[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/59130ec9-ed14-4987-990a-43bfc6f37c8a.png[/img] [@Ponn][@Majoraa][@ERode] The number of threats dwindled, but not the danger. His size betrayed his speed, but Dante’s hammer was still a hefty weapon that needed proper time to swing. He roared like a lion,preparing to hoist the weapon over his head just as Ashley empowered her shield. She held her own against a mob of cowboys, but it wasn’t clear if this would be enough to stop the bartender. His hammer even put people to sleep, which made it difficult to guess what sort of enchantment she should give herself. He stopped mid swing when Finn used the tried and true GEMINI tactic of shouting your strategy. As he anticipated, he was preparing to move, which was when Finn would lean in with a strike. Also anticipated, his attack did hardly anything. The electricity arced through his sword, but most of the “damage” was done by his chain blade sawing the sand out of him. Possible oversight, Dante spun on his heel and redirected his swing at Finn. But this was just a feint. He blew sand into the boy’s eyes, and his blade could do little to keep the sand from entering his eyes. It stung a little bit, but otherwise didn’t have any immediate effects. Dante did use the opportunity to slip back behind the counter, and then into the back room. But what about the fireball? Estelle’s holy bolt was swallowed up by the fireball. The white hot flames turned orange. It had cooled a bit, but there was still a significant amount of thermal energy in that thing. It needed to be directed somewhere. Her team made a suggestion, but Estelle hadn’t been making a point of taking their advice, and she wasn’t going to start now. She shoved the fireball right back at the mage’s shield. The barrier’s surface made the mages look like they were on an old surveillance monitor. But that changed when the fireball was poked right back at them. It didn’t have far to travel The fireball turned into a fire pillar, and then a fire wall. The rolling flames came in all directions. Cowboys and dryads screamed together as the room was bathed in a bright orange light. If Estelle was worried about the dark wizard money gang burning their own members, she might be relieved to know that they made much smaller barriers for themselves as the flames came rolling in. It only took a second for the flames to reach the furthest corners of the diner. But while the explosion only lasted a moment, the arcane flames lasted a bit longer. The tables, wall hangings, and any spilled alcohol was now a roaring flame. While Ashley had been stabbed by a beer bottle, she was prone when the flames had first come for her. A nearby table offered her just enough shelter that she wasn’t set ablaze. Finn was less fortunate. While he was partially shielded by a nearby table, he was standing, and was set on fire by the fireball’s explosion. And Estelle… Good thing she had such good arcane resistance. She didn’t have time to get her katana back in front of her, and was struck with the full brunt of the fireball. She was lit up, and the blast itself rolled her over one of the many overturned chairs that littered the place. She’d need to do something before she started to melt like a candle. But what about the girl? The mage by the counter was standing up. He had one arm wrapped around the dreaming school girl’s waist while the other was holding up his arcane shield. It was cracked and burning at the edges, but both of them were fine. [b]”Dayum, glad they went with a level three fireball.”[/b] he looked at the girl in his arm. [b]”Did ya pass out?”[/b] [b]”Coffeeeeeeeeee…”[/b] Dante stepped back into the room. His eyes scanned his surroundings. His teeth were clenched, and his grip on his hammer tightened. [b]”You stupid boy…”[/b] He phased through the counter again, but this time he was moving in arcs, zigging and sagging between the flames as he approached the GEMINI agents. But there were still a lot of fleeing bikers in his way that were about to run them all down. In addition to the stampede, Finn, and only Finn, noticed a giant horned demon rise up from the flames. He could have been Chernobog’s brother, only bigger, with horns that acted like smoke stacks. It reached its hand towards the boy, clearly intending to crush him in its grasp. Estelle couldn’t catch a break either. The trio of mages looked at each other. [b]”This a win for the SWMB?”[/b] [b]”Could be.”[/b] [b]”Just gotta mop up the rest of them and then we’re home free.”[/b] [b]”I can’t do that no more, I’m outta juice.”[/b] [b]”You know what they say.”[/b] One of them drew a pistol. [b]”Ya might be outta spells, but ya ain’t outta shells!”[/b] [b]”Aw yee!”[/b] Estelle looked like smoldering refuse from where they were standing, but they needed to make sure the freaky sword bitch was in her place. Two of the mages pulled out their pieces and started to fire at her while the last one lobbed fireballs at anything that moved. [hr] [img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/49e43850-6b94-4e43-94d0-440214371bfb.png[/img] [@The World][@Nakushita][@TaintedMushroom][@FamishedPants] Anyone who valued money knew that gambling was only worthwhile when you understood the risks. You needed to know your odds of winning, what was at stake, etc. Sovereign was waging her life against the lives of the gunmen on the other side. She had a good strategy, and figured she might as well risk it to win big. She could take a few bullets. The only issue was that her strategy relied on sight, and the flashbang took care of that. She wasn’t going to see [i]anything[/i] come out of the smoke. The bullets ripped through the smoke and landed in Himiko. Her right shoulder got nailed, as did her her left leg. A few more bullets struck her torso. She managed to get a few shots off before she collapsed, but it wasn’t clear if she hit anything. On the upside, Himiko had made herself such an easy target that Asher was more or less ignored. Between dropping prone and hiding beside the spirit cat, there wasn’t much for them to shoot at. No one even paid attention to Justin as he fell like a comet. Marrie was correct. Lenore had once [i]trained[/i] espers for melee combat, so her swordsmanship was good. Not that she would know that just by looking at Lenore. Regardless of skill level, it often wasn’t a good idea to give your opponent initiative in anything. One of the reasons why spears were preferred over swords on a large battlefield was because the spearmen could strike first. But such tactics didn’t take effects like magic into account. Marrie was planning something that might give her the edge. Lenore also decided to take a cautious approach, not being too quick to attack the young esper. She blinked, and her one eye glowed like a demon’s. The corners of her lips curled a bit before she went for a thrust. Only this was a feint, just before Lenore went for a sweep. [center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/40b268e9-9477-4d81-97d6-81ce4b87c2d3.png[/img] [color=tomato]"Are… Are we gunna lose this one?"[/color] [color=888888]— Mika Fang[/color][/center] She couldn’t worry about the freelancers now. While she had told Sovereign that she would handle Lenore, it was clear that she couldn’t be defeated alone. Not with Mika’s current skills, and not with so much backup. But if the freelancers could keep everyone busy down below, then she could take care of the remaining gunmen on the balcony. She checked over her shoulder to make sure Bobo wasn’t following her, but it looked like she was staring at something else, likely a freelancer. Then she looked ahead. The two construction workers had turned their guns on her. This was it. She launched a spirit snake, which coiled around one of the men’s arms. He wasn’t able to fire, and the one behind him didn’t have enough room to fire on Mika. A smile crossed her face as she pounced on them, staining the balcony with their blood. Bobo continued to lock eyes with Asher, but she didn’t stare for very long. She reached into her robes and pulled out a bottle with a rag hanging out of the side of it. She lit the rag with her cigarette, which caused black smoke to billow off the end of it. With the molotov lit, she tossed it straight at Asher before turning her flamethrower on herself. Burning napalm poured over the bunny nun, but it didn’t burn her. Would Asher be as fortunate with that molotov incoming?