VitaVitaAR

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Her heartbeat hammered.

She'd taken on plenty of bandits before. It wasn't like this was the first time she'd been shot at either. Hardly the first time she'd spilled blood.

A hero's blade could be stained with the life of the wicked, after all, and Valheim's forces came here for the sake of conquering and subjugating Osprey's people.

But this was still different, even from when she fought the Valheimr soldiers in the ruined town.

But---

This wasn't the first time she'd been shot at, after all.

She wasn't about to let them reach Miina.

Sparks flew. Bullets were sent careening off course or even cut by the razor edge of her blade.

"Oh no, you won't!" Robin cried, "As long as I'm here, none of you are going to have the chance!"

Some stray piece of shrapnel tore the fabric at her shoulder.

Her heart pounded even faster.

But this was the sort of thing a hero did. Standing up for her allies, defending them from even the most terrifying situations.

So, Robin wasn't going to falter and let any scrap of fear linger in her mind. She'd push it away and focus.

After all, deflecting bullets was something you needed to focus on.

There, that one was reloading---!

Robin crouched low and hurled herself forward, a bullet from the Einhanders above striking the spot she had occupied moments ago. She reached the nearest soldier in an instant and he fumbled, trying to switch from loading his rifle to drawing a knife.

He was no-where near swift enough, a streak of red bursting in the air as Robin slashed through his throat and withdrew just as swiftly as she had approached, before the remaining soldiers could focus on her.

She couldn't do anything about the Einhanders, but if she could keep Miina covered and help clear away as many soldiers on the ground, then---!

@Ithradine@Raineh Daze

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

They were breaking through.

Fanilly had only been engaging briefly, forcing a knight back just long enough for them to be pushed back by one of Gertrude's spells, but she could tell her knights' efforts were paying off.

Individually, they truly were more potent. But their opponents knew that.

Killing them was now resulting in simply being bogged down, as Erion's Knights used their own bodies as a method of catching their blades.

It was gruesome, but it only made sense. This was a world where they could not perish permanently, and even if they could they were fighting as if this was a true battle rather then a test of skill.

How else could this be a true test, after all?

Fanilly's blade slid along the blade of a tall silver-armored figure. But rather then aiming for a gape in his armor, she instead forced his sword aside and pushed him into an awkward position, leaving him wide open one of Gertrude's shooting starts to send him reeling.

Their line was weakened. From deaths or even momentary incapacitation.

Her knights' efforts could open a hole, but it needed to be fast enough.

To hit hard enough.

To open the gap long enough to reach Prince Erion, for the mere chance to strike at a legend.

Fanilly sucked air in through her teeth and stepped back.

"Lady Gertrude!" she called, "There! The line is weakest there!"

Her knights had made sure of that. Everything had lined up for this moment, this opportunity.

They'd break through, and reach him---!

Death wasn't necessary. The line only needed to break completely for just long enough.

"Show them what you can do!"

Appealing to her pride had worked the first time, so Fanilly had to guess it would work the second.

"What only you can do!"

With that, she was already running. The very instant Lady Gertrude's spell struck, before Erion's Knights could recover, that was when their moment would come.

The longer they tried to fight it out, the more opportunities to keep them back would arise, so now was their chance---!

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

It wasn't a danmaku duel. Youmu was certain such things didn't exist in this world, though surely nonlethal sparring did. As such, her hand left Roukanken's hilt. The swords that were used by the people here weren't katana, and she wasn't quite certain she would know how to use them with any real finesse.

However, that turned out not to be an issue. Indeed, it seemed as if the caravan had traded with an eastern merchant at some point, and obtained a bokken.

This would do quite nicely, no matter who she faced.

She would demonstrate to them the skill of the Konpaku.

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Dirt Road

---

With Sheila's assistance, keeping Linie from moving too much while she was being tended to wasn't particularly difficult. Thankfully, the Duke's Daughter and her entourage weren't entirely unprepared, and some alcohol and clean water as well as some loose fabric was able to be located for the purposes of tending to the wound.

It seemed as if Linie was finally listening to her orders, at least, given she appeared to be resting still, though she did flinch slightly as the gash in her side was tended to. As long as they could put a stop to the bleeding, it was likely the future was relatively bright for the injured girl.

While it didn't show on her face, the Duke's daughter seemed to grow a little less tense at the medical attention to her maid, though the third maid that remained by her side was less ready to relax.

This was made abundantly clear when she snatched the paper from Duncan's hand.

"Don't address Lady Darnell so lightly," she asserted, her voice firm as she gave a sharp glare to the armored man, "Regardless of how you may have assisted, you-"

"Morwenna, do you take me for some kind of fool?"

The maid went rigid at that.

"Of... o-of course not, Lady Darnell," she said, bowing her head.

"Hmph," the blonde girl huffed as she folded her arms, "Then don't treat me like one. I want to see what he found, even if he is a commoner."

"I... I apologize," the maid responded, bowing her head swiftly. When she addressed Duncan once more, she didn't look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry," she said, quietly, before silently handing holding the paper up to her mistress.

The girl's glare intensified.

"Someone dared to hand these pieces of trash information on my route back to the capital?" she snapped, snatching the paper from her maid's hand, "The audacity to aid mere bandits in attempting to assault nobility---!"

"I'm not sure if they are mere bandits, Lady Darnell," one of the armored men approached, kneeling and bowing his head as he did. He was in his forties, perhaps, with a rather thick moustache, "Their equipment is higher quality then the average highwayman, no matter how they tried to make it look."

The girl's grip on the paper tightened as her eyes narrowed.

".. I see," she replied, her voice dripping with venom, "So that's how it is."

@PKMNB0Y@Raineh Daze@Sir Lurksalot

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Forest Shrine

---

The moment the medusa began to run, grabbing her fellows, the heavy footfalls quickened. At first, the rhythmic sound simply sped up, but soon it became clear that whatever manner of creature was approaching was galloping after them, dragging snapped branches and scraping against bark as it moved.

The green orbs came closer and closer. The sickly light they produced was growing brighter.

It was clear that it simply wasn't possible to outrun it so easily, and now---

Finally, it was revealed.

It was at least four meters tall.

The fleshless face of the creature resembled a deer's skull, with an enormous pair of antlers. Its lower jaw, attached seemingly by mere sinew, hung open and let forth a stream of dark mist as it galloped closer. The rest of its body was composed of a skeletal frame, hair and skin clinging to its bones, in some places torn away to expose them.

In these sports, further black mist issued forth, and centipedes could be seen crawling from these ragged holes and dropping to the forest floor beneath them.

Wherever its hooves touched, it almost seemed as if the plants beneath it wilted, withering and decaying rapidly in a dark, twisted, oozing remnant of what had once been.

And it was gaining on them.

Each massive stride of its hooved feet brought it closer. The breathing sound that seemed to emanate from the creature, and yet came from all around them, grew louder.

It sounded disconcertingly like the breath of a human being.

It was almost upon them, jaws opening wider as an unearthly hiss escaped its gaping maw, and then---

A golden wall of light sprang up from the darkness, intercepting the lurching creature. Its neck seemingly snapped, bone jutting through the dried skin and patchy fur, its head bent at a sharp right angle.

After only a moment, it stepped back, a sickeningly fleshy sound coming from within its body as its neck slowly realigned itself.

Greenish fluid dripped from between its gaping jaws, now, a few small centipedes falling from its maw.

The source of the wall of golden light stood before it.

It was a girl, glad in black and gold clothing and wearing a wide-brimmed hat. In one slender hand, she gripped a smooth wooden staff, currently held in the air.

Her petite figure was dwarfed by the skeletal monster. The sickly scent of decay permeated the air.

"They are not the ones who wronged you," the girl said, her voice firm as her green eyes remained fixed on the creature, "You will come no further."

Leaning forward, the monster's gaping maw stretched wider, the green fluid now tinged with black as it dripped to the ground.

Give them... to me... suffer... they shall... suffer...

A whispering voice, raspy, seemingly emanating from the entire forest just as the breathing had.

Consume... I will devour...

The girl thrust her staff higher.

"They are not the ones who wronged you," she spoke again, her voice louder now, "You shall come no further."

An eternity seemed to pass. The sickly rot scent only grew stronger.

But the creature suddenly rose, its decayed body turning as it slowly shambled off into the blackness of the forest.

The sound of breathing faded. The sickly rot odor disappeared, too.

The forest seemed lighter again. Slowly, the songs of birds could be heard once more.

The girl lowered her staff, letting out a heavy sigh.

And then---

She turned on her heel, marching right up to the medusa and the two smaller girls and aiming a swing of her staff squarely at her head.

"What were you thinking?!" she exclaimed, "Intruding on that shrine of all places?! You're lucky Relki saw you...!"

@Rune_Alchemist@Rin@Pyromania99

Qlippoth Shift: A Supernatural Action RP About Combating Otherworldy Anomalies

@Nyahahameha: Ahh I keep forgetting to reply I'm sorry. I mostly just want to get an idea of how strong you'd be intending for her to be.

@Lord Frostecs: I'd like to see what you have in mind before giving a solid answer on that front.

Sorry for the delay!

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

The fact she'd been pulled into another world didn't matter. The fact she'd been injured didn't matter.

She had to find a path back to Yuyuko-sama's side. That was paramount. Every moment she spent in this other world was a moment she wasn't doing her duty.

At the same time, that didn't mean she was completely unaware of the reason she was called here. As long as she was unable to return home, helping these people seemed like it was the only reasonable choice.

But none of this prevented her from training.

Every morning Youmu departed her sleeping quarters early and spent time training.

Faster. Faster. Faster.

She could always be faster. Even if the injury prevented her from moving at top speed, it didn't hinder the speed of her blades.

But just as her grandfather said, that alone would never be fast enough.

So, she had to get faster. Even more precise.

That was the purpose of a member of the Konpaku family, after all. To hone oneself into an edge that could cut down any foe.

If she couldn't return to Yuyuko-sama's side yet, she would train while she was unable to as much as possible. It only made sense to her.

It was a while after the day's training session that the merchants arrived

This was one of the clearest signs of possible routes to resolving the problems of this world and returning home, and so it was no surprise that Youmu immediately approached with the intent of at the very least asking the merchants about the world beyond the village.

Only---

They didn't believe they were capable?

A frown crossed the petite half-phantom's features, and her fingers found their way to Roukanken's hilt.

"If you require a demonstration of our capabilities, then I would be happy to show you," she said. Remilia's offer was ignored.

Sometimes you simply had to strike until your opponent understood, after all.

@PKMNB0Y@EchoWolff@Izurich@Lugubrious@Drifting Pollen@Raineh Daze@DracoLunaris@Rezod92

Qlippoth Shift: A Supernatural Action RP About Combating Otherworldy Anomalies

Ifrit lowered.

Her flame wave didn't appear to have done any visible damage, and yet...

Arisa could sense something had changed with the death of the onna-bushi phantom.

The ghostly samurai had stopped, staring at the black ooze that her body had collapsed into, silently. He no longer fought. He no longer moved.

Flames still danced over Ifrit's edge, but Arisa didn't take another step closer.

The samurai's bow fell to the ground at his side.

"... I... I remember now," he said, half-murmuring to himself as he placed a hand to his face, "This happened before. All of it... I already failed."

It had already been her guess that he was acting out events that had occurred in the past, but now it had been confirmed. Not only that, but the samurai seemed aware of if.

"This village and everyone in it have been dead for hundreds of years, have they not?"

He raised his head, now, addressing the assembled agents.

"I died in failure, surrounded by corpses of my fellows and those I had sworn to protect, and so that is how I spend eternity."

While no physical damage had occurred to him it seemed as if the death of the last phantom and the flame wave had penetrated his mind and reawakened him to full mental clarity.

But there was no telling how long this would last.

The samurai sank to his knees. He no longer seemed to have any intention of fighting, his unfocused gaze still lingering on the spot where the onna-bushi fell.

"If you have the ability, people of the current era, then end me," he said, simply, his tone lacking much inflection, "I am a failure who can only reenact his failure again and again. Nothing I do will bring the slaughtered people of this village back, and I cannot perish by my own hand after death, therefore I place it in your hands."

As opposed to a vengeful spirit, was the samurai more akin to a guardian spirit who had lost his mind? Arisa wasn't certain how to proceed. He had most certainly been responsible for the deaths of civilians, but conventional measures against wicked or mindless spirits were unlikely to have a permanent affect unless they could figure out exactly what was binding him here.

Which meant, perhaps, containment was the more effective option, but that still required being able to move him.

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Ruined Inn

---

My hands clench and I draw a sharp intake of breath.

I didn't expect him to snap back so quickly. Where did he get off? I was trying to tell him exactly why that was a dumb thing to do. It's not my fault he's an idiot, I was just calling him on it!

"Y-you...!"

All I did was just stand there.

But it's not my fault. It's not. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to cast magic. All I know is that I apparently can, but how was I supposed to help? My arms are thin and weak. My staff doesn't have any real sharp points or edges, I don't think the gem on the tip is sharp enough to be dangerous.

My voice is shaking. My heartbeat's still hammering. I still feel a little nauseous.

"I-I... I was trying to tell you---"

I have to avert my eyes when he goes over the skull like that. I know. I know what he was trying to do! That's why I know it was stupid, that's why---

I feel sick. My shoulders are shaking. Is it because I'm not used to the difference in hormonal balance of this body?

Maybe it's just because I've never seen a corpse before, even one that's dried out like a mummy.

"... I-Idiot, it'd just be stupid for you to die..." I half-murmur, sucking in another deep breath as I try to stabilize myself mentally if not physically, "I would have done something if I knew how..."

My fingers clutch at my staff, semi-consciously at the hem of my skirt.

"Th-they're-This is clearly a f-fantasy setting, s-so they're probably animated by magic," I manage to continue, keeping my eyes away from the crushed undead, "S-so... so just attacking the brain, i-it probably won't cut it. I think she broke its s-spine when she hit it."

At least I heard a pretty loud crack, though there's no way of knowing what part of the undead that was.

My fingers tense again.

"A-at least we got this stupidity out of the way with just one of them," I raise my head slightly. I think I feel a little better now, maybe, "It'd have been way worse to learn this out on the street where there's more."

I'd already expected it though. If this was a world with magic, then zombies didn't need to follow any kind of biological rules at all that you'd expect from a more science-based setting.

At least insofar as any universe where undead exist can be science-based.

"Their limbs, or damaging their body enough so they can't move, that's what's probably going to take them out."

It's not as if I know for sure, but he probably did enough damage that a living thing would have gone down. So the difference between the hammer blow and the stab was just how much overall damage it did to the body.

At the very least, you'd have to be a total moron to try stabbing like that again, so I can be sure he won't do that.

@PKMNB0Y@Aku the Samurai@SilverPaw@RolePlayerRoxas

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Ruined Inn

---

... Hold it.

I'm halfway there and I've only just realized.

That girl with the hammer was going to check out the scratching in the basement, wasn't she?

I suddenly find myself sprinting.

What am I even going to do?

If there's something down there, it's not like I've figured out how to do magic. And she has a warhammer, she's way better equipped to deal with whatever might be down.

And yet, here I am, sprinting down through the ruined inn towards the basement, gripping my staff in both hands as I turn the corner. I'm lighter than I was before, but my legs are probably a lot shorter given my new height, so I don't think I'm moving that fast.

Seriously, what are you going to do? Don't be stupid. You're not an idiot.

Admonishing myself isn't making me run any slower, though.

And then---

She's there. It's moving.

It's a little different seeing it now. I know I witnessed the shambling shapes on the street, but this is---

It's dried out. Desiccated. It looks like a mummified corpse, like those self-sacrificing monks or a ruler from ancient Egypt. It's dried out and hollow, a blade in one hand, eye sockets empty, and leathery skin clinging to its skeletal frame.

I find myself drawing a sharp intake of breath, my hands clutching at my staff.

I can't move.

I ran here and now I can't move.

Stupid. Why did I even bother? I've just frozen up and she's got a warhammer, what was I even planning on doing?

My heart is pounding. My fingers tightening.

I'm a mage, aren't I? That skill has to mean something, right?

But I can't even start thinking about it.

Suddenly the undead is falling forward.

It's the elf man. I have no idea how he got here first, but he managed to get here and stab it in the back of the neck.

That finally snaps me out of it.

"Are you stupid!? You had a chance to ambush it and you-"

It's back up. It's already moving and raising its blade.

But so is the girl with the warhammer. She's bringing it down as if it's a second nature to her.

There's a spray of dust rather than blood as the undead's skull comes apart. But it doesn't stop there. Its shoulders crack. I think its upper torso caves in on itself too.

It just crumples under the blow of the hammer.

I guess that makes sense given how dried out it is.

If it was fresher corpse, this would have been a lot worse. As it stands, I still feel ill, but at least I barely recognize whatever parts of it are still intact after the hammer blow.

I look away, sucking in quite a bit of air as I try and calm myself and stop feeling quite so nauseous.

But I can't let that stupidity stand, either.

Why would anyone think a knife alone would do the trick here? Against that?

Taking another deep breath, I manage to stand up straight again, my hands still gripping my staff tightly.

"What made you think stabbing it in the neck was going to work? Did you seriously think that thing's breathing? That it's relying on bloodflow? At least if you tried to cut off the head, it would have made more sense!"

I use the tip of my staff to point. The undead's remains aren't quite so bad to look at now, but I'm not going to linger on them any more then I have to.

"We're in a fantasy setting, anyway, so these are probably magical undead," I add, not about to let him get off lightly, "There's no way just stabbing it alone was going to do the trick! Think a little more carefully, unless you want to die a second time!"

Some would call be too harsh, but there's no way I'm going to tolerate someone gleefully throwing themselves into the maximum amount of danger without even the slightest bit of forethought.

We need to get out of here, and dying isn't exactly helpful.

... Besides, it's not like I'd be happy if anyone here died. We're all in the same boat, so losing someone---

I don't really want to think about it, honestly. It's bad enough that I'm tiny and the opposite sex, I don't need to go thinking about witnessing someone die for real.

@PKMNB0Y@Aku the Samurai@SilverPaw@RolePlayerRoxas