[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/b66ac7e6-b072-433b-9f33-78c81afe9c01.png[/img]

[center][b]”Call me Ishmael.”[/b]

[color=888888]— “Penumbra”[/color][/center]

[@TaintedMushroom][@Kero] 

Something that Asher failed to realize was that ignoring the problem wasn’t going to make it go away. As such, when the berzerker esper aimed a beam to intercept Penumbra and assist [s]however that may be[/s] Raphael, Monstro loomed towards him undeterred. It tilted its head to the side and bit down on Dead Head, teeth sinking into the the front of his chest and the back of his shoulder blades, and holding him hostage in its jaws. If only a brief moment. His lucky shot had paid off. He was freed, [i]and[/i] closer to the two initial targets, but goddamn can he not go a moment without getting bit by something? If he spared a moment of clarity amidst his anger he’d see there were two options presented to him now. Either he could tear that ugly-ass whale a new one and give himself some temporary breathing room, or he could continue his warpath to see the ringleader beheaded. Was there a way to do both? He wouldn’t have long to decide. The monster was circling around their battlefield overhead, priming itself for another try.

[b]”....Mm.”[/b]

Ramona on her end could only press her lips into a thin line as she observed everything. He didn’t even react, to anything from her in fact. Why was he even so…angry to begin with? Was he always like this during jobs? People like him were so boring to deal with. The demon sighed. [b]”How long do we have to keep this up again?”[/b]

Doberman however hadn’t been as fortunate. Maybe she could just excuse it as her not being as well of a melee fighter as she was a marksman, or perhaps despite the Walking Church being terrified, she was more of a competent fighter than the sniper had initially assessed. Noah took advantage of an opening to slam a potent melody down on her.

[b]”[i]SHIT-![/i]”[/b] The sniper tried to dodge out of the way as quick as possible, but with how close they were to each other, and how far Noah’s spear could really reach, she was bound to hit [i]something[/i]. The weapon cut across Doberman’s back, causing her to hiss in pain and recoil further away from the nun out of instinct.

[b]”Having a bit of trouble back there!?”[/b] They could hear Penumbra call out to Doberman, who growled in response. 

[b]”You’re more of a little pain in the ass than I thought. Hey, Ramona, a little help here?!”[/b]

Ramona tilted her head in confusion. From where Doberman was standing there wasn’t enough shadows to really do anything. But the girl did seem more fun than skull-for-brains. [b]”’Kay.”[/b]

Monstro’s shadow now loomed ominously over Noah.

The preacher and the scantily clad assassin exchanged more blows, though neither of them seemed to have an edge. Or at least, the assassin’s edge wouldn’t kick in until later. Even espers grew weaker when wounded. Raphael was strong for the moment, but that would wain the longer the fight dragged on. Not a single one of his destructive blows could fell his nameless opponent. Though no annoyance showed on his face. His eyes flicked upward. It was hard to make out with the storm raging, but the trains were already overhead. The calm on his face broke when he grit his teeth. 

[b][color=silver]”We need an opening!”[/color][/b] Raphael couldn’t be too specific with any orders. Even if he found it easy to talk while fighting, his opponents would surely react to his words, and he had not trained with the espers present long enough for them to understand covert instructions. [b][color=silver]”If we can even down one of them, that’s all we’ll need to push through and join the others!”[/color][/b]