[Center][img]https://i.imgur.com/LXYeRFh.png[/img]
[color=979CB2]LOCATION:[/color]Sandswept Sky - Al Mamoon > Al Mamoon Northeast - Rocket Inc.
[color=979CB2]WORD COUNT:[/color] 1,093(+2 EXP)
[color=979CB2]MENTIONS:[/color] [/Center]
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Mao had to have a double-take to realize what was going on. At first, his eyes had only been on his target, but Laharl darting past him was a surprise. [color=979CB2]"Just trying to take the glory."[/color] It was the only train of thought the demon could find reasonable, though it also seemed Laharl was throwing a hell of a tantrum to boot with how loud he was being. Mao noted to shake off whatever irritation he felt, knowing that they had to disable this group sooner than later and his help would probably make it go by faster. 

The broken bow was a good enough result for the sword, Mao not hesitating in following up on Laharl's burning knuckle with his own blast, knuckles bleeding from the collision with the man's armor, but the pain being nothing like what he dished out. Without skipping a beat, he caught his sword before it even had a chance to fall into the waters below, smug as could be at the results of their assault on the Dragonborn. [color=979CB2]"If that's all you've got, might as well give up and become my servants now."[/color] Mao commented to the Resistance with a shrug, his blade elevating with his shoulder's movements.

Unfortunately, it seemed they had a few tricks up their sleeve. Though he had it in mind to approach them to finish the job, he found Shadow ascending above all of the combatants in the room, calling out an attack of sorts that sent out a wave that Mao himself thought would cause pain, the Overlord defending with his blade hoping it'd help, but then it turned out that the attack wasn't at all meant to harm them, but stop them. 

Unable to even scowl at Shadow's move, Mao couldn't communicate either. [color=979CB2]Looks like they got us lined up for execution.[/color] He thought to himself, noting the mocking and general cockiness the Resistance members were now torturing them with. Noting his smacktalk from earlier, his gaze on the now healed Dragonborn was one of concern, knowing he'd be pretty pissed. And pissed didn't even mark the halfway point, as the control over them Shadow had ended.

Bullets deflected off of Mao's sword, though the half-hearted block attempting to protect against whatever Shadow had done prior wasn't exactly a stance to try and deal with bullets: Mao's body being larger than his blade meant the bullets could find their way skimming the edges of his body mostly, essentially carving small chunks of flesh out of the edges of his figure with every hit taken. To make matters worse, as Jinx let up on the bullet hail to target the others, Mao's sword was no longer a wall to protect him, but instead a perfect target for the Dragonborn's magic: The steel blade helping in turning him into a lightning rod that sent the painful shock coursing through his body, being unable to move or avoid such an assault in the extremely short window of time he was provided.

[color=979CB2]"Insolent..."[/color] A cough later and there was crimson in the water. Actually, that was just a little he coughed up stream. There was already a pretty nice mix in the waters from the bullets, too. The only reason he was still standing was because of innate magical resistance and his legs avoided the brunt of that gunfire, though he felt like a roasted piece of meat after the Dragonborn's assault. Unfortunately, Mao was already low on resources and he'd have to go even lower to survive here. Hand drifting into his coat pocket, he pulled out two Hard Candies, wrappers being thrown into the water/blood mixture as he popped them in his mouth, teeth crunching them down without hesitation. A real villain didn't care about something down the line as meaningless as cavities, after all. 

They worked their magic, the healing properties of the items soothing Mao's injuries for the most part, so he was at least functional again. However, the feeling of mended wounds was ruined by being caught in the outer blast radius of a rocket, rolling a short distance through the water before hitting some filing cabinets, which promptly tried to crash on top of him, but were stopped by him simply lifting a hand and catching it. 

[color=979CB2]"Artificial difficulty through the boss restoring health..."[/color] He muttered to himself, trying to catch his breath as he tossed the cabinet aside, rising to his feet. This was just like some of the devious bosses from the games he'd played during school hours! Without hesitation he was rushing in again; Damaged, yes, but at least not bleeding out. Clear exposed flesh on his torso where the bullets had torn through his clothing, feeble and exploitable if he was to be struck in those spots, but if he just stood back, then they'd lose their chance here. While that hedgehog was gone, they needed to knock down this competition and fast. And he had just the servant to help with that.

Mao clenched his fist, deciding to put his newest servant to use. With a call of [color=979CB2]"Weaken these peons, Ara Mitama!"[/color] The large red reversed-tear came to his side, circling around him as it unleashed it's [url=https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Marakunda]Marakunda[/url] spell to debuff the defensive capabilities of the Resistance members still in the building. If they could heal, then that simply meant they had to hit them harder so they couldn't come back from the damn brink! Even a genius could see the results of brute force, if Mao was any self-acclaimed indication. 

[color=979CB2]"Now that I've softened you up,"[/color] Mao called to the Dragonborn, yet again planning to meet him face-to-face. [color=979CB2]"You won't be healing anyone else after I'm done with you!"[/color] The brunt of the Unrelenting Force being taken by their tanky ally helped Mao in his approach too, the remnant winds of Unrelenting Force blowing Mao's hair back to normal as he rushed the armored man, noting his hands seemed necessary for a whole lot of his arsenal. Sure, he could croak out power with his face, but that magic from earlier? His hands. His weapons? His hands.

Mao approached, sword's tipped skimming the top of the water as he prepared an upward slash to the Dragonborn's left arm, planning to shift his small frame to instantly bring himself into a secondary slash that'd aim for his right arm. Physical attacks weren't as much of a concern with Ara Mitama, it's Physical attack resist making it a notable enough temporary shield, even if it was for a single attack from the multi-talented warrior before them.