Otis' careful perusal of the Kyoto International Conference Center at first did not seem to yield the desired results, overall the locale was quiet, perhaps too quiet? Or was this simply the norm? He would never know if that was true or not. His attempts to slip through the barriers of the public venue though was not opposed, the defenses or somesuch were as one would expect from any public venue. There was nothing unusual at this place, or so it seemed. Some of these talismans he's learned may reveal something to him but for now he relied on his senses.

Though as he walked through the areas beyond he would soon feel a breeze of some kind, before he felt a cold sharp blade rest against his throat. The presence was barely detected, denoted only by the earlier breeze. This wasn't abnormal as he was still outdoors of the facility, but that he was surrounded by walls in a corner of the buildings on the outside... A breeze was not likely to be felt, at least naturally. An older male voice spoke to him as they had appeared behind him.

"Who are you? Depending on your answer, I may have to dispose of you", he called. It didn't seem like he was joking, but what did it mean, if Otis was not simply killed for trespassing? Still, he might have to answer carefully.

Sakichi simply laughed off the response, she didn't at all seem like a threat, but perhaps by her comments there were just a lot of high-strung exorcists out there. She got comfortable as Lorelai came up to eye height with herself, though the feat did not seem unexpected to her. She changed her

"Oooh! Well that'd save me a bit of trouble, see I got so distracted comin' out here I lost track 'o her, and now all the Yatagarasu got her locked up ta make sure nothin' happens to her. All I know is where the Yatagarasu are watchin' is all, no idea where she is or what's goin'... Man was hopin' ta get a chance ta see the young lady, ya know? Ah well, anyway for the dango earlier I'll tell you a little somethin', there's a group'a Yokai that ain't fond of the status quo, shakin' things up. I reckon that's why King Sojobo is interested in keepin' an eye on things here. Heard the leader's a half too, real interestin' stuff, but hey if anyone asks a little bird told ya", Sakichi seemed to like talking a lot, which suited Lorelai.

"Anyway that stuff aside, ya got good legs on ya, not even some of the exorcists I've seen 'round yer age can do somethin' like that so easily".

Akimoto wasn't the most diligent person around, many of his acquaintances can tell you that much, in fact he wasn't wholly invested in training young Aurelius here, or at least at first. The earnestness in his pursuit of the sword was somewhat nostalgic, maybe he was getting old? He's barely in his 20s he would remind himself. He isn't old yet. Once in awhile he'd yell an order or point out a flaw in his form, and this was kept up until Aurelius collapsed, which admittedly, was quite awhile. He had the time to ask Lady to buy them some food while they trained.

After some time, the two sparred at Akimoto's behest, to see his progress. Personally, the form was clearer in his movements, but his body was still getting used to it. It seemed he was able to begin following Akimoto's movements too, so there was some progress in simply understanding the style. Following speed and movement had less to do with skill, and more perception or understanding of the opponent. The fact that their speed and skill remained leagues apart yet he was able to follow some of the movements told him he was actually learning properly.

As Aurelius collapsed to the floor before pulling himself up, Akimoto replied to his overeager desire for more guidance for the day,

"That's enough for today, rest up and practice what you learned today and we'll reconvene tomorrow. No use working your body to death. This is training not a death march", he reprimanded. It seems he would be free for the rest of the day for whatever he wished, as it appeared Akimoto would hear none of it.

"Well, we already do trade with the outside world, but lately things have been difficult. Lady Kuzunoha did inform us that things may be difficult during our stay in Kyoto but management was unable to predict that things would be this dire. It is hard for Yokai to wander around Kyoto at this time after all", she responded. She huffed and sighed for a bit, still, they needed to get some supplies somehow. In any case, perhaps the best she could do was report it and see if they can figure something out.

"Ah, don't fret, we still have enough supplies for a few more days or more, but we would always simply prefer to be almost a month ahead in terms of securing supply", it was rather nerve-wracking having to work on limited supply. Basically it seemed their supply after maybe 4 or 5 days was unclear, but likely to be short on many things.

For the time being it seemed the best option was to head back and inform the management of how things are looking.

"Well, worst comes to worst, we may have to mix illusions in with the food... It'll feel like the real thing, it just may not nourish our guests", she sighed.

"Hmmm, but your illusions are still unrefined, as you are here to train then this may be a good opportunity to practice... Well, that's if it comes to that", which she seems sure it would. Well for now, they would be heading back.

"Once we're back you can take your lunch break and visit town again, but be sure to come back before that ends for the afternoon shift ok?"

Ultana's hunt for food through Kyoto proved to be... Difficult, not for lack of food, but the abundance of it. From some of the other Japanese students who were at the Inn, she heard that each region had their own style of ramen, which was the delicious noodle and broth dish she had had in Seidoujima. To think, there was another type out here and in other parts of Japan seemed to be an attractive opportunity to try new things.

That is of course, if she could stomach it after the wide selection of festival foods they like to sell around this month. Takoyaki, okonomiyaki, candied applies, and yakisoba to name a few. That was not to mention just regular restaurants either. Still, she had a few choices of where to go. She had been given advice to find small stores for ramen, and so she could head down some of the less-travelled roads, or check out the varieties of traditional Japanese food they sold at larger stores. Both were ripe opportunities for a meal far as she was concerned, but there was only one of her and therefore, only one route she can take.

After listening to Otis' response, he felt the blade be pulled away slowly, before he was allowed to turn to see who this person was. He wore a mask, but those sharp eyes were a distinguishing feature despite this. The blade that was used to hold Otis up had already disappeared, seeing that it was actually attached to his arm, but there was no tool or piece of gear there, suggesting it was either an ability, or magic of some kind.

"Hm, so you're one of them", he began, hopefully referring to the students and not something more controversial.

"I would immediately send you away, but if I don't answer your question you'll more than likely come back... Very well, I'll tell you about your classmates at least", he folded his arms, looking distinctly ninja as he did.

"They are in a powerful yokai's realm, one who is allied and in coexistence with today's society. This place is called Eiseikato. Unfortunately I cannot allow you to enter it, in general any human or non-yokai presence must be of great exception. You see, their desire is to find a way to live in today's society without disturbing anyone, and so as part of a deal, we on this side try to preserve that as best we can. I hope you'll understand why you can't go snooping around for them. Do not worry however, they will be returned to your class before the conclusion of your stay here", was this a satisfactory answer? It was as such, the only thing he was willing to answer. His own identity, he clearly wished to keep hidden beyond being a member of the Yatagarasu, as well as why he was here, which he also wished to keep confidential.

"Now, I must see you out of this facility, you cannot stay here", if Otis was satisfied, he would begin to be led back towards the entrance of this convention centre.

The lackadaisical Tengu leaned back into seemingly air itself, before crossing her legs, sitting on one leg. She seemed to ponder a bit, the idea of being able to explore without watching her back seemed appealing to her, but on the other hand the other bit went against her duty...

"Well, I like that idea, yanno? We can hang out a bit like that, but unfortunately my only job here is ta observe. There's been no call for assistance from us, I'm jus' a scout", she replied.

"What'd you say yer school was? If ya have or not, I dunno. You don't soun' like havin' a yokai in a class is unusual", it seems the suggestion also piqued her curiosity. It appeared Silver Gate was not exactly a very famous name among yokai communities. They were also even only in passing in magical communities.

The work day for Koyuki went by somewhat slowly, though she was not in the kitchens, every time she passed by there was always a little something in regards to the supply, and she noticed that some of the dishes she was delivering were rationed just a little less. After her work day was over though she was allowed back into town to do whatever she wished, though before she had managed to do anything beyond changing or cleaning herself up, she was visited by a familiar fox sprite.

"I hope you've been in practice, perhaps now is a good time to think about making something of your illusions", it began. The little spirit flitted about around Koyuki before settling in front of her.

"I make sure all of our kind know this. Our illusions are supreme, no illusionist magic practitioner can come close to what we can do. As such, your next lesson is to practice something more substantial. Bring to life an illusion, it can be of whatever you want. When you can manage that much, send that illusion to the front of my door, then we can really begin. Don't worry about whether or not I'll see it. I'll know", and with that, the little illusory fox fairy was gone with just a blink.

"Hm, so you are worried for a friend then. I'm afraid while I cannot do anything about that, I was informed there were students in that city...", he didn't seem thrilled about that. All things considered, Kyoto was in a sensitive situation with a kind of threat, so more things to worry about were not welcome.

"Rest assured they are very well taken care of, Eiseikato is a very safe place. I am sure someone like a teacher is a liaison for the city during their stay, if you wish to ask them anything, it may be better to direct questions to them", the crow-masked ninja conversed as he led the boy out of the convention center, as they ended up outside of in an open expanse of concrete, where one would assume people would line up or mingle before halls opened.

"Please, make your way back to the front gate from here", it was a clear straight shot, so this should be a rather clear instruction. Though as Otis carried it out, there was a sudden distinct peak in a sense of danger. Within moments Otis found himself doubling back as the Yatagarasu ninja jumped in front and blocked an attack of some kind, which soon became clear to be an arrow as it bounced and landed beside him.

Otis peeked out from behind the man to see the attacker, a boy, only appearing a little older than Otis himself, with white hair and red eyes, slicked back wearing traditional Japanese attire looking straight out of a period drama aside from his facial features.

"You forgot the other one", there was a brief look of shock as the ninja-man suddenly doubled around Otis, taking what appeared to be a second arrow that made a pincer movement. It looked as if the arrow materialized out of nowhere, but with how it flew, that did not appear to be the case... The way it fazed into existence made it appear as if it was stealthed.

"Hm, not a clean hit, I had hoped to use that boy as an opportunity, but you have such great command of your body Mr. Yatagarasu, but with an injury, even I may stand a chance. Shall I let this opportunity pass, or... Wait?", their attacker seemed to have them in the palm of his hands, or so it seemed.

"Shinzou... High ranking member of the Yokai group Sennen-No-Matsuri, despite only being half, you command great respect with the group", it was an introduction, but it seems with the way this boy plays it could also be a ploy to shake his resolve just a little with how well-informed he was, but that did not appear to work.

"Ah, it appears you are familiar, as expected. Ninja are very resourceful, perhaps I should recruit my own group of yokai ninja then", the boy imitated what appeared to be the stance for archer, with one finger pointed forward. The sound of whistling wind followed by a forceful gust around him was then topped off with a flash of steel as another arrow was launched. The wind though, appeared to stop as the arrow was visible mid-flight, did Otis' eyes deceive him, or was that arrow slowing down? His astute senses might also notice his crow ninja temporary friend was not behind him anymore, in fact he was gone. Before he could think of asking where he went, he reappeared in front, following a deluge of blades as the one arrow suddenly became three, six, and so on, until it appeared as if he had cut up a rain of arrows.

"I suppose that's why you're guarding this entrance. Of course, none of you would want us to get more potential recruits", he lowered his stance, and eyes turned to Otis.

"But you are not a yokai, I had thought so at first, but your presence is very different... Closer to an owl, than a person even. I had heard of a strange land once, like another world... Were they true...?", he seemed to ponder for a moment, he began to raise his stance again and the ninja began to enter a stance too, but he was stopped as a shadowy figure appeared beside him, whispering a little.

"I see, well, it appears this may not be necessary this time. I am needed elsewhere so it seems, count yourselves lucky my friends", he bowed, and with the black cloak of his mysterious companion, was whisked away. Just so, the arrows around them that were fired from the boy disappeared in shining spiritual dust. The silence of their departure was broken as the masked ninja pulled an arrow out of his shoulder, the one he had taken.

"I must... Inform everyone, you, go, somewhere safe. Please try not to get yourself involved in any of this", he may have questions, such as who was Shinzou, but it didn't look like they could be answered as the man had quickly left, likely to inform his comrades on the events that had just transpired.

"Oooh that sounds like fun, maybe I'll ask about that or somethin', but hmmmmm... Well, maybe it's fine so long as things are way they are now, everyone's kinda just positionin' for something and I can barely get any info right now so yeah let's hang for a bit", she seemed to agree to the prospect of sticking and hanging out with Lorelai. How long would this last? Who knew.

"So whatchu' wanna do? Based on the movements I saw it'll be maybe two days before I should bail and stay hidden", she seemed rather upbeat about saying something like that, but it seems she'll stick around for awhile. She sat back sitting almost like on the air with her arms behind her head.

"Oh hey, you got good legs, maybe I could show ya somethin', or, we could go get some food, I know some places around here but kinda hard gettin' in and orderin' alone with how fussy everything is right now", just some suggestions so it seemed.

Ultana's hunt for ramen landed her in a side hole-in-the-wall store with a house sat on top of it on a slanted street, surrounded by only houses and no other store, only one sign out front and a faded sign on top as a tell-tale that this was indeed, a ramen establishment, and yet... It was absolutely delicious.

On her way here though she spotted Asta again and the two ended up here eating like it was suddenly a ritual as friends. It appeared she was looking for ramen too, hot food seemed to be something she appreciated.

"I wonder if I can learn to brew this for my folks at home. A hot hearty dish like this ought to get their spirits up every now and then", she mused between bites. The store itself was empty except for one salaryman sat far back and eating as well.

"How strange that we had chanced to meet in this town, perhaps it was the rumors about this store being the best", perhaps it was, or did Ultana get here through sheer dumb luck? At the very least, Asta seemed to be here from her own research.

Koyuki was to leave them there for Kuzunoha to sample, or, so she would assume, but as she peered from the hallway she watched as a few tiny foxes appeared around it and began sniffing and inspecting the dango with various results, it was almost adorable as they acted like foxes, but by the end of it they had eaten all of these illusory dango, and the hallway was cleared. It was unclear for a moment whether or not she passed, but... She could at least assume that the small chibi foxes and their delighted expression could be indication of such.

"I can still see you peering from the corridor", the voice came from behind and as she turned she saw a small fox sprite floating in front of her.

"I would like you to return here tomorrow immediately after your shift. Please, try not to be late", and with that... It was gone again.

Document Link


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"Shinzou... High ranking member of the Yokai group Sennen-No-Matsuri, despite only being half, you command great respect with the group," Otis spoke, his intonation matching the Yatagarasu’s perfectly. “An archer with skill that defies conventional understanding of projectile weaponry.”

It was all the information that he actually had, but it was information that he needed to voice, if only to ensure that the others that gathered around him would know about it too. Knowing was half the battle, after all, and the real problem was...he knew much too little. It was like stumbling upon the answer to a mystery that you weren’t even trying to solve. Like falling into the lair of a criminal sorcerer when you were just going out on a hike. Otis didn’t like it. Amaterasu? Tamamo? How did that relate to Seirin? Was that even related? No, of course it would. The concept of divine mandate was something that existed both in Arcanis and Earth. Amaterasu was associated with the sun. The yokai were essentially known as night-bound creatures. Tamamo was an international courtesan of a fox, one who ultimately turned into a cursed bio-weapon in Japan, before being purified and destroyed. Seirin was of the Kaganomiyas, associated with the imperial lineage and thus associated with divinity.

Magic in Earth, as Otis had found generally, was highly dependent on symbolism.

His thoughts organized, every piece recovered and brought out to the forefront, the Strigidae kept his revolver trained, his wits about him, and said, “If you wanted to see the Sun, you can just look upwards on a cloudless day. But I’m sure this is just more symbolic crap, so you’ll have to explain. Why Nijo Castle? What’s the significance here? Why an egg for a fox? Why Tamamo, when she’s been killed back when magical technology was so much more rudimentary than what currently exists? Did you try to kill Seirin for this bullshit? I can understand where your misplaced sense of superiority comes from, but don’t you youkai already have your own realities that you can shape with magic alone?” Otis held his youkai-detecting pendant in his free hand, trying to feel from the pressure of the pendant whether it was being attracted by Shinzou or by the Egg. “And judging by popular media, why on earth would you conclude that resurrecting some bygone bioweapon is the best way to encourage human-youkai relations, when at least a quarter of the national population would be absolutely enthused about being stepped on by non-humans? Why not engage in discourse with the Kyoto Alliance about yokai integration into human society?”

Then, almost uncharacteristically, Otis smirked. That was a rhetorical question. He didn’t ask rhetorical questions, but he did this time. Because the more he thought about it, the more irrational this seemed, especially as someone actually raised in a world where wildly different races co-existed. “Oh, wait, is it because your opinion of yokai supremacy is in the minority here, and there would be no way for you to get most of your brethren on board with this? Couldn’t handle politicking so you’ve decided to just set back all goodwill between humans and yokai by three centuries? For an organization named after a god of scholars, I can’t imagine anything all that intelligent about how your plan’s shaping up, so please, Shinzou, throw me some seeds here and show me the method behind your madness.”

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Marching over corpses and lured on by the sound battle really soured the enthusiasm Lorelai had for reuniting with the Seirin. Then again, it was never going to happen under pleasant circumstances according to the Tengu, but what confronted them was obscene. There wasn’t even a corpse of the attackers to make it look like anything else but a senseless slaughter.

And the terminus before reaching the heart of this castle was a man whimsically basking in the light of a second sun, it’s radiance almost comforting if the words hurled at Shinzou by Otis like jagged spears didn’t paint a vivid picture of what the sun truly was.

Lorelai was a fool, she would be the first to admit, but she knew her country’s culture. She knew the importance of myths, heritage, and symbolism. Symbolism which had her eying the egg with stricken horror and her yari grasped in a white knuckled grip.

”Was trying to kill her not enough? You have to try and sacrifice her body and soul for your delusions?!”
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Shinzou listened with a confident smirk, and despite his expression, he was rather polite about it, letting these children speak. His presence was rather subtle, a rather disarming feature of his, despite his monologue his intimidating atmosphere was simply below the surface, rather than being the forefront.

“The Divine Egg is unique to Amaterasu, and those who have been blessed by her power. Her radiant fire is the fire of life and creation, and from the egg she can spring forth life. Why Seirin and why Tamamo you ask? Why it’s simple, they are both among Amaterasu’s Blessed chosen ones. Using a Sekko-Seki, a fragment of Tamamo, and forcibly combining it with a more complete vessel, we can revive Tamamo by using the life force of that person”, he explained. He showed a small sense of jubilation as he did so, was the process interesting to him? Or was it more admiration on a different level.

“Because Tamamo no Mae is the only yokai to still exist in this world, she is the only one who can still be revived of the Three Great Evils. While the other two Otakemaru and Shuten Douji have descendants, those descendants are too diluted in power, and it would take yet another thousand years for them be able to compare. Our leader of the Sennen no Matsuri is one of those descendants, and he too knows this keenly”, Shinzou paced around a bit, turning towards the golden egg sat upon the castle, shining like a sun within this space.

“Though I had not expected to see you again, such curiosity, yet also such lack of information and understanding. I know not what you mean by bio-weapon, Tamamo no Mae is an exceptional and pure yokai, and being the only yokai to wield power equal to the strongest of the Shinto gods. Even Otakemaru who had been called an evil god could not compare. You will learn of her radiance soon enough”, he then turned back to the group once more, and raised his finger towards them. It seemed inconspicuous, but Otis who had encountered him once before should know of what he’s capable of… At least as far as he’s aware.

“I can allow you all to be here and watch, after all, such a magnificent event should be witnessed by as many as possible… However, should you wish to interfere, I’m afraid I cannot abide by that. The girl Seirin you speak of will no longer be of this world once this is over, and in her place it will be Tamamo no Mae. A worthy trade I would say, a young and weak girl, for a true goddess of the sun”.

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No matter where she went, dead…..or barely alive onmyoudo were all over the place with the familiar scent of carnage to match. As soon as she had leapt over the wall, the scenery changed and had that same strange feeling as the last ‘field’ they were in. “Why do I get the feeling I’m going to another whackjob…” Ultana grumbled as she followed the bodies until she reached the courtyard and ran into her classmates once again. Birds of a feather, huh?

Sure enough, it was another whackjob. “Red Eyes, Pale silver hair….he seems like your cliche comic book villain…kind of hilarious if you ask me...” she snickered, probably louder than she intended. And like in the comics, a delusional baddie that wants to sacrifice one of the heroines to summon some ancient evil. Though, in this case that ‘heroine’ would be their friend Seirin. So he was the one that was behind that assassination attempt?

But everything he has said definitely fills in some holes as to why her. Should have known it was bigger than simply because of the status of her family. Either way, they weren’t going to sit around and let harm come to Seirin. She might get annoying at times when she gets talking but she’s still a friend of theirs.

“Who cares about some ‘true goddess of the sun’? I sure don’t, just some old youkai whose time has already ended. Seirin might be some ‘young and weak’ girl to you, but I don’t consider her life for some hags to be worth trading. You won’t get a thing, we’ll just get rid of you.” She said matter-of-factly, no doubt whatsoever that they’ll save Seirin. She doesn’t use the word ‘friends’ lightly, and this ‘Shinzou’ nut will definitely see that eventually.

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There was a sense of deja vu gripping Lorelai as she witnessed a madman try to burn the world down and establish a twisted new regime upon the corpse of noble sacrifices. Her grip stilled, steady and certain with its aim upon Shinzou’s heart. Rage cooled and her expression lightened, holding firmly to the memory of the last being who looked down upon them.

”Ultana is right. This is just another maniac. Another false prophet to cut down.” She glanced at the egg, it’s light catching off her magic cancelling spear. ”I wonder if you’ll still have the eyes to see me cut open your egg and leave your ambitions to burn before the true sun!”

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"You were right, Aurelius. And look, the crew is here. HEY OTIS!"

While Lady’s hyper-activeness got the best of her, Aurelius could only stare at the silver haired villain.Anger formed throughout his body like a thunderstorm raging across the sky. The thought that someone would be willing to sacrifice another, especially someone that had never wronged them before, got the descendant of Arthur riled up. He was not willing to sit by and watch this all go on.

"The waking waves hide no lies, let the waters wash over thy soul."

A magical aura of water started to flow around Aurelius’ body, the magic circuits lighting up around his body as they activated. He slowly pulled Gwyn from it’s sheath, pointing it at Shinzou in a threatening manner. Flames enveloped Lady’s shin and feet, blazing brightly like an inferno. They were both ready to act a moment’s notice. Today would be an excellent usage of his recent training.

"Otis. Ultana. Lorelai. What’s our plan here? Surely we’re stopping him."

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Shinzou’s smile began to fade as his glare lowered, there was a distinct sense of killing intent as soon as adjusted his sleeves, though this feeling was felt only for a single short moment as it was hidden away again, putting his hands to his sides, before once again taking a stance. He allowed the little group to prepare themselves, it appeared he did not see them as a threat, it was obvious enough from the outset.

“I see, I had thought to do you all a kindness, yet was only met with foolishness. Very well, perhaps instead you’ll entertain me for a little”.
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BATTLE START
Win Condition: Land one strike / Survive for 5 rounds
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”We’ll do more than entertain. We’ll give you the performance of your life.” The blonde said and charged forward, hands sliding into the Yagyu styling she’d been drilling during her time in Kyoto. The Yokai had no obvious weapons but judging by the corpses, unexpected projectiles were entirely expected. Assuming the second stance she spun the end of her spear, ready to intercept a retaliatory strike and press on towards running Shinzou through.
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As Lorelai stepped forward, Otis stepped back, his own firearm leveled onto Shinzou but his finger not on the trigger yet. In every world, in every era, in every story, there was an asshole who’d sacrifice an innocent in the name of progress. Invariably, whatever progress those assholes made would backfire and get them killed. That was an inevitability. What mattered wasn’t making sure Shinzou died, but making sure Seirin survived.

“Charge for him and cover each others blind spots,” Otis said, his hand reaching for his pouch. “His arrows can appear at odd angles and multiply. I’ll find an opening.”

With that, he placed the Talisman of Apparition onto himself, attuning his eyesight to the ethereal energies that separated a human from a youkai. Shinzou was of mixed-blood, but Shinzou wasn’t his target either. Rather, Otis looked for something simple: the Sekko-Seki, hidden within the Egg, embedded within Seirin’s body.

---

Ultana had to grin when she noticed his smile disappear and glared at them, albeit briefly. It was enough to know that they got to him, even for a moment. Well, it’s showtime. Unsheathing her broadsword, she took a deep breath. “With an unyielding will, I call upon the power of the earth to aid me in this fight.” Activating her earthbound circuit, she charged forward to keep pace with Lorelai. Their task is clear, keep him distracted and prevent him from getting Seirin. Of course making sure Otis can do his thing from range. With the feeling she’s getting off this guy, he’s definitely leagues above anyone they’ve fought before, just surviving is going to be a challenge.

With them getting closer and getting ready to strike, Ultana briefly halted her charge, letting Lorelai charge ahead of her as she prepared the opening volley. "20 spirits of earth, launch forth the bolts of golden earth" She had half of them aimed at the ground in front of Shinzou with the other half aimed from behind him, hoping to prevent Lorelai from getting ran through on her charge and give her a chance before Ultana can get closer.

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Aurelius acted on instinct, following behind Lorelai to capitalize on the opening she created. Lady followed right behind, moving in a pattern reminiscent to a figure way. They kept their movements close together to act as a fake out. As they got close, Aurelius slipped past, hiding Lady’s body as she seemed to vanish from view. It would’ve looked like the young girl had vanished but, in reality she had leapt from Aurelius’ shoulder, hiding in what they believed would be Shinzou’s blindspot. Lady came from the air with a flaming kick whilst Aurelius attempted to thrust aimed at Shinzou’s left shoulder.

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Three pointed strikes in a thrust motion towards him, they seemed to prioritize getting to him quickly with reach and range, along with twenty spell arrows of earth, and the owl boy’s aim was leveled in a strange manner, almost not at him. Did he have a trick play or did he have a different goal? Not that he was going to let him. Between the group, a single glinting arrow threaded the needle between all three attackers, striking the barrel of Otis’ gun, either throwing it out of his hand for the moment, or severely affecting his aim.

But what to do about the incoming barrage and fighters? His finger pointing directly at Otis turned upward as he opened his palm slightly before pressing his fingers together, then clicking it. The distinct click almost felt like a trigger as a blast of wind emitted from him, staying the advance of Lorelai and Aurelius slightly, while sending Lady and the twenty arrows away or awry. He took one step back as a glowing spike erupted from his hand, weidling it like a sword holding it to his side with the tip facing down, catching the two thrusts. One flick of his wrist, both Aurelius’ sword and Lorelai’s spear were sent flying away from him. Recognizing that Aurelius wielded two blades, he raised his open hand palm spread out as a concussive burst emitted, sending him at least sliding back, whether it be on his feet or on the ground.

“Such a direct approach won’t find an easy mark, your tactics betray your inexperience”, he had the freedom to make a counter-active move as he stood there, hand spread out, and at his side a long glowing spike of energy which he could use like a sword. It looked similar to the arrows he fired, so perhaps it was simply a larger arrow? But now that it was bigger it was clear it was not something purely physical either. It seemed to be constantly glowing with energy.

Otis’ contraption would find that the glowing makeshift weapon would have an identical signature to him, in fact on energy alone it appeared like an extension. As such, it was very likely that this man could shape his own raw energy freely. What level of advanced skill was this? Though now was not the time for such questions. The other thing was the use of wind, which he seemed to have free control over also, able to send out blasts.

As for the golden egg, the readings were largely unintelligible, but only one thing was clear, and that the energy was beyond just demonic, yokai, or spiritual. If one had to describe it, it felt divine.

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ROUND 2
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The vampire brat would have been overwhelmed by the sudden and coordinated attack they had opened with, but Shinzou rebuked them all with a casual grace. Good then. It told Lorelai he wasn’t a bruiser who could casually over power them. While her spear tip was redirected and the wind pressed against her, Lorelai was Indomitable and would not be sent tumbling away. Keeping on her feet she snatched up a Talisman of Protection and slapped it to her person, immediately weakening the Yokai’s magic against her person.

Her eyes focused on the giga arrow forming and she slid back into a familiar style, whipping the yari around in a punishing horizontal smash on the arrow’s side to force contact between the magical construct and her spear tip. She strained herself to the limit and immediately followed up the smash with a tengu trained leap over head with the spear aimed down for his collarbone.

Being the one most resistant to wind magic at the immediate moment, it only made sense she’d risk challenging him from above and forcing him to think beyond a two dimensional field of battle.
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Otis didn’t have the strength necessary to hold his firearm after it was struck by an arrow, but it didn’t matter. As it tumbled out of his right hand, his left hand reached up and snatched it out of the air, sights aimed once more towards Shinzou. What he gleaned from the golden egg wasn’t promising; all he could see was a strangely holy energy, one that completely masked whatever else constructed it. To break it open, one would need either special tools or a counteractive force like demonic magic, but of the people here...none had those tools. There went his hopes that there would be a convenient method of saving Seirin.

Didn’t mean that there wasn’t a different way of handling it though.

“Careful,” Otis called out, pulling off the energy-observing talisman and switching his mindset towards murder. “That’s a raw energy construct crafted from Shinzou’s own essence!” He sprinted off to the side, circling around the half-yokai and timing his shots to the movement of his allies. A bullet was faster than the earth bolts that Ultana cast, and swifter still than even Lorelai’s fastest charge. Aiming to take advantage of that instance of action where Shinzou would be committed to dealing with their attacks, Otis fired three shots as he ran, one for the liver, the other for the knee, and the third…

...was a blank. Just to throw Shinzou’s expectations off a bit.

---

She honestly wasn’t expecting much from the opening barrage but nothing good came out of that attempt. It was without a doubt a worse income than her fight with the vampire back at the academy. Magic was still a weak point for her, especially when compared to her physical prowess but offensive magic isn’t all she knows.

Considering how easily he prevented them from getting up close, she might just have to leave offense up to others. No real sense in having pretty much everybody go on the attack against such an enemy. Moving to where she was within range of the others, "The brave shall know glory, onwards with fortitude" casting her Ward Of Shields spell to give her classmates some protection.

She honestly wasn’t sure how well it’ll work considering their enemy but even if they aren’t even showing their full strength, it’s still better than no defense.

---

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SHINZOU

Lorelai’s aerial approach combined with Otis’ flanking shots, were a difficult combination to deal with on normal terms. Shinzou would have to commit to one or the other, with one hiding a trick with a blank, though he did not pay enough attention to realize the third was a blank.

As he noticed Otis moving around the side, as well as keeping note of Lorelai taking to the air, the technique familiar to him, he took it as a challenge.

“You dare employ the arts of yokai as a mere human?”, he didn’t seem too happy about it, yet other than a slight scowl, he did well to hide what extent of displeasure he felt.

Following a gust of wind he leaped up off the ground, becoming imperceptible for just a moment before being visible again above a plunging Lorelai. The moment she noticed, his sandals were already pressing against her face as he leapt off of her like a platform, before performing a backflip. At the zenith of the flip while upside-down, he twirled once, causing an array of bright blue arrows to fly out all around, placing pressure upon Otis and Aurelius who were still on the ground, before gracefully landing with barely a sound.

The bullets that Otis had fired simply missed, in fact they barely missed Lorelai too who was plunged to the ground almost within their path, though luckily they did not find a mark. Ultana who had cast a defensive spell upon Lorelai prevented her from feeling any pain from the impact of being used as a platform, or hitting the ground.

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ROUND 3
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It would have been bad if the bullets hit Lorelai, not in the sense that she would get injured or anything like that, but rather that a bullet lodged in the spearwoman would be the worst case scenario for Otis’s plans. But that didn’t happen, so that was good. With Ultana’s ward shining over his body, the Strigidae continued his circular route, evading the scattered rain of arrows and using the shield to cover for what he couldn’t dodge.

“Ultana, Aurelius,” Otis called out. “Surround and ground him!”

Three more bullets fired out from his gun as he completed his lap, flashes of light bursting from the muzzle as he threaded the rune-engraved projectiles between both his companions and Shinzou.

---

If nothing else, Lorelai had become used to sudden crash landings given the Tengu’s training. That she felt the bullets nearly hit her as they visibly streaked by her crashing form didn’t fill her confidence, more than the kick to the ground had, in her grudging opinion. Several layers of magical protection saw her bouncing back from the ground with nary an ache, though still no closer to taking Shinzou’s head.

”Oh, did my skills pinch a nerve? Yeah, I think I’m really good friends with some cheery tengu. Is that a problem for you? Too bad!” Lorelai barked, circling around her target with her yari trailing, it’s blade running through a pool of blood spilled from the castle’s fallen protectors. It would feel so good to give the slain defenders a second chance to spite their murderer, the thought alone lightening Lorelai’s steps as she charged forward once more to make a telegraphed upwards slash.

A slash whose arc ended pointing towards Shinzou’s face, flinging the blood forward to splatter across his face in the hopes a relatively harmless projectile would be disregarded long enough for her to turn the slash into a forward lunge.

---

Aurelius had avoided the blue arrows, keeping his composure as best as possible. Lady, on the other hand, had been scratched by an arrow, causing her to slide backwards outside of attack range. He was worried for a bit about his friend, but for now he needed to press forward to support Lorelai and Otis. Taking a step forward, light exploded outward from under his right foot and Aurelius was prepared to strike Shinzou in his blindside.

The light took the appearance of a road, before wrapping around Aurelius’ legs, shooting him forward as if he was dashing. Lightdash Stride took him exactly to where he wanted to go, right beside Shinzou. As he exited the dash, he spun around once, swinging Gwyn toward Shinzou’s back. Hopefully Lorelai’s actions gave him enough time to act.

---

Thankfully, her ward spell was able to have some effect and while it didn’t completely stop the attack, it at least mitigated Lorelai’s pain. It was kind of annoying having orders barked at her but considering she was going to do it anyway, she might as well keep her mouth shut and press on. Clearly Ultana’s usual bread and butter moves weren’t going to cut it with this guy, she definitely had to change things up.

But what might do the trick? Thinking back on all the new things she has learned, she wrote off what she learned in the library. That was clearly something that was beyond her at the moment, but what else? The Overflowing flame? No, still too fresh and Shinzou wasn’t going to simply wait for her to finish. There was the Shin-ganryu she learned from that one lesson...not perfect but it’s better than nothing.

Holding her sword in a firm stance, tip pointing skyward, Ultana got into the Stone Stance and quickly followed that up with her Earthen Spike, hoping it’ll add some ‘oomph’ and penetration power as she swung her blade down, aiming her spikes towards Shinzou’s lower body hoping to slow him down.

---

Shinzou stepped back once, avoiding Lorelai’s spear, the blood on it just barely avoided as it splatted a bit near his left eye. His glowing red eyes suddenly changed to a bright and deep blue as he shot Lorelai a glare filled with bloodlust, raising his finger, though the ringing of gunshots and a boy with two swords circling around him would halt this action slightly as his eyes followed Aurelius’ movement perfectly. This speed was nothing for him. He was more worried about the bullets though, unsure of what they might contain. Was it his eyes? Or something else? There was a slight sense that he figured out something was off about them, though it was not as if he could see the runes on them.

Shinzou stepped back once more, so that Aurelius’ blade would strike Shinzou at the midpoint, but this was also to allow him to catch it, raising his hand as it crossed his chest to the striking zone. There was a little shock that he could simply grab a blade in lethal flight, but his hand was glowing blue, similar to his arrows. The half demon boy gripped hard on Gwyn, before pulling him around and swinging it, throwing it in Otis’ direction… Or so he would try. The Earth Spikes from Ultana caught him before he could move his whole body into the action, so he would simply be holding Aurelius there for the moment. He swerved his body a little to avoid any of the spikes landing a substantial blow.

Next was the incoming bullets. At the very moment of catching Aurelius’ sword and trying to throw him with it, then being stopped, he noticed them flash to life as a blade of magic appeared between them. The silvery saw blade he could immediately recognize as sharp, and in a slight state of surprise, simple moved his other hand to catch it. The exact speed he needed to come out unscathed was in his current form, too slow, and at that moment he cursed and remembered for a moment. He was also partially human.

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BATTLE END
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Shinzou looked down at his hand, a fine straight line running through it. Blood. It blended for a brief moment, maring his hand, before it closed up again, and without changing from his position, his arms began to become covered in a black armor-like skin, horns sprouted from his forehead as his hair began to glow a brilliant blue. A crescent appeared behind his back, thick like a serpent, as the wind around him began to intensify, before spiking into a hurricane for a brief moment, sending Aurelius and Lorelai flying far back.

But Shinzou’s own exposure of his yokai lineage was the happy sort of accident that Otis immediately acted upon. As Aurelius and Lorelai flew back and Otis’s bullets struck their marks, the Strigidae drew his trump card from his pouch and slammed it onto the ground.

“Ren-Tak-Mot-Brin-Awn-Tak-Mot-Brin-Ren-Awn.”

The Slicing Bullets, stuck in the dirt at perfectly equal distances from each other, beamed out magical lines of force, piercing through the ground to connect to one another. In the span of an instant, a star-embedded pentagram was drawn, Otis’s own adaptation of the Seimei Star Talisman. And the Talisman that he placed upon the foundation? One of Enervation, drastically disrupting the spiritual energies caught within the area. The effect itself would be dispersed somewhat, but this was all flavoring. Against monsters who had physical and magical capabilities far beyond his, the Strigidae wasn’t one for holding back.

On Arcanis, magic was a fact of life. But on Earth, magic manifested itself from symbolism and worship, just as often as it did from actual displays of power.

In his other hand, Otis drew a tanto, inscribed with the Kirizanto Anti-Yokai Inscription, and drove it into the Talisman of Enervation, stacking on a second effect to the field: not just the disruption of energy, but the destruction of yokai energy. And even if that didn’t hurt Shinzou, what could be said about the Egg, a pure energy construct used to manifest a yokai?

Shinzou groaned with some visible pain as the circle struck him, looked at his demonic hand peeling away a bit as the exorcism began to take place, yet it was not as effective as one might’ve hoped. He was only half after all, and all this meant was that he could be affected by it. He rested on this visage for the moment, even as it sped up from the combination of Ennervation and the Kirizanto inscription. Then, he clenched his fist, the demonic power surging as he yelled throughout the entire movement, swinging his arm over his shoulder. A glowing energy cupped and protected from the exorcism in his hand. He held this position as he increased whatever he was preparing in his clenched hand in density, before smashing the ground below him.

The energy cupped in his hand spread underneath through the ground, before coming back up and crackling the ground where he stood, disrupting the magical circle and dislodging some of the bullets from their positions, cancelling the circle. The lights disappeared as he slowly got up, his eyes trained on Otis.

“Impressive for one from another world, were I any ordinary yokai that move would have stopped me in my tracks”, he opened his mouth as if wanting to say more, but stopped. He assumed a new stance, this time it looked as if he was drawing a blade back.

“But I’m afraid you will all have to die”, and with just that he swing his hand out, as if drawing and striking with a blade.