The girl kicked the door down with surprising ease, she didn't look the type to be able to do that. Nevertheless it slammed to the ground, and Daisuke waited for Aya's scream to be heard... but there wasn't one. Not a sound was heard, and there wasn't even anything in the entire room. The group looked around the room, very confused. Ease said that he had heard something going on up here, like someone got hurt, but no one was up here. Daisuke began to think Ease to be a psychopath, but he quickly gained control of his thoughts and reasoned what could be going on.

'Well, Aya definitely came up here, and Ease looked genuinely worried about something bad happening to her, but nothing has happened here. Maybe we've got the wrong room?'

As Ease flipped the entire room upside down looking for Aya, Daisuke went and knocked on each other room's door and peaked inside, but they were all the same, untouched.

"Guys something isn't right here at all. We need to find that maid girl ASAP." Ease said worriedly.

Daisuke thought about it, and he could be right. She definitely went into one of these rooms but she wasn't in any of them. She's just disappeared without any trace. Before he could get a word in, Ease ran past him and flew down the stairs, yelling something at Yoshi as he ran past.

"He's always in the biggest rush, and he's so hyper. His brain seems like it works at a hundred miles an hour. I guess we should follow him, make sure he doesn't get himself into any more trouble."

Once Daisuke had caught up to him, he was in conversation with an angry looking bald guy, asking if he'd seen a woman he described to be Aya. As Daisuke approached the two, he walked silently listening for the man's answer.

@Lucius Cypher@ADamnFiddle

Every thrust, every lunge, every bloodthirsty swipe, was executed with the skill of a master swordsman and the grace of a world class dancer mixed into its every fluid motion. It was the apex of a fighting style extracted from the memories and experiences of a dozen wielders of the deadly arts. Yet this justice spouting stain on history was repelling his onslaught with, almost, wordless bravado. Adapting to every new step of his blooming performance like a Seraph of battle. The last lingering threads of humanity found in the heart of Mithril Blackblood was lost in the awe of it all for just a brief moment, inspired to make the melody of steel on steel turn to a symphony of their art!

But the sword demanded his attention with a grip of frozen steel. It hungered for victory and his body was nothing more than a vessel to meet its demands, no matter how 'blessed' his opponent or how skilled they wielded their blade. This cursed entity cared nothing for the dance beyond the results.

With a vicious swipe he defeated one more such lunge by his well versed opponent before taking a skip backwards, his own leap intertwined with Marias in complete synchrony. Again the withered heart in Mithrils chest spoke praise to this woman and her blade works exquisite form.

"My dear, you give me too much credit. I am not an evil person. Nor am I good.. What I am is the little spark of chaos in every fiber of every being. The spontaneous moment between right and wrong. To kill a creature means to never choose between the golden gods or the lurking devils. It is to slay without choosing sides! I am hero and Villain both!"

A tingle crept into his mind suddenly, triggering the beginning of a spell he had created. An alarm by the golden sword as it responded to a sudden growth in magical power from behind. The power being formed by his opponent had doused his flames. The elf girl possessed water magic! No matter.. The memories and movements came from a time long passed, a warrior who fought with the blade only as a means of deflecting attacks. This pit fighter had mastered a form of unarmed combat that depended solely on his reflexes. Another such wielder had melded the same style with potent fire magic, resulting in devestating blasts on command.
Using these skills in tandem with the body of Mithril Blackblood was easier than clenching his fist.

As the hydra blades lunged in, he pivoted as much as the sudden ice at his feet allowed. The incantation spewing from his mouth was well rehearsed even as he twisted his back, his fist now aflame as he shouted the final word of power at the pinnacle moment before his balled fist connected with the lunging spear of ice.

"UR GOA!"

His gauntlets protected his exposed fist from a few of the lancing blades of ice but his upper arm felt their frozen sting all too keenly as it shredded through his clothing and into his flesh moments before the explosive ball of flames erupted in a flash of heat. The resulting blast of heat and pressure cracked the ice, already slightly weakened from the suppression, just enough to allow Mithril enough force to break free and again make a leap away as more thrusts came from that deadly polearm. Left arm hanging at his side it was all he could do to put some distance between the three of them.
Two thrusts came close to their mark but his rapier met the partisan at the tip of its blade and deftly pushed it to the side before executing another hop. The blades of ice made this extremely difficult. Had he been using a dagger or a heavier weapon it would surely have been defeat.

Again the aura of suppressing flowed out of his body in a great wave, the audacity of this elf bitch taking advantage of his unprotected flank. Another cross on the blade took on an angry red glow, still thankfully concealed by the thick black cloth wrapping save for the golden wings upon the swords guard, and Mithril smiled behind his iron mask. The fight almost over. Everywhere near the swords presence was being smothered by the oppressive will of the blades dominance. Every time a cross began to glow meant that a wave of complete suppression had occurred. Every wave sapped every aspect of an opponents strength like rot on a carcass.
A warrior would find their weapon heavier. Their body would become sluggish and reflexes would suffer. Even magic, divine blessings even, suffered in the presence of the trapped soul of this evil blade. By now it was beginning to sap nearly 40% of their power.

The blood had stopped flowing from his arm as one more of the cursed blades powers began to tip the scales yet more.

YOU ARE NOT BEATEN YET, MY PUPPET. SOON YOU WILL STRIKE THE TELLING BLOW.

Mithrils true feelings burned in his chest at the thought of taking the lives of such powerful fighters.. Yet he was trapped, forever bound, to this hungering will.

Either Zin lost a lot of her blood before she met with this girl, or this girl was just as stark as she sounded when she spoke. Her words almost seemed choked out of her as she spoke in nothing but stutters, in one of her hands she wielded a strange object that was playing some tune that Zin never heard before.

The moment the young girl told her that she didn't know where the tavern was Zin instantly became dismissive of the girl." Then you just wasted my time with your stuttering nonsense."

As Zin began walking away from the girl her injury began to sting and burn as if someone shoved a hot poker into her wound and twisted it around to piss her off. Zin nearly collapsed onto the ground only to stand up hearing the girl talk about her wound, she told the dragon woman they needed to get her to a hospital, Zin repeated the new strange word." Hos-pit-al ?" She said the words in parts. As Zin thought about the word, the girl closed in on Zin and nearly touched her bloodied arm wound, Zin half unsheathed her sword with her injured arm threatening the girl.

" Back off strange one. You've almost caught me off guard with your queer words, I don't need your pity." She unsheathed her great sword with her injured arm and held it with both hands." Defend yourself odd one. I've been aching a fight all day." She told the girl. Before she would attack the girl she sucked in some air before blowing a small blast of fire onto her wound to stop the bleeding.

Kyojin could hear the confusion of the other people around him by this point, the sight that they saw was nothing like what any of them expected! Even's seemed like he was taking this a little harder than the rest of them, maybe he knew something they did now, which would explain his actions until this point. Suddenly the man rushed past him causing him to turn and raise a hand to the back of his head, muttering in frustration as he tried to think on what the heck he could do about all this.

"It is the right room Dai... I mean I saw here here myself but she just isn't here. I don't understand. Hmmmmm..."

Lowering his hand he started to make his way out of the room, looking to Avery and Dai who were still there for the moment. Of course he agreed with what Dai should do, he was new and did not know his way around, but he had his own objective about all of this. Moving along with Dai he would go and grab his coat and place it over his large form before following after Dai a little. Though he planned to break off at this point as too search elsewhere, who would dare to try and fight him?

"Kondo, I am just heading out for a moment... Dai, you go with Even's. I will look elsewhere, don't worry you will be safe."

Aya was being ridiculed, the horned woman felt like Aya had wasted her time even though she was the one to ask her in the first place. The vein on the corner of her forehead swollen somewhat as she balded up both her fist and gritted her teeth.



The girl was already done talking to her it appeared, she turned around and walked off to do her own sodding thing. Well Aya didn't care, she had her own things to take care off stupid winch.

After Aya tried helping her one more time with her wound the woman didn't feel to pleasant about her offer. It seemed like it hurted seeing the expression and stance of the girl at the moment. Aya wanted to come closer but the woman readied her sword making Aya step back a bit with both her hands in defensive manner.



This woman didn't trust her one bit. Aya couldn't understand why she was reacting so stupid. No one ever would reject help when you are hurt like that. It was night this woman was probably crazy, that would declare why she was wandering the streets like that.



The sword was in both her hands, this woman was insane, she was really gonna fight with that thing?! Aya had to get out but she was hurt. It would get worse if she continued like this. When the girl suddenly breathed fire Aya fell backwards onto her butt looking up at the girl in somewhat fear.



She had torched her own wound close again with a single drop of pain. It didn't even appear that she felt it at all. This woman was seriously gonna slice her, Aya didn't want that, she wasn't good at fighting. Aya slowly slid herself backwards over the ground wanting to get away as soon as possible as she tried bribing the woman.





Atisha and Maria went wild with fighting their opponent while Tani was trying to find a way towards them. She wasn't as mobile as the two of them so it would take a little longer for her to participate. As quick as possible she moved up the stairs of the building and jumped a few times like a metal robot to get onto the building without falling. Armor was hard to jump in, well hers was at least. Tani was finally on the roof together with the other two to eliminate this demon!

Tani dashed in and immediately tried hitting him from the back. With one hand she swung the blade around trying to hit him three times on the side as quick as she could before placing a second hand on her blade to launch a heavy upper cut at him with her broadsword.

@Soragoku@ZekariVoblis@Kitsune

"A quick question. Actually 2. 1. Where did you come from? 2. You didn't happen to see a girl around here did you? She wore a maid outfit. May have been yelling in Japanese or something. Didn't seem like she was from around here?"

Duncan just stared at the man before him.

"Please. It's really important."

He felt his eyebrow twitch a little.

So now there was some Japanese girl in a maid costume. Missing. At night. In the same city in which he'd gotten blown straight the hell up and had a front-row seat to what was likely the horrifying end of someone he'd spent half a decade fighting wars alongside as well as some kid whose name he didn't know but whose terrified, dying face was damn-near burned straight into the back of his eyeballs.

Seriously. This was happening right now.

And then what he could only assume was a freaking Giant (because of course there'd be a Giant, that's just how his night was going) walked out of the tavern behind the blond man, which also helped him notice the other guy who'd been apparently standing there in total silence the entire time.

The bald man's eyes clenched shut as he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh.

"...I am so fucking done with this place..."

Taking a slow, calming breath, his eyes opened again and fixed upon the man in front of him with a look of pure contempt, not at him, but for the sum total of the events of his evening.

"Long story short..." He answered the blond man, gesturing towards the distant smoke with his cigar "Went that way, had a really bad time and suddenly showed up back here. Don't know how or why, but frankly I'm in no mood to give a damn right now."

He took another drag of that sweet, sweet stick of happiness and cancer in his hand and continued, without blinking or breaking eye-contact.

"If there is a... Japanese girl... in a maid-outfit..." He continued, some part of his psyche clearly struggling to allow him to say those words out loud in a serious context "...Running around these streets at night and possibly in harm's way, then we'd better start looking for her now and worry about details later."

His eyes flicked back and forth between the two men as the giant declared his intent to head out solo and look for the girl in question to the quiet one.

"Anyone know where to start? I'm not exactly familiar with the local scenery."

Vesta Celestia

The man responded in a tone which Vesta found strangely...charming? No. Inspirational? No that wasn't it. Vesta couldn't think of a word to describe it, but it didn't sound like he was annoyed one bit whatsoever by her insults words. How strange. It almost sounded as if they were discussing the weather or perhaps a meal of some kind.
How peculiar indeed. He almost sounded like a noble. Almost. Though it was obvious from his lack of attire that he was clearly no one of a high rank, but then again not many commoners had the looks nor body he had. Vesta felt conflicted about this.
Was he a noble who deserved some tiny sliver of respect? Or was he simply a weirdo commoner? She decided on the latter as he hadn't introduced himself as a noble.
"Heinrich Ford? That shouldn't be too much of a hassle." Vesta responded briefly as she blew a stray piece of hair from her face. While her hair wasn't long, it was longer than it usually was. She might need a trim when she got home.
"Well then Mr Ford I'll allow you to lead." Vesta nodded slightly before following after Heinrich. She froze slightly as he bought up the one subject she didn't wish to speak about once more; appearing suddenly in the middle of the street.
How would she answer this rather logical inquiry? She didn't have an answer to give him. Bluff her way through?
In fact how or why did no one else notice or question it? Actually why were there so many people out at night in that one place anyway? So many questions....they were hurting Vesta's already pounding head.
"I-I...Was...testing a...metia?" Vesta spoke slowly as she racked her brain for excuses for her own lack of knowledge on the subject. Surely that sounded reasonable enough?
Well it might've if not for HOW she said it. Which was mighty suspect. Clearing her throat now she just hoped he didn't question it further.
"It matters no regardless. Instead what matters is that I find my attendant and-" Vesta started in an attempt to change the subject however stopped midway, both in her sentence and her step. Blinking a couple of times she couldn't help looked off into the distance. This sensation at her feet....
"One moment." She told Heinrich dismissively before walking in a completely different direction. Heinrich would probably follow suit, or he could stay behind. Vesta didn't seem too concerned as she could find him later anyway.
So long as he stayed on dry land that is.
After a couple of streets Vesta stopped and facepalmed hard at the sight before her. It was Zin with her great sword drawn against an obviously harmless, unarmed lost and scared looking girl. Not that looks were much to base people off of, but Vesta also felt no malice from the girl. Simply fear and confusion.
"Ms Parallex may I ask exactly what you think you're doing? Someone in the service of the Celestia's shouldn't be going around oppressing the weak. You'll give us a bad name." Vesta walked confidently down towards Zin completely unphased by the drawn sword. She doubted Zin would use it against her after swearing allegiance after all, and even if she did Vesta was confident in her own abilities to block it.
"You've spooked the poor girl.

Avery Ackbar Celestia

...Huh? Avery stood in the doorway in quite a similarly shocked fashion. Was this the right room? There was no sign of Aya anywhere in the room, nor any signs that anyone had been in the room recently. This was despite the door clearly being open.
Well now it was more open but that was beside the point.
"My way was quicker. Hmph." Avery huffed in a mockingly adorable angry fashion, puffing out his cheeks slightly to top off the effect. He wasn't doing this on purpose either, he was just so used to acting melodramatic and adorable as possible he did it on instinct now.
"I...I'll pay Kondo back. As Lady Vesta says 'A Celestia must always pay their debts'." Avery nodded a few times to reassure himself more than anyone else. He hadn't the money on him of course, but in his clothes he did.
Speaking of which now that the others wanted to go outside and look for Aya, Avery would probably have to get changed. Being cute and all was fine and dandy; but wearing a dress with a short skirt at night when it was cold was ALWAYS a bad idea.
Avery preferred to be warm and was willing to sacrifice being adorable to do so. So while the others headed outside Avery headed to the back room where his clothes were. However he first noticed Dante not too far behind them and paused.
"Ah Mr Dante~ Good timing. Aya, the little girl from before, is missing. Can you go out there and search with them? I'll be right back~" Avery said quickly before taking back his staff and running off without giving Dante a chance to argue. The sooner he got changed the sooner he could go out and help.
Once in the back room he got changed back into his previous attire. He folded the clothes Yoshino had 'forced' upon him into a neat pile with a bag of coins along with a note apologizing for the door.
Tying his hair back into the ponytail as he quickly entered the tavern's main hall and quickly made his way outside to where he soon found the others in a group talking to a man unknown to Avery.
Wait...those clothes. They looked familiar, but where had Avery seen them? But since that wasn't a priority for Avery right now he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He could work it out later.
This new man seemed irritated by something however. Was it something Ease had said?
"Hmm...No one happens to have anything of hers on them do they? If so I can find her...Maybe.

@liferusher@Lucius Cypher@ADamnFiddle

Tanis sword came in with the expected ferocity, his concentration had been focused on simply retaliating to the onslaught being provided by Atisha and Maria as the worked to break down his defenses and score a telling blow. The wounds on his arm was evidence to their effectiveness in battle, but thankfully the sword would not allow the crippling strike to persist any longer than it needed to. Already it was channeling dark energies into the puppets body to speed up the regenerative process exponentially. That only left the one issue to deal with.
Mithril again spun on his heels the moment the sword alerted him to the threat. His own rapier swept across and clipped the childs broadsword but did not manage to deflect it fully, receiving a shallow cut across his stomach as the blade scraped across his flesh and cut his clothes yet further. The young swordsman followed up with a series of slashes that, again, forced the would be killer back on his heels as he waited for his arm to be mended. Measuring the length of the girls sword against his own range, Mithril narrowly escaped being cleaved in two as she launched a strong uppercut with the sword. Deflecting it with one hand would have been impossible, suppression aura or not. As the blade passed within an inch of his metal mask and up over their head he struck back.
Mithrils foot kicked hard into her chest to send her stumbling back against the edge of the roof, Daring to hope he had kicked her right off but intuition knew that wouldn't be the case.

Three against one. A nibbling thought in the back of his mind warned that more opponents were starting to be drawn to this location. Drawn to the sound of steel on steel and the fire magic he had already unleashed. It was a split second decision born of something akin to desperation, but the sword knew it could not fend off 3 skilled warriors on the rooftops much longer. Not while he was forced to turn and protect his flank, only to open it up to another opponent. This way of fighting was unsustainable in his favor.

The golden sword approved of its puppets choice. Rather than be swarmed and overtaken, Mithril dashed for the corner of the roof just as Tani slammed into it. Using her head as a springboard, the killer leapt across the alleyway below to land in a roll on the opposite building, as he rolled onto his feet the chant began. The words flowing out of his mind with unwavering focus as he prepared to use his strongest fire magic and incinerate the troublesome women. All he needed was a few seconds..

" Horned Freak !?" Zin yelled after the girl insulted her." You're the freak here, having odd baubles and using strange words to get close to a wounded woman." She swung her blade wide near Aya, missing her completely. Zin took a deep breath after the swing, the muscles in her arm felt tight as if she just gotten finished doing several dozens one armed push ups without stopping for a quick break.

When Aya told her not to jump to conclusions and that she was trying to help, Zin pointed the sword at her saying." And so I should just listen to a woman I just met ?" Zin asked.

" What type of fool do you take me for ?!" She yelled before swinging her greatsword again and getting what looks to be out of breath, her attack went wide and missed again." You'll rue messing with this dragon." Zin told the girl before she sucked in a large breath of air to release another breath of fire.

But before Zin could breathe out, she let out a sneeze as she heard her name, as she sneezed instead of a spray of germs traveling from her nose and mouth. A blast of fire came from her mouth and traveled into the street only to dissipate as quickly as it arrived.

The voice that called her name was Vesta, her mission was complete to regroup. But now Vesta was beginning to berate her Zin defended herself telling Vesta." Vesta, that explosion injured me and this woman she tried to do something to me after she tried to distract me with her strange words. She could be a cutpurse and worst of all she insulted me calling me a horned freak."

@kitsune @soragoku @sir lurksalot




Ease let out a sigh watching the man before him take out a drag from his cigarette. Man he wished he had his addiction too...At least he thought his alcoholism was an addiction. It probably says a lot that he could drink things that'd probably intoxicate the giant he saw in the tavern.

Wait, topic at hand.

The Nutcracker's brow twitched in what could only be described as pure, unadulterated annoyance. Ease's eyes quickly abandoned all of the panic he had previously. Instead, his eyes closed and he let out a sigh, as if to say "Oh yeah...trust me I know." His eyes opened back up as the man said the words that kinda summed up the entirety of his experiences here.

"I am so fucking done with this place."

"Oh my God dude, I know how ya feel." Ease said with a sigh of shared agony. He didn't know what the guy had to go through in the time it's been since he last saw him, but damn it musta sucked.

As the man explained his story of what happened, Ease mentally scratched his head. He suddenly showed up back here? That was strange...Maybe some sorta teleportation spell? Not enough info to jump to conclusions. But bright sides-Ease avoided yet another mess entirely and didn't have to deal with whatever secondary fire was going on over that way. Of course, there was guilt and genuinely feeling sorry for the man but, hey, better one of them then both of them.

He pretty much echoed Ease's words afterwards and had a particularly...strained one of the analysis on the exact situation. Especially on the idea of a Japanese girl in a maid outfit being lost in the middle of the night. Yeah...he really couldn't blame him. If he was in his shoes, he'd be questioning it the exact same way. Screw it, he woulda just said the situation was insane actually. But that luxury was long gone.

"I tried around the tavern so far and I didn't see her. The alleyways around here are the best places to check if anything since they're easy to get to and fro from and keep searching. In terms of streets though, this street connects to a large number of others but two streets in particular." He put his hands up, shrinking them in stimulation. "A really small backroad that isn't a bad idea to sneak through." And then proceeded to stretch them out. "And a giant one that she might be deciding to go shopping through. I don't know why she left so either one is a viable try."

He let out a sigh as the others flew out into the streets. The cat girl asked if we had anything of the girl's, letting them know they might be able to find her. Ease shrugged simply. "I wish. If we did, I'd have had Ratatosk smell it already to see if he could track down the scent." In hindsight, that probably wouldn't work anyway. Squirrels aren't bloodhounds after all. At that moment, in the corner of his eye, Ease caught sight of the giant who was walking in the opposite direction of them.

"As much as I hate to invoke any horror movie cliches, I think we should split up. We'll be able to cover more ground that way. On top of that, what's the maid's name? We can yell that out to help get her attention better.

@soragoku @kitsune @sir lurksalot@Lunarlors34

It seems like they were getting out of control, here. For one the maid girl had disappeared and everyone seems to be up in hands about presents that the squirrel spirit(?) detected earlier. Dante help takes a quick look at the scene of the crime to find...nothing. Nothing was broken, no hint of struggle, no blood left anywhere. If a crime did happen here it was like she was just kidnapped or simply wondered off. "Don't worry everyone, i have a feeling she's alive." He told them.

Ah Mr Dante~ Good timing. Aya, the little girl from before, is missing. Can you go out there and search with them? I'll be right back~"

Dante was about to say something to her but she ran off before he could but whatever. It was more important to find the maid girl before she's out of their reach. Dante then opened the window out of her room and with his arms and leg climb into the window, with his shoe-clad toes sticking out into edge he leads forward to the point where gravity would pull him out the travel and just when he about the fall he bend his leg and made a big jump from the edge landing on a roof that was just close by. Using his free running training Dante lead from rooftop to rooftop look for the young girl though that would be hard with the lack of light, So Dante would have to use his fire magic to responsively to look in the alleyways.

Updated:
While searching for her on the rooftops Dante saw an orange flash a few blocks away and decide to run to it as a potential lead of finding the maid.

@Spriggs27@Lunarlors34@liferusher

@Zelosse
@Lucius Cypher
@liferusher

Thankfully for Maria and Atisha it appeared that the other female knight, Tani, had arrived to reinforce their fight against the dreaded master of the blade. With the three of them, surely there was no sort of being that would be able to completely deflect the battle maidens’ ability.

Surely there was no one who would want to fight against three skilled knights. And Maria was right within this regard.

Unfortunately for Tani, who had been attempting to climb up the building to where the two female knights were fighting against Mithral Blackblood, her arrival was met by her momentary distraction, which allowed for the assailant to utilize her as a makeshift springboard to catapult himself across the lamppost illuminated streets of the Lugnican residential area allowing for a rather clean escape.

Maria wished to jump over the street to confront her opponent.

She wished to put to justice this man who had killed. Who had performed acts against the people she was sworn to protect.

...but…

At that instant, Mithril’s murderous intent made Maria forget how to breath. He had taken his stance; unlike the other which he had taken this one appeared to be free of contempt. His sword is toward the ground and only his gaze pierced Maria.

It was as if the man was saying “I will use my finishing attack now”.

He was an enemy that Maria would have to defeat sooner or later, so it only made sense that the beginning of the final attack would begin.

A thorn-like chill filled the roof.

The air froze.

Not as a metaphor, but the air literally froze, as if stagnated by the man’s draw of power. The mana in the air stood still, as if there was something preventing its movement. As if something was taking the prana en masse.

The only person allowed to breath in this frozen air is the warrior across from the trio on the roof.

“I’ll be beaten. I know not what sort of attack this will end up being, but I know that i will be beaten if I chase this man. If I stand still, I shall be eliminated without a trace left of me.

That was the only thought running through Maria’s head. It’s implausible because this is the first time Maria had felt such a feeling before, but it was an unmistakable understanding more primal than glorious.

An understanding...

...that the moment the man speaks, “fate” itself was determined. The man’s next move was a literal embodiment of death. An attack so powerful that it would not allow any it tackled to continue to be under the designation "alive".

Seconds became minutes. Minutes hours.- She couldn’t tell how long she had stood there, but it couldn’t have been more than a moment. Perhaps not even a second had passed. But in her mind, that single second could have been as mentally straining as decades of living experience. It wasn’t fear that caused the courageous female knight to stagnate in her movement, but rather, an idea that formed within Maira’s head. Her surroundings must be studied to their fullest. And thankfully, her sight didn’t fail her. A bundle of hay was laid in the streets likely used for the land dragons that roamed the streets during the more busy times of the day. Perhaps fortune was smiling on Maria?

No. Even into a pile of hay Maria would suffer likely a broken bone or even death. But if there was even a .000001% chance of survival, then the odds were better than the “0” chance she understood at a fundamental level she had if the party were to remain on the roof.

“Get off the roof! Land on the hay!” Maria shouted at her comrades before doing just that.

With as much poise and grace as she could, Maria attempted her best to land in a way that would harm her the least. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

The air was heavy. Magic was obviously afoot; even Malakaus could feel it. A force so heavy, so thick, even for one such as him, who is completely ignorant on magical things, could tell something was amiss. But Malakaus wasn't one to hesitate. He isn't one who trembles in fear. Malakaus has been a knight longer than most people have been alive. He's faced frenzied trolls that burst forth from the ground, men get ripped to shreds by land-roving monsters, zombies tear down entire villages with nothing but their teeth, and that’s all in the last two years. He can hit an imp with a bow at three hundred yards, kill a grizzly bear in hand-to-hand combat, and cut a man in half with one swing of a sword. Malakaus does not tremble with fear.

He kills it.

His opponent made the mistake to try and flee. Because the moment he targeted Tani, Maria, and Atisha, it would be then that Malakaus appeared. Despite being a knight of considerable bulk and perhaps an intimidating presence, when Malakaus wanted to he was as notable as an insect; insignificant to even the most perceptive of things. But despite that perceived notion, Malakaus's strength was anything but small. He had already had his axe out and swung, not once, but three times. While he may not be as agile as Atisha, when it came to combat he was certainly her superior. In what appeared to be one simple swing was actually three swift chops, the first being a vertical slash that would bisect the mysterious attacker. The second was a horizontal slash at shoulder height of the man; it would either decapitate him, or cleave him in half. The last was a wide sweep at knee height, coming in at the opposite direction of the second swing. It would cut of the madman's legs, as well as catch him if he tried to duck underneath the second or sidestep the first. And that was only if he could even react to Malakaus by the time he realized he was under attack.

In the span of three seconds, Malakaus made three strikes. For the next three seconds, he followed it up with a quick grab towards the man's back. If all three hits were made then the only thing Malakaus would really be grabbing was whatever was within the black cloth. But even one of Malakaus's strikes would have been a lethal blow if it landed. He didn't know who this madman was, or his reasons for doing this. He calls himself chaos, he calls the knights cowards, yet here he was in a situation that didn't suit him against foes who came to fight him. Whatever he was, Malakaus only considered him a dead man.

@Seirei No Hai@Forett@dabombjk@Zelosse

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The air was heavy. Atisha could feel a curse emanating from the man. He ranted on and on about being some force of chaos, as if this makes him some sort of exception from laws or rules. Truly a madman. Logic and reasoning was well beyond this person, so as he ranted Atisha readied a spell herself. Yet somehow her voice felt choked up; it was like she was drowning. Who was this man, that he could make the very air around her so thick? Atisha could feel a weight on her shoulders and she struggled to be rid of it. But this wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. No, it's something she was all too familiar with. This was the feeling of fear; of facing an opponent who outstrips her in all abilities. Whether she was outnumbered, outplayed, or simply overpowered, Atisha would feel this same heavy weight on her body. The same weight that told her that the easiest, most simple thing to do was to fall.

But if she had ever listened to that feeling before, then Atisha wouldn't be here. This man could have been chosen by the gods themselves to kill Atisha today, but she wouldn't allow it. The very fact that she was here now meant that it was Atisha who was in control. And she would not let anyone control her, not her body, not her mind, and not her spirit. As the madman escaped to the rooftop on the other side, she could see Malakaus had already arrived and was about to launch his attack. Atisha knew exactly what to do then.

First, she followed Maria's suggestion to get off the roof. She knew that the madman had access to powerful fire magics, and now that he was "safely" away from the three knights, he would try to slay them all with a single spell. So Atisha launched herself off the roof, knowing that she could make a safe landing even under the curse's effect. But as she fell, she had one more spell up her sleeve. "AL HUMA!" Form her hand, the water serpent lashed out towards the madman. But instead of turning into ice or water, the serpent transformed into thick cloud that wrapped itself around the man. The cloud itself was harmless, no more painful than a mist. But this spell was powerful because this cloud of water vapor obscured his senses completely; he could not see through the cloud, and within the cloud was the sound of a storm that blocked out all noise. All he would be able to smell was the rain. And no amount of thrashing or dodging would allow him to remove the cloud from him, not until Atisha's spell was over. And with this spell, the madman wouldn't be able to target either her, the other knights, or Malakaus right behind him. Not without simply aiming randomly, which while very risky, at least ensured that he couldn't actually strike anyone intentionally.

Atisha landed on the ground with some difficulty, but was otherwise unharmed thanks to using her partisan to slow her fall. She surprised a few people on the ground but she was quick to address them. "Get out of here! There is a murderer on the loose and it's dangerous!" Perhaps not the most orderly way to clear a crowd, but it got the intent across.

@Zelosse@ADamnFiddle@liferusher

The slums were close, and the flames nearby. As the noblewoman dashes through the streets at breakneck speeds, she gets curious looks from some of the common folk who don't live there. Some jeer, some laugh, and some look genuinely confused. Other pray, or smile, finding that there was someone with the courage to investigate, and to do so quickly.

She was paying them all no mind, though. Her only focus was the situation at hand.

Passing by citizens of all types, her steps looking like strides or even small leaps, as Emile bound her way towards the source of smoke. Upon her approach, the general crowd she could see were walking away, and those she couldn't locking themselves behind closed doors. 'Why is nobody doing anything...?' She thought to herself a little more bitterly than she expected herself to, mentally slapping herself for the harsh comment. 'That's right... they have their own lives to live and families to look after. It's only those who have the time and strength who can do something. People like me.' She was so close now, the smell of smoke becoming overpowering, though another sickly stench was making itself apparent as she drew near. Closer and closer she came.

'It's around the cor-'

Her thought train was cut off by the thud and crash of her... friends? Acquaintances was a much more appropriate term, however Emile was not used to calling people by that, or at least she felt that way without any explanation why. Skidding to a stop some fifty meters from where the smoke was rising, her companions drop from the sky, landing in front of her. The wolf-man whom had frightened her before actually manages to get up - the two look like they'd just been in some kind of battle! She could see that Kurokono had sustained some kind of burn on his leg, and his and didn't look too well, from the way he was handling it. "I see you have Yang magic. Can you by any chance heal as well?" The wolf-man Grian says, warily looking about at their current location. The buildings were rundown and the houses (in most cases) being made of little more than hand-crafted wood, making a jungle favela. "And please, we should try and be elsewhere. These parts are dangerous."

Now Emile was at a standstill. She couldn't help the two a whole lot, only with Kurokono's leg injury - a simple spell to reverse the effects of the main elements. If the fire nearby was caused by magic, then she'd be able to reverse it's effects on those injured and undo the damage. However, there was also the possibility it wasn't caused by magic...

Looking between the smoke and Kurokono, she makes her judgement quickly, and strides over to Kurokono, keeping Akra active for the time being. "Please, show me your wound." She speaks, hoping that the young man would. Assuming he wasn't especially picky about her healing the wound, Emile would rest her hands just over the place of injury, before muttering a single word:

"U'do."

If he was super picky about it, she would insist until his submission or absolute denial to be healed. In the case of his wound being healed, Kurokono would then feel a pain much like how it felt to receive the injury appear for a few moments, before the wound all but disappears, along with the pain. "Your wound has been undone. Unfortunately this spell only affects the main elements, so I can't do anything about your hand. I suggest going to see a proper healer for that." Without another word, Emile would get up and sprint towards the corner, in a race against time. If he denied her wholeheartedly, Emile would simply make her move for the corner, jumping up and running along the wall to bypass Grian, should he be attempting to block her, before reaching the corner.

---

The slum streets were calm and peaceful. Shady figures went about their business in the streets, and hard-working folk were going about doing whatever they had to in order to get by. A panting noblewoman stood at the street corner, breathless and confused. "What's going on...?" She quizzes to nobody in particular, blinking to make sure she was seeing the scene right. "This place is... OK...?" Emile knew what she saw couldn't have been smoke from a chimney. And there wasn't any form of heavily polluting industry in the area, either. No fire mages to be seen, and no sign there was ever a fire to begin with. Even the smell was gone! It was as though it never existed...

There was no way anybody could deal with a fire that quickly, or so Emile assumed. How could all of what had happened been erased at a moment's notice? Was it a user of U'do, like her? Or was it something else? It was the only thing that made sense, in her mind.

Curious, Emile asks the friendliest-looking stranger (which was hard in these parts) if there had been any fires recently. The young man certainly hadn't been taught much proper etiquette or manners from some of the terms he was using around her, but at least he was blunt about it.

"There hasn't been a fire 'round here, no. So fuck off, will you?"

"Y-yes, well, th-thank you for your time! Her stammering made her nervousness easily visible, however thankfully the young man had places to be, or so it seemed. That left Emile on the street corner, alone and somewhat in a daze.

'What... what happened, I wonder...?'

The woman didn't appear to be liking what Aya had said to her. Horned freak wasn't the word to say to this woman at all. The dragon poked the comment right back at the girl telling that she was strange herself. Whilst still sitting on the ground she pulled open her huge mouth and whined at the woman like only she could.

[center]"What!? How dare you call me something like that!? Whaaa"[center]

A sword zwooshed past her head making her previous aggrivated expression completely fade. She had let out a welp as she covered her head with both her hands cowering in fear of the scary pointy slicey thing. She was shivering in fear with her legs crawled up and hands on her head as she slowly opened her eyes again.



With small tears in her eyes she looked up at the woman but to no avail. The woman took another swing making Aya immediatly drop her head between her knees with both hands covering the top of it. Soft sobbing noises could be heard comming from the girl as even others could see her shivering now. Tears feel on the pavement beneath her as she was softly muttering to the woman.



Aya was truly in despair. She did not even notice one of the bystanders having come up to her continueing her sobbing. After a short minute or so Aya came to senses and noticed the woman wasn't as violent as before anymore. Aya glanced up and noticed the other woman now. With red eyes that still had tears rolling from them she sniffled and gave Zin a harsh glare.





Shit her last strike missed! Tani clicked her toungh in annoyance and showed her gritting teeth as her expression turned angrier. Dodge, wait, hit again. Tani was ready for the rapier trying to hit her anytime. She was expecting swordsplay from the man but that was apparently not the moment for it. She widend her eyes as he stuck up his foot. Too fast... She was about to dodge aside but the foot hit her on the left side of her chest. Strong... Tani stumbled backwards by the weight of her armor. This guy was good, he was much quicker then Tani could be with this stupid armor. The man went onto her. He was comming at her with a quick pace, she rose her sword just in time but he jumped over her. No, he jumped onto her. Her head felt heavy, it hurted her neck a ton but at least she didn't bend it or else it would have snapped.

She took a second to cover her neck with her hand for a moment but noticed there wasn't time for that. He was casting a fire spell. Fire had formed before him already. Tani widend her eyes and was as quick as possibld to move her hands to both her shoulders dropping the sword in the process. She turned over a clip and did the same with two other places. The big chestplate fell off in two bits. She dashed away while grabbing her sword and jumped from the roof to the other side of the street. Fire filled the rooftop scorching the bottom of Tani her hair completely. The half of one of her pigtails was completely gone. Just before she hit the ground she jammed the broadsword in the side of the building. She herself fell further but her momentum had stopped. She bumped with her butt against the ground and slowly stood up rubbing her butt in pain. She glanced at her hair but that was not of problem right now.



Tani wanted to take a stance but noted that her sword was gone. Or to be more precise, her sword was still stuck in the building about 3 meter high. She glanced up at it and looked in a completely deadpan expression at it. She tried reaching out for it and jumped a few times but it was still about twice her height to high. Tani lowered her head to the ground looking quite sad but was quick to come back with a second plan.

Even the soldiers knew Tani was one of the better ones among them so one of the recruits ran up to her and gave her his sword. Tani gave a nod of thank and took a stance. Half her armor was gone now. She still had her legs and her under arms further more she had a layer of cloth underneath drenched with sweat from the whole day, it was something.

Her sight foccused on the man but it was already too late. Atisha had launched a cloud of fog at him ,doubted that would last long but nearby citizen that had come to peek outside in the night could be sent back into their homes again and bystanders to safety. Tani kept standing ready for the man to fight.

@Spriggs27@Lunarlors34@liferusher


Dante used his parkour skills to leap from rooftop to rooftop to get to the source of the flash. As he got closer his ears begin to pick up the source of a young woman crying that sound all too familiar. Is that her he wondered. Deciding there was no time to waste he began to double time it. Until he was on the rooftop right above the three girls. He then saw the maid girl crying on the ground in what seems to be in fear, most like because of the women with the horns and the women with silver hair and red eyes. That woman with horns was an especially suspicious because of the weird activities that when on during the Maid girl disappearance, in his mind she was mostly the one who abducted her.

In Dante minded he had to act fast So he made a leap off the edge of the roof; While in midair he would do a backflip,and while upside down pulled the sword out of the sheath on his back before leading landing on his feet either between the horned girl and the maid girl or next to the maid girl. Dante would then attempt to moved the end of his blade near the other girl's throat in a threating matter(this can be avoided). "Halt!" He would tell the two of them rather not his attempt at taking horn girl hostage worked or not. He will then focus most of his attendance the two unknowns before sniffing the air around him. Yep, that's definitely the maid girl's smell so he was sure it was her. "I don't know why you abduction this girl but your scheme end here!" He told them heroically.

@Lucius Cypher@ADamnFiddle@liferusher

Time held no meaning here, in the total void of his mind, as the spirit of Mithril Blackblood watched through his own eyes the calamity he would unleash. In here the moment seemed to last an eternity as the fire swelled at his feet. How many times had he done this particular channeling?
How many lives had it taken over the years.

The shackles that imprisoned him, bound tight about his heart and soul, gripped tighter still as he pleaded not to continue.
The horrible sound of laughter echoed all around him, imparted from the sword directly to him. The cruel laughter of the thousand men and women who had been consumed by the swords true nature. It had no voice but still he heard it, behind the wall of voices and wails, he heard it. Black as night and colder than anything he would likely experience.

YOU HAVE NO CHOICE, BLACKBLOOD. YOU ARE MINE. FINISH WHAT WE STARTED.

---------

If Malakaus' swings could be measured in the space of a mere 3 seconds then the ball was still in the madmans more than capable hands. Under the weight of that most oppressive of evils, the lumbering giants strikes would always fall short. Merely standing in its radius was all it took for the swords aura to overcome him in every way. With The others fleeing the rooftops before the calamity struck, it was hard for anyone to imagine someone with a sane mind standing alone against what was coming.

In the time it took to blink, the fight would be over.

It was a surreal experience for those who could see it occur, to live it so thoroughly, and yet all would claim it the will of the universe. Chaos meant anything could happen for any reason. Such had been and always would be the case for a madmans plans. A fluke, pure luck, undependant on the skill of the wielder or the creed of his heart. It would be a matter of circumstance.
Malakaus' axe cleaved forward, at a seeming crawl in the window of a second, as Mithril spoke the trigger.

"Al Goa."

Both hands raised in front of him, the fire scorched an angry white path forward from his open palms. The sheer explosive force was too much for his weakened state, having only one hand still in working condition. A single boot with a thin coat of ice on the heel cost him his balance at such a precarious moment. Unable to withstand his own force, he was thrown bodily away. The axe cleaved forward but found nothing but air as the limp form of the caster was thrown from the rooftops. A line of dancing white motes of flame lingered in the air to stretch between Malakaus' current position well over to where the three warriors had stood mere moments before.

Condensed flames turned white from their own heat expanded in an instant. The resulting inferno lit the nights sky in a chain reaction of explosive force, a pyroclasmic detonation meant to end any fight in a shower of fire. The beauty was how quick the spell was to react once cast. Had the others not chosen to retreat the moment he had begun, they would have simply been incinerated.
The trail of white hot doom would likely have taken Mithrils life as well, had circumstance been different.

When the dust cleared the destruction would reveal itself like a blooming flower. Both rooftops had been blown away, scattered and scorched, leaving nothing but the smoldering scar trailing down the supporting walls. The top floor of both houses graced the nights sky as the ashes fell upon the streets.

Mithril had fared lucky, ropes and lines had been hung between the buildings to dry laundry in the day time and he had unwittingly fallen through them, his foot getting caught in one such rope that swung him hard into the nearby wall before snapping. Depositing him the last few feet to the hard ground. His shoulder had taken most of the damage from the fall, resulting in his left arm hanging limp and torn at his side. Clothing was equally torn and a his right gauntlet had been thrown off in the tumble. Broken but not beaten he simply laid down in the shadow of the alleyway, away from the view of the others, and glanced up at his handiwork as he ran in unarmored right hand across his stomach to feel the fresh cut. Apparently Malakaus' axe had clipped his stomach.. So much for luck He mused.

He failed to notice that the sword no longer rested upon his back.

Cruel fate had dislodged the blade from his back to tumble and clatter into the streets.. Just a few feet away from Tani Harumi.

Alex Butler



"Well, that was a waste of time..." Alex sighed to himself as he walked towards the bus stop, bag slung over his shoulder. He had been on the road for a while and had thought, just for the heck of it, he'd stop by the town his Mom said she had met his father in. The young man didn't really have a whole lot to guide him, aside from a photo that had been taken on the day his parents had gotten married, but it was better than nothing.

"You look just like your father..." His Mom's voice echoed in his head. When looking at the picture, one could definitely see the resemblance between the Dad and the son. The same colored eyes, hair, and even the same design of jaw bones. Of course, this was nearly twenty years ago so there was no telling how much his father might have changed between then and now.

What am I gonna do if I ever run into him though? Alex had lost count of how many times he had asked himself that question, and even now he still had no clear-cut answer. Would he be happy to have finally found the missing piece of his life? Would he be angry and hurt that his father had essentially abandoned him and his Mom? He could think up a million scenarios but there was no way to tell what would REALLY happen until the moment finally came.

Deciding he needed to get his mind off this topic, Alex pulled out a book from his bag and took a seat on the bench, waiting for his bus to arrive. However,as he read, his eyes became increasingly drowsy and the world around him faded in and out. Before long, he let out a yawn, "Oh man....so tired..." He checked the clock on his phone, "Hmm...still got a half hour before my bus gets here...think I'll catch a few Z's..." With that, he set a timer and laid back, closing his eyes. Before long, he was out like a light.

...When he awoke though, he quickly realized he wasn't at the bus stop anymore. A look around him revealed that the people here were wearing the kinds of attire you would either see in an old-time village...or in one of the dozens of RPGs he had played throughout High School. To make things even stranger, and to question his sanity even further, there was elves and nekos among their ranks.

"What the..." Alex took a deep breath to compose himself and massaged his forehead, "Ok...there is only two possible explanations for this...either I'm having one doozy of a lucid dream...or a cosplay convention rolled into town while I was asleep..." Thinking quickly, he slapped himself across the face quite hard, "Ouch!...Alright, that rules out this being the former..."

Just as he got up to go ask what was going on, a loud explosion went off in the distance, causing him to tumble off his chair. "Ughhh..." Looking up, he spotted a column of smoke not too far from where he was, "Smoke?...Darn it!" Throwing caution to the wind, he scooped up his bag and took off towards the source of the smoke.

The chances of this situation being just a convention were looking slimmer by the second...

"Ah. Fire, my old friend."

An explosion engulfed Malakaus. The madman's magic was mighty indeed; where it not for Malakaus's masterwork suit of armor and his own divine blessing, he would be dead. But the same could be said of many situations like this before; all the way back to his first battle at the city of Kararagi. Or was it a city-state near Kararagi? Malakaus never bothered to remember. Despite his actions there, where he and 100 other of his clan brothers fought off a force of 10000, that one battle was but a one of many. Fire was a constant companion of the orc; he remembered that when that battle started, the enemy began by throwing pitchers of burning oil. How it coated it body and incinerated his kin. How he and his brothers-in-arms charged forward while on fire, slighting as many as they could in their dying breaths. Taking their own flame-throwing siege weapons and turning it against them. Fire was no stranger to Malakaus anymore than the sun was to their world; it would always be with him, engulfing him. And one day, it would kill him.

But not today.

Malakaus's vision was blurry, his hearing muffled by a loud buzzing sound. That spell not only was powerful, but also very loud. He could make out some sort of noise resembling screaming, but he couldn't make anything out from it. He tried to look around but despite it being night, everything was too bright. It took a few minutes before his eyes finally adjusted and his ears cleared out, but eventually he was able to perceive the world again. To no surprise, a blazing inferno was in front of him. It seemed that the madman had used a spell to set the other building on fire. Malakaus was quick to start shouting orders to the people below. "Get a water brigade! Anyone who can use water magic, douse this fire! Atisha, where are you? Deal with this now!" Malakaus tried to turn around to walk down stairs, but he immediately fell to his knees. He looked down and noticed that his armor had melted on his body. The gambeson he worn underneath helped against some of the burn, but even then the molten metal ate through that and was burning his flesh. He growled in pain as he turn off the slag, allowing his body to cool off in the air. Soon there was a shower of water that helped fight the fire and cool Malakaus off.

It wasn't long before Atisha managed to get to Malakaus before he could even stand. She greeted him with a splash of refreshing, restorative water. While the pain was still there, slowly but surely his wounds were healing. She berated him for his foolishness, but Malakaus was quick to quip. "I ain't dead yet, so you don't need to worry about me. I doubt that other guy is either. Only one of my strikes made it, and I don't see his corpse anywhere. I'd like to believe that no one could survive that attack, but until his head is in my hands he's still out there." Atisha helped Malakaus to his feet and bring him down to street level, where various citizens were working on dousing the flames, either with buckets of water or their own meager water magics. Once he was there he greeted Maria and Tani with a smile. "Sorry I was late, Knight Commander. I came as quickly as I could, but it seemed like I only made it in time for his finale." Malakaus coughed violently and sat down. His burns were bleeding now, and Atisha tried to treat them only for him to raise a hand to stop her.

"That madman is still out there. He may be wounded, but if he has allies they no doubt are on their way now. We must find him before he escapes our grasps and continue his reign. Don't argue with me Atisha; you know it'll take more than an inferno to kill me. What'd take to kill him, I'm not so certain about. Three formidable fighters and yet he was still able to get away, and even I couldn't catch him by surprise. He's certainly not someone we can simply ignore. So it's important we capture him soon before he has the strength to attack again. You may want to cover your ears."

Malakaus waited for everyone to step back and ready themselves before he shouted very, very loudly. "FORETTE! BLANC! KYLE! GET OVER HERE!" His voice boomed through the city about as loud as the explosion did, just to make sure those three adventurers he hired didn't run away. And if they did, then they probably weren't going to be much help anyways. Clearing his throat Malakaus was starting to get a bit tired, so he tried to wrap up what he wanted to say before he'd pass out. "Don't do this alone. Rally who you can, guardsmen, adventurers, whoever with a strong heart or a steady hand. I'm not done yet either; I can't rest knowing that a murderer of that strength is still within these walls. Seal the gates, and watch the backstreets. A rat like him crawls through the gutters and over the rooftops. But if you can work together, then you will lose." Taking a deep breath Malakaus leaned against the wall. He noticed that he didn't have his axe anymore, likely also slagged just like his armor. His shortsword was still by his side at least, as his body blocked most of it from the flames.

"I just need a bit of a breather and I'll be right with you." Malakaus tried to say encouragingly. Whether or not he was telling the truth, only time would tell. When Atisha pointed out towards the strange golden sword, Malakaus slowly but surely made his way over to it, not touching it as she said. "I'll watch over this blade. I may be wounded, but no one would be getting it without a fight."

@Seirei No Hai@Forett@dabombjk@ADamnFiddle@liferusher

---

"MALAKAUS!"

Atisha looked up just in time to see Malakaus engulfed by the madman's magic. It was a good thing that they had all jumped off the roof, because in a split second the roof turned into a blazing inferno. It was like hellfire; despite the building being made of stone, it was burning quickly. Fortunately as fast as the fire came, people were quick to run away from the danger, and the brave ones were being useful by trying to douse the flame the best they could. Since the fire started from the rooftops a conventional bucket brigade wasn't too useful, though a small handful of by standards used their magic to douse the fire the best they could. Atisha willed herself to use her magic as well, conjuring a powerful gout of water to rain over the fire. "El Huma!"

As the fire was being battled, Atisha made her way upstairs. Or rather, up a wall. Dropping her spear she climbed the wall like a monkey, and there she found Malakaus kneeling. Worried filled her voice as she used another spell to douse him with water, but this time fused with healing power, knowing fully well that he was injured. Fortunately his spluttering told Atisha he was fine. Kneeling in front of the orc she tried to speak to him to verify his life. "You fool... You shouldn't have held back. It's annoying when you're useless!" Atisha said with a tinge of anger, and a mix of concern. Malakaus was quick to respond, which made Atisha glad that he hadn't died. He was quick to point out that their foe may still be among the living, so Atisha helped him down the stairs onto the street. When he started to cough Atisha was about to use her magic when Malakaus stopped her.

"What are you- Don't be a fool! You're not used to me in this state. You can't even stand, let alone chase after him. Let me heal you, dammit!" But Malakaus was adamant that finding the madman took priority over his health. Atisha couldn't say she disagreed, more so when he pointed out that despite Tani and Maria's presence, they didn't seem all too effective. Sure they managed to land some blows on him, but despite that he was still able to outmaneuver them and have the stamina to cast such a powerful spell. No doubt he had some blessing of sort, or maybe he was just that skilled. But again, all the more reason he needed to be taken out now while he was somewhat weakened; if they couldn't defeat him in this state, their chances once he recovers were even less.

Malakaus then let out a loud roar for three people, whom Atisha assumed were people who were following him. Evidently they were about as reliable as the town guards, as Atisha hasn't seen hide nor hair of them while they were fighting the madman. It actually bothered Atisha that he would try to get help, seeing that if they couldn't do it, some random strangers off the street were unlikely to do any better. Even more bothersome, he continued to spew nonsense about working alongside others to try and take out this madman. For a battle-harden warrior, Malakaus was very idealistic. "Are you retarded? Whether we bring one hundred or one thousand, it'll make no difference if they're weak. But Malakaus is right: we need to act fast and capture this man before he continues on his reign of terror. He can't have gotten far, and I know how we can find him."

The magic was fading, but Atisha could still feel the lingering effects of her magic. But while she felt it, that aura of fear was still strong. It was as if he was still here... Or it's source was, at least. Looking around and Atisha did notice a golden sword on the ground near Tani. It wasn't the rapier that the madman was using, but it was likely what he was carrying. It was ornate, with skulls and such on it. It certainly looked like a cursed sword, and the fact that Atisha was uneasy looking at it gave her enough of a gut feeling to call out to it. "Don't touch that sword! Something... Something is wrong about it. Very wrong. It likely belongs to our culprit, and given it's ornate design and the negative feelings I'm getting from it, I'm sure he'll want it back."

Before losing her train of thought, Atisha focused on her lingering spell. The fire, despite it's power, couldn't simply dispel her cloud. It was getting harder to maintain by the second however, so they all needed to hurry. She made the cloud rise up from the madman's body as it continued to rob him of his senses, and as the cloud rose up it would look distinctive from the smoke elsewhere. And it was the only way Atisha could trace this man until the spell wore off. "Let's hurry!" As she ran, she immediately ran into a boy who had wandered onto the scene, nearly knocking him over. She snarled at him and continued onwards. "Get out of my way!" Picking up her spear Atisha went to follow the cloud.

@ADamnFiddle@liferusher@Zelosse@GamerXZ

---

---

Was it not the case that Aleph had engaged in a fight prior in the day, he might have put a little bit more "oomph" into the concussive blasts he had fired towards his foes. Perhaps then they would have at least caused the grip on The Slanderer to loosen enough so he would be dropped. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and despite his luck guiding the blasts where they needed to be, they were deflected and only caused minor injuries.

"I... cannot let someone like that roam free." he explained to his companion as he took off. It mattered not to the man that the guy stay behind or if he followed. Aleph's mood soured enough to where he had forgotten he was hungry, so he took off in a sprint towards the direction they had fled to. Even if they gained a lot of ground between him, Aleph knew they were following that woman, and that woman was obviously headed towards the smoke off in the distance. Eventually, they would meet again, all he had to do was run!

But that was in an ideal situation.

Somehow, Aleph got the feeling that it wouldn't be as simple as reaching them, challenging that villain to a fight, and winning. No, there was definitely a reason for all that smoke, and likely he would be required to assist some civilians or best some demons or the sort. Really, who knew? But if it were demons, he would have to prioritize them instead of making sure that man never slandered his name again. But at the very least, defeating demons would make him feel a bit better, since he knew he was doing something for the good of the people.

I'll ensure as many demons are destroyed as I can!

But as he was sprinting towards the smoke, he noticed something a bit odd. Namely, he just barely noticed some people on the roofs of a nearby building. Actually, they seemed to be knights of some sort. What were they doing? Before he could even gather what they were trying to accomplish, he saw one such person yell something to their fellow knights, before leaping right off the building!

What the hell is wrong with this person!?

Aleph started towards this when all of the sudden, some punk-ass, big-ass, fire-ass, exploding-ass explosion exploded on the roof right next to the knights! Thankfully, all but one? had managed to leap off the building. While jumping off a building typically was not the brightest idea, Aleph could gather it was a better alternative to being roasted, quite literally. When Aleph himself was done flinching from the sudden fright, he immediately changed his focus from the chase he was on to the knights who had hastily departed from the rooftops, particularly the one who landed in a conveniently-placed bundle of hay as he rushed over.

As he was a Hero, not some simple civilian, he paid no mind to the warning by the other knight, unlike most who had. Instead, he kneeled down next to the hay-knight, and offered his arm for her to get up, as her allies seemed busy with other business. He was no expert in healing magics, but smaller damage was not beyond Aleph's basic healing magic. At the very least, he could hopefully numb any pain or rid her of small cuts and the sort if she has sustained anything like that from the fall. She didn't have any visible wounds that looked serious, at the very least.

"Are you unharmed, knight? I can't mend any broken bones, but I can numb the pain." he explained what he could do for her.