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[img]https://i.ibb.co/rtvdswm/divider-line-02.png[/img]Where once the park experienced mild and pleasant sunny weather, it soon became bubbled in a dome of darkness courtesy of Limen. With the addition of Da-Xia becoming decommissioned from any fighting, the barrier-making demon was proving to be a formidable force by himself to the DHA. How long it would last however, given his abilities and new distraction with Hanako, was anyone’s guess, but the ghost’s efforts, as unappreciated as they were, gave the rest of Da-Xia’s team a chance to formulate some plan. That plan boiled down to simply following the bugs.

Wreathed in her tornado of fire and feathers, Beniha was able to cut clean through the chittering bug Youkai that lined her path. Experienced as she was, she would find no delay in eventually reaching where the insects gathered, deep into the wooded section of the park. It was there Rufus and Haruka had their conversation before being interrupted by the shrill hisses and chitters of the bugs. The Youkai, mindless and reliant on instinct as they were, immediately noticed the black rock supply. Without warning, they shrilled and bombarded Rufus and Haruka with near-suicidal intent, the black rocks remaining neutral even as they were collected.

It was this hellish scene that Beniha would walk into. Kaze would also eventually find his way, though at a much slower pace both from his power and for the bugs finding more attraction towards him. When he arrived, he would find a good chunk of the swarm had followed him into the fray of the woods as well. Such vibrant chaos was to be expected of those who laid in the shadows and it was almost no different to what played out at the shrine as well.

It was there where Hoshio’s team were swiftly making work of Shika’s puppet-like creatures; more importantly, the barrage of arrows rained down by Hoshio did quick work in shattering the black stones. Unlike before, instead of detonating, they disintegrated completely upon brute force impact. The rocks gave off a screech only the demons could hear before, like sprouts, they dove underground and away from the hunters. Their next appearance wasn’t too far away, popping up like mushrooms before the doppleganger Envoy and Mai, all gathered in one place.

As Maria faced the ongoing tide of red swept her way courtesy of Shika, Mai was left to handle the “civilian” before her. Indeed, there was no indication the fake Envoy was anything but human, especially given her very real reaction. Even as she fled there was already a story forming to spin to Mai about how she was simply curious about the black stones. That was assuming the hunter could catch her because the force that spooked the double revealed itself.

A large, overbearing presence wrapped over Mai and pressed down like a crushing grip. However, if she checked her surroundings, she’d notice there were no Youkai in sight. This didn’t stop the force from tightening around her as if she were caught by a hand. Perhaps this new creature was invisible? Whatever it was, it may have also been responsible for the shed skin seen littering the holy shrine grounds just before the fighting broke out.
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