-=-=The Eidolic Cairn=-=-
Never did Gomory fall prey to the slightest deception that she had been alone in her search for the seal. Her theatrical display with the Fausts and Mephistos, sweeping through Barlour, could not have failed to turn a few heads. Of course, the demoness counted on it; while many things, she was not especially patient, and favored a confrontation with her foes sooner rather than later. Thankfully, they obliged.
Every new entrant to the grand cavern received a full sizing-up by the woman in pink. She received only a momentary glimpse at a man with a rather devilish right arm before he slipped behind some rocks. Did he truly think to assault her with stealth? Even though no walls or towers stood around her, this central platform upon which the Eidolic Cairn rested stood like a fortress. Every angle of attack could be seen, and only specific routes could be taken to approach. The Fausts stood alongside her as sentinels, and she reigned over this pillar as duchess. Another individual, though far larger and more imposing than Nero, appeared in a doorway before quickly hiding himself. Were he not so human-looking Gomory would have though him to be a demon by his size and bulk, but his refined features piqued her curiosity.
I wonder…?A machine entered soonafter, though it didn’t even bother hiding itself. Perhaps it, too, harbored some sort of intrigue for the Eidolic Cairn’s other visitors. Gomory might have laughed. The others seemed so hesitant. Clearly they saw the seal’s defender as a challenge not to be taken likely, and waited for reinforcement. Not counting her demon attendants, Gomory figures a potential fight to be at least three on one, which struck her as rather one-sided. They would need at least another half-dozen to stand a chance by her more conservative estimations.
Moments later, someone broke the formula. With minimal hesitation this paradoxically new old-timer began making his way across the cavern, practically advertising in glaring neon some form of spontaneous gate-making ability.
Nothing if not predictable for my refined senses, Gomory thought before curling her lip in disdain at the remark thrown her way.
”Charmed,” she replied flatly as her fingers slid over the hilt of her sheathed Tai Chi sword.
”So it’s you, then. A civil demon will defend the world against a foulmouthed human. How poetically ironic. Very well then.” Letting go of the sheath in her off hand, she wielded the weapon like a casting rod, flourishing it to the side. While focused on the obvious threat, she would not so easily succumb to tunnel vision, and as such maintained enough of an awareness of KYL that when he opened fire, she was ready.
Flipping her grip on Jiaolong, she slammed the sheathed blade’s tip into the stone. A shockwave spread out in a cone in front of her, cracking the rock, and from the fractures surged a geyser of paint. In a dull gradient of assorted colors it came, and like spatters of paint on a canvas it halted completely after a moment, hanging in the air. KYL’s bullets riddled the fountain of paint, entering in a cascade of
spluts and not exiting at all.
The next instant, Gomory was in the air. Pink flower petals swirled around her as she hung there, poised in intricate stance. She performed an aerial thrust, and from the sheathed blade’s end poured a fusillade of large, painted arrows. They rained toward both KYL and Akoni, but hitting them would be a bonus. As one they crashed into the floating stones, instantly breaking some and carrying others down into the abyss with them. Just like that, a third of the routes available toward the center were no more. Gomory landed with immaculate grace, the folds of her qipao’s sleeves like the wings of a swan, and watched intently to see how the humans handled the attack.
-=-=Underground Tunnels=-=-
The pressure rose as the noises of screeching and scrabbling faded away. Their fear waning, the six operatives of Gilgamesh allowed themselves to slow down just a little. Temporary safety would not let them lose sight of their goal, however. Through the dreary passages they moves, conscious of a change of surroundings: where before the walls resembled cellars or subway tunnels, they now bore an eerie resemblance to catacombs. Of course, they showed no evidence of human activity, but all the same they emanated the aura of the tomb. By now, of course, every one of them suspected spirit activity, evidenced by their own eyes despite the discretion of the apparitions themselves.
Abruptly they arrived in an anterior chamber. A solid stone slab lay in the doorway ahead, but through cracks in its surface filtered a spectral greenish light. Clearly, the most important thing in the entire underground lay just ahead. Unfortunately, Souta could tell that the threshold would not be easy to clear.
”Atlas,” he called, taking initiative.
”Why don’t you start pounding away at that stone? Everyone else: we should set up an ambush. Ice is nice, but it won’t hold the demons for long. I get the feeling we’re being followed.”While he held no technical rank over them, Souta did not go ignored. While Atlas went to work, the remaining five took up their positions. Babyfingers and Ell flanked the entryway on either side, a few feet away from the aperture. The former planned to freeze whatever came through, and to finish it off with a cluster-blast of ice spikes should Ell’s Isfrafel not destroy it. Bullion and Souta positioned themselves to start shooting from out of sight, while Otsune remained invisible, standing by in a strategic location of her choice. The beating of Atlas’ armored fists took on the cadence of a war drum, sounding out the prelude to a tenacious battle.
-=-=Gilgamesh Branch Office=-=-
The violent escalation in the building’s bottom floor quickly drew attention. More contracted security guards made a beeline for the room. Antonio and Gene’s moment of bonding did not last, and quite abruptly an additional five guards appeared. These ones, however, had eschewed their non-lethal weaponry. Four toted security pistols, but among them one stood out: an especially burly specimen that bore two enormous shields that could clearly lock together to form a nigh-impenetrable wall. Before the two interlopers stood Tybalt, a Reclaimer stationed recently in Barlour and only just now returned from a patrol. He bellowed, “Stand down! We ain’t fond of killin’ other people, but anyone who murders a Gilgamesh employee is an enemy of humanity!”
Just then, there came the beep of an elevator door. Across the lobby the device in question opened, and from it strode forth two particularly interesting figures. The first, a female, sported a punk-style hair, an equally mean look, military dress, and what appeared to be tentacles on her arms. Her comrade put on a stylish air with his silver and crimson dress, but the twin blades in his hands indicated that he might be as deadly as he was dapper. Obligingly the guards parted to allow the operatives through, and the single, stout soldier moved aside.
Immediately the young woman snarled something highly aggressive and probably offensive in Russian, lashing her arms like whips. Though he pushed up his hat to regard Gene and Antonio with pale brown eyes, the man beside her said nothing. He merely adopted a ready stance. If these men wished to quarrel with humanity’s defenders, they would face the proud warriors Tickler and Macbeth alongside the unremarkable humans.
