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ATTN: @PaulHaynek, @Restalaan (Skarsneek), @The Irish Tree (Eula/Liliana), @Rezod92 (Kerry) & @AzureKnight (Shizuka/Atsuha/Hinami)

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The sudden appearance of a herd of cows took everyone by surprise. A choir of moos and the thunder of hooves distracted even the warriors harassing the Hangai sisters, completely stopping any more attacks.

The stampede, enhanced by Kerry's spell, threw the enemy forces into complete disarray. Lightning continued to strike as the enemy panicked, making them vulnerable to the taskforce members' attacks. A logical weakness of the students' legendary technique was also found so within minutes, all the technique students and Iron Grinders have fallen to either the stampede or have been picked off by the taskforce. Kenshiro's Rest have also become the resting place of other, more wicked warriors.

The Iron Grinder leader held firm under Gringor's axe assault. His limp made it hard to find an opening for a counterattack, but he patiently waited. He also noticed that he was practically alone now, with no casualties amongst the taskforce. That momentary distraction prevented him from focusing on his fight with Gringor and he was unable to predict nor react to the male High Orc shoulder tackling him.

The legionnaire was sent to the ground and before he could respond, Gringor swatted away his shield and delivered a nasty punch to his face. The hit almost broke his mask but the Iron Grinder wasn't done yet. Letting go of his arms, he grabbed Gringor's face for a punch to the face of his own. The swing knocked the male High Orc off of him, but this fight wad done. The Iron Grinder was looking for a way out now.

Spotting Liliana riding forth towards the second level to Takeshi's aid, the Iron Grinder also saw opportunity. He surged forward before his High Orc opponent got any more funny ideas, picking up his sword as he did. The legionnaire stood in front of Liliana and her mount's path before unleashing a powerful slash, slicing off one of the cow's frontal legs and sending the beast barreling down the muddy soil. Alive, but not for much longer.

Liliana was also sent into the mud before immediately being picked by the Iron Grinder. His iron grip was tight, but only enough that she could not escape through physical force. The legionnaire then presented the captured warrior Fairy to the rest of the taskforce, his other hand grasping his sword. "Stand down, you mongrels! Stand down or this little sprite gets it!" He threatened the Fairy's allies.

This was the last enemy the taskforce needed to deal with, but they must approach with caution. The Varjan legionnaire was cornered and outnumbered. Desperation and spite was his name of the game.

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@PaulHaynek @The Irish Tree (LIL & EUL) @Restalaan (SKAR & GRI) @AzureKnight (SHI, ATS & HIN) @Enkryption (DIN)

"Stand down, you mongrels! Stand down or this little sprite gets it!"

...Shit.

The curse echoed in her mind as Kerry leveled a heated glare at the lone Varjan, Mort held tightly in her hand as she stared her opponent down.

Okay. I can't make a move from here. Even with the wind boosting me, he'll have time to react and kill Lili. So maybe...

The hornet glanced over to Eula, looking the automaton in the eye. A silent exchange being had before the mercenary turned her gaze back to the Iron Grinder.

"Alright, bro. Take it easy. You win.", she began, easing out of her combative stance and even putting a hand up in surrender. Look. I'll even drop my spear."

True to her word, Kerry would move Mort off to her side and, indeed, release her grip on the spear and letting the weapon fall to the ground...

Midway through its descent, however...

SNAP!

With a snap of her fingers, a small pocket of air popped at the blunt end of Mort, jettisoning the spear toward the Iron Grinder's arm at a speed the Varjan couldn't react to in time!

"EULA!"

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In an instant, Liliana was snatched from her bovine steed as it was cut down. Black steel clamped hard around her, making it difficult to breath…and her ribs cracking under the rough handling didn’t help either. She wanted to scream and cry out, now helpless as her blade fell to the ground from the impact. Helpless, but still holding fast to the courage she held, Liliana would spitefully look up at the Varjan who had her hostage.

This was the worst outcome…Liliana had wanted to help, but now, she was going to wind up enabling this Varjan to get off scot free. She wanted to cry out to attack him anyways, that she’d be fine, but all she could do was grit her teeth to bear with the pain. If only she’d had a tighter grip on Whimsy…

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The situation was bad. The fairy was captured, and in spite of the overwhelming numbers advantage, if anyone made a move that wasn't perfectly timed, the fairy was likely to be crushed...and Eula knew now that Varjan plate was resistant to demonic energy. Whatever sorcery formed their plate, her stunning blasts were nowhere near as effective.

Eula's strongest option for the time being was to build charge, a battery now present within her right wrist to hold and store a greater volume of energy. She wasn't sure what her upper limit was, but she could be certain that the amount of energy needed to breach that armor was beyond lethal for a normal person. Before, Eula had learned to take a life to defend herself. Now...



It was as simple as a flick of the wrist. One pinpoint strike where violet energy surged to Eula's palm before unleashing a cannonball sized burst that would fly out to match Mort's speed. More than enough to punch through the steel, and the man, with care taken to aim on the side where Liliana wasn't.

Kerry's spear reached the Iron Grinder in barely a second, and it was followed closely by a charged shot from Eula's palm. The spear hit the arm that held Liliana, releasing the captured Fairy while the energy shot punched through the armor and sent the Iron Grinder flying into the mud.

But the muddied Iron Grinder rose again despite his punctured armor, the tenacity of a legionnaire exemplified. He still had his sword and--

*BOOM*

A large bolt of lightning struck the legionnaire directly. Electrified and fried, but somehow still alive, the Iron Grinder finally dropped unconscious back into the mud. His armor was singed and with the damage taken from the taskforce's attacks, probably unusable unless repaired. The taskforce's fight was done, now only Takeshi's--

*BOOM*

Tetsuo Okinaga fell from the second level, rolling down the slope with his clothes also singed and burnt. The taskforce could still sense his weak Spirit Energy, indicating he was still alive. Takeshi Oja, his sword sheathed, slid down the slope to rejoin the taskforce. "Is it just me, or is this foul weather rather... fond of us?" He loudly wondered about the seemingly-coincidental-but-helpful lightning strikes during the battle.

Another bolt of lightning struck the ground near the gathered taskforce, but the strike seemed... gentle. The lightning was bright and momentary, as all bolts were, but something appeared after this one.

"Hiiii~!" A group of four fair-skinned, beautiful women in blue, loose kimonos appeared. They had deep blue hair that ended in a light blue color, long enough to reach their waists. They were Raijus, monsters of thunder and lightning who were native and exclusive to Zipangu. "First of all, I wanna apologize for not directly aiding you all in combat. The students of the Heavenly Strike technique are very familiar with us, so they'd know how to deal with us if they were sure we were here."

"And secondly..." The Raiju group all bowed in unison, a rather formal expression for a race known to be wild and rowdy. "We'd like to thank you for dealing with the students. It was... bloodier than we'd like, but we'll take it." The Raiju spokesperson then explained. "You see, while the Heavenly Strike technique drove our ancestors from this island, we were raised to respect that technique and hold it sacred. Thus, we could not sit idly by while the students of the technique dishonor the move by slaughtering the very people the technique was invented to protect."

"But we could not intervene directly. Students of the Heavenly Strike are especially trained against Raijus. It would have ended badly, even if we survived." The Raiju continued. "Fortunately, a ragtag taskforce with their cute and handsome sponsor were around and were more than enough to take back the technique from the wicked!"

While the Raiju group expressed their gratitude to the taskforce, Dinah at the back was approached by a serious Takeshi. "Alice." He greeted her before crossing his arms, only aware and familiar with one of the identities. "While I appreciate you and the others coming back to help us win the day, your sudden retreat has left many of us in peril." His voice was stern, and unamused. "I'd, at least, like an explanation."

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Freed from the Varjan's arm by the burst of energy, Liliana would hurriedly fly free, unfurling her wings to dart away from the Varjan just in time for lightning's arrival.

Left panting, then reeling from the smell of ozone at the impact sight, the Bladeflower was in stunned silence as she watched the Raiju descend. First of all: Such a cool entrance. Second of all: Wow, they were one bad gust away from being nude. Was this how all monsters of this region were? She was pretty sure those kimono things were meant to be fastened a bit more...

But, it seemed that at the very least things were wrapping up nicely. At least, that's what she thought until she saw Takeshi approaching Dinah away from everyone else. Sick and tired of being a sidelined observer to Alice and Carroll's run-ins with authority the fairy would speed over in spite of her wings being a bit crumpled.

"H-Hold on, Takeshi!" Liliana said, assuming a human size and standing before Dinah, looking up at Takeshi. "Dinah - This is Dinah, by the way. She's super pretty and strong and fast and made of Lady Alice and Carroll...I think its a long story, I didn't get it much - She might have retreated with us, but that was because the fire and lightning was terrifying her! Even then, she still came back! Cut her eyes out and everything to save Shizuka from those students. S-So...that's why!" the fairy said, a bit teary eyed.

Puppy dog eyes in full effect, Liliana wanted to make sure the truth was known. Dinah didn't seem the type to take criticisms well, given that she had Alice's ego with Carroll's sharp edged wit. "Plus, her party was healing everyone even when she wasn't here! B-But I think she ran out of energy for it..." Liliana couldn't begin to understand how Dinah's magic worked...but she did know that it had helped a lot.

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Eula could feel the slightest twinge of relief at the Varjan's breathing...and she couldn't help but sink to her knees, arm trembling. In that moment, once again, she was ready to kill a human again. And it sickened her to her core.

Perhaps, violence wasn't for her at all. Despite not having the requisite throat functions, she wanted to vomit then and there...and the static in the air from the Raiju wasn't helping matters. Eula needed some time alone, and would walk off by herself back to the temple. Feeling more disgusted with herself than she ever had before, she would have to sit down halfway back next to a tree and rest.

"...If I...were to continue...would it get easier? Would I want it to?"

@PaulHaynek @The Irish Tree (EUL & LIL) @Enkryption (DIN) @AzureKnight (SHI, ATS & HIN)

"First of all, I wanna apologize for not directly aiding you all in combat. The students of the Heavenly Strike technique are very familiar with us, so they'd know how to deal with us if they were sure we were here. And secondly...We'd like to thank you for dealing with the students. It was... bloodier than we'd like, but we'll take it. You see, while the Heavenly Strike technique drove our ancestors from this island, we were raised to respect that technique and hold it sacred. Thus, we could not sit idly by while the students of the technique dishonor the move by slaughtering the very people the technique was invented to protect. But we could not intervene directly. Students of the Heavenly Strike are especially trained against Raijus. It would have ended badly, even if we survived. Fortunately, a ragtag taskforce with their cute and handsome sponsor were around and were more than enough to take back the technique from the wicked!"

"Er...Yeah, sure. We figured we spare Shizuyama a whole heap of trouble if we took care of this now. I'm just glad we finally wrapped this. Though...", Kerry responded, somewhat distracted as she watched Eula break away from the main group, wandering off alone. Part of her wanted to follow the automaton but thought better of it. The robotic mamono made several life-changing decisions today so it was probably best to leave her be for a bit.

"H-Hold on, Takeshi!"

Hearing those words, Kerry snapped her toward Lili to see the fairy place herself between Dinah and a very displeased Takeshi.

It was hard to figure out why the young heir was in such a mood...and frankly, the hornet didn't care.

Before Takeshi took another step, Kerry quickly buzzed over and planted herself in front him at arm's length, a defiant glare displaying on her face.

"Lili's right, Takeshi.", spoke the mercenary in a measured tone, her wings buzzing as display of telling the young man to back off. "Dinah came back and helped turn the tide in our favor. That's all that matters, so I suggest you drop whatever problems you have with her fleeing earlier. Shit happened. Move on."

@AzureKnight@Enkryption@PaulHaynek@The Irish Tree@Rezod92 @Crowvette

Skarsneek & Gringor

Skarsneek watched, his fingers flicking the club as he let it fall from his hands. Gringor watched from behind as he lowered his shoulders and let his ax fell to the ground but his arms still held it.

Then before he could do to intervene, others taken the faster initiative and struck the Iron Grinder before they needed to. Freeing the fairy and arms fallen to one side.

That's when the heavens themselves descended as lightning struck the Iron Grinder, shocking him to the core and fall lifelessly.

"Well, talk about lucky." Skarsneek can't helped but laugh at that scene. It felt so karmic.

Though when they're joined by Takeshi, asking if the heavens were gentle somehow, that had Skarsneek looking upwards to the skies.

And barely after that statement, a blinding flash struck the earth and greeted by Mamonos. Much to his surprise as he wrecked his brain trying to figure these ones out.

"Do you know what types of Mamono they are?" He asked his wife covertly. Not wanting to appear ignorant to others since he was often the brains.

Though he quickly bowed back to them and introduced himself as well as Atsuha and Hinami.. "Well, name's Skarsneek, nice to meetcha! And this my lovely wife, and her sister."

Gringor meanwhile looked towards the Iron Grinder struck by lightning, poking him with the butt of his axe before noticing the latter's still alive.

Armor's ruined though. His eyes spotted some damage, he'll need to find a smith for these.

Moving away, one thing that did survived was the shield he had knocked away earlier. Gringor hefted it easily and tried a few swings alongside the shield.

Huffing, he'll have to understand it a bit before using it to its fullest but that's a trophy he can take for himself.

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Shizuka had finished helping mop up the foes that his other teammates had faced off against, noting the impressive tactics displayed by all of them. He then looked upon the group of Raiju that appeared before them, listening to their story as they bowed in appreciation and apologized for not providing proper aid during the battle.

"That is...quite alright. We've heard and understood your situation." Shizuka said, also noticing Eula slipping away from the group. He'd thought he should make time to check on her. But, right now there were other matters he needed to attend to.

"Kerry-san, Lili-chan, calm yourselves." Shizuka said sternly to his winged allies. "To his credit, his question from his perspective is a perfectly reasonable one. One that you need not interfere in." He then turned to Takeshi.

"On the other side, Takeshi-dono." Started the wanderer. "I will vouch for Alice-san, even given the circumstances. I'll take full responsibility for her actions, and ask that you allow me to console with her. I feel that due in large part to her efforts, everyone here in still in one piece and the mission was a success. She even aided me in a tight "

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Ah, my Lord Takeshi, if I may also interject." Atsuha was the next to speak. If it not been for Alice-san returning with Lili-chan and Kerry-chan, I am and my sister may not be here right now. I also move that you allow Shizuka-san the chance to console with her."

"Alice-san came back, so that means she still care about all of us!" Hinami added.

Shizuka looked toward the sisters with a bit of surprise, but a part of him was a little pleased that Alice had made a positive impression on the sisters as well.

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ATTN: @PaulHaynek (Takeshi), @The Irish Tree (Liliana), @AzureKnight (Shizuka). & @Rezod92 (Kerry)

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@AzureKnight@Enkryption@PaulHaynek@The Irish Tree@Rezod92 @Crowvette

Skarsneek of the Red Hills

Skarsneek hummed as he watched the proceeding slightly from afar, a question waving in his head the whole time now that he actually paid attention. More so after the Mad Hatter screamed, he had grabbed his clubs unconsciously.

Seeing the Mad Hatter move along side her face cracking and mushroom popping out, he watched her warily.

"Right, anyone wants to explain further on who's Dinah?" He asked Liliana and Kerry, confused at the two mixup on names. "She's like...a twin of Alice or something? You said something about merging and ripping eyes out-?"

Honestly, with how things escalated, it was hard to keep track.

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Gringor of the Ironhide Tribe.

Gringor on the other hand was busy with his things as he took the Iron Grinder Leader body, and hefted it over his shoulders while carrying his newly acquired shield.

Walking towards the four raiju, he raised his axe in salute to them for acknowledgement.

"All of you, gonna join fight? Then you follow Underboss Takeshi, or Shizuka. Or I crack yer 'eads in." He dictated, not even a request as it was an order. "If not, then do whatever you want."

Feeling quite satisfied for today's brawl, they defeated the students, he gained a new shiny, and new lads joined their band. It was a good day.

Yet, for a High Orc like him, it was never enough. There was always the next fight to look forward to.

Moving back to the group, he hollered to them loudly. "Oy,good fight! When's the next one underboss?!"