If he was able to push through the tsunami of bronze at his wake, Ari would too see it. The misshapen, angered face of a scorned nerd, one that Lew had never sported before. And as he reached the standard-bearer, if he reached the standard-bearer, he would raise his shield in the air, lightning crackling as it instantaneously shifted into a blade once more, before swinging it down, screaming to the top of his lungs something... different from the incantation he had normally bellowed out.

But only if.

If it had only been one bronze guard, Lugh could have fought them to a stalemate, perhaps even come out on top. If it had only been four bronze guards, Lugh could have survived their attacks, broken through their efforts, and unleashed a blow that contained the entirety of his soul. If it had only been eight bronze guards, perhaps he could have lived even a couple seconds longer, could have blocked the torrent of violence that descended upon him, could have regained enough SP to unleash another skill. These were all hypotheticals though, only parallel presents, ones that Lugh would not have encountered otherwise.

For there were twelve guards, four of which had just awoken from their slumber. Upon witnessing the herculean efforts of the thunderclad warrior, they rushed to intercept, easily reading Lugh’s intent. His charge was stalled mere meters away from his goal, and then, just like that, the eight he managed to break out of caught up as well, driving their swords into his body. Even at 20%, even with more than one hundred END, the pain was agonizing, foreign objects impaling his virtual body at every angle, before being torn out and stabbed into other parts. Unable to move from the sheer mass of bodies pinning him down, Lugh’s superhuman body could not, for once, respond as his mind imagined it. All that surrounded him was pain, a pain that he could not thwart or mitigate by any means.

His body burst into a myriad of pixels, joining the glittering crystals above.

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《𝔻𝔼𝕊𝕋ℝ𝕌ℂ𝕋𝔼𝔻 𝕎𝕆ℝ𝕃𝔻 𝔻𝔼𝕊𝕋𝔸𝔹𝕀𝕃𝕀ℤ𝔼𝔻》
《𝕋𝕀𝕄𝔼 𝕆𝔽 ℝ𝔼𝕊𝕌ℝℝ𝔼ℂ𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ》
《𝟚𝟜:𝟘𝟘:𝟘𝟘》[/color]
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[sub][@Cu Chulainn][/sub][hr]
As the warrior fell, his Resources graying out in the corner of Ari’s vision, the catgirl made one more attempt, sickle slicing through the air and striking the standard-bearer’s legs. It was swift, it was accurate, but, just as she had discovered by herself, it was [i]lacking[/i]. Maybe it was technique. Maybe it was the quality of her weapon. Maybe it was her lack of strength. Maybe it was the sheer [i]difference[/i] in their levels. For all it left was another hairline scratch. And all she had accomplished was to encourage the standard-bearer to raise their banner skywards once more, concentric rings of energy echoing out brightly, brilliantly.

Now, there were sixteen bronze guards, twelve of which had bloodied themselves with Lugh’s dying struggles, four of which glowed pristinely in the firelight of the standard-bearer. And how many more could this standard-bearer alone awaken, in this city of thousands?

There was a decision to be made here.

Trade her life away for the possibility of acquiring more information, or risk her life for the possibility of escape. Before her, the palace holding the ruler of this silent city stood. Behind her, the hole in the wall remained, sewer water falling torrentially into darker depths.
[sub][@GreenGoat][/sub][hr]
Though Ames’s approach had surprised the shapeshifting swordsman, his eyes widened as he drew in a quick sniff. Rather than being disgusted by the warrior’s bad breath though, he almost seemed impressed. His eyes flickered over to Ames’s equipment, and then swung his hand out, so fast that Ames’s eyes couldn’t track the movement. Finally, he let out a whistle. [b]“Damn, this is just Shaman stuff, but like, seriously? I want to know how the [i]hell[/i] you’ve managed to grab Soul Burner Animist as like, what, your first class?”[/b] He leaned in once more, sniffing her mouth. [b]“Yup, that’s definitely the sorta mixture you’d only make out of a high ranking crafting class. Seriously how…oh.”[/b]

Ames had changed gears pretty quickly after his initial enthusiasm, after all, and the dogman looked off to the hammer-wielder, right as things were getting heated up real bad. [b]“Eh…he’s usually not like that. ‘m sure Drokko’ll simmer him down though. Maybe?”[/b]

Droko did not simmer him down. Not before he could totally flip out, at least.

[b]“Yeah, well maybe you fuckin’ are!”[/b] The man snarled, before his hand snapped out to grasp Magpie by the collar and raise her up off her feet. With his other hand, he dropped his hammer to the ground, the heft of it fracturing the ground in preparation for the uppercut of the century. [b]“Listen up, ya shitfuckin’ cocksucker, I’ll be real fucking generous and give you a count to three before I turn you to paste on the ceiling, yeah? Now where t-”[/b]

A quiet cough sounded, as the mage of the party placed a hand on the vanguard’s shoulder. [b]“Bortz, drop it. Please?”[/b]

[b]“Well why the fuck should I?”[/b]

[b]“If they’re covering for the onis’ escape, then they’ll be doing a pretty good job just stalling you through conversation,”[/b] she said, her voice dark and smooth. [b]“If they honestly don’t know, then this is a real bad look for you.”[/b]

“Oh shit,” the firestepper chimed, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Angry snowflake destroyed by facts and logic?”

[b]“Whatever. And fuck you too, Vator! Fuckin’ simp,”[/b] Bortz growled, then dropped Magpie on the ground. He spat off to the side, and hefted his hammer up onto his shoulder again and storming away.

[b]“Sorry ‘bout that,”[/b] the bear cloak woman said. [b]“He’s working on fulfilling a class that requires a buncha oni kills, so we’ve been doing this den-hunting thing for the last…twenty hours or so? No luck though, and following you two was our best lead yet.”[/b]

While the tattooed woman did damage control, Bortz had turned his attention back to the shapeshifter. [b]“Oi, Mich! Stop flirtin’ and get back to trackin’!”[/b]

The shapeshifter’s attention bounced from him and back to Ames. [b]“Well, you two should probably leave now, before he gets triggered again. Dunno what’s up with you two and the onis, but hey, wouldn’t be the first monster-lover ‘round these parts.”[/b] He sucked in a breath, bared his teeth, and barked out, [b]“Yeah, yeah, just gimme a minute!”[/b]
[sub][@OwO][@Yankee][/sub][hr]
Patches licked his lips, before dropping his own grasp on his corpse-sled, kicking it to the back of the blockade. Letting out a breath, the ephemeral youth’s body began to glow a foreboding red, his veins blackening underneath his pale skin while the stitches around his arms began to bleed. They dripped upon his chopper and ignited into purple flame.

[b]“Alright, boss, let’s fuckin’ go.”[/b]

Positioned behind and granted better vision now that Patches’s crude weapon shone light in every direction, Amulak’s own magical energies began to circulate through his veins with ever increasing speed. At the apex of the inner storm, he thrust out with the Bonerattler’s staff, unleashing a maelstrom of metaphysical power that enveloped the entirety of the tunnel in neon-blue energies. Like waves, they slammed the collective of hungering ghosts, drawing them to the center as they wailed and tried to claw themselves out of the tides.

The first of the ghosts to escape the storm’s pull was cleaved in half, Patches leaping to join the carnage with wild abandon. The chopper burned with ever-brighter intensity as more of the ghosts fell, until the entire tunnel was lit up with malevolent purples and eye-scorching blues. But there were still so many, enough so that after a few seconds, the Arcane Vortex had been clogged with so many bodies that it was no longer possible for any more to be drawn into its center.

Three of the ghosts slipped around the blur of motion that Patches had become, hurtling towards Amulak with their leech-like mouths opened up, eager for a bite of the mage, while two more aimed for the corpse that Patches had maneuvered away from the bulk of the fighting, desiring an easier, if less fresh, meal.
[sub][@Psyker Landshark][/sub][hr]
As Klein continued to talk, there was a litany of ‘oh’ and ‘eh’ and ‘uhuh’ sounds coming from the young tree, all in that same childish tone, like a kid who was only pretending to listen. Maybe his latest obsession was a bit boring after all? Or maybe simple-minded creatures such as carnivorous trees really just didn’t care all that much? At the very least, the mountain man’s latest grand plan preoccupied him enough that the Thunderstruck Grove no longer looked very scary.

It was a bit weird, really, to even negotiate with a monster belonging to the same family as one that had just tried to eat him whole…but hey, all for the sake of science!

Maybe it was too convenient though, because right as he finished speaking, his right foot snagged on something, and Klein was flipped upside down, a corded vine wrapping tight around his ankle before pulling him five meters up into the air. Vision swimming from the sudden disorientation, the mountain man could only just make out tens of dozens of small pinpricks of light emerging from the branches of that young tree.

[b]“Wow, that actually worked!” “Yeah!” “Great success!” “Huzzah!” “Do people really think trees talk?” “Dunno, but woo!” “Let’s try that again!” “After this though.” “Definitely beats berries!” “Hear hear!” “Alright, on my mark!” “No, mine!” “Ugh, does it even matter?” “Of course it does! Unity is the bedrock of good civilization!” “Now everyone, get in here!” “Fire!”[/b]

And just like that, Klein’s body was pierced by forty-seven tiny needles, doing a grand total of zero damage to him!

[b]“Keep at it, comrades!” “Yeah yeah!” “Fire fire fiyaaaaa!”[/b]
[sub][@Shovel][/sub][hr]
[url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/719779328732430357/787945601324941312/0c7a419168b21a5445875f02a4117859.png]Charlotte[/url]’s eyes travelled from the bouquet and chocolates, then to Raime’s face.

[b]“What, no hugs and kisses?”[/b]

And that’s exactly what she did, embracing him tightly as she tiptoed up to bite his lower lip. The bouquet was crushed between their bodies and the box of chocolates dug into his ribs, but these sensations, this pain, had a pleasant warmth that didn’t exist, couldn’t exist, in Cacophony Concord. Yup, he definitely wasn’t in a simulation.

Breaking off forcefully, the dark-haired woman smirked again, sliding her luggage in front of Raime while taking the ruffled bouquet out of his hands, [b]“So, I know you're an hour late, but you didn’t forget to make those reservations to the play tonight, right?”[/b]

Did he? Was that something else he forgot? Or was it something that was never a thing, and Charlotte was joking again?
[sub][@Searat][/sub]