waste his 'turn', so to speak, with another attack that didn't directly harm either of them.

HP: 166/521
MP: 172/195
☠ ! ☠ ! ☠ ! ☠ ! ☠

"...........Laksmi...!"

He presses the button of confirmation on his COMP as firmly he can, barely managing to spit out the name of the demon he wanted to call. The appearance of the goddess isn't dramatic - another simple flash of light, and she appears kneeling in front of her summoner, a warm smile on her face. She has a glance to spare for Misery as well, and with a nod, she reaches forward to cup Atsuro's face in her hands.

"Be at ease, my children... The blessings of Kichijoten shall soothe thy wounds."

The spell is cast in an instance. The power of the goddess's Affection washes through Atsuro, Badb Catha, and Misery alike; with a sharp intake of breath, the boy feels the grip on his heart loosen and fade away. The poison has been dispelled and his strength recovered, though the lingering effects of the toxin remain. He can still feel a certain heaviness in his steps, a frailness to his frame... But he has, at least, the strength to stand now.

Racial Skill Affection: Cures a large amount of HP and all status ailments to all party members.

"Misery... We've got to use this last chance! Let's give it all we've got!"

As he speaks, Enki coalesces into physical form again beside him; both Atsuro and Enki turn together to give a hand to Misery and Ballos still on the ground.

((Stat decreases haven't been recovered!))

The heaviness leaves her, and there's a bit more bounce in her step. Ballos, however, seems even more energetic, if that's possible. She scowls a bit, taking his hand as she rises. "Tch. I suppose I will have to owe you for this one as well... We will deal with that later." She stands, and points her staff at her enemy. "For now, your advice is sound. Let's finish this miserable maggot properly!"

As unfitting as it is to find humor in a time like this, he responds to Misery's snarled suggestion with a chuckle. Through the entirety of his ordeal back home, he had relied on the strength of his friends to keep him going, to keep him sane. Seven days didn't seem long, in retrospect, but during the time he had lived it, it had been a nightmare with no end. And had they not found their answer together... it never would have ended. He missed them terribly. Even the Kazuya here - as much as he loved him - wasn't exactly 100% the same Kazuya he knew at home. But even if he was displaced from the reality that was his own, even if none of them could ever truly call this place their home...

He could still rely on his friends, couldn't he?

He is opening his mouth to respond to Misery in kind when he suddenly realizes something with a sharp gasp of surprise.

...........Time has stopped.

Before him, the scene is frozen in place. He can see their enemy in half-stride, heart-shaped mask set upon his face; underneath it, no doubt, a sadistic grin. He can see the remnants of the miasma, floating harmlessly in the air, unable to affect them in this moment outside of time. And he can see...... Misery. Whom he notes, with some surprise, is clearly experiencing this alongside him. He manages a wan smile before he returns to glancing around their eerie surroundings once again.

This is... familiar. He has felt this sensation once before... That time, it had been in the Velvet Room, under Igor's watchful nose. ...Eyes. Watchful eyes. Atsuro becomes aware, dimly, of a sound rather like glass breaking and tinkling to the floor. Then... a whisper inside his head.

Thou art I... And I am thou...

Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.
Harpier cries:—'tis time! 'tis time!

Do with us as thou wilt!

Conquestum Paradisi

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