[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FSp3maO.png[/img][/center]  

The first to strike the Behemoth was Jacqueline. It was hard to get a clear shot with the locusts buzzing around, but she wasn’t picky. A place where Havoc’s tip could find purchase was all she required. Jacqueline found her opening and appeared over the Diver’s knee. A single swing punched through the giant cloak. The first of many strikes to come. A low risk attack with a low reward. With the downpour of blood, she couldn’t be sure if her attacks were drawing blood, or even if they were making holes. It almost felt like she was swinging into tar. The Diver was still in one piece. 

A shot in the right place may be more effective. Ashley prepared a melody for such a case. Her wand trembled as it surged with power. Its eerie neon glow was visible even through the downpour of blood. But how to deliver it? The Diver was hovering close enough to the ground. He could be climbed,  but that was more difficult with a wand and shield in hand. At least the power in her wand wasn’t going away. It would only grow stronger over time. Samuel cut through the locust as Ashley decided her next move.

Finn arrived shortly after and [i]ran up the Diver’s torso[/i], with some help from Marrie’s melody. Unlike the others, Finn didn’t struggle to scale the behemoth. He sliced through the insects that blocked his path, and managed to get to the Diver’s shoulders as his melody ran out. 

He scrambled to the Diver’s head. Once his feet were stable he thrust at the behemoth’s jaw. The blade penetrated as deep as Finn could thrust, but his blade came back clean. Clean until the crimson sky stained it red.

Mika was new to all this, but she had to do something. The cat girl was the only one with mana to spare. It was apparent they needed to work together if they were going to bring down  this monster. Though what to do eluded her. At least until she realized Ashley and Samuel weren’t attacking the diver. 

[color=tomato]”Let’s get closer!"[/color]

Mika sprung into action. The head of a spectral giraffe emerged under their feet. The snout rose up under Sam, Ashley, and Mika, and they were all seated on it as it took to the sky. And it took to the sky  [i]fast[/i]. The giraffe raised to the height of the Diver’s hips. But the acceleration was so great that it threw them higher still. While initially surprised, the agents regained their composure.

Samuel spun like a top, eviscerating the incoming locusts.

Mika pulled back her fist and belted out a warcry.

Ashley thrust her wand into the Diver’s center mass.

The tip of Ashley’s wand buried itself in the Diver’s cloak. An explosion of neon burned a hole right over the Diver’s chest. Burnt fabric and ash were scattered to the wind. The Diver’s chest had been exposed, but it was a mystery how much damage had been dealt. There was no gore, no chunks of diver sloughing away. 

While Samuel kept the locusts off everyone’s back, Mika maneuvered in for a debilitating punch. She soared towards the behemoth’s exposed chest and threw a punch directly where its heart should have been. Her fist sunk into her target. She had landed a hit.    

But the Diver still stood. 

Their outlook was getting darker.

[quote]
[i]Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt—darkness that can be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days.

— Exodus 10:21–23

[/i]
[/quote]

As the fight drew to a close, the clouds darkened even more. The clouds turned black without a single beam of sunlight breaking through. Lightning strikes had taken out the power long ago, leaving the espers to rely on their own effects to see by. But they had come too far to give up. Their remaining mana didn’t matter, nor did their wounds. Finn wanted to do something right. Samuel wanted to complete his objective. Ashley wanted there to be a tomorrow for all the firstborns. Jacqueline knew backup would show up. It just wasn’t here yet.

Not Gemini reinforcements at least.

[color=MediumAquamarine]”Armstrong!”[/color] A zombie woman ran up beside Marrie. How Stacy managed to find her in the darkness was unclear. But Stacy was able to do a lot of things without a head, so maybe it was best not to question it too much. Though if she could talk, she must have found one. [color=MediumAquamarine]”I hope I didn’t make you worry, I could tell there were a lot of fresh heads nearby. I ran into the Mavericks and-”[/color] She turned.  [color=MediumAquamarine]”We can catch up later! Let’s move the queen to D9 and sink their battleship!”[/color] Stacy lifted Marrie over her head and bound towards the Diver’s location.

Ashley hung from the Diver. Her wand had sunken into its flesh with that last attack, and it was holding onto her instrument. It was the only thing keeping her from taking a very long drop. But it was here by the Diver’s chest that she could hear the sound of an instrument. Harp strings, plucked to the beat of the behemoth’s heart.

It was in this darkness that Ashley could more easily see things with a fainter luster. The diver’s flesh was not fully opaque. She could see the shape of a grand harp floating inside the creature’s chest, just inches away from Mika’s fist…