Cecil didn’t really know how to reply to Nymira when she gave him a fair question, mainly because he had never had to experience a group prior to this. He didn’t know if he was used to groups like this or if it would be considered a completely new experience instead. “Uhh, I guess not. I mean, I’ve never had to experience any group before”, he spoke, looking away as he shuffled his feet, “I’ve been alone for as long as I could remember”. It wasn’t that he was using the point for any sort of pity or anything, he just didn’t think he had ever had a group experience and had to express how little he knew about it. It was always going to be difficult trying to figure out what was right to say or tell them. It was probably no big deal, it wasn’t like he had much to share concerning life experiences when he was just a Machina.

Seeing everyone getting all excited over the fish did make him wonder just how important it was to eat such creatures and why, even if he knew it was for sustenance. He didn’t know what people could eat and whether there was some things that just weren’t possible to process. It would always be best for them to sort out their own refuelling arrangements rather than him taking charge just in case he kills something that probably shouldn’t be killed. They seemed awfully upset last time he aimed to cause damage so it wouldn’t be a surprise either if they went nuts over him killing something he thought was food for them.

With everyone going off to sleep he was once again left on his own, even with Ethan going off to watch over camp elsewhere. He wasn’t going to follow, he was supposed to stay put where he could be seen. Even if he didn’t sleep like they did, not unless he shut himself down instead. Cecil didn’t need to take up room in the tent anyway, he wasn’t going to rest and was still going pretty strong. Laying down outside for most of the night he stared up at the sky, wondering just what might happen in his future. He certainly had a lot to think about when he was left on his own at a standstill whereas when he was travelling by himself he had plenty of thoughts regarding the landscape and what might be over the hill waiting for him. Here he didn’t have much and turned out it was full of life’s questions all the time.

Sighing lightly as the night seemed to drag on he shifted slightly, feeling relaxed as he watched the weather shift up in the sky; however, that peace was suddenly broken by Amuné screaming about something again. Slowly rolling over he thought it was just like last time, staring at the tent in confusion as Amuné decided to pop out to see her pet. He didn’t understand what that was all about, he didn’t hear any possible noises that could’ve been her ‘daddy’ or felt the presence of anyone around. That certainly managed to confuse him a lot and hearing how it was apparently her ‘daddy’ she was calling to he couldn’t help but look around with analysing eyes. He couldn’t see anyone, it wasn’t as if darkness was a problem for his eyes either.

"Heh, I don't know if it'll last that long, but we're definitely eating tonight!" Ethan exclaimed as he came ashore, hoisting the fish up like some trophy. It hadn't been easy and he was soaked for the endeavor, but knowing they would be going to sleep tonight with a belly full of fish made it all worthwhile. Using a flat stone he'd found he began working on carving up the fish, setting aside any waste for Wyth to enjoy as a meal. With the filets successfully prepared he then skewered each on a stick and placed them over the fire, letting them roast as he washed up in the river. He could already taste the food, his mouth watering as he rejoined the others around the fire, inspecting the fish before deciding it had cooked enough. "Time to eat!"

Dividing out the servings of food everyone gathered around the fire, even Nymira who seemed reluctant to even so much as associate with them earlier. The fish was plain yet tender, perfect for a quick dinner to fuel them for the day ahead. "Old Dan, huh? Sounds like he must be a really great fisherman!" Ethan said as he bit into his meal, trying not to inhale it, hungry as he was. "Maybe I can meet him at some point too! I really just got lucky with that fish, it was stuck in between some rocks so grabbing it was easy. I'm sure he could show me a thing or two!" It would be neat to meet some people from Amuné's home village, he'd love to see where she'd come from. Hopefully when and if they did visit her parents would be along as well.

"Is that so...? Well then nevermind, I suppose you wouldn't know," Nymira said with a shrug, moving to join the others for their meal. Cecil was not wholly alone in that regard, this would be her first time traveling with a group not specifically tailored to watch over her. These three would suffice for what she was here for, but if she were on any more dangerous a task she wouldn't dream of accepting them; an idiot savant, a child and a Machina with a case of amnesia, hardly the type of team to instill a sense of security. As the others chatted idly during the meal she sat in relative silence, only occasionally glancing up at them to see what they were discussing and listening in to what was being said. Being the first through with her meal as well she retired to the tent before the others, only sparing a faint goodnight to everyone in the process. There was much more traveling to be done in the days ahead, best to get as much sleep now as they could.

---

Nymira had slept for a good while despite the accommodations, having passed out promptly after lying down and remaining out for several hours. It would have been a wonderful rest were it not interrupted midway through the evening by shrieks, shrieks which seemed to be coming from Amuné for some reason. Waking quickly to the screams one of her hands shot down to the dagger strapped on her calf, expecting to find an intruder inside of the tent. No one unwarranted was there though, just herself, Amuné and a confused looking Ethan who'd woken from his slumber as well. Looking at the Ydran girl pitifully she released her weapon and reached out, placing her arms around the little child's frame and pulling her in for a hug. "There there little one, there's nothing here to hurt you, you're safe," Nymira said gently, assuming that Amuné had a nightmare which brought about this fit.

Well that had been unexpected, and had she said something about her dad? Rubbing his eyes blearily, Ethan watched as Nymira tried to comfort Amuné, wondering if she might have been dreaming about leaving home. For someone her age that couldn't have been easy to do, and the more time spent around the girl the more he got the idea it hadn't been what she'd wanted to do. Sliding over to be closer he smiled sympathetically, reaching out and placing a hand on Amuné's back to try and comfort her as well. "Your dad's going to be fine, he was with your mom, remember? I bet wherever they are now he's resting up, just waiting to see you. And we'll see them, right? Because we're going to find them soon enough!" If they were going to be anywhere then it was probably out here, closer to the big towns and cities. That was the hope at least, Ethan couldn't imagine what might happen if they never found Amuné's parents. In fact, he refused to imagine that scenario.

With all the commotion going on inside the tent the group might be unaware of the development taking place outside. From the shadowy depths of the river rose a figure of short standing, donned in an ornate headdress and naught else. In their right hand a twisted staff, slimy to the touch and turned a sickly green color from being submerged in water for so long. Spotting the camp along the shore the Varuna smiled toothlessly, extending the staff outward in its direction and letting out a low, hissing laughter. "Fooooound yooooou..." it sang, the head of the staff glowing with a dark purple hue. Two orbs of magic were shot forth and into the water, causing the spots which they submerged to begin bubbling up, the liquid around it turning an off color as a result. From those two spots rose two skeletons, then enveloped in a mucous liquid to give them some semblance of humans, albeit humans which reeked of death and decay. "Go, my children. Bring me their headsssss...!" Emitting something akin to a screech in response, the two abominations began to drift across the top of the water, descending directly upon the camp.

Cecil didn’t know what was going on and was quite confused as to what she meant by that, wondering if he was the only one who thought it was weird. When Nymira decided to go and immediately see to Amuné he sighed and slowly sat up, feeling like he probably should get right back to doing nothing at all. That was the worst part of the night; when he could keep walking and travelling, he was now unable to do so and was immediately back to boredom where he would have to wait for them to wake up. Maybe he could find out why they had to shut down and fix that for them, seeing how hazardous it can be to be like that and possibly attacked. If they were attacked like this they would have no chance of defending themselves and may even be destroyed. They were pretty terrible at defending themselves probably, seeing how he was pretty terrible at defending himself when he was offline too.

Keeping quiet as the others spoke with themselves he stared out at the dark horizon, wondering what might lie beyond it. He wasn’t sure where he was going to end up in next with these people, especially when the woman appeared to want to deviate their plans somewhat. Looking back when Amuné started apologising he could only feel confused, not entirely sure as to what she meant. He didn’t find any inconvenience or be able to be ‘woken up’ from anything. He was always awake unless he shut himself down or put himself into sleep mode, but then he might not wake up again by the time everyone else woke up. It was always going to be a risk on their part. “I am always functioning unless otherwise…”

Wondering what he was supposed to say about all of this he frowned and looked around, feeling as if something was a little strange. Maybe her ‘Daddy’ had appeared and she saw him, but then again his own sensors weren’t exactly settling down very well. Looking up and around he soon slowly stood up, his eyes darting to the water as something strange started to happen to the water. Feeling curious, Cecil slowly made his way over, staring at the water before becoming immediately alerted when a strange being exited the water. With his sensors telling him the being was dangerous what it said only confirmed his worry. Looking back to the others quickly he immediately looked back as the creature proceeded to summon a couple of strange looking beings, ones he had never seen before; however, now wasn’t the time to get curious about them as they were quick to start charging. Immediately going into attack mode Cecil raised his fists, running at them before immediately throwing punches at the creatures, not willing to let them get anywhere near the group.

Amuné waking up by screaming herself hoarse gave everyone a bit of a fright, but thankfully there didn't seem to be any real problem. Just a nightmare, Ethan supposed, nothing a little song and some hugs wouldn't fix. Watching as Nymira did just that his eyes widened slightly when the little girl came to him instead, hugging him and prompting him to put an arm around her in turn. Poor kid, and now she was apologizing for waking them up too of all things. "Hey don't sweat it, we can go back to bed," Ethan responded kindly, using his free hand to ruffle Amuné's hair, "Things are just fine, nothing's going to hurt you out here." Or her father, they had to keep optimistic and tell themselves they would find the girl's parents. Sure, the truth was they hadn't a clue where either might be but getting down on themselves and thinking they were gone wouldn't help any, best to just look on the bright side.

"Let's all get to sleep, alright? We got a lot more traveling to do tomorrow," Ethan added as he laid back in his sleeping roll, moving over to make room for Amuné. Before the little Ydran ever joined him though the horses whinnying drew everyone's attention outside, followed by an alert yowl courtesy of Wyth. Just what was all the fuss over? Sitting up again he crawled over to the flaps of the tent, furrowing his brow when he saw Amuné shirk back at whatever was out there. Easing her aside he peered out towards the river to see what was going on, alarmed to see Cecil fending off two creatures. What the heck were those? And where in the world had they come from? "Crap... Stay here!" Hurrying back to his sleeping roll he fetched his sword, darting out of the tent and unfolding his weapon to fight. Was it that old man again?

"Yesss... Yeeessss... Fight them, let them feast on your flesssssh!" the Varuna mage hissed in glee, cackling as he watched the slimes battle with Cecil. With toxic skin that excreted poison like a toad they would do serious harm to whoever touched them, or whoever they touched. Expecting then the boy with the gauntlets to be doubling over in pain he was confused to see him fighting unharmed, not even remotely phased by the slimes poisons and strikes. What's more another one was joining the fight now, the Muran boy from the reports. What a bother, he'd hoped to take them all by surprise, not fight them directly. "No matter, I'll melt them all to the bone..." the caster laughed, extending his arms and raising from the depths two more slimes. With a toothy grin he sent his creations after Ethan this time, with Cecil still preoccupied with his two.

Just what in the world was going on out there? Blasted morons, causing a ruckus over what she figured was a deer. "Unbelievable, what are you all so worked up over...?' Nymira grumbled, crawling to the tent's flaps and peering outside to get a better look. Spotting Cecil locked in combat with strange creatures and Ethan about to be made all the commotion make a little sense, and it would explain the animals all being uneasy. They couldn't catch a break even out here could they? "Child, stay in the tent and don't move, you'll be safe here," the Dimuran said as she grabbed her daggers, hurrying out to join the others. Even from here she could pick up the stench those abominations carried, something similar to decaying flesh almost. Was this necromancy? They didn't appear human, yet in the glow of the moon she swore she could make out skeletons. Where there were the undead there was generally a caster responsible, so where were they?

There, on the river! They were small, even smaller than she was, but they must be the culprit! If the others were busy fighting those things then she'd handle the mage, most necromancers were all but defenseless without their pawns protecting them. With daggers in hand she dashed forth towards the water, quickly running through it and trying to close the gap between her and her target. In hindsight splashing like that was an awful idea and her presence was made much too soon, causing the Varuna to cast a nasty green mist in her direction. Seeing nowhere to avoid it Nymira hastily ducked under the water, relieved to find it wasn't penetrating the surface. Kicking off the ground she swam a few feet away before surfacing again, raising a hand and firing off a simple fireball styled spell. Much to her dismay another abomination was created in her attacks path, taking the hit and exploding on contact, leaving its master unharmed.

"Gods you reek!" Seriously, what the heck were these things?! They smelled an awful lot like a rotting animal carcass but were transparent, and even more disturbing appeared to have skeletons inside of their gooey flesh. Whatever they were they had to go, Ethan knew that much. Avoiding the grasping hands of the pair he swung out with his sword in response, managing to sever one of their arms as it fell to the ground and dissipated into a puddle. "Heh, like a hot knife through butter," he said with a grin, relieved they were easy to harm at least. His grin was quickly wiped clean however when the creature regenerated its limb, letting out a shrill howl before lunging at him again, both arms trying to wrap their way around the Magi. In a panic he jumped back and stumbled over a rock, missing being grabbed but ending up on his back. The second creature then ended up over him, hissing as liquid dripped from its frame onto his skin, burning it on contact. Wincing in pain he gathered together magic and blasted the creature off with a quick spell, scrambling to his feet and putting distance between himself and the creatures.

Cecil didn’t know what these things were or why they were attacking them, he didn’t even know what the reason for this whole event was. He was confused mostly and was trying hard to understand what he was supposed to do about this, but he was still going to try and fight them off even if it meant he was going to have to take the battle further and try to unlock his programming. If he unlocked his programming he would be able to fight like a true Machina of his kind. He didn’t like the thought of it, he didn’t even know if he was going to end up resetting and forget everything about himself. He thought of himself as very timid compared to what he heard of warriors so such a thought definitely didn’t help.

Trying hard to fight off these creatures he tried to keep them occupied, but the one that summoned them in the first place was already back to summoning and was immediately sending them after Ethan. What’s worse was Nymira was now getting involved and going after the creator of these things. Trying to destroy the creatures with just his fists he was finding it rather dismaying that they were barely being affected by it, or at least in the way he had hoped they might be. They weren’t collapsing or having a hard time keeping up with him, the most he was doing was slapping them around. Feeling frustrated and worried, he continued to try and battle them in hope that he might be able to help the others.

Backing off momentarily after throwing a fairly strong punch his eyes were momentarily directed to the others. Nymira was in the water trying to go after the original creator while Ethan was fighting off another creature. If his fists weren’t doing much to the creatures he would have to try something else, but he didn’t know what without risking his own battery. He just got it and he didn’t know if it was going to end up running out much faster if he went ahead and abused its power. Having to try and avoid the creatures again he threw himself around to the side and threw down a fist, causing the ground to vibrate as if trying to cause the creatures to lose their balance on the shifting soils; however, their gelatinous mass keeping them fairly stable before they too ended up taking a swipe at him.

Finding it hard to come up with a suitable tactic regarding these he dashed back again but the sound of Ethan wincing and Amuné calling out to him had him immediately distracted. Looking over in Ethan’s direction he spotted the cause of his pain, watching as he struggled to push these creatures back. Gasping, he immediately turned back to look at the creatures that were attacking him again, hissing and growling as they grew angry at his ignorance towards them. Giving them a staring at in hesitation the moment they touched him something snapped, his eyes going yellow for a moment before he suddenly grew angered. “Keep your hands off my friends!!” Immediately grabbing the creature’s limbs electricity immediately built up around him before he started to toss the creature violently around, slamming it into the ground several times before throwing it into the second creature. Already enraged without giving the creatures a chance to recover he held his gauntlet out in front of him as it buzzed with electricity, his fingers pointed straight at the creatures before the electricity immediately discharged in a long sharp burst like a lightning bolt.

"Tch... Coward! Do you have no honor?!" Nymira shouted across the way, scowling at the Varuna clad in their strange dress, "Stop hiding behind your minions and face me!" It was like a captain or general hiding while their subordinates were on the front lines, simply unheard of in Dimuran culture. All warriors young, old and experienced or otherwise should fight side by side, no two ways about it. It was why despite being a far higher rank than her escorts here she was fighting alongside them as any self-respecting leader would. When the magi didn't even acknowledge her she let out an angry growl and raised her arm again, shooting off another fireball spell which again only served to destroy one of the spawns again, not even getting close to her mark. Gritting her teeth furiously she removed her daggers from their sheaths and tried to advance on the Varuna, only finding herself stopped short when two more creatures came forth and blocked her path. In the water here she was too much at a disadvantage, she had to fight on dry land if she'd any hope of winning. Scoffing in annoyance she threw a haphazard spell their way to keep them still before running back to shore as quickly as she could.

Just what in the world were these things?! Ethan had never encountered anything like them before, and they seemed to come out of nowhere too! Were they river monsters? But then there was that person out on the river, were they creating them somehow? That would mean another Magi, like the old man they'd fought with on the bridge. He couldn't understand why they were being attacked like this and considered just fleeing again, but he wasn't too sure they could; whatever those creatures were they were quick, they'd be caught in no time probably. Plus the horses had been spooked and were nowhere in sight now, meaning they'd have to do it on foot. But fighting these things... He REALLY didn't want to keep doing that. With that liquid dripping off of them and burning his skin it wasn't very fun, and he was beginning to feel a little odd as a result of it too. Poison? Damn, he couldn't let these things get anywhere near Amuné!

"Come on you... Slimy... Things. I'll cut you to bits," Ethan threatened halfheartedly, not loving the idea of getting so close to these abominations. He'd never have a chance to attack though as Cecil came charging in after them, grabbing one of them and in a fairly violent display tossing it about like a ragdoll, slamming it in the ground before throwing it away. As the two creatures then collapsed in a lump of gel and bones he shocked them with some kind of attack, and the results were surprising. The gel which before didn't seem to move at all suddenly turned to a loose liquid and poured off the bones, leaving damp skeletons in puddles of ooze in its wake. Watching them in shock he noticed as the gel began moving back onto the skeleton, and without thinking stretched his forefinger and middle finger, making a cutting motion through the air and slicing clean through the skeletons with the attack. With the bone shattered the gel fell apart again and remained a puddle, evidently having been somehow bound to the bones. Yeah, that had to be it! "Nymira, Cecil! Break the skeletons!"

What was that buffoon on about? Break the skeletons? Nymira trudged out of the water to shore and promptly turned, having to use her daggers to fend off one of the creatures as it set upon her. She made cuts in all the right places, going for tendons and vital points as she'd been trained to, her blades a flurry. Despite all the precise strikes however she got nowhere with her attacks and the gel quickly reformed around its wounds, the creature being none the worse for wear. Leaping back to avoid being grabbed she sneered before inhaling, releasing her breath then in a focused stream which carried with it a stream of fire. The first creature managed to avoid being burned but the second wasn't as fortunate as it became engulfed, an eerie howl similar to a woman's cry filling the air as she burned away the gel, leaving a charred skeleton in its wake. At this point she was beginning to become tired and her breathing labored, realizing she was approaching her limits with her magic. But she'd killed one apparently, now they just had to kill another and with luck be finished.

"Clever boy, clever. Kill my petssss like that though... I don't appreciate it," the Varuna hissed, smiling through clenched teeth as he raised his staff again, "I ssssseee I need something more to kill you now." Simultaneously the head of the Magi's staff as well as his eyes glowed an ominous purple, the water before him bubbling in a large pool as a light began to shine forth from it. The lone remaining creature turned abruptly and went back into the river itself, vanishing beneath the surface and presumably heading towards the light. Then, slowly the water began to meld together and form the same toxic gel from before, though this became a larger mass than the creatures before it. Towering by comparison, this beast stood upright and boasted several faces across its body, eyes and mouths black voids that howled soundlessly for help. The creature itself had no face save for a lone eye in the center of its head, buried beneath a fleshy brow that gave it a look of a permanent glare. Easily this beast was 5 meters tall, and once it had formed it emitted an echoing howl before slowly stomping its way towards the shoreline, the water at its feet being tainted with each step as fish floated to the surface, dead instantly from the potent poison. "Yesssss, kill them! Kill them all!"

Cecil was doing what he had to do to protect the others and if that meant using his draining abilities then he was going to do it. He didn’t matter as much as they did, they were living beings and he was just a programmed machine, he wasn’t going to be affected by this stuff. Throwing in as much force as he could into his toss he slammed the creatures together and immediately started attacking them with his electricity, managing to disperse the nasty gunk before Ethen inevitably came in and destroyed them. Staring at them for just a moment he looked quickly to Ethan before to the creature that had summoned them in the first place.

This was hardly a good time to be attacked right now, especially by this thing. He couldn’t even tell what the motive of the person was or what was the point of attacking them, only that they were the subject of this creature’s torture. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do other than what he had been doing previously, but that was going to take a lot of his energy and he didn’t know if he was going to recover. Turning around again he frowned at the sight of the creature, raising his fists again as the threat of even worse challenges came from the words of them. He was ready to beat down whatever creations this thing dished out, he just hoped he had the power behind his attacks to do it.

Keeping his fists raised his sensors were soon going off all over, feeling alerted over what was starting to build up. The creature was summoning something else this time, something big. Staring at the water as it started to form something he watched as this large beast was gradually formed, slowly moving back as he stared up at it. This thing was very dangerous and what was worse was it was going to endanger everyone. He had to act before the creature could get the chance to touch them, his eyes going to the water quickly as he spotted the death it was causing.

There was not a moment to lose, he had to act now before it was too late. Looking to the others quickly he soon stepped forward, rubbing his hands together before holding them in front of him, his energy charging up again. “I can’t let it win…I can’t let it hurt anyone…” Not letting fear get the better of him he raised his hands as electricity moved through them, his eyes lighting up before he immediately fired electricity at the creature, trying to put a lot into it so that he may be able to help keep the creature away and only hope it would help destroy it.

What was that thing?! There were a lot of wild beasts in the world yet Nymira had never seen something quite so imposing before. It had to be the stench, the beast smelled like a fresh burial ground after a battle, rotting flesh and all. Sickening and just plain wrong, whatever magic this Varuna was employing had no business existing. Was it some kind of void magic? Or something even worse? As the beast lumbered closer to them she could just make out the faces all over its being, watching in disgust as they seemed to cry out to the world around them, like they were trapped in that thing. If this was some kind of necromancy then it was absolutely unforgivable, especially if the souls of warriors were being used here. Anyone felled on the battle victorious or not deserved to rest in peace, anything less was an affront to Ralthor and his teachings. "You die here today Magi, you and your foul magics!" Nymira shouted angrily, poising to strike at the beast. Easier said than done though, how were they to bring down such a massive being?

"Well crap... That things kind of big..." Ethan mumbled as he watched, awestruck at the monster spewed forth from the river. Suddenly he didn't so much mind those freakish woman-slime creatures, at least those he was confident he could fight. This? Well he could certainly cut it, killing it though was another matter entirely. Their one saving grace was that it appeared to be awfully slow and lumbering, and so long as they didn't get stuck they should be able to avoid it. Magic would be the ideal way to handle it, yet he wasn't up for much more and Nymira didn't appear to be either. What about Cecil? No sooner had he considered that did a crack of lighting seemingly erupt from behind him, illuminating the dark beach as it crackled and raced through the air, hitting the creature and spreading throughout its gelatinous body. If it wasn't slow before it was now, coming even to a complete halt as it seemed to fall down to its knees, letting out a low, hollow moan. "Nice job Cecil! Looks like it felt that one!"

"Foolssss.... You cannot kill my pet! Just ssssubmit and die!" Their petty spells were not enough to hurt it, not fire nor wind or electricity! The Varuna didn't know how the boy was using lightning magic but it didn't magic, his beast was simply too big to be brought down like that. Hissing with pleasure the Varuna danced from one foot to another, elated at the idea that he'd be the one to kill these pests. "Hehehe, yesss, yesss! You shall all die, die ssssooon! Yes!" He'd be rewarded handsomely for killing these rogue Magi, yes he would! The accolades for doing what that old fool could not, and not to mention the fortune it would bring his clan. Smiling toothily as it watched its beast lumber towards the shore he was blissfully unaware at rocks being pelted his way, not noticing the first fall short whatsoever. When the second was fired however it flew further and straighter, going as far to hit him in the side of the head even. Hissing with displeasure the Varuna stumbled in his spot, rubbing at the side of his head before curling back its lips in contempt, revealing rows of sharp teeth. "Who shot at me?! Who did it?!" he cursed, stomping a foot on the water before spotting Amuné on the shore. The child eh? He'd have to be especially cruel when killing her now, how dare she hurt him!

It might have felt it, but what mattered more was it hadn't killed it. Cecil's attack put a brief stop on the monster's movements but little else, and even that was wiped away when it again rose to its feet and lumbered forth. "Tch... It wasn't enough! You have to hit it harder!" Nymira shouted as she sheathed her daggers, raising one hand again and grabbing her forearm with her other, bracing herself and channeling magic. They had to kill this things and release those souls bound to the creature, those whose faces she assumed she could now see on the beast. It was her duty as a disciple of Ralthor to free anyone trapped by the machinations of this world, even if she wasn't necessarily a priestess. With a sizable amount of magic in hand she let it loose in the form of a wide blast, enough so that it engulfed the beasts body briefly before quickly fizzling out and dying off. That attack alone brought her breathing to a labored state with her face glistening in sweat, and it hadn't even done as she'd hoped. The creature lost a little body mass as some of the gel was burned and fell off, yet it only continued to approach, seemingly undeterred by their efforts.

Cecil was really trying hard with this all while trying to not let things get too out of control, but there was quickly problems arising as the creature was hardly being affected by it. Sure, he was able to stun it briefly, but that was it. Pulling his hands back and holding onto his chest briefly he stared up at the creature, his eyes going to Ethan quickly before to the creature who was quick to shout out as if it was his victory. He hated to be the kind to think such a thing but he really thought that this guy had to die. They didn’t give anything to this world and even if he didn’t understand what life was like for others all the time, this guy was just trying to kill off that precious life and taking pleasure from it. Such a thought made him feel so confused, especially they were the one who was actually alive. He was the one who wasn’t technically a living being and he saw no point in this attack on both the environment and themselves.

Pulling down his hands he stepped back, staring at the creature before his eyes quickly went to Amuné who had ticked off the creature somehow, staring at her for a second before looking back to the creature. The worst part of all this was she had made herself a target by showing her location, now she was also put in trouble. Feeling panicked he quickly turned his attention back to the summoned monstrosity, finding it hard to think straight with all these problems suddenly arising. He didn’t know what to do, he had to get more aggressive but he was panicking so much that he didn’t know how.

As Nymira called out for them to attack with more force he watched as she made an attack herself, going straight in and trying to use her magic to destroy the monster’s body. Watching as she made a fair good sized blast he had to back off a moment only to slowly look back again, staring at the creature as it only recovered from that attack. In a moment of panic he was quickly raising his arms up again, trying to think about his next movements before clenching his fists. His anger was quickly rising, the thought of his friends possibly being killed only proved to fuel that through fear. Seeing Nymira so exhausted after that attack told him he had to act immediately.

He was going to have to give it all he had, or at least for this final push so that they might get to the creature’s master. Concentrating his energy he glared at the monster, using his anger to amplify his desire to destroy this thing. As his energy built up he lowered himself down before suddenly springing at the monster, his fists buzzing with electricity as he immediately started to rapidly punch at the monster’s large body. His feet managed to keep him on the gel monster as he forced his fists down at it in rapid succession, eventually springing up again to avoid the monster’s retaliation before immediately spinning in the air, his gauntlet’s palm opening up to expose a crystal which immediately glowed bright. In the brief second it took for him to open up his gauntlet a large focused beam of electricity shot out and down at the monster, his aim to deal as much damage as possible before his gauntlet closed up again and he was left falling back down.

They knew that, of course they knew that! Nymira had tried attacking the Varuna and had no success, now they were being confronted with this massive beast. It was slower than those before it but larger and likely even more potent, they couldn't simply ignore something like that. Perhaps there was a way to make this work though, if they could simply split up and divert their attacks, someone was bound to get through. It infuriated her to no end that her flames, a symbol of both purity and renewal was unable to rid the world of this taint. What good was she as a disciple of Ralthor if she couldn't carry His will? Scowling as her attack barely phased the beast and only served to scald away some tainted flesh but little else, watching as it continued to lumber towards the shore. A lot more magic was going to be needed to bring this thing down, or something short of a miracle.

Courtesy of Cecil they would have just that. Seeing him take to the air Nymira watched as he began throwing consecutive strikes in rapid succession, his fists aglow with electricity as the Machina pummeled away. With each blast a heavy chunk of gel came off of the monstrosity's body, falling to the water with a crash and dissolving in the water. He was doing more damage to their foe then she had with her spell, and it seemed like Cecil might be able to actually handle it. "That's it, let it feel your wrath! Beat it to a pulp!" the Dimura cheered, grinning as she threw a fist in celebration. Cecil wasn't content with just throwing fists, there was yet one more attack he had up his sleeve. Watching awestruck as his arm seemed to open itself up and a massive amount of energy gathered it was released just as swiftly in a blast, not terribly wide but focused and powerful. As it slammed into the monster it let out a low rumbling roar, its body quivering on impact before seeming to melt away as a result, massive pieces of its body falling to the water. That seemed to have done it!

Seeing Cecil falling from the air towards the water Ethan darted out through the water, leaving his sword at the shore as he pushed along with what magic he could muster still. He managed to get under Cecil before he hit the water, groaning as he struggled to hold up his friend above the river. "Heh... Got you buddy, don't worry," the white-haired boy mumbled, stumbling slightly as he fought to find his footing, managing to somehow stay upright. Those attacks from Cecil looked to have done the trick, the monster was crumbling beneath its own weight as the noxious gel began to slide off its frame. The skeleton became twisted and distorted as weight shifted around, bones snapping and slipping free into the wash as well, the entire beast coming down after a few spectacular moments. They had actually done it! Or rather Cecil had, that was more or less all him. Smiling proudly Ethan looked across the way at the Varuna Magi, taking a small step back as he began tracking out of the water. "We beat your creature, so just leave us alone! We don't want to fight!"

"Oh, but you have no choice! I musssst kill you!" the Varuna replied, raising his staff once more with a malicious smile, "I can sssssumon more beasts from the void, you don't sssstand a chance! Ssssooner or later you will die!" Two massive puddles began to form on the water's surface this time, just as it had before with the one large beast. Slower this time, the creatures began to take shape and emerge from the river, tower well over everyone once they had formed. The only sound save for the rushing of the water was the Varuna's laughter, the Magi nearly doubling over before pointing a webbed finger at the group. "Yessss! You ssssshall die here! I sssshal win!"

"Oh crap... Two of them...?" Ethan muttered in disbelief, smiling despite himself as he stopped in his tracks, "Heh... Cecil? Take the one on the left, Nymira and I got the one on the right." He had to get his friend back to shore though, couldn't let him get wet and risk getting ruined. Turning to rush back to shore he got halfway before another curious sound made him stop, drawing his focus upstream curiously. It sounded like rapids, though it wasn't a sound that was there before. So what gives? Narrowing his eyes as he peered into the darkness Ethan let out a gasp seeing a wall of water, picking up the pace again as he hurried to shore, with Nymira doing the same. The three of them had just made it when the wall of water tore through the spot, engulfing the two monsters in its wake and forcing the Varuna under water.

"What was that?!" Nymira shouted, watching in awe and horror as the monsters were swept away like nothing. They had struggled so much to dispatch just one and something had just taken two out with minimal effort, what was going on? Becoming then alerted to another person's presence she looked down the shore and frowned at a silhouette of a man further along, noting his massive stature even in the dim lighting. Another enemy? Pushing herself to her feet she pulled her daggers free from their soaked sheaths, preparing to fend him off despite her own exhaustion. "You, don't come any closer! I'll be forced to attack if-"

"Relax, I'm not here for you," Remus interrupted, continuing to walk along despite the threats. Giving Nymira nothing more than a passing glance he walked right on by, then stopped at the shore and looked out to the Varuna among the waves. "I'm supposed to be killing you kids, but I have to deal with him. So... Get going, you get a pass this time," the old man continued, letting out a sigh before rubbing at his neck, "Though compared to fighting him, you three would be a breeze. I hate getting stuck in these situations." But he had to do it, if he had any hopes of finishing this job he couldn't let the Varuna get in his way.

"Sssss... Remus! What are you doing?!" the Magi screamed from the water, stomping its foot on the surface in a fit, "They are my prey, you cannot have them! I will kill you too if you interfere!" No no no, he'd won this battle, they were through! This damned Muran getting in his way, the nerve! Hissing furiously when Remus didn't even budge, its eyes glowing as the staff was pointed in his direction. "I shall kill you first then, and after I shall sssslay the children!"

Stubborn fish, why was he making this more difficult than it had to be? Crossing his arms over his chest Remus frowned, unmoving as he summoned forth three water spouts from the river before him. At the same time the Varuna summoned half a dozen of his water creatures, the women again, and sent them charging forward in a flurry of screams. Directing each of the spouts simultaneously he threw the first two at one creature each, slicing through it like hot steel through butter and tearing them asunder, destroying the skeletons to which they were bound in the process. Two of the creatures managed to get through and nearly reach him, but the third spout was used almost like a whip and slammed into them, sending them flying all the way to the other shore and shattering among the rocks there. The final two reached him, but rather than retreat Remus reached out and grabbed them by the throat, and with a roar of effort lifted each up and slammed them into the ground at his feet, crushing their skulls in the process. His hands had become burned as a result but he seemed unphased, sending another water spout out at the Varuna.

It was safe to say this was well out of their league now. They had only gotten past the old man earlier as a fluke, Ethan was certain he could have beaten them were it not for a stroke of luck. Now that he knew Cecil could use electricity it was doubtful the same mistake would be made, best to avoid fighting him for now. And that Varuna, those creatures he summoned, fighting them was out of the question. "You heard him, let's go!" Turning on his heel he rushed over to where Amuné was and scooped her up in one arm, heading for the embankment behind their camp.

"What about our things?! What about the horses?" Nymira called, looking at the camp and starting towards it, "We need our supplies!"

"Yeah well... We kind of need to be alive to use them, now come on!" Ethan shouted again as he reached the top of the hill, waving for Nymira to join them. Thankfully she did, just as well seeing as the fight between those two seemed to be heating up. Or getting wetter, they were both using water. Whatever, they had to get going! Once everyone had gotten clear of the river they rushed back down the road until the camp was well out of view, the sound of water crashing still carrying over the morning silence of the forest. Until the fighting died down they couldn't go back, Ethan hoped they'd be able to salvage at least something.

Cecil really tried hard with that last attack and really went all out, throwing out as much aggression as he could muster for his current mental condition. He just wanted them all to survive and to do that they had to get through the creature and destroy the one who was summoning them. He knew there was no way around the creature, so he opted to go through it. Driving in as much power as he felt he could he made a desperate attempt to destroy it, using a rapid succession of punches before leaping up and firing a blast of energy. He didn’t even know he could do such a thing but he was going along with it, simply because he wanted to save his friends; however, it was his turn to be saved as the slight lift the beam gave him only lasted a moment before he fell back down, unable to divert himself away from his inevitable fall.

Just when he thought he was doomed he was luckily saved, thankfully by Ethan of all people. He didn’t know how much the others were willing to risk to prevent him from falling in the water, but Ethan was willing to risk his entire position just to catch him. He didn’t need to do that, if he hit the water and was damaged by it they could just dump him and get a new Machina, either that or leave him and get him later. “Uhh! T-Thanks, but you didn’t have to!” he spoke quickly, feeling his energy was rather drained after that and still trying to recover, “I don’t know if I have another one of those in me. I’m not going to be of much help anymore…”

While he didn’t really think of himself as expendable, he was fully aware that he could be repaired if they wanted and if they didn’t have any use for him anymore they could just leave him. He wasn’t as important as they were in the long run, especially when he was just a Machina. Feeling a little worn out he looked around to see the creature collapsing, holding onto Ethan so that he wouldn’t fall in as the summoner made yet another threat to them. Staring at the summoner, he frowned before gasping at the sight of the monsters that yet further showed themselves to them, watching as they slowly rose up and formed to threaten them once more.

Cecil didn’t know what to do at this point, he didn’t know if he could go all out again and again just to get to this monster. Staring at the creatures, Cecil looked back to Ethan who still sounded confident that they could beat them, frowning at the very suggestion before with a gasp when his sensors suddenly started going off at the indication of danger. Immediately turning to try and see what it was he grasped hold of Ethan when the danger turned out to be a torrent of water. Okay he was going to die here, or rather he was if he wasn’t being carried by Ethan. Managing to avoid it he still couldn’t help but feel rather terrified, knowing what it meant immediately. They had to get out of here or they were all in trouble, especially him with all that water.

Getting off Ethan when Remus decided to talk to them briefly he felt alert and ready to follow orders, knowing it was probably the best course of action right now. He was pretty terrified, he knew they had to leave and yet there was hesitation with the others. Looking to Ethan as he immediately started running to collect Amuné his eyes glanced back at Nymira, staring at her before he started running as well. He didn’t know how long he could run after all that, he didn’t know his energy limits when it came to this magic stuff or whatever it was that he did. “Where are we going now? What are we doing now?? Why were they after us too??”

Amuné wasn't wrong, they weren't going to win just by battling the monsters. With both himself and Nymira becoming ragged by the second they would tire long before their opponent would, and the Varuna didn't seem the least bit phased by the fight. Much as Ethan hated to do so they had to retreat, leaving their camp and the horses at risk to save themselves. The decision was a bit easier to make when the old man from before showed up though, giving plenty of incentive to high tail it out of there. "I know, but you're my friend! No way am I letting you get hurt!" Ethan said as he ran back to shore, managing a smile before gasping as he nearly tumbled and tripped on the sand. They were out of the water now which was good, and it looked like the two Magi were going to duke it out, but why? He supposed the why didn't matter so much, they had a ticket out of here and should take it, this was a bit beyond them.

Absurd, they were going to flee? If it was just the Varuna they had to deal with then Nymira was sure they could have won. It would have been hard fought to be sure, but the man wasn't invincible, no one was. All she'd needed to do was sink her daggers into their chest and it would be over, yet she'd never get the chance now; the old Muran man showing up thoroughly ruined any hopes of victory, even she had to concede that the fight was long out of their hands. She so badly wanted to make the Varuna pay for his misdeeds though, it was plaguing her even as they raced away from the river and up to the road above. Despicable, if they had a chance encounter again she wouldn't be so hesitant to kill the slimy bastard. "You're supposed to be my guards!" Nymira shouted, glancing back as the two Magi threw spell after spell at one another, "But... I'll allow a retreat this time!"

"Oh thanks Nymira, appreciate it!" Ethan shouted back, half-sincerely and half-sarcastically. He was fine with playing bodyguard for a while if the woman needed it, but asking them to fight those two was a little much. They had only escaped the man earlier because of Cecil's quick thinking, but now he doubted they could take both Magi out in the same fashion. On the road they were able to at least break the line of sight with the camp, the sound of water crashing into itself carrying clearly however. "We just need to get away, far enough to avoid that!" When it finished they needed to go back and salvage whatever they could too, at the very least try and get the horses back. Having to make this journey on foot and with no supplies wouldn't be impossible, but it would be far easier if they had that with them.

Just how far did they run? All Nymira knew was by the time they stopped the sounds of fighting were faint in the distance, her lungs ached painfully and her body felt like it wanted to shut down it was so fatigued. With her heart still pounding frantically in her chest she sank down into a sitting position in the grass, letting her daggers lay at her feet as she tried to catch her breath. "Insanity... These places are insanity..." she muttered in disbelief, shaking her head before glancing back towards camp. She was accustomed to battle with other clans, and going to war was almost a weekly occurrence for most clans. Yet that was with sword and spear, tooth and claw, rarely if ever was magic involved in the fray. There was something of an unspoken truce among the Dimuran, for all their rancor and brutality Magi were never permitted to use spells on non-Magi, recognizing just how cruel and unjust such a fight was. The people here though, they threw spells without second thought, massive spells which could claim a dozen lives easily in the blink of an eye. Where was the honor in fighting like that?

"Wow... Heh... Surprised we got out... In one piece," Ethan laughed breathlessly, taking a seat too as he set Amuné down beside him. The wound inflicted by that gel creature had begun to sting and swell, but otherwise he and the others were miraculously unharmed from the encounter. By chance having his pouch still at his hip he slipped a hand in and pulled free a length of cloth, placing it over the wound for now and tying it with his teeth just to keep it covered. Saints knows how long that fight was going to rage on for, but they had to go back when it finally did end and see what they could get. "Amazing work back there Cecil... Really top notch," Ethan began with a smile, flashing their friend a thumbs up, "You... You feeling okay? That was a lot of magic you used."

Cecil was running along with them fairly easily, but his face was saying a lot about his current condition. He looked pretty blank in his expression, as if everything had been sucked out of him as he ran. He had managed to save his friends and help them get away from the summoner, but the cost felt too great personally. He managed to help them all, but as he ran he thought the possibility of having to do that to a living person. How might they feel about it if they had to witness him tearing through living creatures using that kind of power, like he was built to do? Running as fast as he could with them he stared down at the ground in quiet contemplation, trying to use this need to escape as a means to find the energy to keep going. He did use a fair bit of energy against that creature, but it was the after effects that had him feeling the most drained.

As they all came to a halt Cecil slowed down as well, not showing the same signs of fatigue the others were displaying. Staring down at the ground in quiet contemplation he soon slowly sat down, his hand reaching back at first before finding the ground. The thought that the creatures could’ve easily had been people made him feel terribly confused, knowing he was built to do all that and more for war purposes. He was created for the very purpose of the destructive elimination of others and knowing he had that in him did manage to scare him. He was just a machine built to kill, managing to do just that to those creatures.

Not really noticing Ethan talking to him at first he did slowly look up and stare at him blankly, appearing to have a rather vacant look about him before finally blinking as his eyes lit up once more. “Feeling…okay?” he spoke before looking down again, staring at the ground between his legs. He went silent after that, feeling as if he wasn’t able to answer such a question accurately. He wasn’t able to tell what his energy readings were after that, he was sure they weren’t looking terribly good at least. As his eyes wandered over to Amuné who insisted on asking the same question he frowned at the thought that they were actually worried about him, the very thought confusing him once more.

“Is it because I break down if I am low on energy? Is that why you are both asking me that?” he asked up, rubbing his hands together slowly, “I don’t mean to be a problem like that. I just-…I am meant to use a lot of energy, it seems. I am built to kill…” Frowning, Cecil moved his arm around and stared at his gauntlet. “What if they were people and I did that? Were they people originally…? If I did that to the one creating those things, would I be any different…? I’m a killing Machina and I-…” Pausing briefly his eyes flashed lightly again before he slowly lay back, sighing as he was suddenly feeling very drained. He would recover when the sun finally came up, but right now he was not really able to function mostly because of his current mental state, even if that was probably just code and his own AI. “I feel so confused…”