A Horror was nothing more than a Horror.

That’s all they were, that’s all they would ever be. Capricious miscreants sitting upon their twisted thrones, disdaining mortality while stagnating in the eternity of their domains. Some were more intelligible than others, some were more reasonable than the others, but ultimately, all of them were merely pretending. Their nature was incorrigible, their sin unabsolvable. Monster girls stemmed from a human core. Dark magical girls still shared a common blood. But Horrors by definition were cosmic terrors, harbingers of whatever death they represented.

So Amaryllis, regardless of Soth’s soothsaying, did not allow herself the respite of relief.

This was a monster that would devour its devout for nothing more than a moment of amusement, one that spoke so eloquently, so majestically, but one that had no core within. Intelligence, but with no principles to guide it. The way it warped the cultists out of existence was grotesque. The way it manifested itself from the inky blackness was disturbing. The way it exuded an aura of power was revolting. But that was all. Nothing but a B-grade monster from a schlocky horror movie.

All the Knight of Rose felt was a wall of nails pressed against her back, her Sword urging her forward, to never retreat. One backstep would mean more, and even against the half-hearted partial manifestation of a Horror, Amaryllis could not allow her conviction to flag.

She chuckled instead, bravado surfacing with the flashing of her canines. “A dozen lives was the price to pay for your advent, Soth? Laughable. I’ve seen Puchuus prostitute themselves out for more than that.”

Her Sword chimed through the dead air of the crypt, carving a line into the stone.

“No wonder you’d want to crawl into the body of a little girl. In this day and age, no one’s interested in an overgrown octopus.”

Rusted roses bloomed and wilted, the deathly cycle captured in the unliving.

“Maiden, I shall trust you with the disruption of your former master’s ritual, for your mystic arts far outstrip my own. There is no need to split, no need to engage. On my sword and on my soul, I shall defend you to the last.”

In this moment, after all, Amaryllis was still a knight.
@Crusader Lord

Pleased that Summer was on the task that she had been assigned, Alicia could focus more on dealing with al the new enemies showing up, and keeping them from approaching the crypt where they were now. She wasn't deliberately trying to save Regina, it was just an accidental result of her efforts. Otherwise one could be sure that part of the barrage she had launched would be aimed at the Bate sister too.

Nodding to Katarina as she was instructed to focus on Elroy, the archer was quick to do so. Not that it was easy with the two large beings moving into close range of each other. Which meant she had to be careful about her shots or else she could hit Penny instead.

There wasn't much time to focus on that anyway as Sammy finished up with what she was trying to do. "Um, wouldn't that defeat the point of having a barrier?" Alicia observed in confusion, mostly to herself as the detective revealed the weakness of the barrier. Maybe it was just her, but it seemed like having a defense where you could walk in after smacking it hard enough, even if only for a short time, was not a particularly useful defense.

She was really, really tempted to fill Sammy full of arrows right then and there, but she managed to restrain herself beyond the occasional muscle twitch. If there had been any doubts before, it was now clear that the detective was just flat out crazy, cementing her desire to not interact with her again in the future if Alicia could avoid it. But the weather was taking a turn for the worse, and the barrier was temporarily disrupted, so she had no time to waste. One last bolt was fired, this one arcing up to give Elroy a flash in his face equivalent to the brightness of a bolt of lightning, before Alicia moved to get through the barrier.

"Let's go Summer," she called, exiting the scene with Star Seraph lowered. There was little time left, so needless to say he was hurrying as they rushed down the corridors that the previous magical girl had already been down, searching for the source of the ritual in the crypt. Hopefully they weren't too late.

@BrokenPromise@Shifter_Master@DarkwolfX37@Rune_Alchemist@ERode

.

"That... that's the dumbest barrier I've ever heard of then." Summer said. But now was not the time to wait, so she quickly jumped through the opening and turned around, making sure to record the barrier re-closing for later. "Why did we not try to break it at all? Maybe this girl is right, Alicia. Maybe we set up this barrier after all. I didn't even think of aiming that train at it. I swear, I'm losing my edge." She was very upset with herself given this new revelation.

@BrokenPromise@Shifter_Master@Rune_Alchemist@ERode@Flamelord

---

The Horror seemed to be amused with Amaryllis' words, giving a light chuckle as she played such 'games' with him.

'Hohoho! I believe this is an attempt to anger me to some end? Deride me like some mortal as mortals tend to do?

Frankly, you of all the puppets here would know the most about prostituting one's self and body out so freely, wouldn't you? And that blade of yours, such a pathetic tantrum it throws, for being abandoned like the garbage it is. It can't find any purpose but to kill, much like a worthless beast falls to instincts.'

Soth seemed to try his hand at taking a jab back, though even the Horror's tone didn't seem to betray any sort of seriousness in the process. As he spoke, however, Soth went on the offensive simultaneously. Multiple eyes fired smaller magical lasers towards the lone Amaryllis (@ERode) and Annabelle, whose power was greater than the smaller lasers of the behemoth at the stadium before, whilst tentacles stretched from the abyss to strike at them with lightning speed. A strong opening move, perhaps, not something to underestimate...but also not unable to be handled with help or the right strategy.

But shortly, it seemed, Amaryllis and Annabelle would not be alone in their battle.

Alicia (@Flamelord) and Summer (@DarkwolfX37), after entering the crypt and blitzing in the direction of the ritual chamber, would find themselves following a path of cultists remains and bloody bits splayed everywhere around them. This, as it were, was evidence of the Rose Knight that had plowed her way right through the entrance and opened it up for them. From here it was a simple trip, though, going down the long set of stone-carved steps towards the ritual chamber at the bottom...and trying not to slip on the bits of the deceased cultists and monsters.

The walls of this stairwell were also carved with dark sigils and twisted symbols alongside runes, many of these things unrecognizable as compared even to the abandoned school. But for such a thing to have been placed under a crypt in this area, it was nothing short of defiling for the dead that rested in this graveyard.

Upon finally reaching the bottom chamber, the two would be able to easily tell the scene that was before them. The partial manifestation, somewhat lazy in execution, of Soth that had appeared to protect his ritual and 'have fun' with the two magical girls in front of him. Speaking of the two, it would be easy to see the proud Amaryllis facing what was to be a vicious attack, and Annabelle behind her in...well, calling it a 'bad' condition would perhaps be an understatement to describe her condition. The void-touched girl's face had paled far more than was supposed to be normal, her body seeming noticeably a bit thinner, her eyes seemed almost like death, and her muscles in places twitched with each bit of pain that continued to rock the still-draining-girl's body.

The only saving grace was the small grin she had donned, trying to do her best to put on a good face for battle.....well, that and the fact her right arm was unraveling into a swath of dark chains. That was actually kind of badass, perhaps.

"Heh...hah..."

Annabelle huffed aloud as she pushed herself, placing the palm of her right hand on the ground as it began to unravel into chains. Using the Soth-less magic in her right arm, maybe...maybe she had a chance to disrupt this. Her ties to the Horror were enough for her to be able to best feel the flow of magic in this area, though her own soth-given power and life were still being drained away. She hadn't much time, if she was going to do anything, to try to disrupt this ritual.

Well, it perhaps wasn't enough time to disrupt the entire ritual, maybe. She couldn't overwhelm an entire horror's power, no one perhaps could dream of it for that matter. Yet like any war machine with a vulnerable point, this ritual had something she could feel being more fragile than the other parts.

Soth's own connection to the altar and altered body. He could exert influence over this area with ease, he'd done that just for this occasion, but his ties to that body were thin at beast as she felt out the situation. That was why he was performing the ritual, after all, to solidify that connection and properly incarnate...and if he did it would be impossible to separate the two thing at that point. He'd have total control over the thing.

But, if that bond was severed, he couldn't "open the door" and go into the body at all. What would happen to it otherwise would be a mystery, if Soth didn't inhabit it. She had no time to question that, though, but if she succeeded it'd be horror-free at least in such a case. How much "juice", or magical power, she'd need to do this was in question though. If she could get some extra fuel from help, she could probably do it!

The chains of her right arm, or at least most of the chain tentacles thereof, dug into the ground and tunneled to try to get under the altar. Four stayed above-ground as Annabelle remained on one knee, to try to help protect her at least if anything got pat Amaryllis and towards herself. Not that she didn't trust the knight...it was that she didn't trust Soth to "play fair" in any of this and merely focus on the the Rose Knight herself.

One last thought did linger on her mind, however, even with her mind and magic going into full gear to try to do something about this situation.

'Regina...please, please be ok. I need you, here. I...i need to tell you so many things...' Annabelle thought to herself.



"Big Tony", as Sammy had dubbed him, was a seemingly fearsome beast indeed to be able to disrupt the barrier itself. Perhaps Soth had done a rush job on it, or didn't care if anyone managed to actually get inside? The mystery of that would perhaps be left to the annals of time, but more important than this was the fact this meant people could get inside at least! That much was perhaps a boon to the Beacon and other forces, and-

'Such a nasty beast to disrupt this barrier, but more guests will be entertaining.

It was so very cheap to set up, though....but to find truth is to also pay a price in this world~'

Soth's voice psychically rang out in all of the heads of those just outside of the crypt barrier, before Big Tony seemed to stop in his tracks and go still.

Then the great tiger began to jostle and squirm, as if something uncomfortable had worked its way inside. He seemed to be reacting to Soth's voice in his head, that unnatural thing that screamed at one's instincts to run. But he had assaulted the barrier, and the Super Sleuth herself had ridden him in here without trouble. So what could be going wrong?

Dark veins began to form on the front of Tony's forehead, removing furn and spreading rapidly down his face and neck and body. The tiger began to 'freak out' far more strongly at this point, writhing and trying to claw at itself to get rid of the offending power filling its body like a cup. It roared in agony and terror, but the lines continued to spread and spread...until its entire physical form was covered.

The now mostly-furless body of Tony went still, lying upon the ground as if dead, its remaining tufts of fur offset by the now black-colored skin underneath.

'Let this be entertainment, until more of you try to get inside.'

And then Tony's eyes opened wide once more, iris-less crimson red orbs of unnatural nature looking back out at the other magical girls. The body of Big Tony began to stand once more, the sound of cracking bones able to be heard from it. Tentacles and spikes of bone began to erupt from its body where fur had once been, and the beast bared its fangs and growled with a deep, guttural, alien sound that rang in the air.

Wait, did that thing have two more rows of teeth now too?! It seemed more powerful than the most basic goons at least, but it was a far call from whatever had been in that stadium by far. What in the world-?!?!

~Alert!!! Minor Lesser Horror Threat Detected!~

Type: Lesser Horror (unique)

Designation/Name:

Eldritch Tony, the Triple-Tripping Terrible Trouncing Tiger of Terror*

(*this trademarked name is not subject to change)

@t2wave@MadManMoon@Shifter_Master@Ariamis@PlatinumSkink@Vocab@FamishedPants@Flamelord@ERode@DarkwolfX37@Card Captor@BrokenPromise@DarkwolfX37@The World

‘…’ Lea stood silently when Kimble showed up from who knows where, instead of staying on the other side of the city and defending against storms as commanded. … Nope, Lea lost interest. Too nosy. Controlled by whims. Far too flighty to be a suitable companion. Lea closed the phone and put it away, lest the one she spoke to would have her voice be revealed. The elfin Magical Girl was less than impressed by the action of having a cheek rubbed against hers. The notion to sting her for this breach of personal space occurred to her, but the possible ramification of something that could be interpreted as a hostile act made such an action not worth it. Fortunately, it seemed Kimble was all too whimsical to continue wondering who Lea had been talking about for longer.

‘… If you desire her affection, then telling her directly is an effective method,’ Lea told Kimble about Alicia. ‘This forces her to become aware of you. Even if the notion initially displeases her, doing it as soon as possible means she’ll have more time to consider it and she will feel like she has to consider you before selecting another.’

Sure, what Kimble talked about may not have been romance, but the advice stuck. Regardless…

‘What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to control the storm on the other side?’ Lea asked, even as she swung a hand to send a wave of wind to counter another nearby tornado. The rain, though… she couldn’t do anything about the rain.

@Ariamis

_______________


Mayra blinked as Tonya descended. Oooh, she came down herself? Mayra wasn’t occupied with that the slime balloon was attacking her, instead she was faced with that Tonya turned and headed for her at great speed, greater than Mayra could achieve. Mayra smirked, her tail swinging. Tonya didn’t know. How unfortunate for her. Want to fight Mayra up close?

‘YEAH, COME AND GET ME!’ Mayra laughed as she launched herself happily towards the incoming Tonya. She noticed the wind, so instead she charged her fire into her own body, her whole monstrous body being a conduit for magic _{(fists/mystic dual weapon)}, allowing her limbs to heat up to temperatures where they glowed with searing heat as Mayra flew off to meet Tonya’s charge. Tonya was defended by her umbrella weapon, and as Mayra headed for it she was impaling herself…

Except that’s where Mayra turned immaterial for a second. For Mayra’s a Fire & Dark specialized Magical Girl, allowing for some tricks from both. The momentarily intangible Mayra grinned, passing straight through the umbrella and intending on reshaping herself just on the other side of Tonya’s weapon…

‘Cha-HO!’ Mayra called as she swung her arm, intending on passing on Tonya’s left as to avoid being impaled upon reformation and having her left super-heated arm slam into Tonya’s face at the speed of both of these speedy individuals charging towards one another. The intention was to slam her arm into Tonya at a downwards angle, carrying her along to then slam her into the ground, decking her with monster-fueled strength in a super-heated arm. The moments that followed would tell if Tonya had the ability to avoid something she probably didn’t see coming. … And if Tonya managed to dodge, Mayra might still swing her tail to attempt hitting her after the dodge, far weaker than her arm would be, but still.

If the arm intended to deck her did hit, Mayra’d swing around to face her opponent again and comment ‘And how’s THAT!?’ with a wide grin. If she failed, Mayra might still swing around, depends on if she got countered or not.

@BrokenPromise@Card Captor@FamishedPants

_______________


Mariette stood in a building with a window facing the graveyard. She had a blank expression, her left arm clutching a stuffed bunny and her right fingers playing with a platinum coin. She could feel the presence of another horror, all the way from here. If that one escaped, and this world was doomed to be his… that’d put an end to Asengav’s plans for this world, too. That was less than desirable. Of course, Asengav didn’t really need this world, per say, he could pick virtually any other… but he had picked this one. Not sure why, he just had. That made it somewhat important to stop whatever was going on.

Mariette looked down at her platinum coin. She had been holding off on using it. The reasoning for this was that, should a crisis situation emerge, she’d have a platinum coin at hand she could use it and gain almost whatever she needed in order to solve the crisis. If she had to get Get Out of Jail for some reason? Deal. … Things like that. However, it occurred to her now that it may be better to already hold the power, to be practiced with it before the situation occurred, to know all the ins and outs of the power she’d gain. It also allowed her to be ready for sudden surprises without needing to spend time fiddling with a platinum coin. There were two sides to this, pros and cons to using the coin. Hm.

Though, hadn’t she already basically decided what she wanted? Also, she might have to fight a horror in a moment.

‘… Oh, well,’ Mariette figured, as she grasped the platinum coin into her palm with a firm grip, and released its power.

Elroy would only get one solid hit before The Engine would react. Rather than standing firm and taking the blows it rolled with the next one, violently. Its long body would be seemingly sent flying with the second punch, whipping out in an arc of devastation, uncaring of who or what might get hit.

It would catch, however, due to the firm grip Elroy had on its head, but that grip would be used against the supposed King. With its head as the fulcrum The Engine would continue its arc, causing it to wrapping around Elroy’s body like the metallic serpent it was. The odd angel of its neck would be no issue as its internal components shifted and reoriented themselves as it began to both constrict its prey but also use its many, many limbs to start tearing in to him.

And if one looked closely they would see the chained mandibles also reforming, weaving themselves into the chains that sought to bind its mouth closed. Soon it would begin to grind away at those as well, if it didn’t just lock them in place so that the arms Elroy was using to hold it were the ones trapped instead.

As the rain started to pick up, lightning would also flash overhead. Yet something about it was odd, it seemed like it was aiming solely for Penny and the cracks of thunder were far to delayed to be natural.

---

Everything was starting to wrap up it with this fight, but the victory was bitter sweet. Fighting against allies always was, and the loss of another ally didn’t help much either.

The main man himself didn’t fight the soft gravitational attraction pulling him towards Abigail, his borrowed disguise having been blown away with the glacier crashing to earth. His heart went out to Abigail as he neared her; the power to feel emotions was a great one, it was just that sometimes the drawbacks were great as well.

“I’ll be right here the whole time” He would promise softly to the girl as he wrapped his arms around her softly, in a gentle embrace. He would not, could not, deny her this last kindness. He would be a perfect gentleman for her. Setting aside his own churning Hate for the one who did this to not only Abigail, but to Tonya, Divina, and Shona, they would face justice later.

Meanwhile the last remaining Clone to busy working the magic he had at his disposal to make sure lily and Rebecca didn’t end up smacking in to the ground. Lily more so then Rebecca as the spunky lightning girl had drained herself dry.

All the while grumbling to himself about lucky bastards always getting the rewards and how the clones never got any credit.

In one concerted effort the group had managed to somehow coordinate an attack that left Abigail open. The extra mana cut off the whole ordeal seemingly ended in an instant. Large debris falling down the twins rushed in avoiding the wreckage. Janet went to Abigail's side and placed a hand on the girl's head. As she worked her healing magic to restore the Beacon girl's mind she looked around her. "Great work everyone. Take a breather and we'll figure out where to go from here." Her words of encouragement resonated with everyone present as her passive Reinforcement ability did it's work. Rain had begun to fall from the sky and the battlefield had suddenly become empty. Something was happening but it was hard to tell whether it was a good or bad thing.

Victory was bitter sweet though. Jenna had broken away in the direction that Shannon had gone. Abigail's attack had been brutal and the site was a crater of broken earth and twisted metal. Fruitlessly searching for signs of life there was little the knight could do. None of them had the skills needed excavate the area. They were going to have to come back later to retrieve the body. Janet nor Jenna had ever really had the chance to get to know the girl. Making herself a target to give the rest of them a chance was clearly a risk and yet she'd still taken it. Sighing heavily she turned back and rejoined the others. "Once we're on our feet we should get those that can't fight away from here. We need to try and find our other sisters so we can heal them too." For the moment she wouldn't mention Shannon. Bringing moral down didn't seem like a good idea.

.

"It's rather simple really, an alliance of sorts. I assume someone who feels secure enough to claim a city as oft fought over as Penrose would have the resources I'm looking for. My offer is pretty simple. I'll work for you if you pay me, not in protection or some other nebulous thing, but rather in magic. Be they magical coins or any other source of mana and magic, at a negotiable rate of 30 silver coins or the equivalent every two weeks. If you're willing to pay that or offer something better, I'll be your most steadfast supporter. If not, I'll ignore your existence as long as you don't get in my way. I don't plan to overthrow you or anything, so if you're simply going to refuse there's no impetus to worry about me. But that's my offer."
@Ariamis

---

"Hey Alicia? I'm gonna go ahead and use plan B, okay? Otherwise, I think I might have enough mana to screw this over, but... I don't know that I'll make it out since I'll be drained, which would really defeat the purpose, y'know? I'm not convinced I'm going to be much use this time." Summer said sadly.
@Flamelord@Crusader Lord

@Shifter_Master

---

"I make no promises." Rina replied sternly, but at least they were not fighting two people now - which meant they could focus on the main threat. Divide and conquer, as they say, and with a little luck they could pull out a win here...and it seemed as though they had gotten more reinforcements. The girl from earlier? Well, she'd welcome another ally in this mess for now...though she was carrying another girl with her this time. One that gave her pause, but she couldn't be choosy in her allies for the moment.

"Mhm, I apologize. I am Rina. We can save the pleasantries for later - we need to deal with these small fry." Rina readied the Axiom. She would like to help battle Elroy, but with the way things were, they'd just get in the way and they really couldn't let themselves be overrun. "Focus on keeping the Imps off the others - I'm going to assist Penny."

Rina engaged the Imps, hopping atop a gravestone with masterful agility and footwork, leaping from one to one whilst raining a flurry of small daggers and short swords down onto the imps from above. She glanced over to the fight between Elroy and Penny - she had only been vaguely aware of the other girls arrival. She had been too busy with Regina, and if she didn't know anything about Penny before coming here she'd have assumed she was also an enemy to be dealt with - but it seemed as though fortune favored them still.

Whatever she was, and whatever she was doing, she seemed to be assimilating metal around her.

Which meant...

Hoping the monster girl was still receptive and not utterly caught up in whatever destruction filled rage she was in, Rina leaped to the top of the tallest gravestone she could find. She enlarged her bow, focusing all of her mana into a construct similar to what she had done at the stadium. She needed to be careful here. She couldn't let Elroy get it himself - that would only make their position far worse, but she couldn't make it so hard for Penny to get either.

Well, hopefully Luck would continue to favor them.

"Blood of Iron, Heart of steel, Unwavering Resolve - " She really didn't need to say it, but it always seemed to help her focus upon her task at hand. The blade began growing once more, into something that resembled a human sized sword, certainly large enough to punch a whole through something. She wanted to do something a bit less bulky, but she wasn't sure if she would have time to supply Penny with a steady stream, so something like this was the best she could do. " so as I pray - Fly true sword of justice!"

A metal twang resonated through the air, blasting the sword towards Penny and just past Elroy.

"PENNY!" She shouted right after it left. "USE THIS AND KICK HIS ASS!"

Rina jumped from her gravestone towards another, turning her attention back to the imps.


@BrokenPromise

---

"Darkness!? Why my fair maiden that hurts." Chloe laughed. "My little pet here just wants to play! So cruel, aren't you?" But Chloe wasn't here just to flirt. Well, there was also that, but not with this one. The Lucent Chimaera shrieked but it was cut short as a beam of light slammed into it, cutting it nearly in half. If it wasn't for its impressive vitality, it probably would have simply bit the dust there, but it wasn't quite out just yet.

A cruel surprise was waiting for anyone around it. A corrosive, purple mist fell from the injury as the creature shrieked...but Chloe's goal had been reached as the creature once more attacked the pillar, slamming its full body weight into it. But that was nothing more than a further distraction. Crystalline wings thrust Chloe into the air, a crystal in her hand her body mere inches from Divina's.

"Screaming?" A smirk formed on Chloe's lips, as the jagged crystal pierced Divina's flesh. A warm, sick feeling would quickly spread from the wound. "Does it hurt, dear? Such a shame your love is unrequited." A bright flash of red would color Divina's vision as Chloe continued. "He's not even here to help you. But that's okay...you don't have to worry about that any more."

A stream of blood flowed from Chloe's arm towards the Crystal, fueling her magic as the entirety of the crystal had now sunk into Divina's heart.

"Just let me help you - Relax. Don't fight it. You'll feel much better."

With sparks of electricity fizzling out, Lily turned back to her normal state, feeling like she could pass out. Once again, she was sloppy with her time magic, and ended up burning all her mana out. As she fell down, she could only sigh, unable to feel anything else but the harsh wind. When she opened her eyes, she realized she was held in a bridal carry by one of Aurelio's clones, and she blushed; getting rescued by cute boys seemed to turn into a habit for her. When she was set down on the ground, her feet wobbled a bit, but she managed to keep standing as she took support from the magical construct.
"Thanks, Clonerio," she softly spoke, and then covered her bright red face with her hands, having realized she was not looking the most presentable she could.
"I mean, did we get her?"
She looked as Jenna ran up to Abigail; it seemed they won. She slumped down, her feet apart as she sighed heavily.
"Phew...She was strong. I hope Alex is okay..."

---

Cindy listened to what Shion had to say, and ended up with another raised eyebrow, her hands on her hips. Her offer was, based on her initial asking rate, absurd, and it took a lot out of her not to roll her eyes. It may have been an attempt on the girl's part to scam her, or a misunderstanding about the true value of Magical Coins, but 30 silvers bi-weekly was a fortune. Not that she was going to pay her in the first place.
‘Unfortunately, that is an unreasonable proposition. I offer protection, and a community where one can share and solve problems; not coins, magical or material.’ She crossed her arms.
‘That said, I can accept a mutual agreement of non-interference.’

Cindy then turned to listen to the other two girls, and smiled a bit. Their explanation did give a bit more insight, and they seemed genuine with their claims of change. Besides, she felt like she might want to improve her unusually low luck that has plagued her career.
‘Very well then. I accept them.’ They seem to be accepting that she rules the city, so she decided to show them some goodwill. She turned to look at Julie, who accepted Faith's whispering with a somewhat genre-savvy cross-armed demeanor, and gestured for her to collect the coins.
However...Isn't there a situation demanding her attention nearby that she's been distracted from? She noticed the ominous winds of magic spreading over Penrose, carrying a sinister aura on it.
‘Enough wasting time! Penrose is in dire strait, and it needs us now! Let's go!’ And with that, the female personification of lightning blasted off towards the graveyard, engaging the Imps around it.

Others also arrived as Soth's influence spread over the city. Swarms of Imps were obliterated by fire, ice and spiky roots impaling from the ground as Beacon sent a task force to deal with the quickly emerging monster masses. At the head of it all was June; having managed to recover from her traumatic experience in Justine's castle, she had fully embraced the Beacon's edict of purging the unclean, and had become more ruthless as a result.
"Carpet bomb that area!" She directed commands upon her sisters of battle. "Blast the smoke with light magic! We have sisters inside who need us!" She now looked different, her dainty, flowery appearance having gained a few thorns wrapping around her shoulders and waist as she carried a flag of Beacon's symbol, waving it by using a wooden pole intertwined with daisies.
"Leave not a single monster standing in your way!"

"..."

Floating above the black smoke, Julia pouted, looking displeased with what was happening.

"Hey Julia, are you alright?" Jillian asked her, having brought her bow out.
"Our target is inside. If we just go and-" Julia shook her head as she held Jilian's cheek.

"No...The Deceiver has woken. I already sense one who has suffered from His mind-warping power."

Jillian's eyes opened wide. "Are we too late?"

"No. There is still hope; there are girls fighting. We need to protect them."

She took her hand, interlocking her fingers with Jillian, and the other twin nodded.

"Let's go for it! We ain't letting any brain bullying past us!"

The ghost twins unleashed their psychic magic upon the graveyard, and an effect resembling the northern lights. As a result, they created a scrambling effect on Soth's power over minds, deterring the Horror from further placing visions on the girls fighting there, and protecting them from mental attacks.

---

Helga, in her attempts to redeem herself from her rage-induced idiocy, fully focused on protecting Su and Chloe from the monoliths around them. As the best close-combat specialist of the group, she had no trouble taking down the stone constructs, even using them against each other as she yeeted one. But even so, she couldn't thank Su enough for keeping them at bay with her stormy winds. "Thanks, Su! And sorry about losing my cool!" She shouted out at one point as she performed an elbow drop on a monolith like a wrestling champion. She grinned upon seeing the giant monster Chloe had summoned, knowing that without her precious monoliths, Divina had little she could do against it. "Because you ain't listening, you dumb skank!" She shouted mockingly at her question. Even so, she was shocked by Chloe's sudden attack. "Whoah! So that's what you aimed for all along," she commented, not even looking at the monolith she smashed to her side as she stared at the scene. "Big play."

---

Kimble's purring ended as she quickly realized Lea was not reciprocating the affectionate gesture. She then released her, giving her the classic cat smile resembling the number three on it's side.
"Eheh, sorry! I was really curious, so I couldn't help myself, nya. I hope you aren't mad."
Her eyes shot wide open, and her tails stood up straight as she heard Lea's suggestion. Her face then turned red, and she whimpered a bit as she held her tail, twirling the hairs on the tip.
"Y-You really think so? If I...Nhh...Confess...Will Mistress like me?"
She was thinking about it when Lea then questioned her presence.
"Oh no, you did! Sorry, nyaaaaaaaaa!" She left with a long meow. And as she continued calming the storm, the gears in her head started turning.
"Mistress...Can I show nya true feelings for her?"

The time for words was over.

Ten thousand pinpricks rushed up over her body at once, the premonition of danger rising to the boiling point as her Sword bared its teeth. Before her, the eyes of the Horror opened up, unnatural pupils dilating as magical power shot from 0 to 100 in an instant. In the next, malevolent lasers lanced out, blindingly fast, oppressively powerful.

But none of them hit their mark, and, like the thunder that rolled in seconds after lightning, the hissing and crackling of carbonized flesh resounded through the crypt.

A counter-attack taken in pre-initiative, like placing a fist in path of someone’s face. Though the Sword, bloodthirsty and undying, was a savage weapon that sought only to sate its endless carnal desires, the Wielder made such power artful. In the milliseconds between the charging and firing of the lasers, the Knight of Rose aligned her mirrored edge intercept the beams, reflecting them onto the fleshy mass that charged erupted. Light was faster than lightning, but the mind of the Knight of Rose surpassed even that. Smoke rose from her Silverlight, yet the beauty of the polished rapier remained unmarred.

A flick of the wrist blew away even that lingering smoke, revealing the buxom fencer in all her arrogant allure, her eyes locking onto the new arrivals.

“Neophytes of this blasted encounter, allow your eyes not to linger upon the visage of the Infinite Abyss. Grotesque as they are, they are misdirection rather than true villainy, for the monstrosity that shall spill unto this plane if the Horror’s ritual completes is many volumes greater a threat than the tentacular mass before you! Salvation is found in the destruction of this eldritch performance, not of the shadow of a Horror!”
@DarkwolfX37@Crusader Lord@Flamelord@The World

Unaware of what was transpiring outside, Alicia managed to hold back a grimace as she and Summer passed by the detritus of the previous magical girls movement through the crypt. At least it meant little resistance against them, which meant they could quickly proceed forward without having to waste more mana or anything that would further impair their combat ability.

"Because we had no way of knowing," she pointed out as Summer complained about the whole barrier situation. "Besides, this way we got someone else to expend the energy to open it, and it's not like we were held up that long. I would say it was worth the hassle."

Combat left far behind, they soon arrived at their destination inside the crypt. At this point Alicia couldn't help but visibly show her disgust, arriving to find the magical girl from before facing off with what was the very manifestation of a Horror itself, albeit a bit limited in scale. There was also some other girl there, though she looked like she was on her last leg already, and didn't get much concern from her in the immediate moment.

The duo became aware of the new arrivals at about the same time, and the Seraph couldn't help but internally sigh yet again. Dear god, first Sammy and now this girl who was getting way to into her method acting or something. She was already starting to miss the team that had beaten Justine, as ridiculous as it was sounding. At least she wasn't as nuts as Sammy was, and once there had been some interpretation it made sense. They didn't need to beat this thing, they just needed to stop the ritual that seemed to be taking place.

It was an easy enough layout. Central altar, lots of tentacles and eyes and stuff, the sort of thing you would expect from this type of situation. At least the weird talking sword girl was doing a good job fending off the current attack, even if there was a good chance she would get overwhelmed eventually.

Glancing over at Summer, Alicia shot her a rueful look. "This thing has already started manifesting, I'm not sure shifting would make a difference with the kind of power it has. What sword girl said is right. We need to stop the ritual, destroy the body, or the coin, or something. I'll need you to cover me if I'm going to focus on that."

That said she strode forward, wings of light flaring wide as her Spark shone radiant against the malevolent influence of the Horror. "This farce comes to an end," she declared, an arrow of light already strung on Star Seraph. "You will be purged Horror, and your schemes undone." Her words carried the force of an oath, and a moment later she fired. The bolt flew over Amaryllis' shoulder, sinking into one of the many eyes that were already present. Not that she expected that would inhibit the Horror in any way, but the flare of purifying light that came with it would at least deliver her intent.

With a hasty plan in mind Alicia began to implement it. A wave of her hand applied magic to herself, taking the form of distracting afterimages to make herself less of a target. A shimmer hung around her, and sometimes it would seem she was ahead of where she actually was, or behind. It might not work on a Horror, but if it saved her a few hits then it was good enough. Forced to pick her targets carefully, Alicia began inching to the side to try and find a clear line of sight on the altar for the next trick that she had up her sleeve. The sooner, the better.

@ERode@DarkwolfX37@Crusader Lord

Emily had been turning up the heat on Tonya, the slime, and the monsters raining down upon them. Her brilliant flames were doing well against the spiders, but the magical girl was preventing her from doing any damage to the slime or herself, which was mildly irritating. There was also the fact that the other girl, Mayra, had seemingly shifted to assisting against Tonya despite attacking her, which was definitely confusing. She, of course, didn't let her guard down, but begrudgingly was thankful that they had the extra hand, even if she might need to keep an eye out for a knife in the back.

Eventually, the slime balloon had descended to the point where the wind magic wasn't doing a great job at defending them from the flames being shot, but that was when it and Tonya went on the offensive! Close quarters combat was simply not Emily's forte, so she had preemptively started backing off, but noticed the flames Tonya was bringing with her, and temporarily halted her retreat. As Tonya came to the ground and blasted she and Alexander with fire, Emily braced herself, placing Purgatory in front of her, as if to defend against a physical blow. The flames headed in Lucifer's direction would all seem to focus on one point: her gauntlet. Nearing it, they would coil around the entirety of her arm until sinking into her body. Purgatory would glow just a a bit brighter when this was done, and Lucifer would be unaffected, at least negatively, by the flames, using the attack as a source of mana. Such was the nature of her special ability.

However, the attack by the slime still remained, and unfortunately, Emily was not capable of absorbing that. Nor would she want to. She couldn't help but think of how gross that thing must feel, and besides, Crusader is the one with a doujinbait OC death by suffocation wasn't exactly on her agenda.

"Here comes the heat!" Thinking quickly, Emily immediately used her hands and feet like boosters, in an attempt to hastily gain distance from the slime's tentacle grapple. The azure flames emitted would also serve to act akin to a flamethrower, hopefully doing some damage as well.


Seeing as her clone had done what she desired of it, Silhouette suppose she couldn't be too upset at the outcome here. It was embarrassing, to be sure, but she hadn't been entirely useless on the 'defending the VIP front' so she could be content.

That said, being carried around as though she was some helpless princess was definitely not something she wanted to be doing. But what could she do? She was exhausted, and with her mana pool drained, she wasn't going to be in tip-top condition for another fight. Honestly, going home would be the smart decision here, for both of them, but Mika apparently had stakes of some kind in this fight, so it was Sil's obligation to stick around.

"Whatever the plan may be, it needs to happen now." Sil chimed in, still in Mika's arms. She did her best to ignore this situation in favor of the life-threatening one.

@DarkwolfX37

Faith let out a sigh and smiled. ”I guess we’ll work out the details of the alliance later.”

”I’m surprised that worked.” Lotus didn’t take her eyes off Shion. ”If you desire work, I might have use for you. But you’d be paid based on your results, and few things are worth that kind of money.”

”We should probably help with whatever’s going on at the graveyard.”

”We are part of an alliance now.” Lotus pointed at Shion. ”Consider my offer, and seek me out later if you are interested. If you can help track down our kidnapper, you will be compensated well for the task.”

"Speaking of compensation." Beatrice rubbed her fingers together, and Faith placed the bag of red coins in her hand.

Faith pointed in the direction of the graveyard. ”Take us awaaaaay~!” The octopus girl wrapped her arms around Faith and Beatrice before blasting off after Cindy.

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Ariamis

Things seemed to be proceeding smoothly. Chloe was able to take full advantage of the distraction ,and Helga didn’t seem to be having any difficulties holding off the empowered monoliths. ”There’s nothing wrong with getting mad, Helga. I might have flown into a frenzy if you didn’t.”

There was little the remaining monoliths could do.They started to flee into the cloud, and the next blow from Chloe’s abomination shattered the white monolith to pieces. The miasma of poison was swept away on the current of Su’s wind.

Divina’s hand closed over the crystal. ”Gah!” She was starting to change into something. Dark magic enveloped her body, but she managed to remain standing. ”Acupuncture is not relaxing!” She raised her wings. ”As you’ll soon find out!” In a ditch effort to wound her attacker, her wings fired off the last of her feathers. They wouldn’t be growing back this time. ”I’m sorry Elroy, I’m sorry Beacon.” She sunk down onto all fours.

”Helga, keep your guard up.” Su looked at Chloe, but between the wind and her tone of voice, only Helga could hear her. ”That woman does not make me feel comfortable.”

---

@FamishedPants@Card Captor@PlatinumSkink

Between Alexander’s pointy barrier and Emily’s flame trail, The slime creature couldn’t hold up. Its body boiled away and the massive eye dried out and blew apart into ash. Only Tonya remained, who paid little heed to them.

It was a simple matter for Mayra to phase through the umbrella. But she had greatly overestimated what she could do in the small space between Tonya’s open umbrella and Tonya herself. There was barely enough room for Mayra, and Tonya was putting all of her effort into moving forward as fast as possible. The beacon girl was bracing for impact, but she expected the the blow to be on the end of her umbrella, not her shoulder. This caused the two to bounce off of each other, but the open umbrella just pulled Mayra back into Tonya again while she was trying to regain her footing. It wasn’t a great situation for either of them, with Mayra’s super heated limbs burning Tonya, and Tonya’s barbed skin poking Mayra. It was a mess, and Tonya was howling the entire time, but they were able to become free of each other when Tona finally closed her umbrella. The fighting didn’t stop for a second though. Mayra immediately swung her tail at Tonya, who deflected the blow with ease. It was true that Mayra possessed strength beyond most magical girls, But it would soon become evident that Tonya was a kendo master. She knew just how to position her umbrella to both deflect incoming blows, and not leave any openings in her defenses. Mayra would not push past her defense with pure brute strength. Emily and Alexander could see the differences in the two’s fighting specialties. Tonya’s finesse and technique against Mayra might and cunning.A pillar of wind engulfed the combatants, whisking away Mayra’s flames bit by bit. After repelling one of Mayra’s swings, Tonya chucked a metal stein at her opponent’s head.



Well, this was it. Once Tonya was out of the picture, Mac would have full custody of her identity again. So what would she do to accelerate this battle?

Normally Mac wouldn't be against using lethal force against someone who would do nothing but offer her the same. But Alicia's mercy was still on Mac's mind. Maybe she'd just try to keep her distracted with some illusions and hope the others could end this peacefully. A courtesy to Alicia, the Beacon girl who acts more like a person than a zealot.

---

@Shifter_Master@Ariamis[@t2wave]@Vocab

Abigail’s eyes flew open and she pushed the magician away from herself. ”Blagh!” She wiped her mouth on her sleeve. ”What just happened? I found Tonya, and she wanted to show me some of her new friends.” Her hand flew up. ”Wait…” Her eyes expanded into saucers. ”Wait, waiiiiiiit it’s coming back to me now.” She started to blush. ”That’s so embarrassing!” Abigail stomped her feet. She was kicking up dust as her face became more and more read. ”Oh god, that’s so embarrassing!” With a deep breath, she managed to calm herself down. Abigail’s eyes looked wet. ”Bro was a pretty cool guy though. I don’t think he’d be too happy with me right now.” She turned to look at Shannon’s grave sight. ”At least she can tell him how I’m doing.” She sunk to her knees. ”I shouldn’t have pursued Tonya by myself, I knew she was acting strange…” Abigail was pulled out of her moping by the sudden detonation of the mana beast. As soon as the thing slammed into the ground, it erupted, scattering it’s mana into the air. Some of it could be absorbed by the magical girls, but most of it dissipated into the air, absorbed by the smoke wall that surrounded them. ”A-anyway, there’s no time to mope around guys! Sheesh! We need to stop Soth and those weird monster twins!” She raised a finger into the air. ”And if there’s something Beacon’s good at, it’s killing horrors and the monsters they employ! Bwahahahahahaha!” Abigail ran ahead of everyone. ”Look! A silver line! I bet this leads straight to the crypt.” She waved everyone on. ”I don’t have much mana, but together I bet we’re more than enough for these guys.”

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Shifter_Master@FamishedPants

“Okay!” After responding to Rina, Mika looked at Sil. “I don’t think I can put you down here, but Lupa will keep us safe.”

"Yea, there’s plenty of me to go around!." The imps weren’t going to pose much of a problem for anyone. Lupa’s four clones each split up so that one could assist Rina and Sammy while the other two remained by Lupa and Mika.

Tony, or whatever he had become, stood up. Four tendrils that looked like giant spider legs peeled out of its back. The clone of Lupa pounced at Tony, but was impaled by one of the tentacles before reaching their target. With a snarl, it took off running towards Rina. One of the imps managed to jump onto its back and rode towards their target. Lupa’s clone wasn’t able to react fast enough, leaving Rina to deal with the black tiger’s attack on her own. The imp squealed and threw its trident moments before the black tiger prepared to pounce onto its prey.

Sammy pulled off her hat and threw it at the ground. ”Damn it!” She stomped on it with her heel. ”I-I wasn’t able to deduce what would happen so long after Tony tried to open it.” Her voice cracked. ”Tony, I’ll avenge you!” She grabbed the sides of her head and looked at the barrier again. A tear was rolling down her cheek. ”There’s got to be a way to bypass the curse. I know another girl attacked this barrier and she turned out okay, so if you’re strong enough, you can probably survive the curse. But where does that leave people like me?”

"Talk to me!" Regina was able to dodge Penny’s tail easily enough, but was having less luck getting anything to effect Elroy.

Katarina would find it difficult to fire the massive sword in a way that Penny would be the only one to take hold of it, especially with how intertwined with Elroy she had become. So she chose to shoot the sword directly into Penny’s back. Her magic started to meld with the blade, making it impossible for Elroy to control. But Elroy was not going to remain stationary, despite Penny’s best efforts. He was able to muscle one of his arms out and take hold of the handle, causing his magic to turn the opposite side of the sword into Aegis. The two’s enchantments raced along the blade, and when they met, it snapped the blade in half. Penny had netted herself the bigger part of the sword, and the two monsters took in their newly acquired steel.

"I bet we could keep this fight going forever. But I’m going to admit that my earlier statement wasn’t entirely true. There is something I’d like to have after all." Several cracks opened up in Elroy’s body, and the chains coiled around Penny, pulling her tight against Elroy. Centering the beast’s head squarely over his own head. "Your life." He chuckled darkly.





Elroy’s massive body surged with magical energy as he summoned the entirety of his might for one last attack. He continued to grow and change. His body started to take on a less human shape and something more akin to a machine. Rounded corners became edges, his fingers curled into wheels. Before long he looked like an old steam engine. Only made out of rare metals and chained to a mechanical worm. Elroy was pushed into the sky by the cars under him, which emerged out of the earth. He was carried higher and higher, eventually piercing the cloud cover over head. The train carried Penny in an arc over the ghost twins before descending back to earth.

The power a train possesses is often severely underestimated. Modern trains carry thousands upon thousands of tons of cargo at speeds well over a hundred miles per hour. There are no modern weapons that can hit with the kind of force a train can generate.

The Engine of Destruction could move a bit, but there was no chewing through these chains now. Elroy had become durable enough to survive a mile of train crashing into him. Could anything match the might of Elroy’s tower of carnage?

'Well at least the slime thing is dead'

With that thing gone, there was only one foe left for them to fight; the crazy brainwashed girl. Forming a barrier blade 'I really need to come up with a better name for theses' on the end of his wand, he coiled his body in preparation to launch himself right into the fray...until he stopped. A strange mix of urgency and lethargy held him back, as if he suddenly lost the drive to charge into combat. At the same time, there was a nagging need to end this as fast as possible, and part of him worried that if he did just charge in, he might only get in the way of lizard girl. Something about the way brainwashed girl fought made him think that should could take advantage of two foes not used to fighting together. So, with a very tired sigh, Alexander made his decision "Fuck it" he held out his wand to lizard girl, and focused as much of his magic, Reinforcement and Beast, on boosting her speed as high as he possible could. 'She looks like a heavy hitter. If I can give her an advantage in speed, she might be able to land a decisive blow pretty quick.' He then called out to the lizard girl "She's brainwashed, so don't kill her! I can put her back together if you take off a limb or four, but I can't fix death itself, so be careful!"
@BrokenPromise@FamishedPants@PlatinumSkink

---

Annabelle felt her chains maneuver beyond the barrier, tunneling and worming as best as she could get them to until she could perceive the altar's bottom being in contact with the chains themselves. The horror-warped magical girl then had the tips of her chains pierce into the altar, before she began to channel her magical energy towards the altar from the arm. At least, what little she had left at this point.

Soth was nearing the ritual's completion bit by bit, closer than she had expected him to end up being by now at least. But she could feel it, that thing thread of magic forming between her patron and the body. A channel formed for the consciousness transfer, and the most fragile piece of this equation that could be done on short notice. Maybe...just maybe at least. But she wasn't going to give up so easy! After all, her body was feeling weaker and weaker, her Soth-granted magic and life force being sapped away (unlike her own darkness magic in the chain arm) as the pain rocked through her body.

It was easily visible that Annabelle was not in the best of straights. Sweat was dripping rapidly off of her forehead and onto the floor in front of her, her complexion becoming paler than a ghost, and the shudders that ran up her spine and through her limbs visibly every few seconds. Even the arrival of two new magical girls, out of the corner of her eyes. But not even these two arrival would perhaps fix-...wait a second!

"Hey! You two over there! He isn't covering the ceiling above the altar, or underneath it!

If one of you could come over, i need some backup to help with something over here!" Annabelle said, calling out to Summer (@DarkwolfX37) aloud, after which a pained grunt could be heard escape the void-touched girl's lips.

Amaryllis seemed to be doing a good job...er, so far at least. Albeit Annabelle could tell her 'boss' wasn't being serious, and heavens forbid he ever did get into such a state. His anger was enough to terrify even her, a mind-bent magical girl.

Soth, on the other hand, seemed to take the attacks in stride. Severed tentacles withdrew and were replaced with new emerging ones, and more eyes began to emerge from the cylindrical darkness surrounding the altar on all sides like a hollow tube. The portals began to become a little larger as well, as if to accommodate more appendages for battle.

With this being the case, Alicia (@Flamelord) would not find a gap around the sides of the altar. No space along the sides that wasn't teeming with Soth's eyes and tentacles and dark portals stretching to the ceiling and floor. At least...not an obvious one, as Soth's eyes and tentacles were now lashing out at the Star Seraph and her afterimages with an unrelenting ferocity.

Likewise, Amaryllis would find herself facing many more attacking tentacles from all directions in front of her, and the eyes firing larger and stronger beams in her direction than they initially had. The lasers were also being aimed in different manners, in varying directions even, to try to coordinate attacks on the Rose Knight.

A vital clue had just been noted, however, about the situation. Above the altar and below it, the ceiling and floor respectively, were vulnerable. Annabelle herself was already connected to the altar from underneath as well, trying her best to do something about the matter, though this was not something anyone might immediately guess she was doing? Hmm... So what would be the best course of action, in this case?

@t2wave@MadManMoon@Shifter_Master@Ariamis@PlatinumSkink@Vocab@FamishedPants@ERode@DarkwolfX37@Card Captor@BrokenPromise

> It's time, Liquid. Request their Situation Reports.

Liquid activated his radio. "All teams, report your status."

A feminine voice was the first to respond. "Scribe Xi here. We're ready to move in on your signal."

A male voice, practically sizzling with vocal fry, was next. "This is Lee. Awaiting the order."

"We've finished our preparations," came from the dulcet tones of an older, jovial man.

Finally, an androgynous voice spoke. "We are all ready to meet the enemy."

> Give them the order.

Liquid took a deep breath, and gave a wordless prayer. "Alright then. Let's send them into embrace of the Archangel."

And with that, the signal was given.

> Liquid: visualize the movements of your allies.

According to the plans that they had went over, Scribe Xi would be opening the throttle wide on her motorcycle, plunging herself and Collector Delta deep into the mist within the western gate.

A lone bone spider would skitter into the mist from the east.

From the south entrance of the graveyard, outside observers would see a large pickup truck barreling into the mist with a large cardboard box in the bed, flanked by eleven motorcycles and their white-coated riders - the Disciples of the Hand of God.

Another thirteen Timberwolves would be driving through the northern entrance to the graveyard - the Disciples of the Fisher of Men, who would drive at the head of the charge in a hooded black coat.

> Confirm the status of your own team.

Liquid motioned to his Disciples and the rest of his allies, making sure they were ready to move in. They were behind him, weapons drawn and at the ready. There was only one thing left to do now.

> Cleanse the abandoned school of Soth's influence.

@BrokenPromise@Crusader Lord

And she danced on.

Pinpricks of pain popped up all over her body as the Knight of Rose weaved through the dancefloor, her Patron’s warnings and her own instinct allowing her to continue the deadly waltz with a Horror. Rusted petals burst with each bound, each twist, her body contorting with acrobatic grace as powerful beams grazed her skin-tight outfit, millimeters away from causing a burn. Controlled yet frenetic, she continued to evade and deflect, lasers repelled over and over again by the indestructible blade in her hand. Leaping upwards, Amaryllis kicked off a tentacle rushing towards her, pulverizing it under her sharpened heels as she soared through the air. Heat bloomed behind her back an eye opening up on the ceiling to snipe her, but that was within her expectations as well.

It was surprisingly easy to imagine where attacks would be heading, after all, when she was surrounded and targeted.

Tucking her legs in and swinging her rapier down her back, Amaryllis curled up, another beam reflected into another eye. Three tentacles rose to skewer her in all directions, but before they could strike into her pale flesh, a silver ivy erupted from Soth’s eye and the buxom girl took hold, pulling her out of harm’s way. She spiralled towards the mass of monstrosities reaching out before her and used them as further footholds, evading volleys of energy beams as she sliced through the fleshy appendages that sought to smash her to bits. Silver coated the wounds she left, chains sprouting out of them to restrain the damaged tentacles. Temporary reprieve, but every slight advantage mattered. She hooked her foot upon one of the taut ivy-chains and slingshot herself upwards, landing against ceiling as her shoes cracked against the stone.

The eyes turned to face her, but Amaryllis was one step faster, a flurry of blows and a gravity-defying dash slicing through more of Soth’s eyes before they could unleash their rays of destruction.

Blood and other fluids rained down below, splattering upon roses that spread like umbrellas.

She somersaulted off the ceiling, reached for another silver chain, and continued her onslaught, a three-dimensional dance punctuated by the meat of the Greater Horror falling to pieces seconds after she passed by.

Soth was still amused.

Amaryllis was still calm.

And they danced on.