Free Battle: Capricorn

[otakuro]

Who: Atsuro Kihara, Open
Where: Leo -> Capricorn District, night
Summary: Skill cracking, magnetite-farming, and leveling up. Atsuro's no stranger to training...
Warnings: None

[private, voice to Ludwig Beilschmidt]
Hey, ah... Ludwig. ...Do you mind if I call you that?

We're getting close to another full moon. ...That's when they said the demons came out in full force, right? I think we should try and get a handle on summoning our Personas before we have to face something else like last time. I've tried to call Enki a few more times; I don't think it's possible just to do it for fun - it might not work unless we're really in danger.

Can we meet tonight by the town hall in Leo? Let's say... about 11:30. I saw you were asking about Personas; I can fill you in on what Enki can do then before we head out.

[public text]
Hey! I'm heading out to do some training tonight. Free Battles are a free action, right? Don't wait up; I won't be getting back until after that 13th Hour.

Feel free to join me if you want.  I'll be outside Capricorn.

[action, town hall]
Half an hour to go.

Atsuro shuffles nervously in front of the hall, his fingers toying with the adjustable strap on his bag.  The text had essentially been spam; he wasn't sure why he'd felt the urge to announce his plans to the whole city.  He'd met maybe ten people here.  Probably three or four of them actually cared.  Naoya, of course, would want to keep tabs on him, but Naoya kept tabs on everything without anyone needing to check in, anyway.

The real reason, of course, was so that someone would come looking if he ended up dead or unconscious somewhere.  He wasn't afraid of the demons... Not really.  A pack of Waira were nothing in comparison to Belberith or Babel.  But he'd been shaken; the idea of being plucked from the verge of defeat by what was essentially a happy coincidence didn't sit well with him.  What if it'd been a one-time deal?  What if his Persona just... never came out again?

Thou art I and I am thou.  He'd never thought of himself as a great fighter.  All he'd ever wanted to do was survive.  No one had asked him to join a team or become a part of something greater - He, along with the rest of Tokyo, had simply been thrust into a situation where they had to pull out all stops if they wanted to live to see the next sunrise.  Of course, he'd given it his all.  But after living through those seven days of terror and panic, these three weeks of leisure had reminded him...  This was what he'd been fighting for.  So that the world would go back to normal and he could resume his normal life.  Did he really want to stay here and keep on fighting?  For some purpose he didn't even fully understand?  Yeah, it was neat and exciting and novel.  But so was the thought of playing an MMO with his forum buddies again, cramming for placement exams, and hanging out with Yuzu and Kazuya at the mall.

...He sighs slightly and shakes himself out of his thoughts.  The important thing at the moment was to gain control of this power he didn't understand.  Making a decision when he still felt lost and confused... Probably wasn't the best idea.

Atsuro finally stops fidgeting and seats himself on the steps of the building, watching the nightlife die down as the 13th Hour rapidly approaches.  Ludwig ought to show up soon.  ...Maybe some others would too.  He finds himself scanning the faces of those passing by, hoping to find someone familiar.

Comments

[drakenguard]

"Metatron?" Yamato suddenly looked slightly amused. Metatron was able to be used like any other demon, even if, truthfully, he was a massive windbag espousing the goodness of the Lord. Once you tuned out his religious ranting he was a very good ally to have, nevertheless.

"Interesting. Did you also meet the other well known angels?"

[otakuro]

((Sorry for the lateness; I attended a wedding this weekend. Feel free to drop if you'd prefer!))

"Well known?..." Atsuro knew about as much about esoteric Judaic mythology as he did about interpretative dance. "The only other name I remember right now is Sariel. He showed up briefly at the end to... keep an eye on something for us."

It was hard believing in the goodness of the Lord when his servants kept trying to kill you, occasionally even in the company of demons. Still, he had to admit that Remiel had been downright helpful in his own preachy way.

derp I brainfarted. Got the comments mixed up

[drakenguard]

((It's okay! I only just got back from a few day trip myself so I was ready to apologise for being slow myself!))

"No Sandalphon to join his brother? What a shame," Yamato mused. "It makes me think how many of the famous angels in mythology do truly exist."

Re: derp I brainfarted. Got the comments mixed up

[otakuro]

Atsuro briefly wonders if there were really enough angels to warrant a patron angel of open-toed footwear before deciding this was one of those observations that would sound funnier in his head than it would out loud. Similar to about 95% of his thought processes.

"I'll bet they all do. Either we've got myths because we met these things in person once upon a time, or these creatures are taking the forms they've learned from our myths. It works out to mean 'all myths are true', either way."

[drakenguard]

"Indeed," Yamato shifted slightly, tilting his head to the side in silent inquiry. "In any case we have digressed from our original task. As interesting as this discussion is, we are here for something else..." Like training.

[otakuro]

"R-Right...!"

Atsuro takes a quick glance at the time. ...The minutes had ticked by while they were busy with their tangent and according to his phone...

"A minute to g -- "

Before Atsuro finishes speaking, a sense of stillness suddenly falls over them. Not calmness or placidity, but... stagnancy. Lifelessness. Around them, the shadows seem to deepen and what remaining color could be distinguished in the pale moonlight seem to shift in hue... But perhaps that was a trick of the imagination. Atsuro takes a short breath.

"...I should probably synchronize the time on this."

[drakenguard]

Yamato didn't reply. Instead he took in the stifling surroundings, his pale eyes scrutinising the long shadows with sharp suspicion. He hadn't yet been out during the Dark Hour, preferring to collect information first before wading out into it by himself, but he was internally fascinated by the sudden change.

It was as if they had entered a different dimension within a split second. The air was prickling against his senses, and carried the faint smell of graveyard dirt - sharp and full of rot.

"What a curious phenomenon. It is interesting to see this out in the field...no matter. Let us hunt down some beasts."

[otakuro]

"...Right." Atsuro pauses for a moment before assuming a wry smile. "Here, beasty beasty..."

The boy turns back towards the direction of Capricorn, assuming a slightly slower pace than he had before, keeping his senses honed for any sign of trouble. They intended to be the hunters tonight, not the hunted. "I don't know if they have some kind of ward protecting the buildings in this district, but we'll probably run into more trouble once we get into the forest area. ...So. Right about now."

He nods as he steps over what he imagines to be an invisible line separating safety from danger. Thankfully, he isn't immediately swarmed the moment he crosses it.

[drakenguard]

Yamato huffed in amusement as Atsuro crept over some sort of invisible line, his eyes still on high alert as they searched for any monsters lurking in the stark shadows. He followed Atsuro over the 'line', tilting his head slightly as he slipped his hands into his coat pockets.

His posture screamed of casualness.

"I sense something," he said suddenly, his voice cutting through the eerie quiet. It was a press on his senses, and although Yamato did not have a sensory Persona, as others had, he had still been trained from a young age to sense and detect demonic energy.

[otakuro]

Atsuro refrains from mentioning that he had sensed something the moment the 13th Hour had fallen upon them - mainly, the sense of really wanting to go back inside under his blankets. He turns towards Yamato and nods curtly as he grips his COMP a bit more tightly.

"Right. I'm gonna summon my demons."

((Did you have something to fight in mind or would you rather I NPC? Go for it if you've got an idea!))

[drakenguard]

((I didn't have anything in mind, although I can quickly make something up if you want XD))

Yamato nodded, slipping his phone out of his coat pocket and summoning Remiel. As the angel burst to life beside him, he left Alioth unsummoned for now, his eyes scanning the deep shadows with a sharp, scrutinising stare.

There was a quiet shifting noise, like something heavy was being dragged across the ground.

"Be on your guard."

[otakuro]

((Sorry for the wait! I was on hiatus out of town for the last week. Feel free not to continue this if you'd prefer not to!

I'm going to go ahead and pick something random since I've kept you waiting so long, sorry about that.))

Atsuro doesn't need a reminder for that. After the week he had lived through, being on his guard had become his default mode of attention; relaxation had been something he'd struggled with for a few weeks. He allows the familiar tension to grip him as he scans around the area, willing his eyes to pierce through the darkness.

...After he had spent a good 5 seconds staring at Remiel, of course. There would be time to talk later, and it wasn't as if he had ever seen Remiel's physical form outside of Amane. He could freely ignore it for the moment.

There's nothing to be heard but the sound of light breathing as the seconds tick by. Atsuro begins to speak and finds himself whispering.

"Might be further up a -- "

He cuts himself off as the dragging noise is heard again... much closer.

"Hmhmhm... Human children. Such a... delighful treat."

The sound suddenly transforms into a surging rush as a creature slithers and glides rapidly out of the darkness, her expression of affected boredom contrasting with her gleaming, lustful eyes.

"Hello, boys~"

[drakenguard]

((It's totally fine! Welcome back <3))

A Lamia?

Although Yamato knew what it was, he was coming up blank when trying to remember if he had any information on it. He had never encountered one before, and the Lamia was only ever referenced briefly in the books back in JP's headquarters. So a complete unknown...

The demon was pretty large, its serpentine body thick with muscle. No doubt getting slammed into by that tail could force bones to snap or splinter. Not engaging in physical combat was obvious, and it seemed like Yamato would need Alioth after all...

In a burst of energy, the Vile demon was summoned, grotesque noises coming from the gaping mouth on its stomach. It truly was a vile beast...but useful, and it wasn't as if Yamato gave a damn about keeping an aesthetically pleasing looking team.

"Enough, demon," Yamato ordered, staring at the Lamia with barely concealed disdain. "Are you ready, Kihara?"

The Lamia let out a low hiss, gazing at Alioth with a look of raw disgust. Good, let it focus on it.

[otakuro]

((Thanks! And as an irrelevant aside, I believe you mean Arioch!))

Atsuro, in turn, dimly recognizes the snake-woman from his exposure to the vast array of modern media containing classical mythological adversaries reinterpreted into a form that students of his age could more easily relate to and placed within a fantastic context that may or may not have anything to do with the actual origins of the myths. Also known as JRPGs. The belated thought arises that he didn't care so much about her name so much as he did her weaknesses. Unfortunately, like the majority of demons in Hinoto-Ri, the Lamia doesn't register on his COMP; even if she did, the information wouldn't be accurate, either.

"Whenever you are."

Atsuro's demons are considerably less grotesque as the elegant goddess and the Monkey King appear by his side. An expression of annoyance shades the Lamia's face as she hisses again, her serpentine body coiling up tightly behind her.

"Is this a party...? Then let's have some fun!"

At this final utterance, the creature thrusts itself forward with its mouth gaping wide, an acrid, thick mist roiling forth. The Poison Mist spreads quickly, choking them all within the noxious miasma. Atsuro quickly brings a sleeve up over his mouth as he retreats a few seconds, calling out a few muffled orders.

"Laksmi! Keep back and get ready to heal! Seiten Taisei, get us out of this fog!"

[drakenguard]

((Ah yes sorry, I did! I was doing another tag where I mentioned Alioth so I must've gotten mixed up derp))

"Tch-!"

The thick slew of poison gas was acrid, enough to make a burning sensation crawl down Yamato's throat - but he stoically ignored it, pressing a gloved hand against his nose and mouth while standing his ground. He could hear Atsuro barking orders behind him - ah so he'll heal, fine - but focused his attentions forwards when the slithering noise of a large, scaled body moving caught his senses.

"Arioch," Yamato ordered, dropping his hand and stubbornly ignoring the burn of the poison mist. "Force it to keep its distance. Mighty Blow."

The grotesque vile demon moved to obey, its massive body lurching forwards into the mist as it swung its massive blade. Although it appeared to hit nothing, a loud piercing shriek rent the smog filled air. Chaos Breath was so useful in fending off distance targets.

Yamato backed off in the general direction of Atsuro then, Remiel flanking him close enough that one wing was stretched out around him as if to shield him. The angel was mostly a healer, with its only offensive move being 'Holy Dance'. Yamato'll save it for when they could clearly see the target.

[otakuro]

Seiten Taisei had warped Atsuro and his team out of the poison mist, and he had avoided incurring any significant damage. He peers inside the smog and is gratified to find that the approaching figures are standing on two legs rather than slithering on the ground.

"She'll probably keep spraying poison to keep the visibility low. Seiten Taisei, see if the view's any clearer from the skies; pounce on her if you can."

The Monkey King hops onto its cloud with a low growl and ascends.

"Yamato, was that luck just now or can you -- .......Get down!"

He cuts himself off as he spots a sudden flare of light emanating from the middle of the poison cloud; his instincts are rewarded as a wave of fire sweeps out shortly afterward. The Maragion had struck the Arioch first before honing in on the rest of them.

[drakenguard]

At the warning, Yamato immediately dropped into a crouch, Remiel wrapping his wings around him to take the brunt of the fire spell. Although Remiel could not void it entirely, he was resistant to the flames. Arioch, however, was not so lucky, as fire was its weak element.

The vile demon grunted, staggering from the force of the flames - only to get slammed into by another burst of fire. That last Agilao cause Arioch to explode into magnetite that scattered in the mist, and Yamato cursed as his phone beeped. The Vile demon had died.

A smart one, this Lamia was. Without Arioch they couldn't hit her from a distance any more. Hopefully Atsuro's Seiten Taisei could catch her from the sky...

[otakuro]

A brief cry sounds from behind Atsuro - Laksmi, too, had a weakness to fire, but the mid-level group-spell wasn't enough to take it down. Almost immediately, the goddess rejuvenates herself with a casting of Mediarahan. And the remainder of the party as well. Unfortunately for the Arioch, the support was provided too late to make a difference in the battle.

Atsuro exhales sharply. "I'll try to have her revive it when we get a chance. It would probably just go down again if we brought it back now."

The toxic cloud impaired their sight, but it was plainly evident from the heavy dragging sound that the Lamia was beginning to close in. She wasn't moving as fast as he would have expected, though... Was it possible she couldn't see well, either? But after all, snakes hardly relied on their sight to hunt...

"Haaah!"

A cry rings out in the darkness - a second, more surprised shriek follows after, and from the sounds of battle, Atsuro assumes that Seiten Taisei was launching into a Hassohappa. He hesitates for a moment before turning to Yamato.

"I'm going to go in. I can't do anything from here... I just can't cast any magic worth speaking of."