Marrie Knight
Less than a second after snapping off her shot, Ashley felt herself being pushed out of the path of Sofron’s own attack. Before she even realized what was happening, Gale had flown to Sofron and pushed him out the window. Slowly rising to her feet, the Knight of Tomorrow felt a slight dampness as the brooches the Maiden gave them began to melt.
“Maiden!” Ashley gasped as she tried to employ her rapidly dwindling brooch in an attempt to rescue their imperiled partner. Yet, it soon became painfully clear that it was too little, too late for such a strategy to be viable… However, before she could take any further action, one of their guides burst in, warning that…
Oros was here…Oros. That name sent a chill racing down Ashley’s spine. She had read about Oros. Every G.E.M.I.N.I. agent had. The pink-haired, black-garbed woman was one of the most infamous, and
powerful, Depraved espers known to the organization, a chaotic psychopath, well-deserving of her title “Oros the Mad”. For her to appear now, when they had just barely survived fighting Sofron, with one of their number missing, and possibly dead… The Knight of Tomorrow’s grip tightened on her instrument. Even though she didn’t rate her chances of surviving an encounter with this pink-haired lunatic particularly high, she was prepared to fight to her last breath.
Fortunately, combat didn’t seem to be on Oros’s agenda, as she instead chose to ramble about several disjointed topics. From what little Ashley could glean from the incoherent mess, Oros had come to meet the squirrel-tailed woman for a romantic engagement, unaware that she was evidently already in a relationship with Sofron. And then something about how either Gale or Ashley herself should serve as a replacement, an idea which filled the Knight of Tomorrow with utter revulsion. However, Oros also asked if they needed some healing, which drew the high-tech heroine’s attention back to the charred stump that was all that remained of her left arm…
“Uh, I-I have healing abilities of my own,” Ashley replied hesitantly, before Oros came out with another random comment, asking if they wanted to watch her become a shark and…
“Oh! Our ally was thrown out the window!” The Knight of Tomorrow gasped, the mention of water bringing the Maiden’s plight back to the forefront of her mind.
“Sofron was as well,” she added her voice taking on a harsher tone.
“I don’t care if you eat what’s left of him, but please, if she’s still alive, can you help our ally?” Of course, a part of Ashley’s mind knew that she probably shouldn’t be asking Oros, of all people, for assistance, but if there was still a chance to save the Maiden, she was going to take it.
The pink haired esper chuckled.
”There’s way too much irony involved with a GEMINI esper asking a depraved to save another depraved. But I guess you wouldn’t be a cupcake if you put your job before the lives of your friends.” With a hum, she rolled her eyes.
”But imagine me doing something that gives you the chance to scram or call your buddies. Nu-uhu, ain’t happening.” Marrie was still stunned from watching Sofron and Maiden hit the water. She slowly turned to Oros and floated back inside, barely making it before her melody ended.
”I… I messed up again.” was all she could manage before collapsing to her knees, suddenly screaming in pain as her adrenaline faded and her leg injury flared to full force.
Ashley’s teeth clenched and her mouth contorted into a snarl when Oros decided she didn’t want to go for a swim after all. So she was just toying with them, was that it? Ashley utterly despised those who made light of others’ misery, and was about to say as much, when she heard her remaining ally cry out in pain.
“Gale!” Ashley gasped, rushing over to where the bluenette had fallen. Now that she had the chance to take a closer look, the Knight of Tomorrow could see that her ally’s leg had been blown off by Sofron’s final melody.
“Here, let me help you,” she added, retrieving the severed limb and using a healing melody to reattach it (while also hopefully soothing at least some of the pain).
“There, does that feel a little better?” she asked, her countenance filled with concern.
Marrie took a few deep breaths now that her leg was reattached.
”Y-yeah. Thank you.” she managed through gritted teeth. It was hurting a lot less, but it still hurt and combined with the emotional damage of the fight, it was a bit overwhelming for the young girl. The limb was partially stitched together by the neon glow of Ashley’s magic, though Sofron’s attacks were potent, and the wound still remained. It was at least attached, but Marrie would need more attention before her wounds healed the rest of the way.
Or would she?
The rest of her leg was stitching itself together. The wound grew transparent blue fangs and “bit” itself closed. Any shed blood sunk into her leg, and all that remained were the emotional scars the fight had left her with.
Oros lifted her finger to her lips and blew over the top of it.
”Diamond melodies are something else, huh? Even healing them up is a bitch.” She sat on the floor and tucked her hand under her chin. she couldn’t have been sitting more than a few feet away from Ashley, but at least her sword was sheathed. Save for about a foot of steel that was sticking out of the scabbard.
Marrie watched, transfixed as her leg healed itself. Wait,
diamond melodies? They were fighting someone with diamond melodies!? No wonder things turned out like they did. Still, it wasn’t going to help anyone to wallow in despair. It certainly didn’t help last time she did. She hesitantly stood up, testing her weight on her leg. It seemed to be completely back to normal, which was nice.
To Ashley’s considerable surprise, Oros had chosen to aid her in healing Gale’s injury, and even if the action almost certainly had an ulterior motive, the Knight of Tomorrow still felt compelled to show her appreciation.
“T-Thank you,” she told the pink-haired woman after a moment of stunned silence had passed. Predictably, the depraved esper had a substantially more involved show of appreciation in mind, once more mentioning a
date… ”So as I was saying, I kinda need a date for tonight.” The depraved esper placed her hands on her knees.
”If you really want me to dive in after tall dark and hungry, I can do that. But I have priorities, you know?. I’m not too picky. I mean, Gara Gura would be my first choice, but Icarus here looks a little more emotionally sound. If you can’t pick, I could take both of you, that would be cool.” She tapped her chin.
”Do we have time? I guess we’ve got a few minutes before anyone drowns to death. There’s this cool place on thirteenth street. It’s like a super shopping center, but they’ve got a food court and a buffet nearby. So you can go shopping, pay for some overpriced chinese shit, then sit down in the court and eat all the stuff you picked out. It’s also really cool because there are no butlers, so you don’t have to worry about them turning out to be enemy espers or robots.”Ashley suppressed a shudder. Spending a night with this dangerous lunatic was pretty much the last thing she wanted to do, but if it was the only way to possibly save the Maiden, and if the only other alternative was for the visibly distraught Gale to do the same…
“I-I’ll go with you,” Ashley declared, the words forming before she fully comprehended what she was saying.
“I-If you can save our ally, I-I’ll… hang out with you for the remainder of the night, b-but no crossing of personal boundaries,” she hastened to clarify.
“I-Is that acceptable?” ”I dunno.” Oros tapped her chin.
”I mean, you’re not my first choice, and it’s dependent on me being successful?””Who are you, by the way? Do you think you can save-...” Marrie stopped before she finished. From the height she fell from, in non-esper form, the chances were high that Maiden was already dead.
Your fault. She shook her head to clear that thought from it. Even if she was dead, she deserved to be returned to any family she might have.
”Do you think you can, hopefully rescue, or at least retrieve the girl who Sofron threw out the window? She deserves better than a burial at sea, at least.”With a growl, Oros threw her hands over her head.
”Ffffffffffffine! I guess I’ll go take a swim. But only because you’re so cute when you don’t know who I am.” She walked over to the window.
”I’ll be back shortly, so don’t go anywhere.” She pointed at the unconscious police woman.
”You too, Mac!” Oros stepped backwards out the window. While she disappeared from the frame, the espers could hear a splash a moment later. It seemed the espers were alone for the moment.
Despite Ashley’s offer, it seemed
Gale would ultimately be the one to motivate Oros to go look for the Maiden. Although a part of her was relieved that the depraved esper was more interested in her companion, as opposed to herself, another part of her was greatly concerned for Gale’s continued safety. And so, after a moment of awkward silence had passed in the wake of Oros’ departure, the Knight of Tomorrow decided to tell her ally exactly who they were dealing with…
“That was Oros,” Ashley explained with a tired sigh as she retrieved her severed arm from where it lay on the floor.
“Also known as ‘Oros the Mad’. She’s a very powerful, and very insane, depraved esper. That’s someone who’s so dangerous, they’re being hunted by all other espers, regardless of faction affiliation, just like Sofron.” Wincing slightly as she employed a healing melody to reattach her arm, the Knight of Tomorrow continued.
“If anything, she’s even stronger than Sofron, and instead of serving a vampire, she claims to be working for an eldritch horror who apparently intends to destroy the world. Still…” she added as her gaze turned towards the open window.
“I haven’t seen any evidence of her committing atrocities against innocents, and she doesn’t seem openly hostile towards us, so we might be safe for the time being, although I think we should remain on our guard nonetheless. If she truly is as insane as I’ve heard, then there’s no telling what she might do next…””Well… I try to see the good in everyone. Even Sofron, if he didn’t attack us out the gate, I would’ve tried to reason with him, once we subdued him. I’m not one to take other people’s word for someone being a bad person, either. But I’ll keep in mind the whole ‘works for someone who wants to destroy the world’ thing.” Marrie replied, before muttering something under her breath. She sighed and sat down on the nearest sittable area, possibly the floor at this point, and asked,
”Do you need a heal too? I think I’ve got enough in the tank to do one more, but I can’t do major heals so I don’t know if it’ll help as much as I wish it would.” As she sat, she flexed her newly healed leg to test it. This Oros person was really strong, if she could heal something like that as fast as she did. It only took a moment of silence for Marrie to punch herself square in the jaw.
”Damnit. I hope she comes back with news that Maiden survived…”“I try to do so as well,” Ashley replied.
“Although when I see firsthand the horrors Sofron and his master have inflicted upon so many innocent people, I can’t just stand by and allow them the chance to harm who knows how many others in the future.” Gale then asked if she needed additional healing, to which Ashley gave a tired smile, before shaking her head.
“Thanks, Gale, but I think I can manage. You should probably try to conserve your remaining mana for something important.” Like if Oros decides to attack us… The Knight of Tomorrow’s eyes widened a moment later as she watched her ally punch herself, but a part of her understood what the blue-haired young woman was feeling.
“I-I hope so, too,” she added in a softer voice.
“But what happened wasn’t your fault, so please don’t blame yourself. If anyone’s responsible, it’s Sofron, not you.”Marrie remained silent at that. Whether it was true or not, she still wouldn’t be able to just accept it.
Not much later, Oros returned through the stairway. Her clothes were wet, and she was wearing the most disgruntled frown either of the younger espers had seen in some time. A carry out bag from the Grizzly rose swung in one hand while the other twisted the water out of her ponytail.
”So good news, bad news.” Oros walked towards the espers.
”The bad news is that I couldn’t find Mrs. Om nom nom anywhere. The undertow was pretty strong and must have dragged her out to sea. I wouldn’t even know where to look.” Her lips curled into a smile as she seemed to radiate sunshine.
”The good news is that I didn’t find her body! And being that she’s a Patron’s Champion, that always invites the possibility that she survived somehow! Marrie blinked. On the one hand, if there was a strong current, Maiden was probably gone. On the other, if someone who can heal a diamond melody wound like it was nothing says there’s a chance she survived, then… Maybe it was better for her mental health to take Oros’ word for it.
” And there’s even better news!” Oros stepped over the squirrel woman’s body, who had reverted back to her original form shortly after expiring.
”There were some grilled club sandwiches on the counter! So since everyone’s having an emotional breakdown, why don’t we just have a quick bite up here? Just the three of us?” She looked at the police woman, who was still unconscious.
”I brought a fourth one in case she wakes up, but, yea, dig in!” Oros pulled a sandwich out of the bag. The bread had been press-grilled on a real panini press and had golden waves on the top and bottom of the sandwich.
”Oh! I guess I should say grace. You guys can just dig in, or you can nod your head along with me.” She clasped her hands together.
”Zigus gaplaflem Aigorost, Dis kurtoban muntory crentinity, zes yojensen bidelaford…”As Oros rambled about food, and then began an incredibly bizarre “prayer”, Ashley’s mind was replaying the first two things the Pink-haired esper had said.
The undertow was strong and she hadn’t found a body. Well, of course she hadn’t, not if the Maiden had been swept out to sea. And if their ally had reverted back to her mundane self, something the Maiden’s altered appearance when Ashley had last seen her seemed to suggest, then the odds of her survival were nearly zero…
Despite that, Oros seemed to think the Maiden might still be alive, noting that she was a “Patron Champion”, whatever
that was, but Ashley reminded herself that Oros was utterly insane. For all they knew she hadn’t even looked for their ally at all, or maybe she’d found the Maiden and killed her herself? Regardless, Ashley was in no mood to play the depraved esper’s sick games, and she was certainly not about to
eat with her, not when everything that had just happened had seriously ruined her appetite…
“T-Thanks for the offer, but I’m not particularly hungry,” Ashley muttered
She listened to the pink-haired girl continue, and found herself blinking again. Sandwiches? That was a weird segue. She was about to say something when she noticed a blue glint from the floor. She walked over and found what appeared to be a hairpin? On closer inspection, it looked like a prayer stick. What was that doing here? She thought about pocketing it, since it might be a clue towards Justin, but she decided to show it to the other two once Oros finished her… prayer? Fitting timing to find the thing, she figured.
”Do either of you know what this is? I doubt it was Sofron’s, -” she stopped, horrified as a thought entered her mind. What if this was Maiden’s Grimoire? If she had fallen in mundane form not because she was out of mana, but because she’d lost this… That made the likelihood of her surviving even lower. Marrie found herself staring at the stick in silence.
Gale’s discovery caused the Knight of Tomorrow to stifle a gasp.
“J-Judging by its aesthetic similarity to the appearance of the Maiden’s esper state, I-I think that’s probably her Grimoire, w-which means…” The high-tech heroine’s voice trailed off as she found herself unable to finish that dreadful thought. She truly wanted to believe that there was a chance their ally had somehow survived, but each new piece of evidence made that outcome seem increasingly unlikely…
”Okay so like number one, it’s rude to interrupt grace. ” Oros Pulled her hands apart.
”And two, You guys saw her get thrown out a window, untransformed. Is it that big a surprise that her grimoire is here?” With a groan, Oros picked up the unconscious police woman and moved her closer to the gathering.
”But whatever! If you girls don’t wanna eat with me, I don’t really care! I got, I mean look!” She placed a sandwich in front of the dead and unconscious woman.
”They’re not quite my type, but I’m gunna enjoy these club sandwiches with these-” A smile suddenly crossed her face.
”Hey wait a second!” She pointed at Marrie.
”You need a head, right?” Marrie started when Oros pointed at her, breaking from her thoughts.
“Uh… If you have one that’s ethically sourced, then yes. Why? And, um, sorry about interrupting your prayer? I guess that was kind of rude…” Marrie wasn’t sure what to think about anything anymore.
”Ethically sourced head?” She dragged the former squirrel woman onto her lap.
”I mean, I kinda doubt this one’s gunna miss her head much. Might be easier on her family too if they don’t know she was murdered in some penthouse that was being rented by a rich asshole.” ”Maybe… but it wouldn’t be right to not give her family closure.”All of Ashley’s worried ruminations on the Maiden’s continued survival came to a crashing halt when Gale and Oros began talking about needing a
head, of all things, and apparently one that was “ethically sourced” as well…
“Um, I’m sorry, but what do you need a head for?” Ashley inquired, not even trying to hide her shock.
”Oh, I have a friend who needs a new one. She can’t talk very well without one so I’m not entirely sure how she can survive without it, but apparently it’s as easy as putting a new one on her neck to fix. It’s, uh… Sort of my fault that she lost it, so…””We’re just a bunch of girls gathered together in search of some ethically sourced head!” Oros laughed hard enough to shake the room.
She… decapitated someone…?
And they’re still alive?
And now they need a new head?Despite her high I.Q. and normally good focus, Ashley was having a very difficult time following what was being said. And Oros’s incoherent ramblings certainly didn’t help…
My…patron…?”Well, no sweat off my balls either way. I just heard Ashley’s patron was going to leave if certain events didn’t transpire, and Stacy having a head is required in making those events happen. Can’t blame me if anything happens.” Oros opened her mouth and shoved her entire sandwich down her throat. Snakes are capable of dislodging their lower jaw to eat large prey, and if a human could do this they could eat a watermelon whole. But there was no evidence that Oros used a melody to grant herself such a power.
”Mmmmmmm!” She pulled a bottle of vodka out of the bag to wash down her sandwich. With a smack of her lips, she turned back to the girls.
”You guys suck at small talk, so I’ll just cut to the chase. There’s a lot of bad shit coming down the pipe. Some of it you’re aware of, some of it you’re not. Pretty sure Fritzi’s mentioned the holy diver in hushed tones to a few people already, so you should know what that is. And you got Sofron wet. I’m not a friend of GEMINI or the freelancers, but I think we stand a better chance working together, don’t you?””I guess? It’s always helpful to know more.” Marrie granted.
”I don’t mind working together, though I’m not sure I’ll be any help…”It was only when the discussion turned to the Freelancers, the Mavericks, and GEMINI all uniting against a common foe, that the Knight of Tomorrow was finally able to find her voice.
“While I agree it’s best to stand together against a world-ending threat, The Mavericks have proven themselves to be little more than terrorists, who are all-too-eager to sacrifice innocent people in order to appease the horrific appetites of monsters. And speaking of the end of the world,” she added, while glaring at Oros.
“Isn’t that exactly what you’re trying to accomplish?””That’s the rumor. But if it was the truth, wouldn’t I be scrambling to get into Justin’s good graces?” Oros set down her vodka and placed her hands on her knees.
”But you aren’t wrong, GEMINI and Maverick Alternative aren’t exactly peas in a pod, and it’s because of everyone's beliefs. It’s like asking the liberals and conservatives who they think the next president should be, and that’s not the kind of divide you want with a war on the horizon.” She looked to Marrie.
”But ya gotta work with the hand you’ve been dealt, and it’s too soon for all of us to stand together on the same battlefield. The gang bang is going to have to wait until later. But! we can work apart towards the same goal.” she looked back at Ashley.
”Wanna know more about the Holy Diver? I fought it a month or so ago.”Marrie bit her tongue, literally and figuratively, before shrugging and speaking.
”I guess.”“If you’re willing to share,” Ashley added, knowing full-well that everything Oros was telling them was very likely to be complete bullshit, but still interested in any possible intel nonetheless.
”Hey now, that’s some pretty good intel I’ve got. Don’t you think it’s worth something?” Oros slapped her own knee.
”You gotta show me something hot or tell me something cool. Like, if you knew who High Priest is or something.”Well
that was oddly specific…
“I can’t speak for Gale, but I’ve only ever communicated with High Priest via text message,” Ashley replied after a moment.
“Although…” she added, narrowing her eyes.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if they were you.””Afraid I’m not charitable enough to pay people to tell me what I already know. Especially when the alternative is like, feet pics or something.” Oros folded her arms.
”Though you know what would be better than feet pics? If both of you like, held hands or something? And then you pressed your foreheads together? Maybe Icarus, being the older sister type, could have a reassuring hand on Gara gura’s shoulder? And then Gara gura could use her free hand to tug anxiously on her skirt? And this would happen, like, in a doorway or something, with Gara gura trapped between the wall and Icarus? That would be really cute.” Oros looked over the two espers.
”Well look at that narrow opening towards the dance floor! That would just be perfect, wouldn’t it? Come on, let's see how you girls look!” ”Uh… That’s oddly specific.” Marrie said as she walked towards the area Oros mentioned, looking around.
”I guess I don’t mind holding hands with someone, that seems simple enough.” Ashley frowned when Oros switched the subject, in her usual disjointed fashion, to she and Gale striking suggestive poses for the pink-haired lunatic’s sick enjoyment. Possibly vital information on an exceptionally powerful Behemoth ostensibly hung in the balance, but there was no guarantee that anything Oros chose to tell them would be even remotely accurate. However, the Knight of Tomorrow’s indecision was resolved for her, when Gale agreed to the depraved esper’s strange request.
“Fine,” Ashley relented with a resigned sigh as she moved to join Gale by the door.
“If that’s your price, then I suppose I can accommodate it…”
I mean, it’s not like it’s all that degrading…By this point, Oros had stood up and approached the two espers.
”Oh wow! You’re doing it!” Her grin had been replaced with open mouthed awe.
”It’s so strange, I’ve seen images like this before but-” She stepped past them.
”It’s in three-dee now! And happening in front of me. I can, I view from almost any angle! I can feel the warmth coming off your bodies! I can smell you!” After eyeing them up for a bit, she continued.
”Holy Diver is a song by Dio, who in an interview said that the song was about a christ figure who was going to leave his home planet while his people selfishly begged him to stay. The behemoth of the same name also looks like a christ figure, sort of. But that’s not the only reason for their namesake!” Oros leaned in towards Marrie and Ashley. They could feel her breath on their faces as she whispered.
”He dives out of the sky, and proceeds to cast ten spells. But these spells, they’re all very powerful, and appear to be themed after the ten plagues of egypt.” What Oros said was likely new to Marrie, but not Ashley. She was a GEMINI esper and was well read on such creatures.
”And as for each of those attacks…” There was a white flash, then Oros stepped backwards and slipped her cellphone into her pants.
”You know, I do like how wholesome and cute this is, but it’s ahhhh, it’s missing spice you know?” Oros poked her finger tips together.
”How about you comfort each other with a kiss? That would be really sweet.”As Ashley and Gale took their places, Oros had a little “fangirl moment”, before giving a
very basic overview of Holy Diver. Unfortunately, it wasn’t anything the Knight of Tomorrow didn’t already know, and certainly not worth this level of discomfort. Ashley was about to say as much when Oros snapped a picture.
Then she asked them to
kiss.“I think that’s going a bit too far,” Ashley replied pointedly, her cheeks beginning to turn red as she glared at the pink-haired esper.
“And no one gave you permission to photograph us,” she added.
“So I’d appreciate it if you deleted that picture you just took.””Uh… Yeah. I mean, she’s cute and all, but I don’t really know her well enough to want to kiss her. But why is this ‘Holy Diver’ important, anyway? Is it from around here, or someone else’s job?” Marrie asked as she pulled away from Orion.
Oros didn’t say anything. But as the seconds ticked by, the smile ran from her face.
”I’m sorry, what did you say?” She looked between both girls before resting her hand on the hilt of her sheathed sword.
”Have you mistaken my hospitality for friendship?” She added with a growl.
”You killed my date, and I was fuckin’ generous enough to give the two of you a way out. I even dove out a window to look for your friend. You refuse to eat with me and you won’t even play a game because it makes you feel uncomfortable?” She looked down on the espers as if they were insects.
”Am I a joke to you?”Eh?
”You were just talking about being allies a bit ago, and now you want to fight? What’s with that? If you’re not upfront about something, you don’t get to complain when people don’t notice what you actually want.”Oros seemed a bit startled that
Marrie was the one to speak up next.
”I-I didn’t say I wanted to fight.” She rubbed the back of her head.
”I thought I told you guys that I wanted a date, and you snubbed me. So I think I was pretty up front about what I wanted.” ”Wait, you were serious about wanting a date?” Marrie was taken aback, having barely been paying attention in the first place and thinking Oros had been joking.
”I mean, I don’t know anything about you… Though I guess that’s what dating is for…? I’ve never been on a date before…” Should she be thinking about dating in the mental state she was in? Probably not. Was she in sound enough mind for romance? Definitely not. Was she willing to be coerced into the first date of her life? Maybe.
Unsurprisingly, Oros took offense at Ashley and Gale’s objection, going so far as to not-so-subtly threaten them with violence if they didn’t agree to her demand. What
did surprise the Knight of Tomorrow was how quick Gale was to give a fairly indignant response to the pink-haired lunatic, before seeming to ponder the possibility of
going on a date with her…“H-Hold on,” Ashley spoke up after getting over her initial shock.
“I said I’d spend the evening with you earlier, even if I don’t find you the most pleasant person to be around,” she told Oros.
“And if Gale wants to come too, that’s fine. I just want to make sure she’s safe and not taken advantage of.”The lunatic laughed.
”As if you could stop me… Not that you’d need to, of course!” She looked over the girls as her grin widened.
”I thought the whole thing hinged on me bringing tOm nom back safe and sound. You know what? You girls are alright.” She raised one of her hands into the air and extended a finger.
”The first plague, water to blood. I don’t advise drinking any tap water during the diver’s approach. It’s also going to rain most likely, so, might want to bring an umbrella and feed your pet fish its last meal.
Next is frogs. They’ll crawl out of the blood and fall from the sky. There will be so many of them that it will be hard to walk without stepping on them, and doing so is greatly discouraged. The bile in them is corrosive and they explode when popped. They’re a bit sticky too, and love to cling to people.
Now we get serious, the third plague pulls flesh eating gnats out of the ground.This combos good with the frog one. Definitely seek higher ground.
The fourth plague is flies. By this point you’re going to be covered in blood, frog guts, and dead gnats. More of a nuisance than anything else, they’re almost inescapable. Needless to say, they’ll be thickest where the dead are. Oh, and they’re huge and definitely not something you want drinking the frog vomit off of your face.
Pestilence was the fifth plague, but we don’t rely on animals for transportation as much as we use to. Consecutive thunderbolts will cause an EMP pulse if they don’t fry you outright. Expect infrastructures to collapse and cars to not start, because almost everything has a computer in it these days.
Then you have boils to look forward to. The pain ramps up over time, but you can cure them with even a modest purify note. Otherwise, the pain will make it difficult to cast melodies, and I imagine you’ll be a little more sore after something slaps you.
In the number seven slot, you have hail to look forward to. Nice big chunks the size of baseballs. Remember when I said to get an umbrella? Yea, might wanna just hide in something if you can.
Followed by Locust, because flesh eating crawlies weren’t bad enough, we need ones that fly now. Only good news about these is that they’ll finish off the flies. You’ll wish the flies were back real quick though.
The ninth plague is darkness. It’s a magical darkness, so don’t expect to ward it off with a candle. Though your light magic might be able to do something against it.
And then the last one. By this point the diver is ready to fly back up into the heavens, but as a parting gift, he’ll kill every firstborn in Pax Septimus. He doesn’t discriminate either. You can be a father with three kids, or the oldest sister, and you’re toast as soon as this goes off. Though as a first born myself, I can say that being an esper does seem to make one immune to the curse.”As Ashley listened to Oros describe the various stages of the Holy Diver’s attacks, she couldn’t help but feel a little sick. While the information wasn’t all new to her, it was still no less horrifying than when she’d first read about it. The Knight of Tomorrow still had no idea how the relatively small G.E.M.I.N.I. force in the city was going to defeat it, even with help, but she knew with dreadful certainty that if they didn’t, a
lot of people were going to die…
With a sigh, Oros gave the girls a wistful smile.
”Ah, you look like you’ve been through hell. Let’s do the date thing after the diver thing, eh?” She pulled out her phone and started scrolling.
”I’ll uh, I’ll get rid of that picture too, since it bothered you guys.” After finishing up with her phone, she shoved it into her pants.
”You kids get some rest, okay? You too Icarus, someone needs to watch out for the big sister sometimes.” Oros tapped the floor with her scabbard, and she sank into a portal. It wasn’t long before the portal grew a row of teeth and comped together before dissipating.
After giving her “briefing”, the pink-haired esper surprisingly chose to depart. She’d even deleted the picture she’d taken. Apparently their “date” would happen after the diver had paid its visit. Something
else to look forward to…
“So, I guess we should probably leave now, huh?” a weary Ashley asked after a moment of silence had passed.
Although it seemed likely that they had succeeded in eliminating Sofron, there wasn’t any way to know for certain, much like the nebulous fate of their ally, the Maiden. All told, this really didn’t feel like a victory, and all Ashley wanted to do now was take a long night’s rest, before setting to work preparing for what promised to be a
very challenging battle…
Marrie nodded and slowly left the building, head down as she thought over what she had heard. She’d have to tell Stacy that she missed a chance at getting her a new head when she got home.
FaithfulMuse
CitrusArms
LimeTime966
Villamvihar
Shadow Dragon
twave
BrokenPromise
Noctis
Majoraa
