@Ponn@ERode@Izurich The teller gave Angel a side eye when she disregarded her offer and promptly sprinted back to the main hall to regroup with the others, but at least Cerberus
actually acknowledged her offer. She looked back at the cat girl with a slight grin and was about to explain, but she was pulled by the free hand down the hall instead.
”Ey’, just a scratch. Guessin’ they didn’t expect ya’ ta’ be THAT strong.” She chuckled. The next scene only cemented the fact. These guys were never gonna stand a chance. The agents got the code, and now they got someone to guide them to Binky. The teller moved her bloodied hand away from her wound when Ashley offered to patch her up. Even if healing notes don’t work as well with normal humans as they did espers it should be enough to stop the bleeding at least. She nodded in thanks.
”Th’ name’s Elise. Boss gave a heads up that you’d be poppin’ in, an’ I ain’t exactly a part of their lot, as ya’ can figure…” Elise explained, giving the corpses a side eye.
”Down there though’s where Tony does his dirty work. Should warn ya’, it ain’t pretty.”With Angel guarding the elevator, the rest could go down to the lower floors.
The ride down could’ve felt like ages. And the colder atmosphere they were greeted with contrasted with the warm and inviting casino. Elise immediately stepped out first.
”This way, girls!”Navigating through the winding corridors, the agents could get glimpses of the gang’s inner-workings. There was a notable lack of guards down there, were
all of them stationed on the main floor? Soon enough they would come across where the human trafficking victims were being held. Man, woman, and child, some even noticed the unfamiliar group walking down the cells and tried to reach out to them, begging them for help, begging for their freedom.
”Awful, ain’t it? Cat’s gotta eat, doesn’t matter who ends up his lunch.” Elise solemnly spoke up as they walked.
”Ya’ hadn’t done a terrible numba’ on the hall besides tha’ stiffs. An’ somehow I’m doubtin’ you’re leavin’ ‘em here too, ‘ight?”However the agents would respond, Elise wouldn’t answer. It wasn’t
her funeral if they did. She eventually stopped at one cell and knocked on the bars. Inside laid their target. Binky, at a cursory glance at least, was left unharmed.
”Rise n’ shine, Cabbage Patch! Ya’ free to go!””Ngh!” Unharmed, but definitely stiff. Binky rose to her feet. She almost jumped out of her skin when she noticed all the new faces looking at her.
”Orion? Good to see you again. And, and, I… I don’t recognize the others.” With a sigh, Binky fell against the wall.
”Maybe we can get introduced later. My grimoire, they’re keeping it around here somewhere.”
@The World@Nyahahameha@Nakushita@TaintedMushroom@FamishedPantsIt was a good thing Kira practiced those one-armed push ups.
Few mundane humans could support their body without collapsing, least of all with a limb missing. But there was enough adrenaline coursing through Kira’s system that this was possible. While bending over backwards to avoid her opponent, she could see the palemancer behind her. He had his arm extended and was about to pull himself right back onto the semi trailer. But the pale guard Kira shot earlier was sling-shotted straight over her without so much as time to flail. The palemancer and his creation collided in mid air before tumbling into the street. Falling twelve feet to the ground was not an ideal situation for anyone, but falling from a vehicle that’s driving well over the speed limit The palemancer and pale guard seemed to blend together as they rolled across the pavement. But the semi kept driving, now with only Kira and its mysterious driver. Could the Semi be stopped?
Speaking of stopping, that was something Bardo felt might be a good idea. He conjured a slew of floating pages to slow himself down. Little by little, the pages slowed him down until he was suspended right beside a lamp post. This was good for Bardo,because his brain would remain in his skull. This was bad for bardo because it meant the incoming pale guard would have little difficulty targeting their suspended prey. They tumbled in place, with the pale guard biting and scratching Bardo, and Bardo retaliating with his sword. While his sword happily gobbled up mundane semi trucks, it didn’t have the same destructive power on monsters. It cut like a normal sword, but it still informed him about his target nonetheless. This pale guard used to be a human cadaver, but had since transformed into a full monster. While he could cut her, she was much more susceptible to arcane magic. He could also tell that she was dangerous to normal humans, but wouldn’t be able to do a lot of damage to bardo by herself. Her name used to be Peggy, and she was trying out a keto diet before being captured by weretigers. What actually killed her were some injuries she sustained during a human trafficking bust gone wrong. A gemini agent sniped the weretiger that was carrying her and she hit her head when the crate she was housed in was dropped to the ground. She later died from her injuries, and experienced her second death at Bardo’s hands. Bardo’s vestments were stained with his opponents blood, and yet, he didn’t have time to take it all in.
He could see the palemancer and the other pale guard rise from the ground. They were no longer separate entities. Tumbling across the pavement had worn away most of their clothes and flesh,and their bones were entwined into a single being. They looked like a mantis, with two bladed scythes for arms and their other limbs acting as legs. Even if they had no right being used as such. It tried to gurgle out something, but the way their throats fuzed together didn’t enable either creature to speak. The palemancer, or whatever they had become, hobbled towards Bardo.
The two remaining male pale guards at Himiko’s feet were vaporized by her melody. The heat alone was enough to do them in, but what little remained was set ablaze and burned into fine ash. She might have been stingy with her mana, but if the price was right…
Which just left the cultists.
Despite Finn freaking out over Oros’s sudden appearance, he flung his one melody at the monster cultist going after Eddy. He noticed the incoming projectile, but when he reached for his fellow “protectors,” they had all made the wise choice to distance themselves from their superior.
”This just ain’t right!"The melody struck him square in the chest, turning his entire body into smoldering ash. His robes and golden jewelry fell to the ground in a heap. Between getting harassed by a sockpuppet and having one of their leaders just die, the cultists weren’t looking to stick around. It wasn’t like they could recover the water truck at this point anyway. They backed into the shadows, quietly uttering their lords name as they departed.
Though one was a bit more stubborn.
"Run, Finn, run!"— Oros The Mad There were a few espers that could outrun Oros, but Finn wasn’t one of them. She had little difficulty gaining on him as the distance between them closed. But what could he do but run? She was strong, fast, had potent melodies, and could shrug off most anything that was thrown at her. But that didn’t even factor in her most powerful ability.
Oros’s eyes glanced between the back of Finn’s head and her sword. A smile crept across her face. Her eyes continued to glow more intense shades of red, going from pink to a deep crimson. She whipped around and pointed her sword in Marrie’s direction. The two fired their beams. A gust of wind and a snake passed each other mid-air.
Simultaneously.
Finn was struck in the back. He was immediately transplanted with Marrie, but Oros had used her melody to teleport closer to where Marrie had been. Finn blinked his eyes, and he was suddenly running headlong
towards Oros.
"Time to get shorter, pipsqueak!"A swing of her sword, and Finn was parted from both of his legs. He fell forwards and managed to stop his face from hitting the pavement by catching it with his hands. The brass cogs in his legs were exposed, and oil spilled out onto the pavement. When he looked up, he could see Oros approaching him. But also, there was something
else floating just over her shoulder.
"I’ve gotta say, I’m a little disappointed in our final match." She held her sword over her head.
"I’d have preferred no interruptions, but it didn’t seem like you were going to fight me anyway. Maybe-" Suddenly, sand started to pour out of Finn’s ears. And his eyes, his legs, even the gaps under his fingernails. His head collapsed into a mound of sand.
"Hey!" Oros pointed at Finn’s head.
"Talking is a free action! We went over this last time!" With a sigh, she turned away from Finn.
"Whatever, we’ll have a proper duel later I guess. Unbelievable." The remaining cultist approached Marrie.
"So, where was I?" She sheathed her sword.
"Right, so, everyone around here, sans you, gets on my nerves. Since I managed to get through this event while only cutting off that psychopath’s legs, I think I deserve a reward, don’t you?" Oros folded her arms.
"What do I get?" 
