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[color=goldenrod][b]"Oh boo-hoo, get over it already."[/b][/color]

[color=888888]— Finnegan Vanhorn[/color][/center]

Yea, a bunch of espers might have been a little out of their element fighting a giant magic resistant walker. Having a giant reach out of the heavens and try to crush you while this was going on made everything more complicated still. But this was Pax Septimus, so of course there also had to be an army of gun nuts lead by Baleful Sofron just outside their otherwise closed off arena. Closed off minus the area above where “Elroy” was standing. And with all of this shit going on, [i]this[/i] was when Ashley decided that things needed to be a little bit more dangerous for Mika. Yes, get the monster to smash the mech with its giant fist. It’s not like Finn is totally going to be expecting that, or that it put Mika in an extremely dangerous position. But honestly? This was okay. Mika [i]was[/i] the best suited for tasks like this, and Elroy seemed like he was already trying to kill her. 

[color=tomato]"Try to cover for me, Par-ah-dice.”[/color]

It was good that Finn was presently, and perhaps even justifiably, trying to crush Ashley with his giant murder mech. That gave Mika an exposed back to jump onto. The demonic giant tried to punch her again. But this time Mika was aware enough to not get totally crushed by the thing. Each fist in her wake left a giant crater in the floor. Once she was on the mech’s back, she held on for dear life. 

[color=tomato]"Still having girl problems, Finn?”[/color]

The mechanical pilot groaned. She was [i]still[/i] vindictive over that? Such a lack of priorities. [color=goldenrod]”At this rate I’d rather take my chances with [b][i]another guy[/i][/b] than put up with a [i]mad[/i] woman like you!”[/color]

With his attention drawn to a singular target this time, the mech let off another surge of lightning to trap Cerberus against it. It was, in hindsight, probably not the best move to pull. Trying to force her off would only give one of the other agents an opening, and he was still trying to be smart about how he uses his mana. So the solution he came up with? 

Give “Elroy” a free hit against her. He was confident that his mech could take it, just this once at least.

This would be the second time Mika had been crushed under the giant’s fist. Her body disappeared under the giant’s fist as it careened into the mech. It sounded like a car crash, with metal and bone twisting in unnatural ways. The mech was magic resistant and too thick to be greatly damaged by most attacks, but mundane materials, regardless of the enchantments, would always be at least partially susceptible to chaotic energies. The back of the mech bent inwards, sparks and oil flew out of its right shoulder. During the cacophony of destruction, Mika reappeared behind a pillar with Raven. 

[color=tomato]"I don’t recommend giving it a bear hug.”[/color] she spit. 

With a tug, Elroy freed his hand from the twisted mess on the mech’s back. Of all the attacks that hit the mech so far, this one inflicted by Finn’s own ally was the most significant. But Elroy didn’t seem to enjoy the attack any more than Finn did. The monster looked at its hand and howled. Such an attack would likely not be so easy to bait out in the future. 

[b]”Hahahahahahahaha! Woopsie doopsie!”[/b] Morning Dragonfruit sighed. [b]”I guess I should have considered something like that could happen.”[/b] 

[color=goldenrod]”It’s fine! I can fix that later!”[/color] The Timekeeper called out. [color=goldenrod]”You did good, Elroy!”[/color]


[color=6ecff6][b]“This is why you should only hire professionals.”[/b][/color] Klava got out of her seat. [color=6ecff6][b]“I’m going to get some fresh air.”[/b][/color] And with that, the top of the mech opened just long enough for the ice maiden to fly out. The cockpit sealed itself before she landed on the ground. 

[b]”Well if she’s going to do funny memes out there, I think I’ll fly wing man with you my boy.”[/b] Metal arms from inside the mech lifted the cursed TV and set it in Klava’s spot. [b]”Oh goodness! It’s still warm! Well, ready when you are.”[/b]

Finn nodded, turning his focus back to everyone else. 

[color=goldenrod]”Be careful, Maiden!”[/color]

From the mech’s torso, he began firing sharpened disk plough blades at the agents, aiming its flamethrower arm in an arc as well to force them to scatter further. 

Klava flew through the arena with the control and speed of a humming bird. The sashes on her outfit wrapped around pillars to guide her trajectory through the air. Her frictionless movement allowed her to skate across the walls, ceiling, while narrowly avoiding the occasional shot from Raven’s pistol. For the moment she was towards the back of the room, surfing towards Mika and Raven’s position. 

Which was just as well, because things were getting pretty frantic in the hallway. 

Regardless of how meager or solid Sofron’s spell was, it had the same effect. Binky and Marrie could feel their ability to project their melodies had been suppressed. While the green haired agent swapped out her magazine, she gave Marrie some [b]affirmation[/b] through a nod.

Marrie didn’t even get through the threshold of the door before she was put on the [b]defensive[/b] Sofron through a punch with enough force behind it to slide his feet across the floor. It was fortunate that Marrie had decided to use a less expensive melody here, but she found that even that felt too immense while under the effect of  Sofron’s Baleflame.  [b]Her melody came out silver instead.[/b] But maybe that was a good thing, as it seemed like Sofron was attempting to pummel her with his fists. 

What ensued was a melee. Even if he was fighting with his hands, it was as if they were made of steel. Her blade couldn’t cut into his flesh, and he had little issue punching her bladed attacks as they came at him. It felt like they might be evenly matched. While Sofron was able to expertly defend himself, Marrie’s training left no openings for him to exploit. Then they both found an opening and went for it. Sofron reached for Marrie’s neck, and her blade found its way into his sternum. 

His wound bled. That bartender’s vest he was wearing was stained red by the attack. Yet he still had plenty of strength to hoist her off of the ground. She was suffocating. 

[color=0099a6]”You imbecile.”[/color] His grip tightened. [color=0099a6]”Lay waste to the woman who keep me company if you must, but I am immortal. I doubt the same can be said for you.”[/color] His other hand caught fire. The flame was bright enough that it left an afterglow in Marrie’s eyes when she looked away from it. [color=0099a6]”But I’m willing to find out.”[/color]

He brought his hand to the side of her head. The heat was cooking the flesh off the side of her face, but her earlier melody was probably diminishing the effects a bit. 

[color=baddab]”Marrie!”[/color] Binky managed to put a few rounds in his legs and torso, but other than make him bleed it didn’t seem to have any effect. She had to redirect fire once his cronies had moved to capture the doorway. [color=baddab]”Shit!”[/color] 

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[color=77BB99]"Maybe now you can do something useful?”[/color] 

[color=888888]— Bookman[/color][/center]

[color=77BB99]"I believe that was still four contracts, but I appreciate the enthusiasm.”[/color] He grinned, and his perfectly white fangs stood out against his jet black flesh. Even his gums seemed to be made of inky darkness. [color=77BB99]"As for Timekeeper, hmmm, it’s a black pocket watch he keeps on his person. It’s called the Swallowtail. Knowing the name might help if you put your Endless Eclipse to work on it. But we’d rather you not do that right now.”[/color] The goat man chuckled. [color=77BB99]"That’s right, you’re an employee now. You are [i]not[/i] to go after Timekeeper until we give you the green light. However, you are free to acquire Cerberus’s Red Oroboros. It’s a red jade pendant depicting a dragon swallowing its tail. Alternatively, Orion’s grimoire is a target. It’s an emerald sphere that she wears like a necklace.”[/color] Bookman pressed a button on his cellphone before dismissing it into a ball of ash. [color=77BB99]"Now, how about we decide your first hires?”[/color] He began flipping through the pages.  [color=77BB99]"There are so many to choose from, if you need more time-”[/color]

But Himiko [i]didn’’t[/i] need time. She immediately pushed her finger between two pages and flipped to the two contracts that laid side by side. Bookman leaned in close to observe what she had picked.

[color=77BB99]"Not who I would have recommended, but it’s your choice.”[/color] Book man closed the tome, and one by one his effects started to disappear. [color=77BB99]"They shouldn’t be much longer.”[/color]

They really wouldn’t. There was gunfire outside the cell. Screaming, and then a quiet. Then there were several loud bangs before a muffled voice said something about searching for a key card. Things were quiet for a moment longer before the cell door slid open. [url=https://cdn.donmai.us/sample/a7/76/__himemori_luna_and_luknight_hololive_drawn_by_shio_no_9__sample-a776ba5720825dafba427c670829ebf3.jpg]The first one into the room was a knight in pink armor, followed by a diminutive princess.[/url]

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[color=#b0c8ff]“[/color][color=#b5c6ff]P[/color][color=#bac5ff]w[/color][color=#bec3ff]i[/color][color=#c3c2ff]n[/color][color=#c8c0ff]k[/color] [color=#d2bdff]P[/color][color=#d6bbff]w[/color][color=#dbbaff]o[/color][color=#e0b8ff]n[/color][color=#e5b6ff]d[/color][color=#eab5ff]a[/color][color=#eeb3ff]h[/color][color=#f3b2ff]…[/color][color=#f8b0ff]”[/color]

[color=77BB99]"Magical Dream Princess and Pink Pounder. We bought up their contract recently, but I didn’t expect them to be serving under you directly. Do I even need to introduce them to you?”[/color] Given the certainty Himiko had when picking out her guard, he doubted it was necessary. Had her Endless Eclipse given her an insight into these two, or was it all on a whim? 

There wouldn’t be much time to think about it.

[color=ec008c]“Oof!”[/color]

Pink pounder, Magical Dream Princess, and Bookman peered out of the cell. The hallway was your typical prison hallway. Cinder block walls lined with doors from end to end. There were a few bullet holes here and there, but not a single drop of blood. There were several unconscious guards, all dressed in blue. But sticking out from the blue and grey environment like a sore thumb was a girl in brown and green. At least what little of her body was actually clad in anything was brown and green. She had a skirt, a bikini top, tube socks, and an uncomfortable number of accessories. If there was something that could give you the impression she was a cowboy, she was wearing it. Save for her ten gallon hat. That had flown off of her head when she tripped. 

[color=77BB99]"Ayana, I presume?”[/color]

The cowboy, [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019823d5-fb9d-715d-b7e7-42e4fcc13fd0.webp]or horse girl if the ears coming out of her head were to be considered,[/url] stood up and dusted herself off. She then took her ten gallon hat and placed it back on top of her head. There were cut outs for her ears, but only one of them slipped into her hat correctly. [color=ec008c]“That’s me. But how did you know? And who might you be? You look like you could be one of those government guys.”[/color] She reached for her pistol. [color=ec008c]“I bet you’re thinking about putting a chip in Sovereign's head. That way you can track her spending habits or even manipulate them.”[/color]

[color=77BB99]"That’s her alright.”[/color] Bookman sat back down. [color=77BB99]"I’ll get you some transportation. How about you find your grimoire and you can start your first job?”[/color]