Rayne’s initial browsing and chatting proved productive, as she first found out that 1, yes, there were people other than humans out there, and that 2, some of them need the same kind of fit that she did. Just about anyway. The cloth seller offered to do just a bit of tailoring to make things fit just right, with which she happily agreed. Naturally this process involved a fair bit of chatting while measuring and sowing, during which the question of who they were and why they were here, one which Rayne answered quite frankly. Unsurprisingly, having not seen them in action (or straight up appear from the sky in one case), the caravaners were a fair bit more skeptical than the villagers when it came to the whole ‘being summoned from another world by a goddess no one had ever heard of’ deal.

Still, it passed the time, and soon enough, Rayne had a small but respectable set of changes of clothes that actually fit her short frame. A welcome change after a week of ill fitting garbs and repeatedly washing the same outfit over and over.

One of these, a simple cream tunic, she slipped away from the caravan inorder to slip into, returning wearing it, some dark stockings, her belt with pouches, her red scarf and a pair of feathers in her hair. It was an outfit which would have made her bend in with the people of this a fair bit more, were it not for her ears, stark white hair, and the way she casually floated above the ground.

She returned just in time to find what seemed to be something of a standoff between the other wordlers and the caravan guards. Or if not a standoff then at least a whole lot of posturing.

She couldn’t say she was a fan. She’d been hoping to have a chance to take a look at some of the books, a dense collection of info about this world could only help, and it could pass the time while traveling, but it looked like they needed to avoid some kind of altercation. She’d missed the why of why this was happening, but she stuck her nose into the problem anyway, as heroes were prone to do.

“Maybe we could give some kind of demonstration? Or have a friendly competition? Outside of the village, where there’s less risk of, ah, accidents” she suggested on the heels of Anne’s goading. She did not want to know what Fran using her powers inside of the village would do to it, and she wasn’t exactly one to talk to either, risk of collateral damage wise. You couldn't exactly cast a spell called Armageddon when anything you cared about was nearby and expect it to still be standing once things were over after all.

As Lewa approached the inspect the newly-arrived merchant caravan, he found he was hardly alone. It made sense that all the others would head over as well when faced with something new, given how hopelessly monotonous the days had been. Some of them the toa hadn't seen since the whole troop returned from their scrap with the centipedes, though not all of them. The organic called Mokou seemingly shared both his affinity for the wilderness and his restlessness, and passed the time by exploring the nearby territories, so the two ran into one another more than once. Unfortunately, they found very little to talk about whenever chance brought them together, and they soon ended up going their separate ways. Apparently Mokou had a much rougher time with the wildlife in the region, at least in the sense that they attacked her, even if they didn't really threaten her. Maybe the creatures sensed her murderous intent, radiating off her like an aura to trigger their fight or flight instincts. Lewa's own forays had been very different. Though many of the beasts he ran into reacted to his presence with aggression, it seldom took him long to convince them that he wasn't a threat. Perhaps his biomechanical nature played a part in that...or maybe it was his winning smile? Regardless, his encounters with various unknown animals marked the only bright points in those increasingly dreary days.

One other person whose arrival Lewa noted was Joker. Through some twist of fate, the two of them happened to be the only males in the group stolen from various worlds. Remilia, Sanae, and the rest might think this nothing unusual but this made for an unusual statistical anomaly for Lewa, whose own world harbored a predominantly male population of five to one, with only the female Ga-matoran juxtaposed against the male Ta, Po, Onu, Ko, and Le-matoran. Of course, this one thing the two had in common hardly served to bring Lewa and Joker together. For Lewa, the unusual gender ratio formed only the tip of a massive iceberg of things in this world that went against everything he'd ever known. Reaching out to anyone, especially when he spent every other waking moment hoping that he'd be sent back to Mata Nui the next, was a tremendous challenge. And so Lewa had remained in isolation, more despondent by the day. At least the others didn't seem to notice him as anything unusual anymore.

Once the conversation with the traders began, negotiations broke down within minutes. Egos brushed up against one another, and nothing burned brighter than the ego of someone small who got looked down on. After the battles against the Raven Heralds and the Centipedes, Lewa felt rather outclassed by most of the others, but he didn't particularly care what anyone thought of his abilities, and nor did he have anything to prove. All that mattered was that his strength was enough to protect his people--if only it could be applied. Still, some of the others seemed eager to prove themselves, especially Mokou. For a moment it seemed like Remilia wanted to smooth things over, but with her offer of healing she only really served to fan the flames by mitigating a possible fight's consequences. Meanwhile he couldn't make heads or tails of the newest arrival, Fran. At least Anne tried to calm things down, eschewing a fight in favor of some mild probing.

For his part, Lewa didn't know what would theoretically stop him from just tagging along, following the traders at whatever distance was comfortable, in order to reach a more promising destination. To that end, and in accordance with his peace-loving nature, he really didn't want this meeting to escalate into a brawl. "What is this pride-quarrel?" He looked between the otherworlders and the escorts, his gaze incredulous. "We all have a duty, do we not? No time to in-fight."

The fact she'd been pulled into another world didn't matter. The fact she'd been injured didn't matter.

She had to find a path back to Yuyuko-sama's side. That was paramount. Every moment she spent in this other world was a moment she wasn't doing her duty.

At the same time, that didn't mean she was completely unaware of the reason she was called here. As long as she was unable to return home, helping these people seemed like it was the only reasonable choice.

But none of this prevented her from training.

Every morning Youmu departed her sleeping quarters early and spent time training.

Faster. Faster. Faster.

She could always be faster. Even if the injury prevented her from moving at top speed, it didn't hinder the speed of her blades.

But just as her grandfather said, that alone would never be fast enough.

So, she had to get faster. Even more precise.

That was the purpose of a member of the Konpaku family, after all. To hone oneself into an edge that could cut down any foe.

If she couldn't return to Yuyuko-sama's side yet, she would train while she was unable to as much as possible. It only made sense to her.

It was a while after the day's training session that the merchants arrived

This was one of the clearest signs of possible routes to resolving the problems of this world and returning home, and so it was no surprise that Youmu immediately approached with the intent of at the very least asking the merchants about the world beyond the village.

Only---

They didn't believe they were capable?

A frown crossed the petite half-phantom's features, and her fingers found their way to Roukanken's hilt.

"If you require a demonstration of our capabilities, then I would be happy to show you," she said. Remilia's offer was ignored.

Sometimes you simply had to strike until your opponent understood, after all.

@PKMNB0Y@EchoWolff@Izurich@Lugubrious@Drifting Pollen@Raineh Daze@DracoLunaris@Rezod92

Between the merchant's semi-disparaging remarks and the subsequent eagerness of a few of their group's members to prove them wrong, Sanae was left in a mildly awkward spot. While Anne and Lewa were attempting to defuse the situation, it seemed quite apparent that those among them that originated from Gensokyo wanted to go about solving problems in the way that they were usually solved back home.

In other words, a duel.

Unfortunately, spellcard rules obviously did not exist in this world, which meant that there was no guarantee that the people that they fought wouldn't end up sustaining any injuries; not that such a thing would matter when Remilia of all people declared that she would act as a healer instead of joining in to assuage what Sanae assumed would have been a bruised ego.

Ultimately, though, Sanae had no intention of backing down either. If they had to get to the capital, it would be best to do so in the easiest way possible...

Which, again, ultimately meant that a show of force seemed like the easiest way to go about convincing the old man and his peers that they had every right to tag along.

While the merchant was left mildly confused on how to handle the group of young women wishing to pick a fight, the group of mercenaries that Anne had approached seemed to be more amused than not at the pretense of a match. And with Anne's words accidentally inflating their ego...

Well, the outcome was more of a foregone conclusion at this point.

"Hm? Oh, as far as mercenary bands go, we're pretty strong. Nowhere near the strongest in the company, but I think we're still more than capable of handling dangers are lurking on the road," their leader, a man in his mid-thirties decked out in leather armor, spoke as he turned towards the large mechanical being who also tried to talk them down from matching against one another. "Now, I don't think we're going to go try and take anyone's heads over all this, but the green haired girl over there—she a friend of yours?—did basically just call us incompetent. Now, I don't know what sort of level-headed old man must've made you, but we're not the type of people who can afford to just be insulted like that. It's bad for our reputation, after all, and in our line of work... Well, that's all we really have."

With that, the mercenary group's leader walked over to the older merchant and, with a smirk, patted the man on the shoulder.

"How about we take up that halfling's offer?" he asked, gesturing towards Rayne as he spoke. "The trip's been pretty calm, and I don't think it's a good idea to let our blades get too rusty. Might make a good show to watch, too. How about it?"

"...Ah, I swear, all of you people are addicted to fighting..." the merchant finally responded, letting his shoulders droop as he waved at the group of people gathering to give him some space. "Fine! You and your men are free to spar so long as it does not interfere with your duties or leave any lasting injuries on either side. I paid good coin to have you guard us, so I'd like it if you didn't muck up any chance of a good relationship because you got a bit too eager to brawl."

"Perfect!" the mercenary responded, clapping his hands before looking at the group of people more than ready to take them on. "Then how about a few matches outside the southern entrance to the town? If your healer's as good as she claims, we shouldn't have any problems; else, we have one of our own ready in case anything goes bad."

"Duels? I'd be fine with one," Sanae replied, glancing at the others briefly before nodding her head. "You wouldn't happen to have any mages on hand, would you? It'd be a bit unfair for me to go against someone who prefers to fight in close quarters, after all."

"Mages? Of course we do," he said, a slight smirk on his face as he completely misconstrued Sanae's question as a fear of fighting someone up close instead of anything near the truth. "If that's all the questions you have, then we'll meet you after we've prepared all the spare equipment we might need. Shouldn't take too long."

With everyone who wanted to fight more or less in agreement, the mercenaries wasted no time in following their leader's orders to prepare for what they assumed would be a simple match against a few overeager people who needed to be given a reality check.

That wasn't far from the truth, granted, but not necessarily in the way they would expect. Either way, those present had a bit more time to peruse the caravan's wares or get any last-minute things in order before the mercenaries were done getting ready themselves.

@VitaVitaAR@EchoWolff@Izurich@Lugubrious@Drifting Pollen@Raineh Daze@DracoLunaris@Rezod92

(IGNORE THIS!)

@PKMNB0Y @VitaVitaAR @EchoWolff @Izurich @Lugubrious @Drifting Pollen @Raineh Daze @DracoLunaris





Fran sighed as the mercenaries marched off to prepare for the duels. If she was being honest, things turning out like this was....somewhat expected. Apparently, this world is starting to have a lot of things in common with the world she's from. When words fails and egos are wronged, actions will be taken. Strange how simple that logic can be...

....So, Fran will do just that: Take action.

"....Hmph."

Summoning her battle mace to her side, Fran shouldered her weapon as she made way toward the south entrance. If they are to reach Nieve, then they'll just have to convince the mercs that they are worth taking along.

It's as simple as that.

"Oh my~?" It'd seem that Sanae's little scuffle had attracted the attention of the rest of Lavielle's - unwilling - Champions, and not all of them were privy to the idea of having a brawl break out in the middle of the village, understandable really. "You can relax, good sirs and madame~" Remilia curled a rather smug smirk at Joker, Anne, and Lewa, "Tis' will be nothing more than a simple spar between individuals of martial persuasion. After all, there's no better way to train one's mettle than putting it into practice, no~?" There, that should be enough to assuage their concerns, or affirm that they weren't 'joking around' in Anne's case, she was quite rude really, but fortunately for her, the magnanimous Scarlet Devil was willing to let the half-machine Knight's transgressions slide.

"An excellent suggestion, Lady Rayne," The lilac-haired youkai nodded at the only other person here whom her height could match, "Indeed, though this'll be a competition conducted in good faith, I believe it's still our responsibility to minimize unwanted outcomes." Now that they had participants and a designated arena, the impromptu 'tournament' could commence, although speaking of participants, more would-be fighters expressed their interest to join, specifically the Half-Ghost Gardener and the Reanimated Automaton. "Wonderful~" Just like arranging a public tea party at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the more the merrier.

The merchant was an odd fellow, he should be grateful that the people under his employ were eager to hone the very skill that he hired them for as surely he wouldn't enlist pacifists to defend his caravan. Regardless, now that the stage was set, all they needed to do was prepare and depart, "Oh, you needn't worry, good sirs, after all, I've been vouched as a beloved doctor of my homeland~" Remilia flashed a quick wink at the Toa of Air before she floated over to sit on Fran's mace, using the oversized weapon as her makeshift throne, a not-so-subtle amused grin on her fanged visage.

"...Best of luck, then." Anne sighed and lowered her head, though not without a faintly nostalgic smile. Back in her younger days she might have joined in the sparring herself, but the current her was too old and battered for this sort of thing. Maybe she'd come along and watch—Alvin and Millie would doubtless want to go, given how keen they seemed on people who were 'super strong.' A lot of the other villagers as well, who'd stayed hidden away in the lodge during the battle before. This might be the last chance they'd get to see their heroes in action, an occasion not to be missed.

All the more reason for the Knight to keep an eye on things.

While the mercenaries wandered off to gather their weapons, Anne made her way over to the towering green robot who'd seemed most concerned about this turn of events. "I appreciate the effort, Lewa. Though I don't think we can stop them now, and they don't intend on doing real harm in any case." Even as she said it, however, she couldn't quite hide her concern. A brief glance confirmed that Frankenstein was heading southwards, and her eyes quietly narrowed at the Otherworlder's retreating back.

"The best thing we can do is look out for them, and be ready to step in if anything gets out of control. It'd be good to have someone besides me around to oversee the fight, even if there might not end up being any need for it."

@Lugubrious

Rayna visible wiped her brow in response to the mercenaries taking on her idea of competing rather than fighting, and then gave a silent mime of a scream of frustration when their leader took that idea and turned it right back around to sparing, which as far as she was concerned was basically the same thing. At least it was outside of town and not a mess of a brawl, but she herself was more a practicing vs training dummies than practicing vs people kinda lady, and so the prospect of sparing didn’t enthuse her like it clearly did some of the other ladies.

She hoped just showing off vs some of the left over wreckage would be an option they’d accept. If not? Well, Rayne started mulling over ways she could prove she was strong in a fight without actually hitting anyone with a spell card strike. Maybe dodging in close and ‘tagging’ them to prove she could hit them without doing so?

The thought of not being part of the fights didn’t really cross her mind, probably due to 10 years of impostor syndrome, until she overheard Anne talking to Lewa about overseeing the sparring matches, a thing that would, naturally, involve not actually taking part in said fights, resulting in a little “Oh” of understanding.

With a relieved look on her face she floated over to the other two and said “Hi, do mind if I join the supervising? It’s probably better if the people with non-lethal magic do this stuff. Well and Frankenstine, but she seems to have enough control that even when she go overboard won’t be much of a risk”

True, she’d had to help prevent a few trampling last time Frankenstine let loose, but if she was here to help out again, things should be fine, right. Right?

With no preparations needed on her part, Mokou shuffled out slightly ahead of the others. If the guards were as strong as they thought, then it was best that the most expendable of the misplaced take any damage, obviously. Plus, she was itching to get started, so this way...

Hm, to treat this like danmaku, or just tone down more obvious attacks to safe levels? It wasn't like danmaku was much more on a per-hit basis than a weak punch... but it would definitely assess her opponent's reactions far better, as well as their endurance if those weren't up to snuff.

---

The Phantom Thief let out a sigh.

The nagging of his spectral counterpart in the back of his mind was incessant, the figure of rebellion constantly wanting to break through its chains... In the way that Remilia put it, it would seem justified...

But he would need to make sure he didn't get carried away...

"Hmm... I suppose this could be a good experience. Who knows, could help as a bonding exercise..."

He stepped forward, taking a glance toward the duel group. He refrained from taking off his mask for now, he didn't want to reveal his hand just yet...

It wasn't a danmaku duel. Youmu was certain such things didn't exist in this world, though surely nonlethal sparring did. As such, her hand left Roukanken's hilt. The swords that were used by the people here weren't katana, and she wasn't quite certain she would know how to use them with any real finesse.

However, that turned out not to be an issue. Indeed, it seemed as if the caravan had traded with an eastern merchant at some point, and obtained a bokken.

This would do quite nicely, no matter who she faced.

She would demonstrate to them the skill of the Konpaku.

A big, showy match between a bunch of mercenaries and the people who had saved the town of Aventon (or those who had joined a bit later besides) was more than enough reason for a few of the more excitable townsfolk—Millie and Alvin included—to want to watch the spectacle play out. News spread quickly when a majority of the town was shopping around, and with everything still not quite sorted out after the Raven Heralds' attack, a bit of grandstanding like this was sure to occupy those who hadn't lost the taste for martial skill in the wake of the battle.

Even if they didn't, though, the respect for those who had fought to protect them meant that there were those that wanted to watch their skill on the battlefield present regardless... And that made it ever so slightly disappointing when it was made clear that among those that had saved the town, only one wanted to fight.

But maybe that was for the best.

By the time the otherworlders had made their way to the south entrance as directed, the mercenaries had prepared the area more or less as directed. Some had made sure to clear a large enough space—one that, in Sanae's opinion, might need to be expanded sooner rather than not—while others seemed to be simply eyeing them for a distance.

"Glad to see you didn't back out," the older mercenary from earlier remarked as the group approached. "If you're all ready, then let's get started with the rules here."

"Well, I'd have thought we would've sorted things out before preparing the area, but I don't mind if it's a bunch of duels or a free-for-all," Sanae replied, at which point the man simply shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know what you're used to, but duels make sense if you're trying to gauge the strength of the individual. While I could go on about how a group should cover for their teams' weaknesses, that's not the point of this exercise. You understand?"

"Uh... Yeah. Then about how we should be conducting things..."

The back-and-forth between Sanae and the mercenary went on for a few minutes; given how quickly the young girl had gotten used to spellcard rules back in Gensokyo, establishing what limits existed and how they should be enforced was fairly simply. It wasn't like there needed to be anything overly specific, either; a simple match, nothing lethal, and the first to surrender would cede.

Given that there were five people on their side—herself, Mokou, Youmu, Joker, and Fran—wanting to fight, the mercenaries agreed to send five of their own to match.

Before long, the pairs had all scattered about the area, preparing to fight their opponents.

To Sanae, a young woman in the quintessential mage's outfit, large-brimmed hat and all.
To Youmu, a swordsman wielding a simply bastard sword and a shield.
To Mokou, a rather burly man donning a pair of knuckle dusters.
To Joker, a lithe lady wielding a pair of daggers of her own.
To Fran, a stout dwarf brandishing a hammer of his own.

While the duelists all gave their introductions to one another and handled the usual pleasantries (and trash talk), the remainder of the mercenaries—the man who had started all this up included—had congregated off to the side near the other townsfolk and otherworldly travelers who opted to act as referees instead.

"Miss Anne," Millie began to speak as she tugged on the older woman's coat to grab her attention, "aren't you going to fight, too?"

"Yeah! If anyone should be out there, it should be you!" Alvin chimed in, which seemed to draw a few furtive glances from the other mercenaries present with them.

For what it was worth, the two siblings had good reason to play up the person who had saved them, but whether or not it was a good thing or not was a different question unto itself.

Either way, those who chose to remain on the sidelines were free to speak among themselves or even ask the other spectators questions of their own... Provided they didn't accidentally stir the pot a bit more.

This bunch, at least, seemed to be enjoying the spectacle more than they were directly antagonistic towards what could easily have been misconstrued as grandstanding.

@VitaVitaAR@EchoWolff@Izurich@Lugubrious@Drifting Pollen@Raineh Daze@DracoLunaris@Rezod92

The visual comparison was striking: on one side, a girl that looked like a gust of wind could blow her over; on the other, a burly man. One had her hands shoved into her pockets and didn't look at all capable of fighting, while the other had his fists on full display. If any outcome was going to be decided by appearances alone, anyone with eyes would say that Mokou was bound to lose.

Until the Japanese girl started flying. Not flying much--obviously, "I have full aerial manoeuvrability and you don't" would let her win by attrition if nothing else, but they were talking about travelling together, so just hanging out of range proved nothing. Still, it was an early indication that there was magic in play. The second, naturally, was the thematic but ultimately pointless flames shaped into a phoenix around her.

To his credit, the burly man shrugged off the visual effects and started closing the distance, as fast as he could without being totally unable to avoid attacks.

Not that he had much luck avoiding what was coming.

When picking which spellcard to use--because, after all, danmaku being non-lethal didn't mean that taking enough bullets wouldn't still leave you unable to fight, just from bruising alone--she'd settled on one that was definitely visually striking, but had a relatively straightforward enough pattern that even a newcomer might be able to work it out, as long as he stood in front of her. Maybe.

Well, and she just thought the walls of manji-patterned amulets just looked neat. Plus they were a good test of your opponent's spatial awareness.

The man, predictably, froze up. Magical amulets ahead, magical amulets if you moved behind, from the side--and bullets fired right at your opponent, with so little space to move if you were stuck moving on the ground--

And then he blinked, realising that although they hurt, it wasn't like they were a knockout move. Visually overwhelming and alarming, but once you saw through it as just a trick, there was no reason to not just rush through and through an actual knockout blow against the girl who wasn't even making an effort to dodge--

Much to his confusion, and concern, the punch didn't make the white-haired girl fold. Instead, there was an ominous crack--and no more girl. Or bullets, just the flaming silhouette of a phoenix, now mantled on... his... shoulders.

That's when the magical attacks started again. This time, while there were far fewer, they were coming from right there, and there was no opponent to punch to try and make it stop, and then there were actual fiery explosions mixed in how would anyone be expected to avoid this and what sort of sadist had magic that just built up until it hurt too much to fight--

"Yield?" Mokou asked, looking rather... disappointed? Rather than continuing with danmaku, she was now stood with a fireball shrouding her hand, the heat wafting off it making it clear this one was actually dangerous, and the smell...

"Y-Yield," the guard agreed. His everything hurt, and to keep fighting with the stakes higher against this nonsensical witchcraft...

Mokou's flaming hand winked out, returning to her pocket as she went over to join the spectators. Hm, was anyone else even still fighting?

@PKMNB0Y





As Remilia hopped off Fran's mace to let the Servant go next, her dwarf opponent looked apprehensive. Aside from the strange horn and prongs adorning her head and shouldering a giant mace that, by all means, should've been too heavy for her dainty frame, he was basically fighting a young and pretty girl with peach-colored hair wearing a wedding dress. Was this really okay? Did this girl even know how to fight? He probably should go easy-

"Three."

The dwarf blinked.

"Huh?"

The girl raised her free hand to show three fingers.

"Three....free....hits."

He blinked again, processing what she just said before scoffing. She's letting him get free hits in? Was she serious? There's cocky, there's arrogant and then there's this. Regardless, he took the invitation as he rushed in. When he got close, he opted for a slow and telegraphed swing from the right. Maybe once she sees that this is for real, she'll quickly change her tu-

SMACK

The dwarf, as well as the surrounding spectators, were shocked by what just happened

Fran didn't defend herself and let the attack hit.

Even more shocking than that?

She didn't even react to the hit.

Pulling his weapon back, the dwarf was even more flabbergasted when there was zero evidence of his attack hitting, despite the fact that he DID hit her. No sign of broken bones, no bleeding. Not even a bruise. It was almost as if his hit might as well have never happened.

"One."

He flinched and turned his attention to the girl, who still wore a neutral expression. He glared. Alright, so this girl was tougher than she looked. In that case...

The dwarf spun in full circle to his right, building up momentum before swinging her hammer from the left. A louder impact was heard upon the attack connecting. Again, Fran didn't move to defend herself...

....and again, she didn't need to.

The stout hammer wielder was speechless at this point. That attack would've put any other average bloke on their ass with broken bones that would've taken months to recover. Yet here was this little girl, still standing. Unmarked and unphased. It's almost becoming a jo-

"Two."

"Alright, bitch! That's it!"

Angered and with his pride on the line, the dwarf leapt into the air, quite high for his size. With a loud battle cry and all of his strength, he brought his hammer down in a overhead swing that landed square on Fran's head. The impact of this attack was the loudest one out of the duels so far.

On anybody else, an unguarded hit like this would've resulted in death....

....but for a Servant?

"...Heh. Tic...kles..."

Eyes twitching, the dwarf was sweating buckets as he tired to comprehend the utter nonsense this duel had become.

"T-Tickles!? That was my strongest attack! Just what the hell are yo-"

"Three. My....turn..."

With power he didn't know she had, Fran raised her hand to touch the face of the hammer, a glimpse of green electricity racing up her arm before she clenched. Suddenly, the entire head of the dwarf's weapon exploded, sending him stumbling back as the area was showered in bits of shattered iron.

With speed he didn't know she had, the Servant was instantly behind the dwarf as he was still processing what just happened.

And finally, with strength he didn't know she had, Fran, with restraint, delivered her own overhead open palmed smack on her opponent's head, knocking him out....and burying him up to his neck into the ground.

With a nod and smile, Fran dismissed her weapon, which she didn't even use, and walked off to sit and spectate with the others.

It was as simple as that.

---

Let's get this going then.

Joker's gloved hand slipped into his coat, drawing the knife from his coat, the blade glistening from the light. The dual-wielding woman was a few feet from him, fingers dancing as she twirled one of her daggers, waiting for the boy to assume some stance.

Feet shoulder length apart. Angle the body to reduce the targeting area. Bend the knees, lean forward, and let your blade cut through the wind.

The woman assumed her stance, crouching as her blades fell low...

The wind's howl was their signal, as the two rushed each other, blades crashing as the instruments of metal hummed with latent kinetic energy, sparks flying with acrobatic grace...

Joker's blade was honed toward the mercenary, both fighters agile and quick with their strikes.

"Left." Arsene's voice chimed in Akira's mind, blades locked by mutual force, a temporary stalemate balanced on a razor's edge, as his knife, like threads guiding the edge, parries to the left, following up with a pommel strike to the gut.

Joker's opponent stumbles back slightly, before reassuming her stance once again.

"You're fast... Good. Just how I like it!"

The clash of iron on iron was heard again, as the woman charged the boy's blade meeting her own again.

He couldn't keep doing this. Holding back this much wouldn't get him anywhere.

"I'm not done!" His voice burst out in a wave of force, no more holding back and playing defense.

Blades cracked as the mask burned away, eyes wide and sparkling with something only akin to madness, as the spectral facet of his psyche manifested behind him, a cocky grin painted across his face. Time to have some fun.

The woman fell backward looking down to her daggers, one of them had snapped in two... She looked back up at the boy, the flaming figure behind him bound by chains, wings outstretched... A summoner? How? This isn't what she signed up for! She frantically tried to scramble backward, anywhere away from this bastard.

"Don't move!" His voice resonated as Arsene's wings flapped forward, strange magic enveloping the woman as her movements slowed, spectral chains coiled around her limbs as Joker stepped forward. Sukunda. One foot after the other the woman was trembling, was she going to die here? Is this how she left this world, at the hands of a psychotic teenager?

He was chuckling to himself, was this going a bit too far? Nah. He'll hold back just enough not to knock her out, so she can still say she yields... The cocky look in his eye never faltered for a second, as another two words echoed from him.

"RAVAGE THEM!"

Arsene gladly complied, as a burst of dark energy concentrated in the hands of the apparition, before releasing it in a destructive blast.

Eiha.

The woman, battered and bruised, lay on the ground as Joker dismissed Arsene, walking over to the woman and crouching down near her face.

"You done now?"

"Y-Yeah... I y-yield..."

Joker offered a hand and helped up the woman and assisted in getting her back to her caravan, before heading toward where Anne and the kids were.

He was hoping for a bit more fight once he brought out Arsene though... It was fine, at least he got to have some fun.

"This puny girl says she can beat me? I'm sorry, but I can't say I'm convinced."

Her opponent clearly doubted her capabilities.

It was true, she wasn't operating at a hundred percent now. However, she hardly needed to to defeat someone like this.

"Then I suppose you're going to be surprised," she said, flatly. It wasn't really a quip or a joke, more of a statement of fact.

The man shrugged and readied his training sword and shield.

Youmu narrowed her eyes slightly. He really wasn't taking this seriously, was he?

It was his mistake, she supposed.

She planted her right foot firmly forward, drawing the bokken parallel to her head into ko gasumi as her other foot slid back. It had been some time since she used one of the wooden blades, but it was still a familiar feeling in her hands. Now, she usually trained with Roukanken and Hakurouken as opposed to using any substitutes. Even if she were sparring, with Spell Card rules in play there was no risk of serious injury.

Regardless, it wouldn't be a problem in the least.

Youmu moved. Her speed held back by her spiritual injury was still enough to clear the gap between herself and her opponent in the blink of an eye.

He would thrust his shield as she approached, straightforwardly. The half-phantom could see it playing out, in her mind, an instant he tried it in real life.

It would be followed by a strike, likely a thrust or a downward slash.

She wasn't there for either blow.

His wooden shield struck nothing but air. His wooden sword cleaved emptiness.

He wasn't totally lacking in skill. Youmu could see his eyes following her. He was aware she'd feinted, even if he was struggling to respond to her position now on his left-hand side.

All he could do at this range was swing his shield in hopes of making contact.

Youmu stepped back, and before he could recover immediately stepped back in past his shield.

The bokken's tip pressed against his throat.

"You've lost," Youmu commented, simply, the bokken pressing lightly to the flesh of his neck.

She'd shown him.

But apparently, he didn't think that was enough.

"You little---!"

His attempt to swat her with his wooden sword was fruitless.

The dull thunk of the bokken striking him over the head, a blow that Youmu was certain would have split his skull in two had she been wielding Roukanken, heralded the true end of the duel.

"Nnng... d-damn it..." he stammered, clutching at his head and sinking to his knees.

It wasn't the most exciting duel, but at least she'd shown him how badly he'd misjudged her.

Sanae took a deep breath as she stared down the mage opposite her, gohei at the ready as the other girl readied a staff of her own. The tension in the air wasn't anywhere near as tense as it had been before, but while the mage looked worked up, Sanae...

Well, she looked somewhat nonchalant in spite of what was technically at stake here. While warzones and giant monster (and bug) hunting was out of her usual realm of expertise, the green-haired girl was now on home turf. A duel, regardless of if it involved spellcard rules or not, was still a duel.

The staring contest between the two seemed to hold for a few moments, but ultimately it was Sanae who first chose to break the silence.

"Aah, this is way too high-tension for a duel! If you're not going to start, then I will!" she declared before pointing her gohei towards the mage. Immediately, a stream of ofuda rushed out from it's tip, catching the other young woman off guard as she hastily constructed a barrier to ward the blows off. The steady barrage of attacks upon the barrier was somewhat expected, given what she had experienced in fighting that mage a few days prior, but that didn't mean that Sanae had any reason to give up then and there.

That was something she would have to overcome eventually, after all, and if this was a common fighting style for the mages of this world, doing so now would save her more headache in the future.

When it was clear that ofuda alone weren't chipping away at her defenses particularly quickly, though, the green-haired girl moved quickly to change tactics. The moment that she lowered her gohei, though, the other mage swiftly aimed her staff towards Sanae and fired a bolt of electricity from it's tip straight towards her.

Dodging such at attack at near-point-blank range was a simple feat for Sanae, of course, but the mage—and a few of the spectators-seemed quite shocked that she was able to do so without so much as a hint of anxiety.

Or maybe it was the fact that she had simply chosen to fly into the air to dodge it. Either way, though, that surprise seemed to be rather short-lived as the mage begab to fire off more lightning bolts at Sanae.

"Oh, you're not going to try leading your shots?" the shrine maiden asked as she casually weaved and slipped through the electricity arcing through the skies. "You need to do more than that to catch me!"

Her (accidental) provocation, however, seemed to have touched a nerve. With tensed hand and gritted teeth, the mage held her aim towards Sanae as she floated about and took a deep breath.

It was no Master Spark, of course, but Sanae could feel the energy in the air building—and rapidly, at that—which meant that a rather large attack was on the way. With the rather telegraphed way the mage had been casting her spells until now, Sanae felt rather confident that this would be much of the same. But...

"...That's a pretty long charging time, huh...?" she asked out loud as she hovered in the air for a moment. Was this supposed to be some sort of special attack of some sort? Maybe this girl was used to being protected while slinging her spells around...

Regardless of the reasons behind it, though, Sanae found the whole matter fairly unimpressive. Maybe the standards of Gensokyo had warped her sense of danger a bit, but the young woman had certainly faced far worse and with far less time to react on the fly.

The sudden explosion of energy at the tip of the mage's staff quickly spiraled out into dozens of streams of lightning—a sight more familiar to Sanae than the singular bolts she had been dodging until now—and began to chase after Sanae. Without missing a beat, the green-haired girl flew off to the side, allowing the bolts of energy to chase after her. Between those and the other bolts bring fired towards where she was going, the shrine maiden was at least somewhat engaged in the fight now...

If only because it was less boring than it had been until then.

As she continued to fire ofuda towards the mage as she flew about, though, Sanae had noticed that the magic chasing after her was slowly speeding up, and that it was only a matter of time before it made contact. Constructing a barrier to block would take precious seconds that she didn't have, if only because she wasn't as proficient in so doing as Reimu was. That left three options, then: eat the attack head-on and likely leave the fight with singed limbs at best, keep dodging in hopes that the attack would eventually peter out, or pray for a miracle to block the attack.

The first option, obviously enough, was the dumbest of the three and thus the first to be discarded. The second was banking on a possibility that might not have existed, which meant it was less favorable than not. But the third...

Well, miracles were called miracles for a reason, and if she was good for anything, it was those.

With her choice now made, Sanae calmly prayed to herself—and to both her patron deities, whatever they were now—before a surge of familiar magical energy surged through her.

"That connected?!" she cried out involuntarily as she turned around and turned her gohei towards the magic chasing her and———

In the middle of the sky, a large plume of black smoke from where the magic had made contact bloomed upwards. There was a pause as those watching stared, waiting for the green-haired girl to become visible...

Only for a ball of rocks to appear from within. Sanae was floating nearby, seemingly unharmed by the attack, but more shocking was the presence of someone else there as the stones began falling towards the ground.

A blonde girl wearing an oddly frog-themed hat and dress floated in the middle of the skies next to her, arms extended out in front of her as she glanced around in mild surprise.

"Suwako-sama?!" Sanae blurted out, at which point the blonde girl turned to face the shrine maiden and hugged her. "How are you even——?!"

"Kanako and I have been trying to reach you for days! It's good to see that you're okay!" the goddess replied, taking a few seconds to savor the moment before letting go of Sanae turning towards the rather confused-looking mage on the ground with a cold fury in her eyes that the shrine maiden had never seen before.

"...But clearly, someone needs to know who they were trying to kill..." Suwako spoke coldly as a chill ran through Sanae's spine.

Slowly, the shorter girl descended to the ground as suffocating, miasma-like dark energy began to churn around her. Immediately, the mage raised her weapon in a panic—as did a few of the bystanders—before six massive snakes, all as white as marble and with eyes red as blood, burst from the earth and readied themselves to lash out at the girl.

"STOOOOOP!"

Sanae's shout rang out as she shot towards the ground before promptly placing herself between Suwako and the mage.

"A duel! This was a duel! Suwako-sama, please, calm down!" the shrine maiden cried out, waving her arms as the tried to dissuade the goddess from doing anything that might make the rapidly-escalating situation any worse. "We just got a bit excited, that's all!"

The tension in the air was suffocating in the few seconds before Suwako sighed and took a step back. Slowly, the six curse gods sank back into the earth, and the energy that had gathered in Suwako's body—and Suwako herself—were beginning to fade away.

"Mmm... I suppose I'm at my limit here anyhow," the goddess spoke before walking up to Sanae and poking her chest. "It was next to impossible to find any trace of you until now, though! I can't stick around for much longer, but try to connect with me or Kanako when you get a chance and explain what's happened since you got kidnapped, okay? Gensokyo's in an uproar, and every little bit of information helps so we can try and get you home safely."

As things were right now, though, it seemed like Suwako hadn't noticed the other residents of Gensokyo nearby... Nor did Sanae quite realize that Suwako's presence and choice of actions mean that her duel was more than a little invalid by now.

@VitaVitaAR@EchoWolff@Izurich@Lugubrious@Drifting Pollen@Raineh Daze@DracoLunaris@Rezod92

After the group arrived at the designated arena, Remilia floated off Frankenstein's oversized weapon and took a nice seat on a nearby tree branch, one high enough to provide her with an adequate vantage point over the makeshift ring. Ah, if only she had a glass of fine 'wine' at the moment, but she supposed this would do. Crossing one leg of the other with her left elbow resting on said leg and the corresponding hand propping up her chin, the Blood Mistress was ready to enjoy the performance. She certainly hoped these folks would be able to provide her with adequate amusement.

First, the Immortal Phoenix of the Bamboo Forest found herself facing a fellow human who towered over her, though the immediate juxtaposition meant nothing to someone like Remilia. Instead, she was curious just how the mercenary would handle Mokou's pesky flames, not to mention her being able to just reset herself should she go down for any reason. Apparently, the brawler opted to use simple brute force, like a certain gate guardian, and aim to pummel Mokou into submission.

The hourai immortal responded by peppering him with danmaku, treating the whole thing as if it's a spellcard-based duel as it's common in Gensokyo. Having encountered the white-haired pyromancer before during her trip to Eientei with Sakuya, Remilia already knew Mokou's tricks and well... twas' obvious that the brawler couldn't keep up, he folded after the phoenix executed that quirky possession-esque of hers. To be fair, she didn't expect him to be able to keep dodging until Mokou tired out like Sakuya did. And just like that, the duel ended.

"Mmm..." Remilia shrugged. Much like Mokou herself, she experienced little to no amusement, better to just move on to the next.

Second, it was the so-called Servant Berserker's turn to face off against yet another burly mercenary, except this one was stout and shorter than his opponent unlike the brawler from before. "Oh...~?" The Scarlet Devil quirked an intrigued eyebrow as Fran exhibited ample generosity, allowing her opponent to strike her three times without retaliation. Was this a display of courtesy, arrogance, or something in-between? Regardless, the opponent took it as an insult, but acquiesced nonetheless. Remilia glued her eyes to the ensuing scene, a delightful smirk curled at her lips as the dwarf hopelessly struck Fran with his hammer to no avail, getting more and more frustrated with each ineffective blow.

Impressive~ very impressive~ It was clear now that Fran was sturdier than Sanae, Youmu, and Mokou; she was curious how the peach-haired macewoman would fare against Meiling, but for now, she enjoyed the sight of Fran shattering the mercenary's hammer then clobbering him literally into the ground with her bare hand. Now, while this wasn't a proper duel, it was still amusing nonetheless. Still, she hoped the next match would fit into the definition more.

Third, it was the Astral Projector lad's turn to face against a fellow dagger-using fighter, though it remained to be seen if the latter could summon a guardian spirit as well. As the two fought, Remilia finally got her wish of watching a proper duel, the two were seemingly evenly matched, maybe favoring Joker ever so slightly... up until he summoned his menacing tengu-like guardian spirit. Now the girl should respond in kind with her own astral projection should she wish to keep up... However, no such thing came, oh my, it'd seem that she.... was just a mundane fighter with equally mundane abilities. Ah,. it was fun while it lasted~

The moment Joker summoned Arsene and the woman could not, the result became a foregone conclusion as the former utterly dominated the flow of the fight. It ended with the woman knocked down on the ground after receiving a blast of dark energy. Well, time for the next show!

Fourth, it was the ghost princess' austere gardener (who's also somehow both brave and cowardly) versus another swordsman, except he was pairing his main weapon with a shield instead of another blade like Youmu. This pre-fight banter was actually more exciting than the duel itself, Youmu so utterly outmatched the sword-and-shielder that Remilia found it difficult to enjoy the duel itself, still, she supposed it was hilarious to see the cocky fighter receiving instant karma. "Mmh... next."

And last but not least, the first and only match where all the combatants involved were capable of magic, this should be exciting, no? Lady Scarlet watched as the Moriya Miko and the mercenary sorceress started slinging spells at one another; Sanae with her ofuda danmaku and the sorceress with her lightning bolts. This was the second time that Remilia found herself glued to her seat, finally, a neck-to-neck spellcard-esque fight where the potential winner wasn't immediately made obvious!

...and then of course Sanae just had to ruin it by summoning one of her patron goddesses. ... Now, Remilia wasn't surprised by the fact that Suwako could be called, after all, all of Lavielle's champions were pulled here, that meant this world was capable of making a connection with other worlds, who's to say that only Lavielle is able to do so? "Uuuuurgh..." A long, droning groan slithered out of Remilia's throat as the peppy snake-frog goddess proceeded to scare the sorceress shitless before gushing over her green-haired protege.

Rationally, Remilia was perfectly aware that Sanae could only summon either Suwako or that onbashira-slinging Kanako, but the vampiress couldn't help but to wish it'd have been Sakuya instead. Wishful thinking, she knew, got a problem with that?

Exhaling in frustration, Remilia simply opted to make the best use of the situation by swooping over to Suwako before the miracle's duration ended. "Lady Suwako, tell everyone back home that Sanae, Youmu, Mokou, and myself are fine, we're searching for our way home as we speak." There, she kept it nice and short, at the very least, Flandre and the others would stop worrying whether she's still alive or not.

Now with that said, the Scarlet Devil made good on her promise by hovering in the air and expelling benevolent, wound-mending mist from her body. Said mist would coalesce into multiple streams as they split to a different injured combatant each: the burly brawler, the dwarven hammersman, the dagger lady, and the cocky swordsman.

"Hi, do mind if I join the supervising?"

Anne glanced up, and greeted the Knight Witch with a small smile. "I wouldn't object to it. An extra pair of eyes would actually be very handy for something like this." She trusted the small woman well enough, and the fact that she'd worked with Frankenstein before was a point in her favor... Disregarding whatever it was that had happened with the cows. If we're talking about going overboard, that would be the number-one example, wouldn't it?

Together with Lewa (provided he agreed to come along), they made their way down to the battlefield at the south end of the village, and positioned themselves at the front of the watching crowds. Once the combatants were in position, the duels began—and Anne's prior assumptions were abruptly bowled over by the events that actually transpired.

For one thing, these mercenaries were absolute chumps. As she watched the brawler struggle against Mokou's attacks, it was all she could do not to clutch her own head in frustration. Right there. An obvious gap in her attacks. Come on, what's with that footwork? Are you trying to get hit? You're too predictable, she's leading you straight into a trap—and there it is. Damnit, were you even paying attention during basic training?? She felt a tug at her coat, and turned her head to find Alvin and Millie looking up at her expectantly. Was she going to fight too, they wondered? Anne could only muster up a shaky laugh. "Er, I think that might be considered bullying at this point..."

Frankenstein's match was proof enough of that. To Anne's surprise, the construct girl exhibited an admirable amount of restraint, using only the bare minimum of force to finish off her opponent. Guess there's no need to worry about her for now... Her gaze drifted over to Joker, who was actually struggling for a little bit before he brought out his Paranormal Power. Some basic combat training, but he relies too much on his abilities. At least he seemed to have decent control: she could tell that he'd held himself back from inflicting any serious injuries.

Out of everyone, Youmu impressed her the most. Honed movements, accurate predictions, and perfect discipline even with a wooden blade. Back where Anne came from, she'd already qualify as a Knight, and probably make quite a name for herself taking down high-rank Beasts. Sanae, though... She was elusive, but her attacks seemed more showy than effective. At least until she held up her stick, and conjured up—another strange young woman?

...Just how many of these people were there??

Unfortunately, she had no time to stand there and deal with the massive implications of what had just happened. Murderous intent radiated out from the newcomer, darker and heavier than even the miasma she summoned around her. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the escalating crisis, and the enormous snakes that reared up out of the ground—but anyone paying close attention might see Anne subtly lean forward, and hear the earth crack open beneath her feet.

<Suppressor off. Limiter release, level one.>

A gust of wind. The Knight vanished from mortal sight.

At the same moment Sanae threw herself in the serpents' path, something blew past behind her, sweeping up the mercenary caster before any harm could befall her. A cloud of dust kicked up to one side, and there was Anne, skidding to a halt with the young mage held tightly in her arms.

"I've got you." She'd had to restrict her acceleration to avoid hurting anyone along the way, but Sanae's intervention had bought her enough time to safely grab her target. Even so, she was breathing heavily, her veins bulging out against the side of her neck from the blood pressure forced through them. Slowly, carefully, she set the mercenary down, positioned so that Anne stood between her and any further attacks.

"If you don't mind... I think we'd better call this one a draw."

Thankfully, Sanae seemed to have things handled by now. Rather than ask any questions or try to intervene further, Anne waited and watched, happy with any outcome that didn't demand more exertion on her part.