Conquestum Paradisi

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Conquestum Paradisi

☢

What: Closing Arena Ceremonies, Part 2
Where: Aries Arena & Televised
Summary: 1/24/10AC
Warnings: This could get serious...but who knows.

Finally it was time for the mayor, Kazuki Sakahagi, to speak up. Not even an thirty minutes left to the celebrations, but seeing him go appeared to be lighting up a spark in the citizens. It wasn't too hard to see why; his enthusiastic grin and way of walking could easily melt anyone's worry away.

He walked to the center stage as cheering broke out, two men in black and Junko Tanako behind him.

[OOC - GO FORTH AND TAG FREELY]

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[misery_hates_company]

Oh my, I DO like how you think sometimes. I was worried for a moment you'd let sentiment get in the way of common sense in a situation like this. I knew I kept you around for a reason.

She looks for a convenient piece of rubble or debris and, spotting a garbage can, casually teleports it over the "quavering" man's head and drops it. She doesn't buy your act for a second, buddy, she's seen it before.

[zenzizenzizenic]

Mephistopheles shields Hearts from the worst of the Ice Dance, even if the attack made its form become more and more unstable. Hearts let out moans of pain, curling up tight on the floor and flinching with each strike. Oh dear, attacking a man while he was down. That was cruel - mean - smart.

Very smart.

Abruptly Hearts uncoiled and did a backwards roll, smoothly rising to his feet in the same movement as the rubbish bin clanged loudly on the floor where he had been.

"No mercy, is it? How cruel of you all, how admirable."

The man laughed, and the noise whispered in both Misery and Atsuro's mind through Mephistopheles - who at this point was just a blurry, indistinct blob. A blob that faded faster and faster until-

It abruptly exploded, miasma spewing out in a great rush. Hearts didn't hesitate for a moment. As the black miasma surged over his opponents, he lifted his hand, the blue card of a Persona summoning-!

"Ramiel!"

Again the angelic being erupted to life, fire roaring to life. There was one drawback to Mephistopheles's miasma. It was flammable. Very very flammable. So with the ring of fire closing around them again-

The miasma clinging to all three of them - Persona included - ignited instantly, and a massive explosion ensued.

[otakuro]

Well. They had given it a good go all around.

In the moments before the explosion engulfed him, time seemed to slow again, if only in his own mind. He reflected on what he might have done differently and came up only with the thought that perhaps he ought to have started with Laksmi in place, although... given her own weakness, it was a bit of a gamble. She would take massive damage from Ramiel, but then, spending every turn casting Mediarahan wasn't a terrible idea, either. It was really the miasma that was the main difficulty...

...Ah! Of course. That was it.

"Next time we go up against this guy... Null Curse and Fire Drain."

See how he liked that. This incomprehensible thought may reach Misery; a second incomprehensible thought follows shortly after.

"Gates...!

Then the force of the explosion reaches them.

He hears a small gasp behind him; the goddess of the dance is Weak to Fire, and he imagines she is immediately destroyed, reverting to data that returns to his COMP. Even in destruction, Laksmi's cries were gentle. He hadn't the least idea where Badb Catha had flown off to - had she stayed nearby, perhaps they could have teleported out in a last-ditch attempt to flee.

As for Atsuro himself... At a solidly high level with no elemental weaknesses, an attack of this sort would have left him severely injured but still capable of recovering under normal circumstances.

Too bad his defenses had been completely drained by the Mutation attack.

When the dust has cleared, Atsuro can be found enjoying a dirt nap with more clothing damage than anyone really wanted to see. Fire was awkward like that.


HP: 1/521
MP: 172/195

He stirs with a low moan.

His survival and retained consciousness is less a miracle than it is the work of Endure.

[misery_hates_company]

Meanwhile, Misery's only real regret at this point? Not being smart enough to use something fast and powerful enough to just kill the bastard already.

The explosion wraps around her, the feel of flames and pressure ripping through her, sending her flying backwards towards a wall. She smacks into it, feeling something snap in her chest, before crumpling into a heap. Lacking any similar capacity to endure, she is out for the count.

Although she can't help but feel, shortly before she loses all senses, that this defeat is an all too familiar feeling for her.

[zenzizenzizenic]

"Haha..."

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, Hearts was still standing, completely unmarked from the explosion. There was a thin layer of soot covering his mask, but aside from that...

It appeared his Persona had shielded him from the brunt of the explosion, the giant wings having cocooned him from the blast, and the Persona itself absorbing the heat before it could harm its master. Now pleased at having regained the upper hand, Hearts decided to stroll over to the miraculously conscious Atsuro.

"Well well well, you are a stubborn one," Hearts said, nudging Atsuro's shoulder with his boot. "Your bitch friend passed out before you! Wasn't expecting that. Maybe I should just stomp on your neck 'til it snaps."

Hearts's voice was filled with sick glee, and he very gently pressed his boot against Atsuro's neck, as if preparing to crush the windpipe. But... thankfully he moved away, dismissing his Persona with a wave of his hand.

"Nah, I'll leave you here. Mission accomplished and all that. Enjoy dying, or surviving, or whatever happens..."

And with that Hearts left without a backwards glance. Their entertainment value was gone, and therefore, unworthy or any further attention. Hahaha...

[otakuro]

"Tch..."

He had survived a demon invasion, a war for demon supremacy, the possible end of the world as he knew it, and as far as he knew, even an encounter with the source of all demons itself. To lose now to some psychopath with an overgrown blowtorch...

He had always believed in the strength of humanity. In some respects, it was his defining trait. Because of his belief, he could follow Kazuya wherever he went, be it as the next Messiah or the Lord of all Demons, trusting that his humanity would win out. Because of his belief, he could have faith in his people to make the right decisions when it came to the matter of controlling demons, to grant them the power that would allow them to progress into a new age of human civilization never seen before. Because of his belief...

Because of his belief, he had befriended a witch. And together, they had reached into the depths of their hearts to pull forth a miracle.

Would his belief die along with him...?

"Don't... call her that................ asshole."

If he hadn't the physical strength to defy what this person stood for, he could still manage the words. Atsuro couldn't know it, intellectually, but he was instinctively aware that in no reality out there did he leave his closest friend behind to fend for his own. Loyalty. Faith. Friendship. Compassion and understanding and trust and all of that gushy sappy stuff. Whether or not they truly held any strength, he could never accept a world where such things were meaningless...

He draws a heavy breath and feels the heavy foot upon his neck. If he is to die, then...

He would come back and haunt this person for the rest of his days.

No, not the time. Wrong thought to have.

If he is to die... it would be in defense of such things. Not out of guilt that he hadn't been able to prevent the slaughter here tonight, not out of visceral anger at the sight of the travesties. He would fight these people because he could not accept the world they desired, a world where lives were meaningful only in proportion to the power that life controlled. He would fight for his belief.

It was that simple.

...It seems a small eternity before the man above him removes his foot and walks away with a chuckle.

When he is gone, Atsuro allows a rattling gasp to escape his body before he lifts his head from its resting place against the ground.

...

He had to get them to safety.