[h2]Samurai[/h2]

The samurai's reaction to Zhao's choice of magic was... surprisingly heated, the ghost launching a furious counterattack to the talismans with a snarled "Foreign witch!" If they were doing something to him, it was hard to tell; certainly, the long sword he was swinging wasn't flinging razor wind everywhere, but that could just be the lack of wind-up limiting him. It didn't make the storm of flashing steel he was engaging unarmed much more pleasant, or any less likely to cut off an arm if he slipped up in the slightest. At least it was keeping the samurai from taking up his other weapon.

As before, Tera was overwhelming the ghastly monk. Unlike before, the well of reinforcements didn't appear to be running dry, even as the defeated struggled to regain their forms: two thundering booms showed that, seemingly disappointed with the performance of the arquebusiers, their opposition had scaled up to outright cannons, one targeting the blatant monstrosity... and the other Mae, no doubt trying to eliminate the the one thing keeping this from being overwhelming with sheer numbers. It wasn't helping with the visibility either; between the gunpowder and the incense, the air was getting quite smoky.

What wasn't expected was the next defence to come bounding out of the murk. Huge, definitely bigger than the actual examples anyone would have seen, and not quite a lion nor quite a dog. A matched pair, of course, one with its mouth kept open and the other at least shut for now... but undeniably less stone-like or carved than komainu generally were. On the plus side, while obviously mystical and inhuman, at least they weren't focused on a single target: one was beelining straight for Masaru, and the other had split off to force back Arisa's flanking. They'd find out in just a moment that for all these beasts looked like flesh and blood, when it came to weight and resilience, it really was like fighting some guardian statues.