[b][/b][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/fUcbUBc.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/HIhaBLD.jpg[/img] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WGZLuAlRLE&ab_channel=Syobo]Hope's Battle Theme[/url] [url=https://soundcloud.com/aeoliancat/hopevoiceenglish]Hope's English Voice[/url] [url=https://soundcloud.com/aeoliancat/hopejapanesevoice]Hope's Japanese Voice[/url] [color=E9C1DD]🌹 "Thank you mother, for this magic I can use to protect others." 🌹[/color] [hr][color=E9C1DD]🌹 Time: Morning 🌹 Location: Inside a dark forest 🌹 Interaction: [url=https://i.imgur.com/oQ71YN1.jpg]Yasha (Special NPC)[/url] 🌹[/color] [hr] [/center] It didn't take long for the bandits to reveal themselves. Whether they understood their rouse was uncovered or grew bored of waiting for bloodshed, Hope knew that he had to steel himself for their approach. Thankfully, they were not the fastest as far as he could tell, as they dropped down from the canopy shadows and played peekaboo from behind the brush. Hope's angelic spirit, Yahoel, instinctively drew closer to him. Despite their slowness, they were obviously brutish and strong, with their swords and clubs. [url=https://i.imgur.com/tdIwQg3.png]Yahoel[/url] looked toward the canopy, as though something was amiss. Within the moment, a cascade of bandits rained down upon them. Nearby knights warded off the bandits with their fine swordplay. Hope, placed his hands forward, said a quick incantation and erected an iridescent sparkling barrier, protecting the knights near him and blocking some of their falling hammer attacks. The onslaught was relentless and Hope could feel each one as they pounded against his magic. Hope winced, [color=E9C1DD]"Yahoel, dispatch them at once."[/color] The angel nodded, understanding the command without further explanation. Shimmering like a beacon of light, the angel soared into the sky and disappeared into the canopies. One by one, bandits fell from the trees, their bodies ravaged with piercing feathers and their skin seared by magical holy light. For now, it seemed that Yahoel could take care of the bandits in the trees, so Hope turned his attention to the bandits on the ground. Hope grasped at his rapier on his waist, feeling the steel on his palms. And in an elegant motion, he unsheathed it and pointed the tip of his weapon towards the oncoming bandits. One of the bandits trained his eyes on Hope lasciviously, licking his lips. [color=8882be]"A pretty knight like you doesn't belong out here on the battlefield. After this is all said and done, let me take you to bed. I'll get it real nice for you."[/color] Hope shook his head, [color=E9C1DD]"No."[/color] he said, a tone of utter cold resistance in his voice. The bandit hmphed, [color=8882be]"Too bad, to waste a beauty like you."[/color] Naturally, Hope was unmoved by the so-called flattery and flirtatious behavior of the bandit. It was gross and it only made Hope grow more resilient in fighting them off. The bandits, 3 of them, brandished their swords and then leaped toward him. Hope had no plans of letting them get anywhere near him. Brandishing his own rapier, he held it like a wand and then said a quick incantation. Just before the bandits could fall onto him with their blades, they found themselves suspended in mid-air, encased in iridescent sparkling bubbles of pure magic. The air seeped from the bubbles and the bandits gasped for air until they died from asphyxiation. When the bubbles popped, their lifeless bodies fell to the ground. Of course, more bandits came after him, stepping on the blue bodies of their deceased comrades without a sympathetic care in the world. It was a relief though, that Hope had learned to use his barrier magic in offensive ways, creating suffocating bubbles and then this... Swishing and flourishing his rapier around like a wand, small iridescent bubbles of magic formed. He propelled them forward, the force of the magical blasts knocking the bandits senseless. He did this for a while, keeping his distance while taking out one bandit after another with magical bubbles, stopping them before they had a chance to get too close and overpower him. But it was still dark and with Yahoel still dispatching of the bandits in the canopies, he didn't notice the bandit wielding a giant mallet sneak up behind him. The man hit Hope in the side, sending him flying into a nearby tree. Hope wheezed, the impact of the hit from the mallet and tree knocking the wind out of him. As the bandit approached, the moonlight revealed a face that was haggard and animalistic, wild like a caveman. As the mallet came down, Hope raised his hands, erecting an iridescent bubble of magic around himself, blocking the impact. The bandit stopped for a moment, as though he'd never seen such a magic before. And then, breaking from his moment of curiosity, began wailing on the magic barrier, trying to break it. Hope could feel the pressure of the assault as the force of the impact rippled across his barrier. He knew well enough, that with enough force, a magical barrier could be broken. If that initial hit against him was any indicator, this bandit might break through. Hope winced, feeling his barrier weakening with each attack from the bandit's mallet, [color=E9C1DD]"I can't...hold him off for long...Yaho..."[/color] Hope murmured softly. Before its name even completely left Hope's lips, the angel soared from the tree canopy like a bullet and in a flourish of its wings, sent a barrage of feathers at the mallet-wielding bandit. Hope's barrier fell, and shortly after, so did the bandit, with a loud thump as he hit the floor, his bodied riddled with feathers like a pincushion. The angel helped Hope up from the ground and they shared an affirming gaze. [color=E9C1DD]"Thank you, Yahoel."[/color] And together, they continued launching magical feathers and bubbles at any bandit that wished them harm. Nearby, Yasha was watching Hope, all the while slicing through the bandits with a sword made of ice. He danced around the bandits as if they were nothing, in fact, almost looking bored and uninterested. At one moment, he laid his hands on one of the bandits and froze them solid like an ice sculpture until they shattered. It was amazing, but Hope didn't notice. Yasha continued his icy display, his dance of death. But at every chance he got, his gaze fell on Hope, intrigued.