Individually, each worm that had plunged themselves into Magpie’s body was weak. But collectively? While pain was a sensation that the system could reduce, other tactile sensations, such as the slimy, wriggling grossness of a corpse-puppeteering worm? That remained the same, and as their flesh was squished between the brawler’s incredible strength, she suffered the full extent of that sensation, piecemeal meat sticking to her body. Not just that, but Magpie, in her blind terror, discovered something else.

While teammates could not injure each other, you could always injure yourself.

Though her attempts at dislodging the worms manifested often in the form of pulling at the wriggling masses, the few slaps and claps directed at herself did a number on her own HP, dropping it down by [b]another 67[/b]. Such was the danger, after all, of having STR that was so much greater than your own END. If nothing else, however, most of the worms had been obliterated during Magpie’s little monkey dance, and only a few still wriggled about, entangled between her fingers or in her hair.

Ames, locked down in a life-or-death situation, struggled as well, with no allies close enough to offer him assistance. The Phantom Flame Bangles ignited at his command though, more HP offered up to the crucible that was combat as ghostly fire wreathed the warriors sword. Above him, the undead oni [i]vibrated[/i] at the sight of flame, its flesh wriggling with the worms that controlled its body, before redoubling its efforts to turn Ames into a bloody pulp. Raising its fists up, it struck him with frenzied rage, the force enough to create a crater beneath them. The blackened earth fractured, cracks forming in the hardened dirt. But the warrior remained undaunted. He played Cacophony Concord on [i]Stylish[/i] mode, and even if his own mind couldn’t come up with an immediate response, he understood one thing.

He had to dodge.

With rapid head movements almost akin to a boxer, Ames managed to deflect the brunt of the assault, receiving [b]only 83 damage[/b] from the combo before they rammed their sword into the rotten stomach of the creature. Fire lit up its insides, revealing a second structure of ‘veins’ where the worms routed, and Ames was struck by another wave of nauseating fumes. But the effects were immediate as well. The creature vibrated grotesquely once more as fire spread from inside out, until its body suddenly went slack. Worms, dozens upon dozens of worms, escaped from whatever part of the body they could, bursting out from festering wounds, wriggling out of the orifices of the face. They left the meatbag behind, and immediately fell upon Ames instead, splattering against his clothing. The worms didn’t infest him yet though; the glow of the flaming sword seemed to be causing some conflict between primal fear and function.

That same primal fear, was what caused the second oni beside Ames to hesitate as well. As it took a step back from the bright light of his sword, Amulak had a perfect opportunity to skewer it. Virtual veins surged with electrifying power, and this time around, he felt something more. An extra beat of energy, an extra pulse of power. Coalescing in the sky, the Spell Spear rocketed downwards, piercing into the monster’s body and discharging its arcane effects. The oni twitched briefly, body wriggling at the curious assault, but then broke loose, its milky eyes turned briefly Amulak and Klein. Had the paralysis effect not taken effect? Or had the spell, single-target in nature, only affected a single worm out of a hundred?

Rather than charge, however, it turned away instead, rushing towards the still-panicked Magpie. At speeds rivaling that of a semi-truck, the monster brought its half-rotten arm out, planning on flat-out tearing the Brawler’s head off with a good old-fashioned clothesline.

Raime would be able to understand why that choice was made though. Like a musician, he continued to send arrows singing through the air, towards the now-incandescent oni, but this time, even that was denied. The one-armed oni moved in defense of its ally, blocking the arrows with its body. This whole fight had been a matter of incompatibility for the Scout. He lacked the magical ability to destroy the worms and lacked the physical ability to destroy the oni, and now, he lacked even the ability to target who he wished. All he could do was watch now.

A thunderous vibration. The consumption of all the SP that lingered unspent within a corpse. The earth giving away in a landmine-esque explosion, as the bull-hoisting oni leapt up. Ten meters. Twenty meters. Fifty meters. One hundred meters. At the apex of its ascent, it shifted downwards, the bus-sized phantasmal bull now pointed towards its quarry: Klein and Amulak.

It was a sight to blot out the sun, if the fog of the Thunderstruck Grove had not already hidden it from view.

The meteor fell, and as it did, [url= https://youtu.be/kIaqZh_gGz4?t=10]it screamed.[/url]
[sub][@Shovel][@Searat][@Psyker Landshark][@OwO][@Yankee][/sub][hr]
There was a thrum of warmth throughout her body and a message box popped up in front of Ari.

[quote]Application Accepted.
Welcome to [Cacophony Concord Connect]!
[/quote]
Zhi-Toren nodded, content with continuing her own meal. [b]“Well, you’ve got a debt to pay, right? Since you’ve joined and all…here.”[/b] From the inner pocket of her suit, the woman drew out a slim, leather card case and popped it open. There was a void-like space within that seemed to swallow up her fingers as she reached inside, before she pulled out a stack of bills, set in denominations of 10,000 rishi. [b]“Here you are, Ari. Once you’re done settling your accounts, meet me up at the address here…”[/b] Another extension of her fingers into the void of the card case, and this time a proper business card was removed. [b]“…and I’ll introduce you to the boss properly to go over your duties as a field agent. We can set up an expedition team for the sewer palace after, and if things go well, then you can even look forward to a bonus!”[/b]

The woman waved.

[b]“So hey, get out there and get it done, Ari!”[/b]
[sub][@Greengoat][/sub]