"[color=lightblue]Stay behind me, Tiny. Fire and shit don't hurt me as much as it hurts you.[/color]"

"[color=a36209]My name is ... Nao,[/color]" she managed to bite out between two ragged breaths. "[color=a36209]Nao ... Miyoshi ... so save yourself ... the extra syllable.[/color]"

The brown-haired girl was not particularly fond of others placing themselves in danger for her sake, but the course of action undertaken by the other teenager was logical, especially given the greater resistance to the flames the hound could expel. In order to assure the survival of everybody present ... in order to protect the others to the best of their ability, they needed to find a way to most optimally neutralise the beast. Had the lives of the others not been at risk, she would not have wished to depend so much on another. But there was a time and place for everything, and stopping them from facing any danger was counterproductive.

They needed to stop the monster, and every hand was necessary.

She gritted her teeth as agony lanced through her muscles again. Her body was feeling the strain of all the damage the beast had inflicted upon her with its terrifying attacks, and even the ... supernatural resistances afforded to her by the ghostly manifestation ([i]the goddess[/i]) could only do so much. Blood and adrenaline rushed through her veins. She could hear it. Hear her heart beat faster than an onrushing train. Her body keeping itself from being torn apart. The emptiness in her mind.

"[color=pink]Seraphim, help them! Dia![/color]"

Music. That was the only manner in which she could describe the ... sense that overtook her. Was it the work of one of the others who had gained power as well? It was likely, given that outburst ([i]she almost couldn't hear it through the din of the fight[/i]). The light was reinvigorating her. Her breaths grew less and less ragged. The biting pain was dulling. Her sprained arm was no longer as tense. It was as if something was mending her tissue, restoring her physical state. The agony was still there, but it had lessened. 

Immensely.

Her eyes were still fixated upon the monster, but she waved her newly healed arm as a gesture of thanks. It was not a suitable replacement for a verbal conveyance of gratitude, but it was the best she could do. If they survived ... [i][b]when[/b][/i] they survived, she would have to give proper thanks. They just needed to defeat this obstacle first.

Water suddenly gushed from somewhere behind her, striking the beast before her eyes and eliciting an intense reaction. Nao could only gaze transfixed at the wild, uncontrolled rampage of the hellhound, horrified by the sheer pain and damage it was inflicting. It was hideous to watch, but before she could command the manifestation ([i]her Persona[/i]) to capitalise upon the vulnerability being displayed, the vines that had contorted around the creature's body attacked. 

Nao threw her arms in front of her face as the burning vines, spitting fire, slammed through the protective barrier Fujisawa had produced and struck her torso, whipping and tearing at her. She choked back a scream as she was knocked back into the side of a seat. Pain lanced through her shoulder even as the hissing heat boiled and seared at her skin and the cuts on her arms and the blood pooling and the bruising on her and the and the and the and the sheer agony was overwhelming and it hurt and it hurt and blood and it-

"[color=00a99d]Healing Wave![/color]"

It was hell.

She gasped out a strangled cry even as her body began to mend itself under the supernatural interference of that spell. It was pain. The heat still scorched at her. Blood was staining her shirt, cuts and slashes dotted across her entire torso. She couldn't keep it up. Yet she was still alive. Still ... still alive.

Her hands scrambled against the cold, dirty ground, desperately trying to get a grip against them so she could push herself back to her feet. Her knees slipped. It hurt. It hurt too much. She spat out blood. Her teeth were rattling. Her arms and legs were trembling. Her face was stained with dried tears. She closed her eyes, reaching wildly out to grab the top of the seat. She needed to get up. She needed to.

Nao pulled, her body rising from the floor. She was such a mess. Her feet struggle to maintain balance. Short, sharp breaths left her throat. It was dry. It pained her. Every muscle wanted to scream at her to stop. She ignored them.

She let go of the seat.

She would stand on her own two feet.

She would survive.

"[color=a36209]Do not ... stop attacking it![/color]" she roared out, voice croaking and hoarse. "[color=a36209]Do not let it recover![/color]"

Just because they had taken such a blow from the vines' horrifying attack did not mean that the hound itself was not vulnerable. If what that girl stated was the truth ... they were halfway. The beast was like them. It was faltering. Its skin was melting. Like them. Nao bit back a coughing laugh. Adrenaline pumped through her. 

The compass needle span and span and span.

If it was like them, then she could kill it.

And ensure their survival.

"[color=a36209]Rip those vines apart, Dikē,[/color]" she whispered, breathing heavily as her Persona materialised into existence above her. "[color=a36209][b]Twister Kick![/b][/color]"

The goddess of justice seemed to smile eagerly from behind its mask of stars, and leapt forth, careening into a spinning drop kick towards the monstrous hound.