@Enkryption, @Restalaan, @AzureKnight, @Hammerman

---

With a queen at her back and a noble stee(d)r beneath her, Liliana had never felt like such a proper knight before. Now all she needed to complete the picture was a set of rose pink armor and a nice, convenient breeze through her hair. Because after all, no knight she'd ever read about wore a helmet!

Riding with no indication of where Takeshi even was, she would only be able to follow Alice's directions and coming upon the scene of the battle, the cow making a sharp turn that was impossible for an ordinary bovine. Huffing proudly, it would then proceed to collapse and pant for its life after Liliana and Alice got off, the fairy gently patting its side. "You did great, my noble steed! I promise that if I ever summon you again, I won't have you run so long," she said sweetly while the cow faded away, the summon wearing off.

After proving that Summon Cow was, indeed, the greatest spell, Liliana would proudly stand before the members of the task force, Yurine, Takeshi, and their adversaries before pulling her sword from her back. "Watch out everyone, I'm at least a hundred...no...a hundred and one times stronger now!-" she said, before Hinami promptly launched herself at one of the enemy spearmen, and uh...

Yeah, that guy's dead. Like, super dead. Like, raised the age rating of an rp that was based on an 18+ concept somehow dead.

The jubilant fairy was speechless, a touch pale as she saw that. The friendly hobgoblin she'd met a while back was distracting her but...wasn't this how undead used to act? Shaking off that feeling, Liliana would charge into battle against the other Dragon Warrior, letting Gringor focus a bit better without three enemies to worry about. From the moment her sword touched the Dragon Warrior's though, she could sense a great disparity in their swordsmanship. Just fighting with her sword was out of the question.

...But, she knew now from her training that she wasn't that great a swordsman. Or magician. Or strategian. Or fistfighter. ...Or uh...but...

But none of that mattered! Because now, Liliana had the confidence that she could defeat absolutely anyone in a way that only she could. "Whimsy, pretty please with cherries on top!" she pleaded, narrowly parrying a blow meant to take her head off before magic surged in her blade, then channeled back down to her arms. Before, she'd learned that she could "stack" spells onto her own body, like Anti-Magic field and Haste, but this time she was going to try using an offensive spell.

"One..." the fairy said as her wooden sword seemed to catch fire, a white hot torrent of magma beginning to swell up from the hilt of her blade. "Two," Liliana said, before fading from sight entirely, the only indication she was there now being the extreme heat her blade exuded. "Three! Now I'm unbeatable! Wah-Ha-Ha!" the fairy shouted, giving away her position and promptly receiving a slash to where her throat would be, a magical barrier in the form of a thick pane of glass taking the blow before the magic-cutting blades of the Dragon Warrior tore right through it.

"Wah! That's cheating!" the invisible cheating fairy exclaimed, having narrowly avoided the blow by using Size Trick to shrink herself. Now an invisible, flaming, annoyed annoyance, Liliana would fly around the Dragon Warrior, proving nearly impossible to hit as she slashed away at his body, mostly at his wrist to try and disarm him. "Gaia Hazard: Magma Fly!"


@Rezod92, @Xaltwind

---

Eula's pleasant walk back to the village was interrupted, the automaton finding herself lost in memories and space itself, as she was suddenly being accosted by four armed ruffians. Varjans, from the make of their equipment. It seemed they wanted information, and thought the lone young woman ("young being relative when you're a robot") would make for an easy target. Three of them seemed rather weak, as far as human warriors went, but the larger, more decorated and armed man would potentially prove problematic.

Just as Eula's fingers twitched, ready to begin disarming them and stunning them, a familiar looking hornet woman blindsided one of them. Now was no time to hesitate, as Eula promptly grabbed the face of one of the Varjan shield-bearers and unleashed a small lancet of stunning demonic energy, before immediately tossing him like a projectile at the most dangerous looking target. With mechanical precision the grown man would be hurtled towards his superior, before Eula stopped and picked up the dropped shield from her human fastball. She would use it to block a slash from the already armed swordsman, before breaking away from him and going after the elite soldier.

"My apologies, but I'll take the one with the mace," she said as she passed Kerry, preparing to duel the most dangerous target. With a shield, she'd at least be able to avoid having one of her arms damaged again, and she'd likely have to disarm her opponent. She didn't know if Varjan steel resisted magic, but now that her magic bolt had been seen once, it was unlikely that she'd get a chance to use it on him.

To Relica, an accomplished engineer, the sight of an Automaton with a non-standard model might prove an interesting sight. Usually they focused solely on ranged attacks, but this one was diving headlong into melee.

Yuki

@Crowvette@AzureKnight@PaulHaynek

After finally catching up to Shizuka she was finally able to slow her pace much to her relief. Hearing his greeting as she gave a nod of her head “You are correct, I’m Yuki the Oni,it seems my reputation precedes me! I'm the best Oni you will ever meet of course, don’t let any of those other Oni tell you otherwise” A big grin on her face as she pounded her chest in pride. Noticing the peculiar squint he was giving her as she turned her head side to side peeking over her shoulders making sure that he was looking at her and not someone else.

“My, my, quite familiar with my kin you say? And these ‘Hobbies’ it sounds like you may have had a good time in the past” Yuki started to laugh until he gave her the friendly warning. “Oh? Me? Not behaving myself? I couldn’t ever imagine causing any trouble or resorting to shenanigans…..there is no need to worry your little head off about that” giving him a small wink as she clasped her hands behind her back and leaned in towards him in a teasing manner. “besides what about Io….what if she is the one that is into shenanigans this timeeeee” Yuki teased playfully still keeping things light.

Though she did take his warning to heart, knowing how important this mission was. Knowing that she would have to be on her best behavior, even if her instincts and urges to stir things up kicked in. She knew she would have to keep them all under control and under wraps.


….

After time had passed and they had gotten closer to their destination Yuki glanced at Shizuka as she gave a small nod of acknowledgement, hanging back as she came to a halt. Her ears focused in on the conversation that was being had nearby. “That may be true….once you get a better grasp of his state of mind, then maybe we can show ourselves, it may be a better approach, so there isn’t that initial negative reaction if he does see us with you from the start” Yuki whispered to him in understanding as she agreed with the idea, deciding to hang back while Shizuka made the initial contact, while keeping herself ready if she was needed.

The next time Lunatea woke, she was sitting against a tree likely still reeling from the effects of her earlier outburst. She saw that she had a single piece of clothing on, Takeshi's red kimono top. Looking up, she saw the bare-chested young lord watching the cemetery... which no longer had the thick fog over it. Moreover, the sounds of fighting could be heard from over there and it was undoubtedly from Yurine and the taskforce. It seemed they had run into some sort of trouble.

"Oh, you're awake!" Takeshi glanced back and noticed the Wererabbit was finally conscious. "Lunatea, are you alright? How are you feeling?" He asked as he kneeled over to her. "Yurine and the others are in trouble and I need to go help them. But will you be okay here?"





It was chaos in the cemetery. From Hinami losing control and draining the energies a couple of the samurai to Atsuha using some ensnared samurai as some sort of makeshift flail. Gringor and Liliana dueled a Dragon Warrior each, while Skarsneek decided to attempt to take on and calm his Jiangshi sister-in-law. Alice, however, decided to enjoy the spectacle unfolding before her.

The Dragon Warrior dueling Gringor held his sword aloft in the ground, before smirking. A samurai swordsman hits the High Orc from the back, distracting the yokai enough for the Dragon Warrior to rise and get a few solid slashes in. The attacks hurt, but they didn't draw Gringor's blood. At least, not yet. The swordsman then jumped into the High Orc's back to try and get him off balance.

Meanwhile, Liliana harassed her Dragon Warrior with small attacks and feared no retaliation because of her small size and invisibility. Unfortunately, the Dragon Warrior did not seem to be getting hurt from the magical attacks and his grip on his sword was strong. The stalemate was broken, however, when an axe buried itself into his exposed rib. Yurine dragged the Shizuyaman to the ground and finished him off with an axe to the torso. "Little one, you need to help your spider friend!"

The old warrior pointed at Atsuha whose bludgeoning of the enemy was interrupted when two spearmen approached her. One of them swung his spear to cut the web while another leapt to the air, spinning as he jumped. His speartip glowed blue and it smacked Atsuha on the head. The hit, obviously, was not normal and the Jorou-Gumo felt like something exploded in front of her. Her ears rang and her vision became hazy. The two spearmen then started thrusting their weapons at her carapace in an effort to actually damage her.

Skarsneek made himself bait for Hinami with Alice watching closely. But before the Jiangshi can bite, the third Dragon Warrior slashed at her from behind. Hinami might be inclined to bite him and drain him of his energies, but she would find that his chi did not come out easily and she would be pushed off and receive a couple of hard slashed for the trouble.

---

While the Varjans' attention were on Eula, Relica's drones and Kerry came from behind. The scared peasants watched as the unwitting invaders were blindsided by the monsters.

The twin-axe Warrior was stabbed from behind by Kerry and fell to the ground, seemingly down. Meanwhile, the two shielded Warriors were zapped from behind by Relica's drones. They weren't taken down, but they were stunned long enough for Eula to close the distance, nab one of them and hurl him at the Varjan Elite, taking the Varjan's shield for herself in the process.

"Monsters! Kill them!"

The Elite violently swatted away the Warrior hurled at him with his mace and confronted the shielded Eula. He started with a quick, but powerful, side swing that knocked the Automaton's shield to the side and then immediately followed it up with a mighty kick to the torso that sent Eula sliding on her feet a meter away. The Varjan Elite was relentless, and was ready to do an overhead swing at her.

Meanwhile, one of Relica's drones were knocked out of the air by a well-placed thrown axe. The Varjan Warrior with the axes had recovered, and his gaze soon turned to a fellow Warrior fighting the Hornet with sword and shield, doing his best with shield thrusts and sword slashes. He raised his axe, waiting for the right moment to hit Kerry and give his ally an advantage.

---

"My name is Kannazuki Shizuka, I am a ronin who was tasked by a benefactor of the Oja clan to assist in driving back the Varjan invaders. We've come to inform you that both Hideo-dono and his son Takeshi-dono are alive and well, and we've been assisting the latter for the past few days in gathering more allies for the cause. We were hoping you would lend your blade to our cause. Ah..."

Kazenosuke's hand immediately went to his sword's hilt when Shizuka appeared, but relaxed when he heard the 'Oja' name. He was still wary, though, since this azure swordsman seemed to have come with two individuals; individuals who were clearly not human. Regardless, he still listened to Shizuka's words to the finish.

"They're alive, huh?" Kazenosuke seemed conflicted on how to feel about that.

"Also, if you don't mind me asking, who were those men you were speaking with just now? In addition, Takeshi-dono was wondering why you didn't join the battle on Sanjo Beach days ago."

"I was... sick at that time." Kazenosuke answered the last question, rather hesitantly. "By the time I recovered, it was all too late."

"Anyway, you don't recognize those people? Those are Varjans. Y'know, the same Varjans you said you were driving back?" Kazenosuke continued. "The one who came here seem pretty high up, though. He claimed to be answering to Serek'uar himself, the Lord Of The Conquest Of Shizuyama." He revealed. "They offered... things to me. Pretty nice things..."

"But enough about me, you say your assisting Takeshi but you've got yokai with you, don't you?" The dancing swordsman suddenly laughed out loud. "How the hell did Takeshi listen to you? Did you cast a spell on him or something? And what of his father? Did he agree to this too? Or is this something done behind his back? 'Cause let me tell you, Lord Oja's so gonna slice Takeshi's head off if that's the case." He then laughed some more.

"And what of those two? Are they your wives?" Kazenosuke pointed at Yuki and Io who kept their distance. "Hey, you two! Don't stand there awkwardly! Come closer and help your boyfriend better his pitch."

---

---

---

*Finish 'Pre-Emptive Strike' to unlock next tale*







*Finish 'Pre-Emptive Strike' to unlock next tale*

@PaulHaynek, @Rezod92, @The Irish Tree

---

Well... This had gone horribly wrong horribly fast. Relica cursed under her breath as one of her drones went on a little trip, beyond her control. It didn't seem to have broken, but she wasn't willing to risk further damage to it at this point, instead landing it in some bushes a small bit away from the scuffle - hopefully, the varjan goons wouldn't try to run after and stomp on it. With one drone down, and none of the varjans really knocked out yet, this had quickly turned in terms of favor. She had hoped that the shock from her drones would've been strong enough to at least paralyze the swordsmen, but it seemed that had utterly failed - and she felt a vein of annoyance form on her temple.

Kerry had also not amanaged to KO the axe-thrower, but at least he hadn't hurled his weapon at one of the peasants. If one of them got hit square in the face she'd never hear the end of it from the monk. Did he reven realize how precious these drones were? And how expendable peasants were!? It's not like anyone's growing any food on Shizuyama during the invasion anyway! Bah! Still, the situation needed immediate addressing. Their distraction had deecided to join the fight, but was under pressure from the tassel-armored leader-looking fellow. Kerry was busy exchanging blows with one of the swordsmen and the axe-thrower was on his way back onto his feet...

"The hell you are...!" Relica muttered through grit teeth with a venomous bite to her tone.

Her remaining drone zipped over to the axe-varjan and unleashed another arc of electricity... And then another... And another, all while circling in semi-circle, keeping itself in such a position as to allow Relica to see and monitor all the other combatants. She wasn't going to let anyone sneak up on and clonk her remaining precious drone!

She'd also need to remember to tweak the output of the little buggers when they got back to the temple. Feeling that the axe-thrower had been sufficiently zapped at this point, Relica would pilot the drone away and towards the swordsman that Kerry had thrown previously - and who had been knocked out of the air by his own comrade...

Using the drill-nose of her drone, she dive-bombed the grounded Varjan, aiming for the back of shin. Hopefully, the armor there wasn't strong enough to avoid being penetrated, and if the drill got inside, this guy wouldn't be able to move around any time soon. Unless varjans were immune to pain and big bleeding holes in their legs... Which Relica was fairly certain wasn't the case.

In the event that the varjan on the ground moved though, she'd have to take evasive maneuvers and park the little drone in the top of a tree or something. At which point she might as well join the fight, and would likely approach by crouching through whatewver shrubs and vegetation she could use as cover, before springing up and launching blasts from her wrist-mounted magitek arm-blasters... But that was a big if.

In any other situation, Relica would probably have squeed and rushed up to Eula to ask her a bunch of questions regarding the automaton's specs and design, but seeing as this was a serious fight, her attention was sadly entirely focused on dealing with the threats present. First take out the trash, then finish off the leader. Standard tactics. Hopefully Kerry and their new friend could deal with their respective troubles long enough for the gremlin to lend her invaluable support!

@PaulHaynek @Xaltwind @The Irish Tree (EUL)

Batting the shield away before delivering a wind empowered flip kick to the Varjan's jaw, Kerry landed gracefully as her enemy went high into the air before falling to ground in a heap, knocked out and out of the fight. Turning to her side, the hornet would find the axe-throwing Varjan on the ground, twitching and convulsing as one of Relica's drones dove into the leg of another Varjan that was knocked aside by the Elite, pinning him. Seeing that the Elite was now on his own, she quickly turned her gaze toward the peasants.

"If you're not going to help, then don't just stand there. Head for the temple, it's not far. Get going!", Kerry shouted at them before engaging the Elite, stepping hard on the head of the downed Varjan so he doesn't try anything if the hostages make their escape. As the Varjan leader kicked Eula away, Kerry would approach from the side and aimed a fast thrust for his ribs.

@PaulHaynek @AzureKnight @The Irish Tree @Enkryption

Skarsneek of the Red Hills

"Hands off her, you moron!" Skarsneek said, but took no shame as he smacked Hinami right on the back as well when she turned to face the Dragon Warrior and added salt to the injury by letting one hit her in the rear as well to offset her balance.

Then shifting to the sides and circling around Hinami, he engaged the Dragon Warrior as he let off multiple thrusts and kept his feet on the move. Constantly keeping an eye on Hinami attacks and Dragon Warrior as it turned into a three-way.

All the while, despite the immense disrespect, he'll also keep close to the tombstones as a way to ensure any slicing attacks be hampered or charges be slowed down.

Gringor of the Ironhide Tribe

Gringor eyes went red as he felt yet another hit against his back, a surge of adrenaline filled his entire body as multiple slashes cut across him and failed to break skin.

This time, Gringor didn't hesitate as he felt the swordsmen grab onto him. His own arms grabbed onto the swordsmen saddling him, not to pry him off but to pin him in place.

Letting gravity take over as Gringor jumped backward, his body weight and force nearly launching the two feet away and into the cemetery's hard ground. Feeling the impact rattling the swordsmen and barely affecting him, Gringor continued to roll backward several times before the swordsmen's body slacked.

Gringor rose from the ground to his feet, his hand still gripped onto the swordsmen's leg and dragged him like a sack of potatoes. He then tossed him towards the Dragon warrior and cracked his neck.

"Slow." He said through broken Shizuyaman and walked towards the dragon warrior, besides their clothes, there was nothing special.

"Weak."

They're not as fast as the heavenly warrior basket heads, nor are they strong as Shizuka.

"No wonder you all lose to Varjans."

It was a waste of his time. The Dragon Warrior will see that Gringor meant every word of it as well. Whether they respond in anger or bafflement, he'll have little time to think of it as Gringor made his next move.

A flurry of blows came as Gringor hammered the Dragon Warrior using the back of his axe and superior range of his weapon, not to destroy in one hit but multiple ones to break the weapon slowly over time as each blow rattled the Dragon warrior down to the bones. There was zero waste, and to Gringor, was akin to chopping a tree.

@PaulHaynek @Nakushita @AzureKnight

Io regarded both of her companions as they grouped together on the approach. She wondered what exactly would be considered "shenanigans" for her, the thought brought on by Yuki's banter. Perhaps Io's statement earlier about being unable to repair clothing immediately would be considered as such. She gave a faint smile at the thought. Perhaps she was more into shenanigans than any other would expect.

Io was surprised at the relative cordiality that Kazenosuke regarded her and Yuki with. It was certainly better than charging them with a sword drawn, at the very least - which was what Io expected given what others had said about him. "[If only.]" Io muttered in her personal language in response to Kazenosuke's statement about wives.

She cast a glance at Yuki as they were both beckoned forth. Io was not sure that she would be the most persuasive type herself, but she also wondered if letting the oni lead the negotiations would be better or worse. Io had a sneaking suspicion that an undead talking about wishing to save lives may be met with incredulity, even if it was true. "We are working together to protect Shizuyama." Io put it bluntly. "Even if Shizuyama considers us unlikely allies."

Mentions: @PaulHaynek

"U-uhhh…"

Lunatea's eyes fluttered open. W-what happened? I beat up all the samurai and then I… blacked out?

These clothes… they're Takeshi's, aren't they?

Her eyes traveled upwards, to the now bare-chested young lord who was now watching over the fogless cemetery. Her ears twitched, listening to the sounds of fighting coming from somewhere else nearby. The others… they're being attacked too!

"Oh, you're awake!" Takeshi glanced back and noticed the Wererabbit was finally conscious. "Lunatea, are you alright? How are you feeling?" He asked as he kneeled over to her.

"I-I'm fine. Just… feeling aches all over my body. That technique really took a lot out of me."

"I-I can come with you. I can still fight," she declared as she slowly stood up. "Oh!" She quickly covered her exposed panties with her hands. "Well, this is… embarrassing…" She blushed, looking up at the young lord.

@Enkryption, @Restalaan, @AzureKnight, @Hammerman

---

Well...this sucked!

Liliana's plan wasn't working at all, the little fairy's strikes not inflicting damage or making the swordsman drop his weapon. The fairy would start trying to think of a new plan, before letting out a shrill scream of surprise as an axe suddenly struck the dragon warrior right in the ribcage! "HYABAWUH!?" she cried out, falling to the ground in shock. Then, she saw the lady who she didn't know the name of yet tell her to go help Atsuha. "U-Uh, right! I can do that!" the fairy said before darting off, canceling her fiery spell on her sword to save her mental stamina.

Darting in just as a spear blow was about to collide with a part of Atsuha's carapace, the Whimsy Blade would stand before the strange spear's power and the fairy holding it would grit her teeth. Something was off with these warriors' weapons, and she didn't like it. Channeling magic once more into her blade, she would hold her blade facing the spearmen before magic erupted from it, resulting in a massive torrent of water to be blasted at the two swordsmen, a wave forming along the ground that threatened to sweep them up in it. "Tidal Surge!" Liliana said, looking positively smug.

Now that Atsuha was safe for the time being, the fairy would ask: "Are you alright? Those spears looked weird..."

---

@Rezod92, @Xaltwind

---

It seemed that Eula was right to be cautious and approach with a shield, considering that the Varjan Elite effortlessly delivered a blow that shattered the shield. Now she knew that on a scale, the mountain bandits were certainly on the low end. In truth, she hadn't fought many humans before arriving, so their overall combat prowess was surprising to her. The shield was useless to block with now, but its remains could serve well as a projectile...if she could get to it.

Kerry would go in for a thrust, while the Elite warrior would attempt to bring his mace down on Eula's head. Feeling that the strike wouldn't be enough to stop the overhead strike, the automaton would use her crouched position to dash to the side, narrowly avoiding the mace that shattered the ground where she had been. With the weapon now down, Eula would pivot and launch herself at the warrior, foregoing her stun gun to instead smash both of her fists against the sides of his helmet, the golem-like strength of the automaton hopefully proving enough to discombobulate him.

Kicking off of the mace, Eula would hope that her and Kerry could defeat this powerful soldier together before he could do lasting damage to either of them. Hornets didn't come with repair functions...as far as she knew, at least. The momentum of her kick would let her land near the shield she'd used, now crumpled and useless...that is, if you intended to use it as a shield. "Avoid trading blows if at all possible. This man's strength is monstrous..." the automaton warned, but also surmised that all of that was fairly standard information to glean at this point.

"Well, this is… embarrassing…"

"Oh, now you're embarrassed with having your underwear seen?" Takeshi sighed. "Come if you wish, but I can't make any promises of protection if your body gives in to exhaustion, okay?"

---

Skarsneek attempted to both distract Hinami and fight off the Dragon Warrior. A difficult task to say the least, but then a sword emerged from the Dragon Warrior's torso. A bare-chested Takeshi ran the warrior through from behind with a blade, killing him instantly. With his sword wet with blood, the young lord surveyed the immediate area.

Hinami looked feral and out of control, a rabid yokai loose in this cemetery surrounded by fallen Shizuyaman warriors. A haunting sight had Takeshi not known they were traitors trying to kill him. Besides, Skarsneek there was also a naked Alice who did not seem to be participating in the fight. "...Do I want to ask what's going on?"

While Atsuha was stunned, Liliana came to her defense by stopping a spear before it hit the spider monster. She then retaliated with torrents of water that blasted from her tiny sword, something that the Spearmen did not expect and so, they were swept away and crashed into some of the gravestones. After Yurine dispatched her current enemy, she saw what happened and could only sigh.

The Dragon Warrior did not respond to Gringor's taunts. Instead, he suddenly sat down with his legs crossed. He closed his eyes and relaxed, calming himself from the thrill of battle before glowing blue. When Gringor started attacking, his hits on the Dragon Warrior simply bounced off harmlessly. It seemed similar to Nobutada's ability, but it felt different. A paper talisman then attached itself on the Dragon Warrior's shoulder, breaking his concentration and allowing the High Orc to pummel him out cold.

"...Looks like that's all of them." Yurine approached Gringor, the source of the talisman. Indeed, the attacking Shizuyamans were either on the cemetery's stone floors or have fled to parts unknown. And would you look at that, Takeshi and Lunatea have come back.

Now, the only enemy the taskforce had was one of their own: Hinami.

---

"If you're not going to help, then don't just stand there. Head for the temple, it's not far. Get going!"

Kerry told the scared villagers. She had recently defeated the Varjan Warrior dueling her while the axe-thrower that had her in his sights was zapped unconscious by Relica's remaining drone. Despite the immediate vicinity clear of hostiles, the peasant couple still did not make any move to get to safety. Either too scared or simply did not believe a yokai's words.

Relica then used her drone to further incapacitate the Varjan Warrior thrown, and knocked away, by the Elite. His body only jerked when he was hit, showing no signs of stirring. The Gremlin's attack on him might be needless, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The last enemy was the Varjan Elite, about to swing down his mace unto Eula. But the Automaton evaded the vertical attack and then he was ran through from the side by Kerry with her spear. He uttered nothing but he was clearly hurt, swinging his mace to the side which forced the Hornet away. With him distracted, Eula used the opportunity to slam both of her mechanical fists against the sides of the Elite's helmet.

The two monsters waited for the Varjan Elite's next move... but after a few seconds of standing firm, the Elite collapsed to the ground defeated. The taskforce has won.

"That was amazing, taskforce!" The monk ran towards the yokai trio to congratulate them. "I'll let you three get your bearings while I talk to the villagers." He then left Eula, kerry and Relica alone.

---

"We are working together to protect Shizuyama. Even if Shizuyama considers us unlikely allies."

"Oh? And what do you get in return for helping this yokai-hating island?" Kazenosuke asked. "Never mind, I think I know the answer. You just want Shizuyama to stop hating the yokai. Fair enough." The swordsman jumped to his conclusion. However, he did not seem to mind the false reason.

"Still, I don't wanna waste my time and efforts on a lost cause. You're gonna have to prove to me that you lot are worth helping." Kazenosuke said, completely disregarding the Oja Clan's authority on this matter. The swordsman began pondering, scratching his chin with his eyes closed. "Hmmm, but how...?"

His eyes then widened, having arrived at a suitable answer. "Ah, I know! How about a duel?" Kazenosuke suggested. "Not a one-on-one duel, mind you. I'll take on all three of you at the same time. Beat me, and maybe I'll throw in with this little resistance Takeshi has going. If I beat you, though, then I get all the money you three currently have."

"What do you guys say?"

---

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*Finish 'Pre-Emptive Strike' to unlock next tale*







*Finish 'Pre-Emptive Strike' to unlock next tale*

@PaulHaynek, @Rezod92, @The Irish Tree

---

The fight had come to a very sudden and abrupt end. Sort of anti-climatctic, really. But then, a win was a win, and if nobody else (of importance) got hurt, then all the better! Piloting her still-operational drone back to where she had been hiding, Relica set the little device down close toherself, pulled up her goggles, shut the compartment on her glvoe and then picked her little hellraiser up carefully, like it was a baby kitten or something. Placing it back in its rightful spot on her M.E.E.P, she looked around in all directions for a bit, before being content that the coast was clear and there weren't any Varjan stragglers or reinforcements around. Because it would've sucked to have beaten this bunch, only to get slumped by a gaggle of goons they hadn't spotted before.

Making her way up to where the actual fighting had eben, the gremlin muttered something under her breath the entire way. She was obviously not in a good mood. Even the monk's generous and sincere praise of their skill went completely in one fluffy ear and out the other. The tiny-framed monster meandered over to the bush where her other drone had been forced to land. Rummaging through the foliage for a bit, she eventually pulled it out. Her eyes narrowed as she inspected the device from all sides, before sighing in a disgruntled fashion.

"Damnable crap-shit turd-piss... You just had to go and throw your crappy axe at it, didn't you? Ass. I can't believe this. Uuugghhh, can't fix it here either. I'll hafta do repairs once we're done with this crap." Relica moaned, to nobody buyt herself in particular, obviously dispelased with the damage ehr precious machine had suffered in the scuffle.

Placing the second drone back on its spot, she turned around and looked at the various downed varjans lying sprawled on the ground before her. While it was probably just a trick of the light, some that looked at her could swear they saw her eyes burn with the fires of vengeance. And, true to form, Relica did approach each of the black-armored bastards, one by one. As she loomed over the first, her four octo-arms extended and started snatching up their weapon, taking off their helmet, their gloves, their boots and even unhook and wrestle their body armor free... If at all possible. She then proceeded to have the same arms bend, twist, crunch, dent and7or snap the pieces of varjan equipment and turn it into veritable scrap. She tore off the hilts from the swords, snapped off the heads of the axes (and throw them off somewhere), and tore off the mace-head from the big mace and hucked it off into some random direction.

Basically, she just took out her rage on these guys... Or, so it might've seen at first. As she approached Kerry and the automaton, who she hadn't yet been introduced to, she'd seemingly calmed down a bit and had a more serious but non-plussed expression on her face.

"Best to break their gear whenever we can. They already got a huge numbers advantage, so any stuff they need to repair or replace will, hopefully, eat away at their resources." She said, revealing her plan to slow-burn the remaining 79,996 varjans. "Anyway, nice to meet ya. I'm Relica, and... I guess you two 've already met, huh?" She continued, looking at Eula and extending an octo-arm to shake the automaton's. The gremlin had a softer ring to her voice as she spoke to the advanced golem though, noticeably more so than when she spoke to either Kerry or the monk. "Name's Relica, I'm a gremlin from Grelden. Came here 'cuz I heard there was a girl who could use my help keeping herself in tip-top shape. I'm guessin' that's you then?" She asked, a very small smile on her face.

Her eyes then darted over to Kerry. The smile was no longer present.

"You had one job. One. You been slacking off after you left Grelden, Cury? That axe-ham shoulda been a cinch for someone like you to knock out, but noooo~! Now I'm down one drone and I haven't even been here for half a day yet." She half-scolded, half-taunted, half-criticized, half-sighed at her hornet buddy. Of course, Relica was well aware that this wasn't Kerry's fault - nothing was certain in a fight and the best laid plans could come undone at any moment. Still, she was probably just venting her frustration and, unfortunately, Kerry happened to be the only viable person present who could serve as an outlet for the little lady's muling.

"... Well, whatever. Either of you got any rope? I'd like to tie these guys up so they don't go running back home to their camps or whatever. Oh, and I'm taking those." Relica said, suddenly realizing something and walking over the downed Varjan Elite. Then promptly ripping his tassles form his armor. Holding them in her small hands, a mean grin spread across her face. "Mine now, bitchcake."

She then returned to Eula and Kerry, still with that same mean smile on her face.

The monk was busying himself with talking to the two locals, who had utterly fail to run away when prompted by Kerry. Not too surprising, they'd probably soiled their drawers at the sight of three monsters suddenly engaging four varjans in a battle that came out of nowhere. Hopefully, the altruistic fool could get them to come back to reality and have them go off to somewhere safe. She figured that once he was done talking with them he'd come over and pipe up, telling them he was ready to keep going. After all, Relica had no frickin' clue where they were headed or how to get there. it wasn't like the map of Shizuyama she'd been studying back home was exactly detailed... It was mostly just a map of Zipangu, with a small arrow pointing at one non-descript island, with the words 'Shizuyama' scribbled next to it...

@PaulHaynek @Xaltwind @The Irish Tree (EUL)

"You had one job. One. You been slacking off after you left Grelden, Cury? That axe-ham shoulda been a cinch for someone like you to knock out, but noooo~! Now I'm down one drone and I haven't even been here for half a day yet."

"Oh no. Relica is down a drone. Oh, the mamono-manity. Whatever shall we do? We are powerless. This surely spells the end for us all.", Kerry replied as she rested Dusk on her shoulders, voice 100% in sarcastic monotone before rolling her eyes like she had been on the receiving end of a Relica-loaded tirade before......and that's because she has been on the receiving end of a Relica-loaded tirade before.

10 times, as a matter of fact.

"Done with your tantrum, Rel? How was I supposed to know one good stab wasn't enough to take him out? Not every enemy goes down in one hit, you know that as well as I do. 'Sides, you can fix it. And if not.....well, those crates may have enough materials for you to make more. Drones are replaceable. Lives aren't."

Done with her statement, Kerry then turned to the newly arrived member of their quest with a smile.

"Hey. I don't think we've properly met before. Name's Kerry. Nice timing on your entrance, by the way. We were kinda stuck on what to do before you came along."

_{@PaulHaynek@Crowvette@Nakushita}

Kazenosuke's House

---

Shizuka would be the first to say that Kazenosuke's insolent attitude was less than pleasurable, but at the very least he gave them more information. He now knew who the supposed commander of the invasion force was. Serek'uar He said to himself, I'll have to inform the others about that later. Io and Yuki stepped forward and said their piece. "They are not my wives, simply comrades who share the fight with me." He said. "After rescuing the young lord, we informed him of our course, and he accepted our help. There was no coaxing or charming involved."

His snide comments aside, Kazenosuke didn't seem like he was quite on board with aiding Takeshi and the Taskforce, saying that they'd have to prove their worth. Shizuka scoffed at the idea that the word of his land's lord wouldn't be worth enough, but he was familiar with Kazenosuke's type. A loner; A man who only answers to his principles and interests.

His proposition, however, caused the fellow ronin to raise a brow. A duel was easy enough to understand, it was a perfect way for a person who lives by the sword to understand someone else. But a one-on-one with Shizuka wasn't enough, it would seem. Kazenosuke chose to handicap himself and offered to fight all three of them at once. Shizuka has heard word of the swordsman's skill, even from Takeshi himself, but he wondered what the point of this matchup was.

Intrigued, and having kept the mission in mind, Shizuka decides to have the group agree to Kazenosuke's proposal.

"I've heard tales of the Dancing Blade, but I wonder if this time perhaps, it has taken on more than it bargained for. Io-san, Yuki-kun, on me! Act as my support for now, I'll engage him directly starting off." He said, his thumb having slightly exposed
his sword from its sheath.

---

_{@PaulHaynek@Restalaan@Enkryption@The Irish Tree@Hammerman}

Kozukata Cemetery

---

Regrettable, though a good effort, Atsuha's plan to use a couple of weakened attacks as flails was thwarted by two spearmen who were bold enough to directly charge her. The first one had free his bound comrades, tearing through her webs. Before she could react and counter the lancer, the second warrior made an attack on her, jumping in the air then spinning towards her. With a well-placed lunge, the tip of the native's spear glowed with strange light. It created a magical explosion of sorts that hit her directly in the head. The attack caused a nauseating feeling in her, which was soon accompanied by dizziness and head pain. A bit of blood began dripping down from her forehead. An unfortunate predicament the jorougumo found herself in, under normal circumstances she wouldn't have allowed herself to be put in this situation... She could do little as the two assaulters closed in to deal damage to her carapace.

Thankfully, her fairy comrade swooped in for a quick save. Having just narrowly blocked a direct thrust, quickly channeled her magic and unleashed a powerful water spell that swept their foes away. Having smashed into some gravestones, it seemed they had been taken out of the fight. While Yurine didn't seem to happy about further damage to the cemetery, Atsuaha - still dizzy - was nonetheless grateful. "Lili-chan...geh... Thank you very much for that." She managed to utter out, still holding her head.

Shaking her head to snap out of it, she began frantically looking around the graveyard. She saw that the others had made short work of all the other warriors. However, her main concern was her frenzied sister, who contributed to the victory in her own way. In her current state, Hinami had no trouble tearing through and draining foes of their chi. The dragon warrior, however, would prove to be not such easy prey. His sorcery would like help in staving off Hinami's draining effects, and his powerful cuts may spell trouble for her even now. Skarsneek would throw himself in front of the warrior as a distraction, however, in an attempt to protect his sister-in-law. It wasn't likely that he'd be able to fight off the powerful warrior by himself, which Atsuha realized and prepared a spell to the best of her ability to aid her husband.

Help would arrive, however, in the form of the young lord. Stabbing the dragon warrior from behind, he instantly ended the lone warrior. "Takeshi-san!" She exclaimed, finally dawn a look of relief amidst this chaos. This still left the issue of her berserk sister in spite of it...

Skarsneek slapped Hinami's rear-end in an attempt to draw her attention from everyone else, a plan that may very well backfire. Snarling, she attempted to swipe and pounce at him. Perhaps the goblin would be just swift enough to dodge her advances. Had the male monster bitten off more than he could chew? Perhaps so, but soon it would no longer be his problem.

Alice, who had remained completely removed from this battle up until, had secretly been raising the pressure of her chi since the battle started. She, from the start, intended to be the one who would deal with Hinami when the dust settled, not considering the Shizuyama warriors to be worth her attention. Hinami looked directly at Takeshi, her yokai instincts running in overdrive. However, Alice's plan worked. Just as she was about to charge the young lord, her neck snapped in Alice's direction nearly 180 degrees. Moving like a blur, Hinami charged directly at the mad hatter. Hinami would attempt to throw the whole weight of her body onto her and gnaw on the side of her neck. "Chiiiii...." She uttered in a eerie wail.

"No, Alice!" Atsuha attempted to channel another spell, but still couldn't quick focus her magic. Unfortunate, as magic would be the only think in her arsenal that would be able to keep her sister at bay. Atsuha would attempt to make her way over to the pair, prepared to use herself as a shield if need be to stop her sibling.

Yuki

@Crowvette@AzureKnight@PaulHaynek

Even with the situation seemingly not going the way they had hoped or intended. Yuki had kept a smile on her face with her hands still clasped behind her back. Glancing over at Io when she muttered something in a language that Yuki wasn’t familiar with. Though she figured it likely wasn’t too important, and more likely to be a complaint about the comment made by Kazenosuke.

Yuki finding the assertion that they could be his wives to be amusing more then anything else. “I don’t know if Takeshi is quite man enough to handle the two of us as his wives, or quite brave enough to do so” Yuki quietly said just loud enough for Io to hear. Her bemused expression remaining as she watched on in intrigue as she hadn’t expected things to take quite a turn.

“Very well, but in payment for my support, you must pay the price of the Oni, I hope you are ready and willing to accept such a contract, and to be ready to pay the price when the time is due” continuing to smile as she still had her hands clasped behind her back. Fully intending to support Shizuka as she saw the glint of his sword when he had slightly exposed it.

Seeing things having become quite serious, Yuki knew she had to be on her toes and stay alert. Though she much preferred to solve things without fighting if she could. She was prepared to help Shizuka out in whatever way she could. Being glad that she wasn’t the one having to do most of the fighting as Kazenosuke looked like quite the formidable opponent. “Just tell me what you need, and I will do my best” speaking to both Io and Shizuka.

Mentions: @PaulHaynek

"Oh, now you're embarrassed with having your underwear seen?" Takeshi sighed.

"N-no! It's not just my underwear!" She yelled with a blush, her ears twitching back and forth. "It's the rest of my body as well! T-this is the first time I'm completely naked like this in front of a guy, you know!" Showing panties is one thing but showing her bare chest is something completely different!

Not that she had any chest to show off.

"Come if you wish, but I can't make any promises of protection if your body gives in to exhaustion, okay?"

She nodded. "I know. Still, I can't ignore the others if they're in danger as well. I'm part of the Taskforce as well and I will fight to the best of my ability."

"B-but, do you mind if I wear your kimono for a while? I-I can't fight without any clothes!"

Thankfully, when they returned, the others had already finished their fight against the humans, with Takeshi landing the killing blow on the last warrior.

Unfortunately, Hinami had gone out of control once again. And there would be no rest for them before they subdued her first.

"Hinami! Wake up!" She yelled, even though she knew full well it wouldn't be that easy to turn her back to normal. She was looking at him and the wererabbit was ready to cast her tornado to immobilize her the moment she lunged towards him.

Only, it never happened. She decided to lunge after Alice instead.

"Watch out!"

Unfortunately, she was far too much away to help Alice with her problem.

@PaulHaynek@AzureKnight@Hammerman@The Irish Tree@Enkryption

Gringor of the Ironhide Tribe

Gringor eyes narrowed when the Dragon Warrior sat down before glowing blue for a brief moment, idly, he wondered what the latter did.

That got answered when his weapon bounced off from the body like nothing, reversing nearly all the momentum in his strike. Almost like what Nobutada did against his strikes.

Though it felt different, Nobutada also didn't need to sit on the ground as well to do that.

Any other questions he had flew out as a paper charm came to rest on the Dragon Warrior shoulder and dissipated the blue aura which was why the next strike of his landed squarely to knock him out cleanly and drain his spirit energy.

"What's that?" He pointed to the paper curiously before bending down and grabbing the Dragon Warrior clothes roughly. Examining its material closely to have an idea of what it does.

Looking to the current fight, seems like Gobbo trying to restrain wife's sister. Not sure what's going on why dead girl lose mind but it didn't looked fun.

A brief glance to the Dragon Warrior white robes and back to the action, Gringor had a thought.

Skarsneek of the Red Hills

Left.

A swipe that would've cut deep was barely evaded.

Right.

Hardened wooden club met thrusting steel at an angle, sending it to off to the sides.

Skarsneek's heart pounded as he weaved past the attacks, gets closer and under their guard before sliding past them in a push. Separating the two apart as he turned to face them again, his club coming together into a staff.

It was not good, Skarsneek thought as his mind reached to a conclusion. This delicate balance would crumble soon, and he had to prevent the worse scenario.

So when a sword erupted from the Dragon Warrior he fought, Skarsneek blinked several times to both clear droplets of blood from his eye and wondering what just happened.

“I owe you one! I’ll tell you later about it!” Skarsneek gestured to Takeshi, his full focus on Hinami now.

Though it seems she had different plans, as she turned towards Alice. Skarsneek didn’t let this chance go to waste for whatever reason as Hinami dove right towards her.

Swinging his body forward for momentum and nearly kissing the ground as he ran parallel to it, his staff twirling rapidly before he struck the ground deeply and embedded his club deep into the earth.

Then vaulting forward for extra speed, Skarsneek managed to catch up to Hinami mid-dive. Disassembled his clubs and snapped onto her like a predator, his clubs locking Hinami's movements as he held on tight like a barnacle.

“Gotcha!” Skarsneek triumphantly said as he went to work.

Arms wrapped around her midsection before he followed it with his legs, sealing her arms and legs completely from moving as he twisted and turned to fall flat on their backs.

All he need to do now was to keep Hinami legs in the air, it wasn’t perfect as she could very much pull herself up-

That ended when a white piece of cloth suddenly lashed out and tied both of her feet together, stringing like she was a hunted deer.

Skarsneek had to blinked in between before seeing Gringor standing over with a familiar white clothing article in his hand.

“Cloth strong. Can hold, if not, Gringor take care of it.” He hefted his axe, Yurine in particular would look at the Dragon Warrior that they both took down, now lacking his famous white robes that are being used as an impromptu binding material.

@Nakushita @AzureKnight @PaulHaynek

Io was not surprised by how the situation developed, but she was mildly surprised that it was an offer at all. 'It was simply too much to assume that there wouldn't be some kind of fight, of course.' Io thought to herself.

"Understood." Io said to Shizuka. She reached out a cold hand to touch Shizuka's back. "Take this." She whispered something under her breath, activating a scroll. It snaked around her arm as if it was alive, wrapping around the swordsman. "It will enhance your dexterity." Io mildly wondered if his could be further enhanced, but this was part of the experimentation process.

She stepped back from Shizuka after bestowing the scroll. "To be honest." Io muttered an aside to Yuki, just out of earshot of the others, having heard her previous jest. "Seeing him in combat. He may be enough to handle us both. Unless he seriously turns around in bed compared to the battlefield." Io left Yuki to mentally picture such a situation, quickly returning her focus to the fight as it was about to break out.

From the outside looking in, it would seem that Alice was more than fine with allowing Hinami to rampage to her undead heart's content. However, to the more discerning, her lack of action had purpose; by riling up her Spirit Energy, mimicking a Human in the heat of passion, she was baiting Hinami to come and attack her - for no other reason that she was the most interesting opponent in the bunch, and she wanted that smoke.

However, she didn't want anything other than a one-on-one session with the feral zombie, because she was bound to a rather selfish code of honour.

It prevented her from fully focusing on battle, if she was supposed to be working alongside another, or others. It was part of the reason she lost control during the training; fighting as a part of a team, and not the spearhead of it, threw her out of alignment, and forced her to default to her oldest personality.

Fortunately, it seemed her baiting was successful and her concerns unfounded, as Hinami pivoted off Takeshi, and blindly charged to her position. Smirking, she stood up...

"Direct assault. It seems you are much like him..." she says, as she flashed forward a few steps, much like Shizuka, but she wasn't countering any attack. No, this was just forward movement to attack on her own accord - only to break that imperceptible stride, as Skarsneek suddenly launched from behind Hinami, and grappled her.

He was invading her duel space - damaging her focus, and causing her Energy to fluctuate as a result. Alice grit her teeth, as she watched Skarsneek's grapple flowed into Gringor's sudden binding attack, and her temper flared.

Her smartly baited fight was scooped out from underneath her by rash action and opportunists!

Annoyed, Alice pivoted on her heel. "Carroll, we're going home," she says, "There's nothing left here to be concerned about."

"Sounds like a plan," Carroll says, as she slithered from behind the tombstone, and scooped Alice up. "I think we'll make better time with my speed, and be back before noon."

Alice just grunted, and settled in Carroll's arms, as the Manifested Cursed Sword displayed what she's gained from possessing Shizuka and their training - the ability to manipulate her possessed slime into a semi-human form, in her case, a redhead Lamia. Carroll giggled, and set back off for Shizuyama, and whatever they'd do there.

She knew it was hopeless to argue the current Persona into staying - not that she would anyway.

@Enkryption, @Restalaan, @AzureKnight, @Hammerman

---

"No problem!" Liliana proclaimed, clearly super proud of herself for successfully saving Atsuhi, and for doing it one super cool spell!

"Way to go, me!"

"Awesome job, me!"

"Sexy as always, me~!"

The little fairy's three brain cells cheered her own inside her noggin, like a significantly less royal, narratively meaningful, or future-color-coded state of Alice's brain. And all three brain cells were saying: "Keep going!"

However while the little fairy was feeling herself, Hinami was still raging. Seeing yet another opportunity for heroism, the little fairy would size change and immediately fly over...only to get blown away as Skarsneek's staff created a large enough gust of wind for the tiny fairy to get sent flying back from the speed of the air current. Being sent flying back, Liliana would only be saved by landing in a conveniently placed camellia (Or Tsubaki if you wanna get Zipangunese about it). Head stuck sniffing pollen and her legs kicking in the air, the fairy would pull herself out and shake the yellow pollen from her hair. "Ah...Ahh...A-Ahh..." the fairy said, reeling back before unleashing the tiniest, most adorable sneeze that caused her to shoot back to normal size, then a less-tiny-but-still-as-adorable sneeze that shrunk her back down.

Sniffling and frowning, Liliana would fly back up a bit before sneezing again, back to human size again while she grabbed a nearby unconscious warrior's garb to wipe her nose with. "Blegh..." the fairy complained, before noticing that now Skarsneek had put Hinami in a full Nelson. Whoever Nelson was. But, it seemed under control. "I did...my besht..." the stuffy-nosed fairy reassured herself, patting her shoulders and wings free of pollen.

---

@Rezod92, @Xaltwind

---

It took a significant amount of effort, but now they had managed to subdue all of the Varjan warriors. Words of praise were offered by the monk the other two mamono had traveled with, but...Eula was still a touch confused on the events at hand.

The green-haired gremlin who had fought from a distance with her drones seemed rather irate, using mechanized servo-arms to compact Varjan armor and tear apart their weapons until they were unusable scrap. A sound strategy, given the quality of the gear the Varjans were using. But, another idea struck her. Maybe the village could use some quality iron like this. Putting that thought aside for the moment, Eula would extend a hand to shake Relica's, very careful to not overexert her strength in any capacity. "A pleasure to be of help. I am Eula 039. ...If you really have been asked to come here due to my need of repairs, I apologize. It must be a great inconvenience to travel so far," the automaton said while bowing her head. Perhaps now, her second stun gun could function again.

With Relica done introducing herself, next was Kerry. Eula had seen her once before, but they hadn't had a chance to talk. "I am glad that, even if on accident, I aided those in need. I'd like to bring this scrap back to the task force's base, but I imagine you all have come for a mission of some kind," Eula said, before not even skipping a beat as she picked up a piece of armored scrap from a helmet, and proceeded to crunch it down in her mouth to start analyzing the composition. After a moment of silence, the stoic automaton would make a face of mild disgust before sticking her tongue out. "Gah..." she complained with a single noise, before shaking her head side to side. "Composition...sickening, but effective."

With Eula now standing still, Relica would be able to see the damage to the joints and plating of her right arm, roughly patched up and "scarred" with minor weld marks in her body's attempts to repair rather deep damage.

"What's that?"

"Oh, just a little charm that makes a person itchy." Yurine answered. "Dragon Warriors need to be concentrating when using their Chi Shields. You can either wait for them to exhaust themselves doing it or stop it themselves, or you can use harmless spells to break their concentration. Anything physical will not work."

Meanwhile, a feral Hinami had her eyes on a newly-arrived Takeshi. The young lord gripped his sword for a fight, only for the Jiangshi to switch targets. Her new prey was Alice, who had made herself attractive in order to bait Hinami's hunger. But when the undead lunged at the Wonderlandian, she was interrupted by Skarsneek who attempted to lock her body down with his own. Gringor also came, holding the robes of a Dragon Warrior.

"The robes aren't anything special." Yurine pointed out, unamused. "Unless the Jiangshi is as strong as an average man, the cloth will rip."

Takeshi watched as Alice slink away from it all. She was probably gearing for a showdown with Hinami, only for the male Goblin to put a stop to all that. Takeshi sympathized with her, having a good duel denied left a rought aftertaste. Even if that was the better outcome. "Atsuha!" The young lord called over the Jorou-gumo. "Bind your sister before she escapes!"

As the situation seemingly died down, Yurine approached Lunatea and Liliana, who had found themselves near each other as they gathered around the body-locked Hinami. "Don't tell me this is a normal occurrence in your little squad." She crankily told the two monsters. "Else, Takeshi's trust in you is doomed from the start."

---

After the exchange of pleasantries and the looting of the fallen Varjans, the monk has come back and the peasants have gone away. "I told them to head for Terauchi Temple, and that the yokai are harmless. Well, at least to the locals." He explained. "However, I also learned that they were from the survivor camp that we are heading to. The illness struck when they gave all their food to a Varjan patrol that found them."

"I'm starting to think that the illness is born out of hunger. The body begins to be more susceptible to disease if it weak." The monk continued. "But then, there are the Varjans. So there might be something more sinister to this than a simple outbreak. Regardless, we need to move before it gets any worse."

"I am glad that, even if on accident, I aided those in need. I'd like to bring this scrap back to the task force's base, but I imagine you all have come for a mission of some kind,"

"Right you are, madam yokai. We are on our way towards a survivor camp that is in dire need of a healer. The camp has been afflicted with an illness that I do not know yet and I must be there to properly take care of it." The monk replied to Eula. "I know you said you wanted to return to the temple, but why not join us in our mission? Traveling with a group is much better than going at it alone." He offered to the Automaton.

Relica and Kerry can also weigh in on the matter.

---

"I've heard tales of the Dancing Blade, but I wonder if this time perhaps, it has taken on more than it bargained for. Io-san, Yuki-kun, on me! Act as my support for now, I'll engage him directly starting off."

“Just tell me what you need, and I will do my best”

"Understood."

Kazenosuke chuckled. "At least put up a fight, yeah?"

He quickly unsheathed his blade, which began spinning at an incredible speed, almost a blur from what the taskforce could see. Kazenosuke let his opponents admire the whirling sword before moving it around him, daring the taskforce to attempt to intercept the spinning. His feet also started moving, approaching step by step towards the taskforce.

Kazenosuke's eyes were firmly on Shizuka and his steps were definitely heading towards the azure swordsman. But then he leapt back, doing a spinning kick that hit Yuki. With the Oni staggered, Kazenosuke delivered a heavy slash at Yuki that definitely hurt but her monster physiology prevented a single drop of blood from being shed.

The dancing blade spun his sword again as he backed away. A smug, confident smile on his face.

---

---

---

*Finish 'Pre-Emptive Strike' to unlock next tale*







*Finish 'Pre-Emptive Strike' to unlock next tale*