And thus, the battle began in earnest!

Foul incantations reverberated through Leif’s body as Weishaupt mimicked the casting motions of its master, the spinal parasite that had sank itself into the shaman’s back unleashing bolts of deathly lightning as he shot for the enemy backline. From the depths of the earth, the millions of insects and vermin that had passed away, decayed away, roused themselves from their slumber, melding together as mounds of earth found humanoid shape. Each of them targeted a different enemy, lumbering forwards with malicious intent.

Ames was the first to draw their blade, however. Humming with unified spiritual energies, the swordsman’s hooked sword turned into a phantasmal vapour and arced through the air, confounding both the samurai’s katana and armor. She widened her eyes, the complexion of her skin paling as her own mana was drained by the singular strike, before narrowing them in determination. Drawing in a deep breath, she let out a war-like shout, the thunderous sound shaking both the Earthrot Golem and Ames to the core, stunning the two before either could continue the offense. And, without hesitation, she angled her katana for the exposed animist’s throat and drove the tip forward.

But neither Raime, nor Mags, nor Leif were in any position to assist. Already, they were at the backline, Raime’s hand cannon erupting with bursts of steam. Rather than singular bullets, the Chihananshi Mk II was naturally a weapon meant for close to mid range combat, and a shotgun blast resounded with each pull of the trigger. The robed kannushi grimaced, his chain of hand signals broken as he brought his arms up to shield his face from the pellets that shredded his body, but the bard jumped back instead. From the sky, a fully-armored crusader landed, bearing dual greatswords and sporting spearheads poking out from every inch of its armor. The shotgun blast did little to give it pause, and with his Type-Guard Nuclei established, the bard began to strum his axe-guitar, multi-colored melodies surging out to further empower his steelbound guardian. One punch sent the HP-sponge of a golem flying back, the specialized stats of a singular undead incapable of withstanding the power of a monstrous Nuclei, while the other hand thrust out. There was a click, a whirr, a holy hymn, before a hailstorm of spearheads shot out, tracking the paths of Leif and Raime.

At the same time, however, Magpie was able to close the distance, the kannushi given no time to react before she unleashed a flurry of acupuncture strikes, each blow sending a scarlet energy racing through his meridian lines. He stumbled back, whatever divine powers he had planned on unleashing sealed, and looked around to see his allies all preoccupied. Suddenly, the deck of talismans he had didn’t look all that reliable compared to the trained and toned murdering machine that was Magpie’s entire body.

[b]“Ah fuck this shit I’m out.”[/b]

The earth cracked beneath him, and instantly, the kannushi flew seventy-five meters into the sky, atop a massive, flying boulder from which sacred ropes and talismans were affixed. Immobile and yet daunting, the [Silence] effect placed upon him still meant that it had to be a Type-Castle Nuclei, brimming with some dangerous passive effect…which showed itself soon enough, as a malicious light expanded outwards from the killing stone, and Leif, Raime, Magpie, and Ames’s bodies all began to slowly bubble, weeping welts forming upon their skin.

Amulak, of course, was totally alright. After all, in a party where he was the sole backline, and where his Nuclei offered him plenty of ability to hide out somewhere like a sniper in a ghillie suit, there was essentially no way that anyone would notice him out there, vibing while his gamer buddies caused chaos.