@AzureKnight
When Hinami did not answer her question, Luna knew for sure there was something wrong with her. She didn’t know whether she just didn’t hear her or she just chose not to respond. But whichever it was, it meant she wasn’t acting as a group anymore. She was just rampaging around with her monstrous strength, using those Varjan soldiers as her playthings.

Her thought was interrupted, however, with her need to rescue Sam. And so, while she was away, no one was there to watch her over.

And when she returned, well, the talisman was gone.

W-what? What is this… menace I’m feeling coming from her? It’s like I’m going to be swallowed whole by her! No! Not just me! The entire village will suffer the same fate!

The aura she felt bursting out of her sent chills all over her body. Her ears began to twitch wildly and her tail, now visible due to the wind coming from Hinami blowing up Luna’s skirt, was quivering.

It was fear. But not the rational kind. The instinctual.

She knew that if she didn’t stop her soon, everything would be over.

And then, she got a better look on her face.

What she saw made her let out an audible gasp.

Her teeth had sharpened and elongated considerably, looking more like the fangs of a wolf. Her eyes were now just emerald green, with no sign of their pupils anywhere. Her nails too had lengthened. Luna was sure she could gore a man cleanly with those.

Her fighting style has changed considerably! She’s biting and scratching at the soldiers! And is that her drinking their blood?

There was so much blood on the ground now. No longer using her non-lethal weapons, the poor soldiers taking her now had to actually be careful fighting her as they could lose their lives in the process.

I have to stop this! Before it’s too late!

Her eyes scanned her surroundings. Where is it?! Where’s the talisman?!

Ah, forget about that! I have the spare her sister gave me!

She reached under her skirt, down into her panties. She imagined the talisman she had stored there before, bringing it into the focus of her mind’s eye. The panties responded, manifesting the paper out of thin air into her hand.

She brought it out before looking to where the jiangshi was. She was still attacking the soldiers. Good. She could use them as a distraction.

She ran as fast as she could to catch up to her, while being careful not to alert her of her presence. Who knew how she would react to someone sneaking up to her, even if that someone was an ally? She had a hunch that she no longer knew who her allies were and who her enemies were. They were all just dolls for her to destroy.

When she jumped on top of a mounted warrior, the horse panicked, throwing its owner off its back before running away. The jiangshi didn’t pause her attack even when she lost her footing. The soldier couldn’t do anything as his chi was being drained away.

Now! While she’s sitting still in one spot!

She leaped forward, using her powerful rabbit legs to fly like a cannonball. Landing in front of her, she reached forward, attempting to slam that talisman right at her forehead.

@Hammerman@PaulHaynek

As the thunderous stampede of hoofbeats filled his ears, Samael could only hope his legs wouldn't give in as he ran for his and his charges life. Despite knowing full well that he was incapable of outrunning the mounted warriors, Sam was not showing any fear for his life at the moment as he was more focused on helping the father flee. He pushed the man forward after tripping on a root, not saying a word but the demon's eyes spoke volumes.

He was to run and not look back.

Samael could only close his eyes as the sound of the riders closed in, he was calm. As the roar of wind and shouts filled the air he could only turn to face it, he was not afraid. Yet the darkness never came, the touch of a spear never pierced him nor was he trampled by horses.

His eyes cracked open as the wind died and a hand hoisted him up to his feet, Luna had come to his aid in fact she might have very well saved his life but before he could give her his thanks she was gone. Alone the demon looked in the direction he had pushed the man and silently wished him luck, Samael could only hope that the stranger and his child found safety.

Wasting no further time thinking about what might or might not be the demon immediately ran behind the one who dropped everything to save him, on one hand he was thankful yet on the other hand Samael began to consider it best if he stuck by her side as not to comprise the groups safety at least for Lunatea's sake rather than his own.

"Can we stay together Lu-" he had just caught up to her when suddenly a wave of dread crashed over him "Huh w-what's going on Luna?" he stammered before he realized exacty what was going on, blood everywhere and bodies upon the ground.

Unable to handle it in his state of forced terror, with a panicked squeak Sam ran behind cover to cower in fear in the chaos thankfully all attention was drawn to Hinami this time so his presence was undermined by the absolute wave of menace coming from the Jiangshi.

"That should buy us a bit of time! Look, I understand your concerns, but I assure you my team can more than make up for your lack of manpower. As for whose behalf we're here on, I'll explain in due time. But enough of that, your strength is needed for another day! Escape while you can! As soon as I've collected the rest of my team I will join you."

Shizuka's words were met with silence as the remaining Shizuyama defenders looked at each other, unsure whether to trust this stranger or not. The sudden lull in the fighting gave them time to think, but the Varjans were quickly recovering. The defenders readied their arms to face them, or perhaps it was to begin preparing a full retreat? Falling back with these numbers would need a lot of cover, after all.

But there was no time to sit and wait for their answer, Shizuka had to return to his comrades and tell them to retreat, that there was no winning this battle. He made his way back to the beach, weaving past the renewed Varjan charge towards the barricades. He heard some fighting, but it was not as intense as before. Perhaps they did flee in the end.



Kasseros was too occupied tearing Nyla's slimy tendrils off of him to notice Gringor coming at him with a mighty swing. He saw at the last moment what was about to happen, but it was far too late for him to do anything.

*SMASH*

The Varjan Champion was face down on the Shoggoth's mass, completely knocked unconscious. This fight belonged to the taskforce, although they did outnumber Kasseros three-to-one so did the latter really have a chance? Moments after, Shizuka would arrive and behold the taskforce's handiwork.

With Kasseros defeated, the Varjans quickly cleared out of the taskforce's area and put as much distance as they could from the monsters. However, they then spot one Varjan waving a blue-flamed torch at the ships out in the bay before tossing the torch at the taskforce's vicinity. Not one moment later, half of the Varjan vessels launched their artilleries towards the taskforce's side of the beach.

The night sky lit brightly as flaming boulders rained down on the taskforce, spreading fire across their side of the beach. Thankfully, the taskforce were all quick enough to dodge all of them but the Varjan vessels were intent on saturating their area with their catapults until the taskforce were all either dead or nowhere to be seen. Thus, more catapult shots rose to the sky before hurling back down towards the taskforce.

With their area being bombarded and the Varjans having full control of the beach, there was no more reason for the taskforce to stay here. Heading to Sanjo Town to regroup with the other taskforce members was the first option, or they could retreat into the wilds and trust that their other other members would find them later. Atsuha does have a wounded survivor on her and it may be wiser not to put him in further danger.

A survivor whom Shizuka would recognize from the descriptions Lady Kyouko gave him, Takeshi Oja. The only son of Hideo Oja, The Lord of Shizuyama.






The horsemen riding for Samael and the father did not see Lunatea's wind attack coming, and so were thrown off their mounts by the sudden magical gusts. This allowed the father to finally escape with his son along with the rest of the surviving villagers.

Meanwhile, Hinami's rampage tore through the Varjan advance. Suddenly, they were no longer in control of the village. Some of the invaders tried to challenge the berserk Jiangshi, and only found their demise. Lunatea and Wyndressa followed closely behind, with the former having the talisman to return Hinami to normal, and taking down any Varjans the Jiangshi missed.

When Hinami left herself open, Lunatea used the opportunity to get in front of her and successfully plant another sealing talisman on her forehead.

As the effects took hold, Samael joined up and the group was whole again save for Cambiel and Skarsneek. Ahead were the last line of Varjans pillaging the town, their murderous activities stopped completely by this motley crew.

But then, hooves thundered in the distance.

The Varjans looked behind them before moving to the side to make way for a tide of cavalry coming towards the taskforce. Javelins and throwing axes were hurled at the taskforce as the Varjan horsemen rode. The group could barely evade the projectiles, much less fight back. They would see that the stream of horses seemed endless.

It appeared the rest of the Varjan army had caught up, but the village was now also devoid of its original inhabitants. Those who were not dead had already escaped into the wilds of Shizuyama. There was no reason for the taskforce to stay here any longer.





The two Varjan horsemen were taken down, one more permanently than the other. Now only Na'kratz remained, and he did not seem bothered by the loss of his retinue. He stared back at the duo, scraping his claws together in anticipation of the inevitable showdown. "Angels always side with monsters. Makes me wonder why the Order bothers with them. I guess they're pretty useful against the Alliance." He quipped before taking on a combat stance and prepared to fight.

But then, hooves thundered in the distance.

Both parties looked to the sound and a whole unit of Varjan cavalry came charging into Na'kratz's aid. A continuous line of Varjan cavalry streamed towards Skarsneek and Cambiel. Try as they might with their extraordinary abilities, the duo could not fight off the coming horses. They could only evade the axe and sword swings and the javelins hurled at them. Some hits even connected but the duo's supernatural natures meant that these hits only left bruises.

Na'kratz relaxed as he let his cavalry reinforcements take swings at Skarsneek and Cambiel. He knew that the duo could only retreat in the face of being overwhelmed. And he would be correct, they needed to get out of there. Their showdown with this Varjan lord would happen on another day.





Valeriya and Kerry had come too late to join the main ship the taskforce took. But Lady Kyouko was nothing if not prepared, the Inari had smaller vessels prepared to take more taskforce members to Shizuyama. In fact, the two monsters noticed that there were a lot more of these vessels in the port of Otomo. Could she be planning to send more than taskforce members to the island?

Regardless, the two monsters were soon on their way. Their destination was the Sanjo Area where the Varjan fleet would be landing and where the main taskforce had gone to. They were told to rendezvous with the others and aid them as soon as possible. Their vessel could only take them near Sanjo though and so they had to walk - or more likely, fly - to their destination. Night had fallen when they came upon the Sanjo Area.

From their view in the sky, what they saw was a sight of pure carnage. The immense Varjan fleet was landing en masse upon a corpse-laden beach and the barricades resisting their advance were burning and overrun. The town nearby was also in flames and also overrun with horsemen and Varjans. The two monsters could hear the faint sounds of wailing and fighting from below.

The town was the most notable and there they saw people still fighting the invaders as best they could, but they also saw cavalry about to swarm them from all sides. On one side, they saw a boy and... an Angel being attacked by horsemen. On another side, several women in differing attires were in the same situation.

Valeriya and Kerry were two monsters, they could very well split up to help.

@PaulHaynek @Slypheed @Restalaan (SKA) @Noblebandit

By the Demon Lord, what have I gotten myself into?, ran the thought of Kerry Maros, a Hornet mamono, as she came upon the sight of Sanjo Town.....or what was left it.

She, along with an owl mage named Valeriya, had arrived late in Otomo yet, as soon as they introduced themselves to Lady Kyouko, they were hastily put on boat to Shizuyama, tasked with linking up with the taskforce and to help them as fast as possible. As soon as their boat made port, the duo took to the skies toward Sanjo Town, where they would come upon and witness the aftermath of the Varjan invasion: a bombarded beach littered with the dead, barricades completely destroyed and the town proper on fire. The only silver lining to seen in this hellish landscape was that it was mostly deserted, meaning all of the locals must've evacuated. The only ones left were the invading Varjans and the stragglers..... and said stragglers, separated into two groups, just so happen to be the very taskforce they were meant to regroup with.

And they are getting surrounded.....Great.

"Go help the larger group, I got these two!", she called out to Valeriya before breaking off toward the smaller group, which consisted of a small boy and.... wait, is that an angel? What the hell are they doing out here? Shaking that thought off for now, Kerry saw that the duo was already surrounded and the Varjans were engaging them. Thinking quickly, she pulled out Dusk and began channeling her mana, air currents swirling along the length of the black spear as she dived down.

"YOU TWO! GET DOWN!", Kerry called out to the duo. It was the only warning they'll get.

_{@PaulHaynek@Rune_Alchemist@Restalaan@FrogRFlowR}

He was not surprised at the silence he was met with at his final plea to the defenders, but unfortunately what little time he bought was quickly fading away. The Vajan soldiers were regrouping and ready to continue their attack. He didn’t have time to bemoan the situation or resume arguing with the warriors. Therefore, as the maiden previously stated, Shizuka made his way from what was left of the barricade with no issues. He faintly heard the clash of blades as he fled, but it wasn’t as gruesome as previously. That could mean a couple of things, and all he could do was hope it wasn’t the worst case scenario.

Damn! He cursed himself. Some disciple you turned out to be! You vowed to uphold the true principles of your teachings, yet you can’t even save your countrymen when it counts!

Gritting his teeth, he soon made it back to where his teammates had been fighting. What he saw gave him a bit of relief in spite of everything. It seems Gringor, Nyla, and Tomi were able to defeat that armored knight from earlier. He was knocked out, bound by Nyla’s…flesh mass. He quickly made his way over.

“I see you all didn’t have much trouble taking this fellow down! Glad to see you’re all still in one piece. As for him, perhaps he could be persuaded to give us some useful info?” He looked around for a moment; the chaotic energy flowing around the battlefield made chi reading difficult. “Where’s Atsuha? Is she alright?”

“Speak of the devil, and she shall appear love.” She responded, joining her comrades with another in tow it would seem. “I found a straggler among his slain allies. Thankfully, I was able to nurse him back from the brink of death. But he won’t be seeing any action for a while.” At this point, the man was riding on her arachnid abdomen, resting on her back. As Shizuka got a good look at the man, his eyes widened with shock.

“Is something the matter, Kannazuki-san? I’m not that strange-looking, am I?” Atsuha said in jest.

The man’s appearance matched with everything that was detailed in Kyouko’s report. It seemed that not all hope was lost.

“Atsuha-san, that man you’re carrying is Oja Takeshi. The current heir to the ruling house of Shizuyama, the son of Oja Hideo! I don’t know if it’s fate or serendipity that you happened upon him.”

“This poor battered man…is a noble?” Atsuha looked him over again, sharing in Shizuka’s astonishment.

“Indeed. With him alive, we still have a chance at taking back this island. But for now, we need to get out of here! The Varjans have more men to spare than we possibly could’ve prepared fo-”

His orders were quickly cut off by the vermillion sparks lighting up in the skies above the beach. Though they had effectively taken the beach, it seemed the Varjan fleet wouldn’t be content until they were sure they wiped out all traces of resistance. That, and they were cruel, bloodthirsty barbarians.

He spat out another swear. “You’ve gotta be kidding!” He quickly turned to all his allies. “Everyone, break for the forest! We need to get out of here NOW!! We can regroup with the other squad once we’re in the clear! Atsuha-san, cover us!”

As a flaming boulder was about to come crashing down on them, Shizuka instantly cloaked his blade with an icy energy and sliced it cleanly in half, protecting his allies from the impact and also extinguishing the flames for Nyla’s sake.

“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Atsuha responded. Quickly reaching into a pouch she brought with her, she took out five talismans. Each had different kanji written on them; she murmured an incantation, then proceeded to throw them into the air directly above them. They formed a star shape, with its outlines glowing. Soon, a violet barrier encased around them, which would further protect them from harm.

“The barrier will move with us, let’s hurry!” She exclaimed

Hopefully once they reach the forest, they wouldn’t have too much trouble rendezvousing with the members sent to the village wouldn’t be too difficult.

The grim turn of events made Atsuha think of Hinami, she could only hope that whatever was happening in the village her little sister was alright.

Hinami, I promise you and I will be together again soon!

---

_{@Hammerman@Dark Cloud@WanderingDragon}

A horrifying shriek echoing throughout the village, drowning out even the sounds of flames and debris giving way.

“Feed!”

Those were the last words heard by a Vajarn soldier as Hinami sank her teeth into his neck.

“Must feed!”

Another soldier heard, as they were nearly sliced open by Hinami’s sharpened nails.

“So cold! Must feed, to know warmth!”

Another soldier vainly yelled for help, only to be bitten into a moment later.

Hinami was unable to comprehend the agonized screams of all of the men she was felling, being fueled only by a primal hunger and subconscious emotions. While her bellows were terrifying, the few words she was able to utter had a contrasting tone to them. They could almost be described as melancholic. Her rampage didn’t stop all the same, she had taken a man off of his horse and had promptly made him her next victim. However, in her frenzy she failed to notice one of her allies appeared a little in front of her. Lunatea, having the talisman given to her by Atsuha in hand, steeled herself and slapped the seal right on her head.

At that moment, the predatory menace controlling Hinami began to die down. She tilted her head towards the night sky as the talisman radiated with a light blue chi. Her teeth lost their sharpness and returned to their regular size, as did her nails. Slowly, the pupils in her eyes began to reform as she fell to her knees. With one, final wail the blue chi dissipated from her and it could be seen that Hinami indeed had returned to normal.

Her head limply tilted down for a moment, then she left upright. The genteless from before had returned to her eyes, though she looked around with a bewildered expression. Dozens of soldiers laid in the streets, blood spattered everywhere. She then looked directly at Lunatea.

“Luna-chan…wh-what happened?” She sounded almost afraid.

“S-sister…” Hinami uttered weakly before passing out.

Since her diving in, the armored man had been grasped by the Shoggoth, and it seemed like there was no getting out. Therefore, Tomi began relaxing, but just as she was about the turn around and head for the rest of the battle, Gringor charged in yet again with his weapon ready to smash the knight's down. The gold dragon took a lazy step forward, hand out "I don't think that's... she began before the axe found the target. "Necessary..." she finished as her arm fell back alongside her body.

With a sigh Tomi turned around and noticed that all soldiers on the beach seemed to steer clear of them. While at first it seemed emboldening, she quickly came to realize why - as did the rest of the group. Tomi attempted to take flight, but stopped as she looked up to see the ships' artillery coming towards them. "Oh...Gringor, was it? I think there's the 'more' you wanted..." Tomi still took flight, albeit not too high, in order to dodge the projectiles. She did so well enough, but missed one that was now coming straight at her. With little choice she flew at it and punched the fiery projectile to bits - but doing so sent her straight back down to the beach, on her back. They packed more of a punch than Tomi anticipated.

The gold dragon did not seem too hurried to get back on her feet...

I see you all didn’t have much trouble taking this fellow down! Glad to see you’re all still in one piece. As for him, perhaps he could be persuaded to give us some useful info? ” “Where’s Atsuha? Is she alright?”

Tomi recognized that voice. So, with a sigh and a grunt, she quickly got back up on her feet and got the sand off of her. "You mean the giant spider lady coming at us...?" she answered, pointing at Atsuha as she came towards the group.

“This poor battered man…is a noble?”

"...Is he?" Tomi launched herself gracefully and landed on the Jorōgumo's back, beside Takeshi, in a playful manner. She seemed to analyze him from head to toe, not unlike someone would analyze an animal they were about to take in as a pet.

"He's...cute." she concluded, sliding off of the spider's back. Too bad, she could have relaxed up there. That's when the next volley of artillery was about to crash on them. Just as Tomi was about to launch herself in the air again to catch one of them coming at the group, Shizuka acted first. In a graceful manner, the human sliced it in half. Tomi looked over at him with renewed interest - even though he was kind of annoying.

She would have flew in ahead, but since Atsuha went through all the trouble of casting the barrier and all, she dragon mamono figured it would be impolite to just ditch them. Thus, she went through the bothersome act of running along with the group towards the woods.

@Dark Cloud@AzureKnight@PaulHaynek
With a hearty slap, Lunatea successfully attached the talisman onto the jiangshi’s forehead.

“Hah, got it!” The rabbit girl declared. “Now, this should calm her down.”

And indeed it did. Slowly, the jiangshi’s body reverted back to its normal state. No more fangs, no more claws, and no more slaughter. She fell down to her knees and the terrifying aura she emitted disappeared completely.

Before Lunatea could answer her questions, she lost consciousness. Luckily, she was fast enough to hug her before her body hit the ground.

"Hangai… Hangai…" She yelled, shaking her body. "Oh godsdammit…"

No dice. She wasn't waking up.

She had to carry her.

Lifting her up on a princess carry, she looked around, searching for the others.

Wait, what's that sound?

It was the sound of hooves thundering in the distance.

Her victory celebration was cut short.

Reinforcements. The Varjans were coming. And they were coming in droves.

She turned around to where the sound came and narrowed her eyes, trying to count just how many they were.

Too many. There were too many of them for her or the others to take on. Especially since Hangai here couldn’t help out with her brutal talisman-less form anymore.

“Everyone! Retreat! We have to run away!” She yelled as loudly as she could.

Thankfully, it seemed that the villagers had been evacuated. They had accomplished their objective, and now, all they had to do was to survive long enough until they could reach a safe place to hide.

Damn it. She wasn’t made for something like this!

As axes and javelins rained over her head, she conjured a wind wall above her, deflecting the thrown weapons from digging into her skin. Her skirt flew wildly as her black panties worked overdrive, trying to keep their wearers safe from harm.
Meanwhile, she looked around panickedly for her comrades. Sam was the first to come to her mind. That kid really couldn’t protect himself. As for the others, well, she prayed they had a way to deflect the attacks coming their way while making their escape.

Valeryia was quite enjoying the sights from above during the fly over to help the others. And wondered what secrets the island held, hopefully she'd get some opportunities to collect some samples.

Her thoughts cut short by the sight and smell of battle. Smoke from fires, and the warm glow of said fires. Along with the accompanying acrid smell which stung her nose a bit. And once closer to the battlefield, she could see a few distinct skirmishes going on down below. All of which seemed to consist of, what she assumed to be, those they were sent to help. And the Hornet she had been flying with seemed to have made up her mind quicker than Valeryia had expected. Shouting to her to help the larger group in the town while she'd go help the smaller two person team. She felt the need to accompany the Hornet, but realized the element of surprise she'd have on the Varjans. So nodded and immediately darted off to the large group.


As she arrived above the group, the full scope of the situation was apparent. There was a lot of Varjan cavalry, and without help, the group was surely doomed. And thus decided on her course of action. Time was of the essence, so trying to get something like like lightning or a fireball off would be rather risky. It'd have to be things that didn't take time to cast. She swooped down to the group and landed just in front of everyone. No time for introductions or soft landings as her claws dug into the ground to give resistance to her remaining forward momentum. Valeriya first quickly shot off a few lightning bolts aimed at the charging cavalry, then powered a barrier in front of her. Spreading her wings wide enough to cover the group, the barrier expanded in unison to protect the group from Varjan projectiles. Her head turned briefly so she could just about see behind her "Stay behind me unless you want to take your chances with their weapons." Valeriya spoke firmly before directing her attention back to the oncoming cavalry.

@PaulHaynek@Noblebandit@Rezod92

Skarsneek of the Red Hills

Skarsneek cracked his neck as he looked upon his downed opponent as he caught the other falling from the horse, seeing that Cambiel finished his own.

Seeing how their opponent's weapons, it'll look like close combat is definitely be what this pompous ass wants, which is why Skarsneek is going to make sure he's constantly in the worst range instead.

Those thoughts however was thrown to the sides as Skarsneek felt it from the ground, the sensation of multiple hooves burgeoning from afar until it got louder. Turning to the source, a stream of cavalry came pouring forward, multiple weapons swung and thrown towards them like an unending tide.

Swatting, dodging and evading to the best of his abilities, Skarsneek hissed as some managed to nick his skin. Then one axe managed to get past his guard and slammed into his chest.

Shit!

Skarsneek was never more grateful being born a monster, regardless of gender, at this moment as he was sure it would've left a grievous wound instead of a severe bruise. Skidding backward and quickly recovering his balance back, Skarsneek eyes flicked to the sides. Aiming to roll out of the way to quickly get in the forest on his own. Since Cambiel is an angel, Skarsneek figured that he can fly and take care of himself, probably.

But before he was able to act on it, a sharp voice warning him to get down had Skarsneek quickly obeying it as he fell flat on the ground, though his staff was still positioned enough that he can stab upwards.

---

@FrogRFlowR@Rune_Alchemist@AzureKnight

Gringor of the Ironhide Tribe

Removing himself from the mass of the shoggoth slime, nary thinking or caring as Gringor strode away from it easily. Eyes already searching for his new quarry and hefted his ax against his shoulder. Even when Shizuka arrived, he barely acknowledge his question and continued towards the stragglers instead.

The rest of the army seemed put off by this as they all retreated, leaving him even more disappointed as he huffed through his nose. If all the invasion force was just made up of this useless chaff, then it would be extremely upsetting. He didn't travel this far just to get involved in a clean-up operation.

Though one caught his attention as he waved a blue torch before quickly tossing it into their vicinity. Gringor walked forward before looking at the torch, wondering what it was for.

He got his answer just as quickly as from afar, it was like the dark sky was lit up by multiple stars that trailed from a large amount of Varjan ships.

When the first stone landed around them, Gringor glanced to the torch idly. Then in an act that utterly defied common sense, he walked towards it, picked it back up before finding a higher place that allowed him to be seen, stood on top of it and then proceed to wave it mockingly for the Varjan fleet.

Ignoring the other boulders crashing all around him, Gringor continued this insane bravado before sticking the torch in place on the floor before finally leaving to join up with his already running comrades by walking instead of running as though he was walking through a park instead of a bombardment of rocks on a battlefield.

After all, the Varjans were so kind as to light up their rocks to tell him precisely where it'll land. Gringor thought to himself.

All the while, a wide grin came and he finally spoke out for once.

"Ah...this looks like it's won't be a boring fight at all."

Well, that just happened...

Wyndressa dismissed the spell. Next came the arduous process of cleaning Corpse Maker of the blood she spilled.

Then suddenly the cavalry came rolling in, hurling shit at them. Wyn needed only to shadowstep out of the way. But, even she had to realize she was burning herself with the amount of mana she was spending. She probably should've bitten that shirtless sod. But, hindsight is always sharper than foresight.

@Slypheed

Then suddenly Owl-Mage!

Wyn couldn't help blinking, it suddenly dawning on her that this giant birdy was on their side. And preparing a spell of some sort. Wyn noted which direction the villagers retreated. The village was saved... Mostly. As evidenced by the last of the burning homes finally collapsing.

Well, at least the villagers were safe.

A tumbleweed bounced over a villager's corpse as it rolled by.

It's been a long evening.

"Oi, birdie..." Wyn didn't have time for proper introductions. "How long can ye' keep that shield up? We got's to get outta 'ere!"

@AzureKnight@PaulHaynek@Restalaan@FrogRFlowR

---

Heh.

It was easy enough, enveloping the man in her mass after he had been knocked unconscious. Now just remained the act of actually making him talk, or at least permanently removing him as a threat to their endeavors. Whatever she was going to do though, was cut off swiftly by the sound of sparks overhead, a shout from Kannazuki and the sight of boulders flying overhead. Catapults? Really? They were being quite difficult, weren't they? Well, a good maid knew when to make a swift exit. With the fires extinguished, Nyla would re-absorb most of her mass, keeping just enough to keep Kasseros bound and shoving a cake down his throat whether he liked it or not.

"Thank you for putting out the fires." Nyla would comment idly as she'd make an attempt to flee with her companions. Dealing with fire was difficult for her, after all. Hopefully this meant they no longer needed to be on the front lines.

Why, that pompous, arrogant..! Cambiel raised his bow, fully prepared to put an arrow through this serial-killer-looking blasphemer, when he was distracted by the sound of a dozen horses tramping towards them. He knew which side they were on even before he turned around to see them.

He fired off arrow after arrow, aiming for the horses, hoping that by tripping them over, he might be able to slow down the unending charge, but there were just too many.

If it was just him, he could have just flown away. Maybe he should have – Skarsneek was a monster, after all. They were enemies. If he saved him now, that was just one more soldier for the Demon Lord's army he would have to fight later. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. The goblin deserved better than to be hacked to pieces like this.

Skarsneek took a particularly nasty blow, one that surely would have killed him if he had been a human, and Cambiel couldn't wait any more. He needed to adopt a strategy he would rather not, given the option. Direct contact. To save a monster. If his sisters could see him now…

But he never got the chance to enact his plan. Before he could even make a move, a feminine voice cried out to them, a single order: get down. Skarsneek obeyed. Cambiel did too. The voice didn't sound like it was going to wait for them.

@PaulHaynek @Restalaan (SKA) @Noblebandit

"Wind Art:..."

Kerry flipped forward and landed on her feet, howling winds swirling along her weapon.

".....Eye of the Storm!"

The hornet immediately spun in a complete 360, Dusk outstretched as she twirled. A circular wall of air encompassed the trio before expanding, growing in both height and width. Projectiles easily bounced off the wall and any Varjan that was caught were battered and tossed away by the turbulent currents.

This wall won't last long., Kerry thought to herself as she stashed away Dusk. But it should give us time to escape.

She then turned around to give a quick introduction to......whoa.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on! This goblin and.....this angel!? They're male! They're both male!

What the actual hell!?

"I....have.....questions, but now is not the time.", Kerry spoke, shelving that world-shattering revelation for later as she quickly strode up and grabbed the goblin by the scruff of his shirt. "Hope you're not afraid of heights. Better clench up, squirt. Try to keep up, choir boy."

Whether the goblin was ready or not, Kerry's wings buzzed as she took to the skies once more. As she ascended, she noticed a rather regal-armored looking Varjan standing some ways away from the horde. Must've been the leader. In that case....

"Hey! Varjan commander!", she shouted, calling for the Varjan's attention.....before promptly flipping him off. "Go fuck yourself!"

And with that, she took off for the larger group, goblin in tow.

---

---

"Ugghhh..."

Takeshi's eyes flickered open, regaining consciousness. He jolted up and saw that he was in a crude tent, his shattered armor and sword set laid neatly beside him. He remembered being shot with arrows as he attempted to come to his father's aid and immediately felt out his back to see that the arrows were not only no longer there, but neither was the burning pain. "Someone saved me... and healed me. Magically." He muttered quietly to himself.

He wondered who saved him. Likely an onmyoji or a miko who found him in Sanjo Beach and took him somewhere safe, Takeshi thought. But how did they get past the swarm of Varjans on the beach? Someone had to have sacrificed their lives fighting off the Varjans just to get out of the beach. Takeshi sighed, he knew he was Oja but he didn't like anyone dying for him. Besides, weren't they all supposed to give everything to prevent the landings since a Varjan foothold in the island basically meant that Shizuyama was lost? Who ordered a retreat?

Takeshi sighed and grabbed his sword and left his tent to greet his rescuers and get an explanation. What he saw was something he never expected in his life.

The taskforce's retreat from Sanjo went as smoothly as it possibly could. Regrouping with one another was not exactly difficult, they were the only ones left to flee from the chaos so they easily spotted each other as they left the area and towards the dense forests way outside Sanjo Town.

A makeshift camp was set up around a bonfire upon a large clearing in the middle of the forest. That could have been unwise since Varjans might be hunting them, but the taskforce's composition would probably make any scouting party think twice about ambushing them. Right now, they were as safe as they could be at the moment. Free to catch up on the situation or simply take a breather, maybe even ask Nyla to whip up something to eat for the night.

Then they all noticed their rescued survivor exit his tent.

Takeshi, wide-eyed, drew his blade. "W-What is the meaning of this?! Yokai?! Who are you?!" He panicked before realizing that he was not rescued, but captured! Fortunately not by vicious and merciless Varjan invaders, but captured nonetheless. Although, why was he not restrained then?

Takeshi knew he had to escape. Escape to where, when the island is lost? That didn't matter right now. The young Oja immediately turned to flee, only to crash into Valeriya who was inspecting the local flora around the camp. They were both sent to the ground, but Takeshi grabbed his sword and quickly crawled away.

While on his back, Takeshi pointed his sword at the Owl Mage and the rest of the taskforce. "Stay back! I'm warning you!"

@PaulHaynek
Valeryia’s arrival took off the pressure off the rabbit monster considerably. And just in time at that. She was running out of mana rapidly. Even with her panties multiplying her magic output, she didn't have much mana storage in the first place.

She didn't remember her being on the ship though. So where did she come from?

Whatever. She could think about it later. For now, escape was her No. 1 priority.

And, oddly enough, the army didn't make chase once they were out of the burning village. Luck or something more?

---

It didn't take long until she and the others reunited with the other groups. The first thing Lunatea did was to deliver the still unconscious jiang-shi to her sister, telling her what had just occured in their battle.

Now safe from the Varjans, they decided to make camp in the middle of the nearby forest. Lunatea did her part in erecting the tents. Though, since she kept bending over as she worked, she gratuitously provided a show of her panties to anyone looking at her direction.

Once she finished, she sat with the others near the bonfire with her legs raised, giving yet more view of her undergarments to her comrades who sat across her. Her tummy rumbled. It wasn't patient enough to wait without giving a complaint, even though Nyla was right there cooking them dinner.

Lunatea's eyes unknowingly rested on the shoggoth maid's rump as she worked. There was just something… hypnotic about how she moved her hips.

It didn’t last long, however, thanks to the appearance of a certain man who drew his blade in the middle of camp, shouting something about yokai in his language. Thankfully, she had studied the local tongue before she got here. Even though the isolated island might have a different variation of it.

“Calm down.” She looked at him, not even bothering to stand up. “We won’t harm you. In fact, we’re the ones who saved your life.”

When he drew his blade on Valeriya, however, that was when she knew she had to act.

“Hey, stop.” She stood up and walked to him, giving him a scowl. “Don’t hurt her. Or else you’ll have all of us to contend with.”

She began to wonder if she should use her hypnosis on him. Put him back to sleep.

@Hammerman, @AzureKnight @Dark Cloud, @WanderingDragon, @FrogRFlowR, @Noblebandit, @Rune_Alchemist

Gringor & Skarsneek

After all that hubbub, and varying degrees of success as well as failure. The entire group managed to catch their breath together as they reassemble at a general area. Skarsneek panting and plopping himself down close to the fire, and idly poked at it with his stick.

Thoughts of how they really shouldn't be popping a fire camp came as it was a beacon to their location but he certainly wasn't going to complain about the heat warming his body up. But just in case, he had shut one of his eyes right now, in the case they need to get away and march in the dark. Something he learned out of necessity and nights of hiding.

Meanwhile, Gringor had his back turned away from the fire and leaned against a tree, facing outwards towards the perimeter and ax close at hand. He also ensured that they were downwind so that any scent that passed by will be caught by him first. For now, the fire within him settled down due to the brief fight that occurred. This time, he felt much more relaxed as he was in the thick of it now. The Varjans had a complete foothold.

That meant conflict was abounded and aplenty now.

Skarsneek meanwhile turned towards the two newcomers, an owl mage and hornet girl?

@Slypheed, @Rezod92

An oddity, since the latter usually never leaves the hive unless she's a queen. Or a rogue one.

Ah well.

"So, I didn't catch you two charming girls name. Lady Kyouko sent ya?" Skarsneek said as he pointed to himself. "Name's Skarsneek, and thanks for the bail out."

Nodding thanks to Kerry the Hornet, since she's the one that carried him out. Also gave the proverbial finger to the Varjan, which was another plus in his book.

Then during the conversation, Skarsneek caught it long before their occupant even left the tent, no doubt in confusion as he lazily turned towards the oddity. The so-called monster-hating faction now being invaded by another bigger monster-hating faction. If it wasn't so deliciously coincidental, Skarsneek would've laughed his guts out.

Seeing the man completely make a fool of his self, Skarsneek just kept his poise and remained seated. "Yea, you're doing a real good job telling your saviors to stay back. The same ones that bailed you out. Thanks by the way."

Skarsneek started out sarcastically as he just watched Takeshi, but he only frowned when the other annoyance reminded himself of his presence.

"You lost, your Warband lost." Gringor dropped that fact without any hesitation, Takeshi won't be able to see Gringor's tail nor ears that denoted himself as a High Orc. Only that there was another person who seemed to be on guard duty. "Only you survive."

"If you want a fight, Gringor can fight you afterward," He said with a wave of his hand.

"Or...I'll fight you right now." Brandishing his ax to the sides suddenly, it flickered against the bonfire light and gave it a terrifying illuminating sheen. One that's backed by Gringor's own low and almost eager voice with a shuddering shoulder, relishing the chance for a fight right now. The near-invisible pheromones that often oozed out of a High Orc intensified in its frequency just from that alone.

"But that's not fun, so rest. Or Gringor will make you rest."

Gringor placed his ax back and continued to lay against the tree, relaxing as the wind carried its way. Lessening some of the effects of the invisible pheromones.

Skarsneek needled with a huff. "Hmph, the orc actually knows diplomacy...what a shocker."

"And the goblin is still alive, how disappointing." Gringor said, almost spitting the words out and didn't hid his disdain for the goblin continued existence.

While everyone went about their own things, Tomi was - of course - napping close to the fire camp. The noises of the forest and the crackling fire would be relaxing enough if it wasn't for all the walking and talking and preparing the camp. She did her part, Tomi thought while looking up at her tent nearby; half done and barely holding.

Bah...she lit the fire, surely that was enough.

With a content whip of her tail, she went back to napping...or would have, but the tent entry being flapped open made her keep one eye open. Here the human came out, looked at them...and freaked out. If Tomi remembered correctly what that Lady Kyouko told them about this island, this should have been expected. Standing up, Tomi followed behind Lunetea in walking towards the human, now pointing his sword at them.

"Is there anything else at all you want - or can - do other than fight?" she asked Gringor sarcastically. Which was a bit of a hypocrisy coming from the dragon who had been napping only three seconds ago.

As she got up to the human after the rabbit girl addressed him, Tomi used Lunetea, who was smaller than her, as an armrest, her golden pupils falling down on Takeshi with a lazy but interested look. "Yes. You wouldn't want to cause a commotion, right? We didn't even have time to properly rest, yet..."

As she said that, Tomi let go of Lunetea with a pat on the head and got closer to the human. Her movement was slow and seemingly non-threatening - but to an experienced eye it was somewhat akin to a predator approaching prey. Banking on the fact he wouldn't be stupid enough to attack her, she pushed the blade away with her fingers as her tails caressed his face. Tomi sat down beside him, her tail on one side and her face on the other - her iris seemingly lit up ever so slightly.

"You seemed all banged up when we saw you earlier. You really should rest." she added with a honeyed voice. "I can help you fall asleep if necessary."

@PaulHaynek @Restalaan

"So, I didn't catch you two charming girls name. Lady Kyouko sent ya?" Skarsneek said as he pointed to himself. "Name's Skarsneek, and thanks for the bail out."

"Yeah, Vale and I arrived late and Kyouko told us to regroup with you guys. Just in the nick of time, too.", Kerry responded from her spot on a nearby tree branch, her spears leaning against the base of the tree. "Kerry Meros. And don't mention it, little.....dude."

Okay, it still boggled her mind like nothing else that there were not one......not two......BUT THREE males that weren't human. How was this even possible!? What kind of taskforce is this!?

Before she could ponder further on that thought, the human that Atsuha rescued came stumbling out of the tent, took one look at the group.....and promptly pulled out his sword, obviously scared witless.

Wow, Lady Kyouko wasn't kidding., the hornet thought to herself. The locals really are blades first, ask questions later when it comes to beings like us.

"Relax, dude. We're not here to fight or harm you. Put that thing away before you do something stupid.", Kerry called out to the human, choosing to remain on her current perch.

@FrogRFlowR

"You seemed all banged up when we saw you earlier. You really should rest." she added with a honeyed voice. "I can help you fall asleep if necessary."

"Read the room, dragon. If anything, you're gonna scare him more.", spoke Kerry, rolling her eyes at Tomi's attempted seduction.

While the girls argued about whatever they were arguing about and the other male monsters did little to help, Samael trudged through some underbrush towards the group. Having lagged behind slightly, the demon panted and looked around at everyone briefly giving the new people a once-over before making his way to Lunatea's side.

"Luna," he was out of breath, looking similar to how he had that night but not as out of sorts "We stay together from now on...Cause it...Was scary...And..." his voice trailed as he shifted his feet, she knew full well his feelings thus Luna was aware of why he wanted to stick by her side.

“Calm down. In fact, we’re the ones who saved your life. Hey, stop. Don’t hurt her. Or else you’ll have all of us to contend with.”

"Yea, you're doing a real good job telling your saviors to stay back. The same ones that bailed you out. Thanks by the way."

"You lost, your Warband lost. Only you survive."

They all said the same thing, that they saved him. Takeshi had plenty of reason to doubt them but considering that he was here and not a corpse on the beach meant that they were likely telling the truth. Still, that didn't mean that they saved him for purely benevolent reasons. Takeshi wasn't going to heap gratitude on them for now.

What Gringor said bothered Takeshi more. "Is the half-naked man correct? Am I really the only survivor from the beach?" He asked them. "What about my father, Lord Hideo Oja? Did any of you see him? What about Lord Shigesato Rekka? Or his wife, Sakura? What exactly happened at the beach?"

He feared the worst. If what they said was true, then... then those people, people he grew up with, were all dead. Even his father. Takeshi's heart grew heavy, just thinking about it was painful. It would have been better for him to die alongside them in the beach, like what was supposed to happen.

"Yes. You wouldn't want to cause a commotion, right? We didn't even have time to properly rest, yet..."

Takeshi pointed his sword at the approaching Tomi, but the golden Dragon guessed correctly that he would not make a move against her. Takeshi knew that he was neither ready nor properly equipped to fight something like a Dragon. He allowed her to push his weapon away but recoiled slightly when her tail caressed his face. That was about the only resistance he could put up.

His face flushed red and his heart skipped a beat when Tomi sat beside him. Her beautiful, pale-skinned face and alluring, gold eyes were close, letting Takeshi admire them fully. Not helping was the simple clothing that the Dragon wore.

"You seemed all banged up when we saw you earlier. You really should rest. I can help you fall asleep if necessary."

"Read the room, dragon. If anything, you're gonna scare him more."

The small exchange snapped Takeshi's thoughts back. He would not be seduced! Besides, there was already a girl he liked! The young Oja freed himself from Tomi and stumbled away and to his feet, but no longer holding his sword up. "No! Stay away!"

Getting another good look at the entire taskforce, Takeshi slowly realized something. "...You're no ragtag group of monsters looking for victims. You're an organized force." He deduced correctly. "Who exactly are you? Who sent you here?"