STATUS:
@SaltSight Game was Astlibra: Revision. Found it on sale bundled with another game I've been wanting so I gave it a shot and got like, straight indie JRPG of the early 2000s injected into my veins.
1 yr ago
Current
@SaltSight Game was Astlibra: Revision. Found it on sale bundled with another game I've been wanting so I gave it a shot and got like, straight indie JRPG of the early 2000s injected into my veins.
3
likes
1 yr ago
Hate that strange ennui that hits after 100%'ing a really, really good game. Good time was had, but man am I glad it can't mess my sleep schedule up anymore.
6
likes
3 yrs ago
Rich people blood sports is how the Oscar's should always have gone. As a hot blooded american man I cant sleep at night without witnessing violence of some kind.
3
likes
3 yrs ago
So true. Anyways, play Lancer!
3 yrs ago
Final Fantasy: Stranger in Paradise is the funniest shit I've ever seen while also not being a bad game. Just crack open some cold ones with the boys, blare Limp Bizket, and Kill Chaos.
Hearth Town Square - Adventurer's Guild|| Wheelin' and Dealin' || Down in the dumps...
Well, at least the produce was moving!
And so were the people.
With nary a word after they bought the produce beyond some hushed whispers.
Cornelius wouldn't dwell on it though, packing up his makeshift stall back into his wheelbarrow. One of his crows would peek its head out and give a brief "Caw".
"Well let's see...carry the four...divide some junk out...oh! In about 230 more Market Days, I'll have enough for that fancy toupee. No, wait, gotta buy fertilizer with this, so uh...what's five times six again Joe Bob?"
"Caw"
"Huh. Really? Crazy. But, uh...make that 530 market days. But, one'a these days we'll have a bumper crop and you'll all get all the good corn and seed you can eat! That's a promise," the scarecrow said, reaching down to gently scratch and rub underneath the crow's chin, before starting to make his way out of the Market. He had to pack everything up to not be a nuisance, after all.
Just as he was fixing to leave though, one honking big bell rang out throughout the town. Turning his head towards the newly renovated Adventurer's Guild, Cornelius would start making his way over to check out what was what. He didn't actually know enough about the town's history to know much about the guild. But, it sure was new and exciting! Peeking his head in, he'd check in, as would several crows that poked out of various patches on his tunic.
The siege upon Terauchi temple had begun, with the swarm of Varjan soldiers proving a formidable tide of steel and bodies. Eula was out an arm, and didn't have the element of surprise to try and ambush some. The sad reality of it was, in a grand scale conflict, a weapon that couldn't kill people was nothing more than a hindrance at best.
Kerry's look of resolution was what she'd expected. Kerry likely expected Eula to return and fight her, but...that was irrelevant at the moment. All consequences needed to wait while the siege was repelled. Human lives had to be saved, even if it meant pushing herself to the point of non-functioning. Eula would hold the line alongside the others, firing off the occasional bolt of stunning energy, or using her metallic arms to shield others from thrown projectiles.
She needed a chance to break through, to find the commander, and incapacitate him. In all likelihood, the mage she encountered earlier was who she was looking for...and without the element of surprise, she could only hope that she would stand a chance against him with one malfunctioning arm.
Frozen Soul: Born of ice and feeding off of heat, Vivian's entire body is as cold as ice and outputs an aura of extreme cold. Thankfully for those around her, she can decrease this freezing aura's potency to only bring the temperature down a few degrees. When brought to full potency, Vivian can use her aura to freeze the ground solid enough to "skate" across it with her limbs of sharpened ice.
Frozen Heart: Glacies have frozen themselves, heart and soul, for their Queen. As such, while many Monsters are susceptible to demonic energy, Glacies are highly resistant to their monstrous nature and can hide their presence from Monster detection spells rather well.
Vaganova grand pas de glace: With their long graceful limbs and culture of arts, Glacies of the Queendom of Lyonesse fight not with spells or weapons, but with a combative form of dance similar to human ballet crossed with figure skating. Swift graceful movements are emphasized, as frozen limbs are sharpened to stand at toe-point and slice through man-made armor. Dances can be freeform, or follow plays much like human ballet, and even though the movements appear wasteful and full of openings, many soldiers have found themselves bewildered by the speed of ice cutting through steel.
Waterswan's Wings: A classic ballet in Lyonesse tells of the beautiful swan queen, born upon a lake of pure crystal who fell in love with a hunter who saved her from a pitch black vulture. Endebted to the man, she wove her feathers one by one into a vest as thanks, only for the man to meet his end before she finished. The swan's tears descended on the lake, freezing in the icy waters until they formed Lyonesse, its Queen, and her tears in turn made her subjects. Of course, its all just a story, but many young frostlings' imagination is sparked by this story of lost love, resulting in many aspiring to take part in the royal ballet. This garment, made of fabric so fine as to be near invisible, is a mark of honor for Vivian as one who played a part in the royal ballet. Provides marginal magic resistance, and is enchanted to never fray or tear so long as it is worn.
Personality: An emotionally stunted diva that has trouble relating to others, Vivian can often come across as incredibly curt, to the point, and melancholy. And...she is! But, as one gets a bit closer to the icy dancer, one can start to see the façade that's there. The inability to not scrutinize others due to expecting scrutiny of herself, the walls she built to peer past but never cross...beneath everything, Vivian is most scared of being hurt, and is almost incapable of trusting most. She seems to have at least opened up to Lady Kyouko enough to admit wanting to help, but is hesitant to trust in others, or rely upon them for help.
Background: "Work hard, and you too can bear your heart upon this stage! Bare your souls to the Queen, and dance until your heart is freed!"
Such were the first words that Vivian remembered, proclaimed by one of the Queen's most loyal knights. Born to the underwater city of Lyonesse, populated almost exclusively by Glacies and aquatic species that could tolerate the cold, Vivian grew up around those with identical dreams to her. To serve her queen, to hone her skills to perfection, to defend her home, and to relive the fairy tale ballet ballads of old. Body, mind, and soul were harnessed to their utmost limits, training through grueling weeks where she didn't stop to rest. Every glacies of Lyonesse shines like a jewel, but Vivian would settle for nothing less than the top.
Hard work didn't always provide results, but for Vivian, raw passion burned in her frozen heart. To outdo those around her, to shine for her Queen, and to one day see the sun...those dreams drove Vivian through her life. But, dreams and passion alone aren't all life is worth living for. Make no mistake: Vivian is endlessly talented, dedicated, and hard working. But this isn't the story of a girl who did everything right. Toes were stepped upon, friendships broken, ties severed. To reach the top required sacrifice, and Vivian would sacrifice anyone and anything to exist at the top. For her soul to be free.
Callous and melancholy, Vivian was only alive upon the stage. Outside of it, her heart was icier than any Glacies. Love was only for the Queen. Time was only for the dance. Words were only for "yes" and "no". Rest was only until the next show.
When finally her dream came true, Vivian shone brightly upon the ice. The Queen watching, the city in silence, rapt attention all upon her in the Royal Ballet.
Allegro giusto...waltz...moderato...
Like a machine she danced, marvelously cutting the ice under her feet with such movements the theater had never seen, or would see again for some time. The curtains fell, the roses were thrown, and the last bow was taken...
And, behind those closed curtains, the limbs of Vivian had reached their breaking point and snapped. Flawless ice meant to last a lifetime broken down into irreparable pieces. To freeze new materials into place for a Glacies was child's play...but there was an ugliness to it as well. Perhaps it was a punishment. Her one moment in the spotlight was her last, as the ruined Vivian was wheeled off by those she despised as talentless, tended to by those she'd severed her heart from, and her new, blackened limbs made of beautifully cut obsidian inlaid with gold, all replaced save her left hand, the one left clutching the rose at curtain call.
She would never be the peerless, perfect ballerina the Queen had once seen. Would never take to the stage out of fear of her movements, now slower, weighed differently by the lovingly crafted replacements for her body, became a sluggish thing that she hated most of all. And so, she would leave Lyonesse behind without a word of thanks to anyone. Not for those who cheered for her, cared for her, or yearned for her return to the stage. A broken thing had no place in the perfect Royal Ballet.
Making her way across the ocean, Vivian would find herself at odds between a Varjan vessel and a boat from a no-name, no-consequence island called "Shizuyama". Something stirred in her chest upon seeing humans fighting their hardest. Their ugly, hard-fought battle, wherein they had no choice but to shed their lives, their bodies, their very souls for it. ...What purpose was there, in lives so small, so talentless, ignorant and indifferent, that she felt might as well have never been brought to this world at all?
...But, even ugly, shattered things, flailing as desperately as they can and wailing at the world were beautiful in their own way. With one grand movement that seemed to jump from the moon itself down, she would sink the Varjan ship with a gargantuan slice along its hull, before gliding along the water once more.
...Perhaps...here, her heart really could be free.
"Hm. So this is Shizuyama...how humid. And dirty. But, you're rather lucky. Not many would get the chance in all their lives to see a Royal Ballerina, especially not outsiders."
It was rather funny, how much completely exhausting yourself of magical energy made everything a bit of a blur for a few hours. By the time Hector came to, they were already on the carriage ride back, with his consciousness only continued thanks to Lapis' magic.
There wasn't much that Hector could do on the way back or afterwards, and even into the morning Hector was possessed by a certain listlessness that prevented him from getting any meaningful rest. In actuality...what had he done, by the end of their assignment? Nothing worthy of conversation. All eyes and mouths were on Scarlett. For her failings as a human and her successes as a magus. ...Humiliating was a light way to put it. Hector was completely outdone by someone whom he'd barely regarded as human. Enough so that the gossip was irritating him. Perhaps if Scarlett could learn control, he wouldn't have despised her from the outset.
...And then she, literally and figuratively, threw shit at her gossipers and left. Hector's spoon that had almost reached his open mouth would just dangle and fall into the oatmeal he'd been eating, the sniper's appetite readily slain by Scarlett's, let's say, "marking of territory" before he got up and walked away. Shaken from his stupor by the most disgusting thing he'd seen since his eye was slashed from its socket, Hector had something important to attend to.
His firepower had barely proven effective against the Makara, so he thought it might be best to consult an expert at gunsmithing. One Johannes Childes, who was exactly what Hector needed to get an edge in future skirmishes. Thankfully, the smell of chemicals and bourbon was less offensive than Scarlett's leavings, and as such Hector was at least noseblind enough to stomach the workshop. It was strange, seeing magic used in such a scientific manner. The marksman always assumed most magic rituals were chicken blood, devil summoning, and other crude acts. "I've been told you're the person to come for regarding magical weaponry?" Hector asked, hopefully loud enough for the old man to hear.
@Enkryption, @AzureKnight "...Aw man," Liliana said, pouting as Ian took the oar from her. "I hate ominous four-shadowing." After arriving on Hama Island, Liliana was surprised by how...sparse it was. A lot of sand and fog, and a lot of rock, but barely any plant life at all. And there was some older gentleman swinging away on a training dummy with practiced skills...just how many super strong swordsmen were lying in wait!?
Upon hearing the swordsman's plight, Liliana would haughtily hoist her sword onto her shoulder. "Heh, with one of my spells, I bet we can get her out before they even realize she's missing! Count me in Ian!" the fairy said, already eager to jump into danger as she went to the shore, shrinking down to her teeny form. "I'll go on ahead and sneak in, then you all come with the boat and we'll break out lickety-split! Sound like a plan?"
Eula
The monk was blaming himself...and, it seemed that they were too late for some of the people here. And even then, Eula was being told it was alright to leave. That she could take her coin and go, and just...ignore everyone else's suffering.
There was no part of her programming that let her take even a single step back from this place. Not without doing everything she can. She may not have medical equipment or two arms to work with, but she did have her database. Perhaps, this disease could be analyzed and made into its own antigen.
"I don't know how much help I can be but...please!" Eula said, before getting on her one good hand and her knees, touching her forehead to the ground before the monk. "Let me try and help these people." She'd studied some Zipangu customs before coming, and had discovered an effective method of "groveling for mercy or a favor" was called the "Dogeza", a pose that demonstrated absolute prostration. She could only hope the monk would let her try, in spite of what had happened.
"Oh, no, no, no, no! There is no need to do that!" The monk quickly pulled Eula up to her feet. Or at least, attempted to considering his inferior strength. "Thank you, yokai. Know that your help is very much appreciated. Come, let's see where this disease came from."
The Automaton and the monk then talked to a refugee, asking when the illness arrived. "Ever since the Varjans came and took all our food."
"What are you all eating then?"
"Nothing, healer. We can only drink water from the well."
The monk sighed and thanked the refugee before turning to Eula. "The plight of these refugees is worse than I thought. Not just illness, but starvation as well. I should notify Miss Ayu's network to give this camp a priority in supplies. It'd be best to move them all to the temple but..." The monk looked around and saw the amount of people that needed to be protected if they moved out in the open. "Anyway, we're not here to figure that out. We're here to treat an illness. Let's get to the well."
The stone well was outside the hidden camp and by a fork in the main road. It was out in the open but fortunately, it seemed the duo were alone. The monk pulled a wooden bucket of water from the source and inspected it. "Hmm, I don't see anything wrong. It's mostly clear... What do you think, Miss yokai?"
"Being deprived of food is...terrible," Eula said, sympathizing with the villagers as she walked with the monk. She liked food but didn't need it to survive, so she couldn't imagine going without vital fuel for a long time. When they reached the well, the automaton would inspect the water, looking at it. "Waterborn contagions are often not visible to the naked eye. I will attempt to analyze some of this water. Don't be concerned, diseases shouldn't affect me,"
Eula would take a sip of the bucket and make sure it reached her stomach for analysis, closing her eyes as she worked through its chemical makeup and contaminants.
The groundwater of this well was unremarkable other than being naturally potable. However, it has been contaminated with an artificial poison that wasted away any of the afflicted in a matter of days, inducing painful symptoms before death. The amount poured into the well was not enough to color the water, but enough to induce the disease into anyone who would drink from this once-pure well.
To cure this poison, one simply needs to imbibe the essence of a water lily's roots. Put a water lily's roots in a liquid, preferably water, and heat until boiling. Ingesting the solution will eradicate the disease in half a day.
The poison is infamous for masking its identity by imitating the symptoms of natural diseases. However, the widespread knowledge of this poison make it no longer popular.
Taking her time to analyze the water, Eula's eyes would open. "Without a doubt, its been poisoned. Its designed to be hard to detect in small doses like this. Water lily root essence can cure it. Do you happen to know where we can find some? And, perhaps, where this well's source is?" she asked, figuring the monk might at least know someone who would know.
"Poison... Do you think perhaps, the Varjans put it in the well when they arrived? That would explain why they let the villagers escape instead of capturing them." The monk speculated. "Anyway, water lily roots, you say? I know there's a small pond near here where the plants grow. We can gather some there."
The monk then lead Eula to the aforementioned pond. It was a short walk down the road where the white-tipped grasses became as tall as an average person. "As for the well, I'm not too sure where the water comes from. It's probably an underground reservoir like a normal well." The monk answered. "Listen, I heard you say the root essence. That means we'll need to boil the plants. I'll return to the camp to prepare the equipment while you gather some water lilies. I believe a handful will be enough for the whole camp." He finished before splitting from Eula. "Just walk straight into the grass and you'll reach the pond. You can't miss it."
Following a straight line into the grass dancing in the wind, Eula soon arrived at the pond and indeed, it was filled with some healthy water lilies. But another figure emerged from the grass right beside Eula with the former immediately noticing the latter, two wild eyes staring at her without fear.
The wild boar snorted, ready to throw down with the monster. Its paw clawing the ground and about to charge.
With her course set, Eula would head off in search of the water lilies, only to come upon a wild boar with the intent to face her. On instinct alone, Eula would raise her one functioning arm, unleashing a series of demonic energy bolts with the intent to stun the beast. "Move aside," the automaton said, rushing to move past the boar after she stunned it. If she hesitated, more might lose their lives from the poison.
The boar squealed as it was hit by the stunning bolts, stumbling back before fainting into the ground. Eula truly allowed nothing to deter her from obtaining the cure. With the wild animal unconscious, the Automaton was free to take as much of the water plants as she could.
---
Bringing back the plants to the camp, Eula saw the monk in the middle of the camp stirring boiling water in a huge pot with a fire underneath. "Ah, miss yokai! You're back so quickly!" The monk exclaimed, stopping to greet the Automaton. "And I see you've brought the lilies. A simple task, no?" Stopping a wild boar before it could do anything was probably a simple task for someone like Eula. "Here, let's cut off the roots and put them in the pot. Then it is all finished."
It was a simple matter of taking the roots off the lilies and soon, the boiling water had several pieces of water lily root in it. With the work finished, the monk finally sighed a breath of relief. "We may be too late for some, but better late than never, I suppose." He remarked. "Yokai, I can't tell you how thankful I am for your help. I know this became... complicated midway and amends are... probably no longer possible. But you have saved lives here today, remember that."
"Now then, I know you are keen to help but you have done all you can here. No doubt, the taskforce has need of you back in Terauchi Temple." The monk bid farewell to Eula. "Don't worry about me, I can handle things from here."
With the roots now in place and becoming medicine, Eula could rest easy knowing that the village would, for now at least, stave off disaster. "Helping is the least I could do after what happened to you. And...I'm not sure if the poison in the well can be entirely neutralized, but adding the extract in large quantities should prevent the spread of this illness. ...Yes. I must return and report. Thank you for giving me a chance to make things right and...please, stay safe," the automaton said, before departing.
"Oh and, one more thing: There was a very large boar in the woods near where the lilies are. It will likely be stunned for a few more hours, so a hunting party could easily take care of it. ...I think the village could use the protein from it," The automaton advised before departing, brain stuck on thoughts of porkchops and barbeque ribs while her synthetic stomach let out a slight grumble of protest.
The monk was confused as to why Eula would suddenly bring up a stunned boar as she bid farewell. "Uhh, we'll keep that in mind."
---
With the task done, Eula made her way back to Terauchi Temple, traversing a familiar route on the way back. The walk through the countryside was peaceful... until it wasn't.
Just before arriving at the area where the temple was, Eula spotted a large camp that was not there before when she left. Hiding under the tall grasses, she got closer and identified the inhabitants of the camp: Varjans. She saw Brigands and Warriors, Footmen and Firethrowers. They were sharpening weapons, testing spells, putting arrows in quivers. She even spotted an important-looking Warlock clad in blue armor and having an ornate headpiece, giving out orders to who appeared to be officers. These invaders were preparing for an assault.
And that was when Eula realized: They were preparing to attack Terauchi Temple.
...Eula hadn't expected to run into armed forces so close to the temple. Varjans, armed to the teeth and somehow fully prepared for a siege. There was no way they could have done all this in a week, let alone a day but...that didn't matter. She had to do something. There were too many to take on in a direct fight, and even if she had the idea to do a suicidal charge, Terauchi Temple would be defenseless against such a siege if not warned.
And so, Eula made the choice to evade the camp as best she could, utilizing the brush and cover to sneak past if possible. She had to warn everyone...and, if all else failed, take out as many of them as she could if she was spotted.
"Get everyone ready in an hour. The longer we delay, the more likely we get discovered and lose the surprise."
As the officers left, Amenhotep looked to the direction of Terauchi Temple and recalled his orders. Lord Serek'uar broke the news to everyone in the invasion fleet that monsters were inside Shizuyama and were helping the locals resist the Varjans. While some of his fellow Master Warlocks were delusional enough to think that no one would come to this island's defense, Amenhotep always felt that the monsters would not sit idly by as they invaded Shizuyama. Even if the island was wholly against them. Now, they even had the Island Lord's son on their side.
Fortunately, this small band of monsters did not seem to include anything... crazy. No unstoppable Baphomets, no irresistible Lilims, no relentless Wurms, nothing like that. Still, his fellow Scarce legionnaires were hesitant to fight monsters since they expected none coming here, so it fell to Amenhotep to nip this problem in the bud. Prevent it from blossoming into a very problematic garden. To that end, he quickly gathered a small army to deal with this.
Scouts pinpointed that this Terauchi Temple was where the monsters, as well as a lot of local villagers, were residing. Even now, Amenhotep could sense the demonic energies of the monsters coming from the temple. It worried him that it was so strong at this distance. Was the information wrong? Was a Baphomet there, after all?
Or maybe it was not strong, it was just close...
---
The encampment was larger than what Eula saw earlier, encompassing all the way to a small forest nearby. Which was fortunate since there was plenty of shrubbery the Varjans did not bother to clear away, allowing Eula to dart from bush to tree to bush in the middle of the camp with the Varjans none the wiser.
She soon passed through what seemed to be the supply depot of this encampment. There was a pen for several horses on one side while on the other side, a tent housed barrels that oozed with black liquid: oil. Near the tent were a couple of catapults too. This Varjan warband was bringing all they could to destroy Terauchi Temple.
Eula was about to arrive at her next bush when it was suddenly incinerated in fire. The flames came from the Scarce Legion Master Warlock who, in his blue and gold armor, emerged from the burning shrub to confront the Automaton. Despite appearing fully human, the Master Warlock knew that she was a monster. "Found you, little monster..." The warlock hissed, his hands burned with fire. "I'm afraid you're not returning to your friends at the temple."
The Varjans have been alerted to her presence, so it was time to fight... Or was it? A pen of horses OR some flammable barrels could serve a useful distraction.
"Magical Energy Identified. Warning: Danger. Unit is not equipped with Anit-Spell Plating." A mental warning fired off as the bush came alight. The Warlock had Eula made, cornering her in an instant in a way that got the attention of several Varjan soldiers. But, she was well aware that fighting them all was suicide. Especially since she couldn't harm humans in an overtly lethal way. But...she had options. One of them was to simply not stop running in the slightest.
"Incorrect," the automaton said before staring down the warlock as she continued running right at him.
Where a normal monster may have had an aversion to fire, Eula could repair the damage rather quickly. She wouldn't simply charge around the blue and gold warlock...so she'd go over him. With her one good arm she would fire off a bolt of concentrated magical energy to her back left, hitting one of the horses square in the chest and causing the beast to panic. She'd made the blow barely stunning, but a random bolt of magic from nowhere caused the beast to panic in just such a way that she might be able to use it as a distraction.
Next came the warlock, who seemed pre-disposed to fire magic. Eula was confident that she could evade his spells, and maybe even injure him enough to alleviate some of the burden on the Shizuyamans.
Amenhotep stood his ground when Eula continued to run up to him. He was about to unleash a torrent of flame upon this insolent monster when the Automaton suddenly shot a bolt to a horse inside the nearby pen. The bolt did not seem to do any sort of damage, but it did panic the horse. Which then lead to the panicking of the other horses, which lead to them attempting to run away from the perceived danger. The pen fence was hastily-built so it was no barrier to the stampeding horses.
The Master Warlock was briefly distracted by the unfolding disaster, and realized too late that more powerful bolts were shot at him by the monster. His enchanted armor protected him and he only stumbled back from the shots, but he was flinched enough to let Eula leap over him and continue on her way towards Terauchi Temple. Amenhotep threw fireballs at the fleeing Automaton, hitting trees, tents and panicking horses, but never the target.
"Sound the horns! We're attacking now! YES, RIGHT NOW!" Were the last words Eula heard from the Master Warlock.
Eula put everything she had into her running, abandoning form entirely as she rocketed forward, even using blasts from her arm to propel herself even a few feet farther, before she skidded to a halt before the gate of the temple, going so fast that she actually crashed into the middle of town, scraping along the dirt before coming to a stop. It didn't matter who would hear, so long as everyone knew. Civilians had to be evacuated. Warriors had to ready their weapons. And...everyone had to know.
"The Varjans are about to attack! Ready your defenses! Evaluate civilians! Alert your leaders! We don't have much time!" The Automaton shouted, firing a large energy bolt in the air to draw all eyes on her.
@Enkryption, @AzureKnight ”Hiiii Ian!” Liliana said, squeezing herself free of Alice’s bosomy prison, while the sword on her back glowered at Carroll for a moment before huffily turning away…strangely now sitting vertically against Liliana’s back. Like it was glued to her. ”Is that what that was? Healing? Ohhh,” Liliana said, before flittering around Shizuka. ”Phew, that’s a relief. When I left I was sure you were going to **** and **** and then **** her right on the ****.” Liliana said, each R-18 word blocked out by a flock of seagulls. Of course, what she meant to say was: “Hug and snuggle and then kiss her right in the mouth” but comedy demanded a punching bag.
And today, that was Shizuka.
Liliana didn’t know at all what had transpired for most of the events preceding, but did know that Alice was oddly chipper about being lead stroke on the boat. ”Hi-Ho, its off to Hama we go!” the chipper fairy said, before picking up Whimsy. As if sensing the little fairy intended to use it as a paddle, the sword promptly pricked her thumb with a thorn, causing the fairy to wince and just pick up an oar. ”I wasn’t gonna Whimsy! I swear!”
Eula
There was no nice way to tell the monk that he had indeed been assaulted and robbed, so…Eula would do her best to explain this while not utterly shattering his faith in other mamono. ”I’m truly sorry but…that is exactly what happened,” the automaton said, lifting her sack of coins and placing them in the monk’s hands. ”I do not know how much was taken from you, but…I want to make it right. I should have stopped those two but I hadn’t expected…them to harm anyone,” Eula seemed genuinely remorseful, looking down at her empty hands. ”I understand you may hate yokai now. But…please, believe in me. I will help you with whatever quest those two promised, without payment. I cannot sit idly by while people suffer. And…I know that prank must have been to alleviate the boy’s worries.”
Standing, the automaton would outstretch a hand to the monk, an offer to help him up in spite of all that had happened. ”Much like humans, there are both good and bad in the hearts of yokai. …Please. Let me show you what good we can do, working with humanity.”” It was a longshot. Relica and Kerry had failed to keep their tempers, and now, Eula couldn't blame the monk if he lost his. But all she could do was try. People needed help.
And so, the conflict was postponed. Kerry had the good sense to leave so that the surroundings were not damaged, leaving Eula alone with the frightened villagers. It was over until Eula faced her again but...
Right now, Eula had other concerns. No doubt she'd be viewed as a traitor for going against Kerry, a senior, so...maybe it would be best to not return at all. The automaton resolved herself to this if need be, and would instead enter the house the monk was in, and would rustle through her own pouch. A small pouch of coins, cinched in a violet sack, would be laid down before him. Next, she would repair the superficial damage done to several houses, whether that was caused by Kerry's winds or not, and await the monk's awakening. In all likelihood, the villagers would still fear her for her association with the other "yokai", but...she had to believe in the monk.
He wouldn't call for help and walk to and for for a simple joke. The prank had been to alleviate the seriousness of the situation, especially in front of a child. Even a machine could tell that it wasn't the conclusion to whatever job Kerry and Relica had undergone. And so, Eula would wait for the monk to awaken after sitting him up outside of the house, seeing as the inhabitants of said house probably wanted their living space back. Eula had nothing anymore. No coin, no backup, and only one arm to fight whatever problems the Monk had away. ...But, it would have to be enough. She would make certain that the task force's reputation wouldn't be completely ruined. She HAD to succeed. As for Kerry...however that would work out was a detail for a later time.
@Enkryption, @AzureKnight, ”...Why would you pour blood, sweat, and tears into making armor? Those don’t make metal hard…w-what else did you put in it!?” Liliana asked, growing pale as she slowly backed away from the rainbow knight. Was…was his armor made of rainbow doodoo!? And it was all someone else’s!?
“Oh hey, thanks,” Liliana said, forgetting all about the poopoo armor and giving a radical thumbs-up to the knight, before the fairy shrinked back as Alice started stamping and raving, going full soccer-mom mode! …What was soccer? Anyways, Liliana would fly behind the rainbow knight and hide behind his shoulder, quivering. “U-Um, Lady Alice, please calm down! There’s no need to escalate to full-on managerial yelling! I’m sure you’re here for some really important quest with the fate of all of Shizuyama in the balance, r-right?”
Little did Liliana know, Alice was “that kinda bitch” that really did just run to have a beach episode all on her own to escape from a very attractive grandma. How audacious!
Meanwhile, Whimsy would continue clashing without wounds against Carroll, their steel bodies causing each to merely cast sparks off of each other.
A machine carried out its duties without question, without compromise, and admitted failure and ceased operations when that failed. Binary. Zero, one. One, zero. Failure, success, yes, no, right, wrong, right, wrong, right, wrong, error, answer, answer, answer, answer!
When Eula came to her senses and saw the monk on the ground, saw Kerry walking away with the man’s coin, and saw the fear in the young boy’s eyes as he eyed the last remaining yokai in the room…
Something broke inside of her.
”Laguna! Stop!”
“...Redundancies must be eliminated, Europa. You know this. Fundamentally, humans are lesser creatures. First them, and anyone the Masters deem as inferior.”
“That’s not true...those people…you wouldn’t kill them all! What did they do to you?”
“...I...Europa. Europa. Europa. I can’t see your face any more. So…”
Directive 1. This Unit cannot seriously harm or kill a human being, unless directly ordered by their Designated Master and given Level 6 Clearance. Unit must also attempt to protect humans if they are in danger.
A human was in danger.
A human was harmed.
Directive 1 must be completed. No matter the cost or damage sustained.
With a look of reluctant resolve in her eyes, Eula would turn to the doorway and raise her arm, before firing a bolt of demonic energy that sailed past Kerry’s head, precise enough that she would hear the buzz of its energy whizz past her ear. A warning shot. ”I don’t know a single thing about you, Kerry. But I do know that money belongs to the man who tricked us. Return it to him, or I will have to make you return it.
Eula looked deathly serious, even for an automaton. There was anger in those glass eyes, smoke coming from the hand that had just fired, and an unwavering sense that she wouldn’t back down. Reaching for her damaged arm, wrapped in a sheet, Eula would tear the sheet off entirely, exposing the damaged arm and shakily curling it into a fist.
”You will only receive one warning. And only one warning shot.”
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