Ajax Thera - Councilman - Hellmouth
Aiden had managed to defend against Ajax's sudden attack, if barely. That was a good sign. Kyou, however, decided to appear and assist in the fight.
"This is only an evaluation..." he spoke up.
"There's no need to break them." Before he could return his attention to Aiden, who was clearly preparing to fight, Oriel had closed in. She moved behind him in an attempt to restrict his movements, but Ajax was faster than his large body suggested. In one quick rotation his left leg swept through the air, bringing the heel of his boot into Oriel's side, below the ribs, and the resulting impact sent her to the ground several meters away.
"You are fast, but..." Ajax stopped himself, hopping lightly into the air to jump over Aiden's fist slash with his water-enhanced blade.
"You did not think your plan through." Ajax was mid-air for the next attack, making a dodge out of the question. Instead he held his arm out and a layer of magma coated it. The occasional drop of the lava on the ground seared it, so when the water blade came back for another strike and was blocked with the lava magic it exploded in a blast of steam.
Aiden was quick to retreat this time, perhaps having learned a lesson from Ajax's earlier jab. The lava on his arm dripped off onto the ground, bringing his arm back to normal but leaving a small pool of magma underneath him.
"Your behaviors have already explained one of the problems," Ajax spoke up, casually leaning out of the way to dodge Aiden's next swing of his naginata.
"You two hold yourselves to higher standards than I, despite the difference in our experience. This is indicative of one thing...""You two believe you are the strongest and will always win your battles." With the next slash of Aiden's naginata, it was stopped by Ajax's bare hand. The big man caught the blade with one hand, not even a drop of blood left his grip. His yellow eyes settled on Aiden, giving off an intimidating glare.
"I'm much more realistic." Before their very eyes, the blade in Ajax's hand began to bend. The big man heated the metal just enough to give it some fluidity, allowing him to bend it with ease. Once the sword was bent to a sharp angle, Ajax released his grip.
"And I will teach you two how to be realistic as well."Unlike before, Ajax didn't wait for Aiden to catch his breath or pull a temporary retreat. His left fist shot out, connecting with the chestplate on Aiden's uniform and sending the Dragon Slayer flying backwards. A blow like that would've surely broken some ribs or his collarbone, but the uniform had the chestplate there for a reason. Ajax looked over to Kyou now.
"I was a bit iffy on recruiting them at first, but now I can see what Jak was talking about. They are stronger than they appear, but still..." He stood up straight now, flexing his fingers from the fist that struck Aiden.
"What do you think, Kyou?"Stacy Kaiser - White Tiger
The pale girl grinned at Kyou, putting her hands behind her back and leaning closer.
"Oh, we can talk later," Stacy spoke, keeping her sly grin. It took her a few seconds, however, to realize what Kyou had actually said. Something about a trip. Stacy stood upright and took a look of confusion.
"Wait, what are you talking-" And like that, Stacy was teleported away from the underground base.
"- about...? Oh..." The red eyes took a look around to survey her new environment, seeming uncaring about the disappearance of her clothing.
"The hell am I?" Stacy wondered aloud, putting her hands on her hips. With a sigh, she finally looked down and discovered her nudity.
"Oh, my clothes... I hated that uniform anyways." With a shrug, the naked woman started walking past the rubble. She could feel the intense magic and evil in the area, but something drew her to ignore it and focus on the direction she was facing.
Despite her feet being bare, she showed no difficulty navigating the destroyed environment.
"Something feels... familiar here..." Stacy said, looking over her shoulder when she heard a distant explosion.
"Maybe that is why Kyou-sama had sent me here. Something familiar..." Her gaze went forward again as she approached the demonic shrine. At the base of the structure, Stacy finally stopped walking.
"This presence..." Her red eyes seemed to grow darker, a visible anger taking hold of her gaze.
"I know it..." Both her hands clenched into fists and her face contorted in rage.
"It's that fucking demon." Visions of a destroyed town blanketed in snow came to her mind. The death and destruction of long ago, from the eyes of a frail little girl. The memories of family long lost, memories that Stacy had tried to forget, began to surface. Despite the rage controlling her body, tears began forming in her eyes. With a primal shout of rage, Stacy began running toward the source of the feeling. It didn't take long, however, to find someone else.
Stacy froze when she heard Gwen's shout. A voice not heard in a long time, but a voice she recognized. Stacy wiped the tears from her eyes as she redirected her course to Gwen's whereabouts. Rounding a corner, Stacy kicked up dust as she skidded to a halt. And there she was.
"Gwen Sniegrow!!" Stacy shouted, rushing forward with the bottom of her right fist pressed against her left palm. A long whip of ice was molded, lashing out and wrapping around the other naked woman's neck.
"Of course you would be here!"The Ice Make mage was lifted off her feet by the whip, being spun around the air and smashed into the rubble of a nearby fallen building. At that point, Stacy freed Gwen from the whip bringing it back to her side. Only anger and hatred was visible on her face.
"Remember me!?" Stacy stood upright, some of her long white hair hanging over her shoulder. A sign that she was too focused on something other than the hair she takes great pride in.
"You still think running away will solve your problems, Gwen!?" Stacy lifted her arm up, preparing to bring a powerful whipping upon Gwen.
A powerful blast of magical power in the distance distracted Stacy, even taking her off her feet and sending her to the ground. The mild disturbance to her thought process, or lack thereof, seemed to have snapped her out of her uncontrollable rage. After picking herself up she let the whip disappear. The pale woman took a moment to brush her hair from over her shoulder and even spent a few seconds getting dust out of it. After closing her eyes and letting out a sigh, her angry gaze returned to Gwen.
"Pardon me if I seem upset," Stacy began, clearly having greater control of herself now.
"But I'm sure you can understand why, considering how you abandoned me and all. A less sane person might even try to kill you." Now Stacy faced away from Gwen, crossing her arms over her chest and closing her eyes.
"What are you doing here, Sniegrow? And why are you naked at a time like this? I just got here and I can tell there are demons. Aren't you from an exorcist family? Are you running away from this too?" As her words grew more and more angry volatile, the display of Jeanne's barricade lit up the area. From where Stacy and Gwen were standing they could hear her warning.
"Uh..." The pale woman still refused to face Gwen, but some of her anger seemed to fade as she felt Jeanne's magical power rising.
"Perhaps... running away might be the best choice right now..." Despite the severe time limit, Stacy seemed to waver for a second longer. Deciding what exactly to do, as simply running wouldn't get her out of the town in time. Quick thinking took effect and her hands moved together to form the Ice Make position.
"Ice Make: Raging Sea!" A path of ice was formed in front of her, stretching out over Augustine Town and leading to the edge of the bubble barrier surrounding it.
Without another word to Gwen, Stacy leapt onto the bridge of smooth ice. As soon as her feet touched it the ice no longer maintained a smooth texture. A wave formed behind her heels, almost like it was water instead of ice, and began to propel the pale woman up the frozen path. Her light frame combined with her magical power made this a fast mode of transportation, allowing her to skate to the edge of the bubble in mere seconds. Despite leaving Gwen behind, in a situation that could very well kill her, Stacy did not totally abandon her. Behind the wave that propelled her, the ice smoothed out again. Should Gwen step onto the bridge as well, she would be propelled forth at high speeds just like her former comrade, provided she could keep her balance.
Once at the edge of the bubble, Stacy leapt up and a wolf head formed around her fist. No time to think about the consequences, so she ripped her way through the barrier and out to the alleged safe distance from whatever Jeanne was planning on doing.
Piper Hatfield - Ms. One Shot
Piper adjusted her glasses, allowing her to see the destructive battle between Jeanne and Yunin unfold. While most would only be able to watch the fight at a purely physical level, Piper was attune to sensing magic. She could see their power much more clearly than the others. And frankly: both fighters terrified her. When Jeanne announced that everyone had to leave Augustine or else they would die, she didn't need to repeat herself.
The bespectacled sniper was already running.
"If anyone can handle this, it's that woman," Piper spoke to herself, jumping over some mangled vines left over from the fighting earlier.
"It's not hard to see that I'm not helpful here..." With plenty of time to spare, Piper made her way to the edge of the bubble barrier. She hesitated for a moment, unsure if she could pass through it or not. Considering it was one of the Lamia Scale mages that made it, it was likely that it would let her through.
She first touched it with her hand, making sure that it wouldn't hurt her with contact. To her surprise she was able to put her hand through the soapy substance without harm, only feeling somewhat wet yet clean for touching it. Deeming it safe, Piper walked through the bubble the rest of the way. Oddly enough, it cleaned much of the dirt and dust off her. A small detail, but one she noticed quickly. With that out of the way, Piper began retreating further from the bubble. Something made her feel that standing directly outside it wasn't the brightest idea.
Piper made it a good distance before the explosion occurred. She sensed it before she heard it, turning to face the bubble barrier. Piper had sensed that most people escaped by now, but with the massive magical presence coming from inside the barrier it was hard to be precise. The barrier first expanded under the pressure before entirely bursting open. Even at her distance the blast was felt, a powerful stream of wind pressing against Piper that almost knocked her off balance. As the wind died down and the dust settled, Augustine Town was no more. Only a massive, dusty crater.
Hana Oshiro - The Last Samurai
As the dust began to settle around Jeanne and the blast site, a small breeze picked up. From the sky fell a thin pillar of cherry blossoms, landing next to the fallen Lamia Scale mage. As the blossoms fell they began to take shape, quickly forming into the Last Samurai herself. Hana kneeled next to Jeanne, putting her fingers on the woman's neck to check for a pulse. The expression on Hana's face was surprisingly grim and serious, despite finding Jeanne had survived her attack.
"You're lucky, Jeanne," Hana spoke softly, her voice as calm and soothing as always.
"That wasn't an honorable way to die. Perhaps if you killed yourself with seppuku you would've kept your honor." A small grin formed on her face.
"But I didn't want you to die anyways." Hana stood up now, making a rising motion with her right hand. In accordance with her command, thousands of cherry blossoms appeared underneath Jeanne, lifting her off the ground on a soft bed of pink petals. Hana turned and began to walk away, the floating bed of cherry blossoms remaining at her side.
"You fought well. Be proud of that."